*A/N: After a year of neglect, here is the long awaited, and even longer absent update! (Cheers and applause) Now, for those of you who may be new or haven't read this in a while, allow me to do a quick recap and explain this chapter: After being locked out of his quarters by Peyton and Oxana, Barbossa is left to sleep outside. While trying to find a way to get back into his quarters, he spies on the twins inside and watches as they tend to one another's injuries. Upon further study, he sees the severity of their wounds and is left wondering how they came to be. Then upon see a graphic stab wound in one of Peyton's hands, he is reminded of the phantom wound he saw on his hand earlier that day (Chapter 1). Once the girls are asleep, he loses his desire to take back his room and instead falls asleep at the door, where he has a dream that reveals to him how the girls acquired these injuries. Hopefully that wasn't too confusing :P Don't wanna kill the enjoyment factor, so let me shut up and let you, enjoy! And as always please leave a review! (Feel free to yell at me for taking so longI deserve it)
Sunlight and the soft whispers of the wind and sea conversing with one another; all was calm on deck as a ship's crew commenced with their chores and duties. The steady rhythm of a scrub brush sliding 'cross the main deck, and the soft clapping of the ship's sails against the wind would be music to any seaman's ears, when suddenly, the sounds of shouts and the pounding of overlapping footsteps thundered across the deck like cannon fire. "Bring 'em over here!" shouted the deckhand as three men slammed the knees of two young girls into the floor.
"Git your hands off of me ye filthy-" the angered objections of the auburn-haired lass were cut short by a sudden blow to the face.
"Shut up!" hissed the deckhand as he prepared to strike the child a second time. "Ye'll speak when spoken to!"
"-And that's if Cappin' Crow let's you keep your tongues!" added another ragged crew member in jest. Angrily, the two girls- twins- writhed and struggled to break free. Cursing their captors and shouted wild threats, the chaos continued, 'til a squat, portly man exited the Captain's Quarters and, firing a single shot in between either lass- their identical faces both froze in a startled shock- silenced the entire ship.
"What's going on here?" the stout little man demanded with an urgency only commanded by a leader.
"Stowaways Sir," replied the crew obediently. "Women!" shouted one of the men as he pushed the smaller of the two girls forward.
"That so?" inquired the captain as he twirled his pistol in his hand, before using it to prop up the girl's face. A filthy sneer on his face as he studied the child, watching as she shot him a swift, hateful glance before sharply snatching her head in the opposite direction, her emerald-green eyes now shielded under a thick layer of crimson dreads. "Humph, not sure how you ladies made it aboard the Chimera," Crow laughed coldly, "but I can assure ye, stowaways are not tolerated..." Both girls continued to stare down at the deck, ignoring the threat, much to the captain's disapproval. "You will look at me when I am talking to you." Again the girls did not respond. Insulted, Crow snatched both girls up in either hand and repeated his command. "Ye hard of hearing?" he shouted, spit firing from his lips as he spoke. When neither of the captives replied, he angrily dropped them both to the floor and drew a large pearlescent dagger from his belt and, in unison with his pistol, directed them at either hostage.
"Normally stowaways are executed upon discovery," he said callously, "normally..."Still numb to his authority, both girls looked up at the babbling captain, a glassed, almost dead expression in their eyes. "But being the gentleman that I am, I'm willing to spare you lovely ladies; for a price..." he purred as he withdrew his weapons and knelt between the two girls. "You see, we've been need of a cabin boy- or two- for some time," he said as he exchanged hateful glares with the hostile redhead. "But even more so," he paused and looked up at his crew who shamelessly rubbed their palms and licked their lips as played with the redheads locks, "being at sea for days on end, me and my men tend to grow lonely, and long for some female company..." He sighed as he turned his focus to the larger of the two, running his filthy blackened hand through her thick auburn curls. "You young broads just might be able to fill those requirements. One for me," he smiled as sniffed the one girl's sea-scented curls. "And," he continued as he slowly ran his grimy finger along her sister's cheek, "one for my men-AHG!" He shouted in pain as the little wretch spitefully bit his finger. "You little-" Crow growled as he snatched the girl by her hair and seized his dagger from his belt. "I can see the first thing you'll be learning is respect!" Her neck twisted to that her head faced his own- no matter how she struggled- he took his blade and directed it toward her supple young lips. "If you wish to misuse your mouth-"
"Don't you dare harm her! You filthy bastard!" shouted the other sister as she finally managed to snatch one of her arms free from her captor. Impulsively, she used it to strike the captain in his eye, knocking him back, and freeing her sister from his grip. Once freed, the twins proceeded to fight off their attackers and make their way to the captain, ready to pounce like bloodthirsty beasts, starved for an eternity. But before they could quench their desire for revenge, they were stopped short by the end of a loaded pistol, a finger curled 'round the trigger. Wisely, the two roustabouts stopped short and watched the pistol, and its owner, rise to their feet as they were forced back onto their knees- this time with the tingling sensation of knives against the backs of their necks.
"Clearly, if we're to keep you two alive, some rules are to be established!" Shouted Crow, as he used the butt of his gun to strike either girl in the face. "And what are rules, without punishment?" his voice trailed off as he looked to his first mate who quickly ran to the captain's quarters and returned with a long, knotted, black coil wrapped in his hand. As he obediently handed it to his captain, several strands of the tangled object fell to the deck, elegantly toppling over one another like the soft locks of a virgin's hair. Upon seeing the black strands of leather hanging over Crow's arm, both girls looked up alertly, eyes wide with dread as he prepared their punishment: the Cat 'o Nine. "Forty lashes," he said calmly as he directed for the sisters to be brought to their feet. "Each."
Even without one of his own, the captain could sense the girls' hearts stop, and felt their disbelief and fear as he stood between them, deciding who he'd take first. Staring at the larger curly-haired child, he watched as her eyes constantly flickered back and forth between his face and the whip in his hand. He watched her a moment longer, amused, before turning his attention to her twin who, despite it all, still stubbornly refused to look the captain in the eye. Aggressively he pushed the whip into his first mate's hands as he used his own to grab the lass' head and direct it towards him. "You will look me in the eye!" he growled as he jerked her face upward. In doing so, he was caught off guard by a sudden splash of blood that flew from the child's face- on it lay an open gash in her lip, a result of the blow from his gun. Smiling at the wound he'd left on her face, the captain hadn't even noticed that, even with her face forced into his, the scarlet-haired lass still denied him her sights; realizing that her eyes were shut, Crow then used his jagged fingernails to tear the child's eyelids open, officially ending her resistance. "Now," he said as he gazed into her deep green eyes. "It appears ye'll be going fi-" for a second time, the captain's monologue was cut short as he quickly released the girls head and disgustedly proceeded to wipe away the blood the little imp spat into his face. Laughing silently under her breath, the girl remained unfazed as she was spun around and forced onto her knees as the captain prepared to issue her punishment.
"Stop it!" shouted her sister as she struggled to break free and save her twin. "Peyton!"
"Silence!" Crow roared as he turned and raised the Cat 'o Nine in her direction. "I haven't forgotten about you. You'll get yours..." then suddenly the captain was struck with an epiphany. Studying the two sisters, he realized that shouting and threats had no effect on these little demons; the only way to punish them, to truly hurt them, was to make them hurt each other... "Bring 'er over here," ordered the captain as he coldly redirected his attention to the redhead on the floor, and pointed to her sister who was dragged forward and aggressively draped over the starboard side of the ship. Laughing crudely, the crew proceeded to hold the lass down and remove her vest, tearing open her tunic from the back. Struggling wildly, the redhead lunged and shouted at crow as he stood behind her sister, the whip clenched tightly in his fist.
"Don't you lay a finger on her," she hissed angrily. "I'll kill you myself!" She shouted as grit her teeth, the faint stream of blood still trickling down her face.
"But I'm not going to do it..." Crow said snidely as he stood before the lass and took her hand, "you are." He smiled, his face rivaling that of Satan himself, as he placed the whip in the child's hand and stepped aside, giving her a clear view of her sister's bare back- her shirt torn open and hanging at her sides like a backwards vest.
"No," she whispered. Her eyes widened and her blood ran cold as she realized what she was being made to do. Spitefully, the captain approached her apprehended sister and placed a pistol to her head.
"Forty lashes," he paused and slid the gun through her hair, her body stiffened as the cold steel mouth of the gun grazed her scalp, "or I'll shoot her..." Bitter and enraged, the lass tightened her grip on the whip and closed her eyes as she shakily stepped up to her sister. A lifeless, stone expression on her face, and tearful remorse in her eyes, she raised the Cat 'o Nine in her fist just as her sister slowly turned her head far enough to exchange glances and will her sister to begin...
There was a loud crack and a retching scream as the torture began. Salty tears dropped to the deck as both girls began to cry screaming in response to the pain being inflicted and endured. Even some of the crewmen closed their eyes and turned away from the sight, leaving their captain to look on and keep count. "Five," he said coldly, a soft chuckle under his breath as watched either girl silently apologizing to one another with every blow. "Seven," he said as he began prodding the poor child with his gun. Angered, her sister stopped short, the whip hanging in her fist as she hatefully stared at their tormentor. "Keep it going!" Crow shouted to the girl, staring into those glowing green eyes, seething with rage. A heavy wind blew over the deck as the captain raised his gun and slammed it against her sister's head. "Ye hard of hearing?" he shouted as searched for the child's eyes, now shrouded beneath hundreds of shaggy red locks. The captain left his position as executor and rushed the stubborn wretch, fed up with her blatant disobedience. "I said-" immediately his rant was cut short as he fell to the floor, the slashes of a whip in his face, and some of its lashes still wrapped 'round his throat. Writhing in pain, his eyes slammed shut and his face a burning red, the captain was left senseless as the red-haired devil stepped over his cringing body and confiscated his pistol, drawing one of her own from her sash as she ordered the filthy band of crewman to release her sister. Fearful of the two barrels aimed in their faces, and still in shock at the site of what she'd done to their captain, the cowards obeyed and stepped away from the weak and bleeding child kneeling on the deck.
"I'm sorry," the redhead whispered as she helped her sister stand. "I'm sorry; I'm sorry," she repeated, a tearful quiver in her voice.
"Ye bloody bitch!" shouted a voice from behind, barely giving the sisters a chance to react, as the wounded captain lunged forward- sword in hand- as he jabbed at his assailant. Without a chance to react, the redhead threw her sister out of harm's way before a stinging pain surged through her torso. Before she even had a chance to scream, the lass was caught off guard a second time, as Crow hurled the serrated end of a dagger towards her face!
"Peyton!" her sister screamed as she watched her sister protect her face with her bare hands! "No!" she shouted, her voiced cracked and quivered as tears welled in her eyes. In an instant, the shouts and screams were silenced by the crack of gunfire and the eerie thud of a body hitting the deck. Ignoring the icy burning in her hand, the redhead looked from the bleeding body slumped on the floor, to her sister, the pistol still clenched in her hand and aimed at its fallen target.
Once the shock had worn away, the redhead returned her attention to the pearl blade that pierced her hand, before looking down at the barely breathing Captain Crow as he lay on the deck, wallowing in his own blood. Weakly, her sister stumbled to her side and joined her, observing his struggle to cling to life. Silently, the duo exchanged final glances with the captain and his men before the redhead drew her pistol in her good hand, and without a word, pulled the trigger...