Author Archives: Felicity Banks Books

‘Signals,’ said Sol. I asked, ‘To who?’ ‘To our other ships, of course.’ We signalled instructions all day. I don’t even know what we said. ———————————————————— Quite a lot of historical pirates were just as mental as Sol. Captain Low and his men were just as dangerous in a good mood as in a badContinue reading “Companion to Day Forty-Eight: A Pirate’s Idea of Fun”

‘We’re under attack!’ Sol yelled. I ran to save the kids, but by the time I reached them our attackers had fled – bleeding and afraid. 6:00pm Night fell over two rows of fighters – the guards standing between us and their island, and our own vicious pack lined up on our port side. —————————————————–Continue reading “Companion to Day Forty-Seven: Children”

Sol and I watched the harbour. ‘That ship’s better’n ours,’ said Sol, ‘so when we rule here, I’m gonna make it mine. The blue one’s for you.’ —————————————————– Mary Sue: (n) A character who lacks flaws, and is clearly a fantasy drawn directly from the writer’s fragile and/or deluded ego. Someone once suggested Captain SolContinue reading “Companion to Day Forty-Six: Mary Sue”

7:30am Kids kept cutting one another while training. ‘Can we just fight with knives and rocks, like usual?’ one asked, scratching his bloody chin. —————————————————- Paranoia Girl. . and fire I couldn’t think of anything to say, so here’s today’s entry from my other blog: It’s early Spring here in Australia, and my feet wereContinue reading “Compan to Day Forty-Five: funny story”

3:30pm Sol taught the kids swordwork. One of them slashed her belly open – then cowered in fear. ‘Get up, kid,’ said Sol. ‘Red looks good on me.’ ————————————————– Sol’s nice to kids. . . sort of.

6:00pm The forgotten children came to us one by one – dark-haired, dark-eyed, and ready to fight as Sol’s army. Oldy sang to them as night fell. —————————————————————— These kids are the ones making purple cloth. But their lives are about to change. One reason the early 1700s were swarming with pirates is that aContinue reading “Companion to Day Forty-Three: Purple Makers”

1 August. 8am Sun. Pain. I cracked open my eyes and saw land. ‘Sol!’ I said. ‘CAPTAIN Sol,’ she said – and crumpled.   ‘We’re saved,’ I said. ‘Right? SOL!’   9am Sol awoke. She sat up, unsticking her tarred hair from the deck of our stolen boat. ‘We’re sinking.’ I leapt overboard and swamContinue reading “Companion to Day Forty-Two: Story so Far”

We practised sword work below decks, out of sight of the people we spied on. Their guards were fat and sleepy, and the houses left unlocked. Oldy didn’t speak to me, but I knew he was ready. And I knew he was more than he seemed. He frightened me more than Sol – who scaredContinue reading “Companion to Day Firty-One: Scurvy”

The locals wore purple and carried gold on their wrists and necks. ‘This is the place,’ said Sol. Mal leered. Oldy and I exchanged glances. —————————————————————— Hello to all the students I met today – especially Cat and Chris. Purple is a common colour nowadays. It didn’t used to be. To make purple, you needContinue reading “Companion to Day Forty: Purple”

7:00am  ‘We were blown into unfamiliar seas,’ said Sol, ‘so I bet there’s a REALLY rich island nearby.’ ‘Sol,’ I said, ‘look – land!’ ——————————- Sol’s such an optimist. . . Today I was personality-typing Sol and Ulandin based on the Myers-Briggs system (you can test yourself here: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes1.htm ). Sol is an ISTJ (almost theContinue reading “Companion to Day Thirty-Nine: Personality Typing”

7:00am We lay in the sun and slept. Sol was naked, so I was careful not to look. Oldy snored. When I stood, my shape was outlined in dark wet wood.

3:30pm Rain. Hail. Rope burns on my arms and chest. Can’t see. Can’t eat. Can’t think. All I can do is hold on until the end. If this ever ends.  9:00pm The sky was lit by stars instead of lightning. I hung out all my clothes, and asked Oldy how he knew we’d live. HeContinue reading “Companion to Day Thirty-Seven: Nautical Terms”

11:30am The wind threw me into a mess of ropes and I was trapped. It tossed me around and dunked me under waves. A rope slipped around my neck.  3:00pm Sol slashed through the ropes, saving my life again. ‘Lazy sod,’ she yelled over the thunder, ‘come help throw the cannons overboard.’ 6:00pm We threwContinue reading “Companion to Day Thirty-Six: Picture”

Hello to all the new people I met today, including Carl and Ben. 1 August. 8am Sun. Pain. I cracked open my eyes and saw land. ‘Sol!’ I said. ‘CAPTAIN Sol,’ she said – and crumpled.   ‘We’re saved,’ I said. ‘Right? SOL!’   9am Sol awoke. She sat up, unsticking her tarred hair fromContinue reading “Companion to Day Thirty-Five: Story So Far”

11:30am Water spilled into our cabins and slicked the wooden floors. Oldy paced the hold as the ship staggered. ‘It’s not time. Not yet,’ he said. ————————————————— I sailed on the Young Endeavour training ship in New Zealand. So it rained. A lot. If you’ve ever washed a load of washing, then forgotten it, thenContinue reading “Companion to Day Thirty-Four: The Smell”

3:30pm Rain poured until my clothes were rough as rocks. We sailed, but we couldn’t see. Sol made us stay on watch – staring into the stormy dark. ————————————————— Keeping watch at night is boring, but at least there are stars. Unless it’s cloudy. Then you see sky (grey), water (darker grey), lack of landContinue reading “Companion to Day Thirty-Three: Storms part 1”

Sol and I practised swordfighting, and I noticed her hands were soft. ‘A princess ain’t much,’ she growled at me, ‘just a slave in a dress.’ ——————————— Personally, I’d rather be myself than a princess. Would you?

12:30pm ‘Why are all the islands here so black?’ Sol grumbled. Oldy said, ‘When we take over an island, what will we do with it?’ ‘Anything I want.’ ————————————————– When I was eighteen, I lived in Indonesia for six months. I spent most of my time in a concreted house where the weather was almostContinue reading “Companion to Day Thirty-One: World Part 1”

6:00am I could still see the smoke as we sailed away. At least we hadn’t killed any kids. Sol was content, even when Mal burnt our dinner to ashes. 4:00pm ‘If you’re following me, does that mean you’ll help me – if things get bad?’ ‘Yes,’ said Oldy. After that talk, I was able toContinue reading “Companion to Day Thirty: Pictures!!”

7:00am No crew returned. Sol said, ‘We’re it? A princess, a beggar and a slave?’ I said, ‘Princess? Who’s a –you?!’ ‘NO!’ she said. ‘I– shut up.’  Midday One man turned up. ‘Hello Mal,’ said Sol. ‘Where’s everyone?’ He shrugged. ‘Fine,’ she said, ‘let’s burn this place and find a better one.’ 7:00pm Sol sawContinue reading “Companion to Day Twenty-Nine: Sol’s Secrets”