Chapter 21

They arrived in Tortuga the next morning. The Troubadour docked, and immediately the crew dispersed from the ship; either making their way into a brothel or The Faithful Bride. Victoria did neither however. She had offered to be the person to stay behind on the ship to keep an eye on it so that the one eyed pirate could go and enjoy himself. Apparently, the poor pirate had always been the one to stay behind!

As soon as everyone had left, she realised that she was by herself and that anyone could come up the gang plank...even one of the sleazy crew members...or Jack?

Her heart fluttered when she imagined the dreadlocked pirate joining her on the watch. But the brunette quickly shook the thought out of her head before her imagination wildly ran away with her thoughts.

She sighed and sat down on a barrel facing the ocean. The midnight blue sky was littered with stars, which were glinting like the jewels back in Isla De Muerta. The brunette thought about that adventure she and Jack had had finding the third sacred ring.

Which ended in them becoming man and wife.

Legally.

She shook that thought out of her head as well. She hadn't really spoken to Jack about it properly, the last time the conversation had been brought up, they had ended up drawing their weapons upon each other and then catching themselves in a moment of passion upon the dining table! Perhaps speaking to Jack about it wasn't such a bad idea after all...

Especially if he were to come back to the Troubadour now...where they could be alone.

Victoria felt heat rise to her cheeks, and she quickly shook the dirty thoughts out of her head before they could go any further.

She sighed again and continued to look up at the sky, watching the stars blinking down at her. The moonlight cast an eerie silver glow across the deck of the Troubadour, making the atmosphere almost ghostly and spooky. A sudden breeze left Victoria in a chill and she began to shiver slightly.

Something clanked behind her and she quickly whipped her head around to see if someone was there. Upon finding no one in sight, she stood up and pulled out her pistol before making her way towards the noise. She followed it over towards the hatch and she placed her ear against the wood of the door. Footsteps were growing louder, and Vikki aimed her gun in front of the door as the handle began to turn and the door flew open.

Buck yelped in fear.

Vikki screamed and threw her pistol at him - the handle hitting him in the centre of his chest - knocking all the wind out of him.

Buck doubled over and began coughing violently. Vikki's hand's flew to her face, "I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed.

"At least ye didn't shoot me." He wheezed, "But that could also be seen as a bad thing...what if I wasn't me?"

Vikki led him towards the barrels besides the railing of the Troubadour, "I'm sure the circumstance would've been different." She stated, "For one, I think I would've picked up the gun and shot you."

"Ye think?"

"I mean, I would have done." She shook her head, blushing slightly from embarrassment.

Buck chuckled and handed her one of the two bottles of rum he had been carrying, "The last two until tomorrow," He clinked the two together, "Bottoms' up."

They both took a swig of their rum before watching the bustling town of Tortuga. There were noticeably more whores lining the streets, and a few grubby looking children running around, dodging people in their attempts to escape from someone they had likely stolen from.

Four children darted behind a wooden cart and began tearing food evenly between them before famishly gobbling it down and wiping their hands on their shirts. A small girl jogged over to them then, carrying a blanket which the tallest of the children took. The five of them then looked both ways before stepping out from behind the cart and scampering towards a stack of boxes, where they all huddled down together under the blanket.

Vikki sighed as she watched them, she wished she could help them out, they seemed too young to be living on the streets.

No doubt their mother was a whore and their father an unworthy, lousy drunkard!

Victoria decided she would never let her children live a life like that on the street. She was going to spoil them rotten.

She stood up from her barrel, "I'll be back in a second, Buck." She stated, patting her pocket to make sure she had her coin purse in there. Upon finding it secure, she jogged down the gangplank and towards the old bakery around the corner from where she used to live.

Upon finding the bakery open, and empty, she stepped inside and smiled innocently up at the fat man behind the counter, "Well 'ello there, lovey." He grinned, showing numerous black and gold teeth. "Ye come to pay what ye owe me now 'ave ye?"

Vikki nodded her head, "And to purchase." She stated.

The man looked her up and down before chuckling darkly, "Ye owe me a lot of money, princess." He grinned, "Are ye sure ye got 'nough coin in there? Or arr we goin' t'need t'come t'some arrangement?"

Vikki grimaced, "I'm sure I have enough." She stated, taking out five gold coins and three shillings.

The man glared at her before taking each coin seperately and biting down on them, satisfied that they were real, he shoved them in his coin pot before leaning against the counter. "What can I get for ye?"

Vikki shrugged, and smiled innocently, "Surprise me."

Then man chuckled darkly again before turning around and leaving to go into the kitchen, Vikki remained standing in the same spot in case he turned around again. But as soon as he disappeared into the kitchen, she leapt into action and grabbed the man's coin bag before turning on her heel and running for the door. She made it outside in time to hear the man shout at her in rage, and Vikki stood there no longer as she quickly clambered onto a stack of wooden crates before hoisting herself onto the roof of the bakery.

A gun fired, and the concrete wall beside her right knee exploded into fragments of rock. The brunettes' ocean blue eyes widened as she quickly jumped to her feet and ran for the edge of the bakery, quickly leaping across the gap and onto the balcony of the house opposite.

Victoria darted through the doors and into someone's bedroom, before running across the landing and down a flight of small wooden stairs into a quaint kitchen. A woman holding a baby stood in her way and gasped, therefore Vikki had no choice but to jump through the kitchen window. Glass shattered everywhere and Vikki winced as small fragment cut her hands and cheek. She grabbed a few coins and threw them back through the window, hopefully it would be enough to pay for the damage!

Vikki darted down the alleyway between the house and The Faithful Bride, dodging a few pirate's stepping out of the pub as she did so.

"Oi!" The bakery man yelled, "Get back 'ere ye little wench!"

The brunette dropped onto the floor and rolled underneath a moving hay cart before scrambling to her feet and grabbing hold of a rope, she drew her pistol and shot the bottom of the line - causing the rope to lose tension and launch her onto the roof of the next building.

Momentarily, she saw Nigel, Teague and her father watching her from outside the Faithful Bride, but she had no time to stop and wave.

The bakery man fired another bullet at her, which hit the concrete to the right of her. She screamed in surprise, and continued to run along the roof - jumping onto the next building slightly unbalanced. She regained her balance quickly before making a sharp right and jumping onto the next building.

The brunette then swung down using a washing line; ignoring the shouting from the bakery man. She darted behind a stack of wooden boxes - surprising the group of children. She placed a finger to her lips to try and keep them quiet, and she then ducked behind the crates as the fat man bombarded past.

Once she was sure he was out of sight, she turned back to the children - their eyes full of fear.

"I'm not going to hurt you," She began, smiling kindly at them. "I just brought you something." She handed the eldest child - a girl - the chef's sack of coins, and once the girl didn't take it from her, Vikki placed it on the floor in front of her. "Please take it." Vikki stated.

The brunette then got to her feet and checked to make sure the coast was clear before she stepped out from behind the crates. She peeked out from behind the buildings in the street before stepping out, only to feel a small pair of arms wrapping around her waist.

"Thank you." A small voice stated. Then the arms were gone and Vikki heard small footsteps padding back down the alleyway.

The brunette smiled to herself before jogging back towards the Troubadour, keeping her eyes out for the angry chef all the while in case she was caught. Hopefully, she didn't have to see him again.

"Where'd ye go?" Buck asked as the brunette walked up the gangplank towards him.

Vikki looked very satisfied with herself, "Nowhere." She replied taking a seat on a barrel beside the first-mate. "All I know is that I'm out of practice."

"Not as subtle?" Buck asked, chuckling. Vikki grinned and shook her head, wincing when she pulled her glass wounds open. "Ye look like ye could do with a few stitches." He stated, bringing his hand up to start pulling glass out from her face. "So tell me." Buck began, "What'd ye take?"

"Money." She stated simply. "For some children."

"I wouldn't bother with 'em." Buck stated, "Boys'll find a crew to join, girls'll become whores."

Vikki sighed and looked down at her hands, "I know." She stated solemly, "But I think they should have a chance at something like the rest of us."

Buck stopped what he was doing to look at the brunette closely, "Ye'll be a good mother one day, Stripes." He stated seriously. Then he chuckled, "If only I were a few years younger." Vikki knew he was only joking, so she laughed along with him.

A/N: Not long left, people! :( So, how did you find this chapter? Thank you to those who have alerted, favorited and reviewed :) Your support is wonderful!

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