A Pirate's Life: Chap 2

You sat in the middle of the office in a daze for what seemed like hours. The full moon shone through the little window on the far side of the room. You finally pulled yourself together and started to explore around the office. You looked out the window again and almost fainted from surprise. The pirates weren't stealing anything. They weren't even going into the town itself, they were just at the docks. They looked like they were searching for something. They didn't kill either. You shook off your surprise and started to look for a weapon.

"Surely the Captain of a pansy pirate ship has a sword or gun in his office." you grumbled.

You searched through the desk and smiled in triumph when you found a short sword hidden underneath. You peeked at the papers on the desk. They were mostly maps; they covered mostly the seas around a place called Asia. You have never seen a map before and you didn't know much about the world outside of Europe so the map intrigued you. Many areas on the seas were circled and some of the circles were crossed out.

"What in the bloody hell?" you muttered.

You shrugged and pushed the maps aside and saw some papers. You quickly read through what looked like letters and you saw the signature at the bottom.

"Arthur Kirkland." you whispered.

So that was his name. You left the desk and you stood by the door. "No bloody git of a pirate is going to touch me!" you muttered vehemently. You were very tired though and you had trouble staying awake during your wait.

It was just before dawn when you heard the sound of the men returning to the ship. You shook yourself awake and waited. You heard the heavy fall of boots in the hallway and you took a deep breath. The only good thing your father did when he was sober was teach you how to fight with short swords and knives. You could give this Captain Arthur Kirkland a surprise.  The lock clicked and the door opened. You swung the sword down and it was instantly met with a long, elegant sword. Kirkland looked at you out of the corner of his eye and he frowned.

"Just as I thought, you're going to fight back." he said in an unsurprised tone.

He flicked his sword and the sword flew out of your hands easily. You stumbled back and glared at him. You remembered a word of advice your mother gave you once. Lose your temper; lose your fight. You took a deep breath and backed away from him. He chuckled and strode over to his desk. The two men who caught you followed behind. One looked at you and laughed and the other acted like he didn't even notice you were there.

"That's what she gets for messing with the best sword fighter of all pirates, eh Capt'n?" the man who laughed said.

"Shut up Buck." the other man growled. Kirkland shrugged and sat down at his desk. He noticed the messed up papers and he chuckled softly.

"Nosy girl, aren't you?" he said as he looked at you. His gaze made you uncomfortable. No man has ever looked at you the way he did.

He looked back down at the papers and slammed his hand down on them.

"Damnation! And we were so close!" he growled.

The twins flinched at his angry outburst. "It seems that when your little lass here screamed the whole dock was alerted. The Italians men probably told him to scurry away like the rat he was. We found where he was staying but he wasn't there. Fursey in on his trail so everything isn't lost Capt'n." the second man, Scholly you assumed, said.

Buck nodded and added, "Fursey said to meet him at a seaside town on the other side of England Capt'n. I forgot the name though." Scholly sighed and said the town's name.

You weren't paying attention at that point. You were trying to see why you were being kept here.

Kirkland nodded and said, "Thank you Buck and Scholly. You may go. And tell the crew to cast off. I'll deal with our little lass here."

Your heart sunk down to your stomach. Casting off? "Wait! Can't I go home?! What are you bloody pirates doing?!"

Kirkland waved the two surprised twins away and they walked out of the door before you could make a run for it.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" you shouted.

You ran toward the door, but somehow Kirkland got there before you could and he locked it. He jangled the keys in front of your face and you scowled at him. He strode back to his desk and he gestured to a chair in the corner.

"Pull up a chair. You're not going anywhere anytime soon." he said.

He suddenly sounded tired. He walked over to the window and started to look out of it. You felt the ship lurch as it took off and you sank down to your knees.

"Please," you pleaded. You felt hot tears of sadness and shame flow down your cheeks. You hated crying. "Please, I have a Mum and a little sister and I can't bear to be away from them. Please." you said shakily.

You squeezed your eyes shut to try to stop the tears. You heard his boots against the wood on the floor and you knew he was standing in front of you.

When you finally regained your composure you looked at him square in the face and your mind went blank. A tender look was in his eyes. He had taken his hat off and his blonde hair gleamed in the lamp light. He really is handsome, you thought. You hiccuped and you felt yourself blush. He chuckled and looked down at the ground.

"I truly am sorry." he said after a few moments. You frowned at him and wiped your face off with your sleeve. You thought to yourself, what kind of pirate is this man?!

"The thing is; you heard what my name was. I can't risk the people I'm searching for to find out my name, not when I'm so close." he said gently.

You gave him an incredulous look. A pirate who apologized and was gentle? He laughed at your look.

"Let me explain." he said. He held out his hand. You let him help you up and he led you to a chair.

You sat in it and tried to look calm and irritated. He picked up a small figurine from his desk and he started to fiddle with it. You looked and saw that it was a toy soldier.

He looked at it sadly and he said, "This was my little brother's toy. I made it for him. Almost two years ago, Alfred was captured by a Japanese pirate named Kiku. I was training for the Navy at the time and I happened to be at the capture of one of the bastard's ships. I was the one who killed his best friend so he decided to have revenge. Next thing I knew: my mother was killed by the pirates and my little brother was gone. There was a note saying, 'You have two years to find us before he dies.' Kiku's trademark signature was at the bottom."

He looked at you and you held your breath. You could see the sadness and anger in his eyes.

"I quit the Navy and I found other men who were hurt by Kiku and I made a crew out of them. I stole a ship from the Navy shipyard and we set out. We have been tracking Kiku for almost two years now. I believe that the only way to catch a pirate is to be one."

He paused and looked down at the toy in his hands again.

"I go by five different names. I never use my real one in public. The only time I write my true signature is when I write letters to my contacts. I do this so that Kiku won't suspect that it's me and hurt Alfred. I bet the bloody bastard thinks that five different pirates are out for his head now."

He chuckled with no humor and gripped the toy until his knuckles turned white.

"That Japanese pirate will rue the day he was born when I'm through with him."

He looked at you again and he set the little toy down. "You will be safe here. Miss..?"

"(lastname). _______ _________" you said curtly.

He grinned and said, "Well, you'll be safe here Miss _______. My men don't drink and half of them are too scared to talk to a pretty woman. The only rake here is my French friend and I'll make sure you never meet him. I was raised to respect women so I'll make sure to do what my dead mother worked so hard to teach me. My father was a bloody dog who thought he was a true man. He never touched Alfred or me but her…" He trailed off and sighed.

You stiffened at the story. Sounds just like me, you thought. You cleared you throat and looked away.

"What? I didn't let any dogs like that on my ship." he said.

"No it's just, my father was the same." you whispered.

You looked away in shame. You didn't want him to pity you. You quickly asked, "When will I get home then, Captain?" You drawled out the word Captain.

You respected the bloody man yet you didn't at the same time. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I don't really know. The two year time limit is up in five months. You'll be home before the end of the year. You have my word on it. I'll make sure you get home."

You didn't want to trust him, but you have become a good judge of character since your father. "Can I at least write my Mum? Just so she'll know I'm safe? I'll make up a story that she'll believe so she won't worry. You won't be mentioned."

You didn't know why you were agreeing to keeping his name a secret. Because you would do what he's doing if it was Jessie, a little voice in your head whispered. His eyebrows rose in surprise and he looked towards the door. He appeared to be listening to something. You could hear footsteps coming down the hallway.

"YOU BLOODY RUINED MY WHOLE OPERATION!! NOW YOU HAVE TO PAY ALL OF US BACK!" he suddenly roared.

You scowled at him and he was grinning. "What in the--"

"Play along." he said quietly.

"You will now help out with the cooking. You do know how to cook right?" he said angrily.

"Of course I can cook. I'm bloody good at it!" you shouted back.

"MIND YOUR CAPTAIN!" he yelled.

You jumped in your seat. You saw why the twins were scared of him now. You looked at his face and you almost rolled your eyes. He was trying not to laugh. 

You heard the footsteps scurry away and you frowned at him.

He was laughing quietly. "You saw the gentle side of me that none of my crew has ever seen; except my best mates Francis and Fursey. All of the men think I'm a cold-hearted git looking for revenge."

"Then what are you?" you asked quietly.

You instantly regretted it. His face grew serious and he looked at you. You shifted uncomfortably, again. You really didn't like how his eyes affected you. He walked around and stood in front of you. He leaned forward to where his face was really close.  

"I'll let you find out." He whispered with a wink.

You felt your face heat up and you turned away with your nose in the air. You didn't want him to see that you were almost trembling.

He chuckled and asked, "You are willing to cook though, right? I have to have my men think you're actually paying me back for messing everything up."

You couldn't resist even if you wanted too, which you did. You nodded. He smiled.

"Good. Now, you obviously can't stay with the men. That would be disastrous. So, you'll either sleep with the cook in the galley or," he paused and strode over to the far side of the room. He pulled a rope that you didn't see before and curtains moved away from a large window. There was a large window seat with pillows.

"You could sleep in here. No one will bother you and you can actually pay me back by talking to me. I get tired of Francis and Fursey is always busy."

The look in his eyes was almost pleading. You suddenly realized that you saw loneliness in them. You shook your head.

"Wouldn't that be a smidge suspicious?" you said.

Again, you couldn't resist even if you wanted to and you wanted to have a reason not to do what he was asking.

He laughed and said, "The men won't know that we are only talking." He wiggled his eyebrows. You frowned at him. He laughed again.

"Well, you are a smart, level-headed girl. First one I've met since my mother." he said. The admiration on his face was obvious. You suddenly wanted to know what his mother was like, to have raised him to be like this.

"Well, will you take the first or second choice? I don't give these often." he said. Y

ou sighed and stood up and walked over to the window seat. You touched the cushion and was surprised at how soft it was. It's bloody softer than my bed at home, you thought. You looked up at him and instantly regretted it. You couldn't resist. You nodded.

He smiled and said, "Well, now that that's settled," he walked over to a small door you didn't notice before and he went in. He came back out holing a bundle of clothes. "My mother sailed most of her childhood years. She used to tell me that my grandfather wouldn't allow her to wear skirts and dresses on the ship he worked on. Apparently they fly up and distract the crew or some bloody thing or another; I didn't care at the time."

He dropped them at your feet. "You can wear these until we stop and the other town and I can have Francis buy you clothes."

Your jaw dropped. Britches? The loony wanted you to wear Britches?! "What?"

"Put them on. It'll spare you and me a headache."

He picked up his hat and went to the main door and opened it and looked at you. He grinned before he put the hat back on his head.

"And be up on the deck in ten minutes!" he shouted before he slammed the door.

You shook your head. "The bloody man is nuts."