This chapter was edited/revised Saturday, November 14, 2009. Please let me know if there are any mistakes I might have missed in my revisions.
Chapter 2
"How long until we reach Tortuga?"
"About two days."
The woman's voice—Kagome—sighed and I could hear footsteps go past me.
Where am I? Last thing I remember I was in a cell, in the brig and I…
I hit my head and got knocked out. And she found me. Great…I'll never live this one down. Oh, I can hear her making fun of me now…
Now, let's focus. Eyes, open.
Come on…open!
…Please?
Why can't I open my damn eyes? Did the wench do something to me…? Or maybe it's just a side-effect of cracking my head open?
Speaking of which…My head was fixed. I could feel the pressure from the cloths wrapped around my head. Perhaps she isn't so evil—
"When is this idiot gonna wake up?" she whined. Spoke too soon, I see.
I tried to talk, but all that came out was a strangled, wheezing groan. I could feel her eyes on me.
Then I could feel the heavy steps across the wooden deck, and someone stopped next to me, kneeling down and resting an elbow on the bed I lay on.
"So, you're conscious. That means you can hear me."
Oh, let the taunting and misery begin.
"I see you can't even get your sea legs after being on a ship for less then an hour. What kind of sailor are you?"
I attempted using my voice again, and, to my surprise, it worked. "Not a sailor. Pirate."
I cracked my eyes open, the dull light of the room filling my vision. I turned my head—which turned out to be a bad idea, due to a pain that shot through the side of my head and throbbed—and focused on her face, about a foot away from mine. Her eyebrows were raised in obvious shock at my sudden ability to speak and move at will.
"It wasn't my fault. Your ship isn't exactly graceful on the water."
She was taken aback by the comment. Every captain had an amount of pride in their ship, and she was no exception.
"Excuse me? I clean up your bloody head and let you lay there uselessly in my cabin and in my bed and you return the favor by insulting my ship?"
"Apparently."
She raised one eyebrow now, clearly annoyed. Her lips pulled into a tight pout and she breathed deeply through her nose. "I should have just let you die. Or better yet, I should have killed you myself yesterday, when I had the chance."
"I'm wide open."
"You think I'm that much of an idiot? That I would break my own code of piracy for the mere pleasure of ridding my life of an annoyance?"
"Well, you never know. Lot of strange—and stupid—people in the world these days."
"What are you saying? That you think I'm stupid? And strange?"
"Well, you aren't exactly the epitome of normal, if that's what you're asking."
"And you think I'm stupid, too."
"I never said that."
"But you thought it."
"How would you know?"
"I can read it in your face."
"Oh, so now you're an expert in human thoughts and emotions?"
I may have gone a step too far on that one. Her eyes flickered with an emotion that could only be described as regretful hurt, and she turned her head towards the other man that I realized was in the room, witnessing, in fascination, our conversation.
"What are you staring at?" she asked the man harshly.
"N-nothing, Captain."
"You sure?"
The man hesitated before answering. "I was just wondering why you would allow such a low-life to speak to you in such a rude manner, Captain."
Her face softened a fraction. "That's a good question. I'm afraid I don't have an answer for you. You've finished setting our course, right?" The man nodded hastily. "Go back and take over the helm, then."
"Aye, Captain."
This guy seemed like a bit of a kiss-up. He rushed out of the room—the captain's quarters—and didn't even look back. He acted as if this woman scared him to death. What was so scary about her?
She turned her attention back to me. She looked me over and stood, smoothing out her pants where they had bunched-up on her thighs. I watched her. I looked her up and down again, getting a closer look than I had yesterday—was it yesterday? How long had I been out?
As I studied her, I noticed how beautiful she really was; even though she was a pirate, her skin was smooth and creamy, instead of rough and sun-damaged. Her hair had a soft curl to it, rather than a messy, wind-blown frizz. She looked at me then, and I didn't realize I was just staring at her almost angelic face. I must not have noticed the beauty through all the crazy.
"What?"
"Nothing. How long was I out for?"
"Not that long. When I found you on the floor, the blood was still wet, so you couldn't have been knocked out for more than an hour or two. That was about four this morning and it's nearly sunset now…"
"Oh."
"Why do you talk to me like you do, anyway?"
I smiled, hoping it looked mocking. "What, did I hurt your feelings?"
She glared. "No. I just thought that you would treat your new captain with a little respect, or at least have the decency not to insult me after I helped you."
"Well, that's how I was raised."
"What? To be an ass?"
"No. Not to let other people condescend me."
"I'm gonna stick with my own theory, since they're pretty much the same thing."
"No, they aren't."
"Yes, they are."
"Nope. They're very different. Your theory entails that I do it on purpose. My theory—the truth—doesn't necessarily mean I have to be an ass."
"Then what are you? You certainly aren't a saint."
"Never said I was. I don't know what that makes me."
She looked at me, her hand coming to her chin in thoughtfulness and her head tilting slightly to the side. A rather cute pose on her…
"I think it makes you…guarded."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You don't show anyone what you really feel. You put up this wall and no one can get over it, no matter how hard they try."
"What are you, a psychiatrist-gone-bad?"
"No. I told you, I'm good at this sort of thing."
"What if someone doesn't want to know what's wrong with them?" I asked bitterly.
She let her hand go limp to her side and straightened up. "I never said that it was a defect. I just said that you don't let anyone see how you really feel about things."
"Keh."
"I've had just about enough of your rudeness. You asked me."
"Actually, you asked me and I told you I didn't know. Then you told me what you thought. Never did I ask you."
"Get out of my bed."
I smiled. Oh, all the things I could—wanted—to say.
She raised her eyebrows in a warning, so I reluctantly kept my mouth shut. I stood up, but everything got blurry and I felt dizzy, so I fell back down clumsily onto her bed. She shook her head, at first trying to hide her laughter, but then giving up and letting it bubble out of her mouth.
I smiled sheepishly as I listened to her pleasant laugh, its sound more beautiful than any other I'd ever heard. When she contained herself, she held out a hand and I took it.
I cherished the short time I was able to touch her velvety skin as she gripped my hand and helped me stand steadily. I towered over her, the top of her head only coming up to my chin. I could smell her, too. A sweet, almost flowery scent. That, I didn't expect, what with her she-devil personality.
Well, that's not entirely true. She isn't as bad as I thought.
"Now, go out and talk to the man at the helm. He'll give you your instructions."
"What, that guy that was in here before? The little wimp?"
"Be nice."
"Be nice," I mimicked. She pushed me towards the door.
"I mean it. Any rudeness that I hear about and you'll have the wonderful duty of cleaning out the bilges every day."
"Yes, ma'am."
"It's 'Captain.' Remember?"
"Ah, yes. Captain. Kagome, I prefer."
"It's not a choice."
"What a shame, Kagome. Such a pretty name," I teased.
"Well…what was it? Jackass?"
"Inuyasha."
"Right. Jackass. Get out and go to work. It will be a long five years, if you keep this up."
"Later, Kagome."
"Captain. Cap-tain. Get it through your thick head!" I was laughing as I left her cabin, blinking as I stepped out and the familiar smell of the salty, sea air invaded my senses. I inhaled deeply, relishing in the scent that I'd grown to love.
