Chapter 8: Abducted





It didn't take Lily long to snatch it out of his hand and attempt to match it up with the piece that Blackheart was holding. A smirk spread across her face when she realized that part of it did fit, and she looked over at Marty. Perhaps she could forgive him for winning their little fight if this map did end up leading them to some treasure.

"Good job, squirt. Looks like you're useful for something after all. Now give that damn sword back." snatching it off him, she gave it back to the pirate she'd borrowed it from. Her attention was then turned towards the three children that stood in amongst the band of pirates. "And what do you think you are doing here?"

Tyler's eyes widened. "Um. We were just leaving." the three of them went to rejoin the villagers, but a meaty paw was placed upon Tyler's chest. "Uh...guys?" Kirra and Alison hadn't heard him. They'd managed to make it through in once piece, and were now more than happily getting the hell out of there along with Sol and the rest of them.

"Oh no, boy. You aren't going anywhere. You're coming with us." the pirate that had stopped him gave a grin that was missing a few teeth here and there, and pulled Tyler back into the sand so that they could tie him up and gag him.

"Come on. Bring him back to the ship. That way he can't escape." Captain Blackheart ordered.

Lily jumped into the row boat before it had even left the sand. That way they could hoist the struggling boy in better. It also might have been because she didn't want to get her boots wet again. Showing some good balancing skills as they pushed the boat off into the water, she gestured for Marty to come along with them.

Sitting at the bow of the little boat, she pushed Marty down onto the same plank of wood that she was sitting on, which left Tyler in the muck at the bottom at their feet. They were facing the rowers, and Captain Blackheart and Dougal were sitting behind them facing the front too. Looking down at the struggling brother, the first mate gave a smirk. Dipping her foot into the cold, sandy muck that had gotten into the vessel, she promptly placed her foot on his face, which smeared it all over his cheek.

Taking her leg away to admire her handywork, it got a snicker out of even Marty at seeing the look on his face. The muck smelled faintly like rotting fish, seaweed, and the surf, and it made him gag against the foul tasting strip of material in his mouth. Grinning, she placed her foot back over his face so that she didn't have to look at him. That and it was to show him who was boss.

Kicking up her other leg and resting it on his side, she folded her hands across her abdomen and relaxed easily during their journey back to the ship. Marty was smirking to himself most of the way. Sure, he knew his brother was probably in trouble, but he couldn't help but get some amusement out of the situation.

It wasn't long before she noticed the grin that he was trying to hide. "And just what are you laughing at?"

Marty quickly wiped it off, thinking he wasn't supposed to be laughing at the situation. "Oh...um...Tyler did the same thing to me when I was little. We were playing a game, and he put mud all over me. So it's funny."

Lily just rolled her eyes, but moved her foot again so she could see the glare on Tyler's face. Giving a chuckle that deepened the dimples upon her cheeks, she replaced her foot for the rest of the journey back to the clipper, leaving him in darkness.






The ship looked huge up close, and Marty stared up at it in awe. It was going to be a task getting Tyler up there without Cannonball to sling him up on his shoulder, so instead they called down for a rope which they fastened around his waist and hoisted him up with. Captain Blackheart and Dougal were the first up Jacob's ladder as their end of the ship was in the best position. Then they waited for the boat to be tied properly so it didn't drift off as the two men manning the oars took up off the ladder.

Next it was Marty's turn. He was quite up close and personal with the thick rungs. So close, in fact, he could easily see all the fibres, the parts where where it was rotting away, and even the slime upon it. Standing up in the little boat, it took him a while to gain his balance, and he gripped onto the latticed rope ladder. The rungs were a little big for his hands, and although he did his best to climb up, 10 seconds had passed and he'd barely gotten up out of the boat.

"Ugh. I'm starting to have second thoughts about making you a pirate." she grumbled, and started scaling Jacob's ladder behind him. "Spread 'em." Marty's eyes widened. Okay. First they were pirates, and now it was a cop show. But he did what she said, and found Lily skilfully sliding and then climbing up underneath him until he was barefly able to hold on anymore. "Climb on, pipsqueak. We'll be here all day if I let you go by yourself."

Reluctantly relinquishing his footing to wrap his legs around her waist, he then wrapped one arm around her neck and the other up under her arm like a deranged backpack, and clung to her tightly. Despite the added weight, she was still able to scale up the side of the ship with some form of grace, and she hoisted herself with a groan up onto the edge, with her legs hanging over it so that Marty could climb off her first.

He was recieved with a bunch of laughs from the pirates on board, which made him blush a little. "Hah! He isn't even strong enough to climb up a ladder! Little baby had to get help from a girl." they chortled at his expense while Lily climbed up onto the ship

One of them grabbed his arm and took a look at what lack of muscles that he had. "You call that an arm, boy? This is an arm." Flexing his bicep, Marty gulped at how large it loked compared to the size of his own head. He'd have to remind himself not to get on his bad side, or the pirate might crack open his skull like a walnut.

Feeling a cool, more feminine hand upon his back, he was soon led away from the jeering crew members. "Don't worry about them. I got the same crap that you were getting because I was a woman. Technically neither of us is allowed on this ship due to some Pirate Code, but who really follows it anyway? We break laws. Not make them. I think it's for privateers anyway." she shrugged, her voice not quite as hardened as it was before, as she did have a tiny bit of empathy for him, having been placed in the same situation many years ago. Now the others were just jealous because her smaller frame got up the rigging faster without getting tangled as much as they did.

With her nice talk over, Lily began to show him around the ship, pointing out what the bow, stern, gunwhale, and many other parts were, along with where the Captain's cabin was, and most importantly the head. Taking him down below deck for that she also pointed out the galley, mess hall, and the sleeping quarters, which were a bunch of hammocks strung up with boots and clothes lying here and there.

"You'll be sleeping down here with the rest of the men." she informed him, and led him down the back of the ship to a hammock near the wall, rather than in the middle of the ship where he'd be surrounded on all sides. "You'll have this top bunk here." she pointed at the one that was level with his head. She knew he was about to ask how to get up there, but she pointed to the little pieces of wood tacked onto the standing beams.

"Ah."

Leading him back up onto the deck, she then showed him where her own quarters were in case he needed to find her for whatever reason. "So the Captain's quarter's are under the...." he quizzed him.

"Uh...quarter...deck?"

"Correct. And where are mine?"

Marty thought for a good long while. "Um...Over there." he grinned, and pointed at the opposite end of the ship. Lily just looked at him like he was stupid, and he quickly wiped the smile off his face.

"You have a lot to learn, squirt." she sighed, and then bent down.

Marty looked at her as if she was crazy until she took off her boots and shoved them into his chest.

"And your first lesson is how to clean my boots."

Grabbing some leather polish and an old stained rag from the bos'n's chest, she flopped the rag over his shoulder and pressed the tin of polish into his hand. Giving him a cocky smile, she then sauntered off towards her cabin, making sure to stay well in line with the boards so that she didn't get tar all over her feet from the fresh caulking.

Marty stood there staring at her. Until that was, he got a whiff of her boots. Making a face and then fanning the smell away from his face, he held them out well in front of him. Figuring he'd go and sit on the poop deck and out of the way of everyone, he went to complete the task assigned to him.

Great. This was going to be ever so fun.

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