HOME | DD

Description
"Hey you, STOP!" You turn and sprint down the cobblestone alley. ShitShitShitShitShit.... you thought as you gained distance. "Stop! Murderer!" Yep, that's you. (f/n) (l/n), famous and wanted assassin and thief. Although, these stupid buffoons didn't know your name, or know what your face looked like for that matter.

Even thought it was mostly warm in the Caribbean, you wore a long, black sleeveless shirt that came down past your hips. Your wore tight black leggings that tucked into your knee-high boots. Around your waist was your famous blood red sash that had your cutlass and pistol. Strapped to each thigh was a primary and secondary dagger. Tucked in each boot was a cloth of chloroform, ready at the hand. One your face was a simple black, masquerade mask that you had picked up while visiting Paris, showing off your beautiful (e/c) eyes that shined like polished jewels. Your (h/l) (h/c) flowed down loosely behind you and your (dominate hand) had a black glove on.

You skidded to a halt as you saw you had turned a dead end. Well, I'm screwed... you thought. Your eyes lingered for a way out. Damn it (f/n), why did you have to slice that guys neck? Oh yeah, cause you are supposed to be getting paid for it. I shouldn't have gotten up this morning...

*~* Flashback to about three hours ago *~*

You walked causally down the alleyways of London, headed towards you next target. Thanks to an unknown employer, you were sent a letter asking for the assassination of Carlos Amado, a rich Spaniard whose back account was as large as his ego. Apparently, back in Spain, the man was very well-known and was pretty much the rich playboy of the area. His Will was recently written, and all his money was to go to his right-hand man, Juan Sansisco. Juan was getting impatient for the wealthy income.

One of his henchmen wrote you a letter saying they'd send you 17% of the total amount. That may not have sounded like much at the time, but once you figured how large the total was, 17% started to sound real nice. You spotted him within a crowd of women, all of them pressing to him and giggling over him. You sighed in an irritation as you wanted for him to leave the group. He walked down the road, blowing kisses to ladies, who swooned in response.

He turned down an alley, completely out of sight and earshot of the busy market nearby. He slunk up behind him and did your job, only for him to scream like a full grown woman, attracting the attention of the red coated soldiers nearby. When you heard the phrase, "Hey you, STOP!" you booked it, sheathing your dagger.

*~* Back to being cornered *~*

Your frantic (e/c) gaze flicked around the wall and buildings, weighing your options for an escape. You flicked your eyes to your left, spotting some thick ivy crawling up the side of some piping on the side of the building. Great, this'll be easy... you thought sarcastically as you started to scale the brick building. Digging you gloved figure tips into the stems and woven plants, you lifted yourself up onto the side of the building.

After scaling up swiftly, about 30 or so feet up, a handful of dead ivy broke off the side of the brick wall, causing you to call in out fear and flail, causing the redcoats to look up at you. "There she is!" "Get her!" "Shoot you bloody gits!" You hoist yourself up to the roof and stared down at the Brits, sticking a certain finger up at them, "Maybe you should try harder next time, Frogs!"

You laugh and begin to jump roofs, heading toward the harbor. You had a reputation to lose them very easily there. Jumping onto another roof, you saw the soldiers trying to keep up on the ground below, yelling swears at you, most likely. You leaped another gap between two houses and landed crookedly on the shingles, causing a loose one to slip out from under you. You yelped as your ankle twisted. Trying to steady yourself, your looked over your shoulder to see a rather large, grey stoned fort.

You smirk and change your direction towards it. You knew that it was right on the harbor. Ships pasted under it into the bay and out to sea. You started towards it, wincing each time your ankle hissed in pain at each harsh landing on the rooftops. You finally jumped onto the battlements of the fort. Just as you landed, you were blown back as a cannonball struck the wall. You landed harshly on you butt.

You looked over the wall to see a beautiful ship sailing out the port. The one thing that caught you eye was that instead of a Union Jack being flown, the black flag of the Jolly Roger was atop the mast. Pirates, eh? Pirates + Open Seas = FREEDOM! You smiled boldly as it past under the connecting bridge ahead of you. Backing up a bit, you waited for the correct moment to jump the wall and onto the passing ship.

You were cut out of your thoughts as you heard the thundering footsteps of British soldiers charging up the stairwell of the tower behind you. Catching you in their sights, they charged at you with their guns and took position as you took off in a premature run, your ankle moaning in protest. The sounds of bullets going off forced you to ignore it. Your breathing quickened and your feet burned.

You launched yourself off the fort's wall. The feeling of falling making you insides lurch. Almost as if it was planned, a rope was draped in your trajectory across the masks . Catching it, you swung across to towards the deck of the ship. As you swung down and planned for you landing tuck-and-roll on the deck, a thick, sharp pain in your left hip caused you to let go of the rope. Your hand clutched your side and your eyes widened as you crashing to the wooden deck, tumbling like a limp rag doll.

You lied there motionless for a moment in pain. You hand became wet and sticky with blood from your hip, your ankle felt broken, and your head pounded with pain from the impact. You moaned and rubbed your head, turning you eyes and looked past the white sails and saw the soldiers atop the wall of the fort, staring at you as you were casting farther out into the port into the vast sea. You sighed in relief as it was over.

A series of growls caused you blood to freeze and your heart to stop. You turn your head slowly to face a crew of yellow-toothed, eye patch wearing, sword bearing pirates. You glared at them, holding your hip as you attempted to rise, holding onto the side of the mast for support. Your foot hung limply from your leg as all your weight was shifted onto your other leg.

You drew you own cutlass, backing away slowly. You counted about fourteen pirates before you felt your back hit door to the main cabin. You sighed and turned your icy glare at the men, a devilish smirk arose on your lips, "Let's dance you scurvy dogs!"

The first pirate lunged sloppily, which you parried easily. Stabbing you cutlass into the boards for support of your wounded hip, you kicked the pirate square in the jaw. He fell back to the group of pirates, clutching it in pain, "Why you little-" The rest of the sentence was drowned out by the sound of your sword clashing with others'. You kept up well, you blocked and swung at the pirates. Trailing away from the door as you advanced they crowded around you, causing your heart to beat faster and you sweat to bead on your brow.

Losing grip on the sword, a pirate knocked it out of your grasp, sending it spiraling across the deck. The man lunged at you. Thinking fast, you grabbed your daggers in each hand, leaving your hip and foot to hang at your side. You sliced the man's arm and thigh as you step aside, leaving you room to rush forward and regain your sword.

Going well, you kept up, knocking swords aside and slicing other pirates. Almost to the point where you were winning, you were hit on your exposed hip with the butt of a pistol, causing you to screech and fall to the deck, your cutlass clambered out of reach. You clutched your hip in agony, you glared you in pain at the pirate who struck you. He tossed his pistol around so now you were looking down the barrel of a gun and cocked it, grinning devilishly, "Any last words, demon?" You glared at him, "Go to Hell you cowardly sea slug!" you spat on his boot buckle.

In took an aim, causing you to coward back, closing your eyes tight and turning your head away, waiting for the fatal shot. A shot did ring out, but there was no pain. Or blood. Or death. Just a faint call of a seagull and the lashing of waves lapping the side of the ship.

You unscrewed your eyes to look up, seeing the crew turned and looking towards the direction of the cabin door you were pressed up against a long while ago. Over the heads of the crew, you saw a pistol raised in the air, smoke still steaming from the barrel of the gun.

"What is the meaning of this you gits!" a strong, beautiful British accent demanded, the hand lowering back down to the owner. "Cap'in. This 'ere witch jumped on board back at the fort." Captain? Oh boy... you thought in anger as you saw the crew part like a curtain to make way for the captain. You internally marveled at the handsome pirate before you. He seemed to be much different compared to the others.

Instead of a dirty shirt and loose pants he dressed like a, well, captain you supposed. He has on a white shirt and dark blue pants that tucked into his knee high black boots. He had a crisscross belt that crossed from the top of his right shoulder down to his hip and the it circled around his waist, strapping two pistols and a long sword of his own, along with a green slash that under lapped his shirt. He had on a long, red coat that draped down to his ankles, golden designs etched into the brim of the fabric. On his head was a red captain's hat with a crown of long, fluffy, white feathers pinned on.

His shaggy blonde locks drifted slightly in the soft breeze that had happen to blow by. He raised a bushy brow at you, his emerald green eyes sparkling with curiosity at you. "Now, gents, this is no way to treat a woman, even her." he offered a soft smile. Your features softened, but your eyes glared but a warning in your darkened (e/c).

"Blackkard, assist this lady to my cabin." A tall, heavy-built man with a black scruffy beard stood forward and gave a nod to the captain. "Ay, sir." He grabbed you by the shoulder roughly and lifted you to you feet.

"Gently." the captain growled through gritted teeth, "No need to hurt the poor Miss anymore than she is." You looked around at the ruffians glaring at you through beady eyes. Arthur turned to the rest of the crew as you were half lead, half dragged to the captain's quarters. "The rest of you dogs can get back to your posts!" His bark made the men hastily race across the decks. He followed you back to his cabin and closed the door behind him as you were roughly shoved onto the bed, wincing as your hip hit the post. Arthur gently steadied your shoulder and guided you onto the large king-sized bed.
He turned back to his first mate, "Mr. Blackkard, go and fetch the first-aid kit." The man nodded and hurried out, the sound of the closing door leaving you two in awkward silence. He looked at you again for a long moment, looking you over. "I don't believe I know your name yet." he inquired. You glared, "I don't usually just hand it out to anyone, sir." You hung on the word. With a nod, he chuckled to himself, "Of course, forgive my rude behavior."

His eyes sparkled at you, making chills run up your spine, "Captain Kirkland, Captain Arthur Kirkland, love." He took off his hat gracefully and bowed to you. A faint ghost of a smile crept onto your face along with the dusted blush under you mask as you thought to yourself, He quite a gentleman to be a pirate. "(l/n). (f/n) (l/n)." He stuck out his hand for a shake, "Very nice to meet you, Miss (f/n)." You gladly accepted his hand to shake, "Likewise, Captain Kirkland." "Please, love, just call me Arthur."

His smile made your heart dance like an Irish step dancer. The moment was cut when an urgent knock rapped the door. "Cap'in?" his first mate's scruffy face appeared in the frame. He held up a small wooden box, "The first aid kit." Arthur gave a nod, "You can just leave it on the desk." The first mate cautiously laid some maps and documents aside on the cluttered desk and set the box down before turning to leave. "Oi! Make sure Pentaris is behave himself out there. No more brawling on the desks."

He nodded and left the two alone ago. You looked at the box then at you hip, removing your blood covered hand from it to look at it. You could just see a bit of a musket ball embedded into the bloody, swollen flesh just above your hip-bone. You groaned in irritation, "Well, it'll be fun to dig that out." sarcasm laced into your words thickly. Arthur grabbed your wrist and moved it to get a better look at it.

His lips pressed into a thin line in thought. "What?" you asked. "I can get it out, but I'm going to have to cut away some of the dead flesh here." he circled his finger around the patches of flesh barley hanging on. "And digging out that musket ball won't be easy or pain-free..." he spoke, grabbing a flask of whiskey. "Here. It'll act as a pain killer." You eyed the bottle and looked up at him. "Just trust me."

You gripped the bottle and chugged the whiskey, giving a horrid gagging sound as the alcohol burned your mouth and throat. Arthur chuckled wholly at you reaction, "Not one for liquor, hm?" You sighed and lied down on the bed, letting the effect of numbness to the pain take over. He looked you over, "Any other wounds?"

You nodded, "You ankle. I think it's broken." you stated as your gaze followed the patterns on the wooden ceiling. He carefully reached for the laces on your tall boots, "May I?" You nod and listened to the sound of the laces on your boots coming undone. You winced as he slid the boot off and lifted your sock, reviling your swollen ankle.

He reached into the box and pulled out a splint and some gauze, fixing your ankle into a cast. He lifted up your now wrapped foot and placed it on a pillow, keeping it slightly elevated.

He moved on from your ankle to your hip as Arthur gently tugged the brim of your long shirt up, reviling the blood covered wound. "Alright love, I'm going to try to work as fast as I can. I don't want this to hurt anyone than it has to." You nod in understanding, bracing yourself for the pain.

~*~ Timey Whimey skip ~*~

You relaxed as Arthur finished stitching up the wound. He wrapped the threat back around the spool before placing it back in the box on the cluttered desk. He said and admired his handiwork, "I think that'll work for you, love." he smiled. You nodded and a small sigh, "Thanks." You felt the tiredness and exhaustion from the day catch you to you, closing your eyes and letting your body relax. You didn't even notice that you fell asleep.

~*~ Arthur's POV ~*~

I looked up from a set of maps I had been looking at and several charts I had been looking at. She look quite peaceful as she slept, her (h/c) hair splayed around her head on the pillow. I then notices how beautiful she looked. My eyes trailed to her black mask. It covered up most of her face, mainly around her eyes. I began to wonder if she would look better without it on.

I laid down the papers and slowly stood up from my desk, walking as light as I could on the creaking floorboards, afraid that I'd wake (f/n). I keeled beside that bed and gaze at her still, sleeping form. I carefully brush a few strands of her bangs away from her eyes before my fingers grasped the sides of the mask. Gripping it lightly, I slowly and gently slid the mask off her smooth face, holding back a gasp.

She was absolutely stunning. Her smooth(s/t) skin was flawless, no scars or blemishes. I stared at her for what seemed for an eternity, and as if I was under a spell, I couldn't look away. I placed the mask on the nightstand beside me and placed a gloved hand on her cheek, stroking it softly. I couldn't help myself. I slowly leaned down and placed my lips on hers, delivering a feather-soft kiss. I pulled back from the smooth kiss and look down the see a pair of sleep glazed (e/c) eyes staring at me in shock.

"A-athur..." she stuttered. My face flushed red, "I'm sorry, love. I didn't now you were awake. I just-" My rambling was silenced by her soft lips slipping onto mine again. She cupped my face in her hands lightly. Her touch sent my eyes fluttering closed as I glided my arm around her waist and my other hand on the back of her head, weaving my fingers in her hair, leaning in to deepen the kiss.

She placed her forehead against mine, breaking the kiss. I stared into her love ridden eyes, and she stared back into mine. "Thank you Arthur." she whispered. I gave her a light smile, "You're very welcome, love." She sighed and lied back down on the bed gingerly. I stood to leave but stopped at the tugging at my coat. I looked back at her, worry seemed to cross her face, "I'm in your bed, aren't I?" I gave her a reassuring smile, "It's quite alright."

She nodded lying back down, not letting go of my hand. I stared at her, unsure what to do. She cracked her eye open and let out a giggle that belonged to a child, "You going to sleep? Or are you just going to sit there and stare at me all night?" My face dusted pink lightly as I nodded. I leaned over and blew out the candle on the nightstand before sliding into the bed beside her.

She wrapped her arm around me and let out a content sigh. I lifted her carefully so she was resting on my chest. Her beautiful gaze peeked open at me in the dark, "Good night Arthur." she whispered, closing her eyes again. I smiled and gazed at her once more before kissing the top of her head and whispering to her, "Sweet dreams, love."
-Fin (for now)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~