Chapter Text
It was a fairly ordinary day for mid-June. A storm had struck the day before, leaving behind a sea that was still choppy and a wind that had been blowing a particularly cold air since the early hours of the morning. None of this was really unusual for a sailor accustomed to navigating the seas, one might say, but believe me, the crew of the Golden Merchant would surely have preferred to face the storm a second time rather than find themselves in the situation they were currently in.
A few minutes earlier, somewhere in the Caribbean Sea, a crew member of the Golden Merchant spotted an unknown ship changing course with alarming precision and heading straight for them, all sails set. The black sails and the figurehead depicting a skeleton woman set the man’s suspicions, but when the flag was hoisted and he saw a skull above a dagger crossed with a red rose, he had no further doubts. The man alerted his captain that they were being pursued by none other than the infamous Lady Death, commanded by the ruthless Captain Rio Vidal.
The ship’s name was as feared as its crew, known for being merciless and never leaving any survivors. But it was above all the name of its captain that was whispered like a legend in every tavern in Port-Royal. It was said that he had ripped out the still-beating heart of a Spanish captain to feed to the sharks. It was also said that he never killed without reason, but that his reasons were very personal, and that if you were “lucky” enough to see his face, it meant it would be the last face you’d see before you died.
The Golden Merchant, with its ropes and sails still damp from the storm and weighed down by its cargo, clearly had no chance of escaping the Lady Death.
A cannon shot rang out, and a cannonball struck the ship’s side, shattering a section of the hull. Grappling hooks were thrown and caught hold of the wood, binding the two ships together in a matter of seconds. The boarding had begun. Numerous figures swarmed the deck, and the merchant ship’s disorganized crew tried to react, but everything was happening too fast.
The sailors’ cries mingled with the chaos of the sound of splintering wood, the clang of sabres and the crack of gunfire. Some men had nevertheless tried to resist, while others had surrendered almost immediately. What was certain was that within 20 minutes it was all over, and the deck of the merchant ship had fallen silent.
The survivors had been bound with ropes and made to kneel in a line. Almost all of them stared at the floor, not daring to move, waiting to find out what would happen to them.
All around them, the pirates were bustling about, already opening and inspecting the cargo. Then heavy footsteps could be heard, and a pair of boots came to a halt in front of the first prisoner.
“Well, well, well… Let’s see what we’ve got here,” said the pirate, pointing the blade of his dagger at the first man. “Names and destinations. You speak only when I ask you to, or I’ll cut out your tongue.”
Captain Rio Vidal stood there, tall and imposing. He wore a black tricorn hat perched slightly askew on his short hair, which was tied back in a low ponytail. He was wearing black trousers tucked into his black boots, as well as a white linen shirt left slightly open, revealing his sun-tanned skin and a thin silver chain with a small key hanging. Over this, he wore a dark green jacket that was clearly worn by time. And around his waist, he wore a wide black leather belt adorned with a skull and featuring several holsters: the one from which he had just drawn his dagger, two holsters for his pistols, a secondary dagger, and a small, worn compass (which, legend has it, does not point north).
Unsettled and intimidated by the captain’s attitude, the crew of the Golden Merchant answered the question one by one. They were merely ordinary sailors, cooks, carpenters, mates and apprentices, and were carrying nothing more than a simple cargo of sugar, tobacco and a few bottles of wine. Rio’s dark eyes swept from one face to another, barely listening to what they were saying.
“Captain!” Shouted a pirate who was gripping his captive’s arm tightly. “I found this stashed away in the cabin. She was well hidden, I almost didn’t see her.”
All eyes turned to the young woman who was brought before the captain. The pirate holding her let go abruptly and she found herself slightly off balance, but she quickly regained her composure and straightened her shoulders with a dignity almost unexpected in such a situation.
Rio took a moment to study the young woman standing before him. She had long brown hair pulled back into a half-undone bun, the rest of her hair falling down her back. She was wearing a simple white linen nightgown, over which she had slipped on a long floral-print cardigan, along with a pair of boots that showed almost no signs of wear.As for her hands, they were slender, without calluses or scars, and her manicure was almost flawless; something impossible to maintain when spending so long at sea.
“A woman on board? What a lucky day!” He said, approaching the young woman. “What’s your name?”
“Agnes,” the young woman replied without batting an eye.
She looked Rio straight in the eye, and the captain was instantly captivated by the beauty of their colour. The young woman had blue eyes, almost as blue as some of the seas he had sailed upon, and Rio was almost tempted to dive into them and drown.
But the captain kept his cool, and a very slow smile spread across his lips. He drew his dagger and slid the tip beneath Agness’s chin. The cold metal brushed against the young woman’s pale skin, just enough to tilt her head back slightly without cutting her.
Agnes did not flinch a single millimetre and her gaze remained fixed on the pirate’s, as if to provoke him; but her pupils dilated slightly at the touch of the steel, betraying her.
“Agnes,” he repeated, as if savouring the lie. “Interesting. Put her with the others.”
The pirate who had found her in the cabin tied her wrists with a rope and pulled her firmly by the arm once more, lining her up with the others.
Meanwhile, the captain continued to question the other prisoners, but his attention remained fixed on this girl. Who was she really, and what was she doing on this ship, for it was obvious she was not part of the crew. The men continued to state their names, then the pirate came to a figure with its head bowed. He crouched down in front of it, resting one knee on the deck to be at its height, and removed its hat. What a surprise it was when he realised it was not a man.
“Look at this. A second woman on board this rotten old tub,” he said, glancing at his crew. “One woman on board brings bad luck, but two… I think you’d have preferred to face a second storm rather than run into us.”
He stood up and tossed the young woman’s hat at her feet. He stepped forward again and, after questioning the last of the crew, Rio crossed his arms and announced the verdict in a loud voice that carried over the sound of the waves.
“To be honest, I expected better… But I suppose the sharks will be pleased,” he said with a smirk, then added in a neutral, detached tone, “Overboard. All of you.”
Screams and pleas were heard immediately, and tears streamed down the faces of some of the men. To tell the truth, this was Rio’s favourite part; seeing just how pathetic people became and how they begged him to let them live.
“Nat, Max, get the board ready for me. Kale, Al, go search the ship’s cabins and take anything we can sell,” added the captain.
The pirates nodded and obeyed. Nat grabbed a long, weathered oak plank and slid it over the railing until it jutted several feet out over the black water.
“The first one,” Rio ordered, pointing his dagger at the first man who had spoken. “Let’s show our guests an example of what happens when you waste my time. And I don’t want a single scream or a single word from you, or else you’ll go first.”
The first sailor was pushed onto the plank, and he screamed until the water swallowed him up. The second and third followed, begging in several languages to be spared; some sailors tried to offer them things, some asked to join the pirate ship, but it was all to no avail.
It was the turn of the other young woman on the boat, whose name Rio couldn’t even remember. Two pirates grabbed her to drag her forward, but she struggled fiercely and shouted towards the other woman, who was also still on her knees.
“Agatha! I beg you Agatha, tell them!! Tell them who you are. I can’t- I don’t want to die like this, I’m too young. Please,” screamed the young woman.
All eyes turned to ‘Agnes’, and she met their gaze. “Moi?” She said as if she were offended by the suggestion that she might be this Agatha, even though she was the only other woman on board and suspicion could only have fallen on her.
“What did you say her name was?” Asked Rio, stepping towards the young woman who might just have given him clues to the true identity of ‘Agnes’ and exposed her lie.
“Agatha. Her name is Agatha Harkness. She’s Governor Harkness’s daughter,” replied the young woman.
“And how am I supposed to know if you’re telling the truth or lying to me so I’ll spare you?”
“I don’t see why I should die for a girl I barely know. What’s more, she only got on this boat thanks to my father’s generosity, and she’s done nothing but cause us trouble in the three days she’s been on board.”
“Ooh, so it was daddy’s boat… Well, since daddy decided to go for a swim, I suppose you can go and join him,” added Rio coldly, stepping aside to let the pirates holding the young woman pass.
“What? Wait,wait,” screamed the girl. “NO.”
“You should know, my dear, that honour is very important to me, and betrayal and lies are not part of my values,” added Rio as the young woman was pushed onto the plank. “Thanks for the information, I’ll deal with her later.”
“You bloody arsehole! Bunch of bandits, drunks and brainless idiots! You’re criminals and you’ll end up getting arrested and dying by hanging,” spat the young woman, her words making Rio snicker. “And you, you viper,” she added, looking at ‘Agnes’. “You’re a real poison to humanity with your strange preferences and deviant behaviour. I hope you go to hell while I watch you burn from above.”
The beginning was rather amusing for Rio, as he was used to hearing that sort of thing, but the second part made him cringe, and he saw Agnes’s smile fade little by little; and that was the last straw that made him lose his patience. He gave the plank a sharp blow, causing it to shake and sending the young woman off balance, and she fell into the water, screaming, before disappearing too, into the sea.
The pirate ship’s captain then turned round and approached Agnes. “Is what she said true?”
“No,” she replied calmly.
“Perfect. So there’s no reason for you to close your eyes while your fellow travellers enjoy the cool water,” added Rio, nodding to Max. “Carry on.”
Another sailor went overboard. Then another. Then another. The screams were quickly replaced by the sound of bodies hitting the water, then by the silence that followed each fall. The bodies of the men from the Golden Merchant disappeared one by one into the water, leaving behind nothing but circles of foam.
Rio kept his eyes fixed on the motionless young woman. He watched her every move, searching for any sign that her mask was cracking, but there was nothing. Nothing shook the young woman’s upright posture. She did not shed a single tear, nor did she tremble once. Rio was impressed by her composure, while telling himself that there must be something deeper to uncover behind this outwardly perfect demeanor.
And when she was the only one left, the pirates roughly grabbed her and forced her onto the plank. She walked slowly across the creaking wood, her back straight and her wrists still bound in front of her.
“Last chance, ‘Agnes’. Tell me the truth,” Rio insisted, as he stepped up to the foot of the plank and placed a boot on the wood.
Agatha stood in the middle of the plank, then slowly turned to face the captain and his crew.
“Aren’t you supposed to leave at least one survivor? To perpetuate your legend as a heartless being who wipes out every ship unlucky enough to cross your path,” the young woman retorted, completely avoiding the question.
“Well, she’s certainly well-informed, this little miss- what did she call you again? Oh, right, miss ‘deviant,’” Rio mocked, quoting the previous words of the now-deceased woman whose name was lost forever in the depths of the ocean.
“Don’t call me that.”
“So what am I supposed to call you then? Agnes? Or is it Agatha? Or should I perhaps bow down before daring to address you, My Lady,” retorted the pirate, feigning a bow, a gesture that made some of his crew laugh.
“Ha, ha. Very funny,” said Agnes with a forced laugh. “No, seriously, I’ve read books that say you always leave one person alive, so they can tell the tale of what they’ve been through. And that’s how your name and your crew have become the legend they are today.”
“That’s where the books get it wrong, princess. I do sometimes leave one person alive. Not all the time. I usually spare the women on the ship, if there are any,” he replied, before adding under his breath. “Unless they’re disrespectful or lie to my face.”
“I’m a woman. And on top of that, I’m the last surviving member of the crew. So you’re going to spare me,” the young woman argued.
“No.”
“No?”
“You heard me the first time.”
“Ooh, I see how it is. You want me to beg you, is that it? You like feeling powerful, being able to choose who dies and when? Well, too bad for you, because I never beg. I will never beg you,” the young woman spat out. “Or maybe you want me to sleep with you? Again, even setting aside the fact that you’re all utterly disgusting and repulsive, I wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole. Oh no, I know! I suppose what you’re really after is gold. You want money, is that it? My mother has plenty of money, if you- ”
“Ah!” Rio shouted, leaping onto the plank to stand at the far end of it. “You talk too much, sweetheart. You’ve literally just admitted that you are who you claim not to be!”
Agatha froze, realising a little too late what she had just let slip. Her lips parted slightly, but no sound came out.
The captain then drew his dagger from its holster once more, pointed the blade at the young woman who was still standing on the plank, and chuckled softly. “So, Agatha Harkness. The only daughter of the late Governor Harkness, who tragically passed away, but was replaced by his very cold and ruthless wife, Enora Harkness,” Rio continued.
“Evanora Harkness,” murmured Agatha.
“I know, my dear. I know. But thank you for confirming everything I suspected.”
Agatha clenched her jaw, her gaze suddenly harder. “What if it were me? It isn’t me, but just in case… You’re not going to kill me now, are you?” The young woman asked. “You- you could take me home in exchange for a handsome purse of gold?”
“Sweetheart, I’m not the only one who wants to see you dead. Wants to see you burn or hang or drown,” Rio replied, avoiding the question just as Agatha had done before, while continuing to approach her slowly across the plank. “Agatha Harkness, the only daughter of Governor Harkness, will finally meet her end, and finally put an end to the family line. Ugh, it really warms the heart.”
“You don’t have a heart,” retorted the young woman.
“Yes, I do! It’s black, just like they say in the legends you’re so attached to,” added Rio, placing the blade of his dagger against Agatha’s throat. “I should slit your throat right here. It would make my life sooo much easier. No complications, just one less noble in this world.”
He paused, and Agatha swallowed hard. The captain’s pupils were so dilated that the brown of his eyes was barely visible. Rio was inwardly gloating at finally dealing with someone who wouldn't back down and who presented a bit of a challenge for him; nothing too complicated for him, as he always got his way, and this young woman wasn’t going to be the one to throw him off balance.
“But something tells me you’re worth more alive than dead,” he continued.
“So make up your mind, Captain. Because, as I’ve already told you, I won’t beg,” replied Agatha, flashing a smile to provoke him.
Rio held the blade to the young woman’s throat for a moment longer, his gaze locked on Agatha’s. The tension was palpable; the pirate was clearly weighing up his options regarding Agatha’s future.
Then, in one swift, fluid movement, he withdrew the blade, took a step back and kicked the plank violently, causing the young woman to lose her balance and fall into the water, screaming.
“NO! No… I can’t swim! Help me, please,” Agatha screamed as she struggled in the cold water. Her dress and cardigan were soaking up water and getting heavier and heavier, preventing the young woman from properly breaking the surface.
Rio stepped onto the plank to return to the boat and prepare for the grand finale. But just then, his first mate, Al, came running out of the quarters he’d been tasked with searching earlier, holding up a small gold locket he’d just found.
“Captain… The Harkness crest! The triple goddess on the purple background… She really is the Governor’s daughter,” Al gasped.
“The locket must be worth a fortune…” Replied Nat.
“But she must be worth even more,” added another pirate named Kale.
Rio stared at the locket in Al’s open palm, then at the water into which the Governor’s daughter had just sunk, and something he couldn’t quite put his finger on tightened in his chest.
“Fuck,” he swore through clenched teeth. “Hold this for me,” he added, placing his tricorn hat on Al’s head and throwing him the belt he’d just unfastened, before diving into the water himself; willingly this time, unlike the others before him.
The water was freezing and the salt stung his eyes, but that didn’t stop the captain, who had only one goal in mind: to save Agatha. Why? He wasn’t quite sure himself. To show her that, in the end, she had begged him and that he could therefore be merciful towards her? To show her he wasn’t a monster? Because she had beautiful eyes and– no, he needed Agatha alive because she was the Governor’s daughter and would surely bring him a lot of money if he demanded a ransom from her mother. Yes, that was it.
He kept swimming until he finally saw the silhouette of the young woman, who was still slowly sinking. The fabric of her dress and cardigan, floating around her, contrasted with the whiteness of her skin, giving Rio the impression that he was seeing a ghost. Agatha’s bun had come undone, letting her wavy hair flow with the movement of the water, and she seemed almost at peace like that, but Rio was convinced that Agatha still had things to experience, and he wasn’t going to be the one to end her life.
The pirate swam harder, grabbed Agatha’s arm firmly, and wrapped her knotted wrists behind his neck. He placed one arm around her waist to hold her close, and used the other to pull himself to the surface. Rio began to slowly feel the lack of oxygen, but he strangely felt more alive despite his lungs starting to burn from the lack of air.
Once at the surface, he finally took a deep breath and his lungs filled with air again. The captain turned to swim toward his ship, and his pirate crew threw him a rope ladder from the deck.
Rio wriggled free from Agatha’s arms wrapped around his neck and hoisted her with difficulty onto his shoulder, supporting her with one arm whilst he grabbed the rope ladder and let his crew haul him up, the young woman still limp in his arms. Some of his men took Agatha and laid her on the deck, untying the knot around her wrists, while the others helped him climb over the railing.
“She’s not breathing,” remarked a man kneeling beside the young woman.
“Move,” replied Rio, pushing one of his men aside, before kneeling beside Agatha and reaching behind him. “Al, my dagger.”
“Is she dea-” Whispered Max.
“Shut up,” Rio interrupted, placing the blade over the fabric to cut into it and partially free the young woman’s ribcage. “Sorry, princess.”
Before the blade touched her, Agatha suddenly regained consciousness, her body arched, and she coughed violently, spitting out salt water. Her lips were blue, and some of her now-loose hair clung to her face, but she was alive.
“Don’t,” she said, reaching out to push the pirate away. Her voice was hoarse from the water and the cold, but her authoritative tone was still clear. “Don’t fucking touch me.”
Rio took a step back, raising his hands in a mocking gesture. He was taken aback at first, but quickly broke into a smile, clearly amused by the situation. “No worries, sweetheart.”
Still sitting half-upright on the deck, Agatha was still catching her breath. She was gradually regaining her colour, but her hands were still trembling slightly.
A few crew members had come over to help their captain to his feet.
“What shall we do with her, Captain?” Asked one of them.
Rio didn’t reply straight away. His gaze remained fixed on the young woman, but hers was fixed on something beside him. Rio followed her gaze and understood immediately. In a swift reflex, he reached out to grab his dagger before she could do anything, but Agatha lunged for it at the same time. The pirate was quicker, and Agatha managed to grab only the blade of the dagger. The metal slid against her palm and cut her deeply, but the young woman did not let go.
Neither of them wanted to let go of the dagger, both straining to retrieve it. But Agatha, keeping her eyes fixed on the captain, released the blade with a sharp tug and slapped Rio with her other hand, sending him flying backwards. She wanted to step forward to try and take it back, but men grabbed her and pulled her back to keep her away from their captain and the weapon.
“AaaaaAaaaargh!” Agatha screamed, struggling to break free so she could attack the pirate again.
“Are you fucking crazy? That’s enough now, Agatha,” retorted Rio, standing up and trying not to show that he was clearly impressed by the girl’s strength of character. Al helped him to his feet and handed him his belt so he could fasten it around his waist again and put his dagger back in its sheath.
“Let me go,” she said, struggling to free herself from the grip of the two men who were stopping her from throwing herself at the captain to strangle him.
“And to go where? We’re surrounded by miles of water, and you’ve just spent three minutes swallowing half the Caribbean Sea, proving to us all that this clearly isn’t your element,” Rio said, drawing a few chuckles from his crew.
“Leave me on the other boat, someone will surely pass by and find me.”
“What boat?” Max interrupted, stepping aside slightly to clear the view. “That one?”
Agatha looked in the direction the pirate was pointing and saw the merchant ship burning and sinking a short distance away. The two pirates were no longer holding her so tightly, and she broke free to rush towards the railing, as if hoping that her only way out wasn’t actually burning before her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something back, but no sound came out.
“Consider yourself lucky, you’re the only survivor of this shitty boat after all, just as you wanted,” said Rio, moving closer to her again. “But listen to me carefully Agatha, from now on, you’re on my ship, so you’re under my orders. You’ll have to listen to me and obey me because here, I’m the one who decides who lives and who dies, and for now, I’ve generously decided that you’re going to live, but that can change very quickly if you carry on acting like an idiot. Is that clear?”
Agatha turned around and leaned her back and hands against the railing. She remained silent but still held the captain’s gaze firmly. Rio watched her breathing rapidly, but his gaze was drawn to the fabric of her nightgown, which had become transparent from the water and left nothing to the imagination regarding the shape of her breasts and the size of her nipples, which were hard and erect from the cold. He realized he had lost himself for a few seconds, so he crossed his arms, looked up to meet the young woman’s gaze again, and tilted his head slightly as he waited for her reply.
But Agatha was far from blind, and she had clearly seen the effect she had made on the captain. She looked at him with a mischievous smile before lunging at him again to snatch his pistol from his belt in one swift movement. She raised the gun with both hands and pointed it straight at the captain’s head.
“By the goddess of the oceans…” Rio muttered, rolling his eyes, frankly annoyed by the situation despite the slight admiration he felt for the girl’s tenacity. A dozen pirates immediately drew their pistols, sabres or knives and aimed them at Agatha. “Which part of the phrase ‘if you carry on acting like an idiot’ wasn’t clear? ”
“Shut up,” Agatha replied, out of breath. “Just shut up… I…”
“Listen, sweetheart, there are more of us than you, so you clearly don’t stand a chance… And besides…” Rio tipped his chin towards the pistol. “You might want to cock the hammer before trying anything.”
Agatha frowned, her grip tightening slightly as she glanced down at the pistol, turning it in her hands as if the answer might reveal itself. “I have to w- what with the cock?”
She didn’t get to finish because in a swift motion, Rio’s fingers closed firmly around the weapon and wrenched it free from Agatha’s hand before she could react. And in the same fluid motion, he cocked the pistol and pointed it back straight at her.
“There! That’s how you make it ready to fire,” he said calmly. Then he lowered his weapon and motioned for his men to do the same. He chuckled softly before adding “Okay Agatha, thanks for all the entertainment because honestly, I don’t think I’ve had this much fun in ages! You're a pretty intense girl... I like that. But thanks to your little performance, you’ve just taught me two things about you: the first is that you’ve got guts, and I really admire that. But unfortunately for you, the second is that you’re still a long way from knowing how to survive here.”
Agatha said nothing, but looked away, crossed her arms and sighed loudly enough for everyone to hear. Rio was certainly going to have his fun with her. He nodded to his men, and they grabbed the young woman once more; this time, however, she let them, clearly annoyed that her attempts to resist had been thwarted and that she had made a fool of herself time and again.
“Lock her in my cabin,” he ordered, turning away and holstering his weapon. “And have someone clean that wound; we wouldn’t want our new merchandise to be delivered damaged.”
_______________________________________________________________
Agatha nearly stumbled when she was roughly shoved into the captain’s cabin. She regained her balance and heard the door slam behind her; then the sound of a key turning in the lock confirmed that she was definitely locked in here.
“Great…” She muttered, as she stood motionless in the middle of the room and scanned the cabin with her eyes. And without warning, a pain in her palm flared up, and Agatha raised her hand to examine the cut, gently trying to run a finger over it, but the pain made her wince. She decided instead to move forward to observe and try to analyze her new surroundings, hoping to figure out who she was dealing with.
Her fingers first brushed against the massive table in the centre of the cabin. The wood was mostly smooth, except in certain places where the wear and tear was more visible. Agatha continued to move her hand forward until she was leaning over the map that lay open on the table. She traced the lines drawn in ink, but frowned slightly when she spotted the outline of a cross, and she committed the location of the cross to memory, the information might come in handy later.
She straightened up and saw a bookshelf laden with books a little further on. She approached it, grabbed the spine of one of the books and slid it out of its slot. She set it down, opened it to a random page and flipped through a few pages to try to understand what the book was about. But she was surprised to see that it was written in Spanish, and although she understood a little Spanish, she was absolutely incapable of reading an entire book in that language. Agatha deduced that the captain must be fluent in Spanish. She closed the book, and certainly didn’t bother to put it back in its original place.
She approached another door at the far end of the cabin and tried to open it. It was locked, of course. She didn’t persist and eventually made her way towards the bed, but something sticking out from under it caught her eye. She crouched down carefully and pulled a small chest from under the bed.
“What are you hiding, Captain?” Agatha wondered aloud. She tried to pull on the latch, but the small chest was as uncooperative as the door. “Obviously…”
She put the chest back under the bed, then stood up and sat on the edge of the bed before slumping back, letting out a long sigh. Her eyes were fixed on the ceiling when she heard the sound of a key in the lock and a pirate who looked to be in his fifties walked in.
He had wavy grey hair gathered into a bun at the back of his head that looked as though it might come undone at any moment, and you could see that his face was beginning to show the wear and tear of many years at sea. He wore a loose-fitting white shirt tucked into long trousers, and to top it off, he wore a jacket that looked worn and must surely have been patched up several times, as it was made of several different fabrics with varying patterns.
“Sit down,” said the pirate in a strangely calm voice. “I’m going to take care of that hand before we have to amputate it.”
The words had the desired effect, for Agatha obeyed and immediately stood up to take her place at the edge of the bed. The pirate took a chair next to the table and sat down in front of her. Agatha thought his hands felt soft as he took her wrist to bring her hand closer so he could begin cleaning the wound. He took a cloth soaked in water and gently wiped the blood from the palm of her hand. The pirate was silent but attentive, and Agatha watched his every move.
“What’s your name?” Agatha asked after a moment.
“Bite down hard,” he said, handing her a piece of cloth.
“What a strange naAAA-” Agatha cried, pulling her hand away from the man’s. “Are you mad?”
The pirate sighed as he took Agatha’s hand again to continue cleaning the wound with rum, clearly unfazed by the situation. “I told you to bite down on the cloth,” he replied coldly.
“You could have been clearer,” Agatha added, clenching her teeth.
“I was very clear,” he said, prompting a sigh of exasperation from Agatha, who was a little too embarrassed to admit that she’d actually thought it might be his name.
Silence fell between them again as the man folded a piece of cloth, which he then placed in the palm of Agatha’s hand before wrapping another around her palm to make a bandage.
“Cal.”
“What?”
“My name. It’s Cal,” he repeated.
Agatha frowned and couldn’t help but tilt her head slightly to observe him, almost staring him down. “No, it’s not,” she insisted. “What’s your real name?”
Cal froze, and Agatha sensed she’d hit the nail on the head. “Listen, I’m a woman and I… spend… a lot of time with women in high society, so I know a good one when I see one,” explained Agatha. “And besides, your bust is far too ample to- ”
“How dare you?” Replied Cal, quickly buttoning up his jacket.
“- be hidden…” Continued Agatha, before trying to backtrack. “Not that I was looking, because I really wasn’t actually looking at it… I mean…”
And that was when Agatha’s stomach decided to make its presence known, rumbling loudly and almost saving her from the embarrassment.
“Someone’s hungry,” Cal pointed out to her.
“Yes, very,” Agatha replied.
The pirate stood up with a grunt, pushed the chair back in its place, and headed for the door before turning round and locking eyes with Agatha.
“Listen carefully, Agatha. If you keep quiet about what you’ve just discovered, I can try to sneak you some food without the captain finding out,” he said. “But if you feel like telling anyone, just know that I’ve been sailing on this ship for eleven years. I know every nook and cranny and every man on this ship, so ransom or no ransom, ‘accidents’ happen… Deal?”
“Yes,” Agatha replied. “But wait, what’s your real name, then?”
The pirate hesitated for a second, standing frozen in front of the door before answering, “Lilia.”
“Thank you, Lilia,” Agatha said softly, watching her leave the cabin before hearing the sound of the lock again. She flopped back onto the bed, thinking that she might just have found an ally who would make her life on the ship a little less complicated.
Little did she know that this had been the captain's plan all along. To make Agatha think she had discovered a secret, to see if she would keep it, and IF she kept it, how long before she used it to her advantage. Or if, on the contrary, she would simply tell herself that she had found someone she could trust on this ship because she felt close to her, given that she was a woman too.
Lilia left the captain’s cabin, locked the door, left the quarters and made her way to the helm to meet the captain. The rest of the crew were busy with other tasks on the ship.
“She knows,” Lilia announced as she climbed the stairs.
“She knows what?” Rio asked, keeping his hands on the helm.
“That I’m a woman, obviously,” replied Lilia, rolling her eyes.
“Well, you haven’t done much to hide it,” chuckled Rio, glancing down at Lilia’s chest.
“She told me exactly the same thing,” remarked Lilia before covering her chest with her jacket again, and the remark made Rio raise an eyebrow. “I’m too old to bother binding my chest. Besides, the whole point was for her to notice, so why not make it easier for her?”
“Hmm,” muttered the captain. “What did you promise her in exchange for her silence?”
“To bring her food without you knowing,” Lilia said calmly.
“Perfect,” exclaimed Rio, nodding to Al, who was standing nearby, to take the helm for him, then turned back to Lilia. “I’d like you to figure out a route to get us to a port quickly so we can send a letter to our dear Governor Harkness to let her know we’re holding her precious daughter.”
The captain hurried down the stairs, closely followed by Lilia.
“If you run into them, you can also tell Max to come get the girl from my cabin later this evening to invite her to have dinner with me,” he added. “And ask Kale to come with him and bring her one of the dresses we found on this damn ship; maybe she’ll be more comfortable in one of those than in what she’s wearing now, not that I’m complaining…”
“Noted, Captain,” replied Lilia. “And you? Where are you going?”
“I’m going to supervise the preparation of tonight’s meal. If I’m the one who brings it to her, the deal you made with her is null and void, and I want to see if she’s a woman of her word. And believe it or not, you learn a lot about people by watching them eat,” he said with a wink before walking off toward the kitchens.
_______________________________________________________________
Agatha, meanwhile, was still locked in the captain’s cabin. The minutes dragged by, and Lilia still hadn’t returned. The young woman had been waiting for a long time, lying on the bed, and her stomach wouldn’t stop rumbling away on its own. She looked through several books before selecting one that seemed at least somewhat interesting, then went back to sit on the bed, leaning back to get comfortable. If no one bothered to come bring her food, she would find another way to feed herself.
Ever since she was a child, Agatha had always been very independent, as her mother did not look after her. She was raised by a governess who, at her mother’s request, had given her a strict and religious upbringing, so that she would understand social conventions and learn how to run a household, in the hope of one day marrying her off to a wealthy man to ensure the family’s lineage. Agatha, being the good student she was, learned quickly and well, but most of what she was taught didn’t interest her all that much. She had complied with her mother’s rules, but she had developed a good relationship with her tutor, and in secret, behind her mother’s back, the tutor had taught her other, far more interesting subjects like history, geography, and mathematics. And if, on occasion, her tutor happened to ‘forget’ a book when she left, and Agatha took the opportunity to read it in secret in her room at night, it was a complete coincidence.
So yes, the fact that Agatha found books of this sort in the captain’s collection made her forget, for a moment, the situation she was in, and she immersed herself in her reading. Minutes turned into hours, and without her necessarily realising it, late afternoon had arrived. She closed the book she had just finished and stood up to put it back in its place. As she stood up, Agatha began to wonder where Lilia had gone. Was the “agreement” they’d made still in effect? And if so, why hadn’t she come back yet after all this time? Had something happened to her? But these internal questions didn’t last much longer when she heard someone unlocking the door.
“Lilia, finally! It took you long enough. I was starting to think you’d forgotten about me,” Agatha said as she walked toward the door.
However, it wasn’t Lilia who opened the door. Two pirates entered the cabin and Agatha instinctively stepped back to keep her distance from them. Although Agatha wasn’t very good at remembering names, she had still recognised the pirates from the Lady Death’s crew who were standing alongside the captain.
The first, Max, had red hair tied back at the nape of his neck, with a few stray strands framing his face, and piercing green eyes. He wore a worn red jacket, a loose-fitting black shirt, and black trousers tucked into high leather boots. As for the second, Kale, who was taller than Max; he was black and had a completely shaved head. He wore a white shirt with wide sleeves, a wide pale pink belt, and long, loose-fitting beige trousers that hid his boots.
Max stepped toward Agatha, while Kale closed the door behind them. “The captain wants you to join him for dinner tonight, and he wants you to look presentable,” he said.
“You have to wear this tonight,” Kale added, holding out a deep blue dress to her.
“There’s no way I’m wearing that,” replied Agatha, eyeing the dress as if it were a trap.
Max chuckled softly. “You have a choice: either you put on that dress and have a quiet dinner with the captain… or you have dinner with the whole crew… but completely naked.”
Agatha felt a shiver run through her whole body. The thought of standing naked in front of pirates, or any man, for that matter, made her feel sick. She clenched her jaw and practically snatched the dress from Kale’s hands.
“You have ten minutes to get ready, and whether you’re ready or not, we’ll be back for you. And believe me, the captain doesn’t like to wait,” Max added as he headed back toward the door.
Once the two pirates had left the room, Agatha stood motionless in the middle of the cabin, staring at the beautiful blue dress in her hands.
Her heart was pounding, and she didn’t know whether to be scared or curious about why the captain had suddenly invited her to dinner. She looked at the dress one last time, hesitating, but the thought of standing naked in front of the entire crew gave her goosebumps all over again. She resigned herself to it and, with a deep sigh, slowly began to undress.
She let her floral cardigan and her nightgown, which was still partly damp, fall to her feet. She struggled to slip on the new dress, twisting and turning to reach the laces at the back. She walked over to a round mirror hanging on the wall that she had spotted earlier, and tried to see what she looked like. The bodice, which she had pulled tight, emphasised her waist and clearly accentuated her bust.
She had no comb to hand, so she simply ran her fingers through her long hair to untangle it a little. When she was more or less satisfied with the result, she looked at herself more closely in the mirror and noticed that the midnight blue colour of the dress brought out her light blue eyes in an almost unsettling way. And having noticed how the captain had been ogling her earlier that day, she told herself that she might have a card to play by trying to use her charms on the captain of the Lady Death.
The key turned in the lock once more and the door swung open to reveal Max and Kale.
“Well… you look great,” Max remarked with a small, appreciative smile as he saw her.
“Not bad at all. The captain’s going to like this,” Kale added before motioning for her to step out. “Come on, let’s go.”
Agatha lifted her chin and followed Kale. The two pirates escorted her across the deck, and several crew members turned their heads as she passed. She took the opportunity to observe as much as she could and take in as much information as possible. She heard someone whistle and saw that Kale, who was in front of her, turned his head to glare at that person. They then went down a small staircase and arrived at a door where another pirate was waiting for them.
“Kale,” he said.
“Nat.”
“Is that my jacket?” Nat asked, looking at how Max was dressed and Max looked away, smiling shyly.
Weird.
Agatha watched the scene unfolding before her eyes, but she paid closer attention to Nat. The pirate also had red hair, but it was shorter and a different shade of red than Max’s, and he was dressed entirely in black; his clothes were quite tight, hugging his body closely. He was also clearly the best-armed man she had come across on this ship; every part of his outfit seemed designed to carry a weapon.
“Thank you, Kale and Max. I’ll take it from here,” Nat continued, dismissing the other two pirates.
Nat knocked twice sharply on the door before opening it and gesturing for Agatha to come in. The young woman took a deep breath and stepped inside.
The room was lit by several lanterns, and a beautiful table had been set. Agatha walked slowly towards it, taking in what was on the table: two place settings had been laid out, and there was a bottle of wine, fresh bread, potatoes, roast meat, fish and even some fruit.
Rio was standing next to the table, still wearing his green jacket, but now he was wearing a clean black shirt, and he no longer had his belt or weapons on. When Rio saw Agatha in that blue dress, his eyes darkened slightly. He remained silent for a moment, watching her, before dismissing Nat, who left, leaving them in a heavy silence.
Rio slowly took a step forward, a faint smile on his lips. “I see you’ve agreed to wear the dress.”
“It’s not like I really had a choice… Your men were very persuasive.”
“Would you have preferred to dine naked with the crew?” Rio sneered, moving closer to Agatha, who did not reply. “Come on, sit down.”
Rio waited for Agatha to sit down before taking his own seat. Rio was sitting at the end of the table and Agatha was seated in the first seat to his left. The captain poured wine into both glasses, then placed some potatoes and a slice of meat on Agatha’s plate.
“Eat,” he said. “With the little food we found on the boat you were on, I imagine you haven’t been able to eat your fill.”
Agatha looked at the plate, then at Rio. Then she reached out to grab her cutlery before noticing something strange. “There’s no knife?”
“After your little scene this morning, I figured it was better to be safe than sorry,” he replied with a smile.
“I could always stab you with a fork,” Agatha added, raising her eyebrows.
“Go ahead,” Rio replied simply and calmly, picking up his glass to take a sip of wine. “But you should still use your fork to eat something better than me.”
Agatha stared at her plate again for a moment, then stiffly picked up her fork, speared a potato and brought it to her mouth with elegance, under the captain’s insistent gaze. As soon as she took a bite, her eyes widened slightly.
“Mmm…” Murmured Agatha, before closing her eyes for a few seconds as if to savour the taste more fully.
It was probably the best thing she’d eaten in days. She quickly took a second bite, a bigger one this time. Rio, who hadn’t touched his plate yet, wore an amused smile as he watched Agatha eat slowly while maintaining her manners. He had to find a way to break through that shell.
“Agatha,” he said, catching the young woman’s attention as she looked up at him. “There’s no one here but me. You don’t need to pretend to impress anyone; you can eat as much as you want and however you want.”
Agatha stood motionless for a few seconds, taking in the captain’s words, before finally losing her composure. Completely forgetting her mother’s lessons on proper manners, she literally threw herself at the food. She grabbed another potato with her fingers and bit into it with fervour, and while she was still chewing, she tore off a big chunk of bread, dipped it in the meat juices, and shoved it into her mouth as well.
Rio relaxed and leaned back in his chair, wearing an amused smile stretching from ear to ear, as he watched Agatha devour her meal.
She ate quickly, almost urgently, moving from one food to another in no particular order. Agatha grabbed her glass of wine and took a large gulp, then immediately went back for a piece of meat still soaking in the sauce; she brought it to her mouth and bit into it so greedily that some of the sauce dripped onto her lower lip and down her chin. Agatha made no move to wipe it away, and Rio’s gaze fell almost instinctively on her lips, shiny and glistening with sauce. His dark eyes never left her mouth, and the captain had to bite the inside of his cheek while gripping his wine glass a little tighter.
When Agatha seemed to have had her fill, she finished her meal by licking the remaining sauce from her fingertips, before finally wiping her lips with the back of her right hand.
“Fuck… I don’t think I’ve ever eaten anything this good,” she murmured before meeting Rio’s gaze, suddenly realising just how much she’d let her guard down. Then she looked at Rio’s plate and noticed it was still empty and clean. “You haven’t eaten a thi- oh my God, was the food poisoned?”
“Sweetheart, if you die I won’t get my ransom, so there’s no point in poisoning you,” he sneered. “Besides, I wouldn’t have gone to fish you out of the ocean just to poison you afterward.”
“But why invite me if- ”
“Because I wanted to watch you eat, Agatha,” Rio interrupted her. “Because, you know, you learn a lot about people when you watch them eat. And what could be better than seeing you fully enjoy what I cooked for you?”
Agatha frowned, and Rio responded by slowly nodding his head, as if answering her unspoken question. “Yes, I’m the one who cooked what you ate tonight.”
“Well, it wasn’t really that good after all,” Agatha retorted, crossing her arms, which made Rio laugh. “But apart from that… um… what- what did you learn about me tonight?”
Rio stepped forward to set down his glass, then leaned slightly toward Agatha. “You’re a woman who’s always in control… until the moment you let it all go. And when you do let go, you clearly don’t do things by halves,” Rio said. “But if you wanna… be in control, you can be. I just know that at some point you’re going to crack, exactly like you just did.”
Agatha, who had leaned back in her chair while keeping her arms crossed, slowly ran her tongue over her lower lip, without taking her eyes off Rio. She had been quickly cornered, and she had to find a way to turn the tables.
“And I suppose you enjoy knowing all that about me just by watching me like that?”
“Very much,” replied Rio calmly, and the answer surprised Agatha, who couldn’t help but blush a little, hating herself for it.
“I know some things too!” Agatha suddenly exclaimed.
“Please, tell me,” Rio replied a little too quickly, as if he’d been waiting for just that. “Tell me what you know or what you think you’ve discovered.”
“There’s a…” Agatha murmured, torn between keeping Lilia’s secret and wanting to prove to the captain that she, too, was observant. “No, actually, um… There’s nothing I think I know…”
“Hmmmm,” Rio hummed in response. “Well, thank you for joining me for dinner, but it’s time for you to return to your cell, which happens to be my cabin, so consider yourself lucky not to be sleeping with the rats.”
The captain called Nat over and asked him to escort the prisoner out. Nat grabbed Agatha’s arm and pulled her toward the door.
“Wait,” Rio called out before Agatha was led out of the room. “I haven’t officially told you yet, but welcome aboard, M’lady.”