Book 2: Sea of Delarn

Chapter 14: Scout

Delarn slept easily when they went to the room Beraliska had gotten at the pub. Beraliska had kept her close, but wasn't rough with her that night. She had drank a bit more after they talked with the auctioneer—Beraliska told her after they had left that his name was Virote—and when it was time to sleep she had passed out like a rock. It was a relief; Delarn figured she could go either way with her drink, and frankly, she wasn't convinced it was going to be like this the next time. She figured it was also the good food. Delarn had swiped plenty of food for herself and part of what made sleeping so comfortable was a full stomach that wasn't pirate flesh.

The next morning, Delarn felt refreshed and wide awake, but Beraliska hardly wanted to move. She was fine with sleeping in her arms a little longer, but before long, she felt restless. She considered now would be a good time to look around and see if there was a way she could get away without them hunting her down and killing her like a dog. If the crew noticed her wandering around or said anything, she would say she was scouting even though she saw nothing in the booklet. She might take a beating, but she figured the captain wouldn't outright kill her for something like that.

But the more she tried to move, the harder it seemed to be to get out from under her. Beraliska was clenching her and seemed to only hold tighter when she felt her slipping. She wasn't sure if it felt kind or possessive. She could guess maybe this would keep her from falling off the bed if they were on the ship, but figured this was more than likely how Beraliska kept her play things from getting away from her.

Right when her temper was attempting to boil over and get the best of her, someone knocked at the door. She didn't think it would wake the captain, but also braced herself for her to react explosively. She figured it was going to be the thing that would upset her.

But Beraliska didn't seem to react at all, even when they knocked harder. If anything, she just sat up a little and she kept her eyes closed as she called in a rough voice, "The door's open."

This surprised Delarn less. She didn't guess someone as big and strong as the captain would care if someone tried to get in her room when she was sleeping, but maybe it was a good thing she seemed to be such a deep sleeper. Delarn twisted a little to see who came in.

It was Cannoneye, and he looked the two of them over for a few seconds before clearing his throat. He said, "You mentioned when we were coming to shore, you would need me for something this morning?"

She grunted and Delarn wouldn't have been surprised if she just went back to sleep after that. Instead, she nodded towards the desk and said, "I wrote your instructions on the page and you'll be able to figure out the rest. Take her with you."

Before Delarn could catch up with what was happening, Beraliska shoved her out of the bed. She barely caught herself on the edge and pulled herself to her feet. She felt red-faced when she realized she was feeling a little unbalanced now that they were on shore, after finally gaining a little balance on the ship. The sensation only lasted a few seconds as she stood straight.

Cannoneye was across the room to get the paper, folding it a few times before tucking it in his pocket, but not before looking at it while Delarn was orienting herself. He said, "I know the district pretty well. We'll be there in no time."

Beraliska had turned over and was already asleep again.

"Are you just going to stand there and gape, or are you going to come along like our captain said?" Cannoneye barked.

Once again, she felt anger shoot through her, but she just nodded and said nothing until they had walked out of the room as if there was any risk of waking the captain. "I guess I don't know where we are. I don't like talking when I don't know where I am."