"Land Ahoy!" Someone shouted above deck, and though muffled, it sent Captain Megallen into a sleep deprived, hungover rush. She pulled on her black breeches and off white shirt before tugging on her weathered black boots over holey socks. Alae grabbed her royal blue, embroidered coat from the hook behind her door and came above deck, gingerly tying her crimson bandana around her forehead and hair. She squinted in the early morning sunlight and realised that dawn had only just proceeded them a couple of hours beforehand. Captain Megallen strode to the helm, jumping the steps two at a time before clutching the wheel between each of her palms.
"Hoist the sails, full speed a head! To Port Juvenaire!" Captain Megallen bellowed and her crew gave a mighty cheer before running across either side of the ship, busying themselves with preparing for land. The early morning air was crisp and the Captain breathed in deeply, feeling somewhat jolly about their harbouring at Port Juvenaire. Possibly because she was still relatively intoxicated. And that's when a sudden thought came to her.
"Davidson! To the helm, man. And bring the rum!" Alae ordered, continuing to clasp the wheel within her hands. Davidson joined her at the helm and passed her the rum. Captain Megallen smirked and pulled the cork from the bottle with her teeth, taking a swig. She handed the bottle back to Davidson who took a similar swig and again joined the men upon the deck.
Port Juvenaire was slowly coming in to view and the water seemed to calm somewhat closer to the bay and Megallen grimaced at the lack of sea spray greeting her face. As much as she enjoyed walking a greater distance than the length of her ship, Alae really disliked land. Especially when there were people involved. People always made trouble for the Captain and her crew but they always seemed to see it the other way around. Seeing as it was always the same two crew members who ended up drunk and causing riots between the locals and themselves. Captain Megallen and Mr. Trilby never planned on instigating difficulties when they came in to port. But enough rum and a crude remark about Alae not being able to hold her own, being a woman and all, and her mouth always got the better of her. Not to mention her fist. But she had promised Davidson and Mr. Trilby, who were becoming tiresome of her temper, that she would try her best not to cause any trouble unless she absolutely had to. Captain Megallen cracked her neck and shifted her feet before turning the ship slightly to bring The Mairess in to port. They moored just before ten o'clock and the Captain ordered the crew to set out for supplies, sharing out enough coin for several months worth of rum and enough food to feed the crew plus some extra in case of prisoners, stowaways and the like. And just in case they were really hungry. Which seemed to happen often enough.
After giving out her orders and forcing Tarlen to pull back and guard the ship, Captain Megallen headed into town to mosey and search for anything valuable that took her eye. She wasn't here to steal today, knowing she had enough gold to spare if she so happened to stumble upon something of her liking. As Alae wandered, still slightly tipsy, through the streets of Port Juvenaire she felt a sudden strange feeling wash over her. The feeling of being watched. And she didn't like it one bit. Captain Megallen slipped leisurely into a small alley and removed the bottle of rum she had hidden beneath her jacket, before departing the ship, and took a long swig before resecuring the cork and checking for danger. She saw nor heard anything unusual so she sidled out of the other end of the passageway, catching sight of a small stall tucked between two sandstone buildings. Alae cocked her head slightly and slid through the crowds of people, reaching the front of the stall, masking her curiosity and seeming stoned faced and uninterested. She gazed at the jewellery upon the table, brushing her hand across a few brightly coloured stones. She looked up and saw the owner, a man of Arabic decent, staring down at her hands. Megallen wondered whether he was worried about her stealing but when she looked back down at her hands, she realised the cuff of her right sleeve had slid upward, revealing the 'P' branded into the top of her wrist. Alae's hand automatically went to the pistol at her waist but the man raised his hands, as if pleading her to silence. She slowly removed her hand from the trigger of her gun and watched as the man placed a small box in front of the necklaces he had laid across his stand.
"I have something I think you may like." He finally spoke, his voice deeply accented and slightly hard to here over the voices of the people passing down the street. Megallen took the box gingerly and pulled back the lid, revealing a bright token of a maiden's face set in jade and silver. She lifted the token from its box and a black cord slid out, joined to one end of the coin. Alae suddenly shivered, still clasping it in her hand.
"How much?" She asked finally, her voice low but resolute. Just as she answered, she placed two gold coins upon the counter and waited for his approval. He smiled up at her and bowed his head slightly.
"Have a wonderful stay in Port Juvenaire, Madam." He ended and Alae tipped her head slightly then turned from the stand and strode back down the street she had come from and back towards The Mairess.