Captain Jansen and the Phoenix

Chapter 1

Charlotte stood on deck, gazing at the ship floating on the waves far, far away. She lifted a spyglass to her eye. A dark red flag with a swirly gold shape—a bird of some kind, it looked like—fluttered at the top of the mast. Charlotte remembered something she had once heard Captain Jansen, or Floor, mention: red flag with a gold phoenix and a devil of a woman. She put down the spyglass and hurried down the ladder to the long corridor that ran the full length of the ship. The second mate ran along it to the bow of the ship, where the captains' quarters were. She flung open the door to Captain Jansen's room and stopped short. The captain was in bed with Captain den Adel, both women naked and in the middle of a passionate kiss. They broke off when the door opened, and two murderous looks were sent in the redhead's direction.

"Captains, there's-there's a ship coming. Red flag, gold emblem, triple-masted," she said, her voice trembling. "You'd best come up." Then she turned and ran out the door and down the hall to the ladder, trying to erase the scene she had just witnessed from her mind.

A few minutes later, the two captains came up on deck. Captain Jansen's shirt was unlaced, and Captain den Adel was struggling to fasten the front of her corset. Captain Jansen lifted the spyglass to her eye. The other ship was closer now. An unpleasant look appeared on the captain's face.

"Charlotte and..." She looked at her crew and finally pointed at a man with long, blond hair and a beard braided into two strands. "Marco. You two shall accompany me to the other ship. Sharon, you're in charge while I'm gone. The rest of you, listen to her, or you'll deal with me!" She rested her hand on the long, silver rapier at her side. It was fancy, the hilt shaped like an owl with two emeralds for eyes, its wings swooping back to form the guard, but it was as sharp as if it had never been used. Though it had, many times, and every member of the crew had a healthy fear of that blade and its owner.

"Yes, Captain," chorused a number of voices. Several men shifted their positions nervously. The other ship was drawing nearer. It moved quickly, and soon, Charlotte could make out the name painted in fiery gold letters on the side: Phoenix. The men began readying one of the boats and Floor and Marco and Charlotte got in. Though Floor could easily have rowed them across, Marco grabbed the oars instead. When they reached the other ship, ropes were thrown down, and the three helped aboard.

"Be on your guard," Captain Jansen whispered to the others as she grabbed a rope. "She does not play nice." Charlotte wanted to ask, "Then why are we going?" but she knew the captain did not like having her orders questioned. A man with long, wavy black hair and dark blue eyes tried to grab the tall brunette around the waist to pull her on board, but she slapped his hands away. He reached for Charlotte instead, but he grabbed her arm instead of her waist, so she let him help her.

"Captain Turunen will want to see you right away," he said. "Follow me." He turned and started for a door at one end of the deck. The three from the Night Temptation followed. The man led them into a room with a table, several chairs, a lamp hanging from the ceiling, and maps and charts on the walls. A woman was sitting at the table, writing in a book. She glanced up when they entered.

"Thank you, Tuomas," she said. "You may go now." She put her pen into the bronze inkwell on the table, then stood up from her chair. She was short compared to Captain Jansen, but then again, most people were. Her long, black hair hung loosely around her shoulders, her eyes were deep green. "So, we meet again, Floor," she purred. Her voice had a bit of an accent. "And who is this?" she asked, turning to Charlotte and Marco.

"My first and second mates," Floor said stiffly. "What is it to you, Tarja?" The other woman laughed.

"Always hostile, aren't you?"

"When it comes to you, yes," the brunette retorted. Tarja smiled.

"Won't you sit?" she asked, gesturing to one of the chairs. They sat down. "So, tell me, what brings you to my ship?" Floor laced her fingers together on the table.