Well Happy Holidays everyone. Thought I would put up the next chapter.

Chapter Ten: Fire The Cannons!

Captain Campbell frowned as they stood on deck; a storm was brewing and she could tell it would be a nasty one. She had tried to convince Emily to head below deck, but the redhead had refused – saying she'd never seen a sky like this and she wanted to see more. She couldn't refuse the begging in the girl's brown eyes; Naomi hated what a push over she was becoming and was just glad that the crew didn't seem to notice.

"Ship Ahoy!" a call came from the crows nest.

"Ship?" Captain Campbell exclaimed as she pulled out her telescope and scanned the area.

The figurehead of the oncoming ship caught her eye and caused her to do a double-take.

"Oh fuck me!" Naomi exclaimed.

She recognized the statue and knew there was only one explanation for why it still existed. It used to be part of this very ship, before she had taken possession of it and renamed it the Lament; she'd had the crew pry it off as she watched and had discarded it in her mother's port.

"Mr. Cook!" the captain barked and her first mate jogged up to answer her. "It seems Captain Stonem found herself a new ship and an old figurehead."

"Oh fuck me!" Cook exclaimed—his exclamation echoed by the parrot.


"I think they've spotted us," Mr. Thomas called from the crows nest.

Captain Stonem let out a slew of orders to the men and the deck erupted with sudden action and babble. The loud calls of the men alerted Katie to fact that the Lament was finally in sight and she pushed her way through the busy sailors and onto the captain's deck. The redhead snatched the telescope out of Effy's hands and frantically searched for the ship; her hands were shaking and she panted for breath. The captain stood behind her and reached around to steady the spyglass and aim it in the proper direction for her.

"I see her!" Katie squealed, unable to contain her excitement. "I see Emily!"

It didn't matter that the other ship was roughly twice the size of the one they were on or that it was clearly in better condition; both of the women stood gazing towards it with a euphoric sense that their goals were well within reach. The moment passed quickly and the brunette pulled the telescope back and slammed it shut, turning to bark more orders to the men. The sky was turning from grey to black quickly and time was not on their side. The ocean was already churning and swelling angrily as though it and the heavens were having a heated argument of some kind. Katie braced against the stair railing and stared in the direction of the Lament; it was already beginning to come into focus.

"Me hearty…" Effy seemed to croon to her ship as she caressed the wheel. "Prepare to meet your name-sake."


On board the Lament, Emily stood rooted in place a few feet behind Naomi. In all the flurry of preparation, she had been quite forgotten. Rain was already pelting the deck and the waves were tossing, causing the ship to heave. The redhead stepped back a few paces and gripped the railing for support. The enemy ship was approaching fast and Emily could clearly see that it wasn't a merchant or naval ship. The ship lurched sideways as the captain and her first mate both braced the wheel to force it to turn; there was rumbling below deck as men labored to load and aim the cannons, and rumbling from above them as the sky crackled with lightning.

Effy swore angrily when one of the men bellowed from the main deck that two of the cannons had come loose from their supports. She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to concentrate.

"We'll get it; they will be ready," Thomas yelled to her as he disappeared below deck.

The Lament was dangerously close and they were in danger of losing their opportunity to fire.

"Get to the quarters, will you?" The captain snapped at the redhead.

"Not a chance!" Katie spat back.

"You're in the way!" Effy roared at her.

Katherine crossed her arms for a moment, though the rocking of the boat made it impossible for her to hold the defiant stance for long. She staggered down the stairs and slammed the door, but she hadn't gone into the room; instead, she found a corner of the lower deck where the captain couldn't see her and braced herself there to keep watch.

Thunder roared so loud and the ship shook as the men struggled to wrestle one of the loose cannons back into place; for a moment, Katie thought that the opposing ship must have fired on them. She could hear the captain swearing angrily at the wheel and one of the deck hands rushed past her and called below deck.

"Captain's orders—forget the two, fire remaining cannon!" he yelled.

Katie braced herself and looked away from the Lament only to see a colossal wave looming over her side of the ship. The rogue wave tilted the ship as the cannon fired, sending several sailors over the side before the ship righted itself.

The cannonball sailed over its original target and crashed through the Lament's mizzenmast, sending debris scattering onto the deck, a hand sized chunk of the mast striking the captain on the back of the head. Naomi fell to the deck with a thud and Cook struggled to maintain control of the wheel. Emily shrieked and dropped to the deck, scurrying over to the blonde to try to help her. The captain was still breathing and the redhead was relieved to see there was very little bleeding where the debris had stuck. She looked up to see the giant wave carrying the other ship dangerously close and wrapped her arms around Naomi as she readied for the boat to strike the side of their ship. Both ships shuddered and creaked as they collided; the sound of splintering wood sounded though the air. Katie crawled up the stairs and back onto the deck where Effy stood shakily clinging to the wheel for support. Everything seemed still in the aftermath of the wave and the redhead pulled herself to her feet and joined Captain Stonem at the wheel. Over the railing of the other ship, she could see the back of Emily's head, her hair whipping out between the railing.

"Emily!" she gasped, unable to catch enough breath to fully yell.

The boats were already beginning to drift slightly apart, opposing currents pulling the ships sharply away from each other. Effy saw her opportunity slipping out of reach.

"Take the wheel!" she barked at Katie as she rushed to the side of the ship.

Katie steadied herself against the wheel, unsure of what to do, and watched as the wild woman swung a grappling hook forcefully towards the Lament. On deck several men were following suit in an attempt to tether the ships together so they could climb aboard.

"To your left!" Captain Stonem barked at her. "No…my left, you're right. Hard right!"

Katie gripped the wheel and pushed with no avail. "Listen here…" she panted into thin air. "I am…Katherine…Veronique…Fitch…" She gasped and pushed with all her might. "Now turn…you…fucking….bloody…whore…"

The hook took hold loudly a few feet away from Emily and the sound was echoed across the side of the ship. The crew rushed to action, doing anything they could to dislodge the ropes.

"Cut the rope!" Cook called to her from the wheel. "If they board now it's over. Stonem's a ruthless woman when she's pissed."

Emily stood shakily and pulled Captain Campbell's sword from its sheath. She held the blade steady over her head as she struggled to balance herself at the railing. She could see down onto the deck of the other ship; a wild and angry looking brunette glared up at her, and then a flash of red caught her eye and she gasped.

"Katie!" she yelled, and her sister spun around.

Their eyes met and they both froze. All the other hooks had been discarded from the ship, but the men on the Bloody Whore were already preparing to throw more.

"Cut the rope! Now!" the first mate bellowed.

"Emily…" Naomi moaned from the deck.

Emily looked over her shoulder at the blonde, squeezed her eyes shut tightly, and brought the sword down as hard as she could.

"Ready the cannons!" Cook called to the men.

"No!" Emily shrieked as she spun around. "No you can't!"

"Wave…" the captain moaned quietly.

"We have to!" the first mate argued.

"Wave…" Naomi repeated louder as she sat up painfully.

"My sister!" Emily screeched. She yelled to the men on deck. "Do not fire the cannons!"

"Oi! You're not the captain here!" Cook bellowed angrily.

"Wave!" Captain Campbell yelled as she lunged at Emily and pulled her down on the deck.

Another colossal wave racked the boats, this time hitting them head on instead of from the side. It seemed to split directly between the two boats, creating a wall of water that blocked out all visibility and pushed the ships away from each other. When the wave had settled, it was as though the two ships had never met; the scars of battle on the ships and crews alike shone as the only proof the boats had ever come close to each other. In every direction the ocean seemed empty; any signs of life were lost in the waves.


The wave had turned the Bloody Whore on it's side, but the crew had managed to arranged to load below deck so that the ship sat slightly lopsided, but still safely upright in water. Captain Effy had left the wheel to Mr. Thomas and now she sat nursing a particularly painful looking wound above Katie's left eye. The redhead groaned and pushed Effy's hand away.

"Guess you'll find a way to blame me for that scar," the captain whispered, more to herself than to the redhead.

When the wave had pushed the boat over, she had tried to grab Katie in time, but the force of the wave against the rudder had sent the wheel spinning out of control and the girl's face had gone crashing into it, leaving several bruises and a nasty cut on her forehead. The damage was far from lethal, but the brunette knew that the injured girl shouldn't fall asleep just yet—just in case. So she set about trying to keep her awake. When all else had failed, Effy fished around under the bed until she found the doll.

"Katie…you have to stay awake so we know for sure your brain still works…" Effy put on a voice and bobbed the dolls head at the girl.

The redhead tried to snatch the doll out of the brunette's hand. "Don't touch that! It's mine!"

"There—now you are good and awake," Effy continued talking for the doll.

"I said drop it!" Katie lunged forward and grabbed one of the dolls arms.

"Why?" Effy said spitefully.

"Because Emily made it!" The girl wailed, finally breaking down. "It's Emily and I have to keep her safe…" she mumbled weakly.

"Oh." The brunette gasped, taken aback by the sudden outburst; she let go of the doll. "That's...not sane…but I guess if taking care of Emily here will keep you awake then that works…now let me look at your cut."

Katie huffed, but let the captain resume doctoring the wound. "You're a fine one to talk about sane you know…"

"Yes, I know," Effy said calmly as she pulled out a small medical kit. "I'm the dread pirate Effy, unstable scourge of the seven seas…"

The redhead laughed a little.

"Actually it's true…" the captain said honestly. "But you take your reputation and make it yours…" she added.

The captain left the bed and searched through one of the trunks, coming back with a bottle of rum. She opened it and poured some onto a strip of cloth and dabbed the cut over the girl's eye and then handed her the bottle.

"Drink some of that," Effy said as she pulled out a needle and thread.

The redhead sniffed the bottle and shuddered. "Why?"

"I'm really sorry…but this is going to hurt like a fucking bitch…" Effy answered. "You can hate me in the morning."


Emily followed Cook as he carried Naomi into their quarters and placed her gently on the bed.

"I'm fine…I'm fine…" the blonde mumbled. "Tend to the men…"

"I'll take care of her," The redhead said timidly.

The first mate stormed out of the captains quarters and out onto the deck, leaving the two girls alone. Emily sat on the edge of the bed and held Naomi's hand for a moment before helping her roll slowly over on her side. Tears streamed down her face as she dabbed at the small wound at the back of the blonde's head with the bed-sheet.

"It's not that bad; leave it." Naomi sighed. "I've had worse. Are you hurt?"

"N..n..no," Emily stuttered as she tried to get herself under control. "No, I'm fine."

"Effy is a…determined woman…I'm sure your sister is ok. Eff's always had a streak of luck a mile wide most of the time…" the captain tried to assure the crying girl.

"Do you really think they are alive?" Emily asked.

"Yes," She promised.

"Katie is going to hate me," The redhead sputtered.

The captain rolled back over and took Emily's face in her hands. "If she went through all the trouble to hire another pirate to come looking for you…I don't think she will hate you for doing what your kidnappers told you to do."

"No…not for that…" Emily continued, new tears welling up.

"What the hell will she hate you for? Look, the ransom is off; I'll take you to port, I'll help find your sister…I'll make sure you both get home," Naomi promised hastily.

"She'll hate me because you are right." Emily wailed. "Because I'm not going home."

"I said I would make sure you both get home. I promise…" the blonde repeated urgently.

"No I won't, because I do love someone who's worth it…" the redhead insisted, leaning in closer and looking into the other girl's blue eyes. "Because I'm in love with you," she said and kissed the blonde on the lips before she could even react.

Sorry if the jumping around was confusing. I hope it doesn't disappoint too badly. I know my other story is long overdue for an update but I am struggling with both stories at the moment. Sorry you all had to wait so long for this update and really sorry to anyone waiting for update on IITC.