The ship is well guarded for a simple merchant vessel.
This is not to say that the Sea's Queen wasn't capable of taking the other ship; merchant vessel's ran heavily armed, everyone knew that, and the Captain wouldn't have decided to pounce on a ship that they couldn't take. The men on board this ship however, though dressed like common sailors, are all well built and very good with their blades.
Emily has never fought anyone before, not like this. She too is very good with her blade, but still she only barely manages to defend herself against these men.
This had been Alex's idea. She resolves to be sure and remind him of that later.
Parry a blow, swipe at one man, parry another blow and thrust forward this time, somehow manage to not get hit by the bullets flying around her, or by a stray cannon ball. She is tiring fast.
The fighting around them dies down abruptly as the merchant's sailors begin to give up, dropping their weapons, holding up their hands in surrender.
Well, most of them do anyways. Some just won't give up, particularly the one fighting Emily. Just her luck she supposes. He's backed her up to the railing. She brings up her sword, and is blinded for a moment by a quick flash of steel. Her blade is thrown from her hand.
His sword goes straight through her right arm as he thrusts forward. Pain radiates out through her entire arm.
She is clumsy with her left hand as she reaches for her gun, but it isnt necessary. Someone else is already holding a pistol to his head. He drops his sword and is promptly tied up with the rest of the merchant ship's crew.
The Captain shouts out orders in her shrill voice, telling her men to search the ship, see what it has that's worth taking.
Alex is coming her way and giving her an odd look.
"Are ye ok? Yer pale as a ghost." He glances towards her arm, and she realizes that she is clutching it tightly.
"N-no, I…" She trails off, looking startled as she removes her hand.
There is a hole in her shirt, and there is a small amount of blood surrounding it, but there's no wound to accompany it. She moves her arm around some. Nothing. No pain.
"What's that about?" Alex stares blankly at her torn, stained red shirt. "Yer not hurt."
"I-I don't know, I was…" She doesn't know what to say.
"'Ey! You two! Get down to the hold, make yerselves useful!"
Emily and Alex hurry off to do as instructed.
Wine. Crates upon crates of fine French wine. None of the pirates are quite sure what the point of taking it is, but the Captain gave orders to take it all, so they figure she must have a plan for what to do with it.
There are other things packed into the merchant's hold, plenty of things that will be easy to sell. The wine is a bit different because not all will want it, but no one complains.
The Captain, strange woman that she is, hands a knife to the merchant's captain before leaving, but does nothing more, leaving him and his crew tied up. They will escape at some point and sail off home, unharmed save for their wounded pride. After all, they had just been raided by a pirate ship with a female captain.
Emily would hear about all of this from Alex sometime after it happened, as she would retreat below decks on the Sea's Queen as soon as she got the chance. She would sit in the corner of the crew's quarters where her hammock and bag were and ponder for quite some time the strangeness surrounding what had happened with her arm.
At one point, when she had made herself dizzy trying to figure out just what had happened, she would pull out her knife and make a shallow cut in her arm, testing out a theory she now had in her head.
The wound would knit itself back together with only the slightest hint of a scar left behind, and she would quietly put her knife away while deciding that she would keep this strange new bit of knowledge to herself for now.
"Where are we?" Emily asks, looking out over the railing of the ship.
They've been sailing for at least at least three weeks and have only just made port.
"Somewhere in England, I think. Cap'n wants to try sellin all that wine." Alex replies, smiling at her. "You'll be able to go ashore this time."
Emily smiles back.
"Turner."
Emily turns around to see Jimmy. He is the Captain's first mate, and oddly enough, he is the same man who had been nice to her eight year old self when she was a prisoner on the Revenge.
What a funny little world they lived in. He treats her like he is her older brother half the time. The other half he spends trying to make sure she remembers he's also the Captain's first mate.
How he ever got that position, she will probably never know for sure.
"Captain wants to see you, in her cabin."
"The Captain? Why?" Emily asks in confusion, giving him a blank look.
His eyes shine with amusement even as he sounds stern and scolding.
"How should I know? Go find out for yourself, girl!"
Emily tries not to roll her eyes at him as she straightens up.
"Aye, sir." She replies before walking off to do just what he'd said. She slips below decks, walks the short distance down the hallway.
"Come in, Emily." The Captain calls when Emily knocks lightly on the door.
She walks into the cabin and is met with a very strange sight. The older woman is wearing a thin white shift, like what one would wear beneath a dress, and she is holding up a simple corset.
There is a dress laid out on her bed, a very simple and somewhat ragged thing, something a slave would wear.
"You know how to lace one of these up?" She asks.
"Unfortunately." Emily replies.
"Good." The Captain positions the corset over her front and beckons Emily forward. "Then you can lace this one up for me now. Nice thing about having another woman on board."
Emily does as the Captain asks, beginning the tedious process of lacing the corset up.
There is a long moment of silence, where in Emily tries to gather up the courage to ask what she wants to.
"May I be so bold as to inquire as to why you are doing this, Captain?"
A soft chuckle escapes the older woman's lips.
"I know of someone around here who will pay a shiny penny for all that wine our holds a-bursting with, but he won't do buisness with a woman. At least, he tries to be sure that's what everyone thinks, which is probably wise of him in these parts. Jimmy's going to act as Captain."
"I see. You're going with him as…"
"As whatever those around us choose to see me as. A slave, most probably. I won't complain if I get what I want out of it."
"That's..rather clever." Emily mumbles, mainly to her self.
"Most of my ideas are." The Captain replies anyways, rather arrogantly.
Emily allows herself an eye roll as she is standing behind the Captain still. She continues to help the older woman dress in silence.