The Perfect Lady- Chapter 2

There were two hours to dawn. A small glow on the horizon lit the way as Bella and Rhea crept up the rope ladders leading to the slaver's ship. They hung on the railings, keeping their heads just below the deck as Rhea whispered to Bella.

"There are only three other crew members," she said, her voice low, "they should be asleep in their hammocks, so as long as we are quiet there should be no issue. Below deck there are at least a dozen girls, plus two months worth of rations and the gold from their last haul.” Bella raised an eyebrow.

“I’ve been watching them for a long time,” Rhea admitted, “But it hasn’t been a fair fight until now.”

The two girls swung themselves up on deck. Bella’s arms burned, she wasn’t used to so much exertion, but she wasn’t going to let Rhea know that. They prowled silently into the crew's cabin. There were indeed three of them, snoring loudly enough that Bella and Rhea could have been talking in normal tones without waking anyone. It was a simple business to tie their hands, relieve them of any weapons and gold, and walk them down to the gallows where they were strung up with their captain.

Back on the ship, Rhea unlocked the hold with keys she had stolen from the first mate. Inside were fifteen girls, all in various states of disarray, all hungry and confused. Bella passed out bread, cheese and rum while Rhea raided the ships cabin for clothing and blankets. After everyone had been looked after, Rhea gathered them on deck where the first rays of sunlight could be seen on the horizon.

"Many of you don't have homes to go back to, while others have families eagerly awaiting your return," she said with authority, "I am now the captain of this ship, as is Bella, if she accepts. I extend to you all the opportunity to be part of our crew. We would feed you, clothe you, pay you, and promise a life of adventure and revenge on pigs like these that took you captive in the first place. If you choose not to join our company, we will give you enough gold to buy yourselves new clothes and passage back to where ever you came from."

"I'm staying," Bella said, stepping forward from the small clump of girls. "There's nothing for me to go back to." Rhea nodded to her gratefully as Bella joined her on the upper half deck.

"What the hell, could be fun, right?" a dark skinned girl with cuts and bruises all over her visible skin climbed the stairs to stand next to Bella and Rhea. "I'm Rowan. Used to be a house slave for a rich lord a few islands over." She was tall and strong, with wiry muscles.

"I'll come," this volunteer surprised Bella. She was small and fragile looking, as if any hard labor would cause her to snap like a twig. She offered no explanation for her choice, simple scampered up the steps to the other girls. Four girls volunteered in the end, all aging from fifteen to twenty two. It gave them a crew of six, a small crew to be sure, but fitting their small ship. Rhea looked each over appraisingly, the gave each girl her choice of weapon from the ship's collection of arms. Bella took a new weapon herself, a blade half way between a sword and a dagger, but long and slender enough for her to hold her own against a swordsman. It was light enough that she would be able to fight without tiring. The rest of the girls were given five gold flowers each, enough to buy them transport to wherever they wanted to go. They left the ship to go to the small inn, and no one of them looked back. Bella stood to address the company.

"I know most of you have never crewed a ship in your life," she started, disappointed to see nods of agreement from almost every girl, "But lucky for us Rhea has been sailing since she was a babe. She's agreed to help teach all of us, myself included, how to sail. In the beginning, we will tie different colored strips of cloth to each rope or lever to help you acclimate yourselves, but soon we hope to rival the best male ships in our efficiency and speed." There were murmurs of agreement and relief among the crew.

"We have one more matter of business to attend to," Rhea said, swinging herself up on the ships railing by a rope, "Our ship needs a new name. Bella and I have been talking, and we decided, if there are no objections, to name her The Perfect Lady, that way no man will ever be able to find her!"

It was the first time the ragged company had looked remotely like a crew. A whoop went up from Rowan first, then the other girls began to add their voices, cheering as Rhea steered them away from the docks. Rascal had perched himself on Bella shoulders, sniffed excitedly at the sea breeze. Bella smiled and stroked his sleek tabby fur. It was hard to believe herself that no more than twelve hours ago, she was facing an arranged marriage to a man three times her age. Now, she was co-captain of her on ship, setting off for adventures she had only ever read about in books. As the ship was leaving the harbor, Bella heard the warning bells that could only mean that the police had found the men they had left for them, and her stepmother had discovered her absence. Bella smiled into the wind. They would never catch her now.