Chapter Two – Savvy
The young woman walked down the deck of The Contentious. Though she looked very much like a pirate, her step was that of a proper lady. Her clothes were faded and worn, dressed in a grayish blue corset and remnants of a skirt over her black pants. The skirt and top looked as though they had been very beautiful at one time. She was thin and a couple inches shorter than Rae, with long, dark brown hair, pale skin, and blue-gray eyes. She wandered down the deck for quite some time before seeing a member of the crew. Her sword clinked against her side as she approached the man, picking at his teeth with a knife.
"Tell me sir," she began. "Have you by any chance seen two men and a woman down this way?"
The man did nothing besides look at her for a brief moment and continue picking his teeth. She waited for his response, and repeated herself when she did not receive one.
"I asked you a question, have you seen-"
"There in't but one missy on this ship," he said, plainly.
"Then I suggest you tell me where she is if-"
He spit at her feet and grabbed her, holding his knife to her throat.
"What've ye got here? A girl, eh?" Another man approached, smirking with an almost amused expression at seeing the girl.
"I wasn't bothering anyone," she said, struggling against the man.
"Shut up." He told her. He held the knife firm against her throat, and the struggling ceased.
"Should we play with 'er a bit first? Inform the others?" the second man suggested. By now a few other crewmembers had taken notice of the stranger. They began to draw their weapons.
-----
Rae, Will, and Jack walked down the length of the deck on the opposite end of the ship as the girl. Rae appreciated the silence.
"We'll find him, torture him, and kill him. Then I shall hope he suffers in the depths of hell," Will's anger escalated as he broke the silence.
"He'll pay, Will," Rae gave him a reassuring smile as they walked down the deck. "Any suspects?" she asked casually.
"Quite sure," Jack kept his gaze ahead, seeming to be deep in thought.
-----
The crew stood in a circle around the man with his knife to the girl's throat.
"The captain won't be happy about this," she attempted to protest. The men laughed at her threats. In one swift move, she grabbed the man's arm and flipped him over onto his back on the deck, and pulled out her pistol. "Back away or I'll shoot," she looked around at the crew. When they failed to move, she fired the pistol, but the trigger seemed to be stuck. The men laughed once more. The man stood and punched her in the jaw. He grabbed her again and raised his knife to slit her throat. She gasped and yelled for help.
"CAPTAIN!"
Just as she yelled, a hand gripped the man's arm.
"Mr. Sparrow, she threatened the cap'n,"
Rae and Will stepped forward to the scene.
"Back to work!" Jack growled. The crew reluctantly returned to their places. He kept a hold of the pirate's arm and took his knife. "And you, mate, will do well to remember it is the captain who decides who, when, and where you will kill." The man nodded and went back to his place on the ship, mumbling under his breath. "Really bad egg, that one," Jack said, shaking his head.
Rae looked over the girl, "So we meet again,"
"Small world, isn't it?" The girl straightened herself and rubbed her neck where the knife had been. Jack kept his eyes on the girl.
"Do ye have a name, love?"
"Yes."
Jack smiled slightly, "If you'd be so kind as to share that with us,"
"Carly."
"Carly. How old are ye, Carly?"
"Nineteen."
"Captain's got two years on you then."
"I wasn't this stupid when I was that age," Rae said.
"Why are you here?" Will asked the girl.
"I followed you."
Jack furrowed his eyebrows and turned to Rae, "Well, at least she's honest,"
"Escort her off the ship won't you? We have yet to find Elizabeth's assassin," Will spoke.
"I'm well aware, and perhaps, Miss Carly here could be of some wild use to us."
"Keep her? Jack, don't you think that's the choice of a fool?" Rachel raised her eyebrows at him.
"Aye. And because I'm not a fool, it is not a fool's choice, but a foolish choice made by a dishonest man. Savvy? Still your choice though, love," he looked at Rae, leaving the decision up to her.
Rae looked at Will and Jack, before finally turning to Carly. "Welcome aboard The Contentious, Miss Carly."
