Thank you to my beta readers on tumblr, dippsydaisy and trashmabill!
Chapter Two: Whisper in my ear
A quick search through Gideon's closet led her to find a coat that was very easily large enough to hide the nightgown she was still stuck in. The sounds of cannon fire were still coming from the rest of the ship, and now that she was moving closer and working on actually heading outside, she could hear the clash of swords and gunfire as well.
Gideon's pocket was large enough to hold the book she had hidden, simply taking it out of spite now more than anything else. Gideon burn down her home? She hoped whoever was battling him managed to take down his ship. She cursed him mentally, dagger still in hand as she walked silently through the bowels of the ship.
It was a couple crucial minutes before she managed to make her way to the stairs leading towards the deck, her foot stepping in something wet and sticky. Mabel didn't dare to glance down at what it was, not when the steps in front of her were bathed in blood and she was standing at the base. In some places where the light shone just right on the steps, she could have sworn she saw blood dripping down.
A body suddenly slammed down the steps, just giving Mabel barely enough time to scamper out of the way as the poor man fell dead at her feet. Death was nothing strange to her, it was something that was always around, but still, as Mabel looked down and saw those lifeless, dead eyes staring up at her, she wanted to vomit.
Yet she still pressed forward, making her way up the stairs and completely ignoring the way the blood clung to her feet and squished beneath her toes. Men were battling in front of her, and she saw three men get gutted before her in the time it took for her to poke her head out from the bowels of the ship.
"Oh, hello there lovely." A voice piped up, and Mabel couldn't help but squeal as she was grabbed by the arm, hauled off of the stairs and onto the deck.
"Didn't expect to find you here, love. Just what trouble are you getting into? A consort of the pig?" Mabel was twirled around to face the man talking to her, and really she was getting annoyed with all of these nicknames lately.
Without a second thought, she gave him a bright smile, bringing a knee up to hit him right in the family jewels and press her dagger against his neck. The blond man let out a small 'oof' of pain as she pressed the knife hard enough against his neck to make a couple drops of blood appear.
"I am really getting sick of all the pet names, so how about you get your hands off me?" Mabel was much too chipper for the war going on around her, but really she just wanted to get away. What little opportunity she had to either get on the other ship or even get a rowboat.
"Oh, you're fun." The blond man laughed, straightening up a bit quicker than she had seen other men in her past.
"Let me go. Now." Mabel growled, but all that happened was his fingers tightening around her arm. They were staring at each other, this blond man with a tight grip on her arm that was sure to leave bruises, with blood already starting to bleed from where Mabel pressed a knife against his throat.
"Oh love, you are just adorable." The man cooed, but at least his voice didn't sound as condescending as Gideon's could be. "You're forgetting one thing though."
"And just what is that?" People were already stopping the battle, staring them down as Mabel heard the worried screech from Gideon on the fact that she was on deck.
"I have a hand free."
With a mighty swing he swung his hand around, slamming it into the side of her head right where she was still recovering from her injury that Gideon inflicted. Mabel's hand on her dagger slipped as her vision got spotty, which gave the blond just enough room to spin her around and take some of the weight so she wouldn't fall. He knocked the knife out of her grip, pulling a gun from the waistband of his pants and pointing it against her head.
"That was fun." He laughed, leaning his head against hers and the bandage started to blossom with blood again. "Whoops, hit you a little harder than I needed to, didn't I?"
It wasn't even an option anymore for Mabel, she had to lean against him or risk falling. He didn't seem bothered, if he was a little surprised at how heavily she leaned against him, he masked it well. The man's arm wrapped around her waist tightly, as though afraid she would try to hit him once more. Mabel would have, if her head wasn't still spinning.
"Cipher!" Gideon's voice could sure bellow when it wasn't squealing. "Let her go right now!"
"Why?" Mabel could almost feel the smirk Cipher was sporting, making her shake her head softly. "You seem to be taking great care of her. Just look at those bandages."
Whatever fights had been left were now dissipating, everyone focusing on the two captains and the woman caught between them. Mabel rolled her eyes slightly, at least recovering faster this time than before.
"She should know better than to run." Gideon snapped, sword still extended out. "But she's mine, so let her go."
"I don't know, Gleeful, I like the way she feels." Cipher pressed the gun just a bit more firmly against her head, making Mabel wince. "I bet I could show her a lot more fun on my ship rather than yours."
"I will burn your ship to the ground!" Gideon's face was turning an ugly shade of red, and even that threat made Mabel laugh slightly. It drew more attention to her than she wanted, but it gave her a moment to push Cipher's arm off her slightly, enough for him to let her turn in his grip to face him.
"Big bad pirates don't know anything about the real world." Mabel smirked, standing on the tips of her toes for a second to whisper in his ear. Gideon was seething with jealousy behind her, but if he had been smart enough he would have seen a perfect chance to attack.
"Get me off of this ship, and I'll make it worth your while. I know where Gideon keeps his treasure, I know how to take him down." Mabel murmured, feeling Cipher shudder for a second as her lips brushed his ear, but she pulled away before he could ask her anything or pull her closer, she pulled back and gave him another smirk.
"Gideon, darling." Mabel almost cooed, pushing Cipher's gun away from her head. The man didn't protest, still looking down at her. In fact, everyone was staring at her, waiting for her to make the next move.
"Yes, sugar plum?" Some of Gideon's jealous faded when she addressed him, but it came back in full force as Cipher wrapped an arm around her waist again, just this time without the gun. Mabel honestly had no idea if he was going to shoot her or take her from Gideon, but either way something was going to happen.
"I think I'll keep my wings."
Mabel nearly screamed as she was suddenly lifted into the air, placed into Cipher's arms like she weighed nothing. It was like her words sparked the battle once more, and the clash of swords and the smell of gunfire was in the air. Mabel wrapped her arms around the only steady thing she was leaning against, which was Cipher.
Bang! Mabel felt something tear through the shoulder of Gideon's jacket and sink into her shoulder. There was a grunt from Cipher as someone slashed at him, but before anything else could happen, Cipher reached up, grabbing a rope out of nowhere, swinging them from one ship to the other.
Her shoulder was bleeding, her head was spinning from the blow the pirate placed on her, she reeked of blood and gunpowder. Her feet were bare and caked in blood that wasn't her own, and Cipher still had his arm placed around her waist even as he placed her back down.
"Make sure you leave your mark, boys!" He called over Mabel's head to his crew, even as Mabel pushed against his chest, wincing at that small action and quickly realizing she wasn't going to be able to hold herself up for long.
"Let go of me." Mabel snapped, quickly moving from pushing against his chest to holding the graze on her arm. After all of this, she never wanted to see blood ever again.
"You're the one who asked me to take you away." Cipher laughed, starting to lead her from the deck to downstairs, ignoring her stumbling steps and the way she still fought against him.
"Just...just slow down." Mabel ended up saying, which actually got him to look at her for a moment. She had blood still soaking up the bandage on her head, and Mabel was starting to feel as though she had gone through a war.
"I lost good men because of you, you better not go dying on me before you prove your worth." Cipher almost snapped, easily picking her up once more even as she groaned and pushed against him more.
"You're appalling." Mabel snapped, glaring up at him as he moved and set her on the steps leading up to the helm. Cipher barked out a laugh, moving and untying the sails so he could use the extra rope to bind her hands together.
"Again? What is it with men and tying me up." Mabel really just wanted to sleep right now, but that wasn't going to happen when she was on a strange ship with a captain who stared down at her as though she was his next meal.
"Fun to know Gleeful is into some different stuff, but if I wanted to tie you up for fun, I would leave you out in the open." Cipher retorted back, looking over the knot before taking a couple steps back from her, seeming to expect her to bolt.
Mabel just took the chance to actually look up at him. She was sure she was a sight, in an oversized coat and bleeding in a couple of places. He was taller than her, with blond hair and a light dusting of freckles across his face. He wore a golden captain's coat with black trim, a white, low cut shirt underneath his coat that just barely gave Mabel the glimpse of his chest. Were those muscles? She was definitely not staring.
"Hey, my face is up here." Cipher smirked, making Mabel blush and look away. "Don't go anywhere!"
Then he turned away as though he hadn't just left a woman there, tied up and sitting on the steps of his ship. Mabel closed her eyes, leaning her head against the railing and listening to the last couple cannons being fired before she finally felt the ship starting to move. It wasn't until there was someone near her that she opened her eyes, and even then, Mabel recoiled from how close the man was.
"Don't touch me." Mabel snapped, her injuries and exhaustion making her tone sharper than normal. The man reeled back as though she had slapped him, a small frown decorating his face.
The man stared at her for only a second before he scampered off, and Cipher was quick to take his place, her head once more leaning against the railing of the ship and blood still dripping down her arm. She was so sick of being injured.
"So, sugar plum." Cipher grinned, ignoring the way she frowned at him. "Care to tell me what his weaknesses are now?"
"Screw you all." Mabel really couldn't even stay awake, her head throbbing and her entire body aching.
"Cute." Cipher laughed, bending down and untying her wrists, holding them in his hand so she wouldn't lash out. It wasn't like she had the strength to anyways. "What did Gleeful even do to you to want to join my ship?"
Mabel couldn't even get up, not when Cipher tugged at her and tried to get her on her feet, but all that happened was Mabel struggling to get up and falling a second later. She only let out a soft groan as Cipher caught her in his arms.
"Well, that's unusual." Cipher mumbled, picking her up a moment later. "Alright, obviously you need to be looked at. Figures Gleeful would abuse you to hell and then let you go so easily. I'm starting to wonder if you lied to me…"
Mabel didn't even hear anymore, suddenly leaning against his chest and falling into sleep in a matter of seconds, despite her mental protest cries. She felt like she was falling right from the lion's mouth and into his den instead.