THE PIRATE SONG

Fifteen men on a dead man's chest

It was her nose that woke up first. One might think that the sweet smell of fresh baked croissants with marmalade and hot café that merchants started to supply Europe with would be the first thing in the morning that would wake up your senses; however, it was not morning and it certainly did not smell of breakfast.

Her nose sniffed around while she was in the stage of waking up and almost a microsecond after that she made a face of disgust.

It stunk horribly.

It was as if one would be surrounded by human liquids or trapped in an overused toilet. Oh, wait. She had a better explanation. It was as if the world forgot what a toilet is and people would be emptying their bodies by just … emptying it anywhere. God… People would not do that nowadays, would they? Toilets exist a couple of thousand years already; people would not just forget about them, would they? Gaaah… She knew she got spoiled. She almost forgot that like 8/9 of people in the world did not have a toilet. Ts… Royalty… She lived there for far too long already. They almost made her forget reality.

Apropos, reality…

Was that… salt … or something … that she smelled?

It was too familiar. The smell that is.

Her nose had to be full of it years ago – and she really was not able to forget about that stinky agony. But at least she had not been alone, back then.

Was she even alone right now? A strange feeling made her think that she was not. Actually, she knew she was not alone. She just hoped it was not Quinn with her. Then this would certainly not be just a dejavu.

Rachel sighed and woke up completely. She did not open her eyes because she wanted to make the other person think that she was still sleeping. She used her other senses to provide information about the situation she was in.

Yes…

She was kidnapped…

That, she is aware of.

Now, where is she and who are the people who kidnapped her?

Alright, her wrists and ankles are tied up and a stinky peace of clothe is stuffed into her mouth. She is lying on something soft; not that soft of course because she knew that what she was lying on was far from being soft, but someone put a pillow under her head so she will not complain. It was most probably a bed that she was lying on, but everything around her was moving. Now, how to understand her statement. About the moving part, she means. You know the feeling when you drink too much of alcohol and it feels like everything around you is spinning and moving and all in all not standing still? Well, that is how she was feeling right now.

Except she was not drunk and it was certainly not just a feeling that everything was moving. It really was moving. From left to right, like there was something that was hitting s ship on the s-

Wait.

Is that- is that the sound of waives? Is she on a ship? Well that would certainly explain the salt she was smelling and tasting all around her.

Now, listening a bit more carefully, there were many sounds coming from somewhere above her. Calls of orders, singing and roars of laughter. And the song- was that-

Fifteen men on a dead man's chest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.Oh blimly.

Pirates?

That cannot be true!

Drink and the devil had done for the rest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

Oh no… Oh no no no no no no no… These people cannot be pirates! Someone is just singing that song! There is no purpose behind it! There is n-

''Hahahahahaha! Ya sin' like a bitch, paaal!''

She heard a loud and hoarse voice from somewhere above and flinched at the sound of even more laughing.

Yes…

These people are certainly pirates…

She had a huge problem. If her statement was true, that means she is on a pirate ship, which again means she is on the sea. Most probably in the middle of nowhere. She really had a huge problem. And it was not even that that made her nervous and frightened. It was something else. Or rather someone else.

There was someone in the room, or wherever she was. It was most probably a cabin in the ship, regarding the squeaking sounds of wood and steps echoing through the ceiling above her head. Yessss… Most probably a cabin.

She could feel the presence and hear the gentle breathing. She had to start moving or else she will never find out. If they wanted her dead, she would have already been.

So they wanted something from her.

''Hahahaha! More rum!'' someone called from above and Rachel suddenly opened her eyes.

And came eye to eye with someone else.

She tried to gasp in surprise but the cloth in her mouth made it impossible to even move her lips. There was a person sitting few meters in front of her, his eyes boring into hers, making her feel like a caged animal.

Rachel blinked a couple of times, trying to focus again.

Where was she?

It was a dark room. A small, dark, wooden room, with only one window at her right. She was lying on a bed, which was most probably not even clean, and her wrists and ankles were tied together with an uncomfortable rope. It hurt, now that she thought about it.

The small room had a table on her right, the three-legged chair in front of it looked like it was about to fall apart. There was one more chair in front of the bed. The person – a man was sitting on it, leaning on the wall behind him, eating an apple and watching her with interest in his eyes.

He had dirty clothes on; a shirt that used to be white, a weird black jacket and what seemed like leather pants. He most probably had heavy boots or even a wooden stick instead of a leg – because he was a pirate.

He was the captain.

His captain hat proved enough. Luckily, he still had both eyes and both hands. But she could not really see the whole picture because the room was still dark, illuminated with a small candle on the table and her brain was still not focused enough to realize what was happening.

''Had a nice nap?'' his deep coarse voice brought her out of her thoughts. He chewed on his apple for a moment, before he gulped it down whole, kernel and all. He did not look away from her; his eyes made her freeze, not able to move a single muscle in her body.

He was a pirate! A bloody, murderous pirate! He might kill her!

He rubbed his nose and sat a little more comfortable, smirking her way. Bastard.

''So… Miss… Whoever you are… It seems like my men brought you as a souvenir.''

Souvenir my ass! They kidnapped her intentionally! She was not stupid!

''What was that?'' he asked her slyly, smirking even wider. He noticed her widened eyes and the anger behind them and enjoyed the rage that she was unable to let out. He slowly got up and wathed the anger turn into fear, then horror when he stepped forward. She thought she was about to die.

He really did have those heavy boots she was thinking about a couple of seconds before and they actually echoed through the room with each slow step. He stopped right in front of the bed, looking at her with domineering eyes – it was not patronizing, it was authoritative – he knew that he was stronger than she was and he knew he could do whatever he wanted with her, but it seemed like he did not think she was less worthy than he was. She felt strange, realizing that.

Still, his look made her want to dig a hole and hide in it. She was still lying on her side, her arms above her head and her legs slightly pulled up to her stomach, but her head was turned towards him. She made an effort to turn her body into his direction, and after a few moments she rolled at her back, facing the stranger completely.

She immediately regretted it because now his eyes swallowed her body as a whole. He slowly mustered her from her toes to her eyes and laughed under his breath when he noticed her slightly red cheeks. She was so angry. She wanted to grab something sharp and cut his throat if it meant that his laugh would vanish.

But then he started to pace around the room, his slow and heavy steps making her feel uneasy.

''You know miss…'' he looked out of the window for a moment and turned to her again. ''I'm gonna be honest here – you're the wrong person.'' He stated and came closer. Rachel blinked at him in confusion and tried to spit out that disgusting material in her mouth.

''My men mistook you for someone else and brought you here.'' He concluded and stepped to the bed. Rachel felt fear in her chest again when his hand suddenly reached in her direction, but sighed in relief when he pulled out that thing from her mouth. She could finally breath normally – and speak if she wanted to.

She wanted to tell him that they should let her go if she was the wrong person on board, but-

''And frankly, I don't care about it anymore cuz' I knew that those dogs are too stupid to do anything right, so in case you wanted to negotiate your way out of here, I'm telling you now that you can forget about it.'' He calmly stated and watched the hope in her eyes disappear into nothing.

Her heart began to race when he stopped talking. She would have to stay here. She would have to stay here! She quickly looked up and cried out in pain. Her chest and her heart hurt and her hormones gave her fear way to come up.

''No need to cry lady.'' He sighed and looked more annoyed than concerned. ''We'll have good use of ya.'' He smirked and laughed when she flinched. He leaned closer and sniffed at her hair.

''You're quite a beauty.'' He told her with his deep and hoarse voice, whispering in her ear and freeing her ankles. He let the rope fall and slide down the bed like a snake and watched the girl drown in her angst.

When he touched her arms and started to loosen the rope there, she felt several things at the same time.

It was pure panic. And angst. And agony.

She was trembling like a leaf on water and her breathing was erratic and fast. She pressed her eyes together, not knowing if that what was about to come was for her to see or not. She would be raped by a bloody pirate! She never imagined that something like that would happen to her. She finally found a safe home for herself and Quinn and years later, she is thrown into this again.

The captain watched the girl fidget under his touches. He smiled to himself. A maid. So helpless and so frightened. She might be even innocent, judging from her youth and slim figure. He did not do anything to her yet and she was practically crying like a new-born infant.

He freed her hands and she still lied there in the same position.

Then she opened her wild eyes.

And screamed.

It was a scream of pure hatred. She jumped up and pushed him away, making him stumble back and hit the wall. She was like an animal, fighting for her life and running in order to claim time. She jumped off the bed, threw the heavy wooden door open and ran out as fast as she could. To hell with her swollen limbs, she had to escape!

''Bloody hell!'' the captain screamed and ran after her.

Rachel could hear his heavy and fast steps behind her and tried to run faster. The corridor through the inside of the ship was narrow and dark, but thankfully short, because she soon hit a huge wooden door with her hands and pushed wide it open.

The almost drunken crew, who was singing under the stars looked up in surprise when a hysteric girl jumped through the captains door and literally flew past them and grabbed the rope of the hammock on the side of the ship. She did not come anywhere far after that because several strong arms grabbed her, pulled her down and she screamed and kicked and did everything just to get away. There was no sign of fear anymore.

The captain, who finally reached his crew, was surprised. The girl was feisty and strong. She was a fighter for life – servants usually never fought for anything; they asked or begged. No biting and snarling.

But here she was.

Like a crazy lioness fighting for her survival.

Has she actually been afraid at all?

Did she plan her escape?

Did she play the innocent girl, so he would free her?

The damn actress.

He smirked and whistled loudly, making the wild crowd calm down.

''Settle down, men! You three! Hold her arms!''

''Let me go! Let me go!'' Rachel yelled, barking at anyone who came too near her face. It looked even like she was about to bite off everyone's heads if they let her go.

''Men! This is the girl you kidnapped. The wrong one, as I already established.'' He sharply looked at five men who had huge bumps and swellings over their face as a punishment for their mistake.

''I think she's a maid an-''

''I'm the master maid! I have a high position in the hierarchy of the society in our town! I will not allow you to violate me or anything near that! I demand respect! And I want you to let go of me this instant!'' the brave girl screeched loudly, making everyone flinch. When they turned their heads towards her, they laughed in her face.

''Oh…'' the captain laughed. ''Someone has courage.'' He laughed again and the crew with him.

''I said I dema-'' she abruptly shut her mouth when a sharp sword was pointed at her throat.

''Listen here, missy…'' started the captain in annoyance and threat in his voice.

''You cannot demand anything. You are alone and without your important society who might help you. If you want my sword to miss your pretty neck, you will shut your mouth and do as I say.'' He told her patronizingly and stepped closer, pushing his face right in front of hers. ''Am I clear.''

Rachel took a deep breath, looking straight at the men's green eyes. She could have been afraid of him, but- ''I went through a lot worse things that you, a bloody pirate, can imagine.'' She hissed, loud enough for everyone to hear. ''I'm not afraid of death. If you want to kill me, then do it. I know what pain is and I know how tantalisation looks like. I saw worse things than you creatures ever will. So do not give me this nonsense of doing as you say. Because I will not!''

They stared at each other threatingly, without averting their eyes. The crew around them grew silent and patiently waited for the girl's next step. However, it was the captain who leaned back first and burst out laughing. He put his sword back into its place on his belt and stepped away. The crew soon joined his laughter, unsure of what was so funny.

''Miss…'' the captain finally composed himself and smirked at her. ''What's your name?''

Rachel blinked at him in confusion, but quickly fixed him with a suspicious stare. ''Why should I tell you?''

''We will negotiate.'' Was his simple answer.

''Why? You told me no, a minute ago.''

''People like you are rare. And why not make the both of us happy. You help us, we help you.''

''You cannot help me! I want to go back!''

''Missy… You know we can't do that. So accept it or we will just let you go…here…in the middle of nowhere.''

Rachel stared at him with wide eyes, her mind thinking over her possibilities.

''How do I know that this is not trick?''

''Have you ever heard about Puck?''

''You mean the pirate ship Puck? The one, famous for bloody adventures and gold-hunting pirates who let women and children survive their attacks?''

''…That one, yes. You know quite a lot.''

''Of course I do.'' She opened her mouth to say something else, but closed it again.

The captain watched her with interest in his eyes. There was more to her that she was giving away. ''Welcome one the pirate ship Puck, missy, whatever your name is.''

Rachel gasped and looked around, pirate arms loosening their grip. ''You cannot be serious! I heard Puck was seen near the new land!''

''We were. But we are back.'' He told her and theatrically took off his captain hat. ''I'm Captain Noah Puckerman. And this is my crew and my ship Puck.''

This cannot be true, she thought. She looked him up and down, as if trying to find something that would convince her he is lying. But the longer she stared the wider her eyes got. Her breath hitched and she took a loud gulp of saliva, her eyes blinking in surprise and her hand reaching her cheek, putting it there in confusion.

''It is you…'' she whispered to herself and took in the captain's man figure. His muscled arms, his big hands, his unshaved face and his dark green eyes. The captain hat on his head and the leather pants with black heavy boots made it even more obvious that he was an important man.

''Missy, I'm quite pleased that your eyes are glued to my body, but I have other things to do.'' He laughed at her blushing face. ''So, the deal is th-''

''There is no deal!''

''-at we keep you here until the purpose of this journey is done and then you can go back.''

''I know that by that you mean that you will leave me somewhere and I'm supposed to find my way back by myself!''

''…Do we have a deal?''

''If it is your ship and your crew that will bring me back to the port Southampton. And I mean to the land and not a few miles away from the port. I am capable to swim but I don't believe I'm in shape for long distances.''

There was amused silence for a couple of moments before the whole crew exploded in laughing and shrieking with defeat. Rachel blinked at the men in confusion and huffed in annoyance.

''Aye aye, missy. We'll bring you back.'' Said the captain and nudged her in the ribs. Then he finally walked away and took over the ruder. Rachel watched him go and sighed in defeat. If she is going to stay here, she might as well get used to everything.

''So…'' one of them men that surrounded her started and made her come back from her daydreaming. She looked at the crew who had nothing else to do than watching her female beauties and wishing to have her. Rachel noticed the one who spoke up. He was a young looking man with dirty blonde hair and a goofy smile on his face, making him look adorable and sweet – if it was not for the scar on his left cheek that made her remember he was a pirate too. And she knew that man, that boy actually, as well as she knew the captain.

But they did not know her. Which is why they were dangerous.

''It's been a long time since we had a woman on board.'' He started again, licking his lips and taking a step towards her. Rachel backed off and raised her arms in protection.

''I will ask you to back off, gentlemen.'' She started seriously and munched at her lower lip for a second, thinking of what was a wise thing to say. ''I'm not married, which means I'm still untouched and before I commit myself to a man – and I repeat, a man, not men - I want to make a career.'' She huffed again, crossing her arms. ''Of course before that happens I have to escape from the royal families and – well – you, but I'm determined to succeed, so I demand that you stop even thinking about more than talking to me.'' She told them with a serious and strict voice as if a mother would talk to her children.

They all looked at her and then at each other and broke into hysteric laughing again. The shrieks they brought out while crying in laughter almost resembled those of a woman, but nevertheless, they tried to be as indiscreet about making fun of her as possible.

''Excuse me. Why in the world are you pirates laughing?'' Rachel asked irritated.

The blonde man, whose face was quite dirty but whose smile was as white as a star, threw his arm around Rachel while still laughing and pulled her nearer: ''Gentlemen-'' he mocked her. ''I really like this Missy. She's funny and talkative. I want her in.'' He told everyone and pulled her down…to sit.

They all suddenly sat down and from nowhere someone pulled a few bottles of rum. Rachel could have not been more confused as she was already. One moment the men held her like a hostage and the other, she sits with them on the, she noticed that it was quite dirty, wooden floor and had a bottle of rum in her hand. She did not drink a drop of it because obviously she could not trust these men to not do something to her if she was intoxicated. She knew she was not a beauty, but she was a woman. And being surrounded by a horde of horny men was not a funny matter.

''Drink, missy, drink!'' they encouraged her and Rachel just lifted the bottle in pledge as a sign she was co-operating and the gesture seemed to be a sign for a drunken concert of awful pirate singing, which she could only laugh at.

Way-hay, up she rises

Way-hay, up she rises

Way-hay, up she rises

Early in the morning…

What the hell did she got herself in to?