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ELISANDER WAS STARTLED from sleep at three o'clock in the morning by the sound of a gun's clicking hammer. When his eyes fluttered open, he saw an auburn-haired woman standing at the end of his bed. It was dark, but the metal mask on her face was illuminated by the pale moonlight that seeped into Elisander's bedchamber.
“Hello there, sweetheart,” the woman wagged her pistol as she spoke. “I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but... I'm afraid I'm going to rob you.”
Elisander sat up in bed with a gasp. His eyes were still partially sealed after his interrupted sleep, so he took a moment to rub the grogginess away. “What?”
“You heard me, love. I'm robbing you. You know... stealing. Pilfering. Plundering. Do you prefer one of the other words?” The woman threw a glance at the snickering young women who stood in the doorway. They were dark-skinned identical twins with identical rifles, and they were aiming at Elisander.
“Why are you robbing me?” Elisander was impressed by his ability to remain calm.
“I was in the area, innit?” said the auburn-haired woman. Her braided locks were the color of autumn leaves, and her lips were as red as blood. There were several gears on her metal mask, and they were all spinning in different directions. She wore a maroon greatcoat, and the sleeves were rolled up, revealing a large tattoo of a dragon. “Actually...” the woman continued, “my airship needed repairs, so we landed near your house. It's just a little gear that needs tweaking. Gladys is handling it as we speak. Since we were in the area, I thought I'd commit a bit of theft. It's a shame I have to rob you. You're actually quite cute.” She suddenly tapped Elisander's foot with the barrel of her pistol. “What's your name, lad?”
Without the slightest trace of fear in his voice, he replied, “Elisander Bennet.”
“It's lovely to meet you, Elisander.” The lady tapped the brim of her impossibly tall top hat. “I'm Georgette Wickham. It's lovely to make your acquaintance.”
“Is it?” Elisander narrowed his eyes as he watched her skulk around his room. When she started rummaging through his drawers, he asked, “What are you doing?”
“I'm looking for something of value, eh?” Her dark red lips were pulled into a grin. “Do you have something I might want to take with me?”
“If I did, why would I tell you?”
With her head cocked, Georgette replied, “Um... maybe because you don't want to get shot in the foot?” Georgette found a silver locket, decided it was worthless, and pitched it over her shoulder.
Elisander really didn't want to get shot in the foot, so he said, “There's money in a locked box under my bed. It's a small, brown, wooden box. You can't miss it.”
Within seconds, Georgette Wickham found and claimed the box. “Is this it?”
Elisander gave her a nod.
“It's locked, innit? Do you have a key?”
“It's in the lower right drawer.” As he watched her cross the room, Elisander was surprised to find himself suppressing a yawn. Why wasn't he more afraid? “So... you're sky pirates?”
“Aye. But I'm more than that. I'm a sky pirate captain.” The lady flashed a grin in his direction. “Do you see those two girls over there? That's Lovely and Lockwood. They're my first and second mates.”
At the same time, both twins muttered variations of “hello” and “sorry we're robbing you.”
“You should have a look at my ship.” As she delved through his drawer, Georgette thrust a thumb at the window. “I call her The Dashing Lady, and she's one of the fastest airships in all the world.”
At her request, Elisander slid from bed and approached the window. Georgette's Dashing Lady had landed on the Bennets' front lawn. The vessel was narrow, black, and outfitted with countless cannons. Its flag—a Jolly Roger—was whipped by wind as Elisander studied it.
As Georgette claimed the key and unlocked the box, Elisander turned around and asked, “What's with your mask?”
“Ah. You're interested in my mask?” Georgette asked. When the room was silent, Elisander could barely hear the gears softly whirring. “It's an invention of my lovely Gladys. It lets me see in the dark.”
“That's... convenient.”
“Oh, it is!” the pirate captain agreed. “It's especially useful when it's pitch dark. Your target can't see you... but you can see them. They never know what hits them.” There was a large pouch of coins in Elisander's wooden box. Georgette claimed the bag and tossed it to the twins. Neither was prepared to catch it, and the bag hit the floor with a jingly thump.
“Do you ever feel guilty, though?” Elisander asked. “When you rob people?”
Georgette's sneer suggested she was baffled by the thought. “No. Should I?” She suddenly seized Elisander's arm and pushed him to the door. “Now... we're checking the rest of the house, and you're coming with us. I bet your mummy and daddy have more coins stashed in their room, eh?”
“Rooms,” Elisander calmly corrected her. “My parents have separate rooms.”
Georgette pressed her pistol's barrel into Elisander's spine, encouraging him to walk forward. As they made their way down the hall, she observed, “You have a nice little bum on you.”
Elisander gasped at her indecent remark.
“It's a shame I've gone and made myself your enemy. In another life, I might have courted you.”
The pirates entered Mr. Bennet's room first. Elisander's father was on his back, his arms were splayed across the bed, and he was snoring so loudly, it could be heard from any room in the house. He was startled awake when the pirate captain kicked his bed.
“What the—” Mr. Bennet stopped himself before he muttered an ungentlemanly curse. He sat up in bed and gasped as Georgette's barrel wagged in his face. “Who are you, and what is the meaning of this?”
With a bow, the lady replied, “I'm Georgette Wickham, the pirate. It's lovely to meet you. Also, I'm going to rob you, so if you would kindly direct me to your wares, I—”
Mr. Bennet shrieked so loudly, he woke the little white dog that slumbered on the end of his bed. “You're a pirate?” he squawked.
“Indeed.”
“And you're robbing me?” Mr. Bennet's hands dragged down the length of his face. Georgette snickered at his obvious despair.
“Aye. Well, actually, I'm robbing your entire family.”
“A-a-and... you have Elisander at gunpoint?” Mr. Bennet whined sharply. “Are you going to murder my favorite son?”
“No, I'm not going to murder him... unless someone gives me a good reason to.” Georgette smirked at the boy's panicking father. “Now, as I was saying, I'd like to get this over with as quick as I can, so if you can tell me where you keep any money or trinkets...”
“I-I-I-I-I-I...” Mr. Bennet's lips were trembling so violently, he was only capable of nonsensical stammers.
“Do you stash anything in here?” Georgette wagged her gun at Mr. Bennet's wardrobe.
Elisander, who knew enough about his father's bedchamber, gave the lady pirate the information she needed. He just wanted the night to be over—and he didn't want it to end in bloodshed. As long as he was cooperative, he hoped she would show mercy. “My father keeps most of his jewelry in the box on his dresser.”
“Ah. You Bennet boys seem to love your little boxes.” Georgette flicked open the box's lid and marveled at the silver and gold trinkets that were stored inside. “At least this one wasn't locked, eh? Alright, I'm satisfied. Let's head to the next room, shall we?”
The ladies jostled Elisander to the adjacent room, which happened to be his mother's. When Mrs. Bennet woke, she reacted much more calmly than her husband. She even surrendered her favorite ring to the pirates, which had been in her family for generations.
The pirates only bothered one other brother—Kier—who stayed asleep as the pirates rummaged around his room. Elisander was impressed by his brother's ability to ignore the world around him.
“Well, I think that's enough for one night. I'm actually quite impressed with our little haul,” Georgette said as she pushed Elisander back to his room. “Farewell, little hostage. It was lovely to meet you. I shall remember your supple bottom in my dreams.” Behind her, the pirate twins were snickering.
Georgette and her crewmates were met with unexpected resistance when they left the Bennets' estate. As they returned to the airship with their loot, they ran into a sneering Shar Lucas, who had two pistols pointed at the ladies' faces.
“Oh my. What do we have here?” In a flash, Georgette's gun was out of her holster and pointed at Shar. “A man with a gun? That's a terrifying sight.”
“A man with two guns,” Shar corrected her with a smirk.
“Well... you'll need three arms and three guns, love. If you haven't noticed, there are three of us,” Georgette pointed out. “And we're all armed. Assuming you can fire faster than we can... which I doubt... there will be one of us left to take you down.”
“Are you sure about that?” Shar asked. “Because I'm quite confident I could shoot all of you between the eyes before you've fired one bullet.”
“Oh, really?” Georgette's grin hinted at her amusement. “So... you're a lad who plays with guns? That's rare.”
Shar chuckled as he corrected her. “I don't play with guns, sweetheart. I take them quite seriously, I assure you. Now... return what you stole from the Bennets, and I'll let you be on your way.”
“Do you really expect me to be threatened by you?”
“Of course. You don't know what I'm capable of.”
“You know...” Georgette suddenly—and unexpectedly—holstered her pistol. “You're a handsome bastard, and I like that little brown curl on your forehead. I'd hate to see you dead, so I'll make you a deal.”
“I'm listening,” Shar hissed.
“We duel. With swords, not pistols. I assume you know how to use that thing on your hip?” Georgette gestured toward Shar's rapier.
Shar dragged a hand through his hair, dispelling the brown curl the lady claimed to like. “Of course I do.”
“Then we fight to first blood,” Georgette recited the rules. “If I win, you let us board our airship and leave. If you win, I'll return what we stole. Deal?”
“Sounds good to me.”
“If you can...” Georgette's rapier hissed as it soared from its scabbard, “try not to hit anything vital. If you draw blood by puncturing a lung, I won't be very happy with you.”
“No lungs,” Shar agreed, “No hearts, and no...” With a grin on his lips, he gestured below his waist.
“Then I shall try to avoid your manly bits at all costs. I wouldn't want to lop off anything important.” Georgette's feet parted as she assumed an appropriate stance.
Georgette lunged first, but Shar deflected the attack with ease.
“Ooo. So you do have some skill?” Georgette whistled as she shuffled away from his counterattack. “I'm impressed. Mildly, of course, but still impressed.”
When Shar attacked again, Georgette barely parried. She expected it to be an easy duel, but the beads of sweat on her forehead were telling her otherwise. The twins were standing behind her, watching every lunge and thrust. She didn't want to disappoint them, but Shar dodged her attack and countered again. He had her shuffling backward, looking like a fool.
“Alright, I'm more than mildly impressed,” Georgette admitted as he kept her on the defensive. “Your footwork is sloppy, though. Were you self taught?”
“I was.”
Georgette pivoted away from one of Shar's thrusts, then she countered with a punch. When she felt his nose crunching beneath her knuckles, she laughed and said, “Oh dear... I might've broken it. If it bleeds, does that count as first blood?”
She expected Shar to be distracted by the pain, but he wasn't. His rapier slashed upward, slicing Georgette's hand. When she dropped her sword, Shar's hand caught her neck and squeezed.
Bringing his face close to hers, he hissed, “Give back what you stole from the Bennets.”
“Very well.” With his hand clamped around her neck, Georgette's words were strained. “I'll give it back.”
“I want every coin and every bauble!” Shar demanded. “I'll search your pockets if I must.”
“I'll give it all back. Now will you kindly release me?” When Shar's hand didn't move from her throat, she smiled at him. “What's your name, handsome?”
“Shar Lucas.”
“I like you, Mr. Lucas. I do. I really do.” Georgette's smile turned a bit wicked as her eyes searched his. “And I really don't want Gladys to blow you apart with her cannon, so... would you kindly release me?”
When Shar glanced over his shoulder, he saw a large, red-haired woman standing on the airship's gangplank. A massive weapon, which looked a bit like a slender cannon, was cradled in both of her arms.
As soon as Shar's eyes landed on Gladys, Georgette brought her knee to his groin. The Bennets' brave stable boy doubled over, grunting in pain.
Georgette gave him a consoling pat on the head as she stepped away from him. “Well then... I guess we'll be leaving now. Take care, Shar Lucas.”
“Wait!” Shar groaned. “This isn't what we agreed on! I won the duel. I won—”
“Darling, please stop talking!” Georgette rolled her eyes as she swaggered to the gangplank. “I'm a pirate, remember? I don't give a damn about the duel. Did you really expect me to be honorable? Silly boy.”