Chapter Two: Set Sail And Man The Oars

Back on the dock Katie was waiting for her father to join her. The sun was setting and she thought the sky looked like blood pouring into the water. The light hit her hair, causing it to look all the more unbelievably red. She couldn't bear to look out to sea any longer, so she turned her attention to the boat, wringing her hands nervously as she tried to find her father in an ocean of busy crew men. He was now approaching her with Freddie close behind him; he reached out and took her right hand firmly in his own, the left hand still clutched the Emily doll. He forced a confidant smile as he rubbed her still shaky hand.

"Now McClair," he addressed Freddie, "you are to take Katherine straight home. Tell the housekeeper that she is to have lots of rest." Turning to his daughter and giving her a light kiss on her hand. "I'll have this all sorted soon. You will see."

"But…" she began to protest.

"Ah ah ah…you are to go home and rest. I will take care of this," he said.

She wanted to scream—she wanted to pull free from her father, but she couldn't bring herself to do it; she wasn't above causing a scene, but she had to be strong. Once her anger ran out, she would be crying.

"Yes sir," she conceded.

Her father turned and walked off down the dock; Freddie took as many of her bags as he could with his undamaged arm and walked beside her up the dock and onto the street. Katie walked numbly through the hustle and bustle of the streets, her eyes fixed blindly in front of her. She couldn't believe that she was expected to go home and act like everything was going to be perfectly fine—like a nap and a nice cup of tea would magically make the world beautiful again. Her sister was missing and it seemed like everyone was deliberately taking their time in making the slightest move to go after her kidnapers. The sun was setting quickly and she could imagine the ship disappearing into the inky blackness of the sea.

"It will be fine you know. I hear they are planning on sending two ships at first light," Freddie said.

Katie stopped dead in her tracks and looked at him with shock and disgust. In the morning? How could they wait that long? How could he possibly think that would be of any comfort to her and who was he to try to comfort her at all?

"Hmp," she grumbled. "My father told you to take me home; he did not tell you to speak to me."

She stomped forward towards her house and waited impatiently at the door for him to open it. She didn't wait to speak to the housekeeper; instead she bolted for her room and slammed the door shut. A maid knocked timidly at the door and Katie responded by sliding the lock into place loudly. She began to pace back and forth in the room; she had always thought their room was too small and cramped, but now it felt endlessly empty and cold. She tiptoed back over to the door and listened carefully; the maid had retreated down the corridor to get the housekeeper to unlock the door. The redhead sprinted to the bed and pulled one of the pillow cases free from the pillow then returned to the door and quietly pulled back the lock. She checked both directions before darting down the hallway to her father's study; once inside, she riffled through his desk and tossed as much money as she could find into the makeshift bag, piling it on top of the doll that already rested at the bottom. She took the side door from his study and crept down the narrow service staircase and through the kitchen to the servant's rooms. She struggled out of her now tattered and wrinkled gown and did her best to change into one of the maid's plain dresses, paying little attention in her haste.

She scampered quickly down the back alley way and off into the night, in the direction of town her family never went; even as she ran she knew this was crazy, but she couldn't stay home—couldn't pretend that everything would be just fine. She wasn't sure how much money she had with her, but she was pretty sure someone would be willing to take it in exchange for returning her sister—and that person would leave tonight, not in the morning.

Katherine stood outside a very questionable looking tavern on the edge of an all but abandoned dock. Her feet ached and she felt chilled to the bone. A few dreadfully neglected looking ships rocked and creaked in the water; the desperate girl took a deep breath and tried to steady her nerves and hair at the same time.

"Right," she said to herself. "I can do this."

She marched herself into the tavern; the air was thick with smoke and the lights were hazy. She cleared her throat and got no response.

"Excuse me," Katherine called out meekly.

The tavern was loud and none of the patrons seemed to notice her. Men in the corner laughed uproariously as a busy maid plopped their drinks down in front of them; a few young men exchanged angry words at the bar. The murmurs of voices all blurred together and Katie was beginning to feel faint again from the smoke and the over all smell of the place.

"For Emily," she reassured herself as she climbed up on a table.

"Excuse me!" She bellowed in a very unladylike manor. "I am looking for a ship that is willing to set sail within the hour!"

The room went silent for a moment as the crowd took in the sight of a short girl with disheveled red hair, standing on a table, holding up a lumpy pillowcase with her dress on backwards.

"You can shiver me' timbers this very minute," a gruff voice called from the table.

The pub erupted with laughter and most of the patrons returned to their business. Others continued with lewd offers and peals of laughter. Katie scampered down from the table quickly and stood still, unsure of what to do next. In the farthest corner of the tavern, a girl eyed Katie as she took a puff on her thick cigarette. She crushed the burning end into the table and took a hefty swig of her drink, bringing the mug down with a bang. The wild looking woman cleared her throat and nodded towards the redhead across the room.

"What do you think?" she asked her companion.

"Some Irish maid a few too many sheets to the wind," the man guessed.

"No…" she insisted. "There's something more. Go invite her over."

The dark haired boy shrugged and she locked eyes with him; he reluctantly stood up and made his way through the crowded pub. The redhead jumped when he addressed her, but he put on a charming smile and his blue eyes twinkled; something about him was instantly disarming and Katie followed him to the table. Several men pulled at her dress or pinched at her flirtingly, but the boy put an end to it with nothing more than a hard look. Katie took the chair he offered her; she stared up at him. but he did not sit down. The girl on the other side of the table cleared her throat and Katie turned her attention to her. Her hair was dark and wavy; it hung wildly out of the scarf around the girl's forehead and several strands of it had beads tied into it. Effy had relit her cigarette and blew a large stream of smoke out of the side of her mouth; her arms were muscular and her hands rough, but her face was smooth and flawless, just like the man who stood with his arms crossed behind Katherine. Her brown eyes met the wild looking woman's cold blue eyes and the redhead sat up straight in the rickety chair. There was something about this woman, as different from the wealthy girl as she was, that seemed familiar.

"So where do you need to go in such a hurry?" Effy asked.

"Do you have a ship?" Katie asked.

"Do you have money?" Effy bantered back.

"Yes," she said indignantly.

"With you?" The other girl asked slyly.

Katie clutched at the case tightly. "A little, but not all of it. I can pay you half now and the rest when we return."

"Smart answer," the girl complemented. "So where?"

"I don't know exactly where. I am after a ship called The Lament," she said hopefully.

"The Lament…" Effy repeated, her eyes narrowing, "I think I've heard of it."

"Do we have a deal?" Katie asked impatiently.

The girl leaned back in her chair and took a long drag off her cigarette. "What do you think Tony?"

The man chuckled and shrugged; his sister would do what she wanted, the way she always did, and he would be here settling her debts and finding her work while she was out to sea. He was surprised she hadn't dropped sails at the mere mention of The Lament. Tony leaned in over Katie's shoulder and took the mug from in front of Effy and finished the last of the frothy beer, bringing the cup down with a loud clatter that caused the redhead to jump.

"Job's a job Eff." He smiled.

"Then go get the crew's asses on board while I talk business." His sister smirked.


Emily sat with her chin rested on her knees; she was watching Captain Campbell begin to nod off at her desk. The blonde had been pouring over a sea chart by flickering lamplight for hours; her eyelids fluttered wearily under the strain and her head bobbed from time to time as she struggled against sleep. The brown eyed girl couldn't help but admit to herself that had she met this woman under different circumstances, she would have probably been desperate to meet her. The captain sighed loudly and stood up to stretch; her hands almost reached the low ceiling as she yawned. She walked to the back of the room and slid a metal panel on the wall to the side exposing a small rectangular window. Emily leaned forward curiously; she could just barely see the twinkle of stars in a clear dark sky. The blonde motioned that she was welcome to look outside if she wanted to; the prisoner eased off the bed and moved tentatively forward as the other girl walked past. The waves shone bright white on the oily black water and Emily craned her neck to look at the sky instead of the frightening darkness of the bottomless water. The room echoed with the scrape of metal and the girl's attention was drawn back to the woman who was now sorting through a large chest at the foot of the bed. She was tugging something that looked like a net out of the trunk.

Emily took a moment to take a thorough look at the room; all the furniture was bolted to the floor or the walls. There was a large hook in the wall to the right of the window and another adjacent to it on the right wall, but most of the space on that side of the room was empty with the exception of the large desk by the door, but the walls on that side were covered by a large tapestry. On the other side of the door there was a row of shelves that reached to the corner; the shelves were packed with books and scrolls of paper that were held in place by straps of leather. The left wall held a wardrobe with the doors latched shut, the trunk, and the bed that was catty-cornered because of the odd shape of the room. The small bedside table that held the second lamp securely tied down to it was to the right and that brought her back to the window. The center of the room was empty except for a large round rug.

The captain had finally gathered all the net and she moved in Emily's direction; the girl cringed a little, not sure what to expect. The blonde reached past her and looped one end of the mesh over the hook and made her way over to the other hook to finish hanging the hammock. She walked to the door and double-checked the bolt on the door before turning to face the redhead again. She motioned to the bed and, for the first time since she had been taken aboard, Emily took a defiant stance, sticking out her chin and narrowing her eyes.

The captain shook her head. "Let's do this the easy way, shall we?"

Emily didn't budge.

"Ok, then," the blonde said, taking a step towards her.

The girl flinched and the captain tossed her head back in frustration. She didn't know why, but she just couldn't bring herself to man-handle the brown eyed girl; it just seemed wrong, but she couldn't go soft now—she had a plan and she was sticking to it.

"Look," she said matter-of-factly, "I'm not going to hurt you, but I do have make sure you can't try to get out."

"Where exactly do you think I am going to run to?" Emily asked.

It was a good question—they were on a ship full of pirates, far out to sea, with no sign of land in sight. The blonde's eyebrows raised and she shrugged.

"Fine." she sighed. "But I'm telling you honestly that if you do for some reason leave this room, it's completely at your own risk. I take no responsibility for the actions of my men in that case."

The captain walked over to the bed and took one of the pillows and tossed it into the hammock. Emily looked back out the window as the other girl began to strip down to her petticoats. The blonde climbed gracefully into the netting and settled in to sleep; she watched the redhead shuffle back to the bed, averting her eyes when the girl looked back in her direction. Emily crawled under the covers and scanned the room one last time, trying to memorize everything before putting out the light.


Effy lead Katherine out of the tavern and onto the dock; men grumbled as they prepared the medium sized ship to set sail. The red-haired girl eyed the ship with disbelief; it was weathered and beaten looking. The figurehead was missing an arm and a large chunk of its left side so that the carved woman looked less like she was pointing the way home and more like she was struggling to not drown and it appeared overly large for the ship it was attached to. None the less, Effy beamed with pride at the sight of her ship; after all, there were only two successful female captains that she knew of and she was one of them.

"Bags all packed?" the wild girl asked.

Katie gripped her pillowcase once again and swallowed down the feeling of panic that was trying to overtake her. Every bit of her upbringing was telling her to run like hell back to her father, like a proper lady, but it was no match for the part of her that was linked forever to her sister. She nodded and the captain escorted her up the ramp onto the deck of the ship; crew members brushed past Katie gruffly. Effy took her up the short set of stairs to the ship's wheel.

"Gentlemen!" the captain yelled out and the men snapped to attention. "We are being paid to pursue The Lament."

The crew roared with excitement and continued with their preparations. Effy turned to her now employer.

"What do I call you again?" she asked.

"Kath…Katie, just Katie," she stammered.

"Well, Katie," the captain said. "Welcome to the Bloody Whore."

If you are enjoying this story, I would like to suggest you give my friend Invisimeg's story When Fate's Collide a read (and her other stories as well). She is my beta reader and a very good author. Thank you for all the comments so far, please keep letting me know what's working or not working and what you are enjoying.