Hi Readers, 

This Chapter has been fully edited as of the 20/06/21. I hope you will enjoy it!

I am leaving my original AN as it is a bit of nostalgia for me and I would also like to keep the thanks that I gave to the fans below. 

Thanks to:

@LadyOfTheNight for her support and guiding comments which are always fab to read xx

@Nairxarika for dedicating her story 'Die Pirate' to me, and also to all of the other aspiring Pirate writers that have suddenly popped up and dedicated chapters to me as well!

@Umaymahkhan for helping with swear words

@RoxyRose for the amazing banner! 

@Remorsebeauty Her story is amazing, I hope you will go check it out! 

And now, I hope that you will enjoy the chapter. Happy reading!

Love Always,
Daisy 

________________________

Chapter Seven | Handcuffed 

*

'Two armies are coming at me,
their flags and weapons look the
s a m e.
One tells the truth
the other's lying,
and their both calling my
n a m e .'

- Madalen Duke (How Villains are Made)

*

CIRCE

"Let me out!" 

For what felt like the fiftieth time since the door had been shut in my face, my fists hammered down on the hard wood in vain. 

"I know you can hear me," I hissed venomously, banging loudly against the door again. The sides of my hands had begun to grow numb. "I know you can hear me!" I yelled louder, my voice cracking annoyingly towards the end. 

It was a grim reality but I knew that no-one was coming. Obviously. Obviously no-one was coming. I was alone in this. Bitterly, and utterly alone. So if I couldn't escape, then I was going to damn well annoy the heck out of them until they decided to let me go. 

"Oi!" I yelled again, "Shitty Pirate Captain block-head! Get your ass back here and let me out!" It was a petty insult, and one that gained me absolutely no response, but I felt slightly better for it. 

I eyed the door calculatingly and wondered what the odds were of being able to kick it down. I was just gearing up to try, taking a few steps back to get a good run up, when my foot met with something soft and I shrieked inadvertently, recoiling as whatever it was moved again and made a light groaning sound. 

"Holy sh-"

Pressing my back to the door, I stared down at the thing on the floor that I had found under my shoe. Eyes narrowing suspiciously, I realized that the thing, was in fact Cobalt. Wonderful. 

Easing forward, I nudged him unceremoniously with the tip of my shoe. He grunted a little and shifted, his head turning towards me. A massive lump was swelling on his forehead and I winced. Whoops. 

He seemed to come to a little more, reaching up with a lethargic hand to touch the swollen mass that was his second forehead, his silver eyes blinking open blearily. Slowly his fingers assessed the size of the mound and that seemed to wake him a little more. He groaned again.

For a moment I felt a slight twinge of guilt. Cobalt didn't actually seem that bad, and I hadn't meant to hit him with a bottle of rum. I had mistaken him for someone more ferocious, stubborn and downright murderous. It wasn't Cobalt's fault his brother was Satan.

My hands that were lax at my sides suddenly curled into tight fists as I realized I was siding with a pirate. Cobalt deserved just as much as his brother, if not more. He was the one who had actually lied to my face at the ball - putting on an act while plotting my kidnapping behind my back. My Father's anguished expression inadvertently sprang to mind as I remembered the real traitor in this whole mess and the thought made my eyes grow hot with emotion. 

Traitorous. 

I gritted my teeth and hardened my resolve. Picturing my Father made my next move that much easier and as Cobalt raised his hand to his head again, I was already pulling out the iron pan that was used to heat the sheets at night and raising it above my head. 

To give him credit, he managed to wake up enough to see it coming. I advanced towards him with a smirk curling my lips and he stared at me with his dazed eyes widening rapidly. I was going to enjoy this. 

"Circe? What's going- Circe, what's that you're holding . . . Circe put that down, you don't know what you're doing! No! Wait! Don-

Thud.

*

Sometime later I wiped the sweat from my forehead and stepped back to survey my handiwork with a sigh. It really was surprising what you could find in a pirate's room when you really searched the place.

After an (extraordinarily) large amount of pushing and shoving, I had managed to heave Cobalt onto the bed. Now his head was lolling forwards onto his chest, his shaggy black hair covering his eyes, and his hands locked onto the iron headrest with some suspiciously new looking handcuffs I had found in his bedside draw. 

It didn't bother me that I couldn't find the key to unlock them. If he used them for what I thought he did, then he should be used to it. I shuddered at the thought. Urgh. Pirate fetishes.

I crept over to the bed - still wielding the heating pan - and tried to plan my next move. It was a surprise I had gotten this far, and I hadn't exactly decided what to do next. Obviously escape was ideal ... but probably unrealistic. 

Cobalt was still unconscious, his appearance a little worse for wear, his white shirt a little mussed ... alright, ripped, from when I had unceremoniously used it to drag him up off the floor and onto the bed. I had been trying avoid all possible contact, alright?

Swallowing, I poked him in the head with the pan. Nothing happened. I turned the pan around and prodded him in the nose with the handle.

I giggled and couldn't resist shoving it up his nose the tiniest bit. And then a little bit more. I laughed again, he looked like drunken pig. Removing the handle, I almost choked with mirth as I moved the handle along his lips slowly, my voice deepening into a mock imitation of his own, much more sultry tone.

"Mmm, Cobalt is a big bad pirate who likes kidnapping little girls and eating bogies for his dinner. Yum, yum, yum."

Suddenly the big bad pirate in question grunted and his head flopped towards me. I squeaked with fright, ducking down behind the mattress. "Please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me." I chanted fiercely, holding the pan above my head like a shield.

When nothing deadly happened, I peeked up over the edge of the bed. He was still unconscious and I breathed a sigh of relief.

This wasn't working, it had made me feel better, but it wasn't working. I hadn't thought of what I would do if I couldn't wake him up. 

Looking around, I spied a door standing slightly ajar at the other end of the room. My thoughts were on escape as I hurried over, but upon opening the door further and lighting the small lantern by the door, I saw it was simply a bathroom.

I grinned, rubbing my hands together and started rummaging around for a bowl or a bucket, my grin stretching wider when I saw an empty chamber-pot sitting innocently in a corner of the room. 

Picking it up gingerly, I moved over to the metal tank sitting beside the bath, noticing that it was similar to the way the one in my bathroom worked.

Thinking about home causing a pang of loss to shoot through my chest but I brushed it aside and focused on the small pump situated in the bottom third of the tank. I worked the handle, pleased when water gushed out of the tap and into the chamber pot. Of course when a bath was prepared, the water was usually heated but I didn't have time for that.

Usually the water was rain water, but however high class these Pirate brothers seemed to be I doubted that they were stupid enough to waste precious drinking water on baths, hell I was impressed that they even bathed at all! Maybe it was just these brothers that acted like royalty; they seemed different to normal Pirates for some reason.

I held the chamber pot cautiously, trying not to trip on anything as I made my way back over to where Colby was tied. Savoring the moment, I lifted the pot up as high as I could before dumping the entire contents on his head.

His eyes flew open with shock, as the cold water hit his skin, a gasp leaving his lips involuntarily. He jerked forwards as he tried to sit up, but fell back again when the cuffs kept his hands firmly in place. His silver eyes were filled with confusion as he blinked up at me from under his wet black hair, still spluttering. 

"What's going on?" He demanded, his eyes narrowing as he strained forward against his handcuffs, "did my brother do this to me?" 

Before I had a chance to reply, he glanced down at his ripped shirt that was now plastered to his body, revealing more of the tanned skin beneath. "Oi," he said indignantly, "what happened to my shirt?!"

I glared at him. "You should be less worried about your shirt, and more worried about the position your in. That pig-headed pirate didn't do this to you. It was me." 

His silver eyes lifted to look at me blankly for a moment. "You?" 

"Yes me," I snapped irately, "what, you don't believe me?" 

To my absolute disgust, it looked as though he was trying not to laugh. "No, sorry, it's just - haha - sorry, you don't look like the type Princess." The endearment was accompanied by what I was sure he thought was a winning grin. A moment later, that grin dissoved into something far more ... suggestive. "Although," he purred, "if you were, I certainly wouldn't be opposed ..." 

I leaned away in disgust and brandished the chamber-pot at him. "Disgusting," I sneered, "although I didn't expect any less from a Pirate who keeps cuffs in his bedside draw." 

"Don't judge before you've tried it sweetheart." 

"Shut UP." 

Suddenly, he seemed to register what I was holding in my hands and his smirking expression fell into one of despair. 

"Please don't tell me you just used that to dump whatever you dumped over my head," he groaned.

"Of course I did!" I said proudly, enjoying the look of utter disgust on his face.

"I got some of that in my mouth!" he yelled angrily. 

I sniggered, remembering the pot handle I had shoved up his nose. "That's not all you got in your mouth."

"What are you even talking about?!" He roared, "you- you're just supposed to be some pampered Princess! Are you even sane?"

I sneered at him. "Would anyone be sane if they were put in my position?" 

"Good point! But still! Tell me what you meant by that-" 

"No. I think I'll leave you to suffer to your own imagination," I retorted pettily. "Serves you right." 

He ground his teeth together, testing out the strength of his cuffs again. The bed frame groaned in protest. "You know, if I really wanted to, I could break out of here," he hissed. 

I brandish the pot at him, "Just try it and see what happens," I bluffed. "You know, for a pirate, you sure are dramatic." 

"Just tell me!" He insisted. 

"For the love of God!" I spat at him irately, "Just don't worry about it, alright?!"

"Too late!" He yelled, "I'm worrying! Tell me!" 

"No!" I yelled back at him, "You deserved everything you got!" 

"Yes!"

"No!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

Wait. What?

"Okay now tell me" Cobalt said smugly, leaning back against his bonds. 

"I don't have to do anything," I smirked right back at him, "I said no first. And anyway, you're still not in any position to be making any demands." Dropping the chamber-pot, I picked the bed-pan back up and pointed the handle at his head in what I hoped was an aggressive manner. "Start talking." 

Cobalt looked aggrieved. "God Lord woman! No wonder my head feels like it's about to split it half! You could kill a man with that thing!" 

"Then be grateful you're not dead," I snarled. "Talk! Now!"

There was a moment of silence as we stared at each other. 

Then Cobalt sighed, leaning back against the headboard of the bed. He flicked his head in an attempt to get the wet hair out of his eyes. One small curl rebelled, remaining plastered in the center of his forehead. It made him look angelic, when really, he was anything but. 

"I see I may have underestimated you," he said eventually - no doubt stalling for time. 

My eyes narrowed. "I think that's rather obvious don't you?" I replied shortly. "Don't think that wasting time will help you - I may have knocked you out but the one who originally locked you in here was that brother of yours. I doubt he will be coming back for you anytime soon." 

Cobalt sent me a reproachful look. "Harsh," he mumbled. 

"Hurry up and start talking." 

Flexing his arms against his restraints slightly, Cobalt settled back on the headrest further. Gradually his reproachful look faded and instead his silver eyes began to appraise me boldly. His gaze was making me uncomfortable, but determined not to show he was affecting me, I held my ground. A grin tugged at the corner of his lips. 

"Are you alright Princess? You look flustered." 

"Don't call me that," I snapped. "And stop looking at me." 

His grin widened. "If you didn't want me to look, then you should have blindfolded me too," he purred. 

"Pervert," I hissed, slightly thrown by his sudden mood swings. Perhaps he had more in common with his brother than I had originally thought. 

Cobalt chuckled. "So that's how you see me? Alright then, what do you plan on doing to this pervert to make him talk?" 

His suggestive tone caused my cheeks to heat with embarrassment as I realized that whatever I replied with now, I was practically playing into his hands! 

"Do tell me Darling," he prompted with a grin, "this one eagerly awaits your verdict." 

"Shut up!" I flushed, brandishing the bed pan, "or should I just knock you back out instead?" 

He flinched as I feigned a swing. "Ah! Ah, okay, okay! I'll talk, I'll talk ... just put that damn thing down would you?" His seductive mood vanished like a mask and a scowl replaced it. "You're no fun," he grumbled, "what do you want to know?" 

I stared at him aghast. "Really? After all that, you're just going to tell me?" 

He laughed shortly. "Let me guess," he said drawled, "my idiot of a brother said something along the lines of, 'If you don't already know, I don't see why I should tell you?'" Looking at my stunned expression, he snickered. "Am I right?" 

"You're right," I replied grudgingly. 

Rolling his eyes, Cobalt sighed heavily. "Bones is an idiot. The way I see if, if your going to be on this ship, then you're entitled to an explanation as to why." He opened his chained hands in a gesture of what I assumed to be surrender. "To be fair, it wasn't my idea to kidnap you like that. But ... the parties involved seemed to think it was the only way you'd go quietly." 

I eyed him suspiciously. Parties involved? Did that mean my Father? I thought back to the look on that blasted Pirate's face as he had stared down at the blue gem in my hands. What exactly was going on here? 

Cobalt read my confusion easily, and attempted to sit up a little bit better on the bed. "I take it from that look, that you haven't read the letter from your Father yet?" 

My eyes narrowed. "How did you know about that?" I had kept the letter on my person at all times. I sudden thought occurred to me and I looked at Cobalt in horror. Had he ...?

He seemed to see where my thoughts were headed because his expression suddenly became slightly panicked, and he spread his hands in defensive. "Hey! Hey, I know you think I'm a pervert, but I'm not actually alright?!" He looked a little sheepish, "Just ... just read it, alright? I'll answer your questions after." 

Slowly, I sank down onto the chair on the opposite side of the room, reaching into my nightgown to retrieve the envelope with the bed pan still held firmly in one hand. Well, at least until I noticed Cobalt's strangely intense gaze directed my hand that had slipped below my neckline. 

I brandished the pot at him. "Shameless! Look away," I spat out. 

"Tch," he huffed, mumbling something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'tease'. But he averted his gaze. 

Doing my best to ignore him, I slit open the envelope with trembling fingers. 

*

NATHANIEL 

Pacing around the courtyard of the castle, every now and then I stole a look up at the empty balcony that looked out upon the ocean. The night-shift tonight marked the first opportunity I had had since the pirate attack, to be back near Circe's quarters, yet I hadn't seen any sign of her.

She could have been sleeping, but when I asked around casually amongst the ranks, the answer was the same. No-one had seen her in the two days since the attack.

The bold moon shone down from the sky, illuminating the courtyard in which I stood, and while the light was a reassuring one, it did not align with the foreboding feeling that I felt, deep in my gut.

That night, she had told me she was going to step outside for a moment, for a breath of fresh air. She had been hiding it well – but I knew the appearance of that ... man, Cobalt, had been bothering her. His face flashed into my mind for a moment, black hair, silver eyes, cunning smile. From the moment I saw him, I knew he was no good.

I had been wary of sending her out alone ... had warned her not to wander too far. And I had told myself that I would give her two minutes before going to find her.

But then the Commander had called over all of the troops within the hall and the news of the attack had been broken to us, and from there I had automatically fallen into line with my fellow soldiers, the mechanical mindset of a solider taking over as I had focused on my duty.

I thought I had caught a brief glimpse of Circe on my way out of the ballroom, but then she was hidden by the crowds and pushed from my mind. She would be safe, her Father would make sure of it.

The sudden thought jolted me from my reprieve with a sense of relief. Of course. Her Father. Jacob Fallon, he would be able to update me.

Cursing the fact that I hadn't thought to ask sooner, I offered an excuse to the others on the night-watch and asked them to cover me, before hurrying to the side of the castle where Jacob's office was located. A single lamp was glowing inside the room, and I breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't retired for the night yet then.

Yet, as I reached out to knock on the heavy wooden door, something made me hesitate just a second before rapping my knuckles on the dark wood.

You're being stupid, I reprimanded myself firmly. She's probably just been resting after everything that has happened.

I frowned when, after a moment, there was still no voice from inside. Raising my hand, I knocked again.

"Hello?"

This time there was a reply. But the rough voice that sounded from within brought my sense of foreboding back in full force.

"Come in."

Cautiously, I pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Jacob Fallon sat at the single chair behind his desk, with a glass of whisky in his left hand, and a piece of parchment in his right. The parchment was thick and heavy – high quality stuff. Where it had been opened, there was a blue wax seal that shimmered strangely in the lamp light. On it, was a crest that I did not recognise.

"Nathaniel. How can I help you?" The older man's gaze looked shockingly worn as he raised his head to look at me directly. Dark circles shadowed under his eyes, his skin swallow in the wavering light of the room. He set his whisky down for a moment to clear his throat roughly, before picking up the glass again and finishing it in one gulp.

"Pardon me for interrupting Sir," I began, eyeing the empty glass cautiously, "but I came to ask how Circe is. I haven't had time to see her recently. Was she upset that her birthday ended on such a note?"

Although I was close with Circe – and had been since our childhood, there was still a large gap between us in terms of ranking. Not that her Father had ever seemed particularly concerned ... but the man that was sitting across from me now didn't seem fully composed. And I felt my stomach sink further as I observed his reaction.

I was expecting him to answer easily. To tell me that Circe was fine, just a little tired, and then send me on my way. After all, his stress could have easily been caused by managing the clean-up of the pirate attack. Having been down to the port myself, I knew exactly how much damage they had caused.

However, at my question, he had looked away.

"Sir?"

For a moment, the hand around the empty whisky glass clenched, white knuckles protruding through skin. And then he relaxed, looking back to me with tiredness in his eyes. When he still didn't offer an explanation, I prompted him again, my voice tense, my heartbeat thundering in my chest as I realised ... everything was not okay.

"She's fine right?"

"She is." His confirmation offered me little relief.

"But ..." I pushed, starting to feel angry. Why couldn't he just say it?! My hands curled into fists involuntarily. "Where is she." I gritted out.

Reaching under his desk, Jacob pulled out another bottle of whisky. He popped the cork and filled his glass back up with a slosh.

"Gone," he said shortly.

I felt as though the breath had been stolen from my lungs. "What do you mean gone?" I asked, staring at him uncomprehendingly as he drank deeply from his glass. "Gone, as in-"

"As in, she is gone. Gone away, no longer here. As in, she is never coming back, and there is no point going after her. She is gone." His voice was suddenly harsh, his eyes cold and unfeeling as he slammed the letter in his other hand down onto the table.

I laughed in slight disbelief. "If she was planning to leave, she would have told me. She would have-

"Maybe I should rephrase that," Jacob cut in, looking at me pityingly. "She was taken Nathaniel. Telling you was not a choice she was given."

"Taken ..."

Suddenly, it was as though Circe was speaking into my ear, her voice laughing as she brushed aside my concerns easily. Too easily.

. . . I don't like him either Nate but it doesn't mean he's going to kidnap me or something . . .

My mind was blank as I stared across the room at the man sitting behind his desk, drinking away his woes instead of chasing after his daughter. At some point, my hands at clenched into fists, and I felt my nails digging into the skin of my palms. The pain seemed to wake me, to make me once again capable of speaking through the rage that was slowly consuming my body.

"You mean kidnapped," I hissed, my voice shaking with fury. "It was him, wasn't it? That guest of yours at the end. The Grandson of whatever his name was. Did you know? Did you know that this would happen?"

Suddenly, Jacob was in front of me, gripping onto my arms with the strength of someone possessed. I blinked, startled by his sudden appearance, and then a fresh wave of horror set in as I realised just how far gone he was.

With wild, bloodshot eyes, he stared into my soul, shaking me slightly as though by doing so he could shake out some semblance of self-worth. Bedraggled stubble coated his chin, and he appeared as though he had had the life drained from him, yet his hands were scorching, heating my arms where he gripped through the red material of my uniform.

"How," he demanded, "how do you know?!"

"It's just something Circe said to me," I replied defensively, "but Sir, I didn't have a good feeling about him from the start-"

Abruptly, he left go of me, turning back to his desk to grab the letter again. His eyes fell down to scan across the words once more, as though by doing so he could imprint them into his mind.

"Sir," I started forwards, frustration joining the anger that fuelled me. "Sir, did you know about this? If you did, why aren't you going after them!"

Jacob didn't reply, sinking back down into his chair, his lips moving silently as he read through the letter again.

"You have the whole army at your disposal!" I urged him, "If you would just order it, we could go after her!"

A million thoughts were running through my mind, but at the front of them all was Circe's face, and the smiling expression she had shown me that night. She had been happy. For once, she had been-

"Listen to what I'm saying!" I yelled. Frustrated by his lack of response, I slammed my fist down onto his desk with a bang. He jumped and looked up at me, dazed. "Why are you not doing anything!" I roared, uncaring of the fact that I was shouting at a Superior and my actions were likely to lose me my job, "you are her Father and you don't even know what's going on! You're supposed to be out there! Protecting her! Not just sitting here getting drunk!"

I braced both hands on the desk, leaning over him as my shoulders heaved with rage. Despite the fact that he doted on his eldest daughter, this man had still chosen a wife who had caused Circe more than enough hardship growing up. And that was to say nothing of her half-siblings. But Circe had endured it, for him. And now he was sitting here doing nothing.

It wasn't until he spoke that I realised I had spoken those thoughts aloud.

"You're right," his voice was hoarse as he finally met my gaze. "Of course, you're right. But surely you don't think so poorly of me Nathaniel, to assume that I would be still sitting here if there was something I was capable of doing."

"What do you mean," I asked him coldly.

"What I mean," he said, pushing himself up from his chair, "is that there is nothing I can do." He placed the letter back down on the desk, smoothing out the rumpled corners without seeming to realise he was doing it. "It's not my place to interfere."

My eyes darted to the letter, but the script was cursive, and I couldn't make anything else. "Are you saying that she knows the people she went with?"

Jacob smoothed down his rumpled clothing, running a tired hand through his hair. The crazed desperation from before had left his eyes, but the disconcerting emptiness with which he looked at me now was somehow worse.

"I'm saying that she will be safe enough. You should realise, Nathaniel, that in this world, there are people who are able to get what they want with a snap of their fingers. No matter how far you climb up the ladder, no matter how important you think your opinion to be, there will always be someone above you. Always."

"Is that what you're saying?" I asked coolly, "That there is someone above you?"

Jacob spread his hands helplessly. "I am but a Duke, Nathaniel," he said softly, "of course there are others above me."

I gritted my teeth. "I think we both know that's not what I meant."

The older man sighed. "Just trust that she is safe Nathaniel. And eventually, I hope she will be happy. Happier than she ever was here anyway."

"You don't have a right," I hissed, pointing an accusing finger at him, "to decide on what makes her happy. She was taken by pirates for god's sake! How can you sit here and just say that you hope she'll be happy! What is wrong with you?!"

"Because-" Jacob suddenly snatched for the letter once more and clutching it in his hand as though his life depended on it, he brandished it at me wildly – seeming unable to find the words to convey his meaning.

For a moment, his eyes seemed to illuminate as he looked upon the parchment like it was part of his soul he had lost, or perhaps some long forgotten treasure, only now discovered. But then the light in his gaze faded and he simply looked old and worn.

"Because she was taken under orders from her Mother."

*

Authors Note: Hey guys! This Chapter is the lead up to where some of the plot will start being unraveled so I hope you will look forward to it! 

Because some people are asking for clarification, here is an overview:

1. Obsidian was the pirate who stole her kiss two years ago :)

2. Cobalt is the pirate who was at the ball. Obsidian was supposed to go, but then he had one of his rages and got drunk and passed out (lol)

3. Bones is Cobalt and Obsidian's last name, but Obsidian's nickname is also Bones, because everyone finds it easier to call him that than 'Captain Bones' this includes Cobalt. If you guys think that's weird then ... eh ... nothing I can do -shrugs- :) 

4. Please remember this is a Historical Fantasy! Some 2020 morals do no apply and also, because it's a Fantasy world, not everything is historically accurate either. Thankyou for your understanding! 

5. This Chapter was fully edited on the 20/06/21 - but was originally written in 2011. I have not changed anything that should impact the plot going forward from here, but I'll apologies for the abrupt change of writing style you may experience haha 

As always,
Thank-you for reading
Love Daisy x