I

"No!"

The cruel truth unfolded before my eyes, as the damned English pirates continued to attack my men. With a glare and a hand to my hilt, I attempted to unsheathe my sword.

But a black gloved hand covered my wrist, and moved me so I would face my captor.

"Captain Arthur…" I hissed, trying to break free from his clutch.

He gave me a twisted smirk, and made me turn back to my suffering men. With a whisper accented with English and rum, he taunted me. "Look at how your crew has fallen to me. A woman really should not be in an affair with piracy, especially meddling with a pirate as I."

My fists clenched, and with a painful jerk I ripped my wrist away from his clutches. With lightning speed, the two of us had brought upon our trusted swords, beginning the dance of death.

The blades clashed with the ferocity of an attacking lion, and repeatedly did so. Each slash made by the shining metal met with another cutting through the air. Each move had no hesitation, yet precise timing, seeming to challenge each opponent into a seemingly endless game.

Utilizing my skills to its intensity, I repeatedly barraged the English captain with deadly swipes, and to my utter disappointment, each was met with a blocking craft of iron. My opponent, although visibly struggling to become the victor, still bore a look of arrogance and haughtiness, an expression that angered and fueled my will to finish him off.

To my utter luck and surge of force, I managed to knock the blasted sword out of his leather hands and sail through the air to the edge of the ship. Quickly, I raised my blade to his neck, ready to finish the bastard off.

I almost did, too. But what the rival pirates had come for was taken- and my men had announced it to me, distracting me for only a moment.

That moment was all Captain Arthur needed to escape his death, and flee back to his ship like the coward I thought him to be.

Enraged, I had almost jumped off of my vessel to land on his, take back what was mine and kill the damn pirate. But by the time I had made my way to the ropes, Captain Arthur Kirkland's ship had already moved too far, and I had truly been robbed of my treasure and my pride.