Lost Pirates

by Jamie Hawke

  Frank frowned, considered the question, and then said, “I think I’ll ask her.”

  He took his plate of food, stopped to grab some coffee, and turned to find her now by herself, staring at him with a look that made him think she was about to bite his face off. Still, he went for it.

  “You sort of left without a goodbye,” he said, nodding to the seat. “Do you mind?”

  She shrugged, so he joined her. When she didn’t say anything, he took a bite, waiting.

  “Milly wanted something, so I went with it. That’s all.”

  Frank swallowed. “Are we talking about the leaving part, or…?”

  “Both,” she said, her frown fading slightly. “Not that I didn’t…” she looked down at the plate, then actually smiled, “…enjoy the sausage. It was delicious.”

  That took him a moment to process, so he took another bite of the beans. “Breakfast can be the best meal of the day.”

  “It can be, but I’m more of a dessert girl myself,” she replied.

  “Oh?”

  “Milly makes the best pie. But when she wants to have breakfast… who am I to refuse?”

  If he understood this right, she was saying she was basically into Milly, but that Milly had wanted to go down on him, so she did too.

  “That’s… interesting,” he said.

  She actually laughed. “Tell me you’re offended, please. Because last time I checked, you didn’t even ask me my name before… breakfast.”

  Fuck. Caught. He should’ve at least asked the cook, as nonchalantly as he could’ve. Now he was sitting here, trying to find out why a woman who’d given him head didn’t seem to want to talk, and she’d pointed out that he hadn’t even bothered to be decent about the whole thing.

  A damn name.

  “And you?” he countered. “Maybe you heard mine, but didn’t exactly ask me.” Seeing her frown, he tried a different tactic. “Can I ask it now?”

  Her eyes bore into him, but she said, “Mary.”

  Frank blinked, trying to process that. There was a legendary female pirate named Mary, but certainly not this dainty woman. Of course, there were likely plenty of women with that name, so why should he assume this was the same one? Then again, there weren’t supposed to be many women pirates, and those who had been recorded in history books often dressed as men. What he was seeing to be the reality here—if you could call it that—was showing what he thought he knew about this time and place was quite different.

  Could it all have stemmed from this other person out there having messed with the timelines? He’d heard of time travel having drastic effects, so this could fit the bill.

  “You’re different,” Mary said, watching him eat while he struggled to think about all these ideas.

  “That wasn’t clear before?” Frank laughed. “I mean, with the magic and everything.”

  She rolled her eyes and then whispered, “Oh, I know all about your magic,” and added a wink. “But I mean, all of this… you really don’t belong here, do you?”

  “I know how to use a sword, I can—”

  “That’s not what I meant.” She took a knife with a jewel-encrusted handle and placed it on the table, turning it so the blade was facing her. “If I betrayed you, would you be able to take this knife and slit my throat?” Leaning back, she pulled at the edge of her shirt, exposing the top of her left breast. “Or plunge it into my heart?”

  His eyes must’ve given him away, because she shook her head and sighed before adding, “No, you’re no killer, and you’re certainly not a pirate.”

  “The rest of you don’t strike me as so bloodthirsty.”

  “Because we aren’t,” she replied. “Anymore.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Captain Steele, Teddy, the others… and for me, Milly—they turned us around. It was really the rallying cry to rise against the Pirate King that did it, and now we’re here, fighting like some rebel force.”

  “Like Star Wars against the Empire,” Frank said with a chuckle, then remembered she’d have no idea what he was talking about. “Um, just a metaphor. Philosophy stuff.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “You’re an astronomer or something?”

  “Forget it.” He was about done by that point so he finished his coffee and stood, but glanced down. “To be clear, will we be having breakfast again, or are you sticking to dessert?”

  Mary was done too, so she stood and walked past him, but hesitated to whisper in his ear, “If Milly wants me to, I’ll suck your dick any time, any place,” and then walked off. The way her ass looked in those pants made Frank doubly sure she’d never pass for a man, but then again, after what she’d just said, he was a bit biased.

  He was possibly more confused now than before approaching her. If she’s a lesbian, why was she into me at all?, he wondered. She wasn’t a slave, because so far he hadn’t seen any signs of slavery and he was pretty sure he would’ve noticed. Plus there was the fact that she seemed kind of into the idea of having breakfast—er, sucking his dick—again.

  The best he could figure, it was all some sort of weird sex dynamic he would never understand, so he decided to simply let whatever happened, happen. He wanted to see where Milly was, as Esmerelda was in with Teddy and the others discussing strategy. Walking along the path between caves, he noticed a group of pirates practicing swordplay, including Keisha. She was truly a badass, and if he’d seen her fight like that before the attack on their last hideout, he might never have thought she needed his help.

  Then again, that might have meant she would’ve gotten killed. He was certain he’d at least provided a useful distraction, and hell, it wasn’t like he’d been useless in the fight. For a few minutes he lingered there, watching, then noticed a couple of kids crawling into a small hole in the hill below.

  He frowned, having not realized there would be kids here, and decided to climb down to them.

  “You there,” he said when he was halfway down, and the last kid glanced up at him.

  “The outsider,” the boy said, and another one returned, sticking his head out of the hillside hole.

  “Are there other kids here too?” Frank asked, reaching them.

  The boy nodded. “O’ course. No better place to keep th’ families.”

  “Isn’t it… dangerous?”

  “Danger?” The boy scoffed. “This is th’ safest it gets for us now. Damn Pirate King already burned down Nassau and took over…

  “You kids were in Nassau?”

  The second kid looked at Frank like he was crazy. “Mister, I’ll let ya in on a secret—kids are everywhere. Many didn’t survive Nassau. Those who did quickly learned th’ ropes, and I’d bet we’ve a better chance of surviving out here than you.”

  “I’m not saying that means much,” Frank countered. He looked from the kids to the hole, then smiled. “Secret entrance?”

  The boy beamed. “Legend says there’s treasure in these hills. We mean t’ find it.”

  “I hope you do.”

  Frank gave them a nod and worked his way around to the other side of the hill, where the view froze him on the spot. There was a cliff here that led to a lagoon, several caves opening up in the sides, and even a couple of hidden ships. By his guess, this was where they kept the emergency vessels for a quick escape if it came to that. The one he’d arrived on had been hidden on the other side of the island to seem, if it were found, like it would simply be a lone boat instead of a sign of more to come.

  The lagoon was beautiful, with turquoise waters that shimmered in the sun. A breeze ruffled the water’s surface, creating ripples that splashed like spirits dancing their way across to join him. The wind was refreshing, the air clear. He knelt, hands on the rock recently warmed by the mid-day sun.

  “I’ve been looking for you,” a voice said, and he turned to see Milly, completely nude. She was standing on one of the ledges nearby with her arms out, basking in the sun with her clothes in a pile at her side. While before she’d been grungy, her pirate clo
thes giving her an intimidating look, now she was all woman and as beautiful as they came. She’d apparently been in the water already, since trickles of it still ran along her long legs. Her large breasts were as tanned as the rest of her, so he had to assume this was a normal occurrence. The hair between her legs hung straight, dark and much fuller than he was used to seeing in modern online videos, or especially compared to the fully shaven glimpse of Sally he’d caught in the dorm room.

  Milly laughed when he made no response, eyes roaming over her. She ran a hand through her damp hair, pulling it back and giving him a nice view in the process. “Going for a swim. Care to join me?”

  “I forgot to pack my suit,” Frank said with a grin.

  She laughed, motioned for him to strip, and then dove in. She was more graceful than he would’ve thought, slicing through the crystal-clear water that showcased her body even from up here. Her breasts floated high, nipples breaking the water’s surface as she turned onto her back and called up to him to jump in.

  “We’re supposed to be getting ready for a raid,” he called down. “I’d hate to miss it.”

  She splashed water at him, though he was too far up for it to hit him. “Get your little ass down here. You really think we’re going on a raid in full daylight? They’ll be planning for hours.”

  He considered this, glanced around, then started to strip. Being nude in broad daylight wasn’t something he was used to. In fact, he realized as he pulled off his pants and stood there with the sun warming his ass, he’d never been exposed like this.

  Milly wolf-whistled from below, but he ignored it as he ran and jumped.

  Warm water engulfed him. Frank spun, searching for the way up, but then lingered there, languidly moving his arms and legs just enough to stay submerged while staring in amazement at the way the light shone through the clear waters, breaking apart in beams that sparkled and glimmered.

  Then Milly was there, swimming toward him like a beautiful nude mermaid. She wrapped her body around his while giving him a kiss and blowing air into his mouth. For a moment she held him there, hands caressing his body, then motioned upward. He took her cue, and they swam to the surface.

  They moved over to the edge where their feet touched smooth rock, and leaned against the side, letting the sun warm their upper bodies while keeping their lower halves in the water. For Frank, this was unheard of—sitting here with a naked woman, not a care in the world. There were no college tests, no worrying about his friends and what they’d think. Even the sorrow over the loss of his grandpa, while still present, couldn’t truly affect him here.

  With that thought, though, he had to wonder about his grandpa. There was no way the man hadn’t been here. It shocked him to think through the implications of such a realization.

  Had his grandpa interacted with, or even fought against, the Pirate King?

  Milly saw the look in his eyes and laughed, splashing him lightly. “You look like you’re about to shit yourself. In these waters, please don’t.”

  “It’s not that,” he replied with a chuckle. “No, thinking about back home… my grandpa.”

  “Oh?” She leaned over, taking his hand where it moved idly through the water. “This is where I used to come to forget about all of that, even before the Pirate King and this fucked up war.”

  “I can see that.”

  “Not anymore though.” She turned to face him, moving closer so that her wet breasts were pushed up against his chest. Then she pressed her lips to his for a moment before pulling back and looking up at the sky, the surrounding cliffs before releasing his hand. “No, now I come here to think about it all. Anywhere else, the grief is too strong. But here I can remember the fallen, and it’s like I can focus on the good lives they lived, the moments of joy we shared together. This place right here? It’s too perfect to allow the negative in.”

  She had a point, and at the moment his surroundings and what she was saying were having a profound effect on him.

  “Why me?” he asked.

  “Hmm?” She turned back to him from where she was floating nearby.

  “On the ship, you… you and Mary. Why?”

  “So, Frank… Learned her name at least, did you?” Milly asked with a grin, then laughed. “Honestly, it was Esmerelda’s idea.”

  “What?” Frank pulled back, hitting his back on the rock and feeling more confused.

  “Don’t take it the wrong way. It wasn’t like she was the first to consider it, just the first to voice the thought. She thought you could use a welcoming, a proper indoctrination,” she winked at that, then added, “it just so happened that Mary and I were more than happy to be there for you.”

  “I don’t…. I don’t understand.”

  “I like you.” Milly took both his hands this time and let him pull her close so that she was straddling his leg. “In her way, Mary probably does too.”

  “None of you know me.”

  “Not yet, but we like what we know so far.” She turned, letting him wrap his arms around her, his hands massaging her breasts.

  “And… Esmerelda.”

  “She likes you too.”

  Milly didn’t add anything more to that, and Frank wasn’t sure what else to ask. Was this going to be some love triangle situation, with jealousy and him having to watch what he said? He was happy with the current situation, that was for sure, but for some reason he felt a strong connection with Esmerelda that he couldn’t simply ignore.

  For now, he’d push those thoughts aside though. This wasn’t the place to be having them.

  “Gangway!” a boy shouted, and then three teens came running over the ledge above, all completely naked, splashing into the waters nearby.

  Milly laughed and grabbed Frank by the hand, pulling him up and toward one of the side caves.

  “What do we do?” he asked, not wanting to get caught.

  “Ignore them, stay hidden,” she said, body pressed up against him.

  He was about to ask what she meant, for how long, but then she had his cock in her hands and lowered herself to her knees, and suddenly he didn’t care if they were there all day. He was in heaven.

  10

  Milly led Frank out of there, to the ledge where they’d left their clothes, and then kissed him before telling him she was off to find Mary and prepare for the raid.

  “Should I… come with?” Frank asked, not sure where he belonged in this situation.

  She nodded and pointed to the path ahead, Teddy walking down toward them. “I think you’re wanted elsewhere.”

  It was true. Teddy motioned him over with a nod to Milly, then glanced her way with a hint of a smile. “She’s taking care of you?”

  Frank grinned. “You could say that.” A thought hit him. “Oh, shit, they’re not…?”

  “Spoken for?” Teddy shook his head. “Many here are quite open with their love, at any rate. But no, you have nothing to worry about either way. Even if you did, we have a raid to get to.”

  “Understood.”

  “This weapon,” Teddy glanced back the way he’d come, then looked cautiously at Frank. “They want to know how you did it. Why you know this… witchcraft.”

  “Where I come from,” Frank said, “it’s not so rare. I’ve studied such craft… as an apprentice.”

  It wasn’t so far from the truth, kind of. At least, as close as seemed believable here.

  Teddy nodded, though there was still skepticism in his gaze. “Tell them it was under a Chinese master, a great weaponsmith from the East, or something along those lines. Savvy?”

  Frank agreed and found himself following Teddy back to the room they’d been in earlier, where he met other pirate captains. The meeting didn’t last long. Teddy and Esmerelda stayed at his side to ensure he didn’t put his foot in his mouth, and the others agreed that if Teddy was good with him, they all were.

  With the meeting coming to a close, Teddy walked over to the table, took the weapon, and grinned. “Let’s go see if it works against more than
wood planks.”

  The others geared up as well, all eager to get to battle. Frank, for his part, was experiencing a mixture of queasiness and excitement. On the one hand, he could die easily enough. On the other, he wanted to see about going up more levels, and what that could mean for the upgrades in his compass.

  Esmerelda approached, eyes stern. “Have you been practicing your swordplay?” At Frank’s grin, she shook her head. “Dammit, not what I meant. The actual sword, do you…” She looked at his waist and cursed. “You don’t actually have your own yet, do you?”

  “Well, no. Other than what I’ve picked up from the enemy.”

  “That won’t do.” She looked him up and down, then asked, “Saber or cutlass?”

  “I’m more familiar with the saber.”

  “And with your body type, that’ll do better for you.”

  Frank frowned, knowing she meant because he wasn’t as muscular as most of the male pirates. The cutlass was more of a heavy attack weapon, good for slashing and bashing skulls.

  “Come on.” She went for the door. “It’ll take them a bit to get the ships ready and all the others on board. We’ll get you properly set up.”

  They exited the room, walking briskly through an internal passage to a room that appeared to be an armory. There were two pirates within getting geared up, and they nodded to her then went on their way.

  “Try this,” Esmerelda said, holding out a saber for him to test.

  He accepted it, felt its weight, and then tried a parry and thrust. “Perfect.”

  She grinned, then looked at his clothes. “We’ve work to do there, as well.” She turned to a trunk in the back and found him a leather hat, raggedy jacket, and a pistol holster without the pistol. “If you manage to take one off an enemy corpse, now you have somewhere to stow it, at least.”

  “Thanks,” he said, trying on the jacket and feeling like a real pirate already. He put on the hat and grinned. “How do I look?”