Just then, two men’s arms hooked through her own, swiftly picked her up into the air until her feet left the ground and carried her out of the cell and into the bright sunlight. The two pirates dropped her on the deck and remained at her side. She looked up and saw about two dozen other men surrounding her, jeering and taunting. They quieted down and parted way when they heard the slow clank-clank of metal soles making their way towards the crowd.

“Well well well, what do we have here. The princess be finally awake.” As if given an inaudible command, the crew let out a simultaneous roar of laughter. The Captain towered over the rest of the crew, and his obnoxiously large pirate's hat added to his height. His face was tanned and weathered from the harsh sun, and his dark eyes twinkled with mischief. His dreads appeared far too groomed to belong to a pirate. He cocked his head to the side, throwing a wheel of Gouda in the air. 

Jen glared angrily and used some choice words that her mother would not have been proud of.

“And she speaks! Pray be tellin’ what be your name, princess?”

“Jen,” she spoke with no regard to hide her contempt for the Captain. “And there’s no need to ask for your name, since you and your unsightly crew are well-known to be the most arrogant pirates of the seven seas.”

The Captain clapped his hands in delight. “Did ye hear that, Kyu?” He asked the pirate standing on Jen’s right. “We be the most famous pirates in all the land!”

Kyu smirked and turned to Jen, brushing his cheek ever so lightly on hers and whispering alluringly in her ear, “Does this fan fancy the first mate’s autograph, perchance?” The pirate on Jen’s left snorted, sending the crew into another wave of guffaws.

While the pirates were momentarily distracted, Jen seized the opportunity and in a fluid move, unsheathed the sword from the scabbard hanging from Kyu’s belt and daftly held it pointing towards the Captain. The crew’s laughter immediately transformed into shouts of protest and more swords were drawn. But the grin on the Captain’s face did not falter, nor did he make any move towards his sword.

“Ah, wanting a proper pirate’s duel? Methinks there’s more to princess Jen than meets the eye. Cabin boy!”

A tall, lanky boy with deer-like eyes shuffled forward from the crowd, taking a look behind him to peer curiously at Jen. The Captain grabbed the boy’s arm and steered him to face Jen. He casually wrapped his arm around the boy’s neck and pulled him closer.

He rested his chin down on the boy’s shoulder and spoke softly, “Cabin boy, who do you think is fit to duel princess here?”

The boy’s dark orbs widened as he bit his lips in thought. “Cap’n doesn’t expect me to duel, surely?” he spoke quietly. As angry as Jen was, she couldn’t help but to notice the cabin boy's unexpected innocence and softened her scowl at him.

“And why not?” the Captain straightened, unsheathed his own sword and handed it to the boy, promptly pushing him towards a bemused Jen.

Now was Jen’s turn to laugh. “All talk and no show, letting others fight in your place, just the kind of Captain the stories speak of.” She threw her sword on the ground, where it fell with a loud clang. Hands on her hips, she marched around the plainly relieved cabin boy and up to the Captain.

“But I’ve heard the older stories, as well, back in my village. The ones with another Captain. Of course, you know all about the Captain before you, don’t you?” Jen asked sweetly.

At this point, the Captain’s lighthearted attitude had transformed into an uncharacteristic look of fear, but he did not respond. Jen continued to tease, her smile widening.

“So tell me, Captain, how does it feel for one as impeccably inept as yourself to take the place of the painfully perfect Captain as your predecessor? Does it hurt?"

The Captain's gaze lowered to the ground, but his labored breathing gave away his agony of embarrassment. Jen stood on her tiptoes and with feigned innocence, pouted while giving her final blow. "Forever to lurk in the shadows of the former Captain’s legacy, you poor thing...” 

He became very still. He slowly looked up to Jen's face, his eyes large but unreadable, and then turned his face towards the crew.

"Take her back to the cell. I will decide this blabbermouth's fate next high tide mornin."

Later that night...

"Wake up, missus! We've hit land and it's time for you to go!"

The clatter of the metal bars' padlock being undone echoed through the small cell, and the light of a lantern washed over Jen. She peered through the door and saw a silhouette motioning for her. It was the boy with the deer eyes.  

Jen rubbed her eyes and got up warily to follow the boy. "Why are you helping me escape? Aren't you afraid you'll get in trouble?"

The boy scampered up the flight of stairs with Jen close behind him. He turned back to reply once they were on the moonlit deck. 

"These are Captain's orders, missus," he replied cheerily. 

The stunned look on Jen's face made him momentarily stop on his tracks. "Ah," he hesitated, "I shouldn't 'ave told you that." He promptly turned back, pretending he never said anything but Jen caught a hold of his arms and wheeled him around.

"Just what is going on here?" 

"Orders were for me to help you escape, missus. You see," the boy wrung his hands nervously, "this is what Captain does. Kidnaps a villager, holds 'em on the ship for a bit, and then sends them packin' after we bribe them with cheese and a head full o' stories to gossip about back home. 'Course, it only has effect if the villager thinks he escaped without Captain knowin'. So uh, pretend I didn't say nothin', yeah?"

Jen looked at the boy incredulously. "But what about all those stories? The torturous pranks and games he plays with his captives?"

"Captain fancies you, I wager. Not too many people brave enough to shut him up as you done did, missus. Ta tell ya the truth, missus, Captain's not a bad man. Don't be fooled! He's just a lad pretendin' to be all tough." The boy looked around before leaning over to Jen's ear. "In fact, he's not all that older than meself!"

Just then a crash of a rum bottle from the captain's quarters filled the air, to be followed by loud off-key singing. The boy spoke quickly.

"Captain's been mopin' all night. You hurt him bad, missus. I've never seen him this beat up. You best be on your way before he has a change of heart." The boy glanced back at Jen one last time before running off to the crew's barracks. 

Jen's head still reeled with this new information, and her heart ached as she thought back to her last words to the Captain. She couldn't simply leave just yet. After a split-second's thought, she made her way toward's the noisy captain's quarters and peeked in. 

Inside, the Captain was sitting on the floor with his hat askew and his long legs stretched out in front of him. Empty rum bottles and cheese wheels littered the room around him. He took a swig before bellowing a self-composed song about a dead bird.

Gingerly, Jen stepped into the room. When the Captain noticed her presence, he hiccuped in surprise and stopped mid-chorus, glaring at her but making no effort to get up. Jen didn't think he had enough sobriety to stand, anyway. She walked up to him and knelt on the floor. The Captain huffed in annoyance and immediately spun away from her, hugging his knees to his chest.

"Come to tell me off? I ain't listenin' no more, so you can leave now," he slurred, his eyes fixated on a slice of Selles-sur-Cher next to his foot.

"I came to apologize," Jen sighed, "I shouldn't have said all those things before. I wish I had known the real Captain from the beginning."

The Captain glanced sideways at Jen, squinting at her suspiciously. "And who be the real Captain?"

Jen grinned, "Why, you, of course! The greatest pirate of the seven seas!"

"Well, of course. I knew that," the Captain puffed his cheeks, but Jen could see that the mischievous twinkle had returned to his eyes. He picked up the slice of cheese and a bottle and offered it to Jen.

"Yer quite alright for a landlubber, Jen."

"And you're quite alright for a pirate, Captain."