Chapter Four

 

They stood on the end of the dock looking into the bustling city of Brunnen. The busy streets, colorful buildings towering above the cobblestone streets, the noise, and just the sheer size of the town left Gracy in awe. She stole a glance over at Ace, his eyes were huge trying to take in everything.

“Luck! Come on, let’s go!” he dashed off into the crowd.

“Wait up!” She called. “This thing is heavy.”

She sighed, adjusting her grip on the chest they had found on the forest island. She called out again, panic rising as she lost sight of him in the dizzying crowd, people running back and forth, street vendors pushing carts and shouting their wares. Someone grabbed her from behind. Not wanting to drop the chest, she kicked back with all her might.

“Nice!” Laughing, he bounced around to face her. “You nearly had me!”

“Captain, One of these days…” she growled.

“You don’t think I was gonna run off and leave you holding our next paycheck, did you, Luck?” He lead her through the crowd.

“What?” she asked, confused as to what he had meant by Luck.

“You said your name wasn’t really Gray, so I decided to try calling you Luck.” He shrugged.

 

They pushed their way up one street and down another, till they found a little antique shop on a side alley. A large ship was displayed in the window, a flag displayed at the top of the mast was carefully painted to show a goat with a fish’s tail, standing with its back to a similarly depicted horse. Ace studied the flag from a moment and shook his head before he pulled open the door and held it for her to enter. The store was packed with all sorts of trinkets and jewelry; shelves piled high with book and maps, baskets of ribbons, hats hanging from the rafters. They wound through the maze of odds and ends to a little desk in the back.

A little old man sat atop a stool, his white hair puffed out from beneath a bandana, staring at a ring through a magnifying glass.

“What do you want,” he growled, without even looking up.

“We wanted to see if you could open this,” Ace said, snatching the chest from Gracy and dropping it on the edge of his desk.

“Fine” the man croaked, pulling out two long thin files. He fiddled with it for a moment and the lock clicked open. “That’ll be twenty pieces,” he said, picking up the ring again.

“Yah, sure, just a minute. Can you appraise these?” Ace muttered, snatching the chest back and opening it.

He set the chest back down and grinned with confidence. Five large round jewels glittered from within the chest: garnet, emerald, diamond, sapphire, and onyx. The old man picked them up one after the other and looked at them through the magnifying glass.

“Well, who did you swipe it from? A circus?” he sighed.

“We didn’t,” Gracy said. “We found it in the woods, on an Island near here.”

“Well, I feel bad for you brats, so get out of here, you don’t owe me nothing.”

She could see the color draining from Ace’s face; the animal pelts had only brought in enough money for one meal, and they still needed to replenish their water.

 “What do you mean, you feel sorry for us?” he demanded.

“They are fake. Props. Toys. Not even worth the 20 pieces I was gonna charge you for opening the box. Now take your toys and get out.”

The old man never looked up once. He waved a quick and dismissive hand and placed the ring in an envelope, taking a new trinket from the stack before him.

They wandered back out into the street, neither one daring to look at the other as they walked along. “I…” Ace started, but he never finished. His hat was pushed down to hide his eyes. He let the chest hang by a single handle, as if it was weightless. She could head the glass stones bouncing along inside the chest.

“Captain? You think we could fool another pirate?” she whispered, taking the chest from him before he broke it. “Maybe someone will think they are real?”

“Nah, we just risk getting killed.” He stopped, looking down a side street. “You smell that?”

“Smell what?” she asked, confused.

“Food!” he shouted, taking off at a full run, ducking around people, and dodging carts.

“Wait!” she called running to catch up. “Where are you going?”

He stopped in front of a rowdy looking bar. “That smells so damn good, I think I’ll cry,” he grinned, marching up to the faded green door. “You coming?”

The bar was dark and thick with smoke, several men sat in the corner shuffling through a deck of cards. And a wooden board had been put up over the small fireplace, as if to cover a broken mirror. The room smelled of alcohol, and a very large woman stood behind the bar glaring at them.

“If you can’t pay, you can leave now. I don’t have time for beggars like you.” She spat into her rag and started wiping down the counter.

“Oh no, ma’am,” Ace said, taking his hat off in a very humble gesture, “we can pay. We smelled your cooking and I knew at that first whiff that this was the finest kitchen it all of the vast ocean. Do you mind if my brother and I take a seat?”

Her entire demeanor changed as she fussed with her grey blond hair.

“Oh yes, sir. Anything you want sir. If I had seen when you had walked in what a handsome young gentleman you were, then I would have offered you a seat right away. Please begging your forgiveness, sir.” she groveled.

Thick wiry hairs protruded from her chin, deep wrinkles almost hid her eyes. Dark red paint smeared across her cheeks and lips, and her perfume was almost overpowering.

“Whatever you think will bring us the greatest enjoyment, lovely.” he grinned.

Grace could feel her cheeks growing redder and redder; she bit her tongue trying so hard not to say something.  As soon as the woman pushed through into the kitchen she slammed her elbow into his rib.

“What is wrong with you?” she hissed. “Please, tell me that is not what you like.”

“What! No! I just want a good meal.” He looked mortified “You didn’t think… Luck! That is, uugh, you have one twisted mind there.”

“What are you gonna do when she wants her ‘payment’ huh?” she asked, smirking as he squirmed uncomfortably. “Now she’s gonna expect you to follow through. Hey, maybe she even tips the ones that survive, Big Brother. You never know…”

“Shut the hell up!” he growled as his elbow made contact with the top of her head.

The woman squeezed back through the door with a large plate piled over with sausage, onions, and fresh baked rolls.

“Here you go boys. You must be a very caring young man, taking care of your little brother so well,” she said, grabbing Gracy’s cheeks. “Here you go, love. Anything in the house, I’m sure you need it, looking after your little brother like that.”

She plopped an empty glass down in front of Ace and flitted off, but was back moments later with a tall glass of milk.

“And here you go, dear” she said handing it to Gracy.

Ace tried to cover the snicker with a cough.

“I have something special for you, love, You should drink this. You can have as much as you like, it’s the best I have. No need to waste time wondering what to order.”

She put the glass back behind the bar and set down a bottle by Ace’s hand, leaning against the bar and fluttering her greasy lashes at him. Ace choked on the roll he was eating, nearly falling backwards off the stool. A man called from the corner of the room, drawing her attention away from Ace for a moment.

“Hey, you ol’ goat, we ran out of sake”

The woman huffed, annoyed that someone would interrupt her conversation, and snatched a bottle off the end of the counter. The room seemed to shake as she stomped her way across the room, slamming the bottle down on a table in the corner “I hope you choke” she hissed.

Ace pushed the plate back, the two of them had left nothing but a few crumbs, but the bottle still sat untouched.

“Mind if I drink the milk?” he whispered. “I really don’t want to know what is in that bottle.”

“Yah,” she answered, “I don’t want to have to see what would happen if you drank that stuff.”

“So” the woman squeezed back behind the counter, looking at Ace “Was it as wonderful as you had hoped? And tell me? How was the house brew?”

Ace looked shaken as she eyed the full bottle. Gracy jumped in quickly, hoping to buy a few minutes.

“Please ma’am. Please may I have another roll? I am still hungry.”

“Awe! You really have to watch this one” the woman squealed, grabbing her cheeks “He is gonna be a charmer, just like you.” She hustled back out the door.

“Ace, quick, hand me the bottle.” Gracy said. He looked at her, shocked. “I owe you for the island. Quick, before she gets back!”

Ace reluctantly held out the bottle, watching the door as the muffled sounds of clanking and crashing came echoing from the back.

“And ma’am? My brother would like a little milk to go along with it, if you don’t mind. We have been traveling by sea to find our uncle, and I am worried that he hasn’t been eating too well.”

He glanced over at her with a look of concern.

“Look, Captain,” she whispered, “those three men in the corner are betting at cards. I think you can bet that chest. They won’t know its fake, and I’m pretty sure that they are already drunk. Now quick, the bottle!”

She snatched the bottle from his hand and drank it as fast as she could. It was warm, rich, and earthy burning as it went down; leaving behind a salty taste she couldn’t seem to shake. Ace grabbed the bottle and drank the last drop of it as the woman came back with a roll and a glass of milk.

“Here you go, sweet heart,” she said, eyeing the empty bottle on the counter. “So, what did you think? The best around, aint it? It doesn’t come any stronger than this one.”

“It was wonderful!” Ace grinned. “I think I would like to relax a bit longer though; do you think they might could deal me in? Maybe I’ll have something else to drink, maybe something a little, um, milder?”

“Sure, love,” she beamed, looking in the cabinet behind the bar. “Go on over and tell them to deal you in, and I’ll bring something around soon.”

Ace grabbed Gracy by the arm, dragging her across the room. She struggled to hold onto her sanity as the doors spiraled away and the walls bowed. The room began to fade to yellow as he sat her down in a chair. She couldn’t tell if she was moving faster or the world was moving slower as Ace bent to look her in the eyes.

“You do know I have no clue what to do, and I am pretty sure you got about five minutes till you black out, so talk quick.”

“It’s easy, it’s a game of chance. You add the numbers on the cards to try and get closest to whatever the predetermined number is. If you get higher, you lose. The person who gets the closest lower number wins the round.  I think it’s called ventiuna.”

“I can do that. I think I’ve played that game a couple of times, I just needed a refresher on the rules and such.” he said “But are you going to be okay?”

“I have had this happen before, so I really won’t remember. Just don’t abandon me. Promise?” she half pleaded.

She struggled to keep the room in view, trying to draw a line between what was real and what the drink was creating.  She really couldn’t remember the last time well, just that the birds had been talking to her through the window. She remembered biting Jiro, but not why. He was yelling at her for some reason. Something about not doing what she was told. Why was Jiro yelling at her? She closed her eyes, desperate to fall asleep; if she could just fall asleep, then people would stop yelling at her…

 

Ace pulled up a chair to the table and looked around at the other players. He set the chest on the chair and opened the lid while watching them carefully as he sat down at the table.

“Evening, gentlemen.  I have a bit of a burden I would like to offload, and I figured as I have never had any luck at games such as these, this would be the perfect opportunity. One thousand pieces each against this chest and its contents.”

“Fine” Growled on of the men “I love a good slaughter.”

The cards were passed and Ace looked at his hand, holding his breath and trying to remember what the cards meant. He waited while the others laid out their cards, all three looking smug. He took one last look at his hand as he lay them face up on the table, a ten of spades and a king of spades, the men grumbled counting out the money into the chest.

“I’m feeling pretty good about my luck today. What say we go another round?” he prompted “I’m willing to put everything out there, for the right prize.”

One of the men stood up, knocking his chair to the floor. “I’ll bet command of my ship on it. But, the chest and three thousand ain’t enough. If you lose, you’ll work off the debt on as a cabin boy, and I have to know you aren’t cheating. Take off your shirt.”

“I think I can do that.” Ace grinned.

“And your hat.”

“Sure, my brother can hold it”

He tossed it across to land on the table in front of Gracy. She opened one eye, put the hat on, and went back to sleep.

The man grinned, showing blacked teeth “And the pants, boy.”

“Now, I do think that might be going a bit too far, don’t you think?” he said, standing up and backing away.

The man pulled a pistol and set it on the table, grinning sadistically. The other two pushed their chairs back from the table, looking uncomfortable.

“You call it quick, son. It’s you or your brother, or you lose the pockets and we deal you in. Or your uncle will be dredging the waters for both of you shrimp.”

Ace lay his shirt on the next table over and hesitated, looking back at the other two, hoping that someone would intervene. Finally the man lowered the barrel and motioned for him to sit down. Ace held his breath as they dealt the cards.

“This is just between you and me, boy. All that, against my old ship. You got lucky I was feeling nice enough to let you keep the rags. If it was all up to me, you would have so much as a stitch.”

The other two watched closely as the cards were laid face down on the table. Ace reached out slowly and looked at one of his cards. The jack of spades; he didn’t want to know what the other was. His stomach churned at the thought of losing.

“Right then, boy. Turn your cards. Let’s end this, before you freeze.” He laughed, showing two kings.

Ace nodded in agreement, holding his breath scared to know what his second card was. He slowly turned it over to reveal the Ace of Spades. The man yelled and knocked the table over. He pointed the gun at Ace.

“Oiy, Grady, a bet’s a bet,” one of the other men stated. “Give him a bill of sale.”

Grady snatched the pen that was being offered by the other player, scratched out ‘This is to Officiate the sale of the Loaded Dice to one ratty teenager -Grady Mulgen’ on the back of the ace of spades, and slammed it into Ace’s chest, knocking the wind out of him. As Ace staggered backwards, he grabbed his shirt and one of the other men handed him a note.

“It’s the dock number and description of the ship,” he said. “You best leave port before old man Grady sobers up.”

Ace nodded his thanks as he stumbled away from them, pulling his shirt on. Grabbing the chest, he slammed it shut.

 “Luck! We gotta go.”

She mumbled and pulled the hat further down on her head.

“Hey!” he said, grabbing her arm and dragging her to her feet, “we gotta go now. You can be drunk later. Ma’am!” he called over his shoulder. “The gentleman friend of yours offered to take my tab!”

He pulled Gracy out into the street, where she pulled free and sat down, crossing her arms in defiance.

“What the Hell, Cap’n, I was trying to nap” she groaned.

“We got a ship, but we gotta get over there before he changes his mind.” He said pulling her back to her feet and dragging her down the street and trying to open out the paper with one hand. Gracy broke free of his grip and sat down, this time laying down on the cobblestones and pulling his hat over her face.

“Come on, Luck.” He moaned dragging her to her feet again and tossing her over his shoulder.

“Please Cap’n, Can’t you just let me sleep for a minute?” she begged. “I need to rest so I am not useless. They will yell again if I am useless. Cap’n I need to not be yelled at.”

“Excuse me!” he called out to a young woman sweeping the steps outside a bakery. “My brother, he is quite ill and I am completely lost. Please, can you tell me how to get back to the ship we are traveling on?” he begged, showing her the paper.

The young woman studied it for a moment, before handing it back to him a pointing. Gracy tried to squirm her way around to see who Ace was talking to, but only ended up sliding further over his shoulder to where she was standing on her head.

“That’s easy, sir, it’s just to the end street and to your left. Do you want to bring him in to rest?”

“No” he said, “it’ll be best if we get back to the ship so we can get him his medicine.”

“Well, I hope he is well soon” she said, as Ace ran in the direction she pointed.

“Cap’n, Can’t we rest like she asked? She seemed like a wonderful wench and would love you like I do.” Gracy pleaded.

The ground was swimming and shifting back and forth, fading in and out as Ace carried her towards the dock. She giggled at the feeling of his hand around her leg. He shoulder was strong and warm, and he smelled nice. If only she could remember where her feet where...

“So we can stop now?”

“No, Luck, we have to hurry. I want to get papers before he changes his mind.”

He set her back on her feet, dragging her by the arm as he looked at the paper for the pier number. She could tell he was completely out of breath as he drug her along the pier, staring at the note.

“We finally did it” he grinned.

“Did what” she asked.

She grabbed on to him in an attempt to stay on her feet as he made his way to the center of the bustling pier. She stopped in awe, she had never seen so many colors in her life, birds, or where they people, bustled around, pushing against each other in a strange dance. Gripping his arm tighter, she watched them, scared they would drag her off.

“Stay here” he said, dropping the trunk and sitting her down on top of it. “I am going to go make sure that this is the one. Just don’t move from there. Promise me you won’t move from here.”

He watched her carefully for a moment before he ran to the small office that stood at the end of the pier, where the planks met the pavement, glancing back to see that he had slid down and was clinging to the chest as if it was a pillow, his hat pulled down over her head, as if it could protect her. He found the dockmaster, a tall, wide, and almost sickly looking man, sitting in front of the office under an awning. He sighed as Ace approached, not even bothering to glance away from the large book he was writing in.

“Can I help you?”

“Sir. I got a bill of sale, if I could get you to please show me…”

“First time buying a ship?” the man sneered

“Yes, sir”

“Stupid, never buy anything you haven’t seen first.” He snapped slamming the book closed and walking away “Well, are you coming or not, I am a very busy man and I don’t have time for games. The ship belongs to a rather nasty bunch, so I can’t imagine you will find it easy to get rid of them, if they haven’t run off on Captain Mulgen, that is. Well, there it is.” He pointed.

The Loaded Dice sat there, black sails tied down carefully, the two snakes wound around the stem, holding a pair of dice in their mouths. Sails yellowed by the weather hung loosely furled along the three towering masts.

“I love it! It’s perfect!”  he grinned, the poor dockmaster looked at him confused and annoyed.
“I suppose you need the sale officiated?” he huffed, snatching the card away from Ace and signing it “Well, this is almost barbaric. Appropriate for a pirate.” He handed back the card and stomped away.

Ace found Gracy sitting on the pier looking lost and confused, clinging to the chest as if it was the only thing keeping her anchored to the ground, his hat pusher back so that she could see.

“C’mon, Luck. You got to see this ship. It’s ours, all ours. You can nap once we are on board, come on.”

He picked up the chest and started walking, dragging her along the pier and up the gangplank. She stumbled along behind him holding to the chest as if her life depended on it. He finally pried it out of her hands and dropped it on the deck.

“Cap’n” she said, slumping against him and sliding down to sit on the deck, wrapping around his leg.

“You love it, right?”

“I suppose” she said looking around “But I have to tell you something.”

“Sure, Anything.”

He beamed, only half listening as he looked around the ship; their ship. It was their ship. He looked down at Gracy, not sure why she didn’t seem to notice.

“Well I think I may be in love with you.” She smiled up at him.

 “What?”

He knelt down to try and detach her from his leg, but she only grabbed his hands.

“It’s true. I was so mad when that fat old hag was trying to get at you, and I was all angry you were talking all nice to her. I think I’m in love with you.”

“Dear God, Luck.” He said “You really are messed up. I think that was more than just a strong stout in that bottle. I can’t imagine what would have happened to me if I had been the one to drink it. You really had my back there.”

He carefully pulled her to her feet, looking into her eyes. She smiled even bigger, blushing slightly.

“But I really do love you!” she insisted.

“And you really are drunk.” He said, taking a step back.

“But I do.” She continued, stumbling forwards and crashing into him.

“Yep, I know” he said trying to steady her. “Let’s find you a place to go sleep this off.”

 “But it isn’t the drink talking” she whispered.

She grabbed him and pulled him close, wrapping her arms around his neck and shakily standing on her toes. She pulled him down even further till his lips met hers in a firm kiss.

“What in the Hell!” he yelled, jumping back and sending her falling onto her bottom.

“You stay here while I find you a nice isolated place to sleep it off. And for God’s sake, don’t move!” He backed into mast, jumped and scampered below deck.

 

The space below the deck was good sized, the galley seemed spacious, and there were plenty of hooks for hammocks, and two large wooden tables mounted near the stairs, with benches running along either side. A narrow ladder under the stairs seemed to lead to a storage space below. He tiptoed back up, checking to see that Gracy was still sitting on the deck before he slipped into the cabin. There was a wide bunk with a thick mattress, four drawers lay underneath. A locking wine cabinet with about a half a bottle of wine left, a safe that was standing open and was obviously empty, and a large messy desk stood mounted to the opposite wall. He walked back onto the deck hoping his inebriated friend was still there.

He found Gracy sleeping, clinging to the chest that contained their winnings.

“Hey, Luck?” He asked.

He poked her to see if she would wake up. When she didn’t respond he carefully slid the chest out of her grip and lifted her up. She was tiny, and felt fragile as she slumped against him, murmuring something about giant birds. He carried her carefully into the cabin and lay her on the bed, draping the blanket across her.

“Just being around you is something of an adventure. Please, next time, pour it on the floor or something. You didn’t have to even the score like that.” he walked back out on to the deck to admire his new prize.

 

Gracy woke up in a strange room, lying across a bed; she was not sure if the room was rocking, or if itwas her head. As she looked around the room she began to panic. The last thing she remembered was taking the bottle from her captain. Whatever was in it, it had been strong.  What if to fat woman new that Ace had passed off the bottle. What if she had taken her as a substitute?  What if Ace had found out who she really was and left? What if Ace had gotten drunk too…?

She staggered to her feet, across the room. She threw the door open and look out across the deck of a ship. Ace was sound asleep, leaned up against the mast. She saw the chest sitting on his lap, and wondered if he had decided to join another crew till he could earn some money.

“Ace?” she said softly.

She reached out to touch his shoulder. He started awake, scrambling backwards up the mast, his face turning a deep crimson.

“Luck, you woke up! Please, please tell me you are normal again.”

“What do you me normal?” She demanded, feeling her own face turning red “What happened? How did we end up here? And why are you acting like I am going to bite you?”

“Yeah, um, well…” He stammered “Can we say that I am now in your debt, and not the other way around. You have more than repaid you hitting your head. Actually, I think I am gonna risk the bottle next time. You don’t ever have to cover for me again. No matter how fat the hag is. But look! I bet on the card game, like you said I should.” he gestured widely, still backing away.

“What card game?” she was getting more frustrated “What happened? And why are you acting like this?” she stepped forward clinching her fists.

“You don’t remember?” He looked shocked “After you drank that stuff you said that I should bet on that card game. And I won with an ace of spades.”

“So this ship, it’s ours?” she asked, he nodded in reply

“Awesome! I am living up to the name you gave me! Maybe I should drink more often.” She grinned.

“NO!” he shouted, his face turning even redder.

She felt the color rising in her cheeks as she gritted her teeth. If he didn’t stop acting like this she was going to punch him.

“What happened that has you acting like a total idiot?” she asked her voice so cold and even it startled her a little.

“Luck” he said, looking a little frightened “Um, you lost your head.”

She could see him clinching his fists trying to figure out what to say, as he looked down at the deck.

“Just spit it out!” she shouted, furious that he was acting so secretive.

“You know what?” he shouted “I am the captain, Luck. Me, not you. You can go find something productive to do, or you can leave, I don’t care what you do, but I will not have this conversation with you! Why should I have to tell you anything when you keep everything you do, everything about you a total secret?”

He pushed past her and marched to the cabin door, pausing for a moment, his hand on the knob.

 “Go take the money from the chest and start looking for supplies.” He stomped in, slamming the door behind him.

She was shaking with anger, what the hell happened that he would act like that? She opened the chest to find three thousand pieces and snatched them out, stomping her way down the gangplank and back into the bustling streets, not really sure what it was he wanted her to do.

 

She wondered around for a long time before she finally found herself standing in what seemed to be the town square. A large wooden scaffold stood at the center, a plank sign suspended from two nooses. She stood entranced by the menacing aura about it.

“It’s an execution platform; they kept it to discourage people from becoming pirates.”  She spun to find Ace standing behind her. “There have been many famous pirates killed there, the most famous were the Baccarat brothers.”

“Where-“

“I was worried that you would get in trouble so I followed you, what would I do if I was to lose my good luck charm? I just wanted to be sure you weren’t gonna mop the ground with me. One thing I know for sure is that the rumors about redheads are true” he said, ruffling her hair “Now, seeing as you have all our money I guess you’ll have to accompany me while I shop for supplies. And with any luck we’ll find a crew.” He said as he walked back towards market.

“Ace?” she asked as she jogged up beside him “Sorry to bring it up again, but I really don’t remember anything from… Um… How long?”

“Huh? About two hours.”

“Was what I did really bad?”

“What? How do you mean?” he looked confused.

“Well, the way you reacted, I thought maybe I did something.” She shrugged, stopping beside him.

“Look. You have a lot that you don’t seem to want to share with me, and I can work with that, but seeing as the only issue that could come from that, that thing that happened” he was starting to blush a little “is self-loathing and embarrassment, then I’ll tell you after you open up about who you really are.”

“Oh, so nothing really bad happened?”

“No, you should know that I wouldn’t let anything go that wrong. You got to trust me at least a little by now.  Look, you just embarrassed me, really badly. If you want to know more than that you got to offer up some information. Will I blackmail you into telling me what I want to know? You can bet your life on it.” He stopped and turned to face her.

“Hey! You!” a voice yelled out “I have business with you, Spade Boy.”

The burly man was barreling towards them; his face was red with anger. He seemed familiar somehow, as if she had seen him before. Ace stopped and looked at Gracy, confused.

“Spade boy? What could that mean?” he shrugged and began walking away.

“I wouldn’t know” she chased after him “It seems there is a lot I don’t remember.”

“Hey! Spade boy! You ruined me! Ruined me, and insulted me on top of it”

“Step to the left when I say, now. Ready?”

Ace grinned, walking casually as if he couldn’t hear the man shouting at him. The sounds of heavy footsteps were coming up fast.

“NOW!”

Gracy dove to the side of the road, as Ace spun back, fist up, to meet the large dirty man right in the face. The man fell backwards, tripping up the group of men running behind him, guns in hand.

“I suppose you might be his crew?” Ace said, shaking his hand out. “I offer my sympathy for you, as your captain has lost you all in a game of cards.”

The men stood looking at each other, unsure of what to do. Ace walked towards them, pulling the card out of his pocket and holding it up for them to see.

“It’s true he signed command of the Loaded Dice, ship and crew to one Ace of Spades. However, I don’t believe that people can be used, borrowed, sold, or lost in a wager. So here is my offer. I can give you a position on my crew, and you may continue to sail on your ship, or you may go and follow your ‘captain’ so that he may continue to squander your things away, and wager on your freedoms.”

He turned and started to walk away, adjusting his hat and putting his arm over Gracy’s shoulder.

“Come on, Luck, we have a ship to furnish.”

“Wait!” a voice called.

Ace stopped and turned around to face the men, crossing his arms, his expression firm.

“I will call you captain, if you will allow me.”

One of the men stepped forward, taking of his hat and holding out his right hand as if to call a truce.

“However I will not sign a contract or swear loyalty just yet.”

A grin spread across Ace’s face as he stood swelling with pride.

“We’ll come along, if you have the room” another chimed in “I was there for the Loaded Dice anyway, every Lady needs a man to look out for her, and I am a fare good shipwright.”

 “I am Ace, Captain of the Loaded Dice and I would be honored to be called Captain by you lot.” He shouted “This is Luck, my right hand. You will follow any orders you are given, and you will not question. If Luck, or I tell you to jump you jump! If you don’t get your orders directly from us, don’t act! Do You Understand?”

“Yes Captain!”

“Wonderful! I can’t believe that worked.” Ace grinned, hands on his hips, his chest puffed out as if his ego was inflated to the point of bursting. “So, how many of you are there and what are your specialties? Let’s find a place with pretty girls and plenty of food where we can discuss this further.”

Ace grabbed Gracy around the shoulders, letting them pass before leading her along the street.

“Why, Luck, what a day! Looks like we got all we need to start our adventure.”

“It would seem.” she said, looking down.

He had far too much trust in her; she just couldn’t keep lying, not like this, if she was going to leave she needed to do it now. He slowed a little feeling her hesitation, and let go of her shoulder.

“Are you feeling okay? You can go back to the ship-”

“Ace? I can’t be your first mate.” She said, stopping.
“What?” he stepped around in front of her “But you are the only person on the crew I know I can trust. I need you to have my back, especially now, we don’t know if we can trust these guys. I won command in a bet for god’s sake.”

“Ace” she said, looking down “I am so sorry. My name isn’t ‘Luck’”

“I know that, I gave you that name.” He sounded uncertain, as if he could feel what she was thinking.

“My name is Gracy.”

 “That’s all? Your name is Gracy and you think I can’t trust you because your name is Gracy? You really need to lighten up. I’m still going to call you Luck, after all, you sure do seem to bring me a lot of it.”

“But, Ace, don’t you see anything wrong with the fact that my name is Gracy?”

“Should I? If we don’t catch up soon we are going to lose them, walk faster.”

He grabbed her hand and started down the street again, dragging her long.

“Ace, are you even listening to me? My name is Gracy! Why don’t you see anything wrong with that?”

“Why should I?” he asked, pulling her along “Is it because you’re a girl?”

“Yes” she whispered.

She dug her heels in breaking free of his grip. This was her chance; if she was going to leave she had to do it now. The truth was out, and he knew who she really was, shouldn’t he be mad? Was he really so stupid? They were even, no favors owed, nothing to tie them together. All she had to do was say goodbye and walk away. It was now or never.

“So, what’s wrong with that?” He asked grabbing her hand, again.

She let him pull her down the street. She missed her chance. She couldn’t leave him, he was safe, the family she had wanted was there. If she walked away now she may never find anyone who cared about her.

“How long have you known?” she asked.

“Well, I had a feeling when I met you on the dock. Then when I grabbed you when we were running away from the Crazy old man, well, boys don’t have tiny waists. Then, when we were caught in the rain, well, you are wearing a white men’s shirt, and I don’t know any boys who ware women’s underwear. And then swimming, and when you bumped your head… I had a pretty good feeling, but I didn’t want to ask. Then when you told me your name was Gracy, well, that was the same as admitting it. I don’t know what you were all worried about, actually I feel a lot better knowing that you are a girl, everything makes sense now. And well, at this point I would have been disappointed and a bit unnerved if you hadn’t been, after you just out and kissed me.”

“I what?”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing; his behavior on the ship, backing away, like he did… it was all making sense now.

“When you were drunk, we got back to the ship, you, well, you kissed me. I, well, I needed you to tell me. I needed you to trust me, so I wasn’t going to make you tell me who you really were until you were ready. ”

He had stopped running and was looking her straight in the eyes. She was looking back into those dark grey eyes. She had to run; there was no way she could stay with him. The way she felt safe around him, the way he looked out for her. It was all a lie. There was no way this could be real. He had to back off; he had to stop looking at her like that!

“Ace, I-” she stammered “You didn’t need me to trust you! You liked it! You were freaked out that you liked it, even though I might have been a boy!”

“What makes you think I liked it?” he yelled, clenching his fists “Maybe I hated it. Maybe it was horrible!”

“Maybe you would have preferred that fat crazy bar lady?”

“Maybe I would have!”

“Well I guess you are just lucky the ugly ones are cheapest!” She snapped.

She glared hard, willing him to say that he hated her. She needed him to say it, to hit her. Something to prove this was all an act. Any sign of how he really felt about her. He swung his fist in frustration, intending to hit the wall of the tavern. He missed…

Their fight was forgotten as the man collapsed to his knees, doubled over.

“Are you okay?” Gracy asked rushing to his side.

Ace was blushing, as he reached to help the man up. He glanced up at Gracy, still confused as to her behavior.

“I didn’t see you, Sir, I thought I was hitting a wall.” He muttered.

The man grabbed them both by the hair at the back of their heads as he drug himself to his feet.

“First pirates barge in, stealing my booze and my women, then the old man chases me out saying I was bothering the customers, and now the two of you, damn buggers, slug me and pretend you’re sorry, that you though I was a wall? Going for my pockets, are you? Or do you just enjoy having your heads bashed in?”

He lifted Gracy up off the ground; she started kicking at him, but to no avail. Ace was still rambling an apology as he attempted to break free of the man’s grip.

“Sir, I really am sorry, I was trying to hit a wall, really, sir. I didn’t mean to. If I broke anything I will cover the cost for medical treatment, just put her down before I have to hit you again.” Ace continued.

The man began to laugh; he was rather attractive, thin and muscular with messy dark blond hair, held in place by a wide brimmed hat. His nose was crooked, as if he had broken it in the past, and his blue eyes flashed with anger.

“Hit me again? Really…” he sneered and smashed Ace through the tavern wall.