Well, this was actually a converted roleplay that Lily and I did together. It's an odd one; of course, being that it is based in the late 1600's early 1700's and has a pirate plot. Erik, Christine, Noel (made up), Andre, and Firmin are the main characters with Reyer and Keegan (made up) as secondary characters. It was an experiment that turned out quite nicely. I have a few more chapters, but they aren't ready for the web yet. Please enjoy.
Richard Firmin inhaled deeply, smelling nothing but the salt air and the slight scent of the wood beneath his feet and in his hands as he kept the wheel steady. Although he knew they were in the general direction of a settled coast, it wasn't in sight yet, and the ship that had been christened The Venus was surrounded entirely by blue water. A smile played on his lips. There was no better place to be than at sea.
He ran a hand through his brown hair, taking note of the winds. They were better than he had seen in months. They were making quick time towards the coast, and anyone with any sense of the area knew there were several rich colonies to hit along the way to Tortuga.
"Are we going to hit a few towns, Papa?" the almost-eleven-year-old beside him asked, grinning as she darted up onto the helm, throwing her arms around his waist. A dark little thing, her hair was long, but she wore boy's clothes. A skirt never led to anything good on a ship.
From below, a smile was hidden behind a mask as two yellow eyes strayed from the cannon ropes and watched the girl. One could swear that they had been born father and daughter.
Noel was not the captain's true daughter, everyone knew that. Most people with half a brain knew he wouldn't touch a woman with a ten-foot-long pole. Such matters were relaxed around pirates; they were criminals anyway.
Besides, she didn't look a thing like him. Her skin was brown, and her eyes were a shade of honey gold that was expected to grow a bit darker as she aged. But they were as bright as the sun now. Her hair was somewhat coarse and kinky, usually kept up but down at the moment. Although Firmin's skin was tanned like leather from the elements, he was at least mostly white as far as anyone knew, and his eyes were as blue as Bombay gin. His hair was smooth and brown, kept shorter than most pirates bothered to.
No one even really knew what race she was, including the girl herself. She didn't look black or Portuguese. Some said she was Persian, but not with any certainty. All anyone knew was that Firmin had carried her onto the ship five years ago, feverish and broken. Now she was as healthy and as happy as any child should be.
Not that any child should have been on a pirate ship.
"I don't know yet, Noel," Firmin admitted with a slight grin as he ruffled her hair playfully, mussing it. "Might. I've heard Edwardsville is rather rich."
Erik enjoyed the slight breeze produced by the ship's movement on the warm summer day. A wave broke over the side, getting him a bit wet, but he didn't care. He finished securing the last cannon and went back towards Firmin for further orders. It was a lazy day, not much to do.
Erik ascended the steps and came to stand beside Firmin and Noel with the authority the first mate should have. "Cannons are tied down. There'll be no more surprises. And I'm not letting a deckie tie them down again."
Firmin gave a nod. "Good. We don't need any more mishaps. But... Aside from the cannons, we've got a good wind. We're traveling at a good rate, and there's a colony up ahead. What do you think, Erik? Noel here is eager, but I've heard they've got one hell of a commodore."
"They probably do. But the cannons are primed, and our men are trained in both sword and gun. I think we can take them, but it's up to you."
Firmin frowned slightly, but finally said "We'll try it. We'll fire from a distance, judge their reaction. They get too much we'll hightail it out of here. The wind's on our side and the Venus is smaller than military ships."
In his younger years, Richard Firmin would have dove headfirst into anything, and it usually had ended badly. With his self-proclaimed daughter on board, however, his crew had noticed he had become more cautious.
Erik nodded. "But we'll need to port soon. Supplies are running low, as is currency to buy them." He said. They needed to raid a town or two.
"Alright, then it's settled. We'll attack. If they're too strong, we'll swing west and hit a few of the smaller colonies. We'll get supplies there if we can, if not we'll stop in Tortuga on our way by."
Well...at least we know we'll have rum, Erik though, unimpressed. "Alright." He agreed. "It works. We'll probably reach destination by nightfall. Perfect for a surprise attack."
"Exactly." Firmin snapped his fingers. "Oh, and remind me to have someone stay behind to keep an eye on Noel if we leave the ship."
"Papa!" the girl complained. "I want to come! You always leave me behind!"
"That's because you're ten and it's dangerous."
"I'm almost eleven," she replied, sulking slightly. If almost was in six months, then her statement was true.
"Do you want to live to see twelve?" Erik asked her. "You'll stay on the ship." Erik said.
"It's still not fair," she muttered. When it came to action, the girl was fearless. When it came to people outside the ship (and when she had first come, on the ship), she was lost.
"No, it's not," replied Firmin, ruffling her hair. "But I'm your father, and you're going to do what I say."
Erik nodded. "He has sense not to let you on shore until you are at least sixteen." He said. "Tortuga is one thing, but pillaging a village is another."
"Exactly. First rule of piracy; you can't use a sword until you weigh more than one." Firmin added.
"But I've been practicing!"
"No buts," Firmin said, kissing the top of her head. "You can help me sell some of the stuff in Tortuga, but until then you're not leaving the ship, young lady."
Erik nodded. "Listen to him." He said sternly. The girl needed to be off shore.
The girl crossed her arms. "It's not fair."
"Life's not fair, get used to it." Turning back to Erik, he said "Who's the commodore in Edwardsville, anyway? Last I heard it was some limp-wrested aristocrat."
"Monsieur Andre. French origins if I'm not mistaken. Soon to be married for social purposes. Comes from an aristocratic family, headed by his mother I believe. He seems a nice chap, if somewhat inefficient at what he does. Not the most qualified person, from what I've heard," Erik said.
"French, hmm...?" Though he knew the name Firmin was French, he had never been near the place. "If he's such a pansy, why does everyone stay away from there...?"
"Just because he can't fight doesn't mean he can't order others to fight," piped up Noel. "Maybe he's a strategist."
"Perhaps. Or perhaps he bought a number of rumors. You can buy yourself almost anything. Be it a bride, or a title." Erik said.
"Good point," Firmin admitted. "And if that's the case, we should have no trouble soaking them for all they're worth."
"If it's so easy, then it should be safe for me."
"Nice try," snorted the captain, giving her hair a gentle tug. "There's also the chance he didn't buy a number of the rumors saying he's awful, and I'm not willing to gamble your life on that."
A rather ironic statement, seeing as it had been a game of poker that brought her to him.
Erik nodded. "There is always the chance. And just because the captain is a fool, does not mean all of the soldiers are fools." Erik said.
"If that was the case, The Venus would have sunk a long time ago," smirked Noel.
Firmin tapped her head. "Don't you have map work to do? You want to be a captain someday, but you can't do that if you don't know North from South."
"I do know that! But you've got me doing a bunch of pointless math!"
"It's not pointless. You need to know how to do any job. Tying down cannons isn't my job, but its a good thing I know how. To have any position of power, you need to know how to do anything." Despite his words about map work, he looked to Firmin to see if perhaps he could teach Noel something a bit more fun, such as knot tying or something to pass the time. The girl would die of anticipation if she was plopped down in front of a map now.
Firmin gave a relenting sigh. "Take the girl. Throw her overboard so much as I care, just take her off my hands." Despite his words, he was smiling. "I've got work to do, anyway. Even if this Andre is a pushover, I want to be prepared."
Erik took her to the plank in a mock up. "Here's a useful skill. How to swim when completely tied up and thrown off the plank. I'll tie you up and throw you in, and we'll see how effectively you float...or sink..." He said.
Noel stuck her tongue out at him. "That's not funny. Even if I could float I'd drown before the ship got turned around."
"Then never go on a raid with us to another ship. I will teach you that once we are moored somewhere for a bit. It's a skill worth learning." Erik said seriously. "No. I'll teach you some knots now." He said grabbing some ropes.
Noel gave a nod of thanks, taking one of the ropes. "Erik...? Why has Papa been so... stressed, lately? It seems like every raid he's in a bad mood. And he won't even let me get off the ship unless we're moored."
"He is worried you'll get hurt. Pirating is a more dangerous job than most think. He cares about you is all. He's become a lot more resigned. He used to pillage a town whenever he could... of course... we usually lost a lot more of our crew that way...but still. It's for your safety." Erik said. "Now hold the ends like this, and tuck one under, but don't pull it tight." He said.
She followed his instructions, tugging only gently on the rope. "He says he was a pirate when he was fifteen, that's only five years older than I am! Besides, he can't talk about not getting hurt, he's got all those scars all over his back and chest and arms."
Though only the scars along Firmin's hairline and on his neck were visible, most of the crew had seen the scaring on his upper body.
"Exactly what he wants to prevent." Erik said to her. "You had best do as he tells you. He has some points. And with those scars, who knows them better than he?"
"It's still not fair," she muttered, brow creasing. "I just want to show him I'm good enough! I want him to be proud of me!"
"You are good enough, and he is proud of you. He won't be proud of you if you disobey him." Erik warned her darkly. "He's likely to be less proud if you disobey him, putting your life at risk."
"I guess you're right," she admitted with a sigh. Erik usually was right. Still, it was tempting to simply slip off of the ship for a bit and be back before he knew. But then, he was leaving someone to watch her, and that squashed any plans of escape she might have had.
Erik nodded. "Yes. Now. Here is the type of knots used for tying down the cannons." He said, moving on to another type of knot.
Noel paid rapt attention, not only because she wanted to know but because it would distract her from the fun she was going to miss tonight...
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