Jim had been her friend ever since joining the crew. Tristan had found him when he was of an age to the twins, and had taken him on as a crew member immediately. They’d discovered him in some wreckage, with no sign of any other survivors and no clue as to what had happened. Jim couldn’t remember anything, not even his own name, so Tristan had given him one, and given him an identity. She still saw him as the child she had known all those years ago, but she didn’t think he minded, he was a part of her family after all.
Jim looked down at her, “What’s up?”
“Can you keep an eye on them?” She knew Jon and Kris wouldn’t stay in there long without supervision, whatever they’d told her.
“Sure. But Lil, Captain gave orders.”
“I know – don’t worry, he won’t see me.”
“Well how do you expect to do that?”
In answer she kicked open the hatch beside her.
Jim rolled his eyes “Alright, fine. But if he finds out I saw nothing.”
“My lips are sealed.”
He sighed and pushed through the doors to the meet room. Lily heard the exclamations from the boys as he came in. She smiled to herself; the twins loved Jim, he was like an older brother to them.
Lily looked around the deck with a careful eye. No one was paying her much attention, they all had their own jobs to do. Only Chop caught her eye. She winked at him, before jumping down into the empty space below the hatch, landing in a half crouch below. It was sometimes used for storage but normally remained empty, being hard to access without steps. It led to the lower decks, the most direct route from the meet room. A shadow appeared in the spot of light she stood in. Lily glanced up to see a dark face before the hatch slid shut above her. Lily grinned. Good old Chop. She was now in complete darkness, but it didn’t matter, she knew every bit of this ship now.
Lily strode confidently to the door, pulling it open and ending up in a corridor lit by a couple of grates in the ceiling. To the left was another door, which she opened, holding up her hand to shield her peripheral vision. “Don’t worry boys, I’m not peeking.”
This was the main room below deck, where the crew slept. Inhabited by at least one man constantly, they seemed to strip immediately after entering the room – a lesson she had learned the hard way.
A dark room, lit only by a few portholes and lamps, it was hung about with a multitude of hammocks overlapping each other, strung from the beams, the walls, the ceiling, wherever there was space. Above this room was the narrow strip of underdeck that was used for the cannons, and above that the main deck itself. It was separate enough that the sounds from up top were muffled.
A thin alley of clear space had been left down the centre, linking the two doors at either end of the long room, but even then you had to dodge a strap of canvas every now and again, or avoid a shirt someone had hung up to dry. Being the main habitation of around thirty men meant the room had developed a certain scent, a musky sweat smell that lingered throughout the ship, but was most pungent here in particular.
“Oh you can peek if you want to Lil, we won’t tell.” Only Daley would speak to her like that.
He swung himself out of his hammock as she passed. The few years that had gone by had made him even more bloody gorgeous, and he knew it. He’d tried it on with her once, and she’d given him a black eye for the trouble. But she’d quickly seen through his bravado, and while he was undoubtedly a complete gigolo, he was a good friend to have. “Regretting turning me down again?” He fell into step beside her.
“Like I could tie down a man like you Daley.”
His dark hair didn’t betray his Northern Isles heritage. Before he became a pirate he’d been a Northman, trained as a warrior as his ancestors had been before him. His mother had been from the Forest Lands, his father marked as a traitor and imprisoned. He’d been ostracised ever since not marrying his own, and eventually they managed to find a crime that stuck. They were backwards in many ways in the Northern Isles, though the weapons they produced and their industry in general, was highly advanced. The tattoo on his hand, the crescent moon, was the only clue to his upbringing. That, and the sheer size of him.
“I’d let you give it a good go.” He winked at her saucily, his blue eyes shining. “Where are the kids?”
“Jim’s watching them for me. I wanted to take a look.”
“So you’re traveling below deck to stop Captain from catching you?”
“Guilty.”
“Huh. Not like you to worry about obeying orders, is it?”
She waved his comment away, “He doesn’t need that right now.”
They reached the door on the other side of the cabin, and Daley leant against the wall while Lily turned the handle. As she was about to leave he stuck out his arm, blocking her path.
Daley dropped his voice to a whisper, glancing back at the room behind her, “The boys have been talking about this guy – the Lord of the Pirates or whatever it is he calls himself. I don’t think you should trust him Lil.”
“You know, you’re the only one who hasn’t spoken about him like he’s some sort of god.”
Daley eyed the crescent moon on his hand, the mark of his homeland, “Yeah well, I’ve dealt with men who called themselves kings before. I don’t hold titles in such high regard as others may.” It was the King in the North who’d imprisoned his father, for a crime he did not commit. Daley had also been made a wanted man, after trying to help his father escape. “Just bear it in mind okay? Don’t let his status sway you.”
Lily nodded, and Daley dropped his arm again. As she strode past she glanced back and saw him watching her. His concern was clear on his face. Not like Daley to be like this. He must be really worried.
She turned her attention back to her path, frowning. What sort of man was this Lord anyway? She hadn’t been able to read too much into what Tristan had told her – just that he was not a man to be crossed, that he was a bit of a leech, and that Tristan had a strange respect for him. And fear.
The Pirate Lord liked to make deals, liked to talk. His actions were always deliberate, always premeditated. He’d talk in such a complex way, over embellishing as much as possible, just to put people on edge, and make them unsure what he was really asking of them or offering them. Lord Merek always got what he wanted, one way or the other. Lily pushed her hair back from her face, and slipped into the narrow corridor that led to the ships cannons. She was still below deck, and it was much darker here, but again, she knew her way by touch.
Only three other female pirate captains had been recorded in all of the years of trade on the seas – Lily had researched them herself in the libraries of Crescent Bay, the largest pirate trading town in the world. Most of their stories began with pretending to be boys, escaping their humdrum lives to live at sea, and revealing themselves to be female, normally in a rather spectacular fashion.
Lily had made no such false claims. She had been on route to her master, along with a small group of other slaves. She’d been the only one left, all hope lost, ready to meet her master, although admittedly not without putting up a fight. But it hadn’t been slavers or her master that had dragged her out of that foul place below the decks. It had been pirates. The crew of The Shadow, the ship belonging to Captain Tristan Wolf.
She slipped her hand carefully along the wall, wary of splinters, before she found the knot of rope she’d been looking for. Pulling it open, a small hatch revealed the world outside. It was a spyhole for those manning the cannons on the bow– the cannon holes themselves left little room to aim by. She blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the light, then she saw it.
The Island of the Pirate Lord was before them, a black shape on the horizon. She could make out very little of its typography from this distance; it was just a blur beyond the mists. She was sure it had seemed closer when she’d been up in the crow’s nest, and the sky had been clear, no sign of any cloud. Lily frowned and titled her gaze to the ocean – it was so dark. She’d never seen water li
ke this. It was like ink, like Tristan’s eyes. Dark water normally meant deep water. Were she not told about the reefs that guarded the whole of the harbour, she would never have suspected that they would be in danger of – the ship suddenly veered to the side, and Lily swore loudly as her ribs smashed into the cannon beside her. Rubbing at them and still cursing under her breath, she looked back through the spyhole quickly. The Island was no longer visible, they’d made such a sharp turn. She rolled her eyes, what did that man think he was doing?
~
Tristan spun the wheel so quickly his arms became a blur. Sweat was coursing down his forehead; he wiped it back impatiently before grabbing the wheel once again. He’d nearly missed that one – were it not for Eli’s warning they would have gone headlong into it.
“More warning next time would be nice Eli!” he yelled, the rising winds drowning out his voice.
There were always mists and strange winds over the labyrinth – yet another thing that made them so much fun to cross. Still, he hadn’t made a mistake yet, and there wasn’t far to go – Tristan could now make out the lighter waters that marked the safety of the harbour. He set the wheel straight for a moment, then curved slightly to the starboard side – this was a long turn, a change to some of the tighter bends, probably to throw off those that didn’t know the path. The pattern of turns was quite repetitive, it was true, once you knew it then you could easily remember it. It was just those that ploughed straight on ahead that would find themselves in trouble. A few shipwrecks, stranded on the higher reefs, made this very clear. They were very old, the wood rotted away so that what was left resembled a skeleton. But then it had been a long time since the Pirate Lord had been challenged.
The memory of that ship crashing into the reef of the labyrinth crept back into his mind, the sound of the wood breaking, screaming as it was torn apart. As if the ship had been alive. Tristan clutched the wheel a little tighter, stroking his thumb along the smooth mahogany. Ever since The Shadow had been his he’d felt a strange sense of protectiveness for her, she was his ship, his home, his point of anchor. She kept him sane, made him feel like he had a place in the world.
He told everyone that his ascension had happened in the usual way, with him becoming first mate, before rising to Captain, that Stig had been the one to help him get there, had supported him. He’d told Lily that as well. He’d got so used to lying about it that sometimes he himself forgot what had really happened.
At that time Tristan had been a nobody, refusing to use the name he’d been born with. He hopped from ship to ship, creating a new back story every time. He’d been frightening then, never one to turn away from a fight, throwing himself headfirst into danger without fear. He’d been a maniac, even in pirate’s opinions. In truth he’d been so petrified of turning into his father, he’d wanted to die. But fortune never seemed to be on his side, and he just kept on surviving. As he’d grown older he stuck to Wolf, and delighted in spreading ill-rest throughout ships. His grudge against slavers began to fuel him. He figured out a system to slip onto slavers ships undetected, and came up with his own formula for making bombs that he’d plant on board before leaping back to the safety of his own rowing boat, or whatever pirate ship he was crewing for at the time. He’d practically hunted down slave ships, hadn’t hesitated at leaving a bloodbath in his wake. He even decimated ships that had any dealings with slaves, starting fights and causing unrest before full out uprisings killed off entire crews, entire armadas. He found it hard to forgive those that traded in slaves. Tristan caused so much trouble for the trade that it almost ceased, until the Pirate Lord called him in, and told him to ease off a bit. Honestly, you’d think the Pirate Lord would understand. But, much as Tristan hated it, there was of course money in trading slaves. Maybe that was the real reason for the Pirate Lord’s insistence to let it continue. He had too many fingers in pies that were tied up with slaves.
He’d been lucky, he’d got away with a slap on the wrist, but Lord Merek had made it clear that there would be no second chances. He’d given him a ship to keep him busy, a crew to get him off the Island, who were free to do as they wished once they reached land and Tristan could recruit.
Stig had been one of the crew Merek selected to get him to Crescent Bay, and when they’d reached land he’d decided to stay with Tristan. Despite their difference in years Stig respected Tristan, and was happy to be his first mate. He’d almost cried the day Tristan had asked him, the memory still made Tristan chuckle. Stig understood his reasons for wanting to begin again, for creating his own story of how he got The Shadow. There were some things Stig would take to the grave, even Chop hadn’t seen Tristan like that.
Chop had been one of the first few Tristan had sought out, though he’d denied his request at first. The next time their paths had crossed, situations had changed and Chop was more than willing to start again. Tristan wished things could have been different for his friend, but selfishly he was glad that Chop had lost his ties to land. He’d stayed in the Desert Isles a few times, even visiting a couple of times with his father. But he’d never let on how much it had changed him, or he liked to think that he didn’t.
Before Stig, he was himself. Or who he’d turned into after his fathers death, moulded by guilt and anger and an unsated desire for revenge. It had got better after taking on The Shadow, but it had still taken the whole of the journey back to Crescent Bay for Stig to knock Tristan down a peg or two. He’d been asking for it really, he’d needed that person to stand before him and not back down, to tell him when he was being a narrow minded idiot. Their fights were still legendary to the crew, though they didn’t tend to go as far as fists anymore.
~
Lily breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the waters change – they must have made it. She plugged the cover back over the spyhole, felt her way back to the passage, and back through to the crew’s quarters. She heard a yelp, but kept her eyes focused on the floor, her hand up against the side of her face. “Sorry Taz!”
Lily heard the unmistakable sound of trousers being hurriedly pulled back on, amongst his low grumbles of annoyance. Honestly, it was the middle of the day – why did they always seem to strip off the moment they entered the room?
She made it out the other side and jogged to the door to the store room, unsheathing a dagger as she went. Lily threw it up to the hatch, smirking at the satisfying thud as it sank into the wood. It should be loud enough for Chop to hear. He’d be listening out for it – this wasn’t the first time she’d slipped below deck to avoid Tristan seeing her escaping the confines of the meet room. Chop knew by now to keep an ear out. She pulled out another one, just as the hatch was pulled open and a rope fell down to meet her. Pocketing the dagger once more, Lily climbed it quickly, and hauled herself up over the ledge of the hatch, turning to thank Chop.
The words froze on her lips as she looked up into Tristan’s face.
He stood with his arms folded across his chest, his sleeves rolled up, his tattoos revealed. His hair was a mess, matted with sweat, and rumpled from where he’d no doubt been running his hands through it nonstop.
“You’ll stay with the kids huh? You promise you’ll keep them in the meet room. Weren’t those your exact words to Kilo?” His eyes went blacker when he was angry, though he kept his voice low.
Lily looked away from his accusing glare, and continued lifting herself out of the hatch, sitting on the ledge before getting to her feet. “I did half of that.”
“Care to explain what you were doing?”
“I wanted to take a look.” She bent down to retrieve her dagger before kicking the hatch closed, then met his gaze again. “Who’s steering?”
“Arthur took over. I wanted to check you were all okay.”
“You know better than to worry about me by now don’t you?”
He sighed, “I don’t think I’m ever going to stop worrying about you Lily – especially as you seem to do all in your power to be as reckless as possible.”
“Well
that makes two of us then.” She gave his cheek a quick pinch and pushed past him, “And as for you Chop, I expected you to keep quiet.”
Chop shrugged. “I said nothing, he guessed.”
“Well next time lie.” Lily stuck her tongue out at him.
She wasn’t really mad, she never seemed to be able to be angry with Chop, he wasn’t the sort of person who you got angry with. He was one of Tristan’s oldest friends – they’d known each other before Tristan was captain of The Shadow, she knew he’d always have Tristan’s back before her own, and she accepted that.
Maybe that was why she’d felt it worth recruiting her own back-up, in the form of Eli. Though Jim, Kilo and Daley were her firm friends and had watched over her from the start, to Lily it always felt like they were first and foremost Tristan’s crew. Though she didn’t want her own ship, it was nice to feel like she had something of her own.
She smiled at Tristan to show there were no hard feelings, and slipped into the meet room. He didn’t follow – but then he had a ship to organise. That was how they tended to divide things since having kids, he took back more responsibility with the running of the ship and the crew, and she looked after the children. She wasn’t sure whether she was happy with this arrangement, but there it was. Not that she’d ever regret having the children – they were her whole world, her family. But sometimes she couldn’t help wondering, couldn’t help feeling lonely. She understood now why all the mothers back at The Harbour where she had grown up would all get together, leaving their children to play while they had an adult conversation.
“You alright Lil?”
Lily looked up and stepped away from the door, “Sorry Jim, I was miles away.” She slipped into a chair at the meet table. Jon and Kris were now amusing themselves by staring out the window at the back of the ship, admiring the view of the labyrinth and loudly discussing creatures they guessed lived in it. They really did have frightful imaginations. Lily glanced at Jim, “Is Irena?...”
Pirate Lord Page 4