A Siren at the Helm

Chapter IX: A Captain's sword

"Go, and sit at the stern where you don't bother me!" She shouted, her finger pointing in the direction of the back of the ship.
"Fine! You are an exhausting confusement anyway." Esteban stomped off to the stern.

Amina held her hand to her forehead and bit down on her lip. If the little boat had had walls, Esteban would be driving her up them. He had only been with her for about an hour, but she already wanted to use the extra bandages to tie his mouth shut. She doubted that the arrogant pirate even knew what he was doing wrong.

The conversation usually started well. He had told her that she was a good sailor. She had felt flattered until he added "for a woman". That was how the argument had started, until just now, when Amina had ended it by banishing him to the stern.

As Amina pulled the fishing net in, she glanced at the aggravating captain. He was watching her with a smirk. Did he enjoy irritating her? Just then a few of the fish she had caught, made a last attempt at freedom. This resulted in a great pull on the net from the other side. Amina, who had neither been expecting it or paying attention was yanked from her seat and almost landed in the water. She grabbed on to the side of the boat just in time to keep herself from having her second swim for the day. Behind her, Esteban erupted with laughter. She stared at him with, what she hoped to be, a look that promised a punch in the stomach if he didn't pipe down.

She tugged harder on the net, and before long the whole contraption was laying aboard her boat. She then started untangling the unlucky fish, and throwing them into a woven basket that she had pulled out from under one of the seats.
"Would you like some help?" Esteban said from the stern, still sounding amused by her little slip up.
"Not from you, captain."
"Well I do not see anyone else offering their services."
"I am in need of no one's "services", thank you."

Before their argument had started, Esteban had asked her what she planned to do with him. She knew very well that she could not take him back to the island (not that she wanted to). She had told him that she would sail him back to The Vengaza, but out of spite only after she was done fishing. Amina was now regretting this decision. She shot him another murderous look. Esteban had his back turned, and appeared very interested in his boots.

Amina was just thankful that he was now wearing a shirt. She had made him wash out the blood and dry it in the sun, though it was still a bit stained. His coat was still wet and both of them had declared it a bad idea to wear it over a fresh wound. That would cause infection. Of course, this was not the first time Amina had seen a man shirtless. After all, she had grown up on a pirate ship. On especially hot days every crewmember (except herself) would have been walking around without a shirt. With Esteban it was strange. He was quite handsome and life on a ship had done his body well, but Amina did not want to be thinking that when she was still furious with the man.

Perhaps, she thought, that she was more angry with herself than with him. She was the one who had been oblivious enough to fall for his little trick. Yes, he had deceived her, but he had not set out to deceive only her. He had not (or well, she hoped not) sat down and thought of a plan to make a fool out of her.

Maybe, she even resented him for having something that she did not. A ship. A crew. The mere fact that he was a pirate made her, she shuddered at the thought of admitting it, jealous. If things had worked out differently, she might have been a captain herself. She would have had her own crew, loyal and devoted, with Flaganan by her side if ever she needed advice. She would be captaining The Bounty, her noble ship, with a hull full of treasure. She would... no. She stopped herself. It was no use dreaming now. Amina looked down at the ribs of the fishing boat. This was the closest she would ever get to captaining a ship. A small leak caught her eye. She stuffed it with the unravelled twine of a rope. Amina would fix it later.