A/N- Just wanted to apologise to anyone who could not read chapter 2 as it has been amended now. Also thank you to everyone who has reviewed as it makes my day seeing that people are enjoying my story so far. Enjoy chapter 9!

Chapter 9

*Flashback*

Constance laughed merrily and grabbed her skirts with one hand and took the arm of her cousins with the other hand as she was escorted upon the magnificent English naval ship. Turning around she waved at her mother and father who had begrudgingly allowed her on the small trip to begin with. After so long, she was allowed to go with her cousin for a small journey to see the sights he had often told her about.

Her cousin, Archibald, laughed and waved fondly at her parents and in no time they were aboard the fine vessel where he went and stood proudly near the wheel. He was a small fellow with golden hair and a friendly smile. Yet his hair was hidden under his white wig and he stood dignified in his uniform. He had told her of the pirates who plagued the waters and spoke of mermaids that would drag sailors to the depths of the seas. She had been entranced since a child and now as she was 19, she had finally been given the opportunity of a lifetime.

As it was a rare occurrence for her to be allowed on such a ship, the older Captain had been stern but kind towards her. He wore a beautiful coat and had a weathered face, but his voice was soft despite years of shouting commands at his men. He gave her a small tour of the large vessel and as the day went on she was told stories and tales of the things the crew had seen. The voyage, was never intended to be a voyage of violence. The naval ship was being used to deliver some goods to a colony in the Mediterranean. So, for Constance it was going to be a relaxing trip. Or so she had thought.

It was about a week later when the ship decided to port for apparently there was some business to be done with the governor a small settlement. She had asked Archibald if he would allow her to explore and he, at first tried to persuade her otherwise.

"But Constance, I have duties to perform. I can't allow you off this ship with no escort. Surely you can wait until the next stop when I would be relieved of my duties?" He almost begged as he looked over some paper work on the Captain's desk. She gave a sigh and gently smoothed out the cream skirts she wore. She had chosen a beautiful white dress with a laced coreset and matching shoes that day and had hoped to have been given the opportunity to walk around for a bit. Giving her cousin an imploring look, he sternly told her no and asked her to go back to her quarters.

But Constance was not one for listening and instead of going to her room she found a young naval officer who she had spoken to only days before.

"Ah! Thomas. Would you be a dear and escort me on land for a bit? I only want to stretch my legs and enjoy the land for a time being. I won't keep you long". She gave him a pretty smile and ran her long slender fingers through her blonde hair whilst lowering her eyes slightly. She was not one to use beauty as a means of getting things, but sometimes she found that charm was the only way to get things done.

"Well only for five minutes Miss. I have heard that we shall not be here for long". He said bashfully and offered his hand to escort her of the ship. When her feet hit the land she gave a thankful sigh and took a deep breath. The town they had stopped at looked very interesting and Thomas who had not let go of her hand, asked if she wished to walk along the shore. She nodded and after a few minutes of walking she asked if she could head back, her mind starting to worry over them not getting back on the ship.

She was not overly sad about not going in the town as seeing the beach and the ships that littered the port was enough. The atmosphere was exciting and the hustle and bustle of all the ships and people made the stories that Archibald told her came to life. Yet as they were walking back, she saw a small child approaching them. Thomas was not paying attention and he was walking ahead of her now, most likely to get back to the ship as quickly as possible. She saw the little girl get closer to her and she stopped to see what the child wanted. She was a bonnie thing with curly dark hair and deep hazel eyes.

"Hello". Constance said kindly, she gave the child a large smile. "Are you ok?"

But as she asked the child, she gasped as the little girl suddenly grabbed the bracelet which had been around her wrist and ran away. Constance couldn't believe it. Without thinking, she picked up her skirts and started to run after her. The girl was running through an array of alleyways and Constance regretted wearing such a tight corset that day. She had to stop to catch her breath and then was very aware of how stupid she had been. She was now in the middle of a town she had never been to and even worse, she was in some dark backstreets. But she did want the bracelet back as it was a gift from a gentleman who she had known from home. Knowing that there was little chance she would get it back, she started to walk quickly back the way she came, hoping that she would get out soon. But as she turned a corner something was thrown over her head and she gave a cry of alarm as someone grabbed her and picked her up.

Chaos was all she could say that happened next. She tried to shout for help but the person holding her had a tight grip and she screamed and screamed to be released. She didn't know how long she spent trapped in what she believed to have been a sack but she next saw daylight when she was thrown out of the sack and onto the deck of a ship.

Cheers rang in her ears as she was met by a crowd of scruffy men. As she looked up a large skull was across the black flag that hung proudly in the air. She was deeply regretting ever getting off the other ship. It really wasn't worth all this.

"What is going on?" She demanded as she managed to stand up straight. The crowd kept laughing rather cruelly and a dirty looking man stepped forwards.

"Young ladies shouldn't be on their own now should they. We saw you came from that naval ship. You will be a nice bargaining chip". He laughed and the crowd cheered him on. She gave him a confused look.

"What on earth are you going to exchange me for?" As she asked, she looked around and in the distance was the land that she had been on. She couldn't see the other ship and felt her heart stop as she realised that she was getting further and further away from safety. She didn't quite know what came over her but all of a sudden she ran towards the side and just as she was about to jump off, some grubby hands pulled her back.

"Throw her behind the bars below. We will deal with her later". And with that she was dragged away and she kicked and thrashed but she couldn't escape the hands of her captors. But as she was being dragged away she noticed a younger man staring at her with intrigue. He looked out of place with the rest of the rugged lot but she didn't have a lot of chance to question him.

What felt like days went past and now that she was in an awful cage, she took her time alone to remove her corset from her waist. No one came to talk to her or give her food and the longer she spent in the dark room, the more she began to lose hope. That was until the young man came down with a small flask and a stale looking piece of bread.

He passed it through the bars and she took the opportunity to grab him and pull him against the bars.

"What will happen to me?" She whispered, the fear in her voice mixed with tiredness. He managed to pull away and shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't know. But who really knows what will happen to anyone". He mumbled and she released a large sigh of frustration.

"What is your name?" She asked, wondering if she could somehow befriend him and escape.

"Jack. Yes, Jack". He exclaimed and she nodded slowly, trying not to let her confusion towards his antics appear on her face. He didn't seem so bad and she took a tentative sip from the flask and spat it back out almost immediately.

"Hey! That's good rum that is". He snapped and grabbed the flask away from her and she watched with distaste as he sauntered back up the stairs which allowed small pieces of daylight to creep through. She didn't know what to do or how long she would be in her current position. Sitting down on the floor, she huddled herself towards the wall of the ship and closed her eyes hoping that the whole thing would be a bad dream.

It was apparently not a dream as for the next few days, or what she assumed were days, she was taunted and kept in the small space below deck. She waited for the crew to sleep so she could try and escape but her attempts were useless. Crying into her hands she hoped for a miracle.

Perhaps her prayers were answered as the next thing she knew canon fire filled the air.