Title: Of the Sea
Rating: PG-13
Chapter Title: 21. A Lousy Story
Summary: More on Michael Raven.
Timeline: Monday, June 13, 1675 Tuesday, November 6, 1667
Author: Cicatrix (Marin K.)

"They looted enough ships to fill the Aurora's hold ten times over, and despite his disappearance, Michael Raven's declaration of war would never be entirely forgotten," Matthew told the small feline who was curled up in his lap. Idly, he wondered why he had bothered telling the tale to Morgan, who probably didn't care about or understand anything that had been said.

It was then that the door opened. Jack let himself in, and seated himself in the same chair he usually occupied when he invaded Matt's cabin. "Lovely story," Jack said, "how does it end?" Matthew shrugged and rolled his eyes, looking out the window.

"It just did," he said.

"You said he disappeared. What happened?"

"You tell me."

"Alright," Jack said. "This is the story as I heard it told..."

Eight years ago, in November of 1667, Captain Raven and his crew of buccaneers had been ravaging the Caribbean for thirteen months. The tales of Michael Raven were countless, many depicting him as cruel and bloodthirsty. In truth, as pirates went, he was of the good sort. He was in the habit of taking the gold of his victims, but leaving them with their lives. Of course, the British navy couldn't care less if his prey lived or died. The fact remained that he was a pirate, which meant there was noose with his name, and others for each member of his crew.

They sent two ships to capture him, a warship and a square-rigger merchant ship. The merchant ship destroyed its own masts, and drifted until the Aurorafound it. They looted it, of course, since no pirate could resist such an easy target. Unfortunately, they sailed right into the British trap. The Aurora was quick, far quicker than any warship, but the HMS Royal came on them while they were still aboard the merchant vessel. The battle was fierce, but they were all captured.

The British planned to take the lot of them back to Nassau to hang them, but Captain Raven did not intend to oblige them. That night, the man set to guard him and his crew, locked in the brig of their own ship, was foolish enough to fall asleep. Michael succeeded in picking the lock of his cell, but he had to leave his crew behind. There were not hours enough before daylight to take back the ship, nor would the entire crew be able to fit into the rowboat that the captain knew he could use to escape.

Through the bars that separated them, he promised his crew that he would meet them in Nassau, to save them from the noose. The British had been smart enough not to leave the keys in the brig with their prisoners, but the captain did leave the crew with his knife, so they would be able to pick the lock of their own cell. Wishing them luck, he fled to the upper deck, where he stole himself a rowboat and a bottle of rum. Captain Michael Raven was never seen again by his crew, or by any other man now living.

The crew put his last gift to good use. In the dead calm of the next night, the crew slipped from their cells. They crept silently though the ship, gathering the British soldiers the navy had set to sail the Aurora back to Nassau. They hoped these could swim, and cast them overboard, and before anyone was the wiser, the Aurora was headed in the opposite direction.

After rescuing the discarded sailors, the HMS Royal attempted to chase the Aurora, but the pirate bark was too quick, and escaped them with ease. When they had lost the warship, the Aurora doubled back and headed to Nassau, hoping to find their Captain. They were blown severely off course by a storm, and arrived three weeks later. There was no trace of Michael Raven, and no man matching his description had been seen.

They searched the town for a week, asked every man, woman and child if they had seen him, but he was not there, and he never came. The Aurora still sails these waters, but she is no longer well-known. Her crew never named a new captain, and no man has moved to fill the great cabin. They still wait for the return of their captain, though some say he must have been lost at sea. Daniel Clark won't believe that Mike Raven is dead, nor will his crew, and every so often, you'll hear a tale that Captain Raven had been seen in Tortuga, waiting for the Aurora to find him.

"That's a lousy story," Matthew said.

Jack shrugged, "It's precisely what happened. He snuck off in the middle of the night and died, leaving his crew to look for him forever and never find him."

"You think he drowned?"

"There's no reason to think otherwise," Jack said. "Why? You think he's still living?"

Matthew shook his head. "You're probably right," he said.

His captain stood, yawned sleepily. "We're almost in Nassau. In fact, I think we probably arrived while I was narrating that 'lousy story'." The younger shook his head with disapproval, clicking his tongue. Jack glared at him, but received no immediate response. Instead, Matthew stood, and went to the door.

"If that be the case," he said, "I think I'll go ashore."

Author's note: Very short chapter. There wasn't much else to say.

Review responses:

DaydreamBeliever14: Glad you liked it. That question will be answered very soon, probably in chapter 22. I promise!

heather321: I'm glad you think so.

ChocolateEclar: Those questions will be answered very soon! I'm glad you enjoyed my many updates; I had school off on Friday, so I spent a great deal of it writing. Today, I only managed to get one chapter done, but I hope you enjoy it!