Chapter 7 - India

The area of Arabian sea was really hot. Sometimes even the air felt heavy. Holly was overheating; for sure she experienced a bad heatstroke as she was sick and sweating like crazy. Her wife tried to provide as much liquid she could manage. It was not a bad idea to have a water barrel in a net lowered down into cold sea. Gail's arms gained some more muscles as she was pulling and letting down the net to get cold drinking water. Since she spent her life on the sea, she was used to different climate zones from the time she was little, for the healer being the first time outside of her home on the land of the far west, she had it bad now on the eastern sea. Fortunately the port was not that far away now.

"What is that funny smell?" asked Holly getting out of the cabin to breathe some fresh air. She had dark circles under her eyes, she looked very tired, alas at least she could move now.

"Is it a good smell or bed smell for you?" wondered her spouse waiting for the answer.

"Too much at once, yet not really bad."

"It's spice, we are reaching India," explained the blonde sailor with a smile. "Usually we dock on the other side, but first you need some serious cooling and then Mother wanted to show you the most popular port. Welcome to Mumbai."

They already could hear the noise of people being busy at the port. As they were docking, the physician was amazed by the traders around and buyers milling between them looking at the displayed goods. "Wow."

"Come," the blonde took her hand and dragged her out.

"Gail, you duties!" called the captain reminding her daughter of her punishment.

"Yeah, I know, just give me a few, I am taking Holly outside!" she called back and descended the rope ladder. She held her arms up just in case her partner would have troubles due to the lack of strength, but Holly seemed to get down just fine. "So if you go from this dock to the left, you will reach the main street and believe me you will love it. But first get some umbrella or a broad hat. There should be a stand about quarter of a mile to east. Then go down the road until you meet a middle aged woman with red hair, usually crazy hairstyle and a huge ceramic bowl mixing a juice. It looks weird but tastes great, so get the large cup of it and drink a lot. Not sure what they put in it nor I want to know, but it is refreshing. Do not leave the main street until someone of us finds you to give you a proper tour. I am going to deal with the port permission and set the stand."

"In India? I thought it was Andy's and Traci's territory. I recon Jerry would take over Andy."

"Nah, Mother does not let couples sell together. Since I bailed off in the Cape Town I have extra work to do, but it is fine," she smiled trying to convince not only her wife but herself as well. Boring desk duty was not her thing. Actually no one's really.

"Wait, you bailed off because you were preparing that fairy place," remembered the physician with a little frown. It was awesome experience for her yet it seemed her dearly beloved had to pay for it.

"Yeah well, I should have held my hormones and taken care of the ship and crew first."

"You did take great care of the crew," smiled Holly seductively. "Very good care."

"I hope that part of the crew appreciates it, the rest does not really care," she winked. "But it is alright, it was worth any punishment."

"You did it for me, it is my fault. I will stay with you."

"No, you go and explore, have fun. I have been here before, I know this place." She kissed her lips gently and returned on the board of the ship. Oh, how much she disliked sitting around waiting for random people to buy something, mostly they were just ogling but not buying anything anyway.

They set the permission, paid for a selling spot and went to prepare the stand. Fortunately after so many years they had the right equipment by now, big table, comfortable chairs and a large umbrella.

Gail was not very skilled in the local language; fortunately since it was a British colony a lot of people knew at least some English. However when Traci was present, more locals were willing to buy since she spoke Hindu pretty well. Nevertheless as her mother said it was never too late to learn something new, like knowing five languages of the Old Land was not enough. Ah well, life cannot be sweet all the time, yet from the time Holly had entered hers, the world seemed much brighter, happier.

She closed her eyes and thought of her special someone with a smile on her face. A little daydreaming could not do much harm.

The physician was in awe as she saw all the strange goods which was offered for sale. She recognised a few kinds of spice however most of them remained unknown with interesting smell. That is how Oliver found her hovering over several bowls and examining them; he approached her and stood by her side.

"Something caught your attention, Darling?" he asked with a smile. Oh, the wonder of the unknown due to youth was always a beautiful sight for him. There were not many things which could surprise him these days; nevertheless he could remember the feeling when he had arrived in India for the first time. All was so strange, the smell so new and exciting.

"Well, almost everything," laughed Holly, sipping the lemonade her pirate girl had recommended earlier. It tasted really great and refreshing.

"So, where do you want to go first?" he asked. Obviously he got the honour to be her guide for the first day. "I will need some spice for the kitchen, but that can be bought before we depart, it is not like the locals would run out of it," he smiled.

"What about gifts for your girls?" asked the physician knowing how much the father loved his kids and always looked for something new to bring them back from his travels.

"Izzy wanted a crocodile, so that has to wait until we reach Australia, before that, we will see what comes my way for the little ones. But this is your first time here, so tell me your wishes."

"I would like to know more about local herbs and medicine," admitted the young woman with a blush. Her love for studies could not be denied.

The sailor laughed heartily. "Of course you would. You are a sage after all."

Indeed India was an excited place. What little the young woman read in books could not compare to what she was experiencing at that moment.

For the day, they took the exploration easy as the healer was still getting over the heatstroke; the next day was spent mostly in shades too becoming a very faithful customer of the lady with a crazy hairstyle which looked like the buns were made a decade ago and never since the hair had been combed. When the physician came for the refreshing drink on the third day as well, she also received a fried something in a triangle shape. Holly was hesitant, as her wife recommended not asking what was in the drink. It was fine since the pirate girl already had knew the mysterious liquid, however the brunette was not keen on risking her newly recovered health getting food poisoning. Nonetheless she did not want to offend the otherwise kind lady, therefore she took a bite.

Her eyes went wide like plates and her taste buds rejoiced. She hummed contently and bit again. It may be the hunger for not eating a solid food in days but this one was splendid. She tried analysing what was inside, so far she recognised potato, carrot, peas and some spice. Except the fact that the food was fried it seemed light otherwise. She gave the lady a thumb up and nodded in appreciation. The older woman smiled proudly and offered her another piece. Holly accepted it and bought one more cup of the lemonade and brought it to her wife with sparkling eyes. "Guess what I found?"

"Oh, samosas, I love these," said Gail happily and almost inhaled the offered meal. "Thank you, where did you get these anyway? And don't tell me you decided to experiment on food right after you were feeding sharks for two days."

"Oh no," the healer quickly defended herself, "the lady with a crazy hairstyle offered me to taste these yummies."

"She should open an inn or whatever the people have here. Not only she has the best drink but she can also cook," agreed the sailor with a smile. The food was great and she was expert on meals.

"Didn't you know? You said you were here before?" wondered Holly.

Her partner only shook the head munching on the last bit. "Nope, she must have started cooking recently."

"Speaking of food, what can I eat here anyway? It shouldn't be anything heavy, my stomach is still sensitive," asked the taller of them carefully. She liked experimenting and tasting most of the local foods wherever they were, however she usually was not sick before.

"The good thing is that Indian cuisine considers chicken, sometimes lamb and lots of vegetable. So you are good here, just be careful of the spice. I know you like spicy but some of the stands here have very different measurement and even mild can be hot. Anyway I have to say the variety of food and combination is awesome, oh and not to mention their bread, but you need to find a good baker, otherwise it is like chewing a rag."

"I think you like it here mostly because of the food," commented the brunette with a suspicious spark in her eyes. They both chuckled. Of course. "Pity you cannot come with me now when the market is still open."

"Actually… Hey Traci," she called for her co-seller. "Will you cover for me for about half an hour?"

"Will you take care of Leo for the evening?" she counteroffered without opening her eyes, still lazily leaning against the back rest, her fingers entwined together lying on her stomach as she was enjoying the sun rays kissing her face.

The blonde looked at her partner who shrugged and nodded. "It's a deal." She snatched for her hat, took the healer's right hand and set off. They had only short time to explore the rush time of the market together and so much food to taste.

It was almost an hour later when Holly urged her partner back to her duties, she really did not want to push the superintendent's temper and also she wanted to stay on her good side despite rebellious captain's daughter.

When the sun set down and the sellers were packing for the day, Jerry came with Leo to help Traci with the cleaning. The boy was excited when he heard he would spend some times with his favourite adult friends. Actually it was hard to say whose eyes sparkled in joy more, if Leo's or his adoptive father's. Jerry considered the child his own son and loved him such however having a kid did not leave the adults much of alone time.

"So, my love, what about a romantic dinner at Preet's?" suggested the male sailor and raised his eyebrows in suggestion.

"Oh dear Aphrodite, have mercy," commented the blonde woman and rolled her eyes. She squatted down to the youngest member of their crew. "Leo, let's have some fun."

"Yay," rejoiced the boy still blissfully oblivious to an adult life and needs. He took Gail's left hand and reached for Holly's right, he looked up and smiled broadly. "Let's go. I seed this really cool playground."

"Saw," corrected him both his mother and the healer at the same time.

"Stupid English," murmured the kid then he looked at the physician. "Holly, you must teach me Indian, it sounds much cooler."

"I do not know Hindu yet. It is my first time here," she reminded him in a gentle tone.

"But you are the sage, you know everything," he argued his chocolate orbs looked up full of expectation. It seemed their first encounter was a step aside when the boy was chivalrously protecting the blond sailor's pride. As the time passed, how much he loved Gail for her childishness yet she was strong and cool, just as much he became to love Holly for her wisdom and the way she showed him the knowledge and meaning of wonders and fears. His world was full of wonders and not much of fears these days. Thunders, sharks, whales, kraken, reptiles, spiders, he feared none of them anymore.

Holly bent down to his level. "Even a sage must keep learning, which also means to learn the local culture and games. Let's join some kids, learn their games and then team up against them," she suggested mischievously with a wink.

The boy jumped in joy and agreed clasping his hand happily. He led the way to the playground he had seen earlier to enjoy the evening with his favourite adults.

On the fourth day, Holly was good enough to explore the place on her own, however recommended to stay close to the main street where there were enough people and she would not get lost.

It was fine by her, the only side stop was the apothecary, where she needed to pick up a few herbs, ointments and tinctures she ordered earlier. She did not want to bother anyone anymore, therefore with a held breath she went to the pharmacy, looking around for any danger and her lungs did not get proper amount of air until she reached the main street again.

As a reward, she stopped at the lady with a crazy hairstyle and ordered drinks and samosas. While waiting she looked back at the sellers on the street and just observed the life around. She was caught up in the moment too much to notice someone sneaking behind her and throwing a bag above her head. Before she could react and self-defend herself, she was smacked in the head losing consciousness.

It was not like her dearly beloved spouse to come after the closing time. The sailor was more looking around than packing the stand; however she was not able to calm her nerves. Once finished, she practically rushed out to the main street, searching around here and there, she even went to the pharmacy, but the healer was nowhere to be found. Or the people really did not understand. Oh it would be so much easier if she had a picture of Holly with her.

At the end she asked Traci for help with translation, alas neither that was getting them any closer finding her special someone.

She was getting desperate; hopefully cooling off would help her mind; therefore she visited their favourite shop with refreshments. The always smiley seller looked at the customer and gesticulated to Gail's sad eyes. The blonde pointed at her ring finger and shrugged, and then she moved left and right and shrugged again. She motioned her hands palms up "poof". She felt like playing a pantomime with a few words she had managed to catch so far; who knew, maybe the lady saw something, well that was if she understood the sailor's performance.

The older woman went inside her hut and came back with a younger man, most probably her son according to their facial features. "Hello Madam, something wrong?" he asked.

Gail's heart fluttered, someone spoke English, what a relief. "My partner disappeared, I am afraid something happened to her. I cannot find her anywhere."

The guy translated her worries to his parent. She urgently replied something pointing somewhere to the north.

"My mother said she left up there," he gesticulated at the same direction.

The lady kept talking and picked up a cup and placed it back. She spoke fast and moved her hands all around.

"Your friend purchased drink and leaved," he kept looking from one woman to another and then spoke in Hindu to his mother who was pulling his shirt like she had a point to make. "Yeah, she purchased and leaved that way. Mother think not good idea."

Gail thanked for the info, took her cup and went back to her mates in thoughts. If she was about to go on a search party, she needed a back-up. As she approached their ship, she noticed Leo playing something with a boy. She watched them for a moment and then rushed to Traci.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt," she barged into her room hardly knocking. Fortunately both of her comrades were fully clothes. "I think Leo can help. Don't worry, nothing dangerous, but kids are like rats, in a good way, they are everywhere and see everything and they have their own language. He can ask his new friends if they have seen something suspicious," she explained her idea in one breath.

"Gail, I really don't like that idea," replied Traci in worries.

"Yeah, me neither, but I like losing Holly even less," she noted strongly. "Come on Traci, we will be just a few steps behind the little guy, he will be save," her voice softened yet stayed strong.

"Who is 'we'?" wonder the dark skinned sailor weighing the options.

"All of us. I am evoking the alarm," her friend replied quickly and rushed out indeed alarming the others.

Leo was not very keen on talking to other strangers. He was a shy boy, but once Gail explained the situation of their missing favourite sage and that everybody else would be close, he was willing to help.

The physician finally woke up, her head was aching like run by a train or a ship which rolled on the land and she was under it. The brunette tried to remember what happened. There was a stop for her usual refreshment and samosas, waiting for her order she had been enjoying the view at the sea when someone put a bag over her head and hit her hard. The next she knew, she woke up in a cell. Looking around, her eyes noticed some kind of a cage as her new accommodation. There were other three cells with young women inside.

Just great, human trafficking. When she had her mind on getting to know the world and travel, this was certainly not what he had imagined neither.

The healer looked around the room, except the three cages, there was a simple table with a chair and a riffle leant against a wall behind. A small window on the left could be an alternative escape exit as the door was on the right. The sage now looked at the cage carefully to see if she could figure out how to get rid of the door. She shook it and watched the hinges.

Just then a man entered the room. He smiled evilly. "Oh, you awake," he said in rough English. "Good, sultan come see you. I have high hope for you, good money," he smirked and then looked at the other two women and back at the traveller. "They be local, nothing special, maybe slaves or sluts. You," he pointed at the physician with his forefinger and laughed, "you strange, different, unusual. Very good money." The brute sat down on the chair and put his feet on the table, leaning in; he looked Holly up and down.

The healer was thinking hard. She tried to suppress the uncomfortable feeling of being watched by a creep, most likely to be sold to a sultan and never see her wife and friends and family again. "Is bigamy even legal here?" she asked harshly. It had already worked in their favour once.

The guard folded his hands on his chest. "You have man?" he asked frowning.

"I am married, yes," she confirmed still looking around and thinking hard, Here must be something I can work with.

The man took the riffle, for a moment Holly froze on the spot in believe that he would use it on her. "If he come for you, he be dead. You single again. If he not come, nobody care." He put down the gun, pulled something jingly and shiny out of his pocket and started looking at it as it would have the secrets of the world. Well, most probably he was figuring out the price of that piece of trinket. What a life, black market, money, rich customers, creating lies about the origin of the jewellery to increase the rate.

The healer sat down on the floor pulling her knees to her chest. She had no doubt that her dear partner would look for her, but it could get her killed. Alright, maybe she had a moment for panic of which it needed to be taken care first to be able to act properly later. When it passed she would be able to think rationally and get herself out of this mess, hopefully taking the other prisoners out as well.

Why did people like kidnapping was beyond reasoning. She was not special, just a sage who preferred to sit with books. Apart from her parents, 15th Division was the only place she felt she could live and enjoy the people, yet tomes were her save haven. Her mind drifted off if she ever read a book how to pick a lock or bend a bar. Maybe she was not so hopeless after all.

The crew was divided into three groups. Only Chloe stayed put to on the ship just in case the physician would return.

Gail and Elaine were several steps ahead, heading to the north way as suggested earlier by the lady with a crazy hairstyle; secretly watching Leo who nodded if they kept the correct way.

Traci and Jerry were just a few steps behind their child, pretending to look at the stores as the kid was talking to his peers.

Oliver, Dov and Chris closed their group at the back.

It took time and the blond sailor was getting restless, the sun was slowly setting down and they still had no more info as they seemed stuck at a dead end when all the kids advised that they had not seen anything beyond the point of the main street. Gail had the urge to take the matter in her own hands and follow her guts when she noticed a girl hiding behind a tree. She tapped Leo's shoulder and directed him that way.

This time, Gail went with him. The girl refused to speak in front of an adult; therefore she stepped back but did not leave her eyes from them. She saw as the girl picked up a stick and started drawing something in the dirt. Out of patience the blonde came closer and peeked at the picture. When the local kid noticed how close the stranger was, she got up and ran away.

"Shoot, sorry," the fair haired sailor apologised. "What did she say?"

"I said Holly was mother, so she helped better," explained the boy. "She said some men had a dead lady in their hands and took her to a place of no return."

"What do you mean 'no return'?" panicked Gail, her heart began speeding like in a storm.

"Not sure, she drawed map to show me, I think Holly is in this house," he pointed at the upper part of the picture. "Girl talked about people on these three sides and trees on this one," he explained pointing his finger.

"Alright, let's get going and see what that house is," said Elaine watching the picture carefully and then used her feet to smear the dirt and hide the evidence.

Imprinted in the Pecks' minds, they followed the map and practically ran to their destination. It turned out that the house was one of many larges hut with a lot of people going around and one side was covered with a forest. The group sneaked inside the woods and watched the rascals pacing by. It seemed to be some kind of a black market.

"So what now?"

"We need to get in," replied the captain. "As I see it, we have a few options, pretend to be drunk, send Leo because nobody would suspect a kid or smoke them out."

"Leo is out of question," protested Traci immediately.

"Pretending to be drunk is fifty-fifty they would buy it or kill us," said Dov.

"Smoke them out may cause the fire to spread and that hut to fall while Holly is still inside," objected Oliver.

"We can always rush in," suggested Jerry.

"Still death in the air," responded the redhead woman.

"Gail can always march there half naked. Who would kill a beautiful woman," Chris shrugged his shoulder at the idea. Everybody turned to him with doubts or suspicion. "She would create a distraction and meantime we can knock them unconscious and sneak in," he explained his idea better.

The said blonde gave him a hard look which if possible would bury him six feet under the ground.

"Unless they will drop dead first at that face," remarked Dov drily.

"No way," protested Gail.

"Actually Darling, dress up," agreed her mother. "Or dress down, you are going in."

"But Mother…"

"It is either you or Leo."

"Where is McNally when you need her," murmured the chosen sailor with hung head. She went to the back of the group and hid herself behind a tree. There was no decision to make; she would not put the little boy in risk if she could do something about it.

She took off her high boots, and stripped her trousers, leaving on only her breeches. The white shirt was wide unbuttoned; however she removed her linen bra. The hat was put away, the hair was left down and she shook her head and spread her mane. She murmured in disagreement, gave them all a stern look and set off on the mission of distracting the guards.

All of her comrades stared at her, some even with open mouth.

"She definitely grew up," commented Jerry. Then he quickly looked at his girlfriend apagogically. "I mean, she was just a kid when I joined the crew and she is not a kid anymore, I mean she grew up, blossomed, I mean… er…"

"You are digging yourself a grave, Buddy," chuckled Oliver.

"I mean, Traci, I love only you," the younger man finished all flushed.

Traci tore her eyes from her friend and looked at the man of her life. "What did you say?" she asked.

"Are you giving me a pass for staring at your best friend?" he asked suspiciously hoping for the agreement.

"Yes, because I agree. Only Holly knew what was hidden under the baggy clothes. I still considered Gail to be this skinny teenager, what a surprise she has muscles and grown up body."

"Now I am not sure if I should be upset or pleased that you are all drooling at my daughter," commented the superintendent. Dov and Chris were literally doing just that. Oliver smacked their heads to help them return back to reality and on the mission in hands to save their healer.

Gail took a deep breath; she guessed there were about ten men roaming around. Who knew how many were hidden inside that house. With a pounding heart, she plastered a flirty smile and chose a cat walk to take in all the attention of the people around. She also added extra swag to her hips. Game on.

On her way she made a few spins and the thugs started being drawn to her as moths to the light. She reached the one sitting in front of the hut and gestured him to come to her with a wink. His comrades whistled and shouted at him encouragement, laughing and enjoying the show. She danced around him in seductive moves, however not to lose the attention of the others, she switched to another guy.

She looked at him with hungry eyes and raised eyebrows. Her fingers reached for his necklace with a sun pendant and twirled it around pulling him closer.

After this performance, she would need a hot bath and lots of alcohol, nevertheless Holly came first, so once she was back in her arms, they would celebrate hard.

The guard dozed off on the chair, so the physician stood up and turned to the further side of her cage, her back to the kidnapper shielding her attempt to bend the bars. Even though she liked sports and did not mind hoisting the sails, lifting buckets and training with weapons, her arms were not strong enough to break iron. She managed to curve one bar to the front at least a little bit. She knew she could not do that sideways because it would be more visible but hopefully bending one bar forward and the other backward might give her enough space to sneak out without making it too obvious that she was planning an escape.

However moving the rod backward was harder than she had thought. She would need to kick it. She tried so but managed only small kicks not to make too much noise so she would not wake up the man on the chair.

Alas her attempts were disrupted when there was a commotion heard from the outside. She stopped her doing and leant against that side of her cell to cover her cage damage. The guard woke up; he frowned, quickly checked his ladies for sale and then rushed out.

Holly took the opportunity and kicked hard a few times, finally the bar got lose. She threw it away and squeezed herself out. Immediately she went to help her co-prisoners to get out as well.

Just when she helped out the third girl, the main door opened and her heart stopped beating.

Once Gail had the attention of all men, the captain instructed Dov to sneak into the house. He was petite and stealth, plus he always had a thing for fire.

Fast but silent, he tiptoed to the hut and around until he reached the entrance. He opened it slowly just in case it would make a noise, fortunately it opened without a sound and he went in.

"Dov," sighed the sage in relive and jumped around his neck. He hugged her back awkwardly; he was never very physical unless it came to a fight.

"Come on, let's get you out of here," he whispered and let go.

The healer nodded, looked at the other young women and then peaked outside. Her mouth was left opened as she saw her dearly beloved dancing seductively for a bunch of dirty thugs. She frowned but could not close her mouth; she tilted her head trying to figure out the situation. She was woken up from her inner turmoil as one if the girls pushed into her on their way out of to freedom. Holly shook her head and looked back at her crew member, seeing him setting up a few small fires. He eyes fell on the table where something glistened in the setting sun. She frowned, straightened up and went to the desk. It was a piece of familiar jewellery, alas as the fire was growing; she just snatched for the bracelet and hid it into her pocket when Dov took her hand dragging her outside.

They had just reached the hideout in the forest when the fire broke out and smoke was everywhere.

As the girl Gail was, she shrieked in a high pitch voice and started running away, not too fast to give her show a closure and not a suspicious end. When the guys turned their heads and noticed what caused the pretty blonde ran away, the havoc broke and they got busy with extinguishing the fire. Just when she lost the attention of every rascal, the show woman turned to the left to the way of the woods where the rest of the crew was hidden. She sped up until she could not be seen anymore.

When she reached the group some people nodded appreciatively, some smiling and one surprised. "Not a word. I need a lot of alcohol to forget this," she murmured grumpily which caused Holly to chuckle.

The sailor quickly got dressed back into her clothes and they all set on the way back to the port.

Due to the recent event, the captain ordered to pack their belongings and depart sooner just in case someone would try to repeat the kidnaping again.

Gail took a large jug and fetched for their favourite drink before leaving the dock. After she was served, she asked the lady for her son. When he appeared in the door with a big smile on his face, she punched him really hard so he ended on the floor with a bleeding nose. "Next time, keep your hands off from other people's wives," she growled and ripped off his sun pendant necklace throwing it into the dirt and stumping on it.

With straight back and chin high, she left.

Back on the calm sea, Holly felt like she could breathe again. After another adventure she realised that the life was not for granted. Even though she was more of a bookworm that adventurer, the occasions for a good life threatening thrill found her anyway.

She looked up from staring at one page for ages when she heard the door open. Gail came in wrapped in a towel and still wet hair. "There is not bath long enough to get rid of the smell of those excuses for villains," she deadpanned. "What?" she saw her spouse's lopsided grin when she was drying her hair.

Holly sighed contently. "You are amazing. Thank you for saving me, again."

The blonde grinned like a cat and straddled the other woman on the chair. "Always," she whispered and leant in for a kiss.

The physician secured one arm under the pale bottom and the other on her back as she stood up and carried her partner to the berth. She was not really in the mood herself but wanted to express her appreciation for the younger woman and all she had done for her.

Once down from the heights of pleasure, Gail laid lazily in the bed stroking the dark mane of her partner on her stomach. The brunette placed a kiss on the toned abdomen and stood up. She opened one of her drawers and pulled out two things.

"I wanted to give you this for a special occasion, but well, life is unpredictable and we should not wait, because it may be too late, so here you go. Plus it makes a nice set now," she smiled and gave her partner a bracelet and a sword shaped pendant. They both had the same patterns. The bracelet was made of flat chains with swirls; the metal could be a mix of steel and gold. The necklace was thin but sturdy and the sword pendant had similar swirls on the handle which were prolonged to the blade.

"It is beautiful," sighed Gail gently running her finger over the pattern. "Where did you get that?"

"Looted and stolen," admitted the brunette with a foxy smile. Her spouse raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. Holly chuckled and explained, "The pendant was in the chest of our loot from the Irish Bay. The superintendent said I could have one item for myself and when I saw this necklace I was thinking of you. I wanted to give it to you at the right time, but who knows if I would be still alive for that."

"Don't speak like that," scold her the sailor.

"Anyway, the bracelet I found in the house we were held prison. The guard left it on the table when he rushed out to see your naked beauty –"

"Half naked," quickly corrected the other occupant of the room.

"- and when I saw that it had the same patterns as the necklace, I nicked it. It seems to be a set. I hope you like it," finished the dark haired woman with a twinkle in her eye.

"I really do, thank you. Who knows, maybe there is a ring too," joked the pirate girl however she appreciated the gifts and promised herself to keep them safe.

The laughed and got dressed to join the rest of the crew for dinner on the board.

thank you (: