Compass (A Pirate Story)

Chapter 6 (Anthony)

Anthony was excited. He hadn't participated in a duel for months. He had won almost every single fight he has ever fought. Except for two people. But most couldn't compare to him at all.

Anthony's signature weapons are either a pistol or two cutlass swords. He sadly put the pistol down, as he wasn't allowed to use a gun in this fight. Usually during attacks, he uses the pistols because he has a good shot record, but his talent with the sword is no joke either. God, he loves these swords. Stole 'em from a rich young prince who had too many of them.

The sky turned a beautiful shade of purple and pink. Just in time, the hostage climbed up to the deck, escorted by one of the pirates. Anthony realized just then that he had no clue what the man's name was.

"By the way, what is your name? I would like to know who I am going to utterly annihilate," Anthony called out to the redhead.

"Nicolas du Faye, at your service," he laughed, bowing down, a rapier sword in his hand. Anthony nodded, before Dea approached him and pulled him over.

"Hey, I know your a really good fighter, but this guy also seems pretty talented. Just say the word and I can tell the crew to try to distract him or something," she muttered. Anthony looked at her in shock.

"I'm not going to cheat! Tell the crew to stay out of this. If they don't, I will take this as an act of treason." His gaze darkened. He may seem like a narcissistic, self-obsessed, egotistical man, but he wasn't that way at all! He was a pirate with morals, and he wouldn't give those up.

Anthony sharpened one of his swords, making it give a long metallic hiss. He ran his finger along the blade, drawing a bit of blood. He smiled, sensing it was sharp enough and licked the blood dripping from his finger.

"You ready, Nicolas?" he turned to the man who was silently sparring an invisible opponent.

"Call me Nic," he responded, grinning confidently. Anthony didn't know whether he should be confident or not. He knew that he was very good with weapons, but he wasn't sure about how good this guy was. Still, he took a deep breath, held up his sword, and grinned at the redhead.

Nic ran at him, lightning speed, and shoved the rapier towards Anthony's ribcage. For the normal sailor, this would have been certain death. But he was no ordinary sailor. Swiftly, he blocked the blow with ease and watched Nic's eyes grow wide in astonishment. Anthony delivered a counterblow aiming for his legs, but Nic jumped up at the nick of time. They exchanged blows, and the swords clashed until the watching pirates could not tell who was who. Although it was practically impossible to see what was happening, it was clear that they were beginning to slow down.

Anthony could feel his breathe getting heavier. He turned to Nic, who was also panting, with respect in his eyes. They stood there for a few seconds, taking a break before Anthony caught his breath.

"Don't underestimate your enemy," he grinned, studying Nic's now serious face.

"Don't overestimate yourself!" Nic laughed, pushing his wild red curls behind his ears.

"Fair enough. Good to know you're finally taking this seriously. I mean, if you lose then you better keep your promise," Anthony said, raising an eyebrow.

"I hope you know what's at stake too, you'll never find as good of a sailor navigator as me!" Nic responded, shrugging.

"You're slightly better than I thought," Nic nodded his head with respect, "but I'm still better!"

"Really? I'm not the one out of breathe still!" They grinned at each other, before continuing their fast-paced fight. The crowd looked back and forth as they fought at a rapid speed, both evenly matched. Suddenly, Nic managed to hit Anthony in the shoulder, drawing blood, but Anthony managed to slash his swords together and hit Nic's chest.

Gritting his teeth, Anthony knew that this was gonna slow him down significantly. Adrenaline kicked in as they traded hits and counter attacks. Anthony began to feel hot, then cold again. His shoulder was pumping and his shirt was bloodied, but he kept going. Nic raised his sword above his head

James ran between them, intercepting Nic's incoming blow. He turned around, grabbing one of Anthony's swords right out of his hand, and brought the butt of it down on Nic's head. Anthony glared at him, eyes flashing.

"Why would you do that? I was fighting him! And winning!" Anthony growled.

"You're injured! And we are pirates, there isn't much of an honor code for us, why not just cheat?" James protested as Anthony brought his fist down on a barrel, leaving a dent on the top of it.

"Just because I'm a pirate doesn't mean I don't have an honor code!" Anthony threw back.

"Um, guys? What should we do with him?" Dea asked, pointing to an unconscious Nic. The three pirates looked at the man laying on the deck. 

"I don't know. Need to treat this wound before anything though." Anthony winced before limping down the stairs to the ship's doctor.

Sorry it's super anti-climatic, I think I have a plan for where I want this to go, so please stick with it! I will update as much as I can! Don't forget to vote, comment, shoutout, and/or follow!!

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