A/N
Fan made cover by yaboisoybean. If any of you guys are interested in making fan art/fan covers/banners, etc. send me a DM and I'd be happy to include them in my upcoming chapters!
Thanks,
-Mora Montgomery
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Eight. There were eight members of Wesley's crew that would live to see another day. It was barely enough to effectively sail the ship, especially with the damaged hull, but Wesley knew they would manage to get to a harbor somehow. They were strong. They would make it out of this.
Wesley watched solemnly as the enemy crew hauled up crate after crate of silk from the hold. He felt helpless as he watched them drain the ship of anything valuable they could find. They even dredged up a few things from his personal quarters, including a decorative elephant tusk he had been gifted on a voyage to the Dunes of Ral and the jewel encrusted scabbard he'd won in a bet against Conrad the Conqueror the previous year.
Once Valentine got bored of watching his crew work, he took Wesley's arm and pulled him towards the gangway plank bridging the gap between their ships.
"Let's go," he said, pushing the merchant captain onto the plank in front of him.
Wesley walked across to the pirate vessel carefully, and once his boots hit the deck, Valentine grabbed ahold of his arm again and began to steer him to the aft part of the ship.
They climbed the stairs to the quarterdeck. After walking across it, Wesley was pushed through a door leading into the sterncastle. Wesley heard Valentine slam the door shut behind them, and after looking around, he deduced that they were in the captain's quarters now.
There was a large four poster bed with a crimson canopy and matching bedspread bolted down on one side of the room. In the middle of the room was a large intricately carved table with numerous expensive looking upholstered chairs surrounding it. Against the opposite wall as the bed, there was a large mahogany desk with what looked like an open captain's log on top of it. The back wall was almost all windows that stared out into the black night.
"Sit," Valentine commanded, gesturing towards one of the plush chairs at the table.
Wesley sank down into it, gazing up at the pirate captain expectantly.
The man looked Wesley up and down with his cold, calculating lavender eyes.
"Do you have any weapons on you right now?" he asked.
Wesley had a pistol in his belt, but hadn't been able to use it during the chaos. He had sacrificed the last of his bullets to his crew members, specifically to those who wouldn't have stood any chance with only their shite, sloppy swordsmanship to protect themselves.
Wesley freed the pistol and placed it carefully on the table before him before looking up at the pirate expectantly.
"Anything else?"
"No," Wesley replied.
"If you're lying, I'll rip your fingernails off one by one."
"I'm not."
Valentine nodded, picking up the pistol and examining it briefly before tucking it into his own waistband.
"Good," he said, walking closer. He leaned over Wesley, supporting his weight by putting his arm on the back of the chair. "Now let's go over a few things. You belong to me now. You are a captive, not a captain, so don't think for a second that you hold any power here. You will not disobey me. You will not disrespect me. You will not lie to me. If you do, I will not hesitate to punish you in whatever way I see fit."
Given his previous threat, Wesley worried his own imagination might not be colorful enough to anticipate what the man's punishments might entail. Regardless, he wasn't too keen on finding out.
"Do you understand?" Valentine asked.
"Aye, Captain," Wesley responded, avoiding eye contact.
"Excellent," he straightened. "Now, you are going to stay here while I oversee the transfer of cargo onto my ship. If you are not here when I return, you better start praying to your gods that I show you mercy."
"Aye, Captain," he said again, watching the man turn towards the door. Then a thought crossed his mind. "Wait."
"What?" Valentine seemed annoyed as he turned back to face him.
"How do I know you're not going to slaughter my crew now that they are beyond my view?"
Valentine shot the man a grin that did nothing to ease his worries. "I guess you're just going to have to trust me."
Wesley stood from his seat, walking up to the pirate captain with no fear for himself in his heart.
"If you hurt them..."
"You have my word that they will not be harmed."
"The word of a pirate means nothing to me," Wesley spat. "You have no honor."
Valentine leaned in slightly, an amused smirk crossing his face as he looked into the swirling blue eyes of his captive. "My word is the only thing you can trust now, Wesley. I suggest you start doing so."
Wesley frowned, glaring at the man as he pulled open the door and left without another word. His eyes lingered on the door handle, briefly contemplating an escape before the pirate's threats replayed in his head.
Besides, where would he go?
To his grave, most likely.
Unsure of what to do next, but knowing it couldn't be that, Wesley heaved a heavy sigh and collapsed back into the upholstered chair. He watched the flames in the oil lamp on the table flicker softly as he strained his ears to hear what was happening outside. Unfortunately, he couldn't make out many sounds, apart from the occasional shouting of unintelligible orders across the ship.
He debated looking around for any weapons the pirate may have hidden in the room, but quickly came to the conclusion that Valentine would beat him even if he managed to take him by surprise and the whole ordeal would likely end with a few missing fingernails. Shuddering, Wesley decided against it, opting instead to close his eyes and try to get a few moments of rest before the pirate captain returned. He would need all of his strength to deal with the man.
The gentle sway of the ship gradually lulled Wesley to sleep, though his dreams were haunted by the faces of his fallen crew members and the vile pirate captain.
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A/N
Where are you from? I'm living in Minnesota, USA!
Next update Sunday! See you then!
-Mora Montgomery
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Useful Terminology:
Aft - the back
Hold - a level of the ship below deck that houses the ship's cargo
Hull - the outer shell of the ship
Quarterdeck - a level of the deck that is higher than the main deck, but lower than the sterncastle
Sterncastle - that raised up part on the back of pirate ships that usually has a couple of rooms inside it.
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YOU ARE READING
Dark Waters Rising
Fantasy"Very good, Wesley," he breathed, the warm air fanning across the merchant captain's face. "Now I suggest you listen closely because I don't do this very often." Wesley curiosity grew, though he kept a healthy degree of skepticism as he listened to...
