a pirate invasion, part 4
The breakfast bell, as it always did, woke me suddenly, and I sat up quickly in my bed, hand on my heart, feeling a panic equal to one felt when someone barged into my room unannounced.
After some minutes, my heart eventually calmed, and with a large yawn, I pulled myself out of bed, dressed and made my way slowly to the dining cabin. I braced myself before pushing open the door, as I was more than familiar with the sheer amount of noise I was about to be assaulted with, even at this early hour.
The dining cabin was the cultural center of the ship, where the men could relax, let loose, engage with one another. It was loud, boisterous and cheerful, and to be honest it never failed to make me smile, even though the level of noise often made my head spin.
I was a strange beacon of silence in all this noise as I took my usual place, a place on a bench in a corner against a wall, and waited for food to be served. I nodded, acknowledging the morning greetings that were given me, but no words left my mouth. They didn’t have to, as no one actually stayed to speak with me. This was a normal occurrence, and although it was a little odd, I preferred it, as it saved me from trying to make sentences when my brain was only half on.
It was normal because I was a captain, and was pretty much in my own little world, or rather The Lady’s world. I don’t think it was exactly taboo to talk to me, but from the terrified expressions I often caught when making eye contact with some of the sailors, I assumed that they were too scared to look at me, let alone approach and talk to me.
I swirled my spoon in my breakfast porridge, as I pondered something that The Lady had said to me last night. She had leaned back in her chair and taken a long swig of port before she had told me that we would be pouncing soon and then smiled at me.
‘Pouncing soon’ was self explanatory. We had all known that she had been tracking a ship for weeks, and many had guessed that we were nearing crunch time observing the slight manic energy that she was embodying. But as she never told anyone what her intentions were, no one had any idea of her target. There were assumptions of course. I had heard talk of a large shipment of jewels that was in our relative vicinity and many of the crew assumed that it had to be her target.
I disagreed. In fact, I knew it couldn’t be. She could never go for such easy prey.
The ship’s captain, though a well known and fierce leader, was also a bit of a pompous arrogant prick, who thought that his reputation was enough to protect him from the consequences of some rather questionable decisions. It was just too easy to outsmart him, and The Lady would never stoop that low. She loved a challenge, the rush of a heartbeat, and the satisfaction from upending a worthy opponent. We were similar in that way, both eager to compete and prove ourselves.
The smile, though, felt odd. And I still couldn't put my finger on what it meant.
Suddenly someone touched my shoulder and I jolted in surprise since no one really ever touched me either. However, when I turned and saw Jianjun, who was basically The Lady’s secretary, advisor, and bodyguard all wrapped into one, I understood.
‘She wants to see me?’ I said. It was hardly a question, I knew the answer already.
‘Yes, and it’s urgent. She is in your room and wants to see you immediately.’ His voice was quiet, but his emphatic tone meant I caught every word.
I nodded. ‘Thank you, Jianjun. Tell her I’ll be there in a few moments,’ and I quickly cleared my place before heading to my room.
As always, when I entered, she was standing, hands on her hips facing the door. It was an intimidating gesture, and though I knew she meant me no harm, I couldn’t help but feel a little unsettled.
‘Good morning, my child. It is good to see you,’ she said, in a way I suppose you could describe as warm for her at least. ‘We have a lot to discuss.’
As soon as I sat down in one of my armchairs, she began to relate the whole to me.
‘Tomorrow, we will be crossing the path of The HMS Julius, and its surrounding forces, in which there are several hundred officers of Her Majesty’s Navy, transporting several million dollars to supply the East Indian Trading Companies. We will attack with the normal procedure, distractions, infiltration, blah blah blah, you know the drill. As always, my dear, you are the infiltration force: your ship enters last, you take them over from the inside. It will go splendidly. I can feel it.’
Her smile was contagious and I soon found myself grinning at the prospect. ‘I’m looking forward to it,’ I said, with complete sincerity.
‘I’m glad. They will be passing the nearest harbor within the sixth hour in the afternoon tomorrow. We will overtake them then, and you will have your moment.’ She then waved at me and said, ‘You are now excused, please acquaint your crew with the proceedings.’ And with a bow, I left the room.
~dys [Oh look, I finally edited another piece of this. It's one of the last ones. There's either one or two bits left. And yes, there is a time jump here, I just didn't say it.]