Shepard shared his winnings and promised the crew their fill of drinks and prostitutes. The crew gathered their belongings and left the galley for solid land for the first time in months. Shepard and his son were both adults. In another life they could have been more than sailors. Shepard and Joker could have had what her Master did. Two beautiful children and a successful career as a financier. With the exception of a cheating wife. If Shepard and Joker were even their real names. Sandra doubted that.74Please respect copyright.PENANAGuYvgyfTj4
It’s a shame that such good men will go unremembered because they’re poor. She settled into sleep while Maxwell left his quarters for the nightly inspection of his ship.
***
After a long night of prowling all of the local taverns for cold drinks, hot food and harlots, the sailors staggered back to the dock late at night. Each one of the sailors stank of sex, alcohol and cheap, overpowering perfumes. The crew were all so inebriated that they shouted sea-shanties like songbirds drunk on fermented berries whilst laughing at the top of their lungs like nervous hyenas. The light from their lanterns leaked through the thick curtains, rousing Sandra from somewhere between consciousness and a dark, dreamless sleep. She panicked when she did not see hammocks surrounding her.74Please respect copyright.PENANAB4Vi3ibrRZ
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“You’re back early Mister Bayne-”74Please respect copyright.PENANAn5AAcetxYv
Her breath snagged in her throat. She noticed the Captain slumped across the rug amongst the piles of navigational instruments and documentation she did not recognize.
You should not be sleeping like that. You’re injured!
Sandra snatched the silk pillows off the Captain’s bed and gently pushed and pulled his limbs until he was in a position that would not break the stitches she put in his side.
“What am I going to do with you? If you’re a hopeless idiot, what does that make me?” She sighed heavily, patting his forehead like she did whenever Darcy and Ester had fevers. No matter how much she missed her Master and his children there was no way home in a timely fashion. It would take two more months to return the way they came.
The blonde tossed and turned in his sleep. Mumbling incoherently before snapping upright, gasping for breath as he clawed at the dutifully bandaged hole in his side.74Please respect copyright.PENANAnWyUGeHW2H
“Were you having a nightmare?” The doe-eyed brunette asked innocently.
“You could say that-” He was trying to make sense of it all himself. “Damn! Can you stay here with me? I might have just woken up, but I’m exhausted and I…” I should not be alone. Maxwell considered his next words carefully, but those brown eyes drew him in.
“Yes.” She nodded, passing him a canteen. “I understand. Lay down with your head in my lap. That way you won’t have a chance, less of a chance, of breaking your stitches.”
Maxwell closed his eyes, swallowing deeply. His adams-apple bobbed with each mouthful.74Please respect copyright.PENANAFkkocIFRcf
“Are you flirting with me, Miss Swift?”74Please respect copyright.PENANA2divtP0H6s
She laughed, lifting her hand to her mouth.74Please respect copyright.PENANAd6tMGEt9DA
“A lady be nice without withholding an ulterior motive. I’m not a wayward harlot. Drink slowly or else you’ll choke to death and I’d face more than harsh words from your crew.”74Please respect copyright.PENANA4cVGyU5qxj
You really are one of a kind. He smiled to himself as he made himself comfortable.74Please respect copyright.PENANAJGCw21WWEG
“Can you please make sure everyone is safe and accounted for? I’m…not feeling well.”74Please respect copyright.PENANAo9aabBF5PQ
“Of course.” She replaced her lap with some bundled linens and scowered for a candle.74Please respect copyright.PENANAexgi86UuVH
He closed his eyes as her candle bobbed out of his quarters. The door swung closed behind her with a bump from her hip.
“Shepard! Joker! Sheldon!” The sixteen year old rattled off the names of the rest of the crew through cupped hands before she raced down the steps to the main deck.74Please respect copyright.PENANAVlaJbAQ0Qa
“All accounted for, miss.” Shepard stepped in front of her. She crashed into him despite digging her heels in. He let go of her as quickly as he caught her. “Where’s Cap’ain?”74Please respect copyright.PENANAfeZ78ac4Su
“I’m completing his patrol. He’s resting. You better do the same. That’s an order!” The sixteen-year-old roused, pointing past the middle-aged man to the rest of the crew.
Everyone nodded, took one last cheeky swig of alcohol and shuffled off to their hammocks. She stood by the door to the lower deck and counted them as they passed her. The only one she had not seen was Hodari. That man was impossible to miss even in this mismatched crew. He towered over the men who were considered tall in higher society. Was he already at his Captain’s side? The sixteen-year-old would not be surprised if that were the case. She imagined that there was more than one way to board and disembark a frigate for a sailor with more experience than herself.
Additionally, during the siren attack he was unaffected by their song. Hodari was not human. She was too afraid to ask what he was. Instead, she walked to the railing to watch the stars. She made a list of ingredients she’d like to buy the next day, but that would require more banter with the Captain. Luckily, she took some gold and silver coins when she sorted his belongings, so she didn’t need to beg and tease him for money. If Maxwell asked how she would pay for ingredients, she could say that she sang on the street. If the merchants oversold their goods to her she would have to sing.
I swear, this man is like a child. Darcy and Ester combined haven’t lost me this much sleep. Being the son and daughter of nobility, her Master relied on her to care for them. I wonder if Mister Bayne had anyone to care for him after losing his mother and father.
Amidst the flurry of panicked thoughts and pacing, Sandra smacked into something solid. She reached up to rub her nose and laid eyes on the unmistakable planks of the door to the Captain’s quarters. She scowled out loud, making a noise similar to a Siren.74Please respect copyright.PENANApj3R0qQCdM
I have it! I’ll start another stew with the last of the ingredients. The ship is going to be restocked tomorrow as soon as the shops open. Cooking has never failed me before!
***
After a few hours of preparation the broth was simmering. Sandra yawned, lifting her hand to cover her mouth. She set the lid on the large cast-iron pot and tiptoed out of the galley to clear the scent of broth from her nose. She heard movement across the deck.74Please respect copyright.PENANA8MvkrfmwHj
“Mister Bayne? Your health is important. You shouldn’t be out here in the cold. I’ll pinch you by the ear and drag you back to-” Her breath caught in her throat when she noticed that the scratching noises were not the Captain nor his First Mate; but a Siren with pale grey skin from the tip of a lure protruding from a stalk on the top of her head to the tip of her lumpy tail, long tangles of dark green hair, barbed and damaged fins, dagger-like discoloured teeth and tell-tale scars from where Sandra’s claws had slashed her face.