The Ghost Captain yells out "Ahoy men! We are homeward bound!" the crew jumps and start bustling around the ship. The female pirate brings Hazel into the captain quarters. She shuts the door, and takes off her large hat, and lets down her hair. She sits down at the desk and puts her feet up. "Isn't that the Ghost captain's desk?" The female pirate smiles at Hazel, "My name is Blaze Cinders." There was knock at the door. Come in. It's the Ghost captain, Hazel froze in fear. She expected the Ghost Captain to yell at Blaze. The Ghost Captain took his hat off and bowed to Blaze. "Ma'am, what are your orders?" "Okay Atticus, we are to head to our home port and unload our recently acquired supplies. Then We rest, because I have some work to do at home. And we need to ready the next major raid." "Yes ma'am, right away." Atticus turned and left. Hazel wide eyed in astonishment. "You're the real Ghost?" Blaze nods "Yes." "But how?" Blaze stands up and starts to pace as she explains. "Half of the crew are ship builders. They work at my Cinders Ship Building Company. We custom build our ships for effective piracy. The rest of the crew is often pressed into service, but with a choice. Atticus is my face captain. I only want just the ship builders and the face captain to know I'm really the one calling the shots. I am the primary benefactor." "Where did you come from?" "Blaze laughs, do you really want to know?" Hazel nods her head "Yes." Blaze stops and looks Hazel directly in the eye. "I am a scientist from the year 2040. We were test piloting the first-time machine and I got stuck in this time about seven years ago." Hazel only nodded, "Do you know what anything I said is?" Hazel nods yes, but then she said, "No... not at all."
Blaze subtly explains how time travel worked. Hazel understood now. Blaze showed her around the ship. The larger ship was covered in metal. It served as armor. Very little could completely destroy the entire ship. Cannon balls could put a dent into it, but not enough damage to prevent the ship from continuing on. Daily men propelled down and buffed the armor all over the boat so that it was extra shiny. Then rolled down a large canvas sheet to cover the metal. This canvas was painted to look like wood. "It looks so real!" Hazel exclaimed. "It was done by the best artist in the Carolinas." Blaze said. Below the deck, what look like balcony cabins from the outside, were really extra boats hidden for hasty evacuations. Also, other boats for night raids were there. The large ship is named Specter. The smaller black boats are Night Owl, Night Hawk, and Midnight Prowl. Men who only work at night operate those boats. They are trained in underwater attacks and night attacks. They are specially trained. They dont come out until it gets dark. There are other smaller and faster ships then the large one they are currently on. They are armored as well. Ecto, Spirit, Poltergeist and The Haunter. Their banner was different than other pirates, their banner was all black with a white round creature with an eye and a smile on its face. Blaze called it a Ghost Emoji whatever that might be. Blaze was rather amused by it. But she was definitely the only one amused by it. As they grew closet to shore, all the men changed their clothes, they put on proper uniforms. They raised a different flag. And rolled out a new cover that went over the name of the ship. Image was the new name of the Specter. And the other four ships were Vision, Presence, Possibility, and Opportunity. Blaze handed Hazel a new outfit. Hazel looked down, its a dress. Blaze said. Hazel made a disgusted face, "A dress? I dont want to wear a dress." "Can you please just for now? We will go to the tailors and Ill design you something more befitting of your personality." Hazel agreed. The dress as rather comfortable to Hazels surprise. "What is this made out of?" "Cotton." Blaze smirked. "Cotton?" "Yep..." Blaze smiled, "Jersey cotton to be exact. Very comfortable." Hazel gave Blaze a befuddled look, "Why are we changing all our looks anyways?" "It's our cover. They are looking for pirates, not the Cinders shipping company ships." Blaze spins around and bends down to look at Hazel directly in the eyes. "I'm bringing you into my fold, I am sharing all my secrets, I am willing to even legally adopt you. But I need you to keep my secrets. Are you willing to do that for me?" "What's adopt mean?" Blaze smiles softly, "Adopt means that even though I never gave birth to you, there is a piece of paper that says you are my child, and there is no difference whether or not I gave birth to you. You would still be entitled to the Cinder's estate as if you were the legit offspring of me and my late husband Mr. Cinders." "So... you want to adopt me?" Blaze stands up, and looks out over the seas, "I dont have any kids Hazel. Im almost forty. I want someone to share it all with." Hazel smiled, "I dont know you all that well. But I like you, and you seem to always be there right when I need you most." Blaze smiles without looking down. Hazel chuckles, "Sure if you want to take me on, my mother used to say I wasnt worth the money it took to feed me." "Thats harsh..." "No, she said I was worth more." Blaze smiles.
YOU ARE READING
Hazel Ipswich and the Ghost Pirate
Short StoryA young girl thrown into the real world. She is alone, and trying to make it in an unkind world. Soon she finds a new hero and role model on the open seas
