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The Red Queen - Chapter II, Where a Pirate Shouldn't Be
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The Red Queen - Chapter II, Where a Pirate Shouldn't Be |
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Kosetsu Member
since 2001-03-10
Posts 450Alabama, USA |
Shadows played across the foliage-littered floor of the forest. A frown held tight on Catalina’s lips, her hand resting on the pommel of her rapier, her stride quick. Shades…how she longed to return to her ship. Still...some business had needed to be taken care of on shore. Emilio was bringing the Rebellion around the coast. They would meet in Glaida, a small port city on the northeastern coast of Twinmarch. Her frown tightened as her thoughts drifting to the battle earlier in the week. Her knee was still quite sore, and she winced at the tinge of pain that resulted from the memory of the bruise entering her mind. And the deaths of almost twenty members of her crew were weighing on her conscience. They knew what they were in for on a pirate ship, she tells herself, justifying the events to herself. The Red Queen’s emerald eyes drifted down at the sound of rushing water nearly beneath her. Her frown lightened at the sight of a small stream that cut through the dense clusters of trees. It wasn’t the great expanse of the open seas, but at least it was water. A gloved slender hand slipped towards a piece of parchment rolled up and tucked into her belt. Silently, she withdrew it, her eyes drifting down to check the map momentarily before she returned it to her belt. She took a few steps back from the bank, then ran towards the edge, leaping over the expanse. “Gnah!” Her left knee gave out as she landed upon it, and she slipped down the bank before she could catch herself. A grunt of pain escaped her lips, though she was more annoyed than agonized by the injured joint. Her head jerked up, her irises panning slowly across the forest around her. Something…had snapped a twig. Adrenaline drowned out the throb of her leg, and she pulled herself up the embankment and lowered herself behind the massive trunk of an ancient oak tree. Her right arm crossed her body, the fingers of her right hand wrapping about the carved wooden hilt of her rapier. For some reason, it seemed odd to her that a twig might snap in a forest. Perhaps long months at sea makes a person less than rationale when dealing with land-locked terrain. Shades, Catalina...it’s probably only a bloody squirrel. She silently berates herself at her insecurity. Her heart skipped a beat as a quick cough came from the other side of the tree. Squirrels don’t cough. By the Shades, she hated forests. These trails weren’t traveled often, she knew that much of them. The trail led all the way from Glaida at the north end, into the Forest of the Lost, a fabled enigma of a place, in the south. Only rogues and thieves that didn’t want to be found took this road. This would be bloody great. The Red Queen of Morado found raped, robbed, and murdered on a forest trail by a couple of thugs. Admiral Torano and his men would have a good laugh about that one. Why hadn’t she agreed to let Emilio accompany her? She caught her breath and listened for any sign of the person...or persons...on the other side of the tree to leave the area. No such sound of blessing came. Fighting to quiet her ragged breath, she slowly inches her rapier from its scabbard, guiding it out as slowly as possible in order to keep the sound to a bare minimum. No sense in waiting it out hiding behind a tree. If she was going to die, she intended to go down fighting. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and formed the sign of a cross over her chest, then opened her eyes, released the breath, and whirled about and around the tree, her rapier coming around to level off at her “attacker’s” neck. Shades…how she hated forests. A gasp of shock was uttered, followed by the drawing of a silent breath by the woman that now stiffened as the tip of Catalina’s rapier pressed against the flesh of her neck. She was considerably shorter than the pirate woman, but with similar green eyes. She was petite and delicate too, but trail worn, as if someone had taken a fine china doll and given it to a child to play with in the dirt. Without thinking, Catalina’s demeanor took that she was famous for on the sea: demanding. “Who are you?” she snapped, her eyes darting about for the large and brutish thugs she had impressed into her mind. But there was just the woman. One woman. Bloody hell, this was a pretty situation. She couldn’t very well lower her rapier just yet. She was the Red Queen, after all. It wouldn’t bode well for her reputation if she was caught making a mistake like this one. “I am called Ceres Zyienn,” the woman answered stiffly. She looked Catalina square in the eyes, her jaw set. “And who would you be, and what business do you have questioning me?” Her clothing was elegant, to say the least...or once had been. Travel had worn it. Slippers meant to be worn indoors were her only means of footwear. Catalina’s eyes narrow into slits at Ceres’ tone of voice. “I am Catalina Esparanza. And my business is simply that – my business and no one else’s,” she replies. Such a pretty situation. How are you going to get out of this one with your reputation, Catalina? A long silent minute passed between the two, and Catalina’s mind raced to find something to turn this to her advantage. Her eyes snapped to the woman’s clothing. Only nobles wore things that fancy. “Tell me, do you know the name of Wolfgang Gustav?” she found herself saying. Bloody hell…what’d she expect this woman to say? ‘Why yes I do.’? Ceres’ frown tightened in irritation of having a blade at her neck. “No,” she answered coolly and indifferently. Her jaw tightened slightly as she fought off her anger. She’d done nothing to warrant this barbaric behavior. Catalina studied her once more, then slowly lowered the rapier. “I believe you,” she said softly. Now for a story to weave. “I must ask that you forgive me. Things have been rather…tense, you might say,” she explained. She did not sheath the weapon, but did allow the tip to rest upon the ground. The displeasure of being held at sword-point in the first place played upon Ceres’ face, but courtly manners soon took over. “I apologize if I startled you,” she replies, “Do you always greet strangers in such a way?” she adds. Catalina couldn’t tell whether she said it sarcastically or as a joke. “Only when I’m where I shouldn’t be,” the red haired pirate replied with a grin. “You’re some form of nobility, aren’t you? What’s a noblewoman doing in the middle of these blasted woods?” Ceres stiffened at the mention of ‘nobility’, but quickly hid it behind her calm voice. “I am simply a traveler. A cold, hungry, and now wary traveler. You seem not to have a great love of the woods, I might ask why you are here in the middle of these 'blasted woods', as you so fondly named them." A vague smirk crossed Catalina’s lips at the sight of this woman’s stiffness. “Aye...and I’m a bloody barwench,” she coughed beneath her breath. Her voice rose to its previous level in order to answer the question. “Simply passing through, on my way to the port of Glaida,” she replied. She guided the rapier back into its sheath. Ceres’ frown tightened. Either this swordswoman was making clever guesses, or she had dealt with nobility before. She suspected the latter, but refrained from commenting on her status. She ventured for something to bring them further from the topic. “You are seeking passage on a ship then? As a passenger, or as a sailor?” She relaxed slightly when Catalina sheathed her sword, but Ceres’ eye glanced at the weapon still. Catalina gave a soft chuckle. “You might say that. I am meeting my ship there. My first mate is bringing her around the coast. I had to meet someone, so I had them drop me off further down on the shore, and I’m on my way now to rendezvous with them,” she explains. That was the truth. She didn’t intend to lie to this girl. Just...bend the truth a bit. Ceres’ eyebrows lifted in intrigue. A ship captain? “So you are the captain of this…ship?” She had seen ships before, even sailed a bit, but for the most part she’d been kept at home…all that nonsense over the nation’s security and the ‘continuity of the Blood’. Catalina nodded slightly. “Aye…I am the captain. The ship’s name is the Rebellion. After restocking in Glaida, we’re off for Perault, in the North Sea. Provided, I can pick up some more crewmates in Glaida, that is. We were attacked by pirates a few weeks ago, and are now a bit undermanned.” Just a slight switching of roles…that’s all her story was. Pirates? Ceres had heard stories of pirates, but they’d never really meant much to her. The stories seemed to take on a new dimension, however, when speaking to someone that had recently dealt with the subjects of those stories. “Why were you attacked by pirates?” she inquired, silencing the nagging feeling that told her she should not be asking such questions. The pirate already had her answer ready. “My ship was carrying a rather large shipment of rare coral that we’d harvested off the coast of Reiver. We were bringing it back with us to sell in Glaida, but apparently we were followed by a band of pirates. They attacked us as soon as we were out on the open sea. They stole most of the coral, and killed a number of my men before we managed to break away and outrun them.” Ceres caught herself nodding and scowling into the dimness. She drank in the story as a child acts in front of a bard. “What do you plan on doing once you reach your ship?” The Moradan woman shrugged her shoulders slightly, leaning back against the large tree casually and crossing her arms across her chest. “To tell the truth, I’m not quite sure. I had hidden a small crate of the coral that I’d plan to keep for my own benefits. I’ll probably have to use that to hire some new crewmates. If I can’t find anyone, we’ll probably dock here for a while and wait. A noble or a merchant will eventually come along needing a job done.” The tale was a good one. If it didn’t succeed, however, she would have to kill this woman. Murder wasn’t something Catalina was fond of. Ceres’ mind warred between interest and sensibility. Interest won. “Catalina, you had mentioned that you had lost some crew members. Would that mean that there is room on your ship for others?” Despite her shortness of stature, her air of nobility helped make her seem taller. Catalina skillfully feigned an intrigued quirk of the brow. Things were going just as she’d hoped. “I suppose it would…but if you’re seeking passage to some place, I’ll have to ask for some sort of payment. However, if you’re looking to become a deckhand...well, I lost about twenty good men to those pirates. I can’t pay you much, but I’ll take any help I can get, provided you can find your way around a ship.” Deckhand? That hadn’t crossed Ceres’ mind. She was a high born, and...she had given it up, for the time being. What better way to learn skills than to work on a ship? She nodded slightly, then replied confidently, “I am a fast learner. Where, may I ask, do you usually do business from?” A grin played across Catalina’s lips, though her expression flashed with a short look of confusion. “I’m afraid I don’t understand your question. I do business where I find it. The Rebellion isn’t a military vessel, nor is she a merchant ship. Perhaps mercenary vessel would be the best term. We work when hired, be the job transporting goods or giving passage to people. If business grows slow, I dabble a bit in the trading business.” Ceres nodded thoughtfully. So she would be seeing many places. At least no one she knew would ever expect to find her on a ship. “Then you do not object to having another person on board? I admit I do not know much of ships, but I believe I could learn quickly if taught.” That mischievous grin played across the pirate queen’s lips once more. “It will be a welcome sight to see another woman on board. Men can be quite frustrating – moreso when you’re trapped on a ship with them for months at a time. However, I must warn you. Men can grow quite...rambunctious, you might say. If I am not near, keep a weapon with you,” she warns. “Come...it’s growing late. I’d like to reach Glaida by nightfall. Emilio will soon be growing worried.” Ceres nodded, a small smile crossing her lips. She starts off after Catalina, then adds, almost as an afterthought, “Thank you...for giving me a chance.” --------------- Credit for the creation, and the actions of Ceres Zyienn go to her player, who at the moment wishes to remain anonymous. -Adam "If life is so significant, then why do we die?" |
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| © Copyright 2002 Adam Kamerer - All Rights Reserved | |||
Skyfire 
since 2000-12-27
Posts 3381Riding |
Hmmm... I think that you've got a good thing going here. Just one thing that I noticed, is that you tend to confuse your tenses a bit. It's not enough to be noticable really, but I caught a few here and there. *grins* That's what you get for getting a wannabe-writer to read your stuff. I honestly want to read the rest of them when you get them done, so make sure that you keep up with it, okay? *poke* You're great Adam. Very talented. |
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AngelPoet87 Member
since 2001-04-21
Posts 280Indy |
You Rock, Woo Master! Good job hun, other than the tense errors, this is very well written! You better stick with this one, I want this to be one you actually finish, unlike past writtings *snickers*. *pat on the head* Good Job so far, keep it commin'! Liefhe alle ten spijte van duivel... A tes souhaits... A tes amours... Qu ils restent. J'ai t'adore. Je t'aime. |
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