The Captain

eighteen

I blinked blearily at the rising sun. I was beyond exhausted, having spent the vast majority of the night babysitting all the drunks below. Thankfully, with the sun rising, it meant that the worst was over. 

Bonnie sat down beside me, stifling a yawn. 

"Bastien found Ramsay," she said, rubbing her eyes. 

Ramsay had been missing since last night. I hadn't seen the lecherous creep around and I'd honestly mostly forgotten about him. It's not like his presence had been terribly missed by most of the crew. 

The only reason he hadn't been fully rejected from the Mermaid's Revenge was because he was Maverick's right hand man. Or so I'd been told by Bonnie and Charlie. 

"Where was he?"

She rolled her eyes. 

"Lying in a pool of his own drink and piss behind the storage container."

I pursed my lips. 

"Lovely."

She hummed in agreement. 

"How is everyone doing?" she asked. 

I sighed. 

"Fine, mostly. Everyone's sleeping. Nell is back in the galley and I think Ernie is setting our current course for when the Captain wakes up."

She ran a hand through her hair, letting it fall around her shoulders. 

"It's been a long night."

"That it has."

We sat in silence, watching the sun continue to paint the sky pink and orange, both stifling yawns. 

Finally, mercifully, Ernie appeared before us. 

"I'd say its high time we wake up the drunkards and get some sleep."

I grinned at him.

"Ernie, I love you."

He offered each of us a hand and pulled us to our feet. 

Bastien gave me a rueful smile as we passed him on our way below deck. 

"Good work tonight, ladies. You're alright, Florence."

I smiled at the praise, a faint blush tinging my face. Maybe Bastien was finally starting to respect me.

"Thanks."

Bonnie and I climbed down below deck. 

"I'm gonna let you deal with the captain."

I gasped, clapping a hand to my heart in mock horror. 

"Bonnie! How could you?"

She smirked. 

"He likes you. He might take to waking up better if you're the one to do it."

I snorted in a very unladylike fashion. 

"Oh please. He hates everything about me."

Even as I said the words, I couldn't help but remember the conversation we'd had the night before. Did he really hate me? More importantly, did I hate him?

Bonnie rolled her eyes. 

"Yeah sure Florence. If you wanna sleep in that room, I suggest you get him out of it."

"Okay fine, whatever."

I pushed the door to the captain's quarters open as Bonnie disappeared towards the hammocks.