Time to die

Ella saw the ship off the cliff. It was just a dark shape in the twilight. Within minutes, the night would completely cloak it. She looked behind her as she heard the dogs draw closer. Their braying echoed off the trees. She ran away from the cliff, she turned and ran at full speed.
At the last moment Ella pushed off the cliff face, arms above her head she arched her back. She felt the wind rip at her clothes. She tried to breath but barely managed as the wind pushed against her face. She leaned forward bending slightly at the hips. She hoped she had jumped far enough to avoid the rocks below. She straitened her body. Her hands sliced through the water, she held her breath and arched her body as it was engulfed by outgoing tide.
She heard the crushing thud of the waves as they assaulted the rock and then the silence of the ocean as it cradled her in its cool embrace. She swam, away from the shore, until her lungs burned. But her body was numb from the frigid water. She arched her back once again. Her lungs caught fire.
There was no glimmer of light in any direction. Had she swam the wrong way? Where was the surface? Franticly she looked around. She saw nothing. Was she to die now? Had it all been for nothing? Had she escaped him only for the sea to kill her for him? She ordered her mind to calm down and think.
She stopped moving filled her mouth with a small measure of air from her burning lungs and let it out slowly. She ached to draw a breath but closed her eye as the needed air left her lips. the moved toward the surface and lift her hair. The pain in her chest was excruciating. Her muscles barley obeyed her command to swim. Still she struggled to follow the bubbles. Every stroke made her muscles scream. Her skin felt like needles stabed her repeatedly. Her lungs burned with a white-hot intensity that forced more air from her lungs. Her hand hit the surface; she opened her mouth and sucked in the cold salty air. She couldn’t stop the coughs that racked her body. Her teath chattered.
She looked around and spied the ship. She swam toward it and finally found the anchors’ chain. The chain links were huge. A wave lifted her and slammed her into the links. The pain was mild as her body was already numb from the cold. She wrapped her arms around the links. She placed her feet, pushed, than she pulled with her arms. She climbed the 15 to 20 feet. Salty tears mixed with sea water on her skin.
She heard voices the closer she got to the deck. She lifted up and peered over the sided. There were only eight men. Still they worked and ran about in the dim light of lanterns. Staying as low as possible, she slid over the side. She crouched behind some crates that had been secured by chains fastened to the wooden deck. She feared someone would hear her teeth chattering.
"A hoist sails!" came the captains’ call. "Weigh anchor!"
She crouched lower. She tried to remain still but the cold felt as if it went to her bones. She knew if she didn't move soon she would of the cold. After some of the crew pulled the anchor, that hide dangerously close to, she did move.
Ella scurried quickly over the deck. She kept low and hidden. She found a hatch and moved fast. The air was dank and ripe. Her nose wrinkled. She moved through the hall. The ship swayed her stomach rolled. Somehow, she made it down into the hold. She was less careful now. Her head ached. Her stomach boiled and her limbs felt heavy. She neither had slept nor ate in almost two days. The climb up the anchor line had truly stolen her strength.
Almost half of space was in use except close to the entrance. Ella only found a small area the size of a large trunk. She found an old blanket and pulled it into the small space with her. Thankfully, it was hidden by tied down cargo. Just a small rest. I'll just close my eyes a moment. She thought. She sat down and curled up in the dirty grimy blanket. It stank of fish but it was warmer than her wet clothes. In moments, sleep claimed her.
For weeks, Ella stole about the ship, moving her beding as the need arose. One night she was almost caught in the head, another below the poop deck, twice the galley. She had learned quickly that it was a pirate ship. She still bound her breast- dressed as a boy and slept in the hold were ever she could find enough space. If she were caught she wanted the men to believe she were male.
The captain was a Captain James Talbot. At nineteen, Ella found him quite handsome in a scary way. The scar along his right jaw added to his intrigue.

Caught!

Tonight they dropped anchor off the coast of France. Three boats had taken the crew ashore. Only two men remained over the week, men came and went. She longed to go ashore but knew the docks were heavily patrolled.
She had no desire to swim in the cold waters again so she stayed on ship and hidden. There were times she moved about ship just because she could no longer force herself to remain in her self-imposed confinement. She used her small size and exceptional hearing to her advantage. At night, she stole to the deck and watched as France slept. Concealed she watched. She heard no noise so the heavy hand on her shoulder stopped her breath in her throat.
"What ye be doin boy" the voice of the first mate asked.
Ella turned. His eyes narrowed. "Who is ye? Wha'ye be doin 'ere?" he grabbed her by the shoulder and started dragging her. "The Cap'n el wanna see ya."
Ella shuffled her feet and tried not to fall as he dragged her along. He banged on the door below the poop deck. He banged again. It swung open and banged the wall.
"What?" the captain bellowed.
"I foun' es ere crab by yer quarters sir." answered the first mate quickly. The captain motioned them inside.
He shoved her hard in to the room. Elle stumbled and fell. He laughed and the captain glared.
"Get up, boy." the captain commanded. She did so quickly. Harve shut the door.
"I wanna be your page boy," she blurted out in a rush of words. She was desperate no not be sent back. They both laughed at her.
"Aint no such thing ere boy- we's pirate." Harve said with a sneer.
She knew what they were. Her face showed no surprise. Straitening her back, she said "Fine. I'll be your runner then."
The captain looked her up and down. For once Elle was thankful for the dirt that concealed her features.
Harve blurted out, "Yers just a wisp. Aint got not a trace of air. Why’d we need yous fur?"
Elle glared at him. How dare he try to rune her chance? "I been on this ship a month and not been seen or caught. I can go anywhere the Captain sends me. My size works to the advantage." she spoke rudely and with more anger then confidence.
"Ye aint been ere no mont." Harve said accusingly. She laughed at him. He made a move yet the captain stopped him with one word.
Then the captain then said. "If the crab’s tale is true then it can be proved. Show us boy."
They made their way to the hold. She showed them her meager home. She had had to move it three times to avoid detection.
Harve glared at her. She knew she had made an enemy. When the captain asked what she wanted out of this employment and how long it was to last she had an answers. "A bed, a real one." she glanced at the filthy blanket she had been using. "In two years enough money to make a life in the new world." She never wanted to go back to England. Her father and Sir Reginald were there.
"Agreed." he said and turned, lantern in hand.

Unlikely friends

Her cabin was beside his and big enough for a bed and dresser. She was grateful for the small private space. The next weeks were harder than any she had ever known. Her duties did not end at running messages and gathering information. She worked the ship with the crew. She worked harder than any of them; fear of being flogged kept her moving. Punishment by the CAT O' NINE TALE meant being striped to the waist. Her true sex would then be discovered. She would, most likely, be forced to leave the ship at the next port.
Therefore, she worked hard to keep her secret. Off the coast of England, she sat in a boat bound for shore.
She intended to deliver the messages, gather some information, and board the ship as fast as possible. The first two messages were quick. The third took more time because she had to wait a reply. It was when she was at the docks that she heard a fight.
Harve and another man were in an altercation that involved fist, blood, and blades. Two men watched. One man stood with his back to her. His clothes suggested minor nobility. The other man stood in profile.
Harve killed the one that he was fighting and with a flick of his wrist, the well-dressed man sent the other to take his place. It was plain to see that Harve couldn’t take much more abuse. The well-dressed man was not much bigger then Elle so she drew her cutlass and from behind him put it to his throat.
"Order them to stop or I slit your throat now." she applied a bit of pressure to the flesh just over his vein. When he opened his mouth to obey, she almost dropped the knife.
His command brought them to a halt. “Stop now.” The men stared over at them.
"Take you and your man and leave without looking back," she ordered. She prayed he didn’t recognize her voice. She lowered the cutlass but kept it ready for use.
With another hand signal, the brute was gone. "I want my money Harve. If i don’t get it you'll die screaming." He jerked in her grasp, Elle released him, and he walked away without looking at them.
Harve shrugged her off as she tried to help him. On the small boat back to the ship, Elle asked. "Do you have a death wish? Sir Reginald Travis is worse than any pirate."
He dipped a cloth in the water and wiped at a cut above his left eye. "Wha ould ye know- boy?" there was a strange tone to his voice.
"I know he made a deal with a sutler that owed him. He wanted the man’s daughter in lieu of gold. The daughter found out that her death was insured for three times the debt. That she was to die the last night of her honeymoon." she broke off before saying more.
Arms on his knees he asked "Wha' 'appen to the dau'er?"
Elle looked at the ship. A ladder was thrown down and the boatman caught it. On deck, Harve asked again. Elle told him almost sadly, "She threw herself off a cliff and was lost at sea."
It was six months before they made English land again. Although they weren’t friends, Harve and Elle no longer glared and spit at each other at every meeting. The night before they weighed anchor he caught Elle again on deck watching. He was as silent as a panther. "I been t'inkin'." he said.
To her credit, she didn’t jump. "Bout what?" she asked as he moved beside her.
"Tha' sutl'rs dau'er. Maybe she net ta go see er pa."
Elle looked at him as if he had gone crazy. "Why would i-she do that?" she asked with a trace of anger.
"That Travis fella's rich maybes HER pappy thought he was doing good fer 'is dau'er."
Elle sighed she said lookin at the moon. "You no, don't ya?"
He nodded. "Bout the time ye glared at me clutching ye blanket and watching the Cap. leave." he gave a rough laugh.
"Why didn’t ya tell tha capt'n?"
"I hoped ta scare ye off but i put ya next to the capt'n case anybody guessed." he explained. He smiled a smile that seemed to say, ‘Ha you see how well that worked.’
"Would you go with me? To see poppa." She didn’t dare took at him as she asked.
"Have to be after your runs and I pay Mr. Travis." He agreed.
Elle nodded and it was set.

Home

Elle knew the command was coming. The "land ho" call had already been made from the crow’s nest. She’d taken her turns up there twice. It was accelerating but you felt as if you would tip with each wave.
"Ahoy! Belay the sails!" the captain called. Elle pulled, walked, and rolled the lines along with the others. Her muscles were well defined due to manual labor the past 7 months on ship. Her hair had grown as well. Like most of the men, it hung just above her shoulders.
The sails down the next order arose. The anchors chain rattled and water splashed. Within two hours, they were on their way to shore. On the docks, Harve and Elle made plans to meet at the Silver Pin. Despite its name, it was just an old tavern.
Elle delivered the eight missives, collected the two sacks of coin and three replies.
Elle found her way to the Silver Pin and found Harve waiting with a black jack full of rum. As soon as she sat down across from him, a woman fell in her lap.
"So handsome and so young." she purred running fingers in Elle’s hair. Elle grabbed her wrist.
Harve laughed. "Leave da boy 'lone Lizzy. 'E aint gots what ye be needin." he slid a copper coin across the scared table. Lizzy grabbed the coin and made her way to another patron.
Face red Elle thanked him. To Elle he looked too delighted at her bashfulness.
"So who’s yer dad, El?" he asked taking a drink of rum.
"Augusta Clifford." she told him.
"Da capt’n done business wit em." he said and pulled a package from the seat beside him. He slid it across the table. "Don open it ere. Is a dress, nutin fan-zy but ye don wan yer dad ta see ye like dat." he pointed to her.
She looked down at herself. Ratty clothes. Boy clothes. Pirate.
"I gots a room at da Hogs Head. Ye kin change dere." Harve said. They made their way to the inn; he waited outside as she changed.
Elle knocked on the door.
There was only one light on in the tiny cottage. Harve waited across the street.
Her dad opened the door. He blinked three times then exclaimed. "Isabella!" he engulfed her in his arms. "Where have you been? What is that smell?"
She should have anticipated the questions. "Inside daddy. Please."
They moved inside and Elle explained how she had wanted to ask questions about wedding arrangements but had overheard Sir Travis and another man talking about her murder.
They had laughed and sipped brandy. They even made jokes about the wedding night. The maid found her outside the study. She had fled. For two days, she had hid and changed her looks. The night she had jumped off the cliff, she had gone back to Sir Travirs' to get the papers for the death insurance. He heard her but didn’t see her. By the time he broke down the door she was gone. He had sent the dogs and a tracker after her.
She told him that she had stowed away on a ship but said nothing about pirates.
"I'll never be safe. He'll kill me. Or have me killed. I have to go back to the ship," she said.
"We'll deal with him daughter. He can’t get away with this." he pulled a locket from his pocket.
"Where did you get it? I thought i lost it in the ocean," she noticed the grief cross his face.
"He told me you committed suicide that he found it on the cliff. I thought you did it because I arranged the marriage." he opened the locket and touched the two tiny pictures inside. Her as a child and one of her mother.
An owl hooted three times outside. "I’m sorry, poppy. I've been here to long." she looked at the mantel. It had been almost two hours. They both stood and she hugged him tight. He tried to hand her the locket. She closed his hand around it.
"Keep it for me. I'll come back as soon as I can." she told him and kissed his cheek. When she walked into the dark street, she felt her anger rise. So much lost. She even felt the growing seeds of revenge.

Learning

It was a month at sea and she asked Harve to teach her to use a sword. She harassed him for a week before he finally grudgingly agreed. The swords were heavier then she expected.
A week into her lessons just as Harve disarmed her she heard the captain laugh behind her. She turned and openly glared at him. It just caused him to laugh again.
"Maybe by tha time your two years er up you may be able to use that thing, boy." he said good-natured humor ringing in his voice. In truth all Elle heard was critic.
Captain James Talbot drew his sword from his left scabbard with his right hand. "Pick it up." he said and looked at hers lying on the deck. She glanced at Harve as she picked up her new sword. The captain parried and thrust she was disarmed again.
"Plant your feet boy," he said harshly. She picked up the sword. "Havre’s too easy on you," he said.
"Capt’n..." Harve said. The captain looked at him; Elle glared warning him to keep her secret. She saw him swallow. "Nutin sir."
Without warning, the captain exploded in motion. "Always expect the unexpected," he said as she glared at the sword that again lay on the deck. An hour past before she deflected a disbarment sweat coated her skin and the hollow between her bound breast felt sticky.
She didn’t have time to bask in her success. "Sail ho!" the call from came from above them. The captain started calling orders and the crew rushed to obey, more booty to be had, a chase to score, a ship to sail, what more could a pirate ask?
That day they took the booty, 70 cask of rum, 100 bolts of silk 20 trunks of gold and gems, 600 pounds of beeswax.
The captain of The Intrepid was allowed to keep his ship and all its crew. Even as he sailed away, Elle found more respect for her Captain.
The other captain left with a liter shipment but his eyes held respect for Captain James Talbot.
Captain Morris had been in a rage when we had captured his ship. His crew had fought but we outnumbered them two to one.
Every one stood frozen in a ready state to fight as the captains met. The men from their crew eyed the men from ours; our crew eyed theirs. The captains kept their voices low. It took longer than Elle had expected.
In the end, the other crew stood in two groups as we loaded their cargo onto our ship.
Elle got little sleep. She loved the sea but in six months eight of the crew perished, some taken by the sea during a storm. Men she knew, some she liked, and those were the hardest.
With less crew, the work was harder, more demanding. Each man had a place. Each job must be filled regardless of the number of men to fill them.
She didn’t let her duties slid but she still learned the sword in every moment available. When she slept, she slept like the dead. When she heard the call, "Land ho," she felt joy.
Before debarking, she grabbed the lather her dress was wrapped in and her coins. She drank less than the men drink and had no use of the wenches in port. Some of the crew had remarked about the last. After visiting her father, she intended to change that.

Zara

She went to the captain’s cabin and accepted the messages. With a shock, she found one addressed to her father. Silently she cursed. She couldn’t deliver that one.
On the dock, she pulled Harve aside. He agreed to take it as she delivered the others. They met later at the Hogs Head Inn.
She cleaned up as best she could and changed cloths. She made the visit to her father short, just under an hour.
After changing again, she walked in the Silver Pin. She watched each woman, looking for the right one. As the hour grew later, she noticed that Zara, an older woman, was finding it harder to smile and entice. She kept rubbing her back and stayed clear of the rougher sailors.
As Zara passed their table, Ella grabbed her wrist. "How much for the rest of the night?"
Harve looked shocked. He studied them, smiled then, raised his rum in a toast, and took a long drink.
To Zara’s credit she looked weary but her voice was strong, "Five silvers."
Ella nodded and stood. When Zara took Elle's hand as they walked between the tables Elle pulled it back and placed it around her. When they made it to Zara's room Elle dropped her arm and surveyed the small space.
There was just a small bed, little more than a cot; it was flanked by wooden crates, a scared armoire, and a low dresser with a chipped pitcher sitting in a large mismatched bowl.
"I've seen you before. What would you like to do?" Zara said enticingly as she undid buttons.
"What’s your name?" Elle asked.
Zara smiled, "Zara. Your El. Decided what you want?"
"Sleep." Elle said.
Zara lifted an eyebrow, walked over, and rubbed her body against Elle's. "Are you shy? I could help you. I'm very experienced. Is that it? Is this your first time?" She asked rubbing Elle and unbuttoning her tunic.
"I just want sleep." Elle said. She moved to the bed sat down and started unlacing her boots.
"Are you... Do you...?” Zara began.
Elle looked up and waited. Elle smiled. "No, I’m not that way," she said.
"So just sleep?" Zara asked she seemed unsure.
"What we do or don’t do stays in this room." Elle demanded. She pressed her back into the mattress.
Zara nodded. Zara undress and lay on the bed and snuggled close to Elle. Elle didn’t sleep until Zara's breathing was deep and even. When she woke, Zara stood at the dresser pouring water in the bowl. She turned and smiled.
"Most of the others are downstairs eating. Wash up and we can go down."
Elle pulled on her boots.
As she laced them, Zara spoke again. "I'll keep your secret. Some of the men wouldn’t be happy to find a woman on their ships crew. Bad luck an all."
Elle stared at her unsure what to say. "How'd you know?" she asked.
Zara cleared her throat. "When i woke my hand had wandered. You really needn’t worry. I learned long ago to keep a patrons secrets."
Elle left eight pieces of silver on the dresser. Downstairs Zara made a show of touching Elle, whispering in her ear and siting in her lap.
Before Elle could leave, Zara planted a hungry looking kiss on her lips. The crew who saw it told those that didn’t. The jokes lasted for weeks at sea. Even the new men on the crew shared the joke. That trip only lasted three months. The hold filled quickly and they headed back to port.
Elle quickly delivered Captain Talbot messages and returned the replies to him at the Silver Pin. Elle slept in Zara’s bed once again but didn’t stay the next morning to brake the nights fast.

Rum Cup

Captain Talbot had sent a few of the crew to pick up an order from her father. That night Captain Talbot sat at her table at the Silver Pin. He asked her to extend her contract for another year. "The information you bring makes us all wealthier, El. I won’t ask how you come by it but we are intrigued by it." She watched as he smiled at a barmaid that walked by their table.
Elle knew many of people in the town and had a few contacts on other ports as well. She made sure that all of the people that she spoke with knew to keep her dead. She knew places that private conversations could be over heard. As she had told him, her size was her advantage.
Elle had thousands of euros in a French bank. The small amount she kept with her was just a drop in a pond. Still she wasn’t ready to leave the sea so she agreed to stay another year.
Talbot ordered a round of drinks. As she drank, she watched as people came and went. When she stood her head swam like the sea struck by Neptune’s trident. For a moment her stomach rolled. She reached out to study herself but found a hand instead of the table she had been reaching for.
Zara had suddenly appeared and now held her hand.
"Leaving so soon? Come now- I can give ye a reason to stay." She asked in a loud voice. Her hands traveled over Elle and she leaned close and whispered. "Come to my room before you make a fool of yourself."
Elle put one foot in front of the other but without Zara's guiding hands she wouldn’t have made it to the stairs, much less up them. Elle collapsed in a heavy heap on the bed. She groaned and closed her eyes to make the spinning stop.
"What were you thinking drinking that much rum?" Zara scolded.
Elle groaned. "Harve?"
Zara shook her head. "He's downstairs with your captain. You need to sleep. If you vomit you'll owe me an extra silver." she handed Elle a glass of water. "Drink it if you want to walk in the morning."
She took the cup and struggled to drink every drop. She fell asleep with the empty vessel still in her hand.
That stay on docks lasted five days but after that night, Elle drank even less usual. Even then, it was usually ale or watered rum. The last day in port, in a dress she bought from Zara, Elle went to visit her father. She stayed most of the day.
As she started to leave, he warned her to be careful on her trip, that pirates had been very active lately. She assured him that she would. She pressed a bag of coin in his hand and kissed his cheek.

Discovered

They sailed north. She practiced the sword with anyone who cared to try. She had indeed learned well. They anchored off the coast of an island north of Ireland. The island was so small it took a scouting party a day and 1/2 to walk across and back. Elle practiced alone on the beach when time allowed.
Dance with the sword she called it. Her movements were now like water over smooth stones.
"You’re quite good, Runner." Miles said from a rocky outcropping.
She turned and sliced the air in a smooth motion. "Aye, i try, mate, i try." she said.
"Wanna opponent?" he asked jumping down from the rocks.
"Always."
The man drew his sword & advanced. The clash of steal rang threw the air. It wasn’t long that she realized that to him this wasn’t practice. Their movements fast and hard they thrust and blocked. Sweat beaded on their skin.
"Enough!" the captain yelled the order from the outcropping Miles had used before. Now the captain advance toward them. "Miles, to the ship."
When Miles had gone he demanded, "Were you trying to get yourself killed? Miles has hated you since he joined the crew."
Elle’s face heated. "I didn’t know." She said honestly.
"Make no mistake he does," the captain said. "Plant your feet," he demanded.
Elle did and blocked a strike.
"There may come a time you don’t feel the energy to fight. - Find it." he said and advanced. His constant attack wore her down.
She knew that this was a punishment although she was not sure what she had done.
Finally, his sword came down and struck her. It was so quick she felt nothing. "Damn it boy!" he yelled as he sheathed his sword. Now it started to sting.
Blood bloomed like a crimson flower on her shoulder. "Let me see boy." the captain said and reached for her.
She backed up. A sting became a burn, she hissed in pain. "Can you get Harve?" she asked on a pained hiss.
"As your captain i demand you let me see it, Runner."
Elle dropped her hand. He pulled back the shirt. "You’ll need stitches." he said and pulled the shirt back farther looking for further damage. "What the hell?" his eyes flew up and clashed with hers. She hastily looked away. His hands dropped.
"I’m sorry, Captain." she said unable to meet his eyes.
"Harve knows?" he demanded. He pushed her hand over the wound. She nodded and her face twisted in pain. "Stay here." he demanded as he stood and left.
Elle sat down in the sand pressing her hand to her bloody shoulder. She hissed at the pain the pressure caused. The beach seemed to cloud. Blood squished threw her fingers.
"I'll fix ye up, lad." Harve said a moment later.

Being Unreasonable

She looked up. Harve and the captain were walking over the sand toward her. She lay in the sand unsure how she got there. Harve knelt down and pulled back the shirt. He poured rum over the wound. Tears burned her eyes and she hissed.
He pulled the edges of skin together. Elle panted as the needle was pushed through her flesh. "Won’t be pretty but it'll heal," he said.
Elle looked at the bloody line that was held together with nothing but a catgut stitch. He poured more rum over the wound and this time Elle passed out.
She woke in her tiny cabin. The sound of the waves slapping at the ship’s hull.
She sat up and groaned. Someone had changed her bloody shirt. Her stomach grumbled. She went out on the deck. The sails bellowed in the wind. She found the captain and Harve on the poop deck.
"Ye look a mite better there lad." Harve said when he spotted her.
"Not sure i feel it." she replied testing the pain by moving her arm.
Harve laughed. "Ye got fifteen stitches and slept for two days," he said.
She nodded. "Where are we going?" she asked.
In a clipped tone, the captain answered. "England."
Ell stared at him. "But we’ve only taken four ships." she countered.
"I know that." he turned and walked away.
Her anger mounted at the harsh dismissal. She looked at Harve. "Because of me?"
Harve nodded. Ell turned and stomped after the captain. He was just lowering into his chair as she came in his cabin and she shut the door behind her. She glared at him.
"Bad luck to have a woman on board." She lifted an eyebrow.
"I’ve been here two years. What bad luck has befallen us?" she demanded. Then she continued. "I cannot go back to England. Sir Travis will kill me if he finds i live."
She watched his eyes. Steal became anger.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
She went on to explain and anger became rage.
"You’ve risked your life every time you’ve delivered my messages," he yelled at her. He slammed his fist down on the desk. She cringed. "Get out! I don’t want to see you for the rest of the day." Elle did as he said not caring to find out how angry he was.
For a week, he glared at her. She tried to stay out of his way. She spent a lot of time in the galley working as much as the pain and cook would allow.
She resumed her heaver duties as soon as Harve removed her stitches.
Two days from port, the captain called for her. "What do you want to do about your Sir Travis?" he asked as she stood before his desk.
"He isn’t my Sir Travis and there is nothing I can do," she told him coldly.
"You can let Harve and I take care of him," he told her his voice flat and emotionless.
"You mean kill him? I'll not have either of you become murders because of me." she crossed her arms over her chest.
Slowly he nodded. "Very well. We dock for two weeks. Do you sail when we do?"
Hope flared in her chest. She nodded.
"One condition. The crew has to know the truth and vote. Majority rules." he laid the condition out and her hope sank.
"They won’t let me sail," she said venomously.
"The crew knows much of our success comes from the information you bring. They know that you work just as hard as any of them."
Later that day Captain Talbot told the crew her truth. Shocked and angry cries arose over the deck. At his order, silence fell.
"Elle has worked with some of you for two years. Moreover, all of you know she works as hard as you do. The information she brings has been valuable & profitable. Do any deny it?" None of the men made an objection.
"I thought not. We shall hold a vote to see if she sails with us when we leave England." He then told them about Sir Travis and how she had come aboard ship. Then he added, "Elle you are relieved of duties until further notice."
Elle fumed. Within an hour of being in her cabin, she could stand it no longer. She went to the galley. "Cook could you use some help?" Cook looked at her and shook his head.
"I’m going crazy with nothing to do.," she pleaded.
"You hear the Captain, uh-er- Miss. El." he tripped over her name.
"You’ve known me two years, Cook. I’m Elle." she paused. "Let me help. I need to do something."
He shook his head. "I won’t disregard the capt'ns order not even fer you."
Elle encounter much the same statement all over the ship. Finally, she went to the captain’s cabin.
"Lift your order. I can’t sit with nothing to do." She demanded. "Your being unreasonable."

Verdict

He lifted an eyebrow. "It’s just two days. I’m sure you can find something to do." He said and started writing again, his head down looking at parchment.
"Yes i could if you lift your order. They won’t disobey it. They won’t so much as let me peel a potato," she said indignant.
He looked up at her. After a moment of glaring at her he pulled a clean sheet of parchment from the small pile and wrote on the new sheet, sanded it to dry the ink, and handed it to her. "Take it to cook."
She knew she was dismissed. She growled under her breath as she spun on her heals and left the cabin.
She looked down at the parchment as she walked down the narrow passage. Anger bubbled threw her but she didn't dare turn and confront him. even angry she knew that this was better then sitting in her cabin hour after hour staring at the plank walls and listening to waves thrash at the ships hull. So she stalked to the galley.
Elle spent the next two hours peeling potatoes. Cook let her use them to make a thick soup with salt pork and flour. Cook watched as she worked. She added handfuls of dried herbs. Cook pulled pans of drop bread out of the oven.
They served the food to the others. Elle noticed that a few of the men didn't meet her eyes. She had known that some wouldn't be happy that there was a woman on the ship or that she had lied to them. She couldn't help that the censure hurt. by the time the last crewmember, other then cook, the captian and herself, had eaten she had stopped meating anyones eyes.
She took the Captian his food, she knocked on the door and waited. Harve stood befor the desk and she forced herself to smile at him as if nothing were bothering her. After placing the large bowl on the desk she turned to leave.
Back in the galley she ate with cook and they both worked to clean up for the night.
"See ye in the morning." Cook said as she was leaving. She raised a hand in a silent acknowledgement without looking back.
The next morning as Elle searched the wooden spice barrels, oats boiled as Cook stirred. Elle spent the day cooking, cleaning the galley, or getting ready to cook or clean. Sleep came slow because she was used to labor that is more physical, still it was not that bad.
Elle was not allowed at the vote that determined her fate. Harve came and told her the number of votes but not who had cast them. By a margin of five votes, she would sail with them when they left England. She was sure that she knew where two maybe three of those five had come from. Cook. Harve and the Captain.
Even in this age of 1712 man was very superstitious, most still believed that having a woman aboard was bad luck. The fact that Elle had been here for two years wouldn't sway most of the die-hard superstitious sailors, be they pirate or no.
The sight of the coast was bitter sweet. It was home yet at the sometime it wasn't. She missed it but the thought of leaving the sea left her cold. Not that she could even had she wanted to. Elle prepared to go ashore with the others.

Update comeing soon........

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Texte: Sasha Lee Hollomon Wleeler
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 19.06.2012

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