JaydeRussell

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 26

Lesson 26 - Leaving the Nest

Bryce

“Wait, both of them? Like at the same time?” I laughed and Sora just nodded with a bewildered expression.

“Hand to the gods. I swear it to be true. I didn’t even have to get involved until everybody’s clothes were back on.” Sora’s breath was coming out as white wisps in the chilled air. “I’m pretty sure the boss had meant for them to work out their issues in one of the fight arenas, but they went to Shei...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 25

Lesson 25 - Winning Hearts

Thea

“I think Sora might already be starting to irritate me.” Bryce sighed as she rested her head back on the couch.

She hadn’t been lying, but I could tell that she wasn’t actually upset. I settled in beside her and leaned against her shoulder.

“Yeah, people who care about you get annoying about little things, like your health and wellbeing. Do you need help to get to the kitchen? I need to unload what we bought ...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 24

Lesson 24 - Taxing Evasion

Bryce

I spat the last of the incantation through a mouthful of blood and felt the burning pain fade into a deep, throbbing drain as the concealment spell settled into place around the ship.

Thea ran to my side to stop me from collapsing, and Sora finally released Samira. The abrupt end to her shouting only served to further punctuate the silence that followed.

My labored breathing was the only sound in the room and I could ...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 23

Lesson 23 - Knowing

Sora

“How about we all just sit down and discuss this without threatening to kill each other?” Bryce was mostly directing her comments towards Thea, but she kept glancing towards me, so I volunteered to be the first one to sit.

Sami sat next to me, so close that I had to put an arm around her or she would have been sitting on top of it. She seemed terrified and I couldn’t blame her. I was still trying to get my heart rate under co...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 22

Lesson 22 - Late Explanations

Bryce

Sora had insisted on making drinks and soon enough, all four of us were gathered on the comfortable couches with glasses in hand.

“Okay, we need to discuss complications, then we’ll need to talk about our current job,” I explained. “And then we’ll need to talk about what we’re going to do after that, assuming we all want to stick around.”

“What do you mean by complications?” Samir...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 21

Lesson 21 - Departure

Bryce

“2,000? You’re joking, right?” I asked the little robot.

We were standing in a literal back alley trying to make a deal. Thea had volunteered to play lookout. She was standing near the entrance enjoying an oversized kebab that she bought from a stall near the market.

“It's corporate encryption. Not only will it be hard to crack, but if I get caught doing it, then I’ll have corporate cyber-sec on ...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 20

Lesson 20 - Now with More Soul

Samira

Bryce looked to be deep in thought for a moment, but quickly seemed to resign herself to whatever conclusion she had drawn.

I sent a look towards Sora that questioned what was going on. They just gave a confused shrug and asked for the both of us.

“Is there a problem?”

Bryce looked like she was about to answer, but Thea interjected before she could start.

“Bryce, if this is abou...

The Fury art commission

Here's the image of the ship that I had commissioned! You may have noticed it as the art banner I use... well, everywhere... it's a very pretty ship.

it was done by Viktoriawhite over on fiverr

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 19

Lesson 19 - Acquiring a Vessel

Bryce

The New Eden Space port was a massive sprawling complex of landing platforms, flight terminals, and customs offices that had been pieced together and added onto as needed over the years.

Navigating the resulting labyrinth took the two of us nearly twice the time as the walk over here and coupling that with the time it took for us to finish getting ready at the motel, it was already well into the morning...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 18

Lesson 18 - Non-domestic Bliss

Bryce

I awoke in a dark and unfamiliar room, trying to reconcile what happened last night with the strange bed I found myself in. I wasn’t hungover, which probably meant I didn’t drink all that much, and I had just been exhausted.

Exhausted enough to fall asleep in a loud strip club after eating a little too many synthetic chicken wings. I honestly kind of wanted to go back there someday. For the wings. 2022-05-31 09:19:04 +0000 UTC View Post

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 17

Lesson 17 - Leaving a Life

Sora

“Actually, Softie, do you know a place with a real bed we could stay for the night?” Thea asked.

I didn’t mind the nickname. I had been called much worse in the past, but something about the short elf told me she was dangerous. I had seen my fair share of body modification before, so I had dismissed her eyes and teeth as just a strange aesthetic.

They weren’t even all that strange in some circl...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 16

Lesson 16 - Inebriated Negotiations

Thea

The bar that Sora worked at was called ‘The Garden’ and it wasn’t just a bar. It was also a strip club.

By the time that Sora showed up for their shift, Bryce and I had been at the corner booth for nearly three hours.

I had a pleasant buzz going from a mixture of strong alcohol, beautiful people, and more than a few mystery drugs when an attractive kitsune slid into the booth beside a sl...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 15

Lesson 15 - Getting out there

Thea

Teolix had basically become the dragon saint of humility. He was still a little arrogant, but he was still a dragon, so it felt unfair to compare him to other mortals.

He also talked a little funny, and I had been a little disappointed that his dragon form was so small, but he was likely pretty young. It was probably only his second or third century, so he still had a while to grow out of his silly accent...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 14

Lesson 14 - Dealing with a dragon

Bryce

The temperature in the room increased noticeably as Thea seemed to seethe at the dragon. I motioned with my right hand and she took a step back to let me handle it, but the heat coming off of her only intensified.

Teolix was in a bipedal form. He looked for all the world like a lanky human, save for a few very distinct characteristics.

He had a line of tiny red scales lining where his crimson h...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 13

Lesson 13 - Tangles

Bryce

I found the crate that I was looking for and pulled out a box filled with packets of no-rinse shampoo I had ordered a few months ago. It advertised that it would work curly hair and at the time it had seemed like a suitable compromise while I was stuck on the research station for days at a time.

I was disappointed but not surprised at the results, but all things considered, I was more than willing to give it anoth...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 12

Lesson 12 - Dreams and Dress-up

Bryce

Thankfully, Thea caused that dreadful bottle to disappear with a flick of her wrist. She’d done that trick a few times, but I hadn’t bothered to ask her about it.

She wasn’t casting a spell, but she didn’t use incantations when using her fire magic. If she didn’t need to use incantations, that meant she was a natural caster and not a learned one like I was.

Natural casters tended to be ...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 11

Lesson 11 - Things Worth Paying For

Thea

We followed Greasy, maintaining the sedate pace set by his stiff knee. I had my sword out, but he seemed nervous enough, so I kept it lowered. It wasn’t like he was going to make a run for it.

I really did feel bad about treating him like this, but Bryce was right. We needed a ride off world and this Teolix guy was probably our best bet. Greasy was just the only link we had to him.

“You wo...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 10

Lesson 10 - Meaningful Connections

Thea

The cement hallways of the hospital basement were dingy, but it was a strangely sterile dingy in the way that only a well-maintained hospital could manage.

I teased Bryce any chance I got, and she gave nearly as well as she received. It seemed like she was doing okay and that kind of worried me.

She was clearly compartmentalizing, which wasn’t great long term, but also kind of necessary given...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 9

Lesson 9 - Feelings and Explanations

Bryce

Shit, shit, shit. I could not believe what I had just done.

My heart was beating out of my chest and I could feel the heat rising in my face. My ears felt like they were on fire and I kept having to stop myself from reaching up to reassure myself that they hadn’t burnt away.

I heard Thea scrambling to get up, followed by her fighting the elevator doors as they tried to close on her, but sh...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 8

Lesson 8 - New and Exciting Places

Thea

Bryce steered the shuttle towards a large building on the outskirts of the city. The place kind of stood out, but mostly just because of the location.

Most of the bigger and nicer buildings were towards the center of the city. This one was smack dab in the middle of the ghetto and surrounded by a bunch of single story shacks. It seriously stood out.

“Don’t tell me this is your place.” I w...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 7

Lesson 7 - Killing Friends for Influencing Enemies

Thea

“Okay, but if you had to choose, like if somebody put a gun to your head and made you do it.”

I was leaning back in what I understood was the co-pilot’s chair with my feet up, while expertly aiming a finger gun at the side of Daelin’s head.

“I could hardly imagine somebody would threaten to kill me because they wanted me to marry one of the demon princes.”

“A...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 6

Lesson 6 - Inconsistencies

Bryce

I dropped into a crouch in front of the door controls. It was a little difficult typing in my verification code from this position, but it didn’t take too long for me to get the door to open.

I felt Thea’s hand on my shoulder and heard her whisper.

“Wait here. Let me try something.”

Her body shimmered, and she vanished before I could respond. Unable to stop her, I turned towards Daelin.<...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 5

Lesson 5 - Clearing Threats

Bryce

We made several improvements to the new pact, but the essence of it remained the same.

Either of us could still cancel it at any point and neither of us had any special privileges to enforce orders or command each other, but we added the ability to adjust the amount of mana that Thea was receiving.

It could go from zero to fifteen percent and while either of us could make the change at any time, the ...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 4

Lesson 4 - Friendly Faces

Bryce

Everything hurt.

Every broken bone, every cut, every bruise, and every acid burn would get their turn. Then I would take another breath and the cycle would start over again.

The pain on its own was bad enough, but not the worst of it, not by a long shot. The constant need to resist and redirect the poison as it wreaked havoc on my meridians meant I had to maintain concentration through it all.

It...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 3

Lesson 3 - Medical Emergencies and Where to have them

Thea

The scroll erupted into flames and I could feel the pact settle near my spirit. The flames were pretty neat, but what surprised me was how the contract felt. Demons and devils use magical contracts all the time, but the ones we use always felt uncomfortable.

Kind of sharp and suffocating, like a cold, wet blanket wrapped in razor wire. They’re meant to intimidate and be always pr...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 2

Lesson 2 - Desperate Negotiations

Bryce

It took a considerable amount of effort, but I stood. Trying to negotiate in my current position would be a worse case scenario. I needed to heal first, then when I made a deal with Thea, I could do it from a position of power. Or worse case I could just banish her back to the lower planes.

“You’ll have to escort me to the med-lab. Once I’m healed up, we can talk through the specifics. As I am ...

Thea concept art

Here's Thea's concept art!

I had it commisioned by Feliciah Delrie over on fiverr

Bryce concept art

Here's some character concept art that I had commissioned by Feliciah Delrie over on fiverr

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - ch. 1

Lesson 1 - Knowing When to Run

Bryce

I honestly hadn’t expected it to work.

Summoning magic is both incredibly difficult and obscenely dangerous. Demon summoning, though? That takes an entirely different breed of stupid to even attempt and yet Ava managed it.

She was a traitorous backstabbing bitch and I couldn’t imagine a way in which this would end well for her, but I was actually impressed that she pulled it off.

The demon...

A Guide to Becoming a Pirate Queen - prologue

This chapter I had to rewrite probably a half dozen times to get right. I had the scene in my mind for about a year before finally getting it on paper (well, digital paper).

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Prologue - Knowing When to Walk Away

Thea

“Well, imp? Are you in or are you out?”

I chewed on my unlit cigar as I built up the nerve for what I knew I had to do next. We had planned for this.

Okay, Esme had planned for this. Which is probably...