Amellia Jones was quite a successful woman. That is saying quite a bit, she was quite ahead of her time you could say. The 1600's were not very friendly towards unmarried women trying to make it in the world. Amellia Jones didn't care who thought she was incapable of leadership or success. Amellia Jones was quite sure of herself and did not require any man's support. Most of all though Amellia Jones was a pirate.
A captain even, of her own ship. The Calypso's Rage was a fine vessel that sported a crew of just 25. Her Captain was none other than the feared Captain Jones, destroyer of man. Captain Jones was known throughout the sea but not well. Part of that was because upon hearing that a person is a pirate captain you assume that they are a man. Captain Jones let them think what they wanted of her.
It was nice to see them scream in fear and run from a woman. When she would attack another ship, they would invariably lose. The idea of losing to a woman however was unthinkable so those who survived came up with fantastic stories of the fearsome Captain Jones, who may have been part devil but was definitely not a woman. Very few survived however.
Amellia ran a clean ship. Her men did not squabble on board, there was minimal gambling and everyone got a fair share of the loot. Her crew knew that she was a woman and respected her nonetheless. She wore men's clothing and sported a cutlass that she could easily use to decapitate a man with her unworldly strength.
Despite being quite a thin woman, Amellia Jones was very strong. She was able to carry her weight on board. In fact she could toss a man across the deck if needs be. It was a strange occurrence for Amellia Jones to be surprised by anything or anyone. She was hyper vigilant and smart. Today was going to be an interesting day for Amellia Jones though because she was going to meet one known as Arthur Kirkland.
Amellia was charting their route to the nest sea port when one of her cabin boys knocked on the door.
"Come in." She shouted.
"Uhh Mam. I am the boy you assigned to the crow's nest." John said.
"Of course John. I assigned you there so why are you off your post?" Amellia asked hands on her hips.
"Well there's a British Navy ship a little bit a ways. It looks like it's headed in our direction mam. I think it's the ship assigned with arresting you." John said.
"Ha! I was wondering how long it would take for those blighters to find us. John go get your weapons I will alert the crew to our guests." Amellia said with a smile.
Three sea ports ago Amellia had heard that the crown wanted the evil Captain Jones arrested and tried for his crimes. She had laughed, the British Navy could try all they wanted but they would never catch her especially if they were looking for a man. She grabbed her sword and pistol and put on a skirt, which was something that used to be a proper skirt that had been torn and you could know see her knees underneath. She let her hair down and shook it out. She wanted to look her best after all. All in all she looked very much the woman pirate with men's pants on with a skirt over and a loose white shirt on top with pirate hat and cutlass. She walked outside.
"FRANCIS! MATTHEW! GET OVER HERE WE'VE GOT COMPANY. MEN GET YOUR WEAPONS READY THERE"S A BRITISH NAVAL SHIP NEARBY PREPARE TO ATTACK OR DEFEND!" Amellia shouted with her deepest voice. At her call her two most trusted men ran over to her.
"Francis, Matthew. If my information is correct then the Captain of that ship is none other than Arthur Kirkland. You know what we do to proper British Gentlemen." Amellia said.
"Ohonhonhon. Are you suggesting we take him captive? Amellia I don't know if he could handle it. Kirkland is a British man through and through, the idea of a woman besting him might destroy him." Francis said with an evil smile,
"SO you're all for it?" Amellia said.
"Oui! I hate that man it will be nice to see him taken down by someone he considers inferior." Francis said.
"Besides kidnapping pays well." Matthew added.
"I agree. We will pull alongside them and follow my lead. We will capture their captain and make him suffer." Amellia said smiling.
She took the wheel while her men prepared for battle. She commanded John to raise the white flag and pulled alongside the naval ship. When she saw that the other ship's captain was waiting for a response instead of firing she said in her deepest voice.
"Is this the great Captain Arthur Kirkland that this lowly sea captain has the honor of speaking too?" Amellia yelled.
"It is! I have been ordered to take your ship and crew and take them to jail where you will be tried for your crimes." Kirkland yelled back.
"Well the way I see it Captain Kirkland is that we have two choices. First we can battle killing many of our own men in the process until one of us loses. If you know my reputation then you will know my men don't surrender, they fight to the death. We haven't lost yet." Amellia shouted back.
"What is the second option?" Kirkland shouted back.
"A duel! You come aboard my lowly vessel. We have an honest duel with our swords. If I win then I keep you as my prisoner and let you men live. If I lose then you take me and my crew prisoner. Nobody has to die that way. I would personally like to avoid spilling innocent blood today." Amellia shouted.
Behind her the men were snickering. They knew what she was doing and they were trying to look serious. Kirkland turned and seemed to confer with his men. She knew he would take the deal. Men were prideful fools and British sea captains were some of the worst. He turned back to her and prepared his answer.
"I will agree to your duel but you should know that at any sign of deceit my men will blow your ship to smithereens!" Kirkland shouted.
"My men will be prepared to do the same. Now swing on over and prepare for a duel. You man bring a pistol if it makes you feel safer but this duel will be between swords only." Amellia shouted back.
Kirkland nodded and prepared to board the other ship. This was by far the strangest pirate he had ever encountered. He couldn't see much because of the distance between their ships but he could have sworn the pirates were laughing at him. Captain Jones was known for cruelty and taking no prisoners. His men were green he knew that they would lose if they faced the seasoned pirates in open combat. This would save his men's' lives. He was quite adept at the sword so he figured he would most likely win. He put his pistol in its holder and boarded the other ship. When he landed he saw someone he recognized there waiting.
"Francis! Bloody surprise seeing you here you frog!" Kirkland said with a snarl.
"Tch tch. Is that anyway to speak to an old friend? I am here to take you to my captain anyhow. You should know I will enjoy seeing you become our prisoner." Francis said.
"I will enjoy seeing you hang. Now take me to him." Kirkland directed.
They walked over and he saw that the pirates were standing in a circle. This is where we are supposed to duel then. Kirkland drew his sword and entered the circle. It closed behind him and he looked around for his opponent. He then heard a battle cry and saw the captain swing down from the crow's nest. He landed and then Kirkland saw his face.
"You're a bloody girl!" HE shouted.
"Tut tut such language from a gentleman. I really would've expected more from a distinguished man like yourself." Jones said.
"Where the bloody hell is the captain?" Kirkland asked.
"You are looking at her. Captain Amellia Jones, pirate extraordinaire, at your service. Now if you would kindly get into position I would like to begin our duel." Jones said.
"I won't duel a woman!" Kirkland shouted affronted.
"You accuse me and my men from going back on our deal! Yet here you are being such a pansy about it. Now you will fight or you will die and when you fall so will all of your men. I am an honest pirate Kirkland you fight or your men die." Jones said.
"Fine but prepare to lose. I am much stronger than you could ever hope to be as a woman." Kirkland said raising his cutlass.
He barely had time to block her first attack. She was vicious and strong. She swung at him in a calculated manner. He blocked and tried to hit back. Soon it was very clear that he was out-matched. He now understood why the pirates had been laughing, they had known that he would take the deal and lose. No wonder Francis had been so cocky! Within five minutes she had slashed him across the chest and caused his sword to fly across the deck. He surrender because he had lost. She took his pistol and then lowered her sword.
"We will go back to your ship. You will get yourself some supplies and you may give your last commands as captain. Your men will know that you lost to Captain Amellia Jones."
Kirkland nodded and they went back to his ship. His men cheered at the sight of him until they saw his wounds and the fact he was weaponless. They then looked sad and confused. It was clear that the person leading him was a woman. Who was she?
"Men your captain has lost. We will be keeping him but you shall live. I do hope that none of you have plans about rescuing him. Don't worry for him. He will be our honored prisoner. We will probably drop him off at some port or another in a few months when we get bored. Now listen to your captain's last words with respect his giving his freedom for your worthless lives after all." Jones said with a smile.
"Men, you have been a good crew. I hope to see you once more. I give the ship to my second in command Berwald. You had better listen to him as if he were me. Berwald take this hip back to port and alert the crown as to the ending of our mission. From there follow the orders given. Tell the crown that I advised you take over for my duties." Kirkland said.
"Now Kirkland get yourself some clothing. You won't need much else. Then we return to my ship." Jones said.
Realization donned on the crew that this was Captain Jones. A woman had defeated and wounded their captain. They watched as he walked proudly to his cabin. He emerged with plain clothing and followed Jones back to the other ship. Berwald watched in sadness as his longtime friend became a prisoner. He had agreed with the captain on the plan and would not go against it now. The crew watched in silence as the pirate ship sailed away with their captain on board.
On board Calypso's Rage Amellia began shouting commands out to her crew. Arthur stood behind her unsure as to what he was meant to do now. Soon two men one he recognized and the other he did not came to speak with Amellia who was now standing by the ships wheel.
"Captain! What are your plans for the prisoner?" Francis asked.
"I haven't decided. What do suggest Francis? Matthew do you have any ideas?" Jones replied.
"I suggest you hang him by his toes and use him as our new flag until we port next." Francis replied venomously.
"You could just use him as your cabin boy. You let the last one go." Matthew said.
"That's true. I did let Emily go. She was a good cabin boy. I am so glad she found someone to settle down with, Sorry Francis! Next time we get one of your enemies on board I will be sure to gut him but I do need a cabin boy. Francis you take the wheel. Matthew you keep the men in order. I'm going to patch up this 'ol chap and show him his new duties." Jones said.
The men nodded and Amellia motioned for Arthur to follow her. He did so and they went into what he assumed was the Captain's chambers. She motioned for him to sit which he did and then she rummaged around until she found her first aid supplies.
"Now take of your shirt. I need to clean up that wound or it'll get infected." Amellia said.
"I won't take off my shirt in front of a lady! That would be disgraceful." Arthur replied.
"I am your captain now. You will do as I say or be punished. I'm trying to save your life you git. Take off the shirt." Amellia said.
"Fine." Kirkland replied removing the torn article.
"Now while I'm cleaning up this little old wound why don't you tell me about yourself?" Jones suggested.
"What on earth would you want to know?" Kirkland asked.
"Family, where you grew up, Dreams any of that crap. I like to know my crew." Jones said as she began to dab alcohol on the gash.
"Well I was born in London. I always wanted to be a navy captain so I joined her majesty's Navy when I turned 18. I've moved up the ranks for years until you find me now a captain." Kirkland said proud of his accomplishments
"Married? Have a wife who'll be missing ya?" Jones asked interested.
"I never found a woman who kept my fancy. I found most woman in London to be empty headed and boring." Kirkland replied.
"Well you know how women are. We are only appreciated for our looks and lineage. No point in developing conversation skills when we are just expected to listen and giggle." Jones said disgustedly.
"Women are appreciated for other things as well!" Kirkland protested.
"Really? Oh yes I forgot we are also seen as child bearers. Men do not care for women beyond using them for sex and getting a male child." Jones said as if speaking from experience.
"I don't see women that way!" Kirkland said offended at her rude language.
"Oh really? Was it not you that said no woman was able to keep your fancy? You expected women to be your form of entertainment and nothing else. Don't worry though, you aren't the only one. Most men and women think that way. I know my family sure did." Jones said.
"I never imagined a wild pirate woman had any kind of family." Kirkland said.
"That is a story for another time. Now you are all patched up I will show you your duties for the say. Follow me." Jones said.
Arthur followed her and was shown to the deck. He was given cleaning supplies and told to swab the deck and then find her when he was done. It was midday at that point and so Arthur began to work like he hadn't in some years. It hurt his pride to be swabbing the deck like some lowly cabin boy but then again that was exactly what he was now. He didn't like this situation. He was the prisoner of pirates. He watched the men on board as he worked. They tended to avoid looking at him.
Everything was very ordered. Every man had a job or a place to be. They didn't lollygag or procrastinate instead they went directly to their work stations and di they jobs well and efficiently. It was better than he could have said of his own crew. His crew had been brand new and they were still unused to life at sea. He and Berwald often had to look for crewmembers who were hiding from their work.
What surprised him most was that even Francis worked. It seemed he was the ships cook on board and so he went from place to place collected the things needed for supper. He noticed that the other one, Matthew was his name, was manning the ship. Matthew was a very forgettable character to Arthur. The kind of man who would blend into the background. The men seemed to not hear him sometimes when he spoke with that quiet voice. How did he ever manage to be put in a position of power if no one notices him?
Eventually he finished the deck. It was quite clean as clean as her majesty expected it to be. HE went to find Captain Jones and found her in her room going over maps and other documents.
"Captain I believe I finished the deck." Kirkland said trying to sound respectful.
"Really? Well let's go see shall we?" Jones said looking up from her work.
"Now this just won't do! Is this how the Navy cleans their ships? No wonder they lose so easily. Do properly this time." Jones said at the sight of his work. "If it's not done properly next time you won't get supper. I don't feed the lazy."
Arthur huffed. The deck was perfectly clean! How dare she insinuate his Navy was unclean and weak! As he grabbed his mop again he noticed a young boy looking at him. In the foul mood he was in he looked at him.
"What do you want?" Arthur demanded.
"I just thought you should know that you must make sure to get all the nooks and crannies of the deck. Captain has very high standards. When I was in charge of cleaning the deck it took me a few days of no meals before I got it right." The boy replied.
"What is a boy like you doing on a pirate ship? Oh and Thank you. What is your name?"
"John Harding. A few years ago my town was sacked by pirates and I was taken as prisoner. The Captain was cruel and raped my sister quite a few times and nearly beat me to death when I tried to defend her. A year ago Captain Jones attacked the pirate and took us prisoner leaving most of the crew dead. She gave my sister as her personal Cabin Boy and put me under Francis. She saved us she did. Emily found a man who loved her a few month ago and they were married. Captain Jones even gave Emily a dowry so she could be a respectable wife." John explained.
"Really? I had no idea." Arthur replied.
"Yeah well most of Captain's crew were innocent prisoners of some other pirate at one point. I am surprised she kept you. Captain Jones hates British Captains." John said.
"Any idea why?" Arthur asked as he began to re-clean the deck.
"Nope. No one does. Not even Francis knows why Captain became a pirate and hates British Navy officers. We only know that she does. She is a good woman though pirate or not. My mother taught me what a good woman was and she is definitely it. I would give my life for her I would. Everyone on board would. Not that she would ever need saving as you learned early today." John said with a smile.
"No, I don't suppose she would. Thanks for giving me some advice John. You should call me Arthur. I haven't cleaned a deck like this in about a decade so I'm a little out of practice." Arthur replied.
"Not a problem. Fellow Cabin Boys got to stick together don't they Arthur? I've got to get back to my job in the crows nest now. See you at supper Arthur." John said climbing up the nets,
Arthur pondered over this new information. Was there such a thing as a good pirate? If John's story is to be believed then Jones wasn't an all bad person. Arthur thought about the possibility of a good pirate while he worked. He cleaned for the next hour getting every nook and cranny of the deck until it was shining. He went over to the captain's chamber to see her reading a book.
"Captain I've finished the…Is that Paradise Lost?" Kirkland asked when he recognized the book.
"You've finished the deck? Well we will see about that. Yes it is Paradise lost. I've read it a few times but it is one of my favorites. I have amassed quite a collection of books in my pirating days." Jones replied.
"Have you read Paradise Regained? I did enjoy that one as well." Kirkland said excited to find a fellow book lover.
"I have read it but I've yet to have the pleasure of owning it. There now. That wasn't too hard to clean right now was it?" Jones said looking down at the deck.
"No, I don't suppose it was." Kirkland admitted.
"John told you what I wanted didn't he? That boy. He is too kind or his own good. He will never make a good pirate. I am just going to have to let him go at some point if he keeps helping out prisoners." Amellia said.
"Well now there's no need to be so hasty." Kirkland said not wanting to get his friend punished.
"What you don't think John Harding deserves an actual future? One with a family and a respectable job? I do. Once he finds one that fits his fancy I am going to let him go. He never wanted this, He is too good to be a pirate forever, Kirkland. Not every man is born for the sea." Amellia said looking out at the blue expanse that surrounded them.
It was then that a bell sounded and Francis called everyone for supper down below. Amellia started and looked over at Kirkland.
"GO get yourself some food and get me some too bring 'em up to my cabin. I need to keep on with my work. Tell Francis to keep the rum stopped tonight. We need to save it for later." Amellia said.
As Amellia turned and walked back towards her cabin Arthur followed the men down towards the kitchen. It was crowded down there with men seating and joking with one another. There was a kind of strange comradery Arthur rarely saw. These men would easily cheat each other when gambling but they would trust one another with their lives in battle. He walked over to where Francs was serving food.
"Francis the Captain requested I take her food and mine up to her cabin so she can continue with her work. She also asked me to tell you to keep the rum in storage tonight." Arthur said still trying to be respectful to his now superior.
"Oui whatever you say Kirkland. Here you are two plates. Now be a good little cabin boy and run off to our captain. I wouldn't want to see you get in trouble." Francis said in a condescending tone.
Arthur bit his lip and walked the food back up to the room. Without knocking on the door he opened it. He heard a scream and dropped the plates. HE looked up to see Jones only half dressed.
"DON"T YOU KNOW HOW TO KNOCK YOU BLEEDING FOOL!?" Amellia shouted as she quickly put on a coat to cover herself,
"I'm very sorry I had no idea. This is very improper of me…" Arthur looking down said with a cherry red face.
"It's not a problem. Just pick up the food and get in here. I'm decent now so stop being so red faced you look like a mere boy when you do that." Amellia said.
Arthur did as he was told and gave her one of the plates and sat down in one of the other chairs to eat. As he began to eat his food he looked over to see her head bowed over the food. Is she blessing her food? Arthur had stopped blessing his food when he went out to sea. Things like that just never came to his mind. This woman was very strange indeed. He tried to eat in silence in the room while the woman worked.
"Blast it all! I am never going to find that pirate." She shouted suddenly.
"What?" Kirkland asked surprised at the sudden outburst.
"I suppose I should explain myself. I don't raid ports as you may or may not know. I attack other vessels. Pirate, usually but I am not above attacking Spanish, French or English Navy or privateers. My current prey has been avoiding me for some time. It's an English Privateer known as George Cumber his ship the "Queen's Majesty". I've been searching for him for as long as I've been a pirate. I've been getting hints here and there about where he goes but he is impossible to track. I thought I was close this time but the information I have is just not adding up." Amellia said in defeat.
"You're after George Cumber? Why on earth for? He is quite the gentleman I've had quite a few dinners with him. He has never been anything but honorable…" Arthur said,
"You know the man?" Amellia interrupted.
"Well yes. Granted I've never served with him but we've often met together. He is quite a good man if I do say so myself." Kirkland said reminiscing. George had been one of his childhood heroes. He was actually the reason he had joined the Navy.
"George Cumber is nothing but a sick bastard." Amellia said with venom. "I will have his blood if it's the last thing I do. I am after him for reasons that don't concern you or anyone else but me. You should remember this though. Men are often different at sea then they are at land."
Arthur had nothing to reply to her statement so he looked down at his food. He ate in silence as he watched the captain ruffle through her papers looking for this document or that. It was funny to him that he actually knew where George was going to be next. They both had been invited to go to a dinner in London in just a few months and George had said he would be attending. Arthur had actually looked forward to the dinner to hear more stories from the older chap. He would never tell her that though. He could tell she planned on killing the man and he would never betray his hero and friend in that manner.
Once both meals were finished he was ordered to go out wash the plates, return them to the kitchen and then come back to the cabin. As he was doing so he was stopped by John.
"Hey Arthur! Good to see you got to eat supper today." John said.
"Well I have to thank you for that. Tell me John what do you want to be?"
"Me? Well before I became I pirate I always imagined being a metalworker. A person who makes swords, armor and guns. I'm too old to apprentice now though. I missed the mark about a year ago. Now I guess I am just happy to be part of Captain Jones's pirate crew. What about you Arthur? What did you want to be?" John asked.
"When I was a lad I wanted to be a knight. I was then informed that that certain career no longer existed. I opted instead for being a captain in the British Navy. I guess I was living my dream until earlier today when I was taken prisoner." Arthur said with a sigh.
"Are you married?" John asked.
"No, I never found a reason to wed." Arthur responded.
"Captain Jones says that a man can't ever be truly happy until he settles down with a woman he loves. That's why she was so happy when Emily got married. She keeps pushing me to find someone but I'm not interested in that yet." John said with a shrug.
"Here tell her next time she bothers you about marriage that you will marry when she does." Arthur said with a smile.
"That's a great idea! Captain Jones is never going to get married. That means I can take my sweet time. Thanks Arthur! I've got to go back to my post. I will see you later." John said.
Arthur shook his head at the young boy. He was probably around 15 years old. No wonder he wasn't interested in getting married. It was sad to see that the boy had missed out on much of life because of pirates. He walked back to the cabin making sure to knock before opening the door.
"Come in Kirkland." Jones shouted out.
He came in to see Amellia reading in her hammock. It rocked along with the sea and looked relaxing enough. She was reading Paradise Lost still and didn't bother looking up when Arthur entered. He stood there for a few moments until she put her book down.
"What kind of skills do you have Kirkland?" She said.
"Skills?" He asked.
"Are you good with maps, steering, guns or what? They made you captain because you were good at something right?" She said impatiently.
"Oh, I am good at steering a ship yes." Kirkland said really at a loss of words as to what kind of skills he actually had.
"I see. Well we will have to find you a job tomorrow. I've too much on my mind as it is. I want you to run and tell Gilbert that we are heading for the next port as planned. When you come back you will be done for the day I imagine." Amellia said looking back into her book.
Arthur nodded and left. He went over to where he imagined Gilbert would be, the wheel. There he saw a man with white hair and red eyes manning the wheel. HE walked up and addressed the man.
"Uh sir are you Gilbert?" Arthur asked.
"OF course I am the awesome Gilbert!" He answered in a thick accent "Why brings you to my awesome presence?"
"The Captain told me to tell you that she wants to proceed to the next port as planned." Arthur said.
"Kessessesse. Great. I am so going to buy a bird." Gilbert said,
Arthur took that as his sign to leave the strange man. He walked back into the cabin to get his sleeping assignment.
"I told Gilbert, Captain." Arthur said.
"Please only John calls me Captain while we are at sea. Call me Jones. Good that you told him. I just hope that crazy man doesn't get it into his head that that means I am allowing him to have his pet." Amellia said.
"That's what he said." Arthur admitted.
"Ooh that man infuriates me sometimes. If he wasn't the "most awesome" navigator in the world I wouldn't keep him." Amellia said. "Now you will be sleeping in here of course. The other hammock can be set up over there."
"Me sleep in here?! That is hardly appropriate behavior! The men will think…" Arthur said.
"Will think what? That I wanted waste my time with a man who could barely hold a sword? You are my cabin boy. I have my cabin boy sleep in here just in case I need them and not for any other reason. You would do well to remember your position on this vessel." Amellia said. "Now as I was saying. The other hammock can be set up over there. I will show you how but after tonight I expect you to put it up and take it down each morning and night."
She showed him that and then left so she could get some water or for some other reason. Arthur looked at the hammock and sighed. He had never been comfortable with women. He always got so flustered and red faced. His brother had always joked that the only way he would ever get a woman was if she was blind and deaf. Now he was here sleeping in the same room as a woman. He was never going to survive. He climbed into the hammock and tried to calm himself.
When she came back in she undressed slightly into a nightgown. Arthur looked away and tried not to blush. She climbed into her hammock and pulled out another book. It was a journal he found out as she began to write in it. When she finished her entry she stowed the book away and turned to look at Arthur.
"Are you going to sleep in that?" She asked incredulously.
"Well it would hardly be appropriate to take off my shirt in front of a lady." Arthur explained.
"Shove it and take your shirt off, Kirkland. I won't have my cabin boy sleep uncomfortably just because he has a stick up his ass." Amellia said.
He blushed and removed the shirt to avoid conflict. Her eyes quickly traced his chest and then she nodded and turned to blow out the candle. Then it was pitch dark in the cabin and he heard her turn over into her hammock. Arthur did the same and tried to sleep.
Amellia was having an interesting day indeed. Why am I being so nice to that bloody pig? He is like every other man who've I not beaten into trust. Men cannot be trusted until you've showed them you are stronger than they are. If you don't show them that then they will just wait until they can overtake you. Her body shuddered at the memories that unwillingly fell into her mind as she dreamed.
It had been 16 years ago when her life had changed for the worst. She had been 10 at the time not yet a woman but just a few steps from that fate. She had had a happy family. Her father a wealthy English merchant who lived by the sea. She had had siblings too. It had been one night like every other. She was in her night gown trying to get out of going into bed when the door was broken down.
Her father stood in front of her and her mother when the men rushed in. It was George Cumber and some of his trusted men. He yelled at my father accusing him of piracy. Amellia had searched for any evidence that her father had been a pirate later in life and had found none. George told her father that he would need to pay him a fine for his piracy. Her father had denied the false claims and flatly refused to pay the money.
George responded by shooting my father in the chest. My mother screamed and he shot her too. I tried to run but one of the men caught me. George told them to find out if there were any other girls in the house. He wanted the girls taken prisoner and the boys shot. Amellia had had three older brothers. They had woken up to the gun shots but were unable to fight off them men who attacked them in the dark. She remembered struggling at each shot of a gun trying to fight to save her brothers. She was a strong girl but she was a mere child not large enough to fight off the much older assailant.
The men returned and told George she was the only girl in the whole house. He smiled evilly at me and told me I was going to be his new toy. I didn't know what that meant but I spit in his face. He laughed then and then hit me in the head with the butt of his gun. She had awoken on a ship in the middle of the sea. She was tied up in what she would find out was the captains quarters. He came in eventually and explained that she would be his new servant until she became an adult. Then she would become something else.
Amellia had served well for three years. She had tried to escape a few times but that had ended in near death beatings. Her life took a turn for the worst when she had become a woman. At the sight of the blood she had run to the ship's doctor. He had explained it to her and what it meant. He had then called in the captain to tell him the "good news". Apparently I was an adult now. With my breasts beginning to form and my body taking on a womanly form, George felt I was nearly ready.
That was when he had started touching her. He would grope her at night and slap her rounding but whenever she passed him. It all felt very wrong and scary to her. She didn't understand why it felt so wrong and awful but she tried to avoid him as much as possible. A few months passed and by that point she looked feminine enough for George.
The first attack had happened at night. When she went to her bed which was in the captains chambers he had grabbed her. He threw her up against the wall and had done things her innocent mind had not even known of. He had raped her three times that night. The attacks happened very often and she would not be able to walk much after them because of the pain she was.
At first she had felt dirty, wrong and evil. This had been all her fault. It wasn't until one of the younger men on board felt pity for her and told her that it wasn't her fault that she realized she needed to leave. She had lived on a privateer ship for 4 years at that point. She had picked up some sword skills and other sailing skills. One day when he kissed her roughly in the middle of the day she broke. The rage and pain she had kept inside flooded out and she grabbed his sword and attacked him.
She was not skilled and she was attacking while blinded by tears. He eventually disarmed her not without some new scars and a loss of a pinky finger. He in his anger threw her over board. She had swam for as long as her body could hold out. Luckily she was able to find some drift wood. That meant she was near land right? She had crawled onto the wood using it as her life support. Looking around she did indeed see land.
She tried to paddle towards the land but the current was working against her. While she had been swimming she hadn't noticed that the water was getting choppy and that storm clouds were gathering. The storm that broke above her was huge and menacing. She held onto her log and did nothing to stop the water from tossing her about. Sometime in the night she fell unconscious.
She had woken up in a bed. Apparently some fishermen had found her holding onto the log and completely delirious. They had taken her back and the inn keeper's wife had taken care of her for three days. She was a kind woman. She had seen her scars and had not asked questions about Amellia's past. She had taken care of her for free and without asking for help in return. When Amellia had recovered she found out she was in a small port town in the Netherlands.
She made money in the town fighting the sailors who came in with a sword. The men would laugh when they saw her and agreed to bet on their fight. She made quite a bit of money doing this and got very good with her sword. She even made friends with the pirates named Francis, Matthew and Gilbert. They were kind and treated her as an equal. Part of that was because she had beaten them all in sword duels.
When she turned 17 she gave the inn keeper a lot of money to thank them for their help and bought a Dutch ship. She named it "Calypso's Rage". She took on her three pirate friends as her trusted crew mates. They brought with them Antonio, a Spanish pirate. She allowed them to hire people they trusted to be her crew. She kept her gender a secret and told them to call her Captain Jones when hiring the men.
When they had set sail she showed herself to the men and had to fight quite a few of them before they agreed to follow her as a captain. That had begun her days as a pirate captain. Francis, Matthew and Gilbert did not know why she was out for revenge against George Cumber and she never told them.
She wanted to kill the man who had killed her family, made her a slave, raped her and then left her to drown at sea. George Cumber for his part knew that there was a pirate after him but he had no idea who it was. The memories were all so vivid in her mind she was sure she was crying out in reality. Not that she cared.
Nightmares were common for her. It had been part of the reason she had so loved Emily. They had both the same fears and experiences. She had told Emily what had happened to her. Emily and her had shared a hammock and used each other's touch to fight off the nightmares. Emily had never told a soul what Amellia had been through just as Amellia kept Emily's experiences a secret.
When Emily had left to become a married woman the nightmares had returned. She didn't mind so much. Emily deserved happiness she really did. Amellia would not be able to rest until George Cumber was stopped. She knew he had another woman on board now. It was his custom to have one woman on board at all times and when one died he would replace her. She was trying to find him not only to satisfy her revenge but to stop him from harming any more women.
Kirkland woke up sounds of distress and pain. He sat up and looked around. When he realized where he was he knew that it was Jones who was crying. He got up unsteadily and light a candle. The dim light flickered around the room showing a crying, asleep Amellia. Arthur sat down in a chair and tried to decide what to do. He heard her say things that he didn't understand.
"Rape, stop" "Father, NO!" "Blood." "Revenge"
Things like that came out of her mouth in gasps of pain. He did not know much but he had a feeling that Amellia Jones did not become a pirate by choice. What experiences haunted her in the night? Should I wake her? Or should I let her dream? At a particular desperate cry for help Arthur felt himself stand up. A woman no matter how vulgar did not deserve to go through suck things. He walked over to Jones and called her name.
"Amellia Jones. Wake up!" He said.
He said that at a good level a few times but it was clear that his voice wouldn't do the trick. He reached out his hand and shook her shoulder. Her eyes burst opened and she grabbed a gun out of nowhere and pointed it Arthur. He put his hands up and tried to calm her.
"I was just trying to wake you! No need to shoot me, Jones." He said.
She relaxed after a while and put her gun down. She shook herself a little and then put on an angry face and looked at Arthur again.
"Didn't anyone ever teach you not to sneak up on a woman while she is sleeping? I almost blew your head off." Jones said.
"You were having a nightmare." Arthur said.
"Of course I was. I always have nightmares. There isn't any need to wake me up for something so trivial." She replied exasperated.
"They didn't sound trivial." He replied in an even voice.
"Well they were compared to some that I have had. That doesn't concern an innocent little fool like yourself though. I've been a pirate for ten years now, I would be surprised if I didn't have things that haunt me. You would not understand." Jones said defensively.
"Oh really? I think I've seen enough in my 28 years of life. Do tell me what makes you so much more attuned to horror than I?" Arthur said in a haughty tone.
"What were you doing when you were ten years old?" She asked suddenly.
"What does that have to do anything? I was growing up like a normal lad. Just like everyone else does." Arthur replied.
"Oh really? Just like everyone else? When I was ten I saw my parents murdered before my eyes and heard my brothers' screams as they were killed in their beds. When I was ten I was kidnapped by George Cumber to be his slave. When I was thirteen I was raped and assaulted for a year by one "good chap" known as George Cumber. When I was fourteen I was thrown overboard for trying to defend myself against that terrible man. When I was fourteen I nearly drowned in the middle of the ocean. Don't you dare tell me that I have no idea what horror is! I know what horror is. While you were asleep in your little bed with a family that loved you as I was being raped and tortured by a man you hailed as a hero. A man you have had dinner with, a man you respect. I bet you didn't know that while you were out having drinks that terrible man had a woman slave on his ship that he was raping whenever he pleased. Don't ever assume you know more about pain and suffering just because you are a man. You are two years older than me and you will never suffer the way I suffered! Now go back into your hammock and don't you dare try and wake me again. I have nightmares and there is nothing to do about it." Amellia said while sounding more and more angry and desperate.
The words had tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them. Maybe it was the fact that this man had assumed he knew more about suffering than she did. Maybe it was because she had been woken up right in the middle of a particularly bad memory. Whatever the reason she felt so empty after spilling her guts to a man she barely knew.
Arthur however had no intention of sleeping. He had heard her words and know felt an unmeasurable amount of sadness and guilt. He also felt a repulsion to the fact that he had respected a man who was capable of such horrors. That was not what he had aspired to be. He walked back to his hammock and climbed in he blew out the candle and placed it on the desk. He thought about how cruel the world had been to Amellia Jones. He thought about how wrong it was that George was hailed as a hero by everyone on land while he had a woman he was torturing in his ship. If only there was a way to stop him, a way to show the world how evil he was. Before he thought about the consequences he spoke.
"I know where you can find George Cumber."