Email:
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Episode
I The Corsair
It was four years,
Melissa. I thought you were
dead. The last I saw of
you
He didnt need to finish the
statement. Melissa remembered
that the last time he had seen her she was being raped by the soldiers on
the Shang black ship. It was
a memory that was still painful for her.
To be humiliated in front of the man she
loved
She folded her hands in her
lap. She and Vandar were sitting
in the garden courtyard in the center of the
brothel. I dont blame
you, Vandar. I thought you dead
too. How did you
escape?
I was damned lucky, Vandar replied,
taking a sip from his cup. They
were drinking tea, a beverage that Melissa had grown used to during her stay
with the Shang, but which she had never expected the hard drinking pirate
captain to take up.
I was thrown overboard, by the Shang,
Vandar continued. I could
hear you screaming. It was the
most terrible moment of my life.
He stopped as his voice choked with
emotion. Melissa could tell that
he was having difficulty telling the
story. Painful memories were
being dredged up for him as well as her.
She did not interrupt. She
was not sure that the lump in her throat would let her.
The water was full of
sharks. They were tearing into
the bodies of my crew. Maybe
it was because there were so many of them that they left me
alone. The Shang had taken over
the
Reaver,
and were preparing to take her as a prize.
Im a good swimmer so I
dove under the water and swam to the stern of the
ship. I managed to grab hold
of the rudder before they got her under
weigh. I hung on there until
nightfall and then managed to climb up the stern to the captains
cabin. From there I made my way
into the hold and stayed there until the ship reached
port. Found myself in the Shang
capital. Lucky for me the waterfront
was full of nationalities of all sorts.
I blended right in. Managed
to hire out on a ship and head back to the Black
Isles. And here I
am.
You never went back to sea? asked
Melissa. She took another sip
from her cup, her hands shaking slightly.
Her companions, were seated at the same table as she and Vandar, but
because the language being spoken was not Shang, none of the girls could
understand anything that was being said.
They remained quiet, however, fully aware of the emotional torment
that was ripping through both Melissa and
Vandar.
I could not, he
replied. There were too
many painful memories. Here
he looked at Melissas with such intensity that she dropped her
eyes.
And so here you are, she
said.
Yes.
Master of a brothel. I
had enough money saved that I was able to set myself up in this
place.
There was an awkward
silence. Neither spoke for a
few seconds. Finally Melissa
spoke again. I suppose
I would have done the same if I had been in your
place. Do you have any
children?
Vandar shook his
head. When I set up this
place I needed someone to run it. I
might be good with a sword, but I know nothing about running a brothel, although
Ive been in my share of
them.
He caught Melissas
look. Not once I met
you, he added hastily.
Melissa managed a
smile. Vandar sounded almost
like a guilty husband.
Anyway, he continued, as
I said I needed someone to run the
business. The woman I chose turned
out to be more than my madame.
Vandar seemed almost embarrassed as he told his
story. Youve met
her, as a matter of fact.
Daria, thought
Melissa. He married
Daria. Aloud she said,
She seems like a good choice.
I love her,
Melissa. It might have been different
if I had known you were alive.
I understand, Melissa said
quietly. Sometimes I think
the goddess of luck is toying with me.
Of all the places to come looking for a job I pick this
place. She stood
up. I will not strain the
friendship we once had. I can
seek employment elsewhere.
Vandar stopped her by placing his hand on
hers. His touch brought back
a flood of memories. It seemed
like a lifetime ago that same hand had caressed her while
they
She stopped
herself. That was all in the
past now. Part of a lifetime
that was gone forever.
Stay, he
said. Ive not heard
your story. Im sure that
it is much more interesting than mine.
And I owe you something.
Your share of my treasure.
My
share? I did nothing for
it.
You were a member of my crew, entitled
to a full share. Since you are
the only surviving member you are heir to the shares of the other crew members
as well.
I cannot take it, Melissa
said. Give it to the widows
of the dead men instead.
That has already been done, Vandar
replied. But many of the
men had no wives or women waiting for
them. I have charge of that wealth
now, and part of it is yours.
Melissa continued to argue against receiving
any help from Vandar, but he was adamant.
It was almost as if he was compensating in some way for the fact that
he had not waited for her. Finally
she gave in and allowed him to finance the cost of a
ship. She also stayed the night
and the next night. She and her
companions were given a room in a secluded part of the
brothel. Melissa was able to
determine that this was part of Vandars private living
quarters.
She told Vandar her story, leaving out some
details she thought best kept to herself.
There was no point in telling him of the numerous times she had been
tortured or sexually humiliated.
Then, as soon as she was able, she took her
leave. She had seen little of
Daria during her short stay, but the few times they had met had been
awkward. Daria was polite to
her, as she should have been to a guest of her husband, but Melissa could
tell that her courtesy was somewhat
forced. It was best she left
her former lover as soon as possible.
Vandar kept his word about her
share. He provided the money
for a ship as she had requested. He
even sent along one of his men to help select
it. There were any number of
suitable vessels in Hamars Refuge.
The trick was to find one that would not sink in the first storm or
cost more than its value to repair.
The ship Melissa bought was not as large as
the
Reaver, but the ex-sailor
who picked it out assured her that it was not only sound, but it would
outsail almost any ship
afloat. Now it was just a matter
of finding a crew.
It took her several weeks to crew the
Peregrine,
as Melissa called the vessel she had
purchased. She had named it after
the bird on her family crest. There
was no shortage of cutthroats available for hire, and Melissa chose her crew
carefully. She wanted men she
could rely on. And then there
was the problem of convincing some of them that they should take orders from
a woman. That problem was solved
by the first man she hired.
Vandar had sent him to
her. Chance Brown was his
name. He was tough, experienced,
and reputed to be fearless. He
was the perfect choice for first mate.
He proved so adept at his new position that Melissa gave over most
of the recruiting to him, trusting to his
judgment. He was also, as Che
Sha remarked, Very easy to look
at. Melissa had to agree,
but she had not hired Brown for his
looks. She hoped he could run
a ship, something that she did not trust herself to do.
Hiring Brown solved most of her
problems. Melissa busied herself
with equipping the ship for sea and coaching Che Sha, Shasara, and Vayasha
in her language. By the time
the ship was ready for sea, the three young women had an acceptable working
vocabulary.
The day finally arrived when the Peregrine was ready to sail. Without fanfare the ship headed for the open sea. As the Black Isles dwindled behind her, Melissa set her eyes on the horizon. She was headed for Dakmora. The Duke had probably forgotten she existed, but she had something special planned to announce her return. She smiled. The Duke was in for a bit of a shock.
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