Anya finally dared to look up from the cold stone floor that she was pressed against. She looked up at the debris; left by a second cannonball sent their way. Everyone had fled the ballroom, only corpses remained. Two to be exact. She felt herself shakily exhale, trembling slightly as she got up from the ground, gathering up her now ripped rose pink gown. Her golden tresses had fallen from their plait and hang down loosely. She was a mess. She turned to look out onto the chaotic scene before her. And she felt herself receive another shock. There was not one, but two pirate ships, docked too far for the port's cannons to reach them. She saw three small vessels sailing toward the town, where gunfire had broken out and more cannons boomed.
This could not be happening. They were a sleepy little docking town, not many merchant ships to plunder. However the aristocracy in the region was of some of the highest. If they wanted to take hostages, there would be plenty. But who had ever heard of a pirate taking a hostage. They maimed, they stole, they fornicated. That was the life of a pirate.
Suddenly there was an explosion from below, and the balcony began to crumble. It was collapsing from under her feet, the stone falling away with the blast. Anya felt a rush, the wind roaring in her ears, as she fell threw the stone floor, to her death.
**************************************************************************** ****
'Jack, the lot h've taken off!' Muller yelled, his pistol scanning for any sign of life. One of the other sailors nudged one of the dead bodies, looking at it as if ready to fight. Jack rolled his eyes.
'Alright gents... clear off... get the supplies... ooohhh.. Wha we got here then?' he stuck his pistol back into his belt and trailed his hands over the hardwood cabinet in front of him, finding the wrought iron handles and pulling it open. He smiled as his eyes raked over the finest collection of scotch, rum and every other type of alcohol that a fine aristocrat could own. 'Not all treasure be silver and gold...' he said as he took the sack he'd brought along from his shoulder and began piling in all the bottles.
Suddenly there was a blast from a few rooms away and dust and debris narrowly missed Muller. Jack frowned and shook his head. They were getting bloody reckless out there.
'Muller!' he yelled as he paused with his newly found treasure. Muller nodded to him and he shrugged, returning his attention to the large bottle of brandy sitting in front of him. He'd just placed it inside the bag when he heard a shrill scream that pierced his ears.
He frowned, continuing with the cabinet, until he heard the shrill cry again and rolled his eyes. Oh bloody hell, what now? He closed the cabinet, now empty and slung the bag over his shoulder, walking into the next room. It was a fine ballroom, or at least it had been before it met the likes of the Pearl and the Happy Giant. Two of the most infamous pirating ships in all the seven seas. Of course, the Happy Giant was famous for its brutality, for its unwillingness to leave any human witnesses. It was odd, Jack thought, that it would be called the Happy Giant. It wasn't very happy at all.
He shook his head, looking around for a sign of who had been screaming, when he heard it again, only this time it was, "Somebody, please, help me!" he frowned as he made his way to a pair of large glass plated doors, leading out to a look out. He stepped to the edge looking around. There was no one there.
'HEY!' Jack looked down. A young girl was hanging from the edge of the stone, which apparently had been a balcony. She was swinging with the breeze, looking absolutely terrified. "HELP ME!" she screamed. Jack smirked and lent down.
'An why should I be doin that, love?' he said, trying to look serious. She glared at him, which for Jack, was nothing new from a woman. She was about to speak, when the stone's crack grew larger and it fell a few inches further, nearly tossing her off. She screamed again, and it rang threw Jack's ears. 'Alright! Alright!' It was better to help her so that she would stop her infernal racket. He reached down but she was too far.
'Hurry! I feel my hand is slipping!' she said in a voice, terrified beyond belief. He hunched down further and suddenly felt something slide off his arms.
'NO!' he yelled as the bag slipped away from him. She caught it, and suddenly the rock shifted again, finally breaking away and falling from the rest of the estate. One long cry wailed and in a moment of chaos, Anya was left hanging, only the man's hand saving her from falling to her death.
'Dont Drop Me!' she screamed, looking down at the jagged rocks, lining the coast.
'Dont drop the rum!' he yelled back, trying to hoist her up. His hands were wet from the ocean, and he hadn't a firm grip on her wrist. She was beginning to slip away.
'You're going to let go!' she screamed, as his hands slipped further, to her palm, her fingers wrapping around his in a frantic attempt to gain a bearing. He gritted his teeth as he tried to pull her up, holding onto the doorframe for support.
'I won't let go! You've got me booze!' he yelled trying still to pull her up and over the side. But she was slipping further away every second.
'I have to let it go!' she shouted, loosening her grip on his sack.
'NO! DEAR GOD WOMAN DON T LET GO OF THE BLOODY BAG!' he shouted back, putting even more effort into pulling her over the side. More for his rum's sake than hers. Suddenly she flew over the side and fell atop him, both breathing hard. Finally she regained enough composure to look into the face of her rescuer. Her eyes widened in shock, and she suddenly backed away from him.
'Y-you're a pirate ... ' she said leaning against the doorframe, trying to get away from him as it seemed. He rolled his eyes, getting clumsily to his feet.
'How perceptive of you, love. Now, my bag if you please.' He said as he brushed off his coat and held out his hand expectantly. Anya bit her lip, tugging nervously at her dress.
'I.... uh... I dropped it.' She said shrinking away from him slightly.
'YOU WHAT?!' he yelled as he sank to his knees in front of the drop, hunched over looking at the ground some hundred feet below.'No! NO! I was so close!' he said as he tapped his fingers along the jagged edge of what remained of the balcony. He stood and turned to her, his hands wrapping around an invisible person, giving the impression that he was either drunk or mad, or perhaps both.
'Uh... I suppose a thank you wouldn't help?' Anya said still eyeing him nervously as if he were unstable. He glared at her.
'Perhaps I should throw you over and into Davey Jones' Locker! See how you like it!' he said menacingly looking back longingly to where his sack had fallen. Anya swallowed hard, not actually sure if he were joking or being serious. She plunged a hand into her dress pocket and pulled out a large bottle, shaking its contents. His eyes snapped back to her widened, his mouth hanging open a bit.
'Where did you - '
'Where do you think?' she retorted with an air of mock confidence. 'Now if you'll be a good little pirate, and leave this house, perhaps I'll give you the nice bottle of rum." Jack gritted his teeth and shook his head as if this were a joke.
'You don't understand, love. Pirate.' He gestured to himself. 'I take what I want, when I want.' He made to reach for the bottle when it came swishing down and hit him in the side of the face, sending him stumbling backwards. The girl placed a hand to her mouth, shocked at her own action.
'Oh my god! Are you alright?!' she asked moving forward to look at him. He let out an exasperated sound and stood straight and to his full height, which was towering over her.
'Don t you understand?! I'm a pirate! PIRATE!' he repeated shaking his hands at her. One of her eyebrows raised at this, and she quirked her mouth slightly.
'Well you're not a very good one, are you?' She said placing a hand on her hip. 'You'd think pirates were more like Captain Morgan, or Captain Black... or Captain Jack Sparrow!' she said recalling names from the stories Sydney had told her. Her favorite was always Captain Sparrow. He seemed so suave and roguish. She'd had dreams of him even. Finally she came back to see the shaggy haired pirate staring at her as if she had grown a second head. He waved his hand at her and shook his head.
'But I AM Captain Jack Sparrow!' he exclaimed. She frowned again, looking him up and down, unsure if this was true.
'You're THE Captain Jack Sparrow?' she repeated, a bit unbelievingly. He beamed with pride at her question.
'Yes, lass. That I am.' He said reaching for his pistol, as he realized that the crew was probably making their way back to the rowboat. She continued to look him up and down. Finally he grew too impatient and smiled at her. 'What? Like somethin ya see, pet?' he said opening his arms as if to present himself. She shook her head.
'No. I just imagined you to be... I don't know...taller...' Jack opened his mouth, and gawked at her. This little brat was defying him and disrespecting him. Why hadn't he just taken the booze and left?
'Look, I just want me rum, and then I'll be on me merry pirate way, savvy?' he said, reaching out his hand again. She looked at it, before placing her hand in her other pocket and producing another bottle of scotch. She gave the two bottles to him and then backed away again. He nodded to her when he heard a loud crash and a bang. He looked around the corner to see the meanest pirate ever to sail in the Caribbean waters. Captain Gordon. He was a peculiar pirate. A gentleman with an extensive vocabulary and an air of confidence not brought on by a drunken stupor. He was a king among pirates. He was an old salt, not lost any of his brutality and he had a thirst for blood. Innocent blood.
Jack moved forward and clamped one of his filthy hands onto the girl's mouth. Her eyes widened as he moved forward pushing her flat against the cold marble. 'You stay quiet and you stay alive." He said in a harsh whisper, his deep eyes boring into hers. 'Understand?' he said shaking her. She nodded slightly. She then pushed her out onto the edge so that she was out of sight, just as Gordon saw him.
'Ah, Sparrow. Found any liquor?' he asked with a strange laugh. Jack felt the urge to just shoot the damn bastard. For all he'd done, he deserved a thousand deaths. But Jack nodded, a fake smile spread across his face. But Gordon frowned.
'What's that you're hiding?' he asked in a deep voice. Jack frowned back, trying to look innocent. Or as innocent as a pirate could possibly be.
'Don't know what you're talkin about Captain.' He said trying to remain calm. Gordon's face relaxed. Then suddenly he pulled out his pistol and shot the edge of the doorframe, beside Jack. The girl got scared by the sudden gunfire and stepped too close to the edge. She began to teeter when Jack grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him. He looked down at her as if she were incriminating evidence.
'OH HER!' Jack said looking back at Gordon. 'Just a relative of mine. Cousin's uncle's girlfriend's daughter, she's a lovely little thing, I'n't she, wonderful cook too, but her spicy food does me in sometimes ... '
'Enough.' Gordon chuckled. He shrugged. 'Why lie, Jack? You know all civilians must be shot, or people will know.' Gordon raised his pistol again. The girl shrank back behind Jack and he raised his hands.
'Now, now, now!' Jack said quickly, his mind working even more quickly. 'Let's not be too hasty. She be a golden opportunity of sorts... At least... loan her! To me crew!' he said waving his arm around, smiling hugely. Anya stared at him as if she would like nothing better than to toss him over the side of the cliff. 'Just for the month, you know, have lil fun with the girl, throw her over board once we're done... it's still cut clean and clear, Cap.' Gordon stared at the two, his pistol still raised. Then he let out a low laugh and lowered it. Anya could hear Jack let out a sigh of relief.
'You have fun with her Sparrow. Tell me how she settles, nothing like fresh meat for old salts like us, eh?' Gordon said as he turned toward the door. 'Very well. But when the month is threw, she takes a walk, aye?'
'Aye.' Jack said bowing his head slightly, waving his arms to Gordon. 'Month's time.' He repeated as the captain left the room. Jack nodded to himself before making his way over the debris, side stepping the bodies. But Anya remained where she was, watching him with teary eyes. Jack stopped at turned, smiling.
'What ya standin round for love? Come on!' he motioned for her to follow. Yet she remained stalk still, frowning. She then looked around, at her once glittering world. Now it was nothing but dust and gunpowder. Jack walked back and stood in front of her, his arms at his side in a completely vulnerable stance. 'There's nothing left for ya here pet.' She finally looked up at him, her chest heaving, as if she couldn't breathe.
'But this is my home." She said in a croaked voice. She was standing there, her gown ripped, her face cut slightly and dirty, her eyes welling up with tears. She had nothing left? How could he say that, when he was the one who took it all away from her?
'If ya stay, they'll kill ya.' He said frowning at her. 'Is that what ya want?'
'Since when is it my choice?!" she practically shouted it. She sniffled, her throat closing up, feeling as though she just wanted to cry. 'I never wanted you to come here!' She yelled again. 'Sweet Jesus you're a pirate! How can I trust you!?' She folded her arms around herself, suddenly feeling so open. 'I don't know what to do.' She admitted finally. He stared at her with a meaningful look. 'I don't know which path to take.'
'Well.' He said as he shifted his "effects" around and looked around the room. 'At the moment, I say you chose the road less traveled.' She looked down, and he moved forward. 'Hey.' She looked up at him as his eyes drilled into her again. 'Ya always have a choice. Eh, love?' He wiped away one of her tears. 'Sides, you're not dyin now, after I lost me rum for ya and all.' She frowned and glared at him.
'You act as though that is all that matters in life.' She said as he began to walk toward the door again. He laughed, throwing his head back. He turned and tilted his hat to her.
'Well what else is there? Women?' he asked with a chuckle. That comment made her flush red with anger. 'cause you're definitely not making that an appealin enough offer pet.' He winked. She gritted her teeth.
'My name is Anya!' she said in a strong voice as she continued to glare at this shoddy pirate. He chuckled again.
'Whatever you say pet.' He said as he finally came to the entrance. 'So, you comin' or you some kind of lily livered maid?' She hesitated. But his last words had set her jaw. She was never one to back down from a challenge and she even smirked slightly.
This was definitely going to be an adventure.
This could not be happening. They were a sleepy little docking town, not many merchant ships to plunder. However the aristocracy in the region was of some of the highest. If they wanted to take hostages, there would be plenty. But who had ever heard of a pirate taking a hostage. They maimed, they stole, they fornicated. That was the life of a pirate.
Suddenly there was an explosion from below, and the balcony began to crumble. It was collapsing from under her feet, the stone falling away with the blast. Anya felt a rush, the wind roaring in her ears, as she fell threw the stone floor, to her death.
**************************************************************************** ****
'Jack, the lot h've taken off!' Muller yelled, his pistol scanning for any sign of life. One of the other sailors nudged one of the dead bodies, looking at it as if ready to fight. Jack rolled his eyes.
'Alright gents... clear off... get the supplies... ooohhh.. Wha we got here then?' he stuck his pistol back into his belt and trailed his hands over the hardwood cabinet in front of him, finding the wrought iron handles and pulling it open. He smiled as his eyes raked over the finest collection of scotch, rum and every other type of alcohol that a fine aristocrat could own. 'Not all treasure be silver and gold...' he said as he took the sack he'd brought along from his shoulder and began piling in all the bottles.
Suddenly there was a blast from a few rooms away and dust and debris narrowly missed Muller. Jack frowned and shook his head. They were getting bloody reckless out there.
'Muller!' he yelled as he paused with his newly found treasure. Muller nodded to him and he shrugged, returning his attention to the large bottle of brandy sitting in front of him. He'd just placed it inside the bag when he heard a shrill scream that pierced his ears.
He frowned, continuing with the cabinet, until he heard the shrill cry again and rolled his eyes. Oh bloody hell, what now? He closed the cabinet, now empty and slung the bag over his shoulder, walking into the next room. It was a fine ballroom, or at least it had been before it met the likes of the Pearl and the Happy Giant. Two of the most infamous pirating ships in all the seven seas. Of course, the Happy Giant was famous for its brutality, for its unwillingness to leave any human witnesses. It was odd, Jack thought, that it would be called the Happy Giant. It wasn't very happy at all.
He shook his head, looking around for a sign of who had been screaming, when he heard it again, only this time it was, "Somebody, please, help me!" he frowned as he made his way to a pair of large glass plated doors, leading out to a look out. He stepped to the edge looking around. There was no one there.
'HEY!' Jack looked down. A young girl was hanging from the edge of the stone, which apparently had been a balcony. She was swinging with the breeze, looking absolutely terrified. "HELP ME!" she screamed. Jack smirked and lent down.
'An why should I be doin that, love?' he said, trying to look serious. She glared at him, which for Jack, was nothing new from a woman. She was about to speak, when the stone's crack grew larger and it fell a few inches further, nearly tossing her off. She screamed again, and it rang threw Jack's ears. 'Alright! Alright!' It was better to help her so that she would stop her infernal racket. He reached down but she was too far.
'Hurry! I feel my hand is slipping!' she said in a voice, terrified beyond belief. He hunched down further and suddenly felt something slide off his arms.
'NO!' he yelled as the bag slipped away from him. She caught it, and suddenly the rock shifted again, finally breaking away and falling from the rest of the estate. One long cry wailed and in a moment of chaos, Anya was left hanging, only the man's hand saving her from falling to her death.
'Dont Drop Me!' she screamed, looking down at the jagged rocks, lining the coast.
'Dont drop the rum!' he yelled back, trying to hoist her up. His hands were wet from the ocean, and he hadn't a firm grip on her wrist. She was beginning to slip away.
'You're going to let go!' she screamed, as his hands slipped further, to her palm, her fingers wrapping around his in a frantic attempt to gain a bearing. He gritted his teeth as he tried to pull her up, holding onto the doorframe for support.
'I won't let go! You've got me booze!' he yelled trying still to pull her up and over the side. But she was slipping further away every second.
'I have to let it go!' she shouted, loosening her grip on his sack.
'NO! DEAR GOD WOMAN DON T LET GO OF THE BLOODY BAG!' he shouted back, putting even more effort into pulling her over the side. More for his rum's sake than hers. Suddenly she flew over the side and fell atop him, both breathing hard. Finally she regained enough composure to look into the face of her rescuer. Her eyes widened in shock, and she suddenly backed away from him.
'Y-you're a pirate ... ' she said leaning against the doorframe, trying to get away from him as it seemed. He rolled his eyes, getting clumsily to his feet.
'How perceptive of you, love. Now, my bag if you please.' He said as he brushed off his coat and held out his hand expectantly. Anya bit her lip, tugging nervously at her dress.
'I.... uh... I dropped it.' She said shrinking away from him slightly.
'YOU WHAT?!' he yelled as he sank to his knees in front of the drop, hunched over looking at the ground some hundred feet below.'No! NO! I was so close!' he said as he tapped his fingers along the jagged edge of what remained of the balcony. He stood and turned to her, his hands wrapping around an invisible person, giving the impression that he was either drunk or mad, or perhaps both.
'Uh... I suppose a thank you wouldn't help?' Anya said still eyeing him nervously as if he were unstable. He glared at her.
'Perhaps I should throw you over and into Davey Jones' Locker! See how you like it!' he said menacingly looking back longingly to where his sack had fallen. Anya swallowed hard, not actually sure if he were joking or being serious. She plunged a hand into her dress pocket and pulled out a large bottle, shaking its contents. His eyes snapped back to her widened, his mouth hanging open a bit.
'Where did you - '
'Where do you think?' she retorted with an air of mock confidence. 'Now if you'll be a good little pirate, and leave this house, perhaps I'll give you the nice bottle of rum." Jack gritted his teeth and shook his head as if this were a joke.
'You don't understand, love. Pirate.' He gestured to himself. 'I take what I want, when I want.' He made to reach for the bottle when it came swishing down and hit him in the side of the face, sending him stumbling backwards. The girl placed a hand to her mouth, shocked at her own action.
'Oh my god! Are you alright?!' she asked moving forward to look at him. He let out an exasperated sound and stood straight and to his full height, which was towering over her.
'Don t you understand?! I'm a pirate! PIRATE!' he repeated shaking his hands at her. One of her eyebrows raised at this, and she quirked her mouth slightly.
'Well you're not a very good one, are you?' She said placing a hand on her hip. 'You'd think pirates were more like Captain Morgan, or Captain Black... or Captain Jack Sparrow!' she said recalling names from the stories Sydney had told her. Her favorite was always Captain Sparrow. He seemed so suave and roguish. She'd had dreams of him even. Finally she came back to see the shaggy haired pirate staring at her as if she had grown a second head. He waved his hand at her and shook his head.
'But I AM Captain Jack Sparrow!' he exclaimed. She frowned again, looking him up and down, unsure if this was true.
'You're THE Captain Jack Sparrow?' she repeated, a bit unbelievingly. He beamed with pride at her question.
'Yes, lass. That I am.' He said reaching for his pistol, as he realized that the crew was probably making their way back to the rowboat. She continued to look him up and down. Finally he grew too impatient and smiled at her. 'What? Like somethin ya see, pet?' he said opening his arms as if to present himself. She shook her head.
'No. I just imagined you to be... I don't know...taller...' Jack opened his mouth, and gawked at her. This little brat was defying him and disrespecting him. Why hadn't he just taken the booze and left?
'Look, I just want me rum, and then I'll be on me merry pirate way, savvy?' he said, reaching out his hand again. She looked at it, before placing her hand in her other pocket and producing another bottle of scotch. She gave the two bottles to him and then backed away again. He nodded to her when he heard a loud crash and a bang. He looked around the corner to see the meanest pirate ever to sail in the Caribbean waters. Captain Gordon. He was a peculiar pirate. A gentleman with an extensive vocabulary and an air of confidence not brought on by a drunken stupor. He was a king among pirates. He was an old salt, not lost any of his brutality and he had a thirst for blood. Innocent blood.
Jack moved forward and clamped one of his filthy hands onto the girl's mouth. Her eyes widened as he moved forward pushing her flat against the cold marble. 'You stay quiet and you stay alive." He said in a harsh whisper, his deep eyes boring into hers. 'Understand?' he said shaking her. She nodded slightly. She then pushed her out onto the edge so that she was out of sight, just as Gordon saw him.
'Ah, Sparrow. Found any liquor?' he asked with a strange laugh. Jack felt the urge to just shoot the damn bastard. For all he'd done, he deserved a thousand deaths. But Jack nodded, a fake smile spread across his face. But Gordon frowned.
'What's that you're hiding?' he asked in a deep voice. Jack frowned back, trying to look innocent. Or as innocent as a pirate could possibly be.
'Don't know what you're talkin about Captain.' He said trying to remain calm. Gordon's face relaxed. Then suddenly he pulled out his pistol and shot the edge of the doorframe, beside Jack. The girl got scared by the sudden gunfire and stepped too close to the edge. She began to teeter when Jack grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him. He looked down at her as if she were incriminating evidence.
'OH HER!' Jack said looking back at Gordon. 'Just a relative of mine. Cousin's uncle's girlfriend's daughter, she's a lovely little thing, I'n't she, wonderful cook too, but her spicy food does me in sometimes ... '
'Enough.' Gordon chuckled. He shrugged. 'Why lie, Jack? You know all civilians must be shot, or people will know.' Gordon raised his pistol again. The girl shrank back behind Jack and he raised his hands.
'Now, now, now!' Jack said quickly, his mind working even more quickly. 'Let's not be too hasty. She be a golden opportunity of sorts... At least... loan her! To me crew!' he said waving his arm around, smiling hugely. Anya stared at him as if she would like nothing better than to toss him over the side of the cliff. 'Just for the month, you know, have lil fun with the girl, throw her over board once we're done... it's still cut clean and clear, Cap.' Gordon stared at the two, his pistol still raised. Then he let out a low laugh and lowered it. Anya could hear Jack let out a sigh of relief.
'You have fun with her Sparrow. Tell me how she settles, nothing like fresh meat for old salts like us, eh?' Gordon said as he turned toward the door. 'Very well. But when the month is threw, she takes a walk, aye?'
'Aye.' Jack said bowing his head slightly, waving his arms to Gordon. 'Month's time.' He repeated as the captain left the room. Jack nodded to himself before making his way over the debris, side stepping the bodies. But Anya remained where she was, watching him with teary eyes. Jack stopped at turned, smiling.
'What ya standin round for love? Come on!' he motioned for her to follow. Yet she remained stalk still, frowning. She then looked around, at her once glittering world. Now it was nothing but dust and gunpowder. Jack walked back and stood in front of her, his arms at his side in a completely vulnerable stance. 'There's nothing left for ya here pet.' She finally looked up at him, her chest heaving, as if she couldn't breathe.
'But this is my home." She said in a croaked voice. She was standing there, her gown ripped, her face cut slightly and dirty, her eyes welling up with tears. She had nothing left? How could he say that, when he was the one who took it all away from her?
'If ya stay, they'll kill ya.' He said frowning at her. 'Is that what ya want?'
'Since when is it my choice?!" she practically shouted it. She sniffled, her throat closing up, feeling as though she just wanted to cry. 'I never wanted you to come here!' She yelled again. 'Sweet Jesus you're a pirate! How can I trust you!?' She folded her arms around herself, suddenly feeling so open. 'I don't know what to do.' She admitted finally. He stared at her with a meaningful look. 'I don't know which path to take.'
'Well.' He said as he shifted his "effects" around and looked around the room. 'At the moment, I say you chose the road less traveled.' She looked down, and he moved forward. 'Hey.' She looked up at him as his eyes drilled into her again. 'Ya always have a choice. Eh, love?' He wiped away one of her tears. 'Sides, you're not dyin now, after I lost me rum for ya and all.' She frowned and glared at him.
'You act as though that is all that matters in life.' She said as he began to walk toward the door again. He laughed, throwing his head back. He turned and tilted his hat to her.
'Well what else is there? Women?' he asked with a chuckle. That comment made her flush red with anger. 'cause you're definitely not making that an appealin enough offer pet.' He winked. She gritted her teeth.
'My name is Anya!' she said in a strong voice as she continued to glare at this shoddy pirate. He chuckled again.
'Whatever you say pet.' He said as he finally came to the entrance. 'So, you comin' or you some kind of lily livered maid?' She hesitated. But his last words had set her jaw. She was never one to back down from a challenge and she even smirked slightly.
This was definitely going to be an adventure.