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It was midday when Thalia saw the skull and sword flag on the boat approaching her own.
“Oh, shit.”
She knew what that flag meant. Every pirate, sailor and otherwise unspecified sea dweller on the Mediterranean knew what that flag meant. Of course, they’d be fools not to know.
Thalia’s crew was small, but she commanded her ship well. “Zoe, Bianca: on me! Val, you get the cannons ready. Phoebe, get to stern— I need eyes on an escape route. Piper— I need you to raise the surrender flag. Let’s see if we can talk our way out of this one.”
She doubted it, but she knew it was their best chance. Her girls were strong fighters, but she doubted they could hold their own against a crew more than double theirs, by the looks of the size of their ship. Not to mention that the flag she had recognized was the symbol of the notorious Dread Pirate Roberts.
Her ship was boarded before Piper could even have a chance to sweet talk the pirates.
“Round them up! Blindfolds on everyone!” Thalia heard a booming voice command. Before she could react, she felt a sack go over her head from behind and was in total darkness.
As the rest of her crew was getting tied up and pushed around, Thalia started to formulate a plan.
She counted her steps and noted the direction she walked when someone forced her to move and then kneel. They were at the bow; this was good. Maybe Phoebe had managed to hide under the ship before they spotted her position.
They searched Thalia (and she assumed her crew, by the sounds of it) for weapons. She noted which ones they found on her and was surprised that even though her belt knife and cutlass were taken, they had not found the dagger she kept in her boot.
Her hands were bound loosely. So loose that she had to question if it was intentional.
She didn’t care. Mapping out the plan in her head, she waited for the perfect moment.
It came when the sack over her head was yanked off without warning. Without even giving her eyes the chance to adjust to the sudden brightness, she surged forward and head-butted one of her opponents in the gut. As they stumbled back, she ripped free of her wrist restraints and pulled out her boot knife. She knew she was outnumbered. It didn’t matter.
She dove at the person nearest to her, who happened to be the same person she head butted a moment ago. As she landed on top of them she pressed her knife against the neck of the pirate below her. She had half a second to register that her opponent was, like her, a woman, before she found herself being rolled over by said opponent. Instead of giving up, she leaned into the roll and wedged her knee between the two of them when they were side by side. As they finished rolling (Thalia now on her back) she kicked her leg outward in an attempt to push off the pirate on top of her. It sort of worked, though the other woman didn’t go as far as she would have liked. She still used the moment to spring to her feet and ready her knife, which had stayed drawn the entire time.
“Truce!” commanded the woman who she had been wrestling with a moment ago. Thalia didn’t lower her weapon, but she glanced around the deck to see that her entire crew was still blindfolded. Notably, the crew of pirates that had boarded her ship was small— only the woman in front of her and two others. One was a tall man with spotted skin and reddish brown hair; the other was a shorter woman with dark curls and a glint in her ey.
“I’ve heard you could fight,” the woman who appeared to be in charge spoke again. She was tall, almost as tall as the man, with golden brown skin and silky black hair. Her posture commanded respect, but her face was amused. “They didn’t say anything about your unconventional methods, though.”
Thalia wasn’t sure what she was talking about. Who were “they?” Who was this woman?
“Who are you?” She demanded.
The woman huffed. Was she laughing? “No one of consequence, I can assure you.”
“You boarded my ship and attacked my crew, and you no doubt plan to pillage us once you’re done with your games. That sure feels like ‘consequence’ to me.”
The pirate in question smirked a little at Thalia’s outburst. She extended a hand for Thalia to shake. “Captain Ramirez-Arellano, at your service. More widely known as the Dread Pirate Roberts.”
Thalia wasn’t sure if she should take the hand being offered to her. On the one hand, she was taken aback at this woman insinuating that she was the Dread Pirate Roberts. On the other, she had come from the ship bearing his flag, and she was sure the Dread Pirate Roberts didn’t take lightly to impersonators. If this woman really was who she claimed to be, then it could be a trick. A trap. The Dread Pirate Roberts was known for his--her-- cruelty. Then again, if she had wanted to harm Thalia she could have easily done so by now, given that she was outnumbered three-to-one (not counting Thalia’s crew, who were still blindfolded and restrained).
The Dread Pirate Roberts noticed Thalia’s hesitation. “Don’t worry. You’ve already proven to be a decent pirate. I would hate to kill you while we’re recruiting.”
Thalia still didn’t trust her, but she hesitantly took her hand. Her grip was firm and her palm was calloused like her own.
“Recruiting? The Dread Pirate Roberts never takes survivors.” Thalia asked, suspicious.
The other captain laughed lightly. “Indeed. That is our reputation, of course. The second word gets out that the Dread Pirate Roberts has gone soft, our crew won’t be seen as dreadful anymore. And then it’s all work, work, work to get our reputation back. So I’m sure you understand that if you decline my offer I will have to kill you and your crew, though I’m really hoping it doesn’t come to that. Rumor has it your ship is the most feared on the Mediterranean. After ours, of course.”
“Flattery won’t get you far with me,” she retorted, though she knew the other pirate wasn’t just saying it to butter her up. Thalia’s ship, Moonlight, had pillaged royal fleets from Cyprus to Gibraltar. It had earned her quite the fearsome reputation, even if they never boarded ordinary cargo vessels and they spared or recruited commoners whenever they could.
“Oh, I’m sure it won’t. I expected a woman of your caliber wouldn’t be won over so easily. You should know that we also offer comprehensive benefits packages, including retirement in as early as six months of service.”
Thalia couldn’t tell if she was joking. “And why else should I want to join you? I know what you and your ship do.” She spat. “You pillage cargo ships and burn them with the crew still on board. You attack passenger ships and cut down civilians one by one. You kill like it’s a game; you have no regard for life. Why should I accept your offer?”
The captain was silent for a few beats to ensure Thalia had nothing left to say. “Why should you accept?” She was still wearing an expression like she found their conversation entertaining. “Well, other than the benefits package I mentioned, and, oh, avoiding certain death, you should accept because what we do is no different from what you and your crew do, dear Captain. I am honestly surprised that you, of all pirates, would fall for the propaganda. We steal from the rich, we redistribute the profits. We seek justice for those unable to seek it for themselves. And we never harm civilians, if it can be avoided.”
Thalia scoffed. “Your speech doesn’t move me any more than the stories of heroes in the old legends. Please. We are women of action, Captain.”
“Very well. What do you suggest, then?”
“A duel.” She didn’t even have to think about it. When the Captain’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, she elaborated. “But we face each other as the gods intended. No tricks, no weapons, skill against skill alone.”
“You mean you’ll put down your dagger and I’ll put down my sword and we’ll go at it like civilized people?”
Thalia let one corner of her mouth turn upward. “Yes, exactly.”
“Deal.” She dropped her sword and stuck her hands out to shake on it. Thalia then dropped her weapon and they clasped hands once again.
Without warning, the Dread Pirate Roberts flipped the other woman over her shoulder and landed on top of her.
“Nice trick,” the girl on her back smirked.
The other woman shrugged without loosening the grip on her wrists. “I have a few.”
Thalia wasn’t going to let her win so easily, though. She broke her hands free using a trick to pop the thumb joints that Phoebe had taught her, then jabbed her own thumbs into the other pirate’s kidneys. She used the moment of shock to roll out from under her opponent, planting a knee on either side of her torso to keep her down.
“What happened to ‘civilized?’” The now-pinned pirate grumbled.
“Oh, we both know that’s not your style.”
“Touché.”
Before Thalia could restrain her opponent’s hands, however, she was grabbed by the shoulders and flipped around so that she was once again underneath the other pirate, her back flat against the deck of the ship.
With lightning speed the Dread Pirate Roberts grabbed the dagger that lay next to her. She held it to Thalia’s throat, but she wasn’t ready to give up just yet. Thalia let out a big huff of air and used the millimeter gap to slide away with her neck only nicked superficially, blood barely escaping a paper-thin cut.
Thalia tried rolling away again, but her opponent was quicker this time. She felt herself being grabbed from behind, then forced into a headlock. The other pirate pushed her down until her body was flush against the wooden boards of the deck. Her opponent’s knee was pressing into her back, and Thalia could feel her breath against her neck as she leaned over her. There was no way out of this one and she knew it.
With great reluctance she tapped the deck twice. The Captain then removed her knee and helped her to her feet.
“I’m hoping this means you’ll join our crew? I really would hate to kill a pirate as skilled as you.”
“And I should hate to die.”
They stared at each other in silence for a bit before Thalia spoke again.
“You cheated.”
The Dread Pirate Roberts raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “You’re a pirate. Did you really think I’d give you a fair fight? You should know life isn’t fair. Anyone who says differently is selling you something.”
Thalia couldn’t argue with that. She glanced at her crew off to the side, still blindfolded, still silent. “And them? They can join?”
“I was hoping they would.” The captain smiled and extended her hand one more time for a shake. Thalia eyed it suspiciously before accepting.
“But I have conditions,” she said with their hands still clasped. “Same rotations and breaks as we had on my ship, we get to keep all of our loot that we earned before joining your crew, and I want loot divided equally from any ships we capture from here on out.”
“Anything else?”
Thalia pretended to consider for a moment. “No. That will be all.”
Her new captain smiled. “As you wish.”