The crew men where uniformly unimpressive and not very suited to me tastes. Save for One-Eyed Bill, that is. He didn’t shine because of his titular missing eye, though. He did, however, have enough booze on his breath to fell an ox where it stood. He coughed in my direction and I felt like I slipped into a barrel of rum and spent the night there. At least he had the gift of getting me mind off of the Captain’s ill-willed shenanigans. I would have thanked him, but I was too busy trying to find me damned feet.
I figured I was still intoxicated when I saw the Captain summoning me to her quarters with just the motion of her finger. I went to her, as if guided by a mermaid’s song to the comforting depths of the sea. I entered her quarters and saw the door slam shut behind me. I surrendered to the sudden feeling of panic in my gut, and became a little bit worried about the prospect of being gutted like a fish. That feeling was strengthened when she pushed me against the wall and put a dagger to me neck. I felt like she had already thrust the dagger through my heart when I heard what she had to say…
“James Conroy… seafarer, royalist and off-duty pirate… does that name mean anything to you?”
“There are more James Conroys roaming the seas than there are scales on a fish. I wouldn’t know which one ye’d be talking about”
“This particular James Conroy wore a particular locket, given to him by a particular woman. It had two intertwined dolphins on it’s lid. An especially unique brand of craftsmanship. It was not unlike the one you have around your neck…”
The last few words were accompanied by a firmer grip and smaller distance between her dagger and me throat.
“Ah… that James Conroy. I came upon him back in the brig of the HMS Silverlight. We tried to flee the vessel when she docked in Majesty Point. He got shot during the escape and died that same night. He gave me the locket and told me to give it to his daughter if I ever came across her during any of me travels. He failed to give me a name, though, and the locket only had a picture of his daughter as a wee lass. I don’t suppose he was talking about you, was he?”
“And you never even bothered to look for his daughter, I take it?”
“I wasn’t kidding when I said there were a lot of Conroys out there. After three years of searching, I decided to give up on the idea.” Whatever I wanted to say lost it’s importance when I felt her knee dig deep into my groin.
“Well, be thankful your search is over. As for this…” she said as she reached for the locket, and tore it from my neck “I’ll make sure this is kept in good hands. Now get out of my cabin.”
“Aye, Captain…” I grunted while cupping my nuts with one hand and saluting her with the other. I made my way to the door slightly content with the fact that I came out of the ordeal with everything intact, save for my pride and me blue balls. She stopped me in my tracks just a moment later.
“And, First Mate… thank you for your efforts in trying to find me, if you were actually telling the truth, that is.”
“It was no trouble at all, Captain. Could I actually get your name, as a reward for me search?” I said as I built up a wide, stupid grin.
“Cassandra… Cassandra Conroy”
“A real tongue twister, if I ever heard one. And since we haven’t been properly introduced, I suppose I could offer you my name as well…”
“I know who Samuel Coffer is…. the pirate born with the most fitting name. The only one to be part of a crew where his grandfather was Captain and his father was First Mate.”
“It’s good to know my name travels around. I wondered how come you didn’t ask about it when I first came on your ship.” At that point, I was actually wondering I hadn’t asked for hers. Then I remembered I was too busy focusing on how to get my wind in her sails.
If there was one thing I knew for sure now, it was that this trip was about to get a lot more complicated than I bargained for.
