Freedom's Horizon (WLW)

Part One: Chapter Two

October 1674, The Caribbean Sea, Onboard Midnight Scarlet, Main Deck

"Set sail! Continue onward to Tortuga! We shall be upon Francisco in a matter of days, mates! Then, his head is ours!" The crew cheered along with Esme as she watched Dawn carry the frail woman away.

Aimee... She repeated, thinking it had a nice ring to it. In all her days, she'd never met an Aimee. At least, not that she could recall. Esme glanced out at the vast sea before them and grumbled under her breath, thinking, A devil was chasing you indeed, Captain Francisco. And this devil will catch up to and punish you very soon. She turned to the quartermaster, Felipe, and smiled as he held out her axe's handle. Esme took it and placed it at her hip in its resting place, then turned to her crew who worked to get moving along.

Lifting her head a bit into the air, she took the seabreeze scent into her nostrils and noticed something else with a heavy heart. Turning her head to the side, she spotted dark clouds approaching and sent a nod toward the cabin boy. He quickly began to scale the main shrouds to the crow's nest and took up his perch as Esme glanced back toward her crew.

"Look lively! A storm is headed our way!" She called as she rested her hands along the banister. "We must make haste!"

The crew aye-ayed and kept up their work with a quickened pace. They would make Tortuga in a matter of fourteen days, much faster than most ships did at this range, due to the crew's excellent sailing and the lightness to Esme's craft.

Never one to revel over things like gold, the chest carrying their booty wasn't very full. Nor were the cargo holds, which made Tortuga even more of a necessity. Many of her crew knew why this was and all who joined also knew the cost of sailing with her. She wasn't a pirate out for money or fame. She was a pirate out for revenge, if one could even call her such a sailor. A pirate... Esme shook her head with a smirk.

Her crew were those who had either been saved by her and helped in their vengeance from afar, or those who went to her for help in seeking the recipient of their rage and wanted the blood on their own hands. None regretted joining. None complained. They sought vengeance on those who had wronged them and pillaged ships in search of them all.

Take their quartermaster for example.

Felipe was Esme's oldest and dearest friend. The man who helped her set sail from that mysterious island so many years ago and was her ultimate right hand. He most likely would be forever as he was the only living being to know each and every one of her secrets. She'd also been accompanied by a woman back when they first voyaged the seas, but she was no more and they were no longer on their island. They hadn't lived there for years upon years, too many to count, and the sea had become home to not only them, but the rest of the crew as well.

Their next stop would be Tortuga.

At one point, Esme could have also called it home, but now it was just a place to stock up on fresh food for their adventures and that time had long since passed. In fact, she couldn't even recall when exactly that time was, but she knew it was best left behind with the odd feeling it situated in her gut. Just like the ephemeral, she decided to leave well enough alone and the present and future her primary focus.

Regardless, even if they didn't carry a large amount of money, Esme always made sure they'd have enough to split between the crew and herself so they could all enjoy in the plunders hard ground had to offer.

Her crew came from all over and some didn't even speak English, but that wasn't her first language either and being able to speak Spanish, French and Creole with most of her crew made her feel more at peace during their long voyages. As did the sea. It had been quite some time since they last set foot on dry land and Tortuga held more than just vengeance for herself.