Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Pirates of the Caribbean (except for the DVD, soundtrack, computer game, and the huge Johnny Depp poster hanging above my bed)!

Author's Note: K, everyone, here is chapter two! Sorry it took so long. Enjoy and REVIEW please!

Chapter Two

The Captive

A fine sunny morning, midway through the trip, Raquelle and Bethany were simply lounging out on the main deck, chatting animatedly amongst themselves and passing sailors. There was a fine breeze blowing, the sails were widely spread, and the flag waved merrily in the wind.

Bethany was the one who noticed it first. She had just been smiling at the buff first mate, when her grey eyes went wide and she nudged her friend, "Look, Raquelle! Look!" she said, like an excited child who has just made a discovery. "A ship!" she winked. Another waving/flirting opportunity!

Raquelle squinted. Sure enough, in the far distance was a black blurry shape, coming closer and closer.

As this new ship approached them, the girls noticed the flag of the neutral country of Holland and breathed relief. It was not a Spanish ship, which might have caused some trouble.

"Ahoy there!" cried Bethany, removing her bonnet from her head and waving it broadly. Raquelle soon joined in, her long fingers moving perfectly as she tried to catch their attention.

The Dutch ship was smaller than the Blue Mermaid, but it had bigger sails. No one was visibly on the deck. Something was wrong.

AS the ship came closer, bulging and thrashing against the waves, the girls' smiles disappeared. Where was everyone? Was it a ghost ship? But when it was only about fifty meters away, the girls finally saw two men. But they seemed to be working at something.

And slowly the bright dutch flag at the main mast in the ship was lowered. Raquelle frowned at Bethany, who looked just as confused as she was. What was going on?

Then suddenly Bethany's misty eyes became clear, and she understood.

"It's a trick!" she cried, "It's a trick!" Raquelle was still confused, "What on earth?" Bethany shook her head, her eyes wide. "Pirates!" she said, agonized.

And sure enough, another flag was being raised. A black flag, with a white skull and two bones crossed underneath it – the Jolly Roger. The flag was quickly raised, and it sat above the main mast, the skull grinning wickedly. Men started shouting on both ships. And now, now Raquelle saw men; ugly, scabbed men, with red cloths on their heads, rags for clothing, cutlasses at their sides. Terror filled her heart.

She had heard stories of pirates and their wickedness back in Nassau, but having never come across one, she simply assumed they were a legend, a warning to scare people from going to sea. How could this be happening now? When she was so, so close to her new home and her new life?

Raquelle gasped for air. The pirates leered back at her, their ship so close she knew that it was only a matter of minutes before they would board it and all would come to a drastic end.

Then Bethany's hand gripped hers, jolting her back to her senses.

"Come on!" she yelled, pulling a very dazed Raquelle along. "Here are we going? What can we do? All is lost!" Raquelle cried, but Bethany shook her head confidentally and said, "No, 'tis not. Follow me, quick."

The girls tore down the quarterdeck, climbing the steps down to their cabins. Bethany had an odd gleam in her eye, like she was desperate to save herself, somehow.

She burst open the door to her room and unlocked an old drawer with a silver key. She pulled an old sack out of it, throwing it to Raquelle. "Here," she said quickly, "Empty out this bag. Hurry!" Bethnay continued to search her room for something while Raquelle emptied out the bag, her eyes wide. Inside she found a cutlass, a dagger, and an old pistol. She touched the weapons gingerly, her face pale with terror. "What on earth is this, Beth?" she cried hoarsely.

Bethany just rolled her eyes and said, "C'mon, ye scallywag. Just follow me lead." Raquelle's brain raced in confusion. Why was Bethany, her friend Bethany, using words like 'scallywag'? Why was there a cutlass in her bag?

Raquelle watched as Bethany tore her beautiful dress from her body and stood in her bare bodice. Bethany sighed, muttering, "Thank goodness I've gotten rid of that bloody thing." Raquelle's confusion doubled as Bethany pulled on another outfit that had been hidden under her bed: a loose white blouse with fluffy cuffs, and a pair of old trousers, held up by a long black belt. It was the sort of thing Raquelle wouldn't be caught dead in, and more of a male outfit than anything else.

Above their heads the girls could hear screams, running, blades crossing, bodies falling to the ground, and general chaos.

Bethany's tone became more urgent, "C'mon. Stay behind me and if you see anything, yell." She put the dagger in the inside of one of her leather boots, put the pistol on her belt, and held the cutlass out in front of her, ready to attack.

Slowly, Bethany opened the door, stepping out quietly, her cutlass still poised and ready for action. There seemed to be no one around. Then the sounds of three men laughing reached the girls' ears, as the men came around a corner, from the direction of the powder magazine. Bethany guessed their evil plan immediately, and quick as lightening, she pulled out her pistol and shot the first pirate to come around the corner…Raquelle screamed first pirate to come around the corner. Raquelle screamed as the man hit the ground, dead of a bullet in his heart.

Bethany replaced her pistol and lunged at the two men with her cutlass. She fought fearlessly, skilfully wielding her way in and out between the two pirates as Raquelle gasped and screamed in the background.

Bethany dodged and lunged at all the right moments, and within minutes the first man had retreated, wounded in his left shoulder.

Bethany continued to swordfight with the other man, but she yelled to Raquelle over her shoulder, "Raquelle! Hurry above deck and jump! The ship is going to explode!"

Raquelle's eyes bulged as she digested the information. She was paralyzed, so terrified she couldn't move.

"Run, Raquelle, run!" Bethany's piercing cry made Raquelle climb up the ladder quickly, tears prickling her eyes. And where was her mother? She stepped out to the quarterdeck and screamed.

There was no one else left except a pile of dead bodies covered in blood, scattered around the ship. Raquelle recognized her mother's lilac dressed from as one of them. She felt pure hatred surge through her veins.

Then she heard the constant blade crossing noise underneath her cease, and a moment later Bethany appeared, exhausted but unharmed.

"C'mon!" she cried for the third time, jumping off the edge of the ship and landing in the serene waves below.

Raquelle hesitated for a moment, then jumped in after her friend, just as the ship exploded grandly behind her, and in a matter of seconds the Blue Mermaid had disappeared under the waves. Pieces of blue wood scattered all around and the once proud British flag was now flimsy and defeated, floating lightly above the water.

Raquelle had plunged underneath the water, but now she resurfaced, gasping for air and despairing. Bethany was by her side, equally worried, but still more confident.

As the two girls kicked the water to remain above the surface, they noticed the pirate ship was still there, in all its cruelty and malice. But now a jolly boat was being lowered from the main deck, and there were several pirates in it, leering at the girls as the boat steered towards them.

The girls began to swim desperately in the opposite direction, but the jolly boat was faster than them. In a few minutes, Bethany heard a scream behind her as the men grabbed Raquelle and pulled her from the water into the boat.

A while later Bethany felt two pairs of strong, rough hands grab her under the arms and lift her up into the jolly boat.

Bethany did not scream, but she twisted and turned, attempting to resist but failing. She glared at the pirates as they laughed and teased her.

A particularly tall, gangly pirate with an old eye patch noticed her pistol and her cutlass and disarmed her straight away. "This one's a fighter,. Eh?" he said, and the men laughed stupidly. "Well, yer fightin' days are over, lass. Ye be a brig rat dead fer sure, if ye try 'n fight us. Ye see, love," he said, stroking Bethany's chin with grimy hands. She flinched away. He was missing two fingers. "'Ere we don' have no mercy." He finished, grinning stupidly. Bethany continued to glare at him, not saying a word.

At the other end of the boat, Raquelle was wriggling helplessly, tring to avoid the pirates' groping hands, which were going for anything they could grab.

After a while, the boat reached the ship and was raised to the main deck.

As the men piled out of the boat, grabbing the girls tightly, a big bald man with a hideous mustache, wearing a leather vest and puffy trousers, walked out to meet his new "guests".

The girls wriggled and squirmed, trying to break free of the mens' grasps, but it was usless. The mustached man laughed as he approached them. He smelled faintly of mould and rum.

"Come, come, me beauties, why the struggle?" he asked, grinning. The girls (or rather, Bethany) continued to glare at him. He seemed to ignore this and bowed slightly, saying, "Welcome aboard the Captive. 'O course, ye be th' new captives. I be Cap'n Johnson. What be yer name, maid?" he asked, addressing Raquelle with amusement in his eyes.

Raquelle was angry and afraid at the same time, but she managed to whimper, "Raquelle." Then, before the man could move on to pester Bethany, she cried out, "Why did you kill the others and not us? What use are we to you?"

Johnson smiled wickedly. "Why, us men need a little ol' fun, me darlin'. And you address me as Captain Johnson. Savvy?" Raquelle nodded weakly.

Satisfied, Johnson moved over to Bethany. "And ye, love?"

Bethany fought the temptation to spit in his face, and remained confident, her chest puffed out as she faced him. "I be Maria," she pronounced.

Raquelle frowned. How was a fake name going to help them now?

"Aye, Maria," said Johnson smugly, "We 'ope ye be havin' a good time aboard the Captive." Then he turned to the men holding the girls and commanded, "Lock 'em in the brig, and meet me in me office. Split-quick!"