Hell Hath No Fury - Book One

Line of Questioning

Ava followed the advice she was given by Theo. Stay on the deck. Don't get left behind. She thought to herself, it was the simplest thing she'd had to do since she left home. The sun was lowering in the sky and dark was only a few hours away. She walked around the deck, slowly, taking in her surroundings. No one was out here. At least before, there were people scattered about the deck but now it seemed desolate. She made her way to the edge of the ship and looked over it as the people on the docks finished up their work. At that moment, Ava felt relaxed. Something she had not experienced in a while. How long had it been since she last was able to feel at ease? As she leaned against the edge of the deck and became entranced in watching the people below, she moved her neck from side to side to ease the tension there. A quick relief soon settled over the stretched muscles of her neck and Ava found a smile resting on her face.

In the months before leaving home, everything had become so chaotic and tense. She hadn't felt peace at home or on the journey south. Ava knew the dangers of getting caught up in a false sense of security but this felt different. This felt guaranteed. No men were to be found on the ship, at least not in plain sight and no one but Xyra had seemed to notice or mind her presence. As for Xyra, something told her that her captain would not be happy if something were to happen to her passenger at Xyra's hand.

Her thoughts were interrupted by footsteps echoing against the empty deck. She spun around and saw one of the women she had been observing in the mess hall earlier. The woman was tall and had paler skin, similar to Ava's. She wore a large leather chest piece, breeches, and sandals. Her outfit was certainly not a combination she had ever seen before but she figured that fashion and matching clothing items weren't a priority here, lucky them. She had silver hair tied back in a loose braid and was approaching from the other side of the deck. Ava watched as her strides carried her far. She was broad-shouldered and intimidating, there was no denying that she looked stronger than most men she had encountered. She had a brown sack in her hand and as she got closer she smiled.

"My name's Morgana," the woman said once she got close enough.

"I'm Ava," she replied.

"Great," she handed the sack to Ava. It was heavier than Ava expected and she had to grab it with both hands. "I'm the quartermaster. Well, I'm not the quartermaster forever. Just until Theo chooses a new quartermaster."

Morgana finished and motioned for Ava to follow before she began walking again. Ava followed and tried to keep up, falling a few paces behind. "What happened to the last quartermaster?"

"She died," Morgana said bluntly just as Ava managed to catch up. Ava was at a loss for a reply. Morgana let out a loud laugh and brought a strong hand to pat her on the back, "She fell in love with some guy in Aeliz and left. It's been close to 40 suns ago and she still hasn't named anyone."

"Maybe she wants you and is just testing you," Ava offered, following Morgana to the main staircases. As she walked up the stairs she still saw no one, the ship looked deserted.

"No, I'm not a good quartermaster. I'm worth more in the battle than tending to rooms. Ship's got a pretty light crew now so it's not too much extra work." Morgana stopped after climbing two flights of stairs and took a right down a hallway of rooms.

"I noticed it looks pretty empty. Where is everyone?" Ava asked as they came to a stop in front of a room on the right side of the hallway.

"Well, right now most of the crew is asleep. Getting as much beauty rest as they can before the sun sets. Ship is sailing straight through the night so the crew needs sleep. It's hard work navigating a ship," Morgana pulled a silver key out of the pocket of her breeches and put it in the keyhole of the door in front of them.