Vanessa [A Poor Unfortunate Soul]

22. The Captain

The morning dew left Vanessa's nostrils running and her mouth parched. The wind pulled at her hair, and the damp stones began stinging the few open cuts along the bottom of her feet. 

 "Its just beyond this hill" Jane said, pointing towards the sunrise. What greeted her was a large ship, with four sails, tall bearings, and a brown paint-job. The mast took up just about the whole length of the docks departure point. The pirate's rumbling drowned out the sound from the loud ocean waves.

"There he is, up there" said Jane, and pointed to one of the pirates. 

Vanessa stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him. His hair was parted to the left side of his face, and seemed to dance with the wind itself, giving a personification all its own. Embers fell from his lit cigarette to the planks of wood beneath them. He wore a red leather jacket, with black trails faded into it. A white button-down shirt under it, led into an array of belts and black leather pants that folded over a pair of boots. An indulgent in it of itself, just to glance upon his graces. Like sweet, sugary chocolates in bite-sized pieces, that tingle your tongue before leaving you wanting more. Something too much of could lead to sin. That's what Mister Frollo had always told her anyway. God would have to forgive her.

"Jakob!" Jane called and pranced over to the captain. "I've got a new recruit."

"Ah! The more the merrier" he said, with a big grin and walked over. "Captain Jakob Jones, at your service." He introduced himself with a bow.

"Vanessa LeGume" she said, taking a curtsy. With what little bit of a skirt she had, it didn't make for a very lady-life introduction. Barely lifting her skirt, Vanessa bent one foot behind the other and knelt down.

"How far doth the butterfly soar?" Jakob asked, kneeling down with her. "Is that a french accent I detect?" Vanessa nodded, and stood up again. "Well, come aboard! Jane, I trust you can show our newest recruit to her room?"

"Of course" said Jane, walking between them.

"She's a lot less prickly, than she comes off to be." Jakob whispered, with a hand over his mouth.

"I heard that" Jane spat, and walked up to the main deck. Before Vanessa could follow her, she was stopped by another crew member. Her hair was a deep black, with traces of purple throughout it. Not dissimilar from her own, but not exact either. Darker and some pieces were braided, while others were left loose or wavy. She wore it parted down the middle, and pulled back at the sides. 

"Hold on" she said, putting up a well manicured hand with purple painted nails. The girl wore a glittery corset, that seemed to lace up the back with a skirt hanging off the back of it. Black leggings fed into a pair of black boots, that reflected the sun and boomed under her steps.

 "Who are you?"

 "My name is Vanessa" she replied, and curtsied again.

 "I hear you'd like to join my crew?" the girl said, crossing her pale arms. 

"I thought Jakob was the captain" Vanessa pointed out.

"My crew, his crew" she said, swatting at the air. "Our crew. I'm his wife" 

With those words, Vanessa's heart sank. Not that she found anything especially special about Jakob. Just that he was an interesting individual, nothing more. It made no sense to her that those words would even phase her. Never mind that they'd only just met.

"And you are?" Vanessa asked, her voice cracking.

"Nadia Triton" said the girl, taking a twirl and bow. "Soon to be Jones"

"But, if you were already married" Vanessa interjected. "Shouldn't your last name have already changed"

"Its not legal yet" Nadia said, sticking her nose in the air and boarded the ship.