Chapter 2
The hot Caribbean sun blanketed the ship, leaving Cordelia weary and exhausted. She'd not slept in 3 days, instead she was commanding the men who got to sleep in shifts. Her touch was needed in almost every aspect of running the vessel. She ducked into the Captain's quarters for a quick breather, reaching for the rum he stashed under his chair. The three days had passed, making this the most she'd been on edge in eons.
The rum was cool, having stayed out of view in the shade. She let the sweet liquid coat her lips, then took a deep breath. She untied the cloth around her head and dunked it in some old washing water to reapply. She didn't mind the grime, knowing she'd take a well-deserved week off to pamper herself later. After leaving the peace of the shade, she looked up to the crow's nest which was still silent, and scowled.
"Mouse! Anything yet?" She shouted for what seemed like the hundredth time this morning.
"No, Moss!" Mouse shouted, waving his hand out from the basket. His eyes were probably affixed to the spyglass.
She sighed and to her left saw a sailor struggling to let his line free. "Wes, this is why we don't take shortcuts. Now you have a knot."
"Sorry Moss, old habits." Wes was a man around her age who they'd rescued from a slaving vessel. As soon as the Jewel of Hades was spotted, Wes broke away from the line of men in handcuffs, and began beating his slavers. The rest of the men were let free on shore, but Wes requested to stay. He had no family to go to, and he'd wanted to pay his respects to the Jewel and it's crew.
She gave him a firm slap on his bare shoulder as encouragement that she wasn't too mad. She approached the netting and nimbly climbed it. For years now her frame had kept her on par with the young boys of the ship, allowing her to climb the netting quickly and without mistake. She was tall too, allowing her to stretch her arms further and with less difficulty. She climbed up the net ladder, and once she was eye level with the knot, she looped her leg through the rope to stabilize herself. She let go with her hands and forced the knot apart, letting the loose rope fall to the floor.
While she was here, her nerves got the better of her. She leapt from the starboard ropes to the central mast Jacob's ladder. She caught on, and quickly climbed up to the crow's nest.
"Sorry, Mouse. I know you're looking but I need to see for myself." Mouse was the youngest on the whole ship, with reddened skin from being constantly in the sun. A boy who lost his parents and found a family among thieves. She had a soft spot for the children on board, but Jonas never turned away a helpful hand.
The crow's nest was nearly 200 feet in the air, and towered over every ship in the entire ocean. This gave her a great vantage point to see out of, and she put her eye to the spyglass and spun around. Nothing but vivid blue ocean for miles out.
She gave the glass back to the boy, "Very well." She had one leg over the basket, heading down to check with Jonas again. They should've intercepted the charter by now.
"Wait!" Mouse squeaked, his voice cracking. Cordelia snapped her head back to see Mouse peering Northeast. She pulled the scope out of his grasp and saw for herself, nothing.
"Mouse! I don't have time for this!" She shouted.
"No, no! It's there!" He steadied it for her, and on the horizon was a sliver of black, warped by the heat of the day. Over a minute, it began to thicken into the shape of a large vessel. Mouse's trained eye had found it right as it manifested.
With a smiling gasp, and a smirk appearing on her face, she gave the glass back to Mouse. "Good work! Don't lose it, your eye stays on it!" She ordered. She swung her leg over the side and took hold of a rope tied securely to the center mast. She grasped it and jump, sliding down to the main deck. Her feet landed with a shaking thud and she began her orders. "All hands! Make way, starboard-side! We've got a ship to catch!" She sprinted up to the helm as the men around her jumped to order. Each man had a task that made the ship run smoothly. She came up to the cockswain, who had already begun turning the bow to the northeast. "Don't lose sight, Corporal." He had aimed directly at the ship, now slightly closer, but still easy to miss on the horizon. "No, go more port-side. They're headed west, and we need to intercept them, not chase them."
"Aye Moss."
She hurried to the bowsprit of the ship, preferring that view when going after ships. It was her favorite part of pirating, the rush of adrenaline as the ship ran full speed towards a battle.
Three women sat around a wicker card table, each eying each other suspiciously. The one in the yellow dress that nearly matched her long curls laid her hand down with a satisfying slap. "Full house ladies!" Victoria groaned and rolled her eyes as she threw her deck down, worth absolutely nothing, and let her head rest on her fist. Her dark curled hair fell over her shoulders with a bounce as she did so. The blonde began to reach for the pot, but Joyce wagged her finger.
"Ah, ah, ah, Viola! Four of a kind!" She revealed her own cards: four jacks. She'd laughed softly and teased the girl for reaching prematurely.
"I had a bad hand; not fair." Victoria huffed, but already reaching to deal a new hand out.
There were few women on the ship to begin with, as most were indentured servants coming to the New World to pay for their families' trips in subsequent years. There were even fewer who came from wealth, and the three of them were all the ship had. Over the past couple months the trio had grown close with each other, often spending an hour or two a day playing cards. The time was not quick to pass while on the ship. They typically paced the length of the ship to stretch their legs, and gossiped about what little they could regarding the happenings of the ship. They hadn't known each other before boarding. In fact, Joyce had been the first to bring them together as friends. She recognized the jewelry and finer linens adorning the women and realized they came from status.
"Viola," a soft voice came from the steps of the cabin. Her chaperone, Eliza, called gently to her.
"Yes?"
"I prepared some food for you. You forgot to eat breakfast again." Eliza beckoned for the girl to follow her.
She gracefully stood up from the table, careful not to squeak the lightweight chair she'd been sitting on. "Oh, coming!" She turned to her two friends. "I won't be long."
Joyce casually waved her hand, "Don't fret too much. I'm sure we can pass an hour or two for you to enjoy yourself." Victoria nodded in agreement.
Once alone, Eliza whispered, "Cela, dearest. We are-"
"I told you to call me Viola onboard," Celandine requested once again.
"No one is listening, and we are two days out from Phillipsburg. Have you figured out what to do once you are there?"
"No," Celandine started to say.
"You cannot be so frivolous with your plans. I have to be sure of your safety. What if this place is much more dangerous than we expected?"
Celandine smiled and held Eliza's arm assuringly. "I promise, whatever happens it'll all work itself out."
As she spoke, some sailors pushed passed her going down the stairs. In a matter of seconds, it seemed like there was much more commotion among the crew than briefly before. The two women headed to the top of the deck. They quickly realized they were very much in the way. Sailors ran about chaotically. The pulled down ropes, tied them up again, climbed the ladders, everyone had a job.
Eliza pulled on Celandine to urge her back down into the cabins, but Celandine was pulled to look out over the water. At the front of the ship, an immense figure loomed in the distance. It could've been a ship, but it looked nothing like one. Nearly ten stories tall, with sails double that of a normal sized ship. It looked like a piece of London had migrated out to sea. She gasped as she saw the flag that adorned the tallest mast. The black Jolly Roger that she'd learned about during her travels.
"Cela!" Eliza urged with a shriek, after seeing what she had been staring at. Celandine didn't even care that she'd used her real name, and instead followed. Her mind raced and she was entranced. She never thought she'd actually see pirates while on the voyage.
They ran into Victoria and Joyce, who were going up the stairs. They were quickly rushed back down by Eliza, who was scrambling to get to the lower level. "What's going on?" Joyce asked, panic coating her voice. "We heard the men shouting."
"There are pirates," Celandine whispered.
Thank you everyone for submitting your characters! The submissions are closed, so go check out all the girls on the pinterest board ( headlessgummy).
Thank you Abizeau, OctaviaWithStarsForEyes, and Altomi for the characters in this chapter!
I want to give you guys a little insight on my updating schedule. I don't want to set specific days for me to update, because I don't want you to be disappointed if I can't finish in time because life got in the way. I'm aiming for at least once a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. If there's a considerable period where I'm not posting, please, feel free to nudge me. I'll try to keep you all informed of when my exams are, because those weeks will be especially slow. Sorry!
Regardless though, I hope you all like this chapter! Let me know what you thought of everything, and if there's anything I can improve on! I really do appreciate it.