Captain Go eagerly leaned forward, clutching a rope to keep herself from fall the thirty-some feet to the deck of the Emerald Tide. Her eyes were not on the feverishly milling crew, nor on the rolling cannons or on the scouting longboat she’d sent out minutes before. No, she trained her eyes instead on the innocent port that lay before her, practically begging her to conquer it. It was beginning to fall into the full darkness of night, and as soon as it did, she was strike.
God save her, she could feel the riches rolling through her fingers.
She could see herself providing her crew with a fantastic feast, stuffing them as full until they cried out for mercy. She’d let the gold rings and pearls roll freely around the deck, delighting in her own riches. It’d been far too long since she sacked a wealthy town and she couldn’t wait to once again roll in her own spoils.
Whistling three times, she commanded the attention of Brig and Brine, her twin first mates.
“Haul all the starboard side. Steady there; don’t frighten our little duck quite yet. Let her sleep in peace a few minutes before we disturb her calm waters.”
Brig and Brine looked at each other and shrugged. The captain always got a curious mouth when she neared a city she was about to ruin. They figured that as long as they got ‘haul’, ‘starboard’, and ‘steady’ out of it, the captain could keep her title and her strange words. Signaling the crew, they began the first of many slow, slow steps to taking the town of Pato.
Somewhere on top a hill inside of a splendid house and covered with embroidered covers lay the governor’s daughter. She was slumbering peacefully, red hair spilling over her shoulders and covering most of her pillow. It glinted softly in the candlelight, mimicking the flame and playing tricks with the shadows. All was right and good, the house was silent.
Then suddenly, for no reason whatsoever, she jolted awake. Panic gripped her as the candle blew out and the smoke rose dimly in the moonlight, curling around phantom fingers. Taking a steady breath and boldly stepping of bed, she felt her way to the window. Upon finding it, she threw it open to provide enough light for her to find a flint for her candle. She paused, however, to look out at the bay.
It was a beautiful night and her heart slowed to a normal pace as she looked lovingly out on her home of the past few years. She really did love the Caribbean more than England, and she delighted in the charming rooftops that were illuminated by the full moon.
Her eyes then drifted towards the harbor and she counted the ships docked there, knowing all of the ones of significant size by name.
Cavalier, Vigilante, The Porpoise…
She frowned upon seeing a dark ship hidden just to the side of the King’s Mercy, barely visible in the shadows cast by the encroaching sides of the bay. Her frown grew more serious as she realized that no ship that large could have sailed in with permission and been unannounced. Straining her eyes, the young woman sought to discern colors.
Full-fledged panic reached her when she grasped two things: one, the ship flew no colors. Two: it was fully docked and steady streams of crouched men were pouring endlessly from it.
Her scream reverberated through the household at the same time as the gunshot did. Turning around and hearing hoarse orders been shouted, Kimberly found herself inexplicably trapped.
Partially unbeknownst to her, Pato was being overrun by pirates thirsty for blood, riches, and women. They were inside of her house already, clambering through the kitchen, the parlor, even her father’s room. And she, the governor’s daughter, had nowhere to hide from them.
Captain Go stepped in a rather unconcerned matter over the now-dead mistress of the house, her men following a few seconds later. The fact that she had just (very unconventionally) allowed a lady to be shot did not bother her. Actually, she was quite glad that Johnny had gotten around to it quickly: the mistress had been wielding a dangerous-looking frying pan. Tossing a thick mane of shimmering hair over her shoulder, she didn’t bother to keep her voice down as she directed her crew.
“Search the house. Don’t kill if unnecessary. Remember- captives can be useful. Take any children of importance that you find.”
“And the women?”
Here, the captain’s face hardened. She tried to avoid the nasty details of what went on whenever male pirates were raiding, holding herself above that. It was natural, seeing as she was a female, but she was always loath to subject her gender to what seemed horrible cruelty. She had, after all…
Shaking her head thoroughly and scowling in what she hoped was a convincing manner, she shrugged.
“Not here. Wait till I get onto the ship, then take what prizes you want.”
An enthusiastic growl traveled amongst the filthy men as they began to explore the house. Yells and screams were heard in a steady chorus. Separating herself from the main raiding party, Captain Go climbed the elaborate stairs up to where she imagined the spare silver was being held. Kicking open doors one by one and terminating the little resistance she came in contact with, she sought to fill her leather sack with something shiny. All she found was something a little more… whiney.
“Who are you!”
The question was thrown at her almost before she had cleared the door from her pathway; shocked, the captain lowered her pistol for a moment. A curious look overcame her face as she stepped quietly into the room, scanning it for potential threats. She recognized a sleigh bed in the corner and, judging by the dress strewn on racks, she was in a lady’s room.
“P-parley!”
With that word, Captain Go smiled broadly and stopped searching. In the corner crouched a girl with a candlestick. She was half-covered by a richly embroidered curtain and apparently thought herself to be unseen. The captain quickly dashed that idea by striding up to her.
“The first comment: Captain Go, of the Emerald Tide. Second comment: here I am. What business do you have to be calling parley?”
The figure was silent. She evidently had not though this through- either that, or she had assumed that the captain would remain on the ship.
“You’re a girl.”
“I’ll be damned.”
Here, Captain Go smiled broadly, blackened lips shining in the darkness before she feigned innocence. She looked down and gasped upon seeing her rather sizable chest. She gave one partially exposed breast an experimental squeeze and looked back up, positively scandalized.
“By the morning light, I had no idea.”
Even in the near-darkness Captain Go caught the angry look on the other’s face. Though she could not see the details too clearly, she had already picked up that her companion of sorts was female and younger than her. She nearly laughed with the thought that someone held at the custody of a fierce pirate could still pretend to have the right to become irritated.
“What’s your name?” Captain Go inquired curiously, dropping down to the girl’s level and cocking her head. “You’re a pretty thing. Answer my question and I’ll not let the men have at you. Fair bargain, I might add.”
The girl stiffened visibly, terror overwriting the annoyance written on her face.
“Leave me alone! What business do you have with my father? What have we done to you?” A second later, her hand clamped down on her mouth, but it was too late.
“Your father, eh? The owner of this house? Why, I might’ve known I was in the presence of a lady… how rude of me to call without proper offerings. Come with me, Mistress Governor…”
“No, no…”
“…And I’ll give you a suitable hello on the deck of my ship.” Leaning close to the scrambling girl, the captain smiled again. “I hope you’ll find the Emerald Tide a nice place to… visit?”
With one swift motion, she had pressed a few spots in the girls neck and caught her as her shuddering body fell forward limply. Pressing her face rather guiltily into the liquid fire of her hair, she inhaled deeply.
“Smells like money, says I.”
AN: This story will develop away from POTC soon. I just wanted to give it a bit of a weird beginning. Also, the word ‘Pato’ means ‘duck’ in Spanish. Hence the analogy Captain Go used in the beginning.
Har har har.
Lemme know what you think, loves. Tis only an experimental story.
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