Chapter 21

"You know, there's something that's been bothering me," Marshall mused, taking a bite of an apple and chewing thoughtfully.

Now healed enough to sit up, Wilde looked over at his captain from where he was propped up by a mountain of pillows and asked curiously, "What is it, captain?"

Marshall swallowed his mouthful and asked, "Back on Enyo Island, why didn't you use your Dazzle-Dazzle Fruit powers on the mob to get away?" Before you got hurt, went unsaid, but from the way Wilde flushed and wouldn't meet his eyes, the thief heard it loud and clear.

Letting out a sheepish cough, Wilde mumbled something under his breath that Marshall had to strain to hear. When what the thief said registered, his mind blanked and he had to ask Wilde to repeat himself. Fidgeting with his sheets, the teen did so, this time louder so there was no mistake that he'd heard right. "I forgot about them, okay? The only time I ever used them was during that fight with Baldwin and they were useless!" He spat the last word as though it left a bad taste in his mouth, "My skills as a thief have been enough until now, so why should I bother with a power that doesn't do anything?"

Raising an eyebrow, Marshall repeated, "''Useless'?" Amused, he shook his head and leaned back, idly tossing the apple core from hand to hand as he said, "The Dazzle-Dazzle Fruit is far from useless, brat. The main thing it does is create sparkles of light, but with practice you could do things like blind your enemies, cause vertigo and confusion in crowds, send signals to crewmembers, illuminate caves and passages, and that's just for starters. All fruits have a learning curve, remember that."

Leaving behind a shocked Wilde, he stood up and stretched, heading out the door in search of more food. Not even looking, he threw the core over his shoulder and heard it rattle as it landed squarely in the trash can at Wilde's bedside.

"So how's the medicine hunt going? Any luck?" He asked Vertara a day later.

The cannibal grimaced, exposing her fangs as she replied, "Not good, captain. I found a few more things at slightly more reasonable prices after some haggling, but that barely made a dent in the list."

He supposed he should be grateful that haggling was all she did to get better prices, but he shared her frustration over the high prices. If he thought they could afford to wait, he'd hold off on shopping for medical supplies until Wilde was healed and they could head for Drum Island in Paradise, but knowing his luck that was a recipe for disaster. So all he could do was tell Vertara to do her best and keep looking.

Maybe he could buy some of it from the hospital itself? It was bound to be cheaper, even if they would just get the surplus....Unfortunately, he remembered that Vertara had already gotten the more common things on his list, which was probably all that the hospital would be willing to sell him.

Perhaps it was time to talk to the nurses.

Talking to the nurses (all of them female, for some reason) yielded some promising leads on the equipment he was looking for, which he passed along to Vertara.

It also revealed some interesting information about the doctors; namely that most of them couldn't tell their heads from their asses without a Log Pose and clear directions. The training at the Medical Academy had gone downhill ever since the instructors there had moved to Drum and other islands that offered them greater pay and benefits. The nurses' school faired better, but that just meant that the nurses knew more than the doctors, as he'd suspected. Nice to be proven right, but also rather alarming.

The best physician in the hospital, one particularly chatty nurse told him, was the head nurse, the very woman he'd caught sneaking into Wilde's room to check on his thief. That reassured him. The woman clearly knew what she was doing.

By the time Wilde healed enough that they could leave, he was more than ready to set sail and leave the island of Asclepias far behind them. He helped Wilde gather up his things and got the instructions for the brat's aftercare, Wilde just as happy as he and Vertara were to leave. When they got to the docks, however, Marshall received an unexpected surprise.

"No."

The woman's lips pressed into a thin line, visibly unhappy with his blunt refusal. The head nurse from the hospital stood between them and the Coddiwomple, dressed in casual clothes and several bags beside her feet, her intentions clear. "Why not?" She asked sharply.

"My ship," he ground out, "is not a hotel."

"I know, and I don't plan to treat it as such. I'll pull my own weight," she returned, "you need a doctor onboard if you plan to sail for any length of time, and I am qualified to fill that position."

Vertara and Wilde stood back, watching their captain argue with the elegant woman, the discussion becoming more heated until finally Marshall threw his hands up in defeat, declaring, "Fine! Do what you want!" Walking around her to board his ship, his lips reluctantly lifted and he announced, "Welcome aboard, Doc!"

There was no mistaking the satisfaction on the woman's face as she picked up her bags and followed him onto the Coddiwomple. "Pleased to be here, captain,"

"The name's Marshall D. Teach," he grunted, untieing the rope keeping them tethered to the dock and preparing to set sail.

"Olivia, and don't you forget it." Was the reply, and he laughed.

"Zehahaha! Wouldn't dream of it!"

And with that, they were off.