3rd person POV #1

I'm trying to figure which I like better: 1st or 3rd person POV. I like the idea of the story and I think I have most of the story in my head, but I don't know if I want to delve into the mind of the main character or try and do a movie like view of the s

Two large wooden ships, built for battle, faced off against one another on a fogging, dread filled day. On one particular ship, hanging from its tall wooden mast, an unmistakable black flag waved in the air. Sewn into its black surface was a ghastly picture of a skull with two white bones crossing over one another just beneath. A pirate’s ship; a thief’s ship.

At the helm of the ship, stood a man dressed in a large blue and gold robe. He yelled at his crew, as he steered the ship closer towards ‘the enemy’. On either side of him stood two small children, a boy and a girl.  The girl reached over and yanked at the man’s robe. “Papa,” She started. “Let me fight. Please, let me and Alex fight.” She begged.

The man looked down at the girl and laughed. “Fury, my dear daughter, keep your venomous spirit inside you until the battle. Then you and Alex may fight.”

She smiled, her eyes flashing with the adrenaline that was already running through her veins. “Thank-you, Father.” She said as her hand reached down towards her belt, running her fingers across the metal surface of a small dagger hidden in its folds.

The boy looked at his sister and smiled too. “Thank-you, Father. But I get to go first, right? I am the oldest after all.” He smirked at Fury.

“You do not! Besides, we’re twins. You’re only older than me by an hour. Papa, tell Alexander ‘The Soon to be Defeated’ that he’s got no more right to it than I. Not to mention the fact that I had my first kill before him, making me the more experienced.” She smirked back at her brother behind her father’s back.

“Fury, what did I say about your spirit? And Alexander, your sister’s right about one thing, you’ve got no more right to it than she does. You both will not be going first. It’ll be the crew, you will stay in behind them, or you both will be staying in the cabin with your mother until it’s all over. You understand?”  He said, his eyebrows raised in question.

“Yes, Father.” The twins said in unison, Fury slowly took her hand off the daggers handle.

“Good. Now off you go, ask Bones for your instructions, he’s in charge of you now.” They nodded and raced down the steps onto the main deck, their boots clicking as they ran. They expertly launched themselves over piles of ropes and around people and canons. They raced each other to a tall, African man leaning up against one of the far canons.

“Bones! Bones!” Fury cried.

The man turned around. “Fury. Alex.” He said smiling. “You little devils. What does ol’ Captain want me to do with you little ‘uns.”

Fury put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to one side. “Bones, you know we’re not so little anymore. I bettcha I can probably throw a knife faster and more acc…accur…accura…better than you.”

Bones laughed. “I bet ya could. Now Alex, since I know you’ve got less attitude on you, what did your father want.”

“Bones!” Fury cried, but he just waved her off.

“Papa said we could fight this time. So, he wants you to “deal with us” until we can.” Alex said, sticking his tongue out at his snarky sister. “See, that’s how you answer a question, but you wouldn’t know, you’re too young.” 

“‘…You wouldn’t know, you’re too young’” Fury mimicked “Shuddup! I do know, but that doesn’t mean I hafta.”

Bones laughed. “Well, now I know were you father gets his temper, it runs in the family. I also know that if something happens to you, that temper will show up faster and more furiously than ever before, so I’ve got to put you somewhere where you’ll be kinda safe. I would say a barrel, but your father already promised you could fight, so now my task just got harder.” Bones swiveled his head back and forth. “Hmm…hows about you too, stay around there. In the middle, that way if we get a surprise attack you can warn us without getting killed.”

“Bones!” Fury and Alex cried, disappointed with their new arrangement.

“I’m the first mate, I get to choose, so get going. Looks like our fun is just about to begin.” Bones grinned as he saw the sail of the other boat peeking out of the fog. “Let’s get to it!” He shouted at the men, urging them to fight.

The boat was grand, that was for sure, everything about it just oozed wealth. From it’s perfectly carved railings to the delicate detailing over the cabin’s door. It’s sails fluttered back and forth in the wind, as it’s bow glided gently through the water, on towards the battle. Aboard, men ran around, just as on the pirate’s ship, their teeth clenched and their lust for the blood of pirates, urging them forward. The crew was almost as grand as the ship itself. They were dressed nicely, for crew standards, and each had a handcrafted sword meant for them and only them. The captain of the ship was dressed even more elegantly and looked more like he was heading off to a ball, then getting ready to fight.

The two ships faced off against each other in the unforgiving seas. The air was silent; all that was heard was the soft sound of the ocean’s waves underneath the vessels. Men stared at each other as the ships aligned, side-by-side, grim faces filled of hatred for the other. Some smirked, a cocky look, their heads filled with visions of winning, not even a hint of losing was present. Some looked terrified, the greenhorns-the newbies, afraid that they would die young, without riches or honour.  Others were calm, unafraid of dying and still ready to fight to win. Those were the ones you have to watch out for, those with nothing to lose, have the possibility to gain everything.  Swords were drawn, their sharp, shinned surfaces glittering in the dimmed light of the sun.

They waited for the order to attack, the order to kill. The captains sized each other up, the pirate captain grinned viciously at the captain of the king’s royal navy. He chuckled under his breath and brought out his pistol. “Life’s too short to wait for someone else to take action.” He said, still grinning. “Time for me to start and end this all at once.” He raised the pistol up and aimed at the captain of the other ship. The gun fired, the smoke of gunpowder lingering, even after the bullet tore through the man’s chest.  The man swaggered and clutched at his chest, almost surprised to see the dark, crimson blood flowing out of it. The captain’s crew watched in horror as the scene played out; the pirate’s grinned with pleasure, one win already and the war hadn’t even begun. The man fell to his knees, the red-hot searing pain of the bullet and its shrapnel spreading. He glanced angrily at the pirate captain; his breathing labored and slowly began to slow. His crew rushed to his side, trying their best to save the dying man. Unfortunately, for them, it was too late.

“You!” The first mate screamed as he lay over the body of his leader. “You scoundrel, you thief of lives. Prepare to die, to suffer the same fate you gladly bestowed upon this honourable captain. May you rot forever in the fiery pit of all evil. May you suffer ten times the pain any mortal can bear, and have to live with it day after grueling day.”

The pirate smiled at the words of the first mate. “So be it.” He said, his chin raised in defiance. He whipped his sword out of its scabbard and raised it in the air with the call of war. The ships erupted into battle, one outraged and the other driven forward by the death of the navy’s captain.

The two sides merged, hardly identifiable even to the sailors. Swords flashed in the air, guns fired in blasts of the grey smoke. Canon’s fired as the pirates swung over to the other ship, and screams of dying men echoed through the fog filled air, horrible screams, ones that weren’t easily erased from ones memory. They fought with all the ferocity they had, blood mixed with water, as bodies were tossed out, not important enough for a proper burial. The pirate captain leaped into the battle with the same will to win as his crew. He fought expertly, his sword seem to cut through his victims like a hot knife through butter. He drove on fearlessly, unafraid, the thought of death not even present in his mind.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the ongoing war, Fury and her brother stood their backs pressed up against the main mast. “This is stupidly boring!” Fury cried. “Papa got to fight, why can’t I?”

“Because you’re only twelve years old and he’s the captain of the ship. Plus we’re both in this together.” Alex replied in his usual levelheaded way.

“Why are you always the rational one?” Fury asked.

“‘Cause I’m the one who has brains in my head, duh!” Alex said.

“You know that’s not true! Blah! I hate this!” She stomped her foot impatiently. “I want to do something!”

“Ah, Fury?”

“Yeah?”

“You just got your wish.” Alex pointed to Fury’s right. A man, dressed in the Navy’s uniform, managed to get past the line of pirates and was now charging towards them, his sword drawn. “We should probably call Bones.” Alex suggested.

“I guess we could…but, I don’t think he’d be able to get here in time.” Fury winked. “Let’s get this one together.” She whipped her dagger out of her belt; Alex followed her lead, pulling out a small sword. Fury’s dagger glittered evilly in the very limited sunlight. A gold hilt followed the sharpened, silver blade. Carved deep into the gold handle was the initials “A.I.”, around them was carved flames, that encircled the handle, threatening to engulf the knife. Alex held out his short sword, its blade mimicking the evil feeling of Fury’s. It wasn’t as intricate as Fury’s dagger, but nonetheless it did the same job, to kill the enemy. “No fair!” Fury cried. “Why do you get the sword?”

“Why do you always have to complain?”

“I don’t always complain…just when life is unfair.” Fury answered, turning to bracing herself for the fight.  “I’ll take the high seas.” She chanted.

“And I’ll take the low seas.” Alex chanted back. The twins sprung into action. Fury charged the sailor, her dagger held forward. The blade cut into the man’s shoulder as she jump and vaulted over him. As she spun over, she yanked the blade out, landing on her feet just a couple of feet behind him. He spun around to face her, and then Alex charged, thrusting his sword through the sailor’s back. Fury hit the man on the head with the heavy, golden hilt of her dagger and he crashed to the ground.

“Hmm…not bad.” Alex said his foot braced against the dead man’s back as he yanked on his sword.

Fury stood nearby, wiping the blood off dagger’s blade and onto her loose tunic. “Umm, hmm.” She stuffed the knife back in her belt. “I guess it’s back to our positions, huh? Oh, well at least we had some fun.”

“Yeah.” Alex carefully wrapped his own sword to his belt and they both stood back up against the mast. They watched the chaos of the battle from the sidelines, having already had their fill of fight.  They watched their father cut down sailor after sailor with the quick, skillful slices of his sword. They heard the screams and cries of men as were cut down either by person or canon and cringed as the noises pierce their ears, but they stood tall, not wanting to show any vulnerability. The stink of blood wafted through the air, and the blood that had rolled down into the water was now attracting some interesting guests. Dark grey fins appeared out of the water, circling the ships and attacking any unlucky victims that managed to fall in.

It all was over fairly quickly, the Navy retreating not but fifteen minutes into battle. They left quickly, away from the treachery that seemed to cling to the pirates. Maybe too quickly. As they sailed away, the pirates gathered themselves together, retrieving their weapons that were still lodged in that of the dead, and then throwing the bodies of their enemies and crewmates down to the bottom of the ocean, to Davy Jones Locker. They took their injured comrades and brought them down below deck, to either be healed by the limited knowledge known by Doc, the resident doctor aboard The Pirate’s Revenge, or to die in peace, later to be thrown into the swirling seas.

The pirate captain slowly walked down from his perch over towards his children, wiping the blood off his sword and onto his shirt. His eyes were, almost immediately, drawn to the lifeless body of the sailor. He looked at it, then at Fury and Alex, then back at it and at his children once again. He raised his eyebrow, curious to just exactly what had happened.

“What?” Fury asked. “You said we could fight, and we did.”

“Yeah, uhh huh. I did didn’t I?” He replied, stumbling over his words, still shocked at the sight of the body.

“Yup! You did.” Alex clarified. “Papa?” He asked.

“Yes?”

“I’m hungry. I didn’t have time to eat lunch.”

“Ooh! Me too!” Fury butted in, realizing for the very first time just how hungry she really was.

“Ok, then go and tell your mother. I’m sure she’ll be glad to make you two something, but please don’t tell her about…uhhh…this.” He pointed at the body. “Last time you did that, you almost gave her a heart attack.

“You’d think she’d be used to it by now.” Fury pondered out loud. “I mean she does live with pirates…”

“Fury,” Her father warned. “She’s your mother, try to show her some respect.”

“Sorry.” Fury looked down at the wooden deck, slowly grinding her boot-covered toes into its surface.

“It’s alright, just keep that in mind. Now off you go!” The twins ran back towards the cabin, leaving their father alone with the dead sailor. He ran his blood-covered fingers through his fiery, red hair, glancing down at the body. By the look of the sailor’s clothing and weapons, he obviously was someone with power and importance. Yet, two young children, with little extensive training, were able to bring him down. The captain knelt down and swung the body over his shoulder. The now lukewarm bloods, dripping down his arm. He walked over to the side of the boat and dumped the body over the edge. It landed with a splash, that sounded more like a slap to the face, and drifted on the water, slowly sinking down into the depths; forever to be lost in the fridged waters.

 

Author's Note

Same note as always: I'd love to get some constructive criticism. Just let me know what you think! ;)