Chapter 1- Lily
Lily walked out onto the deck of her small boat and gazed out at the port of Tortuga that was coming into view from behind the rocks. She had been sailing alone for weeks so she was tired and wanted some company. She was meeting and staying with a friend of hers called Scarlet who was a prostitute. Lily wondered what it would be like living with her. When she approached the shore she tied up her boat at the docks and set off along the pier. Her long black hair flowed out behind her. All dressed in black she stood out in the crowd but she had a rare gift of being able to be unseen if and when she wished. She had known Scarlet ever since she had arrived in Port Royal eight years ago.
She approached the courtesan's houses in the centre of the town and spoke to a prostitute nearby.
"Do you know where I can find Scarlet Kidd?" she asked in a clear ringing voice.
" She'll be inside number fourteen, I think. Go up the stairs and turn right. " She said.
"Thanks." Lily replied and pushed open the door. The hallway was dark and the walls were damp. She could just make out the dark shape of the staircase at the back of the hallway. She made her way towards it and went upstairs. The corridor was better lit so she could clearly see Scarlet's room. She knocked sharply on the door and a small woman with red hair and freckles opened the door.
"Lily! You're here at last! How bloody long does it take you to get here from Port Royal? Is the town still the lively place it used to be? It must be almost five years since I came to Tortuga."
"Nah, Port Royal is a bloody prison now that bastard Norrington became Commedor. Not a patch on Tortuga." replied Lily with a wink. She looked round the room to find that it was small but well furnished with two single beds at either end of the room.
"You like it?" asked Scarlet.
" I suppose it will do," said Lily. Yeah it's perfect, she thought. Just what I need.
Lily spent the next couple of weeks exploring the port of Tortuga looking for Pirates fearless enough to accompany her on her mission. In the evenings Scarlet would show her the most famous pubs. Lily never said much and no one knew her real name. To most people she was known as the Black Pirate. She got her name from the fact that she always wore black to match her hair and her skin was pale. The men adored her and the women hated her for being beautiful. Many people stared at her and wondered what her purpose was in Tortuga. She was strange and mysterious and she was often seen in the company of strange men. None of them seemed to aquest to her requests because she would be in the same bar the next day in the same situation. No one knew what she wanted, that was a secret that no one would ever guess.