Chapter 1

"Captain, we won't make it! They are far much stronger than us!"

The shout of one of her crewmates pierced the air. Sophia was aware of that but she couldn't leave the governer's ship without a map. It would be like all lifes that were lost in this battle were lost for nothing. She sank the blade of her cuttlas in the body of one of the officers, with pleasure noticing the flowing blood and the smell of fear. She always took the pleasure when she was killing and when it were people of her sworn enemy, it was double. She turned back just to meet other of governer's soldiers with a pistol turned into her head.

"Brackett, that is your end" he hissed not knowing that Hawkins, her first officer, was behid him. He hit him in the occiput and smiled to his captain, with an ugly, wide smile on his wretched face. She didn't return the smile and jumped on the feet. She saw him. He was running down the stairs, to the cabins.

"Cardigan!" she shouted with fury but he hasn't heard her; she was too far. She made her way through the heat of the battle and after killing two other soldiers, she ended before the stairs. She calmly stepped down, knowing that she can be shot or pierced in every second. She knew Cardigan, he was the right hand of the governer and she had only hatred for him, after he sent her on the gallow.

"Cardigan" she said softly when she saw him, trying to open captain's cabin. His moves were nervous, his face stoned. He knew she was after him but didn't stop trying to open the door; his hands were shaking. "You are looking for this? I took the key where I killed the captain, you should know that. So now, when we have courtesy behind us, can I take what is mine?"

Cardigan stopped playing with the lock and looked at her. She was pretty in this strange way that always attracted him. No, she wasn't a beauty, but she had very pranky face structure that he loved to kiss in the past. Before he got to know that she is a pirate. He clenched his fists and teeth at once.

"You won't take the map, you will have to take it from my cold dead hands."

Sophia laughed. This laught was also the thing that he loved. It was giving him shivers, even now. She moved closer, staying just before him. He could feel her breath and the lavender scent. She always smelled lavender...

"You know I can deal with it and just kill you" she whispered to his ear. "I don't have any regrets that could stop me from doing it. But you...you won't kill me. Not right now. After that gallow...you remember it? I almost hung, that was terryfing moment. But now I know for what I live and it's not you anymore."

He swallowed saliwa. He couldn't make any move. He tried to kill her before but now was like stoned. Her scent of lavender, her voice, her smile, it was too much for him.

"You know that I had to do it" he said slowly. "You are a pirate, I promised to kill every pirate..."

"And that allowed you to hang your own fiance? I don't believe that. When you thought I am a daughter of a marchant...was I better for you than now?"

Her face was so close that he could kiss her...but he couldn't. She would kill him, that's for sure and even the lavender couldn't change the truth that she was his enemy and she lied to him when they were engaged. It was his duty to protect the map.

"You are criminal and I will do everything to stop you."

"I couldn't think of better answer, Moran. Now you will give me my map and I will leave your ship alone, I won't kill any of your men. But if you will put logs under my feet, I will kill you. Your choice.

She tried to be firm and harsh, he deserved that. Now only the map counted. Her people were losing lifes above them.

"I...won't...give...it...to you..."

"Fair enough" she stepped few moves back and pulled the pistol. She fired before he could think and the bullet pierced his hand. He felt terrible pain and dropped the gun that he held. He saw only blood and pain took him the last courage he had. He took the map he had under his shirt and put on the floor, before Sophia. He didn't used to such pain...

"Good boy" she hissed, grabbed the map and was leaving the place; she turned once again to him and looked into his suffering eyes. "Next time I will kill you." she warned him and left.

Sophia entered the battle when her people were retreating. Fair, they did it without an oder but they were losing too much men. She agreed with Hawkin's order in depth of her soul and fastly jumped on Royal Fortune, her beloved schooner.

"We are heading to London!" she shouted and laughed when last of the lines binding two ships together were cut. The governer's people were starting to lose control and fall to the sea. The gunners started to aiming to them from cannons. Sophia's ship had last chance to sail on safe distance.

The wind was good and gunners were blind and that saved the pirates from worst faith. Sophia saw only Cardigan, who was standing near the steer and looking at her with the same pain in his eyes she saw when he shot to him. She laughed.

"Die in hell, scurvy dogs!" she shouted and took the steer from steersman, taking the rigth curse. "We are meeting under the deck, you have two hours."

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