Pirate's Life For Me....

Cutlass

  "A knife. You gave her a knife." The quartermaster said flatly as Bonny and I stood outside the tent the next morning. I was tucking the blade behind my belt as he was looking at the woman next to me. "She threatened to gut me yesterday, and you give her the means to do it with?"

  "Sod off, I'm not going to gut you unless you give me reason to." I stated with a rather calm voice as I glanced around. As I had suspected, I hardly slept at all last night. Every time there was a voice just outside of the tent, I'd wake up, or even when one of the crew drunkenly laughed too loud. Certain sounds would make my eyes pop open, and all I could do was make sure Bonny was still there and that the knife was still in my hands.

  "I'll hold you to that, but don't be offended when I refuse to stand within arm's length of you." Jack looked at the blade in my belt while raising his brows.

  "I'd prefer that, actually." Shooting him a glare, it seemed as if at least the quartermaster was aware not to mess with me.

~

  "Cook. With me." Glancing up, I saw the large man Bonny called Captain leaning into my tent.

  "Why?"

  "I'm taking you into Nassau." He stated. "You need to know how this island works." His face was stoic, and I furrowed my brows while standing. Dusting the sand off of my pants, I looked at the man.

  "Can I assume that also being seen with you will hint others to leave me the fuck alone?" The man's eyebrow twitched up.

  "If you're a part of my crew, others will most likely leave you be. However, if you're weak, there's no guarantee you'll be safe." The man fully stepped into the tent while looking over his shoulder. "But with how you handled yourself on the Petrel, I do believe you have nothing else to worry about."

  "What about your own crew?" I crossed my arms while slightly tilting my head. "If everyone fears them, then they have nothing to fear."

  "That's where you're wrong." He smirked. "They fear me."

  "Then you're saying you're the only one I really have to worry about?"

  "Only if you cross me. Do your duty, and I can easily overlook the fact that you're a woman. I'll treat you as an equal to my men." His voice was low, and it seemed as if he was being serious.

  "And how am I to trust you? You're a captain to a crew of thieves."

  "How about we start with proper introductions?" The man got a small smile while holding out his hand. "Captain Charles Vane." Skeptically looking at his outstretched hand, I hesitantly took it.

  "....Deana Blake." I stated as he shook my hand and happened to glance at the knife in my belt.

  "I see you've made an ally already." The blue-eyed man stated after turning to leave the tent. Not saying anything, I simply followed him out as the sand moved beneath my feet. Men were working along the beach, and when the ground became a bit sturdier, there were actual buildings and what looked like a market.

  It was rather shoddy, but it was more than I expected for a town of pirates. There was a butcher, a bakery even, a place for clothes, other food shops, open stalls for produce, and more. To reassure myself, I kept my hand on the hilt of the knife I had at all times while walking through the crowd.

  Sticking close to Captain Vane, I would catch people eyeing me as the man in front of me would occasionally point something out and tell me what was there. At one point, he told me about a bar across the street from a brothel. He said the food there was good enough that you wouldn't vomit, but that didn't really tell me if it was even good at all.