The Maiden in the Mirror

by Scott Hamerton

  Minerva hung her head. It was more truth than she liked to admit.

  "I'll walk you down there," he offered with a smile.

  Chapter 37

  The Blow Hole

  Thimbler insisted on escorting Minerva down to the dubiously named Blow Hole. Upon Minerva's reciprocated insistence, he agreed to join her for the evening.

  For his part, Thimbler wore a blue woman's jacket, clean white dress pants with a blue vertical stripe, and polished black shoes. He complimented it nicely with a silk scarf. Minerva helped him tidy his hair, but declined to let him assist her with something other than a bun, claiming that he was likely to lose his brush in the attempt, and possibly a finger.

  For herself, Minerva wore a men's dark red shirt with long sleeves that she hemmed to appear something like a dress with a pleat in the back. She chose shin-length black trousers to wear with it, trimmed to fit her, but no shoes, as she had gotten comfortable not wearing them.

  When they arrived at the Blow Hole, Minerva encountered Luff and Leech outside on a nearby deck. They appeared to be trading with a man that they had cornered against the edge of the walkway. After handing the twins some money, the man immediately rushed off, which is when the twins saw Minerva. She wasn't sure if they had yet to achieve more than a few hours of sleep, or for that matter, where they might have slept. They were filthy, but very excited to see her.

  "What was that about?" she asked, motioning towards the escaping man.

  "Some birds took his money," they replied in a quizzical fashion, almost as if they were answering a different question.

  "Okay," she replied, turning her attention to the humming establishment in front of her.

  The Blow Hole itself was the skeletal remains of a large galleon, with its huge hull hollowed out for what was now an impressive tavern that she entered through a rupture in the side. So much pipe smoke filled the hall that she struggled to see her own hands, much less the faces of those around her, and the floor was sticky everywhere, for reasons that she hoped were spilled alcohol.

  The burning smell of liquor permeated everything.

  A hieroglyphic sign above the door indicated the prohibition of knives and pistols. At the far end of the space, a wide platform stood behind the serving bar, obviously intended to be a stage, although it was currently empty. A black flag, the same as the one that hung over Riggersport, bisected the stage, serving as both a curtain and a backdrop.

  "I really should have worn some shoes," she said with regret.

  "I think we are already overdressed," Thimbler added with a smile.

  Together the four of them retreated to a comfortable booth in the far corner. All the seating was wooden, which was probably a good thing, given the mess of the place. Minerva enjoyed the seclusion, as plenty of the men that passed gave her and Thimbler a discomforting look.

  All attempts to hold a conversation drowned in the cacophony of the crowd. To call the Blow Hole loud was like calling the sky big. Minerva often needed to yell, and had been sitting there for over half an hour before she realized that someone was playing music.

  Over the course of the evening, Luff and Leech invited groups of people to their table to sit and talk. They might have known everyone in the place. Sometimes the guests stayed for a time, and sometimes they wouldn't, but every one of them gave Minerva a look that made her uneasy.

  While eavesdropping on a conversation between the twins and a man that she decided was a local carpenter, she noticed that the other man referred to Luff and Leech by specific names. Luff for one, Leech for the other. Somehow, the visitor could tell them apart.

  Not more than ten minutes later, a second man did the same thing. Only the names had switched. Luff was now Leech and Leech was now Luff, and yet both the twins responded to the appropriate name. If the man said Luff, only one of them turned their head or paid attention.

  Maybe the smoke was getting to her, she thought.

  Then another man joined the conversation, but he reversed the names again. Luff, who was later Leech, was now Luff again. Somehow, the two drunken twins could change their names for every person that they met, and yet kept track of it all in a single conversation.

  "Hey, Luff!" she shouted, hoping for a measurable response. To her amazement, she got it. Only the twin closest to her made any effort to address her.

  He turned his head and grinned. "Need a new drink?" he asked, looking confused.

  Minerva jumped to her feet, jostling the table and startling a few patrons as she went. "It's the upright edges of a sail!" she shrieked into the din. "You're Luff, and you're Leech, because I'm the mast!"

  Minerva pointed in sharp jabs at the two twins as she spoke, eventually growing self-conscious when a few nearby tables went silent.

  "What's – the date?" they asked.

  "What?" she stammered.

  "Fourteenth? Twelfth?" they slurred, questioning the timekeeping skills of the other.

  "The thirteenth, I think," she responded, and the two locals agreed with her.

  "Well then – it's a draw."

  "A what?"

  The twins then explained how they bet on how long it would take each person to figure out the way to tell their names apart. As far as anyone knew, there really wasn't a reliable method for an observer to discern which of them was Luff and which was Leech, and they weren't keen on creating one. Therefore, the person speaking to them became the mast, and just like the vertical edges on a sail, Luff became the twin that was closest and Leech was the twin that was the furthest away.

  The twins congratulated Minerva on not disappointing them, adding that most sailors took months, or possibly years, to realize the difference, if they even figured it out at all. Unfortunately, Minerva split the betting dates right down the middle, so neither of them won the wager.

  Minerva sat down with a huge grin, feeling triumphant. The two brothers then declared that a congratulatory round was in order, and hobbled away with the local men to acquire their alcohol.

  "See that sailor over there?" Thimbler yelled to her, but turned his head to conceal his face, attempting to be discreet. "The tanned one with the blue belt and dark hair."

  Minerva nodded vigorously, imagining that she needed to nod louder, too.

  "He keeps looking this way and it's making me nervous. Should we leave?"

  The man was tall and muscular, with cropped hair, a scruffy face, and ragged clothes. He was certainly handsome, but his attire didn't sit well with Minerva, so she nodded again, less vigorously. "Let's go when Luff and Leech get back, so that they don't wonder where we went."

  While they waited, Minerva caught Thimbler shifting in agitation. The man he pointed out earlier was heading towards their table. When he arrived, he leaned in close to Thimbler. "Hey, I'm Jack. May I buy you a drink?" he asked.

  Minerva forced herself not to smile too much when Thimbler looked at her in shock. Thimbler invited Jack to join them, and he did.

  With the return of the twins came a woman so tall and round that she made Big Jim look like a footstool. Her hair was long and thin, and she smelled worse than if she bathed in rum. She wore a surprisingly neat jacket, and clean trousers, although small bubbles of flab escaped from beneath her shirt wherever it could tunnel its way to the surface.

  "That's Minnie," shouted two very drunk twins.

  The massive woman leaned on the table with one hand, and the furniture groaned in protest as she extended the other arm for a handshake. Minerva's entire body shook when the woman lifted her hand up and down, introducing herself as Hogswipple, the proud proprietor of the Blow Hole.

  "These two twits say you're the girl that took the oath from Olbus. That true?" Hogswipple nudged one of the twins, spilling their drink.

  "That's on the house!" Luff demanded, but the huge woman remained focused on Minerva.

  "I did," Minerva shouted, praying that Hogswipple didn't ask to see her mark.

  "They say it's bigger than the cross on our dear old flag over the
re."

  Minerva wasn't certain what to say to that, but she pointed to the limits of her mark, through her shirt.

  "They say you saved their life, and that you stretched a rope three times its length to do it."

  Minerva nodded, feeling interrogated. Witchcraft wasn't popular anywhere, as far as she knew.

  "They say you're the one who saved the Skyraker from Cloudscorch, and sunk the flaming beast, too. They also say that you survived being crushed between two warships."

  Minerva shrugged at the last one. It's not like she had a choice.

  "They say you toppled Big Jim in a straight row, and broke his nose at the same time, and that you took two whips from Olbus for that without a fight. They even say you can cut a swabbie with your hair and that you're the one who put Roker on a crutch."

  Minerva nodded each time Hogswipple mentioned a landmark event in her short pirating history. It was an extensive list, she realized, and she wondered where Hogswipple was going with it all, then the woman laughed loud and hard, and slapped Luff on the shoulder sharp enough to make him choke.

  "I was beginning to think these two were making it all up! I figured you must be a siren from their dreams. If it wasn't for the fact that I've known them both since they were small enough to be punted overboard, I wouldn't have believed a word of it, but then here you are, clear as mud."

  Hogswipple leaned back and crossed her arms, extending an overlong look towards Minerva that made her want to shrink into her seat.

  "Merciful heavens, girl. Thanks to these two, you're already a legend around here. They won't shut up about you. I don't suppose you'd do me a favor and recant a story or two, for my benefit?" The huge woman pushed in beside Luff, squeezing everyone on the bench into very close quarters.

  "No!" Leech interjected, gulping down his mouthful of drink. "Up there," Luff finished for his brother, and they both pointed at the stage.

  Hogswipple raised an eyebrow to Minerva, who couldn't possibly imagine standing on a stage in front of all these people. She quickly realized, however, that the power of her imagination was about to be dramatically expanded. In fact, she was on her feet, pinched between the twins and Hogswipple, before she could even formulate a counterargument.

  "Tell them – about Roker!"

  "I'd rather not," Minerva begged, as the twins pulled her through the crowd.

  "Do that trick – with a rope!"

  "I'm not sure I can," she said, as they hauled her up the short flight of stairs to the stage.

  "Show them – your mark!"

  "No!" she screamed, stopping in front of the great black flag. "And stop asking!" she demanded, as she wrenched her arm from their grasp and twisted to face them both.

  Just then, a hush had fallen over the room, and all the little hairs on Minerva's neck stood on end. Luff was waving at someone, and Leech smiled proudly over her shoulder, and she spun to see what held their attention. Below the level of the stage, more people than she had ever seen in her entire life turned their faces upward. Her own bellow had probably grabbed their attention, and now they were waiting for something interesting to happen.

  Hogswipple trundled up the stairs to the stage, grinning broadly. She gave Minerva a sympathetic shrug before she arrived. Even she understood that Luff and Leech were a hard pair to handle when they had their minds set on something. The big woman did her best to comfort Minerva with a look, and then promptly dashed her hopes to crumbs as she sucked in a great volume of air and addressed the crowd.

  "Ladies and Gentlemen!" she shouted, but the crowd only laughed and jeered. "Right! Sorry! Wrong crew!"

  The boom of Hogswipple's voice rattled the wood and rang the metal tankards, easily competing with Olbus for volume.

  "You probably haven't met her, but I'm sure you've heard about her! For all their recent days, these two blowhards have regaled us with tales of a young maiden, strong and proud, who stands defiant in the face of danger and strikes hard at the foundations of her enemies!"

  Some cheering. It was too much to process for a room full of drunks, Minerva thought.

  "A young woman so fearless that she jumped from a burning ship to catch a falling sailor! Endlessly, they've told us about a girl, who with a broomstick and a fire poker, broke and branded the infamous Roker!"

  Much cheering.

  "The girl who defeated Cloudscorch with a blanket!"

  Louder cheering.

  "A pirate with an oath on both sides!"

  The crowd exploded into rapture.

  "She is here! Tonight!" Hogswipple lowered her voice, pausing for effect and allowing the crowd to cheer some more. "And so, it is my pleasure to present to you, the lovely lady in red, Miss Minnie Minerva!"

  Two pairs of arms found their way under Minerva's legs and hoisted her into the air on their shoulders. She grabbed Luff and Leech by the ears as they lifted her, fighting for balance.

  "Min-nie! Min-nie! Min-nie!"

  Flagons of all sizes rose in time to the chant of her name, and the crowd of revelers surged up and down. In a show of defiance and excitement, a few pistols fired towards the ceiling without warning, and throngs of people pushed into the ship in response.

  Minerva was beginning to regret her decision to go out.

  "Now, listen here," Hogswipple continued, subduing the crowd, "I'm told that she's quite shy, and more than a little modest, so we won't ask to see her mark."

  The twins raised their arms and pointed to Minerva's chest about where they believed her mark to be, and then did the same thing on their own bodies when she swatted their hands away. Waves of laughter rolled through the sailors below her at the antics of the two.

  "I think, though, that if we ask her real nice, and act real good, that she'll tell us a tale of excitement and adventure, first hand!"

  The crowd began to chant again, and the walls shook and rattled with every holler, as if the whole vessel was breathing on its own.

  "What say you, miss?" Hogswipple asked, as the twins lowered her to the warm floor again.

  Part of Minerva wanted to just sit down and close her eyes, praying that everything could go back to the way it was, but another part of her wanted what they wanted. She wanted to show them that she was strong and brave, and to confirm the truth in the rumors. She wanted to showcase the faults in everyone that had tried to hurt her, and that hated her for nothing more than being a girl. Then she saw Lockjaw in the crowd below, and he raised his glass to her. Gunner was also present, and he nodded with a charming grin, alongside Big Jim at the back of the room.

  A pirate is brave, she thought. With her own voice, she had promised as such, and there were no mirrors in this place to frighten her.

  Minerva nodded once in a snap motion as the twins put her down, wringing her hands in front of her and shifting from one foot to the other. "What should I say?" she asked.

  There was a brief debate, but Hogswipple won out.

  "Tell us about how you got here, miss. We know all about your time with these two slabs of mutton, but nothing about where you came from."

  Minerva agreed, laughing with the crowd as Luff and Leech both bleated like sheep.

  "Um, let's see," she started, filling time while Thimbler laughed. "It was my birthday, and a ship hit me in the head. Right here," she said, pointing to her forehead, to the mirth of the crowd.

  Then she told them about her birthday, the appearance of the Skyraker, and the battle that ensued as she hung from the side of the ship. She did her best to explain events in an exciting manner, and Luff and Leech re-enacted the scene, lightening the mood for both her and the crowd. To end the tale, she showed them the scar that distorted her left arm, which earned many gasps.

  When she finished, most of the patrons remained, and they rewarded her with hearty applause. It wasn't cheers, or hollers, or gunshots, but honest and real applause. She did her best to return to her table, but stopped after almost every step as excited patrons shook her hand, or offered a drink, or patted her shoulder.
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  Minerva didn't know them, but now they knew her. It was a feeling both empowering and terrifying.

  Chapter 38

  Straight Shooter

  When Nezzen first told Minerva that pirates loved stories, she didn't really understand what he meant. Now she did. After three days, Thimbler benefited from nearly triple the number of customers. Most of them came to see Minerva, with no intention to purchase anything, but they often left with the promise to return with plunder or patterns that he could use.

  Luff and Leech adopted a daily habit of visiting near lunch. Sometimes they were still drunk, and sometimes they were still drinking, which worried Minerva greatly, but they wouldn't listen to her protests. One day they arrived more sober than usual, joined by Gunner. Compared to the twins, Gunner looked lovely, and he gave Minerva his signature smile and nod.

  Did he ever wear a shirt, she wondered, thinking that his body seemed slightly more sculpted than usual. Part of her hated Gunner, but she couldn't help wanting to see him more.

  Luff thrust a pistol straight into her hands before she even knew what she was holding. "Take this."

  "A dueling pistol?" she begged. "Why?" It felt to her like he just handed her a murder weapon.

  "For your protection," added Leech.

  "How did you know it was a dueling pistol?" Gunner interjected. Most people couldn't tell an ordinary pistol from one designed specifically for dueling.

  "My father has a collection. He doesn't let me shoot them, though."

  Gunner glanced at the twins, who nodded curtly. "We were thinking that I could show you how to load and handle it," he offered.

  "Okay," Minerva agreed, fast enough to startle the twins.

  Thimbler was more than happy to have Minerva leave his home for a few hours. His new boyfriend, Jack, had become something of a fixture in the tiny apartment, so Minerva promised not to be home until well after supper.

  On the way to the lowest docks, Gunner and Minerva walked past the Needle and Thread. As they did, a trio of girls immediately set upon Gunner, wrapping their slender arms around his waist and neck, and gripping him tightly. They whispered in his ear and pushed their bodies against him.