Pirate Princess

PIRATE PRINCESS

By: Catherine Banks

Cover by: Thomas Moralez

Map by: Draconic Maps

Copyright © 2015 by Catherine Banks

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This book is also available in print.

Ebook Edition License Notes

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DEDICATION

This novel is dedicated to Jess. You’re a great friend who has helped me in so many ways and I wouldn’t be as sane as I am without being able to vent to you. Thank you for everything that you do for me.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you to Jess for letting me bounce ideas off of you during my writing process. This is the longest novel I have written and I was able to accomplish the first draft (122, 964 words) during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in 2014! Thank you Thomas for the GORGEOUS cover! You, my friend, are fabulous. Thank you to my beta readers: Dawn White and Tiffany Revelee. Big thank you to James, Stacy, Armando, and John for helping me work out some kinks. You are all friends who I greatly value. Thank you also to my wonderful editor, Ellie! You are amazing! And as always, I am beyond grateful to my best friend and soulmate, Avery, for helping me throughout my entire process.

Chapter One

I stood on the main deck outside of the Captain’s quarters waiting for him come out. The ship swayed gently beneath my feet, but I barely noticed it. The sound of the ship moving through the water did not calm me as usual. My long blonde hair was braided, the thick braid hung over my shoulder so that I could play with the hair at the end, a nervous habit I had been unable to break.

Captain Rocco, my father and the King of Pirates, had instructed me on the previous night to meet him at first light. The crew was starting to wake up and move about the ship to start their day, but most were still sleeping in their hammocks below deck. I felt like a stretched rope; nervous and impatiently waiting for my father to tell me what he wanted. What felt like hours later, but was probably minutes, he opened his door and stepped out. Some of the crew had gathered nearby and I felt even more agitated and unsure. I wished he had asked to speak to me in private instead of on the main deck.

“Good morning, Tilia,” my father said with a wide smile. He was well over six feet tall, built like a mountain, and one of the fastest swordsmen I had ever seen in my life. He had black hair that he kept tied back with a leather thong. His dark eyes which made most men freeze in fear only looked at me with warmth and love even when I misbehaved. His crew was undeniably loyal to him and he did everything he could to make their lives blissful. That was a big reason why he had wanted to become King of Pirates, since it gave them the most security.

“Morning, Captain,” I said with a forced smile. I wrung the bottom of my shirt nervously and held my tongue from saying anything more. He would tell me what he had to say when he was ready and not a moment earlier.

He sat in the wooden chair that the carpenter had made for him, which was bolted to the deck to keep it from falling overboard during storms. It had started off a dark brown and after years in the sun had turned almost white. When I sat in the chair it looked large, but when the Captain sat in the chair it looked like a toddler’s chair. More of the crew gathered, interested to hear what was going on.

“I know you are wondering why I brought you here and what I want to talk to you about. I want you to remember that everything I do for you is to help you and to make the best decisions for your life. I just want what is best for you.”

My heart hammered against my chest in fear. When the captain made speeches like this things usually went poorly for whomever he was talking to.

I was the person he was talking to.

Oh no.

“I considered this long and hard and I talked it over with the Quartermaster as well to get his opinion.” He paused and smiled at me, the sweet smile that was reserved for his daughter. “We are going to take you to live with your aunt in the Capitol of Crilan. You are a royal and it is time that you had a proper education and learned to be a lady instead of a pirate.”

He was sending me away! To live in a dusty castle! “I don’t want to live in a castle!” I said nervously, “I don’t want to be a lady. I want to be a pirate.” A few of the men laughed softly and talked to each other about me. “I’ll behave more ladylike if you want me to. I’ll stop cursing…”

“I don’t think she can talk without cursing,” Timothy, the boatswain said with a laugh.

“Shut up, you filthy mongrel!” I yelled at him. I bit my lip and turned back to my father, “I’ll curse less. I am getting better with my training and I can hit the center target with my dagger every time now. I’ll swab the deck every day and help cook. I’ll learn more about medicine from

Doc to help lighten his load when I’m able to,” I offered everything that I could think of that might entice him to keep me on board.

“This is what your mother wanted. I have already notified your aunt and she is expecting you. We set sail in an hour. I know you may not understand it now, but this is what is best for you, Tilia.”

Arguing with him was useless so I stormed down to my barracks, locked the door, and cried the rest of the day. Some of the crew stopped by, trying to console me, but I ignored all of them and refused to let any of them in. He was sending me away. He was sending me to live in a castle with people I didn’t know, where I would have to learn to be a proper lady and wouldn’t be able to fight or have any kind of real fun. It wasn’t fair. I wanted to be a pirate. I was a good pirate. I was already really good with the sword, I could throw a dagger on target, and I was decent at hand to hand fighting. I wasn’t going to fit in at this royal place with daughters who were taught to curtsy and speak pleasantly. Dad was one of the smartest men I knew and he was very educated so I was taught to speak properly, but I didn’t know the first thing about how to talk to a royal or talk
like
one.

I stared at the water out a port hole as they took me to be dropped off and realized that I wasn’t going to be able to sail anymore either! I didn’t want to be on land where I couldn’t even see the ocean! I needed the cool air in my hair, the constant sway of the boat beneath my feet, the smell of salt so thick in the air. I didn’t want to be on the land! It wasn’t fair! I hadn’t done anything wrong to deserve this.

Sometime later that night my father came by. I opened the door for him and sat facing the port hole. I had never turned my back to him before, but my heart was heavy with the fact that my father was abandoning me.

“I have a few things to tell you before we get there,” he said, “So face me and pay attention.” I turned around and faced him despite really not wanting to and tried to hide the scowl on my face. “You can’t let anyone know who I really am. You are going to have to lie and say I’m a royal from a far off land. I already started the lie with your aunt so you just have to continue it.”

“Why can’t I tell them who you really are?” I asked. I was proud of my dad. He was the King of Pirates! He kept order and ensured every pirate stuck to the Pirate’s Code and was a kind and good captain to his crew.

“They might try to use you against me if they found out that I am your father. The kingdoms have been trying to bring me in for years now and I don’t want you to be hurt on account of me. Do you understand? This is very important.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. I want monthly written reports from you. You will need to pass them along in secret, not letting anyone see you hand the letters off or who you handed them off to.”

“How am I going to find someone to give them to in secret?” I asked. I doubted a young royal lady was given much freedom.

“Sedgwick is going to help us with that.” Father turned to face my door and called, “Sedgwick!”

Sedgwick was the ship’s doctor, a young man by doctor standards with wild black hair and gentle hands. He walked in with tools I rarely saw used. He smiled at me and said, “I’m quick so it won’t hurt too much, but it is still going to hurt some.”

“You’re giving me a tattoo?” I asked in shock.

“I’m giving you my mark so that you can find one of mine and pass your reports along. Also, if the royals do figure out who you are, try to escape and find someone loyal to me. They will hide you and help you escape. I’ll come blow up the Capitol if I need to, but let’s hope it does not come to that. The only person you can trust fully is yourself, Tilia, remember that.”

I swallowed nervously. I had seen the others get my father’s symbol tattooed on them a few times. I knew it was going to hurt and yet I was so overjoyed at getting his symbol tattooed on me that I didn’t care. I had wanted his symbol as long as I could remember; only the best were given his mark and knowing I would finally get it filled me with pride and excitement. “Alright,” I said with a nod.

Sedgwick patted a chair and said, “Sit here, please.” I sat down as instructed, pulled my shirt down so he could tattoo my shoulder, and held as still as possible as he tattooed me. It stung, but as soon as the spot he was working on began to hurt a bit much he would move on to another part. “All done,” he said after a couple of minutes.

I stood in front of the mirror, looked over my shoulder, and inspected my very first tattoo. My father’s symbol was the boat symbol our ancestors had used, one curved line to make the boat shape, a straight line to represent the deck, and three straight lines to symbolize the masts. “It’s perfect,” I whispered.

“Use this medicine on it once a day, don’t pick at it and keep it out of the sun for a month,” Sedgwick ordered and handed me a small jar of white paste.

“Now, I want you to pack your things and get ready to go,” dad said, “You can say goodbye to everyone when we get to port.” He left the room quickly and didn’t look back.

“He’s having a hard time dealing with this,” Sedgwick whispered, “He doesn’t want to be separated from you, but he knows this is the best thing for you.” He gave me a soft smile and said, “I’m going to miss you, kid.”

“I’m going to miss you as well,” I said with a smile for him. He left and I grudgingly started packing. It didn’t take as long as I thought it would since I didn’t have very many things in my possession but then again I didn’t think many ten and a half year olds had a bunch of possessions. I turned and looked out my port hole and saw land. “This bites,” I muttered as I looked at the only room I had ever lived in for the final time. I carried my bag up the stairs to the main deck and tried to memorize everything about the ship I had lived on and would miss. I stepped up and looked at the land in front of me. The port was full of ships of varying kinds and people milled about. I looked at the main mast and was shocked to see that our flag with my father’s symbol had been taken down. He must not have wanted to cause panic amongst the people if they saw Captain Rocco was here. Beyond the port was an area of houses and passed that were fields of crops and then off in the distance was a large castle. It gleamed white in the sun and looked majestic. I said I didn’t want to live there, but I could see how girls wished to live in that place. It was stunning.