Night time was falling upon them soon and Brian and his group were getting ready to disembark at the next port to begin acquiring the needed supplies. Brian made a note to get some food too for the feast that Lady Katherine wanted. This was very out of character for his cold and tough captain but maybe this would be a good thing. Katherine used to be a sweet girl as a child and it would be nice to see some of that come back. It's true Brian's village was a tough one which granted hardships on all but it functioned and some of the world's best warriors came out of his village. Many are recruited to be in the armies of great families while others unfortunately fall to a life of crime and violence. Lady Katherine and her crew may be pirates but they were honorable ones and definitely a crew of capable warriors. Most came from all around while a select few were trained by Brian himself. Brian nodded to himself, assuring everything must stay on track and this small detour might not be too big of a deal. As long as they got to their destination in 3 months time, this would be fine. They just might have to pick up the pace a little and forgo a future stop. He gathered his bag and headed towards the deck.
Back in the Captain's Quarters, Markus awoke to the stirring of his sister. He blinked and rubbed his eyes sleepily before remembering where they were. He panicked for a minute but when his eyes fell upon his sister he calmed down and noticed she started to get fussy. It was almost night time now and they must have slept for the rest of the day due to pure exhaustion. He picked her up and coddled her shushing her hoping to calm her down. Just then Lady Katherine came back in and took the crying child from Markus. She smiled and brought him and the baby to her personal wash chamber which was surprisingly spacious for being on a ship. It had a full bath which alone told Markus this ship must have been very expensive and wondered if Katherine really was the Captain of this fine vessel. Katherine drew a bath of warm water and motioned for Markus to come over.
"Go ahead and wash up with your sister. I'll take the cloth she has around her and have it, er, washed?" Katherine looked at the piece of cloth quizzically. We should reach the port just at dusk and the men will go and get some supplies. Is there anything in particular that you would like?" Markus thought a moment and thought he would like a pocket watch. His father always had a pocket watch on him and he had hoped that by having his own pocket watch, maybe he would have a part of his father with him.
"Just a pocket watch Captain, if it isn't too much."
"Don't you worry about price kid, if we find one that suits you, we will pick it up for you." Katherine smiled and gave Markus a little pat and squeeze on the shoulder as she walked out. Markus undressed himself and tossed his clothes which were now in shambles in the corner and got into the tub with his sister. She just looked up at him with her vibrant blue eyes as he gently washed her and himself. When he got out he noticed there was a set of clean clothes by the tub for him and a clean cloth to use for his sister. The clothes were 2x too big for his small body but they would have to do for now. Besides, Katherine said they would get clothes for them at the port.
Katherine gazed out from the observation deck to the town they were approaching as the sky turned darker and darker with their approach. The town was a small, quaint trading town that was sleepy. She clutched the locket around her neck as she remembered him and a feeling of longing washed over her.
"We're ready to dock captain at your command." She heard Brian say behind her. She nodded and stopped to gaze up at the moon tonight. "Huh full moon tonight, must be an omen." She motioned for them to continue and get ready to dock. Brian went back to his team and they all approached the side, ready to jump off, hiding their weapons amongst their clothes. They would disembark here and then the Helmsman would move the vessel at a designated rendezvous away from port for a clean escape.
Back in the Captain's Quarters, Markus was trying to feed his sister the way Katherine had before but his sister seemed to be getting more and more agitated. He shushed her and begged her to drink the milk hoping it was just bad hunger pains. Katherine came back in and felt the ship began to move to the other side of the beach for their rendezvous away from port. All the lanterns and lights were turned off so the ship could hide in the dark and await their fellow crewmembers to return. She tried her best to help Markus help calm down. Though exasperated she couldn't help but chuckle. Markus looked at Katherine confused as she just laughed out of the blue. I guess this could be such a state that one couldn't help but to laugh. A kid and a lady with no experience trying to console an infant was indeed humorous. Markus and Katherine both laughed and the baby stopped crying, caught off guard by the sudden noises coming from her brother and this lady.
"Tonight when the men come back, we shall have a feast and we can officially welcome you two aboard. But I'm going to wish it now so as to be sure I'm the first!" Katherine smiled towards Markus and at the infant.