Chapter One: The Rapier

Deep brown eyes sprang open and the man sat up in his bed, his eyes darted around the room, seeking what had caused him to awaken. Seeing that everything in the cabin appeared to be in its place, he looked out the window. It appeared to be just a few hours before dawn, but there was no sign of what had caused him to wake; both the sea and the sky were calm, and all he heard was the usual creaking of a ship at sea. Knowing there was no way he'd be able to sleep now; he pulled on some clothes and headed on deck to make some rounds.

Taking a cursory look around, he resolutely headed for the helm. Clouds darted across the sky and, temporarily, blocked any light the moon provided as he made his way across the deck. He had just passed the mast when the clouds uncovered the moon, and the entire deck was made visible. With the newfound light, he could clearly see the figure outlined at the wheel; the curves of the body told him the person was a young woman. A gleam entered his eyes, and he smiled a sly smile to himself.

Stealthily, he continued to make his way towards the helm. Upon reaching the stairs, he crouched down and was careful to skip the ones he knew would creak and give away his presence. Peeking over the top step, he checked to assure himself that his prey was as yet unaware of his presence. She was faced away from him, her concentration completely focused on the ocean and maintaining the ship's course, just as it should have been. Smirking to himself, he carefully began maneuvering his body over the last step, careful not to alert any of his prey's hyper-tuned senses. His smile spread when he saw that not only had he not been noticed, but his quarry was completely alone.

The sea was unusually calm tonight, showing a clear reflection of the cloudy sky on its surface, and the waves were so small that the ship barely felt like it was moving at all. It had been like that since just after nightfall, which wasn't necessarily a good thing because in waters like that, a ship was liable to come to a standstill. Being the only crewmember awake also didn't help, and she was beginning to regret sending the lookout to his rest. Though in her defense, the man had been so drunk that he had nearly fallen from the crow's nest. Everything being so calm and uneventful didn't help when you were on helm-duty from before midnight until daybreak with no relief, and falling asleep at the wheel would not only, undoubtedly, bring them off course but be frowned upon by the Captain as well. It also didn't help that she didn't normally have this shift, so her body wasn't accustomed to being awake at this time.

As Second Mate, she was normally at the wheel from early morning until around noon when the Captain would customarily take it for awhile. Sometimes, she would switch with the First Mate and hold the wheel from late afternoon until just before midnight, but that didn't happen often since the First Mate preferred staying up late to being up early. She did, of course, frequently and routinely patrol the ship at night, checking to make sure that everything was in its place, but otherwise, she was free to take her rest during the night, which was good since she needed all of her energy to keep up with her duties as Second Mate aboard the Rapier.

'We'd better get there soon, or so help me, we're going to be short a Third Mate tonigh. If I hadn't been so distracted yesterday about our impending arrival, I wouldn't have been stuck staying up half the night.' It still irked her that she had gotten stuck with the hours usually held by the Third Mate. When the Captain had asked who would be on-duty the day before, she had been so distracted that when the Third Mate had, per usual, asked if she'd take them; she had, not per usual, said yes. It was only when she saw the gleeful look on the man's face that she realized what she had done.

Now, here she was trying not to nod off over the wheel. As she once again found her eyelids, involuntarily, sliding shut, she searched her mind for something, anything that would help to keep her awake for the next couple of hours until she would be relieved or until they arrived at their destination, whichever came first. Abruptly, she hit upon an idea, and it was as if a light abruptly went on in her head.

As he came up behind her, he realized she was singing; he paused in his movements to listen. Her voice was lilting and melodic, and he was again surprised to realize how well she could sing. She kept her voice soft, but standing so close, he could still hear many of the words clearly. He recognized the song as one she often sang when alone, but it was definitely not a song you would expect to hear on a pirate ship. It was a haunting song that sent shivers racing down his spine as he moved closer to her, and the words became even clearer.

"That song o'yours always gives me the creeps, Solange," he whispered, his lips so close to her left ear that they grazed it as he spoke.

The young woman didn't even flinch as he came to stand so close behind her that she was trapped between the ship's wheel and his hips; it also didn't seem to affect her when he placed both his hands firmly on her hips, further trapping her.

"Depends on your perspective, I myself have always found it hauntingly beautiful," she replied without even taking her eyes off the expanse of water before them.

The two stood in silence for a few seconds before he suddenly asked, "How'd you know I was there? I was sure I'd finally get the jump on you…"

Solange laughed softly before answering, "I'm not some runaway playing at being a pirate who doesn't know the difference between the fore-end and the aft-end of a ship; I can for certain sure tell when someone's trying to get the jump on me."

"I wasn't saying that you were raw, just figured being that Thema wasn't around, and you weren't expecting anyone, that I'd manage to at least ruffle your pretty feathers a little bit," he whispered, playing with a bit of the midnight black hair that fell down her back as he continued, "Yer always so calm, it makes me curious to see ya…just a little bit…unsettled," he murmured hotly into her ear, now sliding his hand from her hair to her hip.

Again, Solange laughed, "In our line of work, being unsettled could mean losing your life; you know that," she said turning her head to look at him; her eyes piercing his.

'Her eyes are more violet than amethyst in this light,' he realized as her intense eyes stared into his. The intensity and heat of her gaze burned into him, seeing right into his soul, seeing every moment of his life and memories. He realized he should turn away, before she saw too much of him, but he found that he couldn't find the will to try. As these thoughts flew through his mind, he suddenly realized his face was getting closer to hers; he almost pulled back, but when she didn't move away, neither did he. Just as their lips were about to touch, something struck his side, and he found himself lying flat on his back on the deck. Staring up at the sky, he wondered how he had gone from being just about to kiss the prettiest woman he had ever seen, pirate or not, to lying flat on his backside.

"Darin, luv, are you going to get up, or have you decided just to lie there? I'm only asking because Thema's starting to think that you're her breakfast."

Looking up, he found himself looking straight into a pair of hungry, amber eyes. Gazing past the eyes, his eyes slid along the sleek and muscular, feline body, tensed and ready to pounce.

"Solange," he said hoarsely as he looked up to meet her bright, purple eyes.

"Thema, my empress, if you eat Darin, who will do his job?"

The cat tilted her head for a second before stepping back to sit on her haunches. When he was sure she wasn't going to return to eyeing his throat, he relaxed. Solange's laughter abruptly filled his ears, and when he looked up, she extended a hand and helped to pull him up off the deck.

"You've known Thema since she was a kitten. How can you possibly be afraid of her?"

"You see er as a pet; the rest o'us see a hungry beasty."

"Either that or you're just afraid of cats," Solange tossed out carelessly as she returned to the wheel.

"Standin there, with the dawn light hittin ya, you look just like an angel, Solange."

For a moment, she just stared at him before her soft laughter surrounded him again.

"Keep talking like that, and one day, I'll think you're serious, Darin."

She gazed at him, obviously expecting him to laugh and deny what she had said. Standing, he gazed out toward the horizon.

"Solange…"

"Aye?"

"Land ahead."

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