This is a story of pirates, old and young, one full of fantasy, wit, bravery, strength, and heart. The legend of a young girl who learned to be courageous, and to fight for herself along with what she loves. The tale of an old captain who learned to be kind, learned redemption, and above all, learned to love. This is a story of pirates, and if you are one who yearns for a slap of the sea, this is a story for you.
Some time ago along the Northern Atlantic coast of the new land, there was a young woman, not much more than a child. She was at age seventeen and lived in a brothel. This girl, with flaming red hot hair had the attitude to match. Though she had hardly set foot in the ocean more than three times her life, she had the mouth of a sailor and the heart of the sea. Despite this, in her everyday life, her brothel mother and fellow mistresses saw her as a polite, docile young lady.
In her free time, however, she was as feisty as they came. She was the one who would always find trouble. She was a protector of sorts to the younger girls at the brothel. If any man dared to treat any of her "sisters" with any less decency than she deserved, that flaming girl would make sure to give the man "a little extra love" the next time she saw him.
And she kept her word.
Though she was a hard one, she wore her heart on her sleeve. Abandoned by both parents as a child, she was left to be raised in the brothel. For her entire life up until the last few years, she had been only a house maiden. She cleaned, cooked, made the beds, washed the floors and did just about everything imaginable to clean the brothel form floor to ceiling.
Her name was Chise Hatori, Chise meaning "little star." Though, if Chise were a true star in the sky, there would be nothing little about her. She shined when she smiled, her deep green eyes glistening with emotion. Chise was a hearty young woman, and though she worked at a whore house, she was nothing short of a lady.
It was one day while she was working, Chise was waiting for a customer on the main floor of the brothel when two handsome men walked in. One of the customers was taller, blonde, with a short ponytail at the base of his neck. He had a pleasant aura, a kind smile but his face was dirty. The man that followed him seemed less like a man, but not quite a child. He was fitting somewhere in between. He was shorter, slightly scrawny with shoulder length, matted black hair. He looked mischievous, almost devilish as he sauntered into the room.
Chise walked up to the two men and smiled, less of a polite smile and more of a smirk. She pressed a soft hand up to the blonde man's chest and hummed. "Is there anything I can do for you two gentlemen?"
The blonde man grinned, raising a single eyebrow as he watched Chise walk her fingers down his chest. "Ah, yes," he pulled out a gun and cocked it, pressing the barral to her stomach. Chise flinched at the cold, hard sensation. Her eyes grew wide as she glanced down nervously. "Would you be so kind as to stay quiet and follow us?" Said the man.
"Wha-what is this?" Chise dared not move. One of the other girls seemed to notice and cried out. The dark haired man pulled out his own gun before she had the chance to go anywhere and pointed the weapon at her.
"Ma'am, I would stay put if I were you."
Chise gripped the blonde man's sleeve, glancing at the other innocent girl with a desperate look. "Don't hurt her. I'll go with-" she pleaded. "Mary, just sit back down, please. I'll be fine."
Mary, who was only 15 with wide brown eyes that seemed to still belong to a child, did as she was told, and Chise shifted her focus back to the man who was threatening her at the moment. The glare she shot him was unbreaking, however the man was as so. "Let's go."
Chise was shifted to the blonde man's side. He held an arm around her hip, and hid the gun that was pressed against her under his coat. The darker haired man had put his own weapon back on his hip, but remained alert keep a hand on his him, ready to brandish is pistol at a moments notice.
"We ought to be in a hurry, Simon. Captain will be angry if we take much longer."
Captain!
"Calm down Ruth," the blonde man, supposedly named Simon called back. "We haven't been out that long."
Captain! Captain! That means these men are-
After walking to docs, Chise was guided into a small escape boat. Simon sat directly in front of her, gun still aimed directly for her. The girl rolled her eyes. "You can quit with the gun. I'm not going to do run, I mean-" she gestured around, "there's nowhere for me to run."
With a slightly embarrassed cough, Simon realized Chise was right and put down the pistol. "Yeah and while you're at it, why don't you help me row this damn thing." Ruth snapped from behind Simon.
"Shut up and keep rowing, ya ol' dog."
It seemed as though they were rowing out to the middle of the bay with no ship in sight until the passed one of the larger cliffs in the bay. There, behind the rocky wall, was a huge ship with two square rig masts, one snow mast, and four cannons on one side. On the bow was a carved woman holding a skull in her hands cupped together. She looked ghostly, face depraved of emotion. The sails were a deep shade of red, in stark contrast of the usual white sails of every other ship. Chise's suspicion was confirmed when she saw the black flag waving proudly at the top of the mast just in front of the top deck cabin.
Skull and crossbones
Chise shivered, maybe because of the splashing water, most likely because of what awaited her. She knew what would happen. She would be raped, repeatedly. Used as a sex object by crew and possibly even the captain. At least in the brothel, Chise was treated with some respect. If she didn't wish to see the same customer again, she would tell the mother of the brothel and the mother would arrange for the customer to see other women, even if he requested the same girl again. At least the men were often polite with her. At least she was consenting.
When the dingy arrived at the ship, a ladder was released. Chise rolled her eyes when the men allowed her to climb first, knowing they could see up her skirt. At the main deck, she was greeted with the sight of a very well maintained vessel. The crew seemed to notice her arrival, but didn't move from their working positions. The only one to move was a woman who had been standing at the ship's wheel.
This woman was tall, broad shouldered and muscular. She had long brown hair and many scars covering her face and arms. She was wearing a baggy brown shirt and burlap trousers, a red piece of cloth tied around her waist. What surprised Chise was the cocked hat this woman wore.
The captain?
"Ah, you must be the girl!" The woman bellowed, her loud voice piercing through the waves, seagulls, and crews' voices. "The names Angelica. What can we call you darlin'?"
"Uh, Chise Hatori is my full name."
"You're a pretty girl, Chise. You seem quite young, though, maybe a little too young to be what the captain is looking for. These two hooligans didn't give you too hard of a time I hope."
She didn't respond and looked back at Simon and Ruth.
"These men are my errand runners. Don't be scared of them, they're all bark and no bite."
Ruth scoffed and rolled his eyes. Looking back at Angelica, Chise caught her smirking at him.
"Uh, so why was I brought here?"
"The captain had heard about you and demanded to have you. He says you're very important." Important? Me? Thought Chise.
"But wait, you're not the captain?"
Angelica laughed. "Oh that's flattering dear, but no. This is Captain Old Bone's ship, I'm only his first mate."
"Old...bones?"
Angelica's face contorted in confusion. She seemed genuinely shocked. "You've never heard of the Captain of the Red Lady? Captain Old Bones? He's the most infamous captain of the seven seas, the oldest captain there is. He's a legend, everyone has heard of him."
"When can I meet him?" Chise urged.
Angelica stepped aside and shrugged. "I'm sure he would be incredibly pleased to meet you." Chise's vision was directed to the ship's wheel. There stood a figure towering over every other man on the ship. With the body of a man, but a skull for a head and two twisted horns protruding out from right behind his temples, Chise was unsure she should call him a man, or a monster. He was stoic, majestic, and had an overwhelming atmosphere of power and strength. He was wearing a long, fitted black frock with buttoned red shirt tucked into his trousers. At his hip was a belt that seemed to sheath a sword and pistol.
Chise had been staring for a while, studying every inch of him, when the captain must have spotted her. He made his way down to the lower level of the main deck. As he came closer Chise began to notice new, startling details. The captain's eye sockets did indeed have small, glowing red pupils. He was extremely tall compared to her, at least two and a half feet, maybe even three. She cowered under the shadow he casted over her. Another thing she noticed, making her undeasy, was that whatever kind of skull he had, a dog maybe? had long, sharp teeth.
"Captain," Angelica put a hand on her hip. "She's pretty, I'll give you that, but she doesn't seem to be so bright."
That captain said nothing, only turning to Angelica for her explanation.
"The poor girl has never even heard of you, or the ship. Not a word! I think she must not get out very often."
Chise stared forward with a blank expression at the empty space between the captain and Angelica. She tried to remain as still as possible, focusing on the space she was taking up. Attempting to remain as stoic, and small as her body would allow, but in this attempt, she forgot to listen to the conversation in front of her. Chise only noticed when she felt a tug on the arm. The captain had yanked her towards him and he hunched down, his skull closing in on her.
"Are you listening? Keep your eyes forward, and your chin up. I went through the trouble of getting you on this ship, you'd better be worth it."
Chise froze at the man's voice. It was impossibly deep and rough. He was very demanding with his orders, and she feared what he would do if she didn't obey.
"Simon, Ruth, take her to my cabin. I'll be in later."
"Aye, Captain."
The two men were less physical when escorting Chise, but but they were by no means tender. Once in the captain's cabin, Chise was told to sit and stay where she was. There was no point in running away, or trying to hide, so she sat in the only available seat aside from the chair behind the desk that clearly belonged to the captain.
The room was full of random items. A skull on the desk, multiple maps, letters, envelopes. There was a bookshelf that had been completely filled, a chest that sat next to the captain's desk, and all throughout the cabin were bottles of whisky, rum, and other spirits.
With nothing else to do, Chise sat and waited, only dreading what would become of her on this godforsaken ship.
