Carrie Vaughn: Steel

It was all she could do not to tell the girls about sailing aboard the Diana with Marjory Cooper. But she could tell them about a love of fencing, and of pirate honor.

She let each of the girls hold the sword. It was too heavy for most of them, and it wavered in their grips. Even so, with the rapier in their hands, they all stood a little taller.

My pirates aren’t movie pirates. I did a lot of research on the real pirates of the Caribbean in the early 1700s, and got a lot of ideas from that research. But my pirates aren’t quite real historical pirates, either. We have lots of evidence that some women dressed as men and sailed with pirates (Anne Bonny and Mary Read are the best-known real-world examples), but no evidence that any of them were ever captains of pirate ships, at least in the Caribbean during the so-called golden age of piracy. (We do know of women pirate captains in other places, like Ireland and Southeast Asia.) And while pirates did capture slave ships traveling the route between the western coast of Africa and the Caribbean, they were more likely to sell the slaves themselves than they were to set them free, as the captain and crew of the Diana do. On the other hand, we also have evidence of former slaves like Abe serving on pirate crews. Grandy Nanny was a real person, one of Jamaica’s national heroes, but she was active a bit later than I have her here. And while Blackbeard, Calico Jack, Stede Bonnet, Sam Bellamy, and all the pirates I name were alive at the same time, they were probably never all having a drink together in Nassau at the same time. But I couldn’t resist.

We know about most of the famous pirates because they were captured or killed, witnesses interviewed, and their stories recorded in great detail for the court cases. There were hundreds of less famous pirates whom we know nothing about, simply because they were never caught. They either accepted pardons and settled into law-abiding lives, or they sailed into the sunset with their booty and retired. While we don’t know of any women pirate captains in the Caribbean, I’d like to believe that’s simply because if there was someone much like Captain Marjory Cooper, perhaps she was never caught.

Thanks go to Zrinka Znidarcic for answering questions about sword restoration. To Walter Jon Williams for the extensive notes on all things regarding sailing in the eighteenth century. All my errors on that topic are mine alone. To Gary Copeland and the coaches and students of Northern Colorado Fencers, whose successes in national and international competition gave me the idea for Jill in the first place. And to my fellow Defenders of the White Scarf of the Outlands, for the camaraderie and the love of rapier combat.

En garde:“On guard.” The opening stance in rapier combat.

Retreat:Backward movement in rapier combat.

Disengage:An attack in which one’s blade moves from one line to another under the action of an opponent’s blade.

Foible:The last third of a rapier blade; the thinnest, weakest part of the blade.

Flèche:“Arrow.” An attack made while leaping into a run.

Remise:The same attack continued immediately after being parried.

Redoublement:An attack continued on the opposite line immediately after being parried.

Allez:“Go.” A call for rapier combatants to begin fighting.

Attack:An offensive movement in rapier combat.

Recover:Returning to an en garde stance after an action.

Coupé:An attack in which one’s blade moves from one line to another over the action of an opponent’s blade.

Beat:A quick, sharp strike against an opponent’s blade.

Passé:An action in which blades cross but no touches are made.

Stop thrust:A direct attack with an extended arm against an advancing opponent.

Forte:The lowest third of a rapier blade; the strongest part of the blade.

Touché:“Touch.” When the point of the rapier touches the opponent.

CARRIE VAUGHNsurvived her air force brat childhood and managed to put down roots in Colorado. Her first book, KITTY AND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR, launched a popular series of novels about a werewolf named Kitty who hosts a talk-radio advice show. Ms. Vaughn has also written many short stories and is the author of the young adult novel VOICES OF DRAGONS.

Ms. Vaughn lives in Colorado.

You can visit her online at www.carrievaughn.com.

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Voices of Dragons