Yaaay! I stayed up late on the right night Kat!! Wooot! Good bed time reading indeed...aye, she slammed a head into a "mass" but hey!! I would have made many more...great story....the crew is growing, should be able to take a ship of the line soon....lol Keep it coming Crest...I love them all!

(((((((((((CREST))))))))))) I LOVE this chapter!!!!!!!!! Free Frigate, no? Keep up the great work, Crest!

Tell me, who's your prop guy? I want his number.... LOL Come on Crest, Me needs a new chapter:D

Another excellent chapter, Crest!

Your story is one of those things that flows very fluidly and gradually, but not at the kind of pace that would either throw the reader off, or bore them to death. I'm simply in love with reading them - I can't WAIT until Friday!

You all have to bow down to Luckie. She tempted me (with prodding from my own mind, and you'll see why) to post today as a Happy Columbus Day present. So Happy Columbus Day! You are presented (with the rather ironic title for this day) with...

Left Behind

:Coin::Coin::Coin::Coin::Coin:

The new ship, which Kat decided to rename the Lightning Mercenary, was too large for the four of them to navigate by themselves. For the first time, Kat found herself actively looking for a crew. The ragtag group of pirates hit the taverns, looking for anyone willing to join. It wasn’t difficult to sweeten some of them up with a drink or two, but then Kat would come in asking how they felt serving under a woman, and they’d quickly down their rum and get out. Some, however, stayed, interested in the proposition. These were the ones that Kat would tell about her revenge against Jolly Roger. They returned with stories of their own, how Padres was overrun with the things, of friends and family they had lost to the despot, and how they would be glad to rid the Caribbean of him. It took a few days, but they got a crew of about fifteen people, not including the original four.

It was with a heavy heart that Kat decided it was time to get rid of her beloved Cutthroat Wolf. She went to Balthasar Bollard, intent on giving it to him to sell. When she introduced him to her beloved light sloop, he looked it over for a moment, and then proclaimed he’d take it off her hands for 500 gold. Kat argued with him for a long time about the price, telling him that this ship was worth much more than that, but he wouldn’t be swayed, telling her that it was in terrible condition and wasn’t worth more than that. Finally, she adhered to his price, going over her ship one more time to reminisce, before stepping off of it.

The day that they were set to leave, Kat, Lawrence, and Solomon were wandering through the town, enjoying the feel of land before setting out again. They chatted easily, taking the time to relax as they had not been able to do so in a long time. Their alert was on low. That was their mistake.

Red uniforms burst out from behind walls and inside buildings. The small group was shocked and drew their swords. It didn’t seem like it would do any good though. They were surrounded and backed up against a tree.

Bayonets pointed at them from every direction. One man stepped forward. “Kat Crestshot, Lawrence Mcrage, and Solomon Sharkfury, you are under arrest by order of the Royal Navy for acts of piracy against the crown. You are to come with us.”

“A noose doesn’t exactly sound inviting, sorry,” Kat said bitingly. “Can we reschedule?” The soldiers around them merely glared.

Solomon shifted closer to her. “Thank you for saving me Kat.” He grinned. “I have to look out for myself though.” He leaped and swung at one of the soldiers. Kat felt an odd sense of déjà vu, but couldn’t identify why. Solomon jumped into the tree behind him, ran across a branch, and flew over the heads of the Navy. “Farewell, Kat and Lawrence! I think I’d best be going now!” he cried backwards. Most of the Navy group began chasing after him, and Kat and Lawrence watched in shock as he ran off.

Only three of the soldiers remained. Lawrence brought Kat out of her astonishment by attacking one of the remaining men. Kat followed and slashed the other’s chest. Both ran their swords through the final man that tried to rush them.

They stared at the bodies surrounding them. “I think it’s time to go,” Lawrence said. They took off towards the Lightning Mercenary.

“Wait!” Kat said, stopping suddenly and grabbing Lawrence’s arm. He skidded to a halt next to her. “What about Solomon?”

“He left, Kat! Of his own will! We need to get out of here!” Lawrence said desperately.

“We can’t just leave him, Lawrence!” she protested.

He gripped her shoulders. “It’s in the Code as well, Kat. He who falls behind, stays behind. You told me that. We have no choice!” Lawrence began towards the ship again, and Kat reluctantly followed.

“Get ready to go!” Kat ordered as her boots touched the deck of the ship. Her crew looked at her in confusion.

“You heard the woman!” Lawrence yelled. “Get going!” The crew quickly began getting ready to set sail. Kat was doing a head count quickly, and only came up with fifteen, not including herself and Lawrence.

She frowned. “Where is Figgins?” she bellowed. A few men glanced at her nervously and shrugged. One man, though – Tim, that was his name – came up to her.

“’e said ‘e ‘ad some business to take care of. Tol' me tha’ if ‘e wasn’t back by the time we set off, ‘e wouldn’t be comin’” Tim said, then continued back to work.

Kat and Lawrence glanced at each other, both coming to the same realization. Her face hardened and she began barking orders to everyone.

After they had gotten out to sea, Kat ordered Tim to take the wheel and she stormed into her cabin. Lawrence noticed her leaving and followed her. She tried to slam the door behind her, but he stopped it with a steady hand.

Kat began pacing wildly, completely ignoring Lawrence. The hair tie eternally entangled in her brown locks was gone as she ran her hand through her hair. She was grumbling to herself angrily. Lawrence caught something about “-bloody git-” and “-should’ve known-”. He was about to approach when Kat took a bottle of rum and chucked it at the wall. Her breath was heavy as she stared at the new dark spot on the wall.

Lawrence stepped forward slowly. “Kat?” he asked softly.

The young woman did not turn. “It’s my fault,” she murmured. “For all we know, Solomon is either captured or dead right now, and it’s my fault.” She turned and began furiously pacing again.

Lawrence crept closer. “Kat, it’s not-”

“Don’t you even say it isn’t my fault, Lawrence Mcrage!” Kat yelled, poking a finger into his chest. She turned away from him as she continued her rant. “I thought Figgins would be perfectly fine to have aboard. I’m the one who brought him on! Sure, another lost soul! And then, when my crewmate, when my friend, had a dozen navy soldiers chasing after him, I just ran off in the other direction. Pirate or not, it was wrong! How can this not be my fault? I was just so stupid and-”

She didn’t get to continue because Lawrence grabbed her by the shoulders, pulled her to him, and kissed her soundly.

:Coin::Coin::Coin::Coin::Coin:

I warned Luckie you all would either love me or hate me after this chapter...

Thank you so much to KeeperoftheCode for letting me use Solomon Sharkfury. It was truly painful for me to write him out, but it had to be done. I love his character and the way he has turned out. I'm sorry mate. Rum's on me.

Well mates... I await the cries. In fact, I'm insanely excited to see the response to this chapter. Until then mates...Thanks for reading!

-Kat Crestshot

Hehe.. leaving us in our seats wondering why it ended so soon.

A good chapter Crest, had quite a fast pace to it. Now, we have to figure out what in the blazes is going to happen to Lawrence...

Hah, either Kat will smack daylights outta him or kiss him back...lol

I think the writing in this was more spot on, clearer than last one....and I'm going to be optimistic about Figgins...maybe he will surprise us?....Great job Kat...:)

Ooohh, an extra present on the side! Muchas muchas gracias!

I have to admit, this might just go down as one of my favorites in your stories. It was very compelling from start to finish, with each new twist and turn at every corner - just what I LOVE about your writing technique! You know how to draw the reader in, capture our attention, and allow us to feel as though we have a personal connection with the story.

Bravo, Crest. Bravo :)

Now that's the way for good ol' Solomon to go out! With a bang (figuratively, not literally)! He'll be making an appearance for a chapter or two later, won't he? (Casually unsheaths dagger)

This Moment
 

Thanks for twisting my arm Luckie. It's dislocated now. ;)

Well mates, it just so happens to be that wonderful day of Friday. I hope you are all caught up on your reading, because today, I want to show you...

This Moment

:Coin::Coin::Coin::Coin::Coin:

Lawrence pulled back after just a moment. Kat looked at him in shock. “Lawrence, I-”

“Shh, Kat,” he whispered, placing a finger to her lips. When he saw that she would be quiet, he took the finger away and wrapped his arms around her. His voice was an octave lower than normal as he said, “Kat…just…” He lowered his lips to hers again, gentler this time. Kat was unresponsive, but he just clutched her tighter and cupped the back of her head.

Finally, she responded. Her arms went around his neck and gripped him tight while her eyes closed. She let herself give in, if only for a moment. She let herself acknowledge all the hints and the pushes from Josie and the close calls that had come before this. In this moment, she let go.

Lawrence’s fingers ran through her dark hair, the hair she had never before let be released from the tie it was always caged in. The other hand comfortingly caressed the small of her back. He had finally caught the girl.

Kat took one of the hands around his neck to push run a hand through his soft hair, making his hat drop with a clack to the floor. She took it from the back of Lawrence’s head and traced the contours of his face. With a single finger, she went from the top of his head, creating a line past his eye, down across his noble cheekbones, to his strong, bearded chin. It fell to his shoulder, where it rested.

The two felt as though this moment was everlasting. It was only them, in the ship, in the world, in the universe. All they had, all they needed, was this.

Then, Kat opened her eyes.

She realized what had just happened.

She pulled away.

Lawrence felt her leaving and held her closer.

“No, Lawrence, I can’t,” she murmured. There was a catch in her voice.

“Yes Kat, you can, you can,” Lawrence said. He leaned in to kiss her again. Kat kissed him back for only a moment, but removed herself again.

“No…”

“Please Kat,” he pleaded, caressing her face gently. She couldn’t help but lean into the calloused, but comforting, hands. The soft touch was almost enough to make her cry. She reached up to lightly grab his wrists and pull his hands away from her face.

“I can’t, Lawrence…” She dropped his hands and turned away. “Please…just leave.”

She could almost see the crestfallen look on his face, even with her back turned. Soft footsteps crept out of her cabin, and the door clicked as it closed. Kat wrapped her arms around herself. The night was suddenly cold.

She gave a sigh and walked over to the rum mess on the wall. Glass blinked up at her from the ground. These were the tears of the night. She gathered the sparkling bits and tossed them out the window for the sea to absorb. The hair tie she had thrown on the table lay there, lonely. Kat considered putting it back in its rightful place, but figured it wasn’t worth it. Lawrence’s hat lay on the ground from where she had taken it from his head. He’d had such soft hair…

She looked out of her cabin window to see her crew working diligently. Lawrence came into view and barked orders at one young man – barely a boy. The boy cowered in front of him, and she saw Lawrence soften. He knelt down and helped him, showing the young man the correct way to tie a knot. Kat felt a tug on her heart at the sight.

She sighed as she thought of the day. Had it only been a few hours ago that she had been happy, ready to sail with Lawrence and Solomon with a new crew? Only a few hours ago, everything was perfect… and now she may have lost both of her boys.

She picked up the worn hat as she walked to her cot. The tri-corn was rough and worn, but it was so…Lawrence. For the first time in a long time, Kat lay on her bed, hair strewn all over the pillow, clutching a tired hat to her chest, and cried herself to sleep.

:Coin::Coin::Coin::Coin::Coin:

So... um... Yah... *cough*. I think it's time for me to...*flee!*

Haha, I kid mates. It's short, but... I love this chapter. I await to hear what you think. In the meantime, though, I'll be hiding underneath a rock with my rum stash. Thanks for reading!

-Kat Crestshot

Oh, nice Crest. Way to break the guy's heart.

Haha, nice job on this one Crest. It was kinda heartwrenching to see what happened to Lawrence, but it was still a very good story.

Now, if you excuse me, I'm going.. erm... "rocking hunting"...

No hitting him?

Hehe, just kidding. However, this.. occurance, I should say, is going to make managing the crew a little harder, especially with the fact that Lawrence and Kat are stuck together for the next few months!