Pirates Again
eighteen
If Sykes did something to Cedric, I’m going to dump a bag of rats down his chimney. I know he’s terrified of them.
Katerina was stuck on kitchen duty again, aggressively chopping some carrots and pretending they were Notley’s and Harry’s fingers. The cook, a quiet and grumpy man called Timms, looked over at her a little warily.
“Something on your mind there, lass?” he asked. It was one of the longest sentences he’d ever said to her. Katerina gave a final vicious chop and scooted the carrots toward him.
“I…was thinking it’s a shame that they don’t give you better ingredients and proper seasonings to work with,” she said. “It seems like your talent is being wasted.”
He paused what he was doing and studied her for a moment. Katerina folded her hands and widened her eyes ever so slightly. Despite her tendency to mouth off, she could be charming, too. “Tell you what, Timms, why don’t I take the afternoon rations out to the men so you can finish up sooner this evening? And I’ll bring you an orange. You don’t eat enough of them, and you could get sick, you know.”
She smiled brightly and gathered up the rolls of bread, taking them out to begin dispersing them. She couldn’t do anything about Notley yet; like wringing his neck; but he was acting crazy and distracted which wasn’t bound to put the crew at ease. So until she could confront Notley and his yappy dog Harry, she’d find another way to be productive.
Katerina maneuvered around the deck, politely offering the crew bread and water and oranges. Then she’d tilt her head and ask what work they were doing. At first they seemed wary or confused but she just stood there looking innocent and non-threatening until they shrugged and talked to her. She even convinced one man to show her how to tie the knots he’d been working on. After she dropped off an orange for Timms like she’d promised, she took bread and water to Rhys and sat next to him.
“What a change of pace,” she said. “Now I’m bringing you bread.”
He smiled. “I noticed you being chatty out there today. What are you up to, Kat?”
“Me?” she asked innocently. “What makes you think I’m up to anything?”
He gave her a look and she laughed. “Okay, fine, you caught me. I thought it might be useful for us later if I could get the crew to find me endearing. I was doing my best, “that’s so interesting” face, and I managed to learn a couple useful things about the ship. Since I’m just the little captive princess no one seemed to suspect me of being up to anything. Sometimes it pays to be underestimated.”
“How devious of you,” he said, laughing. They were at sea for another week before making what she assumed was their final stop before sailing on to Andras Island, if it really existed. They docked in a small harbor, and this time Captain Notley disembarked and went into town for who knew what. He was so distracted that he forgot to threaten Rhys and Katerina before he left. Katerina thought she saw a muscle in his jaw twitching as he marched off the ship and into the crowd. Most of the crew followed suit not long after, apparently taking no direct orders to mean they were free to spend the day doing as they pleased.
“Even Harry forgot to bark demands at us, chasing after the captain like he was,” Katerina mused. “May as well take this opportunity to do some exploring. Who knows what’s going to happen if and when we find this magical island.”
She rummaged in her bag for the bit of money she’d brought with her; it occurred to her now that she probably should’ve brought a lot more but this is what happened when you made half formed plans in the middle of the night. But since she didn’t need to use it to bribe her way onto a ship now, she decided to treat herself to a comfortable shirt that wasn’t a man’s. She’d ruined one of her few hand-me-down shirts from Cedric by spilling polish on it, and had to stitch the sleeve of another one when she tore it. Even if she was sailing around on a pirate ship, she didn’t like slopping around with horribly stained clothes. She asked Rhys if he’d wait for her, then ducked into a shop. She found a proper blouse that was still a similar style to the ones she’d been wearing, but it fit her better and was a pale seafoam green color; with a little cream colored corset that cinched around the waist.
Feeling a little better, she stepped back out of the shop and wrestled her hair back with the pink ribbon she’d been using since Rhys gave her her cloak. It was a bit of a faded rose shade instead of a vibrant pink now but she had no plans to part with it.
“I don’t even know where we are right now,” she remarked as they walked. “This port is pretty though.”
It was a bit crowded and full of bustle, but there were lots of trees and flowering shrubs and brightly colored buildings.
“Do you think Notley might just snap and try to kill us all?” she asked. Rhys grimaced faintly.
“I hope not,” he said.
“He’s just acting so…weird. He’s always been an ass but he was so collected before I stole that amulet for him. Now he reminds me of a nervous, rabid squirrel.”
“Captain Nutley,” Rhys said and she snickered. They wandered the streets for a while, just taking in the sights and talking about less unpleasant things. They passed a shrub full of bright purple flowers and Katerina stopped to inhale their sweet smell. She plucked one, tucking it behind her ear. Then she plucked another one and raised up on her tiptoes to stick it behind Rhys’s ear.
“Kat,” he complained, looking at once amused and exasperated. Katerina giggled.
“Oh come on, it goes great with your hair,” she teased. He tried to remove the flower and she reached up to stop him and they had a brief sort of scuffle on the curb. Katerina was laughing so hard she stumbled a little, falling against him. She tilted her head back to look at him. She felt suddenly dizzy.
“Rhys,” she said slowly.
“Yes?”
Without even being fully aware that she’d made the decision to do so, Katerina leaned up and gently tugged him down, pressing her lips against his. He tensed and she quickly pulled away, her cheeks flaming.
“I’m sorry,” she squeaked, taking two rapid steps back. “That was really presumptuous. I probably made things weird and I’m sorry.”
“Kat-“
“Um. We should probably head back to the ship, before someone finally decides to come after us.” She was still trying to back away and she didn’t notice the broken piece of cobblestone. She yelped as she tripped over it and fell back into a flowery shrub.
Katerina was stuck on kitchen duty again, aggressively chopping some carrots and pretending they were Notley’s and Harry’s fingers. The cook, a quiet and grumpy man called Timms, looked over at her a little warily.
“Something on your mind there, lass?” he asked. It was one of the longest sentences he’d ever said to her. Katerina gave a final vicious chop and scooted the carrots toward him.
“I…was thinking it’s a shame that they don’t give you better ingredients and proper seasonings to work with,” she said. “It seems like your talent is being wasted.”
He paused what he was doing and studied her for a moment. Katerina folded her hands and widened her eyes ever so slightly. Despite her tendency to mouth off, she could be charming, too. “Tell you what, Timms, why don’t I take the afternoon rations out to the men so you can finish up sooner this evening? And I’ll bring you an orange. You don’t eat enough of them, and you could get sick, you know.”
She smiled brightly and gathered up the rolls of bread, taking them out to begin dispersing them. She couldn’t do anything about Notley yet; like wringing his neck; but he was acting crazy and distracted which wasn’t bound to put the crew at ease. So until she could confront Notley and his yappy dog Harry, she’d find another way to be productive.
Katerina maneuvered around the deck, politely offering the crew bread and water and oranges. Then she’d tilt her head and ask what work they were doing. At first they seemed wary or confused but she just stood there looking innocent and non-threatening until they shrugged and talked to her. She even convinced one man to show her how to tie the knots he’d been working on. After she dropped off an orange for Timms like she’d promised, she took bread and water to Rhys and sat next to him.
“What a change of pace,” she said. “Now I’m bringing you bread.”
He smiled. “I noticed you being chatty out there today. What are you up to, Kat?”
“Me?” she asked innocently. “What makes you think I’m up to anything?”
He gave her a look and she laughed. “Okay, fine, you caught me. I thought it might be useful for us later if I could get the crew to find me endearing. I was doing my best, “that’s so interesting” face, and I managed to learn a couple useful things about the ship. Since I’m just the little captive princess no one seemed to suspect me of being up to anything. Sometimes it pays to be underestimated.”
“How devious of you,” he said, laughing. They were at sea for another week before making what she assumed was their final stop before sailing on to Andras Island, if it really existed. They docked in a small harbor, and this time Captain Notley disembarked and went into town for who knew what. He was so distracted that he forgot to threaten Rhys and Katerina before he left. Katerina thought she saw a muscle in his jaw twitching as he marched off the ship and into the crowd. Most of the crew followed suit not long after, apparently taking no direct orders to mean they were free to spend the day doing as they pleased.
“Even Harry forgot to bark demands at us, chasing after the captain like he was,” Katerina mused. “May as well take this opportunity to do some exploring. Who knows what’s going to happen if and when we find this magical island.”
She rummaged in her bag for the bit of money she’d brought with her; it occurred to her now that she probably should’ve brought a lot more but this is what happened when you made half formed plans in the middle of the night. But since she didn’t need to use it to bribe her way onto a ship now, she decided to treat herself to a comfortable shirt that wasn’t a man’s. She’d ruined one of her few hand-me-down shirts from Cedric by spilling polish on it, and had to stitch the sleeve of another one when she tore it. Even if she was sailing around on a pirate ship, she didn’t like slopping around with horribly stained clothes. She asked Rhys if he’d wait for her, then ducked into a shop. She found a proper blouse that was still a similar style to the ones she’d been wearing, but it fit her better and was a pale seafoam green color; with a little cream colored corset that cinched around the waist.
Feeling a little better, she stepped back out of the shop and wrestled her hair back with the pink ribbon she’d been using since Rhys gave her her cloak. It was a bit of a faded rose shade instead of a vibrant pink now but she had no plans to part with it.
“I don’t even know where we are right now,” she remarked as they walked. “This port is pretty though.”
It was a bit crowded and full of bustle, but there were lots of trees and flowering shrubs and brightly colored buildings.
“Do you think Notley might just snap and try to kill us all?” she asked. Rhys grimaced faintly.
“I hope not,” he said.
“He’s just acting so…weird. He’s always been an ass but he was so collected before I stole that amulet for him. Now he reminds me of a nervous, rabid squirrel.”
“Captain Nutley,” Rhys said and she snickered. They wandered the streets for a while, just taking in the sights and talking about less unpleasant things. They passed a shrub full of bright purple flowers and Katerina stopped to inhale their sweet smell. She plucked one, tucking it behind her ear. Then she plucked another one and raised up on her tiptoes to stick it behind Rhys’s ear.
“Kat,” he complained, looking at once amused and exasperated. Katerina giggled.
“Oh come on, it goes great with your hair,” she teased. He tried to remove the flower and she reached up to stop him and they had a brief sort of scuffle on the curb. Katerina was laughing so hard she stumbled a little, falling against him. She tilted her head back to look at him. She felt suddenly dizzy.
“Rhys,” she said slowly.
“Yes?”
Without even being fully aware that she’d made the decision to do so, Katerina leaned up and gently tugged him down, pressing her lips against his. He tensed and she quickly pulled away, her cheeks flaming.
“I’m sorry,” she squeaked, taking two rapid steps back. “That was really presumptuous. I probably made things weird and I’m sorry.”
“Kat-“
“Um. We should probably head back to the ship, before someone finally decides to come after us.” She was still trying to back away and she didn’t notice the broken piece of cobblestone. She yelped as she tripped over it and fell back into a flowery shrub.