Queen of the Seas-Ch. 7

   Henriette waited with the rest of the crew lined up along the rail while the captain paced in front of them just like on the first day they were recruited. "Lubbers, We are to stay in Walks for four days. The ship'll take all four days, no more if the man does it right." The captain stopped and started walking the other direction, "That means you have four days to mix in with the locals, mingle with the local ladies, drink yer sorry minds away, take a tour or whatever you feel free to do as long as it don't trace back to
this ship in any bad ways."

   A few crewmen laughed, thinking of the ladies on Walk's Isle, "Do you understand, gents?"

   Henriette chimed in with the crew, "Yessir."

   Then they were dismissed to get off the boat as fast as they so please. Henriette watched the crew pour over the ramp and into the town where only a few locals came to watch, then she joined the captain, "Captain, Is Kaine within rowing distance of 'ere?"
she asked as he adjusted his belt.

   "If you got good arms, Lass," the captain didn't look up, "But don'tcha be headin' off just yet lass, I got something for ya."

   "Captain?"  Henriette followed him into the captain's quarters where he picked up a small bag jingling with change.

   "Come with me Lass," he led her off the boat and to a small shop just off the docks.

   Henriette stayed within earshot of him, but never let her good eye wonder to the useless items being sold all around her.

   Strange lads swinging string with fish hooks on the end of 'em made her hand cover her thick eyepatch defensivly as they stared. When she looked away from the lads, she followed the captain to a friend of his.

   "Jwade!" the captain grinned a wild grin at the storekeeper so Henriette smiled too, "This 'ere Lass just lost her looker, and I know you got somethin' to make it easier for 'er,"

   Jwade was a big mule, who was surprisingly light on his feet, but his voice cracked and wavered when he talked, "Aiy, to replace that thing," he pointed at Henriette's bulky eyepatch, "What kinda cover are you looking for miss?" Jwade was kinder than the pirates Henriette had been around for so long, so the polite words were a nice change.

   "Are you sure, Captain?" Henriette asked, and when he nodded, she thought about what she wanted, "A mask. Nothing leathery and stringy," she pulled on the string holding her eyepatch down, "A mask I can tie around my eyes." Henriette pictured her father's black mask that every Cooper wore something of a similar fashion.

   "Really, Lass, that's it? No jewels or something perty for ya?" her captain questioned.

   "Captain, I may be a lady-figure, but I ain't no low-town doll," then Henriette turned to the shopkeeper again, "Nothing with jewels, I beg of you."

   Jwade laughed  at Henriette and walked through the back corners of his shop, opening and closing various boxes or tossing empty crates aside. "Aah," his voice was no doubt proud of whatever craft he found, "Here you go, Lassy," He held out a long black piece of fabric with only one eyehole in it, "See if it fits."

   Henriette took the silky material from Jwade and ran her fingers along the length of it. She reached up to pull her eyepatch off and looked down so Jwade couldn't see her embarrassment, "Lass, Ain't nothing I never seen before, Don't shy from ol' Jwade," So henriette looked back up when she pulled the silky mask over her eyes. With a simple knot, she secured it on her face and looked up with her good eye gleaming.

   "Well?" she asked, curious. The material was much softer on her eyes, she could see passed the slender material much better than the bulky one she had before and it reminded her so well of the Cooper's before her.

   "I'd say you took the eye out on purpose, Lass," Jwade told her, holding up a mirror.

   Just as she had hoped, Henriette's new eye patch mask fit well. She did in fact, look like a real Cooper. The ties hung about six inches each off the back of her head, and despite the moving around, she liked them. "Well, Captain, Can I be off now?" she smiled at herself in the mirror, the mask moving well with her features.

   "Aiy, Lass, you may want yer belongin's first."
~ ~ ~
   The captain led Henriette back to the ship where a few crewmates had returned, some drunk, some simply unamused. When Henriette went down to the bunks, she pulled her bag off and checked for her belongings; Her father's Sais, the Thevius Raccoonus, a spare of clothes and a few whiskey bottles she was given when they raided her first ship. After more digging, she found a good sized bag of coins from the merchant ship as well.

   Henriette made her way back to the deck to find her captain pacing, "Cap'n?" What's the fuss for?" she asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

   "The gent fixin' her," he waved around at the ship, "Said he'll need to replace the whole rail," he switched directions and kept pacing.

   "Well, that's no problem, is it Captain?" Henriette stood to the side, watching his feet move.

   "No, ringtail, it is, He doesn't have near enough supplies to fix 'er in four days. We may be here a while longer than planned."

   Henriette looked at the broken rail, "Surely we could sail somewhere with the supplies," she had more, but her Captain interrupted.

   "No lass, the gent said it was a miracle we weren't swimming with the fishes after that mighty hole."

   Henriette looked in the distance, as if looking at Kaine, "Well, Captain, I could stay for w hile, help with the watches, Take a break in a tavern or such," She hated putting off Kaine, but seeing her Captain look so distraught, she couldn't go with it on her mind.

   "Really Lass? You think you could handle the guard shifts and crazies looking for a skinny gal like yerself?" The Captain stopped his pacing to laugh a minute. "No, I couldn't leave her, Well, maybe I could…?" Henriette could tell he was thinking an idea over, "No, but maybe…" another idea came and went, "Alright Lassy, The shipment will take nearly two months to get here, because the order must go by sea to a neighbor island to get the goods, but I'll take two days, tops. Savvy?"

   "Aiy Aiy, Captain," Henriette dropped her bag and saluted him in a way that made him smile even in his tense mood.