954. Chapter 954

After Captain Kate and the Hurricane

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Not only do I not own Castle, but there never was a Castle episode called Captain Kate and the Hurricane, but you knew that. Rating: M Time: The 18th century.

Kate pulled out her telescope and examined the woods and then looked at the town in the distance. Before her education had been cut short by her parents' murder, she had seen pictures of the ruins of Rome and even pictures of what Rome had looked like in the days of Julius Caesar. However, the town she saw was closer to an African town, albeit one with many brick buildings among the more typical huts.

She closed her telescope with a loud click. "I hate leaving those people to the mercy of the slavers until they decide to leave."

"Do you want to fight a war in their town with all the civilian casualties that would bring?" Rick asked her.

She stood looking into the valley, then turned around. "We'll go back into the pass for tonight and before sunrise tomorrow, we'll go to the woods and take cover."

By dawn the next day, Kate's little army was set up in the woods, ready for action. L'Anie had sent a few scouts to the edge of the woods nearest the town to warn them of the approach of the slavers.

Hours passed and Kate worried that she had condemned the valley to another day of murder, rape and looting at the hands of the slavers. Then El Tee came running to L'Anie.

"They're coming, Captain Kate." Her African friend told her. "And like Ryan said, they're not ready to fight."

Soon, the first of the slavers passed by Kate's position in the center of her troops. There were a dozen of them, drunk and singing a bawdy song as they staggered along. Then came a coffle of slaves, chained together at the neck and wearing leg irons to keep them from running. Then a cart loaded down with golden idols, surrounded by a group of pirates who seemed to be arguing over who got which golden statue. Then came a single man on a horseback, leading a trio of young girls on foot by a rope around their necks. From his periwig, and fancy clothes, Kate thought he must be the leader of the slavers.

"Ryan, "She whispered, "I'm betting that's their leader, not that he's doing much leading. Follow along with him and when our ambush is sprung, use your rifle to kill him."

"My pleasure, Captain." The Irishman moved back into the woods where he could keep an eye on the horseman without being seen and followed along with him.

"They're all the way in the trap, I suspect." Rick said, looking towards the pass.

"Another minute, I believe."

A minute later, Kate rose up and fired her musket into a group of slavers. That was the signal to begin. There was a second's hesitation and then the muskets fired in a rolling barrage as each man picked a target and fired.

Kate decided that a second volley would take too long and drawing her rapier, she screamed, "Charge!"

Her pirates roared and ran towards the slavers, waving cutlasses or bayonetted muskets. They were joined by hundreds of Africans led by their Queen, L'Anie, armed with spears and swords. Even the slaves helped, hitting the slavers with their chains.

Instead of standing and fighting, almost all of the slavers ran. Those who remained were quickly cut down. The few who tried to surrender were killed by their former slaves.

Kate's pirates, although strong men, weren't as swift runners as L'Anie's warriors and soon fell behind in the chase for the fleeing slavers. One by one, or in groups, every slaver was hunted down and killed.

As soon as her men returned, Kate put them to work using hammers and chisels to cut away their chains. She also forbade any looting of the gold.

"These are their gods and we'll respect them." She told them. "We came here to free all of the slaves so L'Anie's people could repair the Revenge. And that's all we'll do." There may have been some grumbling, but none of it reached the ears of Captain Kate Beckett.

Once L'Anie's men had returned, Kate turned the column around had headed back to the nearly destroyed town. They were greeted by Queen Calaptra, an older woman with a straight back, iron grey hair and a cold eye. Between L'Anie, Ryan and Jillo, they managed to make her understand that they wished the Romans, as they called themselves, no harm and were returning the gold that had been stolen.

Although Queen Calaptra may not have entirely trusted the strangers, she knew she had little choice but to allow them to stay and rest for a few days. Ryan, El Tee and other of L'Anie's men used the time to gather in the muskets abandoned by the slavers and train their own warriors how to use them, in lieu of swords and spears.

Their first night there, Rick and Kate discovered that one Roman tradition was still alive and well in Africa.

"A hot bath." Rick said, walking slowly into the bath that was more like a swimming pool than a bathtub. He ducked his head under water for a few seconds, then stood up. In front of him was his wife, dressed in a long white gown, with her long hair worn down to her shoulders.

"Is the water hot?" She asked.

"Very hot. Not as hot as you, but hot."

She blushed slightly, then slipped her dress off, allowing it to pool around her feet, then she stepped out of it entirely.

Castle looked at her in awe. "You're beautiful."

Kate looked down at herself. "Not bad, I guess, for a tough pirate captain."

"You've always been a lady in my mind, and always will be, my lady." Rick noticed something. "Um, you've…um, been shaved…down there."

Kate nodded. "It's the local custom. I had some of Queen Calaptra's maids get me out of my old clothes and into the dress. They insisted." She looked at him. "If you don't like it, it'll grow back. I mean I don't have to…"

"You're perfect." He said, holding out his hand to her. "You've always been perfect for me."

She joined him in the bath and they kissed, first a gentle, slow kiss and then with more fire and passion, their tongues exploring each other's mouths. Then he found some soap and began to soap her breasts.

"I think you need to wash my boobs," She whispered in his ear. "I'm afraid they're very dirty."

"Any place else that needs special attention?" He asked.

"Yes, but we'll get to that later."

He ran his soapy hands over her boobs, gently caressing them, and then began to tease her nipples to hardness. He pushed her slowly down so that the soap was rinsed from her top, then lifted first on boob and then the other to his mouth, running his tongue over her stiff nipples.

"That feels so good." She moaned. "It's been way too long."

"It is very long." He said, causing her to giggle.

She ran her hand down his chest until she found his erection. "Is that for me?" She asked, shyly.

"For you and no one else, ever." He put his hands on the prefect globes of her ass and lifted her up, then lowered her down until she engulfed him. He began moving in and out of her very slowly.

"Um, all those years at sea and I never knew you could do this in water." She said, running her hands through her hair.

"Where do you think fish mate?" He asked, getting a slap on the chest for his joke.

She wrapped her legs around his legs and began to drive herself down on him as rapidly as she could, moaning and scratching his back with her fingernails. "God, but I love you so." She moaned in his ear.

"No more than I love you." He felt his whole body begin to stiffen. "Kate, I'm about to….."

"Yes, me too. Me t-o-o-o-o." She wailed, feeling his explode inside of her. She slid down his body and rested her head on his chest.

"You are a remarkable woman, Captain Katherine Houghton Beckett Castle."

She laughed. "Only because you make me so."

"Would you like me to make you remarkable again?"

"This time in a bed, I think."

He took her hand and led her to their bedroom.

The next day they had to sit through an interminable ceremony in which the golden statues of the Roman gods were returned to their proper temples and the smaller gold statues of various ancestors were returned to the eldest family member. Rick, Kate, L'Anie and Ryan stood and walked in the hot sun for hours as priests made speeches in some form a of Latin which Ryan had stopped translating after the first speech. He told them he'd tell them if any of the priests said anything at all interesting.

At the end, Queen Calaptra made a speech the length of which almost put Rick and Kate to sleep. Fortunately, L'Anie had had to undergo many similar speeches when she was a queen so she both stayed awake, and kept Rick and Kate awake.

Then the four of them were called up before Queen Calaptra. She made another speech, the gist of which Ryan said was to thank them for rescuing their gods. Pausing, she looked at the four as if expecting something. Kate was the first to catch one and began telling the Queen that they were happy to be of assistance, if she ever needed any help again, please let them know, and she and her people were always happy to help out any gods in trouble. She added silently, If Queen Calaptra could track me down. She asked Ryan and L'Anie to convey her sentiments to Calaptra.

Ryan and L'Anie took a good ten minutes to cover what Kate had said in under a minute. At the end, Queen Calaptra handed Kate a large leather bag. Then the ceremony broke up.

Once back in their quarters, Kate opened the bag. "I thought it was too light to be gold and I was right. It's nothing but some silly grey stones. They probably have some religious meaning or another."

To her surprise, Rick laughed loudly. "I do know men and women who do worship those stones, Kate. Those are uncut diamonds." He took shook open the bag and poured the contents on their bed. "From the size of these, most of them look like they'll be fifty to eighty carats when they're cut. We're rich. Tens of millions of pounds, at least."

"Our whole crew is rich, Rick. This is theirs as much as ours."

"Of course, but we're still rich."

The next day, they began their trek back. The Romans provided them with several dozen mules to carry food, as well as the supplies that were carried by the surviving porters who'd been enslaved. They also had some small carts to carry their few wounded. The warriors from Queen L'Anie's tribe were armed with the muskets that had been taken from the dead slavers, meaning they now had over three hundred musketeers, plus warriors armed with spears and swords. They had found that the Romans did not have the means to make gunpowder. They did have access to charcoal and saltpeter, but no sulfur. With no means of making gunpowder, the muskets would be useless to them when the small amount of gunpowder was used up.

The Romans escorted them as far as the fort in the pass, which was already being repaired and strengthened. Queen Calaptra seemed happy to see them go. Rick and Kate noticed that the fort was being rebuilt taller than before and that the gate now led to a passageway lined with firing slits for arrows before coming to another very narrow gate.

"That should keep people out." Rick said softly to Kate.

"Until a bigger gang comes with artillery."

They reached the end of the pass and decided to camp for the night rather than try going down the cliff in the darkness that would be upon them in a few hours.

They were cooking dinner when one of L'Anie's scouts came running to her. She called to Kate. "We need to see this."