The Pirate story

At the advice of my friends on a writers forum I have taken the pirate story off of the open forum and will be continuing to post it in a password protected area. If you wish to continue reading it please just ask me for the password. Thank you all for the encouragement.

Well dammit. I was kind of stuck on the sequel so I had to go back and change the ending of the first book. My wife gave me some pointers last night, she is good at showing me the woman's perspective. If in fact, they fled deep into the interior of Belize and hooked up with the tribe of newly freed slaves that now inhabit the jungles there, why would they ever come out? This huge tribe can either be a very powerful ally or a formidable foe.

The former slaves have booby traps everywhere. The Spaniards tried to recapture them, but none ever came back out of the jungle. Skulls on sticks mark where their territory begins and no man has ever come out alive after passing them. Batu, Ajamu and Tor are going in to make contact in the morning if they are not killed as trackers for the whites.

So... I changed the ending of the story that you read. Marianna accompanies them into the castle that night to retrieve little Juan Carlos. The Queen is sleeping in the bed also. She too is tied and gagged and when they take the child Marianna tells her as she holds the boy.

"You, of all people should understand. This is my only grandchild. I love him and I will not see him torn from his parents."

The next morning, this conversation takes place in Spain.

The King was furious. He sent a servant to Chavez’s quarter to summon him to the Grand Hall. He spread a large map of the New Colonies and the Caribbean out on the table and studied it until Chavez arrived. The Queen was in the bedchamber with her trusted servant Isabel.

“You have been my servant all of my life, but more that that, you have become my closest friend and confidant, I trust you more than anyone. I need you now to do me a very important favor. The King’s heart is hard, he only knows how to use force. He can never capture the boys heart like this. I saw something in his grandmother’s eyes, a true love and devotion to the child.

She risked her life to come to his aid, she would do anything for him. I feel that she is a good woman, perhaps if she and I work together we can come to some kind of compromise that would please everyone. The men will wind up killing each other over this and the boy does not need to be separated from his mother or to grow up without his father.”

“How will we do this? She has fled and gone back into hiding with Felipe and Victoria. How will I ever find her so that you can work together?” Isabel asked.

“That is why I need you. The assassin Chavez is going again to look for the boy. I will instruct him that once he finds the child I want you there to comfort him on the voyage back here. He is also to keep you updated on all that he discovers of their whereabouts. It will be up to you to secretly pass a letter from me to his grandmother Marianna. This will require that you try to stay one step ahead of him. As he gets intelligence of their whereabouts, you will need to act fast and find this woman.

You can also possibly find out things that he cannot, often a woman is trusted when a man is not. Find out here they lived and go to the markets, taverns and even bordellos if need be. Someone knows something that will be of value. Perhaps you can even locate them before Chavez does. We can accomplish more with reasoning than the men can with their force and bloodshed. If you find her and deliver the letter, ask her to respond. You can send the letter on the first ship bound for Spain. I will give you my ring bearing the royal seal so that the letter is sent with the utmost of haste. Will you do this for me Isabel?”

“Of course I will. I do not want any harm to come to his parents, he is your grandchild. I will do anything in my power to help you.” Isabel said.

“This will require you to use all of your wits and charm. If you get a lead as to their whereabouts, do not tell Chavez. I think that you can outwit him and possibly even find them on your own before he does. I hope that you do. I will provide you with all of the gold that you need to accomplish this.”

“I will do my best.” Isabella said.

“Come then, let us go and instruct Chavez of what his duties are.” the Queen said with a smile. They rose and walked to the Grand Hall.

I am on chapter three now and I'm going to bounce back and forth from Belize to Tortuga and to Isabel.

The women are alone on Tortuga with only several men to protect them. Victoria is awakened by the sound of her horse Fiero kicking at his stall as a jaguar screams and claws at the poles trying to kill her horse. She runs out into the night to protect him when suddenly...

This of course is the first rough draft. With my friends JW, Freddie Peepers, Lari, Bartender, Rosie and Stretch it will get much better. I could never do this without you. Once I get 6 or so chapters ahead of you I will put it on Mango again.

The saga continues, remember, this child is the heir to the throne if he so chooses. But, much treachery is afoot at the castle. There is a power struggle if the boy chooses to later assume the throne. If he chooses to roam these halls the only ones he can really trust are Neo, the jaguar and his family.

Oh yeah.. Victoria adopts an orphaned jaguar cub who follows little Juan Carlos everywhere as he grows into a huge beast, but that is another chapter.

You sure know how to draw us in and keep us in suspense all at the same time don'tcha?!

Well I know that Freddie is busy taking care of his father, everyone keep praying for them.

But, I have another ESP test. Looking at where the sequel is now, consider this question. I'll pick up where I left off...

When they walked into the Grand Hall they found Chavez studying the map with the King. Chavez spoke.

“We can begin by eliminating all of the smaller islands of the Bahamas that could not support a large troop of men. We know that he has enough men to defeat a double compliment of soldiers as he did on the Luisa when he captured your daughter.”

Chavez drew an x on all of the smaller islands that could not support such a group.

“As you can see, this still leaves hundreds of possible hiding places, not counting the mainland. He could be anywhere along the outer regions of the new colonies but he is close to the sea, that much we know.”

“So what is your plan?” The King asked.

“We cannot spare galleons and we do not need them. Small fishing sloops and Frigates could be hired for a pittance daily. We could send many of them to fan out over the islands and comb them much more quickly, but this will take gold to pay them. Still, it is cheaper and much faster than a fleet of galleons.” Chavez looked at the King.

The King was not a fool, he measured the man’s eyes and considered just how much Chavez might pocket from such an operation. Still, it was a lot less expensive than galleons. No doubt Chavez would report many more boats than he actually employed and of those that he did, many of the owners of the small boats would still just fish or drink at the taverns while being paid, pretending to look but what other choice did he have?

He looked at Chavez and said “I trust that you would not be foolish enough to squander my money on unproductive men.”

The Queen saw her opportunity and spoke up. “I have a request. If and when you find our grandson, I do not want him making the Atlantic crossing without the comfort of a woman. He will be torn again from his mother’s arms and this is hard on a child. I want Isabel to accompany you on the voyage to comfort the child.”

The implication was apparent. Isabel was not only to be a comfort to the child, but she could also serve as a watchdog for the King, to make sure that his money was spent wisely. The King liked this idea while the look on Chavez’s face showed differently.

“Very well then, Isabel shall accompany you to comfort the child when you return him to me.” the King said.

Chavez looked at Isabel and forced a smile. “Of course, it would be good to have a woman along to comfort him on his journey back home.” He thought of how he might eliminate her along the way, it would be easy.

Isabel looked him in his eyes and said “It is truly an honor to be chosen for this task. I will see that the boy is well cared for on his way home. He will be upset, as the Queen has said. I shall go and pack for the voyage immediately.”

She and the Queen walked out of the Grand Hall and back upstairs to the bedchamber. As she closed the door the Queen said “I saw the look in his eyes, his smile stopped at his lips. He does not like the idea of you accompanying him, I think he intends to pocket a lot of the gold that the King sends and you will be there to make him accountable. I fear for your safety.”

“As do I, but what else can we do?”

“I shall also send a personal bodyguard along with you. The new colonies are a dangerous place for an unattended woman.” the Queen said as she paused, thinking about.


OK... think, who does she send?

Hmmmm, Perhaps the gentleman who taught Victoria how to use a sword?
:[IMG]/confused

You got it Rosie, now, what was his name?

the girls made a joke about his name, had to do with his anatomy.

Rosebud, I'm 53, and I don't remember his name either. Your doing better than me, I wouldn't have remembered him and guessed it was him that was chosen. Next he'll (bullfrog) will be digging out the stableman who taught her to ride a horse and send him along for good measure..(if his name was said I don't remember it either).

*disclaimer* I didn't read expecting a test at the end. I always take notes to study for tests.

I enjoy bringing people back and introducing new characters. This man is going to prove himself invaluable to the story.

Felipe has the printed version, I gave him permission. No cheating Felipe, what was this man's name? I think Freddie will get it.

You give me far too much credit my friend.
I seem to remember "Balls-a-lot" or something like that.
And I'm with Rosebud in the fact that he would be the logical choice

I knew that you would get it Freddie. His name is Sir Balsala but the girls jokingly called him Balls a Lot. I'm on chapter six now and moving right along.

I just finished chapter 8 of the sequel, it is moving right along.

I brought back Rosa the old prostitute too.