As Kat gained consciousness she realised that she was lying on a hard surface. It was rocking beneath her, which meant that she must be on a ship. She blinked twice and opened her eyes. It felt like she had been asleep for a long time. But then it came back to her. She had been kidnapped. Kat jumped to her feet at once. The room she was in was dark, the only light coming from a few candles. Then a loud snore sounded through the room and she almost jumped out of her skin in alarm. She looked to where it had come from and followed the noise. A pirate was asleep in a chair across the room. He had weasel features and a weak, scrawny appearance. I could take him in a fight easily, Kat thought as she observed him.
"FINCH!"
A voice from the doorway roared and Katrina turned around, her heart pounding. Another pirate stood there, looking furious. Without even glancing at Katrina he strode across the room and tipped the sleeping pirate out of the chair. He awoke as he hit the floor. It was quite a humorous sight, but Kat didn't dare laugh.
"Finch, ye useless whelp! Ye were meant to come and tell me when she came to!" The pirate shouted at Finch, who mumbled an apology.
Kat glanced towards the open door and thought about running out, but there wouldn't really be much point. She was on a ship she didn't know and there was nowhere to hide. Then the pirate who had woken Finch turned towards her.
"Well, well Miss Scorer. The captain will be glad to see you."
"Why have you kidnapped me?" Kat demanded, wondering how they knew who she was.
"We've been searching for you. For a very long time." He told her with a sinister smile. A shiver ran down her spine and she began to back away from him. Her eyes widened as more pirates began to troop into the room. They leered at her as they passed her. Her mouth dropped open as she recognised two of them. They were the two pirates that Jack had saved her from back in St Lucia. Then she felt her back hit the wall and Finch stepped forward, standing right in front of her. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"What do want from me?" she asked icily.
"We know ye're Scarlet Scorer's daughter so there's no point in denying it, missy. Ye might have got away from us last time, but believe me – ye're not going anywhere this time."
"What if I'm not Scarlet's daughter? What makes you so sure that I am?" Kat challenged him.
"Jack Sparrow may have told us that ye were his cousin; but we know now that he was lyin'. We found out Jack Sparrow doesn't have a cousin."
"That still doesn't prove that I am who you say I am." Kat retorted coolly, ignoring the rest of the crew watching her.
"Ye see, we knew Scarlet Scorer. And ye're the spitting image of 'er." He grinned at her triumphantly, showing yellow teeth.
"You don't have any proof!" Kat exclaimed. Finch's eyes dropped to the locket round her neck.
"That locket was 'ers. She used to wear it; up until she got caught by the Navy. What a strange coincidence that you're wearing it." Finch told her, his eyes gleaming.
Kat gestured towards the two pirates that had tried to capture her on the night she met Jack. "I told them, I stole it! I'm a pick pocket, not a pirate's daughter!"
A floorboard creaked with the sound of a heavy footstep and everyone's eyes turned to the doorway. There a man stood that Kat guessed must be the captain. He wore a large hat with a feather and light brown hair tied back in a ponytail. He had a beard and a moustache and he was staring at Kat, his small eyes cold. He walked forward and waved Finch away. Then he stood in front of Kat, his eyes roaming over her.
"Not a pirate's daughter, eh?" he spoke in a gravelly voice. "Ye're tongue must be black with lies, Miss Scorer. Much like Jack Sparrow's, I imagine."
"What makes you think that my name's Scorer?" Kat asked calmly. She picked up the gold oval of the locket. "I stole this, so you can't prove anything."
"And can you prove ye stole it?" he retorted, his eyes regarding her with amusement. Kat didn't reply, annoyed that he could catch her out. It reminded her of the way Jack could easily outsmart anyone. She glared hard at the captain as he smirked at her.
"Who are you?" she asked him.
"I don't believe I've heard your first name yet, Miss Scorer." He asked her instead.
Kat hesitated, wondering whether to use a fake name. But maybe she wouldn't have to lie because it seemed that her mother had never mentioned her first name to them.
"Katrina."
"Ah, yes. Scarlet's daughter alright." He smirked at her and looked towards his crew. "She always said her daughter's name was Katrina."
"You're lying. She never talked about me." Kat looked away as his eyes fell on her face again.
"Oh…touchy subject is it?" he said in a false concerned voice. Kat's eyes blazed at being patronised. "Well then, I'll continue. This ship used to belong to your mother."
Kat searched his face for any signs of dishonesty, but his eyes were deadly serious. This was the Lagoon? She stared at the floor, trying to take it all in. Nothing prepared her for what he said next.
"My name is Captain Benjamin Blackmore. Around about eight years ago, my crew and I stole Scarlet Scorer's ship in a battle. We tied up her crew and made her surrender. Then we shot her off the side of her own ship. The most excellent idea I've ever had actually."
He smiled at Kat, provoking her. She remembered her dream, her mother's face as she stood alone on the side. In her mind she could see the bullets hitting her, her body falling into the sea. Something inside her snapped.
"YOU BASTARD! YOU EVIL…"
She sprang forward like an animal, her face in a scowl of uncontrollable anger. Blackmore wrestled against her and then pushed her back against the wall. His hands gripped her shoulders as he pinned her there. Her dark hair fell over her face and she breathed heavily, her eyes murderous as she looked up at him.
"I can see why Jack likes ye, Miss Scorer. A passionate temper is a fine quality in a woman."
He looked at Kat with sudden desire and her eyes widened in horror. The men who were watching started to cheer as he tried to remove her dress. Kat struggled against him, but he was too strong for her. It was much worse than a drunken grope in a tavern. Kat did the only thing she could think of and spat up into his face. The crew stopped cheering and fell into deadly silence. Everyone was watching Benjamin Blackmore to see how he would react. He backhanded Kat hard across the face with such force that it knocked her to the ground. She lay there still, her face sore and her heart beating hard.
"Lock her in the brig!" he ordered in a terrifying voice, wiping the spit from his face.
