“Can’t believe you got away with keeping uh…what did you call him again?” Argus asked, leaning against the mast and watching Rimsby as he scrubbed the deck.
“Rimbsby. And ‘course we kept ‘im. ‘E’s our mate.”
“Those Navy soldiers won’t be happy if they find you with him.”
“Why not?” 400 asked, sharpening her daggers.
“Well you saw how they treated me. He was the same. Plus he’s obedient, so he was good to have around.”
“You knew ‘im?”
“Yeah, I worked on the same ship as he did at the start.”
“They treated him badly, too? Why?”
Argus shrugged, “‘Cause they could, I suppose. I mean, you’ve seen him.”
“Well yeah but we figured if ‘e were ‘ere against ‘is will then ‘e’d be chained up and that.”
“Chains leave marks…proof…the Navy’s clever that way.”
400 and Rusty both looked at each other, seemingly having a silent conversation before they both nodded. Rusty walked over to Rimsby and put her hand on his shoulder.
“Oi, at ease.”
Rimsby stopped scrubbing and sat up but did not put the brush down or stand. Rusty crouched down and spoke softly, feeling a little guilty for taking advantage of him being there thus far.
“You don’t ‘ave to do this stuff anymore, mate. You’re relieved o’ your duties. Once we get back to safe land we’ll find someplace safe for you. We’ll manage.”
“Scrub the deck, help the crew. Captain Rusty, yup yup yup.”
“W-what? No, Rimsby, you don’t ‘ave to do this. We ain’t the Navy, you don’t have to keep workin’.”
Rimsby went back to cleaning like she didn’t say anything and began to mutter again, “Scrub the deck, part of the crew, look after the girls.”
“‘Look after the girls’?” 400 repeated.
“‘E knows we ain’t them.” Rusty muttered aloud before trying again, “Rimsby, mate, you don’t work for us, you know that, right? You’re a free man now. I’m sorry we didn’t do this sooner. You don’t ‘ave to-”
“Part of the crew. Look after the girls. No more Navy.”
Rusty’s eyes went wide, as did 400’s and Argus’.
“Well I’ll be. Maybe he does have a brain in there.” Argus said, smirking and crossing his arms, clearly impressed.
“Oi, ‘e’s our mate now, you watch ‘ow you talk to ‘im.” Rusty said playfully, getting back up and letting Rimsby do what he wanted, “Speakin’ o’ mates, where’s Gwen?”
“She’s still in the crow’s nest, I think.” 400 said with a shrug.
“Still?” Rusty asked before sighing and climbing up.
Argus and 400 simply shrugged to each other before 400 resumed tending to her weapons, and Argus made sure they stayed the course. Rusty climbed to the top of the rope ladder and saw Gwen. She was sitting silently and staring at her gun with the intensity of a madman.
“Reality callin’ Guinevere, anyone ‘ome?”
“Hm? Oh! Hi, sorry I um…yeah.”
“You alright?”
“I…I will be.”
“You scared o’ goin’ back to that lab again?”
“...yes. It’s all I’ve thought about for over a year now…now it’s so close and…”
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A Pirate's Life for Three - The Gwen Saga
FantasyPirating is a difficult job. Harsh weather, so much time away from land, sea monsters, exploration of abandoned lands, searching for treasures long lost, and battles to be told for centuries to come. A hard life indeed, even for the most ruthless of...
