The North's Galleon

Chapter 16: Enforced Cleanliness

"Alright, boys! It's bath day!" Paul bellowed. "Cap'n enjoys a clean ship, and a clean ship needs a clean crew, so grab some soap and go take a swim in the ocean!"

Denise--that is, Marie--watched as most of the crew began gathering near the side of the boat. They'd just finished breakfast, and hadn't even set off yet. Although no one had seen Gunther or Lawrence yet. But she supposed they hadn't seen Captain North yet either, so the first and second mates couldn't be in that much of a hurry.

And then Gunther's voice rang across the deck. "I got him! I got him! Outta the way! Outta the way! Move, move, move!"

"Put me down, you assbag!" Lawrence shrieked.

Denise turned to see Gunther sprinting across the deck, with Lawrence flung over his shoulder. Gunther was barely dressed: his shirt unbuttoned, his belt just hanging off his pants, and only one boot on.

When he got to ledge, he tried to heft Lawrence over into the ocean, only for Lawrence to snag him by the back of his pants and start dragging him over too.

"Woah!" Paul grabbed Gunther by the foot as Big Man caught Lawrence by his shirt collar.

"Cleanse yourself of your sins, you nasty, stinky man!" Gunther yelled at Lawrence.

"You do need a bath, Lawrence. You're startin' to look a bit less pale; in that you're growin' mold." Sebastian chuckled.

"Put me down!" Lawrence yelled.

"Put you down?" Paul raised an eyebrow.

"Wait--"

--"You heard him, Big Man, put him down."

Big Man grinned and let Lawrence's shirt collar slip from his fingers, sending Lawrence straight down into the ocean.

Paul set Gunther down gently on the deck and Gunther stood to start undressing. "Ugh, I was trying to get clothes on in a hurry so I could grab him before he ran, and I forgot my boot."

"You can grab it later. Better get down there and start scrubbing before he climbs back up."

"Aye, aye." Gunther suddenly paused with his thumbs hooked in his pants, and turned toward Denise.

He quickly grabbed her hands and put them over her eyes. "Geez, there's a lady watching! Mind your manners!" He turned to scold the crew.

A small chuckle rippled through them, and Gunther tossed his pants to the side with the rest of his clothes. "Soap, please--Lawrence, get back in the water or so help me!"

"Can I at least get undressed?"

"Your clothes are already wet! And Jun knows you need to wash them too! Go on, get!" There was a loud splash and Denise peaked through her fingers.

The crew was laughing as they watched over the edge.

She walked over to look as well, just to see Gunther trying to wash Lawrence against his will. At one point, Lawrence went under for a minute and came back up hacking and coughing.

"Now, see, this is what happens when you struggle, you end up drowning."

Another laugh rippled through the crew, and finally Paul clapped his hands. "Alright, let's go, people! There's work to be done! Get washed up and get back on deck!"

"Rope please!" Gunther yelled. "We're both clean!"

"I have been violated!" Lawrence also yelled.

"Oh, good grief, if you weren't a child about washing yourself, we wouldn't have this problem."

"I smell like soap!"

"You smell like a normal person instead of a swamp monster."

"It's a dead giveaway!"

"You're not sneaking around trying to kill anyone!"

"You hope."

Paul tossed a line down to them, rolling his eyes as he did so. "Lawrence, when you get up here, get a barrel of water for our lady guest. I'm sure she'd prefer a bit more privacy."

Lawrence flipped himself onto the deck, landing with a wet "splat" on his back. "Sure thing, Paul. Then can I go dry off?"

"Depends. Can you do both before we set sail and you have to start cleaning?" Paul chuckled.

Gunther heaved himself up, but only halfway. "Denise, eyes."

She quickly looked away, and immediately there was a loud thud of Gunther hitting the deck. After a moment, "Alright, you can look."

Denise turned back around as he was working on buttoning his shirt.

He left the top three buttons undone, and suddenly turned back to face over the edge where the rest of the crew was. "Remember boys, today's inspection day! Just because I'm on cleaning duty doesn't mean I'm taking care of your bunks. I'll be going around during lunch, if there are any illicit substances or beverages in your bunks and I find them, they will be mine. Furthermore, I know for a fact that none of you have washed your bedding since the last inspection a month ago, if I find any mysterious substances, I swear to Jun, Doli Ara, and any other gods in heaven, I will have a breakdown; do I make myself clear?"

"Aye sir!" The crew chorused.

"Was that last part really necessary?" Denise remarked.

"How old are you again?" Gunther started rolling his sleeves up.

"Fifteen."

"You don't wanna know." He cuffed his sleeve sharply, drawing Denise's attention to the faded flame tattoo on his right arm.

"What's that?"

"Hm? My tat?" He flipped his arm over. "Pretty cool, ain't she? Did it myself. Took hours."

Denise pursed her lips. "Disgusting." She remarked and turned to walk away.

Gunther blinked a few times before turning to Paul as he climbed back onto the ship. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Nah, she's just sore from the talk yesterday."

"Wow."

Denise bit her lip as she walked down the stairs below deck, following the trail of water droplets Lawrence had left behind.

"Ah, good morning." Captain North stopped her.

"Oh, good morning, Captain." She looked up at the silver-haired man.

"Going to get a bath?"

"Lawrence was getting me a barrel."

"Ah."

"What about you?"

"Oh, I have a tub in my cabin. I prefer to bathe every day over once every few days."

"Right."

He smiled and leaned over to whisper to her. "Don't let them fool you, I only enforce once a week bathing. Gunther, however...if he could get them to wash daily, he would."

"You all keep trying to make me like him, and it's not going to work."

North chuckled. "He's a former noble, like yourself. He's happier out here, on the sea, but you can't break the habits."

"Hard to believe a former noble could ever have the gall to kill their prince."

"This crew has no loyalties to the royal family. Only to me and each other."

Denise looked back down at the floor.

"Now, you may want to go get cleaned up. Before Gunther comes around to do bunk inspections."