VI: I NEED A DRINK
Song: Can't Do Better by Kim Petras

Henrietta held her breath once she broke through the surface of the water. Her lungs were burning from the lack of oxygen, but the cold temperature of the water helped her keep a clear head. Henrietta opened her eyes and observed her surroundings, she had been in the ocean more times than she can count and the salt of the sea didn't irritate her eyes anymore. The light from above did little to illuminate the vast body of water, but she could see the gorgeous and vibrant corals. The various marine wildlife didn't pay attention to the intruder, and Henrietta was at peace. Nobody paid attention to her, there was a calming silence, and, probably for once in her life, she didn't stress about anything.

The auburn-haired girl felt like she could float around in the water forever, if only it wasn't for the need for air. Only when she started to feel faint did Henrietta hear the commotion coming from above her. The distorted words and voices broke the silent atmosphere she was enjoying a moment ago. She couldn't place which words belong to which voice, nor who exactly was talking. She was too immersed in the serene view to even care. Unfortunately, Henrietta did have to go back to the surface, knowing realistically that she couldn't live underwater forever.

Once Henrietta's head was above water, she bobbed up and down in time with the current and waves. Her first instinct before anything else kicked in was to take in large gulps of air. It took a while for the chaos to catch up to Henrietta, but after her tranquil time with nature, she didn't have the energy to deal with the tumult. There are only a couple of hours left before sundown, and Henrietta was already drained.

There was a hush on the rowboat as Haven and Brianna held Henrietta by her arms and helped her out of the water. As she got situated back into her seat, Henrietta noticed Haven sending dirty looks to Gabrielle while Brianna just looked away, her knuckles white from gripping the oar tightly. Gabrielle, for her part, looked guilty and a little scared. Maybe it was Henrietta's composed response, or lack thereof, or the two clearly pissed-off pirates who with no doubt wanted to throw her overboard, but Henrietta didn't worry about it. She definitely had enough time to deal with Gabrielle in the coming days. A glance at Spencer and Shade told Henrietta that they were displeased. Again, she didn't know why or who at, nor did she dwell on it too much.

I need a drink. Henrietta thought as they reached the Lost Jewel. The rowboat slightly bumped the bigger ship, as if a greeting hello before Haven and Brianna put their oars down and tossed ropes up. Whoever was on the top, tied the ropes to the pulley system so the skiff didn't float away and they could pull it up easily later on. A rope ladder was lowered down the side of the schooner, as soon as the smaller boat was secured. Everyone was no doubt waiting for the last of the guests and crew to board.

The familiar voice of Alistair carried a hint of authority as Henrietta heard him bark orders. She would be lying if she didn't find it attractive, but the fact that there was a tone to his voice made Henrietta cringe. Alistair's patience was running out and his temper wasn't faring any better. All Henrietta wanted to do was run into his arms and breathe in her favorite scent while Alistair let her collapse in his arms, whispering comforting words.

"Ladies first," Gabrielle pushed her way to the rope ladder, climbing it earnestly to get away from the dinghy as fast as she can. This broke Henrietta out of her daydream. Haven and Brianna snickered, "You mean, brats first." This comment made Henrietta chortle and earned the girls a sharp glare from Spencer as he followed Shade up the ladder. Henrietta let Haven and Brianna climb up the ladder first, allowing herself a moment to breathe in the calm before the storm.

The ship was busier than ever, Henrietta noted as she stepped foot on deck. Her eyes roamed every inch of the boat. It looks like the twins were able to finish their chores. Tommy, Brandon, and Mirabelle were running up and down the ship's length, putting things away. Spencer was talking to Alistair, with the blue-eyed boy looking like he wanted to jump overboard. The rest of the guests just stood in the middle of the deck, talking amongst themselves while looking unsure of what to do.

"Captain on deck!" Haven hollered. In an instant, at least 12 pairs of eyes snapped to where she stood. Henrietta could see her friends look relieved to see her, while their guests look perplexed. She did not even have a second to ponder anything when Teagan decided to point out the obvious. "Cap, why did you go swimming with your clothes on?" This earned the brunette a quick glare from her crewmates. "No fair! How come you guys got to leave her behind? I thought if we tried leaving her, you would throw us overboard." Raegan whined accusingly at Haven dramatically, not reading the room. "Can you two pinheads shut up for a minute?" Alistair pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Captain? You're the captain?" Spencer questioned. His face showed how confused he was. It was as if he believed that anyone but Henrietta was the captain of the ship. It hurt Henrietta a little to think her father didn't think she had the potential to lead. They may not have ever had a relationship, but it still stung and Henrietta had no idea why she was affected this much when Spencer did not even know his daughter was right in front of him.

There was a short silence across the ship as the newcomers looked between each other, Henrietta, and Alistair. Most of the crew just went about with their jobs and paid no mind to the cluelessness of the land lovers. "I thought he was the captain of this ship?" George pointed to Alistair. The blonde boy raised and dropped his shoulders carelessly as he walked closer to Henrietta, taking her wet cape off and handing it to Tommy who was waiting with outstretched arms.

Henrietta met Alistair's stare, knowing he was leaving all the explaining up to her. Henrietta reciprocated his stare with her own shrug. "I am indeed the captain of this ship. The name's Captain Emerald." She announced in an authoritative voice. Henrietta lifted her arms parallel to the ground and took a dramatic bow at the waist. Her wet clothes drooped down and dripped onto the wood of the deck. She eyed her new guests as she dropped her arms and straightened her back. Gabrielle's eyes were wide, probably realizing she pushed one of the most feared pirates into the sea, Daniel visibly paled, there was a slight smirk on Hunter, and the three grown men  sported varying degrees of defensiveness. She felt powerful now that they were in her territory.

The feeling only intensified when Alistair roughly grabbed her forearm that was closer to him and brought them closer to his view. Henrietta knew what he was looking at and let him continue his survey. He gingerly rolled up the girl's sleeves and softly touched the black and blue spots on her wrist. "What the hell happened here?" Alistair all but shouted. A chorus of "uh-ohs" echoed across the ship's crew. Henrietta gently pried her arm out of Alistair's grip and gave him another shrug, not answering her first mate. "Did they hurt you?" Alistair pushed for an answer. "Who cares?" Henrietta tried to brush the topic off. She just wanted her drink, and every second spent on deck was one less sip she could have in her quarters. "I do." Alistair's voice cracked slightly.

Even the pain in Alistair's voice didn't change Henrietta's mind. Her focus was on getting as far away from Bryla as fast as possible and having her drink. Her powertrip and Alistair's concern flew to the back of her mind as she squared her shoulders and hardened her facial features. "I want those sails unfurled and the anchor up. Finally, time to leave this dreadful place." Henrietta ordered, ignoring Alistair for the umpteenth time that day. She didn't even bother trying to lower her voice for her latter statement, overlooking Spencer's narrowed eyes in her direction.

"Get Finley and Shadow," Henrietta spoke softly to Alistair, shivering in her damp clothes as a breeze passed. She took a couple of steps toward the direction of her cabin but was pulled to a stop when Alistair grasped her hand. The boy tugged with a little force, making Henrietta turn to face him. When Henrietta refused to move any further, Alistair took one step to close the gap between them. "We aren't done talking about this." Alistair leaned down and whispered into Henrietta's ear. He only pulled back just enough to make eye contact. The girl's breath hitched as she returned the stare. Now, Henrietta was sure she was shivering for a different reason besides the cold.

At that minute, all Henrietta could think about was how close she and Alistair were. She broke eye contact briefly, glancing at his lips when he licked them, and then went back to their staring contest. Earlier events turned fuzzy when Alistair brought a hand up to push a lock of Henrietta's hair behind her ear when another gust of wind blew her hair into her face.

The thought of who was watching them didn't faze Henrietta as she leaned forward, the temptation to kiss Alistair never wavering. It was only when Henrietta's body shook with the wind that Alistair pulled away. "Go change into dry clothes before you get a cold." He placed a peck on Henrietta's cheek and let go of her hand before turning around and barking more orders.

Henrietta could feel her cheeks heating up as she walked the short distance to her quarters. I almost kissed him. Henrietta played that thought in her head repeatedly, dodging the knowing stares she could feel from her friends. The second she stepped foot into the room, Henrietta shut the door behind her and quietly counted to ten, gathering her thoughts before moving to the small dresser in the corner of the room.

Mindlessly, Henrietta took off her boots, undressed, and tossed her wet clothes to one side. She opened a drawer and grabbed the first articles of clothing she got her hands on. She started by putting on her trousers, taking her own time. What was I doing? Henrietta started questioning her actions. From the moment she woke up to agreeing to the stupid agreement to almost kissing Alistair in front of everyone, Henrietta was now overthinking all her decisions.

Henrietta was taking too long to dress, lost in her thoughts. She didn't realize how much time had passed when Alistair walked in and she had yet to put on a shirt. Henrietta was still in the middle of replacing her chest binding, making her chest appear flatter and allowing her more movement than corsets allowed for someone in her profession. At the sound of the door closing, Henrietta paused her movements. Alistair was the only one who never really knocked, he's seen her in worse conditions. This situation was not new to both of them.

"Fin is showing our guests where they are going to stay. Shadow is putting the supplies away and taking inventory. But, they'll both be here shortly." Alistair said as he approached Henrietta. His eyes stayed on her face, never once glancing down at her chest. "Are the weapons put away?" Henrietta asked as she went back to finishing the task at hand. "I made sure the twins put them away properly. I swear they are like children sometimes." Alistair chuckled as he picked up the shirt Henrietta had set out. "Arms up." He said softly once he got the buttons on the top half of the shirt open. Henrietta didn't argue about how she was grown up and independent enough to do this herself anymore. She was too tired to put up a fight.

The shirt slid over her head and down her arms, swallowing Henrietta. It was one of Alistair's shirts. He probably lent it to her and she never returned it. If he doesn't say anything, I'm going to wear it. Henrietta was comfortable in Alistair's shirt. While Alistair started to button up the shirt, Henrietta rolled up the long sleeves as she took a sniff of the shirt. It still smelled like her favorite scent; him. This was close to how she had envisioned coming back to the ship. She may not be in his arms, but Alistair was comforting her indirectly. 

Henrietta kept looking around the room, not letting her gaze wander to her first mate as Alistair wordlessly buttoned up her shirt. Her self-restraint was unraveling quickly the longer the blue-eyed boy kept the short distance between them.  She didn't know why she was letting her crush on her friend overrule every logical argument about getting over him. It's getting pathetic. I am pathetic. Henrietta subconsciously scolded herself. A pirate captain of her status and reputation should not be hung up on a boy. She was supposed to be cutthroat, intimidating, and mean. Not hopelessly pining over someone who, realistically, could never be hers.

It felt like hours until Alistair finished buttoning up her shirt, and Henrietta couldn't get out of his personal space fast enough. She took a huge step back the moment his fingers let go of the last button but was not able to put as much space between them as she wanted. Henrietta's back hit the dresser behind her, effectively trapping her in Alistair's stare.

Alistair had easily closed the gap once again, pressing Henrietta further into the dresser. His hand reached out as he placed his thumb and forefinger under Henrietta's chin, forcing her to look at him. "Etta-" He breathed out in a little whisper. Whatever he was going to say was cut off by a heavy knock on the door, and Henrietta couldn't be more thankful for the distraction at that moment. Her thankfulness did not last long though. "You two better not be sucking face when we walk in," Shadow shouted from the other side of the door. The comment was like a bucket of cold water. Henrietta cleared her throat and Alistair stepped away from her. She tried to calm her beating heart as Alistair made his way to the other end of the room and sat down on her bed as the door creaked open.

"You wanted to see us?" Finley said, ever the quiet and reserved guy he was. His head popped through the partially opened door. His face was covered by his scarf.  He sounded cautious and he had a right to be apprehensive. Henrietta knew she had a track record of being secretive towards her own friends. She felt guilty for putting her friends in precarious positions.

Henrietta gestured for the two boys to come in as she sat in her chair behind her desk. When the door was firmly shut, Shadow and Finley immediately took off their scarves and hung them on the coat rack by the door. Finley sat down on the chair opposite Henrietta while Shadow stood standing a couple of steps behind, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. The playfulness and light-hearted atmosphere that normally accompanied the crew was not in the room at that moment. Even Shadow was serious, a rare sighting.

"Shadow, are the supplies put away?" The captain went into business mode. She only received a curt nod from her boatswain before proceeding. "How are the sleeping arrangements?" Henrietta faced the tattooed, husky boy in front of her. "It's a bit cramped, but we'll survive," Finley replied softly. "You guys plus the twins can stay here. There should be enough space for all of us." Henrietta offered empathetically. The captain's quarters were much more spacious than that of the crew and if she could make her friends more comfortable after bringing their literal past back, she would do it. There was no way she was subjecting her friends to further trouble.

"I know we are all stressed out about the situation," She looked around the room. Everyone looked like they had aged years from the tire in their eyes and the lack of color on their skin. "Trust me, I really would rather do anything than this." Henrietta had to stop herself from saying too much. It was her fault they needed to go to Bryla. She knew what mess they were getting into when she ran after her friends. She knew there was no escape when she surrendered to George and Shade. They were all arrested for just associating themselves with her. This would not have happened if she just ran away from home all by herself as she had originally planned. If taking Spencer and company to Crystalston would get them off her friends' back, then so be it.

Swallowing a lump formed in her throat, Henrietta set herself back into the mindset of a pirate captain, not the broken girl she is. "We are to use our jewel aliases with the strangers on board. As much as possible, scarves up. The last thing we need is for them to recognize us and break off the deal. Keep an eye on them and stay alert. Shadow, Alistair, go disseminate this." Henretta dismissed.

When the door closed once again, Henrietta faced her best friend. "Fin, I need you to plot a course to Crystalston. The faster, the better." She was practically begging Finley, but she didn't care. At this point she was desperate. "Aye," Finley replied and got to work. Henrietta grabbed her bottle of rum from earlier off her desk and took a massive gulp. This is just what I needed. Henrietta could feel the alcohol burn the back of her throat as it helped numb away her anxieties. She just kept drinking as he watched Finley take out maps and charts, lay them on her desk, and start planning their course.