A/N: Hey, still not dead. But guess what I am.

I'm done.

Done, done, done, done, done.

College can kiss my ass cause I GRADUATED baby!

Apologies for taking so long but I had a couple dozen papers to write and finals to study for. And I'm not even joking about the papers, there were 20 due within three weeks. Three of which had to be 10-15 pages long.

So thank you for your patience and without further adieu here is chapter 6.


"What?" Chloe couldn't believe her ears. "What did you say?"

Harris looked over at her, careful not to cut himself against the captain's blade. "Mr. Beale sanctioned my crew to bring slaves over from Africa. Said he wanted to host an auction for his friends."
"No." the redhead shook her head vigorously, her voice rising the angrier she got. "No, no, no. My father is a good man, he would never do anything like this!"

The slaver's face scrunched up in confusion, "What are you talking about lass? The Beale company sponsors most of the trade-"

Chloe lunged for him, startling Amy so much that she accidentally let go of the redhead's arm. As she rushed towards her target Chloe barely registered the captain ducking out of the way as she collided with the slaver. With her hands bound it was difficult for Chloe to slap the man but she gave it her best shot. Before Amy and Ashley managed to pry her away, the enemy captain had a bleeding nose and three long scratch marks across his cheek. Chloe felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist and yank her backwards, her legs kicking wildly in the air as she tried to escape. Unfortunately for Chloe, Amy was the one holding her and no matter what she did the pirate had at least eighty pounds on Chloe, meaning she wasn't getting out of the bear hug any time soon.

"Amy, why don't you take Miss Beale somewhere to calm down." McKadden gestured towards the stairs but her voice gave just a hint of sympathy. Not that Chloe heard it, she was still struggling against Amy's grip so she could take another shot at the slaver.

"Easy there Red," Amy huffed as she tried to contain the woman. "Captain's orders, time to go."

The blonde managed to drag Chloe down the stairs where they gained quite a few looks from the crew. But one glare from Amy had the men scattering back to their jobs without a word. Amy gave a stiff nod, satisfied that she was able to scare a crew of hardened criminals with one look. She placed Chloe back on her feet, making sure that she had a strong grip on the redhead's shoulder so Chloe wouldn't bolt.

"You calm enough to listen?" Amy asked. Chloe met the blonde's gaze and Amy could still see the fire burning in her eyes. But Chloe nodded her head, she managed to compose herself and straightened her shoulders. She was still a lady after all.

"Good now, come with me." Chloe was startled as Amy gave her shoulder a hefty tug, causing her to stumble towards the companionway that led to the lower decks.

"You're not just going to throw me in the captain's cabin again?" Chloe asked. It seemed like the only place she or Aubrey were allowed to go.

"And leave you alone with all of the captain's pointy objects?" Amy chuckled and shook her head. "We may be pirates but we ain't stupid."

Amy helped Chloe down the stairs before turning left towards the stern of the ship. Chloe realized that they were heading towards the kitchen, or whatever passed as a galley on board a sailing ship. Really it was just a small alcove tucked in the back corner of the ship. The floor was lined with some sort of metal, presumably to keep the floorboards from catching on fire in case of an emergency. A small stone stove sat in the corner, unlit and cold, with various pans and pots hanging from the ceiling.

While Chloe was taking a look around Amy bent over and started fiddling with her boot. The redhead was about to ask what she was doing when the pirate stood up straight, holding a long dirk in her hand. "Finally. Come here Red and I'll cut you loose."

Chloe cautiously held her bound hands towards the pirate, she wasn't sure if she should trust Amy with a knife, let alone a knife near her wrists. But the blonde held the blade with a surprising degree of dexterity and the rope was falling to the floor in no time.

Rubbing her wrists, Chloe moved to a small stool that was against the wall. She slumped down and held her head in her hands, raking her fingers through her hair as she tried to process everything that had happened. Thoughts and scenarios kept running through her head, each vying for her attention but all she really wanted was for them to stop. Her mind had other ideas, right now it was replaying every memory of her father. Every business meeting she ever witnessed, all the times she had been kicked out of a room so her father could talk to someone in private. How much of her father's business revolved around the slave trade? It was starting to feel like she didn't know her father at all. A thought that scared Chloe since between her parents she had always felt closer to her dad. Thoughts like that came faster and faster until Chloe could barely think straight.

"Hey?"

What other things did her father do behind her back? How many lives did he ruin to build his trade empire? What did the family fortune really cost?

"RED!" Chloe startled and looked up when Amy yelled at her. The blonde gave her a concerned look, leaning over to poke Chloe none too gently on the forehead. "If there's one place you don't want to get lost." She poked Chloe on the head again. "Much harder to find your way back out."

Chloe pulled her hands from her hair. She hadn't even noticed how tightly she'd been gripping the red strands. Chloe sat up straight and released a shuddering breath trying to calm down. Her hands went to her face and came away wet with tears. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Amy stood up and moved to the cabinets that lined the walls of the small kitchen. She rooted around for a few seconds before pulling out a large metal pan and a few cooking utensils. "Mind getting the fire started for me?"

"What?"

"The fire," Amy gestured to the stove sitting quietly in the corner. "Cap wants me to make a hot meal for the prisoners over there."

Right, the people her father had taken from their homes just to fill his pocket. "Can I ask you something?" Chloe asked quietly while she picked up the flint and steel that Amy handed her.

"Think you just did." Amy snickered at her own joke.

"Was he telling the truth?" Chloe's hands stilled from striking the flint. She had no reason to trust Amy but right now she needed to hear it from someone else.

Amy sighed and put the knife she was holding back on the counter. She walked over to the door frame and yelled at the top of her lungs. "Oye, Pierre! Get me a rack of pork and a barrel of water from the slavers!"

There was a distant call of acknowledgement from within the ship and Amy turned back to Chloe. "Frenchman, arms the size of Florida." She held up her hands for emphasis. If that was Amy's attempt at lifting Chloe's spirits, it didn't work. The redhead just stood there and stared at the blonde with a pleading look.

"Eh right, no mood for jokes." Amy went back to the counter and proceeded to sharpen her knife with a whetstone. "I don't know what you want me to say, Red."

"The truth."

Amy groaned. "Not exactly something I specialize in. Much better at the lying bit." She gave the knife a few more passes before replacing it with another. "We've been going after the African company for years now. Out of all the ships we've taken there have been quite a few that were sanctioned under the Beale name."

Chloe turned back to the stove and started striking the flint a bit too roughly. Sparks started to fly and the tinder inside the stove quickly caught fire. That didn't stop Chloe though, she kept hitting the flint as hard as she could, sending more and more sparks flying through the air. Amy set her knife down and rushed over to pull Chloe away from the stove before she set the entire ship on fire.

She gathered up the redhead in her arms and while Chloe struggled Amy wasn't about to release her. There was a noise at the door and Amy turned to see that Pierre was standing in the doorway with a wooden barrel under each arm. He gave Amy a questioning look but the blonde just shook her head. The man shrugged his shoulders before placing the barrels in the doorway and leaving, it wasn't the strangest thing he'd ever seen on this ship.

"I'm going to put you down now. Promise not to set the ship on fire?" Amy asked once Chloe stopped struggling. The redhead gave a half-hearted nod and Amy set her back on the floor. Chloe sniffled as she walked back to the stool, sitting down without another sound. Amy kept an eye on Chloe as she opened the barrel containing several cuts of salted pork. She brought out a couple slices and walked over to the counter to start cutting them into small cubes. Amy hadn't seen the condition of the captives on the other ship but she knew that they hadn't gotten the best food, if any, while on their trip. So a simple broth was probably the best choice to fill their bellies and get some liquids in their systems. Amy might act like a buffoon at times but she took her job as the ship's chef seriously.

She glanced at the redhead again, Chloe was still crying on the stool and Amy felt her heart strings being tugged just a little. "So your dad turned out to be a bastard, eh?"

Chloe looked up to see Amy looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She just shook her head and placed it back in her hands. But Amy was stubborn and just like the rest of her she had a big heart. "Well join the club sister."

The redhead looked up again, this time more confused than irritated. Amy laughed but there wasn't much humor in it. "Pretty sure the only people on board who have a decent relationship with their dads are Flo and Cynthia." Chloe had stopped sniffling so Amy took it as a sign to continue. "Jessica, Ashley and Stacie have never met their fathers. I don't know about Lilly and…well the captain doesn't like to share."

Chloe whipped her eyes, she didn't know why but Amy seemed to be calming her down. "What about you?"

Amy sighed, "My da was an arse." She placed the knife on the counter and turned to Chloe, leaning her hip against the counter. "As you can probably tell, I am overflowing with natural talent." She made a flourish with her hand to emphasize her point.

"I barely know you so…" Chloe wasn't sure what to say, especially since there were several sharp objects at Amy's disposal.

"Psh, anyone with eyes can tell I'm amazing." Amy winked at her and Chloe almost smiled at the blonde's antics. "Anyways, me da saw my natural gifts and instead of being proud of his little girl all he thought about was how to use me to make him rich."

Amy turned back to her work as she let Chloe process. "Before I was ten years old he already had me singing in the streets for chump change from the rich pricks around London. I didn't really care since I enjoyed the singing and dancing, but I was probably too young to understand what was really going on."

The story was drawing her in so Chloe stood up and walked over to the counter. She grabbed a knife and started cutting the pork into cubes just like Amy. The blonde gave her a questioning look when she picked up the knife but continued with her story anyways. "When I became a teenager I started singing in the opera houses. A rising star that was shining bright. But then," Amy let out a low whistle before slapping a slice of pork with her hand. "Things started to fall apart. Don't get me wrong I was still crushing it. Making all the twig bitches jealous and the boys swoon. But the fame and the fortune started to wane and I grew less and less interested…well maybe not with the money but you know what I mean."

Amy bent down and pulled out a smaller barrel and popped open the lid. Inside was a variety of fresh vegetables that Amy pulled out and tossed in a pot that she then put over the fire. She grabbed the barrel of water and, in a surprising feat of strength, hoisted it over her shoulder. The pirate grabbed the cork in the top of the barrel and once it was free the water poured out into the same large pot with the vegetables.

Amy let the water flow for several seconds before putting the barrel on the floor and replacing the cork. "Then one day I met a young chef who was completely enamored with me." Amy sighed, "Handsome lad he was. A little on the small side but damn if he didn't have some stamina."

That almost made Chloe gag, she really didn't want to hear about this pirate's exploits in that department. But Amy's stories seemed to be working, Chloe's attention had definitely been taken off the topic of her father.

"He was the one that taught me to cook," Amy continued. "We started seeing a lot of each other. I'd sing for him and he'd cook for me, it was almost perfect."

The way Amy said it let Chloe know that there was more to the story but she didn't know what to say. The blonde had gone quiet as she stirred the soup with a long spoon, her expression made it seem like she was deep in thought.

"What was his name?" Chloe found herself asking before she could stop herself. Amy just looked at her with a sad half smile.

"Eric O'Malley." Amy watched as Chloe's eyes widened. "Yup, fell in love with an Irishman. As you can probably guess, me da wasn't too happy about my choice of companionship so it became a constant sore spot between us. Eventually it became too much."

Amy grabbed a handful of pork cubes and tossed them into the pot. "One day, after I was done at the opera house, I went over to Eric's. Modest little place but it had started to feel more like home than my own. When I went inside I found him in the kitchen, laying on the floor with a knife in his chest." Another handful of pork went into the pot.

Now Chloe really didn't know what to say. Amy sounded so sad and while Chloe didn't know the pirate all that well she always had a bluster to her that made it seem like nothing affected her.

"Didn't take a genius to figure out what happened so I went out looking for my Father." Amy kept working on the food, her cuts started to slow down as the story went on. "Found him in the mansion that my voice paid for, trying to wash the blood off his hands. He never made it out of that mansion."

They worked in silence for several minutes. Chloe avoided saying anything so as to not upset Amy and Amy was busy preparing the food. The entire situation was confusing for the redhead, but after the story she felt a wave of sympathy for the pirate. "I'm so sorry."

"Yeah well that was close to five years ago." Amy put the last bit of pork in the pot and turned towards Chloe, leaning against the counter top with a hand on her hip. "I joined up with this crew the same day. Got mighty lucky that the captain was in port, although back then the crew was a lot smaller." Amy gave her a grin before turning her attention to the pot. She grabbed a ladle from the wall and started stirring the pot.

"What do you mean smaller?" Chloe asked.

Amy hummed thoughtfully, "Well back when I joined up there was only the captain, the doc and Cynthia. So obviously they were in desperate need of my sexy ass and my massive talent."

Chloe snickered, she couldn't help it. The way the blonde switched from super serious to cracking jokes gave Chloe a bit of mental whiplash. Although it could be she was suffering from emotional strain and Amy provided a distraction from the earth shattering revelation of Chloe's father. Chloe knew that she would have to process the information eventually, but not right now. Right now all she had to focus on was preparing food for the poor people on the other ship.

"There's some biscuits in that cupboard over there," Amy pointed to the far end of the counter. "Grab some of those and the jar of honey in the cabinet above it."

Chloe moved to follow instructions, pulling out a burlap sack of hard biscuits and a large clay pot that she almost dropped due to its hefty weight. After steadying herself, Chloe placed the items on the counter before glancing at Amy, silently asking what to do next.

"We'll let Pierre carry that stuff over for us. Wouldn't want us delicate women doing all the work now would we." Amy shot her a sarcastic wink.

Chloe giggled, "Somehow I don't think anyone would ever mistake you for 'delicate'".

Amy scoffed and placed her free hand over her heart, "I beg your pardon? I can be quite delicate." She turned her head and bellowed out to the ship. "Pierre! Get back down here you lout!"

Less than a minute later the hunky french-man was back in the doorway, breathing heavily from his rush down the stairs. "What do you need mademoiselle?"

Amy shot Chloe a grin, "See, delicate." She addressed her crewmate again. "Take the bread and honey across. We'll be right behind you with the soup."

"Oui chief." Pierre reached across the counter and picked up the food, slinging the bread over his shoulder and the jar nestled in the crook of his arm. As he passed Amy the blonde reached out and smacked the man on his rear, causing him to startle and rush out of the room.

"Got to keep them on their toes." Amy snickered at Chloe's wide eyed expression. The redhead was quickly realizing that Amy was a bit of a character and knew almost nothing about proper conduct. Which really should not be a surprise since she was, after all, a pirate.

The blonde gave the pot a final stir, the contents were bubbling slightly and the broth had become nice and thick. With a satisfied nod the cook grabbed the wooden handles of the pot and hefted it onto the counter top. "All right, let's get this over there."

Amy took a breath before lifting the pot and shuffling towards the door. "You go ahead of me red, make sure the way is clear." Chloe nodded and rushed to get in front of the blonde. She made sure that no one was blocking the path and once the other crew members saw Amy carrying the pot they ducked out of the way very quickly. They made it to the steps leading up to the main deck and Chloe had to help Amy carry the pot.

Once they were above deck Chloe took a second to glance over at the helm. The slaver captain was still there with McKadden standing over him, her dagger was sheathed but even from a distance Chloe could see the fear written across Harris' face. She looked across the command deck and met Aubrey's eye, the blonde giving her a concerned look. Chloe just shook her head and gestured to the cook with the food, there wasn't anything Aubrey could do right now so Chloe tried to placate her friend.

Amy and Chloe managed to make their way across the gangplank without too much trouble and once across Pierre made his reappearance with Amadi in tow. "Please let us take this." Pierre and Amadi both reached out and took the pot from the girls. They managed it much more easily and in no time they had the soup across the deck where several of the former slaves were congregating.

Chloe hesitated for a second at seeing all the people who had been stored below deck. A wave of guilt rushed over her as she realized that her family was responsible for taking these people from their homes. Amy noticed the girl's hesitation and rolled her eyes. The blonde reached out and tapped on her forehead again, "Hey, we ain't our fathers. You want to do something for these people? Grab a ladle and start…well ladling."

She pushed Chloe towards the soup pot causing the redhead to stumble. Managing to catch herself, Chloe made it the rest of the way to where Pierre had started filling bowls with soup. He glanced over at the woman and handed her two bowls, one for each hand. Chloe grabbed the bowls and walked over to two women who looked like they could be sisters. They both had dark hair to match their skin, skin that was pulled taut across their bones.

"Um, here," Chloe held out the bowls to the women. "This is for you."

The women looked between the bowls and Chloe's face. They huddled closer together, clearly not trusting anything Chloe had to offer. She was about to try again when she felt a hand on her shoulder. When she looked behind her she saw Amadi giving her a reassuring smile. He took one of the bowls, held it out to the women and said something in a forgein language. The pair glanced between each other before one of them reached out and took the bowl from Amadi. The large man smiled before gesturing for Chloe to come closer. She did and held the bowl out to the other woman. The former slave eagerly took the bowl and smiled at Chloe, which in turn caused the redhead to smile.

For the next hour Chloe helped feed the starving people. Either handing out bowls of soup or when they ran out helping Amy make more. Occasionally Stacie would make a few rounds checking up on the people they were serving, making sure they didn't need emergency medical attention. Cynthia also made a few stops, talking with the people in their own language along with Amadi who seemed to always have a smile on his face. Just as Amy was about to make another soup run the captain made her appearance, dragging the slaver behind her by a rope tied around his neck.

"Rose, you mind translating for me?" McKadden asked.

Cynthia nodded, "Sure thing captain."

The captain waited a second so that all eyes were on her. "This man and his crew have committed horrible acts against you and your people. The code on board my ship is that the one who was wronged gets to choose the punishment." She waited for Cynthia to translate and they could see some of the group start to understand. "So I leave his fate up to you."

The former slaves all seemed shocked. No one moved for several minutes but slowly they started talking among themselves. Captain Harris looked around the group, glaring at his former captive as if that would somehow curtail them into sparing his life. However, when his gaze met Amadi's there was nothing but cold contempt. The African stood from his spot at the railing and strode forward, his long legs taking only three strides to reach the slaver.

Armadi's hand shot out and grabbed the rope around Harris' neck, wanking the captain up so that his feet were barely scraping the wood planks beneath them. "We shall give him freedom."

Harris struggled against the vice-like grip as Armadi dragged him towards the side of the ship. "Unhand me you savage! I swear I will see you all hanged for this!"

"I don't think you'll be seeing much of anything except for the sea." McKadden called back as Armadi hoisted the squirming captain up and over the side of the railing. There was a three second delay filled with screaming before they heard a splash. "All right now that that's taken care of."

McKadden jumped on top of the railing between the two ships and called out so everyone could hear her. "We're setting out for Nassau. There you will all be able to decide for yourselves what to do with your lives. Once we get there you'll have to decide for yourselves what you want to do, whether joining a crew or trying to make your way back home."

She hopped down from the banister and made her way over to where Cynthia and Stacie were waiting. "See to it that they are comfortable. We'll discuss what happens to them once we make it to port."

"Aye captain," the two women turned and went back to their duties.

The brunette gave a quick once over of the ship when she noticed Chloe still handing out food to the people. In fact Chloe had just finished handing out the last of the biscuits and honey when the captain seemed to suddenly appear behind her.

"It's time to go Miss Beale." Chloe jumped and spun around to see that everyone who wasn't supposed to stay on the ship was gone. Shaking her head with nervous acknowledgement, the redhead said a final goodbye to the people she had been serving and quickly moved back to the pirate ship.

The captain followed right behind her, waving at the members of her crew that would sail the slave ship until they reached Nassau. She turned back to her own ship and walked across the gangplank, feeling much more at home once the familiar movement of her ship was under her feet again. "Cast off and gang way! Let's get a move on lads."

Chloe watched as the crew made quick work of the ropes keeping the ships tied together and soon enough they were drifting apart. Not knowing what to do with herself Chloe just tried to stay out of the way. Although it clearly wasn't far enough out of the way since several of the crew managed to bump into her, no matter how hard she tried.

"Over here Miss Beale." The captain called out. She was standing by the door to her cabin and Chloe tried to make her way over. It took a few tries to make it through the crowd but eventually she managed to stumble her way across the deck. The captain had an amused smirk running across her face by the time Chloe finally managed to make it over. "This is why we've tried to keep you two out of the way while the crew is working. It takes a while for people to get used to the rhythm."

"Right of course," Chloe said as the captain opened the door and gestured for the redhead to go inside. Chloe slipped past the captain, managing an awkward smile as she brushed against the other woman. "I'll just go inside."She hurried to enter the relatively quiet space of the captain's cabin, the door closing shut behind her.

"Chloe! Thank God you're okay." Aubrey rushed over and pulled her friend into a tight hug.

Chloe let out a surprised 'oof' as the blonde collided with her, "Of course I'm okay Bree. What did you think was going to happen?"

Aubrey pulled back, "I don't know, you were taken below deck with that brute of a woman-"

"Hey, take it easy on Amy. She's a lot nicer than you would think." Chloe said. "She helped keep me from spiraling out of control."

Aubrey's eyes went wide, "Oh I nearly forgot with everything that's been going on. Are you okay?"

"I don't know," Chloe admitted. "Everything happened kind of fast. I don't think I've really processed."

"Of course." Aubrey led her friend over to the bed and had her sit down. "If you need anything just let me know."

"Thanks Bree."

"No problem," Aubrey stood up and moved to the other side of the bed and laid down. "Can't believe the sun is already setting."

Chloe jerked her head up and looked out the small window at the back of the ship. Sure enough the sun was sinking below the horizon. "How did the day disappear so fast?"

"I know, strange since it has also been one of the longest. So much happened in so little time" Aubrey sounded tired, which was only proven when the blonde let out a large yawn. "Maybe we should just get some sleep."
Laying back in the bed along with her friend Chloe sighed, "I don't know how I could sleep after everything."

"Try to, maybe it will make more sense in the morning."

"You saw what it was like for those people Aubrey. My father did that to them." Chloe's voice turned timid and she ran her fingers through her hair.

Aubrey rolled over and gripped Chloe's arm in a comforting squeeze. "That is not your fault."

"I know but…I always thought my father was a good man. Now I don't know what to think."

Aubrey was silent for several seconds, "I'm as surprised as you are. I thought your father dealt mostly in the sugar trade. But there's nothing we can do about it now so we might as well go to sleep."

Chloe caught on to the fact that Aubrey was using her own words against her. Which usually Chloe would find funny but after today she just found it annoying. She was about to make a comment when she noticed that Aubrey's breathing had steadied out and had obviously fallen asleep.


Trying to follow in her friend's example Chloe closed her eyes and tried to relax. Only it wasn't happening, she tried listening to the sounds of the crew moving about or the steady roll of the ship but nothing seemed to work. She didn't know how long she had laid there but it was long enough for the crew to quiet down and for Aubrey to start snoring. Chloe opened her eyes and saw that the cabin was completely dark. She eased herself out of bed and tiptoed over to the door. Careful not to make too much noise, the redhead gently eased open the door and peeked outside.

Sure enough it appeared that most of the crew had retired for the evening with only a handful of people still walking around the deck. Figuring it would be safe she stepped outside and sidled along the wall until she reached the stairs. Steeling her nerves Chloe climbed up the stairs as quickly as she could. She made it to the top and breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing up here?"

Chloe nearly jumped overboard. The captain was standing by the helm, an eyebrow quirked and an amused grin playing across her face. Chloe took a second to let her heart return to a normal rate before glaring at the pirate. "Do you really need to scare people like that?"

"You're the one that is out of her room and sneaking around my ship in the middle of the night." McKadden joked, her eyes never leaving the redhead.

"Yes, well I couldn't sleep. In case you didn't notice I had a bit of a wild day." Chloe leaned against the railing and crossed her arms.

"Hmm," the captain hummed before turning back to her work.

"I suppose I should probably thank you." The captain gave her a confused look. "If it wasn't for you and your crew I would have gone on living in complete ignorance of who my father truly was."

"Some say ignorance is bliss."

"Those people are living in a dream." Chloe stood up and mindlessly wandered across the quarter deck. "That is what my entire life has been, just a dream."

"Your life has been free of strife. Nobody has tried to kill you and there's always been food on your plate." The captain said. "Sounds like a pretty good dream to me."

"A dream that turned into a nightmare." Chloe looked over the side of the ship and couldn't help but think how beautiful the night sky looked. Filled with stars that shimmered in the waves below.

"The real world can be a nightmare. But there are good parts too it." McKadden brushed a lock of brown hair behind her ear. "You just have to find the things that make life worth living."

"And pray tell what those would be?" Chloe asked.

The captain ran her hand over the wood of the wheel, "For me it's this ship, my home. It's my family, the crazy people I have the privilege to call my crew."

Chloe snickered, "They're crazy all right. Amy told me the story about how she joined up with you."

McKadden groaned, "Which version did she tell you?"

"Version?"

"Amy tends to…exaggerate her storytelling. I once caught her telling someone that she joined this crew after proving herself in a fight with something called a crocodile."

"What's a crocodile?"

"It's a large lizard that lives in Africa, I'm not even sure if Amy's ever seen one before." The captain hung her head and let out an exasperated sigh. "So which story did she tell you?"

Chloe crossed her arms, "She said that she was a famous opera singer and that her father killed the man she was in love with."

The captain paused, like she was considering what to say. "Well the opera bit isn't true."

"So she really…" Chloe left the question hanging in the air.

"Killed her father?" The captain nodded her head. "I don't know all the details but one night she got really drunk and blabbed some of the story. What I know is true is that she showed up at the docks one day claiming to be a cook and needing passage out of London." She looked back at Chloe, "She was probably trying to make you feel better."

"But why would she care?"

The captain chuckled to herself, "Amy is one of the strangest people you will ever meet but she has, as she would say, a fat heart. She tends to latch on to people rather quickly and despite her unreliable nature she always takes care of her friends, in her own bizarre and unique way."

"Oh," Chloe felt touched that the boisterous pirate actually cared about her. "I guess that's kind of sweet."

"Don't get used to it. She'll probably put something in your food tomorrow so she doesn't appear soft." Chloe laughed but the laugh quickly turned into a yawn. "Perhaps it's time for you to go to sleep, Miss Beale."

"Me, you're the one who hasn't slept since yesterday." Chloe remembered how tired the captain had been the other day, and frankly having someone who was sleep deprived at the helm.

"No need to worry Miss Beale, I never fall asleep when she needs me." She patted the wheel with her hand.

"Why do you always call me Miss Beale?" It had started to bug her since no one called Chloe that other than the household staff, and even then she usually insisted that they use her name.

The pirate shrugged, "I just thought that was how you'd want to be addressed, figured it would make you more comfortable."

"Well please, just call me Chloe."

"Very well Miss Chloe."

"That's not- you know what, I'm too tired for this." Chloe made her way to the stairs before looking back over her shoulder. "Thank you for talking with me."

The captain gave her a shy smile as they looked into each other's eyes, "Pleasant dreams Miss Chloe."


Fun Fact: Escaped slaves made up for about a third of the pirate crews. Sailing as a pirate offered an escape from bondage and a chance to live in an equal environment since pirate ships were run as democracies.