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Zhu was supposed to be looking for Emil's sister.
From what the captain had told her, Tabitha was a short, pleasantly plump woman with pale skin, raven hair, and eyes like the sea—the only feature she had in common with her sibling. Emil had also mention her clothing would be of a finer make than anything normally found in Tortuga and would make her stand out a bit easier.
Instead, however, Zhu found herself weaving her way through streets filled with drunkards ambling about or getting into brawls. Bands of thieving street urchins darted in and around those who walked just a touch too slow, snatching coin-purses and any worthwhile trinkets they could get their hands on. She also passed by plenty of vendors ready to extort the most coin possible from their buyers. To make the place more even delightful, every other alleyway seemed to be occupied by a short-term couple in the midst of copulating.
It made Zhu somewhat regret just how observant she was.
But it also left her frustrated. She had a target to find, but between avoiding getting pulled into duels and having to constantly shoo away children, she found it hard to stay focused. In the East, her size alone—being a head and a half taller than most—intimidated people enough that they would give her a wide berth, but not here. Here in the West, she was only six inches taller than most and many seemed more impressed by her muscles than repelled.
And so, when she finally came across an alley that was not occupied, she slipped into it. Looking around, she saw a stack of partially-rotten and broken crates, as well as a stack of barrels just a little further down. But there was a swarm of some sort of insect swarming around the barrels, leaving her only option to be the crates. After rearranging them in an effort to make them more stable, she climbed them as far as she deemed it safe. Then, with a small hop, she grabbed the edge of the roof and pulled herself up.
'Much better,' she thought, crawling to the apex of the roof. Crouching, she brought her arms to rest on her thighs as she began surveying the street and its occupants.
Now she could put her observation skills to actual use.
Up and down the road she looked, taking in almost everything that was going on. The child tripping a young woman while his comrades came up behind her and took some bread from her basket. The fruit vendor overcharging a customer for some papayas while another customer used his distracted state to slip some guavas into his shirt. The drunk pair shambling down the street, laughing gaily only for one to misstep and, thinking it had been his friend who tripped him, swing his fist at the other.
And through all of that, no plump, black-haired women in fine clothing was not to be seen.
Zhu cautiously made her way along the rooftops to another street, where she sat and observed again. When she failed to spy her target there, she moved to another street. And then another, and another.
She was casually sitting on the edge of her fifth rooftop lookout when something managed to catch her attention. It wasn't Tabitha—not by a long shot—but a group of three women. Two had pale skin: One had her blonde hair pulled up in the latest European fashion and her dress was a butter yellow in color. The other had brilliant red curls that were pinned up off her bare shoulders and wore a red, striped shirt with a golden bodice and red skirt.
The third woman, who was laughing as she walked between the first two, had dark skin and wore a dress of a rich, jade green. Her dark, crimped hair was pulled up into some sort of bun and, though it was hard to see from this distance, looked to be held in place by a decorated comb or two. But what Zhu found most fascinating about her was how certain points of this woman—her shoulders, the curve of her cheeks, just along her hairline—seemed to have a sort of golden-greenish-blue iridescent sheen.
Zhu's head tilted and she was unaware her jaw had fallen ever so slightly slack; for some reason, her heart started beating faster. She had seen many women throughout her eight centuries of life, but this woman? By far, she was one of the most beautiful she had ever seen.
Suddenly, the mystery woman looked up, curiosity on her features as she scanned the rooftops. Zhu swallowed hard and tried to force herself to look away in an effort to not appear as some sort of deviant, but the woman's gaze settled on her before she could turn her head. Though there was a good deal of distance between them, Zhu knew their gazes were locked.
Tiny fires of embarrassment darkened her cheeks and she found herself unable to move—why did she freeze? She had never frozen up like this before when caught. Not that she was often caught…
The woman, rather than being unnerved, offered her an amused smile instead . She returned her attention to her companions a few seconds later, continuing the conversation as if she had been paying attention the whole time. The trio walked for another few yards before stepping into a large building—a brothel, from the looks of it.
Swallowing hard once more, Zhu rubbed her face, trying to force the blood to drain from her cheeks quicker. Her heart was beginning to slow down as well, which helped to further return her face to normal.
"Spirits help me, she was pretty…"