The Thief of Hearts (Dualcar x Reader)

Chp. 1 The Stories Told

    "Aye some have said that the ghost o' Captain Orphaner Dualscar 'emself has come back to seek revenge ta' those who betrayed him"
I Peeked over top of the book I had been reading, it was just a silly book of memoirs that had been passed down from my father.
the dark shadows of the night sky covered in clouds had made it impossible in every-way to read.
Unaware of my presence, the rest of the crew continued to talk about the dangers and stories of the famous Captain Orphaner Dualscar. A sailor leans against one of the barrels as his bones creaked along with the creaks E.A. Scout. His audience consisted of a handful of sailors and a petite cabin boy mopping the deck. "No one has ever encountered him without comein' back alive ta' tell of it. Some say one glance from those evil eyes will harpoon ye ta' the deck like a bolt o' lighting, aye bold, ruthless and deadly that Captain Orphaner 'e is"
I stiffened and stifled back a derisive snort. Captain Orphaner indeed.
This mythical pirate is beginning to sound like a character in one of the dreadful Gothic novels that Sylvia used to read.
One sailor however was skeptical of the stories. i just wrinkled my nose as The sailor spat a wad of tobacco on the freshly scrubbed deck of the modest frigate. "Codswallop!! I 'eard stories, too, but I say its notin' but rum talkin! There ain't been true pirates to sail these waters in a little o'er 40 sweeps!" He spat cockily as he had thought to be proven his point.
"Not if he's truly a ghost" the cabin boy had whispered, startling me with his precise reply to the other's musings.
"then he'd have nothin' to loose, Nothing at all" Now, The General admonished from perfect memory, Seafaring men are a superstitious lot, but you're not a (prn) given to fancy. For once his stern voice had brought comfort instead of humiliation.
A sailor in a worn pea-coat drew a whalebone pipe from the pocket of his coat and touched it to the capped bowl, the flame cast a wavering shadow over a face lathered by the sun and salt spray. "I seen him." He announce sternly, earning a ripple of heads turning to his direction for more this included my curiosity.
"I was ou' on lookout in the fore-top on a evenin' such as this one. There weren't nothing but the black sea and sky fer miles, then suddenly sea opened up and out she sailed like a demon cast out the portal o' hell"
I had suspected my eyes were as wide and as round as the petite cabin boy's.
"I couldn't speak, I couldn't move, the very sight of her froze me blood. before i could pry me mouth open to alert the others, the sea swallowed her without so much as a billow. I've never seen anythin' like it in all me born days" The sailor shuddered "hope to never again."
Silence broke over the men, broken only by the eerie creaking of the spars and flapping of the sails against the light wind. Full dusk had fallen as the conversation had started to break out. "I heard he carves his mark in his victims just as the devil would" one sailor said. "won't tolerate babblin', they says, they wouldn't stop screamin, so he up an sewed 'em lips together with sail twine" Chimed another "cleaved the poor bloke in two, he did, with one mighty stroke of his cutlass" said another. A young sailor wiggled his eyebrows in a mocking leer, "I'll wager that ain't nothing compared to the cleaving he does to the captives he fancy's. One o' my mates swears this Captain Orphaner ravished ten virgins in one night",  "ha!" scoffed a brutal lookin' sailor, "I done as much after seven months at sea and nary a glimpse o' stockin."
The sailor elbowed him in the ribs "aye, but them weren't hardly virgins, was they?"
The men roared with laughter. I reluctantly decided I best make my presence known before learning more than wanted. I had extracted myself from my seat of coiled ropes stepping into full view.

The crew went pale as if the General had marched onto the deck himself.
I was not impressed. I have been receiving such welcomes since a child.
My father's reputation as one of the most revered generals in Her Majesty's Royal Navy had preceded with my every step.
I favored them with a benevolent smile "good evening, gentlemen. I do hope I haven't interrupted your charming discourse on the merits of piracy" I nodded toward the sailor, whose sun tanned skin had flushed a slight Teal. "Do go on sir, I believe you were about to treat us to more of you speculations on Captain Orphaner's romantic exploits."
One of his mates cleared his throat meaningfully and the sailor snatched off his hat fidgeting with it . "( Mr./Mrs/Lord) (LN)" He stammered. "Didn't know you were about. 'twas hardly fit talk in yer presence", "then I suppose we'll have to string you up from the yardarm, wont we?" The lad's Adam's apple bobbed with distress, I sighed; For some reason, no one could ever tell when I was joking. I knew the most of my acquaintances suspected I've been born with no sense of humor at all. I was, however, blessed with a finely honed sense of the absurd.
The sailor in the worn pea-coat shoved his way to me "Allow me to escort you to your cabin, tis hardly safe for a young (Lad/Lass/Adult) of quality to be roamin' about the deck at this time of night" He had offered and arm but in the tone of my voice he had struckin the wrong cord with me "No thank you" I said coolly " I think i can take my chances with 'Captain Orphaner' " with a scoff and tilting my nose in the air to a regal angle and I headed to my cabin.