Pirates at Heart

Chapter 4: A new start?

Seeing I was the newest member on board, I was given a tour around the ship. The ship had just left the docks and we were travelling through the south of the Atlantic.

Bonnie, being the most enthusiastic girl on board, volunteered to give me the tour. Scorpia wasn't reluctant at all to pass on the responsibility as she apparently had 'things to do'.

"Well this is the ship's deck. There's a few dents in the wood but it is sturdier than any ship deck I've ever known." Bonnie stomped her booted foot on the deck proudly and the boards beneath her squeaked and groaned as if they were in pain.

"How old is it?" I asked, genuinely curious to how old this thing was.

"Not IT, SHE." Bonnie glared at me as if I had just murdered her whole family. "And her name is bumblebee." Bonnie said whilst resting her elbow on the splintery rail.

"Bumblebee?" I couldn't help but wonder if she was joking.

"Yes! Bumblebee. She may be small like a bee she can sure sting like one. And she also gets the job done, like bees do." She nodded confidently and her crystal eyes sparkled with pride. It was clear she loved that ship. "I only joined the crew about 10 months ago. I was 13 at the time but I'd say she's around 10 to 20 years old."

"I see.." I nodded slowly and remembered I had a tour to go on. "Proceed with the tour, Bonnie."

Confidently, she led the way around the entirety of the ship.

The golden colour of the bumblebee printed upon the flag blew proudly in the wind as the ship sailed across the deep blue Atlantic. Several individual sails were hoisted to speed up the journey, many had patched up holes that were beautifully stitched. Not only the deck, but the whole ship was built from wood and was likely painted a subtle crimson colour. However, this could've been discolouration from the sun, I wasn't sure.

Reaching the front, the bow was a knife's edge that cut through the water cleanly. The sun was setting along the horizon and the bright hue along the horizon complimented the ship's colour very well. Moving along swiftly, Bonnie showed me the golden railing that was apparently painted by a member on the ship. It was polished smoothly to perfection and there were many markings and carvings along the side that seemed to be in a foreign language that I couldn't decipher. Along the deck, many cannons were placed as a source of protection from enemy pirates. I brushed my hand along their rough texture.

"That one's mine. Since I have the best aim, I get the best cannon." She fondly stroked the cannon and rested her weight upon it. Despite the ship looking old, the cannons did not. They were a refined piece of equipment for any pirate. "I call her Bertha."

"Bertha?"
An exasperated laugh escaped from my lungs as my hair blew wildly in the wind that I had just managed to tame. In all truthfulness, I was starting to feel a little nauseous from the motion of boat. Peering down, the waves crashed rhythmically against the ship and I started to gag. I had not eaten anything that day, I managed to throw up what little alcohol I had left in my system and groaned in agony as I turned back to Bonnie.

"I was sick." I mumbled, stating the obvious. I was out of it by that point.

"I can see that." She glanced down at the ocean and then back up at me with a empathetic grin. "First few weeks here, I had sickness you wouldn't believe. Let's go get you some water and fill your stomach. I'm guessing you haven't eaten today, huh?"

Strangely, her assumption was correct. It was already verging on evening and I hadn't eaten for almost 24 hours. Somehow I had failed to notice my rumbling stomach over the stress of the days events.
"I haven't." I said, truthfully.

"We can finish the tour later. First we'll get some grub and you can meet some members. Trinity is our cook and she makes the best meals you've ever tasted." She licked her lips, emphasising her point.

"That sounds.. nice." I also licked my lips and tasted the unpleasant taste of my recently applied lipstick. However, this made me feel nauseous once again and I turned and vomited. There wasn't much left to give at this point.

"Come on. Let's get you inside." Bonnie wrapped her arm around me materially despite being at least 4 years younger and 2 inches shorter than me and led me inside a room guarded by a daunting red door...