Fantasy Caught in the Waves (Closed)

[AvianJen]

Ella squeezed Josie's hand tightly, trying hard to keep herself together. It was moments like this when she felt closest to Josephine; no matter how much they disagreed, they were sisters and they were in this together. But she didn't know what to say. Her stomach felt sour as she stared at her food, wanting to eat it but not able to. The silence was awkward and uncomfortable, and all Ella could do was stare at her plate and think about everything.

The thought of never seeing Father again was too much to bear. Both Josephine and Ella held special places in their father's heart- Josephine was his oldest daughter, but Ella was the baby of the family. She was daddy's little girl, and as far as Ella was concerned he was the only man she needed in her life. She longed for adventure, but at the same time she longed for home. Being faced with the reality that she might die at sea was too much, and Ella felt like she was going to explode.

What would she say in her letter? Did she and Josie both get to write their own or would they write it together? There was so much that Ella wanted to say, but she wasn't sure she would be able to put her thoughts to words. And of course, neither she nor Josephine could mention anything about Alec. She wanted Father to know that they were being looked after, but there was no way to communicate that. Tom might read what they wrote. In fact, she was sure that they would.

Finally, Peter spoke up and broke the silence. Ella hadn't touched anything, and it seemed stupid, but she was upset about it. They had this one chance to actually eat something decent and she was too upset to touch it. Seemingly out of nowhere, she burst into tears, unable to control it any longer. "I'm sorry," she sobbed, pushing her chair back and rising to her feet. "I'm sorry, I'll...I just need a minute." She let go of Josephine's hand and dashed out of the dining room, running to the nearest corner she saw and slipping to the ground. She'd never felt so hopeless in her life. For the past two weeks she'd done her best to remain optimistic, but all the emotions she'd been stifling were finally coming back to bite her.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine felt her anger flare up again when Ella let go and left room. She turned and glared at the captain. When Ella was hurting, it hurt Josie, and it made her angry. He was going to rue this day when they finally got out of here. She would find a way to make him pay for all he was doing to her and her sister. She stood up abruptly to chase after her sister, but Tom shook his head sharply at her.

"Sit," he said in a stern voice. Josephine had half the mind to ignore him, but something about the way he was looking at her caused her to freeze up. She slowly sat back down, but she was looking defiantly at the captain.

Peter stood instead. "I'll go get her," he said, knowing Ella couldn't be left alone. Any number of things could happen, but he was also just concerned for her emotional well being. Even he was disappointed in how Tom had handled things just now. He understood the urgency of the situation, but he didn't think questioning the girls about something they couldn't personally control was the way to go about things.

He found Ella just a few short moments later. He sat down next to her and was silent for a moment. Finally, he just looked towards her, and shaking his head said, "I'm sorry. I realize all of this is kind of a shitty situation for you. I can't imagine how scared you must be..." Maybe it was ironic for him to try and offer comfort when he was part of the problem, but he did hate to see her hurting. Inevitably, this moment always came. Ella had just held on stronger for longer than he had see most manage.

Back in dining room, Josephine was still glowering at the captain. She couldn't help herself. She was done trying to pretend, and nobody got away with upsetting her sister. "How dare you," she said. "When this is all over, I hope you rot in hell." She didn't care what the consequences were for saying so anymore. She would rather be locked up in that cell for the rest of her life than try and pretend as if she was just a "guest" in somebody's home. She would rather be treated like the prisoner she was than them try to manipulate them into believing they were anything else.

 

[AvianJen]

Admittedly, Ella had half been expecting for Josephine to follow her out of the dining room. She was surprised when it was Peter who turned up at her side. He didn't say anything at first and just let her cry, for which Ella was grateful. There wasn't much he could say to make this situation any better, and he was part of the reason they were in this mess. When he finally did speak, Ella could barely stop crying long enough to listen.

"It's true," she cried, drying her eyes with her skirt. Her face and eyes were red. "It's all true. We don't have the money you want, he...if he did, he would have paid already." Saying it out loud made it painfully real, and the tears began to fall again. "We don't have the money. And what if he doesn't pay, are you going to rape us and sell us as slaves or what? That's what you pirates do, isn't it? Or do virgins sell better?" After a few minutes, she was finally able to pull herself together well enough to look at him, eyes red and puffy. There was fear in her eyes, but also anger. He was part of the reason this was happening, and Josie was right. It was dangerous to forget that. "And what will happen to us if he does find a way to pay? We'll be lucky to have a roof over our heads. I guess Josie could marry her farm boy then, which wouldn't be so bad, but what about me?"

For the first time, Ella was terrified for her future. If they lost everything and word got out, no wealthy man in his right mind would want either of them. That would leave Josephine free to marry Alec, and he would find a way to take care of her. But Ella didn't have an Alec. She had a father, but he was getting older every year. Ella didn't know how to do anything useful, nothing that would allow her to make a living for herself. Bad things happened to girls who were on their own. It was just the way things were, and there was nothing Ella could do about it.

Inside, Tom was losing his patience. This girl had some nerve. The captain rose to his feet, leaning over the table and returning her glare with a steely stare of his own. "You'd best watch yourself, little lady," he scowled. "Because I'll tell you this. There is no way off of this ship alive, and if your father doesn't pay up I can and will make your life a living hell. So make that letter good, sweetheart, because once it goes out you've got a week. After that, we'll have to find another arrangement for you and your sister."

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Peter could honestly say he didn't know what was going to happen to the girls if their father didn't pay. That decision was up to Tom. He frowned, feeling guilty for all of this. Sometimes this life didn't agree with him, but there was really no where else he could go. He understood that part of Ella's fears well, but for the rest of it... he had no idea what it was like to be a woman in this world, but it did seem like they often got the short end of the stick.

"Listen, Ella," he said. "I can't say what Tom will or won't want to do if... if your father can't pay. But I won't let anything like that happen to you. Just like now, if anybody tries to lay a hand on either you or your sister, you at least have one set of eyes looking out for you. I might be a pirate, but I'm not entirely indecent. As for what happens if your father does pay, then... I'm confident you'll find your way. You're strong, and you've proven that. You could always travel the world like you said you wanted to. You just have to look for the silver lining. Sometimes life doesn't always go as we hope it will, but we survive."

Josephine went pale. A week? Only a week? That wasn't enough time. Father would never be able to scrape up the funds by then, unless he pulled in some heavy favors with family friends. But even then, how willing were they to help them? It also meant there was only a week for Alec and them to figure out a backup plan, which was just as likely to end up going south. If they failed in that, then it meant Alec's life, most likely. Possibly even all of theirs.

She thought about how she had never before thought herself capable of causing somebody physical harm. But now, with her and her loved ones lives and well being at stake because of the man across the table from her, she didn't think it would be so hard. She eyed the knife beside her plate, but she knew it would be stupid to try anything. Even if she hurt the captain, she was still trapped on a ship in the middle of the ocean with dozens of other strange men who could hurt her over twice as bad.

She returned her gaze back to the captain, refusing to let him get to her. "Like I said, you can rot in hell." It was probably a mistake to continue running her mouth, but at this point it was a defense mechanism to keep him from seeing how afraid she really was. She just wanted to go to her sister, write this letter, and figure out how the hell they were going to get out of here.

 

[AvianJen]

Ella was rather surprised at his words. She liked Peter more than she probably should, but she hadn't thought that he would actually care if anything was to happen to her or Josie. Why would he promise to potentially defy orders to look after them? Peter was very different from the rest of the pirates, that was for sure, but Ella was still feeling sorry for herself.

"Why do you care?" she asked him, still sniffling but trying to regain her composure. "Why does it make any difference to you what happens to us? It's hopeless. I don't feel very strong." Josie was the strong one. Ella, apparently, was the one who let her emotions get the better of her and ran out of rooms crying. Peter's suggestion was nice; it would be fun to travel the world, and it was something that she wanted to do, but Ella had to remain realistic. Traveling cost money, or she'd have to work to pay her way. "I can't do anything," she sighed, running a hand through her hair. It was still damp, but mostly dry at this point. "There's nothing I could do. I mean, I can sew a stupid sail and play the piano, and I can dance a little bit, but they don't teach girls like us anything useful." As a high class lady, all that was expected of Ella was to be sociable, look pretty for her future husband and take care of whatever children she might have someday. Nothing else.

"It's all easy for you to say, anyways," she grumbled. "You don't have to depend on anyone. You can just...do what you want. Nobody's going to bother you. I'd get eaten alive on my own." Crying always gave her a headache. Without thinking about it, Ella deflated and leaned her head on Peter's shoulder. "Why are you a pirate?" she asked, suddenly curious. "There's a whole world of things you could do. Why this? You're not like the others."

Josephine was really trying Tom's patience. He had little patience for anyone, but he preferred a weepy girl to one who actually dared to talk back to him. It didn't matter, though; he was in charge, and there was nothing this girl could do. She was subject to his orders, and so far he had been rather merciful. Soon, that might change. She didn't have anything helpful to say, though, so Tom didn't see the point of prolonging their time together. He leaned out of the dining room door, spotting Alec across the deck.

"You, boy!" he barked. Alec turned to look at him.

"Captain?"

"Take her back downstairs," he ordered, shoving Josephine towards him. "See that it's locked up. Tell Peter to take the other one back down when he's done with her, too." Alec was confused, but he nodded, anxious to hear from Josephine what had happened. He'd seen Ella run out crying and Josie looked like she was about to kill somebody. So far, he was doing a pretty poor job of protecting them.

"Alright, come on," he said to Josie, motioning for her to follow him. Once they were downstairs and out of sight, he turned to her. "What happened?" he asked anxiously, looking her over to make sure she wasn't hurt. "Are you okay? And Ella?"

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Peter wasn't really sure why he cared. He just did. "I suppose it's just who I am..." he said. Maybe it was the only thing separating him from the rest of the men here and he found comfort in that. If he didn't care, it would have meant a full commitment to this type of life, and sometimes he wasn't sure that was what he wanted.

He frowned at her self-depreciation. "You are strong. And if you don't think you can do anything useful, you'll find a way to learn. The only roadblock in your way is your self. Maybe you can write a book," he suggested. "Sell you and your sister's story about the time you were kidnapped by pirates." He was only joking, but it honestly wasn't a horrible idea. Stuff like that did capture interest. If she exaggerated the details anyway. "You'll find a way, but until then, you're dwelling on things that may or may not happen anyway."

Leaning her head on his shoulder was certainly a surprise. He felt a bit awkward about what to do. On the one hand, it possibly violated Tom's rules, but on the other, wasn't he supposed to be offering comfort anyway? He decided to let her stay there, but her next question again caught him off guard. He was silent for a moment, debating whether to answer it. He eventually figured there wasn't any harm in telling her a few small details about his life. It would at least distract her from her own problems.

"I was just a boy. Ten years old. Tom took me in."

Josephine grunted at Tom's forceful push, but she was at least glad to see that it was Alec who he had gotten the attention of. She followed him back down the cell, thankful for the privacy, but still fuming from all that had happened up top. She paced the room, feeling all her pent up energy, nerves, and anger.

"That bastard made Ella cry," she said. "He started pressuring us about father, asking about why we didn't have the money, and that eventually time would run out. He said we have a week before... before he finds some other way to make us useful." She was shaking, terrified at what he meant by that. Maybe they would kill them, but then they would really get nothing out of this. More than likely they would find another way to get their money from them, or much worse. She doubted Tom's rules about nobody being allowed to touch them would hold after this week was up.

She paced a few more times before stopping in front of him. She was starting to get teary-eyed herself now, now that Tom or Peter couldn't see her. "Alec, I don't know what to do," she said, running her fingers through a fistful of her hair. "I don't how to protect her. I don't know how to protect you, and father... what if I never see father again? It would break him, Alec... we're all he has left."

 

[AvianJen]

"Write a book," Ella repeated with some degree of amusement. That might be fun, although she'd probably have to publish it under another name. Either way, he was right. She didn't know what was going to happen, and currently she was blissfully ignorant of the ultimatum Tom had given to Josephine moments ago. At least, like Peter said, they had one set of eyes looking out for them. Two actually, thanks to Alec.

Strangely enough, Peter was helping her feel better. There wasn't much he could do and Ella understood that, but he was trying. That was a lot more than most pirates on this ship would do. She looked up at him briefly when he told her that he was ten years old when Tom took him in. "Tell me," she requested, hopeful that he would. She was interested in hearing his story and learning more about him. There had to be a reason why he was so different. "Just who I am" didn't mean much, and...well, he was probably a little bit older than she was, which meant that he had spent more than half his life at sea. There had to be some reason why he hadn't adopted the brute characteristics of everyone else. Peter looked the part, but there was something about him that Ella couldn't figure out. Besides, thinking about him forced her to think about something other that her current situation.

Alec let Josephine pace and get her emotions out, listening carefully. "A week?" he repeated, the horror evident in his voice. That wasn't going to be enough time, not by any account. "Are you sure? What exactly did he say?" But of course she was sure; Josie wasn't crazy. And while technically it was a week after their letters were sent, that didn't help much.

"Nothing is going to happen to you," Alec said firmly. His tone left no room for argument. He would do whatever needed to be done to protect them from harm, even if it meant putting himself in danger. "Nothing is going to happen to you or to Ella, I promise." But like Peter, there was little he could say to make the situation any better. All he could really do was be there.

"Hey, hey. Shhh." He pulled her into his arms, holding her tight and kissing the top of her head. "Don't worry about me," he murmured. "I didn't come all this way so that you could have one more thing to worry about. Keep an eye Ella. If she lets that pirate take too much of a liking to her, there may not be much that I can do. And please don't make the captain angrier than he already is. I know it's hard, and I know he deserves it, but don't put yourself in any unnecessary danger, okay?" Of course, Alec had every intention of putting Josephine first if it came down to either her or Ella, but the girls had to work with him.

He didn't tell her the chatter he'd been hearing above deck. Everyone was getting restless; the money supply was dangerously low, and the men were eager to either get rid of the girls or get their hands on them. The rumors going around were that Ella might be kept on the ship for a while as some sort of servant. The men wanted a woman, and she was the more cooperative of the two. Eventually, though, she would be sold. Josephine, they were betting Tom would choose to sell to a slave dealer right away, let someone else deal with her if she couldn't be pleasant. It was all rumors, none of it from the captain's mouth, but it frightened Alec.

As for their father...Alec sighed, holding her tighter. "You're right," he admitted. There was no sense in sugar-coating it. "But if I know your father at all, I know he would do anything for his girls. He's a determined man on a good day, and now he's desperate. He'll figure out a way." Alec just hoped it wasn't too late.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Peter felt strange about this. He hadn't exactly unloaded this onto anybody before. Well, at least not while sober. Some of the men here already knew his story, so they didn't bother asking, and those that didn't know just learned from those who had been around long enough to. It wasn't like anybody had a happy story, and Peter's wasn't exactly unique. It was just that he was so young when he joined, with very limited options. Tom had been the first and only one who had helped him feel like he didn't have to be alone.

"He found me on the street begging for spare change or a spare bit of food," he said. "It wasn't that my family was poor or anything, just more like I had just lost them all very suddenly and I was the only one left. Mum died when I was young from childbirth, and my father and sister..." he paused, the memory was painful. He still couldn't believe he was sharing this with her, either. He didn't like to talk about it. "They died in a fire. I was the only one who survived, so I was alone. Until Tom came along, that is, and offered me a home so long as I was willing to earn it."

What he didn't tell her was that he had been the one who started the fire the killed his family. It had been an accident, caused by a foolish boy, but he felt so much guilt about it. He'd never told a living soul that. Not even Tom. He looked down to gauge her reaction, knowing she would probably pity him like others did. But would she still if she knew the whole truth?

Josephine wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest. She couldn't fight the tears anymore, but they were silent. Only the occasional hiccup would sneak its way out, and even they were muffled by Alec's body. He was such an incredible, honest, and loving soul. How could she ever deserve somebody so pure and good? And how could she forgive herself if anything happened to him? With Tom's warning, she felt like suddenly everything she knew and loved was going to slip away much sooner than she had ever expected.

"But I do," she said. "I do worry about you. And Ella...she's too trusting." She suddenly felt really guilty about encouraging the flirtations with Peter. She thought it might be useful, but maybe it was actually causing more harm. When Ella got back, she would have to talk to her about it. They had to be extra cautious now.

She held onto him a little bit tighter. If they only had a week more together, she wanted to soak up as much of him as she could. "What if he doesn't?" she asked. "Then what do we do?"

 

[AvianJen]

Ella listened to his story, supposing it wasn't all that surprising. She didn't imagine many men turned to this kind of life because they felt like it. So Tom was like a father to him. His story was sad, for sure, but there was one thing that stuck out to Ella in particular. "So you know what it's like," she reasoned, "to lose everything in an instant." Sure, Father hadn't died. But the girls had lost their mother only a couple years ago to sickness, and now they had potentially lost their father and their home. It was terrifying. "I'm sorry about your family," she added a moment later, finally lifting her head off of his shoulder and turning to look at him. "I don't know what I would do if I lost Josie."

That was the one thing the pirates hadn't managed to take away: her sister. And they weren't going to. At least neither of them were going through this alone. Peter, on the other hand, was entirely alone in the world except for the pirates that made up a new family. "And you've never wanted to leave?" she asked, lowering her voice slightly so that no one else could hear. Some of the other men were giving them strange looks, which was understandable, but Ella didn't want to get Peter in trouble. "You never wanted to do anything else? I think you're wasted here," she said, nudging him playfully in a reference to their previous conversation. "I think you're better than this life."

Alec had never fancied himself particularly adept at comforting, but usually Josie didn't need it. He had hardly ever seen her cry, but he did his best to comfort her now. "Don't worry about me," he repeated, more firmly. "I can protect myself if I need to. Anyways, the best thing you can do for me is keep yourself and Ella as safe as you can so that I don't have to intervene." Alec did know how to use a sword, probably not as well as the other pirates did but he could hold his own.

He kept his arms wrapped tightly around her, letting out a sigh. "I don't know, Josie. I really don't know. But let's take things one day at a time, okay? We'll cross that bridge if we have to." Finally, he let her go and bent over to give her a kiss. "I'm going to see if I can find Ella, and I'll get some parchment and ink for your letters. I'll be right back."

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Peter hated to think back on that day. Sometimes he still had nightmares about it, where he woke up smelling the smoke, feeling the flames warm his skin. He had been lucky to survive, but he was not so lucky to survive alone with the guilt of knowing he had accidentally killed his family.

"Im sorry too," he said simply. "About my family, and also... For my role in whatever happens with yours." He gave her a sympathetic look, wishing there was something more he could do.

Her question took him by surprise. "Where would I go?" He asked. "If I left? There's nothing and nobody for me anywhere but on this ship." He couldn't leave Tom, anyway. He was not a great man, not even a good one, but he had practically raised him. He gave him food and shelter and taught him the skills he needed to know. He couldn't just walk away from that.

Josephine looked up at him. She was red eyed, but she had mostly managed to get the tears back under control. She never managed to lose it for long. "You say that as if I can help it," she said, but gave him a soft smile. She would still worry about both of them, but she could try harder to look out for Ella. And to watch her own mouth.

"Hurry back," she said, kissing him back and smoothing down the front of his shirt, making sure she hadn't soaked it with her tears. She watched him leave, then went back to pacing. Being alone down here creeped her out. She just wanted to see that Ella was okay.

 

[AvianJen]

Ella bit her lip and looked away from him. She didn't know how she was supposed to respond to that. It was true; he did have a role in whatever happened to her. He had already played it. This man was part of the reason that hers and Josie's lives were potentially ruined, and yet...Ella found herself feeling somehow connected to him. She couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't a bad man, regardless of the life he had led. She was silly and naive, a fact she was sure Josephine would readily confirm, but she couldn't help it.

"I'm sure you know how to fish," she suggested with a little smile. "You could leave with us, if we ever get off this damn ship...there's a little harbor where they do lots of fishing, and a cute little town. You could settle down, maybe get married and have a nice little family. Is that something you'd want? Or you could become an apprentice for a merchant or something like that; they go all over the world to trade their goods, and they don't get arrested for it. They don't kidnap innocent girls doing it. They're at sea for a while and then they come home to their families. Wouldn't that be better?" She thought it sounded like a great life. The best of both worlds. It was pretty obvious to Ella that he wasn't completely sold on the ethics of this particular life. "That's how father made his fortune," she added, leaning her head back and remembering. "He didn't go on the trips himself, but he organized it all."

Alec gazed into Josephine's eyes, tenderly wiping a tear away with his thumb. "Well, promise me you'll try," he offered as a compromise. He smiled as she smoothed out his shirt, shaking his head slightly. "Yes, ma'am," he promised. He had to lock her in the cell for now, but he would be back in a few minutes. As long as Ella didn't give him any trouble.

First, he hunted down two sheets of parchment, two quill pens and a small jar of ink, all of which he shoved into his deep pockets. Then he went to find Ella. She wasn't hard to find, sitting against the wall of the ship with the first mate. He cleared his throat as he walked over, bending down to offer her his hand.

"You'll need to be returning downstairs now, Miss Ella," he told her. "I've got some supplies for your letters." Ella nodded and stood- she imagined that Josephine was worried about her, and she would do well to get back. But before she left, she cast a glance back at Peter, suddenly anxious as she realized something.

"Will we be allowed to come back up?" she asked him. "I don't like staying down there all the time, it's cold and damp and dark..." Now that she'd gotten a taste of the sun today and seen the endless ocean that surrounded them on all sides, it was especially hard to go back.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Peter thought about a life away from this ship. He had had that once, a long time ago. A small family to love and care for, a stretch of land, even an animal or two. But he had just been a boy back then. His life wasn't spent working too much. He had parents to look out for him, a loving and adventurous older sister,and his days were filled with play. If he were to return to that life, he would have responsibility, people to look after, possibly a tie to land rather than just some floating wood.

"I don't know," he said. "I've never thought about it. Tom's given me so much... I can't just turn my back on that. Besides, this life isn't so easy to get away from. It follows you. Even if I left, it wouldn't erase my crimes." He also thought that this life was retribution for his mistake, that he didn't deserve much better. It was a thought, though. He could at least entertain it for a while.

He stood when Alec came by to take Ella back down. He wondered if things had gone alright between the captain and Josephine if the new shipmate had been sent to collect Ella. He somehow doubted it. He knew from experience that Josephine could have a sharp tongue, and the captain didn't have much patience for those who talked back.

He smiled at Ella when she asked if they would be able to come back up. "I'll do my best to see that you can," he said. Maybe Ella could. He was less sure about whether the captain would want Josephine on deck anymore.

Josephine was relieved to see that Ella was alright. Maybe her face was a little puffy from crying, and her eyes a little red, but then they both matched, and she was no longer crying. She gave Alec her thanks, and when he opened the cell back up she stepped forward and gave her sister a hug. "Are you alright?" she asked, just to be sure. She wasn't sure whether she could bring up what the captain said about their stay yet, but when she was positive that Ella could handle it she sighed and stepped away.

"The captain says we have a week," she said. "After that... I'm not quite sure what they'll do with us."

 

[AvianJen]

Ella was a little surprised that he'd never given it any thought. Surely he'd wanted more than this life at some point. "Right," she nodded, smirking at his comment. "So the logical thing to do is to stay and just continue to commit more crimes. Your story and your past shape your present, but they don't have to determine your future. It's never too late to make a change." And for him, it would be so much easier. He didn't have the complications of being a woman. Sometimes Ella had jokingly expressed to Josephine how she wished she had been born a boy; life was so much simpler. It was so much easier to get things to go your way. But then again, maybe she was delusional as well.

She didn't want to go back downstairs, but she did want to see Josie to make sure that she was okay and she would be stupid to give Alec a hard time. Still, she beamed when Peter said he would do what he could. "Thank you," she said. Then, remembering that she was supposed to be flirting, she stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. She liked it when he smiled at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. Alec raised his eyebrows in surprise, but inside what he felt was concern.

"Alright, come on," he said gruffly, leading Ella away from her dreamy pirate friend.

He was quick to bring her downstairs and unlock the cell. Ella returned Josephine's hug, upset to see that her eyes were red as well. "I'm okay," she quickly reassured her sister. "You?" Alec handed them the parchment, pens and ink, which Ella took and set on the ground, muttering a thank you. She didn't want to write that letter right now- it would probably make her cry again, but it needed to be done at some point in the near future. Especially when she heard what Josephine had to say.

"What?" she cried, the panic beginning anew. "A week?"

"After the letters go out," Alec reminded them, his expression solemn.

"That's not long enough, Father's not going to be able to do anything before then," Ella exclaimed. "They have to give us longer. Peter said that he won't let anything happen to us, and then Alec, but..."

"Yes, speaking of which, I'd recommend not kissing the pirate anymore, Ella," Alec commented rather tersely. He meant well, but he didn't understand how she could be so naive. Ella glared at him, indignant.

"I'm supposed to be flirting with him," she snapped. "So he helps us. And it was just a little one." Josie would probably be mad, though. Why was everything such a mess?

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Peter had to smile at her logical point. Still, that kind of future just seemed too foreign and scary to him for some reason. As strange as it was, he felt safe on this ship. The people here, as different as they were sometimes, were his family now. There was something to be said about the comradery of brotherhood felt between him and his shipmates, especially when there some kind of trouble pitting them all against something else. They were all just trying to survive together. "I could say the same to you," he said. "You'll make your own future despite what ever happens after this."

The kiss took him by surprise. It was small, just on the cheek, but it had been unexpected and also... nice. He didn't really think he was deserving of it or her thanks, but he nodded at her and watched her leave with Alec. He wondered if she realized what kind of power women had when they did stuff like that. She probably meant no harm, but Tom had his rules, and he was strict about them. Even Peter had to abide by them. It seemed like the kiss was maybe a sign that they were started to grow too close, even if all that was between them was harmless and friendly. For now. Either way, if Tom got the wrong idea, if anybody got the wrong idea, or the two of them somehow started to grow closer, there would be consequences.

He stood there for a moment, running a hand through his hair before turning back and getting on with business. He would need to put the girls out of his mind for now.

"I know," Josephine. "I didn't expect to have so little time either... but now that we know we need to start preparing. If father can't pay then-" she paused, suddenly just having realized what Alec had said. She turned to Ella. "You kissed him?" What had she been thinking? Since when did flirting mean kissing?

She started to pace again, a nervous habit of hers, especially now that this cell kept them well pent up with extra energy to spend. "There's a fine line between subtle flirtations and kissing, Ella. I know you don't exactly have much experience with this, but my god, I didn't think you could be so careless! Do you know what the captain said to me when you were away? He told me that if father doesn't pay then he would make life a living hell for us. That he would find some other arrangement. I don't think that means giving us some money for a room at the inn for a night and sending us on our merry way."

She stopped suddenly and shook her head. The last thing she wanted for some pirate thinking he could have his way with her sister. "No. This has to stop. It's only going to do more harm than good at this point and I don't want him to have any ideas in case father can't come through."

 

[AvianJen]

Josephine's reaction was predictable. Why did Alec have to go be such a tattletale? "I didn't kiss him!" she argued. "I mean, I did, but it was only on the cheek. So what?" She didn't see why it was such a big deal, although she didn't think she should add that she would have done it even if she wasn't supposed to be flirting. It had felt natural. Was that bad? "Maybe I don't have any 'experience' like you do, but he actually made me feel better. I like him." That would probably get another rise out of her, but Ella didn't care.

Then Josie started to make her angry. "Careless?" she cried incredulously. "I'm careless? Did you even hear yourself back there? Why'd you have to go and make him angry like that?" Maybe if Josephine hadn't said some of the things she'd said, he would have had a little bit more mercy on them. At least Ella was trying to be nice. It seemed they were having opposite problems- Josephine was being too cold, and Ella was being too friendly. But she didn't see it that way.

"Peter said that he wouldn't let that happen," she told Josephine, although it was a rather moot point. If the captain gave orders, they would be followed or Peter would defy them. Ella wasn't sure that would happen, seeing how endeared he seemed to be to Tom. But it did scare her- quite a bit, actually. That was a lot of the reason she'd run out crying.

"Doesn't matter what Peter says, because I'm not going to let that happen," Alec cut in. "But Josie's right, Ella. You have to stop. It might have been a good idea at first, but things have changed."

"Of course you'd take her side," Ella pouted. "Peter's different from the rest of them. He might help."

"He's not different. He gets drunk and swears and stinks just like the rest of them," Alec disagreed. "I'm worried what the captain will do if your father doesn't pay, and it's looking to be very likely that he won't have the chance. We need to be prepared for the worst, and if Peter thinks you're an easy target it's not going to end well. There's only so much I can do. You have to stop." Alec didn't like admitting he was limited, but he was. And the actions of the girls made a huge difference in what he would be able to do.

He glanced at the door, wondering if they were expecting him back. Their time was always too short.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine scawfed at Ella. Just a kiss on the cheek? As if that was really any better? And she liked him? "Oh how wonderful, Ella. Just a kiss on the cheek... And you like him. That's just soooo much better. He's a pirate. There's nothing to like. Somehow you keep forgetting that he's part of the reason we're on this bloody ship in the first place. Just because he's nice sometimes and brings us food doesn't mean he's any better than the rest of them."

She crossed her arms defensively when Ella brought up making the captain angry. "I'm sorry I refuse to make friends with my kidnappers and pretend everything is just fine and dandy. It's not." Maybe she could stand to try a little harder not to make the captain upset, but she wasn't going to roll over and play house either. She wasn't capable of it. She was angry at the situation and angry with the captain and she had a low tolerance for people who hurt her sister or family.

She gave a thankful look to Alec and went to stand by him. She was glad they saw eye to eye on this. Maybe together they would nock some sense into her sister. "Of course he's taking my side. Because I'm right. And he knows as much as I do that Peter is just the same as the rest of them. When push comes to shove we can only rely on ourselves. So this needs to stop, alright? No more flirting. No more kissing. From now on we just survive and focus on how to get out of here with the least amount of damage possible."

She loved and trusted Alec, but she wasn't naive enough to believe that he could take on a whole ship to protect them. He would also more than likely step in to help herself first before Ella, just because he loved her. Even if she asked him not to. So they needed to start doing damage control now, and Peter was a slippery slope Josephine was sure would bite Ella at the end of all of this.

 

[AvianJen]

Ella blinked, unsure how to react to her sister's harsh words. She didn't know what to say, but she also knew that nothing she said would make any difference to Josephine. They were so different, and it was impossible to convince each other of just about anything when they didn't agree to begin with. Josephine just didn't understand. She was too busy hating Peter that she hadn't even taken the time to notice that underneath the pirate, there was a good man. Ella could see it as clear as day and it was hard for her to understand why neither Alec nor her sister did.

Josephine's defense of her own unacceptable behavior made Ella roll her eyes. "You don't have to make friends, you just have to be civil! Making them angry is only endangering us more, and your boyfriend by extension. Acting like that just encourages them to want to hurt us. It puts us in danger." How could Josie not see that? She thought that flirting was horrible now because it might give Peter and the other pirates ideas, and maybe that was true, but it could also have the effect of softening their feelings towards them so that they didn't want to harm them as much. Being a jerk wasn't going to intimidate these men. The only thing it would do was make them want to put the girls in their place, whatever place they perceived them to be in.

Alec didn't like coming between the girls. He didn't like watching them fight any more than they liked fighting, and this was the last scenario in which they needed to be turning against each other. He put a steady hand on Josephine's shoulder and looked between the two of them.

"You're both right," he decided, trying to make peace. "Ella, you need to stop encouraging Peter and I need you to trust me on that. You don't know what they're saying upstairs- I do. It has to stop. If something happens, you can't make it so easy for them to take advantage of you. But Josie, you need to be careful too. The last thing those men deserve is kindness from either of you, but if nothing changes then your fate may depend on them looking upon you favorably, the captain in particular." Right now in that category, Ella had Josie beat. That concerned Alec, although at the moment there wasn't much that he wasn't concerned about.

"I'm going to head upstairs before they come looking for me," Alec said. "Write your letters- someone will probably be down to get them soon. Don't fight, okay? I'll see you later." He gave Josie a quick hug and a kiss before taking his leave, heading back upstairs to find Peter. He put on his best fake smile and sauntered over.

"The little one seems to have taken a liking to you," he said with a grin, hoping he might be able to weasel some information out of Peter about what might happen to the girls if their father didn't pay. He might as well try to do something useful, see if he could find a potential way out. "Must be the braid. Anything I can help you with?"

Downstairs, Ella was feeling a complex mixture of emotions, none of which she wanted to deal with. She took her little piece of parchment and her pen and sat in the corner of the cell, staring at it but not writing. She didn't know where to start. There was so much she wanted to say but couldn't.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

"Hmmpf," Josephine pouted. She had never actually thought of it that way, but somehow Ella pointing it out annoyed her. Maybe it was childish of her, but even the older sister had her slip ups and moments of immaturity. She didn't say anything, just stared at Ella with a little bit of annoyance until Alec said something. He was being the voice of reason, but she still hated to admit that hearing him take Ella's side, even if only partially, was hard. She was used to having him all to herself, so he had never had to play peace keeper between them before. Usually when they fought he only had to listen to her complaints later, not actively mediate.

She managed to relax slightly when he bent down to say goodbye. She hated to see him go, but understood why he couldn't linger long. The captain seemed to trust him enough with them though, so she knew they would probably see each other again soon. "I'll miss you," she said, watching him leave, and then turned her attention to the letters. She would just have to try and ignore Ella for now, while she figured out what she wanted to say to father. There was so much she could never let him know, but she wanted to try and offer him some comfort anyhow.

She picked her own piece of parchment up and settled on the opposite side of Ella. She still couldn't believe her sister had kissed a pirate... father would definitely not be hearing about that.

On deck, Peter glanced up at Alec. He shook his head. He liked Ella, too, but it was never a good idea to get close to your prisoners. "Yeah, well, don't tell the captain. He might get the wrong impression." Peter had to follow Tom's rules as well. Even if he hadn't done anything wrong, it might look a certain way, and Tom could be harsh with his punishments. It was probably better he didn't know.

He stood up straight and looked around the deck. It was getting late, the sun had nearly disappeared beyond the horizon. He shook his head at Alec. "I don't think there's much else to be done tonight. If you haven't eaten yet, you should get some food. Turn in, if you want. Otherwise, I'm sure some of the men will be up drinking and playing cards later. You're welcome to join and start getting to know everyone," he suggested.

 

[AvianJen]

Ella had no idea what to write, and she spent quite a few minutes just sitting there and staring at the parchment. Saying that her thoughts were distracted was certainly an understatement- she was thinking about Father, but she was also thinking about Alec and Josie and Peter. She didn't like fighting with her sister, but she couldn't convince herself that kissing Peter was all that bad. Ella rather liked it. She'd never experienced a real kiss before, and before she could stop herself, Ella found herself daydreaming about what it might be like to actually kiss Peter. She could see it in her head- her and the pirate who was decidedly more attractive in the daylight, surrounded by the rolling waves and cool ocean breeze. It was, of course, ridiculous, and she hadn't meant anything romantic by her own kiss. But it still sounded nice.

No, she wasn't allowed to think about things like that. Even Ella knew that it was foolish. She tried to refocus her mind on the letter she needed to write, planning out in her head what she wanted to say. Finally, she began to write. "Dear Father, I miss you terribly but want to let you know that Josephine and I are both fine. We were abducted by pirates on our way home, but they have not harmed us." She went on like that for a little while, but finally decided that she needed to urge him to pay the ransom. She felt bad and didn't want to worry him, but it had to be done. Ella completed her letter with a sense of urgency and signed her name with her love before blowing on the ink to dry it and rolling it up into a scroll. Her letter completed, she turned to look at Josephine.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "About Peter. But I was just trying to help, and he really was being nice to me."

Alec smirked at Peter, shrugging. "The girls were just saying the captain gave them a week before other arrangements need to be made," he told the other man. "If the week goes by and their father doesn't pay, maybe Tom's rules will change, eh?" He raised an eyebrow suggestively. "What do you think?"

It had been a long day- actually, Alec felt like he had already been there for several days instead of just for one. He would like to turn in, but Peter's suggestion of getting to know the men later tonight might be a good idea. He could start to build trust with the other shipmates, maybe have a drink, and play a few rounds of cards. Maybe they would talk. He grinned at Peter, nodding. "Will do," he said. But right now he was hungry, so he went in search of dinner.

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine felt as if her letter was a let down. It felt empty compared to all that she really wished she could say. She wanted to offer comfort, but also urgency. The one time she wanted to come clean about her relationship with Alec, to tell her father that she had another pair of eyes looking out for her and that he loved her, she couldn't. Knowing that she had to write to ask her father to pay money he didn't have or couldn't afford to lose hurt her so much. The resentment she felt towards to pirates for that only continued to grow as each passed by.

Finally she put pen to paper. "Dear father, I can only imagine the kind of worry Ella and I have put you through this last week. We both miss you and long to come home again, as I'm sure you miss us as well. You should know that for now we are unharmed, but I fear that the pirates are growing impatient with waiting. Whatever you need to do to meet their demands, we will understand and forgive you, so long as we can be together as a family again. Love, Josephine."

She looked up when Ella spoke again. Her expression softened some, happy to hear the apology, and also sad that they had fought at all. "It's alright," she said. "I shouldn't have even encouraged the flirting in the first place. I just worry so much about you, and I'd hate to think I played a part in anything terrible that might happen." This last week had been the most stressful of her life, so Ella wasn't the only one making reckless or thoughtless decisions.

"I'm sorry too," she said. "Not only for lashing out at you, but also some of my own behavior towards the pirates. I've never been good at controlling my emotions, and right now I'm just so scared and angry. I'll try to do better..."

When Alec suggested Tom might change his mind about the rules, Peter couldn't help but frown. He hoped not. He knew there were some who would jump at the chance to take what they wanted from the girls. He certainly hoped Alec wasn't implying that he was one of those sorts of men.

"I think it depends," he said. "If Josephine continues to push his buttons, I'm not sure he will be as... protective of her. But if Tom doesn't get his money, then he will look for other ways to get it, and I'm afraid those options aren't too kind to women. If not us, then I'm sure someone else will get their way." It made him uncomfortable to think about. He had made a promise to Ella that he wouldn't let that happen, but for how long could he keep that promise until he was forced to break it? Until she was off the ship? But then what?

"Anyway, it's best not to even have ideas about it. We rarely face a situation where the ransom isn't paid."

 

[AvianJen]

Ella shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't quite sure what to think; Josephine had accused her of flirting with Peter even before she started encouraging it. "I know," she murmured. Josie had always been extremely protective of her, even though there was only a year's age difference between them. To Ella, her sister had always seemed several years older. It was silly to tell her not to worry, because she always would. "But I just...I'm confused," she admitted. "I mean, I wanted to kiss him. I just justified it with the 'supposed to be flirting' thing. But I might have done it anyways." Ella braced herself for Josephine's criticism, but she wanted to tell her sister. If she couldn't tell her, there were no other options.

She nodded in response to Josephine's apology, giving her a little smile. "We're all scared," she said. "I wish that we could tell Father Alec was here looking after us. It might give him some peace of mind." She was quiet for a moment, and then her eyes lit up. "Ooh. Do you think it would be too much to tell Father something like, we hope you found that missing stable boy?" The only way they would know he was missing would be if he was with them- Father was smart, and he would probably understand. And the pirates wouldn't be suspicious of something like that.

Alec didn't know what sort of impression he was giving off, but he wasn't too concerned with it. Sure, he knew that he appeared perhaps overly interested in the girls, but there were other pirates saying truly vulgar things and he had done nothing like that. Alec also thought that he had a fortunate excuse to be interested in their fate; since Tom had sent him down a couple times and let them come upstairs, much of his day had been spent with them. He was also new, so it was acceptable to be asking questions.

He was concerned to hear Peter's response about Josephine, though. "Just Josephine?" he asked curiously, doing his best not to appear worried. "What about Ella?" Peter had just confirmed what Ella had said downstairs- irritating the pirates resulted in more danger. He hoped that Josephine could convince herself to be civil. All in all, Peter's opinion wasn't terribly encouraging.

At least it was a relief that the ransom was usually paid, though Alec feared this might be an unusual circumstances. They probably didn't usually kidnap girls just as their fathers were starting to go bankrupt. The timing was miserable; if this had happened even six months ago, the ransom would have been paid within days. "Well, that's good," he said. "Hopefully their father gets it together."

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine could hardly believe she was hearing Ella correctly. Before when Ella admitted to kissing Peter, she thought that it was just a naive mistake, not that she would have done so anyway. Not that she might actually feel something for the man, whether it was in a friendly sort of way or even romantic. She didn't understand it, and it bothered her deeply to think of Ella getting too close to Peter. She was quiet for several long moments, fidgeting with the sleeves of her gown while she tried to come to terms with this new information.

"Whatever it is you think is going to happen between you and Peter, put it out of your head. It won't, and it can't happen," she said. She was trying her best to keep a level head, but she couldn't help but think Ella was entering dangerous territory. "I don't know if you think you are friends, or if you're... god help us, starting to have feelings for him, but you're not friends. And any feelings you may have either way aren't real." She thought Ella had more sense than that, but maybe he was manipulating her. It had to stop.

As far as hiding a message in their letters about Alec, Josie was unsure. On the one hand, she was dying to offer father some relief. On the other, any message they tried to get across ran the risk of Alec getting caught. "I don't know," she said. "Do you think they'd notice anything... off about it? I don't want them to find out about Alec. It'd put his life at risk."

"I don't know," Peter said. "All I meant was that he might be more eager to get her off his hands if she frustrates him too much. He doesn't seem too bothered with Ella, though, so it's possible he'd find ways for her to be useful around here for a while. Either way, one woman or even two on a ship of all men has a lot of different ways of being useful, so whether or not he'll keep his rules after the next week or so is really up for debate. Tom will find a way to get what he thinks they are worth."

Peter was really hoping it wouldn't come to that. He already heard the talk some of the men had. They liked to fantasize, in quite graphic detail sometimes, but neither of the girls deserved to be put through any of it. They were just people. Ella was too kind and gentle, and although Josie didn't like him, she was just an unlucky woman in a bad situation. He couldn't blame her for how she felt, and it wasn't like she deserved any of it either. But the men didn't think like that. They were selfish, and many of them lacked morals. They didn't care about whether their actions hurt others as long as they got something out of it. He would do what he could to help them, but his power had limits. He was just one man among many, and once they were off this ship, there was nothing more he could do.

 

[AvianJen]

Ella panicked during the long silence, concerned about how Josephine was going to react. She knew that it was hard to understand, and Ella didn't even understand it herself, which was the primary reason why she wanted to tell her sister. Ella had never had feelings for anyone before; she didn't know what that meant, and she didn't know what it felt like in the slightest.

She stared at her lap and twisted at the fabric of her dress, feeling rather shameful about it all. Was she really that stupid, that delusional? She bit her lip, not wanting to respond. Ella already knew that she thought of Peter as a friend, or at least as a friendly face that she enjoyed seeing. That wasn't the question. The question was figuring out whether or not she actually had a little bit of a crush on the pirate. And that was what would be truly unforgivable. "Aren't real?" she repeated suddenly, confused by Josephine's statement. "What do you mean? Of course they're real. You can't just have fake feelings." What Josie meant, of course, was that they were feelings she wasn't supposed to have, real or not. It wasn't acceptable, and Ella understood why. She just couldn't help it.

"I don't think anything's going to happen," she said honestly. "All I'm saying is...I don't know if I'd mind so much if it did." As for Alec, Ella didn't think it was all that risky. The pirates might think it was slightly odd, but it wasn't something that would point them to Alec. "I don't think they would," she said thoughtfully. "I don't think they're all that bright, really, and a sentence like that wouldn't give them anything to go on even if they did think it was weird. But it's up to you, we don't have to if you don't want to." Alec was Josephine's territory, and as far as Ella was concerned she had the last say in anything regarding him.

The other men had been saying as much, but hearing the news from Peter made it seem much more credible. And that much worse. "...Right," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sure he will. You pirates have an interesting way of doing things." He grinned at Peter and shook his head, pretending to be amused. "Anyways, I reckon they'll be done with their letters soon."

 

[SheLuvsMusic]

Josephine frowned at Ella. "So you do have them?" she asked. "Feelings? For Peter?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her own sister, possibly falling for a pirate, or at least feeling enough to be confused about it. Wasn't it just this morning that she was saying she didn't believe she would ever find love? That it wasn't for her? Josephine thought it was probably better for her to be right about that than to develop feelings for a pirate. It was absurd, and she felt herself resenting Peter even more for it.

She shook her head, finding it really hard to make sense of any of this. All of this was just adding to the stress headache she'd been starting to develop since the incident with the captain, and she pinched the bridge of her nose hoping to help ease it. The part that bothered her the most about this was that she knew perfectly well what it was like to be in Ella's situation. She knew how it felt to be confused because you started feeling something for somebody you knew you shouldn't or couldn't be with. But Alec was a good man who just happened to be of a different class. There was nothing wrong about his character, they just happened to be victims of circumstance. Peter, on the hand... she could not possibly find any justification for Ella to feel any kind of warmth towards him, and it scared her to think that her little sister might have just as little control over herself when it came to Peter as Josie had with Alec.

"I would mind," Josephine said finally. "And father would mind. And there is no possible way it would turn out alright for you. So it can't happen, alright? Promise me it won't." She needed to hear from Ella that this wasn't going to be another problem that Josephine had to worry about on top of getting off the ship, father, Alec, whatever would happen whenever their time ran out.

She turned her attention back to the letter for a moment. She read over what she had written already and chewed her lip nervously while she thought whether or not she should follow Ella's suggestion. Finally she picked up her pen and scribbled the quick message at the bottom. "I hope you're right," she said, wishing she could have sought after Alec's opinion as well, but knowing she might not see him until after the letters had already been collected.

"You pirates?" Peter noted, raising an eyebrow. Then, clapping him on the back with a grin. "You're one of us now too, you know." Or rather, maybe one of them. He had always had trouble seeing himself as exactly the same, although he also had trouble seeing himself anywhere else but on this ship too.

He nodded, agreeing that the girls were probably finishing up the letters if they weren't done already. "I reckon so," he said. "Enjoy your first night aboard the ship, Adam. I hope I'll see you out with the others when I return." He smiled and nodded to Alec before going to retrieve the letters himself. He also wanted to make sure Ella was still alright after earlier, and that Josephine was still in one piece after her confrontation with the captain.

 

[AvianJen]

((If you want, we can skip to the end of the week sometime soon! I'm assuming that he's not going to pay?))

Ella glanced up at Josephine. She wasn't sure what to say; she didn't want to say yes and risk Josie's anger, but she also wanted to be honest. Josie was the only one she could talk to about this, regardless how unwavering her own opinion might be. Ella wasn't naive enough to believe that this was love, though. That was ridiculous. It was too soon to be thinking about anything like that, and Ella didn't even know what she was feeling.

"I don't know," she admitted, finally responding to the question. "I mean, I guess I'm attracted to him, at least a little bit. And I like talking to him. I like his stories. But I don't know." Ella was a little bit scared of telling Josie something like this, but there was something about Peter that promised to satisfy her need for adventure. Maybe that was bad. She looked slightly indignant when Josephine commented that she would mind; according to Ella, it didn't matter much how Josephine personally felt about her romantic endeavors. Ella had never "minded" her being with Alec. But it was a different circumstance. Father certainly would mind, but Ella's little crush was nothing he ever needed to know about. "Promise," she muttered rather begrudgingly. "But it doesn't matter, I don't think he likes me anyways." He was nice, but he hadn't given her any reason to believe he felt anything.

She was actually a little surprised that Josephine took her suggestion and wrote the additional message to Father, but she thought it might be a good idea. It might give their father a little bit of peace of mind.

Alec chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "You've got me there," he said to Peter. "But it's only been a day. Can't say I feel quite like a pirate yet. Getting the hang of walking around on this ship, though." Alec had never been on a boat before today, so he was rather proud of himself. It was a small victory amidst the many defeats they had suffered today.

Peter seemed like a nice enough fellow in Alec's opinion, but he was thinking more like Josephine. Ella needed to be careful, because appearances could be deceiving. And being "nice" didn't change what he was. "Count on it," he replied with a grin. He watched Peter go downstairs, smirking to himself as he wondered if Josephine would have a thing or two to say to him. She had a mouth on her, that was for sure- Alec loved her fierce spirit, although on this ship she might be wise to tone it down. After quickly hunting down something for dinner, he helped himself to a mug of beer and gathered around the large table on the main deck where some of the other men were gathering.