Ruby had been drunk for three days.

Of course, it was still relatively early in the morning, but time of day never stopped a pirate from drinking. She'd been tipsy since seven and drunk since nine. Now it was rolling on ten in the morning, and her organs were thoroughly saturated with alcohol. She handled alcohol rather well for a woman, but she had grown up on a pirate ship, after all. She could almost outdrink an Irishman, and she'd proved as much when she'd challenged an Irish pirate to a drinking competition once several years before. Ruby wasn't a lightweight, so when she was so obviously inebriated, there was obviously something wrong.

She wasn't one of those happy drunks. She was entertaining, sure, but lately she'd been irritable and difficult. She'd lost her first mate, and this wasn't the first time she'd lost one. Deep inside, she began wondering if it was her own personal curse, but of course she would never admit that to anyone. Instead, she'd been mourning his death in the pirate way: with as much grog as she could get her hands on.

Unfortunately, resigning her title as pirate king didn't make her any less noticeable, and she certainly wasn't off of the new pirate king's radar in particular. Slamming the empty mug down on the table, she wiped her mouth with the back of her leather-gloved hand and raised her bleary eyes to cast a glance toward the bar. Before she could open her mouth to order another round, a shadow blocked her line of sight and she blinked, frowning as she focused and realized it was her cousin in front of her. No wonder the entire bar had gone silent. Even though David had been the pirate king for a year now, there was a stigma hanging around him. He hadn't grown up around them, but the pirates also respected him for everything he'd been through to become part of them. He hadn't just walked in and been handed an empty title. He'd earned it, and he held respect among their community.

But many pirates were unsure how to act around him. Ruby was not one of those pirates.

Smiling darkly, she dropped her gaze from his chest and looked blankly at the table in front of her as she pushed her chair back on its hind legs and threw her booted feet up onto the wooden tabletop. Admittedly, it seemed as if David couldn't stand still and he kept weaving back and forth, or he'd recently duplicated himself and there were now two of him.

"Well, if it isn't the pirate king," she commented off-handedly, more disrespectful than she'd really intended. Oh well. She could see the worry brimming behind David's characteristic blue eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at him. Nonplussed as always, she raised her eyebrows at him and sniffed slightly when he leaned over and planted his hands on the table near her boots. Frowning down at his wrists for a moment, she was only distracted away from them when she heard his voice rebuking her.

She'd been drunk for too long. She'd been in mourning for too long. She wasn't behaving herself. Blah blah blah. She tuned out after about thirty seconds.

David knew it too because he lost the worried look as his blue eyes hardened and he leaned closer to her so she couldn't see anything but him. Her brows drew together as she glared openly at him, the only one in the room with enough balls to stare him down. Inside, she knew she shouldn't be disrespecting him this way. She was the one who'd worked so hard to help him earn the respect he now had. She was the former pirate king. The pirates looked to her often for guidance on how they should behave. Right now, she wasn't being a very good example at all.

Although she was older than him, they were very similar in their protectiveness. They were the only blood family either of them had left. David had grown up on the mainland and never knew his true family, while Ruby had grown up with pirates who were her family. The two of them had no other living, blood relatives. She'd watched over him since he was a child, long before he'd known who she was, and since he'd moved to Sunken Reef Island, he'd watched over her in a similar way. She loved reminding him she needed no protection, but that didn't stop David. He was a stubborn asshole.

"You've been drunk ever since your first mate was killed in that fishing accident a week ago. You need to get yourself back onto the sea," he informed her in a thin voice. She smirked and snorted up at him - or at least to one of him since the three of them kept moving. He said she needed to get on the ocean. Yeah, well, here she was: not on the ocean.

Holding her hands out to her sides, only staying upright in the tilted-back chair because most of her long legs were laid across the table and held her stable, she smiled wickedly up at her cousin. "Do I look upset, Blue Eyes?" she asked him, shaking her head and snorting. Three days. She'd been like this for three days. He hadn't showed up until now. "Go back to your castle in the sky with your little porcelain princess. I'm fine," she snarked. Deep down inside, in a little shred of her that was still sober, she knew she was being an ass. She usually was, to be completely honest, but she was crossing a line. She loved David, and she liked his wife. She appreciated the little brunette princess's fire. She never meant to disrespect either of them, especially in front of the rest of the pirates who respected David and respected Ruby's opinion of him. She could potentially ruin all of that just by speaking out of her ass when she was on a drunken bender.

When he leaned forward and positioned his hands on both sides of her booted ankles, the movement shifted the table and rocked her equilibrium, making her boots slip off the table as she almost lost her balance. Her feet hit the floor with a thud and she sat upright, blinking as she focused on him. "Find yourself a new first mate and get your arse back onto your boat."

David was giving her an order. Typically, when she wasn't drunk off of three days' worth of mead, she would have accepted it. She needed another first mate. She was the newly-appointed pirate lord of the Caribbean after all, and here she was sousing herself in a pub when she should be out on the sea. Inside, she knew what he was doing. The ocean would heal her. Smelling the salt and the brine would sober her. She would forgive herself for her first mate's death eventually, but only the open sea could help her do that. The ocean was her home. She didn't usually stay on Sunken Reef Island for long. She liked the open sea. Solid ground felt so strange and permanent beneath her feet.

Behind her cousin, a bulky (she considered him 'flabby' but who was she to judge?) pirate appeared in all of his grotesque, red-bearded glory, smiling licentiously at her. Ruby had never gotten along with the man. On the contrary, he'd pissed her off on multiple occasions and tried to take advantage of his bulk to overpower her. He hated her and wanted to fuck her simultaneously, and she visibly fumed up at him as he stepped out of the crowd. David had saved his life during the pirate trials he'd won which made him the pirate king, and this pirate was loyal to him so he wouldn't touch her when David could see him. But she had no doubt he would attempt it if they were alone, or if David left.

"I'll be yer first matey, pirate princess," Red Locks jeeringly told her, chuckling heartily to himself with his pals who were near to him.

Perhaps it was the alcohol stirring her or perhaps she'd just had enough.

Suddenly, she surged up out of her seat, sending the chair flying backward in a flash. Grabbing his meaty wrist, she wrenched his arm backward, twisting it hard up his back and shoving the butt of her hand into his shoulder to slam his face down onto the table where she'd just been lounging. Leaning down beside his ear as he cried out like the pussywillow he was, she hissed threateningly. "If you ever call me that again, I will break your fucking arm off, you hear me?" she growled, shoving her hand harder into his shoulder and hearing the bone crack from the pressure. Red Locks whimpered and nodded, stammering that he understood. Yanking his wrist up higher so he whined in pain, she bared her teeth and snarled, "You can come along as part of my crew, but there's no way in hell you will ever be my first mate. And if you even look at me the wrong way, I'll shove my pistol up your nose and make you a new blowhole."

Releasing him, she shoved her booted foot into his ass, sending him stumbling to the laughter of the pirates joined. Straightening her leather corset which jacked her boobs upward, coupled with a black lacy pirate shirt underneath, Ruby looked back over at her cousin, seeing the mixture of disapproval and respect in his expression. She was glad he didn't question her defending herself. She wouldn't be stopping that anytime soon, and he knew it.

"I know how to take orders," she informed him in an even voice as she gathered her jacket off of the back of her chair. Her head was beginning to spin now that the anger which had sobered her was tapering off. She needed to get outside before she fainted in a drunken stupor right here in front of everyone.

"Do you?" he asked her with a hint of sarcasm, raising an eyebrow as he questioned her in front of the entire bar. She ground her teeth together, snorting out through her nose so her nostrils flared. "You know I do," she snapped, stepping toward him as anger flashed momentarily into her dark brown eyes. Sighing a little as she reacted, he nodded and pushed himself off of the table. She couldn't stay mad at him. He was her little brother, or the closest thing to it she would ever have.

Shrugging her jacket on over her shoulders, she pulled her long brown braid out of the collar and snapped the lapels down over her chest. "I know what I want, and I know where to find it," she added, stepping around the table so she was facing David. Reaching out, she grabbed his shoulder partly to balance herself and partly so she could pat him. Patting him on his shoulder, seeing that flash of worry in his eyes again that made her want to slap him, she glanced over at him. "Stop worrying. That's my job, Cuz."

Reaching forward as she touched his shoulder and told him to stop worrying, he nodded to her as he squeezed her shoulder. "Stop giving me a reason to worry and we'll be all set, you." He gave her a tiny smile then, showing her that he wasn't angry. "Just do whatever you have to do. I'll be here for you." he finished, watching her.

Releasing him, she moved off through the crowd and into the fresh air, cradling her stomach to keep from hurling thanks to the alcohol saturating her system.