Dauntless

• Evie Wilkins, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2011

As far as summer days go in England, it was relatively warm. A cool sea breeze ran through the harbour town of Liddell, rustling the trees and catching at the sails of the tall ships anchored in the bay.
Liddell was a quiet town for most of the year, except for spring, when many ships would come into port looking for crew. So it was that today was particularly busy. Three ships had docked in the bay, all looking for supplies and more men. The first was the English Galleon The Enterprise, badly damaged in a fire fight with the infamous pirate ship, The Queen Anne’s Revenge. The second, a merchant vessel from Spain, had need of a new main sail after being caught in a storm out at sea. It was, however, the third vessel that caught the attention of the villagers; none had ever seen a ship quite like it. It was without a doubt a Man-of-War and heavily armed, and many believed it to be the flagship of a foreign fleet, though Captain Dickson of The Enterprise was sure of it belonging to the English.
Quite a crowd had gathered at the dock to glimpse the intriguing crew, who wore a mismatch of clothes, some of which seemed to be made out of old sails. In the crowd was a group of well dressed ladies, no doubt the daughters of rich captains or merchant sailors. Amongst these were two ladies that stood out from the rest; one in a blue dress, the other in soft pink. But these two young ladies were not all they seemed; Charlotte Kingsley had spent most of her childhood on the English naval ship her father had sailed on. She had learnt much about life at sea and now Charlotte wanted to rejoin a crew, and her friend, Katherine Lane, wished to do the same.
The three crews had set off to the local tavern, The Red Pixie, and a few of the local men had tagged along to sign up. Charlotte and Katherine followed, talking excitedly. It was smoky and smelt strongly of ale inside. They made their way over to Captain Dickson and his men, and after a discourteous rejection moved onto the third crew, passing by the Spanish for neither could speak such a language. To their surprise there was no line at the table and the crew were muttering to each other in harsh whispers.
“Excuse me gentlemen, my friend and I were hoping to join part of your crew.”
The five men looked the two ladies up and down with a bemused expression.
“Well my ladies, have you ever witnessed the horror of a ship when it’s in the middle of a treacherous storm or been fired at by a merciless pirate galley?” one man asked with a nasty grin.
“As it happens we have. Charlotte Kingsley, daughter of Captain James Kingsley of HMS Phoenix. And this is my friend Katherine Lane.”
The crew looked at her with new found respect.
“Well, Miss Kingsley, Miss Lane, we’ll see if we can’t get you on board. Captain Hughes always mentions how grand a sailor your father was.”
At that, another man, dressed in what vaguely resembled a uniform, walked over to the table. “Well if it isn’t the notorious Charlotte Kingsley,” said the Captain. “Welcome to the crew.”
So that afternoon saw Charlotte and Katherine boarding the Dauntless with Captain Hughes and it’s crew and, taking up their position on the bow of the ship, they gently sailed out of the harbour and away from the coastline. The smell of the sea surrounded them and the wind playfully tossed their hair. It was a dreamy trance that enveloped them as they sailed on to the beckoning horizon.