The City of the Dead

Chapter 23

I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go. I slowly got to my feet and adjusted to the pitching of the boat instinctively. It didn't take very long to get used to the waves rolling under my feet again, but it seemed strange how much the boat was rocking. I imagined it was just windy out.

I reached into my wardrobe and pulled a pair of clean shorts and a loose white shirt out. It felt nice to have clean clothes again, and I quickly changed again. I took my French braid out and stared at my wavy hair.

It looked foreign. Normally my hair was almost down to my waist, but with waves it was a few inches shorter. I was so used to seeing my glossy, straight brown hair that the streaks of blonde made me look like a whole new person.

I wasn't one to love change, but this time I could take it. I was living a whole new life and I was okay with changing how I looked. Almost everything else I had lived with had changed, so I needed to change too.

I opened my door and ran up the stairs to emerge on the deck. I instantly whipped around; searching for Tortuga. It was nowhere to be seen. I saw the crew standing in several long lines where Walter and Adonis were pacing in front of them yelling instructions.

I quickly joined the end of the back row in confusion, unsure of what was happening. We were supposed to leave in two days' time, not now. The young man beside me hardly noticed as I stepped into place beside him.

"Ladies, since most of you have no experience with cleaning the ship you will all begin with cleaning the ship. We have another female who will teach you all you need to know about this. Her name is Emerald. Emerald, please come up here so all the ladies can join you in their learning," Adonis was saying and I was glad I had come just in time to be there when I needed to be.

I walked around the lines of men and the few women and marveled over how many had signed up. I stood next to Adonis, making sure I wasn't moving as the waves pitched the ship. I needed to look like I knew what I was doing. I was also glad I had put my sword and pistol with my weapons belt on, for it made me look more like the rest of the men.

"This is Emerald. She will be showing you what you will be doing, and she will be the head of your room. If there is a problem she will be the one to report to me or Blackbeard. All of you ladies will respect her as if she was the captain to you when I or Blackbeard is not around."

He then began pacing down the lines again. "Men, I know in Tortuga there were no rules for how you could treat women, but here they are to be respected. You will not touch them unless they want to be touched. They will be treated as equals on this ship. If I hear any threat towards them or anything they did not willingly do you will be forced to leave the ship at the moment I hear it. If we are on land, you're lucky. If we are on water; you're dead. Ladies, same goes to you. You will not touch the men without their permission, same punishment."

His eyes looked deadly as he scanned the crowd, and I shivered. If I didn't know Adonis like I did, I would be terrified and tempted to jump off the ship before his warning.

"Now, Walter will show you where all you ladies will be staying and Emerald will assign you your sleeping areas. You can come grab your stuff when you're done your shift and set up for the night."

There were several groans, but I had to fight back a smile. I liked that I got to be in charge. I wouldn't let any of the girls mess with me.

Slowly around five women came out of the bundle of men, all with hats on to cover their long hair, but you could still see the feminine features of their faces.

Walter began to walk away and I followed him, not waiting for the other woman. I didn't care if they got left behind; I needed to get into the pirate mentality.