La Reina del Mar

Hoy te dire mi historia, amigo mio. Me apodaron El Temido. El rey de los siete mares. No
nation was left unscarred by my bravery, no shore was safe, and no flag could ever impose itself
upon my rights. Inglaterra, Francia, Italia, even the far lands of Istanbul cowered as my flag
approached. Lords would ride to meet me and spill out chests of gold and silver at the feet of this
pirate captain. Every coin and every jewel was for my men, split evenly, a token of my gratitude.
They could have it all as far as I cared. All I wanted was the freedom that only sea air could offer.
En Valencia perdi el corazn. Dark locks cascaded gracefully down her shoulders,
entwining together. Her eyes were made of honey, and I was now trapped helpless within them.
In that moment, I felt anguish. Anguish at all the years that I had spent without knowing her.
Anguish at all the days that I had not held her. Anguish at all the minutes that I had not professed
my love to her. She smiled at me as her father dropped a case of gold before me and pledged for
peace. I had caught her eyes, as she had taken mine. That night I left Valencia with not a coin in
my pouch, for I had taken with me the only treasure my heart desired most.
The sun painted the waves gold for us as we sailed onward. Her dress stood radiantly, and
even the sky grew jealous of the seas grandest pearl. As I took her hand and she took mine, we
professed unending love, to the sea, to the stars, to the world. I found new peace as I slept in her
arms, a peace that only a child in the arms of its mother would know.
Before every excursion, I would fall at her feet and beg for her blessing. She was my
Goddess made flesh. Navega sin temor, mi amor siempre te guiar hacia m she would say as
she knelt to place her lips upon my brow. When the canons ceased and the blades were sheathed,
I returned to her with the spoils of her victory. I showered her in furs and jewels. Singers in every
port would compose songs exclaiming the Queen of the Seas, but no song would ever do her
beauty or grace justice. All she gave in return was the warmth of her embrace and the succor of
her love. For that alone, I would conquer even the Kingdom of Heaven.
The sea grew jealous as the years passed on. I once belonged to its freedom, but now my
soul was bound to another. It struck in envy, unknowingly, and my Queen grew pale and weak.
Day after day the sickness spread, but I did not leave. Her hands withered in mine, but I did not

leave. We shared one final kiss, on lips once red, but I did not leave. I cried as we gave her to the
sea, but still I did not leave.
I thrashed and raged with ferocity unmatched. Every tear I spilt shook the seas. The storm
clouds came and thundered, howling with my desperation. The seas grew dark and its waves
tossed and turned restlessly, rending boats to splinters. A hundred nations would share in my
pain. A hundred flags I would see burn. Y si caigo, qu es la vida? What is life when your heart
has been ripped from your chest?
I sit here now, in halls of stone and iron; taken from the sea and shackled to the dirt. My
hair is now grey. My strength is now gone. My eyes grow dimmer with every passing sunset.
They grant my last request, to stand and face the sea once more. For the first time in a long time,
I laugh out loud while standing on the scaffold watching the waves gently lapping at the sand.
They see me laugh and think me mad, but it is not so. I laugh because now I can hear the song of
the sea once more. It calls to me and offers what I have long desired. Mi corazn se encuentra en
el mar. Esta noche duermo, arruyado en los brazos de la Reina del Mar.