Friends And Foolishness

After Ms. Bird and Lady Adair left, Ilona peeled off the ridiculous undergarments. She pulled on her nightgown and stood in front of the mirror again feeling... sad.

She was on this mission to save her brother and sister and she was making a mess of it. She couldn't even manage to simply dress properly. Not to mention, her siblings wouldn't need saving at all if it wasn't for her poor judgment.

Maybe everyone was right. Maybe she didn't have what it took to be the Captain of a great ship.

Ilona turned away from the mirror, not wanting to look at herself a second longer, and walked to the enormous, overstuffed bed. She curled up under the soft, sweet-smelling covers and grabbed one of the extra pillows, hugging it to her chest. As tears began to fill her eyes she pressed her face into the pillow as if to hide them even from herself.

She wished Lucia was here. She wished any of her siblings were here. If she and Ian had been on better terms she would have snuck back to his room and stayed with him until she felt better as she had when they were children.

That wasn't possible now though. Not anymore. So instead she quietly wept all alone in the dark until exhaustion finally overtook her.

-

The next morning the sky had barely begun to brighten when Ilona was jarred from her restless sleep by a sharp knocking at her door. She jolted upright and instinctively reached for one of her daggers which she always left beside her on the bed.

When her hand found nothing a bolt of fear shot through her as the door opened.

"Good morning Captain Black," Ms. Bird smiled pleasantly at her, "I hope you slept well."

Ilona blinked in confusion before slowly taking in her surroundings. She had been having terrible dreams about Willow and Isaac being trapped in The Red Lands. Now, it came back to her that she was a world away in the elegant city house of the Adairs.

As she watched, Ms. Bird stepped out of the way so that two men could carry in a large tub. Right behind them came maids with buckets.

"Who are these people?" she questioned in confusion, shaking her head, "What is all this?"

"Lady Adair has asked us to prepare a bath for you," Ms. Bird smiled as the tub was set down and buckets of water began being poured into it.

"Wait!" Ilona jumped from her bed, "Stop! I don't need all this."

"Captain Black," Ms. Bird looked at her sternly hands on her hips, "You're about to go to the royal court and be presented to the King. This bath is going to be the easiest part of your day. You might as well be quiet and enjoy it."

Ilona opened and closed her mouth but no words came out. She had no argument to that because she knew the maid was likely right. Crossing her arms over her chest, she sunk back down onto her bed and waited for them to finish.

-

Once the servants had all gone, Ilona was left with an enormous tub filled with steaming, sweet smelling water. She pulled off her clothes and stepped into it, feeling a tingling rush over her skin. She sank down and let the warm water envelop her. Sometimes she forgot how nice baths felt, especially after being away on a ship and not having them.

Ms. Bird had left plenty of soap for her so Ilona used it to wash her body and her hair. She breathed in the familiar scent of lilac with a touch of something else she couldn't quite put her finger on. She wrapped her hair up in a towel and sat back, closing her eyes and enjoying the calm. Her father's house was never this peaceful.

The next thing she knew, again there came a loud knocking at her door. Ilona sat up quickly and rubbed her eyes from where she'd almost dozed off. The person knocked a bit louder so she hurried to scramble out of the tub and wrap her towel around herself. Looking around wildly for a robe or anything else she could put on to cover herself up, she found nothing. With a groan, she gave up.

When Ilona opened the door for them she was still dripping wet. She had a towel wrapped around her that was keeping her mostly covered but Ms. Bird still pushed in and quickly closed the door, nearly catching the Duchess's fingers as she hurried in behind her.

"Miss Black you can't walk around in a towel," the older woman scolded, "Come along with me and I'll get you dressed."

Ilona wanted to protest needing to be dressed like a child but didn't think she up for taking on the maid yet this morning. She'd known ship Captains less determined. Ilona looked at Delaney for a moment an thought she should say something but Ms. Bird grabbed her arm and pulled her behind the screen.

She found herself dressed quickly and her hair tied back just so they could have a good look at the dress. Ilona could tell it fit better but she would wait to see what the other women thought.

Delaney Adair and Ms. Bird studied her closely while she turned in a circle in front of the mirror. Ilona looked at herself when she caught sight of her reflection and a flash of a little smile lit up her face for a moment.

It didn't look as terrible as she had expected. In fact, she thought it might actually look rather nice. She slid her hands over the soft fabric and felt a little thrill. She then noticed the Duchess's reflection from behind her and saw a pleased smile on her face. Ilona bit her lip to try to stop her own smile but found she couldn't.

"It's still a little snug on the top," Ms. Bird sighed with a hand on her chin, "Just don't go jumping about or certain parts of you might come clean out of the dress."

Delaney covered her mouth but the movement didn't hide her laughter. Ilona felt her cheeks warm as she glanced down at her chest.

"I don't intend to do any jumping at all in the King's court," she frowned at the maid, "I'm a pirate, not a monkey."

Ms. Bird studied her for a moment before she joined Delaney in laughing. Ilona let her own smile return and soon they were all laughing.

A light knock came at the door and Delaney called for the person to enter as she giggled. Ilona secretly felt a little disappointed their moment of fun had to come to an end so soon. The door eased open and Ian peeked in, looking at them in confusion.

"Have... have you all been drinking?"

"What?" Delaney asked in confusion but the question only made the women laugh more.

"We haven't been drinking," Ilona shook her head at her younger brother with a grin, "Why would you even ask that?"

Ian frowned, "You're laughing... All of you... Together..."

Delaney looked towards Ilona. They met one another's gaze and laughed all the harder.

Ilona felt a warmth inside she hadn't felt in ages with anyone other than Lucia. On her ship she was always on guard and even at home with her brothers and the other pirates she never truly felt like she could relax.

Here laughing with the Duchess and her maid things just felt... simple. Safe. Oddly enough she felt less judged in that moment than she did when she was with her own family.

Ian stepped inside the room and folded his arms over his chest as he studied them. He was dressed nicely for court. Even his normally unruly curls had been reined in. Ilona might have been disappointed if he hadn't still kept his sword on his hip. He may be living with nobles now but it was a sign he was still a pirate at heart.

The Duchess was watching him with an amused little smile on her lips and for a moment Ilona wondered if the woman might not have at least some kind of feelings for her brother.

"I don't see what's funny."

"Oh nothing," Delaney shook her head and walked over to the man, inspecting him closer, "We were just laughing about something that was said. You look very handsome. Doesn't your sister look lovely?"

Ian looked Ilona up and down, "Is her hair staying like that?"

And just like that, Ilona felt the little warmth inside her snuffed out.

"Of course not," Delaney frowned at him, "We were just making sure the dress fit."

"Does it?" he questioned as he looked and Ilona blushed, dropping her gaze and crossing her arms.

Delaney grabbed his arm in a tight grip and pulled him towards the door, "Go ahead with her hair while I talk to Ian about how we want to manage the guards today."

She practically dragged the man out into the hallway and closed the door behind them.

Ilona looked down at herself and then at the mirror. Her brother was right. The dress really didn't fit very well now that she looked at it. Her chest was too big for it and her hips were too wide. Her backside was also a bit too round for it. How had she missed these details before?

"Don't listen to him dear," Ms. Bird said gently as she led Ilona away from the tall mirror and sat her down before the dressing table, "He's just tired and worried about you and the rest of your siblings."

Ilona nodded and sat still while the maid began to work on her hair. She still couldn't quite shake the feeling that she was just making herself look foolish.