Gold

On Deck

Aurelia scrambled to find the ship's captain while Lucas tailed behind her in shock.

"What? Pirates?" He gasped.

"Yes, Lucas, pirates. We've got to warn the captain." Aurelia said.

"Tell me what, Miss?" The captain wondered from behind them. He too was up and on deck. He was a tall man with curly auburn hair and a bit of stubble. He was up and dressed.

"There are pirates on the horizon, Captain!" Aurelia exclaimed, handing Captain Iric the telescope. He declined looking in it by holding up his hand.

"I saw. I was just about to alert my crew. Miss Aurelia, please escort the prince to a safer area. Our top priority is his safety." Iric announced.

"What? But I must stay up here. Everyone's safety is a priority." Lucas argued.

"The Red Skulls are on the horizon. They would like to capture you, your highness. They take prisoners." Captain Iric stated.

"He's right, Luke. They won't be as concerned with the rest of us if they discover you're here." Aurelia told him. Lucas didn't know what to say to argue back.

The pirates' ship drew closer and closer as the crew of The Majesty began to awake. They still didn't have too much time to prepare.

The other ship launched their canons as they noticed that the crew of The Majesty were awake. They missed but caught The Majesty's attention. The pirates had been planning on sneaking on board, but used the temporary distraction to get closer until the ships were right next to each other. Swinging on ropes the Red Skulls crossed the gap between ships.

"Oh no!" Aurelia whispered. They hadn't prepared in time and now pirates were on board.

"Alright, boys, you know what to do!" The Red Skulls' Captain boomed.

"Lucas!" Aurelia pulled the prince behind a collection of barrels.

"What are we going to do?" He wondered.

"I'm thinking!" Aurelia told him. She took a moment to think. Her uncle had been a sailor before he died. She remembered hearing legends and tales from him when she was young. "Perhaps... Have you ever heard of the Scarlet Lady?" Aurelia wondered.

Lucas shook his head. "No, what does that have to do with anything?"

"It's an old sea tale. Legend says that a young woman was taken prisoner by a pirate captain but she was in love with someone else. She hated the pirate who forced her to be his bride. One day in an act of anger he stabbed her. The wound didn't kill her quick enough and so seeing how much she hated her life on the ship she threw herself overboard." Aurelia told Lucas.

The prince still looked confused. "Are you suggesting that we throw ourselves overboard because honestly that sounds like an awful idea."

"No of course not! The Scarlet Lady cursed the pirates who had led her to kill herself. Now she's a spirit who travels the sea. Legend says that if you see a woman in a blood stained nightgown you'll be the next to die. Pirates are only scared of one thing: her. If we can just convinced the Pirates that there be ghosts here, they'll leave for sure!" Aurelia explained.

"Understood but how are we going to do that?" Lucas asked.

"I might have an idea..." Aurelia stated.