And now for chapter 2! Sorry it took me a while. I had the death of a friend to deal with, otherwise, I would have gotten this chapter out a bit sooner. I'll be working on Once upon a Miraculous chapter 2 next week and if possible, some of the other miraculous ladybug fanfics I've started. Peak season is coming up at work, so I'll be pretty busy mid-November till after Christmas. Still, I'll try to work on a few things.

Anyway, enjoy and review.

One of a Kind

Ch 2: A Royal Welcome

Marinette didn't get much of a response out before the masked man stepped forward and made to grab her. Instinct kicked in and so did her legs. The man, obviously a pirate, did not expect this. Sure he must have assumed there would be some resistance, but he certainly didn't expect her to start beating him over the head with her tiara after kicking him square in the gut.

She screamed and flailed and even tried to bite him. But the man both outweighed her and had far more strength in his limbs than she did. He probably had a bit more experience in fighting, as well. Really the only experience she had with fighting was a few moves her mother taught her from her home country, and the one time she punched one of her male cousins in the eye for sitting on her mother's lap. ….She was one and didn't like sharing her parents.

In the end, he had to sit on her with her arms pinned behind her back. Chat panted as he tried to catch his breath while the princess struggled beneath him.

"Fuck. ...You're certainly as suborn and feisty as the rumors say. I just hope you're not as much of a pain in the ass as they also say."

"Noh-chlo-" she gasped out, struggling more to breathe than escape.

He noticed and transferred the weight from his knee pressed against her back to his rump which he seated over her thighs. "Come again?"

"I'm not Chloe!"

"Oh...I see."

There was a quiet pause where a thin trickle of hope entered her heart before Chat let out a loud snort. "You don't actually expect me to believe you, do you?"

"But I'm not!"

"You're in the biggest room on the ship, even bigger than the Captain's, "Princess Chloe Bourgeois" is engraved on your door and painted in gold, you're surrounded by very expensive dresses, and are even wearing one, and you have a tiara. So yeah, really convincing," he rolled his eyes as he pulled out a long, thin rope. "I don't get why you'd wear such a fancy dress on a ship. It's not even a party ship." The rope was wrapped around her wrists and knotted.

He had her there. BUT THEY WERE ALL COINCIDENCES! She couldn't be kidnapped by pirates! King Andre would never pay for her ransom once he figured out his actual daughter was safe in Paris! And even if he did consider it, the queen would never allow it. She was just a commoner. A peasant of mixed descent. And what would these pirates do if they found out their money ticket was worthless? That she wasn't even a noble? Would they kill her? Sell her to a slave trader? Or worse?

Fear prickled up her spine and through her skin. The fight she had before was replaced with it. Overpowered by it. Her hands, knees, and shoulders began to shake uncontrollably.

"Chloe i-is on another ship! I'm not someone of-of value! You don't want me! I-I'm just the seam-hris!" A thick scarf was balled up and shoved into her mouth to muffle her and was tied off with a scarf to keep it in place.

"You talk too much, you know that?" Chat ignored her cries of protest and hoisted her up over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Live...wiggling...potatoes.

"Ah, you found her, Captain. Need any help?"

Marinette looked up at the second intruder but only caught a glimpse before the pirate, now a pirate captain, turned to address the other young man. He had dark skin, glasses, and was dressed in various greens. He, like the captain, was also wearing a mask, along with a hood, so most of his identity was a mystery to her. She hadn't even gotten a good look at the captain, either. Not in her panicked state. She mostly recalled the colors, black, blond, and green. And cat ears?

"Honestly, that would have been appreciated a few minutes ago."

"Oh, geese, Dude! What happened to your face!? You looked like you slammed it into some broken glass or something!" Marinette could only imagine his reaction. She felt smug satisfaction at hurting the captain. He deserved it.

This barbaric woman beat me with her fricken tiara! "

"Haha! Seriously? But she's so small and thin. Better hope those heal before we get back. Your father will have a cow, otherwise."

"Small? Yes. Frail? No. Now grab what you can and have the men take the rest on board. Halve the rest of their supplies and release one of the men when we're ready to leave. That'll give us plenty of time to get away before they're all free."

Marinette held her breath as the guilt poured in. She wanted to kick herself for forgetting the rest of the people on board. The men who worked aboard the ship and the few soldiers who went with her for protection. Not her protection. The dresses and other furniture items Chloe was shipping to Paris. But she had completely forgotten about their lives. Forgotten that they might have died in this attack, all so someone could have a princess's ransom. The captain's words, however, did give her some hope that they were still alive. She didn't know how many or in what condition, but it sounded like the pirates were sparing at least some of them.

She found how many were left as he carried her out to the main deck. ...Everyone. As far as she could tell, everyone was alive, though many were unconscious or heavily wounded and in need of medical attention. She saw no lifeless bodies or dead eyes among the men who were tied up.

Marinette spotted the captain, unconscious and tied to the base of the main mast near several others of his crew. Pirates, all dressed in a chosen hue and masked, carried supplies out of the ship and transported them onto their own. If not for their actions and the dim light from the lanterns on Chloe's ship, Marinette might have missed seeing the pirate's ship with its wood stained black and its dark green sails. A perfect night vessel when all the lights were out.

The captain carried her onto his ship and went below deck. There was some lighting down below and she could make out more of the ship. For a pirate vessel, the craftsmanship on the inside alone was exquisite. The wood was sanded smooth with not a splinter out of place and polished with a shine. Even the few rooms they passed she could see into had somewhat expensive furniture. Only successful pirates could afford such things. Unless of course, they stole the ship from some noble.

Too distracted with the appearance of her surroundings, Marinette failed to notice he had finally stopped. It wasn't until a heavy latch hit wood and he shifted her weight did she realize it was the end of the line.

Surprisingly he didn't drop her outright. The man lowered down onto a knee and hoisted her off. The fall still hurt, but it wasn't damaging. Her back bumped against something. Barrels and boxes. Marinette looked around the small room. It was some kind of storage room, just a little bigger than her tiny bedroom back home. Above the barrels and boxes was a hammock which swayed with the rocking of the ship. Hanging from the ceiling was a small lantern, unlit, and close to the hammock was a very small window, barely big enough to fit her head through.

She yelped when she felt herself be forcefully turned and something sharp scratched her wrist. "My bad."

The rope around her wrists came loose. The moment her hands were freed, she yanked down the gag. Tiny fibers remained stuck to her tongue, so talking felt weird. "Please listen, I'm-"

"Going to be staying with us for a bit," he interrupted her, already at the door and ready to lock her in. "This will be your room for the remainder of your stay. Cause any trouble for me and my crew and the few amenities you have here will be taken away."

"But there's just a hammock and a lamp!"

"I said, "few"," he grinned. Strait, pearly white teeth were seen even in the dark lighting. "More comfortable clothes will be provided for you tomorrow You'll be fed only twice a day, and if you're good, I'll consider letting you out or giving you something to entertain yourself with"

"W-what about going to the bathroom!? And what of my things!? My bag was in that room. It has important sketchbooks in it!"

The captain waved her concerns off as he teetered on closing the door on her "I'll give you regular bathroom breaks, so until then hold it. As for your things, everything but the heavy furniture will be taken on board. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I've got captain things to do." Marinette scrambled to her feet as he closed the door, stopping only to say one last thing, "Oh, and just a heads up...gold really doesn't look that good on you."

A latch slid closed on the other side, the sound echoing in the room. Marinette blindly stumbled to the door and pounded on it. "You're making a mistake! I'm not Chloe! My name is Marinette! I'm...not Chloe... I'm Marinette..."