Three days.
That's how long it took for Stacie to give Chloe the go ahead to leave the captain's cabin. By the end of her stay Chloe was about ready to pull her hair out from boredom. The only bright spots had been when Amy brought them food - usually with some sort of outrageous story about happenings on the island - or whenever the captain checked up on her. McKadden's stories seemed far more believable than Amy's and usually involved tales from the crew's adventures. Like the time they sailed up the Nile and did battle with the local river pirates. Or the time they traveled to the southern tip of Africa and the island of Madagascar, apparently there were strange monkeys there with ringed tails.
Aubrey was less impressed with the pirate's stories. The blonde usually grimaced at anything Amy had to stay, scoffed at the Captain's stories and refused to even acknowledge Stacie when the doctor checked on Chloe's injuries. When the two of them were left alone in the cabin, or when she wasn't put to work somewhere on the ship, Aubrey would spend her time pacing the length of the cabin. The first day she had spent a little too much time staring at the captain's sword collection, but that stopped when Chloe reminded her that one person couldn't hope to fight an entire pirate crew. The second day, when she was sure no one would disturb them, Aubrey had riffled through the draws of the cupboard. She didn't really find anything other than a few sets of clothes, a bottle of some sort of alcohol and about a dozen more maps in addition to the ones already on the desk. Now, on the third day, Aubrey had resigned herself to reading some of the books that the captain kept under the bed. Or at least the ones in English, most of the texts appeared to be in their original languages.
"I've never understood this story," Aubrey flung the play she had been reading onto the bed. "Falling in love in a matter of hours and then killing themselves? What kind of idiot would do that?"
Chloe rolled her eyes. "I think you're missing the point. It's supposed to be a tragedy."
"The only tragedy is that the story was written in the first place." Aubrey sat on the edge of the bed and let out an irritated sigh. "How are you feeling?"
"Better." Chloe stretched out her ankle beneath the sheet. In truth the wound still hurt, the freshly closed bite marks pulling with the movement, but at least she didn't get dizzy any time she thought about getting out of bed. Stacie had worked some strange paste onto the wound that had worked wonders on the healing process. According to the doctor, the medicine was made of different plants and pure alcohol to keep the wound clean. It had stung like a bitch when it was applied but Stacie had assured her that it would help.
Now, three days later, it seemed to have worked.
Chloe pulled back the blankets before gingerly placing her feet against the smooth floorboards. Sliding to the edge of the bed, Chloe placed a hand on Aubrey's shoulder and carefully stood on her own two feet. There was a twinge of pain and she needed Aubrey's help for a second but then she stood up straight, ecstatic that she could finally leave the cabin.
She walked to the door, determined to breathe some fresh air. The cabin was nice but there was a stuffiness that one noticed after an extended period of time. Pulling open the door, Chloe relished the smell of the sea. Even if it was punctuated with the scent of stale alcohol and overripe seamen. Several of the crew noticed her, a couple even giving a polite node as they passed. But the best reaction had to come from Amy.
"GINGER!" The cook rushed over to pick Chloe up in a crushing bear hug. "Way to show those crocs who's boss!"
"Thanks...Amy..." Chloe wondered if this was how she died. To survive being kidnapped and almost eaten alive only to be crushed by the overbearing pirate.
"Easy Ames," The Captain looked over the railing near the helm with a small grin playing across her face. "Don't crush her when she's barely walking again."
"Not to worry cap'n," Amy dropped Chloe back down on the deck. "Wouldn't dream of it."
Chloe took several deep breaths to regain the air she had lost, giving the large blonde a weary look before taking a few tentative steps back. As she did though, her ankle protested at the rough treatment and Chloe staggered. She would have fallen the rest of the way to the deck if Aubrey hadn't been standing right behind her. Luckily her friend had fast reflexes and managed to catch Chloe under her arms. The admiral's daughter gave the pirate a look that could kill. Amy at least had the decency to look sorry, her lip between her teeth and her eyes refusing to look at the pair.
"It's okay Aubrey." Chloe stood back up and gave her foot another chance. It seemed alright but it would probably take a few more days before she was running anywhere. "See, no harm done."
Aubrey rolled her eyes but let Chloe lead her to the stairs. They climbed up to the quarter deck where the captain, Cynthia and Stacie had all gathered. The doctor gave Chloe a concerned look but Chloe just shook her head. She didn't need everyone fussing over her because of a bad leg.
"Good to see ya walkin again red." Cynthia looked like she was impressed. "Must have a bit of that Irish luck they always talkin about to survive a tussle with a crocodile."
"Wouldn't call the Irish lucky." McKadden said darkly, making Cynthia look incredibly uncomfortable.
"Sorry cap'n I meant-"
"Just drop it." McKadden moved from where she was leaning against the railing. She seemed to have taken a page out of Stacie's book - who wasn't even wearing a shirt - when getting dressed this morning, only wearing a long pair of light pants, boots, and just a single slip of fabric to cover her breasts. Chloe found herself admiring just how muscular the small woman was, the results of life on the sea no doubt, and finally getting a look at the tattoos that lined her arms.
On the left was an intricate design of some sort of dragon. It didn't look anything like what Chloe had seen in illustrations back in London. This dragon seemed more like a serpent, coiling around the captain's arm until the head rested on her shoulder. The right arm wasn't one long picture but several. On the shoulder was a simpler version of the singing woman on their flag, the forearm had another woman, only this one was her whole body and she was playing a lute. The bicep had strange writing that Chloe couldn't read.
"So," Chloe asked. "Is there anything we can do today? Or are Aubrey and I confined to the ship?"
The pirates all looked at each other like they expected everyone else to answer. Cynthia raised an eyebrow at her captives, "You actually want to leave the ship?"
Flo chimed in, "Thought you two would've wanted to stay as far away from there as possible."
"I've been stuck in the cabin for three days," Chloe whined, almost childlike. "Besides, I could probably stand to work my leg a little bit."
Everyone looked to the captain who seemed to consider her request before shaking her head. "No." Chloe tried to keep the hurt off her face, she hadn't been expecting that answer. "At least not both of you."
Chloe looked at Aubrey who seemed as shocked as she was. "What do you mean not the both of us?"
"I mean that the two of you have proven to be problems. And I don't want to risk any of my men with another Bumper situation." She clapped her hands together. "So, Miss Chloe can go ashore, Miss Posen will stay here."
Chloe could practically feel Aubrey bristle beside her. "Absolutely not!" The blonde placed her hands on her hips, a stance she usually used with misbehaving servants. "Where Chloe goes, I go."
The captain seemed unimpressed. "Need I remind you, again, Miss Posen, that you are not in charge here." She waltzed over to Aubrey, mimicking the blonde's stance by placing her hands on her hips. "And I'd wager it was you who thought to pull that little escape stunt." She pushed past Aubrey before addressing Chloe. "Remember what I said. You're safest with my crew. If you try and run again we won't come after you but you'll be alone." She held eye contact until she seemed satisfied that Chloe understood her. "Good, Cynthia can show you around."
The African woman snapped to attention when she heard her name. "Really?" The captain gave her a questioning glance while the other women snickered under their breath. "I just mean, uh, wouldn't Stacie be better? Or maybe Amy?"
McKadden just scoffed. "If you think I'm trusting Amy to take anyone anywhere then you've got another thing comin."
"I heard that!" Amy called from the deck below, causing the other crewmates to laugh.
Cynthia looked at her captain before slouching, realizing that she wasn't getting out of her new job. "All right red. Let's go."
Chloe looked first to Aubrey, who was still fuming at being left behind, and the captain, who just nodded her head and made a shooing motion. She was tempted to stay behind, after all the last time she left the ship hadn't gone spectacularly. But the curiosity that was bubbling up inside her made Chloe follow the pirate down the steps, careful not to put too much weight on the bad ankle.
Cynthia was waiting for her by the gangplank, strapping on a belt with a cutlass and two flintlocks hanging from it. Chloe eyed the weapons nervously, looking up at her companion who gave her a reassuring grin. "Don't worry, after what happened I doubt any of them idiots would tangle with us. Theys know not to be messin with the cap'n."
Somehow Chloe didn't find that too comforting.
They walked down the plank and into the city. This time the people didn't seem to take much notice since it was just the two of them, instead of the big crowd like last time. Chloe wondered if the captain had planned that, to keep the attention off of her as much as possible. They made their way towards the same bar from three days ago. It was much less crowded this time, only a few people sat at the tables.
Her pirate escort sat down at a table near the actual bar, gesturing for Chloe to join her. "You know, there's nothin really here to see. Aside from the fort, which we're not allowed into."
"Why can't we go inside?" Chloe asked while Cynthia flagged down a serving girl.
"I'll take a mug of coffee if ye got it. Anything for you red?" Chloe shook her head so Cynthia waved the waitress off. "Only the council members are really allowed inside the fort. They think it makes them all mysterious or somethin."
Chloe looked up to the fort, wondering how many infamous pirates were there right now. "Is the captain part of that council?"
"Aye," The waitress returned, handing Cynthia a cup filled with dark liquid. "Thank you, beautiful." The girl blushed, rushing off as Cynthia grinned after her. She took a sip from the mug before addressing Chloe again. "Captain's been part of the cabal a few years now. Same goes for Teach, Hornigold, Thatch, uh...there's a few others but I don't bother to learn their names."
Chloe processed that info while Cynthia sipped her coffee. She knew McKadden had a position on the island, Blackbeard wouldn't have visited her otherwise. But if she was a part of this council then she must be one of the most powerful pirates in the West Indies. Which begged the question, why had Chloe never heard of her before?
"What's she like?" Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "The captain. She seems to be kind enough but..."
"How did she fall in with some of the most feared pirates the world has ever seen?" Cynthia finished for her. Chloe nodded, clearly hopeful for an explanation. "Well. I don't know."
Lie. Chloe might not be the most perceptive person on the planet but even she could tell that Cynthia was lying to her face. Well, maybe not her face since the pirate refused to look her in the eye.
'No wonder she can't gamble.' Chloe thought as she watched Cynthia look anywhere but her. "Fine then," She said, managing to draw the pirates' attention. "Tell me about you. What's your place on the ship?"
The woman seemed to consider the question before shrugging a shoulder. "I'm the helmsman. Whenever the captain needs a breather or if we're heading into some serious weather I'll take over the helm."
"She must have a lot of faith in you to let you sail the ship." Chloe said. She knew she was fishing for information and from the look Cynthia gave her the pirate knew too.
"Well I've been sailing ships since I was well...I don't know, for as long as I can remember." Cynthia leaned back in her chair, sipping her coffee with a thoughtful expression.
"Really?" Chloe asked. "I thought they didn't really have ships where you're from."
That was definitely the wrong thing to say. The other woman set her chair back down and gave Chloe a long, uncomfortable look. "And where exactly do you think I'm from?"
"Uh...I uh, well," Chloe fumbled over her words as she desperately tried to backtrack the conversation. "It's just that...I heard you talking to the prisoners and I assumed that, you know."
She stopped her rambling when she heard her companion start to snicker. A snicker that quickly grew into a full belly laugh that in another situation Chloe would have found amusing. "That wasn't very nice."
"I'm a pirate, Red." Cynthia managed to get out between wheezing laughs. "Nice doesn't really come into play." She settled herself down before speaking again. "But you're only half right. My father was from Africa. My mother is Greek."
Chloe scrunched her eyes as years of language schooling, her father's idea, flooded her brain. "Cynthia. Isn't that a Greek name?"
"Very good." Cynthia gave her a small smile. "My full name is Cynthia Abebe. Which in English roughly means Moon Flower." She took another drink from her mug. "Although everyone on board just calls me Rose. Well, except the captain but she gets to call me whatever she wants."
"Why?" Chloe blurted out before thinking. She was probably pushing it with how many personal questions she could ask.
Cynthia gave her another long look before shaking her head. "That's not somethin I'm willin to share."
Chloe had the decency to look away, feeling like an idiot for being so blunt. She couldn't really help it, Chloe was a people person. She liked learning about interesting people, especially if they were as interesting as this mysterious pirate crew. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine, Red. Just somethin I don't like to remember." Cynthia finished her drink, slamming her cup down with a satisfied sigh. "Damn good coffee. So where do ya want to go now? There's really not a whole lot to see since you probably don't want to go back to the marshes."
Chloe shook her head vigorously. If she never saw a crocodile again it would be too soon. "What about the docks? You could point out the different ships."
Cynthia nodded in agreement, "All right. Just stay close to me. The men down there don't really know how to act around a lady." They stood up from their table, Rose paying for her coffee by flipping a gold coin to the serving girl. They made their way past the tables and back onto the busy main street.
Chloe was a little surprised at the number of shops they passed along the road. Food, weapons, clothing, jewelry, basically anything you wanted could be found in this market 'I guess pirates need somewhere to spend all the money they plunder.'
"This place has grown quite a bit over the past few years." Cynthia said as they walked past a vendor trying to get their attention. "Traders from all over make their way here when they can't sell all their cargo at Havana or Kingstown. Or if they don't want to pay taxes."
They eventually came to a cross street, the main road being intersected by another. On one of the corners was a large building, three stories tall and brightly painted with a sign hanging above the front door. It appeared to be a popular establishment; plenty of sailors were going in and out of the building with lively music pouring out the windows.
Chloe pointed to the building with more than a little curiosity. "What's that building over there?"
Cynthia looked to where Chloe was pointing, the coloring draining from her face as she tried to stutter an explanation. "Uh-that's-uh-something you shouldn't concern yourself with."
"Cynthia!?" A voice called out from the third floor of the building, pulling the attention of the two women on the street. "When are you coming back?! We miss you!" Chloe's eyes widened as she looked up to see a woman practically falling out of a window to wave at the pirate next to her. The woman, a blonde with pale skin, was wearing a dress...that left nothing to the imagination. Just as the woman was hanging out of the window, her breasts seemed ready to fall out of her dress. "Come on over and play with us!"
It was hard to tell against her dark skin, but Chloe could have sworn that Cynthia's face had run from pale to blushing at record speed. Cynthia cleared her throat, looking anywhere but Chloe as she called back to the woman in the window. "Not today Pearl!" She grabbed Chloe's arm and pulled her away from the building as quickly as she could.
Before Chloe knew it they were at the docks, with Cynthia having shoved her way past anybody that might have gotten in the way of her escape.
"Are you alright?" Chloe asked when they finally stopped. Cynthia took a second to catch her breath before looking at Chloe with a wary eye. "Of course I am."
"That place. Was that a-"
"Yes. Now if we can never speak of this again that would be great." The pirate didn't even wait for a response, just walking on at a brisk pace. Chloe struggled to keep up with Cynthia while her brain worked on processing exactly what just happened. She wasn't so naive to not know what the building was, they had brothels in Kingston after all. She was mostly trying to understand how the pirate could find those places attractive. Chloe had always associated brothels to be a bit, well...dirty. Maybe it was her upbringing but of all the places in Kingston she liked to explore she always gave brothels a wide berth. They were filled with unsavory men and questionable women. Again, maybe it was just her mother's voice in her head but Chloe wasn't about to bring the topic up with Cynthia any time soon.
Instead she focused on the view in front of her. The harbor seemed to be just as lively as the one at home. People were mingling around, shopping and talking as they looked through the fish market. Sailors sprawled across the beach, surrounded by bottles from last night's revelry. She wondered if that was the case in every port, sailors taking every chance to laze about after months at sea.
The harbor itself was crowded with ships, ranging from small sloops to full-fledged galleons. The flags flying above them were also some of the most eclectic choices Chloe had ever seen, most consisting of some sort of skeleton or skull and crossbones.
"How many pirates are here?" Chloe asked absentmindedly, more to herself than to her companion.
"Depends on the season." Cynthia answered. "During the winter, when the storms make crossing the Atlantic dangerous, more people come into port since there's less loot to go after." She shrugged before gesturing to the anchored ships. "Usually we don't ever have this many but somethin has Blackbeard in a huff so he's called a lot of us in."
"I never considered that pirates would work together." It did go against the whole 'no honor among thieves' the Chloe was used to hearing.
Cynthia just gave her a cocky grin. "Most of the time we don't. Unless we want to stick it to the Navy or there's a particularly juicy prize."
Chloe didn't say anything to that, she was still uncomfortable with the obvious dark side of this island. There was a part of her that was attracted to the romantic notion of living on the high seas, living by her own rules without anyone telling her what to do. But there was the small problem that these people fueled that lifestyle with death and destruction.
"What made you choose this life?" Chloe asked.
Cynthia gave her a quizzical look, seeming to consider the question before looking to the sky. "It's more like this life chose me. My father was a pirate so I guess it runs in my blood. But there's something else." She pointed at something in the sky making Chloe look up to see a seagull, lazily floating on the wind. "Ever since I was a kid I've been jealous of birds. They get to experience the ultimate freedom, floating above everything, mocking those of us that are bound to the earth." She sighed, a whimsical smile crossing her lips as she gazed at the horizon. "I think that's why I love sailing so much. With the wind at my back I can almost picture flying through the clouds."
Chloe certainly wasn't expecting such a heartfelt response, especially since she remembered feeling the exact same way when the captain let her handle the ship. She could also empathize with the need to feel free. A flashback to her wedding day sent a shiver down Chloe's spine. It was hard to believe it had only been a week since she had been taken from Port Royal. Now she was on the island capitol of a massive pirate confederation, being escorted by a crewmate of one of their leaders.
They made their way past the rest of the docks, with Cynthia pointing out different ships along the way. They stopped at the end of a pier, gazing out across the water to the horizon.
"Hmm."
"What?" Chloe turned to see a concerned look on her companion's face.
"Don't like the look of that sky." The pirate looked over her shoulder making Chloe follow her gaze to a flag that flew above the fort. The flag was fluttering in the wind haphazardly but other than that Chloe couldn't see a problem. The sky was clear, hardly a cloud in sight and tainted red by the setting sun.
"Seems okay to me." Chloe said but Cynthia didn't look convinced.
"Maybe." She looked back to the sea, her eyes squinting against the glare on the surface. That's when her body went stiff, eyes widening in terror as something Chloe spun around to see five white sails on the horizon. "Get back to the ship."
"What's going on?" Cynthia grabbed Chloe's shoulder and pushed her back the way they came.
"Do as I say." The people around them started to notice the ships out on the water, causing a wave of nervousness to wash over the crowd. "Come on Red, we need to go."
Cynthia grabbed her by the wrist, dragging her along while Chloe was still trying to look over her shoulder to see what was going on. Just before they were swallowed by the crowd Chloe managed to see what was causing everyone to panic.
The ships coming into port were flying the King's colors.
A/N: The reference I referred to in the last chapter was about the scene where the captain confronts Bumper. I basically ripped off a scene from the anime One Piece. It's a good show, highly recommend it if you've got a couple years to spare to watch it.
Fun Fact: Pirates did were eye patches but not necessarily because they lost an eye. One theory is that they kept one eye covered to compensate for the darkness below decks. There's even a Mythbusters episode about that.
