Muttered Mutiny

Whispers of mutiny spread through the crew, forcing Black-Eye to prove his place in blood.

The Devil’s Mercy creaked under the weight of her new riches, her hold crammed with chests from the Santa Aurelia. But with treasure came whispers, and whispers aboard a pirate ship were as deadly as cannon fire.

Black-Eye Blackburn felt them watching him, men who’d cheered beside him in battle now muttering when his back was turned. Gold had a way of turning friends into enemies.

One night, he found a group huddled near the galley fire, voices low and sharp. “Scarlett’s keeping too much for herself,” one said. “And her pet boy’s share grows fatter every day.”

Black-Eye stepped into the light, hand resting casually on his cutlass. The men fell silent, but their eyes said enough.

Later, in the captain’s cabin, Scarlett poured two mugs of rum and slid one across to him. She studied his face, then said, “Don’t listen to them.”

He met her gaze, the scar across her throat catching the lamplight. “They’ll test me. Maybe even test you.”

Scarlett smirked. “Then let them try. A crew without fear is no crew at all. Besides...”
—she leaned closer— “they hate you, aye, but hate’s just another kind of respect.”

The next day, Black-Eye proved her right. When one sailor lunged at him with steel during ration duty, Blackburn moved faster than a striking snake, slamming the man against the mast slicing his blade across his throat. The crew froze.

“Anyone else want my share,” he growled, “best be ready to pay for it in blood.”

No one answered.

That night, as the waves rocked the Mercy, Black-Eye lay awake on his thin bunk, staring into the dark. Scarlett’s words echoed in his mind.

“Don’t listen to them.”

But he knew better. At sea, silence was never the end of it.


Word Count: 295
Prompt: Write a story that includes the line: “Don’t listen to them.”
Written for: "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge" 
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