The Libertine

by Holden, William;

  “Rory, the poor sod, a worthless man, untrustworthy, and, most of all, a terrible powder monkey. He couldn’t keep up with the demand. If you haven’t noticed, young Adam, we are at war with the Dutch Army.” Captain Blair turned to face me. “No person shall bear witness to our acts and live to tell about it. You, boy, get off the ground. You shall take Rory’s place upon my ship, The Libertine.”

  “Me, sir?” I stood as ordered. “But how am I to replace him? I have no experience with weapons.” I lied once again to continue my air of ignorance, knowing the less he knew about me, the safer my life would remain.

  “For your sake, I hope you are a quick study. We are preparing to take these islands away from the Dutch. If you fail me, or The Libertine, your fate will parallel Rory’s.” He bent down over Rory’s lifeless body and took the man’s pistol. “Can I trust you with the weapon, or do I need to bring you to The Libertine as a prisoner?”

  “Over here, men!” A voice called out from the top of a ridge, which lined the city where we stood. From the man’s accent, I knew the Dutch had spotted us.

  “It looks as if you don’t have a choice.” In the distance, I could see one of the soldiers drawing his gun. “Give me the gun, or I fear we will perish where we stand.” I looked over Captain Blair’s shoulder. “Now,” I screamed. I threw my less than adequate weight against the Captain and snatched the gun from his hand. I felt the ripple of the bullet against my cheek. Its heat and speed burned my skin. I raised the gun and fired. The soldier collapsed where he stood.

  “Unskilled, my arse,” Captain Blair huffed. He threw me off his body and stood. “Who are you?”

  “It was a lucky shot, nothing else.”

  I righted myself and slipped the gun into the waist of my breeches, never once taking my eyes off Captain Blair. I felt the distrust in his stare and wondered how long he would take before determining my fate. I worried about the Dutch finding us and decided to push Captain Blair further.

  “Your doubt and hesitation will mean both our deaths. Shall we go, or let the soldiers breaking over the hill lay us down here and now?”

  “I am not finished with you,” Captain Blair replied. “Let’s get back to The Libertine and set sail.”

  Most of the crew had already boarded The Libertine, drunk with ale and stolen goods. Everything about them spoke of their unkempt manners. They stared at me, mistrustful through glazed eyes. One of the men approached us. He towered over most of the other men. His long, burnt orange hair hung below the kerchief tied around his head. He studied me before speaking to Captain Blair.

  “Who is this lad, and why have you allowed him to board?” The man spoke with a thick British accent. “And more to the point, where is Rory? I sent him to fetch you from the village.”

  “Alas, Gregor,” the Captain replied. He tightened his grip on my arm. “This one here has found himself in a bit of trouble tonight. He shot and killed Rory. I witnessed his murderous ways.”

  My heart sank. My body broke out in a nervous dampness as I heard the Captain tell the untruthful tale of my crimes against the crew. I began to wonder if my precise aim against the soldier, even if the casualty had been their enemy, had blown my cover and this was to be my punishment.

  “He shall hang for his actions!” Gregor shouted amongst the others, pulled out his sword, and raised the long, shiny blade in the air. Cheers and curses rang over the deck as the others gave their approval.

  “He shall not hang tonight,” the Captain shouted.

  “Ah, his fate is not your decision alone, Captain. According to the Code of Conduct, the Quartermaster has authority to call a vote of the crew. I am the Quartermaster of The Libertine, and I demand a vote to determine this boy’s fate.”

  “I know the Code, Gregor.” The Captain’s voice carried an edge I had not heard before. “There will be a vote, but not before I have my say.” His grip loosened on my arm. He looked down at me. His eyes were ablaze with desire. “This boy, who calls himself Adam, has taken Rory’s life. But we still have more trouble ahead of us. The Dutch have spotted us. We must sail at once and head for Willemstad where the Dutch have their strongest hold. To be victorious, we need proper weapons and powder and someone to keep us in steady supply once we attack. Without Rory, we are down a man. Therefore, I have decided Adam here will take Rory’s place aboard The Libertine. He will make us our cartridges, clean our weapons, and make sure we don’t fail in our battle. If he proves useless or untrustworthy, he shall hang.”

  I could tell the others were still uneasy. Gregor kept a curious eye on me, as well. I felt my odds at surviving the night dwindling and knew I needed to do something quick. “I would like to speak in my defense,” I shouted.

  Captain Blair turned to me and whispered, “Boy, if you say anything against me, you shall die right here and right now by my hands. No one must know of what we did, or we shall both hang. You pledged your service to me back in the village, and you will keep your promise.” He glanced back toward his crew, who were still debating my future.

  “Speak, and make your tale quick.” Gregor sleeved his sword, then crossed his arms over his chest.

  “The Captain’s story is true. I killed Rory, but I attest I did so in self-defense and for no other reason.”

  “In war, there is no difference in our eyes.” Another man came forward and drew his sword.

  “Let him finish, Kane.” Gregor held him back.

  “I would think my saving your Captain’s life tonight should also weigh into the decision.”

  Captain Blair leaned into me and whispered, “You are treading on dangerous waters, boy.”

  “I suggest you speak and defend me before they hang me for a murder I did not commit. If my life ends tonight, you and your men will have to make your own weapons. How far do you think you and your crew will get with the Dutch Army with little or no ammunition?”

  Captain Blair mumbled something incoherent then released my arm.

  “And what interests might the two of you be discussing?” Gregor walked over to me. His gaze stung my body. There wasn’t anger in his eyes. It was desire, which lingered deep inside of him. He turned to Captain Blair. “Is this account of his accurate? Did he save your life?”

  “He did,” Captain Blair said.

  “I suppose there is a good reason why you did not share this with us?”

  “To shed doubt on his motives. He says he has no skills, and yet he laid a soldier down with one bullet and at a substantial distance. I have not witnessed such marksmanship in a long time. We need him on board the ship, but I did not want my crew to see him as my savior. We must keep a watchful eye on him. Something about him doesn’t sit right with me.”

  “I agree with you, sir. Adam has a tick about him. He unsettles me as well.” Gregor walked around me. “You were wise in your actions, sir. The crew and I will not overrule you. Looks like we have a new powder monkey.” Gregor slapped me on my back and laughed.

  “As I thought.” The Captain walked away. “Take him to Rory’s old quarters. He shall begin his training in the morning.”

  “Yes, Captain.” Gregor grabbed my arm and led me away.

  When we reached the lower deck, he stopped and turned toward me. I felt him reading my body, looking for the lies contained within. The dirt and weathered skin of his face masked what remained of his handsome youth. He was unlike the others. He didn’t wear a beard or untamed whiskers. His face, marred only by a day’s growth and a small scar under his left eye, made him look like an outcast among the crew.

  I felt my groin tighten and a burn blossom in my gut from our closeness. Gregor ignited my desire like no one ever had. I couldn’t determine the exact source, but I became intoxicated by his masculine voice and his rough ways. I felt fear, but not from him. The unease came from these strange feelings of desire. Emotions went against all of my training. They were needless traits, useless and dangerous. Yet I felt a complete loss of control over my actions or words whenever Gregor was present.
His sultry voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

  “The Captain has never allowed an outsider aboard his ship.” His gaze shifted back and forth, looking for a sign of deceit hidden in my eyes or expression. “You say you have no skills or trade, yet you impressed him with your gunplay. What are you hiding?”

  “Nothing, sir.” My voice trembled, but not from fear. Hunger shook my voice—a strange, overpowering yearning for Gregor. I knew I needed to lower my gaze to keep him from seeing the secrets in my eyes, but I could not pull myself away from the deep green eyes as they tried to pry the secrets from me. “As I told the Captain, the kill happened with luck, not skill.”

  “We shall see how lucky you are.” He moved in closer as he spoke. His musky scent surrounded me. “A word of warning to you. Captain Blair is a cruel and hateful man. If you are to survive, you must know you cannot trust him. Do as he says, but know he always speaks from a place of greed.”

  “Thank you, sir, for your advisement.” I took another breath of him. His potent scent made me drunk. I felt myself thicken in my breeches. “I’m here to do whatever you ask of me. Captain Blair spared my life, and, therefore, I owe him my service.”

  “You are a young and foolish man then.” He rested his hand on my shoulder. “Your sleeping quarters are through there.” He pointed to the unopened door. He turned me around and laid my body against the wooden door, and pressed his body against my back, his face rested next to mine. “I’d advise you to get some sleep. Your training will start before sunrise.”

  We both stood in silence. I felt his body move back and forth against mine with every breath he took. I didn’t understand the closeness Gregor afforded me until I felt the stiffness of his prick press against my arse. I thought of moving to separate our bodies as an act of resistance. I lingered for a moment longer, enjoying the unspoken play between us, before opening the door.

  “Who shall fetch me?” I asked as I placed my hand on the doorknob.

  “I shall.”

  I hesitated. I opened my mouth to speak but forced myself to stop the treacherous words of my longing before Gregor heard them. I slipped inside the room, knowing if I didn’t put space between us, my lustful needs would once again get the better of me. I closed the door between us and left Gregor standing alone in the corridor. I leaned against the door. Gregor’s heavy breaths licked my ears even through the thick wooden planks. I listened to Gregor’s footsteps grow distant as he left. My prick stiff with want, need was all that remained of his presence.

  * * * *

  I lay in my darkened room, touching myself, my head resting on my discarded blouse and breeches. Gregor’s scent lingered around me. I became hard almost immediately. From behind the closed door, I heard footsteps approaching. My heart quickened with hopes of Gregor returning. The door opened. Captain Blair walked in.

  He stood looking at me without saying a word as he undid his breeches. His hefty prick fell out of the thin material. He stroked it. Primed it. The arrogance of his self-assumed power over the situation repulsed me. His off-putting demeanor matched how I felt about his body. Despite all of it, I knew I had a job to do, not for him, but for my country.

  “What are you waiting for, boy?” he whispered. “Get over here on your knees.”

  “I thought perhaps you might prefer to remove your garments and lay with me?” I replied, remembering the feel of Gregor as he pressed himself against me. The look on Captain Blair’s face startled me.

  “Remember your place, boy. You do not question or give me orders.” He stepped toward my cot. His prick swayed with his movement. “Despite what you might think of me, I am not like you. You have the filthy desire for men, for the unnatural act. You are nothing more than a vessel for my lust. My whore when I cannot avail myself of a woman’s body. Get over here and pleasure me, and this time you shall learn to take the whole of me.”

  “Yes, sir,” I said.

  With his rough handling, he pulled me toward him. I shuffled on my knees to keep from falling forward. He grabbed the back of my head and pulled me even closer. My desire for another man, or, more exact, Gregor, overcame my repulsion. With eagerness, my lips parted to receive him. The head of his prick, already moist with his need, filled my mouth and made my hunger grow. Despite his rough and dirty exterior, his prick was smooth and silky. I reached inside his breeches and began caressing his large, hairy sack. I felt him lengthen in my mouth and prepared myself not to gag.

  “That’s more like it. You’re a quick study.” The Captain moaned.

  His movements quickened against my face. His curly bush became damp with spit and early release. He continued to fuck my mouth with vicious abandonment. I couldn’t hold back. I moved my hand between my legs and touched myself. I, too, was wet with desire and used the moisture to ease the friction as I stroked my swelling prick.

  The Captain’s body began to tremble and shake. He grunted and groaned like an animal in heat. I felt the pressure build inside of his prick. He grabbed my head with both hands and thrust himself into me. I knew what was to come, and despite fearing for my life, I threw myself off him before he could spend his seed in my mouth. He cursed under a deep guttural groan and pleasured himself, spraying his seed over my face, neck, and chest.

  “If you ever repeat what you just did, you will taste my dagger going down your throat instead of my prick.”

  He kneed me in the chest. The force took my breath away. I fell against the cot and looked down at the reddened imprint his knee left against my skin. I rubbed the pain away as I tried to catch my breath.

  “You best learn the ways of The Libertine, Adam.” He replaced his limp prick inside his breeches. Then, without another word, he left.

  As my breathing returned, so did my thoughts of Gregor. I lay with my swelling prick in my hand and the taste of the Captain lingering on my tongue. I closed my eyes and brought my mind back to when Gregor had pressed his body against mine. I began to pleasure myself. I felt my release building inside of me. A moan escaped my lips. The sound of my solitary pleasure forced me to cross the line of no return. I raised my hips into the air and slipped a finger into my arse. I showered my body with my hot spunk. I continued with my hand as I felt another fire building inside of me. As my mind continued with thoughts of Gregor, I opened my mouth and tasted my seed.

  My body trembled from pleasure as my breathing returned to normal. With the mission of infiltrating the enemy complete, I knew time had come to figure out my next steps. The Libertine planned on attacking the island in five days. Little did they know, the Dutch planned on attacking their ship within three. I didn’t have much time to disarm The Libertine before the Dutch arrived. My immediate problem was being under the constant and watchful eyes of not only Gregor and the Captain, but everyone else aboard the ship. I would need to plan with care and limit my activities to the night while the others slept. What troubled me more than the mission at hand was the deep, growing desire for Gregor.

  I tried to pry Gregor from my mind as my body begged for sleep. Exhaustion overwhelmed me, but rest would have to wait for the next few days. Nights would be spent sabotaging their weapons, while my days would be spent filling their supplies and requests. I stood, pulled on my breeches and blouse, not bothering with my thin, worn inner linen, and slipped out of my room. With the creaking of the wooden floors beneath my bare feet, I made my way to the upper deck to have a look around.

  The night sky, littered with stars, caused me to stop and admire the natural beauty of the world. I walked starboard and stared off into the nothingness. I closed my eyes and let the warm ocean breeze caress my face as the sounds of the ocean breaking across the ship lulled me. If only life could be this simple. I pulled myself back from my drifting mind and made a quick inspection of the deck before making my way through the shadows and climbing the ladder to the quarterdeck.

  Knowing at least two men would be guiding the ship, I kept myself concealed behind the main mast. Looking upward, with the aid of the moon’s
glow, I saw the two men moving about in the navigation room. Someone lit a pipe, and with the added light, I identified one of the men. It was the man Gregor called Kane. He peered out across the decks and looked as if he had seen something. I waited motionless, fearing he might see me. I heard laughter coming from their direction and peaked around the mast. Kane had turned around and faced the bow.

  I retreated and went below deck to the cargo hold where they stored their loot and daily supplies. Mounds of gold, silver, and jewelry lay like stationary waves in the back of the cargo room. Large containers lined one wall. Making my way over to them, I opened one of the trunks and found an assortment of clothing. Taking a quick inventory of the tattered rags I wore, I riffled through the trunk to look for something more suitable. As I pulled out a pair of breeches, I realized the grave error in my judgment. I couldn’t let any of the men see me with new clothing. I closed the lid, then made my way to the lowest area of the ship, the magazine, which housed the gunpowder, weapons, and instruments of war.

  One end of the magazine contained thousands of empty canvas sacks piled almost to the ceiling. Next to them were the casks of gunpowder. The barrels were full. Captain Blair was correct; the ship’s supply of usable cartridges was minimal. The crew would not be able to withstand even the smallest attack. I wondered what Rory spent his time doing, if not filling the canvas sleeves with gunpowder. As I continued to assess my options of disarming The Libertine, I felt the muzzle of a gun press against the back of my head.

  “You ain’t got right to be down here.” He slurred his words into my ear. I could smell the spirits on the man’s breath.

  “I…”

  “Easy does ‘em,” he said. “Turn ‘round too fast, trigger may go off and blow yer head off.” He laughed.

  I turned to face Kane. His gun pressed against my forehead. Sweat broke out across my body with a rush like an ocean wave. My blouse became saturated with a sudden, pungent wetness. I had been close to dying before, but something about this situation seemed more precarious than all the others. The scent of alcohol weeping from Kane’s body was almost as intoxicating as the liquor itself. He swayed despite standing still, but his eyes seemed crystal clear and void of anything except murder. I would not be able to fuck my way out of this situation.