3rd person
A dark shadow flitted down the silent cobblestone street. No one but the lone shadow walked through the town to the sea; for who would go to the lair of the Celpe on All Hollow's Eve? The figure walked down the pier, its boots only making a soft click-clack on the water-logged boards. Past fishing ships, past merchant ships, and past galleons the shadow walked. It passed four or five larger vessels until it came to a small schooner; into which the shadow climbed.
Soon the sail was unfurled and filled with wind form the crisp autumn night, pushing the ship away from the dock and out of the harbor to the open sea. A ribbon of moonlight split through the clouds of the night and illuminated the sole sailor on the ship. A black traveler's cloak shielded the figure from the night's winds. The collar was folded up to a battered leather tri-corn hat, but between the coverings long red brown hair whipped about in the wind. Steady blue eyes gazed out past the bow of the boat. A slender hand reached into a trouser pocket and drew out a small bronze compass and held it over the helm. "My ship, the Black Orchid." A soft voice called to the device, carrying on the breeze as it blew past. The compass needle began to spin, but finally settled in a southern direction. And that was where the helmsman began to turn the ship.
1st person
I had been at sea for two and a half days now, and had sailed out of familiar waters yesterday. Most women my age would be at home now: Tending to the fires, the family, and the house. But not me. Ever since I was a just a young child, I had been preparing for this point of my life. I had taught myself how to break every rule that young women had to follow in my small Scottish town of Alba. I had learned to pick pocket, spy, fight, sail, and had outright refused to wear dresses. I was out here on the sea strand to make a name for myself as a pirate. And to find my father, if you could call him that.
"I am going to need a crew. The Black Orchid is not as small as the Celpe." I mused to the wind. I was already sailing toward my awaiting ship. Well, technically it was not mine; yet. But the whole affair is rather complicated and intertwines with many legends and such that I have learned make up my life. I was relying solely on my compass to guide me to the ship.
The small bronze device that was left to me by my father, who wished me a boy. Well, he will hopefully soon know that he has a daughter instead. I found it in the attic when I was six. Inscribed on the inside of the cover was 'To guide you to your greatest desire.' And that's what I was doing.
After a few more hours of sailing, I tied the helm in place with a small length of rope and jumped down below deck to get something to eat. One of the advantages of being a lone woman at sea, I could easily ration myself.
When I returned onto the deck, I see a galleon flying what looked like an Irish pirate's flag less than a league off. "I think I found my crew." I chuckled to the wind. Checking the sword and my hip, the dagger in my boot, and the pistol at my waist, I prepared to approach the larger ship.
When the larger ship came up beside mine, I pulled up the collar of my cloak and readjusted my hat to try and hide my gender for as long as possible. "Hey, lads! Looks like we have ourselves a visitor!" called one of the shipmen as he leaned over the edge to look down at me. He threw me down a rope, which I climbed up swiftly and swung myself over the edge.
An old man, who I assumed was the captain, walked off the bridge and down onto the main deck. Just then, the wind picked up and knocked my hat off my head and sent it tumbling across the deck. I ducked down and routed after the leather hat. Some of the men gasped while others were laughing amongst themselves. The captain began to laugh as he crossed over to where I had retrieved my hat and hoisted me up by my shoulder. "Well, look at what we have here."
I did not show any signs of pain as he tightened his hold on my shoulder. "A little wench to entertain us Irishmen?" I may have been young, but I wasn't naive. "Am I right, lassie?"
I cocked my head to the side and smirked almost malevolently at him. I grabbed his wrist and twisted it away from me as my hand shot out from my side and made crushing contact with the man's nose.
The captain staggered backwards, clutching the bleeding appendage. Some of his men, who I assumed were quite drunk, were still laughing, but most were slowly backing away from me. "I will only be entertaining you if you find being singlehandedly defeated by a woman entertaining." I warned in my thick Scottish voice as I danced out of the way of a wild punch from the captain. He ended up hitting one of his own crewmen.
One of the other men rushed me, not a smart move. I dropped to my knees directly where his knee would be in an inevitable step. The bearded man ended up head over heels into the hold below through the open deck hatch. Then the man who the captain had punched drew his sword and cautiously advanced on me. "Finally, a real challenge!" I mocked as I drew my own sword. After a few clashes of steel, I had the tip of my saber against his throat.
I was tempted to slit his throat, but a hand was placed over mine and began to try and push my sword down. "Before you go killing Mr. Brady here, what exactly do you want?" It was the man who had tossed me down the rope to help me onto the ship.
I dropped my sword, but kept it ready in my hand. "I need a crew. I have a ship waiting for me, but I cannot man it myself like I can with the Celpe."
The man nodded, and suddenly turned from me. His arm shot out to hit his captain, who had staggered to his feet, in the gut. "Well then, Sean O'Connor at your service."
I nodded and shot my leg out backwards, having heard a man with a peg leg approaching. "Thank you." I returned.
Soon the dividing line became obvious. The drunken men and the captain were on one side of the fight and the rest of us on the other. The skirmish raged on for almost half of an hour. But soon, my side had won. Many of us, however, were battered, bloodied, and bruised. "What do you suggest we do with them, Mr. O'Connor?"
"I say we set them afloat in than little skiff of yours down there." He pointed down at my boat, still tied off to the larger galleon. "All we have to do is give them a bottle of whiskey." He practically cursed beneath his breath.
"I will have you know that I built that boat myself." I quipped. "But I see your point." At that, I kicked the captain into my ship.
He fell in a heap on my main deck, pulling the rest of his followers with him, since we had tied them together. "So, what name do I give the casket maker when I come back to get my ship?" he slurred a hiss at me.
I smirked, but answered his question before throwing in the bottle of whiskey I had in my hand. "Hannah, Captain Hannah." Then the bottle which I threw down cracked on his head; rendering him unconscious.
Then a man whose name I had not been told came up to me. "So, Hanna, what makes you so sure that we will follow your orders. After all, you are just a woman." He smiled courteously at me.
"For the simple reason, Mr. …." I trailed off to allow him to tell me his name.
"John Clancy." He replied.
"For the simple reason, Mr. Clancy, any major infractions of my orders will result in the removal and hanging on the foremast of the one thing that separates you from me." I replied calmly as if I was simply referring to the Cat o' Nine.
Mr. Clancy swallowed loudly, and most of the rest of the crew chuckled nervously. The only one who found it truly amusing was Mr. O'Connor. Now that that had been cleared up, I went down the line of my new crewmates to learn their names and what position they usually had on this ship, the Emerald Winds. It turns out the only men we lost were the captain, two gunmen, and a navigator. Everyone retained their previous positions; including Mr. O'Connor as my first mate.
After all the changes had been described to the crew, I went up to Mr. Brady and apologized for nearly killing him in the fight.
"Quite alright, Captain. Now, where to?" Brady was also the helmsman.
I flipped out my compass, refocusing on the Black Orchid. "Steady to the South-South-East." I replied before looking over at the waves. "I will find you soon." I warned under my breath. Both to my ship, and to the person who left it for me.