Being locked away was something Annie had never imagined that she would experience. It was roles reversal of sorts, she was always the one locking offenders away, not her being locked up by one - at least she didn't shove them away and bound their wrists with old shackles, they had the decency to provide decent ones unlike the crew on this ship, they were unpleasant and uncomfortable; her wrists bound tightly, the skin underneath going red and sore as she tried to pry her arms apart, frustrated and unsure at where to start. Her uncle had been shot, she knew that, she hated Finnick Odair more than anyone could possibly imagine, and thankfully she still had a knife tucked into her belt - that would come in handy when she was set 'free'. Not that she would actually be free, she was trapped on a ship in the middle of no where with her family most likely assuming that she was dead and that was what she cared about most, she wanted them to know that she was alive and unhurt, apart from the scratches which she assumed she had on her back from the sharp prod-dings the man had made to get her into the cell, but she was alive. And that was all that mattered.
But now she had to think of a plan, would she win them over by becoming friendly with them and persuade them to let her go? Or would she fight her way off, with only a small blade, with little chance of success? Even so, her thoughts were cut off at the sound of creaking wood as somebody made their way down the set of stairs that led to her cell.
Finnick swayed down the steps to the cells - it being relatively clean, surprisingly, his ship was rarely so but after their stop in Italy, his grandmother had made him clean the ship head to toe: after all, she was the only one he listened and took orders from, everyone else he turned a blind eye too. He had grown up around women and respected them more than the average man, especially those who had brought him up, which, was just Mags - his grandmother. But he stopped as he arrived in front of the woman's cell, looking over her as she struggled to unchain her wrists, cocking an eyebrow upwards at her struggles.
"You'll just tire yourself, you won't undo them. Nobody ever has," He told her simply, but did admire her determination: still shocked that a woman was allowed to be a guard in the first place. It was practically unheard of, wasn't it? Since when did the King relax his laws? Especially not for a commoner, not really knowing who this woman was.
"I'm not everybody... as you can see," She told him, pulling sharply against them and smirking when they broke, grinning at him then and holding up her hands, "I wouldn't prejudge me, Finnick." And that was what she decided that that was all she would say, she would tell him no more, refuse to share her name, the more she gave the closer she would become to them: she had a habit of that. She would always get to know her prisoners, pretty much learn their life story and watch them be beheaded. Oh the upsides of being a guard...
He looked to her, surprised at that, "Well you've just proven me wrong. Maybe you will be some use, what's your name?"
She shook her head, she refused to tell him.
"Cat got your tongue? What's your name, princess? Or is that your name? I can happily refer to you as that." He shrugged simply then, leaning to his left and reaching into a large crate, pulling out an apple and taking a bite. It was refreshing to say the least, fruit only kept for a few days, a week at most, and they were running out: usually living off drink and old meat along with stale bread whilst they sailed for a longer duration. "Want some?" He asked after taking a bite, offering it through the bars.
She shook her head again, what was the point? She wasn't going to get friendly with him or take his bribes, even if it was just an apple. She just wished to be home, safe within the walls of the castle or within the stables, with her horse and her brother, or even her father: he sometimes ventured downstairs and to the back, not that her mother was happy about that. She disagreed with her having a horse altogether: 'nasty, unpredictable creatures, you won't be able to control one.' Was what she used to get, which of course she went against, again, her uncle having taken her to a market one day where she was allowed to pick out a foal - which she did, a grey dappled mare with a wild attitude to the thrill of her mother. And there she was again, off in her own little world and disturbed by a confused Finnick clicking his fingers in her direction.
"Princess? You there? I think you've lost me." He said calmly, frowning somewhat and sighing in relief when she blinked, Annie then shaking her head and looking to him. She had a habit of that, her friends would always call her out for it and laugh, she would end up doing the same but it had become less of a habit now. Again however, she refused to speak.
Finnick gave up with a shrug then, "Well, I won't be letting you out anytime soon if you can't find your voice. I'll send Carl down later with food, don't want you starvin', do we? I do have some manners." He said with a boyish grin and with that, and another bite from his apple, he wandered back up the stairs and to the upper deck - looking out over the empty-sea once more. He wasn't quite sure on what to think of her just yet: after all, he couldn't exactly make an opinion of her if she refused to speak, or he could, but he liked to base his opinions on how they spoke and what they said, not their actions - unlike most, but he was like that. Even so, he was intrigued by the woman, questions running rampant in his mind. How did she become a guard? Why was she pretty much in tears at the Captain dying? Okay, maybe that was a little harsh of him but it had to be done, otherwise he wouldn't be standing here now.
"Finnick!" Another voice emerged, from the dark haired woman named Embla. "There's nobody else, there's no ships, the horizons clear." She informed him to his relief, a smile cracking at his lips then.
"Very well, then we can get a move on. To Port Dynasty next?" It was a favourite amongst all the pirating crews, it was just that elsewhere. Little law was enforced and they were to free to trade, drink, and other unnameable things.
Embla's face lit up at that, but soon another thought came to mind: "And the girl?"
He shrugged, "We have a month until we reach it, we'll stop along the way and consider what we want to do with her."
"You seriously can't have a sweet spot with her already." She grumbled then, he was never soft on those he captured. "You normally either throw them off the side of the ship or shoot them, not give them time to accustom themselves on board." She added.
He scoffed, was she getting jealous? All he had done was spoke to the girl, it wasn't like he had done anything else, "Of course not. Have you seen her? She's full of herself-"
"Like you. It doesn't ring any bells?" She smirked then, looking to him which received an eye roll off Finnick.
"Yeah, yeah... say what you want. You won't be saying that tonight though when I refuse to let you in my bed."
She frowned, "No? Then I guess you'll be missing your bed warmer then."
"You know I think of you as more than that. You're good company." He chuckled.
"Sure, whatever you say." And with that and a wave of her hand she went off to go find another member of the crew to tell them where they were heading - word always spread quickly on-board, your secret was everybody's secret: which kind of defies the point of the secret, but nevertheless, everyone knew everything about everybody - you just had to accept it.
It was later that evening when the sun was setting - the sun painting the sky in an array of oranges and reds, pinks and yellows - not that Annie could see that - when company emerged once more. Her eyes flittered upwards in his direction, a tall, broad shouldered man of dark skin, but with a friendly set of eyes that had seen far to much bad in the world. Even so, he had chosen to sail and had done for twenty years now. Carl, was his name, one of the most senior of Finnick's crew and one of his most loyal, even though he did always make it a habit to treat who they captured well, despite what they had done.
"I see we have a new addition. Carl, is the name. It's nice to make your acquaintance." He said, rather politely for a pirate which came at a shock to her, even though she did assume that he was putting it on. From what she had heard and seen all of them were as bad as each other, wanting nothing more than riches and fame: which arguably the Black Pearl's crew had gotten, but not in a good light.
At her consideration, she decided to keep quiet, as she had done before, refusing to become like them - she didn't want to fit in or certainly get to know them.
"I see that you're not much of a speaker, Finnick told me that. But I was wondering if you would like to help in the kitchen tonight? Get to know a few faces."
Again, she remained silent, watching him. She wasn't going to work for them! Not after what they had done.
"Well," He sighed, "You have to help. On Captains orders, he wants to get some type of use out of you before he decides what to do. But don't worry, I wont harm you. All I do is cook." He said light-heartedly, he didn't mean anything bad - he rarely did - arguably having the kindest heart out of everybody on the ship, but Dan, he was arguably the sweetest.
Annie frowned at that, since when did she take orders? Yet, she did reluctantly stand, huffing as she did so and grumbling under her breath. Cooking? Who did they think she was? She found no need to cook at home and rarely did, surely she sometimes baked, but cooking? Never. They had their own kitchen staff at home, cooking them the finest of meals on clean plates - all of this being far from what she expected to receive on here, that was if she would receive any food, anyway. Not that she would take it: she would be betraying her family, her name, if she did that - it would be a sign of giving in.
Thank you for reading so far, and the reviews, they mean a lot! Finnick and Annie won't get close right away (which you can probably imagine, after all, he did shoot her Uncle...), but who knows, we'll see what happens ;)
