So you know the deal with me, I had the idea for a new story, so I've done the first chapter and am putting it up. The likely hood of me updating it until 'A best Friends Lies', is finished is slim though so you will probably have to wait a while for the next chapter, but I thought I would test the waters and see what everyone thinks.

I have to give credit to Wrestlechic1for the idea, since she asked me what I thought about her doing a pirate story, and after that I couldn't get the idea, or the image it procuced out of my head, so I asked her if she minded if I tried my hand at one too, and she kindly said that it was okay.

The Pirate and the Highwayman

The phoenix strikes

The sound of cannon fire filled the air, the galleon had a full complement of guns, seventy four cannons, and the ship actually shuddered with the recoil from them, as the gunners fired at will, keeping the powder monkeys busy running between the guns they tended, to keep the firing. The crew were fighting a losing battle; that much was painfully obvious; the boat had already suffered superficial damage, and the dead were dragged away from their positions. The schooner on the other hand, was lighter and faster than the galleon, she was attacking, having a superior compliment of ninety six cannons that her crew obviously knew how to use to good advantage. She was close enough, for the passengers and crew to see the name on the side of the boat. The Midnight Phoenix was an infamous privateer vessel, and once she was recognised the fight seemed to go out of the crew, the menwho sailed on her had a fearsome reputation.

"Moonlit waters heave to, and prepare to be boarded." The shout from the pirate vessel, invited the capitulation of the sailors, and offered them a chance to live. "Fight on, and we'll send you all to Davey Jones locker." The voice continued.

The man who called to them, the passengers peering over the sides of the ship could see, was dressed in what was obviously once a white shirt, though now it was more grey than white, along with dark coloured breaches. The thick belt around his waist, had a cutlass hanging from it, and no one doubted that he knew how to use it. On his head, sat a knitted Monmouth cap, from under which his blond hair was visible, and the close cut beard on his face added to his look, in one ear he wore a thick gold hoop. Though the passengers could not see his feet, he wore a pair of black knee high boots, denoting to anyone he knew anything, that he was an important member of the crew. He stood on the side of the phoenix, a grappling hook in hand, eyeing the galleon dispassionately as if it did not matter to him if they fought on or not, seemingly thinking himself untouchable, as he offered an easy target to them.

The captain had been grievously injured in the fight, and the first mate took the decision. "Heave too and furl the sails." He shouted, before looking to one of the cabin boys, a young lad no more than twelve years of age, saying quietly. "Take the axe and get down below, scuttle her boy, we'll not let the brethren add to their fleet." The boy nodded his head, the fear clear on his face as he vanished down the hatch, while the seamen began to lower the sails, and ready to be boarded.

On the phoenix, the blond smiled and readied the grappling hook in his hand. "We have them lads, ready the grapples." He looked at one of the newer recruits, who looked as if he was about to jump into the air on the rope he held once it was attached to the galleon. "Do that boy, and you'll end up smashed into the side of her. Wait till we pull her close to our embrace, and jump the gap like the rest of us."

He had the satisfaction of seeing the boy nod to him, as the Quartermaster, he was second in command to the captain, and he would be responsible, for bringing the captured vessel in behind the phoenix, as well as distributing the booty from the Moonlit waters. The sailing master nodded to him, the man's long hair was pulled back into a tail, his goatee neatly trimmed, and a bandana wrapped around his head. He wore a white shirt similar to the Quartermasters, though his was somewhat cleaner. over it he wore a black waistcoat, and similar breaches to those of the blond, his feet also shod by a pair, of what would have been knee high black boots, though his were turned down around his shins. His cutlass was attached to a loop on his belt. On many ships, the captain doubled as the sailing master, but a good master was worth his weight in gold. This man was one of the best; his skill at navigating the often treacherous, and ill charted waters of the area, was second to none.

The men were restless, they wanted to get this over with, and board the other vessel, getting to the pillaging part of the battle. The sailing master was at the wheel, skilfully guiding the vessels closer to each other, till finally they were close enough, and grappling hooks flew through the air, biting into the wooden rails of the Moonlit waters. Once they were secure, the pirates began to haul on the ropes, bringing the ships even closer, till at last they could board the captured vessel. The men swarmed over the stricken ship, rounding up crew and passengers alike. Sadly, as far as the pirates were concerned, there was only one woman on board, an elderly grandma in well worn clothing, she held no interest for any of them.

Once the people were rounded up, the pirates began to take inventory of the cargo, and any valuables the passengers might be carrying, wrenching open trunks and bags and throwing out the contents. All was going fairly well, they found some valuables, that was until they opened one chest, and began to pull out the contents.

"Oh lawks!" The old woman wailed drawing attention to herself. "That's all I have in the world, my clothes, young man take pity on an old woman." The old ladies voice shook, and her hand on her cane trembled, as the man looked at her. She was dressed all in black, a black veil over her head and face, and well worn black gloves on her hands.

The Quartermaster came over, a swagger in his step, he looked the old lady over she was stooped forward, a hump on her back, and she rested her weight heavily on her cane, he looked at the garments the crewman had pulled from her trunk. While not threadbare, they were older and well worn, if they had been men's clothes, he would have ear marked them for the slops chest, but none of the men needed women's clothing, and they were not fine enough to bring any coin. "Put her clothes back." He ordered. "How do you come to be on this boat grandma?" He looked the woman up and down.

"Oh sir bless you." The old woman looked up at him from her bent position. "My daughter, she scrimped and saved to book me passage, so that I can live out my remaining years with my family."

He nodded his head. "Get them into the boats and put grandma's chest in too." He ordered, gesturing to the life boats, before addressing the passengers and crew. "Today is your lucky day, we're taking the boat and your valuables, but leaving you with your lives, you'll be able to tell your families about the day you were taken by the Midnight phoenix." He looked at the old woman. "Come on grandma lets get you in a boat."

"Oh lawks, you want me to get into that little bitty thing, and be lowered over the side, oh lawks, lawks I'll be drowned for sure." The old lady seemed to be visibly upset by the thought.

The Quartermaster gave her a push to get her on her way, it had to be that moment that a rouge wave hit the ship, and she stumbled, he gave her a thoughtful look, if she was as frail as she was making out, she would have fallen, not managed to keep her footing, even with that cane. "Hold on there grandma." He caught her arm pulling her back to face him. "I'm a pirate I need to steal something from you."

"Oh lawks sir, I'm just a poor old lady with nothing to my nam,e what do I possibly have you can take." The old lady was looking up at him through her veil.

He smirked at her. "Well in that case, I think I'll steal a kiss." If he was wrong about this, the others would have a laugh about it, if not well the captain would be getting a very special share of the booty. Before she could react, he flipped her veil up. "Pucker up grandma." He smirked in triumph, as he looked not into the wrinkled toothless face of an old lady, but the unmarked face of a beautiful young woman. "Well, well." He practically crowed. "What do we have here, a sea voyage has done wonders for you grandma, you're coming with me." He dodged the strike of her cane, and dragged her over to the side. Throwing her over his shoulder, before making the leap between the two vessels with ease as she screamed in fear he shouted to his crew. "Get the boat emptied of bodies boys, and set em' adrift." He steadied himself as he landed. "Captain I've got your share of the booty here." He set the woman down, ripping the veil from her head completely, taking in her brown hair and green eyes, as the main cabin door opened, and the pirate captain stepped out.

Captain Seth Rollins was a tall man, though there was probably not much difference in the height, between the captain, the quartermaster and the sailing master. His dark hair, was partially hidden beneath a tricorn hat, but still hing down slightly past his shoulders, one of his eyes, the right one, was covered by a patch, and his well trimmed beard was cut close to his face. He wore a white shirt, which was covered by a short frock coat. His britches were made of leather, and he wore the traditional knee high pirate's boots. A thick leather belt encircled his waist, and from it hung a cutlass on one side, and a flintlock pistol was pushed into the belt on the other. "Quartermaster Ambrose?" His voice was even, as he looked at the other man.

"Here." Ambrose gave the young woman a push towards his captain, laughing as she stumbled closer to the other man. "Found her pretending to be a grandma, and I thought you could find a good use for her." He laughed harder, as some of the crew made some crude remarks, about what use the captain would put her to, and what use they would like to put her to. "Get moving wench, the captain doesn't like to be kept waiting." He watched, as she walked slowly towards the other man, she looked scared, she probably should be he thought.

"Well, well." The captain reached out a hand, when she was close enough, and pulled her nearer to him. "She's a pretty little thing all right." The door to his cabin was still open, and he all but threw her inside. "Quartermaster, the Moonlit waters is yours." He turned walking into his cabin, shutting the door firmly behind him. The young woman had backed away from the door, and was looking around his cabin, her eyes flew to the door and him, as she heard it slam closed. She backed away as he leered at her, and slowly walked closer undressing her with his eyes.

When he was almost close enough to touch her, she opened her mout,h and he expected her to beg him to leave her alone, instead she looked out of the windows and remarked. "I wouldn't let your men sail on the galleon, not without lifeboats anyway."

"What, why?" Seth looked at her in shock, what did she mean, it was certainly a new way for a wench to try and save her virtue, the way she spoke she sounded like some common maid, or servant girl.

"Haven't you noticed, she is already lower in the water?" Her eyes came back to rest on him. "That's probably because the first mate ordered her scuttled, before your men bored her I was close enough to hear the order given."

Seth did not like the sound of that, now he looked at the galleon, he could see she was low in the water, maybe lower than she should be. Without a word he turned on his heel, and walked out of his cabin. Behind him, the young woman sank down on the bed with a sigh, she had staved off the inevitable for the moment anyway, and she certainly didn't fancy being the only person from the ship around, when the captain found out he had lost the ship, along with his crew.

"Hold fast with the grapples." The captain ordered, bearing in mind what the woman had told him. "Dean, the ship may be scuttled, send someone below to check." He saw the Quartermaster nod his head, and send one of the crewmen below, a tense few minutes passed, before the man reappeared.

"She's taking on water fast Captain." The crewman shouted. "Looks like someone took an axe to the hull."

"Gather the booty and abandon ship." Seth ordered, watching as his men worked quickly, stripping the ship of anything of value. "Sailing master Reigns, have the men bring the guns to bear on the boats." He ordered, he had a reputation to protect, if people thought they could pull the wool over his eyes like this, it would not be so easy to take the next vessel.

"Guns primed and aimed." Roman Reigns looked at his friend, and captain. "Ready at your order captain."

"Blast them out of the water." Seth ordered. "Keep firing till not a boat remains." He knew for those who could swim, it would probably be a long slow death, most though would never have learned, knowing that if you fell overboard, the ship would not stop to pick you up, baring extraordinary circumstances. Most seamen did not learn to swim, preferring a quick death, to a slow lingering one, or even worse, becoming food for the sharks.

The cannons fired, with a kind of morbid monotony, as the small boats were sunk, or blown apart, till all that was left were bodies, some alive some dead and wreckage. If the survivors were lucky, they might just make landfall on Aella, the closest island to them, though they might not enjoy it much, the island was subject to sudden and fierce winds, which blew up seemingly out of nowhere, and died away again just as suddenly, as they had started.

The phoenix herself, was heading for Aglaia, a tropical paradise which the pirates had claimed as their own, some had family there, and many of the crew had homes on the island. The pirates defended their Island stronghold well and viciously, so Governor Helmsley did not send his men there, they instead sought to capture pirates on other islands, or on the high seas. The governor lived and worked mainly from his island fortress Ahriman. The largest of the group, given the collective name of the Morgan group or Morgan Islands, having been first been discovered by Captain Lyman Morgan over a hundred years ago, and settled not ten years later. Now they were a thriving hub of commerce, and a plentiful hunting ground for the pirates, who had made it their home.

On their way back to Aglaia, they would pass Alcides, which was fairly rocky and inhospitable, thought the rum runners would often land their cargos there, it was uninhabited, and though you could survive there, it would be a harsh existence at best, and you had better hope you would be rescued sooner, rather than later. Angerona, was a much more hospitable prospect, and settled by a few brave men and women, who were neither allied with the governor, or the pirates, which were the two dominant forces in the Morgan islands. The inhabitants of Angerona would have been preyed on by both, but for the fact that they had next to nothing to begin with. Sometimes the pirates would land to kidnap a pretty girl or two, to serve as the ships doxy's when they were a long time out of port, but for the most part they left them alone.

Alkeides had a thriving farming community, which produced most of the meat and poultry eaten in the island group, as well as dairy produce and eggs, which were sent to the other islands, with thriving populations. Ameretat was another farming community this one producing grains, vegetable and fruits, once again, their produce was distributed through the islands. Ammon was a smaller less secure version of Ahriman, though still fairly well defended, it was a prosperous island, and the pirate ships preyed in the waters around it, meaning that Governor Helmsely sent warships to the area from time to time to defend it, costing the well to do islanders plenty of coin, for the protection. At one time, it has also been the hunting ground of the infamous highway man, Bonnie Charlie, though he was rumoured to have since moved on, from time to time, word was heard of him in the Morgan group.

Ananta was a prosperous island famous for its artisans, if you wanted any weapon crafted, or you had a desire to own beautiful things, this was where you went. The pirates left this island mostly alone, after all they needed the things produced there, as much as the next person. Anapa, might have been written off as useless, since the vast majority of it was swamp, and not a few people had lost their lives there. It was however home to a variety of rare and useful plants, the only reason that people went there, was to gather them, unless it was a last resort, to try and escape Helmsley's men. The last two islands in the group were the twin islands of Anat and Anatu, they were barren and uninhabited except by seabirds who built their nests there. Captain Morgan had turned to mythology for the names of the islands he had discovered, and used anything he fancied with an A to name them.

Seth stayed in the deck, watching as his men stripped the Moonlit waters of anything of value, the last one off the now viably sinking ship was Dean, with a chest on his shoulder, and a smile on his face. "How did you know captain?" He asked, he had not noticed the ship was taking on water, and neither had Roman.

Refraining from asking why Dean was hanging onto the chest so tightly, Seth chose to answer his question with the truth. "The doxy you gave me, told me." He noted the surprise on his quartermasters face. "I know I'm shocked too."

"She saved my life then." Dean looked at the closed door of the captain's cabin. "We'd not have made it back to Aglaia, on that boat Seth, we'd have fallen behind the phoenix, and when we needed help there would have been none, we'd have drowned or worse." He shuddered slightly, thinking of what lucked beneath the waves. Seth nodded his head in agreement, he had to wonder why she had saved the lives of his two best friends, who would both have been on the sinking ship, along with a good portion of his crew. Not that her actions changed too much, he still intended to bed her, but maybe he wouldn't hand her over to the crew, or put her before the mast when he was done with her. Maybe he's even keep her, he had no woman on Aglaia, he thought once that he did, but she valued coin and jewels more than him, and had left with a wealthy merchantman who had come to the island to trade. Since then, he had plied the trade of the seafront brothels, and visited the doxy's there, not caring if they were willing or not, so longs he could slake his lust for a while and have a warm body beneath him.

"Cast off and plot a course for home." He ordered, and the men raised the sails, while Roman took the helm, the schooner mowing down some of the still living men in the water, as he sailed the phoenix for home. "What's with the trunk?" Seth asked Dean, as the wind caught the sails, and the boat surged forward.

"It's hers, I think she might want her clothes, and well she did save me so let her have them." Dean handed Seth the chest looking at bit sheepish, with a smile on his face, and not another word, Seth headed for his cabin, taking the chest with him. Opening the door, he saw her standing by the windows looking out at the carnage that lay in the phoenix's wake, in her hand she held a goblet of his wine, and was sipping on it.

"Make yourself at home why don't you?" Seth wanted to be mad at her, but found he couldn't, she'd lost the black dress with its hump, and stood straight and proud, in her white bodice and petticoats.

She turned to look at him, and gave him a faint smile. "I was thirsty; you found the hole in the galleon then?" She did not question him, over the fate of the other vessels crew, as he expected her to. He was trying to place her accent, it was not from the islands that much he was sure of, but it was not one he had heard before.

"Dean, my quartermaster, thanks you for saving his life, and sends you this." He put the trunk down. and smiled at her for a moment, before walking towards her, and taking the wine from her he placed it on the side. "You've made a start I see; allow me to finish the job for you." He grabbed at her bodice intending to rip it open, but she danced away from him with surprising grace, and put some distance between them. "Come her girl." He growled at her, surprised when she did, and he was even more surprised, when she took his head in her hands, then pulled his head down, pressing her lips to his, kissing him sweetly. Though he was shocked he was quick to take control, and kiss her thoroughly, before lifting his head and looking down at her. "That was a surprise." He commented, before she pulled his head back down, and kissed him again. This time he scooped her up in his arms, carrying her to his bed, allowing her to kiss him, and control it as he set her on her feet. While she was kissing him, he began to unlace her bodice, suspecting that as soon as she felt what he was doing, she would try and run from him. Instead though, she began to push his coat off ,and he allowed her to remove it, before breaking the kiss, setting aside his pistol and cutlass, before removing the thick leather belt and looking back at her expectantly.

She blushed slightly and removed her bodice, allowing him to see her breasts which were high, and almost girlish. He threw off his shirt, and saw the way she looked at his chest, before he walked back to her, this time he was the one who kissed her. Strangely though, he no longer felt the same sense of urgency, and he was content to take his time over undressing her, allowing her to undress him. His fingers ran over her body, making her shiver, while she was cooperating with him, he felt no need to be brutal with her, finally when they were both naked, he laid her on his bed.

"What's your name sweetling?" He asked, looking down at her, as he joined her on the bed, he had not missed the way her eyes widened when she was his erection. He knew he was not a huge guy, big enough to please a woman if he was so inclined, but not as large as some. The look she gave him however, made him think she might not have seen a man naked before, or if she had, there had not been many, he was kind of hoping for the former.

Looking up at him, she swallowed, he looked huge and she knew what he was going to do, she had no idea how that was going to fit inside her, and she hoped he would be gentle, though she was not expecting it and was preparing herself for pain. "Karil." She said quietly, her eyes never leaving his body.

He began to caress her, his hands exploring, followed by his lips and tongue. "I'm captain Rollins, Seth to you right now." He smiled at her. "It's okay Karil, I won't hurt you more than is necessary for what I want." She nodded, looking at him with scared eyes, and he went back to what he was doing, building a fire in both of them. She whimpered in fear, as he began to thrust into her, and then in pain, as he stretched her, and broke through the barrier inside her. "Shush." He tried to quieten her, yet reassure her at the same time. "The pain will fade sweetling." She knew men would have their way, and it had not been as bad as she feared it would. "Try and relax Karil, I'm going to start moving again, it will get better." Seth made love to her gently, and then gripping her hips, he came deep inside her.

She was crying softly when he was done. "Did I hurt you?" He asked softly looking down at her and thinking how much worse it would have been for her, if he had forced her. He wasn't necessarily a good man, he had pillaged and he had plundered, he'd killed, and yes he'd raped women before,, and he would have raped her, had she not surprised him, by being willing . So he held her in his arms, and rubbed her back soothingly, gently kissing her lips, before getting off the bed and picking up her partially drunk glass of wine, emptying it quickly, before rejoining her where she lay.

She watched him, as his breathing slowed slightly, and his eyes began to close, Seth just thought he was tired from the battle, and the sex he had just enjoyed with her so he did not fight sleep. Once she was sure he was asleep, Karil slipped off the bed, and stood up gathering her clothing. She was lucky he had brought her, her trunk, there was little in there she really cared about, but a few things she needed. Then she picked up grandma's dress, pulling the hump apart, taking out the jewellery and coin it contained, before pulling the few items she wanted out of the chest.

Captain Seth would sleep for a while, long enough for her to make her escape. She had made a calculated gamble and allowed him to deflower her, he would have done it anyway, but thinking she was willing had made things easier. Pouring the wine and adding the drug to it, allowing him to think she had been drinking it, led him into the trap of thinking if she was drinking it; it was safe for him to have. She put on her bodice, and a single petticoat, before grabbing a pen and parchment from his desk, and writing a few lines for him, before opening the window by his bed, and with the bundle she had made of her belongings, she slipped out into the evening, and entered the water as silently as she could, managing not to attract attention in the gathering gloom. She was heading for the island of Alcides, which was less than a mile away, an easy and steady swim, for someone all to used to sea bathing. There she hoped to find a boat left behind by the run runners, so that she could continue on with her journey. She wondered at the pang of sorrow she felt, as she swam away from the ship, and the drugged captain sleeping in his bed.

Okay so be honest with me here what did you think of it? Did you like it did you hate it, I won't know if you don't tell me. Is it worth continuing with?

I've tried to be as accurate as possible by using the resources I have, concerning the sailing ships and the men who crewed them as well as the manner of dress. Dean's Monmouth cap was inspired of course by that beanie he so often wears. The Morgan Island group is purely fictional, in some way inspired by the Warden diamond, in the Lords of the diamond series of books. I took the idea of naming places with mythical names, and chose to have them all start with A's some of the names inspired the conditions on the island in question, others I just picked a name that looked good, and left it at that.

Bonnie Charlie was a character, a highway ma,n in a book I read some years ago, and I liked the name so yes I appropriated it for my highway man.