Lost at Sea Bk. 02 Ch. 11

"Aye, true. It innae a joke though. We really are going through the Drifts," Belita smiled.

"Glad to be off your ship by then, I," Doctor Kalfou said. "Hope you reconsider. I appreciate your help, and do not wish to see you die."

"I dinnae wish tae see me die neither," Captain Vex agreed. "So I'm not planning on it."

"Sure that's what every other poor soul to make the attempt thought too," Friday warned.

"Aye. That's why I'm not going tae do things the way they did," Captain Vex winked.

Doctor Kalfou shook her head, smiling a bit in spite of herself. "As your doctor, I cannot recommend... whatever it is you're planning."

"I appreciate the medical advice," Captain Vex chuckled.

_______________________

"You wanted to see me?" Jack asked, walking through Morant's door as Lynch opened it.

"Yes. I would like an update regarding the Drifts," Morant said, not looking up from the book he was writing in.

"You know what I know," Jack said.

"I find that doubtful," Morant said. "You do not strike me as someone who would agree to a plan without having a full understanding of it."

"With anyone else, that would be true. Will Sterling is a special case. We've worked together enough that we trust each other's judgement." The words tasted like ashes in her mouth as she spoke them. "He'll let us know the plan after we stop in Drifter's Key."

"For my own peace of mind, I would like to know before then. See what you can do to find out," Morant said.

Jack shrugged. "I'll try. Don't get your hopes up though. Will plays his cards pretty close to the chest."

"I suppose you will just have to be convincing," Morant said, closing his book and looking up for the first time. His pale blue eyes were sharp and meticulous.

Jack was worried. Morant wasn't the kind of person who would let something lie. He needed to think his orders were being followed. She had to give him something or he would find other ways of getting what he wanted. "All I know is that it has something to do with an Akula fishing web, whatever that is."

"Hmm. Interesting. Thank you," Morant said thoughtfully.

"Anything else?" Jack asked, glancing at Lynch. The ever-present manservant said nothing and was almost as implacable as Quinn.

"No. You may go."

Lynch opened the door and Jack left feeling unsettled. She headed straight for the Captain's cabin and knocked. A naked, disheveled looking Bella opened the door, squinting into the light. She didn't say anything, she just left the door open and headed back into the shadows.

"Long night?" Jack asked.

"Went drinking with the Captain," Bella's voice sounded hoarse. "Lesson learned."

Jack pulled a small canteen from her belt and handed Bella. The witch drank eagerly, then coughed. "Ugh. Ow."

"Slower," Jack smiled. "You're going to make yourself sick."

"Yes, mother," Bella grumbled, thumping back down on the bed and taking another drink. She did do it slower this time. Jack smiled and went into the washroom. Bella heard her working the water pump.The water splashing into the tub made her notice her full bladder. She followed Jack in, sat down on the privy and made water.

After half a minute without Bella stopping, Jack looked over her shoulder, impressed and horrified. "What are you, a camel?"

Bella took another drink off the waterskin. "Ha ha," she said flatly. She eventually stopped relieving herself, but didn't get up. She just sat there on the privy taking small sips of water and looking miserable. Jack continued to fill the tub.

"Remember that morning after your birthday?" Jack asked.

Bella made a small gagging sound. She knew exactly which birthday Jack was referring to. "Ugh. You mean the time my friends tried to murder me with alcohol?"

"I tried to warn you," Jack laughed.

"I'd only been working at Mary's for a few months, I hadn't learned not to mix up my drinks yet," Bella sighed.

"What's your excuse this time?" Jack teased.

"All Souls Night?" Bella smiled weakly.

"There's a difference between partying with the dead and trying to join them," Jack chuckled.

"Noted," Bella nodded, moving her head as little as possible.

"Here. It's actually pretty warm. Warmer than is should be. What's doing that?" Jack asked standing up to make room.

"Heat charm," Bella muttered blearily. She stood up and took the two steps needed to get into the tub. She slid into the water with a sigh, instantly feeling a bit better as the weight of her body lessened. "What did you need, anyway?"

"Nothing. I was actually looking for Will," Jack said.

"Oh," Bella said. Jack couldn't decide if she sounded disappointed or just tired.

"Glad I came though. Seems like you need a little extra help today," Jack smiled.

Bella gave her a half-hearted glare. "I'm still not happy with you."

"I know," Jack nodded.

"Thank you," Bella said with a ghost of a smile.

"Gotta make things up to you somehow. Maybe you should get hungover more often?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

Bella's face scrunched in discomfort and she sunk all the way into the tub, sticking her legs out and up onto the wall so she could dunk her head. Jack laughed. Bella slowly let her held breath out and then surfaced for air, letting her face out of the water just enough to breathe. "What did you do last night?" she asked.

Jack suddenly got cagy and winced. "Uh... Will got into a fight with the Magistrate, and I ended up... well, I thought I was helping but... we ended up almost starting a riot."

Bella rose back out of the water like a scowling mermaid, water pouring down her lush body. "Go on," she said flatly.

Jack sighed. "I guess it's better you hear it from me first. You're already mad at me anyway. I'm still not sure of all the details, but here's how I think everything went down. A pickpocket cut Will's hand, and he went off to find a doctor. I guess the Magistrate came looking for the doctor, so Will offered to lead them off so she could get away. The next thing I knew a Centurion and two Witch Hunters were chasing him through the crowd."

"What? He fought the Inquisition? And a... an actual Centurion!?" Bella was horrified, but suddenly very distracted from the pounding in her head.

"Yeah. They caught him, so I intervened. The Inquisitors thought he was a spirit or demon or something, and to prove it they cast a Revealing spell. Will lit up like a lantern, but so did most of the crowd, who decided Will really was one of their spirits and started throwing bottles at the magistrate."

"Oh no..." Bella groaned.

"Yeah. We nearly reignited the Occupation War," Jack took off her hat and rubbed her forehead.

Bella's mouth just hung open as she tried to process what she was hearing. "You two..." the corner of her mouth turned up as she shook her head. "I know you two have a habit of sowing chaos, but you're really making up for lost time with this one." She took a drink of water and shook her head. She couldn't help but smile a little.

"And I'm leaving out the part where Will tried to get them to kill him to prevent it."

Bella's face hardened as the mirth drained out of her. "What?"

Jack sighed. "The Witch Hunters were arguing. One of them had a gun on him. I didn't hear it all because I was busy with the Centurion, but I definitely heard the part where Will asked to be shot. He wanted to die rather than get a bunch of other people killed."

"I might kill him," Bella said sardonically.

"They ended up letting him go, but it was pretty tense for a bit,' Jack finished.

Bella slumped back down into the tub. "Go on an adventure, they said... It will be fun they said..."

Jack found a washcloth and some of the Captain's perfumed soap and handed it to Bella. "I already talked to him a bit, but I managed not to get mad. I don't think I should be the person to yell at him, even if he deserves it."

"Oh no. You definitely aren't. I got this," Bella said, scrubbing herself angrily with the cloth. She was suddenly feeling better by the minute. Apparently anger was a good hangover treatment.

"Thanks," Jack smiled.

"My pleasure," Bella said flatly. It occurred to her that her hangover had faded extremely quickly. Then she realized she hadn't been sea sick on this trip save for a short bout when she first came aboard. She knew neither of those things were natural to her, so she was instantly suspicious.

"Do I seem normal to you?" Bella asked.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked warily. She had no idae what to make of the abrupt change of subject.

"Nevermind. I guess you probably aren't the right person to ask that question. Something seems weird. Not bad, just... not normal," Bella said, looking over her body like she expected to see something wrong with it. She saw nothing besides smooth olive skin. "Maybe I'll ask will about it after I'm done chewing him out."

"Maybe go easy on him? I think there's something really wrong that he isn't talking about," Jack said.

Bella's brows rose. Jack and Will had a strange relationship. Usually, they seemed like they were trading off making fun of each other, or or setting each other up for pranks, or even getting mad at each other. In the past, Jack was usually the first person to advocate for someone to yell at Will. For Jack to say Will needed a softer touch was unheard of in Bella's experience.

"Alright. What do you suggest?" she asked.

"I don't know. He seems like he's just... drifting right now. His sails are full and no one is at the helm. I think he needs something to head towards," Jack shrugged.

Bella slowly smiled. "I can do that."

The Cabin door opened. Jack leaned back around the doorframe and looked. "Speak of the devil," she said to Bella.

The Witch's eyes narrowed and she stood up to start rinsing the soap out of her hair. "Go ahead. I'll be out when you're done." Jack nodded and slipped out of the washroom, shutting the door behind her.

"Hi," she said as Will hung up his hat and started to set up the pull-down desk.

Will looked over his shoulder. "Hi," His brows furrowed. "You look like something's on your mind."

"Morant," she said.

Will rolled his eyes. "What's that icy bastard want now?"

"Your plans. You were right. He's trying to get me to figure out how you're going to get through the drifts," Jack said.

"Tell him you don't know," Will shrugged. He opened a compass and started taking measurements and markings on the glass covering the map, talking as he worked.

"I did," Jack said. "He expects me to use our relationship as leverage to get you to tell me."

Will snorted. "I don't think he has a very clear understanding of our relationship."

"I don't think we have a very clear understanding of our relationship," Jack countered.

"Good point," Will said wryly.

"I'm going to have to tell him something. Have anything you can give me?" Jack asked.

"We aren't taking the Kestrel through. That's what all the smallboats are for," Will said.

"That was pretty much everyone's guess. Nice to hear it confirmed," Jack said.

"It gives him nothing, but makes it look like you're doing what he wants,' Will shrugged.

"I told Bella about last night. She isn't thrilled with you," Jack said cautiously.

Will's grease pencil stopped making it's marks and calculations on the glass. He sighed. "I thought we dealt with that?"

"You and I did. She asked about last night and it seemed wrong not to tell her. I figure if you're sharing a bed with someone they probably deserve to know when you almost die," Jack said, trying to be helpful.

"I still think had the situation under control," Will said.

"Oh? Didn't we just have a conversation about you trying to commit suicide by Witch Hunter?" Jack said. "If that's your version of a controlled situation, it needs work."

"I wasn't really trying to. It just... didn't seem like a bad option. I really wish that part could have been left out of the story to Bella." Will rubbed his eyes.

"That's the important part, Will. That's really the only important part," Jack said firmly. "I don't know how deep your relationship with her goes, but I know both of you pretty well. If you want to keep her on your good side, just be upfront about everything."

"I hadn't planned on keeping anything from her. She was sleeping," Will said.

"Well, she's awake now. She's also hungover, so she's already in a bad mood." Jack smiled with a satirical level of sweetness. "Have fun." She tousled his hair and left.

Will shook his head and went back to his calculations. He'd just finished when the washroom door opened. He turned in the chair to see Bella, wrapped in a towel, standing in the doorway looking at him with a strange mixture of emotions on her face. She didn't say anything.

"I have to take a heading to the helm," Will said. "Then I'll come right back and you can yell at me."

"I'm not going to yell at you Will," Bella said. She pulled the towel free and revealed her glorious, naked body. "I'm going to remind you of things you've obviously forgotten."

Will's brows rose. He watched the light play off her glorious curves and felt a bit nervous. This was not what he'd expected. He held up his hand, where he had jotted their new heading on his wrist with the grease pencil. He pointed to it with his other hand. "I'll be right back."

He stepped out into the light feeling like he'd just walked out of a lion's den.

__________________________

"How is she?" Prelate Alexandra asked.

Caine sat on one of the benches overlooking the bluff. Alexandra stood behind him with a parasol. To observers, they would look like two people enjoying the view and the sun, same as any of the other passers by.

"Not great, but managing," Caine said. "She's struggling to adapt."

"Hardly surprising. You brought her into a den of sin," Alexandra said. She didn't sound upset about it. If anything, there might have been a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time. Still does. You have a better one?" Caine asked, obviously not caring what the answer was.

"No. The notion has grown on me. Your strange arrangement with the Teach family works to her advantage," Alexandra said.

"That's what I thought too. Nice of you to notice," Caine snarked. "How about your end of things?"

Alexandra sat down on the far side of the bench, adjusting her parasol. "Tense. Word of the bounty on Janie's head is starting to spread, and there's growing talk that the Magistrate is going to try to assert some kind of control over the port."

"Well, that's true. That's been your plan for a decade," Caine said wryly.

"Yes, but ideally it happens easily, with the populace wanting our protection. It is much harder when they prefer to remain lawless," Alexandra said. "There was growing support due to the safety our presence provides, but currently that support seems to be waning. It seems the locals prefer street violence and extortion to the kinds of large-scale public standoffs we saw a few days ago."

"The first feels like it might be able to be avoided. The second doesn't," Caine said. "People are selfish. Terrible things sometimes happening to other people is tolerable. Inconvenient things frequently happening to everyone isn't." Caine tossed a rock off the bluff and watched it arc down into the harbor.

"Your pessimism is always impressive to behold, Greyson," Alexandra smiled.

"Cynicism," Caine corrected.

"The nuance escapes me," Alexandra said with a slight roll of her eyes.

"Pessimists accept and expect the world to be awful. It's a defense to keep them from being disappointed. Cynics are just frustrated idealists, so they're disappointed all the time" Caine clarified.

"I feel like I just learned the crux of your entire personality," Prelate Alexandra said dryly.

"I've never claimed to be complicated," Caine shrugged, taking another drink.

"Quite the opposite, really. As I recall, your overly simple outlook is what got you into your current predicament," Alexandra mused.

"I'm not interested in debating ethics with you, Alexandra. You're right on the edge of how much evil I'm willing to tolerate in a person already," Caine gave her a sideways look.

"Greyson, was that a compliment?" Alexandra smiled.

Caine huffed out a laugh. "Don't let it go to your head."

"I am having Janie's things brought over from Fort Deliverance, but I cannot keep men posted around that old lighthouse forever," Alexandra said, changing the subject without preamble. "If she needs to retrieve anything, now is the time. I suspect once my guards are removed, the Teach gang will make an example of the the place."

Caine nodded slowly, thinking. "Thanks for the heads-up. We'll make the trip today."

"I suspect things will become unpleasant soon," Alexandra said with uncharacteristic concern in her voice.

"Why do you care, anyway? Janie's almost an exile," Caine asked.

"Her grandfather is still highly influential. If I were to let anything happen to his only granddaughter, I suspect it would make my life quite a bit more difficult. Also, I do rather like her," Alexandra smiled.

"It can't ever just be kindness with you, can it?" Caine said sourly. "Can't just help people because they need it or because you like them. It has to be political."

Alexandra shook her head, seeming almost sad. "It does not have to be. Is just is."

They watched the waves in silence for a while, two people who were not sure if they were staunch allies or bitter enemies, both hoping they would not have to make the choice.

_________________________

"Bella, I-" Will began. He was cut off.

"No," the witch said, sinking slowly down onto his cock. "I talk. You listen."

Will wisely kept his mouth shut as tight, wet warmth covered his shaft. She began to roll her hips, her internal muscles gently squeezing. "Will, I know you're used to thinking of yourself as a bad luck charm, but you need to let that nonsense go." Her massive breasts swayed and bounced gently with the rhythm of her hips. "We are here to save Jack. I can't do that alone. Remember the cards? The ring of swords? That was your divination, not mine. You are the one who will show her the way out."

She brought his hands up to her chest. He squeezed her warm, soft breasts and she groaned, grinding down harder on his shaft. His breath quickened. "That means your pessimistic, short-sighted heroics need to stop. If you ever end up in a situation again where you dying seems like the right answer, find a different answer, even if it seems like the wrong one." She leaned forward and put her hands on his chest for support, starting to lift and drop her hips. "There's too much that hinges on you. This whole mission. Everyone on this ship, needs you to get them through the Drifts. If you die, they all die."

"Or the mission gets scrapped," Will interjected.

Bella gave him a narrow-eyed glare, but her hips didn't stop. "Do you really think that's likely? Knowing Belita? Knowing Jack? Or Morant? They are going to make the attempt, with or without you."

Will started to speak again, but Bella put a finger against his lips. "You are terrible at this not talking thing." Will sighed. She pulsed her hips harder. "The cards don't lie. They might not always be clear, but they aren't ever wrong. This mission hinges on you. That means Jack's life, and probably everyone else's, hinges on you."

"No pressure," Will mumbled around Bella's finger.

"You can take it," Bella said wryly. "You love pressure." Will had to admit she was right. He shrugged and nodded.

Bella rose slowly, nearly off of him. "I'm here to guide you, and remind you. To keep you focused. That's my whole job. I could be mean about it. I wanted to yell at you, but I think this-" she dropped down on his cock hard and fast, clenching inside with an expert roll of her hips as she reached full depth, "-is a much better way of keeping your attention." He groaned in pleasure. She smirked and continued her slow grinding. "The task ahead of you is stressful, and you are very distracted right now. You need a reward to focus on that is equally distracting, so I am going to drown you in sex."