New Horizons (A Pirate Story)

Chapter 14: Old Friends

Astryd's heart dropped when she looked up at the flag the ship was flying.

They were Esterbell privateers.

Not exactly pirates, but close enough. Privateers were pirates with permission. They were hired by a kingdom to seize ships and collect their bounty. The kingdom received most of the goods, and the privateers got to keep the rest in addition to having the protection of the kingdom they were hired by.

Bancroft, Esterbell's king, had many privateers. It was one of his largest assets, hiring men to steal and acquire wealth for him on the high seas. Not to mention Astryd's face was no doubt plastered on every Esterbell building.

I'm doomed.

Kincade didn't seem to object too much when the neighboring ship lowered a gangplank, but that didn't stop him from being unbelievably tense. He was stiff as a board with his fists and jaw clenched.

Only one man crossed the gangplank onto the Crescent, the man in the oversized hat. He strutted across the narrow board with an air of confidence.

"Thomas!" the man said cheerfully with a loud voice that carried across the ship and with his arms wide as he stepped onto the Crescent. But Astryd could sense the man was far from being sincere.

"Don't call me that, Privateer," Kincade sneered.

"Are we not on a first name basis anymore, Thomas?" the man placed a palm to his chest and feigned hurt.

He was handsome. Astryd couldn't deny it herself. He had a strong jaw and raised cheekbones with charcoal hair that fell into his eyes. But Astryd could also sense that the man was well aware of his good looks, and his cocky attitude was what made him unattractive.

"Fine, James," Kincade spat, "what do you want?"

"Well, I couldn't help but notice you left Kirkwall in quite a hurry. I wondered if you were carrying some special cargo I should return to the king. You remember those good ol' days, don't you?"

"I've made my position with Bancroft quite clear. Those days are long gone."

"I can see that." The privateer looked around the ship distastefully. "But, nonetheless," he sighed, "I'll be taking your cargo now."

Astryd shook with fury. In a swift move, she charged for the man called James while removing her cutlass from it's sheath and pressing it to the man's neck. She noticed many of Kincade's men followed her lead and pointed their pistols at the arrogant man's head.

The privateer chuckled. "You've got a feisty one, haven't you, Thomas?"

"Slither back to your ship, you snake," Astryd spat.

In the corner of her eye, Astryd noticed Kincade cover his face with his hand and shook his head.

"As you see, now we have a predicament," said James, seemingly unfazed that he had a blade pressed to his neck. "I have a quota to fill, and Bancroft isn't a very patient man." The privateer did a double take and stared intently at Astryd.

"Lads," James called over his shoulder to his crew, "it looks like we'll be heading back to Esterbell early. The king will be very happy when we return to him the most wanted woman in the kingdom."

Astryd's stomach plummeted to the floor. How could she have been so careless? Now everyone knew. She couldn't bring herself to look at Carmen's or Tom's reaction.

James's men cheered and roared. With a battle cry, they charged the ship, swinging from grappling hooks and crossing the gangplank.

They were moving too fast. There was no way to stop them all from boarding the Crescent.

They came like a swarm of angry animals. They climbed the ropes and crawled over the railings. Astryd could see it in their eyes: they were out for blood.

Now that the Crescent's crew was no longer focused on James, the privateer reached for his scabbard and pulled out a long sword. It was thin and agile but stronger than a spadroon. Astryd took a step back and raised her cutlass high. Before she could bring it down on the man, James made a move to cut at her side. Astryd yelped and leapt backwards. Her heel slammed into a crate, and she toppled backwards, dropping her cutlass in the process. The crates filled with cannonballs tumbled down onto her left leg, and Astryd let out a scream. James waltzed over to her as she tried to scramble to her feet, and he picked up her cutlass. The privateer examined it for a moment while men moved and clashed swords around him.

"Hmm," James remarked, "nice sword."

With a smug grin, the privateer raised his sword high and held it like a dagger ready to be brought down on Astryd's stomach. Astryd tried to move, but her foot was caught under the fallen crates.

There was a sparkle in the man's eye as he prepared to force the sword through her middle, but the blow never came. As fast as cannon fire, the sword was knocked from the privateer's hands. Astryd's ears rung from the sound of a gunshot, and she turned her head to see who took the shot. Carmen was standing ten feet away with her pistol still raised.

"Don't. You. Dare," she spat.

Astryd had never seen Carmen angry, but she was frightening with her scowl and weapon aimed at the privateer.

James glanced at his fallen sword. There was a hole through the blade. He chuckled. "You missed."

"That's where you're wrong." Carmen pulled out her sword with her free hand and swung at the privateer's head with all her might, and James blocked it with Astryd's sword. They stood inches from each other with their swords scraping against one another. "I wanted to be close enough to see the light leave your eyes when I kill you."

James let out a hearty laugh. "You won't kill me, woman."

Carmen didn't satisfy him with a response. Instead, she let out a battle cry and forced their swords apart. Then they both disappeared into the crowd as they fought each other.

With James gone, Astryd's attention returned to her leg, and she felt a burning pain in her ankle. She gripped her leg and winced.

Must be broken, she decided.

Using what little strength she had in her upper arms, she tried to haul the crates of cannonballs off of her, but she did not have the strength to do it on her own from her compromised position.

"Tom!" she called. "Anybody!"

Suddenly, she noticed a pair of dark calloused hands grip one of the crates and lift it with little effort. She looked up and was met with Morgan's chocolate brown eyes. He nodded once and set the crate aside and then proceeded to move the rest of the crates.

"Thank you," Astryd breathed once Morgan gently helped Astryd to her feet.

Astryd winced again and did her best to take the pressure off her left ankle. Morgan stood next to her with his arms out, ready to catch her should she fall.

"I'm all right." Astryd waved him off. "Go help Tom with the cannons. Don't worry about me." She looked over and saw Tom scrambling back and forth between the cannons facing the privateer's ship, trying to keep them loaded as the cannons were being fired off.

Astryd knew she couldn't fight in her condition. All she could do now was take cover. But the closest hiding spot was across the ship in Kincade's cabin, and she wasn't sure she would make it across alive.

AN:

I'm really excited to be finally showing you all more about Kincade's past! Are you surprised? Or did you see it coming?

I've made a couple changes to the original plot (thanks to my amazing sis and editor Meagan Nicole (She does freelance editing *wink**wink*)) that I think will help move things along. So I doubt the next chapter will happen like you expect it to. ;)

What do you think is going to happen next? I'd love to hear your predictions!