If Only Love Were Fair

Chapter 9

The Rika

"Nathan..." I was still up against the wall, him pushing himself gently against me.

He blocked my words with his lips, still rubbing my side with one hand and cupping my cheek with the other. I was not as scared as I was in Winchester. Those men were a lot more violent, throwing me on tables or pushing me to the ground. Nathan was sweeter, and I could tell he was trying to respect me. He tried to move me somewhere else, but his hip hit the sink.

"I think we should move somewhere else for this." He smirked and grabbed my hand.

He opened the door and peaked his head out, then took me with him as we headed for his cabin. We tried to be quiet, tiptoeing to his door while peaking before continuing. We finally reached it. He gave me a slight push inside, then closed the door. He immediately grabbed me and pushed his lips against mine. I could feel his fingers gripping onto my dress. I put my hands on his, giving him the sign that I wasn't ready for that. He let me know he understood by planting a small kiss on my cheek. I blushed (more than I have been) and continued to kiss him. He laid me down on the bed, careful not to disturb my wounds. Now, his hands moved to my hips. He gave me small kisses on my chest. I giggled, and he looked up at me, his brown eyes surfacing and giving me goosebumps. He was now blowing slightly on my stomach, tickling me. I giggled even more. He looked back up at me, putting his hands on the bottom of my dress. He slowly raised it to just below my breasts, and then blew on my bare stomach. This tickled me even more. I tried to quiet down my laughter, in case anyone walking by got suspicious. He lowered my dress again, then moved beside me. He grabbed our new blanket and moved it over us. His arms surrounded me, creating a barrier to protect me. I put my head on his chest, exhaling softly. He stroked my neck with the back of his hand. I felt relaxed and loved.

"Bang!"

"Um...what was that?" I sat up.

"Gunfire..." Nathan sat up, too, and helped me off the bed. "Stay in the closet." He rushed out of the room.

Speechless, I quickly went over to the closet and closed the door, squeezing myself behind the hung up shirts. I heard more gunshots. I thought about what could happen to Nathan and my shipmates. What was going on? Who was shooting?

The door opened.

"Nathan?"

Not Nathan. This man had long black hair and a large hat on. He must be a captain...to a rival ship! I tried to back up, but the wall was already against my back.

"Well, what do we have here?" He smirked and pulled me out of the closet.

I pushed him away and tripped on to the bed.

"Clumsy one, hm?"

"Don't touch me!" I backed up the farthest I could on the bed.

He only laughed. "I had no idea Morgan kept a wench on the ship."

"Camellia!" Nathan bursted in, tackling the man. "Don't you touch her!"

Another man came in. He wore a bandanna and had a chest-revealing shirt. He grabbed me while Nathan was fighting the other captain.

"No! Let me go!" I struggled against him. He pulled out a sword and held it up against my neck. I shrieked.

Nathan looked up at me and tried to help, but the man that was fighting him held him down. The tips of our fingers touch briefly as the man pulled me out of the room.

"No!" I screamed. Two more men came into the hall and helped the man. One of them threw me over their shoulder. "Let go of me! Let go!" I screamed over and over.

We were soon on the deck, where intense fighting took place. I saw my shipmates fighting. They all looked up and saw me being kidnapped. Russell finished off the guy he was fighting and came to help me. He grabbed both of my hands and pulled me off of the man's shoulder. I fell on his chest. I gave him a brief thank you before he let me escape.

"Go to the kitchen and hide in the pantry." He whispered to me.

I nodded and ran as fast as I could to the pantry. A couple men tried to grab me, but I escaped their grasp and kept going. I wanted so badly to help Nathan, but I knew if I interfered, I would be kidnapped again. So, I just kept going. Once I reached the pantry, I closed the large door and hid behind bags of potatoes. I could feel tear drops running down my cheeks. I wanted Nathan with me. I needed him. What if he needed me? I couldn't imagine life without him.

"Camellia? Where are you?" Nathan's voice.

I quickly got up and pushed the door open. Nathan's shirt was ripped and he had a little blood on his mouth. I ran up to him and hugged him. He hugged me back and looked in my eyes. "Alan is after you. You need to keep hiding."

"Alan?"

"The captain of the other ship. The Rika."

I felt tears again. He wiped them away and pushed me back into the pantry.

"Are you staying with me?" I asked.

"If I do that, they'll suspect something. I need to help fight. But I'll be back." He leaned in and gave me a soft kiss before leaving to the deck.

I hid behind the potatoes again, scared and alone. I didn't know how to pass the time by. I was too busy worrying. Worrying about Nathan, and all of my shipmates. Nathan told me that we always beat them...but what if we don't? What if they kill one of us...? What if they get me?

I laid down and spread my legs out. I was tired and wanted to rest. It wasn't easy, but I told myself that I needed to save my energy. It wasn't long before I had my eyes closed and I was about to dream.

I could hear footsteps. I froze and opened my eyes.

"Where is she!?" I didn't recognize the voice.

"Maybe she's in here..." Another voice.

The pantry door opened. I screamed and started throwing potatoes at them. I hit one in the eye. They backed up, yelling, and then came up to me. He was wearing that same bandanna and shirt. He was angry, violently angry. He grabbed my arm and yanked me to the open floor. He leaned down and smacked my face, hard. He grabbed the sleeves of my shirt and pulled me to sit up.

"You little bitch!" He threw me to the side. I shrieked and my body hit the hard, wooden floor.

"Please...don't hurt me!" I managed to say.

"Shut up, bitch!" He slapped me again. "Take her before I murder her."

The other man took me into his arms. Not over his shoulder, but in his arms. I was weak again, not able to move. I closed my eyes in pain. The cut on my leg felt like it was throbbing. I was terrified, not knowing what was going to happen to me. We reached the deck again, the sun in my eyes. I opened them a little, seeing some of my mates being overpowered. There were several men fighting them. I looked at Nathan. He was fighting back, hard. He looked over at me, and began running toward me. I still couldn't move. I was feeling dizzy. He was overpowered by a few men. He yelled out to me. I wanted to escape...

Alan soon came into my view. I was passed over to him. He smirked down at me. "Finally, I've got you." He quickly made his way to the second ship. I closed my eyes again, about to cry.

"Let's go, men!" He yelled out.

The ship started to move away from the Sirius. Soon, all of his men were boarded. He set me down on the deck floor. I was pretty much passed out, but I was still conscious. The man who almost beat me walked over to where I was.

"Looks like you can't hide now." He knelled down in front of me. "We're going to have some fun."