Suddenly, as he admired his reflection and the swirling clouds of his hair, an idea came. There wasso muchof his beautiful hair, how would Mami Wata know if he left a small amount still attached?
He gathered his hair up in his hands again, closing his fists around his tresses at the level of his chin and admiring his reflection again. Still quite respectable, he decided. Still beautiful enough for Hawk to love.
With his mind made up, Silverfin swam out of his grotto. Cutting his own beautiful hair was out of the question, of course. He could never bear to take a blade to his pride and joy. Thankfully it didn't take long to find what he was looking for.
"Lord Scarletclaw. I require your attendance."
After a moment's pause, the great red sea crab scuttled out from under his rock.
“Does my Prince require my services?” There was always a note of sarcasm in the crab's voice, today even more so. Silverfin let it slide, though the crab really ought to have felt blessed to be asked to aid him. It was an honor and a privilege to be selected to serve someone of Silverfin’s rank and station.
"I do," Silverfin replied. "I need you to shear off my hair and take it to Mami Wata. Just here, and no shorter. And - this is very important - when she asks, you must tell her that'sallof it. Every hair of my delectable head."
The crustacean attendant gave Silverfin the stinkeye, he was pretty sure. Not that crab eyes were particularly expressive, but they sure could roll!
“Is that a ‘Yes, Sir, I understand, Sir’ that you mean to say, Scarletclaw?”
“If I may be so impertinent, Sir, butwhy?”
“I’m getting ‘legs,’ Scarletclaw,” Silverfin beamed with satisfaction.
“Oh dear, sweet idiot,” the crab muttered, though loud enough for Silverfin to still hear. “You’ll also need to change your name, you know. Something suitably biped.”
“Thanks for the unsolicited advice, you big-mouthed hard-head!” Silverfin sneered. “Now are you going to cut my hair off before I change my mind, or what?”
“Just to below your gills, Sir.”
“Excellent, Scarletclaw,” Silverfin tapped the top of his attendant’s crimson shell. And then he closed his eyes, just incase, and thought of the magnificent pirate in Port Royal, who needed him to come to his rescue one more time.
He may not know much of love, but he was willing to give it a solid go.
With his locks shorn and the crab on his way to Mami Wata with his precious cargo, Silverfin hurried back to his grotto, faintly vibrating with excitement. He didn't have much time, and he wanted to be certain he had everything he needed.
The small collection of pearls and coins were first, carefully tied up in a leather pouch that wasn't too water-damaged. Then, he ruffled through his trunks of biped-trinkets. A few of the pieces of cloth were from recent wrecks. They would complete his biped disguise.
A fine blue coat with silver buttons and a white shirt - yes, that would do the trick. He nearly forgot trousers - but the pesky things would be necessary, to cover his horrid, knobby knees and dangly bits. And boots. He would need those to cover up those disgusting toe things that Mara kept going on about.
With the shirt and coat on his body and the trousers over one arm, he admired himself in the mirror again. The remains of his hair floated around his face, briefly obscuring his vision. The damn crab had cut it shorter than he'd wanted, he noted with a frown, but it would do. At least he wasn't hideous.
Hawk would have no choice but to love him - especially after he brought him news of the treasure ship.
3
An Impossible Dream
HAWK WASN’T SURE whether he felt relieved or embarrassed to find the self-styled Queen of Port Royal standing over him, hands on her hips, strands of black hair that had escaped her upswept hairdo flowing in the morning breeze.
One Elizabeth Barnes. A former madame who’d worked her way up through the ranks of Port Royal by trading secrets between the men she slept with, pitting pirates against each other and granting power to the ones she chose. Now she owned the favor of the most powerful pirate captains and half the public properties.
Hawk had expected he’d have to pay dearly for her favor and had been surprised when she’d taken a liking to him almost immediately. She’d been the one to submit him for captaincy of theOrca. She claimed it was due to his sailing experience, but he thought that they’d recognized something in each other. A common desperation to overcome the constraints that the world had placed on them, perhaps.
That, or she just valued the fact that he’d never try to get into her petticoats.
Whichever it was, Elizabeth became one of the few people he could truly unburden himself with. The only one who knew his real name. It was, in fact, a relief that she’d been the one to find him.
“How does a man lose his entire ship and crew, Captain?”
He was still wet and probably delirious. What the hell did he drink last night? Had his rum been spiked by some bruja’s secret brew? Everything was illuminated with crystalline clarity: the water, his path, his end. But then - here he was. Decidedly not dead. And aside from that...
