The Captain was on his way down to his office with his closest shipmates, as the rest of the crew had just finished preparing for the storm. Everything that needed to be tied down was tied down, anything in bins were placed in their closets, locking the doors to ensure the items wouldn't fall out during the storm. It was clear from the start that this storm was going to be the strongest yet. The region they were in didn't make the situation any better. They were sailing through Aurelia Ocean just Northeast of Maybelle, the beautiful blue yet deadly ocean was renowned for it's storms. Never taking mercy on it's travelers. "Captain, is our safety guaranteed? What if the Kingdom of Maybelle is setting us up?" One of the crew makes asked just as they were walking into the office. "Maybelle is known for keeping their word, plus we have someone they desperately want." The captain replied sternly. "Who is this prisoner? Why are they so special that a royal family would stoop so low to rely on lowly pirates?" An old man asked, his suspicion was clearly written on his face. "I didn't ask questions." The captain replied. The old man continued to stand there staring. Unsure about his captain's decision of putting the crew at possible risk. His salt and pepper hair left unkept made him look rabid, his green eyes did not leave the Captain as he stood there in the corner pondering over things. "Why did you keep this a secret, Captain?" He questioned once more. "Because I hadn't accepted it until I knew what they had to offer, it is a large risk. Not that I need to tell you what those risks are." The Captain said in a huffed tone, showing his annoyance. He respected this old man who dared question him. "The criminal we are transporting apparently kept slipping through Maybelle's fingers. They needed people that weren't bound by law and were willing to do dirty work." The Captain continued. "When did we become bounty hunters? Listen kid, you still have a lot of growing to do, if your father was here-" "Well he's not. This is my ship, I'm the Captain! If you were anyone else, I'd kill you for questioning me. Benno, you have always been like a second father to me. That is the only reason I let you get away with more crap than anyone else. But you are really trying my patience! You were there for me and kept me together after my father, the original Captain, was murdered in front of my eyes! You more than anyone should know, I would never do anything to get my people killed!" The captain screamed. He felt hurt that he snapped at Benno and Benno was clearly taken aback by it.
Benno stood quietly in his corner before finally speaking again. "Well....Captain... I'm glad that you understand the risks.. Why don't you explain all the benefits we get for doing this again, Captain Wildcard.." Benno challenged, calling the Captain by his nickname. The captain sighed, feeling awful for yelling at his father figure. He then looked down at his desk, picking up an envelope and handing it to Benno. "Read this you ol' sea dog." The captain said as he extended his arm out to Benno in a soft tone. Benno gave the young captain a strange look, then took the envelope from him. He opened it up and read the content.
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Royal Proclamation From The King and Queen Of Maybelle
05-11-1823
Captain Wildcard, there is now an agreement put in place, where you have somebody we want brought back alive
and, unharmed. In agreement to this, we offer you a treaty. Bring back this individual in one place. We will offer you more wealth than you would know what to do with. You will have access to collecting any jewels in our kingdom upon your arrival. The amount is up to how much you can carry. Of course, your safety is assured. If you are attacked on Maybelle's borders, we will provide support as the proclamation proclaims. There will be a treaty set in place upon your arrival. You will be able to use our docs, purchase items, trade (none stolen items and, or goods. You will be treated as any visitor that steps foot on our boarders. In agreement of this treaty, there can be no illegal actives no matter how small or large. Should this arrive, the treaty will be fulfilled in full and will no longer be in effect. With the treaty no longer being honored, you will be captured and hung.) So the King and Queen of Maybelle strongly advise no illegal activities. So long as you honor your end of the deal, there will be no problems. Failure to bring whom we seek will be considered a proclamation of war.
Sincerely,
HRH King Nathaniel and HRH Queen Diana of Maybelle
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Benno gave it another read while still in disbelief. "I think it's worth the risk, so long as we don't start trouble, we can freely trade and doc our ship to get supplies. Maybelle is a very rich country, from it's very soils to it's lively waters. We could bring freshly hunted game and eat more than just fish. Now wouldn't that be nice? Face it, this ship has seen better days. We can stay a few weeks and pay to get the ship fixed and bring new supplies aboard. Then head out and do our original job.." Captain Wildcard said with a smile on his face. Benno suddenly beamed with pride and said "You are your father's son. I'm so proud boy!" Wildcard just smiled, feeling his pride. All of a sudden, everything hitched it's breath as you could hear a loud "CLAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!" A sudden commotion broke the brief heart dropping silence as everyone felt tingling in their bodies and tasted static. Their hair stood up on their arms. Cold chills crawled franticly through their bodies before their bodies felt hot. "What the fu-" "FIRE!!" The captain was quickly interrupted, the realization hit that lightning struck the boat.
Wildcard went racing passed his crew. He was heading to the deck to see the damage. He reached the deck in record time with the rest of his crewmates finally catching up. Struggling to catch their breaths, the captain stood at the deck. Trying to wrap his head around the damage to his ship. The captain quickly grabbed a bucket full of water and yelled "All hands on deck!!" Crew mates started shouting "The Captain said all hands on deck let's go!!" News quickly got to all the crew mates. Within less than a few stressful minutes, the fire was out. "Check for leaks! It maybe gradual. Be thorough! If any leaks go unnoticed, the ship will sink!" The Captain ordered. "Ay Captain!" The men shouted. The crew went scattering around the ship trying to see if they could find any signs of leaks. After 3 hours of running around, the ship appeared to have no leaks. The captain and crew were uneasy. This was only the start of this storm... The ship had already caught fire thanks to a lightning strike. They got off lucky considering, but what more can they expect? "Captain on our sixth! We got company!!" The barrelman yelled out. The Captain quickly spun around only to find a large ship approaching. He recognized who it was. "He's making it difficult to shake him, he's not even trying to hide his presence anymore." The captain said under his breath. "How are we going to shake him, Captain?" Mateo asked. Don't worry about it for now, the storm is just beginning." The captain replied through gritting teeth. Wildcard looked up at his barrelman and waved him down from his post. "Colt." He called out. The 5'4" slender red-headed man with green eyes came down from his post and rushed towards the captain. "Ay Captain?" He asked in an Irish accent. His red beard had water falling from it and, his baggy loose-fitting clothes soaked, sticking to his skin, he stood in front of his much larger captain. "Get inside, you don't need to be manning your post right now. We will be needing to keep an eye on the ship, however. If they try and bored again, we kill them." He told Colt. Colt nodded his head and went to his quarters to wait out the storm.
Mateo followed the captain inside. "We need to come up with a plan incase they either try and sink us or board the ship again." The captain said while quickly walking down the halls to his office. They almost ran down the stairs while talking about what action they needed to take. "Should we attack them right now?" Mateo asked. "No, not with the ship in the condition it's in, we still don't fully know if there is a leak somewhere, plus it will look suspicious just because they're trailing us doesn't give us quite the reason to attack. We need a cause at this point." The captain spoke. "We're pirates. If we are too careful, then everyone will know something's up, plus we have a reason they boarded our ship without permission. If your father was here and in the possession that fancy pants, Prince would already been dead!" Mateo said in annoyance. "No, if my father were here this would never had happened and there wouldn't be a you know whom on board." The captain replied in a hush tone. Mateo took a moment in his steps and nodded to the side, considering what the captain had said. "True." He quickly replied and ran to catch up to the captain. They busted through the captain's office, slamming the door behind them. We have to wait for the storm to peak, we need to make this ship go as fast as it can, and when we are sure they can no longer spot us, we change course. "Do you think it will work?" Mateo asked. "Right now it's the only choice we have, the waves are getting more violent and much more taller. We can sail through them all while hiding behind them." Captain Wildcard said. "Go relay this message to whom needs to know, full speed a head, and then I will let them know where to go from there." The captain said to Mateo. Mateo nodded and rushed out of the office to deliver the captain's message.
The storm was getting worse and the lights began to flicker. Everything was sliding all over the place, nothing stayed on the shelves, in the dressers or even in the cabinets. "Benno, tell the crew to black out the ship until further notice." The captain ordered. Benno nodded and walked out to deliver his message. "You should go check on the princess captain, I imagine she is scared." Mateo suggested. "Never thought I'd see the day an ol' sea dog like you worry about a woman on a ship, I remember fighting with you and you calling her a Siren." The captain said with a mischievous smile. "Yes well...It's not her fault she's a woman or that she wound up in this position so it won't hurt to see if she's okay." Mateo said in a embarrassed tone. The captain laughed at the response. "I'll go check on her." The captain replied. He got up and walked out of his office. He began to walk to his room, flashes of lightning lit up the old ship. Thunder, still rolling and booming, causing hearts to jump. "What a h*** of a time to be traveling through the Aurelia Ocean." The captain said out loud to himself. There was a reason that only the brave (or the stupid) traveled through the Aurelia Ocean during the times from April through June, the storms were the strongest and most destructive. It was bragging rights if you made it through this peak time, however. Because less than 2% of voyagers survive this ocean rath. They called this time the Aurelian's Rath, fitting actually, given the fact that out of all the oceans this one was the most deadly with her waters.
"Captain!!" One of the crew mates screamed. Wildcard stopped in his tracks due to his heart dropping in response to the panic voice. The captain shot in the direction of where the voice had called for him. Leading him to the top deck and looking out through the porthole. He saw the ship again, Wildcard looked pissed, because they were able to keep up with his ship's pace. Then within moment's Prince Zeal's ship was over taken by a massive rouge wave. The captain's heart was racing, the wave barley missed his ship by a land slide. "Captain, that could be us. What do we do?" Mateo asked. After several minutes, the captain responded, "Push the ship to go faster, and change course now!" Mateo nodded, leaving to deliver the captain's orders. Benno turned the wheel in the direction that he was ordered to go and the ship slowly began to go faster. The ship was still dark, the only light that dared to cut through the dark was the lightning. "This is going to be a difficult ride." The captain thought to himself. "Captain, look!" One of the men said. He turned to see where the man was pointing at and found Prince Zeal's ship surfing the rouge wave. "Clever bast*rd!" The captain said while gritting his teeth. "Can he see us?" The captain asked. "We don't think so, the ship is dark and the waves are over a 100 feet high right now." Said one of the crew members. "That doesn't mean anything, just remember if we can see them always assume they can see us!" Benno replied. "Try to shake them!" The captain demanded. Visibility was getting worse and it was still so muggy with hints of freezing temperatures. Causing people to sweat yet be cold at the same time.
It was a rough night with no sleep and freezing muggy temperatures making everyone feel uncomfortable. The storm was still brewing, however dawn was approaching, gray sky's and dark rain clouds painted the horizon. There had been no signs of the ship and the men in the engine room were exhausted. "Benno call the crew to me." The captain ordered. "Ay Captain." Benno replied and left to give out the message. Within 20 minutes everyone was assembled. "I know it was an awful night for everyone. Right now, I still need you guys to pull through. We will be taking shifts. The people that worked the engines all through the night go get food and sleep. The ones that were in their quarters hurry up and eat, then man the engines. Make sure this ship is going as fast as she can." The captain ordered. "Ay Captain!" The crew all spoke in uniscence. They all departed and swapped roles, keeping the ship going at top speed while also ensuring at least half of his crew was awake at all times, should there be an attack. "You need sleep kiddo." Benno said to the young captain. "I can't sleep now, not with everything going on." He replied. "Listen, you need sleep or you will run yourself into the ground. Now go to bed, we will call you if anything happens." Benno chastised in a fatherly tone. The captain looked at Benno and nodded. "Don't tell anybody I took your advice." The captain remarked. Benno laughed. The captain turned and walked out heading to his room. Half way there he remembered he was supposed to check on the Princess. He got to his door and knocked. No one answered, so he took his key out to unlock the door. He barged into his room, quickly locking the handle back and closing the door. He looked around the dimly lit room and found the princess curled up on the floor under his bed covering her ears. "Oops..." He said out loud, "I can't believe I forgot to check on you." he said softly as he quickly walked over to the princess, picking her up and placing her on the bed. "It's alright princess you're safe." He said trying to comfort her. Lilly still had her ears covered but relaxed once she realized she wasn't alone anymore.
"You don't like thunderstorms, huh? The captain asked softly. Lilly shook her head and the captain was able to see she had been crying. "Poor thing, I'm sorry I wasn't able to get here faster." He gently replied while still cradling the Princess in his arms. They both finally passed out after a few moments of lying on the bed. It wasn't until a couple of hours later they woke up to a loud knock and Benno yelling for the captain to wake up. The captain sat up a little but stopped once he realized there was a sleeping princess on his chest. He laid her down on the bed, covered her up with his blankets and was surprised when he realized he was easily able to cover up her presence with just a couple of blankets and pillows. She was close to the wall, so it made it even easier. The bed just looked a little messy and just recently laid in. The captain quickly walked to the door, opening it to see a very panicked Benno standing at his door. "What is it?" The captain asked. Benno stood there staring at the captain, his eyes wide, not saying anything. The captain looked behind him thinking maybe he saw Lilly, but she was no where insight. "Benno?" The captain asked. Benno then swayed and said "C-Captain.... I'm sorry...They came out of no where. Fisher, Colt, Silver and Fossa are all dead. The enemy are on board. We don't know when they snuck on the ship or how but they kept asking where the Princess was.... We told them no women were on this vessel." Benno replied, looking very pale and out of breath. "How many are there?" The captain demanded. "Three." Benno replied. "Only three?" "Ay Captain." Benno answered before swaying again. "These men aren't normal, they are fast, strong and kill without warning." Benno replied before falling and blacking out. The captain caught Benno and tried calling out to him. That's when he saw the floor, covered in blood. Benno was bleeding from his stomach where he had gotten stabbed. The captain felt his blood boil, pain over took him and grief set in, allowing vengeance to take over once Benno's heart stopped beating.
Mateo came running down the hall. "Captain, captain, we have stragglers on bored. They're attacking people!" "I know!" The captain spoke in a deep growl. Get all crew members awake and tell them to kill on site!" The captain demanded while still holding Benno in his arms. Mateo froze. "Benno? They got Benno?" Mateo was in disbelief. They had been like brothers since they were five years old. "Mateo, what did I say? Wake the damn crew members all of them! We are man haunting those bast*rds! End them on site!" The captain said in a growl, it snapped Mateo out of his fog. "Yes captain." He replied just as he was about to turn around the Captain spoke. "Actually capture them alive." "What!?" Mateo said in anger. "Yeah....capture them alive. I want them to suffer. I want their deaths slow and painful, they will die by my hands alone...Their burning corpses will be sent back to that little bast*rd Prince and we will invade them!" The captain replied as he was shaking thanks to his rage. He was clearly seeing red. Mateo nodded when he realized the captain had just f***ing snapped. He dared not to say anything, he just turned and went the other direction. He heard one last order from the captain before turning the corner. Something so simple sounded so vengeful and terrifying. "You better not die on me." The captain said in a tone that he had never used before. It sent chills up Mateo's spine. The Captain picked Mateo up and laid him on his couch in his room, covering him up with a sheet. He then walked over to the sleeping Princess, picking her up and putting her gently in his trunk, the same one she hid in once before. He covered her with a few folded fabrics to make it seem like no one was there and laid some light books on her, before closing the chest and placing his boots and other small items on top. He closed the closet door and walked out of his room, locking the door behind him. The Captain was now on a war path!