MarieK
Junior Member
She had spent a good portion of her years roving the waves with quiet submission, but that time was over.
Black boots scuffed the captain's mahogany desk as she leisurely tossed her legs on top of it and reclined back in his chair. The cushion beneath her was cool and soft, and the chair was the perfect height and curvature as if it were built with her in mind. And the captain's rum wasn't that bad either.
Mutiny had never tasted so good.
Sure the captain had been her savior, rescuing her from death's threshold when she was a mere child. Thief, is what they had accused her of being, but where they had seen a pesk, he had seen potential. It hadn't taken long for her to learn the ropes of manning a ship and she had been immediately accepted by the crew, taken in under their wing. Yet, she could not deny the desire for more. Like a wolf, it stalked her every waking moment and skirted her dreams.
That night was to be the mark of a new life for her. She would never be second again.
There came a knock at the door and Samuel appeared, carrying a sword in one hand and a lantern in another. The soft glow emitting from the small sphere of light made his cheekbones more gaunt and his eyes more sunken.
"It be time, Cap," he said, holding the door ajar for her.
She issued a sigh and rose to her feet. "Thank you, Samuel. Would you do the honors of waking the crew for me?"
"Aye, it will be a pleasure." He flashed her a savage grin, one deprived of several teeth, before leading the way to her destiny.
~
A thunderclap signaled an approaching storm as the first mate soaked in the sense of triumph she felt at seeing the captain kneeling at her feet before her, surrounded by his helpless crew. Not so much helpless in the way that they were incapable of putting up a fight if it called for it. She wouldn't need their skills if that were the case. Rather, they were helpless to resist the men she had swayed to join her cause. Their captain had died recently and she had overheard them at a tavern two weeks before discussing how they planned to fill the position. She pegged it as divinity and persuaded them to go along with her plan. In return, they'd have two ships at their disposal, a captain, and the opportunity to become rich should they uncover the ancient relic.
And they would. She wouldn't stop until they did.
"If you don't wish to join us, feel free to walk the plank," she told the crew, raising the blade and pointing it at each one. "So what do you say? Do you want to go on an adventure or take an evening swim?"
There was no sense of remorse as she issued the threat to the crew members who had become more like a family over the last decade or so. And why would there be? Scarlet was leading them in a direction of greatness and adventure, something the other captain deemed as foolish and a waste of time. She was certain they would see the reasoning and side with her. Even so, she couldn't bring herself to throw the tied captain overboard. Instead, she planned to keep him tied up somewhere below deck where men she could trust would guard him to ensure he wouldn't attempt to malign her leadership.
"Come on," Scarlet called to the crew before her. She spread out her arms, inviting them to accept her offer. "You know you want to find the staff just as much as I do and deep down, you're itching for something more than raiding ships and stealing just enough to get by."
"This captain," she gestured to the one at her feet, "has failed you. But I intend to carve our names onto the palms of history and the heart of legends. Why settle for scraps when you can have it all?"
Her own passion seeped into her voice, causing it to rise above the thunder in the distance as her eyes glinted with hunger, unsated. Scarlet paused in her speech and raised her brow pointedly at the crew, waiting their response.
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