She hung from the wall, chains keeping her tight and unmoving as the cell door opened and a navel officer walked in. He looked her over and looked at the sailor standing guard. "Has she said anything?" The guard shook his head. "Not a word since they brought her in...I'm not sure why they bond her like that...she doesn't seem that much of a threat..." The officer walked over the prisoner and said "She doesn't look like much of a threat...but she is. She took down three ships on her own before we finally caught her. She's to be executed in the morning for her crimes..." The woman looked up at him, her purple eyes almost glowing in the bad light. "I doubt that...and my crimes were against the scum of the sea...those crews were blood thirsty killers" The officer nodded and said "Still...you are a threat to the seas...the risk can't be taken" He turned and left the cell, the guard locking it up after him. She looked down again and closed her eyes. She wasn't worried. She trusted that fate wasn't done with her yet. And she knew of some people who wanted her very much alive...

A man was standing on a deck, a few other man standing around. The biggest man, who had white hair but young said "The captain is in trouble...and we have no way of getting inside...we need a miracle.."

Aidan stood on the deck, one hand on the rail and the other clutching a grubby glass bottle of watered down rum. The salt-laden breeze tousled his hair, blowing it back from his face and carrying sea spray into his face. The salty taste was the most familiar thing in the world, as was the heaving of the wooden planks beneath his feet. It looked like a storm might be brewing on the distant horizon but for now it was too difficult to know for sure, as the sky darkened with the setting sun. He swallowed another mouthful of rum as he watched the waves below, wondering where the captain was going to direct them next. His duties were done for the day and he had the evening off, providing nothing of note occurred.

He was just contemplating whether or not to find a fellow crew member at leisure and start a game of dice, when the captain began to shout for attention. A Naval ship had been spotted and the pirate ship was giving chase, hungry for plunder. It had been too long since they had felt the heat of battle and the crew lusted for blood and gold and glory; Aidan was no exception. He wanted to feel his heart hammer in his chest as he pursued an enemy and hear the clash of swords and crack of gunshots.

Running across the slippery deck to help with the sails, he recalled that he was unsure if he had loaded his pistol or not. Still, his cutlass was as sharp as ever and anyway, he preferred fighting with a sword. They soon drew closer to the other ship and the captain gave the order to ready the cannons. Aidan's view was obscured by wet tangles of rope so he was unable to see if the Naval ship was mounting any defense, but he was confident that they would soon board, plunder and sink it as they had done so many times before to so many other ships.

Bane heard shots and looked over, then ran to the other rail and saw the pirate ship heading for the Navel one, the one his captain was on. "Oh no...no not now..." He looked around and said "Boys we got a problem. If that ship takes the marines, they won't let our fair captain go free...they will kill her. We better beat them to the punch. Ready the sails, we are heading after them after all"

The woman looked up when she heard canon fire and she muttered weakly "That can't be Bane...I told them not to come after me...I have to get out of here..." She fought to get free of her chains, but she was too weak. She needed to shed blood to get her strength back, and for her curse to take affect. She cursed, trying to pull free. She was dead either way if she didn't get free. From the rope in the morning, of a blade in the heart in just a short while.

The prow of the pirate ship cut through the waves as it picked up speed, drawing towards the Naval ship. The canon fire was mistimed and fell too short to do any real damage, sending up plumes of water and knocking splinters out of the side of the ship but failing to make any proper holes. The captain cursed the crew for "a lot o' useless landlubbers" and ordered a party of boarders to cross. Aidan volunteered straightaway and ran to the railing, grabbing a rope. With a handful of other crew members to each side of him, he gripped the rope until his knuckles turned white as they swung out across the narrow expanse of churning water between the two ships.

When the deck of the Naval ship was beneath him, Aidan let go of his rope and dropped to a crouch, then leapt up and drew his sword. His captain was shouting orders; "Kill every man on board and steal everything they have worth stealing!" With a cry he swung at the nearest sailor, catching the blue-jacketed arm as it drew a pistol. He fought his way across the deck alongside his fellows, crossing swords with every sailor to step in his path until he reached the ladder to the lower deck. A sword had grazed his cheek lightly and sent blood trickling down the side of his face, but the wound wasn't serious. He could already feel bruises forming on his hands and arms from catching the hilts of enemy swords, and sweat was trickling down his back. He loved every moment of it. He planned to fight his way belowdecks and see what treasure there was to be had.

Bane was steering the helm, cursing softly as he saw the pirates already taking the navel ship. "Alright...we may have to let her loose...if the captain is in trouble on board we have to do something to save her...or we are all in trouble.." Bane turned and called "Dante! Ready the guns! If we have to take both ships then I want to be ready too!" He heard a reply and then turned back to the fight before them. "Maggie...please be alright..."

The captain was fighting to loosen her chained hands, but with no food, no medical aid or real sleep, she was lucky to lift her arms. Then she heard steps and laughing nearby. she froze, then pulled harder at the chains. "If only I had a weapon and could get one hit in...that's all I need..." Her legs buckled and she slid to the ground, coughing into her hands as the noises got closer. She was in trouble, and worse off she couldn't defend herself in this state.

Aidan worked his way through the lower levels of the ship, the noise of the battle fading behind him. He was eager to claim the best plunder before anyone else, but so far all the cabins he looked in had been a disappointment - there was nothing except naval uniforms and dusty scrolls of paper, the words of which he couldn't read. Frustrated, he rounded a corner of the narrow corridor and found himself face to face with a guard, who was standing in front of a heavy barred door.

Without hesitating, he drew his cutlass and leapt in for the attack, blocking the sailor's first two slashes and ducking underneath the third. He always tried to avoid fencing with his opponents for overly long, as he was no formally-trained swordsman and had learnt all he knew of blades on the deck of a ship, where he had quickly realised innovation and ruthlessness would serve him better than any showy techniques. He employed that now, kicking the sailor between his legs and driving his cutlass through his throat. Blood sprayed his face and chest as he pulled the sword out, and he cursed - bloodstains were impossible to get out of fabric. He would have to find a new shirt soon.

He retrieved a heavy ring of keys from the sailor's belt and after a few tries found the one to unlock the door in front of him, revealing long corridor lined with cells. He peered into each one as he passed but they were all empty except for a few rusted chains. When he reached the cell at the end however, he found its door shut and chained. It took him longer to locate the correct key this time, he finally identified one with an ugly handle spotted with rust, and undid the heavy chains that held the door closed. The hinges screamed as he pulled it open and squinted into the darkness, stepping to the side to allow a few fingers of light from the corridor to penetrate the gloom.

He could vaguely make out the shape of a figure chained to the wall and walked forwards with his sword out, intending to open his throat and make an end. Whoever they were was no concern of his and he had been ordered to kill everyone on board. The person seemed exhausted and in a bad state - it was a mercy. He seized the figure's hair and yanked their head back, but then the light from the corridor caught their face and he stopped in surprise. It was a woman, her purple eyes vivid in the gloom. What was a woman doing here? Whatever the reason, he certainly couldn't kill her - it would be wrong. Aidan sheathed his cutlass and looked at her, hard. "Hello," he said warily.

Maggie heard the door open and fought to get up, not willing to die on her knees. But the man was stronger then her and grabbed her hair, pulling it back to show her neck. She closed her eyes, ready for the metal to cut her throat and end it all....but the pain never came.

She opened her eyes and looked at him, his words barely reaching her ears. She panted, having been coughing not long ago and was worse for wear. She looked at him and said weakly "hello there....you must be a pirate....the guard...is he dead? Please tell me it was slow....he was a brut...." She coughed again, her legs buckling under her.

"He's dead," Aidan said slowly. He found the right key and undid her chains, but she barely looked strong enough to stand. "Can you walk?" he asked her. "If you want to live, you'll need to get off the ship. Me and the others have been ordered to kill every man on board, but, well, you're not a man." He chuckled a little. Faint sounds of the fighting above were drifting through the open door, screams and clashes of swords and gunshots.

"I need to go," he stated curtly, looking down on the girl. She was nothing to him, and yet, he wondered if he was supposed to protect her. Weren't men supposed be chivalrous and protect the weak? He didn't know. Him and his crewmates would look out for each other, yes, but he'd never protected anyone before. Suddenly he wished someone would tell him what to do.

"Do you... do you need some help?" he found himself asking reluctantly.

Maggie was slowly getting to her feet, using the wall and the chains to pull herself up. For looking as bad as she did, she still had a little strength left, but not much. "My crew....will be following the ship....if I can get to them...before they attack to rescue me...then maybe we can all get out of this in one piece...." She flinched but stood firm, a new fire burning in her eyes. This was her chance to get out of here...she just needed to survive long enough to get to her ship

I suppose I'll have to help her get to them, Aidan thought to himself. He could hardly abandon her now. "Your... crew?" he said slowly. "You mean... you're the Captain?" His eyes widened. He had never heard of a ship being captained by a woman before, but now he thought about it he supposed a woman could do just as well as a man.

"Well, we're wasting time!" He held the door open for her. His plan was to see the woman safely to her ship and then rejoin his own. He didn't want to think about what he would do if his crewmates had already sailed by the time the task was complete.

She smiled and moved over to him. "Thank you...I'm sorry, I never caught your..." Suddenly she pushed him out of the way as a guard appeared and swung his saber down on them. She moved out of the way shifty and pulled Aidan's saber from his side and ducked down enough to run the blade through the guards chest, his blood landing on her bare arm. She sighed as the blood was absorbed into her pores and her eyes glowed softly. She stood up and held her free hand to help Aidan up , the other returning his saber. "As I was saying...what is your name sailor?"

She smiled and moved over to him. "Thank you...I'm sorry, I never caught your..." Suddenly she pushed him out of the way as a guard appeared and swung his saber down on them. She moved out of the way shifty and pulled Aidan's saber from his side and ducked down enough to run the blade through the guards chest, his blood landing on her bare arm. She sighed as the blood was absorbed into her pores and her eyes glowed softly. She stood up and held her free hand to help Aidan up , the other returning his saber. "As I was saying...what is your name sailor?"