Temptations

ɎChapter♠ElevenɎ

 "Aha!" Rosalina shouted, a smile on her face as she swung onto the arabic ship by a rope, landing with a hard thump, sword ready and eyes feral. Though most were still distracted with fighting, many of the crew looked over to her. Hearing such a feminine voice on a ship was unheard up. Women were bad luck at sea.

She gave them no chance to prepare themselves as she danced over the main deck, swinging her sword in perfect form. Slashing and stabbing and cutting, all the while a hand on her waist as she skipped and jumped and ran. Her laugh filled the air, making the life or death situation seem like nothing more than a game of tag.

She jumped onto the wooden rails, the roaring ocean right below her. She glanced at the crashing waves with another laugh as she held onto the side net. Facing the merchant before she thrust out her sword. "Ay señor! Do you really think you can take on the Great Gaspar?!" She swung her éspée to the side.

"Enough with the flair for the dramatic already!" Jack yelled at her, taking on the 4 other men before him. Rosalina rolled her eyes.

"Calla te! I'm enjoying myself." With a pounce like that of a lion she jumped onto the merchant. He staggered back, throwing his sword up to block the blow. But as swift as an asp, she struck. His body stilled in shock before falling to the floor, his neck leaking red.

Almost immediately another man attacked her and she was quick to dispose of him, as well as 4 other men who came after her. Soon enough the deck was covered in a red pool, the bodies laid thrown on one another. Rosalina whipped her sword to the side, splattering the wood with more blood, before wiping the left over on her sleeve.

She looked up to the pirates who waited her command. "What are you waiting for? Pillage! Plunder! Take it all and sink it!" The pirates cheered and jumped to work, throwing over barrels and chests. They all focused on the treasury and the hull and helm, but Rosalina went to the captain's quarter.

The door had been broken off, and the glass windows had been smashed and scattered all over the floor. She ignored them, stepping around the turned over chairs and the desk. She sat in the large chair, kicking her feet up and sighing in content.

"This is the life." Jack leaned on the entrance door, arms crossed as he watched. She smiled up at him before her eyes glanced right above him. Slowly, without taking her eyes off the spot, she stood out of the chair and stalked up to the wooden beam. "Hoist me up." Jack, without hesitation, lifted her by the waist. Now at eye level she noticed how the beam was out of place, and a piece of parchment stuck out from the corner.

"What you see?"

"Jack, can you move this beam a little to the side?" Jack shrugged in response.

"Probably."

"Can you try, please?" He set her down gently and gripped the beam. With a loud grunt, he pulled it out of place, revealing the parchment.

She reached for it, and shoved it into her coat. Something so hidden would be worth something. Something she wouldn't want to share with the crew if it was too valuable.

So instead, she looted the silver and collected the maps, carrying them onto her own ship and heading to the captain's quarters. "Today has been a successful job! Within the next couple of days we'll be living like kings while we're in England! So enjoy yourselves! Because only in one year will we be able to return. Make your marks gentlemen. You might not be here in the next trip." With a sinister grin, she threw some of her loot to the pirates, who scrambled to grab the riches.

Once the door was locked behind Jack, she spread out the parchment onto the table, gaping at it's complexity. The parchment had square pieces that slid into place and showed an image. It was mixed up but she could make out how each image had a piece of land or ocean, and that they connected to become a map. But she also noticed that one piece could fit into multiple other pieces.

"A hundred maps inside of one." She whispered in awe before a grin took hold of her lips once more. "Oh, we're going to have a lot of fun."