Note: Okay, just so you don't feel cheated I'd like to clarify - THIS STORY IS NOT ABOUT JACK SPARROW OR ANAMARIA. Sure, they have a little cameo but that's all.

I've always wanted to write a story about a character that was just really cruel and this is it. Hope you like it enough to review!

Noel regained consciousness to find that he had been tied to a hard-backed chair in a dimly lit room. His head thumped angrily at him when he tried to flick his too-long black hair out of his face and he groaned. It was just typical – one minute you're watching the regular people make fools of them selves from the privacy of your bedroom window and the next someone is hitting you over the back of the head with a blunt object. Noel froze when he recognised the unmistakable sound of a gun being loaded. Someone pressed it against the back of his head.

"Not a sound, Noel." Noel rolled his eyes; he had read numerous crime books and could identify this scene: it would determine whether the kidnapper wanted him alive – or dead. He decided to play it cool.

"Why not?" Noel counted ten seconds of silence, by which time he had concluded that he wasn't going to be killed. At least not yet. The gun was removed from its position against Noel's head; he heard a thud and presumed the woman – she had a feminine voice – had thrown it on the floor. Sharp clonks on the concrete floor indicated that the woman was walking around and soon Noel saw that he had been wrong. It wasn't a woman: just a girl barely older than he was.

"Oi, what's going on?" he asked, no longer afraid. The girl didn't look like much of a threat with her black hair tied in two plaits the way it was. She had obviously made an effort to look intimidating, judging from her all-black outfit and gun holster (empty). Noel found it all pointless: she just looked like a little kid playing dress up. Her tanned skin made it obvious to Noel that she was from overseas. Although her face was somewhat pretty, Noel felt that the scowl on her face held her back from reaching her true attractive potential.

"You've been kidnapped," she snarled in his face. Once again, Noel rolled his eyes.

"Well duh. I figured that on my own, dumbass. What I meant was: why was I kidnapped by a little girl? I was expecting someone who was at least a teenager." The girl's eyes narrowed at Noel's comments. How dare he?!

"You clearly have no idea who you're dealing with," she smiled without humour. "And FYI, I'm the same age as you are."

"Ha! You look like you just learned how to walk!" Noel laughed. The girl's leg shot out and kicked him square in the chest, causing the chair to topple backwards and wind Noel at the same time. He cried out in pain – the girl was wearing black leather boots with heels. She sauntered over to where his head now was and looked down on him, grinning impishly.

"You are such a push over," she taunted. Noel coughed in reply. He was all out of wits; at least for now. The girl disappeared from his view and when she came back she was holding a full glass. She tipped it and watched with relish as freezing cold water splashed on to Noel's face.

"Just to remind you that you're at my mercy," she said happily. Below her, Noel spluttered as the icy water hit his skin.

"Y-y-you're still a a a little gi-girl!" he stuttered. The girl sighed dramatically and lightly stepped on Noel's chest.

"Do you really want to keep talking?" The girl increased the pressure on Noel's chest, her heel cutting into his ribs. Noel didn't want to give in but knew that it was his only choice right now. He decided to act scared for a bit, to soften the girl up. She was clearly unhinged.

"Wh-what do you want fr-fr-from me?" he asked, pouting a little for added effect.

"I don't want anything from you; I'm just holding you for ransom money. I think the next heir to the throne should bring in quite a lot of gold, don't you?" Noel bit his lip. He had no idea it was that serious. The people who lived in his land had no clue he had even been born – his dad's idea. He believed it would stop people trying to either kidnap or kill his only child and heir. It wasn't working so great, obviously.

A door at the far end of the room burst open suddenly and let light from outside pour in. The girl quickly removed her boot from Noel's chest. Noel tilted his head back and saw the upside down silhouette of a man standing in the doorway. Yes! I'm saved! Arrest this maniac immediately! The man waltzed over to Noel and the girl, sticking his face into Noel's. His breath reeked of cheap rum, the makeup on his face was smudged and the man's beard was horribly matted although he had decorated it with colourful beads. The man's dreadlocks swung in front of Noel's face, nearly brushing his cheeks. Noel shuddered to think of the last time they had been washed. He could tell that this man was a pirate.

"You got 'im then?" the man grinned, showing his variety of gold teeth. The girl nodded.

"Yep. I told you I could do it."

"Never doubted you for a second, love. Now, I'll be taking 'im off your hands..." The man started to drag the back of Noel's chair towards the door.

"Jack, no! You promised!!" the girl cried out, rushing to get her money-maker off of him. Jack stopped in his tracks and studied the girl's crestfallen face. He was silent in thought for a moment, as he weighed the pros and cons of what he knew would be the inevitable way things would go. The look on the girl's face was enough to convince him.

"Tell you what: you can keep 'im. I've got something else to do anyway, up in the market."

"Does it have anything to do with that girl you're always going on about...Eliza whatshername?" the girl asked sceptically, completely over the fact that just seconds ago her ticket to riches had almost been stolen right in front of her.

"Elizabeth Turner. Nah, this is to do with your mum." Jack pulled a face, as did the girl. They shook hands quickly and Jack left the room, closing the door behind him and plunging the room back into darkness. From his position on the floor, Noel raised his eyebrows. He had all but gotten over being kicked and wet.

"What a lovely man," he commented.

"Shut it you," the girl said. Noel smirked and began whistling merrily. "I said shut it!" Noel stopped.

"How long am I going to be here for?" he whined pathetically. The girl shrugged. Noel continued whistling and the girl threatened to gag him.

"I dare you – no, I double dare you!" Noel said. The girl's eyes flashed as an evil thought popped into her mind. She rummaged around in the junk that was in the room until she found what she was looking for. The girl enthusiastically shoved the unwashed socks into Noel's mouth, effectively gagging him. Noel's scream was muffled by the thick material and his eyes grew wide with shock. The socks tasted absolutely horrendous. Tears welled up in Noel's eyes as the stench got to him while the girl seemed to delight in his pain.

"You dared me," she said in a sing-song voice. She watched in awe as Noel somehow managed to dislodge the thick socks from his mouth using only his tongue. Boy, he must have been really suffering. Noel spat out forcefully again and again, not caring that his saliva was only hitting him in the face. He wanted to get rid of the awful after taste of the dirty socks. He let his tongue hang out of his mouth – the only thing he could really do to help himself get rid of the repulsive taste. When he looked up at the girl, he saw that she was enjoying a drink. She exhaled loudly.

"Lovely," she said, mockingly. "Really refreshing."

"Are you taking the piss?!" Noel exploded. The girl pretended to be innocent.

"Little ol' me? As if I would!" Noel's face formed a frown but it soon smoothed out as a smile spread across his face. The girl watched dumbfounded as Noel burst into peals of laughter. She looked at him questioningly. He was clearly unhinged. Eventually, Noel managed to calm himself down.

"I can't deny it, you're actually pretty funny. What's your name anyway?"

"I'm a kidnapper: I can't tell you my name!" the girl protested hotly. This idiot should be scared of me – not asking for my name!

"Aw come on!" Noel wheedled. "You know my name; it's only fair I know yours." The girl shook her head vigorously.

"I'm not risking it." Noel made his lip quiver and he gave her the 'puppy dog eyes', which the girl ignored.

"Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with sugar? Pretty please with sugar and a cherry on top? Pretty please with sugar, a cherry on top and whipped cream on the side? Pretty please with sugar, a cherry on top, whipped cream on the side and a line of toned, naked men dancing just for you? Pretty please with sugar, a cherry on top, whipped cream on the side, a line of toned, naked men dancing just for you and ready to gang-ba–"

"You're so annoying! Jeez, it's Heartless, okay?!" the girl yelled. She didn't mean to lose it like that; Noel was really getting on her nerves.

"That's not a real name!" Noel was quick to argue. He came from a world where the name 'Chantal' was viewed as exotic and found it hard to believe that anyone could be called something as ridiculous as 'Heartless'.

"Oh but it is – if you're a pirate," Heartless grinned. Noel considered this information and found that he wasn't surprised to learn that the girl was a pirate. It made sense, since she was so cold-hearted and seemed to take pleasure in his pain. From what Noel knew, pirates tended to be that way.

"'Heartless', huh? I guess it fits. Would you mind putting my chair back on four legs? My neck is beginning to strain," Noel said airily, as if he was talking to a servant and not to a pirate who had kidnapped him and held a gun to his head. Heartless didn't see any harm in doing as Noel requested and pulled his chair up, forgetting for a moment to be aloof and scary.

"How long am I going to be stuck here with you?" Noel asked. Heartless shrugged.

"I told the king and queen in the ransom note that if I didn't get my gold by sunset, I'd kill you," she said in such a way that Noel felt like she had rehearsed it.

"Oh," Noel said. He paused. "Are you going to kill me?"

"Probably – if you don't learn how to shut up," Heartless snapped, remembering who she was and what her purpose was. Noel took this to mean that Heartless wasn't going to kill him. His hair was in his face again and he flicked his head so that it moved. When he did this, he realized that the thudding in his head had ceased.

Heartless wandered away from him and stood by the mirror that was hanging on one side of the room. It was smeared with something that Heartless didn't want to think about and had a large crack running across it but she didn't mind; it wasn't like she was going to be there long. Noel's comments from earlier were running through her head, 'kidnapped by a little girl', 'like you just learnt how to walk'. Heartless sighed and had to admit to herself that her pigtails did look fairly childish. With much reluctance, she began to take them out and brush her hair back into a high but very bushy ponytail. It would have to do. When she walked back to Noel, he wolf-whistled.

"You look hot," he said, winking. Heartless rolled her eyes and playfully slapped him in the face. "But you still have the face of a five year old." Heartless slapped him again with more force this time, causing Noel's cheek to turn bright pink.

"Ooh, feisty," Noel grinned. Heartless ignored him. A banging at the door had stolen her attention. It was loud and in a repetitive beat. Someone was trying to break in – and they succeeded. A throng of men exploded through the door ransacking the place, breaking things, stealing objects that could be of value and just generally being unnecessarily loud. Heartless's heart sank. She had heard about raids in the area led by a third-rate wannabe 'pirate' and his cronies, but she hadn't actually thought they would be a problem. Heartless knew that these idiots had no idea that they were in the presence of the king and queen's only son so she didn't have to worry about Noel being harmed. Heartless also knew that there was nothing of true value in the room and wasn't concerned about anything being stolen from her. However, the king's guards would be on the scene soon enough and that was an excellent reason to relocate. The men mainly acted as if Heartless wasn't there which suited her fine: she was able to cut Noel loose from the chair without being interrupted. Noel felt Heartless's gun being rammed into his back and she yelled for him to walk towards the door. Noel did as she said and pretty soon they were out into the open.

The sun shone brightly on the criminal and her captive. Heartless wanted to look as inconspicuous as possible and so positioned herself so that she was tucked under Noel's arm with the gun out of sight but still making harsh contact with Noel's side. Heartless led him through the cobblestone streets and in the general direction of the busy market.

"If I made a run for it, would you actually shoot me?" Noel asked, smiling and nodding at a harmless old lady selling apples.

"Yes," she said seriously, after a slight hesitation. Noel took the hesitation to mean that she was bluffing, which made him perfectly safe in his mind. He waited until they were completely alone on a deserted street before making a break for it, looking back only once to see Heartless's reaction. Heartless didn't even have to think about what to do. She raised her gun and took aim.

Bang.

*

Noel regained consciousness for the second time that day. At least he wasn't tied up this time; instead he was lying flat on his back on a bed that had an extremely thin mattress (he could feel the metal structure of the bed through it). Above him, Noel could make out a circular window and he was astonished to see that it was dark outside. How long was I out for? Actually, better question – what happened to me?? It slowly came back to him: the raid, Heartless leading him out of the dingy room and him trying to run off. A sharp pain in his right arm suggested what had happened shortly after and when he looked down he saw that someone had ripped the sleeve of his shirt and tied a now blood-stained bandage over his wound.

"The crazy bitch actually shot me!" Noel exclaimed, gingerly touching his arm with the opposite hand.

"Of course I did. I'm a pirate, not a liar," Heartless said indignantly. She had been sitting in a chair across from the bed, watching over her prisoner as he slept. Noel yelped when he heard Heartless's voice; he hadn't expected her to be there. He quickly tried to regain his composure.

"Aren't all pirates liars anyway..?" he shot out. Heartless walked over to him.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be so smart-mouthed to the person who had shot me," she advised smugly, poking him in the chest.

"You obviously weren't shooting to kill, so I figured I have nothing to worry about," Noel reasoned. Heartless gave a short, nervous laugh.

"Actually, I missed my target," she confessed. Noel was shocked: she had tried to kill him but had accidentally missed! He was stunned into silence. He couldn't believe he had come so close to losing his life. He would never take living for granted that was for sure and neither would he take stupid chances like that again; Noel had learned his lesson the hard way.

"I took the bullet out myself!" Heartless boasted after a moment of silence. "But my mum cleaned you up and did the bandage. This is her ship, by the way – The Interceptor." At this, Noel realized he was on a ship and figured out that with every passing moment he was sailing further and further away from his home land – and his parents.

"What?!" he yelled, sitting up abruptly. His arm stung with pain but he didn't care. "Take me back home!"

"Hey calm down; you're still recovering from being shot! I can't take you back; you're parents didn't pay the ransom," Heartless lied shamelessly. The ten large sacks of gold Noel's parents had left at the agreed location were hidden under Heartless's bed in her room and the best part was that not even Jack knew about them. Noel gaped at her.

"You're kidding!"

"Nope. I guess they didn't love you after all," she replied quickly. Noel's face crumpled and tears threatened to leak out of his eyes. He hadn't thought for one second that his parents might not pay Heartless the gold she wanted in return for his safe return. He couldn't believe that they had put ruling their land over his safety. It wasn't like them; they were always showering him in gifts and telling him how much they loved him.

Suddenly, Noel smelled a rat. Was Heatless lying to him..? He decided to see if he could break her and did something he never thought he would do in the presence of another human being. Noel wilfully allowed his tears to fall.

Heartless was horrified by Noel's reaction – she hadn't expected him to take it this hard! Although, maybe she had taken it a bit far when she said his parents didn't love him. Heartless knew how touchy some people were about that kind of stuff, even if she wasn't one of them.

"Okay, maybe I exaggerated a tiny bit..." Heartless began. Noel's tear flow stopped immediately.

"You were lying, weren't you?" he said darkly.

"No way!" Heartless denied. Noel raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, maybe a little..." Happy that he had gotten the truth out of her, Noel smiled to himself before becoming confused. If Heartless had his ransom gold, why didn't she let him go?

She was relieved when someone knocked on the door, effectively ensuring she didn't have to answer Noel straight away. Heartless's mum stuck her head around the door. She looked a lot like Heartless, Noel thought, just with straighter hair and slightly darker skin. Her big doe eyes surveyed the room.

"Just checking on you, that is all. How's your arm?" she asked. Noel shrugged and then winced as the movement put a strain on his wound. Heartless struggled not to laugh at his stupidity as he was obviously in a lot of pain. Heartless's mum tittered but didn't attempt to do anything about her daughter's behaviour. It was too late for her to start trying to discipline her daughter, after years of not doing anything of the sort.

"Dinner will be sent to both of you in about an hour," she carried on, before disappearing. The wooden door slammed behind her, leaving Noel and Heartless to face the silence alone. Or not.

"I better go see if I can help with anything..." Heartless mumbled, and swiftly exited the room.

It was almost a month before Noel saw her alone again.

In between that time, their paths had crossed as they moved about the ship but Heartless made sure that there was never more than a simple 'hey' before she got as far away from him as was possible on a ship – even one as big as The Interceptor. But now the ship had been docked while the crew 'borrowed' things they needed to stock up on in the local market. Heartless's mum had ordered that she stay behind and watched the ship and Noel had volunteered to stay with her. Heartless had desperately tried to get either herself of Noel to go with the crew but her mum was having none of it. In short, she was doomed.

Heartless leaned over the side of the boat, staring at the horizon and wishing with everything she had that she was sailing towards it – on her own. It was too bad she had no idea how to sail a ship, since her mum never bothered to teach her and Jack was too busy living his own life to do anything for her.

While her eyes were trained on the horizon, Noel's were busy studying Heartless's body. She had on a tight, grey top and pair of white trousers that clung to her and outlined her usually hidden figure. Noel licked his lips slowly, before coming to his senses and remembering where he was and also who he was – a boy of royal blood. He cleared his head and leaned over the side of the ship just as Heartless was doing. That way, he could only see her face and wasn't distracted by anything else. He noticed that she had her hair in two plaits for the first time since she had taken them out. Noel thought they suited her in an odd kind of way.

"You've been avoiding me," Noel stated, joining her. Heartless didn't reply. Noel stretched, glad that his arm was making a speedy recovery. He had gotten used to the idea that he may never return to his home land and be reunited with his parents. It didn't mean that he liked the idea but he didn't exactly have any other options. He figured that maybe one day, he could sail back to his land and see his parents again and possibly rule the people like he was destined to.

"Talk to me, Heartless," Noel sang.

"Shut up, Noel," she sang back. Noel chuckled.

"I knew you were still in there."

"Barely," Heartless muttered, too softly for Noel to hear. The sound of the waves sloshing gently against the side of the boat and the gentle hubbub of the distant market were the only things the two could hear. Heartless watched the patterns the sunlight made as it was reflected on the clear blue ocean, seemingly hypnotised by it.

"You never did answer my question," Noel pointed out. Heartless knew the question he was talking about but pretended to be clueless. "You know...why you didn't let me go after you got the gold from my parents?" Heartless sighed; she knew she wouldn't be able to dodge this question for ever – she had just hoped she wouldn't have to give an answer any time soon. Luckily for her, she had devised a witty and completely believable reply in the month she had spent avoiding Noel.

"I'm a pirate – double-crossing people is kind of what we do." Noel didn't believe a word of it.

"I don't care; that's the story I'll be sticking to until the sea itself takes me away from this world," Heartless said confidently. Noel smirked at her; seeing through the front she was trying to put on. Even though she was a bold, daring person Noel could tell that for probably the first time in her life, Heartless was afraid. It would be up to him to make her fear go away, and Noel had a pretty good idea of how to go about it. He leaned forward, gently kissing the top of Heartless's forehead. She looked at him questioningly.

"What was that?" she asked suspiciously. Noel rolled his eyes exaggeratedly and smirked at her.

"It was a kiss, dummy."

"I knew that!" Heartless said, shoving him. "I meant what did you do it for?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Noel said daringly, gazing into Heartless's eyes. Heartless suddenly couldn't look at Noel any more. She could feel him still staring at her but she refused to look up and meet his eyes. She hadn't felt this way before...sort of giddy and nervous at the same time. Her heartbeat increased to an alarming rate and Heartless wondered if Noel could hear it thudding in her chest – it certainly seemed loud enough. Noel stepped closer to Heartless, closer than was normal or comfortable. He gently tilted her chin so that she was forced to look at him.

"You're an amazing girl, Heartless," he said seriously. Heartless's cheeks were tinted with the slightest hint of a blush.

"You're not so bad yourself," she replied weakly. Why was he looking at her so intently? "For a stuck up prince." Noel chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess," he said, hoping that he had the guts to do what he was trying to. He scratched the back of his neck self-consciously, trying to think of the perfect words.

"Uh...You're really beautiful, you know?" Noel cursed himself – why couldn't he just get to the point?! Who knew this would be so hard..? "And uh, I think you're an amazing girl."

"You said that already," Heartless pointed out flatly. Noel frowned.

"I did..? Well I guess...What I meant to say is...How can I put this..?" Noel blabbered. Heartless sighed.

"Oh just stop talking, you sound like an idiot," she said.

"I...huh?" Heartless grabbed the back of Noel's head and pulled him towards her forcefully, bringing his lips down on to hers. Noel's eyes widened in surprise and he stared at Heartless's now-blurred face, her eyes closed as her lips moved against his. He quickly closed his own eyes and let himself relax. Everything around them seemed to become silent and the only thing they were aware of was the quickening heartbeats inside their bodies. Heartless tentatively fondled the soft hair on Noel's head, running her fingers through it impulsively. Noel breathed in Heartless's scent – she smelt like sea-salt and some exotic fruit that he had forgotten the name of. It was intoxicating. Noel's mouth tasted like the sweet rum he had been offered minutes earlier by one of the crew members and Heartless recognised it instantly – it was her favourite type of rum. After several blissful minutes, they broke off their kiss and both of them were breathing heavily.

Heartless let her arms drop to her sides and Noel blinked a few times, trying to get his head around what had just happened. They stared at each other, neither wanting to be the first to speak.

"Woah. That was amaz–"

"I'm sorry I kidnapped you," Heartless interrupted him quickly. She had feared that if she didn't say it then, she would never have the courage to apologise to him. Ordinarily, stealing someone away from their family didn't bother Heartless in the slightest – but they hadn't been Noel. Guilt had been slowly eating away at her day by day and she couldn't take it anymore. She bit her lip, hoping Noel could forgive her. To her surprise, Noel laughed.

"I'm not angry with you for doing that, so you don't need to feel sorry okay? I'm actually glad you did – well, I'm not glad you did but I am if you get what I'm trying to say..?"

"You lost me," Heartless said, shaking her head.

"I'm sad that I won't see my parents for a long time, but I'm happy that I get to be with you. Get it?" Noel said, smiling down at her.

"Oh," was all Heartless could say. Noel sensed that Heartless didn't have complete closure and opened his arms wide, encouraging her to embrace him. Cautiously, Heartless moved into Noel's arms and he enveloped her tightly.

"So now I take it you're my crazy bitch?" Noel asked cheerfully. Unseen to him, Heartless glowered and raised her foot. She stomped down hard on Noel's toe – and she was wearing her heeled boots.