In honor of today being Talk Like a Pirate Day, I've decided to update my pirate story for you. Enjoy.
Meg and her mother, Eris, knew of a narrow and rocky water canyon that even the bravest of sailors would not venture through. The canyon was known by all who sailed as the Gateway to Hell. The canyon received its name many years before even Eris was born. The canyon was barely wide enough for a ship to sail through, however the waters were like the blackest of ink and hid the sharp, jagged rocks that loomed just beneath the surface and the sharks that dwell among them. The sailors would realize too late that their ship could not sail through the canyon due to the rocks. The rocks would cut through the bottom of their ships and destroy them. The ships would become lodged between the rocks and stuck forever as warnings to other sailors. The crews would be thrown overboard at the impact and eaten by the sharks. When other sailors sailed by all they would see is the destroyed, abandoned ships and no one would ever see the passengers again.
But, pirates are a superstitious lot and it didn't take long for stories to spread of demons in the form of sirens luring men to their deaths. In these stories the sirens are beautiful young women who sing men into a trance, causing them to crash their ships. Then the sirens would kill men and drag them to Hell.
By the time Eris was born, those stories were all but forgotten, as was the canyon. Eris was the very first female pirate to ever sail the seven seas. She was not afraid of sirens or demons. But, she was smart and she knew the real danger that lurked in the Gateway and she stayed away. That is, until she realized it and its superstitions could be of use to her.
Just a couple years ago, Meg's father, Korso, left in search of a rare treasure known as the Hand of Midas. According to the legends, the Hand was made of solid gold and possessed the magic ability to turn everything it touches into solid gold, as well. Once Eris and Korso learned of the treasure and what it could do, they knew they had to have it. Korso told her he would go in search of it and bring it back to her and their daughter. Eris, however, did not trust him and she and Meg went off in their own search for the treasure.
They hadn't heard from Korso since he left, but they knew that a pirate currently had the Hand. They didn't know his name, but they knew they could find out. Eris had a beautiful singing voice ever since she was a child. Whenever she sang, everyone who could hear it flocked towards her; especially men. Eris now used her talent to her advantage. She knew of a place just on the inside of the canyon where there were no rocks and she could anchor their ship. She would then wait for a ship to come within earshot and she would begin to sing. And every time the, ship's crew automatically steered towards her. Eris and Meg would then attack them and kill all but the captain. They would interrogate him to find out more about the pirate who had the Hand of Midas. When they had all the information they could get from him, they fed him to the sharks. Thanks to Eris, the legend of the Gateway sirens began to circulate once more, and Eris became feared by all. Though, they left no survivors to tell of her name.
The last captain they had interrogated told them a governor known as Ratcliffe knew where to find the pirate. They now hid in the shadows of the canyon, waiting for the governor's ship to sail closer. Meg's heart beat fast in anticipation and she gripped her sword and pistol tightly. When the ship was close enough, Meg smiled evilly at it and readied herself.
Her mother began to sing:
Upon one summer's morning
I carefully did stray
Down by the Walls of Wapping
Where I met a sailor gay.
Conversing with a young lass
Who seem'd to be in pain,
Saying, William, when you go
I fear you'll ne'er return again.
My heart is pierced by Cupid
I disdain all glittering gold
There is nothing can console me
But my jolly sailor bold.
The governor's ship slowly sailed through the canyon's opening, towards Eris' voice. It immediately hit the rocks. The sound of cracking wood echoed through the canyon as Eris and Meg jumped aboard the ship. As the men fought to control the ship, Eris searched for the governor, and Meg swiftly killed each man. Eris was a strong leader, smart and cunning; but, Meg was the best fighter anyone had ever come up against. She had her father's strength and skill as well as her mother's cunning wisdom. She could sneak up on a man and kill him before he even knew she was there. Those who did see her were too distracted by her beauty and seductive body and she killed him before he could get his bearings and fight back. The kill was easy for Meg, though, and sometimes just for the thrill of a fight, she would let a man defend himself, thinking he could best a girl; then she would run him through as if it were nothing. And for Meg, it was.
When the entire crew of the governor's ship was killed and the wooden deck was dripping with blood, Meg began to throw the bodies overboard for the hungry sharks waiting below. A few moments later, Eris returned to the deck with an impossibly fat man in tow. He was smitten by Eris' beauty, as all men are, and he came willingly. Eris then unsheathed her own sword and held it against his throat. Governor Ratcliffe looked shocked and completely taken off guard by this.
"Tell me what you know of the whereabouts of the Hand of Midas," Eris demanded.
Ratcliffe laughed. "I'm not afraid of a woman."
"Neither were your men," Meg said, motioning around the now empty ship.
Ratcliffe's face grew pale at the sight of all the blood. "I-I don't know where it is."
Eris grabbed Ratcliffe by the neck and held him over the edge of the ship. Half a dozen sharks circled near the ship, waiting for him to fall in so they could devour him the way they devoured his crew. He struggled to get away from Eris, but stopped when Meg pressed the barrel of her pistol against his head.
"We don't need you, Governor," Eris told him. "We have other ways of finding the Hand. So don't, for a second, think your knowledge is of enough importance to us that we won't kill you."
"Look, all I know is that the man who has it doesn't know he has it," Ratcliffe told them.
"How is that possible?" Meg asked.
"The man who had it before him wanted to keep it a secret. He hollowed out the side of a small treasure chest and stuck the hand inside. It, of course, turned the chest to gold. The pirate who has it now stole the chest and traded the jewels inside, but he doesn't know about the secret compartment. It's likely he will eventually sell or trade the chest with the Hand still inside."
"What is his name?" Eris demanded.
"Proteus." Ratcliffe looked down at the sharks. "Please let me live."
Eris smiled at him. "That's for the sharks to decide."
Without hesitation, Eris pushed him over the edge. The sharks swarmed around him and his screams rang out briefly before they ripped him apart, until there was nothing left of him. His blood billowed in the water and the sharks once again disappeared into the dark water.
Note: the song Eris sings is called My Jolly Sailor Bold and it's from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.