Hello! This is a short chapter but more is to come and lots more action is definitely approaching :) Thank you to everyone who've left reviews, I entreat anyone reading this to do the same!

Hope you enjoy and yes, please let me know what you think :)

Chapter 14

Jim reached the stockade in record time after his excited dash through the forest so he stopped to catch his breath before going in. They'd chosen their quarters well – there was a stream for water and the stockade was well protected, a stark contrast to the marshy spot the pirates had chosen, no doubt disease was lurking round ever corner.

Jim could hear muted voices from inside so he took a deep breath and opened the door. The talking stopped as every man turned to look at him, then the doctor got to his feet.

"Jim! Are you alright?" He asked worriedly but before Jim could answer the captain pushed past Livesy and grabbed Jim by the shoulders angrily.

"Jim what the hell possessed you?" He seethed, shaking him slightly, Jim tried to answer but the captain had not finished with him yet.

"What were you thinking? Well, boy? Damn it anything could have happened to you. You cannot just wander into the pirate's camp like a lovesick puppy!"

Jim pushed him off, breathing heavily.

"Well I did." He retorted, his eyes flashing. "And I found her. She seemed perfectly at home."

The captain stepped back, rubbing his chin, and the squire cleared his throat in the silence.

"Sure there's a perfectly rational explanation, what gentlemen?" He blustered and Jim laughed bitterly.

"No. you were right, she is with them and I am with you. That's all there is to it." He said flatly and the captain clapped him on the shoulders.

"Good man."

"How did you find us?" The doctor asked, changing the subject for the boy looked like he could easily break something. The question brought Jim back from his anger slightly and he raised his chin.

"There was a man, I think he was mad. He had been part of Flints crew and they marooned him here along with the treasure, he hadn't seen a human soul since." He began and the men exchanged looks.

"Poor man." The doctor murmured and Jim inclined his head.

"Yes. Well the thing is that he started talking about a 'one-legged devil' and -" Jim continued to talk above the gasps and the captains profanities as understanding swept like the plague through the company, "- He was talking about Silver. Those pirates sailed with Flint."

"Thank you, Jim. Now we know what we're dealing with." Captain Smollett said darkly and Jim shrugged.

"Would you mind if I got some sleep? I'm no use to you half dead on my feet." He asked quietly and the doctor pointed to a heap of blankets from the ship in the corner of the room.

"Yes, get some rest." He said and Jim nodded drowsily, crossing the room and collapsing onto the blankets. He fell asleep almost straight away.

Scarlett woke up, curled in a ball on the ground, and tried, forgetting her hands were tied and where she was, to roll over. She propped herself up on her elbows and winced as a twig dug into her tender flesh and Tom sat up beside her.

"You alright, Lottie?" He asked blearily, rubbing his eyes.

"No." She said bluntly and turned away from him with an effort, her limbs aching from sleeping on the ground. She was in no mood to make excuses for herself, instead she refused to look back at him and she heard him sigh heavily behind her and push himself to his feet.

"Lottie." He pressed softly but she didn't raise her head and eventually he walked away

Scarlett couldn't remember a time when she'd been less alright and her life hadn't exactly been peaches and cream up to that point. The other men must have 'talked sense' into Jim and assured him of her traitorous nature, poured poison into his ears as men do about things they do not understand. That however was not what was making her heart ache – it was the fact that he believed them. He must have done...he must have accepted whatever they'd said despite everything.

Heavy footsteps approached and stopped near her head, Lottie could see from the end of the crutch that it was Long John.

"No sign of old Jimbo then." He observed and she closed up visibly, clenching her fists and digging her face into her arms, her knees into her stomach. It was a trick she'd used when living with her Father: curl up into a ball and shut your eyes, nothing can hurt you. It was about as effective now as it was then.

"Ah well," Silver continued mercilessly, "Can't say as I'm surprised."

Scarlett sobbed once, a raw sound that seemed to echo, and then stifled the sound in her arm, squeezing her eyes shut.

"None o' that." Silver said. "Now what's done is done, I'm willing to forgive and forget (which is more'n I can say for some), just come back wi' me, we'll see ye right. No point crying over spilled milk, eh?"

Scarlett lifted her head and glared at him, her tousled hair and red-rimmed eyes adding to the overall, terrifying effect; Silver actually took a step backwards.

"Aye – forgot ye weren't a morning person." He joked and she gave a sudden, piercing scream making everyone turn to her in shock.

"Let me GO." She shouted, staggering to her feet and holding out her bound wrists, "I'll have nothing to do with you! Not you or any of your mutinous band of murderers. Love is stronger than threats and betrayal put together and you shan't break me you horrible man!"

Jeers and mocking words came from every man except from Silver, he and Scarlett stood in the middle of it all – he speechless and she waiting – and Silver found himself in an awful predicament.

He had not thought she loved the boy, only that she'd taken a bit of a shine to him and he to her – who's to blame him? - but this was a blow in the dark and he was wrong-footed by it.

All around him his men were laughing at her, imitating and mocking her, to say one kind word now would be stupid...they'd think he'd gone soft and never follow him after.

Silver steeled himself;

"Well ain't that touching lads?" He said loudly and the cacophony of jeering rose to an even higher level. He raised a hand and it stopped.

"Too bad I don't care." He told her coldly, turning round and walking back the way he'd come leaving her to sink to her knees in his wake.

Maybe if she'd seen the look on his face as he walked away she wouldn't have hated him quite so much but as it was she had never felt that amount of detestation for any living creature before. The complete helplessness she felt was akin to her situation with her Father and she hated it, the roving eyes of the men made her feel constantly unclean and afraid and love and hurt rendered her unable to think straight.

In her thoughts she explained everything to Jim and he listened, in her mind she redeemed herself and in her imagination everything was okay.

In reality she was sat, bound and helpless, in the middle of a crowd of lusty, immoral pirates.

Great.