Chapter 10.
"Are you ready to begin, Princess?"
She startled violently, jerking hard away from the rails and out of the longing despair she was feeling for her son. But her step back was halted abruptly as her flinch pressed the entirety of her back up against him. At the sudden contact, she froze, trembling as her frayed nerves were set off yet again, made even more sensitive after her sleepless night.
She felt his low rumbling chuckle as he pressed his form into her for a moment before stepping back. She scrambled to pull away from him, feeling again, as she did, the ache in her muscles and the searing pain of her raw thighs, chafed to bleeding from the extended ride in the saddle the day before.
She noticed the ship creaking ominously, and as she turned she saw his face set in a scowl as he glared at something over his shoulder before he turned back. His smirk slid so easily into place that it was hard to believe his expression had been anything else. His eyebrow crawled mockingly up his forehead as he watched her try to recover from her shock.
As he stayed quiet, she realized he had asked her a question and was waiting for her answer. She swallowed hard. "Wh- ready to begin what?"
His smile grew, and an unsettling gleam flashed in his eyes. She shivered as another violent tremble racked her body. Her muscles ached. The skin of her thighs burned. His grin grew.
"Why your service aboard my ship! You signed your existence over to me after all. Or did you forget?" She swallowed again, not even bothering to try and conceal her fear.
"No," her voice was a hoarse croak. "No, I haven't forgotten." Against her will, her hands clutched at the front of her white ermine cloak as thoughts of what he could possibly want of her crossed her mind.
As if by the very magic he wielded, his smile vanished as his eyes flicked downward to where her hands grasped frantically at her cloak.
"Oh have no fear of that princess," he spat. She felt a shadow overtake her, as if he had cast a pallor over the rising sun. He seemed to shift into her shadow, as the dawn was behind her, and his whole form darkened. The blue of his eyes vanished, and suddenly, she understood how this man had slain a creature that was thought to be un-killable. She could see the madness. The darkness.
"I have never touched a person for my own pleasure without their consent, and I have no plans on changing that fact. I'll thank you to keep such thoughts far from your mind Your Ladyship," he growled venomously at her. "And even if I would consent to such actions, you're hardly my type."
She felt her trembling strengthen at his cold, hard tone. But a small sliver of her, deep in her gut, felt her will, a sensation rose up in her, making the words tumbled from her mouth without her consent, in a retort she would never have dared to utter to her closest friends, let alone the man before her.
"How fortunate for me I am not your type then, Captain."
As soon as the words left her, she slapped a hand over her mouth in shock. His dark expression vanished in surprise as he jerked slightly at her retort. But then they were both distracted as the very timbers under their feet began to pitch and shake, and she grasped wildly at the rails to steady herself, though he appeared unmoved. It felt as if the ship itself were trying to shake apart. Every grain of wood from the deck to the mast seemed as if it was vibrating, and the sails were flapping wildly.
His attention switched from her to look over his shoulder again toward the helm. She watched the one eyebrow visible to her creep up his face the longer the ship shook. It took several minutes for the shaking to subside, during which his expression had changed from one of faint entertainment to irritation. When the last tremors stilled, he rounded on her.
She flinched back at his dark glare, her hand gripping the wood of the rail tightly. A part of her registered that the wood beneath her fingertips was warm, despite the morning air. He regarded her dispassionately for a moment before his gaze swept over her body. Despite his earlier words, she could not hold back the apprehension.
"Right, well, back to the matter at hand. I made a deal with you to get your family to safety. But in order to do that, I have to leave the ship. Which means that I won't be on board to take care of her." He paused, and after a moment she understood where he was going.
"You want me to-"
"Aye, you'll be tending to her in my absence." He gave her a sarcastic smile. "I can leave some small enchantments behind to ensure she stays on course, but her decks won't swab themselves." And at that moment, the most peculiar feeling overcame her. It was as if someone were standing too close to her and breathing on her neck. And for whatever reason, she knew that there was a lie in what he had just told her. But she did not dare to say anything. He still had the faintest glint of that overpowering darkness in his eye.
When she didn't visibly react to his pronouncement, he popped an eyebrow, bringing his hand up to play with his beard as he mockingly approved, "Ah grand, you are already resigned to that then! I thought when I told you, you'd start crying again. No matter." His words sent another bolt of indignation through her, but she again kept silent.
He gestured vaguely with his hand before dropping it to his belt buckle. On instinct, her eyes followed the motion, and once she had caught herself, her eyes jumped back up to his, hoping he hadn't noticed. But his lecherous smirk said otherwise and she felt a violent flush heat up her face.
"You may not be in my taste, but perhaps I might be yours?" His needling left her flustered and completely discomposed. She had not even had a thought like that cross her mind since her husband had left for the Ogre Wars, and left carrying their son.
But now that he had brought those thoughts forward, she couldn't help cataloguing his qualities before catching what she was doing. She grasped at something to get his knowing eyes away from her increasingly high flush, as if he could hear her thoughts as she had them.
"And uh.. I... uh.. wha- what exactly will I be doing?"
His smirk widened. For a moment she didn't understand why what she had said would increase his amusement, but then she thought over her word choice and felt the blush rise higher. She was afraid he was going to say something, but after a moment of apparently savoring her discomfort and her unintentional implication, he allowed his smile to slip.
"You'll be doing what I tell you. Every morning on the days that I will be away from her, I will leave you a list of instructions. I expect them to be finished before you retire every evening. They will vary from cleaning the decks to tidying the hold. Some chores will need to be done every day. And speaking of," he said again eyeing her critically, "here."
He held out his hand and a plume of smoke obscured it, before clearing to reveal what looked like a bundle of cloth. She stared at it confused before he shook it lightly at her and she realized that he intended for her to take it. She reached out and grabbed the bundle, surprised at the quality of the cloth. Even by touch alone, she could tell it was both sturdy and high quality material.
"These should fit you well enough. I'll leave clean clothes along with the list every morning. When you've gotten ready for the day, just leave the pile outside your door."
She nodded hesitantly, but her uncertainty must have shown on her face.
"For the first few, I'll leave you with detailed instructions on how, or if I'm aboard, I'll walk you through it. Aye?"
She nodded again before feeling her stomach rumble. Suddenly it hit her that she had not eaten in almost two days, and a sudden wave of vertigo overcame her. She tried to stay upright but it was as if the realization had sucked the strength from her already exhausted and aching limbs.
She swayed once and then started to fall, expecting to hit the deck. She was surprised when she felt his arms around her. She noticed the strength in them and the warmth, where every other touch thus far had been cold.
"What the bloody hell is wrong with you now, woman?"
She realized her eyes had drifted shut and with some effort, she managed to get them open. His face was right above hers, his eyes regarding her with impatient exasperation. She again noticed, now that the shadow had disappeared from their depths, how tired he looked.
"My apologies." She tried to stir herself into standing, but was a little taken aback when, instead of letting her go, his arms tightened around her.
He must have seen something in her face, "There's no point in letting you stand up. You'd just bloody fall over again."
She nodded at the logic. But she felt the need to defend herself to him, so she quietly explained, "I am sorry. I've not eaten in a while and it all seemed to come to a head just then." She swallowed as the sudden memory for why she hadn't eaten had her choking up. Once she managed to gain what little control she could over her emotions, she insisted, "But truly, I can manage."
At her words, his eyes softened ever so slightly, "Aye, that's a better reason for collapsing than the last time you did so, and more easily remedied, I'd wager. But if you insist."
She couldn't help the tiny smile at his almost playful prodding as she nodded in agreement. He slowly set her down, and she managed to keep her feet under her, clutching the bundle of clothes tightly, though she leaned on him heavily. He kept her secure to his side as he oriented them toward the hatch that led below deck. As she stepped however, she whimpered as the pain in her thighs flared, making her knees weak, and pitching her forward slightly.
With an exasperated sigh but without hesitation, he simply bent and grasped her legs, picking her up completely. She let out a gasp of shock as she clutched at him tightly with her free hand in reaction to her sudden change in position.
"Relax, Princess, I'm not gonna drop you." She did as he asked, releasing her tight grip on his neck and letting her hands slide down until they were pressed against his chest, toying with the fabric of the clothes he had given her. She could feel his heart beat faintly through the fabric of his shirt where her head was pressed against him. "What a fragile little bird you are. A few missed meals and you can't even stand." He shook his head as he began walking across the deck.
She felt herself blush anew at his words, and tried find a way to explain. "No its not- I mean I am a bit faint but- It's not... I'm..."
She trailed off, not wanting to discuss the state of her thighs with a strange man. She suddenly became hyper-aware of where her body pressed against his. Her heart rate jumped as she flushed and stared down at her hands, fidgeting with a seam she found, trying to ignore the way his arms wrapped around her or how she was pressed to his chest. His shirt was hanging open right in front of her face, so his shoulder and hair covered chest were visible if she cared to look. Which she didn't.
Her reluctance to explain seemed to have piqued his amused curiosity. "Aye? If it's not lack of food that has you feeling faint, what is it?"
For a moment she was tempted to just let it go, but when he followed up an almost concerned sounding, "Lass?" she steeled herself.
"Ihavearashfromthehorsesaddle," she mumbled out as quickly as she could. He stopped walking and she looked up at him more out of pure reaction to the cessation of movement than anything. And immediately regretted it. He had a broad smile on his face and his eyebrows danced merrily up his forehead.
"Try that again, lass," he said, and she could hear the laughter in his voice. She had the feeling he had heard her well enough the first time, but repeated herself politely at his request, the habits of court simply too strong to deny.
She looked down to stare at her hands again, willing away her embarrassment, "I have a rash on my thighs from the horse saddle. My legs hurt too much to stand now."
She felt, more than heard his answering chuckle. "Aye, see now that wasn't so difficult to get out now was it princess?"
She still felt the mortification of talking about such an intimate area with a stranger, her master no less. She refused to answer him and continued to stare at the bundle in her hands as she felt him step into motion again.
But she violently started when she felt something cool and soothing creeping up her legs from where she pressed into him, though she was separated from his arm by the fabric of both of their garments. For a brief second she struggled, but his arms held her fast. And a moment later, the sensation had reached the edge of her blistered flesh and her muscles went limp, her eyes fluttering shut at the relief it brought. It soothed away the burn as it crept across her skin, easing her discomfort and relaxing the tension in her cramped and aching muscles.
She let out the slightest of whimpers as the painful burn in her upper legs finally subsided and thought she felt him miss a half step, his arms twitching ever so slightly, but the relief was too refreshing to open her eyes. She noticed that once it had reached the top of the abused area, the sensation crept no further, and she suddenly understood that his words from earlier had been spoken with true sincerity. He had unleashed a magic she could not fight, and could easily have taken advantage of her state without actually touching her, but did not, keeping his power to only the area he was trying to mend. Although why he was bothering was beyond her.
A few steps later, she felt the air change, and she opened her eyes, expecting to see the little hallway by the room she had woken in. But instead, she took in a familiar surroundings. The Captain's Quarters seemed warmer and more welcoming in the light of the rising sun pouring through the open door. She noticed that despite the manner in which she had found him the night previous, he was quite tidy, with nothing out of place. The glass bottles that had been scattered around the night before were gone.
He continued forward and she saw that he was bringing her to the same bunk she had helped him to last night. At the approach, she could not help the small anxiety that had her tensing, and it was clear he felt it, when he let out a light sigh above her. Once they had reached the bunk, he bent slowly, sliding his hands out from under her quickly, seeming to pull the coolness away with him, leaving behind only the shadow of the sensation on her now painless thighs.
"You are welcome to these quarters for the duration of your stay, unless I tell you that I require them. Other than that, feel free to use this room as you see fit," he said as he straightened, tone tight and curt. She thought she heard something rattle in the walls, and glanced around but saw nothing. When her eyes returned to his face, he had a tired but almost affectionate grin on his face that quickly vanished when he saw her looking.
He waved a hand and she started as a small table with a tray of food appeared next to the bed. "Since you are recovering from your arduous ride, and an exhausted crew member is more a hassle than help, I am deferring the start of your labor until tomorrow. I will begin making the needed arrangement for my end of the bargain. The door and the hatch both lock from the inside, if you feel the need to do so. Have a pleasant evening princess."
With that, he abruptly turned and made to leave the cabin. His words echoed in her head for a moment before she finally found what she wanted to say.
"Thank you, Captain," she murmured across the room. He froze with his hand on the door, preparing to pull it shut behind him. And although he didn't turn, she knew she had captured his attention. "I know that you could have taken advantage of me in the most abominable of ways or simply refused to help me. And..." her voice faltered as tears welled up again, imagining being unable to help Henry. She sniffled quietly as she pushed the image away. She thought she may have seen his hand tightened on the door.
"And I know I will never see them again, but I can't regret my decision to come to you for aid." She sniffled again, but was determined to finished. "Thank you for accepting my offer. I deeply grateful. More than you can know."
For a moment, he was still. Even the ship and the breeze were silent. It was odd, but as she looked at him from across the room, it almost looked like the air around him was swirling with shadows of various densities, writhing like the silhouette of a snake in firelight. As she watched, the air around him darkened, seeming to tighten around his form. She thought she heard a shaky sigh before he was marching up the stairs, pulling the door with him. Just before it shut, though, he paused.
"You are welcome, your highness." Then the door slammed shut, leaving her alone.
