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Authors: Brittany Jo James

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BOOK: A Pirate Princess
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You
can go, but you cannot have my
Mevrouw
!” Falco screamed irately.

“She does no
t like being called that, you disrespectful imbecile. No, I will not go without her,” Burke defended. Cori’s palms were sweating and her heart was beating rapidly. She was terrified.

They were almost to the middle of the deck and Acel was already preparing a ladder to throw across to help the two in. All of the sudden, an extremely loud blast sounded through the air and
The Heart of Calais
shook violently, sending waves right in between the two boats. It separated them a few more yards, enough that a ladder would not be long enough for them to cross.


IT IS THE OTHER SHIP,” Falco screamed. “They are opening fire on us!”

“No, boy.
They are not! They are attacking
The Heart of Calais
! This is our chance to get away without a fight. Hurry!” Marin yelled as he ran back to the helm.

Acel was barking orders at Burke’s crew and turned back around to access the situation with
The Beloved Loss
. Marin already had the ship in motion and Acel, thinking as quickly as he could, threw a rope across. It was barely long enough to reach
The Beloved Loss
but Burke grabbed it. “It’s not long enough for you both, Burke!” Acel yelled. “Just grab it and get over here. We’ll save the girl when we take down
The Beloved Loss
. Please, just come now!” he pleaded.

“No, Ace. I canno
t leave her. Just go. Meet me at Hispaniola. I shall find you somehow; just take care of my boat! Why is that ship waging war on you?” Burke asked.

“They are
undoubtedly the most ignorant buccaneers I’ve ever come in contact with. Their ship is old and worthless, why would they even try to bring us down?” Acel questioned in irritation. “It won’t be a problem, Burke.”

Burke nodded, “Just take care of my ship,
see you later.”

That was as much as could be said, Marin was
sailing away and Falco was sprinting toward Burke and Cori. A hard punch to Burke’s stomach was the first thing that introduced Falco’s presence. “WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT LEAVING MY
MEVROUW
ALONE?” Falco screamed.

“She does not want to marry you! All she wants is to get away from here. I have not touched her, you moron! She is t
oo good for you and this ship,” Burke said, returning a jab into Falco’s eye.

A fist fight broke lose as Cori screamed for the two to separate. “Stop
, stop! Please stop, Falco, do not hurt him!” She wailed.

Then, to her surprise, she realized that it was not Falco doing the damage. She had never seen her fiancé
taken down in a fight, but Burke was teaching him a lesson he would not soon forget. Falco was screaming and trying to crawl away as Burke viciously pounded the Quartermaster’s head into the boat dock.

Within seconds,
Laron and Yvet raced to the scene, breaking the two men apart. Yvet grabbed Falco and shoved him away; Laron grabbed Cori’s hand and pushed her towards the stairway. “Both of you, run! Go to your room, Cori, and stay there, okay? Burke, you too! Just go, we can calm Falco down. Run!” he demanded.

Cori did not need anymore coaxing; she started to run, stopping when she reached the stairs. Burke was not behind her.
He refused to give in. Shrugging Laron away he punched Falco another time, then another, before anyone could tear him off. Cori ran to Burke’s side. “Stop, Burke! Come on!” she yelled.

Burke seemed not to hear her. She did not know what to do to get his attention. Then, it hit her. The
re was only one thing she knew to do to make him forget about Falco. She rushed between the two men, grabbed Burke’s chin in her small hands, and kissed him on the lips. Burke jumped back in surprise, distancing himself from Falco inadvertently. His mouth dropped open and he stared at Cori in shock, “Now run!” She screamed.

Cori grabbed Burke’s hand and flew across the deck, back to the stairs. She could hear Falco screaming curse words behind her but she did not slow down. Cori rushed Burke into her room and slammed the door behind her. Pushing her partner-in-crime out of the way she grabbed her heavy trunk and pushed it up against the door, blocking anyone’s entrance. That was not good enough, she decided, and she
heaved her heavy armoire up against the door as well. Burke still stood motionless with his mouth gaped open. Out of breath, Cori slumped to her bed.

“Did you just kiss me?” Burke asked in confused astonishment.

Cori rolled her eyes sarcastically, “Yes, Burke! I didn’t know what else to do to get you away from him and down here to safety!”

“You just kissed me,” Burke repeated again, trying to grasp what had happened. “And I really enjoyed it, despite the situation.”

Cori scoffed dramatically. “Our plan fell through, Burke. We’re both dead. You know that right? We’ll never make it to Hispaniola. As soon as we get a safe distance from your ship my father is going to feed you to the sharks. Sharlene shall beat me and do the same thing if I’m still breathing.”

“What are we going to do?” Burke asked, trying to think of a plan.

“There’s nothing we can do! We’re still at least one or two days away from Hispaniola,” she cried.

Burke slumped to his chair, “How long will this trunk and armoire hold them?”

“Not long if they really want in,” Cori explained.

Burke could not think of any plan that would save them until
they reached Hispaniola. “We shall just have to wait and see what happens. Hopefully
The Heart of Calais
will stay on their tail and keep them busy.”

The pair waited, and waited, and waited. To Cori
’s surprise, no one ever came. They each slept restlessly through the night, rising at every sound. Finally, the morning came and a light rapping sounded on Cori’s door. “Who is it?” she asked quietly through the chest and armoire.

The door slightly bulged showing a small crack. Novia stuck her skinny fingers through the door in a waving motion.
“Oh, Aunt Novia!” Cori wailed.

She slid the armoire out of the way, then the chest. Novia slid through the portal and hugged her
niece tightly. “Oh! I was so worried about you!”

“I know, I was scared too.
I kept expecting someone to come get me for punishment but no one has. What is going on?” Cori begged.

“Marin is nervous about getting the ship to Hispaniola. That is all he is focusing on for now. He demanded that Sharlene leave you both alone until we get to land. Falco has been in his bed since Captain Belcourt socked him! He is nursing his cuts and bruises, complaining that his
handsome face
is
destroyed
.” Novia explained.

Burke turned to the Hispanic maid, “Novia, as soon as we get to Hispaniola I am getting away from this ship and bringing Cori with me. I am concerned for her sa
fety and shall do anything in my power to save her from Falco. You and Guillermo are welcome to flee with us, if you would like. My ship is meeting me there and I will gladly drop you off at Cuba or wherever you would like to go. Do you agree to come with us?”


Si,
I shall speak to Guillermo about it. When we get to Hispaniola and everyone else is busy I will try to unlock your door. Do whatever you can to save my niece, with or without Guillermo and me. I must go,” she whispered. With that, Novia turned and ran out the door.

Burke helped Cori move the chest and armoire back against the doorway. When they both sat down again, Burke flashed a bright, white smile to Cori.
His blue eyes twinkled and she stared at the crooked scar on his cheek, “What are you so happy about?” Cori asked. “We have not made it there yet! My father could easily change his mind and we may never reach Hispaniola!”


I am not smiling about that. I am still shocked that you kissed me,” he chuckled.

“Oh, it i
s not like I enjoyed it or anything!” she said, blushing deeply.

Burke leaned back in the uncomfortable cranberry chair. He propped his feet up on the small table and smiled ruefully at Cori, shaking his head. The dark haired beauty smiled back and rolled her eyes in response, cuddling into her little bed. Burke closed his eyes, wondering why his hands
became sweaty whenever Cori was around.

Teasing Cori about her purpose-driven kiss seemed natural, like something he did not have any choice but to joke about. What surprised him was the fact that he could not get the kiss off of his mind. It felt right, comforting,
intriguing, and once again he felt as if she was luring him in. For what this time, he did not know.

Cori squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to block out anymore of Burke’s mocking.
Yes, I kissed him! So what!
She silently scoffed.
The worst part is, Burke is not the only one who shall make a big deal about it. Falco, Sharlene, and my father are surely livid. If I do not get away from here soon, I will never live this down, if I live at all.
Cori told herself over and over that it was no big deal; kissing Burke was the only thing she could think to do to get him off of Falco.

It was supposed to mean nothing, but for some reason the way his soft lips felt against hers and the masculine scent of his skin sent shivers down her spine. She
could not stop thinking about the brief kiss they shared. Since Cori had never kissed a man before she did not know if her emotions were normal or not.
Do all kisses feel so wonderful or was something about his kiss exceptionally special?
She wondered.

 

“We are sound and stable again, Acel.” Karoly informed the First Mate confidently.

“Thank Heavens,” Acel replied in relief. “Burke wou
ld have killed me if he returned to
The Heart of Calais
and it was torn to pieces. No damage was severe, I suppose?”

Quain smiled, joining the two. “Nah, everything looks fine now that Karol
y made a few minor repairs. Do not worry; Burke will be happy when he gets back! I just finished in the cargo room and those buccaneers who attacked us had a ship full of goods from the America coast! Burke shall like all of our new cargo from America. Besides, that will save us some time traveling there after taking down
The Beloved Loss
.”

“I do no
t know if Burke wants time to be saved or not. Odie is still in her room sulking and pouting about Burke being gone. She has been questioning me about who his wealth shall be left to if he dies! I am just disappointed that we could not get Burke off that boat,” Acel huffed.

“Calm down, boy!”
Karoly soothed, “You know the captain, nothing can keep him down! He shall be fine; you just worry about this ship and let him take care of himself.”

“I cannot understand why he would no
t just leave that woman there! She is a
pirate
, why is he trying to help her?” Quain asked.

Karoly smiled, “Let me tell you both something you may or may not know about our tough, bru
tal, unstoppable captain. Hidden deep in that thick chest of his is a heart. It is a big, beating, soft heart. He does not want anyone to know it is there, but rest assured, it is! Something tells me he wants to save that girl, rescue her. Maybe she is in danger, or maybe Burke just thinks she is pretty and wants to take her home.”

“Sure, she i
s gorgeous,” Acel agreed, “but why does that make any difference? It is not like he can marry her or anything! Not with Odie around!”

“Perhaps he wants her as a mistress?” Quain questioned.

“We will just have to ask him when he gets back on board,” Garner surmised as he joined the rest of the crew.

“Everything alright in your department, Garn?”

The Gunner smiled, “Good as gold! I wish we had attacks more often.”


Do not wish that upon us until Burke is back!” Acel chuckled to the trigger-happy Gunner. “Okay, men. Let’s get back to work. They are several hours ahead of us and we need to make a speedy arrival at Hispaniola. I do not know if they shall be able to escape the pirates or if we shall have to fight for their release. Since we are not too popular there anyway, we better be prepared.”

SEVEN

 

The room was getting darker and Cori lit a few candles. Everything had been quiet and no one bothered to come for punishment. No one had come with food either. “I am starving,” Burke complained.

“Yeah, I am
too,” Cori answered. Loud footsteps were heard down the hallway and quickly passed Cori’s door. More were heard every few moments. The footsteps were sometimes walking quickly, sometimes running, but always in a hurry. “When do you think we will be getting close to Hispaniola?” She asked knowingly.

“Well, the way it sounds out there with people staying so busy it may be soon. Do you think they have spotted land?” he asked.

“Perhaps!” Cori answered. A light knock was heard on the door and Guillermo shuffled in.

“Cori,” h
e said in broken English, “the captain has spotted Hispaniola in the distance. Novia said that you shall try to leave. We will escape this ship one day but we cannot go with you now. No one can take a chance on you being seen. Okay?”

“Okay,” Cori agreed, hugging her uncle. “Thank you for everything, I hope we are soon reunited.”

“Me too, child.” He sighed as he left the room.

It was late into the night when
The Beloved Loss
made it to Hispaniola. Cargo remained on the boat since they planned to fix the ship and leave again for Africa. Burke had no belongings with him aboard
The Beloved Loss
. All he had was the clothes he was wearing. He advised Cori to pack a very small, easily hidden bag with her necessities in it, “Once we attack
The Beloved Loss
and take your father as prisoner, then it shall be safe to get all the rest of your things. For now, just get what you have to have.”

Cori packed her hair brush first and
folded a set of clothes into it. She picked up one thing, shook her head and put it back into the dresser drawer, then another and another, trying to decide what all to bring A moment later her small bag was stuffed totally full. Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door but it was not the timid, cautious one of Guillermo or Novia. She barely had time to stuff the bag under her pillow and sit down inauspiciously when Falco threw the door open and barged in. He scowled fiercely at his fiancé, “We have arrived at Hispaniola,
Mevrouw
.”

She was too afraid to answer.
I will be punished and killed before I get a chance to escape!
She silently cried. He glared at Burke with his lip curled, “I do not know what kind of man you think you are, Captain Belcourt, but I can assure you that a bullet could kill you just like everyone else. Marin has given me his permission to kill you, due to that stunt you tried to pull with my
Mevrouw
. Your time is short.”

“You may try
if you please, Falco. A bullet would kill me, the problem you shall have is hitting me with one,” Burke shrugged.

Falco stared at Burke in rage, stomped out of the room, and slammed the door behind him. The bolts were clicked, ensuring their captivity. “We have to hurry, Burke!” Cori exclaimed quietly.

“Would you be upset if he killed me?” He questioned.

Cori faced him in surprise, “Burke! What kind of question is that? Of course I would be upset! I would be devastated!”

Burke stared at the floor, “Why?”

“I do not want you to die, especially because of me!”

“Would you be sad that your escape plan was ruined?”

Cori
could not understand his reason for the depressing questions, but she answered honestly. “Of course I would be sad that we could not get away but I would mainly be upset that something bad happened to you. I do not know why you work in the career that you do, but I know you are the nicest man I have ever met in your job field. You do not deserve to be killed.”

He
did not know what she meant about his career. However, Burke believed she was compassionate and truly did care about his life. Cori was much more loving than Odelia Vadeboncour. Although Cori did not love Burke she would still have more compassion than Odelia.
The dark haired princess is certainly not a normal pirate,
Burke thought to himself as Cori finished packing her bags.
She cares little for money, jewels, or crime. She is not hateful or malicious. Cori wants a normal life, legal and fair. I wonder what husband she will choose for herself when she is free.

The thought crossed Burke’s mind that Cori might
fall in love with Acel. He was not sure why, but the idea irritated him. His cousin was a great man, romantic, handsome, and kind. He would make a wonderful husband to Cori. But for some reason Burke did not want to picture Cori marrying any man. Burke played a list of Dukes, Knights, Counts, Marquises, and Princes through his mind and none of them seemed good enough. They were too weak or to strong, to nice or to mean, to proud or to timid.
Well who would be good enough, then?
He questioned himself in a foul mood
. Me? Yeah, if she wanted to marry a married man! Or a sailor!

“I a
m ready!” she squealed in delight.

“Okay, here i
s the plan. Novia will unlock our door so we can sneak off the boat. Hopefully we get away unnoticed. Pull your hair up so it is not noticeable. Change your dress into something as unflattering as possible. Do you have any pants?”

“Pants?
Like, for men?” She asked in awe.

“Yes.” He answered without explanation.

“Well, I think there is one pair in here somewhere that I wear to bed in the winter,” she replied.

Burke nodded his head, “Put them on.”

Minutes went by and then hours. Novia never came and the ship grew quiet. “Burke, something is wrong. Aunt Novia would have come by now to at least tell us what is going on. They must have locked her and Uncle Guillermo in for the night.”

“W
hen shall they release them?” He questioned in discouragement.

“They might in the morning. They usually never lock them in anymore, but maybe they were concerned about
The Heart of Calais
and decided not to take any chances on us getting away,” Cori surmised.

Burke took a deep breath and stood up from the uncomfortable chair, “Well, we
cannot wait until morning. We must find our own way off of this ship. Do you have anything in here that we could use to loosen the hinges on the door?”

“I have a knife, but it is little
,” Cori shrugged.

“That will have to do,” he answered as she pulled the small weapon out of her empty jewelry box.

Burke scooted the trunk and the armoire out of the way. He worked at the door hinges for what seemed like hours. Finally the bottom was loose as well as the middle. Burke twisted at the top latch until it finally came undone as well. Since the door was bolted against the wall on the other side of the door, the portal barely opened even with all three hinges off. “Can you squeeze through?” he asked.

“Yes, but can you?” Cori inquired.

Burke smiled shyly, “I shall make it. At least this way the door does not look like it has been messed with. The locks will keep it standing straight and it shall not look tampered with until they unlock it. Then it will probably fall on whoever opens it!”

Very quietly Burke peered through the cracked door. “No one is in the hall, Cori. Go ahead and sneak through but stay against the wall in case someone comes.”

The thin girl squeezed through effortlessly, but it took a little more pushing and pulling to get her tall, muscular partner through the door. When both were together again they crept slowly down the hallway to the bottom of the stairs. Snores were heard coming from Klaas and Yvet’s rooms. Falco’s quarters were silent, as well as Marin and Sharlene’s. Burke climbed up the stairs on hands and knees to get a better look onto the deck. Marin, as always, was standing at the helm. Sharlene was by his side overlooking the ocean, searching for any sign of
The Heart of Calais
.


Let’s go,” Burke whispered to Cori. “Stay up against the wall and low to the ground. They are looking toward the ocean and not toward us. Try not to be noticed.”

The pair crept along the far side of the ship.
It was early in the morning and the sun was barely visible as it began rising in the sky. Cori and Burke scooted quickly and silently. They finally reached the edge of the boat, preparing to jump off the side and land on the beach. Burke glanced down quickly with Cori at his side, “There’s Falco and Zeeman. We need to get back across to the other side.”

Sure enough, Cori could see Zeeman replacing boards at the bottom of the boat. Her
despicable fiancé stood by the Carpenter, barking orders and supervising the repairs. Cori gasped, pushing her back firmly against the wall. Burke rubbed her arm quickly, urging her to go. The pair snuck back the way they came, passed the stairs, and to the other side of the ship. Burke froze, squeezing Cori’s arm. Sharlene had heard something and she scanned the ship’s deck with her eyes. He pulled her down with him to a crouching position behind a couple tall black cannons and waited for her to return her attention to the sea.

When finally she gave up on the noise, they looked for a quick shelter on the groun
d to run for. After a long stretch of beach with no covering at all, there was a large clump of trees hiding the village. Burke took a swift leap off of the boat and landed with a slight thud on the ground. Cori remained against the wall, hoping no one but she had heard the sound. Burke motioned for her to jump and held out his arms to catch her. She scrunched her eyebrows together and then rolled her eyes at him, giving him a shooing motion with her hands until he shrugged and backed a short distance away.

Cori jumped, landing silently in the sand without Burke’s help. “Quiet,” he whispered as they snuck along the bottom of the boat. “We have to make it out of eyesight before Falco, Zeema
n, Sharlene or your father spot us. Then, we have to get to the village and into a safe hiding place before they notice we are gone.”

The pair
tiptoed through the sand to put a little distance between themselves and
The Beloved Loss
. A few yards from the boat, they froze again and peered upward knowing that if they crept any further they would be in clear eyesight to their pirate enemies. “On the count of three, run for the trees. Okay?” Cori asked, taking charge.

“Okay,” Burke answered with a devilish grin.

“THREE!” She whispered enthusiastically, throwing Burke off guard. He ran as fast as he could but the long legged vixen by his side easily outran him. When they reached the edge of the palm trees they peered behind them to see if anyone had followed. No one seemed to suspect a thing and Cori took a deep breath of relief.

“Where did you learn to run so fast?” Burke questioned with a smile.

Cori smiled, thinking of the many pranks she pulled on Zeeman and Klaas over the past several years. “Practice, practice, practice!”

They made it to the village before the sun was much higher in the sky and the inhabitants were beginning to shuffle around.
One hut sat in the middle of the village, larger than most and all alone. It had palm leafs covering the doorway and large cracks for windows. “This must be their storehouse,” Burke whispered sneaking closer to it. “Let us gather up some food before we find a hiding spot.”

“I sha
ll stand here and keep guard. If anyone comes, I’ll alert you. Grab something quickly,” Cori ordered anxiously.

Burke
nodded and walked into the hut where he picked up several large oranges, a bag of fish, a few yellow bananas, and a pineapple. He shuffled them around in his arms until he had a decent grip and slipped back out the portal to Cori. “Hurry,” she whispered as he handed her a few things to help carry. “No one has been out of their huts yet but I’ve heard voices coming from several. They shall surely be out soon.”

They crept back to the wood line between the beach and the village, “We need to hide somewhere close to the sea so my crew can find us when they ar
rive. On the other hand, we cannot stay close to
The Beloved Loss
. Let’s sneak around toward the forested part of the island.”

Cori stopped in her tracks and looked at Burke in fear,
“The land is a rainforest, Burke. If we keep walking this direction we will get deeper and deeper into the swampy part of the island. It would be a great place to hide because of the dense tree cover, and many caves right off of the beach but it’s extremely dangerous. There are enormous snakes that the natives call Boa Constrictors. When the Spaniards first claimed this land they died by the thousands. Not only are there man-eating snakes, but alligators, poisonous spiders, giant beetles, and disease carrying mosquitoes. Plus, it is easy to get lost in the bog before we reach the sea again. Are you sure we should try?”


That’s our best option, Cori. Who are you more afraid of, snakes or your father?” Burke shrugged. “Are you capable of trying?”

“Me?” She scoffed. “
Oh, I am fine. I was just worried about you,” she answered with her chin held high.

BOOK: A Pirate Princess
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