Chapter 5

Thank goodness for Wes, because if not for him the women would've been hopelessly lost in the multi-leveled ship. Lara had never even though a ship this big could be possible to construct, and that thought made her contemplate whether the woman from the gathering earlier was correct, that demonic craft was used in its construction. Surprisingly, each woman got their own room. Lara couldn't even complain that it was still a small cabin, because she was given the privacy of her own space while among pirates.

One by one, the travelling group of pseudo-hostages were dropped off in their own room. Wes didn't say a word, instead opening the door and letting one woman in at a time. He wasn't aggressive about it, but the look on his face told Lara that this was something he wasn't too happy about doing. Lara was near the back of the huddle of remaining girls, so she expected that she was probably going to be one of the last to find her room. This was good for her, because a thief should always know where everyone sleeps. It was second nature at this point to memorize the layout as they went, no matter how hard it was. Four girls remained as they entered the last hallway. Wes gestured for the smallest of the group to enter a room, but she didn't budge, and tilted her head down, letting her short black hair fall into her eyes.

The first words she'd heard out of Wes' mouth was, "Get in the cabin." He lowered his gaze on this small woman, accentuating the size difference between them.

"I'd prefer to sleep among the crew." The woman's voice was slightly deeper than she'd expected, like she was trying to fake it.

"The women get their own cabins. Moss' orders." Wes was unbudging, his dedication to his commander was astonishing, combined with the irritation among his face from dealing with squealing women all day.

"Then I should sleep with the crew. I'm no woman. Moss was mistaken grabbing me from my men."

Wes burst out with a boisterous laugh, "Then what's your name, boy?"

"Rob."

"Moss doesn't make mistakes like that, Rob. If you aren't a woman, prove it. Pull out your prick." Lara's eyes widened as she was caught off guard by Wes' boldness.

The woman had been caught in her bluff, and stood still for a moment, her face still staring at the planks of wood beneath their feet. "I cannot," she said and Wes smiled, knowing he had proved her lie. "It's indecent to do so in the company of women."

To Lara's right, a woman with a couple beauty marks and eyes that were sharp enough to remind Lara of a cat spoke up. "It's nothing I've never seen before. I can promise that."

The battered looking asian woman behind Lara lightly chuckled and nodded, "I'd have to agree." Her accent was thick and unplaceable, but if Lara had to guess it was Italian and… Chinese maybe? Three sets of eyes fell on Lara to grant permission for the indecency requested.

"I don't care," Lara said as she shrugged it off.

Once again, Wes smiled in triumph. "Well then, prove me wrong."

In defeat, the girl forced her way past Wes and into the room provided. Well, that settles it. Lara thought, following Wes down the hallway. The well dressed woman with the feline eyes and dark hair was next, then the asian woman, leaving Lara for last. Once she had entered her cabin, she noticed the skinny bed propped against the wall. There was an odd mixture of divinely rich items, and then tattered and salt-soaked essentials, like the mattress. The bedding itself was a thick silk duvet with oriental patterns on the front, but beneath the coarse mattress was stained and lumpy. A minuscule teetering vanity was adorned with fine necklaces and earrings, and a small wardrobe chest in the corner of the room was open displaying a folded red satin dress with gold accents.

Was Lara expected to dress up for the crew? The treatment from being forced on board, so suddenly becoming not-so-willing special guests that received extremely fine clothes and jewels.

There was a little voice in Lara's head that begged her to take the jewels, every one of them, and stash them in her pockets. It was in her admiration of the priceless jewelry that she saw the note on the corner of the vanity.

Welcome to the Jewel.

Make yourself comfortable.

At sunset there will be a party on the top deck.

Please, wear whichever jewels you would like, and there is a fresh dressing set in the chest.

Lara recalled the opulent red dress in the chest, unsure of how she was meant to put in on by herself. Her room had a small porthole and she poked her head near it to see the sky beginning to grow in vibrancy. She probably had an hour at most to get dressed if she wanted to attend. Something told her it wasn't a choice.

She looked down her her own outfit: a pair of pants and a tight linen shirt. It was odd for a woman to wear pants, which made her stand out more. A feeling of unease washed over her as she realized she couldn't remember the last time she'd worn a dress. She gathered the material in her arms, and laid it out neatly on the bed. Left in the chest were various undergarments, such as petticoats, stomachers, and the dreaded corset.

In one swift motion, Lara pulled off her shirts. She took the corset in her hands and studied it. The few times she'd worn it someone else helped her put it on. Now she was stuck trying to put herself in it. She held it up to her torso, and gave it a couple attempts at trying to wrap it around herself.

"Screw this," she said, and threw the corset onto the bed. She took the actual dress and threw it over her current clothes. It fell strangely without the proper padding beneath it, and there was no way to secure it to herself. "This is why I hate dresses. Not practical at all," she said to herself, while looking in the mirror to appreciate her form. She gathered the hem of the dress up and tied it in a knot at her hip. It revealed her boots and made it easier to walk in. It wasn't exactly ladylike, but she was technically still wearing the dress at the pirate's request.

Satisfied with her sarcastic fashion statement, she gathered up all the jewels on the vanity and stuffed them into her pockets. The last thing she wanted was to have someone else taking them. She opened the cabin door and stomped back down the hallway from before.

It startled her when the door to her right swung open as well, revealing one of the women from before. "Oh! Excuse me!" Her striking cat-like eyes widened in surprise, but then narrowed as they appraised Lara's outfit. "What exactly are you wearing?"

"A dress."

"Well, I can see that. I can also see you have a few parts missing." She huffed, but still smiled like she was appraising a well-meaning child. "Zephora," she held out a hand to shake, and Lara apprehensively took it.

"Lara." Zephora nodded curtly and put a hand to Lara's back, leading her back down the hallway.

"Which cabin is yours? I'm going to fix you up."

Lara looked down at Zephora's own outfit, seeing that it was a fine dress as well, this one in a delicate lilac color. "How'd you get dressed so quickly, let alone put everything on yourself?"

Zephora gave a light chuckle, like she was reminded of an inside joke. "Years of practice. Trust me, I didn't have many women around to dress me when I needed it most." Lara led Zephora back to her own room, allowing her in.

Zephora immediately began pulling the garments off of her. When she reached the stashed jewels, she didn't even flinch, and just placed the pouch on the bed, with Lara's eyes watching every move. The corset was first, place over her loose undershirt. Every movement was well practiced, and her nimble fingers had laced her up before Lara could even tell that it was on. The flying of fabric over Lara's head was dizzying, and in a matter of minutes, the dress was properly placed. Zephora began to reach to unlace Lara's boots, but Lara took a quick step back. "I'd like to keep the boots on. Nobody can see them anyway." Zephora shrugged but didn't argue, reaching back for the pouch of jewelry, and giving it to Lara. Lara lifted the fabric up, and tied the pouch of jewelry to her hip. When she lowered the dress, you couldn't even see where it was.

"Well then, you look pretty presentable, if you ask me." Zephora hooked an arm around Lara's waist as if they were old friends. Lara was apprehensive, but Zephora made it easy to go along with things.

They left the cabin, and as they traversed the many halls leading back to the main deck, women one-by-one began to exit their rooms, equally dressed in fine things. Some had exited their rooms in groups of two or three, no doubt helping each other dress. There was an air of excitement and apprehension. Some women grinned widely and others held their heads down, avoiding attention. Lara recognized quite a few faces, but not many names came with it.

When they ascended the stairs leading to the main deck, there was music that slowly grew. Once up, she saw several pirates leisurely playing instruments, and several women already arrived and conversing. The asian woman from earlier was already there, and Lara felt the urge to approach her.

Not only that, but she was one of the first women she saw that wasn't in the provided dress. She still wore her original clothes, a sturdy coat with silver thread weaving patterns in the collar. The difference was she was wearing an ornate bracelet cuff and several rings. That was the extent of her compliance.

"I wish I'd known the dress was optional," Lara said, fluffing up the skirt for emphasis.

"Sometimes you have to take the risk. Florence," she introduced herself with a very thick accent.

"Lara," she smiled and offered her hand, to which the woman grabbed her forearm in a tight grasp, and Lara reciprocated the strong handshake. "This is Zephora." Lara held a hand out to invite Zephora forward, who had been slightly left behind.

Their introductions were cut short as the sound of a man near the stern of the deck called out to the slightly growing crowd of pirates and women. "Ladies! Welcome to our humble ship. I am Ulfric, and at the request of our zealous captain and first mate, I'd like to present a small show."

The pirates around the girls whistled and cheered, clearly excited that the day's duties were over and their fun could begin.

Ulfric stepped to the side, and up the stairs came a small gathering of men. The man leading the group had an ostentatious feathered tricorn, and had clearly stuffed his jacket with padding. They began setting up a story, and put on a theatrical show.

Throughout the play, there were multiple bottles being passed among the crowd, pirates insisting that the women drink up. Several women did without hesitation, and others were convinced within a moment. By the time the sun had fully set, half the women on board were howling with laughter at the performance, their faces flushed with spirits. Lara stopped the liquor from entering her mouth with her tongue when she took the bottle. Her guard wasn't completely down, and adding rum to the situation wouldn't benefit her in the slightest. She noticed as Moss approached from behind, resting her elbows on the railing of the deck above them. She watched the show in the background. It seemed Lara was the only one who noticed her.

Moss was clearly dressed to be noticed though. In the time since they'd seen her, she had shifted from her practical coat and pants, to wearing a leather bodice, and copious amounts of gold and diamonds along her neck. She tapped her fingers on the wooden banister, and Lara noticed the point of a bejeweled metal claw on her index finger. Her hair was pulled away from her face, though it still held onto it's wild and tangled shape.

Lara turned her attention back to the play, deeming Moss to not be a threat from behind.

The howls of laughter only grew stronger as a pirate came from the stairs dressed in full women's garb. His face was powdered white with circles of rouge on his cheeks. Lara paid little attention to the story but from what she gathered it was about a noble general and a trickster pirate, both vying for the love of this 'woman'. The grand finale was the girthy woman tripping over her dress as she rushed to the pirate, ending with a fake passionate kiss behind his feathered tricorn as the pirate swept her off her feet.

The small cast bowed at the conclusion. The audience was now decently inebriated and the awkwardness had worn off, allowing conversation to continue unhindered. Lara noticed Moss slowly walking to the center of the group, and began mingling with some of the girls. Lara excused herself from the side of Florence and Zephora to approach her.

"Moss?" Lara asked, and the red haired woman turned toward the voice. "My name is Lara Samers. I had a few questions on the purpose of our stay."

Moss sighed and took a sip of wine out of an exquisite goblet. "I cannot divulge much right now. We are en route to the captain as we speak, and he can explain more."

Lara's lips disappeared into a thin line, "That's not good enough. I'm sorry, but I had a task to complete in the Caribbean-"

"You mean your target?" Moss interrupted, leaving Lara at a loss. How did she know?

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lara insisted.

Moss smiled, "I know all about your line of work. More accurately, the captain does, and he's informed me of you all well before you even arrived."

"I thought you said we are retrieving the captain now?"

"We have ways of communicating when he's off ship." Moss took another sip of her wine, the purple color beginning to stain her lips. "I know that you're on the run and that your target is bringing a hefty pay day. Enough to disappear, perhaps? The great thing about pirates, Lara, is that we all have skeletons in our closet. We protect each other. You could profit from our company." She smiled and put a heavy gilded hand on Lara's shoulder. "In more ways than one." With that ominous statement, Moss left Lara standing there, both suspicious and extremely intrigued by the possibilities the Jewel of Hades could supply her with.

Thank you to tyozzie123, wolfofstark, Slytherwitch, and Millyna for their characters in this chapter! I loved writing them all!

Everyone's Pinterest boards for their character help with my inspiration, and I have some really cool ideas planned, so keep pinning! Also if you have any story arc ideas that you really want, let me know!

Please review, because I'm always up for some constructive criticism! I genuinely try to fix things in my future chapters that have been issues before. I love hearing everyone's feedback and excitement, too. It really motivates me too keep going and staying up on my writing!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! We are getting really close to meeting the rumored captain Jonas in the couple chapters to come! I'm so excited to bring him to life!