A/N: I like to thank all those who read the first chapter and reviewed it.
CharlotteKat: I'm glad you liked it. I sure hoped I continue to satisfy you. Do you have any ideas for chapters or scenes? I would really appreciate it if you submitted some ideas.
Chapter II
Típico.
I was not surprised that there were still quite a few remnants of last night's fiesta still strewn around the hall. Unfortunately for me, most of them weren't decent. They were out like burnt-out candles and when they awake, they will have horrible headaches. The number of drinks that were poured must've been equal to the amount of water in the Isle's lagoon. I only had two glasses of wine last night. I hate morning headaches from drinking. The first time I drank alcohol, I spent the next day vomiting and feeling like I was walking through a giant bucket of tar. So I try to drink semi-responsibly.
I strolled down to the beach barefoot in the morning ambiance. The cool ocean breeze, puffy clouds, and pale sunrise glow. I walked along the water. The sand between my toes, caking my feet. The wind ruffled my hair and my shift. No one was awake yet so I had no problem with prying eyes. As if it would make a difference. I am covered after all.
I breathed in the salty air of the sea. There was a gust of wind coming from the northeast that made me think of a storm. After years at sea, you tend to learn how to read the wind and tide. I hope the storm won't interfere with our plans.
"Cat! Gato!"
I turned around and as expected, Ivy was sauntering towards me. She was wearing a chemise and she was holding a pair of sheers. She must've been doing some morning gardening. Her hands weren't dirty yet. She probably just got up and walked out and saw me before getting to work.
"You're up early," I stated.
"Look who's talking," she retaliated. I had to scoff. "By the way, I didn't get the chance to ask last night. What did Barbara want to talk to you about?"
I rolled my eyes. I had no desire to talk about that. "Nothing," I lied. "She just wanted to praise me for finding those records." I didn't want to talk about Barbara giving me a claim to any boy I wished. Ivy will be all over me on that. Probably beg me to share or give over the right to her.
She seemed to believe my lie. "So have you seen Bridgit yet?" Ivy asked.
"No," I admitted. "Should we go see her now?"
Bridgit was another girl whose been here nearly as long as us. She was rescued from her abusive brothers. A week ago, she was helping mix the gunpowder and a fire burst out and she was burned in the process. She's been in the hospital ever since. I don't know about Ivy, but I haven't seen Bridgit since.
"I think we should," Ivy agreed.
We both agreed before I kicked some water up at her. She dropped her sheers and we ended up running further into the water having a splashing fight.
Ivy and I walked through the fortresses corridors wet and covered with sand. It probably wasn't a good idea to splash water on our white clothes. So we went back to our rooms to wash and change. We met in the infirmary wing.
We walked in and surprisingly, we saw Bridgit sitting up on her cot with the bandages removed. Some deep scarring was burnt into her tan skin. They weren't so bad. It would've been worse.
She saw us and grinned. "Selina, Ivy. I haven't seen you two in forever." She climbed out of her bed and hugged us. She asked us if she missed anything interesting. We told her about taking a ship as one of our own. She couldn't believe it and I explained the reason why.
We talked for a while. Our conversation switching from one topic to another. Our laughter filling the infirmary.
Our chat was interrupted by the quartermaster Butch. "Selina," he spoke out of breath. He must have been looking all over for me. "Barbara wishes to see you," he told me. "She said it's important."
Letting out an exasperated sigh, I said bye to the girls and followed Butch. He led the way to Barbara's quarters. I already knew where it was. It was on the southside of the fortress overlooking the gardens and forest. It was designed to stay away from invaders and good in case for an escape. Butch was just probably making sure I get there.
Once I was at the elegant French doors, Butch left to go do whatever it was he did. There were no guards posted which meant it was safe to go in. But, cautious as I am, I knocked first.
"Come in," Barbara's Welsh voice announced from the other side.
I opened the door and walked in. The opposite wall held the largest bay window I have ever seen. Tabitha sitting in it twirling a knife in her hand. The bed was to the left. It was about the same size as mine but it wasn't a four-poster bed. Barbara was sitting at her vanity to the right wearing her sheer white negligee and brushing her gold hair.
"Good morning Selina," she said without looking away from the mirror. I acknowledged her greeting. She spoke again after the pleasantries. "Now that we're all here, I should let you know that I'm going to hold an announcement in the great hall and I want you two by my side."
That's it?
"An announcement for what?" Tabitha asked approaching her paramour.
Barbara put her hairbrush down and stood to face the both of us and began to speak. "With the addition of the HMS Triton, I felt the need of a change of rank was needed. As I am in command of the whole Siren Fleet, I should be ranked from captain to commodore. I will still command the Siren as our flagship, for she has served us well and will continue to do so. Tabitha, you will still be my first mate, and you Selina as my second. I just need to choose someone to captain the Triton. Who do you think should it be?"
"Why not I command the Triton?" Tabitha suggested. "Since I am the most experienced and I outrank everyone else?"
"And you are more than capable to captain a ship, Tabby," Barbara praised. "But I want you by my side if something happens. Plus," she caressed Tabitha's cheek with the back of her fingers, "I like sharing the same quarters with you."
Oh, querido Señor mátame ahora.
"What about me?" I asked.
Both women looked at me.
"Oh, Selina," Barbara said sympathetically. "I didn't think you'd want to be a captain. It's very hard. Plus, your current position is much more enjoyable. You can order people around, reap the reward, and don't have to worry about the bigger responsibilities. Unless you want to be in command?"
I thought about it for a moment. True, I don't care about worrying about the duties like the crew doing their jobs correctly. I can just relax and steal what I want from our next prey. I would loathe being a captain.
"Fine," I shrugged. "I see your point. But who'll captain the other ship?"
We discussed it for a while. We threw out names of crewmembers, how long they've been with us, and their intelligence. Tabitha and Barbara were the ones who discussed the matter. I sat on the edge of the bed and occasionally voiced my opinion. The whole thing eventually grew boring and my mind wandered off. I even took out a knife I usually kept in my pocket and twirled it around.
"Alright then. The decision is made," Barbara announced which surprised me.
The Great Hall
"Attention ladies," Barbara called to the whole assembly. I and Tabitha were beside her in our usual places at the head table. "I have an important announcement to make," she continued. "With the conditions of gaining a new ship from yesterday's raid, I came to realize that we both have a flagship and a sister ship. In light of that, it seems appropriate that I should no longer be referred to as 'Captain,' but as 'Commodore Kean.'"
The crowd murmured among themselves. Barbara then went into detail about how she'll command the Siren with me and Tabitha as her two top sailors. She finally came to the part of giving the Triton a new captain. The crowd almost went mad. Many women wanted the chance of taking command. Even a few men had the gall to try, but that earned them some trouble.
"And after carefully reviewing each crewmember for their skills and experience, I came to the conclusion. The captain of the Triton will be Sofia Falcone."
I looked at Barbara and back at the crowd searching for the woman. I spotted her as she stood from her seat. Sofia Falcone is the daughter of a powerful don in Italy. She claimed that her family never trusted her to be involved in the business so she asked to join the crew.
I've never liked her. She was secretive and deceitful. Also, she keeps speaking to me like I was a child. I've been here years longer than her. I'm third in command. And she has barely ever done any hard work. I don't recall the last time she went out at sea.
Then it occurred to me. How have I not thought of that sooner? She would out-rank me now. I would still serve on the Siren with Barbara. The Triton is our second-class ship. So maybe I'll still be higher than her.
Sofia walked up to the front with a self-satisfied smirk and stopped in front of our commodore. "Thank you, my lady," she curtsied like a proper lady. She then turned to face both us and the audience. "With your permission madam," she said, "I say my first order of business is to rename the HMS Triton to something more suiting to our fleet."
I turned to Barbara to see what she thought. She stroked her chin pondering.
"Very well," she permitted. "Is there a specific name you wish to dub it?"
Sofia fully faced the awaiting audience. She spoke with the most confidence or arrogance. "I, Captain Sofia Falcone, say that the HMS Triton should be renamed, 'La Vera Regina.'" The crew applauded over the beautiful new name for our second ship.
I tried to figure out what it meant. It was obviously in Italian. Spanish and Italian have a similar base. "Regina" could be "reina" which means "queen." It must be something glamorous to make her look big and important.
Princesas, I mentally scold.
The rest of the morning was a none-stop rush of work. Despite Captainess Falcone's wishes, we couldn't rename the Triton yet. Its former name was needed for our mission. We spent the morning loading both ships. The Triton—or the, La Vera Regina—was prepared more thoroughly. For it was the most important for this job. It was armed and crewed with more men than usual. It will be our sneakiest raid so we brought aboard some more trusted men to pose as English sailors. It's our decoy ship. The Siren will be sailing far behind in case things go sideways.
To my disappointment, Barbara ordered that I was needed on the decoy ship for my skillset. Sofia gave me a smile I did not like after that.
By noon we were ready to set sail. Our destination was about a day and a half away. So it will take all afternoon, night, and the better part of the next morning to intersect with another ship. The other day when I found that map, it was planned to intersect with a cruiser from the colonies in a couple of days. The Triton was to meet up near Florida with a ship called the Calypso filled with wealthy passengers. Perfect prey. That's why I convinced Barbara to keep the ship. So we could pose as the British sailors and plunder the other. Not a bad plan if I do say so myself.
"Ugh, I hate storms," Ivy whined.
As night struck, so did the storm I sensed that morning. The sea tossed us around. The crew working overtime. I and a few of the younger girls went below deck to get out of the rain and wind.
"Me too," I say lounging in a swinging hammock. I didn't hate storms per se. If it was at sea? Then, yeah I loathe them. But at home at night when I'm sleeping, the rain is kind of relaxing.
The storm raged on all night. The crew barely got any sleep with giant waves rocking the boat everywhere. Fortunately, I slept in worse conditions on the streets.
By morning, the storm passed. The deck was completely drenched, but the so-called captain's attitude wasn't.
"Move it you sea rats," Sofia barked from her balcony. "Man your stations before I have you all keelhauled."
The men were already dressed in the scarlet British navy uniforms. Some girls also dressed in the same outfits. Some of them either cut their hair short or tucked their hair under their hats. Most of us hid below deck armed and waiting for the Calypso.
Looking through the gunport, I couldn't see anything. There was a dense layer of fog drifting over the water cloaking the horizon.
"You see anything?" Ivy asked.
"Nada," I answered. All I could see was a big wall of gray.
Time slugged by. My instincts did not give me a terrific feeling. A thick fog was ideal for an ambush. I would gladly use that for stealing, but I don't like it if it's used against me.
Something banged against the hull. I look through the cannon's window and saw a piece of driftwood floating along the side. We're in the middle of the sea, I realized. We're too far from any spot of land with any wood. Especially painted wood.
From above we heard someone shouting about a ship in the distance. Notwithstanding the orders to say below, I went above to check things out. Up on deck, I climbed up shrouds to gaze out through the thinning mist. The mass of the ship grew bigger and bigger as we drifted closer. The whole crew leaned against the railing to see.
"My God," someone gasped.
The storm must have gotten to that ship before we did. It was the Calypso alright. Her name was still prominent on her backside. The rest of her was severely damaged. The masts were broken over and the boat was half-sunken. I couldn't see anyone among the wreckage. Perhaps no one survived.
"What do you think happened to them?" I asked anyone.
"I don't know," Sofia answered annoyed. "I doubt anyone survived, however." She looked at me. Even though I was higher than her at the moment, she still stared at me as if she was looking down upon me. "Great idea, commander," She says sarcastically. "Posing as a British ship to attack another. Very successful."
I gripped the rope I was holding onto harder. I really wanted to scratch her eyes out. "Maybe we could still salvage something from there," I suggested without removing the venom in my voice.
Captain Falcone only rolled her eyes and walked away.
Some real unpleasant thoughts went through my mind. I looked back down into the water. This plan was a waste. What will Barbara say? Will she demote me? I let out a frustrated sigh. At least Sofia's first day as captain didn't turn out how she would've liked.
Below I saw a piece of what must have been the deck of the Calypso floating a few yards off. There was a body lying on it. A boy!
Out of nowhere, I yelled out, "MAN OVERBOARD!"
It all happened so fast. The crew reacted naturally. A dinghy was lowered to go retrieve the castaway.
We've managed to haul the body up on deck. He was flipped on his back and one of the girls examined him.
"He's breathing," she confirmed.
That was a relief. That would've been a horrible way to die.
For some reason, he was still unconscious. It must've been a serious blow to the head. I examined him closely. His long black hair was still plastered to his pale face. He must have been from England with that complexion. I squatted down and pushed the wet forelocks out of his surprisingly handsome face—
Dios mío!
It's him! The boy who has haunted my dreams for years. Older, taller, but it was him. It was that rich boy who watched his parents get murdered.
Bruce….
"He's kinda scrawny. Should we throw him overboard? I doubt that he'll—"
"NO!" I shouted. Should I tell them I recognized him? How would they think if I had him spared just because I knew him? I had to say something because they were staring at me. So I say the first thing that came to mind. "I claim him!"
A/N: If you guys are waiting anxiously for Even Heaven Has Demons, I'm working on it. I'm adding some detective elements to it and it's harder than I thought. How did the show's writers do it? I am hoping I'll get the next chapter of that story done this month, but writing is unpredictable.