Soulmates - The Last Line

The pirate captain (part 1)

Note: TW: this part of the chapter mentions pedophilia and the unwanted advances of an older man toward a younger girl. Everything is very brief but still there. If you do not wish to read that, skip the part where Anna explains why she tried to leave Bombay.

The ship was moving side to side, pushed by the waves. They had luck today. The water wasn't too choppy. The rope she was holding onto has had better days. It was heavy, burning her palm, but it gave her some sense of security. She was grounded. The sun was burning everything on its way. Her hat felt like it was on fire. A few drops of sweat were running down her forehead. She reached out to wipe them off with her right hand. Wearing a thin shirt, she could feel the breeze cooling down her body. Thank God there was the wind. They would have needed to get away fast if they didn't want anyone to tail them. She looked down at her boots. Everything was wet. Jumping in the water was a bad idea, but then again it wasn't her fault the orlop was full of it. At first, she thought someone shot a cannon by mistake and blew a hole in the ship, then a few of her crewmates admitted to getting piss drunk and making a competition on who's going to pull out more water with a bucket and a rope. They kept emptying the buckets on board, so naturally, she had to get them punished.

Her pants were briny and heavy, making her cold for no reason. She was just hoping they'd dry in the sun before the ship had to start moving. The night would hit in a few hours. They needed to get far from the main port. Bombay was like a nest full of snakes at the moment. The snakes being the Britishers. Ever since they took rule over the territory a few years ago, everything changed.

"Captain!" - someone yelled and made her turn around, "We finished getting the booty. Do we set it ablaze?" The crew member said, pointing at something behind her.

She turned around and saw a big white-painted ship with a British jack.

"We can't let them know where we are. With all this loot, we'll be too heavy to move fast. We need an easy escape..." she said, then took a deep breath and added "Get their boats, then sink it. But be on the lookout. We don't need company"

"Aye," said the crew member and ran past her.

Plundering and pillaging were not the best way to obtain everything she needed but were necessary for her crew's survival. Sometimes they had to fight tough battles. Food and rum were never enough, especially if they had to run and spend most of their time off land. She knew that everyone recognized their ship at this moment. The "White flower" - their reputation has preceded them. This was both a good and a bad thing. It was good because not a lot of people dared to cross them nowadays, even if there were targets on their heads, 200 pieces of gold for each crew member, 1000 - for hers - dead or alive. And that was a lot of money. Bad was because everyone knew how their ship looked, which still made it an easy target. The British were always hot on their tails, hence why she felt the need to attack more of their ships.

"Captain!" a young woman yelled, then got closer "What do we do with the prisoners?"

"How many .." she asked still looking at the horizon.

"42 crew members, one captain"

" Keep them in the hold. Reinforce the cages... Bring the captain to my cabin."

"Aye aye, captain "

She crossed the deck and climbed the ladder, heading towards her private quarters. It was a common practice to kill the prisoners or to sell them at the next port the ship arrives at, but she wasn't very attached to the practice. She knew that most women would get sold as slaves at local pubs and taverns, and knowing how they'd get treated, she knew they'd be better off dead. The men were usually branded, flogged, and kept as slaves, still not a great fate. She hated dealing with prisoners, so she usually just let them go after she was done taking their cargo. It became one of her signature moves. She'd put them on boats and give them a fair chance of survival if they managed to get back to shore.