Pirates of the Caribbean: Legend of the Pirate Queen

Prologue

In memory of

Grainne Ui Mhaille,

Irish Pirate Queen

1530-1609

Otherwise known as Grace O'Malley…

It had been a sunny morning up until an hour ago when the Avenger had entered an unusual patch of fog. Lt. James Norrington stood at the port side as the various pieces of flotsam drifted past. Some distance away, the remnants of two ships floated ablaze, a sign that a fierce battle had taken place not too long ago. For a brief moment, he thought he spotted another ship in the dense fog, however, the next moment it disappeared. Frowning in dismay, he stared at the spot for a moment until he was certain there was nothing there.

"Bloody fog," he murmured under his breath.

As the group of sailors and soldiers returned from the wreckage, James could see that they had found no survivors. Grimly, he returned his gaze to its previous direction, wondering what had led to the ships demise.

"Sir!" one of the soldiers shouted to the captain as he climbed on deck. "It appears one of the vessels was a pirate ship. We found a black flag attached to one of the ship's masts," he declared as he held out what was left of the flag for the captain to see.

"Hmm…well it would seem this is good news, for this is the flag of "Black Cat" Burke, captain of the Macha.

The mention of the infamous captain and his ship, the Macha, caught Lt. Norrington's attention. He had heard the stories of her captain and his various exploits. There were rumors the captain was really a woman, though nobody knew for certain. The idea of a woman leading a fleet of ships was preposterous and yet at the same time it intrigued the Lt. The fact that he would never know the truth about the captain's gender somewhat disappointed him. A few moments later, Norrington was shaken out of his thoughts by the boatswain shouting orders to get under way. He reverently took one last look at the broken vessels that had just about sank and headed towards the forward part of the ship.

Macha is an Irish goddess linked with war, horses and kingship.