Welcome

[Sara Lee Mitchell]

Date: 6-th of July 1719, a couple of hours before dawn
Place: aboard "Twilight Shark", in the open sea

When the two captains, or acting captains had finished up their negotiations, something that felt like taking quite a while, Sara headed straight towards the only familiar face she saw in the crowd of privateer sailors. The shock that her face had shown before had now vanished and was replaced with thousands of questions. When she was within speaking range of Emory, the first thing that she managed to say might not have been the best greeting, but it was simply the first words that managed to escape her lips. “Emory? What are you doing here?”

Of course she had more than one reason to ask this. Not only to find out why they now stood face to face on a privateer ship after Emory’s ship had almost destroyed the Siren. Of course Sara might have seen the damage a bit more dramatically than the rest of the crew because she wasn’t used to battles. But another thing that made Sara question what Emory was doing there was the fact that a sea voyage was exactly the reason why they had met in the first place. And if Sara’s memory served her well, the last time she had seen Emory after a long time spent at sea he was so ill that he needed medical aid. So why was he a sailor now? Why was he technically her enemy?

Naturally being on a pirate ship makes other ships seem more evil than the her own ship, so even if she knew that Emory was fighting for what most of the world considered a good cause, she couldn’t avoid to think that he somehow were fighting for king and country as well. At least from a certain point of view. What the hell was she going to say to him? A simple Hi, how are you, nice to see you again wouldn’t work. After all, Emory had to wonder just as much about what Sara was doing there. Perhaps even more because she came with a bunch of pirates.

[Emory Hawthorne]

From Emory's mentally paralyzed point of view, the negotiations seemed to drag on and on, although in reality they couldn't have even lasted twenty or thirty minutes. He only stared blankly at Sara while the two captains spoke, his mind continuing to catch on the same idea again and again: she's a pirate. But despite all of the confusion, and the shock, and the anger, he was actually quite glad when she approached him. He needed to have this messy situation sorted out in his mind, and the only way to do that was to speak with her, and to ask the questions that were tearing at his thoughts. There was a brief moment, just as she came to stand in front of him, that his lips twitched upwards as if to form a smile, although he quickly overcame that instinct. Despite everything that was wrong right then, it was deeply ingrained within his character to be cheerful upon greeting someone he recognized as a friend, and up until now Emory had never imagined that Sara was anything but that.

But now, could he even really call her a friend anymore? If she really were a pirate, wouldn't that make them enemies? As Sara spoke for the first time, an unpleasant feeling of betrayal began to creep over him. It wasn't simply the predetermined bias that came from being privateer, but an emotion that reached a much more personal level. To put it bluntly, pirates were the ones that had ruined Emory's life. As far as he knew, it was because of pirates that his father and brother were dead, and because of pirates that he had ended up in the Caribbean sick and broke and hopeless. Pirates had never done him any good, and as far as he could tell, they never would. To find out that someone he admired and liked was one of them... it was crushing.

"What am I doing here?" he repeated, his tangled emotions clearly spelled out across his face. "I'm a privateer, I'm doing my job!" He shoved his shaggy hair back from his eyes with a dirty hand, revealing his stubbornly narrowed eyebrows. "Now what... what are you doing here?!"

[Sara Lee Mitchell]

Ok so clearly Emory was as surprised to see Sara as she was to see him. And it seemed that her first question hadn’t exactly reached his fonder emotions. In fact his response made it quite clear that no matter what friendly terms they had been on during the Festival of St. John, now they were standing face to face as enemies. But of course this was a moment of truce and that gave them a chance to talk. Not that Sara really expected him to want to talk a lot. He seemed to have already made up his mind about her and her crew members.

When he tossed the question right back in her face about what she was doing there, Sara was only seconds from responding with Emory’s own words. That she was there doing her job. But she quickly decided that she would have to control her tendency to make quick and joshing remarks at people around here. She didn’t want to be the one who made all Cesar’s negotiation in vain anyway. Besides there were no really mood for jokes or spiteful remarks right now. Simply answers were needed. “I am a doctor, Emory” Came the response. “And that…” She continued while gesturing towards the Caribbean Siren. “…Is the ship I was allowed to work on”

Should she mention why she had turned her back on Britain and become a pirate? Should she tell him why that house he visited once for medical aid was now empty? No, unless he didn’t accept what she had already said she would leave that topic alone. It was still not something she could really talk about without showing her feelings. Either aggressively or simply breaking down. And she didn’t really think that it would do much good to shout at Emory for no matter what the reason was, and it probably wouldn’t be much good to start crying either. No, better to just remain serious and logical as she normally was.

[Emory Hawthorne]

"Yeah, I know that!" came Emory's immediate, spluttered reply. Obviously she was doctor, that much he already knew. But... "What I didn't know was that you were a pirate." He gestured at the ship behind her, looking more than anything like a kicked puppy. He was at a complete loss for what he was supposed to say, or how he was supposed to feel. Piracy went against everything he knew and believed, both morally and legally. Was he supposed to think differently all of a sudden just because it was Sara? Never before had his ideas been challenged like this, even when he had first come to the Caribbean.

He crossed his arms, and then promptly winced as the gesture tugged painfully at the singed, blistering skin along his side. Irrelevantly, he wondered if Jack was doing alright with his mangled leg. How was it that even the pirates had managed to find a decent doctor while the privateers couldn't? It didn't seem fair, especially now when they really needed one. But he brushed away these trivial thoughts, and the pain, focusing back on the situation at hand.

"I just... I thought you were better than that." He shrugged, casting his eyes down. "I don't understand. Why?"

[Sara Lee Mitchell]

Emory’s quick and angry response actually made Sara feel like a child being scolded by a parent at first. She had seen Emory as a friend all the time she had known him and it felt bad to have him so appalled by her choices in life. But her silence and acceptance of his questioning soon ended. Not that she planned to give him a long and emotional explanation of her reasons to join the pirates, but she wasn’t going to let him just keep up this tone. So when he explained how he knew she was a doctor, but not a pirate, Sara interrupted him. “It’s not exactly something that I run around telling people, Emory!” She replied in an equally angry tone. “If I had told you when we met at the St. John’s Festival I was happy to see you but I knew that if I had told you why I hadn’t been around much in Kingston you would have handed me over to the Guards! Isn’t that right Emory?!”

Being a doctor made Sara instantly notice how Emory winched in pain as he crossed his arms over his chest. Sara stepped a bit closer. Even though she wanted to just be mad at Emory to make it all easier, she was still concerned for him. She had been the one to nurse him back to good health when they first met and therefore she didn’t like seeing him hurt or in pain. Sara looked up at Emory and carefully placed her hand on his side where she suspected that the pain came from. “Emory…” She started slowly but in a calm voice. “I understand that you may not trust me… I understand if you hate me for being a pirate… but I am still a doctor and if you want I can take a look at this” She looked away when Emory started questioning her choices again. “Obviously I’m not better than that…” She replied in a quiet tone. “But I don’t want to say why… but if you go to where I used to live in Kingston you might hear what happened from people who think like you do…”

[Emory Hawthorne]

Emory was baffled as to how Sara could be angry at him. Unless he was seriously mistaken, she was the one in the wrong here; he was completely justified in his sense of betrayal, whereas she had no reason to be upset at anything he had done. He was the law-abiding privateer, and she was... what? Lawless? Well, that seemed like a bit extreme of a term for someone as kind as Sara, but he didn't know if there was any other way to put it. It was truly a rare thing to see Emory so mad, but the more she argued, the more confused and frustrated he became, and the only way he seemed to be able to process his emotions was anger. "No, no that isn't right!" he replied, shaking his head furiously. "I would never have done that, not to you..." He took a deep breath, trying to settle himself as best he could. "I just... I don't know right now..."

He winced again when she placed her hand against his side, ducking his head to hide his slight blush from the contact. "I don't hate you," he said quietly, irritation faded from his voice. "And I do trust you. Pirate or not." Shifting carefully, he lifted up the hem of his charred and torn shirt, revealing the shiny red burns and raised blisters above his hip bone. "Damn," he murmured under his breath, and then looked back up at the brunette doctor.

"You don't have to explain," he told her, his focus shifting away from his injuries back to the real conflict at hand. "Not if you're uncomfortable. I mean, I don't think being a pirate is... good, or anything, but if you have your reasons..." He shrugged. "I'm not going to hate you because of it. I can't." He sighed almost imperceptibly, already having resigned himself to this fact. Immoral or not, he couldn't stay mad at Sara.

[Sara Lee Mitchell]

Emory’s anger was annoying Sara. Not only did it feel like he suddenly saw her as a thug rather than a friend based only on the people she sailed with and worked with, but he also seemed to be forgetting that they had plenty of good moments together in the past and at the St. John’s festival. It seemed unlikely that he would feel the same way again and in a way Sara could understand that. On the other hand though it made her angry that he was so quick to judge her. She was a bit surprised though when he suddenly calmed down and admitted that he wasn’t sure how to feel. Sara avoided to feed the fire more wood and instead just gave him a suspicious glance while she considered if she believed his sudden change in mood.

Her focus shifted though from the anger to concern when she had spotted the wound on Emory. She had cared for him in the past and actually felt a bit guilty when she realized that the wound would have to have been inflicted from the Siren’s guns. As Emory lifted up his shirt the severity of the wound became much more clear to Sara. Her eyes now only showed concern and any trace of the anger had vanished. She looked up at Emory and quietly said. “Emory… I can’t do anything about that up here… do you have somewhere, where you store medical equipment?” She looked back down at the wound and in the process couldn’t avoid noticing that he was still a bit skinny after the illness that had brought they paths together in the first place. “And you’ll need to take the shirt off” She continued as she examined the injury a little closer trying her best not to cause him too much pain. She looked up at Emory when he responded to her request to keep her reasons to become a pirate to herself. “And I don’t hate you, Emory” She replied. “I really care about you… I am sorry if I got a bit angry before… It just feels bad when someone you consider as a friend look at you like you were vermin…”

[Emory Hawthorne]

It was clear from Sara's silence and the distrustful look in her eyes that things weren't quite settled between them, and Emory had to wonder if maybe they never would be. Maybe there was no going back from this kind of conflict, where the suspicion and confusion and anger lingered almost tangibly between them, holding them at a distance. Emory wanted to say something, anything to break the awkward and uncomfortable quiet, but no words came to mind. He could only stand with his lip between his teeth, waiting for Sara's next move as if they were caught in an incredibly painful chess game.

And then, wonderfully, the tight silence broke as Sara spoke up, and more than anything that she said, it was the concern in her voice that made Emory relax. This was familiar, at least; she had taken care of him before when he was ill, and it was comforting to know that she would still want to take care of him now. Perhaps things hadn't changed as drastically as he had imagined. "Yeah, I think so, but I don't really know. We don't have any actual doctor..." Emory glanced over her shoulder, in the general direction of his other crewmates. "Below deck, probably." Emory was uncertain as to when exactly she needed him to take his shirt off, but the singed and crumbling fabric was starting to rub at his burns painfully anyway, so he decided to pull it off right then, a feat accomplished only with much wincing. Up close, the burns were rather gross to look at, and Emory had to turn his eyes away before the thought of his own charred skin became too disturbing. It was better to focus on the feeling her Sara's fingers, which was far more pleasant...

Sara's softened voice came as a bit of a surprise after all of the anger and opposition, but it was the same sincere kindness that Emory so remembered and loved about Sara, and he smiled as he replied, "I care about you too. A lot." It just feels bad to realize that someone you think highly of isn't who you thought they were. "I know the feeling well," he murmured, more to himself this time than to her.

[Sara Lee Mitchell]

While Sara wanted to be mad at Emory for giving her such a cold welcome just because she was now a pirate, her concern for his health came above that and she realized that she could always shout at him later if that was needed. After all, any man should know that a woman could hold her anger for quite a while before blowing it all out on one unfortunate person. Sara was surprised when she was told that the ship Emory sailed on had no doctor. How could they not? Would they just leave all those men wounded in battle to their own fate and hope by some miracle that they would suddenly be healed fit for duty again? However before Sara could speak up and question this lack of a skilled surgeon, Emory pulled of his shirt and while he had some nasty burns, Sara couldn’t really avoid looking at his naked upper body for a moment before beginning to examine the injury.

While she made sure there was no foreign objects in his wound, Sara heard Emory’s assurance that he still cared for her as well. She smiled briefly and then finished examining him. She then followed him to the place below deck where he had suspected to find medical supplies. “It is just a shame we are enemies now right?” She said, still haven’t forgotten his words on pirates. She found a bottle of alcohol and opened it. For a moment she smiled thinking about how she had often used alcohol to clean wounds and while everyone took it differently, she remembered particularly Benjamin who’d rather drink it that have his wounds cleaned with it. “Please sit still Emory… And this will sting a bit… I am sorry” She then gently applied a cloth soaked in alcohol to his wounds and after that took a fresh bandage and covered up the burns and once finished with her work she took a seat next to Emory. “There… Give it a week or two and you’ll be as good as new” She said with a smile. “If I ever see you again at some event, I’ll expect to hear if my treatment worked” She insisted with a smile and hoped that something would come where the pirates could meet the privateers of the twilight shark again.

[Emory Hawthorne]

Emory stood as still as he could while Sara examined his injuries, holding his arm awkwardly out from his body so that it wouldn't get in the way of his hip. Even though he was starting to look much healthier since joining the Twilight Shark, he knew that he definitely wasn't as large or brawny as some of his crewmates, and that he was still rather too thin as well, which made him a little nervous having Sara looking at him like she was. He was determined not to blush or anything ridiculous like that, however, so instead of ignoring the stinging pain, he focused on it as a distraction. It wasn't really too horrible, and after a minute or two he led her below deck to the place where he had assumed their medical supplies were kept so that she could finish patching him up.

"Well, enemies seems a bit harsh, don't you think?" he replied, smiling ever so slightly. Their occupational positions made them enemies, perhaps, but from a more personal perspective he simply didn't want to see it like that. Somehow the idea of them actually opposing one another in any way was even less pleasant than the simple fact of her being a pirate. "But yes... a shame..." He wanted to obey her command to sit still, but unfortunately Emory couldn't help from flinching as the alcohol touched his skin. His teeth bit viciously into his lip at the sharp pain, but he made no noise of complaint as he waited patiently for her to bandage him up.

"I have no doubt that it will. You are good at what you do." He smiled warmly, and then added, "Thank you. I'm hoping that next time will be under, er, better circumstances." And hopefully next time, she wouldn't have to be the one fixing him up!

[Sara Lee Mitchell]

While Sara might not have been impressed with Emory’s size, she was happy to see that he had at least been able to put on a little weight since she had been tasked with taking care of him back home when everything was still good. Back when Sara imagined her life going as it would for almost any other girl in the world. Married off to some guy, have a bunch of kids and live happily ever after. A lot had changed though. Her parents were dead, she was a doctor on a pirate ship and had learned not only fencing but how to handle a firearm as well. Even if the usage of firearms wasn’t exactly something she excelled at. Sara had suddenly become one of those people she would only have heard scary tales about before. Pirates who pillage and plunder. Evil people. But the truth was far from it.

When Emory admitted that he thought that the word enemies were a bit too harsh to describe their relationship, Sara stopped her treatment for a moment and looked up at Emory. She saw his smile and looked into his eyes for a moment. “Yes… I would much rather call you a friend” She said and then got back to her work. Occasionally she sent Emory a concerned look as she saw the effect the alcohol had on him. With her free hand she reached up and gently caressed his cheek. “I am sorry Emory… But I have to do this or it might get a lot worse…” She finished up bandaging his wounds and then took a seat next to him. She smiled when he told her that he thought she was good at her job and even more as he thanked her for her help. But then as he mentioned his wish that they would meet again under better circumstances, Sara nodded. “Maybe a festival like last time” She said quietly with a subtle smile. “I’ll just have to be careful since many of your crewmembers know what I look like now… Just like they could spot any of my crewmates as well… But let’s not think about that now…”

- THE END -