My Story Part 3 {Slyth Brandy}

*Chews chocolate bunny, eyes widening with every bite from extended hyperness* Ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, ok! Haha, I just wasted 10 minutes of your life! Or five, depending on how fast you read or how much chocolate you've had! Ha ha! Ha ha! Ha ha! Teehee! "Why are there so many colors? What are you trying to tell me?" ~ from youtube's How to be Emo

Back to the story...*breath* Where was I? *deep in thought* Aha! Will and Charity left to find the captain of the attacking ship, Sky Strike {captained by Slyth Brandy, for the forgetful ones out there} and left Bonnie to defend their own ship, Golden Dawn, with the rest of the crew. Since there's two sides of every story, let's take turns. Shall we? *Nod* Let's!




Captains Will Robin and Charity Kidd struggled to climb the now wet rope up the side of Sky Strike. Charity led the way, her small frame suggesting she was weak. Such an appearance was misleading. Her arms {though small they were} pulled her up the rope, ever quickened by the fear of being caught. Will thrashed below her, trying to use his feet to his advantage by entwining them in the rope and pushing up. Slowly, painfully, they made their way to the railing. Charity peeked over the edge and scanned the deck. Most of the crew were fighting on the other ship. She immediately thought of Bonnie and hoped she was alright. She pushed these thoughts aside and signaled Will to join her as she hopped over the rail.

Both Captains gasped at the size and grandeur of the ship. It must have been made of the glossiest, grandest, strongest wood they had ever seen. It shined and glistened, for it was wet with sea spray, making the golden tinged throughout the wood glitter. The red sails far above them rustled in the wind, casting brief shade over them as it passed under the sun. The railings were painted red with hints of gold. Will gazed across the vast, endless planks that made the upper decks of this wonderfully terrible ship. Somehow, in spite of the welcoming sight of timber and wood, the sights he had seen all his life, he felt that something was wrong. Something wasn't as it should be. Charity seemed to sense that too. Suddenly they both realized someone was watching them. Eyes wide and breaths held, they turned around.

Bonnie quickly looked around and joined in the brawl of the clashing crews. She singled out two mischievous pirates slyly sneaking toward the wheel. She drew her sword and headed after them. One was tall with light hair and a slight limp. The other was a bit shorter, a lot slower, and looked like he was missing an eye. They reached the wheel, cut the rope tying it down, and turned it around. Everyone on the deck fell or lost their balance. Bonnie grabbed a rail in the nick of time as the ship jolted. The pirates laughed. She gritted her teeth and headed toward them. They saw her coming and looked at each other.

Sword held ready, she asked, "And what do you think you're doing with my ship?" Then they both grinned. Their smiles were the most dentally inept she had ever seen. The taller one had several golden teeth. The other had hardly any at all, and the ones he did have were yellow. The tall one drew his long, curved knife. It had numerous notches in its blade, one for every person killed. He licked its edge, a wicked grin on his face. The other kept his hands on the wheel, making it turn and twist rapidly, sending everyone sprawling.

Bonnie stared at her opponent who began to come toward her. He lashed out at her. She blocked his blow and tried to hit his limping leg. He stepped back and connected two hits that she barely managed to stop. She ducked as the cruel knife sliced through the air above her and he let out an evil chuckle. She dodged around him and managed to stab his leg. He howled with rage and pain. His movements grew quicker as he seemed to dance around her. For a while they continued blocking and stabbing, a few strikes cutting each other but nothing serious or fatal. He swiped his blade at her face again and she turned her head so that his blade just slightly nicked her cheek. Five minutes later they were both bleeding and bruised. She hit his hand with her sword then turned and stomped on his foot. He bent over in pain and she drove her sword into his shoulder. He yelled and turned on her, somehow in the process managing to knock her weapon out of her hand. His partner in crime shook the ship again and she fell onto the deck. He grinned and raised his knife above his head.

Charity gasped. Two men were standing there, their weapons raised. One pointed his pistol at her and put his finger on the trigger.
"Captain!" said Will. The man stopped, lowered the weapon a fraction of an inch, and looked at him. "We need to see the Captain." The man shook his head and raised his pistol. Charity wasn't breathing. She was frightened. "Parley!" Will exclaimed. The man sighed, rolled his eyes, and tucked his pistol into his belt. The men grabbed the captains and led them to the quarters of Slyth Brandy. Charity had read about him. He was merciless. His men obeyed him out of fear and not respect. He was said to have killed his own men just to give a demonstration of what would happen to all those who slacked at their duties. Charity didn't know how much of this was true but she was both disgusted at the latter description and afraid. The pirates said nothing and the captains stayed silent, only communicating with confused looks. The pirates stopped in front of an oak door and Charity and Will hesitatingly entered.


The room was not lighted well. Only a few candles flickered on the walls, and even they cast very little light on the wooden walls, as if they were afraid of the infamous pirate as much as Charity was. The only things she could see in the dark room gave her little encouragement. A few different shrunken heads hung from various different strings and ropes. Bones decorated a table on which a lamp stood, made of bamboo and some animal skin with a gas lamp inside. Dirt and a thick red fluid stained the floor that would have been gorgeous. The whole room reeked like dead fish. She looked to her side, almost expecting a corpse to be hanging next to her. There wasn't. There was only an old sea chest, probably holding something valuable. All these things were eerie in themselves, but one thing sent shivers up and down Charity's spine; the Captain himself.

Slyth Brandy was a strange man. He was tall, strong, dark, and haunting. He wore dark clothes with traces of red, clothes that had many ruffles and buttons. His mouth was set in a hard line. His boots were crusted with mud. His jacket was thick and worn. His skin was dark yet smooth. But the most intriguing feature about him was his dark, mysterious eyes. They were expressionless holes in his face. They were hard yet wise. Taunting yet longing. Charity's curiosity twitched and her mind began racing, trying to remember everything she had ever read about him. He interrupted her thoughts with his deep voice.

"What are you doing on my ship?" he asked. Will stepped forward.

"What do you want?" Will asked, "You've separated yourself from your group, attacked without good reason, and we've no loot aboard at all."

"And what would you say is a good reason for attacking?" he said, his eyes gleaming from the dancing flames of a candle near him. Will said nothing. "How about to take back what is mine?"

"What do we have of yours?" Charity asked, her soft voice sounding panicked. She cleared her throat, just in case her fear could be disposed of as easily as her trembling.
He stood up from the chair he had been sitting in and walked over to a map mounted on the wall.

"I believe you recently acquired a stone of mine, a certain emerald." He turned to look at them just as they exchanged glances. "So you know the one?" he continued, "I would like it back."

Will narrowed his eyes. Charity frowned and said, "What's so valuable about this stone? I don't recall it being yours. I thought it was Chung Pea's."

"Chung Pea stole it from me! It was mine to begin with!" he said, anger rising as he took two steps toward Charity so that they were face-to-face. He drew his knife and held it to her throat.
"If it were not for the terms of parley, you would not make it off this ship alive, I would take my gem, and your ship would burn to the bottom of the ocean." Charity scarcely dared to breathe.

"Put the knife down," said Will. Slyth turned to look at him.

"Or what? You'll rob me of everything I have left? All I want is one stone. Give it to me or suffer the consequences." Will briefly glanced out the window where the ships were battling. A movement had caught his eye. He turned to Slyth with a confident air.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Will said. Slyth looked at him.

"And why not?"

"Because then you would have to face the rage of the captains of the Golden Dawn, a wrath unknown to anyone still living." Charity looked at him in, wondering if the stench had gotten to his head. Will continued, still confident and smug, "Lower your weapon now or your ship will be burned to a crisp and lost forever." Slyth's face twisted.

"You're bluffing," he said. Will shook his head. Slyth held the knife higher and closer to Charity's neck.

"You've left me no choice!" said Will, and he ran out of the room, followed slowly by Slyth leading Charity, still at the knife's point. Outside, high up in the sky, was something no one in that age had ever seen before, something terrifying and wonderful all at the same time.

Bonnie rolled over, barely dodging the pirate's blade. It stuck in the wood next to her and she kicked the pirate's hand as he tried to pull it out. She leapt up as he pulled out his pistol and held it an inch away from her forehead.
"Not fair," she said. Just then every man {and woman} on both ships stopped what they were doing and looked into the dark, foreboding skies. The pirate's arm lowered and everyone's jaws dropped. All weapons fell from the pirates, and every person on board craned their neck to look upward. A great beast was flying in the sky. It appeared to be a snake with bat wings and four legs, like a horse, but it was so huge and so black and so different that suddenly the whole deck erupted in motion. Many people jumped overboard, some continued fighting, and the few weak pirates on the ship hurled over the side before following their lunch over the edge. The pirates at the wheel both fainted {or died, she didn't care to check}. Bonnie simply stared at it. It's neck was long and its body was covered in black scales. Its head swiveled around, looking at everyone below it. It swooped down over the deck and up again, but when it came close she saw to eyes like full moons staring down at her. The tail it had was long yet graceful and it made great sweeping sounds in the air. It had terrible claws and sharp, white teeth.

Bonnie stared harder at this great creature. ...Was that ... a person on its back? Yes, there was a cloaked figure sitting on its back. As it once again swooped down she got a closer look. The figure turned this way and that, as if confused, then seemed to see something on the Sky Strike. She followed his gaze, trying to see beyond the rushing, panicking pirates and crew members. Will and Charity! They had just appeared on the other deck. She rushed to the rail, calling and waving, but they didn't hear her over the clamor. Will waved to the figure. Bonnie frowned. Then the creature's passenger nodded and the beast swooped over the deck, picking up someone who had been standing behind Charity. The creature took him very far up in the sky then dropped him from an alarming height into the sea, letting out a tremendous roar. The two captains then jumped into the sea. Bonnie looked around. She found a rope and tossed it to them, trying to keep an eye on the circling creature above. As she waited for them to board, she watched as the creature seemed to breathe over Sky Strike and it burst into flame!

Her eyes followed this creature as it continued to circle the ship, breathing its fire on every visible part of the ship. She put a hand to her mouth. Suddenly someone embraced her. She turned and Charity cocked her head.
"Are you...crying?" Bonnie shook her head. Charity's eyes widened and she said, "No, no, you don't need to be worried. I'm fine. I'm not hurt. Really, I'm all right. See?"

"It's not that," said Bonnie, pausing and trying not to cry, "That was such a nice ship!" Charity stared at her for a moment. Bonnie stared back. Then they both began laughing and giggling, hugging and dancing around. Will watched them, his eyebrows raised.

"I never will understand you," he said to them.
"Thank goodness for that!" exclaimed Bonnie. As the girls began talking, he looked to the figure in the sky.

"May I land?" said a voice in his head which he knew belonged to the figure.

"You have my permission," he replied, simply thinking that and knowing the figure would hear it in his head. The girls and the crew stopped talking and everyone moved away from the middle of the deck as the beast flew over the spot. Bonnie held her hand up to her eyes. It landed gracefully and somehow it was lighter than it looked, for the Golden Dawn only rocked a bit, creating gentle waves. Everyone that wasn't part of the crew jumped over board both from fear of being discovered and fear of ... whatever that thing was. Bonnie walked up to Will, eyes still on the creature.

"Will? What is that?" she asked slowly. He turned to look at her as Charity joined them.

"That," he said, pausing for dramatic effect, in which the beast gave a roar like thunder, "Is a dragon."

~ Captain Bonnie Spinner {Part 4 coming...EVENTUALLY...}

Read Render's blog, "Court of Riders Ch.1"
Click HERE
Oh, and while you're there, read the next section, "The Finding of an Old Friend.Ch.2"