The Captain’s cabin was much larger than the rest of the ship, with its square row of windows overlooking the distance they had traveled, and his bed and tub positioned under the view. There was a long sideboard that began beside the Captain’s headboard, and ran the length of the cabin, and on it was maps and instruments of navigation that gleamed in the pale light of early evening.

The small table and chair Aggie had thrown an hour earlier were placed back upright, and in the far back corners of the cabin were various piles of shirts and trousers.

Aggie focused on those details of the room as she bathed herself, trying to ignore Herm leering at her, and Ian looking away whenever possible.

“Fat load o’ good you’d do your ‘usband! Skin an’ bones! Nothin’ for pleasin’! Ye’ could be a boy for all the tits ya ‘ave!”

Aggie refused to raise her gaze to him as she scrubbed dried blood off her skin, and began working on the grease in her hair.

She didn’t want to admit that the bath felt like heaven.

That she felt relieved to wash her wounds properly, and that she could watch some of the bugs fall from her hair.

“I pretended to be a boy you know.” Aggie said without realizing it. She was too used to responding to Ines.

“You… You wha’?” Herm asked the note of disbelief abundant in his voice.

“For the first while after I left the Duke’s keep. I pretended to be a boy.” She decided keeping Herm too distracted to comment on her body was a better alternative.

Despite everything she had gone through, she still found it uncomfortable in broad daylight for men to see her naked. She knew she had been forced to go to the bathroom blindfolded in front of people when she had been initially captured by the Minkies, but actually seeing their eyes trace the lines of her body made her stomach clench painfully.

“Didya fuck women too?”

Aggie stopped mid-scrub on her arm with the tiny bar of soap she was given. She wasn’t exactly sure why she was surprised at the question.

“How did you two come to work for James Murphy?” She asked instead.

“’E’s the best. You fight to get on ‘is ship.” Ian answered this time, his tone admiring at the mention of his Captain.

“I see.” Aggie paused as she rinsed her hands and rubbed her eyes slowly.

“What kind of fucking day is this?” She silently mused grimly.

“Did you know his trades involved blood sport before you got on the boat?”

“Of course not! No one but the crew and certain circles know about my exploits.” The Captain appeared in the cabin looking dashing as ever in his long blue coat and crisp white shirt.

“Gentlemen you are relieved of duty.” He nodded at Ian and Herm. Herm looked greatly disappointed, while Ian couldn’t hurry out fast enough-, his tail had been coiled tightly the entire time.

James Murphy held up a fluffy white towel for Aggie, propping it up as though he expected her to rise out of the bath naked in front of him and walk into it.

“Yes that is exactly what I expect you to do.” James said already knowing her thoughts, and giving her a roguish smile.

Not wanting to give him any kind of satisfaction, Aggie’s look of incredulity turned flat as she rose from the bath, stepped over the lip, and stood dripping wet on the cabin floor with as little emotion as she could muster.

“Arms up please, I cannot wrap this around you with your arms hanging in front of you in cuffs can I?”

The murderous feeling Aggie experienced must have been abundantly clear on her face, for the Captain felt the need to remind her;

“One more attack on me, and I will ensure that literally every single member of my crew fucks the Fey tonight.” Aggie’s look darkened, but she did as she was instructed, her stomach roiling at his touch as he first pat down her body, and then tied the towel under her arms.

“You know, now that I see you not dressed as a Minkies or wallowing in filth, I can see you are a very pretty woman. Well… more striking. It’s in your jaw line, and your Beatha eyes.” Aggie continued to glare in silence.

The Captained ‘tsked’, then preceded to procure another towel that he used to dry her hair.

Aggie waited patiently. Wishing she could knee him in the balls and strangle him with her cuffs.

“Now, I have a clean set of clothes for you to change in to. I will unlock your bonds only for the shirt, and again one wrong move and-”

“-Pain and suffering, yes I remember. Move it along.” Aggie snapped. Her eyes trained on his face. She watched the small smile tug at the corners of her mouth at her obvious discomfort of him.

He proceeded to unlock her cuffs, and pressed the scratchy material of a white shirt into her hands, then bonded her hands again immediately after she pulled the shirt over her head.

He forced her to step into the brown trousers, and pulled them up to her hips, his touch lingering on her bare skin, making her want to fold in on herself in disgust.

He tugged on the pants, sticking his fingers between the top of the pants and her abdomen. Aggie immediately backed away so quickly that she stumbled against the tub and nearly fell back in before James grabbed her upper arms and steadied her.

“I don’t need to force a woman to want me. Though on occasion a challenge is fun-, I was trying to determine if you needed a belt. Which you do.” James procured a black sash for Aggie to tie around her waist.

“You are prohibited from using this in a fight. You are quite capable without help I’ve learned.” Aggie tried to swallow, but found a hard lump had formed in her throat as flashes of the brawl appeared in her mind.

“Speaking of your fighting, you know you weren’t supposed to kill the Beast Awares, right?” His warm breath blew over her face, but Aggie would’ve blinked rapidly regardless of that fact.

“He was going to kill me.” She managed quickly, though she didn’t sound certain of herself.

“He wanted to without a doubt, but you were surrounded by my crew, and he wasn’t a first place fighter. Others have beat him without him attempting murder. Why do you think he would be angry enough to kill you?” The Captain turned and walked back to the small round table he had first tried to share a drink with her over.

He gestured for her to sit, and slowly, with the shackles jangling as she walked, Aggie walked over and seated herself.

“The other fighter’s didn’t break off his antler.” Aggie’s hands curled into fists before recalling with a shudder the look of beastly intent in Reggie’s eyes before she impaled him.

“Mm. Yes, and not to mention Southern Royalty doesn’t think fondly of Beast Awares, and the feeling is mutual.” A crewmate entered as James spoke and placed two steaming dishes of salted pork and roasted potatoes in front of them, making Aggie’s mouth water as her perpetually empty stomach rumbled deeply.

“I didn’t kill him because he was Beast Awares. I have nothing against the Awares.”

The Captain waved his hand dismissively; informing her that he did not really care what her political stance on Beast Awares actually was.

“I felt it was time I got to know you a little better Lady Beatha. You are very different from what I thought you would be. Capable of murder, a good grasp of fighting, a quick learner… I’d say you’d make a terrific soldier.” James Murphy carefully cut one of his potatoes and popped it into his mouth, his face showing nothing but good-natured thought.

Aggie didn’t say anything as she slowly sliced into the pork, and began eating it as carefully as possible, despite wanting to start tearing into it like an animal.

“So tell me Lady Beatha, you ran away from a comfortable life for what exactly? Love? Money? Power?” He asked settling back into his chair his deep blue Captain’s coat hanging open.

“None of those.” Aggie answered after swallowing, and began stabbing into one of the golden potatoes.

James Murphy waited for several long moments for her to say something more, but when she had very nearly cleared her plate, before he grew impatient.

“Why are you traveling with magical items, and where did you get them?”

Aggie stopped chewing.

She had noticed she had been missing her pouch, and had completely forgotten about the Fey bell…

Wait, why had he used a plural?

“I have more than one item?” Aggie asked casually leaning back into her seat and fixing the Captain with a level stare.

“The Summoning Stone and the bell.”

“The summoning what?”

James studied her closely for a moment, obviously trying to tell if she was feigning ignorance.

“The Summoning Stone. The ancient Dwarf crafted tool that a Master can use to summon a particular person to them. The Thief of Souls used these to bring pure humans to him during the War of Kinds.”

Aggie didn’t respond.

“He has to be talking about the clear marble I found.”

Filing the information away to mull over later in her cell, she gave a non-committal shrug.

“I see. Well, I didn’t have much hope of getting a straight answer for that one I suppose. So, is it true you were fucking your Servicer?”

Aggie’s jaw clenched and unclenched.

“No.” She answered shortly now folding her arms across her chest. James watched her with glittering interest.

“No shame if you did. Rumors say that they are remarkable lovers.”

“I have not fucked my Servicer.” Aggie annunciated clearly and tried to keep her tone from rising.

James paused for a moment as he then began to eat the pork in front of him. It was Aggie’s turn to study him.

“What is it you want?” Aggie’s question made the Captain pause his chewing and his eyes wandered over to her own.

“From you or in general?” He waved his fork in the air as he spoke.

“In general. Do you just love to see creatures tear one another apart? Are you just after wealth? Power?”

He snorted in laughter before placing his cutlery on his plate, leaning back in his chair like Aggie and bringing his mug of ale to his lips.

“Now Lady Beatha that isn’t very fair of you. You expect me to answer a question you wouldn’t answer 5 minutes ago?”

Aggie was struggling to keep her temper under wraps. She wanted to know what his true motivations were, and to try and make sense of the monster to find his weakness. If that meant releasing some more personal information, she had no choice.

“Very well. I will answer your questions for every one of mine you answer.” She offered fairly.

The Captain grinned as though he had just been complimented heartily.

“Absolutely. I will ask first then; What is it you ran away for?”

“My husband-to-be was an ass, and I have been kept in one prison or another my entire life. I wanted to be free to make my own decisions; to do what I pleased and not be destined to be a glorified breeder. Answer my first question.” She rushed through her answer, the edge in her voice impossible to block out.

“What do I want… hmm.” He spent several dramatic moments stroking his chin.

“A wealthy retirement on an island of my choosing with wine and women until the end of my days. Why are you protecting the Fey woman?” He fired back quickly, having clearly prepared all of his questions ahead of time.

“She has been nothing but kind to me.” Aggie responded shortly, and immediately felt her foot start shaking under the table.

“Why do you hate the Fey?” She countered hastily.

James’ face darkened immediately, but he quickly covered up his expression again.

“Beatha, do you know how Beast Awares came to exist?” He asked without a note of condescension- he truly wanted her answer.

“Beast Fey and Humans mated, or some combination of that.”

“A tidy and vague description of the reality.” James leaned forward, placing his folded hands and elbows on the table.

“Centuries ago, the Fey began losing the ability to breed with their own. As a result they bred with the beasts of Tara, having the meaningful connection with nature, they had an understanding and love of these creatures, and the feeling was mutual.” James paused as he wiped his mouth with a white linen napkin.

“However, the offspring were Beast Fey. Beast Fey sometimes were harmless creatures with Fey like abilities, some became sentient though often deficient in one way or another. Some lack the ability to understand language, some are unable to speak it. Others are more susceptible to their animal impulses.” Aggie listened frowning.

She remembered Ora.

Ora had been Beast Fey, and hadn’t been able to communicate with them past hand gestures- though she seemed to understand everyone and everything perfectly.

“Then there were the Beast Fey that were fully Beast up here,” James tapped his temple.

“But were given incredible powers. Well the Fey saw no reason to mind these dangerous Beasts that had no conscious control of their powers, and so with no one minding them, they eventually came here. To our world. That was when it all began.” Aggie felt the room growing colder, and she fought off the urge to shiver.

“They raped, and slaughtered the humans-, whose own magicks were useless against them. There was nothing they could do. After centuries there were eventually enough of the bastard offspring that were sentient, and they finally were able to fight back. The carnage and beastly rampage from before have never fully healed however. While we have become better at keeping Beast Fey down to a minimum, you never truly know how much Beast is in the Beast Awares, and how much is balanced with the human and Fey.”

Aggie could tell her face was open in astonishment, and James leaned back into his chair allowing his story to sink in.

“I doubt your governess felt that was a story a Lady should hear. Do not feel bad for not knowing it. I do not trust the Fey because they only care for themselves and their desires. Damn the rest of us who have to pay the consequences for their fucking with the balance of life. The condescending bastards deserve to be driven extinct after what they have done to this world without giving a fuck.”

Aggie lowered her gaze for a moment. It was an incredibly powerful reason to distrust the Fey, but at the same time…

The Captain appeared to do very little that was outside of his own self-interest. Much like the Fey he despised.

“You aren’t being honest with me.” Aggie declared, leaning forward on the table and fixing James with a shrewd look.

“You hate them beyond what their kind did in the past. It’s more personal to you.”

James’ face drained of color. She had hit something very tender with him.

“Did they do something to you?” Aggie asked refusing to let him off the hook.

“No. They didn’t.” He slowly regained his composure and swallowed visibly. His face was a hard mask. “They took someone I cared about, and I don’t know what happened to her.”

Aggie nodded in understanding. She gently stroked her chin as her father had done on countless occasions.

“My turn Beatha.” Aggie gave a short jerk of her head as though bequeathing him permission.

“Who taught you how to fight?”

“Tork, and the Minkies. I have been training with Arlen since the day we left. I don’t know the world but-”

“Your Servicer’s name is Arlen?” James cut her off immediately. There was something frantic in his face.

“Er… yes.”

“What does he look like?” James demanded his hands turning into fists.

Caught off guard Aggie didn’t think about her answer.

“Black hair, slanted eyes-”

The Captain’s chamber door banged open, and in walked First Mate Ikes who had a smug smile on his face.

“Captain, all set here?” As soon as First Mate Ikes laid eyes on James Murphy the expression fell.

“What did the Lady do now?”

The Captain stood forcefully, sending the chair he was on clattering to the ground.

“She did nothing. Put her back in her cell.” He swept out of the room without a second glance, leaving both Aggie and First Mate Ikes staring after him in confusion.

When Ikes rounded to stare at her, his pupils had shrunk down to slits, and he looked absolutely terrifying.

“I didn’t actually do anything. He just asked me some questions and-” Ikes heavy boots stomped over to the table where he grabbed Aggie by the back of her neck, and immediately shoved her to the ground.

“Get up.” He growled as Aggie struggled to stand. Her entire left side was now aching.

He shoved her all the way down to her cell, causing her to fall on a number of occasions.

When she was finally half thrown into her cell, she cast one last scowl at First Mate Ikes, but suddenly realized every pair of prisoner eyes but one were on her.

Aggie stared at her fellow inmates, who didn’t dare make a sound, but some shook their heads, making her stomach drop.

She turned towards Ines, but found she was curled in a ball on her cot.

“Ines? I’m sorry I didn’t mean to… he wasn’t going to stop unless he killed me… Ines?” Aggie crouched down by the bars, and reached through, but wasn’t able to quite reach her friend.

“Half the crew had their way with her tonight while you were celebrating.” Lady Venom hissed from her cage. Aggie felt her heart plummet to her stomach.

“What?! They told me that-”

Aggie stopped, as every Beast Awares turned from their cell doors away from her, they didn’t care if she was sorry or not, they just cared that there was a new third place fighter.

She saw Ines trembling on her bed, and realized with a horrible twist in her gut that there was nothing she could do to comfort her friend.

The Lady lay down on her bed of bug infested hay, and stared at the wooden planks that made up the roof of her cell.

She knew if she sank into the guilt she felt at causing Ines pain, she wouldn’t be able to keep herself sane. The Captain had cleverly said to her that ‘I will let the entire crew have their way with her’. He had clearly allowed half of them after she attacked him, and had used the bath and dinner as the perfect means to keep her away. Aggie could feel her meal churning in her stomach at the thought, and immediately began trying to block the guilt from her mind until she could properly talk to Ines.

She pressed her eyes shut, and tried to pull away from the memory of murdering a Beast Awares, and the knowledge of what the crew did to Ines.

As Aggie did so, her mind began to turn over the new information she had received, an she realized that she had learned something that seemed immensely important…

There was something about Arlen that bothered the Captain…

But Aggie hadn’t the slightest clue as to what that could be.