Hell Hath No Fury - Book One

Jewels

AN: obligatory this is a 5k word chapter warning. 

Theo knocked on the door of the cabin Ava was sleeping in, trying to wake the sleeping redhead inside. Theo and Xyra had managed to wake up, get ready, and deal with a bit of ship business and yet Ava was still not up. They had decided they had let her sleep long enough and if they wanted to get everything on their list they needed to get a move on. There was no sign of movement on the other side of the door and Theo knocked again.

"Ava," Theo called out, "It's Theo! Are you still coming down to shop with us?"

She held her ear near the door to hear if Ava had begun to stir but again she was met with only silence. Xyra had probably given her the wrong room. Theo turned the handle and opened the door slowly to check. Inside the room was a sleeping figure, red curly hair peeking out from under the sheets. In the dark, Theo couldn't see if Ava was even breathing.

Theo popped her head in the room and called out again, "Ava, it's Theo."

Finally, Theo saw movement. Ava shifted in the bed from one side to the other. Theo felt bad, Ava was probably still recovering from the night before. Being an experienced patron of Niveal's bars, Theo was known to easily bounce back from a wild night out but Ava had yet to learn that trait. Theo considered letting her sleep it off but Theo knew she would never hear the end of it from Morgana if Ava didn't get Morgana's stuff.

"Oi," Theo said a bit louder, "Red, are you coming to the shops with us?"

Ava suddenly popped her head up from under the covers. Her eyes were still shut and her face was scrunched, "Hm?"

Theo had to keep herself from laughing at the sight. It was quite adorable, "Are you coming to the shops with us? It's almost the second hour of the aftermorning and we should get going."

"Mhm," Ava said, "I'm going. I'm going."

Theo nodded and waited in the doorway to see if Ava would move. She didn't.

"Ava?" Theo asked.

"It may seem that I am falling back asleep but I'm not," Ava weakly managed to put a full sentence, "I cannot open my eyes. They are sealed shut."

Theo let a small laugh escape, unable to stop it that time, "I'll leave you to unseal your eyes and get ready. I think I have just the thing to get your sun started. Meet Xyra and me out on the deck when you're ready."

Theo shut Ava's door and Ava slumped back into bed. The bed was far superior to her hammock in the lower decks. She did not understand why those that could have a cabin sometimes opted to not have one. She opened her eyes and did her best to take a long deep breath without throwing up. After a few minutes, she was able to sit up and through lots of patience and groans, she managed to get ready for the day. She sat back down on the bed for a breather before stepping out of the room. Her stomach felt like it was going to empty its contents any second, her mouth was dry, her head was foggy and she did not understand how Theo was up and functioning.

It was probably close to a half-hour before Ava was walking onto the main deck, squinting at the relentless sunlight. Theo was standing on the deck, back to Ava. The Captain's hat placed soundly on her head, she wore a red silk shirt with black pants. It was toned down compared to what Theo had worn the previous two nights. She was speaking to Xyra who was looking down at a list, presumably everything they intended to buy. Xyra looked up from her paper and said something to Theo.

Theo whipped around then smiled at the girl, "Good aftermorning. I've brought the cure to all your problems."

Ava wanted to smile back but she was physically incapable of it. Her head was starting to pound and every noise she heard made her want to cry. In one of Theo's hands was a mug and in the other was a pastry.