The Dark Pirates of Doom.

Mirrah wasn't sure whether to laugh or laugh harder only the expression on the man's face was so serious, so smug like he had given the name of something so terrifying, as if he had just made all the mothers of the world wail for their children, that she just couldn't bring herself to even break a smile. And they were renowned in the world as the most fearsome pirates? Was this just bluffing? Or did he mishear the adjective?

He wasn't serious was he?

She was on board a huge ship of losers. Mirrah suddenly felt better about her situation, even if these men were armed with blades and she was technically outnumbered a dozen to one. Still, she was out on foreign territory, really foreign territory and she wasn't exactly on top of her game out on the sea. These guys, even if giant buffoons, were used to the swaying of the ship. The odds were still stacked against her.

The Captain looked pretty comfortable with that blade and even if his brain wasn't set in the right place, it seemed like everyone backed him for it. Whoever that lackey behind him was, Mirrah felt she could take him easily, but this Dusk character...how the hell can he maintain such a straight face when their captain actually said "Dark Pirates of Doom"? She didn't like the way Dusk kept staring at her but he looked just like those kinds of brainless musclemen that egotistical men like the captain here kept around just to make himself feel good.

The captain waggled his sword in front of Mirrah and much to Mirrah's humiliation, she pulled back to avoid getting grazed. "Now don't be tryin' anything rash here. You might end up hurtin' yourself, trying to break out of those bonds." His voice really was getting annoying. Mirrah contemplated lunging out right now and taking the pompous man into a headlock, maybe wiping out the doorman with a roundhouse kick and dashing out to test her luck at swimming, but decided that she didn't want to learn right now when they were so far away from shore. The captain sheathed his sword, still grinning. "If your dad loves you enough, you could probably get outta here by the end of the week. We hear Noah Winfield's got quite a stock of money that he might pay for his precious Victoria."

The knitted brow that Mirrah wore for a while now smoothed out ever so slightly. "What are you talking about?"

The captain laughed. "Your daddy's going to paying for our retirement funds, missy."

Mirrah leaned back, frowning now. "What? My daddy?"

It was the captain's smile that faltered now. He exchanged a sideways glance with his first mate, hands now crossed around his chest. "Don't be playing dumb now."

"What the hell are you idiots talking about?!"

The pirate at the door lurched forward, his head poking over the captain's shoulder now. "We're holdin' you fer ransom, wench! Is that so frickin' hard to understand?!"

The captain elbowed the pirate back to his place. "Rico, mind your language!" He then turned back to Mirrah, his arms easing back into their crossed position. He wasn't smiling anymore. "You are Victoria Winfield...aren't you?"

Mirrah stared hard at the captain as all the pieces fell into place. This was completely outrageous. "Of course not you giant moron!" She stomped hard with her foot. "How the hell did you confuse me with some noble girl?! Do I look pampered to you?!" She never thought they were this stupid, but to think she was dragged into this entire mess just because of a case of mistaken identity--God, how much pay was she going to lose because some idiots screwed up kidnapping some prissy lady?! How hard would it be to take a frickin' second glance to ensure that they grabbed the right hostage?!

The captain swung his gaze over to Dusk, his look just bordering on accusations. "I don't know, Victoria--"

"I'm not Victoria, god!"

"Does she look pampered to you Dusk?"

The first mate held up his hands, frowning. "She looks pretty pampered to me, Cap. Don't go dropping this one on me!"

"You were the one who picked her up, weren't you?"

"Yeah, but if you remember--" He pointed dramatically at Mirrah, doing his best imitation of the captain's annoying voice. "'Stop her, Dusk! She's gettin' away!"

"I said that?"

"Maybe not in so many words..."

"Oh my god, you people tried kidnapping a noble without even knowing what she looks like?! Will it hurt you to do a little research?!"

"Don't be yellin' at me too, lady! You look about the same age--"

"You're all idiots! I'm trapped on a creaky ship with a bunch of idiots!"

"You definitely got the girl's temper, I'll give you that..."

"Shut up, all of you!" The captain pressed two fingers to his head, readjusting the top hat on his head. "If you aren't Victoria Winfield, then who the heck are you?"

"Me? I'm--" Mirrah caught herself before she gave out her real name. Thinking back on it now, it probably would've been wiser to agree that she was this Victoria girl. If everyone thought of her as a noble, it would've been just that much easier to surprise them at the end, whatever that was. She couldn't chance them thinking she was actually a bodyguard of a merchant! She needed to be someone who would be less useful as a ransom. "The name's Brindle an I'm just an indentured servant--" Think fast, think fast! Who else was on that ship? "The captain of ship's paying me only a penny an hour to scrub that scrummy deck and it ain't gettin' any cleaner while I'm tied up to this damn chair!"

And then there was silence. All three of the men standing before her just stared back at her, eyebrows raised. Mirrah pursed her lips, tossing glances between each scrutinizing face before all three of them suddenly broke their gazes and faced each other.

"Indentured servant? Really?"

"I still say she looks too pampered to be an indentured servant. No maid's teeth are that white."

Mirrah's face turned red. "I eat my carrots just so you know!"

"Did you hear how suddenly her dialect changed? It wasn't like that before was it?"

"Not to mention it was completely wrong. She's still enunciating all of her words..."

"Like you would know."

"Hey! I slang like a good pirate!"

Mirrah stomped her foot again, her face turning a darker shade of red. "Th-The captain's been teaching me how to speak properly! I revert back to me old street speak when I'm anxious!" Agh, no use! They weren't even listening at this point. It probably would've been better to just jump out and knock them all on their heads a little.

"I say she's bluffing, Cap. Did ya hear how long she hesitated before she gave her name?"

"But she seemed really confused when we called her Victoria..."

"She could be a really good actor."

"Right, right... There's that possibility..."

"Either way, she's not who she says she is."

"God, you know I can hear you right?!"

All three of them stopped what they were saying just to peer over their shoulders towards Mirrah who was now regarding them with the most agitated of looks any woman could give. The all exchanged a wordless knowing glance with each other before straightening up. The Captain placed a hand on Rico. "Keep an eye on her. We're taking this conversation where our hostage..." He gave Mirrah a long glance. "...can't hear us."

Mirrah straightened up in her seat. "Hold on! I have a right to know what you're going to be doing with me!" None of them even took a look back before they opened the door and filed out single file. "Hey! Wait--" The door slammed shut behind them. Mirrah heaved a sigh, relaxing her supposedly bound arms.

"...God, I hope Wilhelm does something soon..."