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Chapter 19~ The Fancy
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Only an hour had passed from the moment Thomas Tew became no more to when I’d been transferred aboard the Svarn Aatank for the second time. Captain Gazsi Maut had not made any attempts to interact with me, and I had to admit how grateful I was for it. Of course, Edmund had no real clue why I was acting so paranoid and cautious but blamed it on the fact that I’d just shot a man in the head and watched his guts spill out before me.
I hadn’t felt so conflicted. And questions still faced me. What did this capture mean? That right after escaping Thomas Tew’s treachery, I was to be subjected to the dangerous will of yet another of my father’s enemies? And how was Captain Maut even here? I last recalled him in his hysterics when I escaped their kidnapping back in Cape Town. However, there was the possibility of such a chance encounter.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMneJy5Zkx
It didn’t take long for me to piece together the events of that night. Reportedly, an Indian ship slipped through in the night while we were on the way to meet my father in the Mandab Strait. Tew, antsy for any sort of conflict, attacked the ship without another thought. The loss was bloody. After Maut’s ships’ sister vessel, the Fateh Muhammad was attacked, it didn’t take long before the Svarn Aatank made its arrival.
Edmund shook my shoulder and pulled me away from staring at Captain Maut.
“Constantine, we need to go,” he said. We were roughly shoved along the line of survivors. Each of us was loaded into the cargo hold of the ship which reeked of rum and the stomach-churning sap of sugar. The amount of space was nerve-racking. And in no time, I was stuffed into the pit alongside the sweaty masses of men. I could only breathe through my mouth and even that became horrifyingly difficult as the air began fading away. And quick.
I was an animal in a pen being prepped for slaughter. And any movement that a person made rippled through the crowd and ended up crushing someone against a wall.
It must’ve been hours that passed.
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In a stroke of luck, the upper hatch opened. Like an ocean wave, the crowd of slaves and Tew’s crew heaved an upward stretch, desperate to escape. The Indians atop, however, were vicious and prepared. They struck the crowd with whips and deafened us with shouts and threats.
“Where is she?!” they cried, “Where is kameene ladakee?”
Stay hidden, I thought to myself, The misery here is better than anything Maut has in store.
So, I pressed myself against the wall and lowered my head, for there was nowhere to go. But, there was no hiding from Rathbone.
“Here!!” the pirate hollered, yellow hatred in his eyes. In seconds, I was being strangled up to the front of the crowds, Edmund’s name on my lips and mine upon his own. Our fights were futile. My eyes met the blackness of the night. The bright moon had become the only sun I knew. It shined a path straight to the captain’s quarters.
“Let me go, you bastards! No!”
I squeezed my eyes shut tight and tried to picture someplace better—the beach, Dover, anywhere with my mother. All I needed was a happy fantasy.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSosWl9EvMz
“Ah, yes, Ms. Every, we meet again.”
When my eyes opened again, I was in the presence of Gazsi Maut and his first mate. Nothing had changed about the sickeningly gorgeous quarters. But, now, the eyes of the painting wives burned holes through my skull.
The sight of Maut filled me with more anger than fright. This was the devil that defecated on my memory of my mother and spat it back to me. And that was purely unforgivable.
“What the hell do you want with me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself, kameene ladakee. I no longer desire your partnership in marriage. Such a wild animal as you is entirely unmarriable. I believe you and I both know of your father’s plans to ambush this fleet. This will not happen under my authority. So, I will give you a choice: you will tell us of Henry Every’s hideout and the number of men on his ship, and you’ll be set free when we next port—or, you still tell us what we want to know and you lose all your pretty fingers.”
I looked around the room slowly, absorbing it all. Upon Maut’s coin-piled desk lied a dagger which Maut’s hand was slowly inching towards. The Indian pirates glared down upon me, antsy for a fight—almost as if they wanted me to protest so they could see a little blood. Every eye rested upon me, waiting for an answer. Even I myself was waiting for one.
“Well?”
“I-”422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbaInLgBbZp
All of a sudden, there came a monstrous collision in the left side of the Svarn Aatank. It rocked the ship as if God himself was reaching down from the heavens and toying with us. It sent a rippling effect across the captain’s quarters. Some of the wives fell from their demeaning posts. Mountains of fortune tumbled downwards in avalanches. And useless knickknacks all over his desk rolled off and collected in the corners of the room. Crystal bottles of imported alcohol shattered to the floor. Seconds later, crew members came banging upon the door in hysterics. But, my gaze remained latched onto Maut’s.
He held it for only a second longer, snarled furiously, then thundered out of the quarters. I was also pushed out.422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnyedtVU3xf
That was when I saw it—the most glorious pirate ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
My father’s ship—The Fancy.
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The Fancy was a scarlet-painted, golden glory with sails as black as the night sky so that they nearly disappeared from sight. The ship’s craftsmanship was entrancing with redwood that glistened with the salt of the water. It had clean skin, much different than the grimy hull of the Amity, and was clean of barnacles and stray seaweed. All across the sides of the ship was beautiful woodwork that my father certainly paid a pretty price for. The ship cut through the waves with incredible speed. One might’ve mistaken it for flying. But, the real beauty of the Fancy was its enormous size. Even as a young adult, I felt like a child before it. I guess my father’s renown greatness needed to be represented in some way.
Aboard the ship was an army of organized fighters, muskets in hand and cannons beside each other. Cannons were my father’s greatest asset, after all. Just one bombardment could destroy a ship beyond recognizability. And I knew he wouldn’t go into a fight without cannons on his side.
I looked everywhere for him. One glance was all I needed—just the briefest of glimpses. But, my father wasn’t anywhere in sight. I screamed his name so loud that my vocal cords quivered afterward.
Where is he? He has to be here! Where is my father?!422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOefGIFVKlp
But, there was another voice poking out of the rough texture. Edmund’s voice echoed from the cargo hold like the toll of a death bell. I scurried towards the hatch but couldn’t find Edmund’s face from beneath the valley of monstrous men. How could I hear him so close?
But, time was running out, and I couldn’t waste another second devising a way to rescue him and only him. Chaos had already ensued. Why not make it a bit more interesting?422Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOp2nFMjzx
In a swift, powerful motion, I released the hatch and let the wild hogs ravenously bound free. In mere seconds, the entire cargo hold had been emptied.
My pistol was held tight in my hand. I kept a strong gaze out into that cargo hold. But, Edmund was still nowhere in sight.
“Edmund!” I yelled, a panic settling deep in the tunnels of my chest, “Edmund!”
Then from behind the plank staircase leading down into the cargo hold came a cough, and a scruffy Edmund appeared. Overcome with relief, I dashed down the stairs to his aid.
“Hell, I was nearly”—cough—“trampled”—cough—“to death,” said Edmund.
I brushed the dust off his shoulders and planted a short-lived kiss upon his forehead. “There’s no time to waste. My father’s here.”
“Already?”
“Take a look.”
I led Edmund up the stairs just enough so he could poke his head out and catch sight of the magnificent grandeur before us. He was agape with pure wonderment and made no other movements. I had to call his name a few times before Edmund finally responded.
“It’s beautiful…In all my life, I never thought I’d ever see such beauty in such sin. You really are the daughter of Henry Every, aren’t you?”
“What? Didn’t believe me before?” I quipped, sarcastically.
“No, just…Never ever really sunk in for me 'til now. I see now why you fought for your father so hard. He’s a legend.”
I held my arms around myself and kept my gaze upon The Fancy, almost hoping my father could hear me.
“Yes, a legend he could be. But a father? Not in the least.”
Why do I want him still? Why now—after he is virtually lost to me? Why does the word ‘legend’ feel like poison upon my tongue?
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