Quell Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 This morning I was approached by a bunny. It had a peg leg, an eyepatch, a pirate hat, and a hook for a tail. It gave me an idea. *pets bunny*So, I am proud to present to you: Curse of the Midnight Cutlass! (part 1.)Awakening with your hands lashed to the mast of a ship is not the best way to start a summer morning.After a few futile attempts to struggle free, I looked out to the horizon... except that there wasn't one. Nothing but water in every direction, it seemed.Sighing in frustration, I noticed a young man cleaning the ship's deck. "You!" I called out.He walked briskly over to me with his mop in hand, a small smile on his face. "Yer finally awake now, huh, m'lady?""Where am I?"He paused for a moment, running his free hand through his chestnut brown hair. "Well, m'lady, I don't know how to say this exactly, but yer been kidnapped. An' yer on a pirate ship."I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at him. "I know that, but why have I been kidnapped?""Ehhh... are ye rich?""Not particularly.""Can ye cook?""Not anything suitable for eating." (Besides the things I made at the apothecary.)"Ehhhh... 'm out o' ideas." He sat down next to me, leaving the mop with some crates."Perhaps he wants me to join his crew? It doesn't seem very large for a ship this size." It was true, the deck was nearly devoid of living beings.The man laughed. "You?! M'lady, sorry if 'm rude but you couldn't be a pirate if you... if... ehh..." He ducked his head and sneezed into the crook of his arm. "EEESHOO!"He looked up again, appearing slightly embarrassed. "Sorry," he said with a slight sniff. "The curse must be starting sooner than I thought. After all, Captain Walters retreated to his quarters two days ago an' hasn't come out."This caught my interest. "What curse?"He looked up at the sky suddenly, letting his voice become ominous. "The Curse of th' Midnight Cutlass," he whispered, "starts sometime in th' summer. All pirates on Captain Gavin Walters' ship will be stricken with a disease so awful an' terrifying that even th' mightiest pirate can't--" He broke off, coughing a few times.I raised my eyebrows. "Are you being overdramatic or is it really that terrible?"He shook his head. "Naaah, it's just really annoying. A'course, if ye asked Captain Walters that, since he's th' one who gets hit th' worst by..." He trailed off, his eyes fixing upon the beads around my neck. "Yer a... a..."I smiled a little. "A Belladonna Witch?""Yeah, that's it," he murmured, hazel eyes growing wide. "Is it true that yer kind could cure anythin'?""Yes, and I can just as well."He looked into my eyes, his filled with desperate hope. "Can ye... can ye uncurse pirates?""I have dealt with curses before."He looked towards the sky again, grinning broadly. "Could ye possibly consider helping us out, m'lady?""On two conditions," I said. "One, you call me by my name, Lucinda.""Yeah, Lucinda," he said, his expression eager and anxious, like a young dog."Two, when I lift this curse, you allow me to return home."He faltered then, as if slowly realizing something. "Captain Walters makes the choices 'round here," he said, eyes downcast, "an' he doesn't believe in th' magic of th' Belladonna Witches... an' he might not want ye to go home, Lucinda.""Captain Walters or no, I am lifting this curse from this pirate crew." I decided it would be best to speak to the Captain himself. "I want to talk with the captain. Untie me.""I can't do that.""Why not? Your shipmates can't possibly get angry with you, I'm a Belladonna Witch.""No, I mean I can't do that 'cause Marcus tied th' knots, an' he's th' only one good at it."I was reaching the end of my patience with this man. "Then go get Marcus.""All right, all right," he said, getting up and walking towards the other end of the ship.He later returned with another brown-haired man, looking slightly older and with a short beard who I assumed was Marcus. "I don't understand, Sammy. Walters gave orders for us not to let the pretty little wench go. Now you want me to undo my knots and let her free?"Sammy opened his mouth to say something, but I interrupted. "I am not a pretty little wench, I am known as Lucinda, and I am a Belladonna Witch who wishes to speak with your Captain.""A Belladonna Witch, eh?" Marcus stroked his beard. "Didn't your kind die out something like five years ago?""I am the last known," I said.He smiled at me and began undoing the knots that held me in place. "Normally I wouldn't agree to this, but I can't say no to a pretty girl. It's always been a bad habit of mine."Sammy sneezed again, and a short, black-haired girl walked by. "Bless you," she said quietly, then went about her business, which was pacing, apparently."Who was that?" I asked. I could feel the ropes around my left hand starting to loosen."Sonya," Sammy said, rubbing his nose. "She's never affected by th' curse... ev'ryone knows she's not a real pirate.""Why isn't she a real pirate?"Shrugging, Sammy said, "Dunno. She's too afraid, I guess. Always hidin' below deck when things get rough. The only advantage is that nobody knows her, so she can buy things for us like rations."Both my hands were free, and I stood up. "Direct me to the Captain's quarters," I said.They led me to a slightly raised door on the ship, which Marcus knocked on three times.It swung open, and a red-haired woman emerged. "The Captain doesn't want visitors," she said firmly."It's important, Sheila," Marcus said, pointing to me.Sheila raised her eyebrows. "Why have you untied the prisoner?""She's a Belladonna Witch," Sammy said excitedly."Well, hold on." Sheila went below deck for a few moments, then came above again. "The Captain will speak with you." She pushed Marcus and Sammy back as I descended the stairs. "But not you two."(end part 1)This is certainly longer than my first story And it gets better, don't worry. Just wait until you get to part 2, where you meet Captain Gavin Walters Much sneeziness there, remember that Sammy said that he's always been hit hardest... Link to comment
doggo Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 Oooh, what a lovely scenario! A ship full of sneezy pirates... I hope she doesn't succeed too early! Thank you, and eagerly waiting to read more! Link to comment
Quell Posted February 24, 2008 Author Share Posted February 24, 2008 Shiny, how dare you suggest that I'd end this so soon! -rofl- It wouldn't be like me at all if I did!Meh. I need to stop eating sugar before I do these things. *twitch* *shake* *shudder*Curse of the Midnight Cutlass (part 2)Even if most of your memories of a person are pleasant, they still do not change bad first impressions.That was the case with the Captain and I.Upon first seeing him at his desk, I noted that his dark, shoulder-length hair was in a state of disarray, his skin had a certain pallor to it that could be seen even in the dim lighting, and the cloth he held to his nose could have been easily mistaken for an old dishrag that had been dropped in a puddle... and stepped on. Multiple times.But it wasn't his appearance that caused me to think so little of him. In fact, I felt a surge of pity rise through me at the sight of him.He made a gesture for me to sit, and when I did, he turned to me and said in a rough, strained voice, six words:"I don't believe in your miracles."The pity disappeared. "Whyever not?"He opened his mouth to reply, but immediately closed it, and stifled a sneeze, pressing his slightly reddened nose to his hand. "Hit'chh!""Don't do that," I hissed as he blew his nose, "it's dangerous."He looked up at me, sniffed, and glared. "Thank you ever so much for that pearl of Witch wisdom. No doubt it's like all the other things you do - useless."I had never been one to take such harsh words, and I folded my arms, returning the glare. "Why do you doubt me? How could you think so lowly of me when the successes of the Belladonna Witches have been documented in nearly every history book known to man?""If your kind could do such wonderous things," he scowled, rising to his feet, "why am I suffering in my quarters instead of directing my crew?""Because this is the first time that a Witch has been aboard a ship.""How could you possibly -- huh-KSHOO!" His sneeze bent him over at the waist, and I found myself wishing that he had still been sitting so that I could watch him crash into the tabletop. He rose again, turned to me, and with a trace of congestion in his voice, said, "How could you possibly know that? You couldn't have been alive when your ancestors thrived.""If you won't allow me to at least attempt to remove this curse from you and your crew, you will look back on this moment and wonder 'what if,' Gavin."He sighed, taking his seat once again and holding his head in his hands. "If you really can do what you say you can do... if you have any chance of lifting this curse upon us once and for all..." He coughed twice, then cleared his throat loudly. "You seem like an honest woman... and I am a truly desperate captain. I will let you try... and, for all of our sakes, I hope you do not fail."I stood there a few seconds, contemplating his words. I gave no response, only ascending the stairs quietly and opening the door to find Sammy and Sheila in a heated arguement."What were ye doin' in Walters' quarters anyway?""What do you think I was doing?""I think--""That was a rhetorical question, you dunderhead.""Yer always usin' those words... th' words that just ain't fit fer a pirate!""Who made you the judge of what words are fit for a pirate?""...No one."(end of part 2)If I were to say that I was perfectly calm right now, the proper response would be "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" Gavin is, like, pure awesomeness. In my mind, he is described as a 'dashing, daring gentleman.' I don't think I've ever used the word 'dashing' before.Lucinda is... mean. Sort of. I mean, like, 'muahaha head goes bang on the table!!' Yeah... that's one of her biggest flaws, wishing harm on people who are even the slightest bit rude to her. It's right up there with being too full of herself.Readers may pet my pirate bunny. He's very nice and doesn't chew any cords. But don't give him any rum, or he'll wake up the next morning and complain about it always being gone.Speaking of next morning, I'm going back to school tomorrow... *chorus of NOOOO!! voices in my head* So updates will come slower... But don't miss part three! It's got 20 percent more Marcus with his womanizing antics! And (hopefully) some female sneezing. Link to comment
doggo Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Oh man. A dashing, daring pirate captain suffering of such a sneezy curse, and a wicked woman to take malicious pleasure over that. I like this a lot. And his first line was brilliant. I didn't really see that coming.Bwahahahaha, have some sugar, kittentissues! Link to comment
Quell Posted February 24, 2008 Author Share Posted February 24, 2008 Heh, Gavin is such a pessimist during the summer months. (A wonderfully sneezy pessimist.) But you really didn't see that line coming? What did you expect? o_oNuuuuu! No sugar! I don't want to spoil my appetite for the pancake breakfast I'm having today! (mmmmm)You say Lucinda is wicked? Meh, she is when she wants to be, I guess.Trust me, Gavin looks much better than his current state when he's not sick. (But I prefer him sick. Am I mean? XP) Link to comment
count tiszula Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Harr, Jimlad! Fabulous story! There's nothing like a good sneezy pirate. But I wonder , shall we find out how the curse was incurred? Some dark deed of the Cap'n's, perchance. Link to comment
littlesneezer18 Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 OOH! PLEASE CONTINUE! very intriguing... Link to comment
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