AN: hello sorry to interrupt the reading. i want to post another reminder because some people have missed it. ages in this story are not the same as real life. years are 500 days long so everyone is older than they are. 16=about 22. the formula is 500*age/365

Ava had left Tuni's and walked back to her room before realizing she left her key where she had washed up. When she made it back to Tuni's, she stayed for longer than she was expecting, listening to Tuni talk about a myriad of things. Once she finally made it back to her room with her key and sat on her bed she felt sleepy. She had slept through the whole night yet her body was inviting her back into the bed. Asking for more rest. To avoid giving in to sleep, she stood up and decided to explore the boat. There would be time for sleep later, everyone had been saying they were gearing up for a long journey and she didn't imagine there was much to do on a ship in the middle of the ocean.

She picked her key back up from where she left it and searched around the room for something to help fasten her key around her neck. The only thing she could think about was the piece of twine she could need in the future for lighting a candle. Suddenly, she remembered. She was wearing pants and if she was not mistaken, pants had pockets. Reaching down and sliding her hands down the sides of her pants she found them. She slipped her key in one of them and made her way back out of the room. She was eager to explore the ship, something she enjoyed doing as a child. She would wait in her room until a ship that caught her eye came into port and she would demand her caretaker to take her to the ship. She was usually allowed on and taken around to explore, a perk of her last name. 

She made it to the main staircase but went up instead of down to the deck. The staircase appeared to go below the deck for one floor and upwards for two floors from the deck to the cabin, to a latch. The latch door turned on its hinges and made a thump. She emerged from the opening to an observation deck. When she stood on it she got a beautiful view of the ocean all around her. Further examining the deck, she saw a small ladder going up. She took it up and found the helm of the ship. A massive wheel and other devices unknown to her were littered across the surface, she assumed they all helped steer the ship. She stood for a second in front of the wheel and placed her hands on it.

A huge grin came across her face and she imagined herself with a captain's hat on and the wind blowing her short curls all over as she navigated her very own ship. She stepped back a few moments later in an effort to avoid getting caught doing something embarrassing. She continued to walk around the helm, running her hand across the surface of things she came across. At the back of the deck, there was a latch that she didn't know how to open or where it led, she assumed it ran straight down through the three floors and straight into the captain's quarters. At the front of the deck of the helm, there was a ladder that led all the way down to the main deck and she opted to take that.

Back on the deck, she saw two women talking, paying her no mind. She saw that one of them was Rose but did not recognize the other. Theo said only four people were staying behind and Ava deduced that the woman was Miss Yurwa, who she hadn't met yet. She did not want to be rude and ignore them but they did not seem to register her presence. She had already seen the deck and there was not much to it, so she pushed forward and tried to find an entrance to the lower deck of the ship and after some searching, she found two entrances. The main staircase seemed to only go down one deck to the mess room floor and when she tried opening the other doors on that floor, they were all locked.

After that unsuccessful mission, she found another entrance below at the far right of the deck near Tuni's infirmary. She took the ladder down and was pleased to find an open deck layout on the floor below. She assumed that these might be used for the crew when they were overflowing and there wasn't enough space in the cabins but now, with a smaller crew the floor looked like it was used as a sort of lounge and haven from the sun outside. She continued to explore the inside of the ship, making her way from room to room, ladder to ladder. For hours she got lost in observing every detail of the ship, mesmerized by the intricate craftsmanship and the skill that it took to make this ship.

Once she finally emerged back to the deck, it was significantly hotter and brighter outside. The sun showed Ava that the time was a little bit past noon and she wondered what time the pirates would return. How long did treasure hunting take and how accurate were those X marks the spot maps? She was smart, maybe if they had taken her along they would have found the treasure by now. Looking around, she felt stumped. She had no clue what to do and did not want to bother anyone. She had taken up too much of Tuni's time this morning and Miss Yurwa and Rose were more intimidating than she would feel comfortable approaching so she made her way back to her room. This time when she got into her room, she didn't object to the nap her body screamed at her for. She took off her obnoxiously difficult boots and laid in bed. She needed to make a list of things she needed the next time they were on land. Boots and ink and probably a list longer than what she could afford. She fell asleep thinking about the future, what she needed, and the journey ahead.

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"You know," Theo said panting as she took a rest and set her hands on her knees, "when other pirates bury their treasure it would be nice if they didn't have to hide it so good."

"Well. Hide it so well," Xyra answered, head down looking at a map.

"I'm a fucking pirate Xyrabellis and your captain at that. Correct my grammar again and I'll demote you to swabbing the deck," Theo threatened, an empty threat. It was hot and the sun was beating down at them and they had been at this for hours.

Xyra ignored her and began moving around the clearing. Trees and thick brush surrounded them and the map she was given showed this as being one of the spots that could contain the buried treasure. They had begun searching in the early morning and it was three hours past into the aftermorning. She had her crew of 35 running around the island digging and searching for anything that could mean riches for them. So far they had found a sack of semi-rare jewels, some gold, and artifacts worth a lot in some places but it was not what they had come here for. The fabled Delraid's treasure chest. She had been searching for it for lengths ever since Delraid was killed in battle and his crew disbursed. She followed whatever trails she could and they always ran dry. Finally, half of a length ago she had begun to seek out a lead that she believed would bring her to Delraid's first mate. The man who made the maps himself.

When she had arrived there, he had already sold the same information to another pirate. Captain Espbar of the Howler. She paid double and agreed to give him something from her plunder before he gave up the information. Once he did, Xyra sank her dagger into his heart and took the payment back. Normally, that wasn't how the crew of the Scorned Woman behaved but there was a bad history between Xyra and Delraid's first mate. Theo didn't lose any sleep over it though, it kept him from selling the same information to someone else and kept him quiet about selling it to her.

Theo's advantage was that she knew Espbar's itinerary. Things did not usually stay a secret in the pirate world and she knew that Espbar had quite a bit of traveling and recruiting before he could set course towards the treasure. Theo did not, she assumed that if she went more or less straight towards the treasure she would be able to beat Espbar there and leave weeks before Espbar even arrived at the island. However, her plan eroded when Espbar found out that she had the same maps as he did, things did not usually stay a secret in the pirate world after all. He was only three suns behind them last Theo had heard and Espbar had a way of finding the best currents and winds to sail with. Every minute they were there was a minute Espbar was closer to ambushing them on the island.

Xyra stood in front of a patch of green sprouting up from the sand below them and pointed, "Seems to be here. Start digging and I'll go check on the others."

"Yeah, leave me to do the digging," Theo complained and grabbed her shovel. She was the captain and oftentimes composed and resolute but only Xyra got this side of her, bratty and childish. She knew her comment would just be ignored by Xyra, too focused on her maps and progress of the crew to put up with complaining. So, Theo just dug and kept digging until the friction from wood was burning her hand and she had angry red blisters. She was about to stop when she felt her shovel hit something hard.

"Holy shit," she stood there, shunned, "It's fucking real."

She immediately dropped to her knees and started digging frantically with her hands, her blisters protested to grainy sand rubbing against them. Her hands began to feel the cool touch of metal mixed with the textured surface of a wooden chest and her heart began to race faster. Her first treasure hunt had been at the age of 6 and the feeling of finding what you were looking for never went away. Her hands were raw and the thought of having to dig anymore with her hands or the shovel made her queasy, she had to go get help and let everyone know she found it.

"Xyra!" she leaped out of the hole she had dug and stumbled forward. After regaining her balance she ran forward and into the brush. Leaping over branches and tangled weeds she had finally made it onto the beach.

"Xyra! I found it! It's here! It's fucking here!" Theo exclaimed, jumping up and down, waving her arms.

Suddenly, she felt the wind leave her as a figure crashed into her from behind and wrapped their arms around her waist, picking her up, "I fucking told you it was going to be here! We're rich! Delraid's whole life's treasure!"

It was Morgana and Theo laughed swatting at her arms as she was being spun around, "You let me down now, fucking giant."

Morgana disobeyed and instead made her way to where she had seen Theo appear from, "No, I'll help you lift the chest. My tiny weak friend."

Theo laughed and kept moving in Morgana's tight grip, "I'm not weak. Short does not equal weak. No, no, no, you're going the wrong way, Morgana. You've passed it let me down."

This time, Morgana did what she was asked and let Theo down. Theo enjoyed the ride over here without having to walk, though she wouldn't admit it. Her legs felt slightly better after that short rest and she walked back over to her shovel and the hole. She let Morgana hop inside and begin to dig out the handles of the chest and by the time that was done, Xyra and a few others had gathered around.

"Shit," Xyra peeked in, "It's massive, Theo. How much is in there?"

Theo shrugged and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "No one knows. Could be three gold or three hundred thousand gold. But, I wager enough to buy each of us a nice estate in Tassey."

The women that were gathered all began to clamor in celebration and Morgana peeked her head out of the hole, "Won't have any of this gold for ourselves if Espbar gets it so less talking and more helping. Oceane, Iona, Pearl, Xyra, help me out with lifting it out. I need two of you at each handle."

Theo watched as they began trying to figure out a way to lift the chest out. Compared to the others, Theo was as good as a child of two lengths, "Xyra, you're in charge of the chest. I'll meet you all back on board, I'll go round the others and start preparing to leave. Oi," she exclaimed to all the women in the area, "tonight we break open the chest with a feast!"

She waved her crew off as they cheered for the promise of a feast and walked back towards the beach. It took her an hour before she rounded up all the girls in the different dig spots and instructed them to take their finds back to the ship. By the time she got back to her rowboat, only 4 women remained on the beach.

"Morgana and Xyra are rowing the chest in one boat. It was really heavy. We're the last one here. We were waiting for you since they had to go." One of the girls, Oceane explained.

Theo nodded and climbed into the boat, "One of you is going to have to row for me. My palms are not too fond of me right now." Theo held up her hands and showed her blisters and another two girls lifted their hands and showed theirs too, "Make sure to get those cleaned out and dressed by Tuni when we get back, okay?"

The girls nodded and Theo turned to Oceane and the girl next to her, Iona. Iona turned her hands over and shrugged, "I'm good to row. I did not shovel.."

"Me neither. I can row us back," Oceane offered.

Theo nodded at them and smiled, "Thank you, ladies. Let's get going now. We've got a feast to prepare for."

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Ava awoke to the clamor of people outside. They were back. She shot up in her bed and opened her window. As she peered at the people outside, she saw a festivity occurring. Women were laughing and cheering and she saw sacks overflowing with treasures and a giant wooden chest laid out on the deck. Some women were littered around the deck as others were still climbing out of their rowboats. She watched as Tuni opened the door to the infirmary and began bringing people in. Someone limped in and another person that looked pale and sweaty was carried in. Ava hoped they were okay but it didn't seem like anything too serious and Tuni seemed good at what she did.

She wanted, more than anything, to head down and be a part of the celebration but she felt awkward even thinking about it. She didn't help find the treasure and she was just a new passenger on the boat, not one of them. She opted to stay inside and sit around her cabin until the crowd slowly dwindled and the sunset. When she peeked out of the window as the sun was setting she saw the crew begin to work and the boat begin to sail. She wondered when supper was and realized, yet again she had gone without eating. Hopefully, the next few suns at sea would allow her to eat three meals a sun and maybe even have seconds for every meal. A full belly felt good right now but she did not know even when dinner was being served.

It had been an hour since the boat began moving again when she heard a knock on the door. She answered the door barefoot and was surprised to see who was standing there. Theo, dressed in something different than Ava had seen her this morning. What she was wearing made her look like more of a captain. She had a heavy doublet coat on, with an elaborate waistcoat, some black pants that were fitted to her legs and thick boots that came up to her knees. Her hair was peeking out from under the sides of her captain's hat. Her fingers were adorned with jeweled rings and her left ear sported a gold dangling earring. She looked regal, almost.

"Oh. Hello, Captain," Ava smiled.

Theo was just staring at Ava. The outfit and the hair were new and she looked completely different from the girl that she had offered a room on the ship. The black silky set that she had sold Ava fit her perfectly and Theo damned whatever gods were out there for not making her taller. Her dark red hair contrasted the black from her shirt and Theo had not realized how curly Ava's hair was when it was all tied up. She looked good, different than before. Theo had to shake herself out of her head and remember why she had come. Sips from the crew's drinks had kept being offered to her in celebration of their find and the buzz was starting to catch up with her.

"Hello Ava," Theo returned with a warm smile, "I was wondering if you might join us for supper? Tuni has insisted I come to fetch you immediately." As she spoke, Theo's smile grew. Her cheeks were tinted a little red and her eyes were glossy, she had been celebrating no doubt. Her eyes were trained on Ava's as she twisted one of her rings, "And who am I to reject one of her requests?"

"She is hard to say no to," Ava agreed, "I'll join you. Who am I to reject one of her requests, after all. I just need to put on my shoes."

Theo nodded and watched as Ava stepped back into her room and began putting her boots on. She walked forward and leaned against the doorframe, "We'll all be glad to have you. You weren't around when we came back. Where did you get off to?"

"Sitting around in my room. I didn't want to interfere with pirate business and you all seemed to be having a moment of celebration, I didn't want to ruin it."

Theo's smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of concern, "I'm sorry about this morning. About that comment having to do with pirate business. If that made you feel excluded I'm sorry-"

"No, don't worry about it. I wasn't even thinking about that. Everyone here has been nothing but amazing including you," Ava interrupted and Theo nodded in response.

Theo watched as Ava struggled with her boots and tilted her head, "Why don't you just come barefoot?"

Ava's head shot up and her eyebrows raised, "Barefoot? I won't get splinters?"

Theo laughed and shook her head, "No. Our floors are feet safe. Come on, the mess hall is just down the hall, it won't be too far. Not worth the hassle of shoes."

"Don't have to say that again. Those boots have been the bane of my existence. Lovely the girl who gave them to me, but they barely fit" Ava mumbled as she and Theo both started walking toward the smell of food.

Ava left her door unlocked and all of her belongings scattered around inside but she did not feel unsafe about it and suspected everything would be there and accounted for at her return. They walked in silence down the hall until Theo spoke up.

"I think your hair looks badass," She said with a smile, "and your outfit looks better on you than it could have ever on me."

Ava knew the comment meant nothing but she felt her cheeks heat up with the compliment. She was glad that the hallway was dark and hard to make out details or Theo would have seen her blush. Not even any of the boys back home could make her blush. They came from far and wide and showered her with compliments, some genuine and others not so much. They meant nothing to her, didn't interest her. Why did Theo's comment catch her off guard then? Why did she react the way she did? Ava reasoned that it was a mixture of relief of looking clean and composed to others after a long time of feeling grimy and filthy and that Theo had no intentions with the compliment. It was genuine and that is why she blushed.

"Thank you," she answered after a beat, "You look quite dressed up yourself, it's nice."

"Oh, this? It's nothing. Just an assortment of expensive items I've accrued over the lengths of traveling all around the world. Using my vast amounts of found treasure to afford only the best items to adorn my body," Theo explained as she reached the stairs, her tone laden with dramatic flair.

Ava laughed at Theo's antics, "Not very humble, are you?"

"Humility is not within a pirate's know-how, Ava Ableworth," Theo shot back with a cheeky smile before she descended.

Ava was quick on Theo's heels as she jumped off the last step she raised an eyebrow to Theo and challenged, "Typically, neither are words like accrued."

"Very true. Shall we?" Theo offered her arm to Ava and she obliged.