Chapter 21

The crew watched as Jonas paced in circles, shoving his crewmen if they got too close. Several men began to notice his erratic behavior and began trying to corral him into a circle of arms.

"Captain, I think you should just calm down."

"I can't calm down. Where is she?"

"Please, sir-"

"Shut the hell up. Take me to Cordelia."

"Sir-"

Jonas sprung at the last man to talk, grabbed him by the collar and shouted at him. "Take me to my sister or I will throw you overboard myself!"

"Captain Jonas." A firm voice rang out over the deck. Jonas spun around on his heels, his bloody shirt flapping in the sea breeze. His eyes were sharp and feral.

All eyes fell upon the top of the stairs, where Constance stood. Tension hung in the air, as many expected Jonas to turn his aggression to Constance.

"Cordelia is down below in the kitchens. She is awake-" before her sentence was finished, he was pushing past her down the stairs. Constance did not move, looking ahead at the crew with her head held high.

"Stella. I need more hands downstairs. Medically trained ones."

Stella looked up and stepped forward. "Olimpia should come too. I've been supplementing her prior apprenticeship."

"Well then both of you, hurry."

Olimpia meekly stepped forward and hurried in Stella's footsteps. The three women went down to the kitchens as Constance said. They moved past the cooks to where the makeshift clinic was set up. Multiple other pirates were also laid on cots, most with minor gunshots or lacerations. A few looked more grim, their expressions pale and they seemed to be unconscious as they laid in their own blood. Stella's heart broke when she noticed that the only person caring for these poor souls was a large ginger-haired man. His small spectacles clung dearly to the bridge of his button nose, and a bright orange beard was coming in fully. He maintained his composure in the chaos, as he went from bed to bed.

On the far wall, Stella saw the captain. He was shaking very subtly and was clutching Cordelia's hand between his own. She couldn't hear the words that fell from his lips, but they were hurried. Cordelia was awake. Pale, and weak looking but awake. Her face still portrayed the mask of strength you could expect when looking at her. She was trying to look like she was fine, even visibly scolding Jonas for his behavior. It didn't last long. Her face melted into a soft loving expression. "I would've never guessed," Stella said to herself.

Constance led them to the red-headed clinician.

"Why aren't you helping Brett? Is the bullet out?"

"She cannae tak' surgery noo. We wrapped 'er an' noo we bide," he spat out.

"What?" Olimpia squeaked quietly, turning to Stella and Constance to clear up the jumbled English.

"I think he said that she's got to wait," Constance said.

"Aye," he sighed.

Stella pushed past the Scot and approached Brett who was lying on a cot. Her dress was split up the middle, with a blanket covering her legs. Her midsection was wrapped tightly with bandages, but Stella could see the scarlet legs of blood starting to seep through. Stella put her hands against Brett's skin, which was clammy and wet. "He's right. She's lost a lot of blood and taking a bullet out will only make her lose more."

"Told ye," the scot shouted across the small room.

You could see Stella fume silently. "Excuse me, but it seems like you are quite laissez-faire about all this."

"Ah patch up these men all th' time. It's naethin' Ah huvnae seen b'fair."

"And how many men have died under your care?"

"Mair than Ah can coont, lass."

"Then you're not doing a good enough job!" Stella shouted. Her outburst caused anyone who was lucid to look over at her and the red-headed man.

He rose up to his full height and looked down at Stella. "Whit dae ye ken abit medicine?"

"I know as much about medicine as you do, I'd wager. If not even more."

He gave her a hmph, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Gang aheid 'en, gie tae wark."

She turned on her heel to face Olimpia. "I need as much yarrow root as you can find in the kitchens, and I have a small supply in my cabin." Olimpia ran off towards the nearby kitchens meekly.

"Constance," she ordered. "I need you to gather up as many bandages as you can find, and a needle and thread. Follow me."

Stella went to the first man, a laceration across his cheek. He was young and skinny, with not much flesh on his cheek. Luckily, it hadn't gone through fully to the inside of his mouth.

Constance was first to return and gave a large roll of bandages to Stella, who tried not to sneer at the fact that they had a bit of blood around the edges like they'd deemed clean enough to reuse by one of the pirates. Stella ripped off a piece of bandage and began blotting at the wound. Once she'd gotten the blood stopped up, Olimpia returned, panting. She didn't wait for instruction, seemingly knowing what Stella would want. She had brought a mortar and pestle with a handful of the yarrow roots. They were grassy, and she began grinding them down. "They didn't have any in the kitchens. I only found what you had in your room." Olimpia said, slightly out of breath.

"Damn, well we will use it sparingly."

She pulled away from the bandage from his cheek, which only slowly bled. She dropped the bloody gauze and took the needle and thread that Constance had threaded for her. Stella began sewing the laceration shut.

"Will it scar?" the young man asked when she was done, wincing as he talked.

"Most likely. Sorry."

He gave a small smile on the side of his face without the stitches. "Thank you," he said, genuinely happy.

Stella furrowed her brows, before rolling her eyes and walking to the next bed.

The next one was a man who was bleeding more profusely. He was awake and holding pressure on his thigh where the bleeding came from. Stella took some yarrow and packed it in the small but deep cut. She didn't sew this one shut, muttering to Olimpia about not wanting to leave foreign material in the body for long.

There was a feminine groan from across the room, and Stella noticed Brett fussing in her cot.

The three women went over to her.

"Stella?" Brett looked up at Stella who was unwrapping her bandages on her midsection. After the first layer, the bandages had been soaked through.

"She wasn't bleeding that much when we brought her down here," Constance breathed in shock.

"Her corset was putting pressure on the bullet, most likely," Stella said as she pulled away bloody bandages. She pulled it away to find a bleeding hole in her lower abdomen. Stella barked an order at Constance to begin wiping away the blood. Stella snatched away the ground up yarrow from Olimpia and began pushing it into the hole with her finger hurriedly. After a few moments of packing it in, the bleeding seemed to stop.

Olimpia audibly sighed in relief. Constance began handing bandages to Stella.

"Olimpia," Stella ordered. "Check on her again in ten minutes. If the bandages are bloody again, get me."

"How is she?" a male voice surprised Stella. She turned to look over her shoulder and saw the bloody and battle-worn Jonas.

"She's in bad shape, but she's okay for now." Jonas looked down, shame blanketing his face as if he blamed himself for her injuries.

"What about Cordelia?"

Jonas smiled softly but didn't look happy. "Cranky. She's mad that she is injured, probably because it hit her ego harder than her leg. She's fine, though."

"Did it go clean through?"

Jonas nodded. There was a tense silence for a moment before he spoke up. "I've been shot hundreds of times. Not once have I ever been cocky enough to let Cordelia put herself in danger. Not truly. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost her."

Jonas stared at the ground, and Stella looked behind him to see Cordelia, his sister, sleeping on her cot. No doubt she was exhausted and probably lost a fair bit of blood.

"How long has she been aboard the ship?" Constance asked softly.

Jonas looked slightly puzzled, "I'm not sure. Ten years maybe? She was young when she found me, not yet a woman."

"Found you?" Stella asked, like a detective puzzling together a mystery. A small mumble of pain came from Brett's lips, capturing Stella's attention again.

Jonas placed a hand on Stella's shoulder, "A story for later then. Thank you for your medical help. I'm sure Niall is appreciative."

Niall. The Scot.

Stella looked around the room discreetly and found him mending a man's sliced arm. He was focused, his spectacles sliding down his nose slightly.

Jonas walked back to Cordelia's cot, and curled up next to her, embracing her in a loving hug.

"Stella," Constance got her attention again.

"Sorry," she said, slightly shaking her head. "Alright. Let's keep going." She grabbed the remainder of bandages and went to the next injured pirate, the two women trailing her.

Once they'd made their way out to the open ocean, Jonas finally emerged from below deck. He carried a patched up Cordelia in his arms. Her face was red with embarrassment, but they'd tried limping down below and found that her leg was in too much pain to walk on. Manny was walking a few paces ahead of them, shooing on-lookers away. The men looked away but snuck glances at their first mate, the fierce Cordelia reduced to a damsel in distress.

The ladies had retreated to the corners of the deck. They hadn't been allowed to go back below deck yet, as the staircase was in full use, with men running up and down in order to carry out their jobs. Manny asked that they wait until the ship had calmed down and they could safely walk the few flights of stairs to their cabins.

Victoria was sitting on a wine cask, Celandine's head in her lap. It was late in the night, and many of the women had been up since sunrise that day.

Once Jonas and Cordelia had gone into the captain's quarters, Manny instructed everyone to get back to work. Most men were done with their tasks, however. The next in command was Manny, as he was in charge of the below-deck crew and reported to Cordelia directly. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he'd been running constantly.

Stella appeared ascending the stairs and hurried towards the captain's door. Her gown was bloodied, and her hair was falling loose from its original complicated bun. Manny stepped between her and the door, but Stella stood her ground, gesturing with great exaggeration. Finally, she pushed past him and banged her fist on the door. Manny grabbed her by the shoulders and kept her back from the door. It wasn't a cruel gesture, but one of protectiveness for his captain and first mate. Jonas opened the door, however, and Manny stepped off to the side. You could see the words 'sorry sir' on his lips, and he attempted to explain how he tried to stop the woman from disturbing him. Stella didn't wait though. She explained what she came to explain in a commanding manner.

Victoria's curiosity was piqued, and she was disappointed that Celandine had fallen asleep on her lap or she'd try and get closer to listen.

Whatever Stella needed, Jonas seemed to agree to. He glanced at Manny, indicating to enact Stella's request before he retreated again into his room.

Stella turned away from Manny and nearly ran back downstairs.

"Crew!" Manny shouted. "Pull the sails, we're headed to the River of Whispers."

A cacophony of 'Aye' came from the men. Some men even cheered, and they all immediately began to get to work lowering the sails and turning the ship in the right direction. Manny approached the group of women.

"Now then, you all may carry on. Lo siento for the trouble."

He started to walk away, and Victoria started to rouse the sleeping blonde on her lap.

"What is the River of Whispers?" Cordayne asked over the sound of wind and voices.

Manny turned and faced the girls, sparing a glance at the Captain's door. "It's, eh, a place, oh mierda. It's a sanctuary for pirates and other delinquent members of society." He spat out his sentence in a hushed tone. "It's a well-kept secret among those who know of it. I shouldn't be telling you without Captain Jonas's permission, but," he winced like he was trying to rationalize his admission, "you all will be accompanying us regardless. So you would find out anyway."

A small huddle of girls began whispering and speculating on their own. Manny took the relative silence as permission to leave the girls be.

The girls descended the stairs, exhaustion pulling them down to their beds.

...

Victoria awoke suddenly, sweat dripping down her entire body and her mouth open in a scream. A night terror. Her heart felt like it would beat straight out of her chest. The sounds of gunshots from the day prior still rang in her ears as if they'd just gone off.

The adrenaline would not allow her to fall back asleep, and she saw the beams of early light creeping into the porthole of her room. It lit up the dusty air and suspended particles floated around calmly.

Victoria left her room, only draping a robe over her nightdress. It was far too early to get fully dressed, and she needed fresh cool morning air.

She started to climb the steps but stopped halfway up to go to the kitchens, where they were keeping the injured. She turned a corner and nearly ran into two men toting a very pale and limp pirate in their arms.

She gave a gasp and her hand clapped over her mouth.

"Din' make it through the night," the leading man said to her. They climbed the steps towards the deck, and Victoria watched with sadness. She continued to the make-shift infirmary. She saw many cots, a few notably empty with large reddish-brown stains. The one she wanted to see, though, with Brett was at the front of the room. Her ripped gown was in a pile next to the cot, and Stella was asleep on the neighboring cot. Her hand was resting on Brett's chest, feeling the breaths throughout the night.

Brett was still pale but was sleeping peacefully, with her breaths calm and paced. Victoria sat on the floor next to her, watching her breathe.

She didn't know how long she sat there watching her sleep until she heard Stella speak. "She's doing fine for now."

"Oh," Victoria stammered. She stood up and wiped the wrinkled out of her nightgown. "I'm sorry, I just, I couldn't sleep, so-"

"It's okay. I've been trying for hours. I can't either."

They stood in silence watching a peaceful Brett.

"It's stuffy down here, and you've been by her side all night. Come up top with me? At least for a moment," Victoria said.

Stella nodded, and the two girls walked solemnly up to the main deck.

The morning light was soft, with the sunrise hidden behind large fluffy clouds. The light on deck may have been soft, but the sky was on fire with light. Brilliant oranges, pinks, and purples mixed and danced on gargantuan clouds.

The two of them walked to the stern and leaned against the railing. The ship was racing to its destination, and the waves were crashing against the sides of the ship. When Victoria looked out at the horizon it felt like she was flying. She closed her eyes as the breeze pushed past her face and breathed in the salty air.

"You too?" Victoria heard Robin's voice behind her.

Robin leaned on the railing between Stella and Victoria. "I thought I was the only one," Robin said solemnly.

"Aren't you one of the ones that are used to all this?" Stella asked, trying to not let the judgment coat her voice.

"I've been on multiple cargo ships, ocean liners, and even had one incredibly annoying yacht owned by a Dutch lord, but believe it or not this is my first pirate ship. Sorry if my experience didn't include being shot at by a small army."

Stella said nothing in reply but Victoria tried to stifle a giggle.

The three of them sat in the early morning light. Slowly, men began milling about the deck. A few still had their breakfast of eggs and bannocks in their hands as they wiped the sleep from their eyes.

One man who was making multiple knots in the ropes began whistling. The tune sounded familiar like she'd heard it before while onboard but Victoria couldn't quite place it.

Robin turned around, leaning her back against the railing and let the sun hit her neck. She observed the singular whistle turn into many.

Victoria turned her back to the sky as well and watched the morning song unfold.

"A lass as bonny as she,

Pulled me out to sea.

I found out how to make her mine,

I slapped a kiss upon her lips,

And cried out 'ya stink of fish!'" Robin's soft singing was automatic, and she closed her eyes as she sang. She didn't sing to be heard, but out of memory.

The men sang one-by-one until the air was alight with laughing and song.

"A year went by for me,

I thought she wasn't keen.

She found me again in the

Caribbean and lured m'back in

Before cryin' 'Tis a sin!'"

Victoria felt a smile crawl across her face as she saw a reclusive Jonas appear in his doorway. He was still in his nightshirt and trousers but learned on the doorframe. He watched his crew work and sing in the morning air and looked genuinely happy, which Victoria couldn't help but feel warmth rise in her own chest at seeing him smile.

Yeah. I know.

So I've had a wild two months. I lost my dog really suddenly, and it happened to be during big exam times and I kinda fell down this super-depressed hole. I'm getting better, but I'm trying to write ahead so that I have a little bit saved up. That's also partially why this one was much later because I was making sure I had at least one chapter after this already written up. So, that means the next chapter is actually written already too, and I will have it up at a reasonable time this time.

I hope you liked my little sea shanty, and I actually am working on a Spotify playlist to listen to when writing, and when reading (or if you just feel like it) of songs that put me in the moment. I will make it public when I post the next chapter :)

Also, please review! If not for my story which I'm sure nobody reads anymore because I'm a terrible updater, but for me, Gummy, who's been super depressorino :3. Tell me what ships (Niall (the scot), Manny, Jonas, etc.) you like, which ones you are sure I'll end up doing, and what you think the character's predicaments!

Thanks for reading!