Hi y'all!
My apologies this took so long to get up. I've been working a lot of OT at work (50-60hr weeks) during our audit this last week, then I got one horrid migraine that landed me in the ER yesterday morning
But we're good now I think! (Hopefully the chapter still flows well cause my brain still feels a little fried)
Lol, so here we go
Also, should I include a little definition if I use pirate lingo/terminology for the chapter names? Lemme know :)
Enjoy, lovelies!
xoxo

Bring A Spring Upon'er: To turn a ship in another direction

Caspian

"The plan was that you'd work alongside Coop today."

I nodded over at Snips as I steadied the last of the rope he'd securely tied off, with my bare hands. This wind had picked up some since I had joined him on the main deck, and it felt good feeing that heavy breeze ease through my loose fitted linen clothes, to my now somewhat well rested bones.

That sleep had done me good.

"However, after everything that commenced last night, Coop isn't in the best state for work. Von, our carpenter, had to dig the bullet out of his arm." Snips then leaned forward, carefully pouring the hot wax over the rope and fusing the tight knots together. I watched his every movement, making a mental note of his skilled pour so I could mirror it in the future. "He was scaling the lengths of one of those wooden poles connecting the sails, when the warning shot was let off. The fog had concealed their ship from his vantage point and they had fired off aimlessly."

I found myself slowly nodding, my hand reaching up to lightly touch the bridge of my nose as I followed closely behind the man who was zipping us through our tasks.

The broken bone had starting to heal already, much of that thanks to Cael who managed to set it back in place before he, too, left me alone in the study. It would be fully healed come nightfall.

Snips was leading us down below deck to a part of the ship that I hadn't yet seen, which felt strange regardless of how short it had been that I was aboard for. Somehow these last few days had felt like years either added to my life, or cut clean off. I couldn't decide which yet.

He and I passed through the crew's main quarters which were surprisingly clean for a cluster of rogue bloodthirsty men out at sea, and I was grateful the fresh air above deck seemed to flow through below the deck as well. I didn't know how, but it somehow did.

Most of the men were above us, tending to the bloody floorboards from last nights gruesome battle. I could hear the sound of bristles against wood as they worked to scrub the red stains out.

From the looks the crew had given me once I finally made my way out of that study, I couldn't tell if they hated me or feared me. It could have been a bit of both, if I had to wager, but it was still more attention drawn to me than I had wanted.

Alistair wasn't anywhere to be seen once again, and neither was Cael. I wanted to ask Snips about it, but I was hesitant to ask this man anything that wasn't pertaining to our direct orders.

I wasn't afraid of him striking me in the head again.
Rather, I was afraid of the questions he might ask in return. The ones I knew he had held his tongue with, which led me to believe that maybe he had been ordered to.

To not question me.

Alistair had tried, I thought. And though I found the decision I had made to reveal some of my magic to him and the crew, absolutely abysmal, I had no other choice.

It was only a matter of time now before Alistair worked out more about me. Who I was. About the life I could only ever truly escape once death became me.

There was something about it. That voice of his. What I heard last night. Whatever magic he had was strong enough to channel through to me, something that had never happened to me before. He stripped me of my thoughts when he told me to pick up that sword. The threat he had followed with... I wasn't sure why I believed it.

Why I believed him.

"The sword. The one A— Captain keeps sheathed to his waist. Where did he come across it?" I asked Snips. He had led us towards the very back of the ship below deck, to a room where barrels upon barrels had been stacked and secured by rope strapped and tied to the wall.

Seeing as we were on a ship, I didn't find the extra precautions all that bizarre, but I was starting to notice just how secured down everything was. The time I spent on that merchant ship may had been few, but we had never strapped our cargo quite like this.
We had never needed to.

Snips undid the tight ropes, allowing them to fall to the floor planks below us before he lifted and set the first barrel down.

That was when he finally turned back to me, and in all honesty I half expected him to hit me.

Instead, his lids lowered some as he peered up over at me.

"Why?" He asked.

It was a question I should've been prepared for, yet Snips roughness with it threw my anticipation off course.

"Well," I took a brief pause to further collect myself, "after the events of last night, and seeing him fight, I grew curious."

The look on Snips face told me I'd need to do better than that if I wanted to funnel information from him. And I was now starting to understand how this ship ran so well. The men here used their savagery and their bloodthirst as nothing more than a ploy for their masked intelligence. And it was starting to make me wish I had boarded a ship fully ran by imbeciles.

At least death would've found me quicker there.

"Well," I continued, "he handles it well. The steel I mean, it's incredibly durable. It looks weighted, but he wields it with such ease."

"And you would know something about that," Snips countered, "about the steel." His gaze didn't leave mine when he said those words. He was studying me to find a reaction, yet that was the one thing I was now putting in great effort to conceal. I thought it was just my ears that noticed the sound of Alistair's blade, but it was my own foolishness for thinking so.

These men had fought alongside each other for a length of time I didn't even know. If I could recognize the material of Alistair's weapon, maybe they had done the same with mine. My assumptions were confirmed by this shorter man only a moment later.

"I heard the clash of your daggers against those enemy pirates's swords. The same sharpness. Whatever yours and his weapons are, are the same."

I was now starting to realize I should've kept this conversation strictly to the barrels. How utterly foolish on my part. This was far more dangerous than any physical blow Snips could inflict on me.

And thus was my reasoning for pivoting the conversation entirely. All I could hope was that this man didn't return to it. "Alistair and Cael... do they not assist with the maintenance of the ship?"

I watched as anger darted fast across Snips face, however he managed to reel it in with incredible speed before I could fully register the offense I gave.

"You've really never heard of this ship before, have you?"

I slowly shook my head no. I was already bracing myself for the hit he would surely deliver over my head from all these questions, but it never came. Instead, Snips let out an abrupt fit of laugher, the gold caps that covered the most dagger like teeth in his mouth were now on full display.

"Well the first thing you should know is that if we see the Captain before sundown, one of us has wagered a price we simply cannot pay. As in, there is a problem afoot amongst the crew that only he can redirect."

Snips had some disgust in his voice towards me directly, which I expected at this point, yet there was something else stirred in. I could hear it clear as day now when he spoke about the Captain in particular, yet I struggled to understand why I hadn't before.

This crew respected Alistair greatly. In every sense of the word. And it wasn't something to vocally question, given their blatant disregard for human life including my own... yet I found myself with more questions than answers. I couldn't understand how Alistair had somehow won the hearts of men who would willingly stab a knife into anyone else's? I couldn't imagine that to be an easy feat.

"However," I heard this shorter man continue. "He does usually make a very brief appearance whenever he feels it necessary. We're redirecting sails today to port in the next few days, so the Captain and Cael are working on our new routes."

My eyebrows finally furrowed a bit in confusion. "Porting?" I asked. Alistair hadn't mentioned anything about a stop this soon.

"Aye," Snips nodded. "To Gatvia. Coop's home."

I felt my body still completely... thanking the gods that Snips had started to busy himself with the barrels again and was no longer paying me any mind.

We're setting sail for Gatvia.

This wasn't good.

I distinctly remembered telling Alistair that Gatvia was my own home. The look on his face over supper told me that he hadn't much believed me then, yet now we were heading to the very place that wouldn't take more than a days time to confirm my lie.

"Why to Gatvia?" I asked. Snips was starting to unseal some of the barrels, taking a look inside each one to inspect the contents. I got a good whiff of the rum stored inside it once the hatchets were undone and the lid came off.

"Captain is hunting down the man responsible for the unexpected ambush last night." The shorter pirate explained.

That only deepened my confusion, though I did my best not to outwardly react as such.

"I thought the Captain sunk their ship?"

"He did." Snips started to seal off the inspected barrels before moving forward. "Their captain wasn't on the ship. I know only what Cael disclosed to the crew come sunrise, but the neighboring island, Sicoria, is where their captain was last docked. Captain wants that man's head."

I found myself slowly nodding, trying to understand all that I missed during my rest. Apparently it had been a great deal.

"And as I mentioned, it's Coop's home. Considering how critical his job is for Captain's happiness in regards to the rum, and our own health in regards to the water barrels.... The Captain likes to keep Coop happy. Bringing him home while he heals from his injury would do just that."

I moved forward, helping Snips set the checked barrels back into the straps that held them right against the ships wall. I kept the rope steady while snips finished tying them off. This really wasn't good.

"Coop's family is welcoming. After checking these, you and I will take stock of our loot. Captain wants to put together a tribute of our appreciation for them and their hospitality. And I should have you know now, whatever women you see, you stay the farthest from. Some of these men will cut the hands off of anyone who touches a sister of Coop's that they've been courting. That history goes far back, so It's best you keep those dagger wielding hands to yourself."

I finished tying off the string on my side, securing it to the hooks built into the walls the barrels were strapped to. I had no idea what Snips had meant by that.

But nevertheless I nodded. There was absolutely no reason for the man to worry about my interest in a sister. I had no interest in pursuing anything romantically with anyone or anything but death itself.

And though I thought I had been the most clear on this, maybe I hadn't.

"You fought well." Snips added, catching me off guard once more. "During the night. I didn't expect that from you."

I followed Snips closely. He was starting to lead us away from the back of the ship, and towards the left side, still below deck. "I didn't quite expect that from me either." I replied honestly.

"What made you fight?" Snips asked. He had turned his head slightly back towards me, acknowledging the question and myself even if for just a moment.

"The Captain didn't give me a choice. And I had a very short window before my body would collapse of exhaustion." I tried to explain. It was clear that Alistair had no plans of letting me rest during the battle.

"Your fighting style didn't show any signs of fatigue." He countered. I felt my shoulders raise a bit nonchalantly, buts Snips back was still turned to me, guiding us forward.

"My body stores energy... differently. I can generally determine how long I can fight for before I might collapse. The quicker and cleaner the kills, the shorter my intervals are for tapping into that preserved energy."

In other words, Alistair and I seemed to fight completely differently. He seemed to have nothing but stamina and time. I had neither.

Snips steps slowed a moment in front of me, causing my own to slow to his pace. I made sure not to stumble into his back.

"Interesting," I heard him say, before those steps picked up again. The room we were now entering had stacks and stacks of preserved food, bags of grains and rice piled high to the ceiling.

The place was not the most organized, and given my previous work in the merchant business, I saw areas for improvement immediately. I just didn't voice any of my concerns because Snips would now surely resort to violence if I did. He seemed to have reached a limit of sorts.

"You're an interesting man, Caspian." This shorter man turned back to me before he pointed to the ropes that held most of the food together. I moved to undo the strapped rope closest to my side.

"I'm just a merchant." I tried to tell him, much like I was trying to tell Alistair. And possibly everyone else on this bloody ship. Snips gave me the same look Alistair had, the two practically mirroring each other.

"I've met many merchants in my days. Slayed many of which who crossed my blade. Bed a few of their own wives, and yet... of the thousands who's fate met mine, close to none have ever killed with such skill."

Snips unfastened the rope quicker than I could, but he managed to catch the product that came loose with ease.

"And none," the wild pirate continued, "have ever drawn attention to the Captain's sword. None would ever think to."

I let the rope on my side fall, before I started pulling product from the contained bundle myself. That comment about Alistair's sword should've never left my mouth in the company of Snips.

"You may have concealed your interests now, but I saw the look in your eyes last night." The look in Snips's eyes  now was what was concerning me. "You recognized the sound of the metal. Something no average merchant could ever do."

It was a dangerous game, yes. But my curiosity never left. Even while Snips's grew.

See, I wanted to know how...

How the sword of King Daedron himself had somehow found its way into the hands of a bloody pirate.

Into the hands of Alistair, nonetheless.

••

What are we thinking so far, lovelies?? In the age of getting exposition dumps, I hope y'all are cool with learning more about the story as the characters themselves do. I rather do some showing than some telling, ya feel me?

I promise it'll all come together though :)

xoxo