The hard slap Bell received didn't help her nerves at all.
She then felt Angelica put something in her back pocket.
"Hold onto that for me."
When she touched the item, she realised it was Angelica's flask.
Before she could react, Angelica disembarked.
Bell ran after her.
As their feet touched the ground, they were surrounded by women.
Angelica raised her hands and spoke with a shaky voice.
"Is this the Amazon Sisterhood?"
The nearest woman nodded.
Angelica smiled.
"Finally."
She fell to her knees.
Bell was stunned for a moment, but went down to help Angelica up.
Angelica stood up and focused her attention on the woman.
"Thank God. I thought I would never make it."
She put all her weight on a very confused Bell.
It did seem to work when the woman walked up to them.
"Who are you, and why are you here?"
Angelica let go of Bell and hugged the older woman.
"My name is Angelica Kincaid, and this is Isabelle Thompson. I want to join you, and Bell helped me escape."
The woman was caught off guard for a moment, but she did hug Angelica back.
"From where did you escape?"
Bell could barely make out the whisper.
"The Silver Tongues."
Bell saw the woman tense, but she relaxed when Angelica started crying.
"They… They sent me after the target's kids… I… I…"
At this 'revelation', the woman hugged her tightly.
"You are safe now, my name is Portera."
She looked at Bell.
"What is your choice?"
Bell was frozen for a moment before she spoke.
"I just want her to be safe first. I'll decide what I do later."
Portera seemed to be satisfied with her explanation.
"Come with us. Welcome to the Amazon Sisterhood."
Bell followed Portera and Angelica.
She was surprised by how good an actor she was.
That was proof to Bell how unprepared she was for this mission.
They were led through the streets of the guild.
Two-story buildings and very narrow streets were the norm.
This was a place that one could get lost in very easily.
At that thought, the woman ahead of her took a right.
An anxious Bell sprinted after them and was relieved when they were close by.
Her thoughts kept going back to Ryan.
Was he ok?
She was brought back to reality when Portera spoke.
"This will be your home for a while. You both may stay here, and if you choose, it could be your permanent home."
She opened a door to a house that looked just like all the others.
Bell swallowed hard.
"Thank you, Miss Portera."
This made the older woman smile.
"Portera is my title; you need not be so formal. I will give you time to unwind and come back in half an hour to show you our bathhouse."
Before Bell could speak, Angelica hugged Portera.
"Thank you."
Portera hugged her back.
After a moment, she let go and motioned for the two to enter the new house.
It was very sparse.
The two floors were basically just rooms for two women.
Each floor had a bedroom and a small bathroom with a toilet and a small basin.
Angelica laughed.
Bell was confused.
"What are you laughing about?"
Angelica pointed around.
"You have a bedroom and bathroom, but no shower or kitchen. That means you have to leave to eat or bathe."
Bell was still confused, and Angelica rolled her eyes.
"They save space and force women to socialise. It is very hard to leave a community that you are actively a part of. It is quite brilliant."
Bell was quiet for a moment.
"That seems wrong."
Angelica laughed again.
"This is a guild of women. They have to keep their recruits by any means necessary."
Bell was quiet.
As she sat down, she felt the flask in her back pocket.
She stood up and held it out for Angelica.
"Hold onto that. It is a spare, if I lose mine."
Bell looked at the silver flask.
"How do you do that?"
Angelica looked down at her.
"Do what?"
Bell swallowed hard.
"You can act like a victim so easily. While I feel like they know I'm lying."
Angelica stood still while staring at Bell.
The moment she broke eye contact, she whispered.
"It's not an act, and don't worry about being found out. They think you are a concerned friend."
Bell smiled at her.
"For what it's worth, I am concerned."
To her surprise, Angelica smiled.
Before she could speak, there was a knock at the door.
When Bell opened the door, she saw Portera and two other women.
After a small bow, Portera looked at the women.
"Please follow us to the bathhouse."
Bell moved to the side to let Angelica pass.
Portera smiled.
"Please join us, Miss Thompson."
Bell froze for a moment as Angelica walked to the door.
She put her hand on Bell's shoulder.
Bell nodded.
"I'd love to. I just need to get some clothes from the ship."
A smiling Portera spoke.
"There is no need for that. We are more than happy to lend you some clothes."
Bell swallowed and looked at Angelica.
"Thank you."
Portera bowed and moved out of the doorway.
Angelica took Bell's hand and led her behind the Amazons.
Bell followed them through the narrow streets.
She saw other women there; they looked more nervous than welcoming.
Bell recognised the area from the map Vivian showed her.
It was a large building next to Reina's mansion on the river's side.
She frowned for a moment.
Was this so that Reina could keep an eye on them?
There were a lot of women there, they were either chatting, washing clothes or bathing.
As they walked into the building, they were greeted by every woman the same way.
"Good day, Sister."
Each greeting was followed by a quick bow.
Angelica ignored them while a led Bell tried to give them a quick 'hello'.
There were two old women at the door.
Portera stopped before them, and they had a quick greeting.
"Good day, Sisters."
"Good day, Portera. I see you brought the newcomers."
Even though they had stopped walking, Angelica still held her hand.
Portera continued.
"This is Angelica; she is a new prospect, and this is Isabelle, her friend."
The women looked at them.
"Please come with us. We will run you a bath."
The inside of the building was just as plain as the rest of the Guild.
The baths kept getting smaller as they made their way to the back.
Many of the baths were occupied by women having conversations.
One of the women saw Bells's expression.
"What are you thinking, dear?"
Thinking quickly, she spoke.
"I'm not used to shared baths. I grew up with my own shower."
The woman smiled.
"We share because we care for each other."
Bell smiled at her non-answer.
They were led to the smallest bath, which was still larger than any Bell had used.
What was different about this bath was that it had low wooden walls.
"Will you girls please undress. We will wash your hair, and then you may bathe."
Bell swallowed and looked at Angelica.
She gave Bell a small nod and started undressing.
To Bell's shock, she had very deep scars all along her back, shoulders and legs.
The one that stood out to her was what looked like a burn scar on her leg from the shin to the middle of her thigh.
Just like Ryan, she also had a Silver Tongue tattoo on her shoulder.
One of the women gasped and covered her mouth.
The other walked up to her.
"May I hug you?"
Angelica looked confused.
"Why?"
The unfeeling way she said that word made Bell almost burst into tears.
"I can see you have suffered. I just want to help you heal."
Angelica's face changed to a smile.
She hugged the old woman and spoke into her ear.
"Thank you, Sister."
As this was going on, Bell undressed.
She only went down to her underwear.
One of the women smiled at her.
"You don't have to be shy. We are all women here."
She blushed, and Angelica walked up to her.
"You don't have to take those off in front of them."
For a second, the woman had the muscle in her jaw tighten.
"Your friend is right. Do not feel forced to do anything. I will wash your hair, and hopefully I won't get your unmentionables wet."
Bell had a sigh of relief.
The women washed their hair in silence.
After they were done, they left.
Bell's underwear was soaked.