The King’s Cell

Captured by the King’s men, Black-Eye finds himself in a cell.

Black-Eye Blackburn woke to iron biting his wrists and the sour stink of a holding cell. His head throbbed, memories coming back in jagged pieces, boots in the mud, a blow from behind, the snap of a rifle butt. The King’s men had taken him alive, and that alone chilled him more than the chains.

A guardsman paced beyond the bars, lantern swinging. “Thought you pirates were harder to catch,” he sneered.

Black-Eye lifted his head slowly, one eye swollen shut. “You’ll learn,” he muttered.

Hours later, the cell door creaked open. Chief officer Ballantine stepped in, blade drawn, eyes full of promise. “You will pay for this,” he said, savoring the words. “For every ship you burned. Every coin you stole.”

Before Black-Eye could answer, the lantern went dark.

Chief Ballantine stiffened. A heartbeat later, steel flashed. He fell without a sound.

From the shadows emerged Captain Scarlett Redgrave, her redcoat muted with grime, followed by three crewmates with blades already wet. She knelt and cut Black-Eye’s chains herself.

“Told you not to get caught,” she said.

Black-Eye grinned despite the pain. “Nice of you to come anyway.”

Alarms began to ring, shouts echoing through the compound. Scarlett hauled him to his feet. “Move. Now.”

They fought their way out through smoke and confusion, Scarlett’s pistol barking once, twice. A crewmate took a cut to the arm but kept moving. They burst into the night, sprinting for the river where a skiff waited low in the reeds.

Musket fire cracked behind them as they shoved off. Black-Eye collapsed into the bottom of the boat, breathing hard, chains still clutched in his hands.


Word Count: 273
Written for: "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge" 
Prompt: Write a story that include the line: “You will pay for this.”