"You'll excuse me, Captain, but you're not acting much like someone who's celebrating her 16th birthday."
Sanya's ship's surgeon had asked to speak with her privately before she went ashore on Flint Locke but she still wasn't sure what the reason was for the interview. "I'm not the only one."
"Not the only…" Mhaegen repeated inquisitively and then realized, "your sister."
"Today's the day our parents sell my sister away to a boy who she barely knows and who has repeatedly insulted her."
"Are you sure he meant to insult her?" The direction of the conversation must have gotten away with what she initially wanted to discuss but Mhaegen persisted. "It's been so long ago. Two years isn't it since you've seen your sister and longer still since the two of you met the young man. He might have changed or she might have. You certainly have."
"I haven't changed," Sanya argued crossing her arms over her chest. "And I can't see how Talya or Jamos Blackwell will have magically transformed since the last time I saw either one of them."
"Well, no. But you have matured, grown more confident. Everyone does. You don't require your quartermaster's guidance and approval in everything the way you used to."
"Leon?" Is that what this was all about? Sanya knew that her second in command and her medic had never gotten along. "No, I suppose I don't. But he's my friend. Maybe my best friend besides you and Talya." She stopped. What if Talya had changed? It had been two years. Maybe her twin wasn't the way she remembered anymore. She swallowed.
Mhaegen nodded but she didn't drop the subject. "I still think you should be careful of him."
Sanya waved off the worry. "Leon is like my brother. He's certainly been a better brother to me than Herron ever was."
"Your brother is married and has a child."
"Aye." What did that have to do with anything?
"Many people are content with that life. Your sister might be…"
The captain interrupted her with a grunt of derision.
Mhaegen tried a different tact. "Is it possible that part of this stems from the fact that you have never experienced what your sister is about to take part in tonight?"
"You mean am I jealous that she's going to be kriffed by Jamos Blackwell? Not kriffing likely!" Sanya huffed and began to pace. "It's just that she's going to be anchored to him, to Blackhold! She'll never be free!"
"But if that's what she wants…"
"It doesn't matter what she wants! She'll do whatever our Mother and Papa tell her to do!"
Mhaegen tilted her head, studying the captain. "And what is it you want?"
"I'm sixteen now. I can walk into any bar in the north and they can't refuse me a drink."
"So you plan to get roaring drunk." The Medic surmised knowing that she couldn't dissuade the captain even if she tried. "And what if you become so insensible that any old lout feels that he can take advantage of you?"
"Wouldn't that be something if my twin and I both lost our virginity on the same night?" She laughed humorlessly.
This was the point the former whore had been trying to get around to. "Then you should at least be prepared for the eventuality."
"What do you mean?" Sanya asked, now curious at her trusted healer's tone.
Mhaegen drew from her pocket a hypo injector. "This just arrived in my latest medical shipment from offworld. Doctors in the core are developing methods to… stop a woman from conceiving. I was researching the subject while I was working for Madam Korina but this is the first tangible proof I've had that something like this exists."
The captain was silent, listening intently. Mhaegen took a breath and continued, "I haven't tested it myself. I have no idea how long it would work or if it would work too well, if and when the… subject would be able to have children if they later changed their minds."
Sanya rolled up her sleeve to reveal her bicep for the injection. "Well, you're welcome to test it on me."
Mhaegen hesitated.
"Couldn't hurt right?" the Captain shrugged. "Nobody'd want me for a mother and it might be an extra level of protection in case I do get the urge to throw myself at some poor unsuspecting bloke this evening."
All the data that Mhaegen had about the medication was that it was safe. It didn't have any crazy side effects or interactions, and it really was supposed to provide the desired results. She just didn't know about the dosage and how long it would last. She would have tested it on herself first if she wasn't posing as a man and unlikely to have the opportunity to prove the effectiveness. It was the very reason she had requested to speak to the captain. "Alright."
Sanya winced a little when the drug was injected. Funny as she was used to all sorts of other lacerations and injuries.
"Now it's not a license to just…" Mhaegen started into her medical advice.
"To kriff every sailor I meet in the bar tonight?" the Captain rolled back down her sleeve with a smirk. "I wasn't planning on it. But if somebody comes along…"
Mhaegen nodded. She understood that for all Sanya's bluff and bluster she really did want to share that first time with somebody special. The medic hoped, for the captain's sake, that that somebody might not be Leon Hardicort.
…
Now to find that bar. Not that it would be difficult in a port as small as Flint Locke. Sanya reveled in her own freedom. Maybe Mhaegen was right. Maybe Talya was ready to be married and settle down to have a family. She had told her twin as much before Sanya absconded with the wedding ship, even though Sanya had never believed her. Maybe Sanya had been projecting her own feelings of being stifled and trapped onto her sister.
Anyway she couldn't let herself dwell on that now. She was going to get good and drunk and not waste a moment thinking about the Blackwells…
That was when she saw the light blue banner emblazoned with the black ship flying among the masts in the harbor. It was only attached to a little fishing bark. Surely none of the family members themselves would lower themselves to sail on such a craft. And it didn't look as if the captain even meant to drop anchor.
One lone sailor stumbled his way down the gangway before it was lifted again. He raised his hand to wave at his former crew and then began to survey his surroundings.
Sanya continued to watch him. She really had no idea what it was about him that held her interest. He was tall and thin with dark wavy hair, a mustache, and a small bit of a beard on his chin. He also had the most ridiculous sideburns she had ever seen, meticulously groomed, thin as a blade that came to a point on each of his cheekbones. Despite all this he might be said to be… attractive.
With his ship and crew leaving without him and the way he bumbled around the dock with no particular purpose, he didn't seem to have a place to spend the night. Perhaps he'd like the honor of attending to the pirate queen of the northern sea? Sanya laughed at the idea.
He appeared to be a bit of an idiot, though, not paying attention to where he was going and running into a couple of pedestrians as he looked out over the forest of masts that were left after his previous berth had sailed away.
She wondered why they'd left him. Had he done something wrong? Or maybe he wasn't a sailor at all and he had just paid for passage and his money ran out before he could get any further. Sanya wasn't in the market for any new crew members anyway, but she was intrigued.
And then he seemed to find what he was looking for. He stood stock still and stared. At what? She followed his line of sight. He was staring at her ship.
The captain of the Bloody Galia believed the bar could wait for a few minutes, at least until her curiosity had been satisfied.
He didn't even look at her as she sidled up to him and spoke in a simpering female voice. "It is a pretty ship, isn't it?"
"She." He spared her half a glance before gazing again at the Galia. "She's the most beautiful ship on the northern sea."
"You seem to know all about ships and sailing." Sanya complimented sappily. "What would you say that it is about her that makes her so… special?"
Then she listened as he gave a full discourse on the unique design and features of the craft. She couldn't help the rush of pride as he described the elements that she herself had suggested and seen to fruition. She also couldn't help but be more than a little impressed at his expertise on the subject. He even mentioned how well maintained the hull and rigging were though the planking had been seasoned by a couple of years of sailing.
"Salt gods! You do know all about it, don't you?" she continued with her girlish trill and he blushed a little at the praise. "The captain of that ship must be a big strong man like you."
He puffed out his skinny chest like a mollymauk in mating season and boasted, finally looking in her direction. "Of course, that's my ship!"
Sanya laughed. "Dxun no, mate, that's my ship."
She left him standing there to watch her walk off towards the pub. She may have even given her hips an extra sway for his enjoyment. He must know who she was if he knew everything else about the Bloody Galia. Maybe he had even seen that ridiculous publication about all her exploits on the high seas. The picture didn't even look like her and she had certainly never bared her breasts while she was in combat.
She wondered what (whoever he was) thought about her now that he'd seen her in the flesh. Well, he hadn't seen much of her actual flesh but the night was young.
He followed her to the bar just like she had known he would and she threw open the door before he could offer to be chivalrous and open it for her.
She was greeted with a round of cheers. Leon was already there along with most of her crew. Sanya had expected her quartermaster to find a brothel first and meet up with her later she was touched by the thought and went to sit beside him all but forgetting about the young man who had followed her here.
Then she grinned and called out, "Ale for everybody, on the house! I'm finally old enough to not have to have to stab the pub keep to order it!"
There were more cheers and the sound of pints being drawn for every man in the room along with the little female captain. Over it all however she heard the voice of that sailor she'd met out on the dock, "That's really Sanya 'the Knife' Harkon?"
"That's right and she's the best captain on the northern sea!" She heard her bosun's mate say and clink glasses with the stranger.
There were drinks and cheers and bawdy songs. It was a much better party than what she'd had last year. Through all of it however she could feel the eyes of the stranger. She glanced back at him a few times. Why did he seem so familiar? She wondered. She tried to put it out of her mind.
After a few more rounds she had moved closer to Leon. Maybe she wanted to see if it would make the stranger jealous. She laid her hand on the quartermaster's knee and he slipped his arm around her waist.
The alcohol must have been getting to her when she remembered the thing she was trying to forget and could raise her glass to it. "A toast to my twin who's getting married tonight!" She threw back the liquid and then turned towards Leon. "Finally getting a taste of what her baby sister is so experienced at!" She took his bearded face in her hands and pulled him towards herself to kiss him hard on the mouth.
Leon Hardicort gladly reciprocated and hauled the captain onto his lap. But the kiss didn't last near as long as he would have liked it to.
There was a crash as the stranger dropped his mug. Most of the men laughed but Sanya looked back at him and their eyes met. There was that feeling again that she knew him from somewhere.
"I don't believe I caught your name before."
"It's ah…" He dithered. "Jak. Jak Frasier." Maybe it was the crack in his voice like the adolescent boy she'd met all those years ago. Or maybe it was the way he ran his thumb across the sideburn on his left cheek as if making sure that the scar beneath it was still hidden.
He wasn't a Frasier. Sanya knew exactly who he was. But if he was here, he wasn't at Harkon Hall. He had insulted her sister again! Left her at the altar!
She must have stiffened at the realization because Leon's arm tightened around her.
"Are you okay, Captain? Do you need to go out for a breath of air?" the quartermaster whispered against her ear and she shivered.
"No, I…" She didn't know what to do or say. How could she have thought him attractive? He was a monster. But if he was here then… Talya was free of him!
A smile spread over her face and she turned once again towards Leon. "Maybe it's about time we went back to my cabin."
Jamos Blackwell or Jak Frasier or whatever he wanted to call himself, wouldn't have the privilege of his Harkon bride tonight or her sister. Let him think that the captain of the Bloody Galia was using the cabin that should have been his to the very fullest on this night.
Quartermaster Hardicort gave her a lusty growl. "Aye, aye, Captain." He stood from his seat with her still in his arms and then let her lightly to the ground.
Taking his hand she led him from the bar and out into the balmy evening. She leaned against him as they walked back toward the ship trying to give the impression that she was far more intoxicated than she really was to anyone who might be watching.
Once they reached the deck of the only home she had known for the past two years she broke away from him and went to stand at the rail. "Thank you," she said softly, "For pretending back there."
"Pretending?"
She could feel him standing close behind her. It made her feel safe. He had always been there to protect her. "I didn't like the look of that... Frasier. You sure made it look believable that we were together."
"Sanya, I…" he began, but before he could say any more she rushed off toward her cabin.
"I have a bit of a headache. Could you send Marlon in to give me something for it?"
…
He didn't want to fetch the healer for her. He wanted to go to her himself. A little headache? He was sure he could take care of that. He could make her forget her pain and her sister and that kriffing pretty boy from the bar. Tonight he would show her everything he'd been dreaming of. That kiss had only been the beginning.
But it turned out that he didn't need to find Marlon. The ship's surgeon must have seen them return, heard that he was requested. The medic was quicker on the draw. He slipped into the captain's cabin before Leon could protest with his black bag and locked the door, some sort of doctor patient confidentiality.
Leon growled. He could wait till the doc came back out. So he waited and he waited and then he decided he needed another drink.
The idea came to him as he walked back towards the pub. They didn't really need another crew member. She said she didn't like the look of Frasier but he was the bloke who had finally pushed Sanya into Leon's arms. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have him around.
Leon could see that there was an opening in the roster. For now he would enjoy that drink and telling the story of how he had given the captain a birthday she would long remember. Other plans were hatching themselves in the mind of the quartermaster as well, plans for the future they would share.
…
The Bloody Galia was already underway when Sanya rose late the next morning. It was true that she hadn't wanted to stay in port long. Leon must have remembered her saying something of the sort and already given the order. She was glad of it, glad she could trust him to handle things while she slept off the alcohol and the pain of… well…
She stood in front of her mirror and peeled off the bandage covering her new tattoo. It was a ship, her ship riding the waves over her heart towards her left shoulder. It still hurt a bit for the fabric of her shirt to rub against it. She pulled her collar down out of the way so that it was clearly visible before she stepped out onto the deck.
"Good morning, Captain." Leon smiled at her and stepped closer than he would have dared before their encounter last evening. He delicately touched the image that had been burned into her flesh. "That's a nice bit of ink there."
"You think so?" She winced.
He lowered his voice. "Is that what you and the healer were up so late doing last night?"
"Aye. Marlon is good with a needle."
"I see."
"And I see you've got us underway, Mr. Hardicort." She marched away from him, across the deck, overseeing her domain.
"Aye." He replied. "Only a little bit of a hiccup in the offing."
"Oh, and what was that?" She spun on her heel towards him but she thought she already knew when she saw who had come up to stand behind her quartermaster.
"Flint, the bosun's mate took ill and couldn't continue on with us from the Locke." Leon put his hand on the other young man's shoulder. "Frasier here will be taking up his position. I believe the two of you have met?"
"Aye." Sanya ground her teeth. "We've met."