Blue waves lapped calmly against the ship. It swayed gently; a soft wind caused the English flag to flutter lazily. Sunlight glimmered cheerily on the water. The call of seagulls drifted down to the deck of the Empire’s flagship.
The birds circled near the British vessel, periodically diving down to the smoking remains of one of the pirate ships and picking at the floating bodies. Blood swirled through the salt water. Tied up to the flagship was the main pirate ship, its Jolly Rodger lowered to the deck. The Mad Siren was painted on its side in royal purple letters.
One the deck of the ship stood the ragged pirate crew. They were a young crew, men with scruffy bears and strong arms and women with sultry lips. Earrings gleamed from their ears, and their eyes flashed in annoyance. Facing them from the other ship were the soldiers in red. Haughty smirks and loaded guns were directed at the pirates.
Among the soldiers paced a man, radiating confidence. He was a head shorter than the rest, but was decked in metals and honors. His hat was even a little larger than his men’s’. Bouncing against his hip was an ornate sword, given to him by a member of parliament on his promotion to admiral. His smile was bordered on giddy as he basked in his victory.
In front of him, and out of place on the fancy ship, kneeled a woman dressed in the eccentric colors of a pirate. She wore a long brown coat with empty holsters, her guns having been confiscated. Her features were young and smooth, tanned by the sun, and most definitely attractive. Under her weather worn hat fell a mane of silver hair. Her gold tinged eye followed the posh captain, back and forth. A gold-dyed cloth bandanna covered where her other eye should have been. She let out an annoyed sigh.
The admiral stopped his pacing. “It would seem, Captain Gilda, you are at my mercy. Did you really think that when you and your crew went gallivanting into the harbor, carousing in the local taverns, and even decimating a few stalls in the market, that you would avoid the ever vigilant watch of Her Majesty’s indomitable navy? Your arrogance knows no bounds.”
“It’s true,” Gilda said. Her crew chuckled. “Tell me, Admiral Basket, how did you find me and my crew?” Gilda asked, sarcasm dripping from her question.
“It is Admirable Bassett!” The admiral shouted. “You dare mock one of Her Majesty’s officers? Even after I captured you? I followed your two filthy ships from the port. I knew you would be looking for a place to bury the treasure you stole. This island is the only one near enough to sail to before night fall. My ship is far superior to yours, as the flaming wreckage surrounding us can attest.” At this Bassett swept his arm in a grand manner, his sword swinging as he turned, and nearly pulling him to the ground. He quickly regained his balance, glaring at the snickering pirates.
“And to top it all off,” He continued, snapping his fingers. Two of his soldiers brought forward a wooden chest. He set his foot on it triumphantly, stretching a little awkwardly to get to the top. “We have your gold now. All those ships you bombarded, those towns you ravaged, all the wealth is the Queen’s now.”
“Aye, you have my treasure chest,” Gilda nodded. “But can you tell me what’s inside it?”
Admiral Bassett’s grin faltered for a moment. “Gold of course, your riches. What else could it be?”
“Well, if you’re sure,” Captain Gilda said, glancing away from him mischievously.
Bassett paused before stepping off the chest and trying to rip open the lid. He yanked and tugged, grunting with the effort. With a might heavy, his fingers slipped off the box and he tumbled backwards.
Captain Gilda coughed politely. “It has a lock you know.”
The admiral scrambled up, angrily brushing off his fine coat. “Yes, of course. I knew that.” He paused again, staring at the large metal lock on the front of the chest. “And…ahem…where would it be?”
“I have it,” Gilda said slyly. She tapped the one of the buttons on the front of her shirt. “Right in here.”
Admiral Bassett’s face turned a deep shade of red. “Could you-I mean…will you-ah…Give me that key!” He stammered.
“You’re going to have to take it, Admiral,” Gilda teased, shaking her hair away from the front of her shirt.
“S-so be it,” Bassett said shakily. He stepped forward, his hand hovering a good foot away from Captain Gilda. His hands shook noticeably. Gilda gave him a sultry stare, daring him to try. The admiral stood frozen while the pirates behind their captain laughed.
“No no, I won’t be trifled with. “ Admiral Bassett clutched his hands behind his back, spun around, and quickly marched back to the other side of the chest. “Mr. Wicket, get a chisel and open the lock?” A young soldier saluted and ran below deck, coming back shortly with a mallet and chisel. With a few swift blows, he broke the lock and was able to open the chest.
Admiral Bassett gazed in, and his face fell. Instead of gold coins and gems shining in the sunlight, highlighting his victory, he found only disks and lumps of copper. Desperately he reached in and dug through the case, hoping for that flash of gold. He found nothing.
“Copper? This chest is full of copper?” Bassett asked in dismay.
“It would seem so,” Captain Gilda mused.
“Where is it? Where is the gold?” Admiral Bassett yelled, grabbing Captain Gilda’s shoulders and shaking her.
“So now you’re not afraid to touch me?” Gilda laughed. “I guess we know what gets you going, failure.”
“Soldiers!” Bassett yelled, quickly moving away from the pirate. “I want you to search every inch of their ship. Find that gold!” His men saluted and boarded the pirate ship. For the next hour, ever box, barrel, and bag were searched. Every inch of the rough wooden ship was searched, from brig to crow’s nest. Yet, no matter where they looked, they couldn’t find a scrap of gold. Admiral Bassett was pacing again as his men gathered to report. He was livid.
“It would appear, Admiral, that there is no gold.”
Bassett stopped his pacing and faced the pirate. Gilda could almost see the blood pulsing in his face. “You have it, I know you do. You will tell me where it is, pirate scum.”
“Scum? That seems rather harsh Bassett. I feel quite insulted.”
“Admiral Bassett!” The admiral yelled. In a fit, he grabbed the rifle from the nearest soldier and leveled it at her. “Tell me where the gold is if you value your life!”
Gilda stared, unmoved, down the barrel of the gun. She sighed. “I suppose I have no choice, admiral. So you know, we buried it on the island. I sent a landing boat ahead of us with the real chest, and they buried it. It’s on the island.”
Admiral Bassett lowered the gun. “So you had an advanced party bury it? Well then, I think you’ll have to lead us to it.” He smiled smugly. “And if you don’t you and your entire crew will hang from every single tree on that island. Understand?”
“Of course,” Captain Gilda said, unfazed by the threats.
“A few of the company will go with me; the rest of you will watch the riff raff.” Admiral Bassett addressed his lieutenant. They gathered their packs and weapons and filled the shore boats, with Admiral Bassett leading the way and Captain Gilda beside him. She had brought along five of her men as well, to help navigate the island. Bassett brought ten of his soldiers.
The island was not large, but still very lush. The white sand met with the trees a ways from the beach, and a thick wall of green grew in front of them. They could hear the chatter of birds in the branches and the sound of wind rustling the leaves. Gilda showed them the path that they had used and began to lead them into the foliage. They walked for twenty minutes, ducking under low hanging branches, climbing over fallen logs, and generally working up a fine sweat.
“How much farther?” Admiral Bassett groaned.
“Well now admiral, it wouldn’t be a good hiding spot for my treasure if it was so close to the sea now would it?” Captain Gilda explained slowly. “We’re a little ways form it still.”
“As long as we get it soon. I hope you know that you and your men will be the ones hauling it back to my-.”
“Admiral, look!” A soldier shouted, interrupting him. Bassett looked to where the man was pointing and saw smoke rising above the trees, in the direction of the beach.
“My ship!” Bassett shouted. “Back to the ship men!” The soldiers shoved the pirates along, hurrying as fast as they could back to the shore. The closer they got, the stronger the smoke smelled. “They’ve burned my ship to ash,” the admiral moaned.
Finally, they burst out of the trees and onto the beach. There, on the sea, they saw three more pirate ships, flags flying freely, surrounding the admiral’s vessel. Kneeling on the beach was Bassett’s crew. A fire was burning merrily on the sand, fed with green branches to increase the smoke. The crew of the three other ships stood around the defeated soldiers. A group of them, all wielding swords and pistols, advanced on Admiral Bassett and his remaining me.
Captain Gilda stepped around the captain and faced him, her entire crew now behind her. “It appears that there has been a shift in things while we were gone. The rest of my crew seems to have captured your men.”
“The-uh…rest?” Bassett asked, swallowing hard.
“Oh yes, you didn’t think that I only had two ships under my command did you? What kind of pirate lord would I be then? These fine looking pirates behind me are the group I brought with me to this area. The rest are working independently for now, raiding as they please.”
“W-w-where did they come from?” Bassett stammered, clearly terrified.
“They were simply around the edge of the island a little ways. When we went into the woods, one of my scouts was watching and signaled the rest to attack. It would appear your men surrendered without a fight.” At this, Gilda glanced at the kneeling soldiers and sighed. “Pity.”
“You had this planned all along; you let us follow you here.” Admiral Bassett blurted out, the realization shaking him even more.
“Indeed I did. You see, I wanted your ship, admiral. It’s a lovely vessel and will make a fine addition to my fleet. Thank you for playing a long so willingly.” She bowed dramatically, hat in hand, smiling like a devil.
“What are you going to do with us,” One soldier called from the back.
“I’m glad you asked. As it stands, I have no real desire to shed any blood today. It would be such an inconvenience to have to clean off your gore from our weapons. So, simply enough, I’m going to leave you here. If you can get away, more power to you.”
Gilda whistled and her crew turned their attention to her. “Get to your boats you sea dogs, we’re setting sail.” There was a cheer and her crew began to fill the landing boats.
“Oh, on last thing admiral,” Gilda said, turning back to him. “That chest really was full of gold. We simply dyed it with some natural colors. It washes right off.” She turned, kicked some dust at him, and sauntered off.
The admiral watched her go. He fell on his knees, and put his head in his hands. “Damn.”