Restless Soul

Restless Soul ⚓3⚓

"Where will you sleep now?" Annie asked Giacomo as he made her walk out of the cabin and closed the door silently, separating them from the sleeping boy.

"I hardly use that bed when the weather is good, it feels too small for me," he said, drawing her attention, again, to his strong and well-built body; he was at least a head taller than her.

His dark blue eyes looked somehow bigger and more shiny in the twilight that followed the sunset. This was the first time Annie saw him without the kohl he had worn during the day, and she could not decide if she liked him more this way or that...

"I prefer to sleep on the deck. You can join me if you wish, Jack. The cabins are too hot in the summer, anyway." He added, disturbing her reverie.

"Why not?" She agreed abstractedly, and cursed herself for it the moment the words left her lips. She has never slept under the stars, it would be a whole new, exciting adventure... but how could she sleep next to someone who was to believe that she was a man?

Luckily, Giacomo had changed the subject already and was now telling her that Antonio's cruelty against the powder monkeys was known about on the galleon. Despicable as it was, it was normal though, that sort of behaviour was the only way to make the boys obey their superiors on most ships.

"Antonio is the quartermaster, he has nearly as much power and responsibility over the crew as the captain." Giacomo explained as they made their way towards the captain's cabin.

"But I don't want anyone to treat Ahmet this way, I like him..." Annie said, trying to stop her voice from shaking and betraying her-- for some reason she grew attached to the boy since the morning.

"I like him too, Jack. He... reminds me of myself. I was taken, equally ragged and malnourished, on board a smugglers' ship, at his age. I'll talk to the captain about him tonight, don't worry. I think I might need a little helper..." Giacomo said, winking at her.

The door of the captain's cabin stood wide open and welcoming, and a few members of the crew were already inside, seated at a table fixed to the floorboards. The room looked huge after the small cabin Annie had been given, it had even a narrow balcony running under its two large windows offering a magnificent view of tall, heaving waves, and the still blushing sky above-- a thin line of orange and purple beneath the gathering night. And it had a full-sized bed, Annie noticed with a little pang of jealousy, separated from the main part of the cabin by a semi-transparent curtain.

After they greeted the handful of people present, Annie was offered a seat at captain's left side and Giacomo sat down next to her.

Thus, while they ate, she listened to the two men's conversation about Ahmet, and she also heard the captain's promise to Giacomo that he could do what he deemed fit with the boy.

Antonio, observing the three from across the table, frowned deeper than usual. He had been sure from the first moment he saw him that the new sailing master would be a trouble. Although Jack Morgan was quiet at the moment, and it was the insupportable, arrogant Italian who did all the talking, Antonio was convinced that the idea of removing the boy from his direct authority belonged to this... Jack. He recalled how the little thief clung to him when they came on board. There was something strange about this man, and if he was Barbarossa's protege or not, he was going to find out just what it was...

"So, Jack, tell us how you know Barbarossa, you looked like very close friends." Antonio set his elbows on the table and leaned across its surface towards the three, disturbing their conversation.

Annie took a deep breath, taken aback by the question. One of the reasons why Barbarossa accompanied her on board of his galleon personally, was to point her out to the crew as someone untouchable; they were to accept her without doubts and questions...

She looked at the captain inquiringly but he simply put his hand on her arm and replied instead of her, "Jack was entrusted to Barbarossa by our mutual friend who died years ago on one of his ships. He is as good as his adoptive son." He looked at Antonio seriously, letting him know that the sailing master was not his responsibility, then turned to Jos, sitting next to him, and changed the subject quickly, engaging the quartermaster in a conversation about the crew and the galleon's cargo.

Annie breathed out heavily, attracting Giacomo's raised-eyebrow look. She simply shrugged in response; there wasn't much else she could say to anyone here.

Once the dinner was over Annie and Giacomo stood up, and while she waited by the door for her friend, who moved around the place as if the cabin belonged to him, and went to fetch a bottle of wine with a whispered, 'for later', from one of captain's shelves filled with bottles of all different shapes, sizes and colours, Captain Francis approached her.

"I see you made friends with Giacomo. I'm really glad, he is a great young man. And don't worry about Antonio, Ann... Jack," he corrected himself the moment Giacomo reached them, "he doesn't mean bad, he's... he's like that, that's it."

"I hope you are not wrong, you know that..." Giacomo interfered.

"Go. Have fun you two." The captain interrupted him, casting his eyes at the bottle of wine half hidden by the surgeon's wide sleeve. "But remember your duties, Giacomo, and as for you, Jack, I want to see you here by nine in the morning, with all your maps." He told Annie, stressing the word 'all', thus letting her know that he knew more about Barbarossa's plan than she had thought.

The young woman nodded obediently before she followed Giacomo outside.

"So, what do we do now?" She asked, unable not to smile at him as she saw his wide, boyish grin. There was no way she could tell him she had changed her mind, and preferred to sleep in her cabin.

"Now we grab a couple of blankets and choose a quiet spot to spend the night." He replied, leading the way towards their cabins. "Five minutes." He said, disappearing into his.

Following his example Annie walked inside her cabin, coming back out quickly to light a couple of candles from one of the small lanterns illuminating the dark passage.

She grabbed a blanket from her berth, then, on second thought, removed the tight corset she wore under her shirt. It was too uncomfortable, there was no way she could wear it the whole night. She wished she could remove her shoes too, and walk barefooted like most sailors. However, she had already noticed a few curious looks which her small, smooth and white hands attracted among the crew, and she did not wish Giacomo to notice how small her feet were for a man.

When she blew out the candles and walked outside again, Giacomo was already waiting for her. He was wearing a pair of far more comfortably looking pants and his feet were shoeless.

"Ahmet?" Annie asked as she let him lead her to his favourite spot of one of the decks.

"Still sleeping. He did not stir once while I was in."

"Thank you, Giacomo. I... couldn't bear the thought of Antonio ever laying his hands on him again." She said, following the surgeon's example and greeting a few sailors they met on their way.

"I'm glad that the captain agreed to it." He said, taking her blanket from her and spreading it next to his on the deck.

He motioned for her to sit down like he had, before he opened the bottle of wine and handed it to her. She accepted and drank awkwardly, not used to drinking alcohol, let alone from a bottle. Having grown up with Barbarossa, a devoted Muslim, she had not had many occasions to drink.

But after a few more careful sips she started to appreciate the wine's sweetness, and the way it made her feel more relaxed. She laid down next to the young man, enjoying the restless movement of the sea making the ship groan and shudder, and the sound of Giacomo's voice as she watched the countless stars above their heads.

The moment he fell asleep she removed her shoes, those awful things she hated the most from her male attire, wishing her feet were bigger and less feminine so she would never have to wear them again.

Annie did not sleep the whole night, afraid that if Giacomo, or any other sailor passing by saw her sleeping, they might, somehow, realise who she really was.

When the first rays of sunshine pierced the black canopy of night, she rushed into her cabin leaving Giacomo sleeping on the deck alone. There she finally fell asleep for a couple of hours too, before she collected all her maps and after stopping in the kitchen for breakfast, went to meet the captain.