Part I Prequel

Part II Chapter 1

Part II Chapter 2

Part II Chapter 3

Part II Chapter 4

Part III Chapter 1

Part III Chapter 2

Part III Chapter 3

Part III Chapter 4

Part IV Chapter 1

Part IV Chapter 2

Part IV Chapter 3

Part IV Chapter 4

Part V...The End

The Illustrations

Orb Nymph Guest Book

Bound Copies Info

Part II: The Open Sea
Chapter 2: Special Cargo

A few days later, on the starboard side of the deck, a small group of mariners met to discuss their fate.

Stone, seated on a crate and examining her blue Claymore, cast her dark soulful eyes on those around her.

"What will we do if we find it?" she wondered aloud.

"It'll never happen!" snapped Wickeddoll, the ship's surgeon. She was an ebony beauty of regal bearing, with a quick wit and a sharp tongue. "We've been looking for that ghost ship for three years. What make you think this time will be any different?"

"We've never set sail in hurricane weather before," noted Emerald, a blue-eyed blonde rumored to have magical powers.

The fourth in their group, a dark-haired muse with blue-green eyes and known only as Jannie, remained unusually silent, scratching notes into her journal and listening for the sounds of the wind. She was more for action than for talk.

"Wouldn't that be something, if we really found them?" Stone murmured.

"Yeah, it would be something all right. It would be a miracle," quipped Wickeddoll.

Stone raised her weapon and watched the way it glinted in the afternoon sun.

"I hear the men of the Beltranista are expert fighters," she said. "It would make an interesting battle."

Jannie shook her head and said nothing. "Maybe we should turn you loose on the twins," laughed Wickeddoll. "Seems they raised quite a ruckus at Blackbeard's place."

"Fighting over men, again," Emerald sighed. "You'd think they'd know better."

"Oh, I don't know," mused Stone. "Some men are worth fighting for."

The four chuckled quietly.

"What about Blackbeard's warning," Jannie asked quietly, breaking her silence. "It's hurricane season. You've gotta admit, it's dangerous to be out here in this weather." She closed her journal, stood up and stretched her legs. Among the four, she was the most serious one.

The women glanced at one another, each one a little uncertain about speaking what she thought.

"Anyone for jumping ship?" Wickeddoll asked, half jokingly.

"Why?" asked Stone. "So we can return to shore and live like real ladies?"

They all grinned.

"Can't you just imagine that?" asked Emerald. She stood up, pretended to brush off an invisible skirt, and curtsied. "Oh, sir," she said, acting coy and waving a pretend fan in front of her face. "You are most kind, sir. Oh, yes, sir. I would just love to till your soil and bear your chil'en. Ah, sir. You flatter me with your attentions. Surely I could -- serve -- your
needs."

The four were now laughing hysterically.

"Oh, that's cute!" commented Wickeddoll. "And just what do you think would become of me?" She suddenly became very serious and the laughter stopped. "Out here," she said, her eyes gazing wistfully across the vast expanse of ocean, "I am free."

Stone nodded and stood up, holding her Claymore up to the sky.

"Out here, we are the Mistresses of the Sea!" Stone declared. "Sisters, friends and free women, all!"

Everyone agreed loudly. As the group broke up, Stone turned to Wickeddoll.

"Tell me, what's the 'secret cargo'?" she asked.

Wickeddoll grinned.

"You don't know?"

Stone scowled.

"As far as I can tell, the captain only told the first mate."

"Then why ask me?" Wickeddoll asked, glancing about to see if anyone was listening..

"Because you always know what's going on," Stone answered, smiling.

Wickeddoll nodded slyly and pulled Stone aside where they wouldn't be overheard.

"As you know, every Spanish galleon has two captains, the captain of the ship and the captain of the military regiment on that ship," she said.

"Yeah. So?"

"On the Beltranista, the two captains are also brothers -- Roberto and Luis."

"I know, and the captain wants them both dead. Some kind of blood feud."

"So, how do you think a schooner of twenty women will overpower a Spanish galleon with two captains and a military contingent?" Wickeddoll asked, waiting for Stone to guess and enjoying the suspense.

"I don't know," Stone said, rolling her eyes. "We'll have to outwit them, I guess. Isn't that what women have been doing to men for thousands of years?"

"Exactly," said Wickeddoll. "We need to trick them, to undermine their ability to attack us. We need to find their weak point and use it against them."

"Okay, already," Stone said, getting impatient.
"What's the 'special cargo' and what does it have to do with La Beltranista?"

Wickeddoll waited a few moments before answering, letting the tension build.

"We have Roberto's daughter," she said at last.

"What!?" Stone asked, surprised. Wickeddoll quickly hushed her.

"We have his daughter. She's two years old. I don't know her real name, but her nanny calls her Baby Smile."

Stone stared at her companion.

"A child? On this ship? Who is taking care of her?"

"Her nanny, Eva. They're locked in one of the cabins. The captain figured Roberto and Luis would never fire on this ship as long as we had her, and she could use the child as bait," Wickeddoll explained.

"And when were we going to find out about this?" asked Stone.

"When I was damn well ready to tell you," came a sharp remark behind her. The two women twirled around and faced the captain's dark fury. "Now get back to your posts, both of you. And if either of you breathe another word of this, you'll be walking the gangplank. Got it?"

The two nodded and scurried away. Captain Ursula sighed and leaned against one of the crates. Her eyes drifted out across the ocean and she remembered another pirate ship, many years ago, it's deck ablaze after being attacked by La Beltranista; it's crew -- 200 men, 35 women and 12 children -- diving overboard for their lives. Fourteen people survived. She remembered Blackbeard, merely a mariner aboard the ship, pulling her out of the icy cold water and soothing her. She remembered her mother's locket, the only thing she'd been able to grasp as the woman, one of Blackbeard's twelve wives, disappeared into the hungry sea.

"I demand to know what you intend to do with us!"

Eva's voice cut through the silence of the late afternoon. The sun was beginning to dip on the horizon and, after three days of tumultuous weather, the sea was a deathly calm. The captain, seated on the deck and cleaning her nails with a gullet knife, looked up at the stately, high-bred blonde with amusement. The child clung to her nanny's skirts, hiding behind her. Both were flanked by guards -- Josefina, with her straight raven hair and sea green eyes, and Aphrodite, a perpetually barefoot Celt with strawberry tresses and a reputation for long distance swimming.

The captain stood up slowly, lazily, and grinned at the woman accosting her.

"I intend to cut you up into little bits,"Captain Ursula said quietly, her face only a few inches from the nanny's, their eyes locked in battle, "starting with the tips of your fingers." She drew the tip of her knife down the woman's arm to her hand, but Eve yanked her arm away. "Then I'll throw each piece to the fishes, one at a time."

"No you won't," Eva retorted. If she was frightened, she was doing a good job of not showing it. "You kidnapped us for a reason. Until you get what you want, you won't harm a hair on our heads!"

The captain quickly reached up with her knife and sliced a small tangle of hair from the woman's head. Eve screamed and drew back, holding her head with her hand. She nearly stepped on the child behind her. The captain then held the strands in the air and let them fall to the deck. A soft breeze tossed them gently along the floor, lifted them up and carried them out to sea.

"Don't be so sure about that," Ursula said. "You're not the one I need. She is." The captain pointed her knife at the child.

Baby cowered behind her nanny. Eva paled.

"She's only a child! And an orphan! What possible use...."

"Take them below!" Ursula ordered. Josefina and Aphrodite moved to comply.

"Wait!" Eva yelled. "Just tell me, please, that you won't hurt her."

"Don't worry. I have plans for our little mistress." The captain turned to the child. "How would you like to grow up to be a pirate, my little lass?"

Baby Smile scowled at the captain and then stuck her tongue out at her. Captain Ursula laughed as the two were dragged below.

"Yes, child, you will make a wonderful pirate," she said to herself. "Once I'm done with your father."

"Storm on the horizon, Captain," yelled Rosetta from the crow's nest, breaking into the captain's thoughts.

"Batten down the hatches and secure the deck!" the captain ordered. "All hands, make ready!"

The winds grew in strength, until the ocean opened up in a wide yawn, like a giant aroused from a deep sleep. The waves rolled over and licked their lips, anticipating the tasty morsel on its surface. The water stretched and heaved, it's steady breath becoming a wild pant. The second storm had begun, and the captain smiled.