Ok so there is finally an update. I am so so so sorry for not updating forever. I moved so everything has been in complete upheaval lately. Mostly because I have been missing my best friend and beta reader (Invisimeg, read her stories they are awesome) and on top of other things I just felt totally blocked. But I will try very hard not to let the story go for that long again! That is, if anyone is still interested in it at all by now...
Chapter 13: Doldrums
Emily watched the repairs to the Lament's main mast from her room above Gina's tavern. They had made their way back into port for repairs and Naomi's family had generously given them the best of the small quarters free of rent. Below she could hear the drone of children's voices as they recited some lines they were being taught to read and write. If the redhead had liked Gina before, she loved her all the more now after seeing the sacrifices the woman made for the abandoned children of the town. She sighed, wishing she knew a way to convince Naomi to go through with her plan, but whenever it was brought up, the blonde would turn cold or change the subject. By now the ransom letters had been delivered; she could imagine her father arriving at the place set for their exchange to find it deserted. Her brown eyes rimmed with tears as she thought of how he must feel, how her mother must feel, and mostly of Katherine lost at sea, hopefully alive. It seemed unfair to her—to feel so utterly happy and terribly sad at the same time. She leaned her head against the window frame and willed her mind to concoct a plan that would let everyone be happy when this was all over, but it simply couldn't untangle the web of confusion.
She didn't hear the light tap at her door, so Gina's gentle greeting caused her to jump.
"Didn't mean to startle you dear…" The woman smiled apologetically. She looked tired and pale. Both Emily and Naomi had been worried about her since they arrived; she worked too hard and too long, stretching herself thinner by the day it seemed.
"No…I was just…thinking…" Emily smiled weakly.
"About my daughter." Gina sighed as she gave the brown eyed girl a warm pat on the shoulder. "She has that effect on a lot of people."
The older woman joined the redhead on the bench at the window and they sat in silence for a few moments, both looking out over the port. Emily had so many questions she wanted to ask Gina but was unsure of how to go about it.
"Could I ask you something?" the brown eyed girl asked.
"Anything," the blonde replied cheerily.
"Well…uh…" The girl hesitated. "Why is this called The Orange Pony Inn?" She stalled.
Naomi's mother laughed. "Well Kieran can be quite daft. Even in his best moments." A small smile crept over the woman's face as she added, "He inherited this place when Naomi was only five. He asked her what we should call it now that it was ours."
"And she named it The Orange Pony?" Emily giggled, trying to imagine Captain Campbell as a young girl.
"You don't…" the brown eyed girl began quietly, unsure of how to phrase her question. "You don't mind…us…do you?"
Gina smiled broadly, patting Emily's hand as she answered, "The people who make us happy. That's all I have ever wanted for Naomi and it's harder to come by than you would think. She's a bright girl, lovely, but she can be hard sometimes too. At any rate, it's nothing new to me."
Emily gave a slight nod and sighed as she ran her fingers along the rough wood of the windowsill. It amazed her how at ease she felt with this woman; someone from a completely different situation in life, someone she would never have been introduced to or dare allowed to know existed before. Yet she felt more at home with her than she ever had with her own mother; for a moment she felt a sharp pang of guilt at the thought, but it was true.
"It's because she's so bright you know," Gina continued. "She forgets that she might not always have the answers. And she's so afraid to trust, to let go; everything has to be in place." Naomi's mother sighed but smiled. "Sometimes you have to stop trying to convince her of what she wants—sometimes you just have to find a way to show her what's best."
The girl looked at her with obvious shock; there was no way that Gina could know about what she had been planning but she clearly had been able to see that her captain daughter was avoiding some kind of topic with her new love.
There were calls from the tavern below and the older woman slowly pulled herself up from the bench, leaning down to give the redhead a light kiss on the forehead before making her way downstairs. Emily sighed and pulled the windows closed. The sun was setting fast and the captain would be back soon. Gina's words were still circling in her head as she headed down the stairs and into the kitchen to offer whatever help she could.
Katie sat on the lounge with her arms crossed as she stared Captain Stonem down. "You can't be serious…"
The wild woman standing in the doorway crossed her arms as well, mimicking the look on the other girls face as best she could. "I can when I try…" she said both teasingly and sternly.
"I am not staying on this ship!" the red head demanded. "Especially not if you are going ashore for information. It's ridiculous."
Effy gave her a sly smile before answering. "Ridiculous is a good word," she said as she pulled the door closed and leaned against it. "For instance, it would be ridiculous to take you, who looks exactly like the girl a good portion of the British navy is probably looking for, into a dank and dreary port of ill repute to search for information about said girl."
Katie uncrossed her arms and stared out the window; if she thought it was hard to argue with the captain when she was being nonsensical, then it was doubly so when all of the sudden she decided to start using logic.
"So we are agreed," the brunette said uncomfortably, unsure of exactly what to say now that they weren't bickering. "Well I knew my charms would unarm you eventually."
"Oh yes, your endless charm…" Katie spat sarcastically.
"There's the girl I know!" The captain chuckled as she opened the door. "Now be a good lass and don't miss me too much." she added, closing the door just in time to block the shoe her employer had sent sailing in her direction.
"You shouldn't tease her so." Mr. Thomas sighed as the captain sauntered past.
"But it's so much fun," she defended. "It keeps her distracted…" the wild girl added with a shrug as they descended the ramp to the dock.
"I don't like it," he said, changing the subject. "We don't know this port well; perhaps we should have tried to make it farther, somewhere more familiar."
Effy tossed her hair as she lit a cigarette, smoke billowing out as the tobacco took light, her face set in it's strong yet carefree expression. "It will do."
The Bloody Whore had docked a mere hour ago in the dark, making the process all the more difficult on top of the ship's damages. A few men from the town had caused quite a ruckus about it as well; clearly these were not friendly shores, but a little coin in the right hands had smoothed things over nicely for the time being. Thomas followed close behind the captain as she made her way off the dock and towards the closest pub, a weather beaten building with an even more weather beaten sign that read 'The Rowdy Dancer". She could hold her own just fine in most situations, but the unfamiliar territory had him uneasy and the boat was in dire need of repair. If at all possible, they should avoid any skirmishes with the town's people until they had what they needed.
As was usual, all eyes turned to the wild, beautiful girl as she entered the tavern; men looked her and her companion over –sizing him up and dressing her down in their minds. Her first mate nudged her arm uneasily but kept a cool expression as they surveyed the dimly lit, smoke filled room. Effy strolled casually through the room and leaned seductively against the bar and tossed the bar tender a sack of coins.
"A drink for all my new friends," she called loudly as the patrons of the pub gave a cheer and returned to their previous matters.
Thomas breathed a sigh of relief and sipped his drink as the brunette scanned the now much less suspicious crowd. "So where to we start?" he asked.
The captain nodded to a man at the opposite end of the bar. "With the one who isn't drinking of course."
"I said no." Naomi sighed. "How can I make you understand I won't risk it?"
Emily picked at her food and stared at the blonde from across the small table in the kitchen. "You have to think of your family…"
Captain Campbell slammed her cup down loudly. "Well that's what I am doing," she snapped. She took a few slow breaths before continuing more quietly. "You are…you're…" she rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "You're just everything to me." The blonde leaned forward and locked eyes with the girl across the table from her, her blue eyes sparkling with tears she refused to let escape. "Please just let it go."
The red head sighed and forced a smile. "Ok. If it really means that much to you, I'll let it go."
Naomi let out a sigh of relief and reached over to take Emily's hand. "Thank you."
"But if I can't help by getting the book you need, then let me help some other way," she added softly.
The kitchen was empty and this was a rare opportunity for Emily to try to make a deal without interruption. The only privacy they had was usually in their small room, but there was too much of a risk for them to become otherwise distracted there; too much temptation for the redhead to let her well laid plans to be kissed and caressed away, so it was now or never.
"I'm listening," Naomi said warily.
"Let me help on the ship," she stated casually.
"How so? You want to help the men load and unload?" the blonde said jokingly.
The girl squinted her brown eyes and crossed her arms. "Well you could teach me how to handle the bookkeeping because honestly, your handwriting is awful," she pointed out. "Honestly, I don't see how you can read your own ledger, let alone how the men can make it out."
"Honestly? I tell you that you are everything to me and you insult my ability to write?" The captain laughed, pretending to be hurt.
"Well obviously you are rubbing off on me," the red head teased back.
The blonde rolled her eyes again and then smiled. "Fine, you want the books, you've got them. Maybe I'll let you take over the correspondences too if I'm really that bad. Feel better now that you're officially part of the crew?"
"Very," Emily said, leaning forward to give the captain a soft kiss before returning to her food.
From the other room they could hear Gina coughing as she tried to sleep. This time, Emily reached across the table to gently caress her lover's hand; the ship was repaired and she knew that Naomi was anxious to bring in more money, but reluctant to leave her mother who was clearly becoming more ill. The blonde did her best to look unconcerned as they finished her meal. They did their best to prepare the small kitchen for the next morning before heading back up to their simple but cozy room.
Katie tossed and turned in the bed as she listened to the ship creak and moan; for the first time, she could see how the captain could seem to emphasize with the rickety vessel. She felt the ship sounded remarkably the way she felt inside. Her sister was lost and in many ways she felt lost herself. She quickly gave up on sleep and instead busied herself with pacing as she listened to the boat complain under her feet. The redhead pretended that she only wanted to be on land because the ship was damp and she was missing out on possible vital information about her sister's whereabouts. After all, just because Captain Stonem had been logical earlier didn't mean that she wouldn't be back to her usual self when she returned; meaning it would be yet another straining exercise in prying any information out of her in a way that both sounded sane and made sense.
Katherine reasoned that even though it was true that her appearance in town could possibly cause problems or confusion, wasn't it unreasonable for her to stay on this badly damaged ship? After all, most of the crew were sleeping along the dock at this very moment and would do so until the ship was repaired. Repaired with the money she had provided, she added into her list of reasons for abandoning ship. Just as she had decided for certain on a plan to leave the quarters, the door swung open and Effy swung wildly into the room, collapsing lopsidedly onto the bed.
"Was there any news?" the redhead asked nervously.
"News of all sorts…" The drunk girl giggled. "Apparently the bar maid has quite unique nipples and the bartender is madly in love with her…"
"For fucks sake!" Katie huffed, both frustrated and oddly hurt. "You know what I'm talking about. Why are you drunk?"
The blue eyed girl flashed her a quizzical look. "Because I've been drinking."
Her brown eyes flamed with irritation as she jumped onto the bed, shaking the wild girl roughly. "I'm serious! This isn't a game, it's my sister," she roared.
"I'm working on it. These things take time…" the brunette slurred in a smooth tone, easily wriggling loose from the weaker girl's grasp. "Don't get your petticoats out of order," she added teasingly as she took the girls face in her hands and leaned up for a kiss.
"Stop it!" The angry girl snarled, jerking her head free and leaning away.
Rejection registered in the pinned girl's blue eyes, but the rejection soon iced over into determination as she gripped her assailant's arms and rolled over, pinning her instead.
"I mean it…" Katie said weakly as she tried not to look the captain straight in the eye. "I absolutely hate you right now…"
"No you don't," Effy crooned as she bent down, locking eyes with the girl who had by now stopped resisting. "We never do."
"Well I do mean it…" She tired to sound convincing as the brunette traced kisses down her neck. "I really…really..."
By then she had given up, her fingers tracing the back of the other girl's neck and she sighed, giving in to the feelings that utterly confused her except for in moments like this. The creaking of the boat faded away along with her anxieties and all thoughts of the world and reality; she heaved a deep sigh of relief and gave in to the hypnotic release of the moment.
The Lament had been fully repaired nearly a week but had not moved from the dock; while Emily learned to take over the bookkeeping and correspondence, Naomi spent most of her time in deep thought that the redhead found hard to retrieve her from.
The weather had been exceptionally disagreeable, with storms following one after another, each bringing with sharper torrents of rain and wind.
"Did you get all that?" Captain Campbell asked.
"Yes, down to every syllable," Emily said back with a little irritation.
"You wanted to take over the correspondences, remember?" Naomi said teasingly.
The brown eyed girl smiled up at her. "Well it's no wonder your writing was so poor the way you rattle off every thought within seconds…"
"Well it's all done now, all that's left is to mark it and send it out with Cook." The captain sighed.
Emily dropped the sealing wax and let out a nervous giggle as she tried to smooth the wax back out before pressing it with the stamp. Despite her efforts, the seal didn't match up right afterwards.
"Cook?" the redhead asked. "You never send Cook…do you?"
It was the blonde's turn to clear her throat uncomfortably as she busied herself gathering charts from the desk.
"Well this is a very important message wouldn't you say?" she answered without making eye contact. "He's the only one I trust to handle this just right."
Emily tried to ignore the blue eyed girl's evasive behavior; instead, she held up the letter with a now crumbling seal and laughed a little, choosing to lighten the mood rather than try to ferret out any additional details. She forced a smile and blew a kiss to her lover, determined to see Naomi smile—something she was seeing less and less of lately.
"Well I will have to rewrite and seal this." She chuckled.
The captain managed a smile in return as she slid all the charts back into their proper place. She let out another tired sigh before turning to face Emily giving her a genuine smile. The blonde leaned in, giving the redhead a kiss as she took the letter out of her hand a tossed it onto the desk. Emily couldn't suppress a smile as well as she pulled the captain down onto her lap and began to unbutton her shirt. Naomi let out a nervous laugh.
"What?" she asked with a mischievous look in her brown eyes.
"Nothing…" the blonde answered. "It's just been a long time since I've…" she paused for a moment as she bit her lower lip, "since I've let anyone else be in charge…"
The redhead tightened her grip around the other girl's waist. "That's a surprise," she teased lightly before tracing kisses from the blonde's chest up to her lips.
*I don't own Skins or Skins characters* Please leave a review if you are still reading so that I know if you all want me to continue. And again, so sorry I left people waiting so long. Hope it's good.
