My second fic. I hope I do better with this one. Please note that *I do not own Skins or Skins Characters*

Chapter One: Avast' Heave To And Prepare To Be Boarded

Emily stood uncomfortably on the dock looking up at her father's newest pride and joy; his new merchants ship—The Fitch's Pride. The sun beat down on her without mercy and she fidgeted in the overly ornate dress her sister had insisted she wear to match hers. Katherine was ecstatic about the voyage they were about to take, which made her particularly unreasonable to deal with. Emily had to admit that she was excited to be allowed on a ship for the first time in her life. but the circumstances couldn't have been worse. Her mother had left months ago to visit her family in France and had written back to notify their father that she had several possible suitors for their girls. This had excited her sister to no end—the dances, the admirers, and eventually the proposals that would secure their futures. Emily could only feel dread because even though her parent's lucrative marriage had turned out nicely, with both of them falling quite in love, she knew that was not the norm and she was doubly sure that her mother had not selected any suitors that would be to her liking.

"Do stop that Emily," her sister scolded as she stepped carefully on the dock. "Come away from the edge."

In Katherine's eyes this was the beginning of a beautiful story; she had grown bored with the few available beaus their city had to offer and now it was time to settle down and start a family—a prosperous family. Her sister's lack of interest irritated her.

"Katherine," one of her father's workers called as he approached, "I've loaded your belongings and your father says…"

"Miss Katherine Veronique Fitch," she corrected sharply because she hated when her father's men referred to her casually.

"Miss Fitch," he said apologetically, "your father asked me to escort the both of you on board safely."

He gave an exaggerated bow that caused Emily to laugh, which she quickly disguised as a cough. Her sister, on the other hand, did not seem to realize she was being made fun of, nodded her head quickly and turned her attention to the ramp leading to the ship. The giggling twin followed her on board.

From across the channel a ship had weighed anchor and was waiting. The captain peered through a telescope to watch the merchant's ship's departure; everything was going according to plan and in a few hours it would be within range. She turned and gave the signal to her first mate who in turn barked orders to the men on board to begin pulling up anchor and making ready.

Emily had snuck out of her quarters and made her way to the deck. The air inside the ship was thick and musty and she took a deep breath when she stepped out into the fresh air. Her sister had fallen asleep quickly because of the heat that weighed them down in their ornate room; Emily had finally been able to stop pretending to care about the dresses they would wear when they arrived. Once on deck, she quickly made her way to the side of the ship, dodging the busy men on board and trying not to get her cumbersome dress caught up on anything, and looked out over the water. She took another deep breath in; the air was delightfully crisp and salty smelling and the sun glittered on the waves. The red-haired girl couldn't think of a time when she felt so free and invigorated as she did right now. She leaned back and sighed.

"Does Miss Katherine Veronique Fitch know you are out on your own and having a good time?" the man from earlier asked as he joined her at the railing.

Emily jumped but then laughed. "No Freddie, her ladyship is currently dreaming of a big mansion and many lovely chubby babies."

"And are you out here daydreaming about lovely chubby babies?" he asked.

She liked talking to him, mostly because it would infuriate her sister if she ever found out, and she gave him wide smile as she took another deep breath. Her breath caught in her throat and she coughed, her corset was too restrictive to allow her to truly enjoy anything too much.

"Actually." She sighed. "I'm daydreaming of falling overboard and drowning before we reach France."

"Cheery thought," Freddie commented.

He knew Emily was softer than her sister; she seemed both happier and sadder at the same time. Freddie couldn't quite put to words what it was about her but she put everyone at ease and made everyone feel accepted. He thought she was beautiful, but for some reason, he didn't get the feeling she wanted anyone to think she was. Her sister exuded a potent combination of confidence and seduction; Emily carried with her a mixture of humility, warmth, and tolerance.

"So what's got you determined to walk to plank?" he joked.

She stared into the distance without answering.

"Come on," he tried again. "Can it really be that bad? It's not like your father is delivering you to your death."

There was a loud crash and the ship shook violently, nearly sending the distracted girl over the edge. Suddenly, the entire deck came to life with men flooding to the opposite side of the ship. Freddie steadied her and began to lead her away from the edge when another loud crash roared and the ship lurched sharply in the water again. They both fell and landed hard on the deck. Emily struggled to right herself and get back on her feet.

"Freddie, what do we do?" she screamed.

Freddie didn't answer and she turned to see a very menacing man standing over his lifeless looking body. She screamed as he reached out to grab her and before the man had even touched her, she fainted.

Emily woke up gasping for air; the room she was in was dark and her eyes wouldn't adjust to the low light. She heard gruff voices jumbled together.

"She's a real looker," one said.

"Quite pretty, yes," another agreed.

"Haven't seen hair that color in years…" still another said in a raspy tone.

She struggled to breath and not faint again. There was a loud thudding of several people's footsteps and an even louder thud as the door slammed open.

"Oi! Everyone out of the captain's quarters now!" a man's voice demanded.

"I found her!" a protesting voice came. "I found the girl!"

"And we are all so proud of you," came a woman's voice. "Mr. Cook, make note that Pettie here found the pretty girl and will be duly rewarded. Now get out the lot of you."

The room echoed with grumbling and the shuffling of feet. The door creaked closed and Emily couldn't see anything again. She panted for air in the dark and tried to listen for any movement in the room. One set of footsteps echoed in the dark and then the striking of a match. Slowly her eyes adjusted as the lone figure walked towards her holding an oil lamp.

"Now let's just be sure Pettie got the right pretty girl," the woman's voice continued.

Emily was feeling more and more desperate for air; he hands were tied behind her back and she couldn't sit up. She realized she was on a bed; the mattress was lumpy and the sheets were rough against her skin. The captain set the lamp down on a small table by the bed and fastened the base down with a leather strap; the panicked girl still couldn't see enough to make out any details of her captor. What she could see was the glint of a blade in the other girl's hand and she began to thrash around in terror. She couldn't get enough air in her lungs to scream. The woman drew the knife down and made a quick flick of the blade.

"There," she said calmly. "You should be able to breathe a little better now."

Suddenly air came rushing into Emily's lungs; the laces of her corset came loose and gave her room to inhale more easily.

"Now let's get you sat up in the light so you can be a little more comfortable," her captor continued, adjusting her into a sitting position against the headboard a little more roughly than she intend to.

"Who are you? What is happening?" Emily panted. "Where am I?"

The woman leaned back into the light; her hair was blonde, cut short at the chin, her eyes shone bright blue in the lamplight. The redhead couldn't help but gasp; this was definitely not what she had expected to see. The blue eyed girl gave her a mysterious smile as she slipped the knife back into her boot and adjusted her coat.

"I am Captain Campbell," she replied in a confidant tone. "And I will be ransoming you for quite a pretty penny."

The captain stood up quickly and made a grand gesture with her arms. "And this is the pirate ship Lament."

The Fitch's Pride limped in the water; the damage was not irreparable but they had no choice but to turn around and return to Bristol. Men staggered on deck and sifted through the rubble.

"Another one here!" one of the men called when Freddie's hand began to twitch, sticking out from under some crates.

Below deck Mr. Fitch tried to comfort his daughter. She had stormed up on deck demanding an explanation for all the noise and had fainted at the mayhem she had seen there. She hadn't believed the men when they said her sister had been taken off ship by their attackers; she had begun wildly tearing through the debris looking for Emily and her father eventually had to swing her over his shoulder and carry her back down to her quarters himself. Even now she sat perfectly still at the edge of the bed with a determined look on her face.

"No.," she said.

"Now love," her father soothed, he struggled to keep his voice steady and reassuring. "Everything will be alright. When we dock I will see to it that the royal navy is sent after them. We will get Emily back."

"No," she repeated. "We're losing time; we have to go after them now!"

"Easy love, we can't do that, but everything will be fine." He gave her a serious look. "Now just you lay down and rest, we will be back in port soon."

She struggled against the exhaustion but couldn't win; Katie allowed her father to ease her down onto the bed and give her a light kiss on the forehead. After watching a few moments to be sure she was asleep, he turned and headed for the door where one of his workers was waiting.

"Send a message to their mother and tell her we have been delayed," he said sadly. "Don't go into detail just yet; I don't want to upset her until we know. I am hoping all they want is ransom but one never knows…"

The sound of his voice faded away as he closed the door; Katie groped under the pillows in search of something. Finally she pulled out two identical dolls, each with their initials elegantly embroidered on the dresses; she rolled over and clutched Emily's doll to her chest and burst into tears.

The door creaked open again and the captain entered caring a small wooden tray. Emily sat up quickly and looked attentive, trying to hide the fact that she had been struggling with the rope around her wrists for the past few hours. Her captor gave her a knowing smile and put the tray down on the side table by the bed. The tray held a bowl of questionable looking soup and a tough looking hunk of bread. The blonde knelt down by the bed and looked sternly into the girls deep brown eyes.

"Now I am going to untie you so you can eat, but you should know that it won't do you any good to try to get out of this room. There are over a dozen men out there who haven't seen a woman in months and there is only so much I can do to keep them away from you as it is," she said calmly. "Do you understand?"

Her voice was actually rather friendly right now and her eyes looked honest. Emily nodded in silence. The woman reached around her and loosened the ropes, the buttons of her coat coldly grazing the girl's cheek. The captive pulled her hands loose and rubbed her aching wrists with poorly concealed yelps of pain. The pirate's eyes softened and she reached down to untie the girl's ankles for her. With that she stood up and sauntered over to the desk by the door and lit another lamp before sitting down in her chair. Emily adjusted herself on the edge of the bed and carefully rested her bare feet on the floor boards; she reached for the bread, but her wrists protested angrily and she flinched. She heard the sound of wood sliding against wood and looked up to see the blonde rummaging in her desk; a small jar went flying across the room and landed next to her on the bed.

"That should help the rope burn a little," she said. "Doesn't smell pretty though. Don't ask me what it is, you won't want to know."

"Thanks…" Emily replied, she pulled back the lid and sniffed the contents out of habit. "Ugh!"

The captain gave her an amused look that clearly said I told you so. Emily took a small dollop of the greasy goop and rubbed it into the red creases at the base of her hands; she was surprised at how quickly it helped. She picked up the chunk of bread and tried to take a bite; after getting no where with the bread she carefully lifted the bowl and took a tentative sip, she sat the bowl down quickly and made a face. Her stomach growled and she reluctantly picked up the chunk of bread again; this time dipping it into the bowl and nibbling the soggy end. That was slightly better. When she had finished it all she looked over to the girl at the desk who had an amused look still on her face.

"What?" she snapped.

"Nothing," the captain answered, turning in her chair quickly. "You can stand up and walk around a little if you want—you'll feel better."

Leave a review if you have the time and if you would like me to continue writing this story. If you made it all the way here, thank you for reading.