The Beginning

As Laura comes to consciousness the gentle noise of waves crashing, the sound of seagulls and the smell of saltwater wash over her senses. She's not exactly sure where she is; when she fell asleep last night, it was in her bed, hundreds and hundreds of miles from any ocean. 

She opens her eyes and the bright sun and clear blue skies greet her, confusing her even further. Slowly, her eyes adjust to the scenery around her and she realizes that not only is she no longer in her bedroom, she is also aboard some type of ship and if the attire of the men around her is anything to go by, she’s on a pirate ship.

She slowly sits up, rubbing the sunspots from her eyes taking in her surroundings. The ship is bustling with movement as sails slowly raise, catching the wind as they rise to full mask. The men moving from place to place and doing tasks are all donning swords and pistols on their hips, and their wearing long water weathered clothes and scruffy faces from the journey of being at sea.

At the helm of the ship, stands two figures leaning together in a hushed conversation. Both of the figures are dressed in a more distinct way, to Laura she can easily tell that these two are the ones in charge of the vessel that they are currently on.

Laura stands to her feet, brushing herself off then walking over to the two ladies.

“Hello,” Laura says as she approaches the two of them and both quickly turn to her, seeming ready to command her to get back to work in what they think she’s meant to be doing. Both of the figures, which now that Laura has gotten closer can clearly see are not male like the rest of the crew she’s seen working around the ship.

Anne Bonny and Mary Read

Both of these figures are ladies. One with fiery red hair, the other with darker hair. Both of them looked shocked to see her standing there. The one with the red hair tilts her head then asks, “How the hell did you get here?”

“I’m not sure,” Laura answers, looking down at her clothes, which had not changed, which probably just adds to the pirates' confusion, “I just woke up and was here on the ship,”

“Well, that’s interestin’,” The other lady says looking towards the red-haired one, “I think we need to find you some more suitable clothes before we do move on,”

“Clothes and we’ll find you somewhere to work onboard,” the redhead says.

“My name is Laura,” she introduces herself as.

“My name is Mary Read. The captain of this fine vessel here,” the redhead – Mary, said flashing her a smile.

“And my name is Anne Bonny,”

Laura knew of both of these pirates, mythical legacies in terms of pirates that filed the pages of her textbooks from school and fascinated her when she was younger. Laura smiled, ready to see whatever this adventure holds in store for her.

Image Source:

laurenbutterworth, Posted by. “Anne Bonny & Mary Read.” Deviant Women, 26 July 2019, deviantwomenpodcast.com/2017/05/18/anne-bonny-mary-read/.