Hell Hath No Fury - Book One

Breaking Bread

Ava did go back to Theo's the following night. And the night after that. And the one after that. It was a ritual now. A ritual she got accustomed to quickly, a little too quickly. She would spend her mornings with Tuni or Cooker messing around on the deck, even helping them with the odd job here or there. Then her aftermornings were spent holed up in the library reading the same book she had started previously. It was quite boring, Ava thought, but it was useful information. Unbiased too.

When nighttime came, Theo always came knocking on the library door and they went to their balcony where they began to exchange questions and answers. The second night they were together Theo asked Ava questions about herself. She had just turned 16, she had four sisters and three brothers and she was the youngest, she was the only of the girls that wasn't a twin. Her favorite thing to do back home was climb and help in the garden and she had left home over 40 suns before she boarded the ship. The third night they escaped to Theo's balcony they exchanged questions about favorite foods and colors, best memories of a pet they had and their childhood best friends. Ava told her about her chambermaid who always helped her make fun of her mother together and they drank some of Theo's fine wine. The last night was not as animated and lengthy as the other nights. It had been a long sun for Theo and Ava had seen her working throughout it around different parts of the ship. They only spent about an hour together in the library that night when Ava urged Theo to get some rest.

Theo reluctantly had stood up and gone to bed with the promise of showing her around all of the best shops in the morning. Ava was instructed to be ready to go bright and early and she listened to those instructions. She had her shoes on and her money pouch ready to go and tied around her waist, perhaps a bit too early. The sun had not yet fully risen before she was dressed but Theo had the same idea of "bright and early" as she had. There was a knock on her door not long after she had gotten dressed.

She opened the door to a very relieved looking Theo, "Oh thank fuck. Thought maybe you weren't ready as early as me and I didn't realize it until I knocked but of course it would have been too late anyway. Glad you're awake."

Ava laughed and bowed dramatically, "Your wish is my command, Captain. Bright and early."

"Right," Theo laughed and offered her arm, "Shall we? We must be quick."

"Why?" Ava took Theo's arm and they set off.

"We're sneaking off the boat," Theo explained and they quickly made their way down the hallway and the stairs.

"Because the captain isn't allowed off the ship?"

"Because the captain isn't ever given the chance to get off the ship alone unless we dock early. Pirates are sleepers, no one wants to wake up at the crack of dawn to go into a city they've been to before. I, on the other hand, love my alone time in the city," Theo told Ava as they made it off the ship.

"You aren't having alone time though," Ava commented as she looked around the port. The sun was just beginning to shine over the water and onto the docks but there was barely a soul out yet.

"Aye, I'm not alone but I also don't have a band of 20 pirates with me," Theo countered and Ava shrugged, understanding the logic. One quiet-ish passenger versus 20 rowdy pirates, Ava knew which she'd pick.

They began to make their way down the docks and Ava took everything in. It was beautiful, not necessarily the richest place or the fanciest but it was so different than what she'd seen in Elox. The building's here looked to be primarily made of this bright red clay. Not many people were out but those she did see wore beautifully patterned silk clothing. As they made it out of the docks and more into what looked to be a central place of shopping, Ava realized there was nothing open yet.