Chapter 22
Three days of sailing south felt like a lifetime. Many men didn't sleep, working around the clock to make sure that the Jewel of Hades sailed as fast as possible. Captain Jonas had not spent more than a collective half-hour outside of his cabin, spending all his time with Cordelia. Lara was sure that Cordelia was doing just fine despite Jonas's nerves.
The deck was too chaotic for Lara. She liked watching from afar and people kept asking her for help. Most able-bodied women had taken to helping the crew with the maintenance tasks of keeping the ship's speed. She'd found a spot near the stern of the ship where nobody was rushing past and curled up with a small stories book she found in Cordelia's storage below deck. She wasn't a fan of reading necessarily, but it let her pretend to not watch the people when in fact she would peer over the pages to the surrounding people.
So, she was aware when she saw Manny approaching her. She focused intently on the words of the page as he got closer.
"Hola, Mamacita. Is this seat taken?"
"No. Don't you have things to do, you know, with Cordelia being out of service?"
Manny scoffed, "I've always thought the Cordelia micro-managed the men. They're competent enough to come to get me if there is any trouble."
"Well, your disturbing my reading."
He feigned worry, "Lo seinto, Mamacita. I didn't realize you enjoyed children's fairytales that much."
Shit. Lara thought. She just picked up a random book. Nobody had ever read the cover or paid much attention to her in the background while she was lurking.
She didn't give him the satisfaction of responding but despised the shit-eating grin he had plastered on his face.
They sat in relative silence for a few minutes. Lara had closed the book and set it on her lap and just focused on the well-oiled machine of sailors moving about the deck.
"What is the River of Whispers?" Lara asked, breaking the silence.
"It's where we are going," Manny said curtly.
"I knew that. I meant what is it exactly?"
He huffed, "I said before. It's a well-kept secret among pirates. Technically, by pirate code, I shouldn't even be talking about it with you."
"But," Lara said with a sing-song voice, "You will talk with me anyway."
It wasn't a secret to Lara that Manny liked to flirt with her, so she arched her back and leaned in close.
Manny's eyes narrowed and the corners of his mouth turned up.
"Oh, mi amor, you will get me in trouble one day." Lara couldn't help but smirk at how easy it was to wrap this man around her fingers. "Well," Manny stated, "It's run by the Voodoo Queen of the Caribbean. It's a safe haven for all delinquents and criminals, though most of the individuals there are retired pirates. The riches brought by its refugees make it the wealthiest island in the Caribbean, but don't get the wrong idea. It's not a luxurious place and outsiders are not welcome. I don't know what Captain Jonas plans to tell them regarding you ladies."
Lara nodded along with his explanation, making a mental note to stay off to the side when the ship arrived. She'd always erred on the more cautious side, and this was going to be no exception for her.
There was a commotion near the port side of the ship, and Lara broke her eye contact with Manny. Two sailors were getting into an argument, throwing a braided rope back at one another.
Manny sighed and with exaggerated effort stood up and sauntered over. A curious Lara followed on his heel.
"Who taught ye to knot like this, ye giant cod?" A frustrated older pirate said, holding the loosely braided rope as evidence.
The younger, scrawnier pirate groaned. "It's perfectly fine! It held, dinnit?"
The two men began yelling over each other, and other sailors began getting involved, taking sides and inspecting the rope on their own. As Manny approached, they backed away, one-by-one, but generally didn't cease the arguing.
"What's the problem?" Manny ordered. His voice naturally deepened to command an answer.
The older pirate stepped forward, "I dun think this is acceptable, sir."
Manny inspected the knots, pulling on certain legs and testing the strength. There was anticipatory silence as he did so.
"No. It's not. It's very close but one wrong gust of wind on this branch," Manny demonstrated a gust of wind by pulling a single rope from the bundle. It pulled loose from the knot and the entire thing fell apart, "and we'd be in trouble." He passed the loose ropes back to the scrawny young pirate. "Amend this, amigo. Don't let me catch you cutting corners again."
The young man started grumbling and spitefully put the knots back together in a tighter fashion. Manny opened his mouth to reprimand this man's attitude but the low creak of the captain's door stopped all movement on deck. After looking up to see the door open, the young man began quickly and wordlessly tying the rope.
There was the sound of slow footsteps. Manny faced the door with his hand behind his back, while Lara lazily stepped around him to get a better look.
Jonas was supporting Cordelia, though she was frequently pushing his hands away. She limped, and her mouth was in a hard line of concentration. Nobody looked up to see their first mate struggle to walk, every man focused intently on their hands as they worked diligently. No words were spoken except what was necessary to work, though Lara suspected many whispers were being exchanged.
"Take it easy," Jonas said under his breath.
"I'm fine," Cordelia said through gritted teeth, forcing herself to walk faster.
Lara stepped forward, intercepting Cordelia's path, stopping her momentum.
Tension as the two of them stared at each other was palpable. "Captain," Lara said, nodding at Jonas, "and Madame," she said looking Cordelia in the eyes. Cordelia's narrowed as Lara gave a small nod to her. "It's good to see you back on your feet." Cordelia's eyes softened, but her mouth did not relieve its tight line.
"Thank you, sailor," Cordelia acknowledged Lara.
Manny approached behind Lara. "Is everything alright, Capitain?"
"Yes. Thank you for your assistance these past few days, Emanuel. I'm sure your first mate won't admit to it but she got some well-needed rest. Unfortunately, you know how stubborn she can-"
"Thank you," Cordelia said through gritted teeth. "But I'm ready to resume my duties."
Manny raised an eyebrow involuntarily. "Is that so?"
"Yes."
"Then I will take my leave. Get some well-needed rest myself." Manny's small smile of malicious compliance couldn't be concealed. He passed behind Lara. His fingers grazing her lower back.
That damn Spaniard, Lara thought. Such a flirt.
Lara felt her face flush with embarrassment and prayed that a quick breeze would cool her cheeks before Cordelia or Jonas noticed. Of course, she wasn't the lucky sort, and Cordelia's mouth softened with a smug grin.
"Forgive me, I was enjoying the morning sun," Lara said curtly and walked back to her spot by the stern of the deck. He boots thudded against the wood like a horse galloping to safety where she could bury her face into a book she did not care about.
The morning and day had been uneventful, luckily for Cordelia. As women periodically visited the deck, they each paid their respects to Cordelia who tried her hardest to hide the effort she was putting into simple tasks.
Charlie had spent most of the day keeping Stella company by Brett. Brett had woken up for brief periods of time but her speech was nonsense. She'd been fighting a fever, and Stella had barely slept. The large Scottish medic, Niall, was adamant in having Stella care for herself, offering to watch Brett while she ate and slept. Charlie always laughed at Niall's off-handed comments that he'd care for her despite Brett being Irish because at least she wasn't English.
Stella was never away for long though. Usually, her breaks consisted of going above deck to ask Manny how far out from port they were, ever since her initial request to stop for a restock of supplies and medical help when Brett first got injured.
Maia had convinced Charlie and Stella to come on deck to enjoy the evening air. Morale on deck was ever-increasing the closer they go to their destination. Most of the pirates sang after dinner and played games on deck, and it had lured the girls away from their rooms to join the fun. Cordelia was sitting on a barrel, her injured leg stretched out in front of her. She watched over the ladies but had her nose buried in maps and literature. Jonas was sitting at her feet, massaging her other leg. Initially, she had swatted him away but, just like his sister, Jonas was persistent and stubborn. Upon seeing Stella, Cordelia called out to her and beckoned to come to talk.
"How is Brett's condition?" Cordelia asked.
"Stable. She's not awake, but has moments of arousal where she speaks to us."
"Anything to be concerned about?"
Stella took a pause and thought for a moment. "She is most likely very dehydrated. She will barely drink when awake and chokes when we try and force it. She needs more medical help from the land. Quickly."
Cordelia nodded solemnly, dismissing Stella to the deck's antics. She watched as Stella was convinced to dance with a young man, but her face was clouded over with worry. Despite the forced smile, Cordelia saw the pain and worry.
"We are still two days out from the River of Whispers," Jonas stated, watching the scene with Cordelia.
"The wind is on our side. We've not slowed from full speed since yesterday morning. If it keeps up we can be there by sunrise."
Jonas gave Cordelia a gentle pat on her good ankle. "You're optimistic. The wind is fickle, and that girl won't make it to see midday tomorrow. I've gone to visit her. Niall is quite sure."
"Jonas," Cordelia said, "The bond between these women is something I cannot tarnish." She gave him a stern look, her mouth forming a thin line as her curly red hair flew about her face. "Make it happen."
"How would you have me do that?"
"Martisha," Cordelia said, and Jonas scoffed incredulously. "If you tell her it's me that's hurt she'll help."
"And when we arrive and it's not you, she'll have my head."
Cordelia flourished her finger at her injured leg. "I am hurt. I'm just not the only one!"
Jonas sat silently at Cordelia's feet, thinking about Cordelia's plan.
"Fine."
Cordelia tried to hide her smirk. "But," Jonas said quickly, "you have to sell it. I hate lying to her. She creeps me out."
"Of course," Cordelia said running her fingers through Jonas's cowlick before giving his head a gentle shove. "I'm not stupid. I know what to do."
The two shared a smile that turned into a laugh when Mouse showed off for Robin by flipping between ropes. Robin, instead of being impressed, gave a belly laugh and said, "That's nothing, watch this!" before climbing up to meet him.
The breeze wavered slightly on Robin's flip, but she still grasped tightly onto the rope, catching herself.
Jonas breathed in deeply, smelling the salt-water air. "Let's tell her then."
He stood, and offered a hand to Cordelia to stand. She tried putting as little weight on him as possible, attempting to do it independently.
They retreated to their quarters, where Cordelia sat in the Captain's chair. She couldn't walk for long, and Jonas was happy to let her sit. He rummaged through his shelves, finding a skull with burnt symbols etched into the brow bone. It was similar to the skull he took to shore when he left Cordelia in charge but held a direct line to Martisha, the Voodoo Queen.
Jonas held the skull up and put his mouth near its 'ear'. A string of the only Swahili words he knew fell from his lips and the etchings began to glow, "Utukufu, Utajiri, na Kifo." Glory, Riches, and Death. The pirates' oath.
A heavy moment passed as they waited for the response.
"Mon cher," an islander accent flowed musically from the skull's orifices, "I hope you bring me good news."
Jonas glanced at Cordelia, who pursed her lips. This was going to be all on him if they wanted to get Martisha's full help.
"I'm afraid not. Cordelia's been hurt."
Another tense moment dragged on, before the simple response came, "What can I do to help, Capitaine Jonas?"
Voila! I told you all I had more written!
I hope you liked this chapter, it's a little shorter, but the next two are going to be kind nuts. (Specifically, the next chapter is quite long already, so yikes.)
Please review as it makes me feel special and gives me warm fuzzies. Or, you can just review on discord if that's easier! I just love feedback!
Also, thanks to KJ, aka, Anastasia The Goddess of Drama. She wrote up the character for Martisha, which I couldn't have done better myself! You'll be seeing more of her in future chapters!
Thanks for reading!