Chapter 35: Yo Ho – A Pirate’s Life For Me

Early in the morning on that second day, we pulled into a small port town. Stepping out of the carriage, I got the first view of the ocean. It stretched out to the horizon, the light blue color only interrupted by the white, choppy tips of the waves. I knew from the map that this was a narrow part of the sea, and just over the horizon was another land. Still, it didn't do much to take away from the enormity of it as I stared out across it.

The carriage and several of the servants were busy unloading our luggage and transporting it up a gangplank to the largest ship at the docks. The Numbered formed up around me, chatting briefly about something as I just looked out onto the water, completely enraptured by its beauty. Only when One nudged me did I come back to myself and look around.

We had made an early start, so dawn was just breaking, but we needed to make the tides.

I followed as we walked over to a separate plank leading up to the front of the ship instead of the cargo bay, and we walked up it. The ship was beautiful. It was over 100 paces long and made out of a dark wood that gleamed in the sun. Its many sails and riggings fluttered gently in the breeze. At the front of it was carved the head of an eagle. The slight tips of its wings echoed in the art decorating the railings that arched away from the prow.

As we got up, the captain left the wheel and greeted us. He bowed low, holding his feathered cap to his breast.

"It's a pleasure to have you aboard, my lord. Would you like me to see you to your cabin?" he asked, looking confused at the women around me.

I nodded. "Please."

He gestured for us to follow and took us down a flight of stairs. There was a rather spacious cabin with a view to the front of the ship.

"Mine is right next door," he said. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know." And he turned to leave us to get situated.

One, though, caught the man's sleeve. "Can you send your mate to show us the other rooms?"

He nodded, and I looked at her. She grimaced. "You're not gonna want me here with you during the voyage, so I got a lesser room so I wouldn't bother the servants."

Looking around, I saw pity on all three of my other Numbered faces. Not understanding, I just shrugged and nodded. The other three gathered around and played some quick game with their hands before Four grimaced, apparently having lost. She went over to one side, and they left the room to wait out.

Their Five and Six stood on my sides and looked at the room. There was a rather large bed bolted to the floor, along with a desk and a chair. "I think this is acceptable," Six said. I nodded. "I don't have any problem with it." We quickly left as well to let the servants set up the room and finish loading our luggage.

I wandered to the top deck and watched the process, leaning against the railing, treading between looking out to the sea and looking at the sailors, all working like a bunch of ants as they swarmed through the rigging, preparing for the ship to be cast off.

The carriage pulled away into the city. In a few turns, it disappeared down a side street. It would be waiting in a warehouse with the drivers until we returned.

I breathed in deep, the smell of the fresh sea wafting into my nostrils, only to gag a second later as the smell of rotting fish joined it as well. Somehow, I had missed that when we were coming up. From my much higher vantage, I could see only a few docks over some very dingy vessels, throwing fish heads into the bay around them. I grimaced and looked back towards the ship's preparations.

We stood there for almost an hour before we slowly started to pull away from the docks. A set of oars unfurled from the sides of the ship, slowly pulling us out into the harbor before the sails caught wind and sent us along our way.

I watched as the captain took the wheel, shouting orders to his crew as they adjusted the sails here and there, and we slowly picked up speed. Five and Six just stood with me, carefully watching their surroundings. They would trade-off, but one was always watching the water around us, keeping an eye out for something, and the other was watching any of the crew that stood near us. Clearly, they were acting as the guards they took themselves to be. But I was just too amazed to pay them any mind. It took me a few minutes to feel comfortable, but soon, even as I walked over to the other railing, my steps came sure and steady as the boat rocked from underneath me. Five and six didn't take much longer to adjust.

No one even said anything until I heard Five's stomach growl, and I remembered that we hadn't eaten breakfast this morning. The sun was up near its zenith, indicating that it was about time for lunch. As it was. I looked over at Five, who smiled with a slight amount of embarrassment as Six rolled their eyes.

"Shall we?" I said.

They nodded, and we climbed down to the deck and ducked under the entrance to find our way to the mess hall. I grabbed the table as five went and secured our food.

"Should we see if Four or One also wants to eat?" I asked Six as we waited. "Maybe we can bring them something?"

Six gave a quick laugh. "Well, One wouldn't be able to keep anything down, and I doubt Four wants to eat at the moment."

Suddenly, understanding dawned on me. "Well, it's two days; Four can't just not eat," I said.

"Yeah. Five or I will swap in and take over for an hour or two when she needs to. But One objects thoroughly. She says she doesn't need someone to take care of her, but we're not going to leave her like that alone." Six said with looks of pity.

Even high and mighty, slightly stuck up, Six would be willing to help out One in what was clearly a very unpleasant job. But at the same time, I wasn't too surprised. My Numbered seemed to have a special bond.

"Good," I said, though I wasn't about to offer to take care of her myself. But I knew that One wouldn't accept that at all.

After we ate, we went back up to the top deck and tried to stay out of the way while I just watched the ship operate. The first mate took over the steering wheel, and the captain walked over to me. Five and Six both eyed him but let him come up as he leaned against the rail next to me.

"A thing of beauty, isn't she, my lord?" he said, gesturing to the ship.

I nodded. "Fascinating to watch," I said.

"The Grandeur is the best ship to ever sail on this sea," he said. Why? We'll get you to port a day faster than any other.

"That's why we hired you," I said, assuming that was the case.

He let out a laugh. "That you did. If I hadn't gotten such a trusted referral, I would have thought anyone was bluffing. I even forego all cargo on the voyage, cutting into my profits significantly, but that'll save several hours of our trip. Honestly, I don't even mind. I've always wanted to see how fast I could really go."

I felt the hair, my hair flutter in the breeze as we churned up a wake behind us, going far faster than I thought would be possible. The captain stayed and talked about his ship a little bit more and asked some questions. But honestly, I found that I didn't care for the terms. I preferred to just watch.

Still, it was entertaining to learn a little bit more about ships. Five and Six now changed their watch. One of them watched the deck and the water at the same time while the other carefully watched the captain. They clearly weren't comfortable with how close he was to me. But he kept his hands on the railing and in sight at all times. I wasn't sure if he knew how much danger he was in being this close to me or if it was just his preferred manner of standing, but it kept anyone from getting too jumpy.

The captain returned to the wheel soon enough, though, and we continued watching. The night was uneventful. Even though One had shared me before with Five, Six wasn't exactly willing to. And Five just stayed unwatched outside the door as we went to sleep.

And when I woke up, Six was on watch while Five was snuggled in next to me. I stretched and yawned, having slept amazingly. The rocking of the ship only made me sleep faster and made me want to stay curled up in bed longer. But the smell of the fresh sea air called me out to the deck so I could enjoy it for another day. I never expected to enjoy something this much, and I couldn't help but smile as I prodded five awake.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," I said, and she gave me the closest thing to a glare I'd ever seen from one of my Numbered. She grumbled something about having to be on watch before she turned over, showing me her back and curled around the pillow tighter. Ah, I thought. That's right. She probably only slept for a few hours at this point.

Stretching, I swung my legs over the bed and stood up, getting dressed. Six looked almost as sleepy as she greeted me as I exited the door. She had set up a small chair in the hallway, keeping watch, but followed me down the hall. She didn't say anything about leaving Five behind, but that was fine. I let her sleep a little bit more, and then Six could take her turn.

I wanted to check in on one and four and make sure they were doing alright before I went on deck. I asked Six to take me to them, and she winced but complied, going down further into the cabin.

"I swapped off with Four for a bit last night," she said, "to let her get some food and rest. One is taking this voyage particularly bad. I think it's to do with how fast we're going."

"It could be," I said with a shrug.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself a lot more than you usually do on ships," Six said.

"Hmm. Yeah, maybe it's the speed," I said. Six gave me a considering look but didn't say anything as we stopped in front of One's cabin. She knocked on the door quickly before opening it.

I saw One leaning against the bulkhead, the curve fitting to her back as her hair was plastered to her sweaty face, and a distinctly acrid smell wafted from the room and the pot sitting next to her. Four was sitting on the other side, wiping One's forehead with a cool cloth. They both looked up at me, and I could see One's face grow even paler than it already was. Four looked at me and grimaced.

"Sorry to interrupt," I said. "I just wanted to make sure everything was all right and there wasn't anything that you needed."

One shook her head mutely, and Four waved me out. "No, no. It's fine. Go. Nothing we can do."

As Six closed the door, she gave me a dirty look.

"Do you really have to embarrass her like that?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No, I suppose we didn't. Still, I can't help but think fresh air might help her a little bit."

Six shrugged. "I would think so, too. But she says she doesn't. I don't know if that's actually just her pride talking or if it really doesn't. But we should leave them be."

I nodded. "Fair enough."

With that, we went back up outside to enjoy the view and get some fresh air.