Dawn broke through the porthole in my cabin. I could feel the slow, steady rocking of the ship just like the past two days. We were bound for Monserrat, the last leg of our long voyage from England. I or should I say we, since my companion Felicity was with me. We're going to live with my father. He was the garrison commander of the island and had sent for me after my mother's passing.
We'd encountered a squall three days prior; it sheared one of the masts in half, killing two unfortunate deckhands in the process. The crew had been working on repairing the mast when the wind died, leaving us at the mercy of King Neptune's whims and his ocean's currents.
I could tell the crew was anxious. I'd asked Felicity what they might be frightened of since she had befriended one of the younger crew members. She told me they were scared of pirates, especially the one named Captain Kelly. Not knowing a thing about pirates, I enquired what so special about him.
Her eyes got big as she explained, he wasn't a he. He was a she, and she was vicious, murderous, and incredibly evil. We were in her waters, and they wanted to get out and to a safe harbor as soon as possible.
I scoffed at her words. How dare she attack a ship of his majesty King Charles II. It's all rumor and speculation, I told her.
I left my bed if you want to call such a thing a bed and dressed. I looked out of the tiny opening to see the flat ocean before me. Barely a ripple across the dark blue depths.
Felicity was waiting outside my door, the look in her eyes frantic. She was scared, blubbering away, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said something I didn't understand. I grabbed her shoulders and told her to be still and tell me what was going on.
She took a deep breath, steadied herself then told me a ship had been sighted earlier this morning on the horizon. The entire crew thinks it's the pirate coming to kill us all and take our vessel and booty.
I laughed, trying to calm the poor girl. They wouldn't dare, I told her as I brushed past her to climb up on deck to see for myself.
When I reached the top of the stairs, the sun shone so brightly in my eyes, and I had to cover them with my hand. As they slowly adjusted, I could see the crew of the ship running amok. The captain was shouting orders while pointing in various directions. I made my way up to where he was standing, poor Felicity in tow.
I stood there waiting for him to acknowledge my presence for quite some time. I'm not used to being invisible, so I coughed a few times to get his attention. When that failed, I politely asked what the fuss was all about. He looked at me like I'd lost my mind, then told me the scourge of the west indies was bearing down on us. I should hide and hope they don't sink us straight away.
I told him I'd do nothing of the sort. He huffed and muttered something about a female dog, which I didn't understand. I looked past him to see a ship approached with the rising sun directly behind it. Its sails were full and taut. The sun backlit them, causing me to shield my eyes as the waves encircling us raised and lower us as we sat idle.
Felicity clutched my arm, begging me to do what the captain suggested. I turned to her and told her that I would do no such thing. Those pirates had no idea who my father was. They should be offering aid instead of instilling fear.
That's when Felicity began to cry. She kept repeating, "We're all going to die; we're all going to die."
I turned and slapped her face. Not hard, just enough for her to come to her senses. Her refrain ceased as she fell to her knees, sobbing.
The alleged pirate ship kept coming. Our ship had nothing to protect it from such marauders if they were pirates. I doubted it because I could see a French flag flying atop the mainmast. I kept telling everyone, but nobody would listen.
Around mid-morning, the 'French' ship was close enough to us to see men on the deck and in the rigging. I quit pointing out that it was French and was astounded when the ship's flag lowered and another raised in its place.
The wind buffeted it, but I could see what was on it. Its background was black and on it was a flower. I thought I'd seen drawings like it back in England. It was red, which sharply contrasted the black. I kept trying to remember the flower's name when one of the crew yelled, "It's the Crimson Orchid! We're all going to die!"
That's when I got scared. Until that moment, I thought this was all much ado about nothing. The crew was shaking in their boots as the ship fired a shot, narrowly missing us. Our captain ordered a white flag be raised, he was giving up.
The religious sailors sank to their knees, praying to whatever god sailors believe in. Some cried like babies; Felicity was still sobbing at my feet, pleading with me to hide. I'd have no part in that cowardly response.
I watched as the ship came alongside. Men in the rigging swung over, others on the deck jumped or climbed to board us. They scurried around like ants herding the crew into a group then holding them, pistols, and swords at the ready. A couple of toothless barbarians ushered poor Felicity and me being the only females on board, to an area separate from the crew.
We watched as a lone figure, a woman, walked from the pirate ship to ours via a large plank lowered into place by her crew. She stood taller than many of the men she passed as she walked the deck to survey her captives. She wore knee-high leather boots, her breeches a dark violet, her blouse of white looked as if were made from the finest Asian silk. In her hair was a jade ribbon that tied her long flowing fire-red mane back and out of her face. It matched the jade jacket wrapped around her waist.
She was wearing a cutlass on her left hip, and a pistol tucked into her waistband. She was a striking figure; her ample breasts seemed as if they were ready to burst forth from her blouse. I noticed many of the men staring at them, and their jaws lowered in disbelief in her beauty. Not that I stare or have any interest in women's bosoms. However, I did notice a leather necklace dropping between her large round breasts. Whatever was or wasn't attached to the chain was completely obscured from view.
One of her crew, a tall, brutish woman, saluted her, calling her Captain Kelly. The captain inquired as to the whereabouts of our ship's captain. Bella, I was later to learn the first mates name, laughed as she pointed to the other side of the ship out over the water. There we all noticed was one of the ship's yawls manned by a single person. Our captain, he was rowing as if his life depended on it, which was pointless. I don't know where he thought he could row to. Captain Kelly pointed towards the tiny boat as she shouted to one of her crew whose body seemed weaved into the rigging. He called back, "Aye, captain!" then pointed a long musket towards the rowboat. We all waited in silence as our ship rose and fell, the marksman taking careful aim at our fleeing captain.
I started to scream. No! When the shot rang out. I watched a cloud of grey/black smoke exit the rifle's barrel. Then the entire population onboard our captive ship looked out to see our cowardly captain buckle and slump over, obviously dead. I screamed, which made Captain Kelly focus on myself and my companion, who remained at my feet whimpering.
She turned to look at the source of the scream. I could hear the heels of her boots hitting the wooden deck with each step she took towards us. My gaze focused on her face; her eyes were glaring into mine. I dropped my gaze, not wanting to look into her eyes. Instead, for some odd reason, I focused on her breasts. As they grew closer, I could see them rising and falling with each breath she took. I could tell they were much larger than mine from what was exposed. They contrasted with the dark shirt she wore, making them stand out more than what I would consider appropriate for a lady. The woman's pale skin was augmented with a multitude of freckles, some large, some small. My gaze broke when she stood directly in front of me, glaring down. I was at least a foot shorter than her and probably half her weight. I stood my ground despite being so much smaller.
Without turning her head, she shouted, "Bella! What do we have in this tiny package?"
Bella came running up and quickly explained to her mistress, "Captain, from what I've gathered from our captives, this is Camille Edwards, the daughter of Colonel Edwards, the commander of the garrison on Monserrat."
She looked at me as if she was going to have me for supper.
It was then I spoke, "Yes, I am the daughter of Colonel Edwards. I demand that you provide my companion and me safe travel to my father. If not, he will surely track you down and throw you in prison."
She looked at her crew, "Well boys and girls, what say ye? Shall we keep the little auburn-haired vixen and incur the wrath of Colonel Edwards? Or take her back to daddy?"
Every one of her motley crew began laughing. Even some of the captive crew thought Captain Kelly was funny. Then she took the pistol from her waistband, pointing it between my eyes. She pulled the hammer back as I stared back at her daring her to pull the trigger.
"Don't threaten me, you little tart. Your father is a drunk and a liar. I'm going to hold you until he makes good on his previous promises and adds some interest to what he owes my crew and me. Maybe, then I'll ship your companion and your pretty little arse back to him. Give my crew or me any trouble, and we'll feed you to the barracudas."
With that, she lowered the hammer on the gun and began barking orders, "Bella! Load anything of value onto the Orchid. Leave these captain-less scum to fend for themselves. Then bring my little tart and her friend aboard. Put them in the cabin next to mine and make sure you have someone gather everything the ladies brought and bring them aboard. And Bella, if anyone of these low lives touches them or their pretty things, they'll never touch anything again. Understand? We'll send a message to Colonel Edwards when we make port. Now get to work, ya scum!"
