The Queen's Curls

-1853- Treasure

This time, she was the one to cause a set of hinges to squeak, and not just any hinges: the hinges of a nearby tavern.

The parlour woman sits down at a booth and waves a waitress over. The girl that arrives at her table is young and pretty, if you ignore the fact that one of her eyes is completely red. She must have burst a blood vessel, and a relatively large one too.

"What can I get you, ma'am?" the waitress asks. Her hair has been tied at the top of her head in a tight ponytail.

The parlour woman smiles at the girl in front of her. "I'll get a Death in the Afternoon, please. Oh, and could you add some cherries to it?"

The waitress raises an eyebrow but smiles. "Right away, ma'am."

Just as the waitress walks away, the person sitting behind the parlour woman says, "You really don't know who I'm talking about?"

Another voice. "Like I said before, Leo. I've been here for two months. I don't know as much as you do."

The first voice, Leo, sighs. "I know, Jack. But you've really never heard of her?" The other voice, Jack, must have shook his head because Leo continued. "She was known as the Wisp of the Waves, and she was known for her ship — The Bird of Prey — and for her crew, or rather, lack there of."

"What do you mean, 'lack there of?"

The parlour woman begins to move to the other side of the booth as Leo continues. "She doesn't have a crew. She runs her ship with some sort of witchcraft, and with a wave of a hand, she could change exactly what is happening on her ship." Leo sighs. "I wish you could have seen it, Jack. It was incredible."

"Wait," Jack says. "You've seen her?"

Leo chuckles just as the parlour woman slides into the seat facing Jack. "With my own two eyes. She was beautiful. She could have been a siren for all we knew. The one thing that stood out the most was her eyes.she had eyes the colour of the bluest skies and the greenest grass mixed together."

It was then that Jack finally glanced up at her. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments, but the parlour woman knew that he had seen her eyes.

"What else?" Jack asked Leo, his gaze shifting back to the parlour woman.

Leo shrugs. "I remember that she had six rings on her fingers, and that her canine teeth looked very sharp."

The parlour woman lifted her hands up to rest her chin on them and smiled at Jack. With teeth.

"Leo," Jack murmurs, leaning in closer to the man in front of him. "I have a feeling the lady you're talking about is right behind you."

The parlour woman sees Leo tense, his back going rigid, before he says, "Hello, Karma."

The parlour woman smiles a smile of mischief and canines. "Hello, Captain Leo."

Jack locks eyes with the parlour woman, his gaze, at first glance, full of hard walls and sharp edges, when really, hidden behind those walls, was barrels and barrels of curiosity. "Ma'am, would you join us?"

The parlour woman's smile softens a touch before she says, "Of course, love."

As she takes a seat beside Jack, she notices that Leo won't even look at her. She smirks at him before saying, "What's wrong, Leo? Scared I'll throw you overboard again?"

Jack's eyes flick between Leo and the woman beside him. "Hold on. 'Again'?"

The parlour woman chuckles as Leo's face turns pink. "Yes, again, Jack. Has he not told you how he tried to rob my ship?"