Tempest

Chapter 4

The following morning, Belle had slept late and awoke alone in the cabin well into the afternoon. She felt like a completely different person and her aches and pains were gone. Seemingly vanished by the kindness of Sera the night before. Idly, Belle found herself wondering over her late breakfast if perhaps Sera had done more than rub her back once she'd been asleep. There had been tiny hints, whisperings among the crew that their captain was well adept in all things medicine. Belle had been told stories of Sera saving men's lives when they were less than an inch from Death's doors, amputating limbs that had miraculously healed in a matter of days instead of weeks...all manner of strange and miraculous things circulating around the captain and her 'healing touch'.

When she'd finished with her meal and Toby had removed the evidence of it, Belle bathed at the wash basin, choosing the cool water laced with citronella and lemongrass instead of calling for the tub to be filled. It was refreshing and helped her wipe away the remnants of sleep. While brushing out her hair, the brunette caught a very distinct whiff of lavender and honey. The scent was one that Sera wore and Belle had long since associated it with the pirate, but what it was doing in her hair, she hadn't a clue. Surely, Sera hadn't laid close enough, for a long enough period, for Belle's hair to pick up the scent?

Shrugging it off, Belle dressed in a pair of cream colored pants that were cut off at her ankles and a clean button down shirt, once again in black. It seemed all Sera wore was black and leather with color added by her array of corsets. If she ever got the chance, Belle was going to force the girl into something NOT leather and NOT black. Just to see how it looked.

The sunlight that filtered down through the rigging warmed the smooth planks beneath Belle's feet (she'd taken up the habit of going barefoot, as did a lot of the crew), and she allowed herself a moment to become acquainted with the new day. That is, until a shout could be heard from Todd telling the crew to take to their stations.

Turning and looking up towards the upper deck, Belle shielded her eyes from the sun and saw Sera standing at attention and peering through her spyglass at something off the starboard side of the ship. Turning her gaze, Belle could just make out the white sails of another ship on the horizon and her heart began hammering in her chest as Sera gave the order to pursue the ship.

"What are you doing?!" Rushing forward and mounting the stairs, Belle ignored the stern look from Todd as she came to stand before Sera who lowered her spyglass with an annoyed glance to the brunette.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm captaining my ship and leading an attack. Which will only go smoothly if pretty little distractions like yourself go back below and STAY THERE!" A shove, albeit light, was given to Belle's shoulder as she was pointed in the direction of the stairs she'd just come up.

"No!" Spinning away from Sera, Belle stood her ground. "You can't attack them. It's wrong!"

"We can. And we will. We need supplies." Again Sera attempted to move Belle down the stairs but she was pushed away.

"You can't just attack innocent people because you're running low on rum!"

"It's not just rum. And the likelihood of that merchant vessel having enough rum to satisfy this crew? Unlikely. However they will undoubtedly have food. And possibly water or other drinkable sustenance. And it will be ours." Sera gave a nod to Todd while she took the helm and Todd moved to stand next to Belle. "Lock her below. It's for her own good."

Being careful of Belle's pregnant belly, Todd picked her up and carried her down the stairs. The brunette tried to fight, all while screaming out the injustice of it all but she was promptly ignored while Sera issued more orders.

~~~

It'd been several hours now, and the sounds of fighting had died away but no one had come to retrieve Belle. While she prided herself on being brave, the clashing sounds of swords, yelling and cannon fire had forced her back to the far wall of the cabin. What if Sera and her crew couldn't beat the others? What would happen to her and the baby then?