SOUTH ATLANTIC, SEPTEMBER 1694
As Long Shadow sailed in company with Britannia, a thought came to her. "I'll need a crew." She said as the pair tacked to the northwest, taking advantage of the tropical tradewinds and staying close to the African coast to avoid the doldrums.
"I think I know just the place to find one." Britannia said.
Her tone caught Long Shadow's attention and when she looked at her, Britannia's eyes were sparkling with mischief. Long Shadow looked at her mentor with a sly grin. "Tortuga?" She guessed.
Britannia smiled back. "Tortuga."
Britannia sailed into Tortuga with Long Shadow right behind her. Several ships paused to stare at the huge ship of the line and the three masted Dutch fluyt. A few, probably former British sloops and brigs, actually saluted.
"As you were." Britannia rumbled gently. She sailed in to the dock closest to the pub known as the Faithful Bride. Long Shadow joined her there, looking around fascinated at the activity. As much as Tortuga had the reputation for being a port for scallywags, and it was most certainly deserved, it was also very organized. In some ways, it reminded her of Amsterdam.
Thinking of home, made Long Shadow think of her sister. By now Moonlach would have heard of her supposed "loss".
"Now Vandecker can go ashore and find some crew. This is the best place to do it." Britannia said, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"And us?" Long Shadow asked. She was going to take Britannia's offered distraction and run with it. It beat beating herself up for breaking her promise.
"You're going to stay here out of trouble. I have to speak to the Pirate Queens, well the ones who are here anyway." Britannia replied.
"Me, trouble?!" Long Shadow asked innocently. "Also, Pirate Queens?"
Britannia's eyes narrowed. "Yes you." She retorted. "You're a magnet for it, whether you realize it or not. And not all pirates fit the stereotype. This bunch have a hierarchy not to dissimilar from a navy's."
Long Shadow sighed. "Yes Britannia." She agreed and the old sailing ship sailed off.
Long Shadow settled down to view the sights of Tortuga. It most certainly wasn't that bad of a town. In fact, it was quite a nice little place. Ships entered and exited the busy harbor and the streets were filled with drunken and drinking people. The woman sat on barrels, a bottle of rum in each hand, chugging away and cooing enticingly at every male in sight.
The boys on the other hand, were rather enjoying themselves either in a drinking contest or if someone did something to piss them off and with a drunken pirate that didn't take much, they'd draw out their swords and start slicing away at each other.
Long Shadow found she didn't mind the intoxicated that much. They stayed clear of her dock, keeping their jolly good time well away from her which was fine. She didn't mind. It wasn't like she could party like a pirate anyway. Nearby a few ships were joining in on the fun. Long Shadow watched them curiously, eager to learn as much as she could.
One, a little sloop, noticed her. "Hey, miss. You wanna join in?" She asked.
"What are you playing?" Long Shadow asked.
"It's called dice. It's a human game but it's a fun one." She replied. "What you do, is you have all the players make a bet on what the dice are gonna turn up as. The one who guesses the closest, wins. But we all have to make a wager."
"And what's the wager?" Long Shadow asked.
"Right now, we're wagering to see who's gonna go and pester Britannia." She replied.
YOU ARE READING
The Founding Sisters #1 The Damned
General FictionRedoing my original and tying it in with the main series. We go back to the beginning, before the founding of the United States. Several ships were key players in this founding and this is their story.
