-1Playing Pirates

Chapter 3: Valued Head Amongst Valued Gold

By: Chamzi

The cool night air was refreshing from the humid lower decks of the ship. One whiff and it cooled your lungs instantly. A comfortable silence fell between the two pirates as they watched the black waves of the sea rise and fall against the side of Richard's beautiful ship.

Raven couldn't help wondering if maybe he had recognized her and glanced to her side to see that he was watching her. Making her a little nervous she started to fiddle with her sleeves and avoided his cool stare. She quickly glanced back at him to see if he was still watching her. She sighed heavily to show that he was making her uncomfortable.

"Sorry… It's just… you look," he stopped to consider his words and choose the right one and Raven became nervous, " radiant."

Raven could have sworn he would have said something about how she had ruined his life at some point, attacked his ship, or stolen something of value from him but was caught off guard at his words and swallowed hard.

She met his eyes and it showed he was slightly worried at her reaction. And in that split second when their eyes met those same worried blue eyes flashed before her eyes as if from some long lost traumatizing dream and Raven stepped back out of shock. But just as fast as the image came, it faded away again leaving Richard staring at her with slight concern in his eyes.

"Is something wrong, lass?" He asked and Raven quickly shook her head. She wasn't quite sure where that image had come from nor when it was from but she knew that what ever it was it wasn't a good memory. It gave her an anxiety rush that continued long after the memory faded. She avoided his eyes as if it might bring back that horrible feeling and he took her chin in his strong hand and lifted it so her eyes would meet his. His eyes bore incredulously into hers and Raven simply looked down. He sighed a bit to say she was being difficult.

"Tis nothing… Just my hunger catching up with me…" Taking a bite of her apple, Raven watched to see if he bought the story. He watched her for a moment but decided what ever it was, she didn't want him to know. So he gave in and let it pass.

"Come," Richard said as he took her hand and guided her away from the poop deck and back to the main deck before taking hold of the hand holds on the main mast and making his way up to the crows nest(1) at the top. Raven followed behind him with curiosity flowing through her.

"What is it that we're accomplishing?" Raven asked as she took hold of another wet rung and pulled herself up to the next making sure to get a good footing or she would fall. She had seen it before and it wasn't pretty. Many men would drink grog while on watch, become drunk and fall from their watch post and crack their skulls open on the hard wooden deck. Her cutlass felt heavy on her hip but after years she was used to it's weight and didn't find it hard to climb regardless. Richard climbed first into the crows nest at the top of the large mast and Raven fallowed quickly after.

Garfield looked at them with confusion evident in his eyes. He had been assigned to watch for sails on the horizon until his shift was done and another man would take his place.

"Rest your deadlights(2), Garfield. I'll take watch," Richard ordered and Garfield didn't argue just smiled lightly before implying that the two hadn't come up to watch for sails. He gave a quick wink to Richard before climbing over the ledge and down the mast. Raven rolled her eyes.

"If that's why you brought me up here you'll be sadly disappointed," Raven said with a clear edge to her voice. Richard smiled sweetly before telling her to ignore Garfield's comments. And while she glared he noticed something. A small purple mark at the bridge of her nose. He figured that was from when he had kicked her and he reached up and touched it lightly only to have her flinch away at the pain it brought. Richard half smiled and half grimaced.

"I didn't mean to do that…"

"Don't… Never admit to having a weakness such as compassion. People can exploit it. Use it. Twist it against you."

Richard's eye brows knitted slightly. She was strange to him. Harsh and yet at the same time incredibly delicate like he'd be able to simply hug her close and she would melt to the form of his body. There was obviously some kind of hidden trauma behind her words.

"That's an interesting philosophy…"

"It's a smart one. You never know who you can trust," and with that she gave him a quick glance as if trying to jog her memory. Richard watched her for a second. He could tell just by the way she was acting that something was up, and as much as he wanted to know, there was still the half of him that told him he didn't. So he ignored it and instead stared out into the black swirling waters glancing up every now and again looking for white sails on the horizon.

"So how is it a mere child such as yourself got into piracy?"

Raven raised an eyebrow at the question. "Excuse me?" she placed her hands on her hips for emphasis, "I am not a child! I am a young woman."

Richard merely smiled, "and how many years are you?" He asked sceptically. He was having fun teasing her.

She glared in a way that told him he could take his grin and shove it up his ass. "Ten and nine" she said after awhile as if having to remember.

He chuckled again, "Like I said, a mere child."

"Oh!? And how old might you be?" Raven challenged.

"Twenty and two," he said with a slight air in his voice to say he was right and he grinned cockily.

"You have but a mere 3 years of life on me, and you call me a child?!" Raven was outraged and Richard could tell no one had ever really teased her before.

"I dare say you need to relax, lass," he chuckled. "You're right, you're a young woman."

"Aye…" Raven crossed her arms and glared up at him, "and don't you forget it!"

Richard smiled. Never in his life had he met such a head strong woman. She was new and exciting and Richard couldn't imagine how she could have come to be this way. In their society woman were quite and well mannered. This Rachel was hot-headed and opinionated. He liked the change. He liked how she demanded respect and would not take anything lying down. "I wont," he replied after a short while of smiling at her.

"But don't you be treating me like some weak, obedient maid either!"

Richard continued to smile down at her, "I wouldn't dream of it."

Raven turned and looked to the black waters stretching out forever in all directions around the ship as the two pirates fell silent again. Raven wouldn't admit it but she was actually enjoying his company. Back on her own ship The Black Bird Raven didn't have the opportunity to relax and talk. Most of the time she had spent plotting courses, going over different possible scenarios in her head, fighting and plundering ships or sleeping. There's no rest for the wicked Raven thought and smiled slightly to herself. A warm hand on her cheek made her jump from her thoughts and look back to Richard who had just brushed a strand of her hair back. She glared.

"It was bothering me…" he shrugged slightly as if to show it was of no importance, but in truth it only bothered him because he couldn't see her face. It was hard enough in the dark, he didn't need anything else to impede his view. Raven took the excuse with a heavy sigh.

"How many days till Nassau?" Raven asked in a light tone.

"Depends… If the weather stays good we could be there in but three days. But depending on certain interferences it could take a fortnight(3)"

Raven didn't like the sound of that. Good weather usually lasted some time but there are many interferences in the life of piracy. Ships that need plundering, repairs, and sometimes even capture.

Raven could feel his eyes on her yet again and became nervous.

"I'm going to familiarize with the ship…" Raven said before hoping over the crow's nest and grabbing onto the shrouds(4) gracefully before making her way down. Richard watched with interest. She moved with the grace much like a cat as she climbed down the shrouds and about 6 feet from the deck let go completely landing lightly on her feet before walking away and disappearing down the scuttle(5).

Raven walked silently and light footed down the narrow hall at the very depth of the ship, Exploring the bilge of the ship. It was a newer ship. Raven could tell, because the bilge smelled fresh. No water had yet leaked into it and it didn't have the typical green slimy moss starting to grow on the wood. Raven hadn't merely come down to explore the ship but also to take a look at what prizes these pirates had captured in their time on the sea. She was curios about this Richard. He was daring no doubt, trying to take on the British navy, and that meant he must have plundered many ships bigger than his. It was weird to Raven, that someone could be so bold and daring while captaining a ship with merely 16 guns. And yet, there was the proof in front of her. The bilge was stuffed with their prize. There were luxuries, and jewels. Spanish gold and small items worth quite a value on the market. There where chests full of cutlasses sabres and pistols. Chests filled to the very brim with pieces of eight and 4 and 2 escudo coins(6). Raven was impressed. Raven spotting another chest to her right that was trimmed in gold and silver. With out a thought she new it was filled with gold and priceless jewels. And the chest itself was of great value itself. She pried it open with a great heave and a layer of dust became air born. Doubloons… Hundreds of doubloons. Richard was rich… Richard was beyond rich. Why would he keep to the life of piracy with such a great fortune in his hold? Raven thought.

Just at that moment Raven heard a small muffled noise behind a large wall of crates and chests. Drawing her cutlass from it's sheath, Raven made her way around obstacles towards the sound.

"Ahoy?" Raven asked knitting her eyebrows together as she noticed the figure hunched over near the end of the hold. Completely out of view of anyone who might come down to the bilge. The person heard her and jumped slightly.

"Who is there?" a hard voice reached her ears and she approached slowly and quietly as the figure stumble around quickly looking for something.

"It's Rav- Rachel…" Raven quickly bit her tongue as she moved closer the person who was obviously trying to hide something. Raven quickly assumed he was stealing extra fortune for himself before the plunder was divvied up to assure a greater fortune. Greedy bastard. Raven thought. It may not be her ship or even her plunder to protect but Raven couldn't let someone go against a Pirates code(7). Richard may not have had her sign any articles(8) yet, but surely he would, and surely one of those would address the theft of plunder that rightly belonged to all of them.

"On your feet, sailor!" Raven demanded pointing her cutlass into the small of his bare back. Not enough to make a cut but enough to let him know she meant business. He was shaking. In nothing but his breeches and large boots he slowly stood. Raven glanced to what was in front of him to get an idea of what he might be stealing only to find a small bucket of water with a wet fencing shirt(9) and jacket hanging over the edge. Now Raven wasn't so sure he was stealing. "Turn around…" Raven ordered so she could check his hands for anything. He did slowly and Raven was genuinely shocked when he did for he was not a he but a she. Raven looked up from the exposed girls chest to the young woman's face. She was young but not a child, her large green eyes were open but instead of the look of surprise of fear they showed her guilty conscious. Her red hair had been cut short and messy to resemble a boys and drooped slightly in front of her face. She looked indignant, her arms dropped to her side her eyes down and she wore a forlorn look on her face. Raven was shocked. This girl was masquerading as a man so she wouldn't be marooned or killed. Raven lowered her cutlass slowly. "I'm sorry- I… What are you doing?" Raven asked as she walked behind the girl and grabbed the girls fencing shirt and handed it to her. She took it and covered her exposed flesh .

"I am… washing my clothes… to rid them of salt water…" Her voice was lighter now than before now that her secret had been discovered.

"No. I mean what are you doing… here?" Raven asked as she sheathed her cutlass.

" I am… in hiding," her voice was small and worried.

"From what?" Raven was curios, she leaned back against a stack of crates and crossed her arms as she listened.

"I am wanted for murder in Rio de la Hacha. I killed a man whom tried to bed me without consent about 4 months past…"

"That's quiet a ways away…" Raven said, "What's your name?"

"Kory… Kory Anders of Port Royal," She said and Raven could hear pride in her voice.

"How is it you found yourself in Rio de la Hacha?"

"My father had business there… He dressed me as a boy to save my life… Please… you will not tell the other's of my secret? Pirates are pirates, they may turn me in for the price on my head."

Raven knitted her eyebrows together in curiosity, "How much?"
"I beg your pardon?"

"How much are you worth?" Raven asked seriously. Kory was scared, debating weather of not to tell her. Taking her fears she swallowed them down.

" eleven thousand gold…" Raven's eyes widened. How could one person be worth so much money?

"H-how might one come to be of such value?" Raven asked in disbelief.

"The man I murdered happened to be the governor…" Her eyes were sullen and downcast. Raven stayed silent for sometime letting the information sink in.

" Does no one on the ship know?", Raven asked finally and Kory confirmed her question with a shake of her head. "I wont tell a soul."

1 Crow's nest- The bucket like structure at the top of a mast where sailors watch for sails on the horizon.

2 Deadlights- Eyes.

3 Fortnight- 2 weeks

4 Shrouds- a set of ropes stretched from the masthead to the sides of a vessel to support the mast.

5 Scuttle- a small hatch or port in the deck, side, or bottom of a vessel.

6 Pieces of eight and escudo coins- Spanish coins.

7 Pirates code- a set of pirate laws set down by Black Bart and someone else... I forget now.

8 Article- A particular section or item of a series in a written document, as in a contract. Rules one must abide by on the ship to avoid death by marooning or other such punishment.

9 Fencing shirt- the poofy pirate shirt!!!

Thanks everyone for all the kind reviews, they got me out of my rut and made me continue writing.

Kory was fun to write about. :D

I know, I know… I'll get around to how Raven knows Richard soon enough, probably within the nest 2 chapters or so, but I want to work on their relationship with one another fist so that it comes as a better kind… shocker I guess. And to make it more difficult on Raven. Yup. I'm mean.

Anyways, I hope you liked it and please review! I like those, they make me happy!