"The Jolly Roger?!" Eliza put a slender finger over Lewis' lips, narrowing her emerald eyes at him, warning him to hush up. The man huffed and crossed his arms over his chest before continuing in a lower tone. "Not that I want t' offend ye, Cap'n, but ye 're gonna get bilged by yer anchor¹." Lewis raised an eyebrow, a skeptical look taking over his features. "Ye do 'now that Cap'n Hook is ne'er goin' to willin'ly giv' up his ship. 'less ye plan on blowin' the man down², Cap'n."
"I'm not going to kill him, relax." Eliza scoffed and brushed her fingers along her coal ringlets of hair. "I'll just—take over his ship while him and his crew are drunk." She added, though it sounded a bit uncertain. It was quite a shot in the dark. "You know he's known for always supporting a grog blossom³ and to be loaded to the gunwalls⁴ whenever he sets foot on land."
"D' ye really think that 'ill work?" Lewis sighed heavily as the captain nodded, a wide grin adorning her lips. "Well, I trust yer judgement, Cap'n. I'll 'ssemble a crew as quick as I can."
"Thank you, Finch. Are there any remaining men from my c—" Eliza was interrupted (rudely, she might have even thought) by a loud bang, her shoulders slightly jerking up at the sudden noise. She quickly wipped her head around, eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the sound of wood clashing against wood. All eyes seemed to be trained on the door and her gaze promptly followed everyone else's.
There, standing with a stern look on his face, was a tall, handsome and well-built man with the bluest eyes Eliza had ever seen, clad in a crimson vest with black decorations woven on the fabric and what seemed to be a puffed sleeved shirt underneath, a long, leather coat with triangular shapes, much like the sails of a ship, some sort of long necklace and a leather belt that secured his sword. Black boots covered his feet and his hair was messy, handsomely so, and his beard was already an inch long. There was a small, black piece pierced on his right earlobe and two rings adorned his right hand.
His left hand was replaced by a—Hook. Crap. Eliza groaned inwardly, her index finger and thumb pinching the bridge of her nose. Well, there goes my plan. She thought sourly. Or perhaps not. Maybe that even contributed to her plan; she could make sure he passed a new determination, she smirked widely, her perfect white pearls peeking from behind her lush lips.
"Who was the bloody idiot that let his boat crash against my ship and tarnish its paint?" Hook all but snarled, his handsome features contorted with a scowl, blue irises ablaze with annoyance and anger. And the plan, once again, just weighed anchor⁵ and sailed away. Eliza frowned and cleared her throat – already knowing that he was referring to her small tub. She stood up from her seat as Lewis glanced at her questioningly, though his posture had changed if there was a need to defend his captain.
"That would be I, Mister Hook." The female pirate drawled with a blank face, her expression neutral and almost seemingly disinterested, accent heavy on the few words. A flash of bewilderment – perhaps at her unusual accent or, well, the fact that she was a woman or at least one that wasn't offering herself up to any men in the island – appeared on Hook's cerulean eyes but it went as quick as it came, promptly going back to mirroring his pique.
He took long strides towards Eliza, a few men of his crew close behind. Lewis immediately got up, a grimace marring his dirty face and a deathly glare on his coal-like eyes, ready to protect Eliza. The female pirate stood straight, her demeanor matching Hook's own, exuding authority and self-confidence, hands on her hips and chest puffed out; glares clashed and quick once overs were exchanged.
Hook offered a cocky smirk, pose slightly more relaxed – which aggravated Eliza more. "And who might you be, love, to possess such a mighty—ship?" His smirk widened even more at the pure look of anger on Eliza's face, his crew snickering behind him.
"Captain Hart. And that... boat is simply temporary." She declared with a huff, arms crossing over her chest. Hook glanced appreciatively at her bosom, pissing her off even more. Which in turn amused him further.
"And how, may I ask, do you plan to get a ship, Captain?"
"Wouldn't you like to know, Hook?" It was Eliza's turn to smirk, her chin held high, challenging the other pirate. Hook frowned and scoffed, his face hard once more.
"How do you intend to pay for the damages, Hart?" He chose to ignore her last inquiry, a quiet murmur of "captain hart" quickly following through Eliza's gritted teeth. Hook grinned widely. "With a visit to my chambers?" The female pirate scowled, deciding to turn a deaf ear to his last question as well.
"I have a few... savings. I can pay for it. I don't want to be the cause of any... disagreements or fights."
"Aw, but those are always so much fun, love." Eliza cocked an eyebrow, clearly not impressed. "But very well. Though my chambers are always available."
"Don't push it, Hook." The latter held up his hands in mock-surrender, a playful smirk adorning his lips. Eliza started heading for the door, Lewis merely a few steps behind, but was stopped by a sudden hand grabbing her forearm. The female pirate quickly drew her sword and held it up to Hook's chin, his adam's apple bobbing up and down slowly, cerulean eyes focused on the impressing piece. Lewis silently growled behind her.
"Quite a heavy sword for a lady, no?"
"I'm not a damsel, I'm a pirate." Hook smirked, in spite of himself.
"Should I be afraid?" Eliza's emerald eyes narrowed into slits and she lowered her sword as the other pirate slowly let go of her arm. "How do I know you won't simply run away and not pay me?"
"It's not like I carry around my savings." The one-handed man's eyes depicted how amused he was with the whole situation and Eliza kept a steady gaze on the latter, blue clashing with green. She gulped quietly, praying Hook would buy the lie.
"... Alright. Be back soon, though, love. I will miss such an alluring sight." He said with another appreciative glance at her body. Eliza sneered and if it weren't for the relief of the other believing her (which truly perplexed her), she would have surely whacked him.
With one last curt nod, she left the pub, Lewis in tow. Outside it was already dark and she thanked the heavens for it – it would make her task easier. Eliza faced her quartermaster and murmured, "Be here with a crew in half an hour."
"Aye, Cap'n." The man nodded and hurriedly walked away in search for enough men – and if he was lucky enough, the ones that had survived.
Forty-five minutes later, Eliza was pacing on the harbor, waiting for Lewis to come back with, hopefully, a crew – they needed to make haste if they wanted to take over the Jolly Roger. With a quick glance to the town, the pirate saw her quartermaster coming her way with, thankfully, sufficient men for a crew.
"I thought I said half an hour?" Lewis sheepishly shrugged his shoulders as Eliza rolled her emerald eyes. The men all silently lined up beside each other as Eliza quietly inspected them – with one heavy sigh, she nodded. It would have to do on such short notice.
"I promise you – all of you – if we successfully take over this ship," A pause to point at the Jolly Roger, "we'll be rich." Eliza grinned as the men excitedly murmured between each other before letting out a collective "Aye!". "Very well, then! It's a very simple plan, my friends. Climb the ropes, enter the ship, cut the ropes, pull up the anchor and sail away." With another joint shout, the men started clambering up the ropes.
"Cap'n, 're ye sure this 's goin' t' work?" Lewis was hesitant. Understandably, so. The female pirate sighed.
"I hope so. Whenever something seems easy, it never is." Her quartermaster grunted in response as they waited for their turn to climb up onto the ship.
A few minutes later, the entire crew, Eliza and Lewis included, was inside the enormous ship – and what a beautiful ship it was. The emerald eyed pirate let out a dreamy sigh as she longingly caressed a mast. No need to be sour, she thought, the ship is ours, now. She grinned widely as the crew started cutting the ropes and pulling up the anchor.
Eliza clasped her hands behind her back as she started exploring the ship – a few seconds later, she found herself on what seemed to be the captain's chambers. It had a cozy feeling to it – with a simple bed and an exquisitely carved desk, with charts and maps strewn over it, and a few decorations here and there. She threw herself onto the bed, her front facing the ceiling – Eliza heaved a content sigh, her eyelids slowly sliding shut.
A couple minutes later, however, her peace was disrupted by a commotion outside. But before she could even furrow her eyebrows and sit up, someone cleared their throat from the door. Only then did she get up, though her eyes remained shut, thinking it was her quartermaster. Footsteps could be heard.
"Finch, what's all t—" She started as she opened her eyes.
Blue irises, merely inches away from her own, were the first thing she saw. And bloody hell was the first thing she thought.