Inali The Bumbling Pirate
Fortune Found
Written By Richard L. Helms
Inali (c) Spirit Creations
Bright sunlight flashes back and forth across Inali's face, making her squint her eyes as she wakes slowly. A dull pain hummes in her head, and she can remember where she is. Turing away from the sunlight, she shuts her eyes and begins to remember the night before, but then a cold bucket of saltwater drenches her fur, waking her fully as she springs to her feet. She looks up at a tall, scarred black footed ferret, a spear in hand and pointed at her, more for fright than anything. She's on the deck of a ship, and not a spot of land is in sight. Inali's first reaction is to reach for her sword, and still dizzy, instead brandishes her empty scabbard as her weapon, trying to maintain her balance.
"I'll start with the one that threw the bucket of water." She jiggles the floppy leather scabbard around like a foil, looking more silly than serious. A few of the deck hands laugh at the sight, but the first mate, a short but muscular black feline, takes the butt of the ferret's spear and smacks her with it across the head. Inali cries out and collapses to the deck, the pain in her head exploding anew, as the black cat stands over her and places the butt of the spear between her shoulder blades.
"You'll learn your place on this ship, slave. If not, you'll learn the hard way, soon enough."
Inali regains herself enough to lunge forward at the feline's leg, reach around, and lay her teeth into his hamstring. The first mate falls backwards, crying out before he hits the deck. The ferret pulls Inali's head back by her hair and places a knife to her throat. Inali feels the blade, and reluctantly lets go, spitting the foul taste of the beast's blood from her mouth. The first mate curses as he gets up, and shouts for the ferret to stop.
"No!" He grabs Inali by her dirty, white blouse and pulls her to her feet, the knife still held to her throat. "If she wants to learn the rules the hard way, that'll be her choice."
Laid out across the front deck, bound in irons, Inali had the whole day for her sun sobered mind to remember the events that lead to her being shanghaied.
She was at a pub next to the docks, looking for a little adventure that may lend her some money, perhaps even a bit of fortune and fame. Opportunities always fell out of the sky, and although often strange, dangerous and bizarre as they were, she never had a misadventure that she didn't survive in the end, though She never god rich, either. She doesn't know how she always gets so lucky, but reconsiders the measure of her fortune, being a slave on a pirate ship.
The ferret that she now recognizes from the bar was kind enough when she first met him. He even bought her a drink. Asked if she knew how to use a sword. She showed him a little bit of her footwork, but then started getting dizzy and decided to stop after almost cutting a waitress' head off. She hit the floor, and remembered feeling too tired to get up, but couldn't remember exactly passing out, although the last thing she remembered before waking up on the ship was that she had found trouble.
When the deck rails began casting their shadows across her parched body, Inali could feel the bonds being loosened. She was dragged across the deck to the captains quarters, the door already opened. Inside, they sat her on a chair at a long table. The captain, a misshapen tan ferret, sat on the other end of the table, food piled around him. It looked as if the right half of his face had been torn off, a wrinkled mass of flaky, bald scar tissue balled up on that side, his left eye also taken by whatever force had carved away at his flesh. Inali's mouth started to water, seeing all of the fresh vegetables and fruit and sweet breads, although the sight of the captain's face made her stomach crawl.
"So, miss slave, welcome aboard the Nighcrawler. It sounds like you've had a rough stay so far, and no doubt you'd be liking to rest, but proper introductions haven't been made. The name's Wrightly, but you'll be calling me Captain. Aboard this ship you'll sew, stew, and clean. If you're lucky, I may let you do some fighting after you've come around, but be a hussy little bitch, and I'll treat you like one. You'll be paid what you put into this ship, although respect comes at a high price around these parts. Do as you're told and live. If not, I'll cut ye deep with my whip and throw you overboard to the sharks."
A wave of the Captain's hand, and Inali was taken away. As dusk began settling across the ship, Inali was taken below deck until she was in the bowels of the ship and thrown into a room with three other women. The door was closed and locked behind her as she rose to her feet, looking at the other women in the dim lamplight.
There were two brown mice and a grey shorthaired feline staring at her. She adjusted her blouse and belt, more checking to see if she what possessions she had left than anything, then stopped and looked at the other three women, still staring at her.
"Um, hello. My name's Inali. What's yours?"
"My name's Ayata," announced the grey feline with pride. "This is Amelia and Borgete, both sisters. You must have fallen on some bad luck to find yourself in our company. This hear is the Nightcrawler, most feared ship at berth in these seas."
Inali shivered, the cold setting into her fur.
"Why do they call it the Nightcrawler?"
"Because she only strikes at night," answered Borgete meekly, barely able to speak. Her sister held her affectionately. Inali could see that she was injured.
"What happened to you?"
Amelia looked up at Inali's face, then back to her sister. She slowly removed a bandage to expose a deep cut on her sister's left side.
"Last night, this ship was in port to steal, and collect slaves like you, anchoring just outside the bay. They don't strike in force in large ports like the one you were in, though they peck around and collect what they can. Unfortunately, one of the admiral ships was waiting, recognized our ship, and fired at us as we entered open water, leaving the port. No doubt you were still unconscious from being drugged, so you probably didn't notice anything. The admiral's ship only got a few rounds off, but a fragment of grapeshot managed to find its way in here, and into my sister's side. I managed to remove the shot, but she's still bleeding, and the captain won't give us anything to help."
Inali sat down by the injure mouse's side, and tore off a few strips of cloth from the bottom hem of her blouse, exposing her tummy. She cut one strip into pieces, and knotted them together. She then bandaged the wound with the other strip, and tied it tightly in place with the knotted cloth. Borgete hissed in pain, but settled in her sister's reassuring embrace.
"If I had a little dew root and Shay's bark I'd make up a neat little salve to help the pain, but that should help stop the bleeding." Inali stroked the little mouse's ears affectionately. "Just get some rest, and I'll see what I can hoard when they put me to work."
"Are you so ready to be a slave?" Ayata's words almost sounded vindictive. Inali was taken aback at her tone.
"No, but I don't see any other choice right now."
"You could fight!" Ayata sprang to her feet with fire in your eyes. "I can see the spirit in you!"
"Sit down Ayata," Amelia insisted aloud. The grey feline looked crossly at the mouse, but obeyed her words rather than argue.
"We all heard what you did to Morgan, the captain's first mate." Amelia looked up at Inali's eyes again, with a little smile. "It got us a little excited, to say the least."
"It got me thinking," commented Ayata.
"Are you a warrior, Ayata?" Inali asked, although she already knew the answer.
"I was a warrior when my people were still alive, but Captain Wrightly invaded my homeland and stole away many of my people, including me. I am the last of those he has yet to trade off to the salt fields, or to the Beretian marble mines. I have not seen my homeland in seven years, but I've never stopped fighting Captain Wrightly, and I yet wait for the day to take his tongue."
Inali couldn't help herself.
"What would you do with his tongue?"
"I would eat it, and then I would kill him ceremonially by removing his bowels, to banish his spirit too the dark lands where no soul escapes."
"Your heart's been set on killing him for a while, I'm guessing."
Ayata rose to her feet and removed her shirt, exposing her torso. She was very beautiful, and extremely muscular, although there were scars in her dark skin where the fur didn't grow back. They were long lash marks from a sinister whip, and they marked her entire torso.
"I've been raped, too, by Captain Wrightly. Whenever I manage to get close enough to get my hands on him, which is rare, he has me bound to the mast as his men have there way with me." Ayata looks Inali in the eye with cool, grey eyes. "I have given them nothing."
Inali was utterly shocked at this horrific revelation of this woman's suffering. To lose her people, be enslaved for seven years, and brutally tortured, yet maintain the will to fight after all of this time, had Inali speechless.
"But . . . why doesn't he just kill you?"
"Look at his left ear when you get the chance," commented Amelia. "That's the beautiful side of his face, which he worships since being shot in the right eye years ago. One time, Ayata got close enough to the captain that she lunged at him, and tore half of his left ear off. It was part of the face he worshiped, and she disfigured it."
"Now he curses me to a lifetime of servitude upon his ship." Ayata's face dulled to a regretful sorrow. "I will never see my home or people ever again."
Ayata looked slowly up to Inali's shocked expression.
"I have waited all this time to have another Sister of the Spear arrive, so that we may fight together and kill the Captain. I have nothing to give to you in payment, perhaps only the chance to escape before this ship kills you, as I have seen it do to many other slaves before me. Help me regain my honor, and I will call you a Sister of the Spear."
"But I don't have a sword, Ayata. And even if I did, I'm not a warrior like you."
"Have you killed before?"
"Yes, but mostly on accident. Well, I've actually never killed anyone on purpose, but it seems like every time I get into trouble, I'm saved by some outrageous miracle, or outright luck."
"Did you worry whether or not you would die for biting Morgan?"
"No, he just pissed me off, so I bit him."
"Would you like to do it to him again?"
"And throw him into the sea."
"Then let's do it! We don't need to take this ship by sword. I have another way that I have been thinking on for a while now, but it will require a quick eye and a steady heart." Ayata held out a firm hand. "Will you help me?"
Inali though for only a moment, then took up the hand with a smile.
"Why not? I've been in worse places, with fewer friends."
Amelia smiled brightly at Inali, but Borgete had already fallen into a deep slumber, a silent smile on her face.
"Get working, you stupid filthy whores!" The second mate, the tall ferret, prodded with the shaft of his spear as all four women scrubbed the upper deck. "It'll be half rations if you don't have this wood shining by last daylight. Get working!"
Inali's shoulders tightened under the strain of scrubbing, having done so all day long. The work was so slow, and it was such a daunting task, but she hadn't eaten anything, except for a few scraps Ayata held onto, for nearly two full days now. She was looking forward to anything they would give her, although she hoped it wouldn't be meat or eggs. She didn't know if she could keep that stuff down.
The day pressed on as the sun began to fall in the sky, but Borgete wasn't weathering the workload well. Inali could see the pain and exhaustion in her face, and the blood beginning to seep through her tan shirt where her wound still bled. Inali cried silently for the suffering mouse. All three of the other women tried to help as much as they could, but it wasn't long before Borgete collapsed, breathing heavily as she lay on the deck. The ferret smirked and strode over to where she was laying. Amelia crawled over to her sister to protect her from the ferret's punishment, but he force her away with the shaft of his short spear, and placed the butt under Borgete's chin and lifted her head.
"Back on your knees, maggot, or you'll sleep on deck tonight with an empty belly."
"Please let her be!" Amelia pleaded with the ferret, kneeling forward again to hold her sister's head. "Can't you see she's hurt! You won't give us anything to help her. How can you expect her to work like this, as hurt as she is."
"Talk back to me, eh maggot?" The ferret jabbed the butt of the spear into Amelia's gut, sending her into the rail and onto the deck, rolled up in pain and gasping for air. Ayata rose to her feet and struck out at the ferret with lightning grace, came up short, and felt the full length of the shaft smash into her ribs, breaking three of them. Inali also struck out at the ferret with determination to help her new friends, and her foot fell square on the back of his knee. The ferret's leg collapsed, his knee striking the wood planks with a resounding thud as he cursed. His free left hand found Inali's throat, grasped it, and threw her against the rail. The spear raised into the air, this time the wide metal tip aimed at her chest.
"That's it, bitch. Now you die!"
"Trolley!" A thundering voice called out from across the deck, that of Captain Wrightly himself. The ferret held his spear in mid strike, the captain climbing the stairs to survey the scene. He pushed the ferret to the side, and grasped Inali by the throat.
"So, this one's up to trouble again? I guess she hasn't learned her lesson yet."
Inali squirmed under his grasp, infuriated now that her blood was rushing. She rarely ever felt this mad.
"Let go of me you filth!" She continued to pry lose from his grasp. "I was only protecting my friend!"
"Friend? Lass, you be forgetting that you have no friends on this ship. You serve my men and I, and only us."
"Please, I beg of you Captain Wrightly." Amelia groveled before the rat. "She was only protecting my sister, Borgete. How can you expect her to work when she's been wounded so, and then punish her for exhausting herself in your service. Inali was only trying to protect her. Please, have mercy!"
The captain looked over at Ayata, holding her ribs with one hand and comforting Borgete with the other. He then looked back into Inali's gaze, and released her.
"Trolley! Give them what medicines they need, but give only one ration for the lot of 'em. Tommorow, you'll work, and doubly so without the help of your friend." With lightning reflexes Wrightly snatched the long whip from his belt and struck it around Inali's neck, choking her as he pulls her closer.
"And don't you be getting any more ideas in that pretty little head of yours." He uncoils the whip from Inali's neck, allowing her to breathe. "It isn't in your place to think."
Inali gently rubbed her neck, where the whip had coiled tightly. Borgete was sleeping peacefully in the corner of their room with her sister as Ayata looked out the porthole at the nearly full moon.
"How are you feeling, Ayata," asked Inali softly.
"I feel like I lost an opportunity having the captain that close to me. But, I couldn't afford to lose the opportunity I had already gained."
"Uh, I don't think I know what you mean, Ayata."
With those words, Ayata tossed a key over to Inali, who studied it carefully.
"I managed to swipe that ferret Trolley's keys when I made that first strike, then replace them again when he was rising from your strike to his knee. I only had enough time to take one key, but I recognize it as the key to the lock on this door. My arms are narrow enough to fit through the bars in the window, and unlock it from the outside."
Inali looked to the sister's sleeping in the corner, then again to Ayata.
"So why aren't we escaping?"
"Because Borgete is recovering from her injuries, the moon isn't full, and I'm still thinking of how to lower the long boat without the nigh watch noticing."
"What does the moon have anything to do with it?"
"The Spear Maiden Arya will be with us on the full moon, and we will be able to see in the full moon without lamps or candles. We wait for two more days."
"Then what?"
"I'm still thinking that part out."
"Oh. Okay. Do the sisters know of your plan?"
"No. The least the eyes know, the less they tell. Concentrate on your work and forget about the key until the full moon. I'll have a plan thought out by then. That will be the night I need your help."
"I'll be there, Ayata. Just tell me when."
The next two days were nearly unbearable for Inali. Her elbows creaked and her shoulders popped as they washed the main deck from the day into the night. The few dozen men that ran the sails and rigging always prodded and groped as they worked, and Inali knew as bad as she had it, these women had put up with the abuse for years. At the end of the second day, as they were placed back in their cell and given their meals, Ayata finally revealed her master plan as she sat in the beam of moonlight shooting through the porthole window.
"Amelia, Borgete, Inali and I have a plan to escape, tonight. I stole a key from that ferret Trolley, and it opens the door to this room. Borgete, I know you haven't healed entirely, but you and your sister's part will be small in these plans. Amelia, we mostly need you to take care of your sister, while Inali and I take care of the rest of the ship.
"Inali, you've already told me that you don't know much about ropes and pulleys, so I'll take care of getting the boat ready for a quick escape while you get the top deck gun ready. Not the two big cannons, the little one on the pivoting stand. Do you know what I'm talking about?"
"That short thing with the long handle on the tall stand, right?"
"Yes. That gun is set on a turret that will allow it to be fired anywhere, even the main deck. Years ago during a gun battle with another ship, I saw one of the men of this ship panic as it was being taken over, and he used that gun to fire on them. It blew a bunch of the men to little pieces, but it also went through both decks and the ships hull. Even after the battle, the ship was in chaos as they tried to repair the hole it left in the hull. The round will fragment when it reaches the hull, and it will blow a hole big enough to fit your head through.
"Your job is to ready the gun while I get the long boat ready for a quick launch. Then, I'll make my way to the middle of the ship, and wait for the two watchmen on deck, when I give you the signal to fire, point the gun down as far as it will go towards the main mast, and light the fuse. When the gun goes off, I'll kill the watchmen the moment that they hear the blast, and you'll make your way across the deck with me and to the long boat at the rear of the ship, while everyone makes their way to the front deck to see what happened, and down below to repair the damages. We launch and row softly. There is a low fog tonight, just enough for us to hide away, and make our escape. We'll need the long boat, though, if we plan on making it back to land through these rough waters.
"What about supplies," asked Borgete. "I'd like to keep this bandaged now that it's healing, and we'll need food and water, too."
"While cleaning, I snuck enough provisions for us to survive for one week, though after that, I don't know. It isn't a sure thing that we'll survive the sea even if we survive the Nightcrawler, but I'd rather die free than in the service of scum. I even put the fishing gear we used to catch wakefish from the porthole window, so there's a chance, between that and rainwater, that we'll be able to survive longer."
"And what about the gun," asked Inali. "I've never used a gun before. And what if you need help with the watchmen? I don't have my sword."
Ayata smiled and reached under her cot, pulling out a long spear and a short broadsword. It was not Inali's rusted blade, but a better one, a little rusty in spots, but still polished like a mirror.
"I stole these years ago, in hope that I would find another prisoner willing to fight for their freedom. You're probably not used to a blade of that heft, but it will have to do."
"Wow." Inali turned the simple blade over in her hands. "It's not much, but it's more than I could ever afford."
She swings it a couple of times, letting her shoulder adjust to the weight of the blade.
"You could take a beast's head off with this thing!"
"That is the general intent of such a weapon." Ayata chuckled. "But if plans stray bad enough that you have to use it, we will be in trouble. Besides, I am master with the spear."
"And the gun?"
"Well, I've seen it and the other cannons fired enough to know how to do it. The smaller gun works much like the cannons below deck. There will be a watertight box next to the gun, fixed to the deck. Inside, there is wadding, charges, ammunition, and fuses. It is fairly simple. There is already a fuse in the gun. They only replace it when it gets wet. All you will need to do is take one of the white packages, shaped like a fat sausage, and place it down the barrel of the gun. Take the stick that is fastened to the side of the gun, and use the wide, flat part of the stick to push the white package as far back as it will go. Then, put one of the metal balls down the tube. There will be balls with stars scratched on the outside of them. Use one of those. Before you put the ball down the gun, cover it with wax that you will find in a tin within the box, so that the ball won't roll out of the tube when you aim it down. Use a lot. Then, push the ball against down the tube with the same stick you used to pack the white package it, and tamp the ball firmly so everything inside is tight. Do you think you can remember all of that?"
"I take a white, fat package, put it down the tube and pack it in tightly. Then, I put a one of the star balls in after I rub the wax on it, and pack that all together?"
"Yes, then point the gun down as far as it will go, and toward the middle of the ship. Then you light the fuse, and wait for the blast. After the blast, run to the main mast and wait for me there, and we'll make our way to the long boat. After that, we're free."
"What will I use to light the fuse?"
"Here." Ayata hands Inali a tin box with a wire handle on it. "If you use on of the deck lamps, the watchmen will see the light move. Inside this box there is a hot coal buried in some sand. Expose the coal by holding it on the outside and pulling the handle back. The box will slide out with the coal in it. Blow the sand away until you see the coal, then blow on the coal until it's red. Then touch the coal to the fuse to light it. Do you thing you can do that?"
"This is a lot to remember, but I think I've got it all."
"Amelia, are you and Borgete ready?"
Amelia looks to her sister, who rises to her feet and adjusts her shirt.
"We're ready," says Borgete confidently.
"Okay, let's move. But keep your eyes on me at all times, and keep in the shadows as much as possible."
Ayata reaches through the barred window of the door, key in hand. After a few moments fumbling around with the lock, the door opens with a creak, but Ayata continues to open the door and enter the hallway. After checking that the hallway is clear, she motions for the other women to follow her. They make their way down a long hallway, and to the stairs that would take them all the way above deck. They make there way up the stairs, but stop just before the next deck.
Poking her head up to scout the scene, Ayata is discomforted by the absence of any life whatsoever. The open floor around the stairwell is clear, but the ship is unusually quiet, even for this time of night. Ayata's ears go back as she scowls. She expected it to be harder than this. But, she motions for the women to make for the deck, and they all slowly advance up the stairs. Reaching the main deck, Ayata motions for everyone to move to the shadows behind a few crates.
"Amelia, you, Borgete and I will make for the long boat. Stay close behind me and watch my hands and eyes. If I signal you, get under cover and hide away as best as you can until I motion for you to come out. Inali, you know what to do. Wait here while we make our way to that next pile of crates. I'll signal you when it's clear for you to move."
"I'll wait for your signal," Inali confirmed.
"Here," Ayata hands Inali the key to their cell. Inali looks to Ayata questioningly.
"Don't ask. There's a reason for you to have this, but just put it in your pocket and forget it."
Inali nods, seeing some worry in Ayata's eyes, but dismissing it as Ayata and the sisters make their move, making their way to the next set of crates. Anticipation and pride burned fiercely in Inali's chest as she watched them make their way to freedom. They stop at the next set of crates, Ayata's eyes watching the two watchmen's movements, then signals to Inali.
Inali moves out from behind the crates, eyes set and alert. She makes her way to the stairway to the upper deck, looking back behind her to make sure no one is watching. She doesn't see anyone, not even Ayata or the watchmen. Inali's stomach turns, knowing something is wrong. She turn and makes her way up the stairs to continue her plans, but just as she gets to the top of the stairs, Trolley unveils himself from a bundled canvas and snatches Inali's arms.
She wants to shout out for Ayata, but doesn't wish to tell the Ferret that her friends are with her. Trolley sees the metal tin shining in the moonlight, and jiggles it out of Inali's hands, thinking it a knife. The tin hits handle first, shoving the box open and letting the sand spill out wit the coal. Unknown to Trolley, the coal reddens in the nigh breeze, and rolls for the edge of the upper deck, falling down to the main deck and making its way across the planks. Trolley turns Inali around, to see Captain Wrightly making his way up the stairs with five other beasts holding swords and torches.
"Is she the only one," the captain asks Trolley.
"Yes sir. I spotted no others."
Inali's heart sighs. Maybe her friends will still get away. Captain Wrightly reaches for Inali, seeing something in one of the pockets of her blouse. He pulls out the key for the holding cell below deck, and chuckles.
"See, miss slave, Trolley came to me after you took this key. He may not be bright, but he loves counting his keys in the privacy of his cot. When he made notice of the missing key, he told me immediately. I waited to see which of the other three would follow your lead, but I'd have to say I'd be surprised if Ayata wasn't involved in this somehow. We're looking for her below deck as we speak. Rest assured that you'll see her again before we kill the both of you. You'll see her die, just before I throw you overboard with a weight around your neck."
The red coal makes its way to the stairwell. Almost burnt out now, the red hot coal falls, bumps off a railing, rolls down a hallway and falls down a hatch, right into the ship's powder room. A stoat, standing next to the open hatch, sees the tiny ember fall into the darkness, then hears a hiss as the powder room lights up. He doesn't even have enough time to curse, before he's vaporized in cloud of flame and splinters.
Above deck, Ayata is just readying the long boat with tears in her eyes. She saw Inali's capture, but couldn't risk the mice sisters' lives in an attempt to save her friend. Just as she helps Borgete and Amelia into the long boat, a thundering explosion rips through the main deck. Ayata is blow back as the long boat plunges to the water below, landing hard, but upright. The mice steady themselves within the boat, and call for Ayata to jump. Ayata gets to her feet, looks over the rail at the mice sisters, but then looks through the flames to see Wrightly, still alive. She backs away from the rail, unable to leave her oppressor alive.
Inali is thrown backwards with Trolley and the captain, the other five beasts killed instantly in the blast. Trolley hits the rail and goes over board and falls into the water unconscious, disappearing into the ocean depths. Inali goes over the rail as well, but manages to catch the rail and hold fast with both paws, claws digging into the wood. Captain Writghtly gets up, turns around, and witnesses the burning carnage of what was once his ship as water rushes in to the gaping hole left from the blast. The deck tilts, forward, Inali holding on for dear life as she looks into Wrightly's burning eyes, his sword rising into the air.
"You bitch! You've destroyed everything! To hell, damn 'ye!"
Just as the sword falls, Inali gasping in anticipation, Ayata springs across the flaming deck and hits Wrightly square in the back. As Ayata and Wrightly tumble over the rail, right next to Inali, Ayata buries her teeth into her captor's throat, bleeding the life out of him as they hit the water. Inali pulls herself up over the railing, and looks down to the frothing water where they hit, but a loud explosion rocks the ship again, breaking the mast and sending it falling right where Inali stands. It's burning sails howl as they fly through the air, Inali diving out of the way just in time. The burning timbre and sails hit the water, right where Ayata fell, hissing as the debris dives into the sea.
Inali cries out for her friend, but with everything around her in flame and sinking into the sea, she rushes to a railing and jumps, the flames singing her fur as she flies through them and into the sea. Amelia sees her friend hit the water, and rows over to her, Borgete helping Inali into the boat. Inali gasps for air, spitting salt water, as Amelia rushes over.
"Inali, where's Ayata!?" She shakes Inali's shoulders insistently. "We saw her making her way to you, but after the second explosion, we couldn't see anything."
Inali regains herself, taking a few deep breaths. She looks into Amelia's waiting eyes, wide in anticipation, but looks away with tears in her eyes.
"She went overboard with Captain Wrightly. He was about to kill me when she dove at him, and they both hit the water, followed by the rest of the burning mast and sails."
Amelia let out a deep sigh, tears also coming to her eyes.
"Well, I guess she went out the way she wanted to, taking Captain Wrightly down with her. I won't forget that woman for as long as I live."
The sound of splashing water near to the boat got everyone's attention. It was Ayata, swimming clumsily for the long boat.
"It's Ayata," exclaimed Borgete.
"Damit, it's me! Get me out of the water!"
They made their way over to Ayata and helped her on board. She went over to the stern of the boat and hid herself away, moaning at the water.
"I hate the stuff, even more since I can't swim! Took you damn long enough to find me!"
"We thought you were dead," Inali said, happy to see her friend alive. She found a dry blanket among the supplies and gave it to the soaked feline, who eagerly dried herself off.
"Me!? Dead!? Shows how much you bunch of silly . . . stupid . . . poop heads know! You should have been right there to pull me out of the water, not sitting around crying that I'd died!"
Borgete giggled and hit her sister playfully.
"Teehe, she called you a poop head."
"She called you a poop head too!"
Ayata looked up at the sisters with a scowl, but then began to smile. All four of the women burst out laughing aloud, cursing at the ship as the flaming wreckage sank into the water with her crew. The last of the ship disappeared into the depths of the sea, and once again the full moon lit the calm water. The women all sat back, and rejoiced in their newfound freedom.
"Ah, it feels good to be free again," commented Inali.
"Yes, and in good company, too," added Ayata, huddling close to Inali. The sisters joined them at the stern of the ship.
"So, what do we do now," asked Borgete.
"Well, as far as I can tell, we're about two or three days hard rowing from Devil's Sands. It's thick with slaving ships and their crews, but it's the closest land to us."
"Ah, what the hell." Inali wrung out the salt water from her hair. "If we get caught, they'll be the ones to suffer."
Ayata grumbled happily, knowing her words to be true. Inali rested against Ayata, snuggling close and she closed her eyes.
"But right now, all I want is some sleep. It's been a long day, you know."
The other three women laughed quietly, each settling in for the cold night. For the first time, they slept together free from bond, with the open sea ahead of them.
"I wonder what will be next," Inali thought as she fell asleep. "One thing's for sure, I've had enough adventure for one day."
-END-