The Tartan

Sea green foam washed onto the golden shore, capturing tiny grains of crystal sand sparkling in the vibrant afternoon sunlight. Far from the shore, just outside the colorful coral reef, squatted an old black wooden ship, sporting a tattered, magenta flag with a black skull and crossed swords emblazoned on it. The name “The Black Swan” was embedded in pearl into the ship’s side. The flag fluttered in the quiet afternoon breeze as the waves lazily rolled around the vessel and dolphins leaped out of the waters. A girl no older than 14 snored whilst on top of the rickety wooden crow’s nest, a bronze spyglass in her lap and an empty root beer bottle by her feet. 

“Petunia!” Another girl shouted to the sleeping girl. Petunia awoke with a start, forgetting for a moment where she was. 

“What?” She responded, slightly annoyed.

“Do you see the Captain?” 

“No.”

“Did you look?”

“No.”

“Well, look!” With a groan, Petunia slowly stood, picked up her spyglass, and peered through it. 

“What in the world?”

“What? You see somethin’?”

“They’re coming. And they’re saying something.” Petunia looked through her spyglass and saw their Captain and several other crew mates running out of the thicket of the jungle. Sand billowed behind them in a cloud of smoke. One girl was tightly gripping a small wooden chest encrusted with emeralds and rubies.

“What? What are they saying?” 

“Oh no! Jade! Hoist the anchor! They’re telling us to get the ship ready to go!” Jade tied up her long black ringlets and took off toward the stern. Soon after they pulled up the anchor, a dozen more girls came thundering onto the ship. 

“Captain! What’re your orders?” Jade asked.

“Release the main sail! We need to get out of here!” Captain Angelina Sawyer responded. She tugged her maroon-feathered pirate’s hat a little tighter on her head as she ran toward the stern to grip the giant steering wheel. Angelina tied her long dark brown hair back behind her head as she turned the wheel and steered out of the bay, the armada that had been chasing them reduced to specks on the island in their wake. 

The old, black pirate ship sailed on. The crew didn’t exactly know where they were going, but they trusted that Captain Sawyer would get them there. They sailed for several hours, the wet Caribbean heat sticking their tunics to their skin and their hair to their foreheads. “Where are we headed, Captain?” the second mate, Eyepatch Emmy, asked. 

“You’ll see when we get there. But it’ll be worth all the trouble we’ve been through.”

“So, is that box we had to steal part of it?”

“Aye. Just wait and see, this treasure is going to be better than anything we’ve ever seen before.” 

“Captain!” Petunia suddenly called down from the crow’s nest. “Navy ship! Starboard side!” Captain Sawyer turned to address the rest of her mates. 

“Crew! Batten down the hatches! Looks like we’re about to welcome Admiral Parker and his ol’ seadogs.” The pirates lowered the starboard anchor and tied down their sails as they prepared for the navy crew to catch up to them. The Navy’s sleek white and navy-trimmed ship pulled up alongside them, “The Morning Star” engraved along the side in gold. 

“Ahoy, ladies!” Admiral Parker bellowed, one arm gripping a rope, the other held up as a salute. 

“Admiral Andrew Parker. I have to admit, I’m surprised to see you. I would have thought that your frail ego wouldn’t be able to take getting beaten one more time.” Angelina snickered in response. 

“Not as surprised as I am to see you ladies still pillaging and plundering. I thought I made it clear last time that if we caught you once more, you would need to deal with the king.”

“Are you always this naïve or is today a special occasion? My crew will never be in the hands of the king.”

“Angelina, come on. Just come quietly and I’m sure we can work something out,” Admiral Parker replied as he slowly began to cross between the two ships.

“Come one step closer and I’ll send you to Davy Jones’s locker myself,” Angelina responded with a smirk. 

“You could try.” Admiral Parker paused, his green eyes gleaming mischievously, “Just come with us and this will be a lot easier.”

“Never!” Angelina shouted as she pulled out her sword, the rest of her crew following. Admiral Parker’s sea dogs began to draw their swords as well, but with a wave they paused, eyes on their Admiral, awaiting orders. 

“Angelina, please. Don’t make us do this.” Admiral Parker slowly pulled out his sword, willing Captain Sawyer to change her mind. But, alas, she shook her head. Admiral Parker leapt between the two ships landing just in front of her, his crew behind him. Angelina raised her sword and brought it crashing down toward his head. Admiral Parker was fast though and blocked her blow just in time. All around them, the rest of the pirates and sailors joined the fight, each side wanting to be the first to bring the other to its knees. 

Angelina swung her sword demonstrating advanced skill. However, despite all her excellent attacks, Andrew’s defense was equally as skillful. They were truly matched. As the fight continued all around them, they were so focused that they didn’t notice Eyepatch Emmy when she kicked a barrel into one of the sailors knocking him off the ship, or when Petunia broke a rootbeer bottle over another’s head. Eventually, when the pairs of pirates and sailors had won or lost their respective battles, they turned toward their leaders and watched as they continued to… fight?

Well, it didn’t look like they were fighting. They were swinging swords at each other, yes, but they were doing it so gracefully and closely that it looked more like they were dancing. Angelina brought her sword down and at the same moment, Andrew stepped in to block it, then Angelina brought her foot back, and they went back and forth like that for several minutes. The rest of the sailors and the pirates looked at each other. Captain Sawyer and Admiral Parker were grinning and staring intently into each other’s eyes. The rest of the pirates and sailors began to wonder if there was a deeper reason why Admiral Parker insisted on following the Black Swan around the world. 

“Uh, Captain?” Eye Patch Emmy suddenly called.

“What? Can’t you see I’m a little busy?” Captain Sawyer replied as she narrowly blocked one of Admiral Parker’s swings.

“Aye Captain, but one of the King’s ships is coming. Portside.” Captain Sawyer and Admiral Parker looked at each other and dropped their swords. They ran over to The Black Swan’s port and looked out upon the water where they saw a large, elegant ship cruising through the sea toward them. The ship was made of dark oak wood, with gold trim all along the sides and magnificent sails that looked as though they were made of pearl. A huge flag flew above with the king’s crest, “The Empress” shining in gold along the ship’s side. The opposing captain waved the members of the Black Swan over, informing them that they were about to be boarded. 

“Crew… prepare to be boarded.” Angelina sighed, then turned toward Admiral Andrew Parker “I never should have allowed you seadogs to come onto my ship.” She snarled. Admiral Parker looked down at his feet. In truth, he had never really intended to bring Captain Sawyer’s crew to the king, but now it appeared like they’d be going there anyway. The crew of The Empress caught up to the Black Swan and placed a wooden slab between the two ships, so they could cross over without falling into the ocean. 

“By order of King Nathaniel Bennet III,” and he held up three fingers, “the crew of The Black Swan will be taken to the kingdom of Asteria immediately to face trials for crimes committed on the seven seas which includes, pillaging, plundering, and… for neglecting to do what a proper woman would do and remain in the household.” The crewman looked up to see faces of absolute disgust written all over the pirates and the sailors. 

“They won’t be going anywhere.” Admiral Parker interceded, “It’s our duty to capture them, so just be on your way and we’ll meet you back in Asteria with these lovely pirates as our prisoners.”

“We will be doing no such thing, Admiral. You heard King Nathaniel’s decree. He sent us to bring these pirates to Asteria, and if you get in our way, you will also be returning as a prisoner.” Admiral Parker looked behind him at Captain Sawyer, asking her if they should put up a fight or resign. She shook her head, indicating that they would return to Asteria with the king’s men. The rest of The Empress’ crew boarded The Black Swan and tied the hands of Angelina and her crew. Admiral Parker and his sailors filed back onto their ship as the pirates descended into the brig. 

“Captain. What are we doing? We could easily take these guys. Between our crew and the sea dogs, they wouldn’t stand a chance.” Eyepatch Emmy whispered.

“I can’t risk them getting captured too. We might need their help to get out of this mess.”

“Why don’t we just get their help now?”

“Just trust me. The king has something that we need if we want to find this treasure.” Emmy nodded and continued walking down underneath the ship to the brig as she was pushed by one of the king’s crewmen. When Captain Angelina Sawyer and the rest of her pirate crew reached the brig, they were surprised to see that it was covered in at least two inches of water. “Looks like you have a leak,” Angelina snickered to their captors. The crewmen leading them down remained expressionless as they digested her comment, but her pirate crew chuckled at her snide remark. The pirates were shoved into four tiny, iron cells built into the space underneath the ship. Their feet became soggy as the water sloshed around them with the ship’s movement.