Jillian Chantal

This week we have a picture prompt and we’re each limited to 300 words. I’m still working on my pirate story. The heroine is now on a ship and has been commanded to show what she can do with a flinklock pistol.

Be sure to check out the other stories here.  

Now that the time had come to prove myself, I got a bit nervous. While it was true Benedict taught me to shoot on ship under full sail, I hadn’t had such a tough audience then. Somehow, I knew it was vital I pass this test.

Glancing up at the flag, I wondered exactly what the wind speed was. We were moving along at a good clip and I needed to factor that into my aim.

“Ye gonna stand there or are ye gonna shoot?” Bruno asked.

“Give her a minute,” Leo said.

“Didn’t think no chit of a girl could do it.” Bruno sounded like a small child who had lost his puppy I was surprised he didn’t have his bottom lip out in a pout.

“If you’ll give this chit a moment to judge the wind, I can promise you at least a passable attempt at the shots.” As the men chuckled again, I stared up at the sky. The clouds were big and white and there was a glint of sunshine breaking through. I took that as a good omen and took my stance.

Pointing the weapon up and a bit to the side, I approximated where I thought the wind might carry the shot and let it go.

In a few seconds, the kid in the crow’s nest called down in excitement, “She got the right eye. Straight in the middle.”

Leo smiled at me and winked.

Still focused on my task, I called out to the boy, “Be ready for the next one.” I worried he might get hurt if I missed. Not that I intended to miss but I really wasn’t as cocky as I wanted these men to believe and I wanted that child safe.

“Ready when you are,” he yelled back down.