The Captain

eleven

The next day was much the same, and with my plan finalized, I decided it was time to put it to action. When Maverick came into his room to put some stuff away, I stopped him before he could leave. 

"East of desire and north of need," I said quietly. 

He turned around slowly. 

"What?"

"That's the first part of the clue."

Excitement flashed across his face. 

"Are you going to tell me the rest?"

I stood up, actually a bit nervous.

"Yes, but I have some conditions."

"You mean besides taking over my room?"

"Yes. I'm not getting off at the next port."

He blinked. 

"What do you mean?"

"If I help you find this treasure, I want my fair share."

He actually seemed at a loss for words. I'd been so set on freedom for Amelie and I that I'm sure this seemed out of the blue. 

"I don't... why? You're the daughter of a merchant, marrying another one."

"That's none of your business. Do you accept my terms?"

He ran a hand through his hair. 

"Let me get this straight. You will tell me the rest of the clue, and you're going to come with us to find it so you get your fair portion of the treasure for reasons so secretive I'm not allowed to know?"

"Yes."

"You understand that we might not even find the treasure right? And it could be incredibly dangerous."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

He stared at me, baffled. 

"For someone who hates pirates, you're well on your way to becoming one, you know."

I scoffed. 

"As if."

"You're travelling willingly with a group of pirates to find treasure after you bartered your way onto the crew by withholding crucial information and using your knowledge against us. Doesn't sound like a teeny bit of piracy to you?"

I rolled my eyes. 

"Whatever. Do we have a deal?"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, and you'll probably drive all of us mad before we get the chance to get the treasure... But yes. We have a deal."

We shook hands firmly. 

"Excellent," I said, pulling the sheet of paper out of my bodice. 

"Have you been hiding it in there this whole time?"

"Yes. Can you grab me a pen?"

He handed me a pen and I wrote beneath the clue the translation in my slanted scrawl. 

"East of Desire and north of need, 

An island smaller than a boat and bigger than the sky, 

Beneath the woman in the green dress," he read out over my shoulder. 

"Does that mean anything to you?"

He shook his head, beginning to pace, muttering to himself. 

"East of desire and north of need. What does that even mean?"

"I don't know, it's your mysterious french pirate."

He tapped his chin thoughtfully. We sat there for a good five minutes without talking, and he seemed to have forgotten I was even there. 

"Okay... well I'm gonna keep this with me and kindly ask that you leave the room so I can sleep now."

He looked up, remembering my presence.

"You're kicking me out? I don't even get to leave on my own accord anymore?"

I smiled sweetly at him. 

"No."

He glared at me but took his hat and left the room. 

***

Maverick didn't tell the crew about my joining them until supper a few days later, I'm assuming so he could have time to think on his own. Everyone was very excited to have the clue translated and was thinking hard about what it could mean. I'd helped about as much as I could, but it wasn't much apart from the inital translating. I didn't know enough about islands or landmarks to be able to pinpoint a location. 

The morning after, however, I was shaken awake roughly.

"Hey hey, miss Harlow," Bonnie sang, pulling the covers off me. 

"What's going on?"

"Cap has a bit of an idea about where we're going, and I've been told to get you up so you can change."

"Change?"

"Mm-hmm. He says if you're gonna be travelling with us, you gotta work like everyone else."

I was going to protest but decided better of it. He did have a point. 

"Okay, fine, I'm up."

She had a bag with her that she began rifling through.

"You're a little shorter than me... but these should work. You can't do anything in that dress of yours. We're gonna have to sell the rest of the clothes at the next port."

I took the tight black pants and long white shirt from her, quickly turning away so I could change. 

"Do you have any other shoes?"

I glanced down at my bare feet and the soft satin shoes I'd kicked off next to them. 

"Uh, no."

She bit her lip, thinking. 

"Got it! Tim's feet are cartoonishly small, I'll grab you his spare pair of boots."

Before I could protest, she dashed away. 

I adjusted the white shirt, having to roll the sleeves a few times for my hands to peek out. I didn't have anything to put my hair back with, so I pulled the sash off my dress and tied my hair back in a ponytail. 

Bonnie returned a second later. 

"Here, these should work. Got you some socks too. Don't ask where from."

I wasn't sure I wanted to know anyway. I gratefully took the boots and socks, which were a little bit big, but fit all right. After a moment of pondering, I took the tiny paring knife out of my dress and jammed it in my boot. 

"You look like a real pirate now, Miss Harlow."

I wasn't sure if that was a good thing. I glanced in the mirror and was surprised at what I saw. I'd never worn anything other than dresses. This was... strangely freeing. I could actually move, run, jump even, something I hadn't done since I was a very small child.

"If I'm part of the crew now, you can drop the Miss Harlow stuff. Florence is fine."

She actually smiled at that, a wide grin. 

"Well then, Florence. Let's get started."