Pirates at Heart

Chapter 5: Dinner time!

The fresh scent of warm baking filled my lungs and a my stomach yearned for the mouth-
watering food that I was about to eat. Inside the dining area, there were several circular windows scattered around that allowed minimal amounts of light to light up the room but apart from that it was dank and dark. In the centre of the room, there was a long dining table that stretched out from left to right ; based on my knowledge it was mahogany.

Around the table, there were ten seats, six of which, were vacant. I pulled out the nearest chair and took at seat and simply stared at the other crew members.

One we were seated, six girls were at the table and from what I knew there were no males within the whole crew. First off, there was Scorpia sat next to the head of the table who's hair fell in individual ringlets that reached her rib cage and her lips looked suspiciously red.

"Who's that?" I whispered inconspicuously to Bonnie who had just taken a seat next to me. A young woman with short haired chatted to another girl. Two golden rings swung wildly from here ears as she enthusiastically spoke.

"That's Karla. She loves to talk. And the girl next to her is Raven. She's the quietest member. I don't think she's ever spoken to me since I joined the crew." Just from Bonnie's body language, I could tell she wasn't particularly close with those two unlike her bond with Scorpia.

"Oh. And who's that?" I pointed to a girl who's back was to me. She seemed to be stirring up something delicious and I couldn't help but lick my lips with hunger.

"That's Trinity Taylor. The ship's chef and worrier. Don't talk about your troubles with her or she'll make it ten times worse and so all the worrying for you." Bonnie said in a hushed tone. It seemed a little rude but I knew she was only looking out for me. Trinity whistled a joyful tune as she constantly dashed to and fro in the kitchen.

"What about her?" Across from me, a dark-skinned girl seemed to be eating something. During closer inspection, I noticed she was chewing what seemed to be a tooth pick. Her dark eyes flickered upwards and she gave me a small cunning smile.

"That's Tiger Slickspear. Best warrior on our whole ship."

"I know Scorpia, of course. But who's that at head of the table?" The woman, already glaring at me, had a spark of envy in her eyes as she spotted how closely huddle I was to Bonnie. Her sharp features were almost as sharp as her attitude when she said.

"I know you're talking about me. I'm Scarlet Bloodhook. Haven't heard of me? Surprising." She got up from her seat and held out a false comforting hand.
"Welcome to the crew....."

"Isobel." I filled in the gap in her question and smiled falsely. She matched my smile before sashaying out of the room.

"Who got her knickers in a twist." I mumbled beneath my breath but Bonnie furrowed her eyebrow as if I had just offended her.

"Don't. She's just... wary around new members. I wouldn't worry if I were you. She got used to me a few weeks in and really took me under her wing. She's the captain after all but Scorpia likes to dub herself captain when Scarlet isn't around." Her words were slightly comforting but I wasn't sure if that would happened after our first encounter.

"Is there anyone else?"

Bonnie tilted her head as she thought.

"Well there's another member but she prefers to eat at another time in the day as it apparently 'affects her concentration at this vulnerable time' in her words."
Shaking her head, she peered through the window here I caught sight of a golden glimmer from above. She continued.

"Her name is Enchanta. She's our lookout."

"Enchanta?" I had never heard such a beautiful name."

"It is very enchanting." Bonnie grinned.

"In fact, I've never heard such extraordinary names from a group of people before. Tiger, Trinity, Raven, Karla, Scarlet, Bonnie, Scorpia." I've never heard such names before."  Before I knew it, all the girls were staring at me with comical expressions.

"Well do you think we were all born coincidentally with these names?" Scorpia piped up, rising from her chair dominantly. She lifted her boot and slammed it on the boat deck hard.

"My name wasn't Bonnie. It was Mary. But Scorpia told me I suited Bonnie better so I changed it. My surname is Fluke but I didn't change that, matey."

"And my name was Jenny but it didn't sound very piratey." Trinity echoed as she served us the food.

"Oo my favourite! Fried fish!" Karla excitedly announced before digging in.

Trinity placed a plate of fried fish before me and I almost vomited again. A glistening eye from the fish stared back at me and I could've sworn it winked.

"I am not fucking eating that." I was absolutely repulsed so I pushed away the dish in the direction of Scorpia who had returned back to her seat.

She sighed, disappointed in my immediate reaction.

"Trinity has slaved over that stove for hours. Suck it up ya' spineless landlubber." Scorpia scooped up her knife and plunged it deep into the neck of the fish before chopping it off.

"I'm sorry. It just looks revolting. I am NOT eating that." I turned my head to the left and covered my mouth to prevent myself from gagging.

"If you need me to treat you like royalty, princess. You better not get used to it. I'm only doing it since it's your first day." Without warning, Scorpia gouged put the fishes's eyes and popped them sourly into her mouth. Chewing grossly, she pushed the plate back to me. I was truly disgusted but I wasn't going to argue because I was truly starving. Normally, I would've eaten my food with a knife and fork and with basic manners but I didn't have time for that. All of the other pirates had no manners apart from Raven and I wasn't going to be an exception. Shovelling my face. I threw the bones aside and enjoyed the thoroughly cooked fish.

After I had entirely eaten the fish, I complimented the chef with a hearty burp and so did the others.

"Dessert time!" Tiger cheered along with the other crew members. Trinity appeared with a plate full of cream, round biscuits. My tongue craved those sweet particles of sugar that were sprinkled over the biscuits that she placed in front of us.

"Eat up!" Trinity said whilst picking up a biscuit. After picking up the biscuit, I took a bite and the bitterness of the salt stung my tongue like a wasp.

"EW IT'S SALT?" Immediately spitting it out, crumbs flew out of my mouth and the crew were roaring with laughter.

"What? You don't like the biscuits?" Trinity asked me with a disappointed frown.

"They're ship's biscuits. Made from flour, water and salt. What do you expect?" Scorpia said, completely devouring her biscuit in one bite.

"Here. Have some beer to wash it down." Bonnie grabbed a beer stein that was filled to the brim with frothy, creamy, delicious beer.

"GIVE THAT." I snatched the drink and complete chugged the whole thing. The taste of the salty biscuit was forgotten as soon as the beer touched my desperate tastebuds The comforting liquid ran down my throat and quenched my thirst.