Chapter 2: My Pain, Your Thrill
Your cruel device,
Your blood, like ice,
One look could kill,
My pain,
Your thrill...
What is he going to do to her?
To follow him through the dark corridors is a torture already.
Everything she ever wanted, all she ever battled for... All of it is left behind, with each step she takes. Each echoing footstep is a brick on the wall of her failure, and right now, there is no turning back.
No turning back, at least not while a hardened, angry pirate is holding her arm tightly and dragging her along. His fingers are like steel, a silent warning of what's to come once they're behind closed doors.
More than once, she considers an escape. Every single time they turn a corner, every single time she sees a torch on the wall.
It would be relatively easy; burning his eyes and breaking free... But what chance would she stand? The men would be on her in no time, there's no guarantee she'd be able to find a way out...
And even if she did, what exactly is waiting for her out there, if she leaves this place without the girl?
She failed. Now what?
She failed.
Her blood feels like ice in her veins as he shoves her inside the room, before locking the door behind them.
She was expecting yells of rage. Accusing words, filled with hatred. Maybe even a few threats, although she knows he would never find the courage to hurt her.
But then he sits on the edge of the bed, his face a cold mask, and there's nothing.
The fireplace crackles and she stands there, a few feet away from the door, watching him as painfully long minutes drag by. If only she could know what's going on inside his mind...
She wishes he would just say something-
When he gets to his feet, all of a sudden, she actually flinches.
"Let me see your hand."
"It's not-"
A hiss of pain escapes her lips when he grabs her wrist, pulling it closer to his face harshly.
There's dried blood all over her palm, and now that the adrenaline is gone from her system, the wound hurts like a bitch. It only gets worse when he pours some rum over it, but he doesn't seem to give a damn.
If anything, he probably takes dark pleasure in making her pain worse.
Once satisfied that the wound is clean enough, he begins to search around the room. His eyes soon settle on the blanket and he unceremoniously uses one of his blades to cut a strip of the fabric. Her eyes watch him closely as he dresses her wound, wrapping the cloth snugly around her hand.
The pain is still pretty bad, but at least now she knows the injury has better chances of healing.
Then it hits her.
She was about to betray him, the biggest, most serious betrayal she can imagine, and he's just cared for her wound.
Still, he was so cold and distant while doing it. It's as if he's having a tough time processing what almost took place in this fort tonight. His eyes are unreadable as he paces around the room, lost in thought.
He's trying to decide what to do with her.
And she won't sit quietly, waiting for him to do so.
She's at his mercy, and whether she likes it or not, she needs to find a way to make herself useful to him. The engines are already turning in her brain as she thinks about the unexpected turn of events, trying to come up with new solutions.
"You should leave now." Her voice echoes through the room, causing the sounds of his footsteps to cease immediately. "To Charles Town."
His scoff is filled with contempt, perhaps even disgust. It brings a scowl to her face.
"And hand this place to him on a silver platter?"
"I heard their conversation. Just before I left. That girl is too important. If you leave, he will go after you. It will be far more urgent than anything else. Trust me... I know him."
He doesn't look at her. His feet take him all the way to the window and he stands there, shoulders stiff, fists clenched at his sides.
After all those years, she knows he's trying to decode her, to determine whether he can trust what she's saying or not.
"I told him to give me until the morning, so... If you leave now, you will probably have at least 12 hours to your advantage, before he realizes what happened."
He's not convinced.
His stubbornness makes her so damn angry, but maybe she's the one who brought this on tonight.
"Stay here and you risk losing everything. He will attack, you know that. You lose this place, the girl. He takes it all. You know I'm right. You know you have no other choice, you can see that. At least if you go now, you have a chance of success... ransoming her. And each minute you stall, your likelihood to win decreases."
Her voice raises a little, and she just hopes she wasn't too aggressive. He could see it the wrong way.
She just wants him out of here...
"We're leaving, then."
For a moment, she's stunned into silence.
"What?"
"'Ransom' rings any bells?"
"No, I... 'We'?"
He slams the window shut, all of a sudden. She hardly even flinches.
"I feel shit's about to go down here. If I'm not around, who else will give a fuck about keeping you alive?"
She knows he regrets the words, as soon as they leave his mouth.
"Why do you give a fuck?"
Instead of answering her, he walks away from the window, starting to organize his stuff.
Any hint of concern for her well being is completely gone when he speaks again. "You really expected me to leave you here? So you could just run to him as soon as I set sail? Tell him about this change of plans? You think I would be that stupid?"
With a hostile look on her face, she stands there, watching as he got ready to leave.
She's not going anywhere.
She can't.
When he leaves to talk to the men, locking the door behind him, despair tries to get the best of her.
She should be back in the tavern right now, she should have been stronger. She was so resolute on seeing this through. After all those years of pain... Why did she need to have an emotional breakdown tonight? Of all times... Why did her bottled up feelings and fears choose that moment to attack?
She can't leave. God only knows what's going to happen in Charles Town.
If he goes down, he will be taking her with him, and she just can't allow that.
Rushing over to the window and opening it again, she tries hard to keep her hands from trembling.
One look, and her hopes are crushed.
There's no way she can escape from here. She would surely fall to her death. Maybe if she had a rope...
There are a few around here. She could use the blanket, tie all of it together, then secure one of the ends to something-
A whine of frustration leaves her lips.
It's impossible.
In her fury, she stalks over to the door and hits the wood with both hands, only to cry out in pain as the wound on her palm reminded her of its existence.
Cradling her hand to her chest, she settles on the foot of the bed, defeated.
Defeated.
Words can't express how ashamed she is of herself right now.
When the door opens again, after what feels like a thousand years, she sees he has three men with him. She tries to take a better look at them, but he's quick to close the door.
After considering her for a few seconds, he shakes his head.
"That stunt you pulled."
Her eyes close for a moment. Her throat suddenly feels dry.
This is it; her sentence is coming.
"I knew it was a possibility but I was hoping we had shared enough... To make such a thing unthinkable."
There's a pang in her heart. She doesn't want to stop and think about what it means.
"I always knew I should be careful around you. Now I know that it will never be enough."
"Charles, I swear to God-"
"I'll keep you locked down during our time at sea."
She's too stunned to to react at first. His words cut her like a knife, and she actually thinks he's joking.
What he says next proves her wrong.
"No one will touch you, throughout the entire journey. I just can't afford to have you roaming freely around the ship."
Finally finding her voice again, she gets to her feet, her aching hand forgotten again.
"You're basically telling me... That I am your prisoner now? Nothing more than a slave?"
"Uncomfortable to swap roles?"
The acidity in his tone is unlike anything she's ever heard before.
"You'll be safe from the men. Both you and the girl. I took care of that already."
"I refuse to be transported like... In inhuman conditions-"
"You'll have food and water. Now I suggest you stop whining. You should be grateful that you're still alive right now."
She scoffs at that, stepping closer and opening her mouth to answer with a sharp remark, but he stops her.
"'I told him to give me until the morning.' Before you came here, you were plotting my demise. With him. You were willing to put an end to our story? Let me be the one to do that instead."
"By all means, go ahead!" She snaps, completely fed up by now. A daring look fills her eyes and she approaches him slowly, her chin raised high.
She's not scared of him, not in the slightest. What she felt back at the gate, that strange fear, is completely gone now.
"Go ahead! End my life right now, put a bullet through my temple. A sword through my gut. I dare you to do it."
Anyone who talked to him like this probably wouldn't live to tell the story.
Anyone else but her.
She sees as he swallows hard, raising his chin in an attempt at looking more confident. He makes no move to touch her, and the hatred in his eyes speaks volumes for him.
Finally stopping just a feet away from him, she sneers. Victorious, for now. It's better than nothing.
"It's pathetic, did you know that? So many have died for much less. Even if I had followed through with my original plan tonight, I doubt you would have put that threat of yours in motion."
"You have no fucking idea."
That voice, that look, should be enough to make grown men piss their pants and run away in fear.
She doesn't even take a single step back.
"I'm not leaving this place."
"I'm afraid you have no other choice right now." He opens the door again, the three Neanderthals she saw earlier coming inside the room immediately.
Coming towards her.
She does try to fight.
She tries to punch, to kick, but her hands are soon restrained behind her back, a gag placed in her mouth to keep her from raising alarm.
Just as the three assholes drag her out of the room, she looks over her shoulder, meeting his eyes for a second. She tries to call out for him, an angry plea, but her voice is muffled.
On the outside, he just seems awfully pleased with himself... But the faint hint of heartbreak in his eyes as he watches the scene and her despair doesn't go unnoticed by her.
"Mr. Gates turned his back on you. Don't think for a second I'll make the same mistake he did."
Often, He finds himself wondering how this is even possible. The person he once was, what would he think of his present?
What would the person he loved, once upon a time, think?
Silence drags by, his stupid musings welcoming him to a place he knows very well by now, a place that only he can visit.
A prison. And he's the only one in possession of its key.
Only half aware of Billy's presence, he also thinks about what's to come.
At first it was difficult, he had his doubts, but now he knows it's only a matter of time before she fulfills her end of the deal. Only a matter of time before she comes back from that fort, their biggest chance at success following her like a scared little puppy.
That woman... She's really something else. The things he's heard from Scott recently...
No little girl should go through what she did. She could very well have ended up broken, too broken to function, completely destroyed and unable to make anything of herself.
Look what she achieved here instead.
Whatever happens, a part of him will always admire her. A part of him will always nurture this... Pride? It's the only word he can think of, and it's silly, to say the least. He's not her father, not related to her at all, he wasn't even here during her early years.
Still, whenever he witnesses her strength, her wits, there's a twinge of a very, very unfamiliar feeling. Something warm stirring in the cold depths of his heart.
Right now, he finds himself worrying about her.
She was very clear. And he knows what she'd been planning, as he watched her leave the tavern.
Take the girl, without Vane's consent if need be. Who's to say she will succeed? What happens to her if she doesn't?
The thought shouldn't bother him this much.
And if she does succeed, what happens then?
It's painfully obvious. The way these two feel about each other. Hell, there mustn't be a single soul in this island who's not aware of the strange connection between them. And now she's about to destroy that for good.
Destroy... The things she will need to destroy, to achieve the end they all desire.
For a fleeting moment in time, Flint catches himself wondering whether he admires or despises her for making these choices.
It shouldn't matter anyway, and with a shake of his head, he returns from his private little world.
Billy is still here, for some reason. The silence between them becomes unsettling all of a sudden and he clears his throat, desperately searching his brain for something to say, anything-
"She must be terrified of me."
What the fuck?
The younger man looks from the ground to his face, frowning in confusion. "Excuse me?"
Sighing heavily, he rubs his temples. Might as well keep following that line of conversation.
"Miss Ashe. I assume she will be unwilling to trust me at first."
Frown softening, Billy shrugs to himself. "I could be completely mistaken. But the kind of girl she probably is... I think she'll just grasp any opportunity to return home with both hands, and never let go... Once she feels safe enough to do so. Try not to scare her... too much. And it should be okay."
He scoffs, getting up from the chair. Taking a peek outside, he signals for one of his men.
"Word from the tavern?"
There's a strange ball of anxiety forming in the pit of his stomach as he asks the question.
He just feels as if something's wrong, for some reason.
When the crewmember answers with a "no, captain", he forces himself to nod. His heart has started beating a little bit faster and his face must give away his emotions as he returns to his chair.
"Is there anything wrong?" Billy asks and he promptly shakes his head, doing his very best to look confident.
"No... No. Nothing at all."
Wide eyes stare back in the direction of the island, she's able to see the faint glow of torches and light coming from one of two windows in the fortress.
Each time these wild beasts plunge the oars into the dark water, she feels her heart break a little.
They're snatching her away from her home, from everything she's ever known, everything she holds dear.
And there's absolutely nothing she can do about that.
For what's probably the 100th time, Eleanor tries to free her wrists, as discreetly as she can. The rough rope only bites into her skin, making her grimace from the pain. Whatever they did, the binds only seem to get tighter and tighter every time she moves.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she looks away from the island, unable to handle the sorrow of watching as it grew more and more distant.
The teenager sitting right in front of her is in the very same situation; her hands tied behind her back, a gag keeping her from screaming.
The only difference between them, is that her cheeks are soaked with tears.
The poor thing. This child was probably trusting her with her whole heart. Believing she would get her to safety, to the comfort of a familiar face, an old friend's arms. Being so close to that, only to be yanked back into this scary situation, must be too much for her fragile mind.
Her father, Flint and herself are not the only people she's failed tonight.
A fresh wave of self-loathing washes over her, the wound on her palm mostly forgotten by now. As soon as the outline of the Fancy becomes visible, an hostile look comes to her face.
Charles is still back in the fort, for some reason. For the next hour or so, she will be alone in the ship with those savages and the child. And God help her, if any of them tries to harm them in any way, she will make them wish they were never born.
As they finally get to the ship and one of the four man reaches for the ladder, she locks eyes with Abigail, a silent promise in those blue green depths. Eleanor may have failed her tonight, but there's no way she will let her be harmed in any way. Protecting her from these bastards is the least she can do.
A brief, barely perceptible nod lets her know the teen understood her message perfectly. It makes her heart feel just a little bit lighter.
One of the men grabs her left arm and she yanks it away from him. They untie her wrists, and she's not stupid. She knows there's no way she'd be able to escape this situation, to defeat them somehow. It would only make things even worse, so she regretfully brings her hands to the rungs, starting the climb up. Her heart is drumming in her chest, she can't see a thing and her right foot slips on the rungs once or twice.
It's actually a relief when they finally step foot on the deck. And it's absolutely outraging, the way one of the men shoves her in the direction of a hatch door. She'd give them a piece of her mind, if it wasn't for the fucking gag.
Abigail wastes no time, rushing to her side, careful to stay as close to her as possible.
She takes one last, longing look in the direction of the island, wondering when or if she'd see her home again.
The only thought in her mind as two of the Neanderthals guide them below deck, is whether her father will be worried about her or not.
And deep down, she knows exactly what's the cruel, painful, truthful answer to that question.
Notes:
Took me longer than planned, but I was more focused on Empires. I promise to start giving this new baby the proper attention it needs from now on ;)
Sorry if it's kinda slow for now, things will start to pick up soon (and chapters will get longer too.)
I appreciate the reviews, keep them coming and tell me your thoughts/critics/etc, I love to interact with you guys :D If you have any requests, something you'd like to read, don't hesitate to let me know and I'll see if I can incorporate it into the story ;)
Angela Hanada: I'm forever in love with the name Caroline for Eleanor's mom so it will always be Caroline to me, glad you like it too :) It was actually one of my best friends who came up with it, so all the credit goes to her haha Oh as I said, Mary will appear in this one too, but it'll take a little while, I THINK. If she appears too soon, she won't have a significant role until later. As for Davina, I don't think I'll bring her into this. I love her a lot, but I don't know if I can squeeze her into this story line, and people might find it boring and predictable. But who knows! If the readers ask for her, I just might. For now though, no little sister for Charles this time :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Amelia: So glad to have you on board! Haha Here's the new chapter, I hope you like it, sweetie :D
Guest: Phew I'm really glad to know I'm not the only one who thought about this particular scenario :D Here's the update, chapter 62 of Empires is up too already. I hope I won't disappoint you ;)
ttayluni: Glad you're here and loving it already! And here you go, new chapter ;)