AN: I don't really know where this came from but I like the idea of them all dressed up like pirates. There's something about pirates which makes them eternally cool.
Arthur slowly came round; the back of his head throbbing from some sort of impact. He was lying on the ground; unable to move and the floor was bobbing and rocking beneath him. Arthur attempted to stand but soon discovered that his wrists and ankles were bound with ropes and his sword had vanished. He looked around the room he was in. It was dark and dank with no windows the limited light had revealed nothing of great importance. Arthur groped around his memory before the distorted memory of the previous night returned to him.
Arthur was patrolling the docks, his gaze firmly on the slow flowing waves and his hand on his sword. There had been reports that the feared Excalibur pirates were headed for their small piece of coastline. However it seemed to be a quiet and still night. That was until he heard running footsteps and a woman's screams broke the still night sky.
"HELP! PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP ME!"
Only a few hundred meters away Arthur could see a woman being pursued by a gang of at least half a dozen men. She was swift but it seemed they were swifter. The moonlight laminated her smooth brown skin and bounced off her curls which bounded up and down her back in time to her running speed. Her purple dress was bunched in her hand as she ran and her beauty clearly wasn't apparent to just Arthur. The majority of the men chasing her were calling obscene taunts and wolf whistles at her. Arthur unsheathed his sword and ran towards them.
"Leave her alone!" Arthur yelled as he began to duel the men. As he had suspected; these men were not the usual drunkards who loitered his small town. They were pirates. Undoubtedly the Excalibur pirates who were looking for a maiden to kidnap and ransom. As skilled a swordsman he was; Arthur was outnumbered six to one and one of his rivals managed to creep up behind him and knock him unconscious. Arthur slumped to the ground and the group carried their hostage back to their ship at the farthest edge of the docks.
So he had just been kidnapped by pirates. Wonderful. At least the woman managed to escape; Arthur supposed that was some comfort. Everyone knew what happened to women who were captured by pirates. However these weren't just any pirates. The Excalibur ship was the most feared and infamous pirate ship in the known world. Every ship it came across was plundered and their mysterious captain regarded as many as the King of the Seven Seas. Not a lot was known about the captain because few who encountered the pirate or his crew ever made it out alive. Arthur wondered whether they knew of his noble status. Aside from being the mayor's son, he was also a lord. A wealthy lord. He hoped not. Arthur would die before he let any of those savages get their filthy hands on his father's or his people's wealth. Just as Arthur reached this thought; the door opened and two of the pirates entered and pulled Arthur roughly to his feet.
"Let me go at once!" Arthur ordered.
"Can't do that. Cap'n wants to see you." One of them, a tall man with red hair held back by a bandana claimed.
"Best not to keep the Captain waiting; many a dog's walked the plank for that." His companion; a very scruffy (even by pirate standards) dark haired pirate claimed with a laugh. The two men led Arthur up through the ship; despite the waves rocking the boat; they didn't stumble into any of the barrels and crates which loitered the passageways outside the various cabins on the ship. The pirates led Arthur out onto the deck where many more pirates were working. Some were hanging off the rigging, others were scrubbing the deck, some were smoking a pipe and staring at the waves. There were a few pirates that Arthur recognised from the night before who were all hanging from the rigging that surrounded the highest mast, at the top of which the Jolly Roger was flapping freely. Arthur looked around; they must have been sailing all night for there was not a speck of land to be seen anywhere. To attempt to combat the sense of panic and fear at the unknown, Arthur turned to the two pirates who were maintaining a tight hold of his elbows. He could at least ask about his fate. Knowing something as better than knowing nothing.
"So what's going to happen to me then?" Arthur asked.
"That be for the cap'n to decide. You could be offered a place on our crew or," the dark haired pirate trailed off and grinned wickedly at Arthur who understood. He would walk the plank. Well if that happened; then Arthur was certain that he would face his death straight-backed and proud like a man. Arthur feigned nonchalance and he looked around the deck attempting to figure out which of the pirates was the captain of this ship. It wasn't long for his question to be answered. A skinny, scrawny pirate with a red scarf wrapped around his neck, emerged from the large room at the stern of the ship and yelled loudly.
"Captain on deck!" the pirate yelled. The other pirates quickly descended from the rigging or pulled away from their duties to hurriedly fall into line. The two pirates holding onto Arthur dragged him forward and Arthur held his head up proudly; determined to stare his captor in the face.
Eventually the captain of the ship emerged. He was smaller than Arthur expected; slimmer. Arthur had had the mental image of a tall powerfully built man; the figure approaching him was impossible to determine an age of. It could have been an old frail man or it could be a youth risking his life by mocking his captain. The captain's hat hung over his face and the loose buttoned up coat, baggy trousers that were tucked into black buckled boots he wore gave no indication of power or authority. The only factor about the captain's appearance that Arthur noted were the two swords hung at either side of the pirate's waist; one of which Arthur recognised as his own. The two pirates holding onto Arthur nodded at each other and simultaneously kicked his knees; sending Arthur crashing onto the deck to the guffaws of the other pirates. The Captain however didn't laugh as he finally reached Arthur and paced around him. He seemed to be measuring Arthur up. Arthur's eyes followed the captain's every movement; trying to catch a glimpse of the infamous pirate's face but each attempt was thwarted by a quick turn of the head. Finally the captain stopped pacing around Arthur and drew out a sword; aiming it at Arthur's heart.
"Do you know who I am Arthur Pendragon?" the pirate asked in a gruff voice.
"A cowardly excuse for a man who exists only to cause pain to others by ransacking, murder and kidnap." Arthur replied honestly, aware that the pirates knew exactly who he was. To his confusion, the pirate captain laughed. There was something offsetting about that laugh. Whatever way one expected a pirate to laugh; that was not it.
"Do you think yourself to be correct?" the pirate asked.
"I know I am correct. The rumours of you and your crew are evidence enough. Besides the only reason I'm here was to spare an innocent beautiful young woman the torture of being trapped on this ship with vile men like you and your crew." Arthur retorted. Again to his confusion, the other pirates began chortling and the captain again laughed that unusual laugh of his.
"You're a brave man to speak to me that way. I respect bravery; it's an important part of piracy. I could use a man like you on my crew if you're interested." The captain offered.
"I would die before I worked for a coward like you or with your idiotic crew." Arthur retorted coldly.
"That is what you think of me? A cowardly idiotic man? Believe me I am a lot of things but I most definitely am not that." The captain claimed and Arthur gritted his teeth.
"You can't even look me in the eyes." Arthur stated. "I cannot work for a man who cannot look me in the eyes."
The pirate captain stayed still for a moment before stepping back from Arthur. Arthur stared as the captain unbuttoned and removed the coat to reveal a tight white blouse and red corset which emphasised and drew instant attention to the curved torso area. The gloves were pulled off to reveal small brown hands and the hat was pulled up to free long brown curls which trailed down her back. None of the survivor accounts mentioned this. The pirate looked up into Arthur's eyes and Arthur gawped at the woman who was now standing before him. Unless he was very much mistaken, she was the woman from the night before. Oh that was clever. Pretending to take a hostage in order to capture a real hostage; credit where it was due; as a plan it was brilliant. She folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow at Arthur was still staring at her completely transfixed. It took Arthur a few minutes to clear his head from the shock of discovering the captain and leader of the most feared pirate ship and crew in the world was a woman, especially such a beautiful and intelligent woman who was able to live this life of theft and danger without revealing herself to none other than her crew. The entire deck had fallen silent. The pirates were watching their leader interact with their newest hostage while pirate and prisoner stared one another out. Finally the silence was broken.
"You were saying?" Captain Guinevere Leodegrance of the infamous pirate ship Excalibur asked her hostage, Lord Arthur Pendragon.