Pirates Again

Ship life was nothing glamorous. Even with Rhys working his ass off, no one respected him for it. He just continued to get glares and sneers from the rest of the crew. He hadn't seen the captain or the first officer again, which was probably for the best. Harry was no cup of tea, but Captain Notley seemed to be a little suspicious. The way he "read" Rhys was unpleasant, especially because it wasn't totally wrong. He was mostly just in it for the money, though he didn't intend on doing anything nasty. He didn't expect to, on a cargo vessel.

He was mopping the deck absentmindedly when he heard some yelling on deck. He couldn't help but grimace when he saw it was the girl who had stowed away below deck. It was wishful thinking to hope she could go on her way without being caught and he had considered checking on her, but apparently Harry beat him to it. She gave him a pretty satisfying kick to the shin, and Rhys couldn't help but crack a smile.

He wasn't sure what had happened in the captain's quarters, but soon she was being dragged off again. They made a bit of a public show about tying her ankles and wrists, then tying her waist to a post like a short leash. It looked humiliating, and Rhys felt terrible. While she put on a strong and defiant face, she had a look in her eyes that reminded Rhys of when Eloise was trying her best not to cry. They met eyes for a moment, but Rhys looked down when she shot a cold glare at them.

They didn't give her anything to eat that evening, nor did they give her anything the next morning or afternoon. Not even water. By the next evening, she looked a little limp and pale. Rhys looked at Lewis, keeping his voice low.

"Are they just going to let her starve to death?" he asked.

"Captain does things in his own way," Lewis said. "He won't kill her. He won't waste resources on her, either. Mind your business."

That was hard for Rhys to accept. He liked to sleep on deck since the rest of the crew went below deck to avoid the chill. Rhys actually welcomed the cold. It felt refreshing, compared to the hot and sweaty bunks down below. He didn't want to be around any of them, anyways. As they got their rations for the evening, Rhys pocketed his portion of bread and managed to snag one off another plate when no one was looking. He didn't like to steal, but he was pretty good at it.

As everyone retired to bed, he went back up on deck. He checked to make sure no one was around before walking to the girl. She had fallen asleep, either from exhaustion or hunger. Or a winning combination of both. Looking at her now, she was quite pretty. Rhys knelt down and gently shook her shoulder to wake her. She gasped and woke up with a start, tied hands flying up and socking Rhys in the nose. He winced, but shushed her so they wouldn't attract any attention.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he whispered. "I'm sorry. Here."

He took the bread rolls out of his pocket and offered it to her. She just glared at him.

"I don't want your stupid charity," she snapped. "What, you're going to give it to me and then snatch it out of my mouth to tease me?"

"No," Rhys said, a bit disturbed at the thought. "I just thought you looked hungry. Here, take it."

She was hesitant and continued to glare at him, but slowly took the first roll and sniffed it before taking a nibble. She seemed to try being casual about it at first, but then sped up and finished the roll in under a minute. He handed her the second roll, and she took it without question this time.

"Slow down," he said. "You might make yourself sick. Stay hydrated through the night."

He took a water flask off his belt and sort of tucked it behind her back so it stayed hidden. If they found out she had it, she might get in trouble.

"I'm Rhys," he said. "I'll come back to check on you tomorrow night again, alright?"

She didn't say anything and her expression hadn't softened, but she didn't spat at him either. He offered her a friendly smile anyways before hurrying off. No one saw him, thankfully.

The next day was equally miserable as he swabbed the deck and took on some carpentry work. He tried to keep to himself, but every now and again someone would come spit on his clean floor or kick his tools away. Once they figured out he wasn't going to fight them back, he was easy to pick on. He tried not to let it get to him. No one was physically harming him.

That night, he pocketed his bread rations again for the girl. The color had returned to her face, and while she was hesitant to accept the bread she didn't put up as much of a fight. Rhys also swapped the water flask out for a fresh one. He was glad to feel the flask was empty, and she had drunk the water instead of trying to make a statement against it. He didn't expect her to speak to him, but she piped up just before he left.

"What have you done with Captain Engle?" she asked.

"Captain Notley, you mean," Rhys said.

"No, Captain Engle. The real captain of this ship," she repeated. "I don't know who that imposter in the captain's quarters is."

"I don't know who you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb," she said. "This is a hijacked ship, isn't it? If it's not going to Westborough, where is it going?"

"It's not going to Westborough?"

The girl's expression changed and her brow furrowed when she realized that Rhys truly didn't know what she was talking about. As far as he knew, Captain Notley was the only captain of this ship. That's what he had been told. That's who he had been directed to work for. Rhys suddenly felt a pit in his stomach. Had he been tricked? If this crew really had hijacked the ship, maybe that was why Finlay was so eager to pass the job to someone else. Damn, Rhys was an idiot.

"I'm sorry, I don't know," he said quickly. "I'll be back tomorrow, uh, Miss."

"Katerina," she said quietly.

"Katerina," Rhys repeated.

The next evening, Rhys did his best to sneak some bread to Katerina again. She was waiting for him this time, but he hardly had time to hand her the bread when a third voice joined them.

"Well, well. Look at these two lovebirds."

Rhys spun around to find himself face to face with Notley and a sort of sinister grin on his face. Harry was behind him, as well as a few others who came out to see what the commotion was.

"I say we throw them both overboard," Harry grumbled.

"And why would we do that?" Notley said. "Anyways, I know our dear Rhys wouldn't betray me. He may be on his first voyage with us, but he already said that I am the captain he reports to. Regardless of what Miss Katerina here has told him."

Rhys didn't say anything. He didn't dare try to question Notley now. He was way outnumbered, so it was best to go along with it. Notley drew a dagger from his belt and handed it to him.

"Cut her loose," he ordered.

Rhys wasn't sure what was going on, but carefully knelt down and cut Katerina loose. She stood up and rubbed her sore wrists. Notley took his knife back and put it under her chin, tilting her head up with the tip of the blade dangerously close to her throat.

"Since you two seem to get along so well, she'll be your responsibility," Notley said. "If she pulls a wrong move, then you die. If you make a wrong move, then she dies. I think that's a fair deal."

"But I don't-"

"Am I not being fair, Quartermaster Taylor?" Notley asked, turning to Harry with a look of mock surprise.

"I think you're being too fair," Harry said.

"I think it's fair," Notley repeated. "You keep each other in check. Isn't that fun?"

Rhys didn't say anything, and Notley glared at him.

"Say, 'yes, sir.'"

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, and don't try plotting to run off anywhere together. We'll find you, and it'll be a fate worse than death. I can promise you both that."