Chapter 1 - 1715, 4 Months Prior to the start of the show.
Marie stood on the bow of the merchant's ship she managed to secure passage on. If the captain wasn't her cousin...She sighed softly, and gazed to the island on the horizon. New Providence Island... She thought back to the last time she was here, and the strange pirate she met there on a beach. She heard rumors of him recently, and she wondered if they were true, or if they were even the right man. She wondered thought why a man like him had ever humored her and her antics.
"Does he even remember me? Or our conversation about me joining his crew..hm.." She leaned against the railing, and adjusted her hood as they drew closer to the island. She wanted to pass unnoticed for now, until she got her bearings. Seven years is a long time, after all.
Captain Vane sat a table in the tavern, nursing a mug of rum. Tomorrow he'd back on the Ranger, back at sea, hunting. For now though he had to spend another night in this fucking place. He glared over the top of his mug at the source of his troubles.
Eleanor Guthrie.
Small, slender, gentle curves...Her beautiful blonde hair was yanked back in one of those 'up-does' of hers, making her appear more severe. She had hard blue eyes that brightened wonderfully when she was passionate about something.
Damn her.
Vane downed the rest of his rum, slamming the mug on the table. He stood, knowing he caught the notice of some people. Turning, he headed for the door; he needed some fresh air. As he reached the exit, a small cloaked form slipped in past him.
Glancing after the person, he watched them head over to Eleanor. With a snort, he strolled outside, shooting a glance up at the sun as it made its slow descent. Nightfall, then dawn again. He felt a brief shiver of excitement at the coming hunt as he strolled down the street.
Marie sighed as she sat down in a chair facing Eleanor's desk. It took her a minute, but Eleanor joined her, closing the door firmly behind her.
"Well, Marie...I was wondering when you would finally grace me with your presence." She walked to her seat and sat down, eyeing the young woman seated across from her. "I've heard a few rumors of late that I assume are your doing?"
"Are you referring to what happened in London?"
"...London...? No, I was referring to Boston."
"Ah...Boston. Beautiful this time of year I hear." Marie said easily, ignoring the matter at hand.
"Marie...Why are you here?"
"Hm? Why? I figured that I'd visit one of the few places I actually liked when growing up. Plus, I wanted to see you. I mean, we haven't seen eachother in seven years. Can't blame a girl for wanting to stop by, can you?"
"Bull shit. Why are you really here?" Eleanor eyed her with the cold calculation of a woman use to getting what she wanted, no matter the means to do so.
"You've grown up to be quite pleasent." Marie said dryily. "Fine, I have something I need to do and to do it I need a certain pirate. If he remembers me, and if I can get him to remember a promise that wasn't really a 'promise' he made me once."
"Vane.." Eleanor breathed, and nearly groaned out loud. "Which promise would that be?"
"To join his crew. When I met him I asked him if he'd let me join his crew when he became a captain. He said we'd see how it went or something if I remember correctly, and I spent every minute after that when around him in an attempt to get him to make it into a official promise. Which he 'sorta' agreed to."
"He's a smart man. An uncontrolled, foul one, but still smart. If he remembers you, or that 'promise', he will probably also remember how 'unoffical' it is. Besides, pirates don't tend to be true to their word..."
"You sound like you speak from experience. But, I'm not overly concerned. I think I can convince him. I just need a bit of ti-"
"He sets sail again tomorrow."
"...Or a few hours...I did pass him on my way in, yes?"
"You actually remember what he looks like?"
"Not as tall as I remember, I was very short though, and a bit more muscular, but yes, I do. He also seems a bit more haggard...It suits him." She shrugged slightly, and Eleanor pursed her lips, standing.
"I don't know what you expect me to help you with."
Marie ignored that, standing up herself, and headed for the door.
"Thank you for what assisstance you have been. Now...I have to go find him."
"Marie, he has a temper. Be careful."
Strolling along a beach, Captain Vane kicked at a stone. What the hell was he doing out here? Fresh air? Fuck. He stopped and gazed out towards the horizon, wishing he was out there now. If it wasn't all these last minute details...
"Charles?" The voice was soft, and clearly a womans. He turned to see who used his first name so familiarly, and saw the small cloaked form. "Ah, but it'd be Captain Vane now, wouldn't it?" She said, correcting herself as she reached up and pulled the hood down, shaking her head to free her hair in the process.
Thick, curly, russet hair tumbled free of the loose bun it had been pulled in for the hood, falling around her shoulders and down her back. She brushed a strand from her face with a quick, delicate flick of her wrist and turned her large eyes upon him. They were golden brown, framed with thick curling lashes; the look and coloring of them reminded him acutely of a wolf, such intelligence, yet with the appearence of always 'hunting'. For what, he couldn't say. Her soft, full mouth was trying hard not to curve up into a tempting smile as she crossed her arms over her chest. Something tugged at the back of his mind, but he ignored it, eyeing the woman.
"So, Captain Vane...Do you know who I am...?" It took him a second to realize she had spoken, so intently was he following the soft, angular lines of her face. His blue eyes met her golden ones.
"Should I..?" He dropped his gaze to her feet, and derliberty slowly ran them back up her body. She was dressed in a pair of snug pants, tugged into knee high boots. She also wore a loose dark blue shirt that contrasted with her hair wonderfully. She was curvy, he could tell that, though she did appear to be rather lacking in the breast area.
"Charles!" Her voice lashed through his thoughts like a whip, causing his eyes to fly up to hers. Surprise, and anger flashed in his blue eyes as he noted her reproachful look. "My eyes are up here, not hidden somewhere in my shirt, nor between my legs." She hadn't raised her voice, but the tone was cold, and it was said in a manner that left no room for arguement.
Vane snorted, and crossed his arms over his chest, eyeing with cool disdain. Who the fuck did she think she was? He opened his mouth to reply to her statement, but the woman cut him off.
"Now, I actually didn't expect you to remember. Its been quite a few years, almost a decade honestly, and I was a child then... However I had hoped you'd remember me." She sighed and glanced around. "I think finding you here was quite perfect, though. I do remember meeting you on a beach...Maybe it was this one.."
"Who the hell are you?"
"Hm? Ah, do forgive me. My name, since you forgot it, is Marie Lawrence." She flashed him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, but the name was familiar. As was the smile. He just..couldn't quite place them. "And I'm here, before you ask, to see if you'll fullfil a promise you made me when I first met you."
He narrowed his eyes at her. A promise? From nearly a decade ago? The name was certainly familiar, and these was something familiar about the way she was eyeing him eyes though...
"What promise?"
"To join your crew if you became a captain." He blinked, something clicking in the back of his mind. For a moment he saw as she use to be, a too short young girl with messy pigtails, constantly ripping her dresses, and a dream to become a pirate, by apparently joining his crew. No, she couldn't join his crew. Not this girl. So he snorted, smirking at her.
"No."
"No? Well, why not?" She glared at him, then shook her head slightly, softening her gaze.
"I sail tomorrow, I know nothing about you, and your a woman. The crew barely likes having Anne around." He shrugged slightly as if this settled matters.
"I can fight, I can sail fairly well, and the crew doesn't have to know I'm a woman."
"What are you going to do? Cut your hair? Wear looser pants? A different shirt? Never let anyone near you for months? How do I even know you're not lying to me?"
"I am more apt at dressing like a man than you think. Also, you don't, but I can prove I'm not lying. Besides, you may not remember it, but I do. You promised me, and I don't like broken promises."
Bull shit. I didn't promise you a fucking thing. He pursed his lips, and started to walk past her.
"No."
Marie spun around and glared after the insolent man.
"Captain Vane! I'll make you a deal. Take me with you when you sail tomorrow, put me to work with your crew as one of them. However, if you think I'm not worth it, when we return here...You don't have to pay me a damn cent and can send me on my merry way."
He stopped, and smiled slightly, sighing. He looked over at her, eyes blazing, nostrils flared, and her hands were even on her hips. But he could see she meant it. His mind flickered back to the small girl and he looked at her again for a moment. Young, inexperienced, and too obviously female. What would his crew think? What if she caused another's death due to her inexperience?
"The answer is still no."
Marie watched him walk away from her, and she wanted to scream. Damn him! She remembered Eleanor's final warning: The man had a temper. Well, so does she! And Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. No, she'd bide her time. This wasn't the last time she'd see him. She would convince him to let her join his crew yet. All she'd have to do is prove herself here, on this island.
Besides, it wasn't like she had a time limit on this job.
Author's Note: I enjoyed writing this chapter, and I think Captain Vane is quite a bit more in-character here :P Minus the fact he pretty much kept his temper in check what with her cutting him off. But he has proven he can behave, sometimes. XD