The Warlock Pirate King And his Captive Bride

Charlottes POV

My name is Charlotte. I'm the daughter of a senator. I have grown up around the ocean my whole life. I'm being forced to marry a man twice my age. My father has arranged the marriage. I have tried everything to get away from him. I have run away numerous times. I have even gone to the local witch to cast a spell to make him disappear. However, when I reached the trees outside her house, soldiers were dragging her out of her house. Then they threw a rope over a tree and hung her from it. I tried to keep quiet, but I gasped out loud when one of the soldiers spotted me. I tried to run, but they caught me. Being caught associating with a witch is a hangable offense. Maybe this could be my way out. Maybe I would not have to marry old Waterford. He was one of the most powerful men in Seaside.

I did not want to marry him. The solider that had caught me threw me over his shoulder and started carrying me back to town. I stopped struggling. I knew what was going to happen to me. I was glad that it was going to happen. I was going to die a virgin. Maybe I can seduce a guard to take my virginity before they hang me. I was shocked when we walked past the courthouse and straight to my house. That figures because my father was going to beat me. It did not matter that I was the daughter of a senator. We get in trouble just like anyone else. Hopefully it's not too bad a beating. The soldier dragged me into the main room of our house. My father and Mr. Waterford were there.

" Charlotte, what were you doing in the woods?"

I wanted to say that I was out hunting boars, but I decided that it would not be in my best interest to be a smart ass.

" I was just walking through the woods, Father."

I aim to avoid getting in trouble.

"Charlotte, I know you were looking for the witch."

" What did you want with her?"

" Well, Father, it does not matter if she's dead."

I knew she was dead because I saw her hanged.

" Charlotte, YOU ARE GOING TO MARRY MR WATERFORD, AND THAT'S FINAL."

There was no reason to argue with him. Instead, I stomped out of the parlor and headed upstairs. I walked into my room and slammed the door. My maid, Chelsea, was in my room, sitting in a chair.

" I see you got Gertrude hanged."

" So you know her name."

" Yes, she was my teacher."

That would make sense. I was raised in a God-fearing home. The bible was read all the time. To think of even trying to get into witchcraft was forbidden. You could be burned at the stake or even hanged. There was usually no middle ground. However, I think my father believed that I was not lying. He just yelled at me and sent me to my room.

" Chelsea, don't say that too loudly in case anyone hears."

I let her be her when it was just her and me. She was only eighteen, just like me. She was taken from her homeland when she was in her parents' womb. They were brought here and then sold into slavery. She was on a ship. When she and her mother reached Seaside, my father bought them. Her father had died at sea, that was what we were told. My father made sure that they were taken care of. Her mother died two years ago, and she turned to witchcraft to be able to communicate with her. I had no idea if she had any luck, and that was something that I stayed out of. It was safer for both of us. If someone asked, then I could deny it, and if someone asked her, then she could try to hide the evidence. She was into voodoo and spells. I knew that it was a sin to even be around that kind of stuff. However, I let her do what she needed to do. We both heard a commotion downstairs.

"What's going on now?"

I ran out of my room, and there was a sailor in the parlor. I carefully snuck to the door. He was going on about how a mermaid was spotted a few miles into the ocean. As far as I knew, the mermaids were extinct. My father told me that they had been captured and killed because their blood had special healing abilities. Of course, I did not believe it. My father said that they were going to get a hunting party together and go see for themselves. That meant that he would be gone for weeks. That would be the perfect time to try to escape my arranged marriage. I must have clapped to hard because my father heard me.

" Charlotte, since I know you're there, come in here."

Great, now I am in trouble for eavesdropping. He probably was going to read me scripture about it.

" Yes, father."

" Since I have to leave, we are pushing up your wedding."

I could feel the blood drain from my face. My legs began to shake, and I needed to sit down.

" You will marry Mr Waterford on Sunday."

That was only two days away. I ran out of the room and ran straight to my room. I slammed the door and threw myself onto the bed. Chelsea was right behind me. She gently sat on the bed. She knew that I had no desire to marry Mr. Waterford. I had gone to the witch to have her cast a spell on him to make him disappear. She held me and let me cry my eyes out. After I stopped sobbing.

" Charlotte, I have an idea."

" Tomorrow night you can run away."

" I can help you."

How could she help me run away? There was no way with the guards outside now. My father had doubled them. He knew I did not want to marry the man he had chosen for me.

" How."

" We will sneak you out the servants' door and out the back."

That is interesting. Most of the servants live in a house in the back. A lot of them never want to leave. None of them are slaves because my father doesn't believe in that. He had bought whole shiploads of slaves that had been brought to Seaside. He then gives them their freedom and gives them a decent wage for their troubles. They are given an education and allowed to be free. I wish he was the same way with me. He wants to marry that man because he is well respected in the community and can further his agenda.