The Tale of a Princess Kidnapped by Pirates

Chapter One

It was just another endless day of hard work and torture for Aurora. She wondered if her whole life was going to be the same, until she inevitably died of malnourishment or some dreadful disease. She had soon got used to the rocking seas and crashing waves in her first few months at sea, but she still had not become accustomed to the dirty language and ill treatment she was exposed to under the hands of the pirates. Sometimes she liked to a dream of a life more then cleaning up after diabolical, dirty men, and her hope was the only thing keeping her going.

She remembered being happy and loved once upon a time, but sometimes she could not remember whether they were actual memories or the simple yearning of her lonely heart. No one cared about her enough to even ask her name; she simply responded to 'boy' or 'orphan'. Was she an orphan? She supposed she was, although the fading picture of a beautiful woman she thought was her mother was sealed safely in her mind. She was sure she had sisters and brothers too, and lived in an extravagant castle long ago, but she supposed that might have been a dream as well. Any family she did have she had not seen in almost a decade. She was all alone.

Sighing she dipped her mop back into the bucket of murky water and resumed cleaning. If Garthy or Crossbones (ridiculous names conjured by minds similar to children's Aurora thought) caught her slacking she would be cut out of a meal once again or thrown to the floor with extra jobs to do. She was sure that the pirates believed she was a weak boy as she was quite underweight and lacked the feminine curves she always dreamed of having, and was always dirty - nothing like what a proper lady should be.

One of her past owners Mistress Scarlett taught her how to bind her breasts, which she had got into the habit of doing just in case she was ever exposed. Whenever her hair became too long she made sure to cut it, as she knew she was safer under the pretence of a boy. Now it had grown scraggly and long, so she made sure to twist it up under her headscarf every day, until she could find something sharp to slice it all off with. She hated her life, but she was counting down the days until the ship boarded at the next port, as maybe then she could run away and find a new life on land. From her experiences though, things were never that easy.

Suddenly a chorus of shouts broke out on the top deck, and a torpedo of panicked feet raced above. Aurora sat up onto her knees, trying to make out what was going on. Some of the wooden boards had holes in them, letting pieces of sunlight glint through to the second deck, as well as drops of rain that tinkled melodically as they fell and managed to make everything damp. Fights were a daily occurrence, some ending brutally, so Aurora was used to those, but this seemed different... the pirates sounded panicked, and that only happened when they were under attack. Cold fear swept through Aurora as a number of pirates hurried down the rickety steps, yelling out instructions such as getting the cannons ready. Shakily she stood up, wiping her blackened hands on the front of her once white baggy tunic, when Smithy, the Captains second in command noticed her standing idly in the dining room.

"What are ye doin' in 'ere boy? Find yeself some use." He snarled as he grabbed her left arm roughly and dragged her out the room. "Help set up the cannons boy and pray to ye Gods, we under attack by the King's navy, and we goin' a need all the luck we can get." Smithy revealed with a gleam of unease in his eyes as he gave Aurora one last shove towards the weapons room.

Men with swords and gunpowder hurried past Aurora on all sides, and she felt her anxiety rising with each breath. Pirates are naturally confident, arrogantly so, so for Smithy to look so worried then there was obviously a high chance that they could lose, and the Kings navy were not known for taking survivors. Maybe this was it, and Aurora's pitiful life would be cut short there. At least she would no longer feel the pain of a gnawing belly or blackened body. She had been lucky to keep her life so far, as with each new takeover she was viewed as a harmless slave, used to do all the horrible jobs no one else wanted to do with no pay.