☠ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜʀsᴇ ᴏғ ʟᴏᴠᴇ (ᴊɪɴx + ᴠᴀʟᴏʀ) ☠

Valor

Original poster
LURKER MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per week
  2. Slow As Molasses
Writing Levels
  1. Advanced
  2. Prestige
  3. Douche
  4. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. No Preferences
Genres
Romance, Science Fiction, Modern, Fantasy

Dark clouds congregated across the night sky, shrouding the full moon behind a veil of lightning and torrential rain. Trudging through the brooding storm, a wooden behemoth navigated over the perilous ocean waters, great masts and heavy cannons accentuating the outline of the ship. The ship was none other than the Golden Hunt, an infamous pirate ship captained by the Privateer Captain Oliver Rayden.

Captain Rayden leaned against the ship's wheel, the rain pattering against the young man's dark, tricorn hat. Despite the coverage between his hat and an ugly, brown long coat that had seen better days, the pirate captain already found himself soaked by the rain.

"Captain!" A voice bellowed from below, "I can see the end of the clouds! We'll be out of this storm soon!" The voice belonged to Henry, Oliver's first mate and second in command of the Golden Hunt. The gruff, portly man was better known as Longbeard by Oliver and the rest of the crew, for reasons that were quite conveniently obvious.

Rayden removed a golden trinket from his pocket, a circular compass that he always carried with him for navigation. "If we continue to head south..." The Captain spoke softly to himself. "...perhaps we will reach port." He mused, hoping to get away from the terrible storm. Oliver loved sailing and the ocean, sure, but there were times where Mother Nature could be a royal pain in the arse. As he worked out the quickest route out of the storm and to the nearest port, a loud crash reverberated from underneath the ship.

"What was that?" Captain Rayden shot a glance downwards, wondering if he had mistaken the sound for the crash of thunder.

"What was what?" Longbeard replied, only to hear the shouts that emanated from below the deck.

"Take the wheel." Rayden commanded, handing off the ship's controls to his First Mate as he moved down a series of wooden steps onto the deck. The Captain then made his way downwards, emerging into the dimly lit corridor beneath the ship to find himself standing behind a congregation of sailors. "What are you idiots doing down here?" Rayden barked.

The men under Oliver's command turned around, the group parting to reveal a woman sitting between them. "We found a stowaway, sir." The pirates laughed. A band of misfits that lacked the training or refinement of British sailors. "You always said, finders keepers, right?" The men smacked their lips, many of which hadn't seen a woman in several months.

Captain Oliver froze, the fearless captain's eyes quivering at the sight of the woman sitting between the men. "Get back to work." Oliver remarked softly. The men were quiet, a hint of disappointment beginning to spread among their ranks. "ALL OF YOU!" He shouted, the men quickly dispersing back to their assigned duties.

Shifting his eyes back to the woman, he beckoned for her to follow him. "We'll talk in private."

@Jinx
 
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Odette didn’t know how long she had hidden in between a barrel of rum and a few sacks of potatoes. Her hands, still stained crimson with her father’s blood, wouldn’t stop shaking as she sat with her knees pressed firmly to her chest. Slender fingers clutched at the bunched-up fabric of her bloodied dress that gathered at her knees, knuckles write. Her flushed cheeks were dry, as she was in a stagnant state of shock. She tried not to appear frightened, even though there was nobody that she was trying to hide it from, as she sat below deck of a ship whose destination was unknown. She was unsure if the sailors of this ship would have any sympathy for her situation, leading her to remain hidden instead of asking for assistance.

It had been dark when she had returned to town, face hidden by the hood of the thick cloak wrapped around her shoulders. The entire night seemed like a blur. Somehow her mind had automatically gotten her on this ship and hidden away without being detected. Even now, she couldn’t quite comprehend that her father was gone. Not only gone, but murdered. Like most governors, he had enemies, but she couldn’t think of a single one who would take the initiative to murder him.

Subconsciously Odette hands tightened even further as, through her haze, she felt a sharp stab of fury. When she figured out who had done this, she would ensure that they suffered. As illogical as this thought was, she was determined to see it through.

There was a rumble above her as the brewing storm continued to batter the ship. She shuffled as a drop of water dripped from above deck, her shoulder knocking into the barrel next to her. There was a mutter from one of the men below deck, but Odette ignored whatever they were saying. They had yet to discover her, so she wasn’t particularly worried.

“Oi, wha’s this?” A voice exclaimed, accent so thick that she almost didn’t understand what the man was saying. Half of a second later, a hand had an iron grip around her upper arm. A startled gasp escaped her throat at the action, her deep brown eyes widening in shock. “Looks like we got a stow’way.”

“Get your hands off of me.” She spat, trying to yank herself away from the vile-looking man. More men seemed to gather around, causing her heart to begin to race. Gritting her teeth, she pushed past her fear and shoved the man away, her nails scraping down his face. The man began to curse, drawing his hand back and cracking it across her face while his other hand remained pressed against his face.

She fell to the floor with a cry muffled by her clenched teeth, her check quickly reddening. Before this could go any further, however, another man came below deck demanding what the men were doing. As her panicked eyes looked up at the new figure, she found her heart stopping from a brief moment. She knew this face. Although the years had changed it, she was sure she knew who this was.

Odette flinched slightly as he shouted, avoiding the eyes of the men as they left the two of them. She pushed herself back to her feet, arms wrapped tightly around herself while she regarded the man across from her carefully. Perhaps she was incorrect about his identity.

“Am I permitted to know who I’m speaking with?” Odette questioned in a quiet, yet firm voice as she began to follow him.
 
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Leading Odette towards the stairs that emptied out onto the main deck, the Captain suddenly paused as the frightened stowaway inquired for his name. The rain pattered over the small opening overhead as Rayden struggled to answer her, the memories of a bygone era quickly coming back to haunt him. Long ago, a dashing Lieutenant straight out of the Naval Academy had tried to win the heart of this young woman. Rather than love, the only thing he would take away from these pursuits was embarrassment.

"Here." Rayden ignored the woman's question, slipping his arms and torso free from the wool coat that he always wore. It was less handsome than the scarlet uniform of a British military officer, but what it lacked in appearance it made up for in comfort. He placed the coat upon Odette's shoulders to keep her out of the rain, leading her up onto the stormy deck of the Golden Hunt. "We normally throw stowaways off the ship." The Captain remarked as he navigated his way towards his personal quarters. "Consider yourself lucky."

The pair eventually found their way into the warmth of Captain Oliver's quarters, a rather spacious room consisting of the basic necessities for life. At the center of the room, a small circular table with two chairs beckoned for them to sit. "Have a seat." The Captain pulled out a chair for Odette, before swinging around to sit across from her. Settling himself into his chair, he set a small candle ablaze, allowing the faint glow of candlelight to illuminate their portraits.

"I'm..." He paused momentarily, wondering if it was a good idea for Odette to hear his name. "Rayden. Captain Oliver Rayden." He affirmed finally, weary eyes studying the reaction on Odette's face. It didn't take a psychic to see that something had traumatized the young woman, how did a Governor's daughter end up as a stowaway on a pirate ship? He realized that something must have happened for these turn of events, or God was simply playing a cruel joke on him.

"You'll be safe here, Miss Adams. I can promise you that much. We should make port in a few days, where either the British army or your father can take you home."
 
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Odette didn’t particularly like having her questions ignored, but allowed it to pass both because she was an unwanted stowaway on this ship and he kindly offered her his jacket before they had to walk through the thick rain. Her face automatically pulled into a face of frustration as she followed the man, her feet slipping across the slick wooden deck every few feet. At the captain’s comment about the fate of most stowaways, her eyes snapped up to looked at him with apprehensive eyes. His statement to consider herself lucky did little to reassure her.

It was a relief to be in a warm room for the first time in a while, causing the tension in her shoulders to lessen slightly. Her eyes couldn’t help but curiously glance around the room, taking in the rather large space. She wasn’t exactly sure what she expected on a ship such as this, but this room was almost comfortable. As she sat in the chair pulled out for her, her hands began to fidget with the icy cold locket around her throat. The habit was a comfort to her, especially now that she had lost all other familiarity.

Her lips tightened into a thin line as the man finally confirmed his identity. So this is what had become of Oliver after her father had denied his request to court her. It had taken weeks before she would speak with her father again, as she had been more than fond of the young lieutenant. But here he was, sitting in front of her. Fate, it seemed, had a cruel sense of humor. Her hands paused in fiddling with her locket, falling to rest in her lap.

“It is doubtful that my father can take me anywhere, Mr. Rayden, considering that he is dead.” Odette replied, straightening her back and pressing her bloodstained hands into the folds of her skirts. Her dark locks spilled over her right shoulder as she shifted in her chair with a frown set on her lips. She had already decided that crying for her father would do her no favors, so despite the stab of pain that accompanied thinking of her father, her eyes remained hard and dry as she gazed at Oliver. “He was murdered, by who I cannot tell you. Nor can I tell the reason since I haven’t the faintest idea who would want my father dead.”

Her expression fell slightly at the realization that she was truly alone. She had no relatives or friends that would take her in, so it was up to her to find some sort of food or shelter from this point on. “I…” She struggled to find the correct words for a moment. “I will be one my way at the next port and will not be a burden on you any longer.” She only hoped that there would be work at whatever destination they were going to.
 
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((AHHH. I'm so sorry for how long this all took. Was just so busy lately. I'll definitely be faster posting from here on out!))

The unkempt Captain carefully studied the reaction on Odette's face as he revealed his identity to her. Though her portrait illustrated some alarm, her reaction was rather tame compared to what he had been expecting. He opened his mouth to speak once more, only to suddenly hear about the death of her father. "Well. That explains why you're on my ship." The young man paused, noticing the locket that passed between the woman's slender fingertips. "I'm sorry to hear about your father. I know he never liked me, but I always admired the Governor."

Though she was holding herself together well, Rayden knew fear when he saw it. When she spoke of being a burden, the Pirate Captain sought to comfort her, if at least a little. "You needn't worry yourself, Miss Adams." Rayden smiled. It was the same, handsome smile that radiated many years ago. Perhaps it was one of the few things that the young man still held onto. "You're welcome to stay on my humble vessel for as long as you desire." He explained, standing up from his seat. "It's not every day I find an old friend hiding with the potatoes and drink."

Guiding himself to a nearby cupboard, the Captain brought out a bottle of French wine, something that he had plundered a few weeks back. "Would you like a glass? I find it helps with the shaking." Oliver gently placed the bottle onto the table as he searched for two glasses to pour the liquor into. "We'll be in port in two days. You can use my quarters until then--" As Oliver spoke, a sudden crash reverberated across the hull of the ship, shaking room violently.

"Captain! We're under attack!" The gruff voiced Henry barged into the room, accentuated by the shouts of men and roars of cannon fire.

Oliver fixed his cap, "Who is it?" He inquired as he followed his First Mate out of his personal quarters. He left the door open, almost completely forgetting about Odette as he navigated his way to the starboard side of the ship. "Scope." He extended his hand to his side, waiting for his First Mate to place a metal cylindrical object into his hand. Raising the glass to his eye, he scoped out the behemoth that floated amidst the fog.

"Have you seen a flag?" Oliver asked as a blast of fire signaled incoming cannon fire. The shot flew close, smashing into the water a hundred meters away.

"No, Cap'n. I took a quick look, if I had to guess it looks like a Spanish gal."

"Interesting. I didn't know Spanish galleons flew Jolly Rogers." Oliver passed the object back to his First Mate. "Henry, would you be a gentleman and load up the twelve pounders so that we can give our pirate brothers a lovely showdown?"

The gruff First Mate turned towards the crew, shouting out with a booming voice that contrasted Oliver's own."All hands on deck! Load up the guns, starboard side! None of you dogs fire until I give the command!"


"You should probably stay in my quarters. But as a gentleman, I won't tell you what to do." The Captain flashed Odette a smile, "Just like how I won't tell you that you need to cover your ears."

"FIRE!"
 
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Odette fought the familiar blush that wished to rise to her cheeks, a reflexive instinct at the bright smile that he offered her. He was as charming and charitable as she remembered, this fact supported by the offer to stay on the ship as long as she wished. Her heart gave a quick stutter at this, for it was far more generous than she had ever expected, old friend or not. She had expected the biggest mercy to be that she wouldn’t be thrown overboard. Fidgeting once more, she nodded at the offer with her eyes remaining firmly on the wooden table before her.

“You have my thanks, Mr. Rayden.” Odette said with a slight nod. She no longer felt the frantic rush to find a solution to her current situation, but a sort of breathing space. A sigh of relief escaped her pale pink lips. At least she could find some sort of comfort in this. Her eyes snapped to the bottle in Oliver’s hand as he offered her a glass. She wasn’t usually one for alcohol, but given the circumstances she was more than willing to indulge herself. Once the bottle was set on the table, she quickly snatched it whilst Oliver searched for glasses. Her slender fingers stumbled with the cork for a moment before she was able to pop it open. She quickly brought it to her lips and took a long drink, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips at the warm feeling that flooded her veins.

A sudden crash caused the bottle to slip form her fingers, barely being caught before it hit the ground. Her hands tightened around the neck of the bottle as another man barged in amid the roaring of the outside of the cabin. As Oliver quickly followed the man, Odette was left by herself for a few seconds. Her lips pursed at the thought of being left alone again, urging her to hurry after Oliver with the bottle still clutched tightly in her hand.

Slipping and stumbling after the captain, she eventually caught up and squinted out into the waves before them. Her eyes couldn’t make out much about the ship, only that it was fairly large and was likely unfriendly judging by the cannon fire directed at them. One hand holding her cloak tightly while the other still held the bottle of wine, she leaned closer to peer closer as Oliver and the other man conversed. She didn’t pay much attention to what they were saying, but her ears perked up when the phrase ‘fellow pirates’ left Oliver’s mouth.

“This is a bloody pirate ship?” Odette found herself hissing at the captain next to her, deep brown eyes narrowing. There were many clues up to this point that this wasn’t exactly a friendly ship, but she had been stuck in such as daze that she hadn’t noticed much amiss outside of the crude men. The combination of the warm feeling that accompanied the wine and the outrage of Oliver being a damn pirate had sharpened her senses enough to where her features formed into one of both exasperation and anger. At his statement of being a gentleman, she had a biting retort on her tongue that disappeared once she heard the command to fire. Her hands flew to her ears, the bottle slipping form her fingers and clinking against the floor. The fact that it didn’t break seemed to be as good as her luck would get tonight.

What followed was the loudest noise that she had ever heard, resounding through her ears despite the fact that she had covered them. Palms pressed tightly against either side of her head, she turned to scowl at Oliver as though this entire ordeal was somehow his doing.

“Can’t you just outrun them?” She demanded as her hands fell away from her head. Her hands moved to rest on her hips as she glared at him. Despite the fact that she was small and relatively unthreatening in appearance, she tried her hardest to look as pissed off as she felt. “I didn’t leave my home to simply die at sea because some pirate thinks that he can take on a ship of that size.”
 
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The Captain turned to find his visage assaulted by the seething glare that emanated off of Odette's lips. "Privateer. Not a pirate. There's a difference." The young Captain quickly corrected her, though even he knew there wasn't much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. The only difference between the two was that he had a fancy slip of paper given to him by the King. Seeing how upset Odette was over his recently revealed occupation, Oliver couldn't help but retort. "I had learned a long time ago that young Lieutenants don't make enough money for anybody to care about them, Miss Adams."

Oliver didn't flinch as the sound of cannon fire plowed through his ears, the barrage flying across the open sea and into the enemy vessel. "We could sail circles around them. My ship is the fastest in the Atlantic Ocean." He affirmed, though it was clear that the Pirate Captain had no intentions of retreating any time soon. How else was a privateer supposed to make any money? "But that wouldn't be so fun, now would it?" Oliver's cheery smile quickly devolved into a malignant grimace.

"Direct hit, Cap'n!"

"Good. Put us at full speed, load the guns with chain shot and prepare for boarding action." Rayden shrugged into a leather bandoleer, four flintlock pistols dangling off of his leather holsters. "Here." Rayden extended his hand towards Odette, presenting the back end of a pistol towards her. "It's loaded. Always nice to have some sort of insurance." He offered her the weapon, whether or not she decided to take it was of her own volition.

Cannon fire danced back and forth, the sound of gunpowder roaring as the crew ran about the deck of the ship. Moving about the ship, Rayden was beginning to wonder why Odette was following him around the deck like a lost puppy. "Miss Adams, do you remember the first day we met?" The Captain watched her expression closely, wondering if she even remembered anything about him. "You take one look at me and wonder how much things have changed. But they haven't really..."

"You're as beautiful as you were back then. And I'm still a sailor, a man who will only be loved by the ocean."
 
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