Ahoy there mates! Happy (late) Thanksgiving to ye! My apologies on the late hour of this chapter. I was out all day with a second Thanksgiving with family, haha! But, no more delays (even if my computer crashes again. Knock on wood.)! Here, just for you, is...
At Last
Kat Crestshot stood at the wheel of the
Lightning Mercenary, taking in the glowing lights of Tortuga at night. It was a welcome sight after the past few months of hard sailing. Their ship had more than a few holes in it from the various encounters they had gotten into with Jolly Roger’s servants, and a few other ships on the side. They had gotten to the point where if one more mystical lightning bolt struck them, it would be their last. O’Malley and Hector should be able to fix them up properly.
Lawrence climbed up from below decks, immediately drawing Kat’s eye. Her first mate was making the rounds on the ship, making sure everything was ready for port. He checked and double checked all the cargo, the sails, the anchor for her, with a young crew member following close behind. A sudden gust of wind blew his hat off, revealing his bright red hair, and she couldn’t help but remember running her hands through it, taking the hat off herself…
She quickly shook the memory away. Now wasn’t the time to be going back to that place. Really, she should never go back to that day. There was no point. She sighed softly and continued to direct the ship towards Tortuga.
They ported without trouble, and Kat left the crew to unload as she went to talk with O’Malley. The shipwright noticed her approaching and said with a grin, “Back again, Ms. Crestshot?”
She rolled her eyes at his gleeful tone. “Yes, O’Malley, and with money for you, you dog.” O’Malley’s grin just grew wider.
“Ye know me too well, miss. Now, how might I be of service?” Kat quickly outlined the problems and damages with her ship. At the end, O’Malley gleefully announced the cost of the repairs, making Kat groan, but she handed over the gold and went back to her ship.
“Oi, everyone, listen up!” she yelled at her crew. They assembled quickly, making her smile slightly at the respect she had gained from them. It had taken a little time; despite their willingness at first to join and serve under her, it hadn’t gone completely smoothly. The men – with a few women thrown in – had not listened quite as they should have. Kat had tried a few different means to get them to listen and respect her: talking to each one on one, then withholding meals, and even a lash a time or two, but nothing worked until the first battle with the skeletons. A few had gone foolishly against her orders, not firing when ordered and not staying with the group when they got on the opposing ship. Many had suffered injuries, and there had been a casualty. That’s when everything had become real for her crew, and they realized that they were truly fighting the battle, not listening to it in the candlelight of a rundown tavern. They began listening after that.
“Alright, we’re going to have some people onboard repairing the ship, starting tomorrow morning!” she yelled out. “Now mates, if I hear of any funny business going on,” she specifically eyed some of her more notable thieves, who squirmed, “you’ll be getting it from me. Savvy?”
A chorus of “Aye aye, Captain,” rang out from her crew. She grinned. “Tim, Mr. Ironhawk, you two have the first watch.” They saluted. “The rest of you, once your jobs are finished, you’re on leave from the ship. As you were.” The crew continued to unload the ship under Lawrence’s watchful eye. He noticed a few people lurking about the cargo, so he slowly drew his dagger and held it loosely at his side. Eyes widened and a few of them scurried away, and Kat caught Lawrence’s eye and grinned. It was always good to be back in Tortuga.
Before long, the cargo was completely unloaded, and the crew went out to join in the insanity that was Tortuga town. Kat checked in with Tim and Chris on watch before grabbing Lawrence and leaving as well. It had been a long time since she’d had a nice chat with Fabiola.
The gypsy sat next to a large fire near her cart with a small flute, playing a tune that had drawn people around in a jovial, laughing crowd. Kat and Lawrence approached the flames with smiles on their faces, watching two men dance away to the song. People stomped their feet in time to the music, dust clouds puffing up from the dirt. The men in the center stepped out, tired from their dance, and another man stepped in.
“C’mon c’mon mates! Let’s see another show their skill!” he called out, looking at the crowd. He spotted Kat and Lawrence standing side by side, and grabbed their hands to pull them in. “C’mon man, take yer gal here and show us how it’s done!” Lawrence shrugged and took her hand to spin her around, and Kat noticed Fabiola’s smile around her flute.
They laughed and spun and lost themselves in the dance. Lawrence seemed to take great pleasure in pulling her close for a moment, and then spinning her away. Back and forth, round and round they moved in the flickering light of the flames, and for once, their fancy footwork was not being used to evade the claws of death. It was just fun and uncomplicated, the freedom of the song.
They let out a final laugh as Fabiola finished her flute with a flourish. The crowd began to disperse, some staying behind to warm themselves by the flames. Lawrence bowed to a few admirers leaving tips and such, acting like a complete fool. Kat laughed at him before turning to Fabiola.
“How have you been, Fabiola? Still providing hangover remedies to the poor souls of this town?”
The gypsy laughed, placing her flute down in her cart. “My best business, as you know, my friend. Things have been as they always have been.”
Kat leaned against the small, wheeled home. “Aye? Well, come now, something must be new mate,” she laughed.
Fabiola smiled wanly. “Well, actually, there’s a pair of people that recently arrived that might be worth mentioning.” Her violet eyes slowly came to meet the pirate’s hazel. “Kat, your brother and sister are here.”
Kat’s eyes widened, and she sat up from the cart. “What?” she whispered.
“What?” Lawrence barged in, done with his admirers.
But Kat wasn’t listening. The sounds of Tortuga disappeared, as did the light form the fire, and the woman standing in front of her. She was trying to picture her siblings, the people she had never thought she would see again, in all of their refinery, and place them in the insanity surrounding her. Her mind wouldn’t wrap around it. She had so many questions. Why were they here? How were they here? Had something happened in England? But the first question…
“Where are they?” she asked Fabiola.
The gypsy nodded towards a busier part of town. “They have been staying at the bakery. They were fortunate enough to find someone to take them in.”
Kat took Fabiola’s hand. “Thank you, my friend,” she said, and took off towards town.
“Where is who?” called a confused Lawrence to her fleeing back. He looked to Fabiola, who nodded. With a sigh, he ran after Kat…again. The things he did for this woman.
Kat ran through the dirt streets in the dark night looking for the bakery. She wracked her memories of the month’s time she had spent here last year, trying to remember where it was. A right here, a left here, past the trading office… there! She skidded to a halt in front of a small building with a cupcake on the outside. For a moment, she just stood there looking at it, knowing who could be in there. As she stalled, Lawrence had caught up. Actually, he almost ran past her.
He came to stand next to her. “Who is in there, Kat?” he asked her, sensing it wasn’t the time to interrogate about her sudden running away.
“My family,” she murmured. She took a small step towards the door, hesitated, then continued on, with Lawrence following.
Kat opened the door slowly. Nobody was at the front of the shop. “Hello?” she called out. She seemed to have forgotten that it was late at night.
Footsteps were heard coming from the back of the shop. A green haired head popped into view. “If yer lookin’ to thieve, I’d suggest ye jus’ get out now. I ain’t in tha mood.” She came fully into view, and Kat saw a shiny knife in her pale hand.
Kat sensed Lawrence moving to pull his own out behind her, but put a hand on his to stop him. She held her own hands up in submission to reveal no weapons. “Easy there mate,” she said slowly. “I’m just looking for some people. Look, do you know-”
“Katherine?!” another voice cried from the back. A frazzled looking Charles ran to the front of the store, his brown hair rumpled and his eyes wide. They landed on her, and he let out a short, yet loud cry of delight. “Katherine!!” he yelled again. The counter was no obstacle as he leapt over it and picked up his sister in sheer joy. Tears came to Kat’s eyes as she held the brother she hadn’t seen in over three years.
When he finally set her down, they both exploded with questions. “What are you doing here?” “What happened to you?” “Did something go wrong in England?” “How have you survived this long?”
There was finally the question that stopped Charles in his tracks. “Where’s Sarah?”
Actually, this chapter was going to be longer, but we can all blame my family for not giving me time to write.
Thanks again to Luckie O'Clover! Hats off to you mate!
Well, I'm always interested to hear what you think, mates. Come now, criticism or celebration, I don't mind. I'm listening for the buzz, haha. Thanks for reading!
-Kat Crestshot