And here's chapter four! It took me a little bit longer to get this one up because I was working hard over the weekend to catch up on NaNoWriMo (and successfully!). I'm currently working on finishing chapter seven, I just haven't had the time to go back and edit what I had written previously.
Hope you enjoy! :)
Chapter Four: Acquaintances
Kate awoke in the morning, the sunlight streaming through the window, illuminating the tiny room. Kate's whole body ached from yesterday's acclimation to the ship and the adventures that had taken place the night before. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, surprised to see that she had been sleeping on a purple mattress. She hadn't remembered there being a mattress in the room the night before, nor did she remember moving to sleep on it.
Curiosities aside, Kate stood, running her fingers quickly through her brown hair. "I suppose this isn't too bad after all." She murmured to herself. As she walked towards the galley, remembering her duty, she recalled how frightened she had been before. Admittingly, she was still not comfortable aboard the pirate vessel, but it could be much, much worse.
Kate stepped into the galley, looking around for the familiar face of Bigs. "Hello?" She called after seeing no one. She was afraid that she might've woken up too late and that breakfast had already been prepared and the crew had already eaten.
"In here!" A voice called out from the room the chickens resided in.
Kate hurried over to the room and greeted Bigs. "Good morning." She said politely.
"Mornin'." He replied without turning to look at her. "Mind grabbin' that basket there? Me hands are full."
Kate obliged and held the basket out for Bigs to put the eggs he had collected in it. "I'll teach ya how to handle 'em so they don't bite ya." Bigs said. He took the basket from Kate and set it on top of one of the pens. "Here, just hold it like this, and hold it away from yer." He demonstrated as he grabbed a chicken from a pen. "Try it." He stepped aside so Kate could have a go.
Kate hesitantly reached into one of the pens, grabbing the chicken like Bigs had done. She pulled it out, holding it away from her, and successfully grabbed the egg it had been shielding.
"Right! Just like that." Bigs nodded. He watched as Kate managed to collect the rest of the eggs, adding them to the basket.
"Can't say I've ever handled chickens before." Kate commented as the two headed back out into the galley.
"I was a farm hand before pirate." Bigs replied conversationally, cracking open an egg into a pan.
"Really?" Kate asked curiously. "How did you become a pirate then?" Kate took an egg from the basket and cracked it open as well.
"It's a bit of a long story…" He trailed off, not knowing if Kate really wanted to hear it or if she was just being polite.
"I've got time." She smiled, motioning to all the food laid out before them, waiting to be cooked.
While they cooked, Bigs began to tell his story of how he had chased after a girl of a higher status than he. He was caught stealing presents for her from a store and as punishment, was traded to work on another farm a couple of miles away. They had hoped that would discourage Bigs's fascination with the girl, but he would still sneak back to see the girl. After getting caught sneaking into her house, he was accused of trying to rape her. He was forced to flee and he joined a crew of a pirate ship. Even then, he didn't think he would stay a pirate, just stay one long enough to earn a living and return home.
"Love makes you do some dumb things," Bigs finished.
"Whatever happened to her?" Kate asked, frowning at his rather depressing tale.
"I don't know," Bigs replied. "Though, I wouldn't go back for her even if I did. I'm really not sure what I even saw in her."
"Well, if she was worth sneaking over to see her…" Kate trailed off, letting Bigs figure out what she was trying to say.
Bigs shook his head. "Then, sure. Now, she'd be some pompous landowner with a hundred slaves to her name, obsessed with clothes and make-up." He chopped an onion. "I don't want ter be a part o' any of that." He waved his knife in the air and then pointed it at her.
"Get choppin' missy! I think yer makin' it take longer to cook breakfast!" He joked.
Kate giggled. "Sorry." She dumped some chopped vegetables into the pan with the eggs.
It was silent for a moment. "Ya know, I don't think I'd leave the Pearl." Bigs wiped his hand on a cloth, watching Kate finish cooking. "May not be highly looked upon, but I like it."
Kate pondered over this for a moment, but did not reply. There was no doubt in her mind that she would leave the ship the first chance she got to return home in Port Veridian.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
Bigs and Kate were bringing out the last of the dishes that they had prepared for breakfast to the dining hall. Most of the crew had already crowded around and were full of mirth, yet anxiously awaiting the meal. Kate sat down next to Bigs near the middle of the table.
"Dig in!" Bigs shouted over the ruckus, but there was no need to tell the pirates that they could. The crew was already reaching over each other's arms and plates to grab the food that they desired.
Kate herself grabbed some of the cooked potatoes and a spoonful of scrambled eggs. She peered down the table at Jack, who was taking large scoops out of every dish that was passed his way.
"Hey Bigs! Seems like breakfast tastes a little better this mornin'!" Nate called out from down the table.
Brandon elbowed Nate, laughing. "We told ya you couldn't cook!"
Bigs launched a serving spoon their way. They both ducked, the spoon flying over their heads and hitting the wall. They cracked up, giving each other high fives.
"I swear I'm gonna kill those two." Bigs mumbled. Kate tried to suppress a smile as Bigs tucked into his plate.
Kate had just started eating when she noticed Tucker enter the hall. She quickly looked down at her plate, hoping that he wouldn't notice her. She knew that the news of her staying aboard the Pearl would have reached him by now, whether that made him angry or not. She sneaked a glance up, wondering where he would take a seat. He took a seat down by some of the crew she hadn't been acquainted with at the other end of the table. Tucker looked up, noticing Kate looking his way.
Kate didn't drop her eyes though, and Tucker moved his focus to the heaps of food in front of him, no expressions written on his face. Kate gave a small inward sigh of relief.
"Oi, Kate! Pass me those potatoes will ya!" A brown-headed pirate two seats down called at her.
Kate grabbed the bowl and passed it to the pirate, who flashed a smile in thanks. Kate then tucked into her own plate, grateful to have another full meal. She listened to the other conversations around her, but didn't bother to join in. Kate finally leaned back, feeling as if she would explode with how much food she had consumed in one sitting, and couldn't help but notice all the food that was still remaining on the table.
"What do you do with all the leftovers?" Kate asked Bigs curiously, who was reaching for another bowl. He heaped all of its contents onto his plate.
He looked up at her in confusion, then his face changed and he chuckled. "We don't have leftovers." He replied with a grin.
Kate quietly sat and watched as the food started to disappear. The crew fought over the last morsels of food in the bottoms of bowls and pots. She grinned and shook her head. "I don't see how you guys can eat so much!"
Bigs chuckled again. "It's breakfast." He left Kate to interpret what he meant by that.
There was a loud clinking of a spoon against a bottle. Everyone's focus turned to the captain, who then, accidentally, broke his bottle with his spoon. He stared at it for a moment, then dropped the spoon and addressed the crew, "Alright ye scurvy dogs, I'm sure you've all been informed about our new addition to the crew," he flourished his arm towards Kate, "an' if you haven't, now ya know." He took a drink from his broken bottle. "Ye should also know that the next time we weigh anchor will be at Tortuga—"At this, there were loud cheers of approval from the crew. He smirked, waiting for the noise to die down. "Aye, now get and we'll arrive at the bloody town faster!" He commanded joyfully.
The crew happily scurried from the room, quick to get the ship sailing faster to their favorite port. Kate's heart began to sink. She had been to that dreaded port, and she did not want to be going back anytime soon.
"And that leaves us," Bigs said, "ta clean up."
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
"Now loop this end through there…"
Kate bit her lip, focusing on the rope before her, trying to tie the proper knot.
"Right, bend the rope—no the other way—and slide the end through it—no through the top, not the bottom." Conrad, a blonde pirate that Kate had been introduced to that day, instructed. "Now pull it taught." Kate did as she was told, and they both surveyed the knot she had made.
"Well…it's not bad for a starter…" Conrad trailed off, scratching his head. Kate ran her hand down her face in failure. Conrad had been trying to teach Kate for the last couple of hours how to tie the necessary knots on the ship, without much success. Every time they moved on to a new knot, Kate would forget the last one she had been taught.
"Oi, Conrad, maybe you should learn how ta tie them yerself!" Brandon called out as he passed, giving a small wave to Kate.
The blonde narrowed his eyes at Brandon but didn't give in to his taunt. "Maybe we should take a break." He suggested.
"Oh thank goodness." Kate couldn't hide her relief. She left Conrad to redo the knot she had tried to do and headed to the galley. There, she found herself a drink and sat down at one of the small tables. She wasn't used to being out in the hot sun all day, and it was draining her of her energy. Conrad's insistence on perfection and his know-it-all attitude was not helping her irritable one either. She suppressed a sigh as the said pirate walked into the galley and headed towards the seat next to her with his own drink of choice.
An awkward silence hung in the air between them as they each sipped their drinks.
Finally, Conrad broke the silence. "So, you worked in a tavern?"
Kate set down her drink. "Yes, I was a barmaid." She answered simply.
Another silence fell between them.
Kate wished someone else would walk into the galley and provide a distraction, but no such chance arose. She finally decided to make the best of the situation. "And you? Before you were a pirate?" She returned the question.
Conrad seemed to sit a bit straighter in his chair, as if he was just waiting for her to ask him the question. "I was a naval officer." He said pompously.
"Oh…" Kate looked down at her bottle, no longer interested, and wished she hadn't asked the question.
"I was an ambitious sailor, and a successful one at that, so they promoted me. I became captain in a short amount of time, and I suspected that others were becoming jealous, so I waited a while before showing my interest in becoming commodore." He continued arrogantly. "But of course, like I said, jealousies arose, and a certain naval officer, Clarke was his name, I believe, and he spread some rumors, said I did some unmoral things. People believed him of course. They never seem to appreciate true greatness." He paused, taking a drink of his alcohol. "I was angry of course, but I thought I would regain my reputation shortly, and it all didn't seem too bad. My rise to power would just be seen as greater than before, so I…"
By that time, Kate had tuned the egotistic pirate out. Instead, she thought of home. Though she told herself most days she hated her job, she still missed her friends and the drunken regulars' humor at the tavern. She missed her small house and her neighbors. It may have all been simple, but it was home. She wanted to return, but she knew that realistically, she would probably never be able to go back. She would have to risk her life against the Navy, telling them everything she knew. Then, she would feel like a traitor, betraying the pirates that had been rather hospitable to her.
She finally noticed that Conrad had stopped talking, and he was looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to remark on his excellent tale.
"I guess that would explain your un-pirate-y talk." Kate said awkwardly, not knowing what else to say.
"Oh yes, I haven't really adapted to that part of becoming a pirate yet." He said modestly, finishing off his drink.
Just then Simon had entered the galley. "Kate, the cap'n wants you above deck, says it's time for your lessons again." He left as quickly as he came.
Kate groaned, slumping down in her chair.
"If the captain is not doing a good enough job of teaching you how to use a sword, you can always ask me to help you with your tech—"
"—that's very kind of you, Conrad, but I think I'll be fine." Kate interrupted as she stood from the table.
"Well, it was nice talking to you Katherine." He stated very gentlemanly.
"Er, you, too, Conrad." Kate replied. She quickly left the galley, glad to be away from Conrad, yet dreading the upcoming lesson. Who would've known being a pirate was so much work?
I hope you liked the chapter! Not a whole lot happened in this one, but the next few will be a bit more exciting. Tell me what you thought in a review-reviews make my day. :)