The sail whips behind me, the sound of chaos aboard the ship turns into a white noise. I take in a deep breath, filled with the salty scent of the ocean and allow myself another moment of calm before I clear my throat and yell with all my might.
"Prepare for boarding!" My voice echoes off of the wooden deck and the crashing waves. In the distance, a ship displaying a navy flag moves closer. Yells of affirmation rise up. Crew mates quickly raise the sails and flags, some prepare the cannons and a squad prepare their weapons and stand behind me.
"Captain Farren" A voice timidly say behind me. I turn around.
"Are you sure this is a smart move? Looting a navy ship, this could cost us everything," A crew mate questioned.
"We better not fail then," I take a breath and calm my remaining nerves. Years of piracy had rid of most of them, but a few remain.
"GO" I yell as the navy ship arrive just beside ours. Someone fires a cannon and another group immediately creates a bridge between the two ships. Screams of "pirates" and "looters" from the navy ship can be heard even down in the storage rooms.
I lead the attackers to the ships and within seconds, battle erupts between pirates and officers.
"Take everything!" I scream as a navy descend on me, looking for a fight. I grin and retaliate. He slashes and push me to the railing. He is triumphant, thinking he won.
"Surely I could convince you not to kill me," I say sweetly, batting my eyelashes and putting on my most flirty smile. His eyes become owlish and he blinks, clearly not expecting the pirate to flirt with him, before shaking his head, but it was too late. I flip and with a flick of my wrist, he was the one cornered to the railing. I could tip him overboard. But I was never one for useless slaughter.
I cut him across the leg, deep enough so that he was immobilized but shallow enough to keep him alive.
One officer down. I turn around, battle rage across the ship. Some people spar, a few pirates grabbed wine barrels and whatever they could. Navies struggled to stop them but was too occupied with slashing their swords and keeping the few on the offense at bay.
Most people seem to dismiss me as a threat and go for the manlier members of the crew. Well, that isn't fun. I go straight for a group of navy men standing idle.
“You strong fellas looking for a fight?” I smile and adjust the pistol hanging on my belt. The 3 navies look me up and down, seemingly judging me as a weak target and is more entranced by my flirting than the bloodied sword I hold in my hand.
“You sure look sweet for a pirate, how about we skip the teasing and get to something better than fighting,” The “leader” of this himbo pack speak as the others stay behind. The sound of chaos spurring me on as I take control of my sword and wink,
“Fighting seems plenty fun to me,” I push them backward with slashes, easily overpowering them even though I am outnumber 3 to 1. The other attackers sneak up from behind them and render them useless. That’ll teach them.
In the midst of screams, gunshots and sword lashing, a feminine voice yell out surrender and the navies retreat as my crew take their loot. I put away my sword and hurry back to the ship. The Asteria sets on its course away from the navy ship as crew cheers and celebrate. As the sun sets in the distance, I cheer along with my crew, adrenaline still running through my veins.
The crew gather around a small wooden table on the deck as we feast and tankards of rum get pass around the table. Someone thump loudly on the table to make a toast, everyone becomes quiet. My closest friend, and first mate, Aurelia, raise her mug, overflowing with ale and speaks,
“Today was a great victory for us all- raucous yelling fill the air –but none of this would’ve been possible without our dear captain Farren Veda,” she trails off as the yelling gets louder, my cheeks feel numb for smiling so long, but it was a rare occasion that I allow myself to celebrate like this. I raise my tankard.
“To the crew!” Everyone mimics me and raise their mugs, “To Captain Farren!,” They yell, downing their drinks with incredible speed.
The night wears on as the crew drink and play card games, I involve myself in every activity. Having fun and getting drunker as the ship move through the waves. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the crew this happy. I stuff myself with pork and food. Life as a pirate of course isn’t always easy, what with the questionable hygiene and the occasional seasickness, but it’s days like this that I appreciate the freedom I have given to myself. I raise my tankard one more time.
“To freedom!”
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