Tan fingers traced along the freshly lacquered rails of the newly built ship. Bleached white sails were tied up, begging to be unfurled and allowed to billow in the ocean breeze. She rocked back and forth with the waves as she sat docked. A dozen men carried crates and barrels up the gangplank and down into the cargo holds in preparation of disembarkment. The tan fingers left the wood and reached for a flask tied at her hip.
"Scuff the deck and it's the brig for you." Sasha warned in jest, uncorking the flask and downing a mouthful.
"Captain, this is the last of the supplies." Allard called up to her. There was a scuffle on the dock that drew the captain's attention and she jumped the railing to break it up.
"What seems to be the problem, boys?" She looked between her crewmen and the stranger.
"I have this for you Miss Hartford." The man gestured to the large parcel at his feet.
"And we told you it's not on the supply list!" One of her men argued. Sasha inspected the package and waved her men away.
"'S alright, it is indeed mine." They grumbled at her but went back to putting away the supplies. "I didn't expect this so quickly. Thought I'd pick it up next time we made port." She motioned for the man to follow her aboard. They entered her quarters and the man looked around.
"I wanted to finish before you left, before I forgot that beautiful face of yours." The man removed the paper from the framed painting and pulled a nail from his frock. "I assume you want it here." He stood in front of an empty space on the wall.
Sasha nodded, eager to see what he had done for her. The painter hammered the nail in and hung the picture. She stood next to him, inspecting the portrait of herself. It was well done despite the fast turnaround and it brought her living quarters together. Sitting for the sketch for the painting reminded her of the last time she had one done, on her wedding day to Thomas so many years ago.
"It seems so...sure of itself." She smiled. Her image smiled back, almost smirking. It was so drastically different from her wedding day portrait and she was thrilled. She reached into her jacket pocket, the same one he had captured in his work, and offered him a tip for delivering it so soon. "Thank you for your beautiful work."
"Thank you for being such a gorgeous muse. Feel free to commission me anytime you're back in Port Gladnan." He bid her goodbye. Sasha stood admiring her new portrait for a few minutes before deciding it was time to finally set sail.
"Everything is onboard and accounted for, Capitaine." Allard saluted her as she left her quarters. He followed her up to the wheel deck and stood at her side as she whistled for the crew's attention.
"Listen up! Now I know you are a crew new to not only me but each other. Understand this now before we leave this port. I will not tolerate treachery, you have a problem you speak up to me directly. We set sail under that Jolly Roger as a symbol of hope, for any who see it, that they may escape the clutches of Europe's cruelty and reliance on enslaved human labor to build and support their damned colonies." She pointed to the black flag fluttering in the breeze, a skull caught in a web marked her ship as hers. "Now lads, shall we weigh anchor?" The crew erupted in shouts and cheers. She turned and nodded to Allard who began to bark orders. Sasha took her place at the wheel, adjusting her velvet jacket and watching with glee as the sails unfurled and caught the wind.
"We're off, Capitaine!" Allard smiled at her.
"Aye, and the Widow's Reprieve shall pick up where the Liberty left off."
"To Cuba?" The Frenchman asked.
"To Cuba."
Sorry I'm a bit behind getting this story started, I just moved and started my new job so I've been quite busy and I had lost momentum with my ideas for this story. Expect a delay before I start posting regularly on this story as I work a lot now but I wanted to get the prologue/first chapter to you as I had promised to have it up a week ago. I hope you will enjoy this one as much as the first and I will work hard to be worthy of your time! Happy early Halloween and I plan on having the next bit up by mid-November at the latest. Stay healthy and safe and I will be back soon with more of Sasha's new adventures!