Hello!

I promise you, though I have started this other story. I have not forgotten about, nor am I abandoning 'Is this Sound Okay?' (However it is coming to an end fairly soon!). One of the books I read recently was an excellent swashbuckling tale and I felt inspired to try my hand at writing one of my own and incorporate the ever wonderful Soul Eater gang :D

And so! Please enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SOUL EATER!

One

The two blonde girls dragged her across the deck, throwing her at the feet of their captain. Her jaw clenched, she would not look at him, would not give him the satisfaction of seeing the despair in her green eyes. Her ship was on fire behind her, black smoke billowing out into the afternoon air. Her heart wrenched as everything she had worked so hard for burned and crumbled to ash around her.

Maka's eyes watered at the smoke that perforated the air. Then again, the stinging in her eyes could just as easily be her frustration and anguish at having lost the fight. At having lost everything.

A deadly looking end of a blade met her gaze. Its wielder used it to move her sopping wet hair out of her face. The cutlass angled, the cold steel biting into her neck. "Look at me." A rough voice demanded. She glared determinedly at the deck, she would not look at him. The blade pushed a little harder. "I said look at me flat-chested wench!"

Her head snapped up, preparing to shout at him; she froze. His appearance was so startling she couldn't finish. Red eyes peered down at her from under a shock of untidy white hair. His lips were pulled back in a maniacal smile, revealing jagged teeth. It was just as all the stories said. She had always brushed them off as people's wild imaginations. When it came to pirates people always liked to embellish. He wore a wide brimmed hat with a ridiculous plumed feather; completely impractical. His white tunic was loose and billowing, the front unlaced, a tanned chest peeking out underneath. A brown leather vest was thrown over it. His trousers were dark and tucked into his boots that appeared to be made of the same leather as his vest.

He cocked his head at her, "I'm not a cruel man," he started. "I won't kill you so long as you don't force my hand." Maka barked out a laugh and his eyebrows rose in surprise, clearly he'd expected her to fall at his feet weeping and grateful. He lowered his sword.

"Not a cruel man," she laughed again, it was a bitter sound. "My ship will burn to nothing, my first mate is missing and at this time I presume him dead. This fight was a farce, we were going to come to your aid, you played a dirty trick." Her eyes stung and he continued to look down at her with a blank stare, for a brief moment she thought she spied a flash of pity. But this was likely her imagining things.

"Your crew's done the smart thing, they've surrendered. They'll have the chance to join us if they want or they can get off at the next port. I'm nothing if not fair." She spat at his feet and flew at him with a snarl.

She collided into him, taking him off guard, they tumbled onto the deck. Before anyone could make a move she'd knocked him down, his cutlass clattered somewhere out of reach. The action was a foolish one on Maka's part; a part of her knew this but she was just so angry. She swung, her fist connecting with the startled captains jaw. There was a crack as her fist met flesh, the two of them tussled, Maka jerked a knife out of his belt; she straddled him and held the blade to his neck.

The metallic sound of the hammer of a pistol being clicked into action echoed in her ears. She felt the barrel pressed into the back of her head and froze. Crimson eyes sparked, looking up at her with a surprising calm. "What now? You kill me?" She was breathing heavily, still soaked through from her earlier tumble in the water. "Patti will have a bullet through your skull before you can cut deep enough to kill me. You're fast, but you're not very strong."

Her face twisted into a furious expression. Eyes like acid. "I don't need to be strong to cut your jugular. Just need to know where to scratch-" she took another panting breath. "Then at least if I died I'd have the satisfaction of knowing another bastard pirate captain would be following me soon enough. It wouldn't take long for you to bleed out on the deck." She hissed between clenched teeth.

"And leave your crew? Where would you go little poppet, jump overboard take your chances with the sharks?" his tone was taunting and it made her blood boil. She could hear the creaking of timber burning through and collapsing behind her. There was a crash and shouts as, what she was sure was her main mast; even without looking, came toppling down. "Please Captain!" Maka's gaze snapped to her crew. Tsubaki stood at the front of the group, her dark haired medic frowned, her expression one of pleading.

Maka's heart clenched and her hand lowered, the knife dropped from her grasp. Hands grabbed her roughly from behind, dragging her off of their captain. She felt a knife pressed into the small of her back and the pistol that had been aimed at her head was jabbed into the side of her neck.

"What should we do with her Cap'n?" the one holding the pistol spoke, the captain had called her Patti? She laughed. Another girl, the other blonde who'd dragged her across the deck, spun a pistol on her finger. She caught it in place and closed one eye as she aimed at Maka's head. "Shall we fire one into that pretty little face?" The Captain stood, brushing himself off.

"No." He rubbed his cheek tenderly where she'd struck him. "Put her in the dark for awhile. We'll chat once she's had some time to cool down." The dark? Maka wondered what he meant. She felt herself jerked forward roughly as the two blondes dragged her towards the other end of the ship, away from her crew who could only stand helplessly by. She glanced back, Tsubaki's eyes were wide. Maka's mind traced back to her missing first mate. She sent a silent prayer that he was safe, or if he was dead, that the Sea had been merciful.

A small door was opened and she was dragged awkwardly down a small set of steps. The hollow sound of boots tromping down the planks echoed into the dark of the room. The taller girl, with longer hair, released her hold on Maka for a moment; trusting Patti to hold her.

"Hurry up Liz," the shorter girl whined. Liz lit a torch as Maka was pulled down further into the belly of the ship.

They reached what Maka was sure was the dankest part of the ship. The sound of something dripping echoed out of the dark. Liz pulled away again, fiddling with keys and unlocking a rusty door to a cage. She was shoved forward, stumbling onto the filthy floor of the cage.

"Some time in the dark will calm her down." Liz muttered. Patti laughed loudly as they closed the door behind her with a clank, turning the key in the lock.

The two girls drew away and Maka felt a stab of fear as the light of the torch drew away from her. The shadows crept into her space until there was no life left.

The trapdoor they'd entered through slammed closed as they left and Maka was left alone in the black.

She leaned against the wall of the ship, closing her eyes and listening to the dark. The ship rocked beneath her in the waves, soothing despite the unfamiliar setting. If she closed her eyes and let her mind wander she could imagine she was still on her own ship, that this whole fiasco hadn't happened. She felt like such an idiot, to let this happen. She should have been more careful.

The fire crackled loudly, sparks erupting out into the night air. The sky was black, tiny stars set into the velvet dark, swirled around the quarter moon like little gems. White sand covered the beach, multi-colored shells scattered throughout it and the ocean lapped against the shore gently. The night was cool but with the fire so near it was enough to stave off the cold.

A small group of children huddled around the fire. An old man and woman sat across from them, the two sat close and with the way they occasionally glanced at one another you could be sure they were deeply in love. The woman was sewing a patch onto an indistinct pile of cloth on her lap, the man was puffing away on a pipe, telling a story to the little ones. They all called him 'Grandpa' but none of them were actually his grandchildren.

"With eyes like blood and teeth as sharp as shark's, the white haired devil brought his ship into port-"

"Which port!" one of the children shouted, interrupting.

"Why does it matter?" the woman asked, looking up from her sewing. The child shrugged and Grandpa continued.

"His ship is black, its figurehead the face of death himself they say." The silver-haired old man blew a smoke ring and one of the children gave a delighted cry. "The pirates set fire to the harbor, rushing onto land they began sacking the port- The people screamed and ran, for what could they do against such a foe? They say if they caught you their Captain would devour your very soul."

"Your soul is mine!" A voice roared out behind them as a dark shadow fell across their huddled forms. The children shrieked and cowered in their blankets. Laughter rang out behind them and the children's shrieking calmed when they realized the newcomer was not in fact the dreadful pirate captain.

The woman who had arrived smiled widely as she fell into the sand beside them.

"Maka!" a little dark haired girl chorused, she crawled over to hug her tightly. The woman smiled and ruffled the young girls dark hair fondly.

"What nonsense is Grandpa telling you all now?" The young woman made room for the small girl to climb into her lap. The other children crowded around her.

"He's telling us about pirates!" she said excitedly.

"Pirates?" the young woman's bright green eyes widened. "My, you're all rather brave to listen to such stories. Won't you have nightmares?" The young girl shook her head, black pigtails slapped the older girls chest as she whipped her head side to side.

"Not uh! We're tough like Maka!" Another child shouted. A third, a blonde haired boy stood up with his fists out.

"We'd fight any pirates what came to our harbor!"

"What if it was the soul eater! He's so tough you can't beat'm!" a brunette boy shouted in return. This quickly resulted in a fight, the two boys tussling in the sand. Maka leaned over and broke it up.

"That's enough you two." She chided gently.

Grandpa smiled as Maka settled them down. "You've been telling them about him again?" she asked quietly. He nodded.

"They like the story." Maka looked a little annoyed though the old man looked unashamed. "You really shouldn't be glorifying pirates," she faulted softly. The older woman smiled into her sewing.

"Oh Maka, its just a story. They're children. Let them enjoy it."

Maka felt a tug on her blonde pigtail and looked down; the little one in her lap looked up at her with her big dark blue eyes. "Yeah, its just a story! Let us enjoy it!" She scolded. Maka's eyebrows raised as she looked down at the little girl. "Oh is that so?" she clucked. The little girl squealed as she fell under an attack of tickles. "Had enough?" The girl giggled hysterically.

"Uncle! Uncle!" she cried. Maka halted her tickle attack and sat back with a grin, glancing at the other children. "I hate to break up the fun but I was sent over to bring you all home." She told them. There was a collective groan from the children as Maka stood, brushing sand from her clothes. "Come along now." They bid the old couple goodbye and Maka led the herd of children into night towards the small fishing village.

Maka's eyes snapped open and her head jerked up as she woke. At some point alone in the dark she'd fallen asleep. The sound of the trap door opening had woken her. She wiped her eyes knowing she was covered in soot and blood from the fight still. She wondered how long she'd been down there in the cage.

The light of the torch hurt her eyes as it fell across her. She squinted as she peered up at he one who'd come to see her. It was him. Her sleepy eyes became more alert and the glare that sparked in her eyes was unavoidable.

"Have you calmed down enough to come have a civil chat with me?" His red eyes almost seemed to glow as they watched her from behind the worn bars of her cage. She spat at his feet and said nothing. He lifted an eyebrow; looking amused more than anything and crouched down beside her so they were eye level. "You really want to spend more time in the dark here?" She turned up her nose at him. "Your surgeon said you were stubborn as an ass."

Her mouth fell open and an involuntary sound of dismay came out. She turned her eyes on him angrily only to find him grinning. "Well she didn't say it like that. She's too soft spoken for it. I drew my own conclusions from her under exaggeration." Maka was furious, she couldn't believe Tsubaki had spoken to this…this Pirate. It went against everything they stood for.

"What do you need to talk to me for if she's chatting away with you?" She sneered. He shrugged.

"Sure I could chat away to all your crew but they aren't particularly pleased with me for locking you away like this." She leaned in close, her eyes hard, gaze sharp.

"Then let me go," she whispered darkly. He barked out a laugh.

"And have you put a knife in my back the first chance you get?" He shook his head, white hair falling around his face, he pushed it away with his free hand impatiently. Their faces were close enough together that were it not for the bars, it would take only one rough wave for them crash into one another. "You'll have to prove your ready to be cool before I let you wander about on your own."

"You're afraid of one little girl?" she challenged. He smirked crookedly at her.

"I'm afraid of a navy captain who managed to bruise my jaw and tried to slit my throat upon our first meeting." She huffed and sat back, scooting back into the shadows and out of the pool of light from the torch. She watched him stand from her place against the wall. "I take it this means you're not ready to be a good girl?" She made a rude noise in the dark and he chuckled throatily. "Well I'll be back in awhile."

In silence she watched him climb the ladder and disappear through the trap door. It slammed shut behind him, leaving her in the dark again.

She leaned her head against the side of the ship and closed her eyes; the ship creaked and moaned like a living thing. Maka felt her thoughts drifting to Samuel her eyes squeezed closed at the pain of the thoughts. The nerve of that bastard. 'Settle down', 'Be a good girl', 'Be cool'. Because of him Samuel was probably dead. It was only luck the whole of her crew had survived. She worried for them and though a part of her ached that they would become one with the bastard Pirates crew she was glad they were safe. They would live well enough at least.

The ship ever rocking beneath her Maka nodded off again, trying to forget this wasn't her ship, that Samuel was missing, that her crew had been captured, that her life had taken such a sudden turn for the worse.

A/N: This will likely become quite graphic at times later, I started it relatively lightly for what I have been thinking. More will come!

Reviews earn you a chest full of imaginary pirate treasure. Which is essentially my love in a box. :3

Arrrghhh ;D (I apologize in advance for the dorky pirate talk. I'm sure I'll be full of it while I write this :P)

-Song