This chapter is dedicated to my (so far) one reviewer, Kerichi, who also happens to be my absolute favourite fanfiction author!
I've updated the genre so that it's Action/Adventure/Romance. Thomas does sort of look at Elizabeth like a sister, more like a close friend, but there will definitely be some change in that…and now you get to meet the perilously beautiful Angel Silver, warrior queen of pirates! (Yeah, pretty clichéd, but couldn't help myself! I love daring heroines and handsome sidekicks!)
And your ignorance is excused, though I do suggest that you go and read Treasure Island. Alas, it has no romance (for which I shall try to make up in this story) but it's very good.
And now without further ado…the next chapter!
Angel Silver, Pirate Queen of the Seven Seas and Roguish Ruler of Thieves, to give her full titles, strolled down a sunny cobbled street in Nassau, New Providence, her first mate, Robert Morgan, known as Robin, at her side and her black cat, Shadow, trotting at her heels. At first glance the tall, slender, golden haired, blue-eyed young woman hardly looked to be of the seafaring sort, let alone a warrior pirate queen. Closer inspection, however, would reveal the thin scars all over her long hands and arms, the determined jut of the shapely chin, the flash of temper and power in the sea-blue eyes, the commanding tone in the sweet voice.
"Robin, dear," Angel drawled, glancing up at the screeching gull flapping its way to the docks, "Methinks t'is time we go back to sea. What sayest thou, me hearty?"
Robin Morgan, Angel's first mate, was the very image of the buccaneering rogue that most romantics loved to imagine pirates as, and he thoroughly enjoyed playing the part. Always Angel's closest friend and confidante, as well as her most loyal man aboard ship or on land, Robin alone knew how to deal with Angel in every one of her numerous and ever-changing moods.
The gossiping innkeepers of Nassau were always fond of whispering it around that Robin's devotion to his captain was really a cover of a deeper 'something' that he had for Angel. Though Robin knew that it was common talk, and privately knew that it held more than a little truth, Angel was completely oblivious to this, and would have been royally furious had she ever gotten wind of it. One of the rules she had was to never have any deep feelings for anyone; she believed with all her heart that it made her weak, and, being the only known female pirate besides Anne Bonney and Mary Read, she couldn't afford being weak. It would cost her not only her position as a ruler of pirates, but also her life.
Now Robin grinned broadly at his captain. "Back to sea? Finally! The boys are getting edgy; I was wondering when you'd tell us t' pack up. Shall I call Luke to round them up?"
Angel tossed her honey-gold hair. "Aye. Tell 'im ter get th' crew t' gather at the Spyglass Inn & Pub tonight, at sunset."
Robin swept off his hat and bowed elegantly. "As my Queen commands," he said, grinning, and then turned on his heel to vanish down an alley, his boots clicking on the cobbled side street.
Angel watched his retreating back until the sound of his clicking boots disappeared into the distance.
Elizabeth and Thomas stood and gaped at the trunk, its contents, and the parchment. Then, to break the stillness, and to make sure that his eyes were not deceiving him, Thomas drew in a deep breath and said, "What are we going to do with it?"
Elizabeth tore her gaze away from the horde of gold to look at Thomas with shining eyes. "What do you mean, what are we going to do with it?" she asked. "It's obvious!"
"Not to me, it isn't," said Thomas. "Slow down, will you? You keep on jumping ahead without explaining to me, even though you dragged me here in the first place. So calm down and start explaining."
Elizabeth heaved a great sigh of exasperation. "What's so obvious," she said, "Is what we're going to do with the gold. Since we have a map, we'll use it! If you haven't forgotten, then you'll remember that when Papa and your father and old Squire Trelawney came back from Treasure Island after the problem with Long John, they had left the cache of silver and weapons on the island without ever having dug them up. Well, we'll use the gold to go find the rest of the treasure!"
Thomas, finally understanding her, stared at her. "Elizabeth Hawkins," he said slowly, "That is the craziest, most insane idea you've ever had. And that's saying something, considering how much trouble you got us in when we were children. Let's do it!"
Elizabeth was so delighted that she practically glowed. "We can use the gold to get to Bristol, where the Hispaniola is moored," she said, her eyes sparkling like stars on a summer night, "And you can find us a captain to captain it, and a crew to man it, and you can go as ship's surgeon, and I – I'll be the cabin boy!"
"Wonderful! Though don't you mean cabin girl? Oh no…wait a moment," he said suddenly, a thought coming to him. "Sailors are a superstitious lot, and if I'm not mistaken, they believe a woman onboard brings bad luck."
Elizabeth's face fell, but lit up again swiftly. "Oh, but I won't go on as a woman – I'll dress as a lad!"
"What?" Thomas looked shocked. "Elizabeth, you can't!"
"Any why not?" she asked, her eyes flashing. Thomas floundered for an answer.
"Because…because…because it just isn't right! And it's not natural, either."
Elizabeth's eyes flashed again. "How do you know?" she demanded.
"It just isn't been done, Elizabeth!"
"So? I will do it." Thomas searched for something to deter her.
"But…how will you conceal yourself? You're a girl, after all, and, well, you do have…" he pointed to her chest and blushed.
Elizabeth folded her arms. "Easy. I have cloth bandages, and I'll just use them to bind them."
"But what about your hair?" He eyed Elizabeth's long, thick dark tresses.
She lifted a curl and fingered it. "I'll cut it."
"What!" Thomas was flabbergasted. "But you spent years growing it, and it's your pride and joy!"
She tossed her head, the hair in question tumbling around her. "If I want to come on this trip, then I'll have to make sacrifices. Cutting my hair is one of them. And…" she looked at Thomas, "You will cut it."
"What!" Thomas squawked again. Elizabeth's lips twitched. "You seem to be repeating the word what an awful lot. You're starting to sound like a parrot."
Thomas shook his head in despair. "Coming up with an idea to go on a treasure hunt is one thing, but disguising yourself as a boy is quite another. Elizabeth, you've got to draw the line somewhere."
"Well then, that line is extremely far off," she said cheerfully, "And I've got a long ways to go before reaching it. And since you know that trying to deter me is absolutely useless, why don't you just give up and decide how to get our ship and crew and captain?"
Thomas threw up his hands in defeat. "All right, I give up. Trying to deter you is absolutely useless. Let's decide how to get our ship and crew and captain."
Elizabeth grinned. "I knew you'd see it my way," she said, clapping him on the shoulder before heading for the door. "Let's go downstairs and lay out our plans."
P.S. I've decided to make Elizabeth a year younger, so she's actually sixteen now…
