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Alan
Albert
Almor
Cazal
Drev
Godric
Grover
Igan
Simon
Sirius
Tiri
Ainad
Aire
Brenda
Lani
Lian
Raj
Romani
Zy
Short Story Compilation / Written 1/16/2008 - 8/7/10 / Rated PG-13
This is a compilation of stories pertaining to my childhood and the beginning of my life as a pirate. You will find this written in different perspectives: both from my own and from the storyteller's perspective.
| Chapter 1 Escape |
Chapter 2 The Night I Left |
Chapter 3 A Bit of Work |
Chapter One - Escape
It was a long time ago when my life first began... I was raised as royalty, the only son of two powerful political minds. I loved my life and all that I had until it was all taken from me. I was only six years old...
It was the middle of the night and I was sleeping safely in my bed until I was awoken by a scream. I immediately recognized it as my mother's, and before I even had time to figure out what was going on, our maid, Ada, snatched me from my bed. "Ven conmigo." she whispered as she firmly grasped my hand and led the way out into our hallway. Large flames were slowly engulfing the house. The heat nearly made it impossible to move, but Ada tugged on my hand and made me run faster. She opened a closet door and slid inside to unhinge a hidden exit. "Rápidamente!" she said as she pushed me to go inside and looked desperately behind her as if she was making sure we weren't being followed.
I didn't waste any time. After climbing down numerous stairs, we found a small tunnel carved through the ground. We followed it and soon reached another door that resembled a cellar door at the end of our underground escape route. Ada reached up and unlatched the door to push it open and we both crawled out into the chilly night air for the first time, covered in soot and dirt. Our house looked like a comet flaming in the distance. I just stared at it in disbelief; unaware of what had just happened when I heard Ada sobbing.
"Your... beautiful home..." she managed to murmur between her tears. "And..." she looked nervously at me, "Your parents..."
I was too young to understand at the time, but I'll never forget what happened next. A dark figure emerged from the front door of the house dragging two others by the collars of their nightgowns. I recognized them immediately as my mother and father. The figure stood facing them for a while as if he were talking to them before he pulled out a pistol and pointed it at them. The shot rang loudly as I saw my father's figure slump to the ground at my mother's feet. She screamed in agony and fell to his side before a second shot silenced her forever.
By now, Ada's sobs had turned into moans of anguish. She took me in her arms and held me close, "I'm so sorry..." she whispered as she pulled back to look me in the eye. "Come, mi amor." She said gently, taking my hand and fighting back sniffles for my sake. “We must find shelter.”
I just nodded and remained speechless. I tried to forget what I saw, tried to forget what had happened, but I couldn't. My parents were gone, my house was in flames, and I had nothing left in the world except for Ada.
Ada, bless her soul, became like a second mother to me. She took me in and raised me. She sent me to school, took me to church, and she took care of me like a son. I think she always knew what to expect from me, though. It was no surprise to her when I snuck off that one night and never came back. Ever since that day, I knew I would one day get revenge on the man who had killed my parents. Though I had been young at the time, I knew I would never rest until I had set that part of my life right. One night when I was fifteen, I left to go find that man and make him pay for all that he had taken from me.
After the shock of the loss of my parents, I grew to be an almost normal child. Ada forced many school years on me, she wanted me to be smart... to be as successful as my parents had been. I hated the classes, but I struggled through them for Ada. She tried so hard to provide for me. I know it was hard for her - as a maid, she didn't make much money and it cost her a lot to put me through school.
I did fairly well in my classes. For some reason, it came easy to me: mathematics, language, history... But there was always a deep longing inside me - I wished to some day find the man responsible for my parents' deaths and kill him. Even as a child, this was the only thing I could ever think of and wish for. My parents' murder haunted my dreams for years until I finally worked up the courage to one day do something about it.
The month after I turned fifteen, I decided to leave. I didn't have many belongings, so I didn't have much to take care of. I'd leave a note for Ada thanking her for all she'd done for me and expaining why I had to go. I had planned to sneak out that night so I wouldn't have to face Ada as I left.
Somehow, however, she must have known and she found me just as I was leaving through the front door. The moonlight coming in through a nearby window shone on her tears as she placed a gentle hand on my shoulder and stopped me. I hadn't seen her at first, so I was startled - but once I saw who it was, I was immediately overcome with a sickening feeling of guilt. I was just about to apologize when she thrust a small book into my hands and let go of me to wipe her eyes. "Sea seguro." She whispered as I avoided looking into her eyes and slipped out of her house, never to return.
The night was clear the night I left. I knew where I wanted to go - there was a small shady town a little south along the Spanish coast that was a rumored docking spot for several pirate ships. With any luck, my plan would work...
"Watch it, kid!" roared a large man as he shoved Cazal out of his way and thundered down the street without looking back. Cazal scowled and bent down to pick up his things before noticing several shady men disappear into a tavern across the street.
He was only fifteen years old, but the owner of the tavern wouldn't mind if he went in for a look around, would he? Cazal dodged several of the others moving down the alley before letting himself into the tavern and allowing his eyes to adjust to the dark inside.
It was everything he had expected it to be: men crowded around small tables whispering, gambling, or flirting with the barmaids. Cazal even saw one man shot on site when he was caught cheating at a dice game. It made him wonder if he had seriously thought about what he might be getting into...
"What'll ya have, kid?" asked the bartender after ordering one of the slave boys to clean up the mess at the dead man's table.
"Er... just a rum." he answered, unsure of what else to order. "And sir, I'm looking for a bit of work..." he lowered his voice, "preferably at sea - under the employment of a pirate?"
The bartender narrowed his eyes as he set a mug of rum in front of Cazal, "Awfully young to be lookin' for that kind of work, are ya? You sure about this, kid? Once you go pirate there's no going back..."
Cazal stared defiantly at the bartender, his face emotionless, "I don't plan on 'going pirate' for very long, sir."
The bartender smirked, "Ye've definitely got the attitude for a pirate, mate. What's your name, kid?"
"You can call me Cazal."
"Ye've gotta be careful if yer out to find a crew to join... only one in ten's got to be safe for a kid."
"I'm fifteen years old." Cazal said, quickly getting annoyed by the bartender referring to him as a 'kid'.
"Ye ever killed a man?"
"Not yet."
"Then yer not ready for the big time," the bartender pointed a hand toward a table in the back of the room, "See that big bloke at the head of the table? They call him 'Ten-dozen Tomjack'... I'll go ahead and let that sink in on ya."
"That man has killed ten-dozen men?" Cazal asked, looking shocked.
"A few women too.. and I'm not sure if that's the real number or not - could be a few off, maybe it's 'zaggerating or something. I've never wanted to ask him."
"I wouldn't either..." Cazal agreed.
"Look kid... er, Cazal. I can suggest you to a captain, but you've just gotta be sure of what yer getting into. Like I said, there's no going back."
"I'm sure, sir." Cazal said, "I have never been more sure about anything in my entire life."
"Well, yer the one that said it... What about Captain Steele? He's a good man for a pirate."
"Right," Cazal said, not amused, "Where is this Captain Steele?"
"Right here." said a tall, bearded man in a feathered hat as he sat down on the stool one away from Cazal's, "I'll have the usual, Barty. And who's the kid?"
"I'm fifteen years ol..." Cazal started before Barty interrupted him.
"He's lookin' for work, Cap'n. Never been on a ship before."
"Know how do tie a rope, kid?" Captain Steele asked Cazal, "Know how to cook, work a cannon, shoot a rifle, brandish a cutlass? You ever kill a man, kid?"
"I thought we had already established that..." Cazal said as he shot Barty a look, "I'm afraid I've never done any of those things, sir, but I would be eager to learn."
"What's in it for me if I take you in?"
"I work hard," Cazal said as he slid a sack of gold across the table to the captain, all that he had left of his parents' fortune, "I'll do whatever you ask and go wherever you tell me to. I will not argue and I will not complain. You teach me how to be a pirate - how to fight and kill and steal, and I'll be the best crew member you've ever had."
The captain's eyes lit up as he snatched up Cazal's gold. "Now you're thinking like a pirate! You have a name, kid?"
"Cazal." Cazal replied, refusing to say more.
"Welcome aboard the Wandering Trident, Cazal."