Pirates In Love: The Novella

by Sevenity

Who doesn't like themselves a good harem? You know what they look like, you know who they are. Here are the tantalizing words that'll bring you from rosy cheeks to tomato red. This spritely game is put into novel form with a new main character that has a rich backstory, and a personality that is just irresistible to the Sirius Pirates.

5. Chapter 5

Previously, on Pirates In Love...

Nathan - "Russell doesn't say things like 'Thank you' or 'sorry'. He'll just do what he thinks is right."
Christopher - "He's really a big softy on the inside. In fact, he probably likes worrying about you."

They laughed. Nathan cringed a little. The laughing had strained his back.

Alex - "Oh…"

I was slowly learning that these pirates weren't just barbarians in the monstrous stories I heard back at home. There was a lot more going on with them, deep inside, that I had yet to figure out. But I was inching my way closer to what truly lay in their hearts. I decided to be less rash with Russell. Maybe he really does have a gentle side.

---

Christopher finished up with changing our bandages. He gave Nathan another cup of booze which he took with gusto. Christopher proffered a small cup to me. I shook my head. He left it on the table for Nathan who took it gladly. I got up and looked for something I could use as a crutch. In the corner I found some planks of wood. I found one the right size, wrapped a cloth around one end, and fitted it under my arm.

Nathan - "What are you doing?"
Alex - "I'm making a crutch so I can get around a little better. See?"

I swung the plank and took a step.

Alex - "Pretty nifty huh?"
Nathan - "... You should rest."
Alex - "Naw, I'm done with that. My wound is just a scrape compared to what you've got. You're the one that needs rest."

Nathan scowled and looked away. Oh, he didn't like that. Did I insult his... manliness?

Alex - "Er, I'm gonna get some breakfast. You want some?"
Nathan - "... No."

I inched my way back to the mess hall. The crew there was still complaining about Thomas's awful cooking.

Morgan - "Aaah, all I want is some good bread. When will Nathan be back on his feet?"
Christopher shook his head. "Not for a while Captain."

Morgan poked at his food, uninterested.

Alex - "I can make bread."

He looked up.

Morgan - "You can?"
Alex - "Well, yeah. I'm a baker! I've been a baker at the portside village for… let's see… almost three years."
Morgan - "Fresh bread on board? What a treat. I can drink more booze with bread to soak it up. Hop to it, girl!"
Christopher - "Captain, she's still badly injured."
Alex - "No I'm not! I mean, it's not that bad. I really only need my hands to bake anyway. I can stand on one leg."
Eduardo - "Doesn't it hurt?"
Alex - "Oh, not much. I can take the pain anyway, this is nothing!" I tried to laugh it off casually. Eduardo smiled.
Christopher - "Are you sure? You shouldn't push yourself."
I smiled. "Thanks Christopher, but I'll be fine. I'm actually excited, I haven't baked anything in days. I miss it!"
Morgan - "Good girl! How soon can we have the bread?"
Alex - "Oh… um the process is kind of long. I might have it ready by lunch."
Morgan looked disappointed. "Hm. Well then, make it so!"
Alex - "Ah, yes Captain!"

I went to the kitchen. It reminded me of the one I had back in my home village. It was small, with only a little bit of counter space and the sink and appliances shoved into one corner. Near the door was a small stone oven which appeared to already be lit. Oh, is this how they keep the cabin warm? This isn't hot enough for bread though… I stoked the fire a bit. I placed my makeshift crutch on the edge of the counter and clapped my hands. Instinctively, I reached up to tighten my cap only to realize that it wasn't there. Oh, right… I couldn't feel bad for myself now! I nodded decisively and started cooking.

I managed to have the bread ready by lunchtime, which made Morgan extremely happy. The rest of the crew was pretty impressed, too. It had been a long time since they had eaten freshly baked bread. I had cooked up some fish and other dishes from my hometown for lunch as well. The crew was noticeably happier having good food on the table. I cleaned up in the kitchen and gathered some food in a big bowl, including a couple of the buns I had baked. I grabbed two small bowls and two pairs of chopsticks and headed to the sick bay.

It was difficult getting down the stairs with everything I was carrying and my crutch. I had been standing in the kitchen for a long time and it was taking its toll. I ended up tossing my crutch to the bottom and just dealing with the pain. I thought the worst was over when I got to the door of the sick bay. I spent a good minute fiddling with the knob, trying to use my wrists, elbows, anything that wasn't carrying food, to open the door. It abruptly opened. I looked up to see Nathan standing there, only bandages on his chest and his bandana back on his head.

Nathan - "..."
Alex - "Oh, hi! I um…"

I felt a huge shot of pain in my leg. The bowls of food started to slip out of my hands. Oh no!

Before they could fall, Nathan grabbed them. He moved gingerly back into the sickbay and set them down. He sat on a stool and leaned heavily onto the table. It looked like he was in a lot of pain. I quickly grabbed a cup and the bottle of booze off the shelf and poured him a drink, taking a seat across from him. He drank it all at once. He grabbed another cup and poured out two cups of booze and set one in front of me. He wants me to drink? If it's anything like his food rule, I should drink it… I took a small sip of the booze.

Nathan - "Ya made this?"
Alex - "Uh, yeah! The crew asked me to bake some bread, and in case you'd want some I brought some down."

I started divvying up the food and handed him a bun. He took it and put a piece in his mouth, chewing slowly.

Nathan - "... This is good."
Alex - "Really? You think so?"
Nathan - "Yeah. What's this otha stuff?"

I explained the other dishes I had made and that they were traditional foods from Yamato.

Alex - "I didn't think I could make these, but you've got every ingredient in your kitchen! … Ah, I'm sorry if you didn't want me in there, using your tools…"
Nathan - "I think it's okay, just this once. Ya cook pretty good."
Alex - "Oh, really? I'm so happy you think so! It's a real compliment coming from you."

I smiled cheerily at him and started eating with gusto. Nathan looked away, slightly flushed.

Nathan - "Where'd ya learn how to cook?"
Alex - "Hm? Well, I guess on my own. Charlie, the chef at the bakery is pretty good at cooking. I learned some stuff from him. I like baking more though, it's my forte. Back at home, I'm a baker…"

I trailed off. I got a little sad thinking about home. Especially since I was eating some home delicacies, it hurt even more that I was so far away.

Nathan - "Ya miss yer home, do ya?"
Alex - "Uh, yeah… a little."
Nathan - "... Ya think you'd miss it less if I cooked this stuff?"

I looked at him, surprised.

Alex - "Yeah, maybe.."
Nathan - "Alrigh'."

He went back to eating and silence filled the room. I shyly ate my food. It was the first nice thing Nathan had done. I felt embarrassed. Nathan stopped and looked at me. He poked my forehead with his chopsticks.

Nathan - "Why ya still sad? I said I'd cook fer ya, so cheer up."
Alex - "Ah, right. Sorry!"

We ate in silence, which was a nice change from the constant raucous the other crew members made. I felt very comfortable sitting with Nathan. He wasn't so scary anymore.

Over the next week as Nathan healed, I replaced him in the kitchen. It only took another day for me to get rid of the crutch. It felt good to be useful on the ship. No one was yelling at me, telling me how useless or in the way I was. Every day, I'd bring food down to the sickbay and eat with Nathan until he could get up and walk around. Even though he had his choice of seats, he still always sat across from me in the mess hall. He'd even make people move over to take the seat across from me, and he always had a different reason for doing it. I thought it was cute.

I found chocolate and dried fruit in the kitchen one day and made some little sweets, just for fun. Eduardo demanded that it become a regular thing. It was scary trying to meet his standards, but I found the challenge exciting. And if I did well, small presents would appear. He never admitted it, but I'm pretty sure they were from him. I'd find small, beautiful seashells underneath my pillow, pretty bobby pins and ribbons for my hair, and other trinkets. On the other hand, if I upset him I'd get a swift whack on the head. But it was nice, to be distracted from the reality of my unfortunate situation.

One day, Morgan gathered us all in the navigation room.

Morgan - "We'll be docking at Hoenn soon, men."
Eduardo - "Should get there early tomorrow morning."
Morgan - "If all goes well, our lead from Yamato should get us more information there. We'll only be stopping for the day to restock, so use your time wisely. I wanna know where to find this damn map before we leave port."
Alex - "Um, map? A map of what?"
Morgan - "A map to find treasure of course!"
Alex - "Treasure maps? I didn't think they actually existed…"
Russell - "O' course they do. What would we be doin' if there weren' any treasa to find?"
Christopher - "It's our stock and trade."
Eduardo - "Did you think all this food and booze dropped from the sky?"
Alex - "Er, no…" Ah, I said a stupid thing!
Morgan - "Alright men. Nathan is still under the weather, so Russell and Thomas, you'll be replenishing his kitchen stock. Alex, do you have the list?"
Alex - "Yes, Captain!" I hope I made the list right.

I had double checked with Nathan the night before if I was missing anything on the list, but I was still apprehensive.

Morgan - "Good! I'll be heading to the local watering hole to see if I can dig up more information…"

Christopher and Eduardo rolled their eyes. That was never Morgan's main objective at a bar. It was always for booze and women. In that order.

Morgan - "Christopher, you come with me, and Eduardo, head to the market and see what you can find out from the locals."
Eduardo and Christopher - "Aye, Captain."
Alex - "... Can I do something?"
Morgan - "... Hm, you can stay here with Nathan to watch the ship."
Alex - "But, I'd like to help! Or at least get off the boat. I've never been in another city, other than Yamato."
Eduardo - "This ain't no class trip, girl."
Morgan stroked his chin. "No, she's earned it. She's been quite helpful, surprisingly. And she even saved Russell, though he doesn't care to admit it."
Russell - "The hell does tha mean?!"

Morgan laughed.

Morgan - "Eduardo, take her to the market. Buy her something pretty."
Eduardo looked at me scathingly. "You better not cause any trouble for me."
Alex - "I-I won't! I swear." Of all the people to be paired with! I was regretting my decision to leave the ship.

The next morning we anchored at the port of Hoenn. The streets were already crowded so early in the morning. It must be a big city! Morgan dismissed us and we disembarked. I didn't think I could lose my footing on solid ground so easily, but I stumbled as soon as my feet hit the pavement. The world was trying to spin, and my balance was trying to right itself even though the ground wasn't moving. Eduardo grabbed my shoulders and steadied me.

Eduardo - "You're no good walking on or off boats, are you?"
Alex - "I-I just didn't expect the ground to move!"
Eduardo - "It's not. You've just been on a boat too long. You'll adjust soon enough."
Alex - "O-okay…"
Eduardo - "Stop stuttering. You sound like a child…"
Alex - "Ah, yes sir!"

We headed to the market. The streets were clean and lined with cobblestone. On both sides large brick buildings and houses towered over me. On occasion a carriage would barrel through the crowd, everyone would move out of the way, and then crowd the street again, like a school of fish. Stalls poked out from the brickwork selling all sorts of stuff. Street food, claywork, clothes, jewelry, spices, and so much more. I could hear stall owners yelling, advertising their goods, and customers trying to bargain with them. Eduardo walked through the crowd with ease. He fit into the big city quiet well. He would occasionally stop to talk to locals or shopkeepers, which left me to examine the goods for sale. I really need some new clothes, I only have two outfits on board…

Shopkeeper - "Perhaps a ring for the lady?"

The shopkeeper waved a gold ring with a large white opal on it. We had stopped at a stall which sold all kinds of trinkets and doodads, along with some jewelry.

Eduardo - "I'm not here to bargain with your cheap wares."
Alex - Cheap? That looked pretty expensive to me!
Eduardo noticed something hanging on the stall. "Where'd you get this material?"

Eduardo held a piece of fabric, but it looked more like parchment and had faint lines on it.

Shopkeeper - "Ah, that was sold to me by a travellin merchant. He brings some rare stuff ova from Moldor. It's old map parchment, but still good for drawin on."

Eduardo stared at the parchment pensively.

Eduardo - "I'll take it. How much?"

They bargained a bit before settling on a price. The shopkeeper rolled up the parchment and tied it with twine. We continued on our way.

Alex - "Do you think that's the map we need?"
Eduardo - "... Could be. Let's go here."

We stepped into a fabric store. Is he looking for more pieces of the map here? I browsed the different linens. There were many colours and patterns, and the fabric was so soft. I came across a small table with some clothing. I picked up the shirts and shorts. If this weren't right next to the shopkeeper, I could just take it, like in the olden days.

Eduardo - "... How much for those?"
Shopkeeper - "The clothing? For a set it's 5 silver coins."
Eduardo - "I'll grab two. Lady's choice."
Alex - "You're buying these for me?"
Eduardo - "You need clothes, don't you? I'm sick of seeing you in the same two outfits. And Thomas's clothes look terrible on you."
Alex - "... Thank you!"

I picked out two shirts and two shorts I liked. We hit up a few more shops before calling it a day and heading back to the ship. We were the last to arrive. Morgan gathered us in the navigation room to discuss our findings.

Morgan - "I didn't gather much, other than tall tales. Did anyone find anything?"
Thomas - "We heard of mostly legends as well, but there was one about a treasure in Yamato."
Morgan - "Tell us!"
Thomas - "The treasure belonged to a prince who had been passing through, but it got stolen from him by pirates. The pirates made a deal with him and gave him three days to locate his treasure. If he found it, he could keep it. They gave him a map to help him, but it didn't contain any names of islands or cities, so it was useless to the prince. He never found his treasure, but he did track down the pirates who stole it and took them to jail to have them hanged. No one's found the treasure since, but they say the prince entrusted a part of the map to someone in Moldor before he died."
Alex - Moldor? I looked at Eduardo.
Morgan - "Hmm, that sounds like what our guy in Yamato was talking about. But you said only part of the map, right?"
Thomas - "Yes. The other part is rumoured to be in the Reiz Empire since that's where the prince is originally from, according to the legend."
Morgan - "Hm. It's a bit of a lead. Eduardo, Alex, did you find anything?"
Eduardo - "We didn't find anything of interest."

I stared at him, bewildered. What about the map piece he bought? That's connected to Moldor. Eduardo stared back at me, daring me to say something. I looked away. Does he just want the treasure for himself, or is there something else going on? There was no way I'd cross Eduardo. He might shoot me! I stayed quiet.

Thomas - "Did you get something at the market, Miss Alex?"
Alex - "Yeah, Eduardo bought them for me!"

I pulled out the clothing from my bag, but I had forgotten what else I put in there. A wooden comb fell out onto the floor. Oh crap, I forgot I took that! Eduardo picked it up.

Eduardo - "I didn't buy this for you."

Everyone stared at me. I held my hands to my chest and looked at the ground. I felt my face getting hot.

Eduardo - "Alex?"
Alex - "... I took it. From one of the vendors."
Russell - "Ya stole it?"
I hesitated. "Uh, yeah. I needed one, and I didn't want to ask too much from Eduardo…"
Morgan laughed. "Our girl's starting a thieving streak! Like a true pirate."
Christopher shook his head, but smiled. "I never would have thought."

Eduardo handed the comb back to me with a small smile on his face. I took it back, embarrassed.

Alex - "It's not my first time…"
Eduardo - "Hm?"
Alex - "Ah, I didn't say anything!"
Morgan - "Back to business. I think we can get more information outta this city. We'll spend the night here! There's a great bar at an inn I went to today…"

Everyone was pleased to hear they'd be staying in the city. They were especially excited about drinking at the bar. I liked the idea of being back on dry land. I changed my outfit to my skirt and blouse. I felt I looked too much like a guy in shorts and a t-shirt. I used the comb to get all the seafaring tangles out of my hair and braided it down my back. I tied the end with one of the ribbons I had 'randomly found on the ship'. We all headed out to the inn and hit the bar first. It was dingy with crooked tables and broken chairs. All the barmaids wore dresses so tight their breasts were popping out of their tops. The booze was flowing like water here. It was a pirate's bar, if anything.

Morgan was surrounded by women who all apparently knew him already. He whispered sweet nothings in their ears and stroked their faces seductively. I had to admit, he was very good with the ladies. It reminded me of the night he gave me that dress. He's being much nicer to these girls than he was with me… Why?

Thomas and Russell were playing bar games with some other men in the bar. Eduardo was cold as always while the barmaids tried to woo him and Nathan sat silently beside him, unaware of the shy looks women gave him. Christopher was keeping an eye on everyone. He sat down beside me.

Christopher - "Not drinking?"
Alex - "Um, it costs money here doesn't it?"
Christopher - "It's okay. What's ours is yours."

He ordered a drink for me.

Christopher - "You can relax and have fun every once in awhile, Alex. Just don't drink too much, alright?"

He patted me on the head. It's weird how he treats me with respect, but then goes and does something like that. I really wanted him to see me as a woman, not a girl. I guess he's only nice to me cuz he thinks I'm a kid...

As the night wore on the bar got rowdier and rowdier. Drinks were spilled, mugs were smashed, and a few punches were thrown. Russell got into one too many scuffles, and soon he found himself facing off with a group of men he'd ticked off. The crew gathered around him to back him up, but they were up against practically every man in the bar. Christopher grabbed Morgan's shoulder.

Christopher - "We're at a disadvantage here."
Morgan - "I know…"
Christopher - "Nathan is in no condition to fight right now, and at this point the owner isn't gonna want to give us rooms."
Drunk Guy - "Oi, you guys look familiar… You guys are the Sirius Pirates ain't ya?"

Morgan looked bolstered and stepped forward proudly.

Morgan - "Ah, you've heard of us! Then you know our reputation. Best to leave before you regret your actions."
Drunk Guy - "Heh, no… Ya'll have bounties on yer heads." He slapped a shotgun into his hand. "I think it's time to collect."

The rest of the men in the bar started to roar and cheer. They edged closer to the Sirius crew.

In the hustle and bustle I ended up staying on the other side of the bar, near the stage where the girls were dancing. The stage was empty now and the girls were hiding behind the bar. The men in the bar didn't think I was a part of the crew, they all had their backs to me. There's no way they can beat all these guys… They're in trouble! I started to panic. Nathan can't even fight right now, there's no way he won't get hurt again! I looked around the bar, but there was no exit close to the crew. My eyes fell on a small guitar propped up against the stage.

... I have an idea!