The tip of the sword grazed Henrietta’s chin as she stared down the length of it. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she bit the side of her cheek in frustration. She would lose this battle unless something changed quickly.
She licked her lips, her eyes darting to the side. A giant swell approached off the starboard side of the ship. It would smack into the ship in seconds, pitching the vessel sideways. If she timed it right, she could use the rocking ship as a diversion and escape.
Her fingers curled around her own sword and she fingered the gun tucked into her belt with the other hand. She flicked her gaze to her opponent as she counted the seconds.
The giant wave slammed into the ship’s side with a boom. As the craft rolled, she parried, ducking under the sword, knocking her feathered cap from her head, and twisting uphill on the deck. She darted a few steps away, her opponent quick to recover and chase her.
Henrietta climbed the steps two at a time toward the deck housing the ship’s wheel. She slipped and slid across the wet floorboards to the opposite railing. With her sword at the ready, she spun to face her opponent.
He took no mercy on her, his sword crashing down against hers with a force that brought her to her knees. She gritted her teeth as the metal blades screeched, sliding against each other.
“You cannot win,” he hissed.
She groaned as the pressure against her blade increased. “Watch me,” she spat back, using the force of her entire body to throw him off. She slashed the blade in the air, driving her opponent back a few steps as she swung the sword, smacking it against his blade time and time again.
He darted backward, fending off her blows with flicks of his wrist. His tricorn hat tumbled from his head, crashing onto the deck. She pinned him against the railing, but he easily shoved her away from him.
“My turn,” he said with a vicious grin. He parried and raised his sword, driving her backward with a similar maneuver. When he’d pinned her against the railing, he held his sword to her neck again. “Give up. You can’t win.”
