"I feel fine," Reyna muttered. She tensed as the doctor touched her stomach. The area near her wound burned in pain, and she placed both hands to her face. A string of curses left her. Reyna didn't exactly want to visit the doctor, but she knew that Nico had been right.
"Your wound is infected," the doctor stated. Reyna didn't answer. She tensed as the doctor cleaned the wound. "You need to rest."
"I have duties!" Reyna hissed. She felt the other doctor help clean her wounds, and she buried her face in her hands. Tears of pain leaked out of her eyes, and all she wanted to do was hit the bed until her hand hurt worse than her stomach.
"You need to rest," the doctor insisted. Reyna didn't respond. She remained silent until they finally finished cleaning her wounds. One of the doctors fixed her stitches, and the other bandaged her stomach and lower back. "If you are going to work, take it easy. No sparring or fighting."
"I won't," Reyna promised. She felt one of the doctors hand her nectar, and she took it gratefully. Some of the pain faded, and the two doctors helped her to her feet. Reyna slowly put her shirt back on.
"We'll get you some medicine for the infection," one of the doctors told her. Reyna thanked them and stumbled out of the room. She walked towards her sister's room and stared at the ground. Her earlier anger had subsided into just pain. Everything hurt, and all she wanted to do was curl up into a small ball and cry. Instead, she kept walking.
When Reyna made it to Hylla's room, she felt the anger come back. It was her sister's fault that everything had gone up in flames. Why did Hylla have to sleep with any woman that she found remotely attractive? Reyna growled in anger and knocked on the door. To her surprise, it opened a moment later.
"Quartermaster," Isabella said with a mock bow. She stepped aside, and Reyna walked into the room. Hylla was laying back in her bed and watching television. It seemed to be a Spanish soap opera. Reyna raised an eyebrow and studied her older sister.
Hylla's face was pale with dark circles under her eyes. She seemed exhausted and in pain. Hylla looked at Reyna and spoke, "You should be resting."
"I'm fine," Reyna muttered. "Besides, there is a captain's meeting in about ten minutes. I figured Isabella would need my notes for it."
"Why would I need your notes?" Isabella asked. Reyna bit her tongue. She didn't need to get into an argument with Isabella about the fact that Reyna knew what she was talking about. Instead, she just crossed her arms and winced as pain shot through her. "After all, you're filling in for Hylla."
"Filling in?" Reyna echoed in confusion. Hylla nodded. Reyna slowly uncrossed her arms. "You want me to fill in? For you?"
"You'll also be acting captain when you head to Circe's island," Hylla added. Reyna stared at Hylla. What happened to her sister? Did she almost die and have one of those Christmas carol turn your life around moments? Had Hylla been replaced? Was it April Fools Day?
"Acting captain," Reyna repeated. "But, why?"
"Because you're not a kid anymore," Hylla admitted. She looked at Reyna. "You want a shot to prove yourself. This is it. Take my place in the captain's meeting and make your plan to get to Circe's island. Head there and get Arke's wings reattached. Come back here. We'll finish the last stretch together."
"Are you coming with?" Reyna asked Isabella. The pirate shook her head. "So, it will be just me?"
"Just you," Hylla confirmed. "Don't screw it up."
"I won't," Reyna promised, and she started to feel nervous. "Did you have notes for your meeting?"
"Come on little Reyna. Let's give Hylla some rest," Isabella said. She led Reyna out of the room. All Reyna could do was stare at the ground and try to process the information. Hylla was going to have her act as a captain all by herself, and Reyna could not screw it up.
"What changed Hylla's mind?" Reyna asked. She glanced at Isabella. The pirate shrugged and grabbed a can of chewing tobacco from her pocket. Reyna grimaced. "I know that you know."
"I don't know anything, little Reyna. I just know that Hylla wants you to act as a captain," Isabella said with another shrug. Reyna frowned. "You have more things to worry about than Hylla's thought process."
"Was it the pain medicine?" Reyna asked. Isabella gave her an accusing look. "Fine. Sorry. What should I know about the meeting?"
"We usually run over our latest raids. Hylla hands out assignments, and we talk about you a lot," Isabella informed. Reyna gave her own accusing look. "I'm serious. You're our favorite topic."
"Hilarious," Reyna muttered. She glanced at her watch. "I have to get some notes. I'll be there soon."
Isabella scoffed and walked away. Reyna cursed and hurried down the hall. She pushed past the other pirates until she made it towards their docks. Reyna hurried towards her ship and said a few greetings to the pirates who were finishing up repairs.
Reyna hurried below deck and ignored the pain starting to build in her stomach. She made it to her office and grabbed a few of her notebooks and files. Reyna stuffed them into her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. She hissed as it brushed against the bandage on her back.
The pain didn't matter though. Reyna needed to focus on the meeting. Why did Hylla want her to run the captain's meeting? It was probably one of the most important things that she did. It set the tone for the next month, which could snowball into the next few months as well. Reyna hurried off of the ship and tried to focus her thoughts.
Reyna walked towards the meeting room and tried to keep her calm. She knew all about the raids that the captains went on. Reyna received plans of raids from some of their researchers, and she would work out the finer details before passing them off to Hylla. Her sister would decide which captain got it, and Reyna would get to have a briefing with that captain. After the raid was done, Reyna would receive a list of the spoils.
Each crew kept most of their cut, but some of it did go to the treasury that Hylla used to keep things running. She had an accountant for that, but Reyna couldn't get one for her other duties. When Hylla was better, they were going to have a talk about the accountant thing.
Reyna walked towards the meeting room and saw that Isabella was already there. Gillsworth was sitting by her and playing with his pipe. Filinore looked up from her book and frowned as she saw Reyna. Instead of being intimidated, Reyna slowly took her backpack off and dug through it.
"Where's Hill?" Reyna asked. She glanced at her watch. Reyna had barely made it in time, but Hill was nowhere in sight. No one answered her, and a soft sigh left Reyna. "Does anyone know?"
"Better question. Where is Hylla?" Filinore asked. She crossed her arms.
"Hylla is resting under doctor's orders. She told me that I'm in charge of the meeting," Reyna said. She heard the door open, and she turned her head. Hill walked in and looked at her in surprise. "You're late."
"Sorry bout that, quartermaster," Hill said, but he didn't look too sorry. Reyna gritted her teeth and watched him sit down. Hill didn't even look at her, but he did pull out his own book and flip through it. "Where's the captain?"
"Resting. I'm in charge of the meeting," Reyna said. Hill snickered and looked back at his book. Reyna glared at him. "Put the book away."
"It's going to be more entertaining than watching you stumble through this," Hill said. He looked up and seemed to think about it. "Maybe not."
Reyna ignored the jab and spoke, "Assuming Isabella hasn't told you, the heist was a success. We have the wings for Arke, but she needs magic to reattach the wings. Hylla wants us, well me, to go to Circe's island."
"Wait. You and that little horsey of yours?" Hill asked. Reyna took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. She needed to keep her temper.
"No. While Hylla is resting, I will be acting as captain for her. I will take her ship and crew to Circe's island, help reattach the wings, and meet back here for the last step," Reyna said. Filinore leaned back in her chair and studied Reyna. Gillsworth raised an eyebrow, but Hill laughed like he found something funny. "Are you amused, Hill?"
"You're going to get the ship sunk in five minutes!" Hill mocked. "You're nothing more than a spoiled, temperamental child. Do you understand that Hylla only has you as her quartermaster because she can fix any mistakes you might make?"
"Hill," Isabella began.
"No," Reyna interrupted. She walked towards Hill and clenched her fist tightly. "You can insult me all you want, when I am back to being a quartermaster. When I am acting as captain in Hylla's place, you will treat me with the same respect that you give her. Otherwise, you don't have to worry about Hylla punishing you for your disrespect. I will flog you myself."
Reyna stared into Hill's eyes as she spoke. He stared back for a few moments, but he finally looked away. Reyna glared at him. She spoke, "Am I understood?"
"Yeah. Sorry quarter- acting captain," Hill corrected himself last second. He sunk back into his seat and crossed his arms. Reyna took a few steps backwards and looked at the other captains.
"What's the reports on the last raids?" Reyna asked. She dug through her backpack and pulled out her notebook filled with notes on their raids. Reyna slowly sat down and winced as fresh pain shot through her body. She bit her bottom lip. "Gillsworth?"
"Well, we had to break a few stalls, but those merchants will leave the dock hands alone," Gillsworth said. Reyna frowned. "Ah, sorry. Captain Hylla didn't tell you. It was a last minute job. Some of those merchants down at Samos were harassing the fishers and dock hands. We were asked to help, and while we never really want to piss of merchants, those asses always stiffed us anyway."
"So, you destroyed their stalls?" Reyna asked. Gillsworth nodded. Reyna studied him. They used Samos as a place to dock and act as a base the few times they made their way down to Greece. "I'm assuming we still have a place to dock."
"Oh yeah. We didn't rough up the merchants too bad," Gillsworth said. "We just got a promise or two from them, and they are going to leave the dock hands and fishers alone. Those dock hands were pretty grateful and offered help anytime we roll back into town."
"We handled the remnants of the Vanguards," Filinore said. Reyna nodded. The Vanguards were a group of pretenders who had worked with Gaea months ago. Hylla helped kill their captain, and the survivors scattered. Hylla took it as a personal insult and had been hunting them down ever since. "People will say that ghost ship appeared one night, and bodies were found the next morning."
"Good. Hill, how did the last raid go?" Reyna asked. Hill looked at her.
"Quite well. We pulled up alongside the cruise ship and asked for all of the valuables they had. Everything was promptly handed over, and the list is in your office," Hill replied. Reyna nodded. The cruise ship belonged to a corrupt family of pure bastards that dealt with slaves and other terrible things. It was nice to take from those who didn't deserve it. "Ah. They also think we are from the Vanguards. We won't be able to blame them anymore, but it was fun doing it while we could."
"I've been sitting around waiting for a quartermaster," Isabella said with a shrug. Reyna gave her a look. "I do have concerns about Kendall. Is she really ready for the job?"
"She will be when I'm done with her," Reyna promised. She dug through her backpack and pulled out a few files on the next raids. A soft curse almost left her as she only saw two files. Hill exchanged looks with Gillsworth.
Reyna gritted her teeth. She had meant to finish the last of the files for the captains, but with everything that happened, it had slipped her mind. Reyna shoved one of the files towards Hill and the other towards Gillsworth. She couldn't look up to meet Filinore's eyes.
"Hill, Iris herself has requested that we bring supplies to her. Something for an experiment. You have to pick up the items from a vendor near Mexico. Then, you'll head to Iris and bring it to her. She's a high profile client, and we like to have those extended Iris messages. Make sure that you put on the charm," Reyna said. Hill winked at her.
"Gillsworth, there are some people bothering our clients in Italy. Find out who they are and what they want. Don't worry about being quick and quiet. We want a message to be sent," Reyna said. Gillsworth smirked and nodded.
"I'm assuming that I'm not getting in on any of the fun?" Filinore questioned. Reyna looked up and remained silent. Filinore sighed and muttered something in Russian. Reyna assumed it was some kind of insult, but she just averted her eyes.
"I didn't get a chance to finish ironing out the details of your next job," Reyna began.
"What do you have so far?" Filinore asked. Reyna didn't answer. "Well, there is no need for me to be at this meeting anymore. I guess you'll have company Isabella."
"You'll get used to it," Isabella said with a shrug. "I'm stuck here till Kendall is trained. Gods above help me."
"You're dismissed. All of you. I'll be heading out with Hylla's ship in two days," Reyna said. She leaned on the table and stared at it. As the captains filed out, she waited for their footsteps to fade. Then, she slammed her fist into the table. How could she forget to even begin looking at a raid for Filinore? How was she already screwing up?
"Hylla forgets things all the time," Isabella commented. Reyna jumped and turned around. Isabella was leaning on the door frame and studying her. "There is no need to beat yourself up about it. You did good."
"I did terrible!" Reyna argued. She pressed her fist back into the table. "Did you need something?"
"I just don't want you to beat yourself up too badly," Isabella answered. "No one expects perfection from you. The only thing you can do is calm down and try your best. Oh, and the queen of the Amazons is waiting on a message from Hylla. Considering I slipped sleeping pills in her water, you're going to have to send the message."
"What is the message about?" Reyna asked. She turned towards Isabella, but the pirate just shrugged. "You don't know?"
"Hylla always tells us to leave her alone. I guess it's top secret business," Isabella said. Reyna nodded and went to leave, but Isabella gently grabbed her arm. Reyna looked at her. "Seriously, calm down. You're going to do great."
"Thanks," Reyna said after a few moments. Isabella let go of her and walked away. Reyna sighed and hurried towards her office. She knew that Hylla messaged Kinzie at least once a week, but she never knew what they talked about. Hylla always kicked her out of the room at that point. The only thing Reyna knew about the messages was that it happened at the same time each week.
Reyna made it to her office and sighed tiredly. She dropped her backpack near her desk and debated curling up on the ground. Instead, she walked towards her desk and grabbed a golden drachma. Nervousness ran through her. Talking to the other captains was one thing. They didn't have any expectations of her. Talking to Kinzie was a whole different beast. She had to make a good impression.
"Oh Iris, accept my offering," Reyna began. She gripped the coin and then tossed it towards the fountain. "Show me Kinzie at the Amazon base."
Reyna watched the mist form an image. Nervousness formed in her gut. What did Hylla and Kinzie even talk about? Did they talk about moving supplies? Possible recruits? Routes that the pirates could take? Reyna received her answer as the mist formed the image of the queen of the Amazons, and Reyna's eyes widened.
It should have been obvious, really. Reyna should have known better. Hylla usually let her sit in on business meetings and had even dragged her into the room to be a part of a few. There was really only one reason that Hylla would want to be alone for a few hours once a week.
As Reyna stared at Kinzie, her brain told her to look away. It was practically grabbing her shoulders and screaming at her, but all she could do was stare at the very very naked Kinzie in front of her. Well, the queen of the Amazons wore her belt, but it was the only thing that she wore. Something in Reyna's brain finally worked, and she looked away.
"I'm sorry," Reyna began. Her face was quickly heating up, and she knew that she was completely red. She couldn't even look at Kinzie. "I didn't realize. If I had known, I wouldn't have. Oh gods. I thought this was a business meeting."
"I'm so sorry," Reyna continued. She stared at the ground and tried to get that image out of her head. Reyna was going to strangle Isabella for reminding her to send the message, and then, she was going to strangle Hylla for messaging Kinzie and doing gods know what during that message. "Oh gods. I'm so sorry, Kinzie."
"Did something happen to Hylla?" Kinzie asked after a few moments. Reyna took a shaky breath. "You can look now."
Reyna wanted to look back at the Iris message, but she was too embarrassed to. All she did was stare at the table. Reyna finally spoke, "She got injured pretty badly a few days ago. She'll recover, but I'm filling in. I thought these calls were business related."
"We do talk business, after pleasure," Kinzie answered. Reyna gripped the table and nodded. "It's okay, Reyna. Mistakes happen."
"Can we reschedule the business part of this?" Reyna asked quietly. She finally managed to look up. Kinzie was now wearing a robe and looked just as embarrassed as Reyna felt.
"Yeah. We can," Kinzie answered. She smiled slightly, but Reyna's face was still red. "Can you thank Hylla for the birthday gift? I just got them a few hours ago."
"It's your birthday soon, right?" Reyna asked. It had been all too easy to steal the daggers that belonged to the original queen of the Amazons from the Avenicci vault, send them to Kinzie, and pretend it was from Hylla. Someone had to remember the birthday of the woman that Hylla was madly in love with. Kinzie nodded and smiled. "I'll tell her you said thanks. Have a good night."
"You too," Kinzie said. Reyna ran her hand through the Iris message and then collapsed into her chair. She buried her face in her hands.
Reyna's face was still burning red, and she felt completely embarrassed. She was going to hurt Hylla for doing this to her. All Hylla had to do was give her some kind of warning. All Hylla had to do was tell Reyna that her friend with benefits liked to message her naked, and the two would do whatever heathen things they did together. Why did Reyna message Kinzie?
Reyna slowly lowered her hands and stared at her desk. She finally rested her head against it and sighed. The only thing she could do now was bury herself in paperwork and hope that she could get those images out of her head. Reyna let out another sigh. It was going to be a long night.