A Pirate Princess (12 page)

“We do not even have your captain, you blood thirsty pigs!” Sharlene screamed irately at Acel, Quain and Karoly.

Acel scoffed loudly, “Sure
you do! Now hand him over or I shall blow another piece of your ship away.”

“No, unfortunately we truly do not,” Captain Marin St. Aubin argued. “That is why we were not aboard
The Beloved Loss
when you arrived. You had no problem wreaking havoc on my ship because there was no one to defend it but two of my men, you ignorant
children
.”

“You
did not release them, so where are they?” Quain insisted.

Marin sighed in resignation, “We are not positive. They were locked in my daughter’s quarters last night when we spotted land. This morning when Falco went to retrieve them they were gone. That is truly all we know.”

“Is he being serious?” Acel whispered to Karoly.

Karoly replied with a sharp elbow into Acel’s ribs, “Never trust a pirate.”

The older man continued the interview with Marin, “You truly have no idea where they are?”

“This is the only place we stopped, so they must be on this island somewhere. Since we arrived
The Beloved Loss
and
The Heart of Calais
are the only two ships that have been here. If you do not have them, and I do not have them, then they are somewhere in Hispaniola,” Marin explained.

Falco stepped in before Acel could retort, “We have a deal to make with you fellows. Cori
sanda is my fiancé. I need her back on this ship immediately. If you work with us we will work with you. We take Cori with us and you take your captain. No hard feelings and no harm done.
Ja
?”

The three temporary leaders of
The Heart of Calais
answered in unison, “We do not make deals with pirates!”

With that statement they forcefully boarded
The Beloved Loss
and searched it from top to bottom. After thirty consecutive minutes of exploration, the three men met at the helm. “There is no sign of them,” Quain whispered.

“Yes, Burke is definitely gone.” Acel sighed.

Quain shook his head negatively, “No, I mean there is no sign of Captain St. Aubin or his crew. While we were searching their ship they all disappeared. I suppose one of us should have stayed back and watched them, huh?”

Acel slapped his forehead in disgust at himself, “Burke would have known that. He’d kill me right now, if he was here.”

“Don’t feel bad,” Quain shrugged. “We can’t go on the island looking for them though. The natives have made that clear already.”

Acel sighed in irritation,
“I guess I fell right into that one.”

“
Stop whining! Burke named you First Mate for a reason. You have this under control,” Karoly comforted the best way he knew how.

Acel nodded his head confidently, “So, they could be telling the truth and Burke could have escaped with their girl, or they could be hiding them both somewhere until we give up and go home.”

“Well, I do not think they are hiding them anywhere. If that was the case, the one they call Falco would not have offered a deal, Burke for Corisanda. Right?” Karoly reasoned.

Acel chuckled, “Are
you not the one who said never to trust a pirate?”

“Yeah, yeah, but
we cannot waste any time. So what do you want to do?” He asked the First and Second Mates.

“Let
’s do a search of the coastline.
The Beloved Loss
is a little torn up, it will be at least a day or two before they are up and running enough to leave.” Quain suggested.

Acel put the plan in progress by saying, “I agree.”

When they boarded
The Heart of Calais
they faced a foe much more intimidating than the pirate crew they argued with an hour before. “WHERE IS MY COUNT?” Odelia demanded.

“Now
Odie, Calm down! We shall find him,” Acel soothed.

“I sha
ll NOT calm down! I want to know where he is! I heard that pirate say something about a woman!” Odelia huffed.

Acel patted Odelia’s head as if
she was a puppy, “Yes, well, Burke shall have to give you the details on that. We are not truly sure why their captain’s daughter escaped with Burke. She was supposedly engaged to their Quartermaster. I am sure it is nothing to worry about, Odie. After all, Burke
loves you until death do you part
. Right?”

“Do not
mock me, Acel Belcourt! I shall be in my quarters; I fear my stomach is already growing weak again. Find my fiancé, kill whatever woman he is associating with, and let us return to France where I belong!” She screamed as she stomped back to her bed.

Acel rolled his eyes at Quain
who was hiding fearfully behind a pole. “You coward,” he chastised.

“Sorry, Acel!
Put me up against
The Beloved Loss
or feed me to the sharks! Odelia is scarier than either one,” Quain answered with a shiver, looking over his shoulder to make sure he was safe.

“It is getting really dark, Burke. Do you not think we should make it back to the beach?” Cori advised.

Burke replied as he glanced over his shoulder at the long legged beauty behind him, “Yes, just a little further. You see that small clearing ahead?”

“Yes, I see it.” She answered.

“I believe it is the swamp. If we follow th
at a little way it shall lead us straight to the ocean,” he clarified.

“
You can’t be serious right now! Do you know what animals live in the swamp, Burke? Alligators! And infectious mosquitoes! And more snakes! No way, I am not going anywhere near that swamp. Let’s turn now,” Cori pleaded.

Burke stopped and turned toward her, “The trees are too thick to
turn into them now, Cori. We shall get lost for sure. They’re too dark to see through already. If we just follow the swamp line we will be to the beach within an hour at the very most!”

“Oh Burke, no.”

“Do you trust me at all, Cori?”

“Well, yes, I suppose I do.”

“Okay then, just trust me with this and I will keep you safe. Alright?”

“Oh
, for Heaven’s sake! You just worry about yourself, I shall keep myself safe!” She consented with an irritated grin.

Burke smiled back.
“Fine, as long as you trust me.”

The swamp was overgrown with bugs buzzing consistently.
Cori stared at the logs floating through the marshy water. Upon a second glance, half of them were not logs at all. Snakes hung from every tree, casually dropping off into the water and slithering through the water getting angry snaps from the log-disguised Alligators. Burke held Cori’s hand and walked briskly but carefully along the edge.

Cori’s heart pounded in her chest and Burke’s hand was moist with sweat. The ground under their feet was muddy and
posed a constant question as to where they should step. After an hour of walking they came to a tall tree growing sideways in the marsh. Since it was not growing straight up, but slumping inward toward the swamp, it blocked their path completely. Burke assessed their situation, “Okay, we have three options, Cori.”

“What are our choices?” She asked, hoping for a safe answer.

Burke took a deep breath, “We could go into the woods and around this tree. If we do that we shall be completely emerged in blackness. Look how dense those trees are, we will not be able to see a single thing for several minutes while we get around this Pine and back to the water’s edge.”

Cori shook her head negatively,
“That does not sound good, what is next?”

“We could go through the swamp. That is our quickest route and we would be in bright moonlight the whole time,” he started.

She snorted, “Oh, right! And take a chance on thirty snakes dragging us under the water or an alligator eating us! No, next please.”

Burke shrugged his shoulders, “Well, the third option is that we could go over this log.”

“What is the downside to that one?” Cori asked positively.

“Well, you see that light brown stripe across the top of the tree?” he pointed.

“Yes, is the bark chipped away there, or what?” Cori asked squinting for a better look in the darkness.

Burke shrugged, “Watch it for a moment.”

She focused on the discolored stripe until it seemed to move before her eyes, “Did the line just move?”

Burke answered
casually, “That line, my dear, is another snake.”

“Oh!” Cori squealed jumping backwards into Burke’s arms.

He chuckled, “Alright. We really have no choice but to go over the log but let’s try to get rid of its slithering resident first, alright?”

Cori nodded her head, “Deal, you do it!”

Burke glanced carefully at a nearby tree. Making sure it was a real limb he was grabbing, he broke the stick off and poked the snake harshly with it.

That earned
a loud hiss from the long, light brown stripe. Burke gave it one more shove and the snake fell off the tree and landed with a splash in the water. “Okay, I am going across first Cori. There may be one hundred more on the other side that I cannot see from here. Wish me luck,” Burke bravely whispered.

“Oh, Burke! Be careful!” Cori whined grabbing his hand in hers.

He smiled teasingly, “Well, if I had known I could get that much attention from you I would have decided to go over the log in the first place!”

Cori rolled her eyes and gave him a flirtatious push. “Just do not get hurt!”

He crossed the tree with ease and reached one hand over for Cori, “Come along, beautiful.”

She bounded over the giant, tree and into Burke’s arms on the other side. He put her down without a comment and continued on their march for the seashore. Only a few minutes later they were breaking free of the swampy rainforest and safely on the beach again. “Oh! Thank you, Lord!” Cori squealed in delight.

Burke agreed, “Amen! Let
’s find a place to rest. The beach gets really rocky over there, Cori. I bet there are some small caves. Plus, we shall be higher off the beach and less visible to
The Beloved Loss
. As long as we are watching for
The Heart of Calais
we should be fine.”

Cori led Burke up the steep set of rocks until a small shelter was found. “This would be perfe
ct, Burke. It’s not a big cave, just a small formation, but the location is ideal. We can see clearly along the beach on both sides to watch for anyone coming by land. It also overlooks the sea majestically. If your crew comes by way of the sea we will see them in plenty of time.”

Burke agreed with a positive nod of his head and sat down in the small cave. It was barely big enough for both of them to lie down and still be covered by the rock
overhead. He began pulling the rest of the fruit and fish out of Cori’s bag for them to eat. “Could you not have picked a more comfortable rock than this to sleep on?” Burke chuckled kiddingly as he nestled into the uncomfortable rocks. “I feel like I am sleeping in that cranberry chair in your quarters again!”

She giggled, feeling bad for making him sleep in
the scratchy chair. “Well, I might be a pirate’s daughter but I still believe in sleeping alone until marriage!”

Burke smiled, “You are the most ladylike pirate I have ever met.
You will make a wonderful wife to a very lucky man.”

“You do no
t have any legal, land-loving brothers do you?” Cori asked playfully.

He rolled his eyes, “No brothers! I have one handsome cousin, but you already met him. Besides,
he loves the sea as much as I do.”

“I love the sea as well; it sha
ll be hard to give it up. It’s the only home I have ever known,” Cori sighed.

“
Then why give it up?”

“I want nothing to do with pirates, Burke.”

“You might run into pirates occasionally on the ocean, but you do not have to work for them anymore. Maybe you should buy a ship, sail around and be your own captain!”

Cori laughed
as her eyes blinked uncontrollably, “One of us should get some sleep. The other needs to keep watch. We can take shifts, what do you think?”

“You go
to sleep, Cori. I will wake you in a few hours, alright?” Burke asked. Hearing no response from his partner in crime, he turned toward her. She was already asleep on the hard rock slab they were using as a floor and bed. Burke shook his head and smiled at the black haired pirate princess. He whispered quietly enough to ensure she did not hear his words, “Goodnight, my love.”

Burke’s watch proved dull and motionless. He was beginning to wonder if
The Heart of Calais
was coming for him or not.
Maybe they were damaged by The Beloved Loss? Or maybe they already sailed by here once while we were still in the rainforest?
Finally, close to dawn, Burke could keep his eyes open no longer and woke Cori to take a vigilant turn.