Chapter 11: Eleven Years Ago
Isabela's heart pounded, her blood raced, daggers in hand, she faced the smelly bastard with a savage smirk upon her lips.
The man was huge, but slower than shit. He put all his strength into that great sword of his.
When he committed himself to an attack, there was no turning back.
That was a mistake for a duelist, facing someone one on one, you had to improvise.
Isabela was good at improvising.
The crowd in the arena roared as she ducked under the huge sword, she rolled on through and slashed at the back of the man's huge legs.
Heartbreaker found its mark, but backstabber missed, she back pedaled as the huge fighter swung his sword awkwardly trying to catch her with a wild swing.
She grinned as she moved out of range.
She danced around; searching the crowd for Luis or Claudio, neither her husband nor his bastard of a partner was in the crowd tonight. That was kind of a surprise. Normally when the Siren's Call put into Llomerryn for repairs, Luis loved to laud the fact that he was sharing a bed with her.
Three years now, she thought coldly, three years since her mother had sold her to Luis, and his tender mercies. He did not beat her that was about the best she could say for him but at the same time they did not have the marriage that her father did not approve of.
Their marriage was not about love, it was about control, she was as much his property as the Call was. He preferred to keep her as she was, beautiful and sharp as a stiletto. When she was not in the arenas she was expected to smile shyly behind him as he impressed his friends with his blushing Rivaini bride. He rewarded her with the finest wines and silks, but that did little to appease her.
He expected her to obey him in all things. She was his and only his, while he was free to take whatever woman caught his eye in whatever port in which they stopped.
Isabela did not care, she did not love Luis, and part of her welcomed the day he would turn her out in the street when he found a new girl that he wanted for his trophy.
The only thing that she completely agreed with was the potions he had her take. Her value as his trophy wife would drop if she ever got with child, not that she wanted children. She still carried her Mother's blood in her veins. She had no desire to subject some poor child of hers to that.
No, Isabela would die childless and likely young, but that was fine with her.
Death would free her from Luis's grubby paws.
Her opponent charged, limping badly from his injuries.
Isabela spun around him; he might have been striking at thin air for all the good striking at her would do.
Backstabber lived up to her name by plunging deep into his lower back. The warrior staggered and fell over. He was now on his knees gasping for breath.
Isabela smirked at the crowd went wild.
She pulled her opponent up by his hair, and looked out onto the crowd.
"What is your will?" she cried excitedly, "What do you wish to see?!"
DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!
The crowds chant was deafening.
Isabela looked upon the fight master's box, the crowd was rowdy, and they could ask, but he was the one who decided in the end.
The man gave her a stern look.
She waited her blades at the fallen man's throat.
A hint of a smile played over his lips.
He held out his hand…
The thumb went down.
She grinned.
Heartbreaker did her work.
The crowd roared flowers and coin rained down on her.
HAIL ISABELA! HAIL THE SHARPEST BLADE IN LLOMERRYN!
Isabela laughed, she was only free in two places now the arena and the sea.
Both were the only masters she paid heed to, Luis might have her body, but he did not have her heart or her soul.
The sea had claimed that.
She smiled wistfully.
She remembered their first night on the Call, her wedding night. After Luis had… done his business he had left her, she lay in his bed, curled into a ball. She did not cry. He would not see her cry.
She would not show such weakness in front of her lord husband.
As she lay there, she found herself listening to the waves, feeling the rocking of the Siren's Call beneath her.
She dressed and went up on deck.
In that moment…Isabela had fallen in love.
The night was clear, the stars shone down upon them, the moon huge and fat above her.
The sea breeze tickled her face; the salty smell cleared her mind and her senses. Some of the men glanced up at her, but quickly diverted their eyes.
The captain would have their guts for garters if they gawked at his new wife for too long.
Isabela stood on the bow; she held open her arms, embracing the ocean, letting it take her as only it could.
In that moment she realized that she had found the one place she truly belonged.
Her one true love.
The sea was her master now…Luis…was a means to an end.
As long as he let her sail, she would be his.
Out here, under the stars with the waves lapping against the hull, Isabela was unbound…
…She was free.
IOI
After the fights she found herself in the fight master's box. Luis owned a portion of this place, and it was his duty to treat her as an honored guest.
She smirked as one of the servants brought her a glass wine, and a plate of fine food.
She knew that some of the fighters were jealous, but what did she care.
She was better than them all, and had connections through her lord husband.
They had a problem; they could step into the ring with her.
They might not come out again if they did.
"May I join you?"
She looked up at man who addressed her, even though hooded and cloaked she could see that it was an elf that addressed her.
She smiled like a hungry predator.
"Go away sweet thing," she purred, "My husband would have your ears for a necklace if he saw you talking to me."
The elf chuckled.
"The jealous type is he," the elf said, "Not that I do not see why. Any man would be a fool not to covet such a beauty. You are definitely a woman worth killing over.
Isabela rolled her eyes.
"You definitely have a death wish Master elf," she sneered, "May I have the pleasure of your name.
"My apologies my dear Isabela," he said removing his hood, revealing a handsome tattooed face, long blond hair and tanned skinned.
Isabela appraised him, he was quite handsome in the ways that only a male elf could be.
Under normal circumstances she would be intrigued, but she recognized the markings on his face.
"I am called Zevran, Zev to my friends," the elf said was a theatrical bow.
"I've hear the name before," she said coldly, "Tell me, what do the Antivan Crows want with me."
Zev chuckled.
"The Crows nothing," he purred, "But I make it a point to introduce myself to every beautiful woman who passes through this way. In case they might have need of my services."
"I don't need anyone killed right now," she said taking a swig of ale.
"I have more skills than simply dealing death good woman," he said suggestively, "Perhaps we could explore them together."
She gave him an ironic grin.
"What part of jealous husband, connected with the Armada don't you understand?"
The elf laughed.
"People fall out of favor with the armada all the time," he said dismissively, "An untouchable person today is a target tomorrow."
Isabela drew heartbreaker from her sheath. She spun it in her palm.
Zevran regarded the blade hungrily.
"You like her?" she asked.
He nodded.
"Her name is heartbreaker," Isabela said, "a wedding gift from Luis to me, along with her sister backstabber, the only one that truly mattered."
"A fine set of weapons," the elf said, "Almost as fine as their mistress."
"Thanks," she purred.
She gave him a cruel look.
"You seem too nice for this line of work," she said, "Go back to the shadows little crow before someone tries to make a name for themselves killing you."
"It would not be easy," he shrugged.
"The fighters here know that," she shrugged, "They would take that as a personal challenge.
"Somethings are worth the risk."
Isabela rolled her eyes; she was growing bored with all this polite chit-chat.
"Listen Zevran."
"Zev…please."
"Zevran," she said her eyes narrowing, "The third talon of your order is my husband's business partner. If I whisper in his ear that you have been harassing me…"
"I'm not here to harass you," he said, "I'm trying to interest you my fair Isabela."
He certainly had done that, she thought.
The elf was handsome, before her marriage she might have been tempted to let him have a taste of her, but men were horrible braggarts, it would get back to Claudio who would tell Luis.
She would not risk her life on The Call in that way. If she was cut off from the sea or the arenas…she would likely die.
She pushed back her chair and made for the exit.
"Leaving so soon?" he asked.
"Before either of us does something we would both regret," she purred, "I have no desire to wrestle you down onto the floor in this place."
The assassin sneered.
"I have no desire to fight you my dear," he said.
Isabela grinned lecherously at him.
"Who said we would be fighting. I said wrestling blades and clothing optional."
He laughed.
"You savage little minx," he purred, "If you have need of my… services…I shall be in the city for three more days. You can contact me through the fight master here."
"I doubt I will," she shrugged, "As I said I don't want anyone dead right now and I certainly would not want to risk either of ourselves exploring your other…talents."
Zev gave her a slight bow.
"Until we meet again fair lady."
Isabela rolled her eyes.
She was smart enough to know that would be a bad idea.
IOI
Two days later, Isabela found herself moaning and crying out in ecstasy in the captain's cabin of the Siren's Call.
The cries were not unusual, typically the captain returned with a hunger for his wife after a hard day of business, but this was not the sounds the crew was used to hearing.
The captain never made his wife cry out like that!
And he was not even on board.
The crew would say nothing of course, Casavir and Brand, the first officer and quartermaster had both came to respect Isabela. Unlike the captain, his wife was approachable; she ate with the sailors and helped them whenever she could. In the last three years she had learned every inch of the Call, and could do anything from work the sails to steer. Unlike the captain that hid in the cabin during storms and took far more than his fair and lawful share, no Isabela was not simply the captain's wife, she was one of them. She even ensured them a large share of whatever loot they gathered on jobs. They trusted her and respected her, as much as any pirate crew would.
Trust was sometimes better than fear.
No one would turn her over to her husband, and if they did, the officers would slit their throats before word left their mouths.
Isabela had the loyalty of the crew.
It was not likely good news for their captain.
Not good at all.
IOI
Isabela collapsed onto the bed, she lay there soaked in sweat, and murmuring contently at the finish of their lovemaking.
Zev gasped, trying to catch his breath.
Maker… the woman knew how to please a man.
She gave him a sly smile.
"I thought you did not wish to see me again?" he asked.
"I changed my mind," she purred.
The letter that the fight master had delivered had been an interesting one. It told him how to sneak aboard the Call undetected, and find his way to the captain's cabin. He had done so out of curiosity, and found Isabela waiting for him, naked in bed with a bottle of wine.
She had rewarded him most handsomely for his prowess in the last hour…
…Most handsomely indeed.
Three times in fact!
But now, he suspected that it was time for business.
Isabela had that business look in her eye, the look that he had seen many times before.
It said: I want someone dead.
Zev smirked.
Here we go again.
IOI
"I want to hire you, she said in her most serious of voices.
"I do not usually get paid for this service Isabela," he chuckled.
She frowned, her face no longer held any emotion.
She no longer looked like the woman he saw in the arena.
She looked like a woman hungry for death.
"I need you to get rid of Luis for me," she said, "Name your price, and it is yours."
The assassin's elven ears twitched with curiosity.
"I thought you did not want anyone dead."
"Things change," she whispered.
"Such as…?'
She glared at him.
"Does it matter?"
"Not to me," he said putting his arms behind his head, "But the crows will want to know why I dealt with a high ranking member of the armada."
She cursed, but knew that he was right, this had to be handled just so. She had gotten lucky with that fat bastard back in Rivain, the guards that she killed that night had gotten the blame for that.
She would not likely be as lucky as second time.
She sighed.
"It is personal," she said.
"It always is when you kill a member of your family."
She almost slapped him for suggesting that.
Luis was not part of her family. He owned her, nothing more…
She had decided to terminate that relationship.
It had been fine for a while, but yesterday, Luis had made the grandest mistake of his life.
In two weeks they would be leaving Llomerryn. He was going to meet with some fellow captains up near Rivain, and he expected his wife to entertain them, not only as their hostess, but in their beds.
She had said nothing at the time, but inside…she was seething with rage.
Isabela's mouth became a grim line.
She was many things…not all of them good, but Luis's whore was not one of them.
It was the last straw; she could no longer sit idly by and smile.
If she wanted to be free, she had to act.
She could not leave him, nor did she want to leave the Call. That left only one possibility.
She knew that she would likely die when he became bored with her, well…she would act first, as soon as she agreed to start sleeping with his friends her value to him would drop, despite her fame in the arena.
It was better to strike cleanly and first.
"I have coin," she said.
"I don't doubt that," he said, "Should we consider what we just did a down payment?"
She smiled wickedly at him.
"Think of it as an incentive, for service rendered."
He quirked his lip in amusement, he did like how this woman thought.
"I will need to get authorization from my cell master."
"Do so," she said, "But do so quickly."
He nodded, running his hand up her dark skinned thigh.
She shivered in pleasure.
Maker, if Luis touched me like this, she might just do what he wanted.
"So do we have a deal," she groaned.
"You know," he smirked, "I don't really like mixing business with pleasure."
She arched her eyebrow at him.
Zev busted out laughing.
"Oh who am I kidding," he laughed, "You have yourself a deal!"
She grinned, perfect she thought.
The sooner it was done the better.
"It will take me two days to send word to the crows," he said, "Barring any problems; your...difficulty should be gone by next week."
"My instruction of how to enter this cabin should help you do it," she said, "if anything changes, I will send word through the…"
A loud knocking sounded at her door. Brand's warning knock.
Isabela's eyes widened.
Luis was back.
"GO!" she gasped.
Zev moved like lightning.
His clothes in hand he dove out the window of the captain's cabin.
Isabela closed the window to cover the splash. She slipped behind a changing screen as her husband entered.
"I'm home darling," he said.
Her soon to be late husband.
Isabela smirked.
By this time next week, she would be widow.
"Hello my Luis," she purred, "I'm pleased to see you home."
She peeked out from behind the screen to see him smiling.
It would hopefully be the last time she would be on the receiving end of that smile.
It would make the next few days even sweeter. The taste of her upcoming freedom would sweeten their marriage.
Until death do we part.
Isabela had not realized the sweetness of that phrase…until now.
The duelist, soon to be the pirate queen of the eastern seas grinned.
She always had looked good in black, not as good as white, but...
Well, we all work with the tools the Maker gives us.
IOI
Zev made his way over the warehouse roofs of the docks, still barely dressed, one boot and his smalls and his undershirt.
The assassin laughed lightly.
Dear Isabela, such a saucy little vixen, he would enjoy their next meeting, when he collected his pay, and perhaps a little more.
He did not predict any problems getting clearance from the crows; they had been looking to make an example of someone in the armada for a while now.
Captain Luis would serve nicely.
He would be collecting twice, both from the crows and the Captain's lovely widow, both in coin… and in other debaucheries.
Zevran grinned.
He loved it when the world worked in his favor.
The Maker truly moved in mysterious ways.