Chapter 6
There was a gentle roar of conversation and laughter that hung in the warm Caribbean air. It put the women at ease to enjoy the beverages the crew had to offer. Rum was available in Europe, but more expensive as it had to be shipped across the ocean. Here though, every pirate had a bottle of cheap rum they've stashed for nights like these. The drinks were passed around amongst the girls as well, lifting their melancholy moods and putting them at ease.
It wasn't long before two women, Stella and Charlotte found a friend amongst the crowd. You could tell they were similar, just from the gleam in their eyes, one that could only result from a self-made woman in a man's world.
Charlotte approached first, appraising Stella's dark hair in contrast wither her own blonde, and seeing the look of judgment in her eyes upon the party.
"Well you look like fun," Charlotte sarcastically said.
"Was it my brimming smile that told you that?" Stella retorted, immediately garnering a laugh from Charlotte.
"Charlie, pleasure." Charlotte said as she held out a hand to shake. As Stella took it, Charlie offered her the sandblasted bottle of rum in her left hand.
With a slight smile Stella accepted the offering, "Stella."
After a large gulp of the sweet alcohol she said with a flat expression, "I'd like to disclose that I've never quite been the social gathering type."
Before Charlie could assure her, however, a boisterous rough voice came from behind her.
"But 'cha do look like the bettin' type!" An arm was swung around Charlie's shoulder, immediately making her tense. Charlie saw the look of fire in Stella's eyes as her brows narrowed and her grip on the bottle turned her knuckles white.
Charlie shrugged off the pirates arm roughly, not giving a second thought to how he might take the gesture. "Hey listen, I won't hesitate to-"
But Charlie was cut off, "I am the betting type, actually," Stella said, catching the attention of them both. Her look of abhorrence was gone, and a sly grin adorned her face instead.
The hefty pirate cackled, "Hey, 'atta girl! Take a seat, let's play!" The three sat themselves down onto makeshift seats from various utilities on the deck. The pirate laid out a fan of worn and weathered playing cards with suspicious yellow stains in the corners. "The name of the game is Jack. It's my game, so it's my name."
Charlie was unsure whether to take that as an introduction or a lack of creativity on Jack's part, but his lack of pause didn't allow her the moment to debate it. He continued on to explain the rules in brief detail, with Stella nodding in understanding while Charlie struggled to follow. Cards flew down onto the table they'd made up and were swapped between the two. Stella's focus on the game was impressive, picking up the rules and making what Charlie assumed were strategic plays.
Just as quickly as it started, it was over, with Stella losing. "Aw don't beat yourself up over it, dearie! Maybe you just need a bit of incentive. Say, two pieces of eight?"
Stella reached into the pocket of her layered dress and pulled out three pieces of eight. "Make it three."
An egotistical laugh erupted from Jack, "You've got a deal!" He began dealing out cards once again. This time, Stella seemed calm and self-assured. A small gathering of witness pirates formed around the three of them. Though Charlie had no idea how the game was still played, the pirates surrounding them whispered tactics and strategy.
"I would've taken the other card."
"She must have a nine!"
"There's no way he can lose!"
Charlie's fingernails dug into her palms, as the game dragged on and it was clear that Stella's challenger was struggling to win.
With a satisfying riffle of her cards, Stella revealed her hand to Jack with a smug smile. The small crowd burst in jeers and laughs. It's seemed that she'd won against him. She took his meager three pieces of eight from the table top, leaving Jack alone to defend his game to his peers. With a rush of confidence pulsing through her, she looped her arm through Charlie's and led her away from them.
"That was great! You picked it up so fast!"
"I didn't just pick that up. I used to play that game with my friends back in London! It's called Jacks for the cards, not for his name. Egotistical bastard." Even though she insulted her opponent, she beamed and truly looked comfortable amongst the people now.
"You have to teach me!" Charlie begged.
Stella pulled a deck of cards from her pocket, pulling out a deck of cards tied together with thick yellowed string. "I'm always down to teach, so long as you're not afraid of losing a few coins here and there," she said, a devilish smile plastered on her face.
Caroline was aware the she was safe, but the idea of living amongst pirates indefinitely made her heart race with fear. When she was escorted to her room, she spent most of that time trying to breathe and rationalize through it. They seemed to be decent enough.
However, her nerves were set on edge when a very drunk pirate stumbled over to her little corner of the deck. He wasn't a large man, but surely towered over her petite stature. His breath reeked of booze and smoke, and she was unfortunately close enough to see food particles in his scruffy beard. Her nose scrunched up and she turned away, in an attempt to ignore his close presence.
"Lil' lady," he slurred, "didja know that you've got some real pretty blue eyes?"
"I'm aware of the color of my eyes," she curtly said.
He leaned back against the siding of the ship, but his weight shifted to leaning on her. "I got blue eyes too ya know," he said and turned to face her with his eyes half shut and fluttered his lashes. Panic rose through her, mixed with either disgust or bile, she wasn't sure which. She stood up, and with her steadiness not there to support him, he fell over. "Aw, damn," he said under his breath as his bottle spilled onto his shirt.
Without a second thought, Caroline went looking for place she could spent the night observing. There wasn't an urge to go back to her cabin just yet, especially since Moss seemed to be perusing the lot of women to get to know them. Caroline wasn't sure she'd get the opportunity to know more about the woman who seemed to keep so many vile men under wraps. Across the deck there was a grouping of women, all facing the side of the deck and huddled together like they were keeping secrets. As she approached them, she saw they were picking pastries out of a small basket that one girl held at her waist. Her eyes must've said what she was thinking, because a girl with wildly frizzy hair and cinnamon colored skin took a pastry from the basket and offered it to Caroline. "They're a little stale, but still quite delicious, especially compared to the rations we've had back on the charter."
Caroline took it, and despite the chewiness the pastry had taken on, it was still exquisite. The light sour taste of lemon danced across her tongue while the sweetness of the bread countered it well. "Where did pirates even get pastries?"
"Pretty sure they baked them! Go on Olympia, tell her how you got them."
The girl holding the basket looked down, shadows from the candles bounced off her already dark cocoa skin. She took a pause before explaining, and didn't make eye contact with Caroline. "I told Cordelia that I was hungry. She brought me down to the kitchens to get some food, and they made it just for all of us. I was told to share with everyone, but…" she trailed off, a meek smile tugging at her lips. Caroline noted how she referred to Moss as 'Cordelia' instead, like the two had already had time to become closer.
"I'm Maia, by the way." The frizzy haired woman put a hand on the girl holding the basket. "Olimpia, of course. And this is Zylphia." Caroline nodded to each of them. Her attention was brought to Zylphia, who his her right hand in her pocket, and reached across the ladies with the left hand to get another pastry. Zylphia was even shorter than Caroline, to her disbelief, and her round features were sweet and demure, but her movement was awkward and timid. Caroline felt a twinge of comfort, being among women who were not rough and tumble like some others, and though Maia had a aire of liveliness and excitement, she didn't seek out the pirates around her either.
The four of them stood there while they ate the stale lemon tarts and let the warm breeze brush their faces. In that content silence Maia's expression shifted.
"Maia?" Zylphia asked.
"Shh," she put a finger to her lips and turned her head to the left, like she was trying to listen to something. "I think they just dropped something into the water."
Caroline's immediate instinct was to look around them to see if there was land anywhere, a habit she'd gotten into on the original ship, but it was too dark to see anything. "How can you tell?" she asked.
"I think I heard it."
The four women were silent, hoping to allow Maia a chance to hear something more, but there was nothing but the merriment of the party surrounding them.
"You must've imagined it," Zylphia encouraged, but Maia shook her head.
"No , I'm sure."
Caroline noticed a few men stumbling around, letting ropes loose and releasing weights. On a strong hunch, Caroline leaned over the wooden railing to see their charter ship floating away. Attached at the stern of the ship was a longboat. It was hard to make out the shapes in the dark of the night, especially as it floated away and only a small sliver of a moon to light up the air.
With a loud bang, the four girls shrieked. The long boat had combusted into frightening yet beautiful display of sparks. As more went off, whistles and pops could be heard. The height some of these sparks reached was truly impressive.
"We're leaving it behind!" Olimpia said, worry coating her voice. Caroline recalled that she had been the one worried for her parents earlier that day. They could think of nothing to comfort her as the Jewel of Hades sailed past it. Soon, the steady stream of sparks were the only things visible, as the silhouette of the ship vanished into the black of the water.
The women didn't eat another pastry as they stood in solemn silence, their last chance at escaping left behind.
"Look!" Zylphia said, as she pointed out across the water. There was a faint glow of a candlelit ship, headed in the direction of the charter. It was almost impossible to make out details, but as they continued searching for light among the water, they spotted a small port town just a small way away. The Jewel was not headed towards the town itself, but several miles away from the docks. They were far enough that it didn't seem to matter that their deck was lit up by candlelight and that music poured overboard.
It was then that Caroline noticed that Moss was no longer among the crew and her guests. She had disappeared from sight, leaving everyone to drink and distract themselves. Olimpia seemed to have noticed this as well. "Where's everybody?" she asked. With Moss gone, over a dozen men were also missing who'd been present earlier. The crowd had thinned and only gotten drunker.
"Is this our cue to turn in for the night?" Zylphia asked.
"No," Maia said, certainty coating her voice. "There's trouble happening. We just can't see it… yet."
I know! I'm the worst! I went into a food coma after Thanksgiving. I have so much willingness to write, but the actual movement of typing is so relaxing and I just want to sleep!
Don't judge me. I'm lazy and proud, but I end up getting it done. ;)
Thanks to Firealis, sourapplesnap, BaileyandAubreyandIvy, ChillyIce, Sylea, and Fairytoto1 for you're awesome characters! I hope you felt they were fleshed out well. I'm just so excited to get down to the nitty gritty of the story.
Please let me know what you thought of this chapter! I apologize for any typos, again, both laziness and being excited to get this chapter out means that I didn't proofread too well. Thanks!