Eron felt a chill coming up her spine as she looked at John before standing up. Shaking it off they headed outside towards her ship.

"What kind of goods do you carry for trade?" John was pretending to be curious about the ship he was about to aboard.

"Oh, we don't trade really, and if we do it is just stuff, we intended to buy for ourselves then find something better along the way." Eron shrugged off the question.

"Then how do you all make money?" He looked at her stunned.

"Haha, I'm worth a fortune." Eron smiled at him flashing those pearly white canines. "I only take people who need help on my ship and do my best to get them in a better place."

"A fortune huh?" He eyed her up and down.

"Well, I used to be, but that's that." She didn't want to talk about that anymore.

"So, what are you running from?" John pushed further.

"That is none of your business, and if you wish to continue your journey with us I suggest you drop it." Annoyed she quickened her step.

"My apologies, sir." John hissed the word sir.

"Any of the crew ever bring women aboard?" John watched as she stiffened in her movements. He had wanted to see her reaction, so he quickened his step to get closer to her.

"Women are strictly not allowed on board." Eron turned towards John. Something about him felt like it was changing, or maybe she was just over thinking things.

"Haha, that's funny." John couldn't hold his laughter. He watched her eyes question him a little then replace it with annoyance in her voice.

"What's so funny about it?" She stepped closer to him while crossing her arms over her chest.

"Its ridiculous women have just as much of a right to sail." Her face softened when he said that, but then quickly harden again only giving him a glimpse of her true emotions. He almost had her.

"That is my rule, and it will be followed." Eron was starting to like and hate this guy at the same time. He meant well, but she feared he had underlying meaning to his words.

They continued down to the ship and went aboard. Eron showed John around and explained his job to him. His quarters were on the middle deck with the other 'mates. She had showed him her chambers in case of an emergency, and lastly the kitchen where the cook surprised her for coming back a day early to organize the shipment.

"Hey Carl." Eron nodded to the cook, he nodded back not looking from his tasks.

"What's with all the strange names? is it a requirement or something? I honestly haven't heard any normal seaman names among any of you." John pointed out.

"Those are assigned names. None of them are our given names." Eron touched the black book in her pocket. "I give new names for those trying to escape a past. Once they join our crew on the first night out at sea, we shed the past and look forward to a better future." John couldn't help but feel a little moved by her words. As a pirate running from the law was a frequent occurrence.

"You gonna give me a new name?" He asked.

"No, you are not a permanent 'mate. Why, are you running from someone?" Eron looked at him with skepticism.

"Maybe." John took a step towards her looming over her.

"You challenging me?" Eron tensed up not backing away from him this time. Something was different with him; she could feel it.

"No" John took a step back. "I just find you very attractive for a man."

"Keep those thoughts to yourself if you wish to stay alive." She ignored any further words coming from his mouth and turned around to secure the cargo. She felt like the John from the last two days disappeared.

"Everything is ready for tomorrow. If you need to say your goodbyes or take care of any last minute stuff, I suggest you do it now." She waved John off and went into her quarters.

"Bed, sweet sweet bed." Eron drifted off to sleep in the middle of the day and slept till morning.

Sunrise of the third day.

The men arrived right on time with the exception of two, who happened to find love and stayed behind. This was a normal occurrence since they were always picking up new people and letting them go when they had found their better future. It made Eron happy when this happened.

As they all gathered around the crew discussed their time with the women in one of the brothels in town. Making Eron flinch in disgust, but she never said anything when they spoke like that. It was a natural conversation between men, but all it reminded her of was the lack of attention her womanhood got. She felt a ping of jealousy listening to them and the acts they performed.

"QUIET DOWN!" Eron shouted not wanting to hear anymore and waited for their silence before continuing. "We have a new temporary 'mate with us today. I expect you all to help if it is needed until he gets familiarized with the ship."

"AYE CAPTAIN!" They said in unison.

"Alright, Rick set our heading, and let's get underway." Eron was once again letting Rick get the feel of steering out to sea.

When out of the bay Eron went to her charts and mapped out a new course for the new heading. Rick gave the helm back to the helmsman to join her with mapping out the route and make his inputs on what stops were necessary. Their next stop was scheduled out for three months later off the coast of Morocco.

One Week Later

John was finally stabilizing himself with his duties and began to poke around the ship. Eron knows how boring it can get so she didn't go out of her way to tell the men not to do something. However, here was something about John's actions that looks more systematic, not so much like he was searching out of boredom.

Eron kept an eye on their new 'mate for the next couple days. Until one day he wasn't anywhere in sight. "Anyone seen John lately?" She asked her crew.

It dawned on them all that they hadn't seen him since last night. "Maybe he fell over last night?" One 'mate shouted. "If he did it's too late to turn back. He will either show up or not." Another 'mate said.

"Alright." Eron held up her hands. "I'll take a look around." Eron searched the ship but couldn't find any trace of him. Things were getting weird. The two dinghies were still attached so he didn't flee, but something was amiss, she just couldn't figure out what. Maybe he really did fall overboard, and all of her worrying is just being paranoid.

Later that night Eron retired to her room and got ready for bed, she secretly enjoyed a glass of wine before bed to help her sleep. She couldn't take her wraps off at all on the ship, but she could loosen them to let her breasts have some freedom while she slept. She hung up her outer clothes on the baseboard of the bed then climbed in the sheets. By the time Eron finally fell asleep John came out from his hiding place and drew his sword, walking next to her bed.

"Sweetheart no more acting no more games, for the both of us." He brushed her hair away. "You will be relieved of your duty from here on out captain and watch as your ship sinks to the bottom of the ocean." Eron was fast asleep and not likely to wake after the drug he placed in the wine bottle. Double checking to see if she was still alive, he placed the sword by her nose looking for her breath. When it was confirmed he picked her up in his arms and carried her out of her room, out into the battle between his crew and hers.

Dead bodies covered the deck from the sneak attack. "Captain Bays." His first mate shouted for him. "This way sir."

His first mate led him safely back onto his own ship. Once they had arrived safely, he turned to face Eron's ship and shouted. "FIRE!" The sounds of the cannons startled Eron awake and she watched through half opened eyes as her ship caught fire and slowly sank below sea level before passing out once again.