Jewel of the Sea [Black Sails]

Chapter Nine

(Alira)

Once Billy and Mr. Gates had returned, my brother showed up, clapping one of his massive hands on my shoulder, picking me up by the back of the shirt and lifted me off my feet as if I weighed nothing. He told Billy and Mr. Gates in as polite a tone he could, though was difficult with his gruff harsh accent, that I was not to get involved in their matters before carrying me back to camp by the back of my shirt, like a puppy, by the scruff of the neck. I'd been confined to my tent for rest of the day and told numerous times to stay away from the other crews. We weren't supposed to mingle, get friendly, or offer help. I'd gone to bed fuming with rage.

When I woke, news had already reached our camp, that the crew of The Ranger had taken quite a financial hit, losing five thousand pieces in pearls what they were presumably going to use to purchase the page from the cook of The Walrus. That was a devastating loss, but The Ranger had a skilled captain and a quartermaster too smart for his own good, so I wasn't too worried they wouldn't be able to recount their losses in no time. However, I was worried that there would be more violence and conflict between the crew of The Walrus and The Ranger. I didn't want to see anyone I cared about get hurt. I paused as this thought crossed my mind. Billy was understandable we were friends, I enjoyed his company. Why on earth did I let that stupid, annoying, sexy, nosy, no good Captain of the Ranger slip into my mind? I paled as I realized I'd just thought he was sexy. This was not good. Perhaps it would be better to keep myself confined to my tent, I'd clearly caught some kind of disease.

I left my tent in the late afternoon, once I was sure I wouldn't attack my brother on sight for his actions. As I stepped out of my tent, I noticed a familiar face, one of the whores from the brothel, a friend of Max's, creeping around our camp as if she were trying to conceal herself. She was a pretty girl with pale skin, long silken obsidian hair and brown eyes that seemed to glimmer in the light, her name was Idelle. She was wearing a scarf over her head trying to conceal her face, but not doing a very good job.

"What are you doing here, Idelle?" I asked her quietly as I silently crept toward her.

Idelle let out a soft yelp as she jumped and spun around to face me, her eyes wide in terror before she relaxed upon seeing it was only me. Like most of the girls at the brothel, I was her favorite plaything. Though she had relaxed in my presence she still seemed concerned about something, "I need to talk to Viktor, which tent is his?"

Why would she want to talk to Viktor? Shrugging my shoulders, I slipped my hand in hers and smiled softly as all the remaining tension in her body dissolved and led her to Viktor's tent. Viktor's tent was the biggest one in our camp, and despite it's vast size, his head still hit the top in places due to his height. Viktor and Dimitri were sitting outside the tent sharing stories about home, about our childhood. They both looked up upon sensing our approach. Dimitri's face flushed scarlet as he spotted Idelle and he fumbled all over himself to jump to his feet and offer her an awkward half bow.

"What on earth was that?" I scoffed at his idiotic display causing Idelle to laugh.

"Good Afternoon Dimitri." Idelle smiled with a bat of her long eyelashes crippling him in an instant, the idiot was head over heels.

"I-Idelle." He fumbled with her name.

"I-idiot." I mocked him causing Viktor to chuckle.

"What brings you here, Idelle?" Viktor asked.

"I wanted to ask a favor of you. It's for Max." Idelle's tone was soft and somber, "I think she's in trouble. She got involved in something and I guess Captain Vane and his crew blame her for their loss of pearls. She was supposed to stay in her room under guard, Mr. Noonan and Miss Guthrie both put guards at her door, but she wanted to leave. I helped her escape, but I'm worried about her. Can you please see if you can find out about her whereabouts? She's my friend, I just want to know she's safe." Tears welled in her eyes.