Florence Earle, The adventures of the Sapphire

I

"21 September 1650

The skies are cloudy today, though the sun is shining, it's clear that there's a storm coming. We sailed to the nearest coast and managed to anchor the ship without being seen from the small village on the rocks. Tonight we're going off board, see what we can take before sailing off again in the morning. Can't stay too long anywhere, we're wanted in most parts of the world.

- Florence "

I put my little notebook in the inside pocket of my vest. When I look around me I see that most of the crew has gone ashore. I go down the ladder hanging from the deck. The sea beneath me is a deep dark blue, giving it a mysterious look. I take off my vest, holding it far above my head as I get in the water, swimming the last bit to the beach. My clothes are wet but the weather is warm enough to dry them fast. The rum has already been opened and everyone is drinking and happy. There is a cave just slightly inward from the beach, the opening decorated with stalactites and hanging plants. I go in, putting my vest and outer clothes on a rock. I can see the ship from here, and a great part of the sea. It's a great spot. I look around me and decide to explore the cave a little further. I walk deeper into the cave, the light getting less and less. When it's almost dark around me I catch a light blue shimmer in the corner of my eye. I turn to where it came from and climb over the rocks in front of me. Behind them is a lake, beautiful clear water, the surfaces being highlighted by the light coming from a hole in the roof on the cave. I climb closer to the water and hesitatingly run my hand through it, it's nice and warm but not too hot. I strip off the remaining of my clothes and dive in, my body so satisfied with the feel of the water surrounding me. I bathe and bathe, till the cave starts to get darker again. I look up and see the deep orange sky which comes with a sunset. I quickly pull myself onto the rocks, take my clothes and dress and walk back to the mouth of the cave. The crew is very drunk, some of them sleeping, some of them making jokes. I take my outer clothes from the rock where I had left them earlier and check if everything is there. As I pull on my vest I feel the notebook close to my chest. I go sit with the crew, taking a half empty bottle of rum from one of the sailors who had passed out. I take a long teuge, enjoying the burning feeling left in my stomach from the liquor. I watch the sunset and listen to the men cracking jokes.
As soon as we see the moon we wake the others. Most of them are drunk or hungover but able to steal something so we leave them be. I wouldn't have many men to go with if we left behind the drunk anyway. We take off on the hike to the small town, the moon climbing the skies with us. By the time we reach the village, most of the noise is gone, though some bars and brothels are still opened, drunk men and women struggling to walk, laughing. They are drunk enough not to notice us. We make our way to the biggest building in the small town, probably the home of the gouverneur or king. It looks royal enough to be property of a king. The building is dark, we break a window and climb into what seems to be the kitchen. "Ruford, Blackstone, Thormond, Earlston and Jack with me, William you go upstairs with the rest, take as much as you can carry in one hand, we might have to fight our way out." I order.
We walk out of the kitchen, when we get to the hallway we split up and William leads the men up the stairs, their boots make vile marks on the velvet red carpet. We take a right, quietly opening a door to what I presume is the guest room. A large heavily decorated twin bed takes up most of the space.  Expensive looking golden vases with full bouquets of flowers decorate the desk. I look through the drawers, nothing more than some wax and a stamp with the crest of the kingdom. On the table are some quills and ink and more wax, this time with a stamp with the crest of the Royal Family of England. We move onto the next room, this time there's a desk and a wall covered with books. I look through the drawers again, they are filled with paper, old letters. In the top one I find a key, it's rusty and old but it has a distinctive shape. I look around the room, looking for something this key might fit in. I go through the books, throwing most of them on the ground, there are some interesting ones about legends of treasure, I take a few and shove them in my bag. When I get to the bottom of the shelf I see a lock hidden behind the books. I shove the key in and it opens, glimmering golden coins streaming out. I shove as much gold into my bag, and gesture to my men to take the rest. We go through the other rooms, not finding much else. A loud noise comes from upstairs, followed by screams and footsteps. I roll my eyes and grab my cutlass and my men do the same. We run to the stairs, it would be best if we could make it out without a fight but I'm not leaving behind my quartermaster, pirate code my bloody arse. I hand my bag over to Ruford and order him to guard the doors with Blackstone. I run up the stairs and take a left. The fight is already coming my way. Blades are clashing like lightning, we're in a bit of a disadvantage. I fight my way to the front, ducking through fights and stopping swords. "Retreat" I yell, the ones at the back of the fight retreat, we bring the fight to the stairs, we're in a bigger disadvantage here because not only are we with less people, they are looking down at us, and if we run too fast we'll fall down the stairs. I make eye contact with William, he gestures towards the crew behind us that we'll hold them off. The crew takes all our stuff and makes a run for it. We reach the bottom of the stairs, I take a vase, which is standing on my right, and throw it in the face of the two guards I'm fighting. They are knocked out and the two men coming on behind them fall over their unconscious bodies. We turn around and run, the streets are empty and we are quite a bit ahead of the guards. We reach the beach and run through the water, I dive, making my way to the ladder hanging from the side of the ship. I put my foot on the ladder and reach my hand out to William, he takes it and the crew hoists us onto the ship. I run to the forecastle, taking place behind the steeringweel. "Lift the anchor!" I shout "Hoist the sails! Let's get out of here!"