A young slave girl was escaping. She loathed her owners and the overseer they hired. He had taken advantage of many a slave girl. This night, she finally broke free of her bonds and fled. She didn't know her name or of her origin and family. She was running, panting, through small Port James. She came to an abrupt stop when she came to the dock. Moonlight weaved its way through the clouds to shine onto the girl's face.
Her skin would have been a light tan had it not been darkened by the days of labor under the Caribbean sun. Her eyes were a dark brown and looked as if they had seen too much early on in life. Her hair fell to her shoulders in thick waves of brown. She was 15 years of age, and would have been married to another slave soon. The only item she owned was a crab heart locket. Clouds blanketed the moon, her surroundings darkening.
She took a deep breath and marched up to a man who looked like a merchant. "May I work on your ship?" Her words sounded very little and not good enough to herself. As she turned and walked away, the merchant's laughter rang in her ears. She continued on, looking for a decent vessel. Even after the wooden dock ended, she walked on the beach, something willing her to go on.
As she rounded a corner, she stopped and gasped. A break in the clouds had allowed moonlight to fall upon a black ship with black sails. She's beautiful, the girl thought. Keeping close to the tree line, she sneaked closer. The girl frowned, then raised her eyebrows in surprise and shock. Pirates!
She overheard a pirate calling out, "I'll go find some fresh water." He headed towards her. She panicked, looking for a place to hide. He saw her as soon as he entered the forest. "Who are you?" He seemed friendly enough, but the girl knew you could never trust pirates. She stared, dumbstruck. She had only heard old tales and ancient legends of these thieves of the sea.
The pirate grabbed her by the arm in a firm grip and started to take her back to the others. "No! No! No!" she softly cried out, but it was futile. The others had surrounded them. A female pirate stepped forward quickly and whispered, "Will!" He quickly kissed her and turned to another male pirate. The pirate who appeared to be Will stated, "I found her just inside the forest. She hasn't said anything but 'no'." The other male pirate stroked his chin. He had dreadlocks, a tricorn hat, two braids in his beard, and various beads hanging in chains from his hair and bandana. "Next time, Will, don't bring her back, savvy? Because now, we have to take her, or kill her, and I really don't want to. Alright? Now, where is that monkey, I want to shoot something?"