Shout out to Phantom Ice, Vintage Sherry, Rani-Girl, Hinotori-hime, and 1!

I am quite fond of Antonio, and as such I don't like painting him as a bad-guy if I don't have to. If he is painted as such, it is for the sake of the plot only and he does not remain that way. (My plot-bunny is erratic and has the occasional evil streak.) It's one of the reasons this update was so fast- I started working on it once I finished the last one :P

Enjoy!

Antonio didn't come back in the morning. At least, not when she was awake. When she woke up his coat, hat, and weapons were missing. The door was still locked, and she was still hungry. It had actually gone away yesterday, the hunger, only to reappear full-force periodically. Today was no different, though she found herself sitting more and pacing less.

At least she wasn't thirsty anymore, reluctantly putting the water bucket to use. That said, Lovina only did so when she absolutely had to. Periodically she would go over to the door, banging on the wood and yelling profanities through it until her fists hurt. Eventually she stopped doing even that, her hands raw and sore from hitting the rough wood so much.

When the sun set that night Lovina sat in the large chair behind the desk, knees drawn up under her chin. There was still no sign of Antonio, and her stomach was rumbling again. Groaning, she tipped her head back against the polished wood of the chair. "Shut up," she told her stomach. "Damn bastard really meant it. I swear the next time he comes in, I'm gutting his ass."

Lovina, in an effort to stave off boredom and forget about the bouts of hunger, had taken the time to thoroughly search the cabin. She found four knives, three pistols, not to mention a considerable supply of both gunpowder and bullets. The latter was in a secret compartment beneath the floorboards underneath the desk. The blades and pistols were stashed around the room.

Then there was the giant axe in the wardrobe. To be honest Lovina had forgotten about it. It seemed as though Antonio's signature weapon only came out during raids. She tried to take it out, curious, but quickly thought better of it. Not because she was afraid Antonio might find out, she'd handled everything else she'd found until she was satisfied she had a good feel for them.

Lovina quickly pushed the thing back against the wardrobe's back panel when she realized it was easily as tall as she was, and very heavy. The main pole alone was as thick as her wrist, and the razor-sharp broad head wasn't exactly light weight. How did Antonio wield this thing?

"I can't use the damn axe," she muttered, closing her eyes. "The crew will hear if I use one of the pistols on the bastard. Guess it will have to be one of the knives. Which one?

No two were alike, which had surprised her. One was long, double edged, while another was a little shorter with a curve in the blade. The third had been short, only as long as her hand, with one edge. The fourth was the one that had disappeared from the desk, it's bejeweled sheath relocated to one of the desk drawers.

Lovina was still trying to decide which one she should use when she nodded off.

BREAK/BREAK\BREAK

The morning sunlight woke her when it hit her face. Lovina cracked an eye, in an even more bad mood than she usually was when she woke up. Groggily she sat up, and then frowned.

Lovina distinctly remembered being in the chair when she fell asleep. She had narrowed it down to the curved knife or the longer one, deciding bigger was better, but had dropped off before she could get any farther.

"How the hell did I get in the bed?" she muttered, sluggishly crawling out of it.

As her feet hit the floor, something occurred to Lovina. She looked up, squinting though the sunlight pouring through the back window. Not quite sure of what she was seeing, she trudged towards it for a closer look.

They weren't in port anymore. All she could see besides the blasted sun was blue sky and lapping waves. It had only been one day, hadn't it? Didn't Antonio say it would be three? Why had they left port?

Frowning, wondering if she should try banging on the door again, Lovina turned towards the door. As she did, she noticed something on the desk that made her freeze. For a moment she just stared, not really believing it.

On the desk sat the tray, and on it, arranged in a smiley face, sat six tomatoes. Six. Each plump and red and juicy looking. Lovina felt her mouth start to water.

Still she hesitated, looking at the door. It was still shut. But Tortuga wasn't even in sight anymore, how long had they been sailing?

Shaking it off, stomach reminding her she was overdue for food, Lovina walked briskly over to the desk. She inhaled the first three tomatoes, only slowing to savor them when she picked up the fourth. As much as she loved tomatoes, she couldn't recall any tasting as good as these.

Plate clean, Lovina eyed the door. Why Antonio had left port early she didn't know, but he had kept his word, leaving her food once they had set sail. He was good at that, she reasoned rather reluctantly, for a pirate.

The sun was high in the sky, and Lovina was just starting to get hungry again, when there was a light knock on the door. She started slightly, surprised, and turned to look as she heard the bolt slide back. Only the prospect of keeping Antonio in his regained brighter mood kept her from making a dive for the knife she'd relocated.

Antonio pushed open the door, stepping in and kicking the door shut. He smiled cheerfully at her, plate in hand. It held a slim wedge of cheese shoved in half a loaf of bread, and three more tomatoes. A tankard was in his other hand. A smile and twinkling eyes had returned to his face.

"It's not good to sleep in a chair, Lovi," he said cheerfully, coming over to the desk. "It makes you sore in the morning." Setting down the meal, he added in a sly tone, "But if you want to wake up sore-

Lovina grabbed the empty plate and swung it as hard as she could while using just the one hand. It didn't have quite as much force as she might have liked, but it served her purpose. Antonio stumbled back a pace with a started, "Ow!"

"Feh," huffed Lovina, setting down the plate. "Thanks for the tomatoes." Peering into the tankard she asked, "Is this water?"

"Sì," answered Antonio, rubbing his nose, eyeing her.

Lovina plopped down in the chair, pulled the plate closer, and tucked in. Ignoring Antonio, she disregarded any and all 'proper etiquette' rules she had ever learned. She had done so more than once simply to irritate whoever had been left in charge of her, and on rare occasion when Nonno had gotten on her nerves. It wasn't that she was trying to irritate Antonio now, it was simply that she decided until she was back in Port Diego, she was going to be among pirates. Pirates didn't care if you took tiny bites you had carefully sawed away from the rest of the dish with a knife, lifting them daintily to your mouth with a fork. They didn't care if you talked with your mouth full or slurped or smacked.

For the time being, Lovina was resigned to her fate. She had always found the do's and don'ts of being a lady irritating. Sure she managed, Feliciana excelled, but unlike her sister Lovina dropped them at any opportunity. If she only ate pretty for her own family when there were witnesses present, there was no way she was going to do so for a pirate.

If Antonio cared, he didn't let on. Rather he waited until she'd slammed down the empty tankard, wiped her mouth with the back of her arm, and burped lightly. "Not bad," she grunted, sitting back.

She was surprised when the pirate chuckled. As he gathered the plates Antonio mused, "I think you would like being a pirate more than you liked being a noble, Lovi."

Eying him, Lovina asked, "What the hell makes you say that?"

"Call it a hunch," he said, chuckling. "Why is there a dagger down your dress?"

Lovina felt her face heat. Okay, so she'd relocated two of the daggers. The curved one was near the door, wedged between a chest and the wall where it could be yanked from its sheath at a moment's notice. The other, the smallest, she had decided to keep on her person. She hadn't liked the odds of Antonio letting her keep it if she wore it openly, and with some experimentation found the one place it would stay. Unfortunately, this place was in her bodice. The only place in her bodice that would both keep the sheath in place and within easy reach was in the middle of her chest.

"I'm not giving it back, bastardo," she told him curtly, folding her arms over her chest.

Antonio arched an eyebrow, regarding the daggers hiding place. Lovina felt her face heat even more. She'd thought she'd hidden it well, too! You couldn't even see the hilt. Well, she could, but only when she looked straight down.

"I could just take it from you," he mused.

"You wouldn't dare," said Lovina, though she took a step back. As much as she didn't think he would, she couldn't bring herself to put it past him. As she kept reminding herself, he was a pirate.

Said pirate chuckled. "As much as I'd like to, it wouldn't work in my favor." Cocking his head, he mused, "I would make you promise not to stab me, if I let you keep it, but your last promise didn't end well did it?"

"I promise not to stab you."

Eyes flicking briefly back to the dagger before returning to her still red face, he said, "I'm afraid you will have to give me a little more than that, Lovi."

Taking a deep breath, she thought for a moment. "I promise on my sisters life I will not stab you...if you keep your hands to yourself."

Antonio laughed, but said, "Very well. Be good and you can come out in the morning, sì?"

Lovina was about to protest, but stopped herself. He might be treating her more like a child than she liked, but he had relented on the timeline. He was cheerful, being nice to her again. She wanted to keep him that way, at least until the next port.

BREAK/BREAK\BREAK

Antonio came back to the cabin that night, resuming their previous routine. He brought her dinner, which included two more tomatoes. Lovina was quite happy to eat them, though she wondered how many more days they would last at this rate. He probably hadn't gotten many, not if he hadn't brought them on board before.

Once she'd cleaned the plate Antonio barred the door, taking off his hat. He turned to her then, giving her a questioning look. Lovina huffed, but grabbed the brush. The smile that lit his face was almost worth it.

"Why are you so happy?" she grumped, stalking over to the bed.

Antonio just continued to smile, making quick work of his boots. Lovina took off her head cloth, running a hand through her hair to shake it out a bit. After spending so long under the thing it had a tendency to go rather flat where the cloth held it down.

She grudgingly waited until he was perched next to her before getting to work on it, noting that without the wind it wasn't as bad as it might have been after two days without a brushing.

"How did you plan on getting on board?" he asked before she could open her mouth.

Scowling, she demanded, "Are you still-

Antonio held up a finger, eyes twinkling. "Not your turn, Lovi. I am not mad anymore, I am only curious. My next question will be different."

Still scowling, she grumbled, "I was going to stow away. No other way I was going to get on board, unless they needed a cook. When are the tomatoes going to run out?"

"Mmm, two weeks, I think."

Lovina stared at him. "Two weeks?" she repeated in disbelief.

"I told you, Lovi. When we got to Tortuga I would get you a big barrel of tomatoes. Tomorrow I will show you if you do not believe me. We needed that pulley for more than just rum and water."

The irritation slowly left her brushing. Lovina wasn't sure what to say to that, touched. Damn, the pirate bastard keeps his word better than any noble I've ever met, she thought. Except for Nonno. Nonno always keeps his word too.

"Now, why is it you decided to keep a dagger there?"

Lovina scowled at him, heat returning to her face. "It was the only place it would stay put that was out of sight. How the hell do you do anything with that damn axe of yours?"

"Practice, Lovi," he chuckled. "Lots of practice. The sword is much easier and less conspicuous, though. Why did you try to run from me, Lovi?"

"I thought you said you weren't surprised."

"I wasn't. But I would like to hear it from you. Maybe we can fix it."

"Don't make me a prisoner, bastardo, and we'll talk."

"So if I let you choose, you would choose to stay?"

"That's a new question."

"Then ask me a question before you answer it."

"Would you teach me how to use a sword?"

"No one ever taught you?" He sounded genuinely surprised.

"I'm supposed to be a lady, idiota,'' she huffed. "Even Nonno wouldn't budge on that. Ladies don't fight, they sit politely at dinner tables and treat everyone like a damn gentlemen. Why the hell do you think all I can do is yell and run?"

Antonio seemed to consider this. Then he said, "I will not teach you now. Maybe later. If I can trust you not to turn what you learn on me, then I will get you your own sword and show you how to use it. Now, answer my question."

Lovina hadn't been expecting that. It was a pleasant surprise, though. After taking a minute to remember just what the question was, she found herself surprised with her own answer. She still wanted to get the hell away from the Delfín Rojo and it's captain, but she doubted that would work in her favor. If he was going to lock her in a room, even a pleasant one, without food for God knew how long every time she pushed his patience past its limit, she didn't want to stick around. Admittedly it had taken a good deal to get him to that point, but that was hardly an excuse.

After putting in some extra thought, she concocted an answer that was partly true. Frankly the only thing keeping her answer from being completely honest was the fact she wasn't crazy about staying with a man, pirate or no, who would 'punish' her like a child when his temper finally erupted.

"I don't know. I miss Nonno, and Feli. I don't miss being a noble all the time. If I wasn't a prisoner it might not be so bad. If you promise not to keep me locked up and punish me when I make you mad, and if you promise to teach me how to fight...maybe I would stay." After a second she added quickly, "And if I could visit Feli and Nonno."

"That's quite a list," mused Antonio. "We will see. Now, if I asked you to would you kiss me?"

Lovina twisted to look at him. "No way, bastardo."

"Why not?"

"That's a new question."

Antonio sighed. "Consider it an expansion and answer it, please, Lovi."

"Because I don't want to."

"Why?"

"You're a damn pirate bastard, that's why."

Antonio pouted. "I think you know me a little better than that, Lovi. That was the point of this game."

"Maybe, but I don't appreciate being punished like a damn child. If you want me to kiss you, you're going to have to give me a little more respect, bastardo."

The pirate's eyes flashed. "It's because I respected you I did it, Lovi. I was mad, yes, but I was also trying to make a point. Until you learn how to fight and learn how things work, you can't go off on your own like that. You were lucky Juan was the only person you ran into."

"That's my next question, what the hell did you do to him?"

Antonio sighed. "I told you I need him intact, Lovi. A good helmsmen that doesn't fall asleep easily is harder to find than you might think. I can hardly not follow through on my word, otherwise it will be meaningless."

Lovina stiffened. "Wait, you really cut his ear off?"

"He can still hear just fine, Lovi. Doesn't mean it didn't hurt. Had to wait a whole day before he was sober enough to appreciate it."

Her jaw dropped. "I thought I told you it wasn't his fault!"

"He should have known better," Antonio told her, stern faced.

"You can't just-

"The only reason I can keep them in line is because of that," Antonio said, cutting her off. "I make it a point to follow through on my word, be it a promise or a threat, Lovi. They know that. I think you do to, whether or not you want to admit it. I realize you don't like it, and I find no joy in it."

"Then why? Can't you get them to listen any other way?"

"No. Not in this world, Lovi. Believe me, I tried, almost got myself killed in the process. It is not pretty, but it is the truth. This is why I wanted to keep you out of Tortuga."

"If you could explain to me why the hell you were being so bitchy about it I might have listened," Lovina snapped.

"Would you?"

"Sì!"

Antonio shook his head. "No. I think we both know that's a lie. It doesn't matter what I tell you, you would not believe me until you saw for yourself. Think about it, do you believe me now?"

Lovina hesitated. "Yes."

"But you had to see it for yourself." Antonio sighed wearily, getting up to take the brush back to the desk and put out the lights. As he did he continued, "I would gladly give you whatever you wish, Lovi, but I'm no fool. I won't give you something just to have it turned on me. Until then, I can't let you go."

"What do you mean 'can't'?" demanded Lovina.

As he put out the last light he said, "I could not bring myself to do it. To lose you now would be very painful."

"Why?"

Antonio didn't answer this time. Lovina flopped down on her back, groaning in exasperation. "Damn you're irritating."

The pirate chuckled. "You're hardly one to talk, Lovi."

Lovina made a face, rolling onto her side and away from him, only to squeak when an arm snaked around her waist. "What are you doing?" she demanded, pushing against it.

"Goodnight, Lovi," chuckled the pirate, settling down at her back.

Scowling, Lovina grudgingly settled down. She was tired, and at this point she wasn't in the mood to argue with him about it. Besides, it wasn't all that bad. He was warm.

BREAK/BREAK\BREAK

Lovina's head snapped up from the pillow the next morning when the door banged back against the wall. She sat up groggily, frowning for a moment when she saw Antonio dart across the cabin, yanking open the wardrobe. It wasn't until he pulled out the axe and slammed it shut again that she was able to cast off the drowsiness, though.

"What's going on?" she demanded, scrambling from the bed.

Antonio's face was grim, his eyes like ice as he stalked back towards the door. Lovina knew that look, and while it chilled her, she wanted to know why. Before she could do more than start after him, though, the pirate spun to face her.

"Stay here, Lovina, do you understand? Bar the door behind me, and don't let anyone in no matter what. Comprendes?"

"Not until you tell me what the hell is going on!"

Rather than argue, Antonio walked briskly out the door and wrenched the door shut. By the time Lovina reached it the lock was already in place, a bar sliding down on the outside. She banged a fist on it, and then winced as she recalled her hands hadn't quite recovered from the other day.

Before she could formulate what she would do next, though, a shadow in the window made her turn. It was a ship, coming in at an angle on their port side. Frowning, she walked briskly over to the window, pressing her face to the glass.

Holy shit...no wonder the bastard had his murder face on, thought Lovina, feeling spooked herself.

As much as she wanted to get off Antonio's ship, this was most defiantly not how she wanted to do it. It occurred to her that if given a choice now she'd fight with the pirates who had captured her. Oh the bitchy irony that was her life.

The ship coming towards them fast and gaining was a formally known as Royal Blood, but now it went by the name Green Revenge. It was a repurposed fleet ship from Her Majesty's Royal Navy. Her captain had many nicknames, some unpleasant and some teasing, but his real name was respected or feared, depending on which side of the law you were inquiring. The Green Revenge was bearing down on them, and it looked to be mere minutes before they were side-by-side. Captain Arthur Kirkland had found them.

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