Roughly an hour ter, Ruby had completely dried and donned her pyful-looking dress. It was while tightening up the bck bodice that she realized that her other undergarments were just as filthy as what she’d been wearing. Once they found their way to the warm fire, Ruby fashioned another set using the leftover silk cloth she’d brought with her.

  Walking the street at dusk turned out to be a much different experience than in the day. Guards patrolled the streets continually in sets of three, stopping at every alehouse along their route. Older people that had been working or bartering were gone and the youth of the town danced in the streets. “One big party.” Ruby had happened to say when she felt a pat on her back.

  “A fine liar too, me thinks.” Captain Jaques walked with Ruby and ughed. “Me daughter is it? Lucky for you that this ol’pirate happens to like ya.” He pointed back towards the inn. “Sent a runner Khalid did. Hims wanted to be verfiy’n yer yarn.” He pointed up a hill. “Just up the rise, there be the best dark rum me ever has taken in me gullet, across the way is the means to keep yer drinking. Cards and Bones, aye?”

  Gncing over to the big mans hand ying softly on her shoulder, Ruby lifted one of his thick fingers and pushed his hand away. “A little too close, father.” Ruby winked and smiled, just to receive a hearty ugh from her captain. “I will start up there with the rum, What else is in there?” Ruby inquired not wanting to be blindsided.

  “Go ye find’n out, nay let me spill the beans, good daughter.” Captain Jaques started singing one of the shanties she’d heard onboard as he disappeared from view.

  Cresting the hill, Ruby heard loud flutes and lutes from the pug her captain suggested. “The Horned Dolphin.” Ruby mentioned and then looked to her right, “Four-Legged Lobster. Who comes up with these names?” Speaking a little loud, Ruby heard a few people around her ughing at her revetion.

  Taking a chance, Ruby turned left and walked into ‘The Horned Dolphin.’ The pce had two floors, one of dancing and drinking, the other with a myriad of greensleeves waiting for whatever person approached them. Uninterested in the upper floor, Ruby watched how things progressed on the first floor. The setup was pretty basic, with long tables that formed a ‘U’ shape where both sides could be used for eating and drinking and leaving the center for dancing. There was no real band, but the people along the table took turns pying music and singing songs they’d created. A barmaid spun her way up to Ruby. “What will ye be hav’n pretty thing? Its rum on the menu, aye.” She gleefully announced.

  “Darkest rum you have then.” Ruby stopped the server before she disappeared into the crowd, “So is there any pce in particur I have to go?”

  Laughing for a second, the redheaded dy stepped up and kissed Ruby’s scar on her cheek. “Nah, I’ll find ya, y to that gorgeous. Just go have fun and lemme see you dance in that dress.” She winked, “Be you careful with thems hands out there. The boys get a wee wild, they do.”

  Years of dancing within her extravagant home life never prepared her for the mash of people in the center of the room. They jumped and cheered, spun and twirled without regard to the others and somehow managed to not run each other over. Ruby hesitated for a second, then felt the redhead drag her into the middle then left for the bar. Quickly spinning on her heels, Ruby felt her dress get caught in the wind and billow outward, sending the streams into the air at different intervals. Whistles and cps came soon after, with guys reaching out their hands to dance with Ruby. Pyfully pushing the boys away as they approached, Ruby lost herself in the moment and naturally flowed into the crowd with the rhythm of the music pyed.

  She didn’t know how long it had been before the redheaded maid returned with a mug of rum and csped Ruby’s hand doing a few spins with her, before dragging Ruby off the floor. “Drink up, lovely. Catch your breath and pay attention.”

  “What do you mean?” Ruby raised one eyebrow then out of panic reached for her leg, and with a sigh of relief felt her namesake glued to her calf. “You told me to go have fun.” Ruby poured a healthy amount of the near-bck rum down her throat and coughed. “Wow…strong stuff…”

  Waiting for Ruby to polish off the first mug, the barmaid ughed. “About thirty minutes into your moves, which are downright sinful I might add, the women were reaching out..” She smiled when Ruby handed her the empty gss, “...and you were pushing them away as well.” She waved her hand in the crowd, “Very few come to just dance and drink, they mean to root and ruffle, if’n ya get me.”

  “Sounds fine with me, I am just going to be a bit particur.” Ruby joked and ran back out on the floor, spinning her way into the night. By the time Ruby had charmed and danced with about every single woman in the crowd, she found herself covered in kiss prints and a few bruises where a couple of dies decided to leave their mark on the pirate. Combined with the sheer volume of rum she’d consumed, Ruby followed her instinct and skip-kissed her way out of the bar, dropping a gold in her redheaded barmaid’s hand. “I am getting some air, doll. Thanks.” Ruby grabbed the maid and hugged her tightly and then stepped into the cold desert air.

  While the dance crowd had started to thin out, the pyers on the other side of the road in ‘The Four-Legged Lobster’ seemed to be just getting started. All Ruby could hear were shouts and curses among fellow sailors as they either lost big or won enough to buy rounds of ale. Feeling the itch of dice burning in her palms, Ruby daintily pranced and danced her way back to the door and saw the lovely redhead maid staring at her hungrily. Ruby spun another time on her leather shoes and wrapped herself in her streamers just before she blew the young woman a kiss. “Consider yourself branded, my kisses are forever dearie.” She bowed and saw the barmaid act as though she caught the kiss and went back inside.

  Darting inside the gambling hall, Ruby waved when half the room looked up and quite a few of the guys grunted, “Girl.” with a huff of displeasure. Undeterred since she’d put up with much the same thing from the crew of ‘The Ghost Spade’, walked between the various tables where pying a card game that won from a pool called tontine. A retively simple game of high card wins a certain amount from the pool and the lower cards force the pyers to pay into the pool. Ruby had won a few rounds during her time in down times with the crew of ‘The Crimson Runner’ that amounted to just a few copper crowns, nothing that the others would get overly upset about. Being on a pirate vessel changed the rules quite a bit. While the game was supposed to have the standard fifty-two cards, pirates cheat. Ruby caught on to most of the cheaters early on, and managed to get luck on her side with a deft set of hands and a quick palm. Watching the game before her, Ruby smiled when she saw the sheer volume of silver being traded over a small card game. A few of the sailors at the table moved to the side and offered Ruby a spot. “Hey ho, Girlie give it a go, aye?”

  “No thanks, You have a great pool there and I wouldn’t want you all to lose it.” She winked at the few guys egging her on.

  “Used to cheat’n are, ‘ee’ girlie?” One sailor pointed to the twenty heavily armed men throughout the hall. “Given we all be buc’n’eers they do indeed be of the mind to be stop’n cheats, savvy?”

  Walking to the edge of the table, Ruby tossed her booted foot on the edge of the table and pulled a small bag of coins from her luscious leg, adorned with her dagger of rubies. After stomping back into her boot and adjusting her bodice quickly she looked at the crowd. “How much to buy in?”

  “Twenty silver, ss.” The current dealer smiled and winked. “You look like you can afford it.”

  Counting that there were ten guys and herself in the circle, Ruby quickly added the total that could be won.

  -Two hundred silver to the winner.-

  Quickly counting out the silver, she stacked her pile in four groups of five. “Mercy mermaids gentlemen, you do py for keeps.”

  It took Ruby roughly thirty minutes of winning hand after hand before a few grumpy guys called over a guard, “She’s got to be cheating, can we get another deck to py with?” The older sailor looked angrily at Ruby. “We were willing to let you in and you cheat us.”

  “Me?” Ruby stood up and walked to the guard, “Feel free and search me, I haven’t got extra cards or anything, just my boot dagger.”

  Giving his approval to Ruby,the guard handed the angry man another deck of cards. “Let me count the other deck while you take this one.” Once he’d finished counting the guard shrugged, “Solid fifty-two, all cards are here.”

  With the new deck in py, Ruby’s luck got even better, and with a turnover of a final king, she took the st of the coin in the pool for herself. Counting the coin to ensure that all of it was present, including her own ante, Ruby smiled. “Don’t fret boys, rum’s on me.” She waved for one of the barmaids and let twenty silver trickle into the woman’s hand. “Be sure to give my friends here all that the twenty will buy..” She gave the stunned maid a light kiss on the cheek making her blush like an apple. “..be sure to save some for yourself too, dearie.” Ruby jingled her little bag of coins and waved as she walked beyond the card room and into the section where dice were being rolled.