The Strapping Lass

Strapping Lass

There once was a pirate who was everything a captain should be. He was brave and he was fierce; feared more than any other commander. He and his crew could defeat rivaling ships without even breaking a sweat, and the smile of the captain was always left seared in the hearts of the rare survivors. He dominated the seas and redefined what it meant to feel afraid. Those who had the misfortune of crossing paths with the dreaded pirate and his crew would jump into the sea to escape the fate that awaited them aboard the Strapping Lass, but it was not death they feared. Oh no, it was something much worse.

The Captain could be seen in the crow’s nest each night whispering to a lantern that never seemed to burn out. The flames would lick the glass where his breath touched the surface, but never did it die. Rumors floated across the seas about how the flame had the ability to reveal a person's deepest secrets. There was also a rumor adrift that the Captain carried the most shocking of these secrets but no one dared ask what it was. Only the first mate, the brother of the captain, knew of the secret. Night after night the first mate would gaze upon the lantern and curiosity would engulf him; oh, how he longed to possess the fire that ignited the Captain’s soul! But alas, the Captain forbade his crew from ever touching the lantern or the flame within. With each passing night the first mate longed to possess the flame for it contained more power than the captain used.

On one of these nights, as the first mate burned in jealousy for the lantern, he noticed it: a ship approaching on the waters ahead.

 “To your posts!” He ordered from above. His crew began hustling about, manning canons, and securing the goods they had plundered. Soon the gunman lined the railing while the canons were loaded below. The Captain stood in the crow’s nest of the Strapping Lass holding his lantern into the night. The flames touched the glass, seeming to urge the crew forward. The other ship erupted in their loudest battle cries.

“Orders, Captain?” Asked the first mate as he steered them forward.

“Stand down.”

The first mate, along with the rest of the crew begrudgingly obeyed. It had been some time since the last time they fought and they longed for the ringing of swords as they sang in battle, or the smell of gunpowder, or even the taste of blood to be on their lips once more. But the Captain would not allow it, and they had to oblige by the Captain’s orders. They grew weary of the captain not letting them storm the other ships. No sooner than their guns had been holstered did they begin to be rained upon with shots from the other ship. The crew ducked for cover while the Captain untied a rope from a sail.

“CAPTAIN!” Yelled the first mate. The Captain ignore him and swung effortlessly from the crow’s nest down the deck of the other ship; bullets seemed to dodge him. As soon as his boots touched the wood surface the firing stopped. Suddenly the other crew members felt an icy fear touch the base of their necks. The smiling Captain was only one man, yet the rivaling crew knew that he was not a force to be reckoned with.

“What is it you are hiding?” The Captain asked. The rivaling crew’s confused murmuring echoed through the air, for they did not realize it was the Strapping Lass they were facing. The Captain opened the lantern, spilling the fire onto the deck. It leaked out almost like lava and all at once the whole ship was being scorched in an enormous fire, but nothing burned except the barriers covering the ship’s treasure. Soon the gold and jewels bounced the light of the flames off, showing the most beautiful goods. Frozen in fear, the rivaling crew did nothing to stop the Captain’s mates from climbing aboard and stealing their gold and jewels. The Captain smiled as he closed the lantern, returning all the flames back into the small glass box. They left the ship while the rivalling crew stood humiliated by their easy defeat. Little did they know that many others had faced the same fate.

Later that night, the first mate approached the captain as he rested at the helm, “Captain, the crew is heavy in heart, for we are men made for battle, yet you will not let us see it.” The rest of the crew began to gather ‘round to listen. "I'm the only family you have left, yet you do not let me fight, nor touch mother's flame!"

“Aye, but there be no need for fighting,” said the Captain, dismissing the comment about their mother.

“We grow restless on these waters.” There were murmurs of agreement.

“Aye.”

“If you do not let us battle, we might very well have mutiny before sunrise. I swear brother, I will tell your secret!" The murmuring grew louder as the crew chanted their encouragement for the first mate. The Captain smiled.

Angered by the Captain’s dismissal of his threat, the first mate drew his sword and struck the lantern that the Captain still held, for his only desire was to reveal his secret and leave him as humiliated as all the ships they had conquered before. The glass shattered, spilling the fire out on the Captain’s feet. The fire engulfed him for a moment, hissing, smoking, and burning brighter than ever before. The crew believed him to be dead, but since the lantern was broken the fire had no place to return, so it seeped into the Captain’s body and began to reveal the secret he kept for so long. From the inside out, the Captain’s clothes slowly burned off to reveal the Captain was not a he, but a she!

She smiled her ever recognizable smile. The fire seemed to radiate off the Captain’s body making the first mate’s skin sizzle. The last thing he saw before being reduced to a pile of ash was the fiery gaze of the sister he betrayed.