Let's Play Pirates: Chapter 4

Chapter 4
‘Do we have a heading?’ asked Bessie, coming onto the deck as Kurissyma readied the sails the next morning.
Kuris looked her up and down appreciatively, ‘you’re really getting the hang of this pirate thing.’
‘Well since embroidery is all us ladies are supposed to be good for, I thought I’d make some adjustments to these rags,’ said Bessie, smiling.
‘Where’d you get that?’ laughed Kurissyma.
Lulu’s letter…
‘Just… nowhere,’ said Bessie, shaking her head.
‘Right,’ said Kuris sceptically before setting it aside, ‘you know what would really make you look like a pirate?’
‘What?’
Quick as anything, Kurissyma whipped out a dagger and sliced at Bessie’s face, ‘scars.’
Bessie dodged with a small cry and tumbled backwards onto the deck, staring up at her captain in horror as she laughed and extended a hand to help her up, ‘quick reflexes,’ she said, ‘I thought so.’
‘What if you were wrong?’ Bessie choked out.
Kurissyma shrugged, ‘then you’d look more like a pirate,’ she said, sounding amused.
Bessie rubbed the side of her face, as though checking it was okay and let Kuris pull her up.
‘Hero, get over here!’
‘Yeah, Capt’n?’
‘I want you to teach Elizabeth here to use your throwing knives.’
‘What?!’ Lulu exclaimed, overhearing, ‘you mean you made me wake up at the crack of dawn yesterday to teach Lady Bess to use a hanger and firearm and now she’s giving it up?!’
‘Yes,’ said Kuris, her eyes hard, ‘do you have a problem with that?’
‘A waste of bloody time…’ Lulu muttered and Kuris raised an eyebrow, ‘... I mean… no, captain, not at all.’
‘Good,’ said Kurissyma, nodding, ‘do you think you can handle the challenge, Hero?’
‘No problem! You can count on me, Captain Kuris!’
‘Good,’ said Kurissyma again, ‘now fetch me Morro-Chai, I need her to run a final check of the sails.’
‘Are we doing something important today, captain?’ asked Hero curiously.
‘Perhaps,’ said Kuris evasively, ‘but in any case, we had best be prepared.’
‘Yes, captain!’ said Hero, saluting with a grin before running off.
‘Take a turn about the ship with me, Elizabeth,’ said Kurissyma, watching him go.
‘Excuse me, captain?’
‘Walk with me- I wish to speak with you.’
Bessie nodded silently and followed Kurissyma as she walked about, seemingly absently.
‘What is it you want to say?’ she asked, when the girl captain made no move to speak.
‘The crew tells me you are still enquiring into the history of the Kiteling and its crew,’ said Kurissyma, halting in her step to look at Bessie seriously.
‘Yes, captain.’
‘I must insist that you stop,’ she said, shaking her head.
‘I mean to,’ Bessie lied.
Kurissyma nodded, ‘see that you do. There are consequences for not following the Code up here. Davus- I presume you have learnt a little of his fate already?- he did not follow the Code either and look where it got him.’
‘He was a witch, wasn’t he?’ said Bessie.
‘Aye,’ Kuris bowed her head slightly, ‘he was a danger to the crew and to the ship- we could not risk having him on board.’
‘I understand, captain,’ said Bessie slowly, ‘but…’
‘Hmm?’
‘Will I ever know?’ she blurted out, ‘do you think that in time they will tell me?’
‘It all depends,’ said Kurissyma thoughtfully, ‘nobody likes to speak of their pasts here… but perhaps. Masou might have told you already if it were not for his honour, and for the Code, of course. You may as well give up questioning him- he is strong-willed and would never dream of betraying Lulu’s trust.’
‘Her and Masou…’ said Bessie, ‘do you think they might… never mind…’ she blushed, ‘it doesn’t matter…’
Kurissyma smiled and nodded, ‘they are very close,’ she said, ‘whether or not it could ever amount to anything more is entirely up to them.’
‘I can’t imagine Lulu confessing her love to anyone,’ Bessie admitted ruefully.
‘Nor I, Elizabeth,’ said Kuris, her eyes twinkling, ‘Masou, on the other hand…’
‘Would you be against the idea, captain? If they were to marry?’
‘They will never marry,’ said Kurissyma dismissively, ‘Lulu, at least, is completely ignorant, and even if she weren’t, she would never be able to tell him of her feelings- that is just her way. She has condemned herself to a life alone… you see, she was never able to forgive him…’
‘For what?’
Kurissyma shook her head, ‘nothing- look, Hero’s coming with Morro-Chai, we had best prepare to set sail- you too.’
Slightly irritated and feeling rather slighted, Bessie nodded, ‘yes, captain,’ she said, ‘of course, captain.’
-
Throughout the next few days, Kurissyma acted in an increasingly peculiar manner and Bessie could not help but wonder about the Kiteling’s heading, which remained a mystery. Not that she had much time to think about it, Kuris kept her terribly busy, and when she wasn’t working about the ship she was being trained to use throwing knives by Hero.
‘Try to flick your wrist a little, you know?’ said Hero, ‘umm… like… umm… this.’
‘Like what? I can’t see anything through the fog!’
‘It’s always like that in the morning around here,’ said Hero, shrugging, ‘it’s good for training, anyhow.’
‘Where is here anyway?’ asked Bessie irritably.
‘Well, Lady Bess, you seem to have lost your court face.’
‘You willingly got up at this hour, Fern?’ said Bessie, turning quickly to face him, not willing to admit that he had startled her.
‘Not likely,’ said Fern, ‘Capt’n Kuris ordered me to check how you were doing with the throwing knives.’
‘I think it’s okay,’ said Bessie uncertainly.
‘Show me,’ said Fern, shrugging.
‘Mister Fern’s super good with the knives himself!’ said Hero happily, ‘he taught me.’
‘Really?’ said Bessie, ‘show me.’
‘Eh,’ said Fern, ‘I’m not much of a teacher?’
‘Neither is Hero,’ Bessie pointed out.
‘Hey!’
‘I guess so,’ said Fern, laughing as he took the knives from a disgruntled eleven-year-old redhead and launched them in quick succession at the target.
‘Whoa,’ murmured Hero and Bessie at the same time as each knife met the desired marks.
‘Eh,’ said Fain, embarrassed, ‘won’t be long before the student surpasses the teacher, huh, Hero?’
‘You gotcha, Mister Fern!’ said Hero excitedly and he retrieved the knives from the target before hurrying downstairs to get a few more hours of sleep, leaving Bessie with Fern.
Fern took out some knives of his own and handed them to Bessie, ‘show us what you got, then.’
‘Oh, but I’m not very good…’
‘We need to choose a weapon for you by tomorrow morning,’ said Fern determinedly, ‘if you have no talent for it, then we’ll try you on the claws with Cori.’
‘At least I have your vote of confidence, Fern,’ said Bessie sarcastically.
‘We wanna stop off and get you a proper weapon at Tumbler’s Cove,’ said Fern, seeming unruffled, ‘we might as well do it right.’
Reluctantly, Bessie tossed two of the heavy knives towards the target. One hit a damn near bullseye, while the other one sailed overboard.
‘Well that’s conclusive and deadly,’ said Fern, sighing as he stared over the side of the deck after his lost knife.
‘Sorry,’ said Bessie sheepishly.
‘Ah, never mind,’ said Fern, shaking his head, ‘it was bound to happen, and there’s no better place than Tumbler’s Cove to get weapons.’
‘Where is this Tumbler’s Cove?’
‘No idea,’ said Fern, ‘only Masou and Lu’re allowed to know- it’s a gypsy settlement, in New Canaar, I expect.’
‘How come they know?’
‘They ran into some gypsies a long time ago, on the run from witch hunters- heh, I expect they saved some ass and got themselves made like honorary gypsies or whatever. We don’t pry- the code, remember?’
‘Do you think either of them would tell me if I asked?’
‘Must you know everything?’ asked Fern, suddenly quite irritably.
‘I’m sorry…’
Seeing the look on her face, Fern sighed, ‘eh, they might tell you.’
‘Really?’
‘Let’s just get ready to dock- we’ll talk about this later.’
‘Yes… alright.’
-
Soon enough, the much spoken of, Tumbler’s Cove, came into view. It was big and swarming with gypsies, selling wares on the shore, in fact, Bessie was shocked and amazed that she hadn’t noticed it from further away.
‘Are we looking for one of these stalls?’ asked Bessie.
‘No way, Lady Bess,’ laughed Fern, ‘this is just the outside!’
Masou nodded, ‘we’re looking for- Belle! Eleniel! This way, guys!’
Kuris nodded, ‘Lulu and I will take Bess- if there’s anything the rest of you need, stick with Masou,’ she told her crew imperiously.
‘Yes, Captain!’ chimed ten excited voices as they looked about the bustling market.
‘We’ll meet back here in three hours- go!’
-
‘Lulu Tsaret,’ said the gypsy called Belle, ‘it has been a long time.’
‘Too long,’ said Lulu politely, clasping the younger girl’s hand, ‘how is your mother.’
‘She’s good!’ Eleniel piped up, ‘sooooo, what’re you here for?’
‘We’re trying to find a weapon for Lady Bess,’ said Fern’s voice from behind them.
‘You idiot,’ snapped Kuris, ‘I told you to stay with Masou!’
‘I was careful, cous,’ said Fern defensively.
‘Is this the lady?’ asked Belle, poking Bessie.
‘She don’t look much like a lady,’ said Eleniel.
‘Or a pirate,’ Belle agreed and Fern laughed.
Bessie bit her lip and wondered silently whether or not it was a compliment, before deciding to was quite clearly an insult.
‘She’s not too good a fighter,’ said Fern ‘and ideas?’
‘Moma will know,’ said Belle.
‘Yeah! Yeah! Moma will know,’ agreed Eleniel.
The girls’ mother was a large woman named Naerwen, who looked very little like her two beautiful daughters, but had a sort of merry charm that the young girls had not yet mastered.
‘What is your name?’ asked Naerwen, surveying Bessie critically.
‘Elizabeth, ma’am.’
Naerwen chortled with laughter at some private joke before attempting to tap her on the head with the hilt of a dagger.
‘Hey!’ Bessie complained, ‘why does everybody keep doing that?’
‘Reflexes, my dear,’ chuckled Naerwen, ‘you’re fast enough-’ she tried to hit her again but Bessie, ducked, lost her balance and fell over, ‘but clumsy,’ she finished, ‘not enough physical strength for a hanger… unable to aim a pistol or a knife…’
Bessie stood perfectly still, listening to the strange, plump gypsy stating her faults thoughtfully.
‘What are you good at, child?’
‘Nothing?’ said Bessie, then she reconsidered, ‘singing.’
Lulu raised a cynical eyebrow, ‘unless you’re a Siren- that’s no use to us,’ she said, her voice hard.
‘Indeed,’ said Naerwen, smiling, ‘but there is one thing…’ she fumbled about her wares before retrieving a well-made wooden flute. ‘It’s enchanted,’ she explained.
‘Really?’
‘No,’ Naerwen giggled, ‘but nobody else has to know that. For all they know you’re a powerful songsmith. Able to melt the hardest of hearts with a simple tune.’
‘But I’m not,’ said Bessie. ‘Nothing will happen.’
‘You’re enemies will be mighty wary of you, nervous and afraid- it is an amusing distraction if nothing more,’ Naerwen’s eyes glowed. ‘Trust me.’
‘How much?’
‘Two pieces of eight,’ said Naerwen, nodding curtly.
‘Two pieces of eight for possessed toy,’ sighed Kuris, shaking her head, but she paid nonetheless and left Naerwen to go and find the idiot who had let Fern go off on his own.
‘This is gypsy territory,’ Lulu explained, rolling her eyes at Kuris’ stupid cousin, ‘if you don’t have an in, you die.’
‘That sounds kind of harsh,’ said Bessie.
Lulu’s eyes grew hard, ‘they’ve spent their entire lives as outcasts, fleeing witch hunters, never having a real home. Tumbler Cove is the one place the gypsies can be at peace- forgive them for trying to protect it.’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Bessie, bowing her head slightly.
‘You must never tell anyone about this place- it is the only haven the gypsies know, where they can be safe.’
‘But it’s full of pirates,’ said Bessie.
‘These people are friends to the gypsies- they, too, are protected here,’ said Lulu, ‘now, let us find Masou before he gets himself in trouble.’
-
‘You went off to get a weapon and you come back with a flute?’ said Masou, sounding amused, ‘what are you going to do? Become a snake charmer.’
‘Only if you think it would work,’ said Bessie brightly.
‘Well, I think it’s a great idea,’ said Cori, smilingly, ‘and she can play for us when we get bored.’
‘Can you play?’ asked Xatu gruffly.
‘Umm… no?’
‘Ah well,’ said Cori, still trying to see the best in the idea, ‘maybe your playing with scare away our assailants- or deafen them.’
‘Thanks…’ said Bessie slowly.
‘Yup!’ said Cori happily, ‘this is the beginning of a beautiful new day for the Kiteling.’