Pirate Hunter

Chaprter One

{On board the SS Atlantis, Cargo Hold.}

"You don't have to stay with me Coryina." Marilyn whispered. "You're a princess, you should ride above."

"What difference has royal blood ever made in my choices, Lynn?" Her friend, a year older than her at twentyone, admonished. "You're my friend, and I'm the reason you're here. So I'm staying."

Lynn shook her head, knowing her friend was too headstrong and stubborn for her to have any , she shifted her position behind the big crate labled 'valouable and delicate'. She longed to stand up and stretch, but she wasn't sure if there were gaurds in the cargo hold, and she didn't want to be caught.

A crash was heard outside, and everyone had begun screaming. "Uh-oh."

The door to the hold crashed in and the sound of heavy crates moving filled the air. The two girls hid in their coner and prayed that they weren't found. It looked to them that they're crate was the last in the hold before the screaming was silenced and an order was boomed.

"Leave that crate for when we're leaving we've questions to ask." The masculine voice shouted.

Two pairs of heavy footsteps left the hold, and though the girls strained their ears they only heard the question when it was asked closer to the door. "Where is the princess?"

Coryina gasped then covered her mouth, prayed no one had heard. Her preyers went unanswered. "Hey Cap'n! Me thinks we've got stoe-away's!"

"And Me thinks you shouldn't talk like that. Is one of them blond?"

The man peeked his head around the crate to look, making both girls dive for the other side of the crate. That made him laugh and he just grabbed their arms and dragged them back. "Yeah, Cap'n! Both of them."

"Shit. Well we don't have enough time to straighten this out here, just bring them both aboard."

He started to drag them both out of the hold and, fighting with the instincts of a trapped animal, Coryina shoved her palm upwards into his nose at the same time Lynn kneed him in the groin. While he was still on the floor trying to get his breath back, they made a break for it. Since they were smaller and more agile than most of the men they managed to get to the far end of the ship. They looked at eachother and nodded. The two girls held their breath and jumped.

The water stung their skin as they landed with a splash in the cold waters but they got to swiming right away. Not that they knew where they were going. Two more spashes were heard behind them as they sped up, but it was no use. Whoever it was managed to catch up and grab them. They almost drowned putting a fight, but where dragged back to the pirate ship that had been pulled alongside their own.

"Ouch!" Lynn complained as they heaved the two girls into a life boat.

Meanwhile, Coryina was studying the two men climbing in after them. The first looked to be somewhere in his early thirties and was incredibly handsome, with brown hair and aristacratic features. The onlything maring his apearance was a hairline scar along his jaw. The second man had to be about twenty four and had brown hair, which unlike the well groomed blond man beside him, looked to have been brushed about once this month. She took pride, however, in how they were both gasping for air. At least they'd put up a good fight.

The lifeboat was lifted up to the deck and the two girls were pulled out of it and to their feet. They were standing in the middle of the deck, surrounded by the crew of a pirate ship and Lynn trembled, but Coryina stood strong, her back straght. She imagined she looked a little like a drowned rat pretending to be a germanshepard. She certainly felt like a drowned rat. Her blond hair was plastered to her back and half of her face and her formaly light travloing dress was now heavy with water. The moon ahead was full, but it's rays offered none of the warmth that the sun did, so she was fighting not to shiver. Still, as the Captin stepped forward she met his eyes firmly. His eyes were the first thing she noticed about him anyway. They were swirling and silver and had the situation been different she might have gotten lost in them. His face belonged on a greek god, and his black hair was long.

"So which one of you is the princess?" he asked in a musical accent she reconized as atlantian,

"Niether." Coryina replied angrily.

"Well, you're the only two who looked like you could be." He replied disbelievingly. "So lieing will be of no use to you."

"She's not lieing." Lynn Squeaked out.

"Oh? Who are you then?"

Uh-oh.

"We're sisters. I'm Night and this is Lynn."

The captin chuckled, "Got a last name, 'Night'?"

"Probably. But we're never knew who our parents were. I look enough like the princess to pass for her so she sent me on the ship instead, and my sister snuck on after me. I was keeping her company."

"And why would the Princess send someone else?"

"None of your buisness!" She snapped.

When he took a step forward, Lynn took an unconsious step backwards, but 'Night' held her ground. Even if she really didn't like the gleam in his eyes.

Captin Acheron Parthenopeaus looked down at the girl in front of him. No doubt about it, she looked a lot like the princess was supposed to. But surely a princess who had been sheltered like Coryina had wouldn't have put up such a fight. Still the blond hair and firey green eyes made him suspisous. He studied the delicate features, the soft curve of her cheek, the full pout of her lips, and the large green eyes that danced with some internal flame, and anger.

His shuttered gaze fell to her dress, which clung to her thin frame. The string on her bodice had come undone in her struggle to get away, and his fingers iched to pull the rest of the fabric away.

'All the right curves' he thought.

But, not being a monster, he simply reached out and grabbed the strings from her bodice, pulled her close by them, and tied them in one quick movement. When she went to slap him, he caught her slim wrist and pulled it up, past his shoulder and beant to place his lips fircely on hers. When he released her, she stumbled back, calling him a pig.

He threw his head back and laughed. "Might want to keep the girls tied up. We'll find a job for them somewhere."

He knew that she caught the rather lurid joke by the color on her cheeks. Only then did he see the fear dawn in her eyes. He'd have to get that straightened out later. For now, he had to focus on the princess problem. If Night was telling the truth (and he doubted it) the princess would be safely holed up with a dozen guards and hiding from her Aunt. Which was just as well. His job would be much easier if she stayed that way. And if one of the girls was the princess after all, keeping them with the crew would keep them safe.

As he explained this to his first-mate, who had a blanket wrapped around him as he tried to dry himself off, the man rubbed the scar on his chin. "Permisson to speak informaly sir?"

"You always do, Kyrian."

"What are we? Heros or Villans?"

Ash thought a moment. "At the moment we're being paid a great deal to be heros, and seeing as its nice to be thanked for once, I don't think I'll let myself be bought off it."

"So we're whatever we're paid to be?"

That didn't really cover it, but he nodded. He preferred helping people to hurting them, having been hurt more than enough himself. But is any of his men learned where he came from...there would almost definately be mutiny,

"Should we go to Atlantis to make sure Night wasn't just a decoy while they took another route?"

"No, I Have a contact there. She'll let me know. Besides I'm pretty sure they still have wanted posters up for me in Atlantis, and I'd rather not be arested. Again."

"Hey I said sorry!"

Ash laughed it off. That had actually been a pretty fun outing, despite the big man who called himself Buba.

"I just have a bad feeling that I'm missing something,"

"You are. A girl."

"Kyrian."

"I'm serious. I met Amanda and look at me now, I could fly! Well, not really but you get the idea."

"I don't need a woman Kyrian."

"Sure. Sure. What was the kiss about?"

"Okay, it's been a while since I slept with someone, and she's good looking. I'm not going to rape her, if thats what you mean."

"Ash, I don't think your capable of hurting a woman like that and staying sane. I meant, seduce her."

This sent a eyebrow to Ash's hairline. "Yeah, because she worships the ground I walk on."

"Ash."

"No."

And he walked away.

Night had managed to sever the bonds on her wrists and on Lynns, but there was nowhere to go. They were heading even farther out to sea and what was she thinking earlier anyway, swimming? All it got her was shivers, a runny nose, and a case of the sniffles. The big oak door at the toop of the stairs swung open and an atractive woman in her late thirties came down carrying some cloths, and the younger man who had swam after them carried a tray with tea on it.

She tried to look defiant but the sneeze ruined it. Sighing she slid down the wall to sit down.

"You poor dears, all wet! I can't believe they waited this long to tell me you needed cloths! Here, I think these will fit!"

Lynn took them and looked to Night. "Night, isn't this nice of them? Night?"

Concerned she turned to her friend. She reached out to touch her and felt the heat even before her hand touched her forehead. "Oh, gods, she's burning up!"

"Nick, get the captin, Lynn, help me get her into some dry clothes before they get here."

By the time nick got back with the Captin she was dressed in the simple blue frock that was a little big for her slim frame. "Ash, I'm telling you it's an act!"

"And I'm telling you that I'll find out for myself!"

He proceeded to shout orders for warm food and medicine, and someone get up the courage to wake up Zarek. He then scooped the girl up in his arms, felt her forehead and shook his head muttering that it couldn't be a trick. He motioned for Lynn to follow him, then took off to a cabin that must have been his. He laid her on the bed and covered her with the black duvet. A man stumbled in not long after with Nicks ear in a vice grip and his hair mussed. A beautiful strawberry blond woman was right behind him. He, himself had black hair and his eyes were green, and menacing.

"I hope there's a fucking reason why this was sent to wake me up."

Charise, who'd followed the whole time, snapped at him to watch his language and he apologized reluctantly, then waited for an explanation. "Zarek Magnus, this is our good friend Night, and her sister Lynn."

Zarek, seeing the state Night was in, got right to work checking her pulse, her eyes. After a while he stood and faced Lynn. "Did she eat anything on the ship before?"

"Not that I know of, but she could have before she found me. She's been of frail health for as long as I can remember, though. So I don't get what is so important about food..."

"Because, she's not sick, she's been poisened." Zarek went on to explain the signs so quickly Lynn just took his word for it.

"Honey water." a voice croaked from the bed,

"Is that all?"

"mmhm, too sweat." She rasped before her breatheing evened out again.

"Arsinic, probably. Unfortunately, I don't know of an antidote, we'll just have to wait it out, and hope she lives. My guess, long as she doesn't get anymore, if she lives through the next two days, she's in the clear."

Lynn had to be wrestled out of the room, but she was put in Nicks cabin next door, because starting at dawn, he wouldn't be there. He was the daytime helmsman. Ash pulled the dark curtains shut so the sunlight wouldn't reach them and pulled up an armchair to wait.

Acheron came awake to a gentle shove on his arm. He blinked his eyes open to see Night staring back at him with her firey emerald gaze. For the first time since she came aboard, there wasn't a trace of hate in her expression. She gave him a trembleing smile, "You could have found a comfier place to stay."

"True, but this is my cabin, and someone has to stay with you."

Her smile widened a bit, "Please, you can't get rid of me this me, people have tried."

"Why?"

"I told you, I look like the princess," she replied paciently,

"I think you are the princess." Ash accused, "There's too much coincedence here. You look like her, and you've always been of frail health, just like her. On top of that, my contacts in Memory tell me that yes, it was the princess who left, because there was no dopleganger,"

She sighed. "Simon."

"Yep."

"My aunt has been trying to kill me, or at least degrade me, since I was very little. But she's the only family I have. I mean, my mother's there of course, but none of Heron's kin are aloud in Fallen."

"I heard about that."

"Why exactly were you after me anyway?"

"Not the reason pirates are usually after princesses."