It was the end of another busy day as Kris began cleaning up the bar, preparing for closing time. Most of the regulars had already filed out earlier, and only a few stragglers were left behind. Time always seemed to fly by at the bar, but she was grateful for another day's end. She'd had to come in early that morning to do the inventory in the back stockroom, and hadn't had much of a break since. Her feet ached underneath her, and she was ready to go home. Not that she would have that far to go, as her bed was only one story above her head, but still, she was ready for the day to be over with so she could finally kick up her feet.
She stooped down and starting placing some of the clean mugs into their places, having finally finished washing them. With only herself at the bar most days, it was sometimes hard for her to even have time to wash and clean all of the dirty dishes. But she'd managed to squeeze in some time earlier in the afternoon to clean up, having most of her usual customers heading back to work after their beers. Another one of her regulars called out their regards, and Kris waved over the counter to them. Looking up at the clock, she only had one hour left until she could finally put up the 'Closed' sign, and she was ready.
The front door clanged open, and Kris sighed. It wasn't unusual for some of the guys from the market nearby to come by after they'd closed shop for the day, and tried to stick around longer than the posted hours. She just hoped today that they would get their drinks and be on their way, but she knew it was merely hopeful thinking. Kris finished placing the clean mugs in their compartments and stood up, watching as six unfamiliar gentlemen filed into the bar through the front door. She had never seen these men before, watching as they made their way towards the counter to sit. She would know if she'd seen them, as the island she lived on wasn't exactly the biggest place around.
They were pirates, that much she could tell. The hushed silence from the other men still straggling in the bar alone told her that. Well that, and the apparent Captain of the group wasn't exactly subtle in his appearance, captain's hat still sitting upon his head. Not that the rest of the group was subtle either, as she counted one with an eye patch, one with a bandana, and all wearing tattered, ship-bound clothing. Not a smile among them, she noted as they slowly walked toward the counter, looking as if all of them were just as exhausted as she felt.
As the group of pirates sat down at the bar, she could see the rest of the men in the bar grabbing their things and practically running out the door as if they were on fire. One man remained behind, Joe. But he was a regular, and unless the bar actually was on fire, she knew there would be no way in hell he would leave before finishing his beer. Kris put on her best smile and walked over to the men at the bar. It wasn't the first time pirates had come in here before, as the town's main port wasn't too terribly far from, and she knew she could handle them. She'd become well acquainted with pirates and bandits alike in her formative years, and these guys didn't appear to want to cause any trouble. Although they didn't look very mean or nasty, like some of the others that had wandered into the bar, she made sure to keep her guard up, just in case. She leaned on the counter in front of the Captain and smiled.
"What can I get you boys?" She asked politely.
The Captain smiled at her. "A round for my men if you don't mind."
"Coming right up." She said brightly, grabbing a few of the mugs she'd just put away and placing them on the counter. One by one, she filled it up to the top with beer and slid them down to each man. The group talked quietly amongst themselves as she continued to fill the mugs until each one had a mug in front of them. The Captain toasted to the group, slapping the one with the eye patch on the back, who looked anything other than amused as the Captain slugged down his beverage.
The one remaining straggler, Joe, who had finally finished his beer, made his way up to the counter and slid the empty mug down to Kris. Known amongst the town as the local drunk, it didn't surprise her in the least that he was the last of the regulars to leave, as he usually was the last to leave. She nodded her thanks and collected the mug, stooping down to place it in the dirty dish pile she'd once again seemed to accumulate. She stood up in time to see him then walk towards the group, walking unsteadily as he'd had a few too many, his face sneered at the men. The men seemingly ignored him, continuing to drink their beers.
"Dirty, filthy pirates." He muttered quietly to the group as he made his way towards the door.
The one with the eye patch turned around and looked at Joe. "Would you care to say that again? I'd like you to say it to my face this time." He then nonchalantly took another slug from his beer, watching as Joe's face enflamed.
"Eduardo…" The Captain snapped quietly, his tone disapproving.
Kris watched as Joe stormed back into the bar towards the man with the eye patch. "I called you dirty, filthy pirates. It's a shame that filthy mutts such has yourself think you can just barge in wherever you like."
The man, apparently called Eduardo, shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the bar. "Thought that was what he said, but I wasn't sure." He and the man with the bandana laughed, taking another swig of their beers.
Joe's nostrils flared and before Kris could protest, he slapped the back of his head. "Hey! I was talking to you."
Eduardo sighed, sounding more annoyed than angry. "And I was ignoring you."
"Why I oughta…!" Joe declared as he went for the pistol he always kept at his side. Kris had heard enough and reached under the bar and grabbed the pistol that she always kept there for safe keeping and held it up, pointing it at Joe. The entire room hushed, and all of the men looked shocked as she cocked the gun and walked around the bar towards Joe. Joe looked stunned as she reached forward and yanked his pistol from his hand, and pointed towards the door with the pistol.
"I think it's time for you to leave now Joe. You know how I feel about fighting in my bar."
"But Kris…" Joe started to protest.
"But nothing Joe. Now get out before I get the station to drag your sorry ass home again. I'm at my limit with the number of fights you've tried to start in here. And don't bother coming back here for a while."
She all but shoved Joe out the door and slammed it closed behind her. Straightening herself, she looked outside to make sure Joe was heading home. Satisfied as she watched him sulk away, she turned around and headed back to the bar. Disarming her pistol she placed it back in its place underneath the counter. She looked up with a start to see all the pirates staring at her.
The one boy on the end, the one she assumed was the youngest of the group, with his flaming red hair looked up at her in astonishment. "You're… you're not going to kick us out?"
Kris placed a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow, turning around to look at the boy. "Now why would I kick you out?"
The man sitting next to the boy, a fellow with shaggy blonde hair who didn't look too much older than the youngest leaned forward, his eyes piercing as he looked at her. "He seems like he comes here a lot..."
"We didn't mean to scare off one of your customers…" The boy said quietly.
Kris laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "Don't worry, you guys didn't do anything wrong. Besides, I've never much liked him anyway."
The captain threw his head back and roared with laughter. "I just met you and I already like you." He raised his mug up to her and smiled, then slugged the rest of his beer down.
Smiling, she grabbed the mug from his hand and poured him another. "This one's on the house for the trouble. Same goes for the rest of you. Another glass for all of you on me."
A chorus of cheers came from the group, and men talked happily amongst themselves for a moment. She wasn't sure why she'd stuck up for them just now, and she was almost baffled at herself for offering them all a round on the house. She'd only just met them after all. It was just something about them that she liked. They weren't like other pirates she'd met. Sure they looked the part, but they seemed a lot nicer than the ones she'd met before. The other pirates that had come in here before had all been extremely rude to her, or overly flirtatious, to the point where she had to call the local authorities. She'd thought she'd seen them all, but then these six walked in.
Continuing her cleaning of the bar for closing time, she discretely watched them as they talked and laughed together. She couldn't help to notice that all of them were extremely handsome, in their own ways. Perhaps that was why they stood out to her, from all the other pirates. The other pirates she'd seen were much older, uglier, and dirtier. These guys looked her age if not a few years older, and were pretty clean shaven for pirates. She made her way back to the bar and finished loading her dirty dish pile, ready to take it out back to wash them after these guys left.
The man with the bandana folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow at her. "What's your name?"
She turned to look at him. "Oh, it's Kris. You guys mind if I ask what your names are?"
"What for?" The man with the eye patch asked, still sounding annoyed.
Kris shrugged, smiling. "Well, I'd like to know who the hell I just bought a round for."
The captain laughed. "Kris here is indeed correct. Don't be rude now. I am Captain Morgan."
She smiled. "Isn't there a brand of rum called Captain Morgan?"
Morgan threw his head back and laughed once again. "No relation, I assure you."
The younger looking boy at the end leaned forward. "Thomas."
The man sitting directly next to him waved politely, smiling. "Christopher."
The blonde leaned back on the stool. "Russell."
The man with the eye patch rolled his eyes and with an elbow to the side from Russell, sighed. "Eduardo."
The man with the bandana nodded. "Nathan."
Kris smiled at the group and glanced up at the clock. Closing time. "Well boys it was certainly nice meeting all of you, but now I've got to shut the bar down for the night. But feel free to stop by any time."
The group gathered their things and headed towards the door. She looked down at the counter where they had all left money for their drinks, and collected it, tossing it into the cash drawer. Morgan turned and tipped his hat at her, and the men exited just as quickly as they had entered. Kris sighed as she walked over and flipped the open sign over to the closed side. The silence around her seemed to echo as she gathered the dirty mugs and headed out back. Tossing the mugs into the sink, she began scrubbing at them as she thought of the pirates. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she liked them. While yes a few of them seemed rather stand offish, she found them entertaining. She hoped that they'd stick around the island for a while and would stop by again. At the very least, they could at least scare off some of the regulars that came in all the time and whom drove her crazy.
She laughed to herself as she piled the now clean mugs on the tray and carried them back behind the bar. Kneeling down on the ground, she stacked the clean mugs in their appropriate spots. She could practically taste freedom from the grueling day as she stacked the last of the mugs, sliding the tray underneath. Towards the front, she heard the door swing open and she mentally groaned. It wasn't an unusual occurrence, for her to have to shoo people away, trying to sneak in after hours for a drink.
"Hey, sorry, the bar's closed for the night, come back tomorrow!" She called over the counter as she went to stand up. She brushed some dust off her shirt as she stood and looked up towards the door.
She stopped cold in her tracks as she saw a group of men, different than the ones before. But at the same time, exactly the same, in profession at least. Pirates. Just about as subtle as the previous group, all were dressed to the nines in their pirate attire. But unlike the last group, they appeared to be a lot less friendly. A group of them stood at the door, unmoved as she swallowed thickly, placing a hand on the pistol underneath the counter.
"Sorry boys, you'll have to come back tomorrow." She repeated. Before she realized what had happened, someone came from behind her and snatched her pistol away, tossing it away. She spun around to see another pirate, standing over her by a good foot or two, sneering down at her.
The captain of the group, a man who looked much older than the rest, stepped forward. His hat ornately decorated with feathers and jewels laying a top his head, he walked towards her with a Cheshire cat smile. One that made her feel even more uneasy than before, and made her stomach curl. He tossed the hat onto the counter and plopped down firmly in the stool directly in front of where she was standing. She definitely didn't like where this was going. All of the other pirates had made their way across the room, and were now standing in front of all of the exits and windows. And the one pirate that had taken her pistol was standing directly to her right.
"Now my dear, I need you to tell me about those Sirius pirates that were just in here." The captain purred at her.