"They need to have more faith in Blackheart," she muttered as she followed him up to the deck.
The crew erupted in cheers. The men pawed at her as she walked through the crowd of them, checking to make sure she was not merely an apparition. She got to the platform where the helm was and stood on it with her feet shoulder width apart, her hands on her hips and her shoulders back. Isabelle and Rachel stood on either side of her.
"It's good to be back with the Blackhearts," she told them. They erupted into cheers again.
"I'm glad to see so many of you have returned and I am sorry that it took me so long to come back. But I have been a bit tied up for the past months."
At that point, the three slavegirls were sent up to the deck and they squealed when they saw Robin. Annabelle rushed forward and fell to her knees at Robin's feet, throwing her arms around her mistress' legs and pressing her cheek to her sex.
Robin reached down and combed her fingers through Annabelle's hair. "I have missed you, girl."
"Oh, Mistress, I thought you were dead. I have mourned for you and missed you. I am so happy that you are back."
It was at this point that the Bosun returned with the rest of the landing party. He walked through the gathered crowd until he stood before the captain and her kneeling slave.
"He won't be bothering you again, Captain."
Robin furrowed her brow. "Did you kill him?"
"Nae, Captain," the Bosun replied as he shook his head. "I knew that you would not approve of that. I have always lived by the rule of an eye for an eye. I just expanded the rule a bit this time."
Robin furrowed her brow again, not understanding what the Bosun meant.
"We relieved him of his fingers and thumbs, Captain," another member of the landing party informed her.
"Aye, Captain, that we did," acknowledged the Bosun. "We cauterized his wounds so he won't bleed to death. But he won't be able to claim innocent girls again. He can't hunt. He can't fish. He can't tie on his clothes. He will be able to live for awhile on berries and water. But he will die soon, naked and alone."
At this point, Rachel noticed Robin's missing finger. She grasped her wrist and held her hand up. The crew gasped when they saw how their captain had been maimed.
"Robin, what happened?"
"It was one of his punishments," she replied.
"Let's go get him!" one of the crew shouted. "We'll sew his cock into his mouth!"
"We'll crush his balls between two rocks!" shouted another.
"We'll spread his guts across the beach!" yet another yelled.
Robin held up her hands to try to calm the crew and quiet them down. When they were silent, she spoke. "The Bosun has administered justice. I agree with his sentence. We will leave the criminal to suffer his fate."
"In the meantime," she continued, "I want you all to get a good night sleep. Tomorrow we set sail for Bitter End to administer more justice. We will visit the one who betrayed the Blackhearts."
Then, the beloved captain took her beloved slave back to officers' quarters and devoured her all night long.