KingSweet

Born to be a Pirate

        I knew I was back before I opened my eyes; I could taste the sea salt in the breeze, feel the soft earth between my toes.  I sat up and opened my eyes slowly, glancing around the small rock-strewn clearing to check that I was alone.  Last year, this clearing had been at the edge of the great field that bordered every captain’s camp.  Now it was set back in the forest, a beaten trail leading up to the Griffon’s city. 

                I stood and stretched, comforted by the familiar weight of my weapons.  The Queenblade at my hip, the enchanted stiletto blade tucked against my ribs, and the heavy Kingblade between my shoulders.  I circled around the boulder, leaning against its side as I drank in the sight of the port city.  From this distance, it looked sleepy, almost peaceful.

                But I knew the truth of it.  Every detail of the Griffon’s city was etched upon my heart, the narrow streets designed for ambush, the false panels perfect for secrecy.  It was paradise for a pirate, while remaining bright and open in a way that would one day lure honest merchants from the South.  The buildings were tall without towering, three stories and joined side by side by side as they lined the winding cobbled streets.  The ocean could be seen from every rooftop, as could the great compound that housed the Conclave, and the smaller keep in which my crew and I kept our quarters. 

                Without visitors however, the pirates had fallen to squabbling over territory.  Faded flags and mis-matched strips of cloth were tied to doorknobs and woven through shutters as markers.  My crew had laid claim to the beautiful FlashFire, the only sea worthy ship currently moored at the docks. My flag flew from her mainmast, but even so she was attacked.  We had defended her three times already, and that was before summer, before the turn of the year.

                That would change this year, I knew.  I’d take my crew to plunder the riches of the East and terrorize the South into building a new fleet for my pirates.  I longed for those days to come, when the streets of the Griffon’s city would bustle with more than pirates, shops would open, and the treasures we had guarded for decades would be traded for new trinkets, if only so we could steal them back later.  Then my city would be complete, my jewel in the west, my home.

                Clearing my head of dreams for the moment, I started toward the city, but movement in the corner of my eye stopped me.  Another pirate was entering the game.  A smarter captain would have continued on her way, but I stayed to watch.  The pirate, a girl, materialized before me, flickering in and out of existence for a few seconds before solidifying into something real.  I stepped toward her cautiously, she seemed frustratingly familiar, but I didn’t recognize her.

                The girl had dark brown hair that easily fell midway down her back, and every member of Carnie’s crew had hair above their shoulders.  Carnie herself had aged out, so she would not be returning.  Despite the logic, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I knew her.  I took another slow step toward the unconscious figure.

                She looked to be roughly my height, and was made of muscle in a way that didn’t sacrifice her figure.  The shirt she was wearing had a right sleeve but not a left, leaving her tattoo exposed to the world.  Her mark was a tarred black cannon fuse, curved into an “S” shape, with the top end of the fuse already lit and sparking in a cartoonish way.  Yet what was interesting wasn’t the mark itself, but the skin around it.  In a perfect square around the “S”, her skin was the pale pink of a burn scar. 

The girl’s eyes snapped open and she jumped to her feet, drawing her dagger reflexively.

                “Who are you?” she demanded, amber eyes aglow in warning.