The Ruthless Redhead's Revenge

by Morrel, Amy

  A few experimental swings showed that the cutlass didn't have the same balance as the weapons she had trained with. It should be easy enough to adjust to its balance though, and it wasn't that much heavier than her training weapon.

  Annabelle was still in a huddled mass on the bed, sobbing quietly. She would be of no use for any plan Roberta could make. Roberta couldn't even think of a plan right now. Her mind was still racing. She had killed a man, no she had killed two men. As of yet it wasn't bothering her but she could tell that she was mostly numb and at some point the reality of what she done would set in. She hoped it would last until after this mess was resolved but since she couldn't see a possibility of resolving it in her own favor she wasn't eager for it to end. She also hoped that she would regret killing the men but feared that she would not.

  As she waited she noticed Annabelle and her hysterical sobs once more. She now thought that she had been a fool to believe that she could get along with this woman. She had thought Annabelle to be made of sterner stuff, but now she knew better and decided that she had no more use for the sobbing woman.

  A noise she had dreaded hearing came through the door. There were several men walking down the corridor outside. Against a group, even with a sword, she was sure that she would fall. She heard a familiar voice in the group in the hallway.

  “See the blood on that door? I did, that's why I came to get you. It looks like someone in that room took down Jonesy and Smythe, then dumped their bodies in the hallway. Slit their throats just like they were butchering a pig. Don't know how they'd manage that on two able-bodied types like Jonesy and Smythe, so I figured I ought to alert you Captain.”

  “We'll see about this in a moment.”

  The smell of burning sulfur wafted through the small hole in the door. Roberta was sure that she had just found out who the owner of at least one of the pistols she had heard in battle was. She quickly sheathed her dagger, tucking it into the folds of her dress in hopes that it might escape notice. The cutlass she dropped and kicked under the bed, just in time.

  The door burst open from a kick and a short, stocky man stood framed in it. The fuse of a pistol sputtered as he pinched it out.

  “Oho! Looks like your dangerous room only holds a pair of women. One is covered in blood though, so they may have seen what happened. That one is useless for talk” he pointed to Annabelle, still sobbing on the bed, “bring the other one up on deck and we'll find out what happened.”

  The man that had been in the corridor earlier walked into the room. He directed two pirates to carry Annabelle away and then, gently, took Roberta's arm.

  “It seems that you forgot to require me to not bring anyone back with me. The captain wanted to know what killed those two so he had me bring him down. I hope you've got a story ready.”

  As they were the last two in the cabin, everyone else having departed already, Roberta pointed towards the bed she had slid the cutlass under.

  “You might want to reclaim your property. The cutlass you are wearing now is of far poorer quality than the one you had earlier. I'm surprised no-one else has noticed.”

  The man quickly looked on the bed and then beneath it. He recovered his cutlass, dropping the other one on top of the corpses in the hall.

  “Thank you, but why?”

  “Whether it is poor quality or good, steel will still kill. So I generate some goodwill by being nice to my captor. Even telling you that I did so, you'll still feel at least a touch of gratitude for it. Don't you think?”

  “I think you're a witch, woman. I've heard that redheads have powers.”

  “Only those of us who use our brains. Now shouldn't you be escorting me to the deck as your captain commanded?”

  “Damn it woman, your very presence distracts me.”

  “Why thank you sir. What a delightful compliment.”

  “That wasn't what I meant, and you know it.”

  Roberta just smiled at him as he led her out of the room.

  * * *

  Chapter 5 – You Can't Rape the Willing

  Roberta stood on the deck in the center of a circle of leering pirates. Annabelle was now in a heap on the deck but at least she had stopped her incessant crying. Roberta looked around herself. If she wanted to, she could probably make it to the railing of the ship and jump off. Death held no attraction for her though. She had the beginnings of a plan that could possibly get her through this ordeal in a shamed, but living, fashion.

  If she could manage to get the pirates, or more to her preference a single pirate, to rape her, then Master Gutren would no longer want her for a wife. It would have to be an officer though. She was sure that if the crew got their hands on her she'd be taken by all of them before they were done. That left her options as the captain, the man she had encountered after Jonesy and Smythe, and two others that were shown deference by the crew but that she had no clue as to their respective positions on the ship. Meanwhile, the captain was talking to her.

  “So wench, what happened to my men outside your cabin. I'm sure that you have an idea what went on.”

  Roberta put a quaver in her voice as though she were even more scared than she actually was:

  “There was a fight out there and our door burst open. A man from this ship was fighting with one of your men. Your man had his throat cut and the blood sprayed everywhere. I pushed the door closed and leaned against it since I didn't want any part of what was going on.

  I heard another man call out and then there was more fighting. I stopped leaning against the door when the tip of a sword came through it and almost spitted me. The door swung open again after that and I saw your other man killed as he was trying to get into our cabin.

  The man from this ship took off down the hall after that. I don't know where he went after he left the hall. I tried to bring my companion out of shock since she became hysterical when she was sprayed with blood. The next thing I knew I heard more voices in the hallway and then the door burst open again and all of you were standing there.”

  The captain turned to several of his crew:

  “Go check the holds and the bilge. Maybe we can find this man still, or maybe he got off the ship. If he did get off the ship then the sharks have probably already eaten him. If you do find him, run him through and feed his body to the sharks.”

  The pirates so ordered split up, two dropping into the hold through the hatch, the other two heading down towards the cabins. The captain ordered the rest to start transferring cargo over to their own ship in preparation for scuttling this one.

  The captain led Roberta across a plank between the ships. Annabelle was carried over by several crew members. Roberta could see that they were taking liberties in the placement of their hands but wasn't in a position to say anything about it.

  When they arrived on the pirate ship, the captain led Roberta to his cabin while the crew members took Annabelle below decks to the crew quarters. When the captain led her into the cabin, Roberta was sure that her plan was shaping up as she had hoped.

  “Alright wench, what's your name. You look like you're from a well-to-do family.”

  “My name is Roberta, but you're wrong about my family. My father's broke, he tried to marry me off for a bride price to save the family fortunes. Not that the amount he negotiated for would hold him and my older brothers for more than a year or two.”

  “None of that lady, I don't need your history. Just tell me your family's name so we can send a ransom demand. If you do that we'll hold you unharmed until we get the money and then you can be on your way.”

  Roberta saw her plans crumbling before her eyes. How hard can it be to seduce a man anyhow? she thought. She thrust her chest out, she wasn't overly endowed but her chest was noticeable.

  “I told you, my family can't send a ransom. Isn't there something else you'd rather do with me?”

  “Wench, give me the information. That's all I want out of you.”

  “For the love of God! I can't do this to save my life. Would you ju
st rape me already?” Roberta blurted out in desperation when she couldn't think of anything else that might entice the captain.

  “Sorry wench, you're not my type. Now give me your family name or things will go hard for you.”

  “Not your type?” Roberta's voice grew shrill, “I thought you pirates raped anything with breasts?”

  “Maybe some of the others do and I'll occasionally take myself a nice effeminate boy, but you?”

  The captain's look of scorn withered Roberta.

  “My family name is Cantas.”

  “Wait, you mean that bastard that's been stiffing all his creditors?”

  “I told you my family was broke. Somehow I'm not surprised that even pirates have heard of my father's disgrace.”

  “What kind of bride price was he getting for you?”

  “Five thousand, in gold escudos.”

  “Aha, maybe we can still work things out. Who was he selling you to?”

  “Master Gutren”

  Roberta spat the name as though it pained her mouth to shape the name. She was getting angry again now though instead of feeling intimidated by the captain. He seemed to have classified her as a non-threat, which angered her even more.

  “Good, we'll just complete the delivery then and collect the gold for ourselves.”

  “Well, if that's the case, you might want to rescue the escort that he sent with me. He might be a bit put out were she dead or raped into catatonia.”

  “Damn it to hell! The men will be angry with me but you're right. Hopefully they haven't gotten too far along yet. Stephan, go down and tell the men they don't get a wench for a plaything but that we'll be getting plenty of gold instead. Probably only a few days until we can get it and then we'll take some leave and they can have as many wenches as they can buy.”

  A boy, who had crouched unnoticed in the corner of the cabin, rose to his feet at the captain's command and rushed out of the room. The captain's eyes lingered on his back side as he left and Roberta knew that he had only spoken the truth earlier on. He'd have no interest in her.

  “So wench, where exactly were you to meet Master Gutren?”

  “You'll have to ask my escort, if she isn't too far gone. I wasn't given that information.” Roberta's disgust with the entire situation was evident in her voice.

  “You need to learn to show some respect to your betters wench.”

  “I'll be sure to put in some practice once I find some.”

  “That's done it wench! This trip will not be pleasant for you.”

  The captain advanced on her and drew his arm back to backhand her across the face.

  “I'm sure Master Gutren won't mind a few bruises if your maidenhead is still intact.” spat the captain.

  The captain swung a hard backhand at her. Roberta took it on her cheek but gave with the blow to reduce the impact. She allowed it to spin her to the left which was the side her dagger was still on. The pirates had not bothered to search her for weapons, the captain probably assuming that someone else had. In any case, the dagger was still buried in the folds of her voluminous skirts until she grasped it pulled it free of the sheathe. She spun back to face front, taking a stagger step to close the distance between her and the captain. She could see in his eyes that he knew what was happening in his last second on earth. He managed to stagger back a short distance, but her step forward kept her in range. The dagger sliced across his throat as easily as it had those of his crew, silencing the yell he had begun to make. It emerged as a quickly cut off grunt and could have easily been mistaken for many other noises a man might make.

  She stepped backwards as the captain reached out to grab her. He overbalanced and fell, the red blood pouring out of his throat and over the floor. He stirred once, but didn't even manage to roll over.

  Roberta staggered over to the bed and sat on it. She hadn't expected to have to kill another man. This one hadn't even been threatening her life, simply her freedom. That and the abuse was enough for him to have been killed, but she still felt slightly queasy about it. The door to the room opened and the cabin boy slipped back in. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the body on the floor. Then his gaze shifted to Roberta and the yell building in his throat was silenced at the sight of the bloody dagger in her hand and the index finger of her other hand over her lips in the universal sign for silence.

  “Boy, go and get whoever is second in command to the captain and bring him here. Not a word about what you saw though, understand?”

  The boy nodded and slipped back out through the door. Roberta simply sat on the bed, dejected. She was sure that she would be killed out of hand now. She gathered her wits about her and tried to decide on a course of action. It was difficult with the second guessing she had running through her mind.

  Maybe I should have just let him turn me over to Master Gutren but I might not have been able to get away from there. But Annabelle would've been spared. Maybe the new captain will want to follow that course of action, assuming he isn't a boy lover again anyhow. Wait... That's it.

  She worked through a rough plan that she could present to the new captain and in the midst of thinking it through, the door opened again. The boy slipped into the room:

  “Sir, the quartermaster as you requested.”

  It took Roberta a moment to realize that he had been talking to her due to the 'sir' but the boy was looking at her when he spoke so he must have been referring to her.

  The door opened slightly wider to admit a man, his back was to her as he spoke to someone in the corridor but as he turned, she recognized the man. It was him, the man whose cutlass she had returned.

  “So, you've been trying to deplete our manpower again it seems.” he said to her, glancing up from the corpse of the captain.

  “You. Why'd it have to be you?”

  “You would've preferred Black Bart or One-Legged Jack?”

  “At least I wouldn't have had a prior history with them.”

  “What is so bad about our prior history? We have a record of negotiation and holding to our agreements.”

  “Yes, we do. Next time I'll show more care in my phrasing though.”

  “I think you did quite well for the situation. Both then and now.”

  Another glance at the captain's corpse showed precisely what he referenced.

  “What, you didn't like your captain?”

  “I respected his skills. As a man, I disliked him intensely. But when a man is an excellent navigator and has a sense for the easy kills, it's hard to let a little dislike get in the way of him doing an excellent job.”

  The man moved over to the portholes and threw them open. It was rather rank in the room, the corpse contributing to the stench that had already existed.

  “Now, why did you send the boy for me? I'm guessing that you have something else you'd like to negotiate.”

  “I do indeed, give me a moment though that I may better arrange my thoughts and construct some precision in my phrasing.”

  The man paced the cabin, back and forth repeatedly, until she spoke again.

  “It is my understanding that the captaincy on a pirate ship is not a guaranteed succession, correct?”

  “You are correct.”

  “Do you actually desire to be the captain?”

  “I do, although with some reservations. Suffice it to say that I am interested.”

  “Good, it is also my understanding that if you can provide a major amount of loot quickly, then the crew is far more likely to leave you as captain, yes?”

  “Once again, you are correct.”

  “Then I have a proposition for you. If I can tell you how to easily obtain five thousand in gold escudos within the week, would that be sufficient for the crew?”

  “That would probably keep them loyal for at least half a year barring any other major plunder.”

  “Then here is my plan. I'll tell you first that I will place two conditions on it, which I will reveal after I tell you the plan. I was to be sold into 'honorable matrimo
ny' for the sum of five thousand gold escudos. The man who was paying my bride price is Master Gutren. I am sure that if you were to deliver me to him then he would pay you the gold instead of my father. My escort, Annabelle, knows the location and if the prior captain managed to stop her rape before it got too far then she should be able to reveal it to us. Do you like the outline of the plan?”

  “It sounds doable. Now what are your conditions?”

  “The first condition is that Master Gutren is not to survive after paying the bride price. I want him dead within twenty-four hours of when you receive the gold.”

  “Easy enough to arrange that.”

  “The second is that you must rape me today. I don't want to spend another day eligible to be sold into 'honorable matrimony'”

  Roberta spat out the last two words as though they were acid burning her mouth.

  “What? That would be impossible.”

  The man burst into laughter even as he was speaking.

  Acid dripped from Roberta's words as she quickly replied:

  “What, are you another boy lover like the captain?”

  “Not at all. But if you want me to rape you, then it isn't rape now is it?”

  “Oh,” Roberta's acid tone disappeared, replaced by one of slight embarrassment.

  “You know what I mean though.” she tried to recover.

  “Yes, but you were the one requiring exacting precision to the bargain. I'd hate for you to claim that I hadn't held up my end of it.”

  The man was now staring at her, interest plainly visible in his eyes.

  “Now if you want me to act as though I were raping you, I'd be happy to oblige. Although you could also simply ask me to fuck you instead to keep those nasty rape overtones out of the equation.”

  “Now you're mocking me! Why can't you just rape me and get it over with?”

  “Because I'm not coming within arm's reach of you until that dagger is well out of your reach.”