Pirate Princess

  

Long's stomach growled. He looked lustfully at the rat, which scurried fearlessly back and forth in the ship's customs. After he was first housed with the other prisoners of the Goldgreed, he was taken one floor down the following day. The mutineers did not want to see him do their routine work. So the dark-skinned giant spent his time in the dark depths of the ship, which was still fighting the storm.

The description of Long's new dungeon hardly applied to Feucht. Because the ship's bilge pumps were hopelessly overloaded, he found himself hand-deep in water. The narrow beam of light that fell through a crack from above and illuminated the hold made the rat look like an exotic monster. She stood up on her hind paws and looked at the pirate as if she were also considering adding him to her menu.

“Damn bastard! “Aren’t there already enough creatures from hell on this cursed ship!” cursed the dark one.

Never in his life had the helmsman felt so free of hope. He knew that Sliver would never let him leave that ship alive. The hostility between the two men was too deep. The character of the newly appointed captain was too corrupt.

Deep in his heart he felt no hatred for most of the mutineers. Pirates were after wealth and a better life. Sliver had promised them both. Perhaps he would have followed him as a young sailor. But the experienced sailor knew of the wrong path the ship was on under Sliver's leadership.

Several times a day he was brought onto the deck under heavy guard so that he could use the ship's instruments to determine the ship's position. The sun was rarely visible, and so Long could usually do no more than estimate the ship's actual position. The helmsman failed to mention that his information was anything but accurate. He owed no loyalty to Captain Sliver and his mutineers. Besides, if he told the truth he might be considered expendable.

***

When the storm subsided, the Goldgreed floated on the water like a plucked duck. A mast was broken and several sails were nothing but worthless scraps of cloth. An experienced crew under good leadership might have prevented this, but the ship, boarded by pirates, drifted across the ocean with no real destination.

The pirates were happy to have gotten through everything so lightly, and so Sliver's men enjoyed their new freedom under his command. Their newly elected captain had brought a barrel of rum and a few women on deck. The dozen women were now at the disposal of the feral men. They paid homage to Captain Sliver and bowed before him as if he were the king of the pirates. He behaved the same way.

The men had torn the women's clothes off and were enjoying the nakedness on display while filling their throats with the intoxicating liquor. Many a pirate drunkenly attacked one of the blonde, red-haired or brunette English women, but none could be compared with the brutality of Captain Sliver. In the days following Olivia's murder, three other young women had followed the poor soul to the bottom of the ocean. Some of the women on deck even seemed to enjoy escaping the oppressive confines of the slave quarters and clouding their senses with something intoxicating in the fresh air.

Sliver sat on a sort of throne made from laid out clothes and boxes. The exhausted Katharina sat at his feet in only her underwear. With his dagger, Murdoc had cut it so that her breasts stood out exposed. Since her wrists were tied behind her back, the girl couldn't hide her feminine charms even from the wild men.

A leather noose was tied around Katharina's neck, which tightened around her neck with every pull on the rope. Sliver kept her on a leash like a dog, but this humiliation wasn't enough for the bloodthirsty man.

“You look thirsty, Lady Kate, would you like something to drink?” he asked the prisoner and, when she didn’t react immediately, gave a tug on the leash.

The young woman looked at him wordlessly. Her long, blonde hair fell slightly wavy over her bare shoulders and gently caressed her firm breasts. Her blue eyes still sparkled because she hadn't broken yet. She looked longingly at the jug, which contained a mixture of water and wine. Her thirst was indescribable. She hadn't had anything to drink for almost a day on Sliver's orders, and the Caribbean climate was making her thirstier.

“Yes?” He tilted the mug slightly and brought it closer to her lips. Then he said the words he had already said to her several times: “Then lick my feet.”

Katharina turned her head away and several pirates and a few of the women who had been brought on deck laughed. They liked that the bride of the owner's son, who had treated her so badly, now had to suffer herself.

"If you're too fine for that, you can of course also lick my spit from the floor." He kicked her with his foot, which was covered in warts and ulcers, so that she fell to the ground. Then he cleared his throat and spat a large amount of his sputum onto the blanks right next to her. The crowd on deck laughed. Even the women who had already been violated by the pirates now seemed to take pleasure in Katharina's suffering.

Thirst burned in her throat, but she stood her ground. With a semicircular movement of her head, she threw her hair over her shoulder so that her face was free again. Their pride was greater than their thirst. At least for now.

“Speak!” the pirate hissed, yanking her on her leash again.

She was silent. Silence was her only weapon with which she could resist her tormentors. As a noble woman, she was always expected to remain submissive and silent. Now you should plead and beg to signal your submission. No matter how much contempt she felt for her fiancé, to whom she apparently had little more value than the parchment on which her noble title was documented, she despised these men even more, especially Captain Sliver. He fit the image of a murderous pirate, the kind that hell could only spit out in the most ungodly hours.

The blonde beauty felt his obsession increasing with each passing day. Not only was he obsessed with the power he held, he was obsessed with it. Maybe he would soon violate her or beat her to death, she had resigned herself to that, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of talking to him, or even begging him.

***

Jane had become a ghost. She had learned this skill as a child on the streets of London. Now she perfected her skills in the small world of the pirate ship, where every mistake meant certain death.

The young woman had seen what Captain Sliver had done to poor Olivia. She had known the girl. Her youthful beauty had become her undoing early on on the ship. Murdoc had abused her from day one. Maybe she was even lucky that death now saved her from further excesses. Jane was not a believer, but she fervently hoped that Olivia would see her two children again in heaven, about whom she had told Jane during their brief acquaintance.

She had tried several times to get to Kate to at least give her something to eat and trick. But Katharina was too well guarded. At night she was tied to a mast on deck and during the day she had to vegetate at the pirate captain's side like a puppy on a leash. If he continued like this, he would break or kill the young woman to whom Jane owed her life. Jane couldn't allow that. So she decided on a daring plan.

It was daytime and the pirates were almost all on deck, having sex with the condemned women she had brought on deck. Most of the women willingly endured everything because it meant they could escape the misery, hunger and thirst below deck for at least a few hours. Jane would probably be one of them if the goddess of fate hadn't recently taken her life in a different direction and tied her life closely to that of the German noble maiden.

Jane didn't regret it because Katharina had shown her something that had previously played no role in her life. Selflessness and helpfulness. Now it was her turn to return this gift. She crept below deck to the ladder that led to the lowest hold. The hot, humid air almost took her breath away. She climbed gracefully down the rungs, only to suddenly find herself knee-deep in water.

She was startled for a moment, but then considered that this was probably normal since none of the men on deck seemed particularly worried. She held a dagger in her hand as she trudged through the water.

“Shall I show you the right path again?” Long asked in the darkness, mistaking Jane for one of the pirates. Only when she held the dagger to his throat did he realize in the dim twilight that she was not one of his former comrades.

“Don’t make a sound, otherwise I’ll stab you!” Jane hissed at him.

“Be careful, woman! You should only make threats like that if you're willing to carry them out." Long could barely use more than Jane's voice to form an impression of the woman holding the cold steel to his neck. He knew few women who were capable of killing a defenseless person without having a good reason for it. At the moment he wanted to let her know, but rather find out what she wanted from him.

“Let this be just my concern. I'd like to slit the throats of every one of you pirates."

"Is that why you're here? Are you looking for an easy target to practice with?” The black African smiled so that his white teeth could be seen in the darkness.

“No!” snapped Jane, feeling like she was being paraded by the experienced pirate, even though she was the one holding the weapon.

"What is it you want? You were hardly sent to me to please me.”

“Perhaps so,” said Jane. “You know your way around the sea, don’t you?”

“Ay!” Long whispered. "Could we row the dinghy ashore

?"

Is that why you are here?” She was apparently one of the numerous female slaves. Her wish was understandable, but very naive.

"Not quite. "I want to escape from this pirate ship with a friend and am looking for a way for us to escape," Jane explained.

“And what’s in it for me?”

“If you help us, we’ll take you with us.”

“As your slave? Or to leave me hanging as a pirate if we were found by another ship?” Long asked skeptically. He didn't have much to lose, but he knew his chances weren't much better away from a pirate ship. Black Africans were generally viewed by whites as animals for whom slavery was the best thing that could have happened to them. Freed slaves without papers or friends quickly ended up as slaves on some plantation.

“No, as a free man. We just want to get away from this damn ship. Me and my girlfriend. Once we're safe, you can go wherever you want."

"What exactly are you planning to do?" the helmsman wanted to know.

“There is a small rowing boat on deck. I want to free my girlfriend and then launch the boat together. After that we can row to an island or to the coast.” Jane knew that her plan was risky, but she also knew that the pirates would attack Katharina sooner or later if she survived that long.

“You won’t get the boat into the water alone. Even with three people it will be difficult. And right now I can't tell you where the coast is, only that it's somewhere to the west. Not to mention the men who will definitely want to stop you from doing so.”

“Then my plan is hopeless and I can leave you to rot down here with the rats?” said the English woman contemptuously.

"No, no." Long certainly didn't want to stay down here, so the experienced pirate considered his options. Jumping onto a rowing boat at sea was a suicide mission. Revealing the young woman and her escape plan to Sliver's men would not have benefited him either. Even if he was accepted back into the team, Goldgreed had no future. Sliver might be able to lead a band of brigands and bandits, but not a ship that was under-crewed and damaged by the storm. Instead of repairing the ship, the men had deck orgies and had sex with the white slaves. The woman offered him a chance and from the looks of it, she was the best that would come his way.

“First of all, bring me something fresh to drink and eat. Then we talk. If the ancestors want it, perhaps I will be able to determine our actual position. Maybe we really have a chance.”

“Good, but no tricks. If you try to fool me, things will go badly for you.” Once again she pressed the edge of the dagger to his throat, but didn’t seem to impress him.

“First something to eat and drink, then we'll talk about the crucifixion,” said the dark-skinned helmsman with an almost mischievous smile.

“Damn pirate!” Jane snapped.

"Yes, but the only one here on the ship who can save you both."

Jane left the helmsman in his wet dungeon. Strangely, she found this pirate much more sensible than she had imagined. She hoped he kept his word and wouldn't betray her to the others. If she was wrong, she would definitely meet a cruel fate.

The young woman was still thinking about Olivia and Anne's fate. An icy shiver came over her. Jane knew what it felt like to be abused by men. Many have offended her in her young life. Most of the time she just let it go through with indifference. This was the easiest way to do it and rarely resulted in serious injuries. But the thought of Sliver and his cronies made her shiver too. This man and his followers seemed to have escaped straight from hell. If there was any danger of the pirates getting their hands on them, perhaps it would be better to stick the dagger in their own chest. However, deep down she knew she wasn't capable of such a thing. The young English woman is too attached to her life.

***

The stranger had actually brought him some ship's biscuits and wine, so that his hunger was limited. As Long was led onto deck that evening, his eyes fell on Kate. Her eyes sparkled with the hatred of a predator while her body was exposed to the lustful gaze of the crew. He hadn't spoken to the unknown woman about the friend who needed to be saved, but when he saw her he was sure that she was that woman. She had been tied to the front pole again, with her arms tied behind her back in such a way that she unintentionally exposed her exposed breasts in a pleasurable way.

“You better not look at them like that,” one of the pirates warned. “The piece of meat is reserved only for the captain.”

Katharina gave him a look that revealed her contempt for the men on deck. If she knew something about the escape plan, she seemed to be hiding her knowledge well, because she was also appraising Long with the same fury that turned her deep blue eyes into blazing hellfire in the evening sun.

Murdoc, the new crony, looked at him skeptically. Did he suspect something? The defector was cunning, and Long trusted him with every evil he trusted Sliver with. It was probably only a matter of time before he took action against the new captain. Traitors and defectors were not to be trusted. This was one of Captain Rogue's life lessons.

While Long adjusted the sextant, he thought briefly about the fate of his old captain. The helmsman was confident that Richard Rogue had safely weathered the storm. What would he do if he heard of Sliver's betrayal. Would he even know about it? A shiver of sadness came over the helmsman, but he fought the feeling. It wasn't good to live in the past. He had to think about the next few days. His concentration had to be on the here and now.

Suddenly his eyes spotted seagulls on the horizon. So land couldn't be too far. They were probably near the Bahamas. However, in the logbook he entered coordinates much further west. If he really dared to escape, this might help cover their tracks. Furthermore, his guess that the Goldgreed was near the Bahamas archipelago was more of a gut feeling than anything else. The storm had driven the ship across the ocean like a toy for days.

***

A problem had solved itself. In order to have more space on deck for their debauchery, the pirates had launched the dinghy themselves due to the calm sea. As evening fell, the work-shy sailors decided not to hoist the boat back onto the deck.

The night was starry and only a light breeze blew across the sea. Several drunken pirates were lying on deck with their companions. The sleeping men's expressions appeared relaxed and content. Her little world was perfect in that moment. The numerous women who still lived below deck in their cramped shacks promised them big booty, and perhaps one or two of them would even find themselves at the side of one of the pirates. So they cheerfully made promises to their playmates if they submitted to their wishes. None of them thought about tomorrow, when their meager supplies of rum would run out and rations would start to run out.

Jane had freed Long from his dungeon and together they crept through the darkness. She held a pistol tightly in her hand while carrying food and water in a large bag. She had given her dagger to Long as a gesture of goodwill. She had to trust the dark-skinned, bald pirate.

The pirate seemed to know his way around the Goldgreed very well because, to Jane's amazement, he led her through the pitch-dark ship without ever getting lost, while Jane still occasionally took the wrong route even after over a month on the merchant ship. At least she hoped he was taking the right path.

“Can you swim, Jane?” he asked her. His muffled voice sounded pleasantly soft and Jane had trouble seeing him as the murderous pirate who had boarded her ship and, along with others, raped Anne. She liked his superior demeanor and his gigantic stature.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Good.” He carefully opened one of the hatches. The ship's builders had probably intended it as a gun port, but the owner of the merchant ship had only had a few guns brought on board the Goldgreed. The cargo space was too valuable compared to the dubious benefit of an untrained crew. “Climb out of there and swim to the boat. I will free Lady Kate and then come to you.”

Jane took one of the pistols and half-heartedly pointed it in Long’s direction. “If you come without her, you don’t have to come at all.”

“And I thought you couldn’t live without me anymore,” smiled the bald man. “Now let’s go.”

***

Katharina woke up when a large, strong hand cupped her mouth and stopped her surprised cry. She was instantly wide awake. The painful position in which Sliver's men had tied her to the mast again left her no way to escape the unknown. Had he come to rape her?

“Shssss,” the man whispered to her and she recognized Long’s clean-shaven head in the starlight as he stepped in front of her. “Take it easy. Jane Sinner sent me. I'm here to free you. I'm going to take my hand away from your mouth now. Take it easy, Lady Kate.”

She saw the flash of a blade, still fighting the panic that threatened to overwhelm her. A moment later she felt a tug on her almost numb wrists, then the bonds came off and Katharina sank weakly into the man's arms.

“What are you looking for with the woman?” a rough voice suddenly called out of the darkness.

Long knew they had been discovered and that the entire deck full of pirates would soon be upon them. Without further ado, he grabbed Katharina under the arm and the crook of her knee and ran with her to starboard. He threw it over the Rehling and immediately jumped after it, while the pirates were just getting up.

Katharina dove deep into the water. Her undergarment immediately soaked up water. She struggled desperately, trying to find her bearings underwater in the pitch-black night. She heard muffled screams and finally raised her arms to the surface in relief.

Long was next to her, pulling her along. However, the dress hindered her escape into the darkness. To make matters worse, the pirates had now brought torches onto the deck and were shining in the direction Long was swimming with her as ballast.

“There they are!”

“Get the muskets!”

The helmsman hoped that Jane had enough sense to untie the dinghy and row towards them. The light from the torches finally illuminated their position more than adequately. Since Kate's dress was hindering her escape, he solved the problem quite radically. He turned to her briefly and tore it from her body with his strong hands.

“What are you doing?” cried Katharina, frightened.

“Save both of our lives. This way we can swim away faster. Hold on to my back. Jane will soon catch us in the boat.” The latter was at least Long’s great hope. He would hate to make such a daring escape only to simply drown in the vastness of the Altantique.

Katharina, who could barely keep herself afloat, let alone swim properly, desperately clung to the pirate's strong body. She felt his bare skin rubbing against her breasts as he glided through the water at a vigorous pace.

“Bang her!” someone shouted and at that moment two muskets fired from the deck of the Goldgreed.

The first bullet struck far away in the darkness, but the second whizzed past Kate's ear and hit the water just in front of them. But then Jane appeared out of nowhere and offered Katharina her saving hand.

Completely naked, she fell into the approximately 5-meter-long rowing boat while Long climbed aboard on his own. Another musket shot and then a strong voice shouted: “Give up and we will let you live. Long, you know you don't stand a chance. We will find you and then not even God will be able to help you.”

Katharina raised her head and looked at Sliver, who was standing about thirty meters away. He was flanked by two men with torches, while Murdoc, the defector, pointed a musket at them. In the light of the torches she had seen the handles of the pistols her uncle had left her. She pulled the first one out of Jane's supply bag and pointed it at Sliver. All her hatred was for this man, but then she chose Murdoc, who was also targeting her.

“Go to hell!” Kate shouted and pulled the trigger. Murdoc and she fired at the same moment. Kate's pistol bullet thundered against the Goldgreed's hull without causing any damage. Murdoc's bullet hit the water just in front of the small boat, sending a fine spray down over the boat. Long sat on the rowing bench and took hold of the two oars.

“Are you trying to sink us with that, girl? "We'll get you, and then I'll show you what you can do with a long pipe," Sliver laughed arrogantly. Kate grabbed the second pistol and fired again. Blood splattered in the torchlight and Sliver clutched his head before falling to the ground.

The naked Amazon smiled contentedly as the boat disappeared into the darkness, driven by the powerful strokes of her rescuer's oars.