Chapter 31 - The Phoenix
Standing outside his cabin aboard The Phoenix, Keelin though back to something his brother had said to him a long time ago. “When you’re faced with a great many tasks, pick the most arduous and complete that one first. The rest will appear easy by comparison.” Right now Keelin was taking that advice very much to heart.
“She ain’t in there, Cap’n,” Feather said. Keelin turned to the boy with a hopeful grin, though he had a strangely sour feeling in his stomach.
“She’s vacated my cabin? Did she go ashore?”
Feather paled and scratched behind his ear. “Nah, Cap’n. She’s… um… up in the nest. Taken to spending some time up there, when not teaching the cook to… cook.”
Keelin looked upwards to the nest, then grabbed hold of some rigging, readying himself for the climb.
“She don’t like to be disturbed, Cap’n. Says it’s her place of peace.”
Keelin stopped and turned on Feather. “How long have I been gone?”
“F… few days, Cap’n?”
“And you staged a mutiny to put her in charge?”
“No!” Feather looked shocked and terrified all at once.
“Then I think I’ll go disturb her. Gods know she’s disturbed me enough.” Keelin leapt, took hold of a tied-off rope leading up to the main mast, and started climbing.
Just that morning the work crew had finished construction of the Righteous Indignation, and before anyone else could claim ownership of the tavern, Keelin intended to rid himself of his squatter.
Halfway up to the nest, Keelin took a moment to look down upon the beach and the fledgling town of New Sev’relain. The massive hulk of the Man of War, still being cannibalised for its wood, was the most visible landmark. A trail of people walking to or from the ship almost looked like ants scavenging a giant carcass.
On the beach front, just up from the tidal line, sat the shacks, shanties, and tents of the temporary settlement. The majority of the refugees were still living in those makeshift shelters, along with many of the pirates from both the Fortune and The Phoenix.
Further up the beach, towards the tree line and on firmer ground, sat the first true buildings of New Sev’relain. The tavern was the largest, and while it looked impressive from the outside, Keelin knew first-hand it was still all but empty inside, little more than a shell. Smaller buildings were dotted here and there nearby, housing or food stores; some were even occupied already.
In the little more than fourteen days since they’d landed on Cinto Cena, the island had begun to take the shape of Drake’s dream. Keelin wanted nothing more than to set sail and get back out onto the ocean. He reached the nest and hauled himself up over the lip and into it. Aimi was staring not towards the island, but out to sea, her back to him. The nest was barely big enough for two people, and Keelin found himself huddled to one side in an attempt to minimise contact. He cleared his throat softly, finding he didn’t truly want to disturb the woman.
Aimi looked over her shoulder, gave Keelin a brief but warm smile, then turned back towards the ocean vista. Keelin couldn’t entirely blame her; with the sun high and hot and sending glinting shards of light off the waves, it was a truly beautiful sight.
“The tavern is finished,” Keelin said, deciding to jump right into the matter. “Down in the town.”
“Mhm.” Aimi gave no other response.
Keelin opened his mouth to say more, but realised he had no idea how to broach the subject.
“I was born at sea,” Aimi said, as if talking to herself. Keelin decided to shut his mouth and listen. “My parents used to love telling me the story. They were fisher-folk from the coast of Tseronei, just south of Larkos in the Dragon Empire. My mother was pregnant with me, and they were out fishing one day when a storm hit. My father used to say it was the largest he’d ever seen, a fitting storm to herald my coming. My mother went into labour and popped me out right there in the little cabin.”
“How did you end up in Sev’relain?”
“Fishing villages are small places, Captain Stillwater,” Aimi said. “Too small and too confined. I wanted to see more of the world. My older sister taught me how to bind my breasts and dress to look like a boy, and I booked passage on a trader. I learned to tie knots, climb ropes, and piss in secret. I visited some wonderful places, until pirates took the ship.” She gave Keelin a dark look over her shoulder. It seemed to dim the brightness of the day, and made him feel guilty for his chosen profession as he never had before.
“Captain Iolin of the Ferryman took the ship in a mostly bloodless chase.”
“He was a fair man, Iolin,” Keelin said. “Until he sailed into Land’s End and they stretched his neck.” He rubbed a hand across his throat; the idea of hanging was not a pleasant one.
“Seemed so,” Aimi continued. “Took me on as ship’s boy for a while, but by then it was getting harder to hide my breasts.” She looked over her shoulder again, piercing Keelin with a challenging stare. “The problem with growing into a woman. One of many, actually, at least when trying to pass as a boy.
“A few years back he stopped the Ferryman at Sev’relain, and I jumped off, bought some clothes more fitting to my figure, and begged for some work at the tavern. I learned to cook, serve drinks, and avoid lecherous pirates. I never meant to stay there.”
Keelin sighed.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Aimi turned back to the sea. “I didn’t mean for my life story to bore you.”
“It didn’t, it’s just…” Sometimes the best way was to simply dive in. “The tavern is finished, and it needs an owner. I thought that you…”
“No.”
“Well, at least you considered it.”
“I just told you I never wanted to get stuck in Sev’relain,” Aimi hissed, “and now you want me to strand myself here, wherever this is.”
“We’re calling it New Sev’relain.”
Aimi rolled her eyes at him.
“You’re going ashore,” Keelin said firmly.
“No, I’m not.”
“Well, you can’t stay here.”
“Why not?”
“Because I want my cabin back.”
“Done.” Aimi grinned, and Keelin realised he’d just walked right into a trap.
“Wait…”
“I’ll move down with the rest of the crew; I assume you can still vouch for my safety among them. I’ll vacate your cabin immediately and take on some of the ship’s duties. For a start I’ll replace that idiotic cook of yours; he wouldn’t know a spice from an herb. And you’ll start paying me a sailor’s cut from the ship’s earnings.”
“Wait…”
“I know my way around a ship, Captain Stillwater. I was born on one, remember. I can sail as well as any man you have on your crew and a fuck lot better than you, I’ll wager.”
Keelin was still trying to understand exactly what had just happened. He was fairly certain this slip of a woman had just hooked him, reeled him in, gutted him, and cooked him. He needed to regain some semblance of control over the situation. “Can you fight?”
Aimi narrowed her eyes. “No.”
“We’re pirates. From time to time we’re required to board ships and kill folk. It’s part of the job. Can’t fight? I’ve got no space for you.”
“The cook doesn’t fight.”
“I can’t afford to lose him.”
“Now you can’t afford to lose me.”
Keelin growled. “You’re not replacing Mondo; he’s been with us for years. You can work alongside him.” The words were already out of Keelin’s mouth before he realised he’d made the concession.
“Fine. If you want me to fight, you have to teach me how.” Aimi’s jaw was set like steel and her eyes were as lively as fire.