I've Got Your Back

Ch. 1 - Celebration

The lutists and drum players tapped and strung the time and moonlight to beautifully written notes to form a song that could pass at a governor's party, though the bawdy lyrics that the chanteuse belted out in a gross, drunken slur in her obviously unfit-for-singing voice made it quite evident this was no noble event. In fact, James didn't even know what the pirates were celebrating. All that James paid any mind to was the calming scent of the smoky and salty air coming from the ocean beyond the shores and rotting docks of Nassau.

     The Old Avery Tavern was always excited and loud, and the shared happiness and drunkenness had caused a rogue smile to slip across their scarred lips. Though they had no rum or ale to help alleviate the soreness from the days of sailing James had spent to reach Nassau from the elusive Tulum jungle where assassins like them trained and resided, though not even when tipsy did that information slip. After all, a vital part of training was keeping secrets. And boy did James have secrets.

Only for a moment was James lost in deep thought until a tall, slim young lady strutted up with a platter carrying both empty and still foaming tankards. She seemed an average barmaid in her brown and cream colored ruffled dress, though the skirt of it was torn and ruined at the end and James couldn't help but notice she was barefoot as well. Her hair is what set her apart, though. It glistened a beautiful natural red the color of dusk with a seemingly unwilting red flower to garnish her strikingly bright hair. Her hair reached to her chest and even after being run ragged from working, it curled beautifully.

She smiled softly as her full, pink lips parted for her to speak, "Would you like something to drink? I've been watching and noticed you're the only sober customer here." James took a second to register that she spoke to them, still mesmerized by her magnificent rose locks.

They didn't remember that she asked by now and just responded with a random "yes" and hoped that was the correct answer. The barista smiled once more and set a tankard of rum on the creaky table James sat at.

"It looks like plain ol' run ah the mill rum, and it is," she chuckled in her pitched voice, "but behind the old man's back, I put a few dashes of his oh-so-deathly-important honey and spices to make the drink a bit easier to stomach. I hope you enjoy, mister." She walked off, about to return back inside the tavern to get some more drinks before a man waved her down and requested a drink, though his hand was suspiciously wrapped around her waist. James sipped the rum and slammed the tankard down hard enough to make a sound that made the man look to him as James gave their most venomous glare possible.

Of course, James forgot. Never trust a drunk man to be quiet about something.

     The man shot them an evil look before jumping to his feet, his drunkenly confused friends following suit. "Oye! Yoh tryn'ta make me look like an ahss?"

     James calmly continued to sit on the splintery bench, taking another sip of the honeyed rum. They continued to act aloof as the drunk pirate slurred some kind of insults at James. They began to drift their attention back at the mystery barmaid who stood aside as if she'd just been watching in both concern and disinterest, as if this has happened before, but she still cares a bit.

     But what caught James attention was when the pirate had called them "laddie". James was able to take most any pain from words to cutlasses to shot, but even knowing that no one really knew the one thing about them, and they would likely hear them being called that just plucked at some strings that ruined the song. James stood up, although their aloof demeanor remained true.

     Although it was the aggressive poke to their chest which drove them over the line.

     Without hesitation, James had grabbed the pirate's arm and threw him onto the ground with amazing strength. He tumbled like a house built on rotted stilts as James looked back at the bewildered crowd who went silent at the action.

     "Oye! H' hurt Rackam! Gittem!" The bulkiest of Rackham's clique swung a fist at James, though their nimbleness and sobriety gave James an unbelievable advantage as they simply sidestepped and the pirate punched the old wood beam behind them instead. They continued this flurry of blind swings until James grew bored and swung a leg under the pirate's to knock him over.

     James assumed the fight was over before it even was able to start before one particularly sneaky one landed a terribly strong blow to James' shoulder, simply dislocating it. James turned around and knocked them to the ground to join the others, though. And that was the end of it.

     The barmaiden walked back up with a concerned look. "Are you okay," she stammered, "does your shoulder hurt?"

     "No, don't worry lass, I-" before they could complete their sentence, the bright-haired-barista cracked it into place again, causing James to clench their teeth in slight pain.

     "Sorry, I find it's more bearable when you don't expect it," she smiled, "and by your reaction if it's any worse than that than I'd assume it'd be pretty far from okay." The lady looked away for a moment before facing them again. "What is your name, anyway?"

     James chuckled nervously, wincing. "It's... James. James Kidd. Yours?"

     "Ah, shall I bow? For I am in the presence of the legendary Captain Kidd!" she said in a mock noble voice. They both gave a small chuckle.

     "And the name's Anne Bonny. Professional barista and apparently surgeon." She beamed slightly as a lock of curly red hair fell in front of her face. "Would you like a refill on your drink?"