She resisted the urge to kill the messenger because, well, it was hard to find good messengers these days.
One of her fine ships had gone missing over the horizon, and with it a whole loot of gems and spices, because the dim witted crew had given into their lust and invited a girl dressed in red aboard. When they were far into the journey, the girl had shed her dress, held the crew at sword and gunpoint and forced the crew off board with their heads rolling quite literally.
The skin on her lips was wearing thin, and she pulled down her black hat over her face to conceal her all too apparent frown. Frederica Bernkastel, whose name was known by her and only her, commanded over 1,800 ships under the name of Zheng's Widow, and wasn't going to let some no-name girl overturn her ships and make a fool of her armada.
The girl was dragged by her pigtails to the captain's cabin, and harshly dumped at Bernkastel's feet. There was no grimace or look of loathing on the captain's face just yet, for she would relish this girl's fear and tears without giving her the gift of a single expression. Emotion reflected against stone always made the other cringe, and it hadn't failed thus far.
"Do you know who I am?"
Clothed in red, the girl pushed herself up, locking blue with deep purple. Even though she was the one on the floor, she responded defiantly, "Do you know who I am?"
"You're a mere piece that found it amusing to steal one of my ships."
At that, the girl's face grew to rival the deep red she wore, "I am the 13th Red Lady! My name has been on the tongues of the masses far longer than yours, Ching Shih!"
Bernkastel had heard of the name, but that was a long time ago, when she was young and smoked from her pipe in the galleys of wooden ships. "A bit far away from home, aren't we? You should know better than to play in someone else's yard without permission."
She puffed up, laughing even with two gun barrels aimed at her skull. "The stuck up Queen back in Briton got so boring after a while. She rotted my gray cells. Adventure! Opium! Mystery! The East is far more preferable than the stogy West!"
It happened in an instant- the girl spun, twisting around the men restraining her, knocking the pistols from their hands and sending them spiraling up into the air. The men's eyes followed the guns, steel turning in midair, mirroring the flowing fabric of the girl's dress. She lashed out in an instant, sending the men flying back, before reaching up and catching the pistols in her hands.
An elegant dance, but not elegant enough.
Before the pistols could be brought forward and aimed, Bernkastel had already drawn her sword and pressed the point to the girl's neck. They both were watching each other, waiting like predators for the other to falter.
The girl was the first to stand down, dropping the pistols and letting them thud onto the carpet. "I give," she still smiled, even in defeat.
"You killed my pieces," Bernkastel cooly replied, "I should execute you right here. Isn't that fair, Furudo Erika?"
Her smirk fell into a twisted grimace, as the girl's face started to flush red once again. Her mouth formed words that never made it past her lips, until all she could do was bite her tongue and howl in her throat. To an unknown figure, a name was the worst stab of all, far superior to the blade of a simple sword. It was the most cruel and complete humiliation.
"But I won't. You're actually useful."
The girl, Erika, seemed to brighten up slightly at that, but the edges of her brow still twitched silently, "Men are idiots. They'll do anything once under a woman's charm."
"A good attitude." Bernkastel finally allowed her stone features to crumble into a frightening grin, cracking the corners of her face, "You wouldn't want to get bored of the sea just yet, would you? Then come, work under me, and you'll test out your gray cells as much as you want."
The girl's voice was unsteady, but slowly rose in clarity, "Y-Yes! Yes, of course! Pleasure to work with you!"