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Chapter 11~ The First Wife of Captain Gazsi Maut
Captain Gazsi Maut was a man of great infamy all across the Arabian Sea. His ship, Svarn Aatank, was a pure majesty of royal terror. The ship was painted with war scenes all across the higher walls of the hull and appeared as if the vessel belonged in a museum. Every crevice had been cleaned and scrubbed. I’d nearly been convinced it was a newly-built ship. The crew was composed of heavy, burly men with more chest hair than brains. But unlike Tew’s rough and lackadaisical men, these men had a sense of pride in their work, something I’d never seen on those in such a rapacious lifestyle. They followed me up a ramp to the deck of the ship. There, other crew members waited and watched me. By now, a cold fear I’d grown accustomed to reclaimed its place in my chest. The captain followed behind me, but I felt a precarious suspicion that he brought me here to return me to Tew.
Perhaps this man works for Tew! 441Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJWPqOqTYC
But, Captain Gazsi’s crew was much bigger than the last. Instead, he led me into what I assumed was the captain’s quarters. The walls of his royally-suited abode were hung with portraits of women, all of different races and sizes but still stunningly attractive. They were framed in gold and silver that illuminated an angelic glow upon their faces, highlighting their exquisiteness even more. Yet I saw not a single portrait of Captain Maut himself anywhere in the velvet-coated suite. I felt almost inclined to ask.
“Who are all these women?”
“Hmm?” answered Maut with a quick glance at the very portraits as if he’d never realized their presence. “Ah, they are my wives.”
“Your wives?”
“Yes, fourteen of them—all home in India, raising my children.” Suddenly, the beautiful faces on the wall no longer seemed so pure and vibrant to me. Maut sat in a large and august throne behind his mahogany chart table. He looked like a pathetic attempt at Poseidon. Pride and knavery were all I saw in front of me. While he stared at me and contemplated, he fiddled with jewelry on his fingers—shimmering rings of rubies and sapphires, emeralds and amethysts. Their sparkle blinded me in certain lights.
“You are the child of Constantine Jacobs. No?”441Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDsgBxxpmOV
Raising my eyebrows a bit, I replied yes. Why was this man asking about my mother? Everyone knows the prize of my father.
“Your mother was a good woman.”
“You knew my mother?!” I exclaimed just a bit too loudly. 441Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6o73vDDm2s
Captain Maut grinned with golden teeth, no surprise. This was a metal man before me.
“I see you must not know much about her, after all.”
“I know my mother. She was the greatest blessing to ever grace this earth before she was taken away. The most wonderful, kind woman. She had more love and life in her fingernail than most had in their souls.”
“You think I know this not? Your mother sailed upon this very ship alongside me twenty years ago. And she was my first wife.”
“You lie!!” I yelled, leaping over the chart table to claw this man’s eyes out. His crew snatched me back before I could get very far. But Gazsi hissed in laughter and beat upon his throne.
“You foolish girl! If not for me, you would be only a thought in a sea of nothingness—never to be a reality! Your mother was dirty, white kachara when I met her. But, I had never seen such beauty in a woman in all my life. I took her in and stole her hand in marriage. She was not like Indian women at all. She was clever, strong, and demanded to sail alongside my crew. As beautiful as a black swan and as peaceful as the lake it glides across. She had a soul for adventure. So she did for a year or two, but I could sense her heart was traveling elsewhere. By the time I married my second wife, I knew your mother had fallen in love with another. Henry Every, my worthless, lazy boatswain.”
“Speak no illness of my father! He is a good man!”
“Tumhaare pita ek dushman hai!” he argued back, “You know nothing of your world, kameene ladakee. Once I found them together, I marooned both of them far away. I knew your mother’s innocent heart had been tortured by Every’s villainous mind. But they both deserved death—together.”
“Well, obviously, your great plan was a failure. My mother was the happiest in all her life without the likes of you! My father loved her more than any man could.”
“Perhaps so. But who’d have known the Christ angel and devil could bear a child so…roguish. I know who you run from.”
“Then you’d know I want nothing to be a part of, concerning you.”
Captain Maut stood and stalked me around the table. His eyes, I noticed, were brown and rich like his ship. Its depths were endlessly black, so black that a child might be terrified by his very glance. With a flick of his bejeweled wrist, the men restraining me retreated back to the wall. But, Captain Maut crept closer and closer until I could see even the smallest blemishes on his almond skin.
“Worry not. I shall not hand you over to Captain Thomas Tew. But, I cannot guarantee your safety from him either. You shall be returning with me to India where you shall be my next bride. If I may not have your mother, I shall have you instead.”
“I’d rather drown than be your wife!”
“Then perhaps you should! But, it does not matter what you wish. You shall marry me when we reach India and you shall work aboard my ship. That’s an order!” Spitting out his last words, Captain Maut turned back around and sunk back into his ridiculous symbol of sovereignty. And a pit of worry planted itself in my stomach, once again filling the empty void. But, I was tired of being helpless.
“Show the girl to her new residence,” he concluded with an almighty wave of his hand. 441Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Oi0DEw1Wx
A meaty claw clamped down onto my arm roughly and pulled me to the exit. I didn’t resist. However, I saw Maut’s evil grin shadowing behind me.
The words Maut had said pounded in the back of my skull like a drum. My mother…My wonderful, ethereal mother married that avaricious Indian pirate captain. I longed more than anything at that moment to know it false. But, I felt weaker and weaker every moment he described her. This man couldn’t have known so much of my father and mother by pure coincidence. And the puzzle pieces fit perfectly together. It made me wonder, though, how neither Mother nor Father had ever mentioned Captain Maut or their marooning. Of course, I knew there was more to my mother than what I’d heard of while she lived. But, I never imagined her as the enigma I now saw her as. The angel was shrouded in those mysterious heavenly clouds.
I was manhandled outside of the cabin onto the deck. I calmly walked and noticed the beast-of-a-man's grip slipping. And there was the sea laid out before me. With a heart full of courage and a quick prayer to God, I clamped my jaw down onto the man’s hairy, grimy arm and bit as hard as possible until I felt the splash of blood on my cheeks. Released from his grasp, I fled to the side of the ship and peered down the jump fifteen feet down. My heart crept up my throat as if climbing up a ladder to the heavens. Almost instantly, I could hear gunshots nearby. But, there wasn’t a second to waste. I climbed onto the railing, took a deep breath, and jumped.
The water was cold yet welcoming. I hadn't felt the embrace of water in a long while. My entire body sunk into the cold, airless world. But, I finally bobbed to the dangerous surface. My heart was pounding and pulling in exhilaration.
Any more time spent reveling in my escape would surely result in a bullet through the neck. I sucked in another breath and dove back down in the safety of the water, swimming towards the shore. Even underwater, the indistinct noise above was as vociferous as ever. Every few seconds, I’d return to the surface to calculate my location from the ship. It took what felt like hours, but I’d finally managed an evasion from the madness by diving deep under the water and swimming all the way to the shoreline across the ship. When it was safe to resurface, my lungs burned with furious desire. The air felt like a blessing. Sand crept between my toes and assured me of my arrival. I crawled across the shore and climbed up to my feet. My breaths were heavy and hot as I gasped for them.
But, I was here. And I was alive. Captain Maut’s ship floated near the beach almost a kilometer away. My departure wasn’t finished, however. Once the strength in my legs returned, I ran up the path back towards town and slipped into the woods. Barefoot and unprotected, I knew running off into the wilderness wasn’t wise. I’d likely step on a snake and face real injury—something Edmund couldn’t fix.
“Edmund…” I whispered, mindlessly remembering my friend. And something pained me. A realization that I’d just left my only friend behind—guilt like I’d just committed a heinous crime of some sort. Tew’s ship remained in port and the roar from Maut’s vessel had died away.
Now, there was only the chatter of tropical birds and distant crashing waves. My sea-soaked clothes hung off of me, and I began shivering in the bare air. There were only two places I could go now—deeper into the unforgiving forest where I’d likely face all sorts of death or back to town. And night would fall before I knew it. And, although I’d feasted on fresh apples, I was the weakest I’d ever felt in my whole life. I wouldn’t get very far on my own.
So, I quickly devised a plan in my head. I’d have to rifle through a few pockets on the street until I could make enough money to buy new clothing. I’d have to find a sharp edge to cut my hair with, and maybe then, Tew’s crew would be thick enough to not recognize me. And after, I would find my father. But, one step at a time…
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