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I wandered around for who knows how long. Never-ending night plagued the ship. Only a full moon overhead and flickering candles illuminated the deck.
It was pointless. Every plan I thought of ended with me getting caught. If Black Bart terrified Calico Jack enough to keep from stealing from him, I didn’t want to know why.
“Miss! Care to join us in a game of dice?” A scruffy, thin man with a bent neck offered me a cup.
I blinked. When had I stumbled into the gambling den? A collection of tables and mismatched seats brimmed with pirates of all shapes and sizes. The rattle of dice against tin cups drowned out the clink of coins and shuffling of cards.
“I don’t know how to play.” I made to shove past him.
“I can teach you how to play, love.” A cool voice stopped me.
I rolled my eyes, annoyed at this distraction. I turned around to tell this new guy off, but the words died in my throat at the sight of the large black hat with a red feather sticking out over the brim. Black Bart.
He wore the clothes of a king. A beautiful diamond-incrusted golden cross hung around his neck on a chain so long it reached the crimson waistcoat riddled with bullet holes. My mouth went dry as I took the tin cup from Black Bart and slid into the seat next to him.
“What is your name, love?” Black Bart’s smile was surprisingly charming.
“Mari,” I answered, “Mari Bell.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mari. I’m Captain Roberts, but you can call me Bartholomew.” He gestured around the table to three other pirates. “And these nasty fellows are Sam Bellamy, Edward Low, and Benjamin Hornigold. I’d keep an eye on Low. He cheats.”
“I do not!” Protested the man across from me with beady eyes. “At least not after the last time I got caught and hung from the mast.”
I looked up to where the flags flapped above. They really hung him there just for cheating at a game of dice?
“Are we gonna play or what?” Sam asked. His long sleeves dripped water on the table.
“Patience, patience, my friend.” Bartholomew smiled at me. “First I need to explain to Mari how the game works.”
And so he did, or at least he tried. I kept getting distracted by the dimple in his cheek, and the small scars that flecked his face like freckles. Calico Jack just had to make me steal from the best-looking pirate on this ship.
“You ready?” he asked. I nodded, but he must have seen the lost look in my eyes. “Don’t worry, the first part is easy. You’ve just got to put money in the hat.”
“Oh!” My face burned. “I don’t have any money.”
“It doesn’t have to be strictly money,” Sam said. “It can be jewelry, weapons, any sort of goods really.”
I twisted the class ring on my finger. “All I have is one ring.”
“That’s perfect! You put in a ring and I’ll put in a ring.” Bartholomew slipped a silver ring from his finger. “I won this from Calico Jack a fortnight ago.
“Oh, well, thanks!” I tore my eyes from Calico’s ring. “I owe you.”
The game started as the five of us shook five dice in our cups and then rolled them onto the table without showing our hand.
“No need, love,” Bartholomew said as we all placed bets on the dice. “I’m the richest pirate on this ship.” Hornigold coughed. “Well, second richest. But Ching Shih isn’t one to flaunt her money.”
Bartholomew called crazy bet after crazy bet, and won them all. Edward Low cussed up a storm as he threw away his last dice. My chance at winning the ring back, or stealing it, decreased every minute.
“How did you become so rich?” I asked Bartholomew, hoping to distract him.
“Plunder, love,” He answered. “I sacked every ship I came across, and I left nothing of worth behind.”
“He was reckless!” Sam yelled.
“I think it sounds brave.” I smiled at Bartholomew.
He leaned closer to me. “It’s all about calculated risks, love.”
Something in his words pulled at me. The next time we showed our dice to count the numbers I watched his hand closely. When he pulled the cup to show his dice, the lip flipped the dice to the numbers he bet on.
“You’re cheating!” Bartholomew’s warm brown eyes widened at my shout. “You flipped the dice with your cup!”
“No, I’m not!” Bartholomew protested, “You guys know me. I would never!”
But the other pirates’faces glowed red.
“I always knew you were a dirty cheater!” Sam yelled, drawing the attention of the other tables. I jumped up to avoid the chair that came flying for Captain Roberts.
Chaos broke loose. Fists and accusations flew through the air. I ran a couple steps away before I remembered the ring.
I sprinted back to the table, dodging fists and bottles, and snatched the ring from where it rested on the pile of treasure. I held my breath, waiting for someone to notice what I had done, but they were too busy fighting.
I allowed myself a smile as I ran from the table… right into a body with no head.
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