The six day voyage to Tortuga was uneventful, and the combination of boredom and mounting apprehension made Natalia practically fly to the deck when someone yelled, "Land, ho!" As she skidded to a stop at the deck railing, she got her first glance of the notorious island.
The first thing she saw was a grungy man with a whore in each arm, and a bottle of rum in his hand, strolling along the road next to the dock. The women were wearing dresses that barely covered their breasts, and the man was so drunk that he was in serious danger of falling into the harbor.
She loved the place immediately.
Turning, she saw Matt right behind her, probably ogling the prostitutes. Once again, that hurt feeling came over her, and with no small effort, she forced it down and said, "If you'd stop staring at the hired vaginas, we need to figure out a plan."
As she expected, the bluntness of her statement shook him out of his staring, and he grinned at her.
"Yes, we need a place to stay and food. And jobs probably. Those wedding jewels you nicked-"
"Excuse me, I didn't nick them. They belonged to me."
"Whatever. Those jewels that you rightfully took, then, won't last us forever. I could probably work on the docks, and you could make excellent money as a," he stopped as his grin widened, "…lady of the night."
"I'll take that as a compliment. At least I wouldn't be a cheap strumpet."
She smirked as his face went through several shades of red, and said, "Calm down, Matt. I was joking. I'll get work as a barmaid or something." She turned to get her bag as he said, "Then you'll have to go buy a dress and all that nonsense. How about I secure some rooms while you do all that? We'll meet back at the dock at 4 o'clock, alright?"
She gave him a sarcastic salute and walked down the gangplank and turned onto the first street she saw.
As she walked down the street, looking for a shop where she could pawn her jewelry, she reveled in the freedom that she had so easily acquired. If she knew how easy escaping St. Thomas would be, she would've done it years ago. She scratched under her arm and spat just for the hell of it.
Finally, after passing more brothels, pirates, drunks, prostitutes and pubs than she had ever seen in her life, she found a row of shops selling things besides liquor and women. She went into the most respectable looking shop and plopped her carpet bag on the counter. An old Asian man came out of the back room and introduced himself.
"Mr. Shin is the name, sir, and what we got here?"
Natalia wondered why he had called her "sir", and opened her mouth to correct the obviously blind man, but quickly remembered that she still had her breeches and tunic on. Trying not to feel like a total idiot, Natalia turned the carpet bag upside down, and watched as Mr. Shin's eyes go as big as saucers. She glanced down at the treasure trove, realizing for the first time how much she had actually taken. There were four large gold bracelets, a dazzling emerald and sapphire necklace, her ornate 4 carat diamond and pearl engagement ring, a pair of tangled silver and ruby earrings, and a few other miscellaneous trinkets.
As Mr. Shin extended a shaking hand to examine the pieces, Natalia looked more closely and saw a simple diamond ring under all the decadence. With a shock, she realized that she had accidentally taken her mother's wedding ring. Horrified, she quickly took it off the table and slipped it in her pocket.
This sudden movement seemed to shake Mr. Shin out of his daze, and said, "I cannot take all at once, it is bad business. I buy the ring for 300 pounds; you come back in a week or two." Natalia, feeling dizzy and not in the mood to haggle, nodded and gathered up the rest of the jewelry, dumped it unceremoniously in her bag, and left as quickly as she came.
Once outside again, she began to regain her composure. She stuck her hand in her pocket to reassure herself that the ring was there, and began to walk in the general direction of the dress shop. Feeling the cold metal of the ring, she couldn't believe that she had taken one of the only happy reminders of her parents' marriage with her to pawn. Disgusted with herself, she entered the shop.
Three hours later, she left the shop feeling a lot better, dressed in a (somewhat) scandalous brown dress, new petticoat and corset, with another red dress and her men's clothes, pistol, and cutlass in her bag. She went next door to the weaponry shop and bought two small knives for each of her new boots, and a small chain that she threaded with her mother's ring and clasped it around her neck. As she walked out, she could almost hear her mother whispering one of her favorite proverbs, "Wherever you go, you cannot leave yourself behind." Keeping her mother's ring reminded her of the good times she had with her family, however few they might be.
Natalia caught her reflection in a shop window as she walked back toward the harbor, and was surprised to see that she looked good. Admitably, her hair was a little off, but thankfully it was growing quickly and would touch her shoulders in another day or two.
Sensing that she was already late for her rendezvous with Matt, she hurriedly walked down an alley that she thought would take her back to one of the main roads, where she could find her way to the dock. Halfway down the alley, however, she was distracted by a weird snuffing sound ahead and off to her right. Natalia sped up to see what was causing it, and she saw the shape of a woman half crawling, half walking, toward the door of one of the more rundown houses.
Calling out, "Miss? Miss, are you alright?" Natalia ran to her side and dropped to the ground. Unprepared for what she saw, she swore horribly in both Polish and English.
The woman's face was covered in bruises, cuts, and lumps so severe that you could barely tell that it was a face at all. Still swearing heavily, Natalia picked up the woman. As she brought her into the light, she saw that it wasn't a woman at all, maybe a teen a few years older than herself. She also saw that the bruising and lacerations continued all over her chest and arms. Natalia also noticed that she wasn't that heavy, in fact, she was nothing more than skin and bones stuffed into a whore's outfit.
Having no idea what to do, she ran to the end of the alley, and onto the main street with the girl still held in her arms. Adrenaline pumping, Natalia sprinted down the crowded street as best she could to a clinic that she had seen on her earlier stroll through town. She banged on the door, screaming for help the whole time entirely in Polish without even realizing it.
The doctor opened the door calmly after a few minutes of frantic pounding, and Natalia quickly explained what had happened. He swiftly took the girl into his arms and laid her on the examining table, calling to his assistant for bandages and antiseptic. Natalia was shaking from effort of carrying the beaten girl and sat down on the nearest chair, clenching her mother's ring around her neck. She glanced down at her other hand, saw that she had somehow managed to hold onto her shopping bag the entire time, let out a chuckle, and promptly passed out.