Pirate's Life For Me....

Far and Wide Pt. 1

  Captain Vane was sword fighting with one of his men as the rest of us watched. The two seemed to be having a bit of fun as they grinned, and I leaned on a brick wall with my arms crossed over my chest. Vane, like usual, was kicking the other man's ass without beating him down all at once. It felt like he was frankly going easy on the crew member, especially since he could down three men while in a rum and opium haze within seconds.

  Vane punched the other man, and he fell into where the chickens were kept. They clucked and fluttered at the sudden invader, and he pulled back while grabbing someone's scarf that sat out. He threw it in Vane's face and swung his sword. The captain was quick and leaned out of the way, then ducked under the next swing.

  Holding the scarf, Vane wrapped the ends of it around his fists after dropping his cutlass. The dust that had been kicked up was settling before the other man went at the captain again. Vane stepped out of the way of the sword, but then brought out his arm and struck his crew member in the throat, sending him to the ground as the others chuckled.

  "Almost took my fucking head off." Vane turned to the man on the ground as his men laughed. The captain smiled, but his face fell as he looked to the entrance of the fort. Glancing to where he was looking, my lip twitched up into a snarl as Ned Low was walking towards Vane.

  The captain looked displeased, but kept his face firm as Low sat at a table and Vane washed his hands and face in a bucket of water. I couldn't hear what Low was saying from where I was and only watched as Vane took a seat across from the other man and said something back. As a precaution, I pulled one of my knives and kept it in my hand.

  So as not to seem on edge if one of the other men saw me, I nonchalantly fiddled with the blade while keeping an eye on the captain and Low as they spoke. I didn't like anything about Ned Low, he was like an eel or a snake, and just seeing him made my shoulders tense. Vane's face was unchanging as they spoke about whatever, but at one point, Low reached into his pocket.

  I just reacted, throwing my knife when I saw his hand reaching over the table to Vane. The blade buried itself into the wooden table right next to Low's hand as he was setting something down. Both men looked to the knife, and there was a twitch of a smirk on Vane's face while Low looked up in the direction it had come from.

  "I had heard you are the Black Angel." Low glanced at the knife while tapping the hilt with his finger. "It seems the stories of your accuracy are not based on myth. Do you know what I also heard?" He smirked at me, and I snatched up my knife from the table. "You're a devil with your loyalties won by a deal. Is that true? And if so, what could I offer to have you as a part of my crew?"

  "What's that?" Vane cut in, bringing the other pirate's attention back to the thing he had set down before. It looked like a small bag of money bound in leather, and Low rose from his seat.

  "Tribute." He smiled. "And the respect of my crew. 10% of our most recent haul." Vane picked up the money while looking at it. "Would have been a little heavier, only she taxed us over the state of the containers." Low gave a short nod to the captain before turning to walk away, but he sent a smirk and a wink in my direction before leaving.

  Not hiding how I cringed in disgust, Vane tossed the money back onto the table as he frowned.

  "Seems Mr. Low has taken quite the interest in you, Deana." The captain's lieutenant smiled at me while raising his brows.

  "Speak of it again, and I'll gut you with the pigs we have for dinner." I snarled, shutting him up as he simply chuckled.

~

  Following Vane into the brothel, one of the whores was in the way, and he just bumped right past her.

  "Rude." I said under my breath.