The Sea Our Empire
Frustrated young pirate asks a cat for career advice.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this. They said it would be different," she said.
"Better," she said. The black cat sitting next to her on the ship's railing yawned and started cleaning himself. The crew called him Rat King, for obvious reasons.
"When Shiv and Windy tossed me that piece of bread, still warm, at the market they were like, you're quick on your feet. Good reflexes. They were like, we could use someone like you. I really wanted to be useful for once," she said.
"And the captain," she said.
"He was like, we've got more than enough muscle with gruel for brains. He even got me a stack of waterlogged books to read, to further my education. Can you imagine? I had to pry the pages apart real careful or they'd rip. He was like, challenge your brains and your dexterity. Made me practice my writing too," she said.
"For forging permits and such," she said.
"All I do is sneak around and pick locks though," she said gloomily and bit off another piece of dried fish she'd nicked from the kitchens.
"Like, when's that grand reading and forging documents going to take place? We haven't even stopped in any proper imperial ports," she said, chewing furiously.
"He was like, follow me and you'll be rich! Under the black flag we sail, the sea shall be our empire and all that rubbish. Haven't seen a single imperial gold coin in all my time on this damned ship," she said.
There was a silence. She listened for footsteps but it was only the usual creaking and moaning of the ship at dawn, the flapping of the pirate flag overhead.
"I want it so much. A better life, you know," she whispered into the salty breeze.
Rat King the cat opened his mouth and said: "For fuck's sake, you've been here three months! What do you expect? Keep at it. You gotta give it everything you have, bleed for it, until you see results."
"For how long?"
He snarled and sauntered away, tail raised high into the air like the black flag.