Tainted Tides

Chapter 7

*Ant's POV*

The next morning I woke up to the sound of a whistling breeze through small cracks and holes in the ship walls. I laid in bed for a while, contemplating the events of the past few days, and specifically the events of the previous night.

Somehow, Dec had become important to me. I wasn't quite sure why, but it was clear that he was. I felt the need to keep him safe. He was the only one I couldn't seem to get angry at besides Robbie; except, Robbie had earned that. Dec... He just had that quality in him that always calmed me down. I thought about how his interaction with Charles had gone and how Charles reacted to losing... He was a proud man... And from the years I'd known him, he wasn't above using dirty means to achieve his goals. In a way that both made him an amazing and a horrifying pirate at the same time.

I got out of bed and shifted my focus to the whistling breeze coming through the worn walls of my cabin. Making note of the damages and keeping in mind to assess the rest of the ship before addressing them to the carpenter, I got dressed for the day and went for breakfast.

*Dec's POV*

I woke up the next morning filled with unexpected excitement. For the first time in a while, I wasn't waking up to the weight of expectation on my shoulders. All I had to do today was some menial labour and socialize.

Easy work.

I didn't have much experience with menial labour but it couldn't be that hard could it? I was already great at socializing. Making friends was pretty easy when they hadn't already made their minds up about you based on your family.

I rolled out of my hammock and got dressed in the spare clothes Robbie had given me. They were a bit big but I couldn't walk around in my Captain's uniform. Robbie had stashed away my uniform in Ant's quarters for safety. Not that I expected to need it again, but more so it wouldn't be found and traced back to me.

I made my way to the deck with breakfast and talked to Robbie after I finished. Robbie told me to help with scrubbing the deck and that I could find what I needed in the cupboard. I pulled out a bucket, and sponge before getting to work on scrubbing up at the edge of the deck. I wasn't really sure how much water I needed but I figured more water meant more cleaner.

After a few minutes I decided that it would be easier if I just dumped out the bucket of water on to the deck and scrubbed while soaking it up with the sponge....

What I'd forgotten was that it was a wooden deck... A wooden deck with slight gaps between the planks...

As I dumped out the water, I watched a large amount of it seep through the cracks. I watched the water drip below deck in silence, for a few seconds, before I heard a voice from below.

"What... WHAT THE FUCK?! WHY IS MY SHIT ALL SOAKED?"

Realizing my mistake, I grabbed the empty bucket and soaking sponge before sprinting to the other side of the deck. I couldn't afford to get caught being that inept on my first day... I looked around to make sure nobody saw what I'd done. As I scanned the deck, a single set of eyes made contact with mine.

Cold blue eyes shot a piercing gaze at me as the owner with messy blond hair shot me a warm grin.

Charles.

His expression confused me; The look in his eyes didn't match his smile. He walked up to me and chuckled before speaking.

"Don't worry Dec, your secret is safe with me. I was actually looking for you anyway, we need someone to clean the barnacles off from the hull of the ship," he grinned at me while glancing at my upper body. "You look like a strong young lad, and you look light enough to lower and pull back up, would you be willing to help us out?"