Sham of the Sea

Chapter 35

"Did you hear? In Magden, there was some mighty pirate found!"

"Horrible, these criminals! Are they that close again? What is the navy doing?!"

"She did not attack or anything! Rather I think she was attacked! They say she fled the town before they could capture her, but she seemed quite weak."

"Are you sure? So she is still out there without being restrained? That's even worse!"

"Good evening, ladies. What's the commotion about? Can I get you something?"

"Oh, sure, yes. The three-grain one, please, yes, that one. We were talking about that pirate who has been found in Magden. Rumour has it that it's the Pirate Queen."

"The Pirate Queen, huh? How far is it to Magden by horse?"

"About a day's journey, my dear. But fear not, they will capture her before she can hurt anybody."

"I'm sure of that, yes. Here you go. Well then, if you'll excuse me? Something just came up."

____________

Jennie awoke to the indignant squawk of some crow, the noise of busy wings fluttering through the air filling her ears. She groaned, blinking her eyes against the dull grey of the cloudy sky.

Where was she?

She remembered running from the navy and getting attacked by robbers on the way. They had been strong... There had been pain. It was still throbbing all through her body, reminding her of her dilemma.

The Precious had sunken.

Jennie groaned, lifting her muddy hands to rub at her eyes, feeling them ache like everything else too.

She had to move. It was only a matter of time until the navy would find her again, or some vultures decided to feast on her.

She rolled around, looking down at the soft earthy field she had been laying on and giving an inward apology for not staying. Its strong earthy scent was oddly calming right now, and even the potato digging into her elbow could become a friend with time.

Jennie froze in the middle of her slow movements when she heard steps getting closer, trying to regain her senses enough to focus on them.

Where were her weapons?

Ah, right. Stolen, sunken, lost. Could she even stand right now? They had hit her head pretty badly.

Jennie gave a low grunt when she managed to get up on her hands and knees, getting all nauseous again. Gosh, how she hated being on land.

The tickle of something sharp on her neck made her stop, and all pain was forgotten immediately. Her muscles locked up, her head clearing considerably within seconds. Cooly, she stared down at the earth, waiting.

"Not the pirate I expected. But no disappointment either."

Jennie felt her hackles rise when the low chuckle reached her ears, getting ready to try a useless attempt of an attack. It appeared the woman had come alone, so she had a slim chance of taking this stranger down and stealing that sword.

When Jennie lunged, the other person was not prepared at all. She put all her desperation into it, the cold, hunger, and frustration gnawing away at her coming together in one push. Jennie nearly yelped when the other woman went down far too easily, worrying about having cut herself immediately. What kind of idiot-

Jennie's eyes found the sword wedged between them, thankfully not having cut anybody, but it looked oddly familiar. The sleek blade and the ornate hilt that had some protective swirls of metal resembling thorned tendrils wrapping around the hand of its bearer. She marvelled over the noble red roses that climbed over the guard in intricate detail to wrap around the bottom of the blade and damn; she would steal that sword all over again.