Cutler hadn't noticed malice on the faces of the three men soon enough to react. That was how he found himself sprawled out on his back in the sand. One of the men (the leader of their group he presumed) had a sword pressed to the hollow of his throat.
"Look what we got 'ere, fellas", he sneered.
"He's Navy, Jim. Look at his clothes" the smallest one replied.
"I know" the man with the sword- Jim -hissed back at him over his shoulder. "How many of you are there?" he asked as he pressed the weapon further into Cutler's throat. Cutler had to shimmy backwards to stop it from harming him.
"It's just me," Cutler lied. He hoped that Maris wouldn't return anytime soon. He knew what these men would do to her.
"I reckon he's lying, boss" the third man piped up, "should go for a hunt, I reckon."
Cutler looked up at the leader and met his eyes. They were cold, calculated, and he was forming a plan. What these men wanted he didn't know. He guessed they were here just to take whatever they could find. Cutler tried his hardest to not let his worry show on his face lest it gave away his lie.
"No," the leader replied after a moment's pause. "Search the shore fer now, see what's here" Jim ordered.
The third man to have spoken began moving around the fire pit. He was sorting through the various things that they had collected for use over the weeks and kicking it around when he decided that it was of no value. He soon found the food store and began pulling the contents out, throwing it all across the beach into a mostly-ruined pile in the sand.
"What're you doing here all by yer lonesome?" Jim asked, his eyes boring into Cutlers.
Cutler swallowed. "The ship I was on was wrecked. I ended up here," he replied, figuring that a half truth was better than nothing.
"an' you pulled all these large bits of wood out there on yer own did'ya?" the slimmer man, who was still standing behind Jim asked in an accusing tone.
"Yes," Cutler replied, all the while avoiding Jim's eyes.
A sudden movement in the corner of his vision caught his attention. He noticed that Maris had returned to the shore and was using the large pieces of The Endeavour wreck as cover. Her hair was tied up in a knot at the back of her head and, barefoot, she was approaching the man who was sorting through their camp as quietly as possible.
This was exactly what Cutler had hoped would not happen.
"It was quite a struggle, as you can imagine. Shame for it all to go to waste though" Cutler piped up, attempting to keep the other two men distracted. "I thought I could use it for firewood in the end, if not for something else" he continued.
This resulted in more pressure on the sword at his throat. He felt it slice the skin causing blood to trickle down his neck.
"Shut up," Jim hissed.
Maris was right behind the other man now and held a thick branch in her hands like a club, and without a second thought she raised it over her shoulder and brought it down against the man's head with all of her strength. The man hadn't stood a chance and he went flying, unconscious, and headfirst into the food pit. The sound he made as he fell caught the attention of the other two men who both turned to look at Maris.
"Knew it!" the slim one yelled as he wasted no time and ran towards her. Maris responded by turning her weapon in an upwards swing but the man caught the club in his hand. He grinned maliciously as he wrestled with her for it.
"Hello, pretty," he growled at her.
He pushed hard against the club and Maris went flying into the sand as a result. Cutler knew he had to act now or they would both be killed and so he pushed himself off of the floor and grabbed the hilt of the sword. He was surprised that he'd managed to pull the move off, but his surprise was no match to the look of shock upon Jim's face as he turned to face Cutler.
Cutler took the opportunity and barged into him with his shoulder with all his might. The older man staggered backwards, trying to regain his balance and it was all the time that Cutler needed to right the sword before he plunged it through the man's body.
"Pirate filth" he muttered as he pulled it back out and the man slumped to the floor.
Meanwhile, Maris had put up as good a fight as she could but her assailant was stronger than her. She had climbed to her feet intending to put the fire pit between her and her attacker but before she could move far he kicked her legs out from beneath her. Her back hit the sand hard, winding her. She could hear the blood rushing through her head, it overpowered the other sounds around her as she tried to catch her breath.
Before she could act, the man had lunged forwards and was holding the club against her throat. He was pushing down on it just hard enough that she had to stay still to breathe. She closed her eyes in fear.
"Open your eyes," he ordered as one of his hands reached beneath her dress. She pushed his roaming hands away with her own, trying to pull her dress back down, but he was using his whole weight to pin her in place. He placed his knees between her own and forced her legs apart. Maris' struggle against his grip increased.
"I always like it when they fight back" he taunted, his face close to hers. His awful breath washed over her face and Maris tried to turn her head away. Suddenly he stopped his attack but he didn't move away. Maris opened her eyes to discover Cutler standing over the man with a sword held against his throat. The fury on his face was unlike anything Maris had seen before.
"Unhand her," he ordered in a calm voice that didn't match his expression.
The man moved off of Maris and held his hands out to his sides in surrender. Maris scrambled away from him and climbed to her feet. Her hand went to her throat where the club had been and she massaged the sore skin as she took deep breaths to fill her starved lungs.
"Easy now," her attacker said, turning his head to look at Cutler, "it was just a bi' o'fun" he teased.
Without warning Cutler smashed the hilt of the sword into his head with such force that the man sank to the ground. A trickle of blood congealed in the sand beneath him. Cutler turned to find that Maris was observing him through wide eyes, her hand on her throat. She was trembling but he wasn't surprised.
"Well done for sneaking up on them like that," he said, breaking the sudden silence. Maris just nodded before turning to observe the men scattered on the beach. Cutler raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. The small row boat the men had used to come ashore was still perched on the sand a little way down the shore.
"We're going to take their ship, aren't we?" Maris asked as she followed his gaze. Cutler tore his eyes away from the vessel moored further out from the shore and looked down at the woman standing by his side.
"Are we going to leave them here?" she asked as she looked around at the unconscious men.
"If you had not returned to the shore when you did... If you had not attacked that man, they would have killed me and then when they found you they would have-"
"I know," Maris interrupted, "daughter of a pirate lord, remember?" she pointed at herself with the thumb on her right hand and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. He noticed that her hands were still shaking but he didn't mention it. He just nodded his understanding.
They both turned back to look at the ship. Then, after a moment, the two of them began to move down the shore towards the rowing boat. Neither of them looked back at the camp that had been their home for so long because deep down neither were truly sad to be leaving it behind. The strange men that had attacked them were welcome to it.