"Miss Witherwind," Legolas greeted with an inclination of his head.

"Hello, lass." The corners of Gimli's beard lifted at the sight of the sailor girl.

She pursed her lips at the mention of her surname. "It's Ree out here, Master Elf," she commanded. "Not that we don't like formalities, but they can be rather futile and time-wasting out here on open waters. We would rather know each other as brothers than as class ranks in a society. Here we are equals. Except for the lily-livered spineless codfish. They don't tend to last that long, though."

"So this is the crew?"

"Most of us, aye," Kul affirmed. He had come up behind the newcomers on the ladder, quickly scaling the twisted strands of rope as though he had done it all his life. He probably had, having known the previous captain, and maybe even the one before him. It seemed to Legolas that although this Benedict was the captain, Kul still knew more about the ship than any other sailor. Crowfoot's upper lip curled in contempt. Ree scoffed as she caught wind of the first mate's glare.

"I would introduce you to everyone right now, but you will have to learn their names in time. Right now, we must cast off."

"Back to work!" Crowfoot said his bit as a command, and also a bit as an angry snarl that sent more spit flying from his ever-sneering lips. Gimli could sense the tension between him and Ree. The first mate had some problems with a woman taking on responsibilities. Responsibilities that had, for quite some time, been his and his alone. The crew, all sun-darkened skin in varying degrees of leather and of all shapes and sizes, immediately rushed to fulfill commands. It was fantastic and hypnotizing to watch grown men fly from rope to landing, unfurling sail and readying the ship's course, everything moving as if it were one huge machine, well lubricated and wound tight as an old grandfather clock. Small flashes of movement were scattered about all over, like finches and starlings lighting on branches of a great tree, only to have the wind to upheave them from their branches and send them scattering and flitting about like nervous housewives for another hold. The spasmodic motion was dizzying, especially combined with the already unsettling rocking of the deck of the ship. And these were calm waters.

"Come then, I had best take you up to the Captain," Ree ordered. Her statement was met acidly on the other end by Crowfoot.

"I'm first mate, wench," snarled the crooked bitter man.

"And I found them. Possession is nine tenths of the law." Under her breath in a breathy low voice she muttered just loud enough for Legolas to hear, "Plus, you're a gimpy stuffed pig, so what would you know?" Legolas gave a brief snort of laughter that he hid behind a cough.

"Very well then lass, take 'em to the Cap' n's cabin. He should be awfully pleased t' see ye." Crowfoot's eyes glinted with malice, and Ree's cheeks colored so that they looked like the fruits that the inn had been serving.

Hazarding a guess, the Dwarf gathered from her reaction that she had a mild infatuation with the captain of the Mist Star, or at least he with her, and she was embarrassed about the situation. Perhaps it was also threatening to her position, wanting to rise to become the first mate without looking like there had been any romantic persuasion involved. The Captain could not go around picking favorites. Ree knew this, and it was eating away at her. By her next few words, it was obvious that the feelings were one-sided, and that Ree partook in the less sentimental branch.

"Captain Benedict can go boil his head for all I care, as long as he gets to properly meet our guests. More like our new crewmates, and you should be happy about that fact, Crowfoot. Finally, a few more poor souls to trample and run into the decks. Let their blood run aft down the cracks filled with pitch for all I care. You seem rather fond of making people uncomfortable."

"I'll tell Cap' n' tha' ye said tha' 'bout 'im," he warned.

"And the Captain can go boil his head over that as well, I don't give a fig about it. He will most likely ignore that statement. But that's Benedict for you. Water of the back of a swan."

"For ye, p' 'raps, Ree. We can all see 'im lookin' outta the corner o' his eye at ye. Ye'd better watch yer back 'round a man like the Cap' 'n." Bitter glee crept into his voice, although it was humorous that even when he disrespected his superior officer whom he had open contempt for, the volume of his jabs and accusations dropped considerably compared to the raucous bark of his usual gruff tones that sounded like something had crawled into his grimy lungs and died there, and was jostled around a bit every time a breath was taken.

Ree's hazel eyes flashed dangerously. "The Captain is a ten times the man that you will ever be, you crawling lump of manure. I am going to take these chivalrous adventurers to him and be on my way, and you would be one sorry fool if you were stupid enough to attempt stopping me. So get out of my way."

Sensing a dangerous turn in the atmosphere, Gimli cleared his throat in an attempt to break the unwavering beam of glowering hatred passing from sailor to sailor. Without taking her gaze from Crowfoot, Ree spoke to her newest mates.

"Come, Legolas, Gimli. I would hate for you to be fashionably late because of...certain circumstances." As she backed away from Crowfoot, she sent him one last lingering look that said, "This isn't finished." Then she stalked off, the Elf and Dwarf in her wake like some motley guard for a spitfire princess.

***

On their way to the Captain's cabin, Legolas and Gimli were once again fighting the hopeless battle against nature. Ree had to get a firm grip on both of their forearms to ensure that they did not topple down at the first cresting of a wave. They noticed absent-mindedly that the shore of the nameless town they had spent the night in was growing farther and farther away, the scattered run-down buildings and the great seawall blurring together, splotches of haphazard colors rimmed at the bottom by a thin band of mottled grey that finally blended into the lapping gold of the sea. They passed Kul, who appeared to be heading down to the galley, as Ree informed them, to grab a bite to eat before he spent the long day ahead doing his routine chores around the ship. That was most likely the reason why he managed to stay so large, being smart enough to rise a few minutes before the other sailors to get first dibs on hardtack and rum. These were downed with a shot of lime juice, something that Legolas had little knowledge of and Gimli had nothing.

Limes were citrus, Ree explained quickly after shouting at some gangling red-headed bloke by the name of Skithe to quit "acting like a bloody prance-about stage pony". They prevented scurvy and blackened teeth, and other horrible things. Even if you did not have an acquired taste for the sour taste of the juice of the fruit, it was literally do or die.

The wooden boards of the deck were worn down by many years of feet tramping across their grained surface, the wood itself so old that the grains were raised, like someone had spent many hours carving intricate patterns out of the knots and rings.

Ree quieted down as they approached the cabin, close to the front of the ship and up a short flight of stairs. A tall thin door of heavy oak on sturdy hinges wrought from iron led into the Captain's quarters and his study. She knocked lightly on the door, knuckles echoing against the stiffened wood, Legolas and Gimli still firmly latched onto her arms, their legs swaying ungracefully under wobbling torsos. The knock was quickly answered by a soft yet deep voice, the sound of a man deep in thought.

"Who is it?" Captain Benedict demanded.

"Ree, sir, and the Elf and Dwarf that I told you about this morning."

The Captain's airy tone collected itself when he spoke again, his tone laced with obvious pleasure. "Well come in then, Ree. Honestly, I trust you enough that you need not knock."

With a swallow, Ree twisted the knob of the door like it would burn her and quickly pushed the door open, leading Legolas and Gimli into the Captain's study. Pale golden light washed over the room, bathing everything in a light that made everything appear otherworldly. The light was slanting in through high windows crossed over in twisted iron causing strange shaped shadows to flicker hither and thither. There was little furniture in the study, only a small desk cluttered with scrolls of rolled parchment and ink pots, a table with a large intricate map spread out over its surface and pinned in multiple places with small tacks. Scrutinizing this map was a tall man, who at first glance looked to be thin, but was only corded muscle over lengthy lean bones from the way he held himself, slim waist and broad shoulders betraying his strength. The Captain wore a similar garb to his crew, only less beaten up but still showing the obvious signs that he was out in the storm at the wheel and helm. He had a navy blue coat over a loose-fitted cream-colored blouse, brown pants rolled up over high black knee length boots, scuffed at the toe. He was seated at a tripod stool, his left ankle resting on his right knee, one long-fingered hand tangled in his wavy raven hair, the other planted in a fist at the base of his chin. He seemed to be studying a large chunk of sea glass, bottle green, jade and emerald swirled together. Turning around to face them, piercing eyes the same bottle green, that mixture of greens and blues that shifted between the two shades, met their own.

"Captain Benedict Ravensfold, at your service." He cast a charming grin at the Elf and Dwarf, who were both uneasy on the ship still. Benedict's smile shifted into a smirk. "Don't worry you lot, you will get your sea legs within the week. I hope that both of you realize that you are completely out of your element, you being an Elf of the woodland and you a Dwarf of the underground places. The sea...is a different realm." He paused. "But I also take it that you two are not the usual sort, no offence?"

"I have befriended a Dwarf, dared to leave my homeland for the pure sake of adventure, and left behind most of the proper ways of my people," Legolas listed off of his fingers, still using Ree for support. The rocking was becoming more familiar, but that did not mean that his balance was any better. It was like being a warrior, aware of danger, but still fully immersed in it.

"True enough," Benedict chuckled. His demeanor shifted swiftly, morphing from calm and charismatic to what one would expect someone of his higher status to act in terms of giving orders. "You both shall have your duties as all of the other sailors do. You will rise at dawn, and you in turn shall take watch shifts after the sun goes down. Your names, if you do not mind?"

"Legolas."

"Gimli."

"Fine names, as they are I have been told. It seems awfully strange that some of the heroes of The War of the Ring are now here aboard my humble ship." He leaned forward, shoulders rolling backwards. "Yes, I have heard of you. Not many haven't. And for this reason alone I trusted you enough to pull away from shore. Even if you were planning mischief, the sea is all around you. You are not at home. So tell me then; there must be some reason for you to have chosen our ship." Those eyes, those brilliant shifting eyes of green and blue, bored holes into the azure and russet depths of Legolas' and Gimli's. Some keen intellect shone there, as though secrets laid within beyond reach.

Gimli said nothing, figuring that silence would serve him better in that moment than unwanted words. However, Legolas apparently thought otherwise, because he spoke honestly. "We draw attention, my friend and I, being who we are, and our dreams could not be quenched or put out like fires. We needed inconspicuous transportation, and it appears as though you have it." He spread his hands out for emphasis. Gimli attempted elbowing him in the ribs, but lurched instead, and rapidly grabbed back onto Ree's arm with a worried expression. The sailor girl gave a breathy laugh.

"I will do my best to teach these two the lay of the land, Captain," she promised Benedict, who unfolded his legs and rose to his full height from the stool.

"Good. First of all, I now command you to call be my name."

"But sir—"

"That is an order, Ree. And secondly, see that is it done. Kul and the rest of the crew will lead you in our ways."

He bowed his head at the Dwarf, then at the Elf, and then went back to his previous position, of left ankle over right knee, the broken light falling across his classical features, throwing the angles of his face into sharp shadows, and without a further glance at their retreating figures, he cast his pensive gaze once more to the large glass fragment atop the map, emerald light passing through the smooth jade, the last bit of beauty that the Captain possessed.