Thank you for the reviews! I'm very glad to know my story is being read.
I know the beginning is a bit slow, but in the next few chapters I'll pick it up and get some action in.
Lady Ano
Chapter 2
Coley managed to clamber on board the ship. She looked around for a moment before quickly shuffling into the center of the deck. The crew was all around her, bustling and working. She was going to need someone to instruct her, and some of the men were in the corner, arguing. She heard her name a few times and knew they must be arguing over who was going to be in charge of looking after her. Coley was secretly glad that she would have someone to tell her what to do. Since she could remember her father or someone had run her life, and she wasn't sure she wanted that to change. After a while the group dispersed and one walked towards her.
He looked a lot like a man besides the fact that his whole body was covered in barnacles. He had a hat (also covered in barnacles), and tattered clothes like the rest of the crew. What she really noticed about him, though, were the balls of chain shot he had in each hand. He stopped before her, and she just looked at him. He gaped art her a moment, and seemed at a lost of words.
"I'm Clanker," he began, "and I was put in charge of seeing you do your duties. Now, what talents do you have onboard a ship?" Coley paused before talking, also. She reflected on the sailing experience she had had with Sam and her father over the last few years of her life.
"I can do work like the sails, rigging…" she said, and then remembered her other skill. "I can also do some navigating." Coley was very familiar with these waters, and knew where the reefs and island were, and Ralf on the Bonne Chance had helped her perfect her skill. He seemed to give a small nod in approval before explaining the daily schedule.
"Most of us sleep on the deck or below in hammocks. If you want, there are a few rooms below deck. Not exactly adorned with beds, but its good if you want to sleep in private," Coley couldn't help but notice he was encouraging her to sleep below, and not with the crew on the top deck. She also noticed he wasn't talking like a pirate to her; instead he was talking like a man would talk to her back in France.
"Ye get up as the sun comes up. No sleeping in late. When ye get up ye can run a small look around the ship, and if there is anything out of place, ye come to me. In a couple hours of waking up I'll give ye what you have to do for the day. You'll work quite a bit. Maybe a few hours here, a small rest, and then more. There's no slacking on this ship, Miss Coley." Coley nodded in understanding. He looked at her, expecting questions. She took a deep breath before asking. She checked her voice so it wouldn't shake.
"And what do I do to pass the time if I'm not working?" He smiled, revealing awful teeth, not strait and worn.
"Figure it out. Most of the crew plays Liars Dice." Coley wondered what that was, but decided it didn't matter.
"It's getting to be late afternoon, so ye can have the rest of the day off. I suggest ye don't be getin' in anyone way." Then he turned and left. Coley stood there for several seconds, thinking of what she needed to do. She realized she still had Sam's sword gripped tightly in her right hand. She was relieved to find her own perfect sword attached to her left hip. She also had a pistol with some shot, and a few random trinkets. She decided to go below deck and find where she would stay.
As she entered the dimness of being below, she stuffed Sam's blade into her belt, and it stopped at the hilt. She was worried she might accidentally hit someone with the bare blade, but she decided she'd deal with that later. She found a small, bare room down a ways and to the right. She turned the handle and found it locked. She then gave a small laugh to see the key stuffed into the lock. She turned it and let herself in. The room had nothing in it but a few candles on the floor. She took off all her items and set them in the middle neatly. She then attached her belt, her fine sword, and shoved her pistol into her belt. Just incase. She ran her fingers through her hair, and decided she was tired. Why wouldn't she be? She had had a very, very rough day.
Coley lay down and took off the sash Sam had tied around her hip. She used it as a pillow against the hard, wooden planks that she laid on. She didn't think she would be able to sleep, but the smooth rocking of the ship that she was so used to sent her quickly asleep. She had the key clenched in her right hand, and she plaid with it in her fingers until sleep took her.
Coley slept through the rest of the day, and that night, and awoke to someone yelling at her. She had had no dreams; just the cold blackness of sleep. The man yelling at her was Clanker.
"Wake up Miss Coley! There's work that is needin' to be done!" He yelled from his post in the doorway. Coley sat up with a start and looked him sleepily. He looked pretty mad.
"I'll be up in a second!" She exclaimed as she jumped up. She hurriedly fixed herself up before running out the door. She closed it and locked it with the key, which was still in hand. She then shoved it into the small pouch that was hanging from her hip. She ran up the stairs, and was blinded by the light that shone from the sun.
She hadn't been on the deck for more than a minute when Clanker yelled at her to grab the line and help pull. She obeyed and took up position at the back. She didn't know what the line was attached to or what she was pulling it for. She just grabbed it and out one hand over the other, one over the other… After a couple minutes she rested against the rail. She sat crossed legged and rested her head against the rail. She felt something warm trickling down her hands. She looked at them and saw a lot of flesh scrapped away, and they were bleeding pretty badly. She cringed at the sight and whipped it on the top of the railing. She was relieved when none of the crew saw her.
Her first day and the few weeks that followed took on this pattern. She would get up early, mostly by Clanker, Maccus, or the bo'sun knocking on her door. Slowly she began to have short conversation with the crew, and they didn't seem too riled by her presence. After about two weeks, though, Coley found herself in a bad position.