So, I've decided to rewrite parts of this story and re-post them. For the most part, I'm not changing anything too major, for anyone who remembers the original, I'm just modifying a few small bits that bothered me. The prologue and first chapter are the most different. Also, sorry for the very short prologue. I suppose I could have added it to the next chapter, or something. Anyway, enjoy, and don't forget to review.
It was only a legend. That was the generally accepted explanation- the explanation for the strange stories about the history of the ship H.M.S Rose before it was in the Royal English Navy. No one really believed the stories of the French pirate ship (usually called the Night's Music or something similar when a name was needed) with the dreadfully mysterious captain, crew of beggars off the streets, and women on board (which, as everyone knew, led to terrible bad luck).
Many newcomers to the ship found the tales a bit romantic in their sense of adventure- the way the ship quickly rose to power, becoming one of the most feared on the ocean, striking in the dead of night when no one expected it, amassing unknown quantities of precious treasure, then suddenly disappearing one day never to be seen again.
At this point almost every storyteller differed in his explanation of the unexpected disappearance. Some said it was the captain's fault, something he had done. Others blamed a mutinous crew whose captain felt the need to punish them. One of the more popular theories was that the ship had been dangerously close to being caught, and flight was the only option left to the crew in order to avoid capture and the gallows. But almost everyone agreed on one thing- that one pirate had been left behind, most likely murdered, and remained on the ship in search of the crew who killed him.
The stories of the ghost pirate were most likely inspired by the mysterious hidden chambers and locked doors to which no one could find a key. This was the one part of the tale some sailors actually believed. For even sailors, superstitious as they are, have the common sense to not mix fantasy and reality. Nothing had been found on the ship when it was renovated for use in His Majesty's navy, and there was no other reason to suspect that the ship had previously served as a mysterious pirate vessel.
But what none of the sailors knew was that the tales were true, every one of them. Especially the tale of the ghost pirate.