Happyhippie: You're comment made me and my friend laugh. Here you can have a prize too if you really want one (*hands out prize*) Tarillow: thanks for your comment; did you mean girlfriend like couple or like friends? Because while it's true I love her, it's more of a sister love not romantic. (OR IS IT?) LOL no really we are just best friends. I would say feel free to give her all the sloppy kisses you want but you'll have to take it up with her actual girlfriend. ^_~ But I'm really glad you are enjoying our stories.
Once again thanks everyone.

Chapter Eighteen: Batten Down the Hatches

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon when Captain Stonem, Katie, and a handful of crewmen set out for the shore in a longboat. Mr. Thomas watched as they paddled closer to the island as he began to turn the ship, steeling himself for the arduous task of maneuvering the waters around to intercept the Lament. The redhead perched at the front of boat, wearing a set of the captain's trousers, her hand restlessly fidgeting with the sheath fastened to her belt.

"We're not going to need that just yet," the captain soothed as she caressed the pistol in its holster against her hip. "I hope you won't be too disappointed if you don't need it at all."

She had refused to give the redhead a gun; a decision she felt was well in order considering the girl had never been trained with one and the weapons were temperamental at best. Katie stared ahead intently, barely hearing what the captain had said, every muscle in her body tense with anticipation. The captain threw stern glances at the rowing men who were ogling the redhead's backside; many of them averted their gaze, but the few who made eye contact received a smile that told them she couldn't blame them for looking. Cook flailed at the back of the boat, unable to cause too much of a ruckus with his arms and legs tied and his mouth securely gagged. Effy gave him a cold, malicious look and stifled at giggle as she imagined the curses he was trying to scream at her from behind the gag.

The moment the longboat touched the shore, Katie was out, pacing back and forth as the captain and men climbed out and pulled it ashore.

"I would have let you swim ashore if I knew you were in such a hurry…I doubt the sharks would have dared get in your way with the mood you're in…" Captain Stonem's chuckle was echoed by the men.

"They'd be in a sore state if they had." One of the men snickered.

"Can we just get going? I want this over with." Katie huffed as she glared at the man who had made the joke.

"Serious faces men! We have a long day ahead of us," Effy said in her best fake somber tone.

Two men hauled the prisoner out of the back of the longboat and argued over who had to carry him, both knowing that cutting his legs free and making him walk would be foolish. After much haggling between the two, one of them slung the sandy haired man over his shoulder and grunted.

"He's just going to slow us down," the redhead complained.

"Time well spent…" Effy crooned. "He's the best weapon we have."

It took nearly two hours to reach the other side of the island from where they had landed; the brunette called a sudden halt when the Lament came into view.

"Why are we stopping?" Katie panted as she pushed her way towards the front.

Effy placed a hand over her mouth roughly and pointed towards the ship; a longboat was being lowered from the side of the ship and a muffled squeal vibrated against the captain's palm when the girl saw her sister. The brunette tugged at Katie's arm as she motioned the men to go ahead of them.

"We need to move quickly…get up into the tree line before they spot us…" she explained. "And we need to be quiet," she added before releasing her hand from the other girl's mouth.

Katherine nodded vigorously as she followed the men up towards the trees, Captain Stonem close behind her. She held her breath as they settled into a hiding spot in the foliage and kept her eyes glued to the longboat as it inched closer to the land.

"…couldn't have been planed any better…" Effy breathed in her ear, causing her to jump.

"When do we make our move?" the girl asked through gritted teeth.

"I'll let you know…" the brunette assured her, "Just don't you move a muscle till I say so…and keep close to me when the fighting starts."

"I can hold my own!" Katie insisted, instantly hushing herself after the outburst.

"Maybe…how many battles have you been in?" the captain purred back at her. "Because I assure you, the blade gets heavier with someone's blood on it."


Emily leaned against Captain Campbell as the men rowed the boat towards the shore; normally they tried to keep their physical contact to a minimum when the men were around, but she was nervous and needed the comfort of her girlfriend's arms. This was it—there were no more ways to stall, no more tricks up her sleeve, and the journal had not arrived—and her stomach knotted as she realized that she might have made things worse. She had felt sure that if her father arrived before they entered the cave, she would be able to convince him, to make him see that she was happy, or at least put herself between Naomi and him to protect her until he saw reason. Now she wondered what would happen if he arrived to a partially crewed ship; how would she be able to protect the blonde if he set up an assault to wait for them to return, or what could happen if they followed them into the cave. Emily fidgeted miserably as she pressed close against the captain for comfort.

"It'll all be ok," Naomi soothed as she placed a light kiss on the girl's forehead.

The redhead's skin was clammy and the captain rubbed her arms trying to warm her up.

"Are you sure you can do this?" the blonde questioned.

"I'm fine," Emily lied. "I just can't get comfortable in these things."

Captain Campbell laughed. "Well you can't very well go in there in a dress."

"I know…" The girl sighed, her stomach churning as she wondered if she should leave a warning for the men left behind. "Nao…Captain…I…" she stammered.

"What?" the blonde asked.

"I…nothing…" she paused, unsure of what to do.

"What Emily?" Naomi insisted.

The boat slid into the sand and the men jumped out and began pulling the longboat further onto the shore as the two girls stepped down into ankle deep water. Emily tugged the captain off to the side, putting a few feet between them and the men who were hoisting the boat up to carry it further up and out of reach of the tide. Her cheeks were burning as she stood on her tiptoes to whisper in the blonde's ear.

"You did what?" Naomi screeched, taking several steps back from the redhead.

"I was trying to help..." The girl sobbed. "…I messed up…I know I fucked it all up, but I thought if I could just get the journal for you…if I could just see him…talk to him then…"

"Then what?" Captain Campbell bellowed. "Then you could watch him kill me or I could watch him drag you away from me?"

"Naomi please!" Emily sobbed, trying to get closer to the blonde, "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…it was stupid…"

"You're damn right it was! Jesus!" the captain snapped, taking a few steps back.

She barked orders to the men before turning to storm up the shore. "You're staying on the ship," she called behind her.

"What? No!" The redhead wailed as she sidestepped a crewman who came to take her arm. "Naomi!"

Emily broke into a run after the captain as the men pushed the boat back into the water and waved the crewman after her.


"Now!" Captain Stonem called as she released her grip on Katie's arm.

She'd been holding the girl in place ever since the longboat had come ashore and now they leapt forward, weapons drawn. The men rushed the shoreline, leaving only one behind to mind Cook, who was fighting his restraints so fiercely that it was drawing blood, taking the men at the boats unaware.

Captain Campbell reeled around, spotting Captain Stonem instantly; she drew her pistols, checking over her shoulder to look for Emily, who was rooted in place behind her with her hand frozen on the hilt of her rapier. Effy stopped a few feet away, her own weapon aimed squarely at the blonde, and Katie shifted uneasily behind her with her cutlass at the ready.

"Really Campbell?" Stonem all but yawned. "Have you ever known me to be afraid of death?"

"Have you ever known me to back down?" Naomi snapped back. "You know I'm a better shot and the odds are in my favor here," she added, adjusting her aim with both pistols.

"Emily!" Katherine beckoned. "Don't just stand there, get over here!"

"Katie…please…" She begged. "Put that down…make her stop…"

"Don't be stupid…we're saving you…" her sister shouted.

"I don't want to be saved Katie! I…I love," Emily began.

"No you don't! NO YOU FUCKING DON'T!" the girl with the cutlass interrupted. "Now get over here or I will fucking drag you!"

Emily drew her sword, her arms shaking wildly as she tried to hold it straight.

"I'm not coming! I'm not leaving Naomi…now make this stop," she demanded, her voice wavering, "Please…I don't want to have to"

"To what? What do you think you are going to do stupid? Look around!" her sister hissed, her face turning almost as red as her hair. "You can barely hold that thing up so just stop being crazy."

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up Katie! You never listen!" Emily bellowed. "I don't want to have to hurt you, so please, just call this off and we can talk."

Katherine stomped forward waving her sword in an attempt the knock the rapier out of Emily's hand; Effy stared Naomi down as she tried to keep her eyes locked with the other captain's and watch Emily as well. The blonde couldn't risk the glance back and the brunette knew it. The usually more timid twin swung back, striking the cutlass, and nearly knocking it from her sister's hand in the process. Katie took a few quick steps back, clearly shocked that her sister could not only wield a weapon, but that she would use it against her.

"Ems! Stop being a stupid cow!" she seethed as anger washed over her.

"You stop being a stupid cow!" the other girl spat back.

Captain Stonem burst out laughing at the audible spectacle of sibling rivalry.

"Just knock her out if you have to…we can patch her up later…" she called, not looking away from her rival's face as she said it.

"I'm warning you Katie…" Emily said.

Katherine snapped; her mind went blank as she lashed out at her sister, who blocked all her attacks, their blades clashing loudly as they began to circle each other. The twins' grunts and gasps matched the sounds of battle down the shore between the two crews.

Captain Campbell winced with every clang of metal and Captain Stonem cocked a knowing eyebrow.

"I think this has gone on long enough wouldn't you say?" The wild girl sighed before letting out a sharp whistle.

"You really fucking think I am going to give up?" the blonde asked, rolling her eyes.

"I think you're going to at least think about it," Effy stated confidently as she turned her head towards the trees.

Naomi's eyes quickly scanned the tree line, expecting to see an army of pirates, and saw a man holding a very bloodied Cook steady on his feet. Her arms dropped to her side as she tried to keep her knees from buckling under her, but she raised the pistols back up when Captain Stonem turned back to her, not bothering to raise her weapon as she did so, and gave her a domineering smile.

"Cook!" Campbell wheezed, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of her.

Emily quickly looked to Naomi and then followed her gaze up to the man who was tied and damaged. She yelped in pain with her sister's cutlass nicked the side of her arm; she jerked herself back into a defensive stance as she roared at her sister. Her next swing knocked the sword out of her sister's hand and Katie cursed as Emily positioned herself between the unarmed girl and her fallen weapon.

"Now stop it Katie!" she pleaded again while gasping for breath. "Just stop it."

"Just fucking kill me already!" the other girl spat. "I'd rather that then you be some fucking…fucking…filthy slag!"

"It's love Kaite…fuck…I love someone. That doesn't make me dirty or worthless!" Emily groaned. "It's better than what you do! You just pretend to love whoever has the most money…does it matter that all of them were men? I'm better than you."

She shifted, turning her attention to the brunette who still had her weapon half raised.

"Now step away!" she bellowed at the wild girl.

Katie tackled her from the side, letting out a roar of anger as she did so; the rapier fell out of her hand and Effy stepped forward to kick it aside before turning to Naomi as the twins struggled in the sand.

"So…what's it going to be?" Captain Stonem asked as she raised the pistol in the air, readying to signal Campbell's surrender.

Before the blonde could respond the sound of cannon fire sounded from the Lament and both captains spun around to see what was happening. The brunette expected to see the Bloody Whore being fired upon, but instead, she saw were two long boats making their way to shore; the Lament was firing upon the naval ship the boats came from. Her ship was just now sailing into view off to the left.

"Well that puts a damper on things…" Stonem mumbled.

"As I remember it…" Campbell stated, "…the Navy wants you dead or alive…am I right?"

"Kill one royal prince and they never let you live it down…" Effy sighed, aiming her gun once again at the blonde. "…I'd say now would be a good time for a truce…pick this up latter?" she said as she grabbed the redhead's arm and began to drag her towards the jungle.

"Don't fucking move!" Naomi yelled as she aimed at the back of the wild girl's head.

Musket fire erupted on the shore and she dropped to the ground, she tossed one of the pistols aside and groped along the sand for Emily's hand.

"We have to go now!" she yelled as she jumped back up and tugged the other girl behind her, making a mad dash for the cave.

*I don't own Skins or Skins Characters* I do...however...own the image I am using for the cover image...so that's a nice change isn't it? LOL

In other news...see what you make me do? You make me post when I wasn't planning to and now the waiting might have to start back up. But hopefully not for too long.