deep in the sea (I give you my heart) // jenlisa

Chapter 5: The Mark of A Pirate

It took Lisa's nose a full half hour to fully stop bleeding. The front of her shirt was covered in blood, and her nose was sharply throbbing. It didn't feel broken, luckily just bruised.

Lisa glared angrily at the back of Athena's head for a long time, trying to see if her raven hair would suddenly combust just by staring at it. Unfortunately, nothing happened, so she gave up. She returned to looking around the beautiful forest, trying to let her anger dissipate.

The group rode for what felt like way too long. The sun was starting to lower in the sky, and Lisa's legs felt almost numb. She was just about to get off her mare- whom she affectionately named Leo –when someone rode up next to her.

A young woman with thick, snarled short back hair and mud caked clothing smiled softly to Lisa. The naval captain realized that the women was actually chained to her saddle. "So, you're Captain Athena's new servant, huh?" She smiled bubbly as she spoke, as if that sentence was totally casual.

"Oh god, no. I hope it doesn't come to that... Why? Are you her servant?" Lisa looked to Athena, baffled. She honestly was a terrible person.

"No, actually. I serve under one of her second mate's; he helps sail the Dauntist." The woman gestured to a small, stocky man who had a brilliant mustache, but no hair on the top of his head. Lisa furrowed her eyebrows, studying the man as he talked about something she couldn't make out.

"Do all the second mates and the captain have slaves?" Lisa asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust. She looked away from the man, back to the dirty woman. She wasn't wearing any shoes, Lisa noticed.

"All but Captain Athena, and her first mate Taemin." The woman's casual tone was off putting. Lisa gave her an odd look, glancing again to the shackles around her wrists. "Oh, I'm Momo by the way." She held out her filthy hand, chains lightly rattling.

Lisa politely took the hand, gently shaking it. "Lisa... So you're a slave, not crew?" Lisa had never heard of a pirate taking a personal servant. Most of the time the people they captured were either killed or forced to be one of the lower crew members.

"That's right. I started working for Hollis when I was twelve, and I've been with him for about six years." Lisa quickly did the math, realizing with a jolt of shock that Momo was only eighteen years old. Lisa thought she was at least twenty-seven, maybe even older.

"So what exactly do you do for that man?" Lisa silently hoped it was nothing sexual. To start working like that as such a young age... Lisa wasn't sure if she could stop herself from murdering anyone who touched a child like that.

"I mostly wash his clothing, and clean his cabin. Sometimes he'll have me serve his meals, or help the cook. I also fetch things while he's working, or record meetings between him and the other second mates." Momo twiddled with the reins in her hand, looking at the group of generals a few yards ahead of them.

They didn't seem to hear the conversation behind them, Lisa feeling safe to ask more questions. "Do you like it?" An idea popped up in Lisa's mind, silently wondering if the filthy woman next to her would be a safe person to bring this thought up to. Momo gave a small shrug before answering. "It's hard work, and if I mess up he can get a bit violent, but... It's all I have and know."

"Have you ever thought of leaving?" If Momo worked for him, that mean she's seen maps of this island before. Maybe she knew a way out?

Momo eyes went wide at the question, quickly shaking her head. "No, I would never! You don't know what they do to deserters!" Lisa frowned, that brief spark of hope already starting to fizzle out in her chest.

"I imagine they torture and killing them," she offered her best guess. Momo shook her head. "No, worse; they brand you as a pirate, then send you out to sea on a raft. Whoever picks you up will see the brand and turn you into the Navy, letting them kill you instead." Lisa furrowed her eyebrows.