The Corsair Princess

Chapter One.

Sunlight peaked through the silk curtains of the only window present in the room, illuminating the wooden walls of the rocking ships quarters. Soft breaths escaped the female Captains slightly parted lips, Lea Beaulieu still fast asleep despite it being midday. Her coffee coloured hair was sprawled across the bedsheets, her bronze skin contradicting the cotton fabric covering her half naked body. The clock ticked loudly in Lea's ear, almost as if the sound was getting closer and closer, taunting her to wake up, to start a new day. Lea's nose twitched at the sound, however, the Captain was not awoken from her sleep just yet. It would take a greater deal than a ticking clock to wake her up.

The mahogany door burst open, the impact creating a small but noticeable dent on the matching wood. The sound shook Lea awake, shooting up from her bed with wide, worried eyes.

"What is it?" Lea asked, scurrying over to where her peach coloured robe hung. She slipped the garment on, head snapping up to lock eyes with the guest. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong," Branna Killgrew, one of Leas co-captains and best friends muttered through gritted teeth, strands of her pale hair cascading to frame her ethereal face, "is that it's twenty past one, and our Captain still hasn't gotten herself dressed."

"It's what?" Lea gasped in surprise, rushing over to her vanity table. "Oh my god, everyone's going to kill me."

"If I don't first," Branna retorted, though with a softer tone. Her Irish accent often makes it difficult for the pirate to speak softly, yet she pulls it off whenever she's around Lea. She pulled a chair over to her side, watching her from the circular mirror as she combs through her brown hair. Branna sighed, taking the brush away from her and proceeding to comb Lea's hair herself.

"Bran, what are you doing?" Lea huffed in frustration, meeting her gaze in the mirror. "I'm older than you and I'm your Captain. Why are you acting like a mother to me?"

Branna laughed, shaking her head whilst smiling wide. "Lea, honey, you're shorter than thirteen year old me and that's saying a lot. Besides, you need to calm down."

Lea sighed dramatically. "You know your life has hit rock bottom when the least calm person tells you to calm down."

The blonde girl scoffed playfully. "Oh, shut up." The pair giggled, though it didn't last very long. Branna's expression dropped, locking eyes with Lea once more. "You know, if you keep pulling more stunts like this, the crew won't believe in you as much. You're the first female pirate in, like, who knows how long? We've been in this monarchy ever since 2118, and now its 2619. Nobody even expected us pirates to last this long, much less have a female captain. Waking up late, being loud, almost always messing up, that's not what the crew wants."

"I know," Lea puffed out. She felt a little uneasy now that Branna mentioned that. "But I'm their leader now, and they're going to have to be patient with me trying to get things settled. I've worked my whole life for this, and there's no way I'm letting our crew get in the way of my success. They've chosen me, Branna. Now all they have to do is believe in me."

The blonde girl hesitated. Branna and her sister, Catriona, had been Lea's friends since she washed up on the rocky shore of the Northern Coastline of Europe, and the three have been inseparable since. It's almost always Lea who's the conscience of the group, trying to hold the sisters back from doing quite stupid things. Now, Lea wondered if it was their turn to hold her back from such a risky job.

"You know," Branna mused lightheartedly, continuing to comb through the brunette girl's hair. "The crew didnt necessarily choose you. You went against our old Captain and defeated him in a sword fight."

Lea only smiled playfully. "Ah, the look on his face when I finally cornered him."

"And the looks on your face when he cornered you multiple times," Branna added, smirking.