Chapter 16: Storming

Morgan entertained thoughts on Sha’s maturity as she gripped the stern rail, “Wait, what, so there was no one, no boyfriends, girlfriends, stolen kisses, attractions, dreams of forever lost?” Although she was distinctly aware that Sha’s line of questioning was typical in a new relationship, the interaction was causing her to heat up, and not in a good way. It took a lot to tip Morgan over the edge, she epitomised level-headedness, yet the disbelief in Sha’s voice, left her sitting on the verge of unbalanced.

“No, now please don’t keep asking, the answer is not going to change.” she said, amidst a desperate hope that Sha heard the annoyance in her voice.

“But surely, someone that looks like you,” he held.

Morgan snapped, aware, but not caring, that she wasn’t pretty when she was angry, she spoke loud enough to advertise the fact that she no longer cared if they were overheard, “I WAS ALONE BECAUSE I WAS AFRAID OF MEN, IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED TO HEAR!”

Sha froze, the sharpness in her voice finally stunning him into silence. Morgan heard a creak and when she looked towards the noise she found Aiden hovering on the top step, one foot held in mid-air as if Sha’s reaction to her verbal sortie was infectious. “Well, this is awkward,” Aiden blurted, he turned, his legs taking him back towards the main deck as fast as a dignified walk could carry him.

Thankfully, Sha found the courage to speak, his wretched words pulling her from the brink, “I’m so sorry, that was thoughtless of me, I don’t know how this conversation got so out of hand.” His demeanour soothed the storm within.

Morgan offered heartfelt words, “I’m sorry. You are right, I pushed everyone away, especially men.” She mustered a smile, attempting to lighten the mood, “To my defence have you seen the dating pool in Crewtown, its full of horny sailors wanting to hump and run, and all those fishermen whose idea of conversation is talking about the amount of fat on their catch and how it correlates to the season.” She sighed, her next words melancholier than intended, “I guess I was resigned to being alone.”

“Not anymore, you are not, not if I have anything to say about it, wait—did we just have our first fight?” Sha asserted.

“Was that a fight? If so, I think we should do that more often,” She re-joined, happy to be carried along by his ingenious nature.

“You, my dear, have a little crazy in you,” He affirmed playfully.

Morgan let out an undignified snort, “So, I have been told, haven’t you heard, I’m batshit crazy.” Sha laughed, clearly understanding the parallel to her alter ego Bloody Mary, she continued in earnest, “While we are on the topic which you so forcefully brought up, time for you to tell me all about your dating life.” Sha silenced her with a kiss. Morgan tried to finish her words waylaid by the insistent nature of the act, only a mumble escaped.

 

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The crow’s nest was Bella’s favourite place, her lookout duty starting soon after they had moved the ship out into the harbour. Deep in thought, her eyes scanned The Tempest and its surrounds happy at her work. Bella was an introvert—experience had taught her to follow and let others to make all the decisions. Sha and Morgan’s heated conversation drifted up from below, the interaction stirring a raft of undesirable feelings. Bella had been taught as soon as she was old enough to learn, that that she would never be allowed to want, at odds to that was the fact that she was wanting someone badly. His endearing smile, his scent, a personality that drew you in and made you feel safe, she missed absolutely everything about Leo. The problem was her feelings of adoration, longing and well, love, were useless. An audible sigh escaped her, it wasn’t like they could ever be together, there was, nor could there ever be a happy ending. Besides, Leo’s duty was to Tornbaer not to someone with such a dodgy past, not to someone who identified as a pirate, it simply didn’t matter who her father happened to be. A feeling of inadequacy descended, her eyes moistened, and yet the memory of his protective arms was enough to send the undesirable packing. Leo’s embrace, however, could not stop her from reaching for her bow when a darkened form heaved themselves onto the ship. Discarding unhelpful thoughts, Bella engaged muscle memory, the act enabling the speed at which her bow was aimed and nocked. “INTRUDER, PORT BOW,” She called, reaching optimal draw, her release waylaid when Aquila swooped at her than landed where her aim happened to be. “AQUILA, MOVE!” She yelled in frustration.

The bird squawked back, and she could swear that it was scolding her, “AVAST,” Meena’s call released the tension.

Slackening her arrow, she took slow breaths to calm herself. It was at that point that it dawned upon her that the eagle had stopped her from killing the boarder and it was still squawking at her in rebuke, “Gee I know Aquila,” she grumbled, sending her eyes outwards once again, it was going to be a long night.

 

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The ship had sprung into action as soon as Bella’s call struck the night, everyone appropriated weapons and headed for port bow, including those on their breaks, woken from their beds, half-clothed, fully clothed, they all rushed to meet the threat. Morgan who had just disentangled herself from Sha’s embrace was looking for any sign of attack as she loped up to the bow.

Meena’s call brought annoyance, what possible reason could she have to call off an attack, “What’s going on?” She grumbled, her question answered when she saw her friend kneeling over a unconscious form, checking for signs of life.

Meena glanced up and locked eyes, her words alarming, “It’s Castain, he’s not doing well. I remember now who helped me escape from the black cloaks, it was him.”

Surprised, mostly by Meena’s concern, it took her a few seconds to sheath her weapon before she bent down to help. “Well then, we need to make sure we look after him then. Don’t we.” She said, hoping to appease her friends worry. It only took a glance to see that the pirate captain was in a bad way. Even if half of the blood that he was covered in was his, it wasn’t good. Morgan looked around until she locked eyes with Marlo, “Quick, help me get him to your cabin.”

Castain gained momentary consciousness when Marlo picked him up, grabbing Meena’s arm he slurred surprising words that made her instantly stop hovering, “It’s okay, princess, I will make sure that he can’t use you anymore.”

“Wait, what, did he just say Meena was a princess?” Sha exclaimed in disbelief; Morgan sent her elbow into his ribs, doubling him over.

“Well, the plot thickens,” Aiden announced haughtily.

Meena rounded on Aiden, “Nobody asked you,” she hissed.

Morgan readied herself to bang some heads together. Surprisingly, Meena shrugged as if dismissing Aiden, then hurried away to check on the patient. Amidst all the strangeness Morgan was hit with a playful idea, of course she acted upon it. Turning towards Sha, she placed one hand upon his shoulder and spoke words that were as sweet as honey, “Looks like you will need to take my lookout shift tonight. While you are at it try and remember the answer to my question,” She was unsurprised by the raucous laughter that proceeded her words, after all, overheard conversations on board a pirate ship were entertainment for everyone.

The first thing that Morgan noticed upon entering Marlo’s cabin was Meena’s hovering, although her friends concern was out of character, she too felt an unexplained wave of sadness. Marlo placed Castain upon the bed, then stood rubbing his head, it was common for him to bump his head on ceilings and doorways, another excuse he gave her for not using his cabin. Morgan suspected however, that Marlo could find a way to bump his head anywhere, the man’s spatial awareness was lacking especially if his mind was elsewhere. As the second-best healer on the ship, the task fell to her to try to keep Castain alive, although her abilities paled in comparison to that of Nia’s. “Meena, go and get the wooden box from my day room. I store it under my desk,” She asked, Meena moved quickly, happy to be doing. The box was a gift from Nia, it housed all that one might require for healing. Morgan inspected Castain’s body, careful not to press too hard or move him unnecessarily, she noted a long list of injuries, “Dang it!”

“What, how bad is it?” Marlo exclaimed, disclosing the fact that she had spoken aloud.

“He’s been tortured, help me get his clothes off, we have a lot of work to do tonight.”

Castain grabbed her with astounding strength as they tried to lift him, his eyes snapped open and he spoke with surprising force, “Morgan, you are in danger. You must get out of here right now!”

Morgan took the box from Meena, she ignored Castain’s plea, assuming that he was delirious, “It’s okay, you are safe,” She affirmed gently.

“Yes, but you aren’t girl, now get this ship out of here!” Castain growled, still gripping her arm.

Surprisingly, even in his battered state her patient was fully coherent. Bristling from being called girl Morgan calmed herself before imparting stern words, “No one tells me what to do on this ship. Right now, you are my only concern so save your strength because you will need it to get through this night.” Morgan continued to ready herself, rummaging through the box, setting out all the tools that she might need for healing.

“Why did you risk your life to save me?” Meena asked, talking advantage of the fact that Castain was awake.

Castain smiled; a smile that set Morgan at ease even though it wasn’t meant for her, his response to her friend’s question was even more endearing, “Kurja was a crappy example of a parent; he was lording you over all of his followers as their princess, then behind closed doors the torture did not stop.” Castain hissed at the pain in his side when she checked a rib, then continued, “I couldn’t stand by and do nothing, I’m sorry that you remembered that child. It gladdened me when I heard that you were able to forget.”

Morgan reluctantly interrupted, “Sorry Meena, I need some room here, you can check on him later. Marlo, you can stay, I may need you to hold him,” Meena nodded dumbly then left the room in a daze. She glanced back from watching her friends departing form to find her patient staring at her appraisingly. With little time for strangeness, she started cleaning open wounds, including a nasty cut on the scalp.

When Morgan was done, she handed her patient fortified rum, wordless he took a swig, he kept the bottle as if he knew what was coming next, taking steady drinks, all the while she stitched between swigs. When she started on his forehead, Castain appraised her once again, his words insistent, “I’m not trying to order you around Morgan, this is a dangerous situation, they killed my whole crew.”

Morgan stared at the old and the new marks upon his body, surely, they were a sign that she should heed his warning. But something told her that it wasn’t yet time to run.

“We have the Garrison’s protection,” She affirmed, “And someone has to stop them.”

Sighing Castain dropped his shoulders and said no more. Morgan passed him a foul-smelling concoction that she knew was going to be hard to swallow, then she handed over a round piece of wood. Once again Castain responded intuitively, inserting the wood into his mouth. She fortified herself, unnerved by her patient’s ability to understand what was about to happen, “Marlo, you are going to need to hold him down.” After Marlo was in place, she proceeded to set the broken bones, starting with the hand. She set each finger one by one, each alignment further draining the colour from Castain’s face, at the last finger the wood fell, his scream tore the air then he was silent, pain gifting rest. Marlo helped her bind the ribcage then she quietly worked on the rest of Castain’s injuries, all the while marvelling at his ability to withstand such intense torture and be able to berate her on her own ship. Working late into the night, Morgan was brought out of her concentrated efforts when Marlo handed her a glass of water, smiling a half smile to give thanks, she stopped to drink.

“What’s the verdict?” Marlo asked, his question carrying genuine concern.

“I think he’s going to live, if he had lost any more blood,” Morgan left her statement unfinished, instead choosing to yawn, tiredness nipped at the edge of her mind as she absentmindedly repeated her declaration, “He is going to live.” She was still pondering on the strange behaviours of her friends as she allowed her eyes to rest, just for a moment.

A feeling of comfort filled Morgan’s senses until a delirious shout bumped it out of contention, groggy, she raised her head from the bed where she had fallen asleep. Marlo was at Castain’s side, gently helping him to some water. Barely a whisper, Castain’s delirious words carried to her ears, “Thank you for looking after her for me, old friend.” Marlo lowered the patient who was back asleep before his head hit the pillow. Morgan wondered who Castain was referring to, her bewildered expression pulling an explanation from the giant, “I would say, he’s talking about Piper. Meena wasn’t the only one he saved; I was there all those years ago when he left her on Rorg’s ship. He asked me to keep an eye out for her.”

Dumbstruck, she felt a sudden sense of protection for her daughter, “He left Piper, with that animal?” She exclaimed.

There was an edge of a lecture in Marlo’s reply, “We don’t know what led him to such decisions, besides Rorg cared about money above anything so he left her unharmed.” Marlo placed a gentle hand upon her shoulder, “I would have never let her be harmed.” Morgan’s anger seeped away, she sighed and made her exit, wobbly on her feet. The day had brought questions that had no answers, a state she was not fond of. Wariness speed into her body, answers would have to wait. Using the walls and rails, tiredness and stumbling eventuated to the bliss that was her bed. She let go of the need for answers, allowing safety, warmth, and comfort, to lull her into sleep.

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