A Pirate's Love

Captain Blacksmoke

Jake's POV:

After an afternoon of doing absolutely nothing but drinking and sharpening swords, I sat at a table in the corner of the room, observing my crew members as they drank and played cards. Smith, my first mate, came to my table with two pints of ale as I propped up my legs on one of the stools and leaned back. I lit my pipe as Smith clumsily spilled most of the ale all over the table.

"Careful, Smith, or I'll cut your toes off," I said coldly in a low voice, with the pipe between my teeth. I quickly shook the match in my hand to put it out.

"I'll slice your throat out, Cap'in, if you cut my toes. My Martha likes 'em an' it would be a shame if they were to go," he snapped back, and made direct eye contact with the one eye he had left.

We stared at each other for a moment in silent seriousness before breaking out in the same tone of laughter in unison. I clapped him on the shoulder as he sat on a stool next to me. Taking a large gulp from the pint he brought me and setting it back down, we observed the men breaking into an argument over cheating in cards.

"Cap'in, if I may," he asked for permission and I gave him a subtle nod, still keeping my eyes on the crew. He continued, "Crow been on the look out to-day and saw trees burnin' towards the sout' of the island. Gov'ner's land burnin' up, and by looks of it, he says, could be Dan Deranged and his men," his tone became slightly nervous as I raised an eyebrow, showing no other emotion.

"Gov'ner's business is Gov'ner's business," I answered bitterly, taking another swig of ale and a puff of smoke.

He nodded and continued, "Also, Cap'in," he paused as I took another gulp, "our rum supply is almost out." I suddenly choked on my drink and saw him wince out of the corner of my eye. Slamming my fist on the table, I coughed up the swill that hit the back of my throat, making it burn and my eyes water. All the men looked in my direction as I made a sudden pause, then let out a large belch. They all laughed, cheered, and clinked glasses together, continuing with their games. I raised my pipe to them with a grin and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

Turning to Smith in a hushed voice, "Are the men aware?" I asked.

"No, Cap'in. Not as far as I know." His sincerity calmed my nerves.

"We'll just have to get more." I stated, calmly

"But where?" Smith asked.

*BANG*

The door to our cabin flew open and hit the wall, which made all of us jump out of our seats and stand with pistols pointing towards the target. A young man, tall in stature, yet with the face of a boy, clambered into the doorway. Out of breath, yet trying to speak, he collapsed on the floor from lack of air to his lungs. I jumped into action.

"Alright boys, calm down. Get him on the table here," I motioned to one of the tables in the center of the room, to which some of the men slid all of their poker chips onto the floor. The boy was sweaty and weak, unconscious and cold to the touch. "Get him some whiskey," I commanded the men. Crow came forward and handed it to me. I shot my daggering eyes into his and asked, "Were you aware he was here?"

"No, Cap'in," he cowered in his place.

"Clumsy fool," I muttered, but knew he was telling the truth. I pulled the cork off of the whiskey bottle with my teeth and brought it to the boy's lips. I saw him swallow and instantly his face grimaced at the strong drink. He started coughing and rolled to his side before sitting up. Instantly I grabbed his neck, loaded and pointed my pistol at his chest, and he shot his hands in the air in defense.

"Alright, boy, who are you and how did you get here?" I yelled under gritted teeth and a firm tone.

"Sam, sir," he answered, genuinely. I gripped his throat tighter and he flinched, "I come from the house of the governor. I'm looking for Captain Blacksmoke on errand." His hands started shaking and he closed his eyelids shut. I released his throat so he could breathe, but kept my pistol planted firmly on his chest.

"What errand?" I asked coldly.

"Safe passage of the governor's daughter to England, sir." All the men in the room started whispering amongst themselves. I could tell what they were thinking. With the governor's home set ablaze and no safe passage from the guard, this truly was the work of Dan Deranged. No doubt the militia were all gone. Killed. This was unsafe.
"Sir, we would have to leave as soon as possible. If I could just speak with Blacksmoke—"

"Captain Blacksmoke. And with he, ye are speaking with, sir," I mocked. His eyes widened.

"Captain Blacksmoke, my apologies—"

"What's in it for me?" I cut him off. The men mumbled amongst themselves. I ignored it.

"A reward, from the governor himself," he stated plainly, now confident to make eye contact, "and a handsome one at that."
I stared through him in concentration, my mind racing with too many thoughts. This could be my big break. The men would be on their own, but this could be it.

"Agreed," I unloaded and lowered my pistol, placing it back in my belt. "Men, to the ship!" I commanded, while making my way to my former place at the corner of the cabin. Smith followed close behind me, putting a hand on my shoulder to turn me around.

"Jake," he sighed, "It won't be the same for ye if he lets ye back. He might as well have yer head if he wanted. You know that. It won't be the same. Not to mention putting the men at the risk of Dan Deranged." He shook his head in worry. I put both of my hands on his shoulders and patted them roughly as a smile spread across my face.

"Looks like we're getting rum in England, Smith. Prepare the men to set sail. I'll go with the boy to get the girl." With that he gave a mumbled 'Aye, Cap'in,' and I took one last swig of ale to numb my own worry before walking towards the boy.
"Take me to her," I commanded. He nodded in agreement.

"We'll have to hurry, she's on the south side of the island." He said as he raced out the door.
I put on my jacket and scoffed as I ran after him. Of course he couldn't bring her any closer to where we were. Of course. 'Well we are a band of bloody pirates,' I thought to myself sarcastically, 'don't blame 'im.'

We rushed through bush after bush, tree after tree, climbed rock after rock, all the way to the other side of the island. The boy, Sam, was relentless and fast as a deer, I could barely keep up. Still, I trailed behind him as fast as I could until we reached a steep cliff of boulders. I scoffed in annoyance.

"It's just up these rocks!" he exclaimed.
We climbed for a minute before reaching a small lagoon, with a small waterfall coming down. I had never known this was here before, and wondered if Crow or any of my other men knew of its existence. We walked around the lagoon on a path of stone, up to the base of the waterfall. Now just after dusk and the stars starting to shine, I looked out into the distance and saw the flickering of torches on the southern shore. My stomach dropped. Those were not my men.

"ELENOR," Sam yelled above the sound of the waterfall, "Elenor, it's Sam! I've come back with help. I'm coming in!" He drove straight into the waterfall. Confused at first, I followed after him through the waterfall, and into a small cave. I muttered under my breath at my now sopping wet clothes, shaking the excess water off. Eventually, I looked around the cave.

In the corner of the cave was a small girl, huddled with her knees to her chest, sitting next to a smoldering fire in nothing but a nightgown. She looked up at us carefully, her dirty, red cheeks stained with tears, her green eyes blazing directly into my soul. My heart stopped. In that moment I knew those damned green eyes would be the death of me.