Hello :) Thank you to reviewers! I appreciate it :D I hope you enjoy this chapter and I would welcome any opinions or criticism - anything to become a better writer, right? :P But yes, hope you enjoy!

Chapter 14

"Kill him."

"NO!" Lily screamed, twisting and thrashing in Barbossa's grip, her feet even leaving the floor in her desperation to get to her brother.

"Father -" Samuel muttered out of the corner of his mouth, his eyes flashing a warning, but Barbossa cut him off.

"Stay outta this." He snapped, pushing the struggling girl to her knees and roughly forcing her to stay down by twisting her arms behind her back.

Lily bit her lip at the pain as tears sprang into her eyes and Will fought harder against the pirates holding him.

"Let her go!" He shouted but Barbossa only laughed darkly and crouched so that his mouth was at Lily's ear.

"Your brother's very protective eh?" He whispered throatily with a sinister chuckle.

"Father." Samuel said, louder than before, his hands balling themselves into fists at his side.

"What?" His father snapped, getting up and pushing Lily into the eager hands of Pontac who held onto her with relish.

Samuel stepped very close to his father, his eyes narrowed.

"This is unnecessary." He said shortly, glancing at Lily as she tried to get free. "Nothing can be gained from killing him."

Barbossa looked at him shrewdly and then suddenly slapped him hard across the face sending Samuel staggering backwards.

"That girl's turned you soft." He growled, looking at his son impassively.

"The hell she has." Samuel spat, his jaw clenched because of the pain in his face. "If anything killing him will make her rebel even more and would make everything more difficult. We have him as a prisoner she'll do what we want." He said in a low tone, trying to keep any emotion out of his voice. His Father glared at him for a few moments and then turned.

"Take him to the brig. He can keep Mr. Sparrow company." He barked.

Samuel breathed out loudly and watched as the young man was taken away but Lily had, at the captain's words, collapsed with relief. Samuel took a hasty step towards her but then sensed his father's eyes on him and forced himself to stop, turning away as if disinterested. Pontac lowered Lily to the ground and then stepped back, at a loss as to what to do with the fainting girl.

"If Jack were 'ere he'd say we should cut open her corset." A pirate named Luc said, his eyes gleaming lustily at the thought and his words were met with a low growl of approval but Barbossa gave a steely glare.

"No." He said into the new found silence and the men shuffled uncomfortably, the bravest muttering under his breath in disappointment.

Barbossa rolled his eyes and casually shot the man in the stomach. The gunshot, along with the mans scream and that of the men around him jerked Lily back to reality and she sat bolt upright. A small whimper passed her lips as she saw the man lying motionless, thinking it was Will but next thing she knew Samuel was pulling her to her feet.

"It's not him." He said under his breath and Lily slumped back in his arms, relief flooding through her.

"Oh thank god." She muttered fervently.

Samuel smirked. "I didn't have you down as a believer." He said dryly and she laughed a bit breathlessly.

"Truth be told I'm not." She admitted. "Actually I find churches a bit creepy. Never liked them."

He grinned. "So the no having fun thing wasn't what put you off?"

Lily paused and then pulled herself away from him, dusting down her skirt and looking at him coyly over her shoulder.

"Well...that may have been part of it." She said slowly, grinning mischievously. Then her smile faded as a new thought came to her.

"If that's not Will..." She said, pointing at the prone man and taking a tentative step towards him, "Then who is he? And why is he...dead?" She asked faintly, her stomach flipping at the gruesome sight. She jumped and pressed a hand to her heart a second later when the man gave a gurgling moan and jerked slightly, Lily gave a shallow gap and ran over to kneel beside him.

"He's alive Samuel! We have to help him!" She said urgently but Samuel had crossed his arms and hadn't moved.

"Samuel?" She looked at him, a crease appearing in her porcelain forehead as she looked at his casual stance. When it became apparent he wasn't going to help she turned back to the man and gently pushed his hair back from his forehead.

"It's okay. You're going to be okay." She said soothingly. All at once in a sudden, desperate movement he grabbed her wrist and looked into her eyes, his mouth falling open as he struggled for breath.

"...Angel..." He managed to choke out through his labored breaths, his eyes wide with delusional wonder. Then his grip slackened and his head hit the deck with a sickening thud, the last thing they heard of him was a long, painful grab at breath and then he was gone.

Lily couldn't tear her eyes away from the awful sight and didn't even realize how badly she was shaking until Samuel put a steady hand on her shoulder and helped her to her feet. He took in her trembling lips and wide, tear-filled eyes and sighed, steering her firmly away from the dead man. As they passed his father Samuel gave him a withering look which was met with a sneer, Lily however was not so discreet.

"You didn't need to do that." She said in a low, shaky voice. "Murderer."

Samuel took her arm and pushed her towards the room in which she'd been kept.

"Enough." Was all he said, getting her away before Barbossa could get angry. The man watched them and remained standing there long after the door had closed and the dead man had been dragged unceremoniously overboard.

Once inside Lily sank to her knees, wrapping her arms tightly round her waist as she gasped for breath through her tears.

"Why did he – do that? He didn't have to do that!" She keened, shuddering slightly as she remembered him clutching onto her and thinking he'd seen an angel. She buried her face in her hands.

Samuel was quite at a loss to how to deal with her having grown used, along with the crew, to the random shootings that happened when the captain was in a bad mood.

"Um...there there?" He said, patting her back awkwardly, his strong build making the gesture look slightly unnatural.

Gathering herself Lily wiped the tears from her face and took a deep, steadying breath as the color returned to her cheeks.

"Get off." She said in annoyance, having only just registered his patting.

Samuel grinned and put up his hands, surrender style.

"Gladly."

Shaking off the horror and shoving it to the back of her mind Lily stood up and regarded him with her old haughty demeanor.

Samuel raised his eyebrow and gave a low whistle, leaning against the wall.

"Ah the upper classes, stiff upper lip eh?" He said, making his low voice high and plummy.

"I'll give you a black upper lip if you're not careful, tar." She countered, using the word for common sailor deliberately to irk him.

It worked.

"Tar? Alright you brat." He said as he pushed himself off the wall and loomed over her, no trace of a joke showed in his serious expression.

"Fine, lowlife."

"Poor little rich girl."

By this time they were so close that their noses were almost touching and Lily had to look up at him through her curtain of lashes to see him properly.

"Pirate." She breathed the word, green eyes smoldering emerald.

"And proud." He said with an arrogant smirk.

The corners of Lily's lips tugged upwards and she moved away, going to sit in his chair with a self-satisfied smile, then thoughts of Will crept into her mind and her smile faded. She crossed her legs and wrapped her arms round herself as if cold, suddenly Samuel was reminded of a small child despite her beauty and womanly figure.

"What's going to happen to my brother?" She asked quietly, avoiding his eyes.

Samuel shifted his weight between his legs and scratched the back of his neck before shrugging.

"That's your answer? Thanks a lot." She said icily, turning away from him.

Samuel sighed. "Well he's our prisoner, we could easily kill him." He stated plainly, looking at her levelly as she flinched. "But we won't, as long as you don't do anything stupid."

Lily's mouth dropped open slightly and hurt flashed across her face.

"You're using him as a hostage?" She clarified angrily and Samuel shrugged again.

"Yep."

"That's -" She started an indignant rebuttal but tailed off halfway through, she thought that might not be the best plan of action...maybe she'd have to be a little less...upfront. She looked at him shrewdly out of the corner of her eye and smiled just a little before getting gracefully to her feet – she was going to have to get him on her side, she decided, whatever the price.

"You know," She almost purred as she sauntered up to him, letting one sleeve slip off her shoulder, exposing her pale and perfect skin. "Truth be told I did always rather fancy being a pirate maiden, Anne Bonny...you know the sort." She said with a coy smile, letting her vivid eyes flick over him suggestively.

Samuel frowned, "Why would you aspire to that?" He asked warily, quite aware that this was some new game plan.

Lily took a slow step closer and (internally gasping at her own audacity) reached out to trail a light line across his chest with the tips of her fingers.

"Maybe it's because I have a soft spot for rugged men." She said, allowing her voice to drop and become slightly husky. Samuel's brows lowered and he caught her wrist in a firm grip.

"What are you playing at now, little minx?" He said suspiciously, his eyes roaming boldly over her.

Lily moved even closer and draped her free arm around his neck, pressing herself up against him.

"Perhaps I'm playing at being a seductress." She whispered into his ear and then lightly kissed the hard angle of his jaw, still slightly shocked by her own forward actions.

Samuel rolled his eyes but there was a smile playing round his lips as he took hold of her chin.

"That's a dangerous game." He said throatily, letting go of her chin but still keeping hold of her wrist. Lily summoned up her courage and pressed her free hand up against his chest as she kissed him boldly on the lips. He didn't push her off like she half expected him to but instead pulled her closer by her small waist and responded passionately, leaving her head swirling with unnamed emotions. She broke the kiss and smiled, her lips slightly swollen and a deep, endearing blush on her cheeks.

"Maybe I enjoy playing with fire." She said, not needing to make her voice husky this time – it did it of it's own accord.

"Careful," Samuel said as he caught one of her ringlets and twisted it round his finger. "You might get burned."

"Oh I can take care of myself." She said lightly, looking up at him. "I'm not as innocent as I look you know."

Samuel gave a short laugh and raised one eyebrow. "I never thought you were."

Lily watched him, wondering whether to move things forward a bit, then – making up her mind – she turned around and swept her hair over one shoulder.

"Would you mind awfully?" She asked, meaning the laces of her corset. "I hate the damn thing."

Samuel looked at her for a few tense heartbeats and then crossed the distance between them in one stride. Slowly he unraveled the laces, loosening the restricting garment little by little until all the laces were undone. Lily took a deep but inaudible breath and shrugged out of the dress, shivering slightly as it slid down her slim body leaving her only in her slip.

Samuel appraised her, the tiniest hint of a smile in his lips, then he ran his hands gently down her sides, stopping at her hips. He could feel her shiver slightly at his touch and smirked – after all seduction was a two player game and one that he was very good at.

Lily stood, unsure what to do as her experience had only taken her thus far but it was working! She bit her lip, she had to keep going if she wanted his help.

With this thought in mind she placed her hands on top of his and slowly threaded their fingers together. Once their hands were clasped she slowly walked a few paces forward to the bed, pulling him with her, and turned around. Before she could stop to think she kissed him again, this time deeper and more urgent and again he responded with vigor. She found herself standing almost on her tiptoes to be closer to him, and suddenly all ulterior motives were swept from her mind as he swung her into his arms and laid her on the bed. She forgot to be embarrassed or frightened or even to care much about anything other than him as he kissed his way from her stomach to her neck – she could feel his stubble through her thin slip.

"Samuel..." She whispered but she wasn't sure whether she meant for him to stop or carry on, her mind was addled.

He silenced her with a kiss and she closed her eyes as he kept his lips to her skin all the way to her cheekbone.

Samuel turned his head slightly and spoke hoarsely into her ear, "I won't help you with your brother by the way."

Lily's eyes snapped open and she clenched her fists, lying still as a statue beneath him as he grinned down at her.

"Get the hell off me then."