Subtle Waves • James Kidd/Mary Read

chapter four

Without the responsibilities of the ship, I thought today would be the day that I could finally sleep in, but boy was I wrong. I was laying on my stomach, sprawled out on my bed, and snoring when a small human came and started jumping on my bed. I made a loud groan, signalling that I did not want to wake up.

"I told you to wake her up nicely, Tommy, not attack her" I heard a voice scold the child laying on top of me. I opened my eyes and saw Tommy looking down sadly. That just will not do. I quickly turned my body over and started tickling the small boy. He was screaming with laughter, which caused me to laugh as well. Eventually I stopped and let him catch his breath. We both looked over at Lily and saw her standing in the doorway with an amused grin. "If you are ready to get up now, there's breakfast waiting downstairs, for both of you." She said softly and walked back down the stairs.

"What'd ye say, bud? Are ye ready to fill that tum' of yours?" I say as I look over at the boy. He let's out a giggle and we both head downstairs, still in our pyjamas.

•••

After a filling breakfast, we all head to our own rooms to get dressed for the day. I slip off my night gown and throw on my leather pants, white loose shoulder-less top, and black corset. I quickly put on my boots and run a brush through my hair. I top off my look with my usual "homemade" lip stain and then I'm ready to go. I bid both Lily and Tommy goodbye, assuring them that I will be back tonight and head out the door.

I look up to the sky and see that it's a beautiful day for thieving. I walk through the city, picking out targets. I see a man in the distance and I decide that he will be my first lucky target. I've done this hundreds of times, so it shouldn't be hard. I sneakily follow the man, trying to see if he has any obvious valuables on him. He quickly looks over, so I enter a group of civilians, pretending that I'm talking to them. Out of the corner of my eye, I decide to look over at him. He has messy dark-brown hair held up by a red bandana. He wore a mixture of clothing items that consisted of browns, reds, yellows, and white. I could only assume he's a pirate from the way he looks and the city he's in. From where I was, I couldn't see his face, but I could see the coin satchel connected to his waist. He began walking towards an empty street. "Perfect." I whisper under my breath, "No one to witness or call me out." He abruptly stops and gazes towards the docks. He looks lost in thought. Now's the perfect time to strike. When he's least expecting it. I stealthily sneak up behind him and begin to detach what I need. I'm almost done when he makes a sudden movement and turns around briskly to grab my arm. I look up at him in shock and he looks down at me with a confused look. Perhaps confused that he didn't catch me sooner?

"And just what do ye think yer doing, Lass?" He quickly says.

In the few seconds I had, I analyzed his face. He has a very prominent scar crossing over his eye, from his eyebrow to his cheek. I'll admit he's very attractive, but he just caught me stealing from him, so I don't think we'll be going on dates anytime soon. Never mind his looks, I need to find a way out of this. Faster than I thought possible, I kicked him in the back of his knee causing him to fall over and groan in pain. I gave him one more kick, before hastily grabbing the coin from his waist and running away. He was up on his feet in no time and he immediately began chasing after me. I ran faster than I ever have before and he was still only a few feet behind me. I made him think I was going to continue to run straight, when suddenly I jumped up onto a building. While the man had abruptly skidded to a stop and quickly attempted to climb the building I had, I was already too far away for him to catch me. I stopped to look back only to see him looking in my direction with a furious look. I waved his beloved coin pouch in the air and gave him one of my signature smirks, before gracefully jumping off the building. As a precaution, I run a few blocks over, so even if he did try to still catch me, he wouldn't be able to. I begin to wonder why anyone would put so much effort into getting back their fifty reales. I mean it's not that much and, if he is a pirate, he could easily earn that money back. Maybe it's not about the money itself, maybe it's about pride. Men have a complicated relationship with pride and masculinity. If you even question it, they'll go crazy and try to prove themselves to you. Hm. Doesn't matter now though, does it? He's gone and I have his money. I give another smirk at the fact that I was able to outsmart him.

•••

James POV

I can't believe that lass got away with my money. No ones ever been able to do that to me. I didn't even notice her nimble fingers attached to my coin pouch. The only reason I caught her is because I remembered that I forgot something at the tavern and quickly turned around to go get it, only to see her crouched behind me. My reflexes quickly kicked in and I grabbed her wrist, in an attempt to stop her. I stared at her, utterly perplexed as to how she managed to succeed. Thinking back to her appearance, she was extremely beautiful. She had untameable black wavy hair, olive toned skin, and deep-red lips. Her most noticeable feature was definitely her eyes. They were a shade of green that I have never seen on a person before. You could see the mischief sparkling in them. I guess looks really can be deceiving.

After sulking for a bit, I decide to make my way back to the Old Avery. As soon as I got there I made my way over to a barstool and ordered a rum. It seems like Anne Bonny, a good friend of mine, is here tonight. She often worked as a bar maiden at the infamous Nassau tavern.

"What's got ye lookin' so glum, James?" She asks, worry clear on her face.

"Yer not going te believe this, but yer dear ole friend was just robbed?" I say in a slightly amused tone. She looks over to me as if she thinks I'm joking. When she realizes I'm not, she gives a light chuckle. I give her a light smirk, before taking another swig of my drink.

"And by who, may I ask?" She asks with a curious expression.

"That's just it, Lass," I exclaimed. "I don't know who the woman was but-"

"Wait!" Anne quickly says, interrupting me. "Ye never said it was a woman who robbed ye. Man, she's gotta have serious talent to be able to steal from you."

"Aye." I agree with her. "Even worse, I almost didn't even notice it happening!" I quickly finish the last of my drink before returning back to my ship. As I slowly drift away to sleep, the only thing left on my mind is that mesmerizing woman.

•••

Ezra's POV

After a while of aimlessly walking around, I decide to go check in with the ship. When I get there I notice the only person up on deck is my father. He's looking out over the sea when I approach him.

"So how's the lady and her kid doin' these days?" He asks, looking over at me.

"They're good right now. Tommy's going to be turning four soon, so that should be fun." I reply with a smile.

"Do they need anything right now, or are they good for the time being?" He wonders.

"They're all good. They've got a roof over their head and food on the table." I say, also adding, "and if not I left a good amount of money for them to use if they need it."

"Ah. Yer a good kid, Rose, ye know that?" He says looking over at me. I give him a smile, as a silent thank you, and he smiles back. We both stand there for a while, staring at the starry night sky, before he goes into his quarters and I walk back home.

•••

Author's note
So what do ya guys think so far? Good, great, could be better? Thanks for still continuing to read!!