The battle seemed to have gone on for hours. The crew of the Red Death easily had the upper hand, but our Captain refused to surrender due to his foolish pride. None of us wanted to die here, but orders were orders.

I fought bravely yet dreaded to see him again. He had not boarded yet. Probably waiting until we inevitably surrendered. The captain of the Red Death and I went way back. And he knew my secret: I was a woman masquerading as a sailor.

As time went on I could feel myself growing weaker, until I made a mistake and was impaled by a sharp rapier. I fell, slowly it seemed, like a dream.

Something caught me from falling on to the deck. The battle was still surging but a sense of quiet enveloped me. It was him, The captain of the Red Death, who caught me.

I felt that amidst the chaos I could finally let go to leave this life peacefully in his arms.

But my story wasn’t over.