𝓛𝓮 𝓥𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓺𝓾𝓮𝓾𝓻

“Most people want to escape. Get out of their heads. Out of their lives. And stories are the easiest way to do that.”

- Victoria Schwab

The Sun shone bright on a quiet beach, on the breezy French coast of Brittany. Tiny little fishing vessels dotted the horizon, the air was salty & the sea gulls dove in to have their fill of the fish of the sea.

A lady awaits at the far end of the beach, hidden from the discerning eye by the huge boulders rising from the ocean, where the waves dash against the land in fury. She is dressed in the latest French couture, with her wide skirts blowing in the wind. She cares not when the waves splash over her costly attire, nor does she attempt to tame the wild curls of her black hair that run riot on her head, as she tries to keep her hat from blowing away.

She is Madame Inconnue, unknown to anyone on this side of the city, who awaits for a night of final escape from the dull French aristocracy. She is known in her circles as a woman of great wisdom, for she is the wife of a respected old guy, who’s old enough to be her father & treats her so. So, every weekend she puts on her disguise to have a taste of life & adventure, on a secluded beach like this one.

The dresses & beaches change every time. “We must not give the gendarmes an easy time catching us”, the Captain says with his mysterious smile, & knowing eyes.

But this time, she would not be going back to her old life, if everything goes as planned.

She lets out a small owlish howl, a signal that all is well, as she watches Le Vainqueur loom closer to the beach. The ship is magnificent, a towering figure of defiance & power against the slowly setting Sun. The Black Skull Flag flies proudly at the mast, & she realizes once more, with a sense of thrill that she would always be a pirate at heart.

The ship skillfully maneuvers herself into the hidden alcove where she stands waiting, carefully avoiding the dangerous rocks jutting out of the boulders. Many a ship & crew had lost their life here, making this beach a quiet place, perfect for a reunion of our kind.

A ladder is thrown from the deck, she climbs up at a quick pace, despite the humongous dress impeding her movement.

“Welcome aboard The Conqueror!” says the Captain with a small bow.

“Is everything ready for tonight?” she asks him, as she makes her way to her cabin to change into shirt & pants, something preposterous for a woman of such high upbringing as herself.

But again Mademoiselle Anne, was not like most women.

“Almost, we only need you to distract the guards while we steal the cargo.” he says, handing her a cutlass. “In case something goes wrong, you know how to use it.”, he adds nodding at the weapon.

She smiles & enters her tiny cabin. Everything was as she had left it, & though the room was small, she felt more at home here than the giant castles in which she had lived since her unhappy marriage at eighteen. Everything about her old husband disgusted her, but this small cabin made her heart swell. she had finally found something that was truly hers.

Upon changing her outfit, she joins the other sailors standing on the deck. Their eyes turn towards the booty for tonight, the Parisian Kings very own gold & silver shipped straight from Egypt, which he had not stopped boasting about for months. This was a gift from the Pharaoh, along with the hand of marriage of his only daughter, an Egyptian Princess of sixteen. The King loved the gold more, besides he had a castle full of beautiful women to pick from.

The King’s ship tread slowly over the water. The prey was blissfully unaware of the smaller ship that trailed behind, gliding over the waves & blending with the shadows while the pirate crew waited in anticipation.

“It is time.” said the Captain finally, taking control of the ship & moving her alongside his Majesty’s ship. The guards inside were playing cards, because who would dare pirate the gold & silver when it was so close to home?

A few sailors from the conqueror, slowly lower their hooks & ropes onto the other ship & descended stealthy to the opposite deck. Anne soon follows, going straight to the keep as was planned, where the most precious goods were stored.

She came across no guard on her way, as she keeps to the shadows, thinking of how she would be hanged if she were found out, along with the sailors of the pirate crew.

But she simply smiled, wasn’t freedom something to die for?

“Hey! Who’s there?”, asked a half drunk guard as he rounded the corner & spotted her there. She silenced him in two minutes, he would not see another day. She quietly checks the coast for danger. Seeing none, she stoops to retrieve the cargo key from the dead man’s pocket.

She beings unlocking the door, it would not budge. She kicks the door again, & with one final push the door gives way as she stumbles into a room filled with glittering articles of gold of every size & shape covering the floor of the wooden room.

“You’re going to need a bigger boat”, she exclaims as she beckons the Captain who joins her at the door with a triumphant smile.

“No, why not take both the ships?” he replies before firing a shot into the cold night air, as chaos reigned over his Majesty’s ship.

The guards were largely outnumbered by the tact & skill of the crew, as they all fought valiantly to take control of the ship.

“Where shall we sail to ?” he asks, giving Anne the wheel at the helm.

“To Spain!”, she says resolutely as she watches the dawn arrive & the seagulls flying once more to the sea.

This time she too would sail away, never to return to the prison of her reality.

*The End*

Copyright Ⓒ Megan Pereira 2020