Line of Questioning

Ava followed the advice she was given by Theo. Stay on the deck. Don't get left behind. She thought to herself, it was the simplest thing she'd had to do since she left home. The sun was lowering in the sky and dark was only a few hours away. She walked around the deck, slowly, taking in her surroundings. No one was out here. At least before, there were people scattered about the deck but now it seemed desolate. She made her way to the edge of the ship and looked over it as the people on the docks finished up their work. At that moment, Ava felt relaxed. Something she had not experienced in a while. How long had it been since she last was able to feel at ease? As she leaned against the edge of the deck and became entranced in watching the people below, she moved her neck from side to side to ease the tension there. A quick relief soon settled over the stretched muscles of her neck and Ava found a smile resting on her face.

In the months before leaving home, everything had become so chaotic and tense. She hadn't felt peace at home or on the journey south. Ava knew the dangers of getting caught up in a false sense of security but this felt different. This felt guaranteed. No men were to be found on the ship, at least not in plain sight and no one but Xyra had seemed to notice or mind her presence. As for Xyra, something told her that her captain would not be happy if something were to happen to her passenger at Xyra's hand.

Her thoughts were interrupted by footsteps echoing against the empty deck. She spun around and saw one of the women she had been observing in the mess hall earlier. The woman was tall and had paler skin, similar to Ava's. She wore a large leather chest piece, breeches, and sandals. Her outfit was certainly not a combination she had ever seen before but she figured that fashion and matching clothing items weren't a priority here, lucky them. She had silver hair tied back in a loose braid and was approaching from the other side of the deck. Ava watched as her strides carried her far. She was broad-shouldered and intimidating, there was no denying that she looked stronger than most men she had encountered. She had a brown sack in her hand and as she got closer she smiled.

"My name's Morgana," the woman said once she got close enough.

"I'm Ava," she replied.

"Great," she handed the sack to Ava. It was heavier than Ava expected and she had to grab it with both hands. "I'm the quartermaster. Well, I'm not the quartermaster forever. Just until Theo chooses a new quartermaster."

Morgana finished and motioned for Ava to follow before she began walking again. Ava followed and tried to keep up, falling a few paces behind. "What happened to the last quartermaster?"

"She died," Morgana said bluntly just as Ava managed to catch up. Ava was at a loss for a reply. Morgana let out a loud laugh and brought a strong hand to pat her on the back, "She fell in love with some guy in Aeliz and left. It's been close to 40 suns ago and she still hasn't named anyone."

"Maybe she wants you and is just testing you," Ava offered, following Morgana to the main staircases. As she walked up the stairs she still saw no one, the ship looked deserted.

"No, I'm not a good quartermaster. I'm worth more in the battle than tending to rooms. Ship's got a pretty light crew now so it's not too much extra work." Morgana stopped after climbing two flights of stairs and took a right down a hallway of rooms.

"I noticed it looks pretty empty. Where is everyone?" Ava asked as they came to a stop in front of a room on the right side of the hallway.

"Well, right now most of the crew is asleep. Getting as much beauty rest as they can before the sun sets. Ship is sailing straight through the night so the crew needs sleep. It's hard work navigating a ship," Morgana pulled a silver key out of the pocket of her breeches and put it in the keyhole of the door in front of them.

"Why aren't you sleeping then?" Ava questioned again.

Morgana laughed and opened the door before walking in, "Aren't you a curious one. I don't waste my time on ship shit. I train. Like I said, worth more in battle. I'll sleep like a baby right through the night."

Without another word, she placed the key on the small desk in the room and exited. With that Morgana was gone, her long strides guiding her down the narrow hallway back to the staircase. Ava felt the sack slowly drag out of her hands. She rushed inside and set the sack on the bed. There was a little bit of light filtering into the room, the open door provided some relief from the darkness. Looking around, the room was bigger than she had expected. When she imagined her journey across the ocean, it had been a bit different. She imagined stuffed barracks under the deck, sick men and women moaning through the night, soiled hammocks spread haphazardly through a room. This had certainly been nowhere near that, she had a whole room to herself that even had a lock and key.

There was a small dresser at the foot of a small bed that sat on the left side of the room. On the right side, a desk, a chair, a small table that looked to be most functional as a nightstand, and a large candle. What surprised her the most was the window. A small square in the middle of the back wall of her room, the window allowed light for the otherwise dark room. She walked over to it and outside saw the empty deck below. The sun had now begun to set quicker and she knew that soon it would be bustling with working pirates. She had always dreamed of voyaging on a ship and being able to look out of the window to a clear view of the ocean. This was still more than enough though. She still had some of the ocean in view and felt safe knowing she could peek out to see any danger if she heard a commotion.

She went over to her bed and saw that it was a bare mattress on a wooden bed frame. It was small but it made do because she was also small. For now, she thought. Ava wanted to be as big as some of the girls she had seen earlier. Big arms and bigger thighs. She wanted some meat on her. She had been waiting for a time in her life that she could go back for seconds without a scolding about her figure and finding a suitor. Maybe this was her chance.

She pulled the brown satchel towards her and opened it. Inside she found a pillow, a blanket, some parchment, a long piece of what appeared to be twine, and a small canteen filled with water. Ava felt a laugh escape her mouth and she put her hand over it quickly, tears welled up in her eyes all of sudden and she felt a whirlwind of emotions hit her all at once. Relief, sorrow, joy, hope, panic, gratefulness. She sat down on her bed and took a few deep breaths and attempted to decipher what she felt. Ava had a locked room she could control with her key, spacey accommodations, and they even provided her with water? She hadn't even paid anything. Panic and doubt began to cross her mind, what was the catch? Why was everything so easy? She pushed that down and instead let the relief set in.

She had gotten up that morning determined to make it off of Elox and she had succeeded. Ava wanted to let out a scream of relief, or joy. Instead, she opted to get up and make her bed and close the window she had left open. She walked to her door, turned her lock, and immediately began shed her clothing until she was left in just her light underdress. Once the dress had hit the floor, she felt like she could breathe. She touched her sore ribs and delicate skin through the thin layer and began to stretch her body slowly. Most of the inns that she stayed in were run down and not many of them had rooms where one could be alone. Those that did oftentimes were riddled with peeping holes or faulty locks. She hadn't dared to bathe or undress anywhere along the road except 30 setting suns ago at a nice woman's home.

She smelt horrendous, she knew that but everyone also smelt quite putrid around these parts. At first, it was liberating, being able to be filthy and making her own rules but now she craved a warm bath and a nice brush for her curly hair. She folded her dress, placed her pouch on top of it and tucked it into the top drawer of the dresser, placed her boots by the door, then grabbed the satchel she had come with and hung it on the chair. A tidy room meant she could relax for just a small while. She laid in her bed and closed her eyes. A small moment to recollect her thoughts was what she originally had intended. However, as she felt her sore body sink into the comfort of the mattress, all thought of the future faded away. All Ava could think about was about how welcoming the bed was and quite quickly, sleep overtook her.

-----

She woke up in the same disoriented state as she had been experiencing since she left home. There was barely any light in the room. The sun was probably just about to set and if she got out on the deck she would be able to catch the ship leaving port. She shot up in bed and her body protested, her hips ached and her ribs were sore. She suddenly was hit with how grimy she felt, dried sweat everywhere. Her hair tangled up from weeks of not caring for it. A bath and a brush was a priority right now, but what accommodations did a pirate ship even have for keeping clean?

She would have to explore the ship when everyone was asleep next, and also maybe find someone to unload all of her questions on. She needed to figure out how to light the candle in her room and where to find some ink for her parchment paper and where to find a hairbrush. Ava didn't want to be a burden though, so she opted to try and figure out whatever questions she had on her own. Maybe, while everyone was working she could sneak into the background and just watch to see what others did.

Right, that was going to be the plan. She got up and found her dress and began pulling it up, it was heavy and dirty and she was very close to just walking out in her thin undergarments. She then seriously contemplated just walking outside barefoot because the last thing she wanted to do was put on those damned boots. But wood and splinters and bare feet crossed her mind so she opted to sit on her bed and pull on her boots as quickly as she could. Looking around her room, she stuffed her satchel in the dresser drawer, made her bed, then made sure she had nothing left in sight. If someone were to break in here, it would look empty and they would move on. It's not like she had anything valuable aside from the gold, but it was something she had gotten used to doing.

Ava grabbed her key and made her way out. After locking the door behind her, she made her way down the dark hallway and was surprised to hear no noise and feel the boat rocking gently. Was everyone still asleep? It was dark, wouldn't they have to leave soon? She crept back to the main staircase and descended until reaching the deck. She walked out onto it and could not believe her eyes.

The ship was in the middle of the ocean and the sun was just beginning to rise, not set. Off at a small distance, Ava could see an island. Closer though, she spotted a figure a few yards away. The woman turned around and Ava could see it was Theo. Theo made her way over to Ava with a smile.

"Good Morning," she said, "I was worried you had been left behind but Morgana assured me she had led you to your quarters."

Ava let out a small laugh and felt her mouth mimic Theo's smile, she was being teased, "I have no idea what came over me last night. I fell asleep as soon as I got into the room. When I woke up, I thought only a small-time had passed and I would be able to catch the sunset."

Theo laughed at the confession and nodded, "I'm sure your travels wore you out. We get many passengers who don't emerge from their cabin for many suns after they arrive. It gets pretty dark in there. Easy to wander into a deep sleep."

Ava nodded and looked around, "Can I go over to the edge?"

"Aye, of course," Theo smiled and began walking to the edge of the deck, "We are anchored in right now."

"Why are we stopped?" Ava asked as they arrived at the edge and she peeked over. Deep blue waters below her were nothing like she had ever seen before.

Theo watched her, amused at the childish expression of wonder on Ava's face. Theo didn't remember the first time she found herself surrounded by beautiful water but she was sure her expression was the same as Ava's. Taking a page out of Ava's book, Theo made her way to the edge next to Ava and looked out to the water.

"Over there," Theo pointed out to the horizon about a 20-minute rowboat ride away was the Island Ava had spotted before, "We've got some pirate business to do on that island"

"Pirate Business?"

"Treasure," Theo turned away from the ocean and placed her back against the edge, facing Ava.

"Oh," Ava said, "Are you messing with me?"

Theo shook her head and laughed, "No. We're pirates. Have you not heard songs of us? Tales of plundering villages and seeking treasures?"

Ava hadn't thought about it like that, she supposed. She had a room to herself, everyone seemed nice, the food tasted amazing, everyone smelled somewhat decent, and she had seen no sword fights or nasty disagreements yet. The ship was fancier than she had ever expected a pirate ship to be so, yeah, maybe she had lost sight of the fact that she was on a pirate ship.

"No. Obviously, I have heard of pirates but-" Ava thought of the right way to ask but couldn't land on it, "-are you like real pirates?"

Theo didn't seem annoyed with Ava, instead, she laughed again. Further confirming to Ava the fact that they could possibly be not real pirates. A pirate would have made her walk the plank for questioning their skills. Theo shrugged, "Depends on what that means. What's a real pirate to you?"

Ava knew Theo was just playing around but she saw it as an opportunity to gain perspective on what she was to expect from this place, "You steal things?"

"Aye, we raid other ships and steal from people on land. We have rules though, a general crew code," Theo answered.

"Do you sink other ships?" Theo nodded. "You seek treasure?" Theo nodded and gestured towards the island. "Do you kill people?" Theo nodded once again.

"As I said, we have rules for all of these. Something to ensure controlled chaos. It's not rules anyone is really opposed to following, either. Helps us all with our conscience," Theo explained. The nervousness behind Ava's voice when she asked if Theo's crew killed people made Theo offer up some assurances. She didn't want her passengers worried. The purpose of the pirate ship was to be a haven for the needs of any woman. Pirating was the way to keep the purpose alive.

"What are the rules?"

"Become a part of my crew and you'll find out," Theo joked, "You're a funny one. Not shy at all, are you? Sometimes it takes weeks for some of the girls to come out of their shell. What's your story?"

"Sorry. You have to be a part of my crew to find that out," Ava quipped back.

"Fair enough. Got any other questions for me? Any questions about my pirate-y-ness or qualifications to navigate the oceans of Baethos? Possibly some ship questions," Theo poked.

"Nothing I would bother the captain of the ship with."

"We don't do that here, the whole rank thing. If I've got time, I help whoever needs it. The crew is asleep and I'm giving them a few hours rest before we set out for the island. You must have a lot of questions and no one around to answer," Theo acknowledged.

"I mean, I just have a few questions. Nothing too hard," Ava said, "I've noticed it is a bit dark in the room. How do I go about lighting the candle?"

Theo nodded and pushed herself off the edge of the deck, "Come this way I'll show you." Theo began walking back towards the main staircase and Ava followed right alongside. They walked down towards the room where she had eaten an early supper the sun before. Inside the mess, she began to smell a hearty breakfast being cooked and her stomach made an embarrassing growl.

Theo looked over at Ava, eyebrow raised, "You're starving. Let's see if Rose can serve you anything." Theo walked behind the counter to where the same older hunched-over woman, who had served her stew yestersun, was standing. Ava assumed that the woman was Rose and Rose was the chef on the Scorned Woman. Theo wrapped Rose in a hug while Ava watched from the other side of the counter. Rose pulled away from Theo and swatted her chest with a dishrag.

"Morning to you too, Rose. We've got a fresh face here this morning who didn't wake up for supper. Got anything made yet?" Theo asked and Rose nodded before silently beginning to scoop up various food items from around the kitchen. Ava saw her scoop up some scrambled eggs, a piece of pink meat she assumed to be ham and a loaf of bread that looked a little stale. As Rose assembled two plates of breakfast, Theo walked over to the counter and faced Rose on the opposite side.

"If you need your candle lit and don't have your own tinder kit, just bring it down here to the kitchen and Rose will light it for you." Theo pointed to the small fire contained by a small metal furnace, "But if she's not here there should always be just enough of a fire going to light the piece of twine that should've been in your bag to then light the candle."

"Is that safe? A fire unattended on a wooden ship?" Ava asked. Theo smiled a large goofy smile and Rose snorted behind her.

"Smart girl," she said in a thick accent.

"You ask some very good questions, Ava. Did you know that?" Ava felt her cheeks heat up and she fidgeted with her feet as Theo continued, "There is a flue-chute that carries the smoke up and Rose knows what she's doing with the fire. Don't worry."

Rose tapped Theo on the shoulder and outstretched the two plates to her. Theo grabbed them and thanked her then walked out from the kitchen and settled down on a small table by the entrance, "Come, sit, eat."

Ava obeyed the command and walked over. She quickly began making work of the food as Theo ate relatively slower. Once Ava had finished she looked at Theo's plate and felt a tad ashamed at how she must've looked. Ava's plate was wiped clean but Theo had barely made it through her eggs. She probably thought Ava had no table manners.

"You look concerned, you alright?" Theo prompted before taking a bite of the bread.

"I apologize for eating so fast, I must have forgotten my manners," Ava bowed her head apologetically.

"We're on a pirate ship, lass," Theo pointed out, "Pay manners no mind."

Ava nodded and watched Theo as she ate. Her shaggy brown hair wasn't hidden under a captain's hat like it had been the sun before. Also, she had removed her jacket since the last time Ava saw her. The shirt she was wearing looked expensive and specifically tailored to her. Freckles lined her cheeks and nose from her time out in the sun and her skin was tanned where her shirt opened at her chest.

Theo finished her plate and put a hand on her stomach then called out thanks to Rose. She stood up and Ava followed her lead.

"Anything else?" Theo asked

Ava nodded slowly, "I'm not sure if this is possible and I have money if it's an inconvenience but is it possible if I could have a change of clothes and maybe a bath?"

"I don't know about a bath but I'm sure Tuni can find a way to help you rinse off. As for clothes, I'm not sure we have any lying around but I might." Theo took a glance over Ava and nodded, "I bought some black slops and a black shirt at the markets a while ago and they were too long for me. Seems like you might be tall enough."

Ava was truly taken aback by the hospitality of Theo. She was waiting for the catch, for the strong-arming into something she didn't want, for the return favor, "You don't have to. I can just wait until we are in the next town and I'll purchase something." She reasoned with Theo but Theo shook her head.

"Purchase it from me then. Two silvers," Theo knew that she had paid far more than that for her outfit, but the green dress Ava wore looked like it belonged in Rose's furnace.

Ava considered this for a moment. Theo swore she could see the thoughts battling it out in Ava's head.

"Fine. Two silvers. But this is the last charity donation I want during this voyage." Ava conceded and Theo extended her hand for a handshake.

"Deal."

Ava reached out and shook Theo's hand, "Okay. Where is Tuni? Or what is Tuni?"

Theo laughed and began walking then motions her to follow, "Tuni is our healer. The infirmary is the only other door on the deck."