Lesbian Pirates In the Gorgon Isles

Belit sighed internally. Well, she never really thought it was going to work. Still, it was worth a shot.

Larissa was trying to dress herself, but Belit didn't let her. Darting forward, she slapped the other woman as hard as she could, so hard that the diplomat fell to the floor. Then Belit grabbed her by the hair and dragged her squawking out onto the deck.

They'd been sailing south for two days, and were gradually outrunning the eternal darkness of those north-lying lands. A golden crest of orange sunrise hid just below the horizon, and the air was becoming warm. The crew thought it was a good omen: sailing towards gold.

The sudden appearance of the captain, half clothed and hauling a naked woman by the hair, put a stop to all work, so that soon the rigging creaking overhead was the only noise. Belit threw Larissa to the deck and then called out:

"Aurora!"

The debutante was up on the high deck, getting fishing lessons from Morgan. Evidently she was feeling better. Now the girl scrambled to the captain's side, clearing half of the deck before Belit was even finished pronouncing her name.

"Been enjoying your time aboard?" she said.

Blinking, Aurora said, "Oh, yes captain."

"That's good. Well, there's work to be done. If you're ever going to be a truly feared pirate captain you've got to learn to give orders, don't you think?"

Aurora nodded five or six times. 

"All right then: Order the crew to tie Ambassador Larissa to the mast."

Aurora started. But after a lightning-quick confirmatory glance at Belit, she shouted as loud as she could in her small voice: "Em. Ladies! Tie this...wench...to the mast."

The crew snickered, but obeyed. Larissa didn't flinch as four women pushed her bare back against the rough wood of the Queen of the Black Coast's main mast, nor when they tied her wrists behind her with ship's knots and twined ropes around her legs.

The entire crew surrounded her, but kept their distance—they knew what was coming. The wind filling the sails chilled the captive woman's exposed skin. "Now, answer my questions," said Belit. "You're an ambassador from her Royal Highness the Empress?"

"You say I am," Larissa said.

"I also say that her highness is sending you to the Gorgon Islands. Is that right?"


Larissa paused. "There's no such place."

Belit turned to Aurora. "What should a good captain do when a guest on the ship lies to her?"

Aurora considered, steadying herself with a stool as the ship listed back and forth. "Punish her," she said eventually. "But not so bad that she can't give up the truth later."

Belit grinned. "Good girl," she said. Then she cried, "Buckets!"

Larissa wasn't even aware that Rusila and Stikla were standing by with two wooden buckets full of chilled northern seawater at the ready until after one threw the icy payload right at her. She screamed bloody murder as it drenched her unprotected body. Belit admired the watery streams running down her pale hide.

"Let's ask her again," she said. "Are you the Empresses' ambassador to the Gorgon Islands?"

Larissa sputtered. "There's no such place. It's a myth."

Belit looked at Aurora. "A captain of a truly feared pirate crew must be ruthless. You agree?"

Aurora had gone pale. She was a rich girl, unused to being in the sun, so it was hard to tell, but Belit noticed anyway. Still, Aurora nodded. "Buckets!" she said, and Belit stepped back as the ambassador got another drenching and screamed at the shock of the icy water.

Belit got close enough to lick a few drops from the bound woman's bare skin, then spat it out. The women were quick to refill. Bucket work always went to Rusila and Stikla. If Belit let them, they'd water a prisoner to death.

"Women have frozen in these seas in less than a minute," Belit told Larissa. "You're tough, but I wouldn't give you longer than five. I'll ask you one more time: Is the Empress sending you to the Gorgon Islands?"

Larissa couldn't speak for her chattering teeth, but she shook her head. Belit sighed and looked at Aurora. The debutante squirmed. "What if she's telling the truth?" Aurora said.

"She's not," said Belit. "Give the order."

Aurora hung her head a little, and this time she couldn't bring herself to shout the word. But she still said: "Buckets."

The icy water was sloshing in the pails when Larissa finally spoke up. "Stop! All right. I'm...going to the Gorgon Islands."

Belit put up a finger. With obvious reluctance, the two women stood down.

"That's better," she said. "Next question: I've heard that the Gorgon Islanders have more gold than anyone in the world. Is it true?"

Larissa nodded.

"I've heard that they have so much that they'll give it away by the tun-full to anyone who asks. True again?"

Another nod. Belit got very close.

"Then I'll make you a deal: Give us a heading to those islands, and not only will I let you go, you'll even get a full share of the take when this is all over. That's generous, isn't it?"

Larissa hung her head, her hair still dripping with icy seawater. Eventually, she nodded.

"Untie our guest," said Belit. "Take her to warm up by the galley fire. And if it looks like she's dying anyway, come get me. You'll watch her," she said to Achillia. The big bosun nodded.

Then Belit turned to the other hands who had gathered to watch the show.

"So now you know: We're going to the Gorgon Islands. No more raiding, no more looting, no more outrunning navy ship and bounties. We're going to where there's more gold than the all of us could spend in a lifetime. ...well? Cheer for your captain!"

The cheer, when it came, sounded sincere enough. There had been doubts, Belit knew, about whether she could deliver on the promises she'd made at the beginning of this voyage, that the mark was really as big as she'd claimed. The women had thought they were doing nothing more than a kidnapping for ransom, and she knew that most of them doubted she could bring in enough gold to fulfill all of her promises to them.

But she didn't care. She'd seen her own future years ago, saw herself in a place with more gold than an entire kingdom could spend. It was her destiny. Now, at last, she knew where that destiny lay.

Achillia wrapped Larissa in several wool blankets, and the big woman even cradled her against her own body to share heat as she helped her walk to the galley. Through blue lips Larissa said: "I'll take you there, but it won't do any good. You'll die before you get a scrap of gold away from that place."

"I know how I'm going to die," Belit said. "This isn't it. If you don't expire of cold, I'll have them fix you up a bunk in the forecastle. Unless you'd rather share my cabin?"

Despite her state, Larissa spat at her. Belit smirked. Then she put an arm around Aurora's shoulder.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" she said.

Aurora was still pale, but shook her head as enthusiastically as she could. "Not bad at all. I only wish we'd been even more ruthless with her. If we go soft on our enemies, how will the crew ever fear us enough?"

"That's the spirit. But between you and me: You were scared, weren't you?"

Aurora hesitated. Belit whispered:

"It's all right. Even a great captain gets scared from time to time. Especially when she's just starting out. You'll soon learn how to manage it."

"How do you manage?"

"I'm glad you asked, love. Once the good ambassador gives us our heading, I'll let you in on the greatest secret of my success."

***

III: The Monsters

"The heading is true," said Enyo. "We are going to the Gorgon Islands. That much I can see."

The three of them—Belit, Aurora, and Enyo—sat in a tight circle around a table with no legs that sat right on the floor. On it lay the clean white bones of a bird. The rocking of the ship from side to side threatened to upset them, but they stayed in place nevertheless.

Enyo was the only member of the crew besides Belit with a cabin of her own, and although it was spacious it looked smaller than it was because of the many things she kept here, the shelves and drawers and altars, the endless mess of unidentifiable tools hanging from the ceiling, the necessary claustrophobia for all of her workings.

Enyo was an old woman, and she never helped with any of the fighting or sailing or work on the ship, but she took a full share of the crew's winnings all the same. Nobody ever complained. The women knew better than to cross her her.

Blue tattoos obscured the lines of age on Enyo's face. She had a quick mind and a fierce temper, and Belit trusted the old woman's fortune telling above anything, never acting without consulting her first. It was Enyo who had confirmed Lee's story about where and when they'd find Larissa, for example.

Now, with withered but strong hands, she threw the bones again, reading portents of the future in their landings. A single yellow candle illuminated the scene. A day and a night had passed, and Belit wanted to be sure that Larissa wasn't leading them the wrong way or into some trap, and so she'd come to consult the old seer, bringing Aurora with her.

"Is that really the secret: fortune telling?" Aurora said, peering at the bones with what looked like skepticism. Unlike mermaids and Men, her grandmothers hadn't had any stories about such things.

"Not a secret, exactly," said Belit. "A tool. Like a sword, or a ship, or a compass—only as good as the person using it, but all part of the necessaries of a successful voyage."

"If she can see so much, why couldn't she just tell us where the Gorgon Islands were herself, then?" said Aurora.

"I know only what my goddesses know, and what they choose to tell me," Enyo said, her jaundiced eyes still picking over the bones.

"I thought the goddesses knew everything?" said Aurora.

"Envoy's goddesses are different from ours," said Belit. "But she's never wrong. When we met first, she showed me my own future. Not just told me, but showed me, by having me breathe the scent of the sacred flowers on her home island. I saw myself as I am today, with this ship and this crew, and more treasure than anyone in the world."

"Did she show you anything else?"

"My death," said Belit. Aurora started. "But not when or how it would happen. Only enough so that I'll recognize it when the time comes. But until that day, I know I'm invincible."

Sitting back from the table, Aurora cocked her head in thought. "So what are the Gorgon Islands?" she said. "What's so important about them?"

"Didn't your grandmothers ever tell you stories about the secret island of gold, where no mortal woman dares tread?"

"I guess so. I mean, there are a lot of stories like that. You mean they're—"

"True, yes," said Belit. "Or at least, true enough. Not in every detail, I'm sure, but the one that counts—the gold—that part is. Why else would anyone bother to talk about it?"

"Why are they called Gorgon Islands? What's a gorgon anyway? Where does the gold come from? Why do they never run out? Why doesn't anyone know where they are? Why—?"

"I have no idea," Belit said. "But we're going to find out. Exciting, isn't it?"

"Yes," said Enyo, "you'll find the island. And the treasure." She pointed to the tiny, fragile skull of a sparrow that had landed in a way that created a long, triangular shadow on the board. "You'll find something else too. Something terrible."

"Death?" whispered Aurora.

"Worse," said Enyo.

"There's nothing worse than death," said Belit.

Enyo gave her a look of contempt, the kind of look most people reserved for children. "Death is coming now," the old woman said. "Even as we speak, it parts the waters and aims straight for our stern. From the north..."

And then there was commotion on deck. Before anyone could stand or even turn, Morgan burst in, wide-eyed and panting. "Sails!" she said. "A royal warship, captain! They're coming straight for us, and damn me if I think we can outrun them."

Finally, Belit thought.

She stood and stretched like a cat. "No need to worry," she said. "This ship is here because I invited it."

"You did?" said Morgan and Aurora at once.

Belit winked. "Run up a flag of truce, Morgan. Aurora, come with me. It's time for your most important lesson yet."

By now they'd reached warmer waters and bluer skies, and the sea was a foaming white and blue mass in every direction. The royal ship was a small thing, not much bigger than the Queen of the Black Coast, and fast, cutting a wickedly smooth course through the waters. Belit admired it.

The other ship answered their flag with its own, and in a few minutes a small boat bobbed in the water, ferrying four women in red and gold uniforms. The tall one with the honey-colored hair had the most medals, so must be in charge.

Morgan helped them aboard. Every hand on the Queen stood at the ready, tense as a cat, fingers lingering on sword hilts. Only Belit relaxed, slouching and grinning, answering any questioning looks from the crew with a nod or a wink. Achillia stood at her side (tall enough to provide decent shade from the noon sun), ready to fight the entire royal navy if the captain gave the word. But there was no need.

The tall woman introduced herself: Valeria, captain of the Alexandra.

"A pretty name for a ship," said Belit. "And a pretty captain for her, too. Settle down, ladies; Captain Valeria is here as our friend. Your garrison got my message?"

"We did," said Valeria. She seemed to have a habit of looking always straight ahead at the horizon when she talked. Belit realized it was because she didn't want to look any of the Queen's crew in the face.

"So you're here with the ransom, then." said Belit.

Aurora looked up. "Are we ransoming Larissa?"

"No, dear, we're ransoming you."

The debutante nearly fell—even after all this time she was still adjusting to the motion of the ship, and any distraction tended to send her reeling. This one was almost enough to plant her face first into the deck.

"Well what did you expect?" Belit said, hauling the girl up by her collar. "This crew doesn't work for free. Your pretty price will tide the ladies over until we reach wealthier shores."

"But...you said you'd take me with you," Aurora said. "You were going to teach me."

"And I did take you along, and I did teach you," said Belit. "I never promised for how long. And here's your most important lesson of all:

"Every woman for herself."

Aurora looked like she was going to cry. Instead she reared back to slap Belit in the face; it wouldn't have hurt much even if it landed, but Achillia caught her hand halfway and hauled her up by her arms, so that the teenager was left squirming like a fish on a line. All she could do was twist and glare.

Belit turned back to Valeria. "Now, you see she's unharmed, hard feelings aside. Hand over the silver and she's yours."

Valeria shook her head in a very precise way: Once to the left, once to the right, then back to center.

"No silver," she said.

"Now wait a minute," said Belit. "This girls' mother is a royal governess."

"So she is," said Valeria. The sun glinting off her decorations was almost blinding. "And the governess has plenty of silver. But none she'll give to the likes of you. Your ransom is your lives; let Aurora go, or we'll take her from you."

The sound of two dozen swords leaving sheathes rang across the deck. Belit stopped it with a raised finger.

"You can't start a fight while she's onboard," she said. "Even if you win, we'd kill her before giving her up."

"You whore—!" Aurora said, but that's as far as she got before Achillia slapped a hand over her mouth (and half of her face).

"So you would," said Valeria, sliding a hand to her own sword. The salty air seemed to stand still, as if it too were waiting to see what happened. "But you'll get not a penny if you keep her, and we'll chase you to the edge of the seas as long as she's still aboard. If you ever want to be rid of me or the Alexandra, give us the girl now. That's your only option."

Nobody said anything at first. Faintly, one woman whistled.

"So," Belit said after a moment. "We're at an impasse." Another pause. "Except that we're not." She drew her own sword. "'Death from the north,' that's what Enyo said. Whose do you think she was talking about: yours or mine?"

Valeria didn't say anything. She looked so still that the wind seemed hardly to stir the hairs on her head. Belit sneered.

"I know how I'm going to die. This isn't it. So it's your choice: get back to your fancy ship, or—"

She stopped. She frowned. Something was wrong. She looked toward the Alexandra, and then toward the direction of the sun.

"You approached from the east."

"So we did," said Valeria.

"Death from the north...then what—"

And that was as far as she got before the sea erupted.

It may have been instinct that told Belit to hold on at that moment. She would have called it destiny. In any case, an instant after she grabbed the womanrope, the waters at the ship's stern exploded, and the Queen of the Black Coast lurched and hurled, her masts tipping from side to side as the sky seemed to roll and spin overhead.

The motion sent a few women over to embrace the sea. They, it soon turned out, were the lucky ones. A shadow fell over the deck even as it rocked and swayed; those women who recovered from the sudden wave first and looked up screamed, fell down again, tried to run—some even began to pray.

The sea serpent's neck was taller than the main sail, and its mouth wide enough to swallow the ship's prow. Each of the scales on its curved neck glistened like tiny blue-green emeralds of the sea, and a rainbow of sea spray streamed from its open jaws.

Its shadow seemed to rob every woman of her will; even Achillia could only stand and stare, poised for a fight but unable to move when the monsters eyes fell on her. In all her years on the sea, Belit had seen such a monster only once before, and that was distantly, and in a fog. They rarely came to the surface—but when they did, it meant only one thing for whatever ship was unlucky enough to be in their path:

Death.

The monster's jaws lanced toward the deck, and the spell of the awful moment broke as the women sprang into action. But before anyone could do anything, the creature caught three women in a single bite, crushing their screams with a snap of its awful jaws.

Everyone else leapt forward, swords in hand, bringing a dozen strong blades down on the monsters's neck for the instant that it was in striking distance. The air rang with the sound of good steel breaking against a hide as hard as diamonds.

Captain Valeria aimed a blow strong enough to cleave a yardarm between the creature's hateful yellow eyes, but all she managed to do was bend her blade. The monster's snaky neck writhed, while somewhere behind and underneath, its massive body heaved, threatening to capsize the Queen.

Belit pictured every woman onboard suspended in the ocean's blue abyss, sinking for a few seconds before the monster snapped them all up in one or two passes...

She clung to the womanrope, mind racing. They couldn't fight the monster, it seemed. And, distracted by the parlay, they'd let it sneak up on them, so there was no hope to outrun it. They could retreat below deck, but that might only tempt the beast to crush or capsize the whole ship, something she didn't doubt it was capable of.

Leaping overboard and making a break for it seemed her most prudent option—but that would mean abandoning the Queen of the Black Coast, leaving the crew behind to occupy the monster while she escaped, and then finding herself floating in open water with barely a prayer of rescue.

Belit had one other idea. It was neither better nor worse than her competing notions; its sole merit was that it was an alternative to every other idea she'd deemed unacceptable so far.