And here we have chapter 2. I really hope you guys like it. What was originally supposed to be a one shot turned into something a bit longer. As always please leave a review as constructive criticism is always helpful.
Thorne had long dreamt of being on a ship full of women. Of course in his dreams, he wasn't on the ship with Kai or Wolf. The women also weren't set on ripping his back open either. He still didn't know what possessed him to open his mouth. Maybe it was the way she'd threatened to kill them all if someone didn't take the fall. Or maybe he'd been sailing with Kai too long, and the captain's innate nobility had rubbed off on him along the way. Whatever it was, Thorne was kicking himself.
The girl—woman—the captain talked to earlier was small, but she kicked Kai and Wolf in the backs of their knees, forcing them to kneel on the deck. "You" She pointed at Thorne. "Over there."
He swallowed past the lump rising in his throat. Lashed to the mast then, he had been hoping for the grate so that when he gave out he could have some dignity. He stopped next to the wooden beam trying to steady his breathing.
"Shirt." Iko held out her hand. "Unless you want blood on it."
Thorne pulled the fabric over his head. The sun warmed his skin and when he felt the spray off the ocean, he stifled a groan.
A red-haired woman tied his hands around the mast.
"Stars above did you have to tie them so tight?"
She gave another tug for good measure. Bloody pirate.
The captain paced the deck behind him, her uneven gait a clear marker of who it was. "Scarlet, await my orders on the other ship, see how many lives our hero saves." She trailed a finger over his shoulders.
"Just get this over with, please?" Thorne pleaded. Long dramatic buildups got on his nerves.
"Since you asked so nicely." The Captain whispered in his ear. She turned around presumably to face everyone gathered to watch. "You, name."
"Z-Ze'ev Kesley, ma'am."
Stars, of course she'd get him to do it. He'd be out of commission for a while, that was for sure.
"Ze'ev, you'll do the honors. And mark my words if you hold back, you'll facing the cat yourself."
"Wait!" Kai shouted. "I'm not the captain, he is."
Thorne heard a grunt and a thud. "Thanks for the promotion, Kai." He took a deep breath as Wolf made a couple of test swings. He thought he could handle it.
He was wrong.
Kai hadn't expected the Luna's diminutive first mate to pack such a punch. When Cinder put the cat o' nine tails in Wolf's hand, his heart just about leapt into his throat. At that moment he would have done anything to spare his friend. Thorne had always wanted his own ship, in fact they'd talked about starting their own pirate fleet, and Commodore did have a nice ring to it. In fact, Wolf had been calling Thorne "Captain" as a joke for years. But watching Cinder's crew stand around and just watch as they tied Thorne to the mast was too much. Before the logical side of his brain could kick in, he blurted out that Thorne was the captain. Cinder, obviously, didn't believe him. Why should she? Everyone knew he was the captain of the Imperial Dream.
He shouldn't have been surprised when Iko punched him, but he was. He vaguely heard Thorne call "thanks" while Wolf swung the cat through the air.
He had to hand it to Thorne, he lasted longer than Kai would have. He had to keep himself from heaving the remains of his breakfast all over the deck when the lash struck Thorne's back.
When Thorne's knees finally gave way, Cinder crouched next to Kai. "Honestly, I'm surprised he made it that long. True to my word, I'll spare your crew, since he took all fifty. But you three will remain here."
"As your prisoners?" Kai glared up at her.
"You could join the crew. Not as officers, but we could always use a few able bodied men around."
"What about the rest of my crew?"
Cinder grabbed a handful of hair and tilted his head back. "I've kept my word and won't kill them. That should be satisfaction enough for you." She stood up and turned to Iko. "Take him to the brig. Put Ze'ev in with the rest of the crew."
"What about him?" Iko nodded to Thorne who was slumped against the mast.
"Have Cress see to him."
"Aye, Captain." Iko chirped while hauling Kai to his feet.
"What is she going to do with my crew?"
Iko shrugged. "Probably set them adrift. That's what we usually do."
At least that was better than killing them. It might take them a while to find land, but they had plenty of provisions as long as the weather held.
Cress had been below deck tending to one of their sick crew members when the prisoners had been brought on board. In fact, she hadn't even realized she had another patient until she was called to Cinder's quarters.
She opened the door to her surgery to find a man lying unconscious and prone on the table. Judging from the state of his back, her work was cut out for her. The wounds were deep, much deeper than Scarlet could have inflicted.
She sighed and picked up supplies to clean the lacerations with. "Cinder what did you do?"
There wasn't enough skin left to put stitches in, so she was going to have to just keep it wrapped and clean. However, that presented a problem, he was easily a foot taller than she was and she knew she wouldn't be able to move him on her own. She didn't want to risk him moving while she was getting help, so she settled for draping a makeshift bandage over him for the time being.
She busied herself around the small room, making sure that she stayed close by for when he woke up. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait too long. Cress was checking her inventory of medicines when she heard him groan. Figuring he'd try to move, she was at his side in a heartbeat.
"Easy there." She placed her hands on his arms, noticing just how muscular they were.
"Ow. Aces, I forgot how much that hurt." His voice was muffled.
"Well, it's probably going to hurt worse before we're done. I still need to wrap them."
He moved his arms to lift himself off the table, eliciting yet another groan. "Let me sit up then."
"You can lay right there until I get back. I need someone to hold you upright and still while I work." Cress narrowed her eyes at him, not that he could see her.
"If you can find Wol-Ze'ev Kesley, he'd be a good choice."
"I'll see what I can do. Don't move until I say so."
"Yes ma'am." He turned his head to wink at her. Stars, his eyes were gorgeous. They were the color of the sky on a cloudless day. Cress' breath caught in her throat. Her cheeks grew warm with a blush. She rushed out of the surgery to find Ze'ev Kesley and hopefully calm herself down before she came back.