The Blind Deceit sailed through the waves with a crew of 60 men on board, her flag flapping in the wind. She was the pride and glory of Captain Cornelius Fleming, whom everyone called Captain Niels or Old Niels on the ship. He and his crew, the Rusty Rovers, were well-known in the center and southern regions of the Thousand Isles. Despite their name, they were quick on their feet, or rather, their waves. It was necessary in order to get away from the British galleons and Dutch fluyts, which often sailed in groups around those parts.
And this was the ship Casey Doves served on as a cabin boy when she was merely 12.
"Hey Cody, bring me some rum!" shouted the captain at the helm. She went on the ship as Cody, hiding her identity as a girl. Her hair was cut short, and her face had a boyish charm to it, so she could easily pass for one. The captain said it's the only way for her to be a part of the ship's crew, as women would only bring chaos and discord to the ship.
"Right away, Captain!" She shouted and entered the captain's cabin to bring out a bottle of rum for Captain Niels. She didn't mind pretending to be a boy. When she tried to sneak aboard, the captain caught her and gave her two options: be marooned on an island in the hope that a Dutch or British ship will pick her up, or become a cabin boy. She chose the latter.
According to the captain, she was his first cabin boy since he became a pirate. Like many others, he served in the British Navy, then one day gave up and turned to piracy. He always told her tales from his time in the navy and even taught her how to read and write so she could be a better help for Captain Niels, who could hardly read anything in the dim light after the sun set.
Casey Doves picked up a bottle from a chest and returned to the deck. But the moment she opened the door to the cabin, she found herself on a ghost ship. The mainmast had been broken in half, the sails had been ripped apart, and they were rocking back and forth like hanged men on gallows. The wind did not howl, the girl couldn't even feel the lightest breeze on her skin. Even the sea, as if permeated by the dread coming from the ship, did not move. There was only dead, rotten silence invading all senses of the sole living being on the deck who clutched the bottle of rum in her hands as if it was the last proof of her sanity and connection to reality.
The girl was so shocked by the view in front of her that she forgot to breathe. Once she regained her composure a bit, she took a deep breath. Instead of the usually salty air, all she could smell was rotting wood. She turned around to check the cabin she just came out of, but the moment she put her foot on the deck again, the wooden floor collapsed under her weight, and she fell onto the ship's hold.
If the air on deck smelled like rotting wood, then the hold was like death itself. A horrendous, putrid smell that, once experienced, one could never forget. It came in many varieties, but something was certain: it always smelled like blood, rotting flesh, and despair. Casey Doves involuntarily started retching. It was not the first time she smelled death, that much she knew, but she couldn't recall when or where she had done it before. Or rather, her brain didn't want her to remember.
As her eyes became accustomed to the semidarkness, she could see more of her surroundings. Among the rotting barrels, she could see mutilated bodies in the darkness, which she recognized as the crew of the Blind Deceit. And among them stood the corpse of the captain in a torn red coat.
All of them were looking at her, with an infinite abyss in their eye sockets. A darkness so deep, she thought if she looked too long into this abyss, she would be devoured by it. She sat there aghast, afraid to even move an inch, lest the bodies jump at her and rob her of her vitality.
Suddenly, the muscles on the captain's face loosened, as if they gave up the long fight to keep everything in its place, and now Old Niels' mouth was slightly ajar.
It's your fault. All yours. It was a hoarse, ethereal voice she heard, resembling Captain Niels'. But it didn't come from the corpse standing before her, she could hear it inside her head.
Your fault. Your fault. All yours. All yours. She could hear the other crew mates echoing the sentences. Even if they whispered, their voice felt deafening after the dead silence just moments ago. The cacophony of their voices drove her insane, as she was unable to think through them. Then she felt a skeletal hand gripping her shoulder, cutting deep into her flesh.
----------------------------------------
Casey Doves woke up covered in sweat. She took deep breaths to calm herself down and looked around her. She was in her cabin on the Bloody Princess, with the setting sun shining through her windows. She examined her shoulder, but it showed no signs of injury. Yet she could still feel the pain from her dream, like a phantom clinging to her.
She looked at the ragged captain's coat she left on her chair. It eroded quite a bit during the years, and even though Doc said he could fix it, the captain refused. Those holes were the wounds she must have remembered. When the apparitions called out to her in her dream, she wanted to reply, "I know." Yet she couldn't.
She sighed. These dreams were the reason she hated the days coming after the new moon. She never knew when her past would swoop in like some drunken marauder, void of reason.
As she got ready to return to the deck, someone knocked on her door and after a short pause Roberts, the quartermaster entered. He looked exactly the same as last night, except for the black eye on his face.
"Something happened?" asked the captain with a raised eyebrow.
"Just the usual. Some drunkard fell into the water. Then when I dragged him out, he punched me."
"Was it Bill?"
"I can't confirm nor deny." The captain couldn't help but put on a wry smile at this answer. "How is your leg?"
"Seen better days. But it's at least back to normal," she said, showcasing how easily she could move her legs. "Just remind me not to shout at anyone in the next few days, okay?"
"Oh, right. Lungs." Roberts nodded with an all-knowing face. "How are you able to keep up with all this?"
"You get used to it after 10 years."
"And... are you sure you can break the curse at that supposed temple?"
"If I can't, I might as well give up on ever breaking it," the captain shrugged as she put on her boots. "How far are we from home?"
"Maybe one more hour. Depends on the wind and the waves. Stella was at the helm while Brent slept." Captain Doves nodded and went to the deck. In the distance she could see the island where their haven could be found. The Isle of Tarrasca. It was inhabited by a native tribe that sometimes traded with them food for various goods. The pirates lived on the rocky side of the mountain, while the natives had two or three settlements on the other side of the island, so they didn't bother each other.
"Hello, Captain! It's only three days until the First Quarter," reported Stella with a shining smile. Casey Doves nodded in response and thanked her for the reminder. The girl was a star genius. She could estimate the moon phases with astonishing accuracy, not to mention her directional skills. She needed as much as a single glimpse at the night sky to tell if they slightly deviated from the intended sea route. Which in turn caused lots of trouble for Brent, who sometimes changed directions because of the waves or the wind. As they say, on the sea the shortest path is not always the fastest. It's something every sailor understands.
Unfortunately, Stella was no sailor.
"Hey, Brent, you are off again." Thus started another episode in their usual dialogue.
"How can you tell when you can't even see the stars?" retorted the helmsman, who got annoyed by the girl's antics again.
"I can see one right there," she laughed, pointing at the sun.
Brent sighed. "Whatever. We will get home faster this way. Unlike some brutes, I know how to please my Princess."
"Weirdo."
"You are one to talk. I bet you would walk into a wall in your cabin if you could see the— Ouch!" His sentence was cut in half by a slap on the back of his neck. "What was that for?"
"You know exactly what, douchebag."
"Hysterical woman."
"Shipper!"
"Stargazer!"
"Enough!" It was Bill who shouted at them. "My head hurts enough without hearing you kids shouting all day long! Why can't you let a man get through his hangover in peace?"
"Sorry, Bill." They answered in unison after the berating. The sailor shook his head and went back to the hold, most likely to get some help from Doc.
In the meantime, the Bloody Princess got close to Tarrasca without losing momentum or getting off from the intended route, despite the quarrel between the helmsman and navigator. The captain thought that's only right. If Stella was a genius of stars, then Brent was a genius of sailing. Admittedly, Captain Doves had her concerns when the boy first appeared in front of her, confessing how he fell in love with her vessel at first sight. But after he saw what the young boy was capable of, she decided to ignore those concerns. She met with all kinds of lunatics during her years at sea. A ship fanatic was nothing out of the ordinary compared to most of them.
As they got closer to the cliffs of the island, they hoisted up a red flag, and they could hear the sound of a horn from up on the rocks. Two short blows. It meant nothing changed. The flag and the horn were part of a sign language they worked out. This way, even if something happened to the crew on the ship or in the haven, the other party could react in time.
They entered the narrow channel between the cliffs. It was narrow enough for a galleon not to follow them, but wide enough for a schooner or sloop to maneuver between the rocks. They could finally see their home and haven, the Crimson Refuge, after a few minutes of journeying inside the channel. It was a cove hidden by the eye, surrounded by reddish stone, which inspired the name. There was a waterfall near their base, and their two other ships, the Young Renegade and the Vanity, were in the bay. They were sloops that were mainly used for smuggling and squandering their hard earned gold, because what good is gold if you can't spend it?
The pirates cheered as the Bloody Princess dropped her anchor and the captain's crew unloaded the booty. But their cheers soon died down as a certain person disembarked.
"Don't you dare touch those crates fools, ya hear me?! It's fresh goods! Go, eat the remains you left, dingbats!" Jenkins shouted, full of energy. "Ah, but you can take your pitchforks, Gunner," he added after the silent giant appeared behind him. Gunner gazed at him for a long minute, then took the crate full of metal and got to work at his forge. The boatswain thought it would be better if he stayed silent for a while.
In the meantime, Casey Doves went to look at the newbies his mate, Diego had brought. There were only three of them this time. A teenage boy, a middle-aged man, and a man who looked like he had muscles and fat inside his head too.
"So, what do you think, Capitana?" The Spaniard appeared next to her with a blooming smile. Captain Doves clearly didn't share his positivity.
"Diego, what did you bring me again?"
"They are all eager, Capitana! See!" He pointed at them. "The niño is Pete. He is a good learner! Good memory, good reflexes. Perfect for La Vanidad. The old man is Gordon. A cook. But what cook! He is a magician with meat and spices. All his meals, delicioso!" He imitated licking his fingers. "And the brute..."
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
"The name is Frank," answered the man instead of Diego. "Yer the bloomin' captain, isit?"
Casey Doves involuntarily blinked a few times to understand what was going on. The man called Frank spoke in a voice that she usually heard in taverns from drunken bastards. And it wasn't his accent, it was the tone.
"Sure I am. Why are you asking?" She spoke in the end. She had a feeling where this conversation would lead.
"Aight, 'ave a look missy, Diego told me about yer. Let's spot if yor right that great o' a pirate or not." Frank seemed ready to have a duel with her as his hand rested on his scabbard.
Captain Doves shot a glance at Diego, who still had a beaming smile on his face. She sighed.
"Pete, Gordon, you can go. Welcome here," she said with a little annoyance in her voice, which wasn't targeted at them but at the Spaniard's antics. She looked at him. "How much?"
"Fifty gold."
She raised her eyebrows. "Fifty? When did you get so rich? Or you regard this thug so high?"
Diego spread his arms, still maintaining his smile. "I am a gambler, Capitana. You know me."
The captain looked at him for a few seconds before answering, as if thinking about something. "Five minutes?"
"Five? Oh, no, no, no. I am a gambler but not a lunatic. Two minutes."
"Two? Come on, Diego, that's—"
"Oi, don't ignore me, mate!" Frank yelled angrily and would have attacked Casey Doves if he hadn't noticed the gun in her hand, which she pointed directly at him.
"You shut your mouth or I make sure you shut it forever, mate," said the captain with killing intent in her eyes. It was enough for Frank to back away. She looked back at Diego after putting her pistol away. "Three minutes. Deal?"
This time Diego seemed to think. "Only one arm?"
The usual smile crept back onto Casey Doves' face. "Who do you think I am?"
The Spaniard nodded with a smile. "Deal." Then he started shouting. "Come here, boys! It's a duel! Three minutes, one arm!"
The pirates, like moths, started circling around Frank and Captain Casey Doves at Diego's shout. Even Gunner's rhythmical beats on metal died down as he stood up to watch his captain's duel. Someone with enough composure went to get Doc, and Brent also looked in their direction from the quarterdeck. The sun just set down on the horizon, and as the stars appeared in the sky one by one, Stella felt as if there were hundreds, thousands of eyes, all gazing at the spectacle that was about to happen.
As the torches got lit one by one in the hidden bay, Diego felt bad. Not for his captain, nor for the poor soul who badmouthed her in the tavern he went to play dice in. He felt bad because his gambler's instinct won him over. Three minutes. It was a good incentive for his captain. But the fact that it would be over so soon made him regret his choice.
Meanwhile, Pete and Gordon, the two new mates stood in the crowd, confused. Gordon had experience with pirates. He served on two pirate ships before, against his will, and saw them plundering and slaughtering people while laughing. He was familiar with bloodthirst.
But this, he thought, this felt different. When he looked in their eyes, he did not see the same vile light he had seen so many times before. Nay, if he needed to compare, it was more akin to childlike ecstasy. He must have had the same face when his parents took him to a circus back in London for the first time. An eagerness to see more. A desire to burn every little detail of this moment into their memory. That's what was reflected in their eyes.
In every eye. Except for one. Roberts was the only one who looked at the soon-to-start duel with concern. He knew about the curse which the others had no idea about. He knew that the captain's legs had not fully recovered. He looked at Jenkins, who stood next to him, trying to get as good a view as possible.
"Jenkins, what do you think about the captain?"
"Hm? What do I think? I think she is a fine lass." It looked like the boatswain had forgotten even his grumpiness.
"No, I mean, do you think she will use her a... magic?"
"Oh, no, she never does. Not for duels like this."
"What?"
Jenkins looked at him. "How long have you been serving her as a cabin boy? Half a year?"
"8 months. And I am a quartermaster."
"Sure you are," laughed Jenkins. "And you haven't seen her in a duel like this, right?" Roberts shook his head. "Right, the last fellow was... Doesn't matter, Stella knows when that happened. So anyway, you haven't seen her in one-on-one combat like this, correct?" Roberts nodded. "Then let me tell you a secret, boy." Jenkins looked right into Roberts' eyes, a nearby torch's light reflected in them. "Each time it happens, I wish senility would finally take me and let me experience it for the first time again."
Meanwhile, Frank stood in the circle, stupefied. His opponent was a little girl, maybe three heads shorter than him. What is more, the sandy ground was slightly aslope, and he had the higher ground. Yet the men, nearly twenty dozens of them, cheered on. He felt it was odd. Why did they cheer, he wondered. He will kill this little girl in front of them, and they are laughing and happy about this. He started grinning too.
"You are a lucky man, Frank," said the pirate captain with an arousing smile, as if she could read his mind. "You can kill me, get the bounty, and maybe even take my place. What do you say, boys?" She asked the audience around them, which responded with agreeing shouts.
But something still felt off for Frank. "They say yor a witch. 'ow can I know yer won't use yor magic on me?"
"You got me there, Frank," said the female pirate, and the crowd laughed. "I swear on my pride, honor and fame as a pirate captain. You won't fight the Sea Witch tonight. No Casey "Arms" Doves or Casey "Legs" Doves. Only me. Captain. Casey. Doves."
The crowd cheered on, and even the giant black man, whom Frank thought was a demon, stood still. The female pirate looked at her blade for a moment, then shrugged and switched hands, wielding it in her left arm. The cheering got louder.
Then she took a step to the left, and everything fell silent. Frank got confused by the sudden change but also started moving leftward, keeping his distance. Somewhere behind the crowd, a sailor turned a sandglass upside down, and sand started falling down inside it. The three-minute countdown officially began.
Everyone looked at the duel in silence. Even the ships and waves, as if knowing what happens among the humans, stood still. There were only three sounds that could be heard: the fall of water from the nearby waterfall, the crackling sound of fire as the flames danced in the night, and the sound of feet pressing against the sand slowly, steadily.
Frank was the first to strike. He chose a downward slash, intending to crush his opponent. Casey Doves jumped to the left, and using the opening she got for a split second, she closed on Frank. The man anticipated it and swung his arm horizontally, aiming to sweep her away. He thought even if he couldn't hit her, she would back away, keeping her distance, but that's not what happened. As he swung in the air, he felt a hand grab at his arm, and the next moment he noticed the female pirate was squatting on his stretched-out arm.
They gazed at each other, and his first thought was that she was light. She barely weighted 120 pounds by his estimate. Her face was in a shadow, yet he could see the whiteness of her eyes. Then, after his initial surprise was over, he thought of cutting her down with his right hand, which held the sword, but by the time he acted he had already gotten a punch in the face. It was the punch of a hand that was hardened by years of hard work. Frank wiped his nose and noticed it was bleeding.
"Two!" A sailor shouted in the background and turned the sandglass again.
Frank ignored him and focused entirely on the girl, not letting her out of his sight. The woman, as if realizing her supposed role, started backing away, keeping her distance. The circle around them got bigger, giving them more space.
Frank didn't give up and continued to swing his sword, but the woman remained slightly out of reach. She danced away from all of his attacks, her ginger hair looking like a firemane around her head. It didn't even look like a duel at this point, more like an elaborate act by a skilled acrobat and her clumsy assistant.
"One!" The sailor yelled again, turning the sandglass one last time.
Just as he said that word, a clash could be heard as metal met metal. It was the first time during the duel that their swords met, greeting each other for a last round in this rondo of death.
Frank was surprised for a moment, then became furious. His movement became hectic, his swings more erratic. Yet it didn't matter. Even if he held his scabbard with both hands, he couldn't reach the girl, who was right under his nose. She parried, clashed, or slightly leaned away from his blade's path. Each time their blades met, their crescendo resembled a scream. A desperate, drained scream.
"Thank you for the entertainment, Frank," his opponent said abruptly. "And fare thee well."
With that, she took a last swing, and his blade flew out from his hand. Then, without any bloodlust, vice, or fury in her eyes, she stepped closer. And as if it was the most natural thing in the world, she stabbed her blade into his chest. Frank felt blood filling his throat, then collapsed on the sandy floor, and his life faded away.
High wind flew into the cove, and the crowd started to cheer as Captain Casey Doves looked at her would-be adversary. She stood still with her ginger hair flying in the wind, light and shadow dancing on her face. Pity laid in her eyes, gazing down on the body which was still a man moments ago.
There were a few people who stood in silence after the sight. Gunner went back to his forge, working on the blades. Stella smiled and looked up at the night sky. She felt like the stars were smiling down on them, too. Diego could only shake his head with a bitter smile. He might have lost 50 golds tonight, but he robbed the whole crew of two minutes of their captain's performance.
"I still don't get why you do these gambles, amigo." His captain stood before him with an open hand. Diego laughed and handed her a small bag.
"I already told you, Capitana." He averted his eyes. "I am a gambler. And I don't want your skills to get rusty." He gave her another bright smile. Casey Doves just rolled her eyes and patted his shoulder. As she went through the already parting crowd, she met the gaze of Roberts, who looked at her in disbelief.
"I thought your leg..." He started but didn't know how to continue.
The captain just smiled. "I told you they have seen better days. And that they are back to normal." There was a playful smile on her face.
"I didn't know you are this good with the sword."
"Really? You have seen me fight plenty of times, haven't you?"
"Yes, but these were when you were Casey "Arms" Doves."
Captain Doves nodded in enlightenment. "Ah, I see. You thought it's all magic, right?" Roberts didn't know what to say. "Let me tell you this: magic means nothing if you don't have the skills. There are no shortcuts to power. Just like how you can't take the shortest route on the sea." With that Captain Casey Doves went to one of the barrels full of rum and raised a cup. "Vivat the Moon Raiders!" Then she drank the alcohol in the cup at once.
"Vivat the Moon Raiders! Vivat Casey Doves!" shouted back some of the crew who already had a cup nearby.
Gordon still had a hard time understanding what he had seen. Certainly, there was no bloodthirst. Although it wasn't a duel either. For him, it looked more like a ceremonial execution of sorts. Like a ritualistic blood sacrifice, similar to what those Indians and maybe the island natives also do. But the main point isn't the killing itself, he thought. They wanted to see the captain's act. Her opponent was nothing more than a tool to bring it out. And, although he had a hard time admitting it even to himself, he wanted to see it again. That fey-like movement, that nonchalant step. It reminded him of the acrobats he saw in circus.
"What did you think, boy?" he asked Pete, the youngish boy who arrived with him and stood next to him. But when he looked at Pete, he saw that the boy was slightly bleeding from his left arm. As Gordon looked around, he realized it must have been from Frank's sword. "Help! There's a wounded here!" he yelled. And soon enough, a bald man with a big beard walked toward them, clearly drunk.
"Whatsa problem?" he asked, drinking from a bottle in his hand. He reeked of alcohol.
"This boy was cut by a sword," Gordon said, pointing to the wound. The bald man looked at it quite closely, then started searching in his pockets until he found a clean-looking cloth. Then he soaked it in alcohol and wrapped it around the boy's arm.
"There ya go." With that the man walked away, drinking from his bottle.
Pete was too busy to thank him or even notice the wound he got. He kept replaying in his head the scene he saw, again and again. He watched the dance and the captain's skill with the sword. And he watched her gaze, too. That lonely, distant gaze. He only came back to reality when the bald man wrapped the cloth around his arm and the alcohol entered his wound.
And he came back just in time to hear a song starting among the pirates. At first, only one of them sang it, but soon all of them joined the chorus, their sound echoing in the Crimson Refuge.
Oh, our captain, she is so fine,
She is sweeter than well-aged wine!
And once you see 'er shining smile,
You'll feel jolly all day!
That's o'r captain, Casey Doves!
Spirits and gold she surely loves!
She has the brains and good with arms,
And our heart she always warms!
Once I heard she had to face,
Bounty hunters with big ol' mace!
She kicked their balls and ran through walls,
They didn't give a chase!
That's o'r captain, Casey Doves!
Spirits and gold she surely loves!
She has the brains and good with arms,
And our heart she always warms!
Fokke, Gomis and Lottway,
or the eastern Jiang Wei!
None can resist her beauty,
'Cuz her gaze is the real booty!
That's o'r captain, Casey Doves!
Spirits and gold she surely loves!
She has the brains and good with arms,
And our heart she always warms!
And there was that Lynott guy,
He captured her and said goodbye,
But o'r captain, she got away,
His logic she did defy!
That's o'r captain, Casey Doves!
Spirits and gold she surely loves!
She has the brains and good with arms,
And our heart she always warms!
So be aware, if you meet her,
Don't bother her like a skeeter!
She will swing her sword and crush some crates,
Laughing with her mates!
That's o'r captain, Casey Doves!
Spirits and gold she surely loves!
She has the brains and good with arms,
And our heart she always warms!
That's o'r captain, Casey Doves!
Spirits and gold she surely loves!
She has the brains and good with arms,
And our heart she always warms!