Pirates Part 1

The quickest way to kill your enemies were as followed: Stab through any vital organ, bullet through any major artery or organ, decapitation. These were found to be true and tested, regardless of how simple it may have seemed. This was the way of life that they had to follow. 

Naturally, fighting made it such that these surfer ways of killing were occasionally impossible. Having someone fight back against your sword, trying to kill you as well... the dance always came with great risk. Yet if you were crafty enough, quick enough, and stupid enough, you could survive life on the seas. That was the very case with Alexander. 

He was not actually Alexander on the ship, The Queen Berry. His name here was Gills. Gills was a skilled fighter, but in truth his best skill was swimming. He loved to swim, and that fancy little skill of his had gotten him out of some trouble before. When captures once by the Great Pirate Tyrant, it was said that Gills walked the plank voluntarily in order to swim under the ship to freedom. There was the time too when the navy thought he was dead after a long thought, and as such he was thrown overboard only to return to The Queen Berry a few weeks later with a nasty new scar and booze. No one was really quite sure how he got away with such feats, but he was a beloved member of the crew under Captain Hades. You can imagine where he got his name. 

Today was like any other. They had found a pathetic little merchant ship traveling without the protection of the navy. It was a fools errand going through the straight of blood, even if it was perhaps the fastest way to get to England from the south. They were more than certain that this raid would be quick. Gills especially thought it would be easy as pie. They had the cover of fog as a storm threatened to stir the sea. The poor blokes on the ship never notices The Queen Berry as she came up alongside them, no as Gills and the others slowly and quietly entered into her unsuspecting decks. 

Gills found his first victim, an older fellow with blank eyes. He clearly didn't see him even as he stood a mere foot in front of him. Gills unsheathed his sword and tenderly pushed it through the old man's heart, catching the body before he slammed to the ground. He slowly lowered the body and placed him on the ground, standing up then to find his next soul. The rules of killing were simple if followed. 

The raid turned into a screaming blood bath eventually. It always did. It was only natural that it eventually did. Men and woman screamed as they were scattered around the ship, slowly getting killed one by one. They never allowed them to live unless there was a real reason for it. Normally Gills didn't struggle with this. At least, not until he saw him. 

He was a well fed man, clearly from a well to do family. His clothes had blood on them and tears were streaming down his face. His eyes however were what caught Gills so off guard. Beautiful eyes the color of amethyst. He had never seen such eyes before, and it made him pause. His hair was curly and dark black, and his skin had freckles peppering his pale skin. Gills stumbled for a second, however he wasn't given much time to stare. The man jumped up and pushed him away, running off into the fog. It was a clumsy run, and he clearly fell soon after. Gills walked over to him, bending down over him and forcing his chin upwards using the blunt side of his sword. 

"You... Did you really think running off would do?" He never spoke to his victims. He had always thought it was cheesy, a waste of time. Why give them an opportunity to think? It went against the rules of killing. He didn't know why he was doing this. The man looked up with those teary eyes. He was breathing hard, searching for what to say. Gills however decided he didn't want to hear his voice. Instead he grabbed him from the collar of his frilly clothes and forced him upwards. He was not as heavy as he thought he would be. "Do you want to live, pig?" He asked him, his knife pressed up against the man's neck now. Pig sounded rather mean, but.. Gills felt anything else wouldn't quite fit for the situation. 

"Of course I do--" His voice was desperately sweet. It was almost boyish still, but not quite. He was trying to buff up his voice, that was easy to tell. The slight tremor in his words, the strange way he annunciated his vowels... It was fascinating to Gill. 

"I've always wanted a servant. I will give you a chance to live, if you become my servant. Of course if you deny, I will just kill you now." Gills smiled, though he felt that his smile was rather cruel looking. The man stared up at him in confusion. His breath quickened, his heart beat no doubt racing as he figured out what to do. Any fool would know, however, that this was the only way to survive this. 

"What about my family?" the man asked with a sheepish quiet, though they both knew the answer to that already. The silence that followed led the man to tears once more. "I.. I want to live... I will--" He spoke out, reaching his hands out to grasp the hand that held the sword. "I will become your servant, so please don't kill me." 

Gills lowered his sword then and nodded, though his grip on the man didn't loosen. He looked him over, to check for signs of ingenuity before he smiled. This smile felt far more real. 

"Excellent. A good choice. What is your name?" He asked, standing up straighter now. Those purple eyes... they seemed to speak to him. Something about them were so beautiful, so... real. 

"Edwin Blackwell." Edwin said nervously, swallowing his spit with a great deal of effort. 

"Edwin. Good. You can call me Master Gills. Come now. Should you try anything, you will be killed instantly, understood?" Gills said, and Edwin nodded. Gills had Edwin place his hands over his head, and his sword pointed towards the small of his back. It was not a vital point, not good for killing. 

The track to the ship seemed to take forever. Once on The Queen Berry once more, Captain Hades looked the poor nobleman over with disgust plastered upon his sun damaged face. 

"What is this, Gills?" He asked, throwing down the silken fabric they had obtained on the ship. Fabric merchants it seemed. "It's not like you to bring a toy back." 

"Captain, I want to keep this one as my servant. " Gills spoke confidently whilst Edwin shivered on his knees behind him. "His name is Edwin. Should he go out of line, I will kill him immediately." 

"Fine. If he step out of line, even once, take care of him. I won't have no foolery on my ship." 

"Aye, Captain. Come fool." Gills lifted Edwin up once more and brought him to his quarters, private ones due to his long time on the ship. Once alone, Gills lowered the sword. He sighed and sat on his bed, staring at his new found prize. 

"What are you planning for me now?" Edwin asked, looking around in fear. It was a sweet fear, one like a child's. For a grown man, he had seen so little. 

"You will follow what I say, keep your head down, and don't interfere with the rest of the crew. I have never taken a servant before, so it really was your lucky day." Edwin smiled, motioning for Edwin to come closer. He did so hesitantly. Gills grabbed Edwin's neck, harshly pulling him towards himself. "You are really lucky your eyes are so pretty. Welcome aboard The Queen Berry, fool. You are a pirate now."