The Pirate Queen & The Quartermaster

‘Tis the year of my twentieth summer and all of the Known Lands and Seas are my oyster, so to speak. The King’s men from all shores of the world dare’d not cross my ship, The Arcangeline, nor any pirate who flew the flag bearing the pirate arms. Through the years of sailing, pillaging and fighting my way to the top, the name the townsfolk would whisper followed me like a crowned title - Pirate Queen of Teramir. I was the most feared of all the Known Seas. There is no sea that I have not ventured, and no treasure that is too far out of my reach. I have it all. Yet, I find this liberation of adversities... tiresome. Where had the blood-curdling sword fights that had me on the brink of my life gone? Where were the pirates or King’s men who dare to stare me down as they opposed my Captainship? Where was the adventure?!’

The scent from the wisp of smoke filled the stuffy captain’s quarters as the flame flickered out. Fallon had finished her entry in her logbook just in time, it seemed. Stretching her back and feeling the knots click into place, she finally stood and stared out of the grimy porthole. Millions of stars shone incandescently in the night sky, and once again she found that sleep evaded her. Deciding against forcing slumber, Fallon threw on her scarlet coat and shoved the door of her quarters open. Frigid salty air rushed past, and she greedily breathed it in. There was just something about the ocean air that freed one’s soul and made the blood in their veins pump fluidly through the body – it was what Fallon lived for. That, and the mad rush of a new adventure.

Muted thuds of her boots on the worn wood followed her as she walked to the deck of The Arcangeline. Out here the lapping of the waves sung a lullaby, as the stars took their turn to twinkle in their inky black net. The crew were asleep, except for Yuri, her first mate who stood at the helm, eyes at half-mast and staring out at the abyss. Her crew had a long day of looting ships, and while none of the fights were worthy of her logbook, the bounty was quite large. She knew her crew was exhausted, her ruthlessness was legendary, but her black heart was still a heart. Besides, Fallon thought to herself, if my crew dropped of exhaustion, I’d have to throw the worthless bunch overboard and find new hands to sail with. It was hardly worth the trouble.

“Yuri,” Fallon called out to the mountain of a man. “I’ll take over. Go on and rest.”

“Ay Captain.” He replied with a slight nod of his head before his heavy footsteps lumbered below deck. Fallon and Yuri had known each other for as long as they could remember. Two rascals that grew up on the streets of their hometown together, stealing baltiks from the pouches of unsuspecting merchants, food from wherever they could reach and on good days they pinched clothing that were hung up to dry. Yuri grew so swiftly that at the age of ten he was stealing clothing of grown men, while she was as thin as a rod and could pass as a young boy. She let the memories of her childhood momentarily fly through her mind as she gripped the smooth wood of the wheel between her fists. It wasn’t something she enjoyed, she hated her childhood. She hated the bastard of a father who tried to sell her for ten baltiks just to afford another bottle of whisky.

The day she made the decision to leave Teramir was the best day of her life. Yuri had no one else, it was just the two of them and it wasn’t hard to convince him to sail away with her. It was simple enough for the two of them to disguise themselves to enable their passage onto a ship. Yuri would steal men’s clothing for Fallon, disguising her as a young teenage boy, since no ship would accept a girl to join their crew. Yuri and Fallon had signed up as part of a crew the first chance they were able and it was nothing but fine sailing for them ever since. The corner of Fallon’s lips twitched, well, fine sailing for her... not so fine for the men she eventually overpowered.

Fallon stood for hours at the helm of The Arcangeline guiding her through the ocean, no particular destination in mind, and not caring either way. The last ship they looted was only on its second day of voyage and its stock was full to the brim. Now their stock was full, and the last looted ship was scattered across the vast ocean floor. As Fallon gazed at the horizon, the rays of the sun crept upwards and slowly brightened the velvet night sky with strokes of crimson and burnt orange bands. The stars that had accompanied her disappeared and soon the new day had begun.

“Yuri!” The man’s head appeared from below deck. “Take over, have the men swab the deck and tell the cook to try not to kill us with his blasted concoctions this morning!”

His deep laugh rumbled from his chest, a familiar look of concern twinkled in his eyes. “Ay Captain. I see you couldn’t asleep again...”

“And I see you still have a habit of sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong,” Fallon quickly retorted with a swish of her coat, allowing it to fan out behind her as she strode down the steps and below deck to the captain’s quarters.

Fallon freshened up and donned new clothes, the baggy white sailor’s shirt was loosely stitched across her chest and the pants she wore were more comfortable than any of the dainty little dresses the women who lived on land donned. Fallon scrunched her face at the mere thought. Dresses, parasols and rules of society... the thought of it made her sick. She tugged on her long sturdy boots and notorious scarlet coat once more before jamming her hat over her hair. Fallon stared at her reflection and rubbed the red strands of hair between her calloused fingers. She’d once heard rumours whispered that the strands of her red hair were flames gifted to her by the divinity of the underworld – it was a preposterous rumour, but Fallon liked the sound of it.

“Ship ahoy!” Gull, the ship’s lookout, hollered. Fallon strode out of her quarters and up to the deck, flipping out her looking glass to where Gull’s gnarled fingers pointed. Far ahead a magnificent ship sailed.

“Looks like a king’s ship. There may be something worth our time aboard.” She chuckled to herself. Flipping the looking glass back, Fallon began to shout her orders to her eagerly waiting crew. “Looks like a king’s ship men! How’s about we give them a proper greeting?!”

The crew roared with enthusiasm and scrambled to their posts. The sails were released, and Yuri spun the wheel towards their target. Below deck, the men readied the cannons. Fallon strode to the helm and drew her sword listening to the crisp sound of the metal being released from its leather sheath. Beautifully crafted, Fallon’s cutlass had only just been polished and sharpened last night, and had seen her through many, many battles. Fallon tucked her bright hair beneath her hat and tugged the collar of her coat up higher. She was well-known in the Known Seas for her appearance.

As they neared the ship, their captain stood by the railing watching curiously as Fallon strode down to the railing of The Arcangeline, bright smile on display. “Good day, m’lady.” The captain bowed with a deep sweep of his hat across his chest.

“Good day, Captain. I was just admiring your ship from afar. What brings you to these waters?” Fallon replied with a slight incline of her head in return. From experience, Fallon found that while there was enjoyment in pillaging a ship with surprise on their side, it was also advantageous to seek information. The right information in the right hands was sometimes worth more than a chest-full of baltiks and jewels.

“An important quest under the order of the King of Bruvendär.” The captain puffed out his chest. Dirty fingers stroked his beard as his lips pulled into a twisted smile. Obviously, he had been without company for a while. “The King has a fondness for new adventures. But I mustn’t say much more, I’m afraid. It is important to be cautious, m’lady, as there are wicked pirates that stalk these waters. Your captain, surely, has mentioned this.”

The corners of Fallon’s lips lifted into a humoured smirk and her cerulean eyes bore into the captain. New adventures? Fallon mulled over in her head. The small bit of information intrigued her, and it was exactly what she needed to know. “As it happens, I am captain of this ship.” Fallon tilted her hat and her bright, red tresses tumbled down from its shelter. “And I do enjoy a good adventure. Yuri!”

At her signal Yuri, who had not in been in the captain’s line of sight, stepped forward, raised his pistol and fired a shot at his broad chest. The captain barely had time to react before his eyes widened and his coat grew damp with blood. Fallon and Yuri had the timing so well-choreographed that the opposing crew had no idea what was happening. Pistols from The Arcangeline fired out, as those overhead swung to the neighbouring ship to finish off the men with swords rather than waste the bullets. As the last of the opposing ship’s men dropped to the deck, Fallon jumped up and grabbed a rope to swing over to their ship.

“Kings men...” She scoffed, as she kicked a body over. Blood crept outwards from the dead bodies and she strode between the puddles to stand in the centre. A heavy thud beside her signalled Yuri’s presence. “You’d think that the king’s men would have put up a better fight than this. I didn’t even need to draw my cutlass. Pathetic... I’ve met poor fisherman with better fight.”

More thuds landed on the ship as the pillaging began. “Maybe you just dazzled the captain with your charming smile.” Yuri guffawed. His voice was deep, and he always spoke as though he had all the time in the world to speak.

“Be gone, you buffoon. I want to check the captain’s quarters, anything leading to ‘new adventures’ must’ve been kept under lock and key. Ensure that no one else is alive.”

It was easy to find the captain’s quarters, and even easier to see what the captain was talking about. For a man who sailed by order of his king, he didn’t keep the vital bounty well-hidden. In the centre of the large cabin stood a heavy wooden desk scattered with maps that looked like nothing Fallon had ever seen before. The rush of blood through her veins began to electrify her body, it was a feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time - it was the familiar buzz of a new adventure.

Fallon leaned over and stroked the maps, allowing her eyes to greedily devour the idea of new lands and seas to explore. The majority of the maps were familiar, the intricate details inked of the Known Lands and Known Seas that she knew like the back of her hand. However, it was the small bit of parchment laid at the bottom of the largest map that caught her attention. It was in Bruvendärian language, a language she was not fluent in, but did understand that it spoke of a possibility of a cluster of islands south of the Known Seas that may not have been explored before.

She grabbed all the books, maps and parchments and headed outside with them rolled under her arm, excited to read them under closer scrutiny in the privacy of her own quarters. As she walked out the doorway, a creak of wood from behind her caught her attention. Without hesitation, almost as a reflex, Fallon drew her cutlass and swung it swiftly. Cold metal caught the hard bone of a crewman’s chest behind her, his arms raised high with his sword clutched in his hands.

“Close, sailor... but no one has ever been able to sneak up on the Pirate Queen of Teramir.” Fallon hissed quietly. The gasping man coughed, blood collecting in his mouth and the cutlass he held dropped to the ground seconds before he followed suit. Fallon pulled the sword from his chest, wiped the blood against his shirt, and continued to walk up to the deck of the ship. “Back to The Arcangeline, men!”

Fallon swung back over to her ship, her bounty still tucked in place, and before heading back to her quarters she turned to Yuri, who was overlooking the return of their men, as he called out. “Captain, are we to leave a floating grave, or warm their cold bodies before the burial?” He asked me.

“Yuri, these are the King of Bruvendär’s men, they deserve a sailor’s burial. Warm them up, before letting the ocean swallow them.” She replied with a smirk.

“Ay Captain. You heard the Captain, men! A sailor’s burial it is!” Yuri shouted Fallon’s orders to the crew.

Gull, who had the character of an unsettled monkey, and therefore was best as the lookout in the crow’s nest, was first to grab his bow and arrow. He set the arrowhead on fire and, with perfect aim, shot it to the neighbouring ship. One by one, the other men loosed a hail of flaming arrows and, as the last one hit the white sails, Yuri steered them away as it lit up in flames. The Arcangeline was far away when the roar of the other ship’s mast came crashing down and in no time at all, the Bruvendärian ship began to sink down into the abyss of the ocean.

“Parchment? Captain?” Yuri asked curiously gazing down at the rolls of parchment and books.

“No, Yuri... keys... to new adventures. However, it is written in Bruvendärian and no one on the ship is fluent in the language.” Fallon tapped her boot as she contemplated on their plan. “Set sail for Bruvendär. I want a translator, a full stock of weapons and anything of the ship that needs repairing to be repaired. I feel a change in the wind, old friend.”

“Ay Captain, setting sail for Bruvendär!”