Pirate Boy Chapter 2

The Englishman was smirking at the men before him.
"Good evening mates," he said to them. "I hope you are enjoying yourselves." All of the Frenchman's crew was surrounded by the Englishman's while he stood in front. "However, none of you, or even the tiny amount of treasure in your hold, is the reason why I'm here. I wish to speak to your captain. Would anyone care to fetch him?" No one answered. No one was going to sell out their captain. "No volunteers? Well then I guess I'll have to find him myself."
He started to walk towards the cabin.
"W-Wait!" one of the men called. "I-I'll do it!"
The crew around him glared at the Englishman's while silently supporting the man who spoke up; they all knew it was better for one of their own to rouse their captain rather than let the Englishman. Englishmen weren't trustworthy and their captain would probably be slain before he was ever awoken or given a chance to fight back.
A few of the Englishman's crew let the man through and he hurried to the cabin.
The man knocked on the broad door to the cabin nervously.
"C-Captain? We need you out here!"
He heard a loud groan and hurried away from the door.
"Thank you," the other captain said. "You were most helpful." Before the man could react, the captain pulled his gun out and shot him in the head. "Thank you for serving your purpose."
* * *
Inside the room the captain sat up, still quite groggy from sleep.
Looking at the boy still asleep next to him, he smiled and gently kissed his forehead.
"Sleep well mon petit. I will be back."
He stood up and stretched before grabbing his coat and throwing it on, slipping out of the room quietly.
"Oui oui!" he called as he strolled up to the helm. "What did you need moi for?"
Opening his eyes he saw the dead man, his surrounded crew, and the grinning English captain.
"What are you doing here?!" he demanded. "Get off my ship at once and release my men! Do not think I will forgive you for this!"
"I do not believe that I will be listening to you, mate. You see, I have the upper hand here. Do not try and negotiate with me when I'm soon going to have the real treasure of this ship."
His eyes narrowed into slits.
"If you think you can take me from this ship you are mistaken!"
The Englishman laughed and said, "It's not you I would be worried about."
Realizing what he meant, the other man tore back to his cabin. "Mathieu?! Mathieu!?" He ran around the room, desperately searching for the little boy.
He quickly pulled the sheets off the bed.
As they fluttered to the ground, he gasped.
Matthew was not in the room.
Bursting back on deck, he saw the little boy. Next to him, on either side, was a fierce man, each gripping one of his arms.
"Is this what you treasure so much?" the other captain asked as he stepped out of the shadows.
"Rosbif! Do not do this! He is only a little boy!"
The other man walked up behind Matthew and held his sword in front of the boy, almost protectively.
"But he is so important to you," he practically purred. "And you know I can't stand anything you like, frog."
"Is he not like your little boy though?! How would feel if it was moi with your boy and you were the one watching?"
The English captain frowned.
"That's not the same. You would never hurt 'un enfant' as your filthy language puts it. And you would never get my boy."
"Are you always this cruel around him? Surely not even you are this heartless."
He glared.
"He is not here. He is at home." He stroked Matthew's hair, making the boy shudder fearfully. "And that is soon where this one will be also. It's remarkable how similar they look though."
"Non!" the Frenchman yelled as he leapt forward.
But one move made him freeze in place.
The other man had pulled his little boy against him and now held his sword against his throat.
"Don't," he whimpered. "Please don't."
The other man grinned.
"I like this side of you, frog. You're so obedient." He used his free hand to trail along the boy's face; every movement was tracked by the Frenchman's eyes. "Maybe I should keep you as well."
When his eyes lit up, the other man laughed. "Not together of course. He will be kept far away from you. Can't have you trying anything after all."
He growled.
"Let him go, connard. He is not a part of this."
"Oh yes he is. When you took him he automatically became a part of this. You used to be a king but now you're a pawn. My pawn."
"I am not!" he roared, indignant. "You take that-!" He stopped as the other man pressed his sword harder against Matthew's throat.
The other man laughed.
"You see? This little boy is the most important thing to you so if I control him, I control you. One threat and you listen. One injury-" He pulled out his dagger and dragged it across the boy's cheek, cutting it. "And you beg."
"I would never-" The other moved his dagger to the other cheek and started to press, little beads of blood flowing out and down his face. "Stop it!"
He put the dagger away.
"You see? He is your weakness. Now, you will come with me, both of you, and I will watch him while you serve me."
Knowing he was defeated, the Frenchman put his head down.
"I will come with you. Just leave my crew alone."
They stared at him in shock; they were supposed to die before they let anything happen to their captain and here he was, giving himself up to save them and the little boy they all treasured so much.
The English captain nodded.
"Fair enough. Now get on my ship."
He used the hand with the dagger to point at the gangplank.
Slowly the man walked away from his crew and onto the other ship.