{"sf1_id":684435,"sf2_id":"7ejYxXr1","title":"Ode to the Pirate Queen Jezebel","author":"skynero19","words":861,"posted_at":"2014-03-25T16:48:00.000Z","tags":["Adventure","Canine","Death","Feline","Flash Fiction","Fur the 'More","Kidnapping","pirates","writing"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/684435-ode-to-the-pirate-queen-jezebel","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/7ejYxXr1","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/54/fa/54faca6c-6fd9-4a9d-a46a-2d231bbb436c","description":"At Fur the 'More, there was a Flash Fiction (\u003c1,000 words) contest. This was my entry, though I'm not sure if it actually got submitted... I know I didn't win, and wasn't expecting to, (I don't write well on the fly yet,) so in that sense it makes sense I didn't get a reply to my submission e-mail, but I also never got an answer to the question of whether the contest was \"closed\" or whether I could share my entry publicly. So I hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes by posting this, but as I see it, either they got my e-mail and didn't feel like answering (i.e. don't care), or they didn't receive my e-mail and thus never had claim to this in the first place.859 wordsAll comments welcome!","content":"She lived by the sea and never knew  \nWhat a fateful day might bring  \nBut twenty years past she first met the crew  \nOf the buccaneer ship _Daring_.\n\nHer house, ransacked, herself, besnatched  \nWhile her parents were out for the day  \nShe soon beheld a flag black as her fur  \nAnd the _Daring_took her away.\n\nCaptain Ruthless, a haggard greybeard wolfdog, sent a ransom to her family that would forever go unanswered from a father who would have paid the asking to return a son but not a daughter.\u0026nbsp; So the kitten remained, tied to a post in the brig, slowly losing hope she would ever see her seaside home again, but not her wit or her fight, with freedom her goal.\n\nThe seas of Tallerund were not kind,  \nAs the _Daring_ well knew,  \nAnd less than a week asea from their raid  \nThe ominous winds again blew.\n\nThe seas were rough from the onset,  \nLashing portside, slamming aft  \nAnd the _Daring_moaned under the onslaught  \nUntil she started to crack.\n\nThe support in the brig broke apart, freeing the young black cat from her post.\u0026nbsp; The storm continued to worsen, and fearing the angry swells more than the thugs around her, the future Queen joined them on deck in the gale and downpour; with a fierceness only known to angry she-cats, she helped the men and boys keep the _Daring_ afloat through the ordeal.\n\nThere is a camaraderie that grows from surviving a storm,  \nAnd the crew saw in her  \nThe potential for a place on board the _Daring_  \nFor a new cabin girl.\n\nThough the idea of becoming a pirate held little appeal to her, she recognized she was stuck with them until the next landfall at earliest, and took to her job with gusto.\u0026nbsp; She quickly earned the respect of almost everyone on board.\u0026nbsp; A few would often spout lewd jousts her way or steal a bad touch; one cornered her in the bilge once - and the next day apparently swallowed a knife.\n\nAll knew the sea-toughened cat was a true pirate  \nFrom that point on  \nAnd though none outwardly sent her more cat-calls  \nDifferent thoughts consumed one young John.\n\nThe Golden Lab went by \"Jesse the Free\"  \nAnd scared himself by falling for the feline.  \nHe needn't have feared so, as one night in the crow's nest  \nShowed him her feelings were in line.\n\nThe _Daring_ sailed for years, pillaging and plundering, until they finally picked the wrong seaport town.\u0026nbsp; Jesse and his girl were separated as the townspeople fought back valiantly, and when the black cat retreated back on deck, her Lab was not part of the half of the crew that successfully returned.\u0026nbsp; Nor was the first mate, a position Captain Ruthless then gave to her.\n\nThe _Daring_ raced 'round the island with the wind,  \nHoping to make a rescue  \nAs survival was at stake; certain execution  \nAwaited the captured crew.\n\nThey made it to the island capital's prison  \nLate by hours few,  \nAnd in the ensuing fight with the law  \nRuthless fell for the rest of his crew.\n\nAs the _Daring_fled, her new captain was hailed Jezebel, and the cat had them set sail to the nearest port of ill repute.\u0026nbsp; It was her crew now, and the hardened feline vowed to protect them, and not just that - make them to most feared crew of the Tallerund.\u0026nbsp; Before those lofty goals were to be realized, of course, she needed supplies and new men.\u0026nbsp; To replace Ruthless.\u0026nbsp; To replace Jesse.\n\nThus the reign of the Pirate Queen began.  \nThe _Daring_ feared none,  \nBe it merchants or navy or other lawless ships -  \nshe set them all to run.\n\nFor years the Queen gathered treasure, fought the law, and grew her own lore despite her youth.\u0026nbsp; She even took satisfaction when she started seeing ships she conquered start having female captains as well - all saw her success and tried to emulate, of both sides of the law.\u0026nbsp; A lady at war was a force to be reckoned with.\u0026nbsp; But as with the reign of any monarch, it would have to come to a close.\n\nIt began with a typical landward jaunt  \nTo a small, nameless town:  \nShe passed some stranger walking the street  \nAnd felt something fall down.\n\nShe fell in love with that landlubber lad  \nAnd took the time to so say,  \nThen with her crew whisked back out to sea  \nWith a promise to return one day.\n\nTwice a year they came, the cat finding the nameless town pleasant for more reasons than one, being safe as well as providing good company.\u0026nbsp; Her edge on sea slipped, though, each raid was more of a chore and her crew started getting hurt.\u0026nbsp; It was not a raid that got her into real trouble, though; in a coincidence of fate, a Tellerund storm sank the _Daring_.\n\nSo ended the years of the Pirate Queen  \nHer tale tall but true  \nI've sadly no time for **each** raid and plunder,  \nMuch they may be o'interest to you\n\nIf you want more stories  \nJust ask her for tea.  \nBut watch your pockets -  \nshe has children three.\n\n  \n  \n\n"}