A sail upon the seven seas

One Eyed Jacque lowered her eye glass and smirked, a wicked grin that hinted at much mischief. She had spied the flag of His Majesty King Henrold, the compass that had been stolen from her would soon be hers again.

“Yaaaarrrrr! Yahaaaaaaaarrrr!” she laughed, her piratical person reflected in the still sea. The glistening brine showing her long dark locks glistening and single eye shimmering like an emerald atop a precious pearl. As the wondrous wind brought the sky to life the dastardly seafarer weighed anchor, raised her canvas sail and felt the tremendous pull drag her along. Her image shimmered as her tiny craft created ripples.

“It be oh so soon and me quest can continue!” announced Jacque gleefully.

The Gambler’s Run was away.

Jacque had been chasing Admiral Daniel Heartsparrow for the past year, the Admiral in turn seeking the great treasure of Davy Jones. One Eyed knew though that such a haul would not ever be claimed for King and Country. Such was the blessing and the curse that Davy only saved such wonders for another scallywag, for only a true pirate would be willing to do whatever was needed to claim such a prize. The Gambler’s Run flew across the water, sweet salty spray filling the air around the pirate lass with her favorite perfume. A far smaller craft than the Admiral’s Flagship HMS Angelus she was able to sneak behind the ocean juggernaut and ride the in the giant’s wake. Young One Eyed considered blasting away with her single cannon but knew how much a caught fish she’d have been even if she were accurate with her fist shot. No, best she knew was it to arm with cutlass and blunderbuss. A bag full of flash powder and a handful of shrapnel, should any choose foolishly to stand between her and destiny she would blow a hole clean through them.

The Gambler’s Run flew like a winged beast with lazy grace until the sun began to set Then she calmed as did the pirate that drove her onward. Like a creeping thief the tiny boat bobbed across that stretch of sea and bumped noiselessly alongside Heartsparrow’s.

“Good girl,” murmured One Eyed Jacque. She patted the bow before donning claw-like gloves to assist with the climb up the Flagship.

“I will return soon, once I surprise the little sparrow Danny,” she promised. “Then the wind will guide us once again; then dear boat of mine will I truly need you to fly…”

Cat claws sharper than sharp guided the strong lass ever upward until the top of the HMS Angelus was breached. It was like Jacque climbed the stair to the heavens and each brutally earned step smelled of sweet lacquer and cherry wood. With thin blade held firm between her teeth, one claw hooked in her broad belt and pistol ready to fire Jacque ventured across the deck. The first crewman that spotted her gave a look of honest surprise. No sane person would suspect to be boarded out in the middle of nowhere. Cat claws racked across his stunned features and with a mere shove the man toppled overboard. Two more faced a similar fate before the sleepy crew realized that something was up. After that One Eyed Jacque opened her gob and her thin blade dropped into her off hand. Three on one was always going to be an unfair skirmish, especially when the one was obsessed with her quest. Swords clashed, men shouted, then Jacque found one, two, three quick vulnerables to stick. She scooted past that trio and moved on to the next obstacle and then the next. With a pile of groaning bodies defeated and dead left in her own wake the piratical tapped upon the portal of Admiral Sparrowheart’s chambers.

“Who dares!” called the little sparrow.

“You know!” growled Jacque. “You must have always known I would come a calling for what is mine…”

“You can have it, devil girl!” roared the Admiral from beyond the closed door. “It does not work, the blasted box has been leading us up and down this blanket of blues and greens with naught to show for a year’s worth of huntings!”

One Eyed Jacque laughed triumphantly afore she booted in that door. Instinctively she then stepped aside as Dan let off two pistols… Crack! Crack! The pepper of power wafted like a cloud of stink. Dan’s bearded features poked forth from the blackness. Jacque’s cutlass sliced off one side of a pencil thin moustache before her blunderbuss magically appeared under his chin.

“Where be my compass?” purred One Eyed with a smile seen clearly by Admiral and crew, illuminated in the lunar light.

“Work with us and help us claim this fabled treasure,” begged Admiral Daniel Heartsparrow. “I can vouch for your freedom, settled in a quaint cottage on the mainland.”

“Me compass, boy! Now!” demanded the pirate lass, the nose of the gun stabbing the little man’s flabby neck.

“Don’t shoot!” squeaked the Admiral.

“I’ll pause my itchy finger if you fetch me box immediately like…”

With great disgruntlement oozing from his skin the Admiral returned to the dark of his cabin. It did not take long for Dan to then return with tail between his legs and the strange ebony box cradled in his hands.

“Last chance…” he murmured but Jacque had no interest in turning her back on such promised riches. She swiped the precious box and then fired her gun just past the little man’s ear. Under the cover of the chaos Jacque ran.

With her precious guide back in her hands the pirate leaped overboard and released a chute hidden beneath her leathers. With speed and grace she flew downward to land heavily upon the center of her gracious vessel. Pistols fired and then did cannons as Jacque made her well timed escape. By the cover of midnight she and The Gambler’s Run drifted slow and silently away from the King’s juggernaut. With luck on her side the lass drifted far beyond the sight of Dan and his crew. As the sun rose upon a brand new day Jacque flipped open the box and turned her single emerald eye upon the spinning dial. Any moment the digit would stop and her life long quest would finally continue. Such was a pirate’s destiny.