English Rose

Chapter Eleven

By: Kimmy-Sama

Blood, Rosalyn knew, was never a good sign. The warm metallic smell of it filled her nose as she looked over her hands. Bruised and beaten, they had burns and cuts that were now new. The rope she had held was red as well, tied off tight just as she had been trying to do. Never in her life had she worked this hard and never had her hands taken such a beating. It was torture just to work for her keep each day.

And even so, as she climbed below deck, she knew it was worth it. She felt more alive than ever before in her young life. It was as if her life's purpose was now clear to her and she would do anything to keep it that way.

Finding an empty bucket, she carried it loosely in her damaged hands back to the deck. The crew around her were less cruel as the days went by, letting her walk among them and work side by side without much confrontation. Bill was always a pleasure, always asking her to do things, never a order.

After tying off the bucket to a thin rope she let it go over board and waited only a few moments before pulling it back. Heavy now with salt water, she found it hard to bring it up with her bloody hands. With it only half way, however, she watched Bill appear next to her and grab the rope.

Releasing the grip she held, she watched as he brought up the bucket himself. He set it down and looked over her hands. "Water to rinse off with?"

"Yes." Bringing a small smile to her chapped lips she kneeled down to plunge her hands into the salty water. It stung and burned, but she knew it would clean the fresh cuts .

Bill watched for a moment before looking up into the darkening sky. "It will storm soon. Yeh better get ready for some hard work."

Rosalyn stood again, her hands feeling better. "I will just as soon as I get these wrapped."

Nodding, Bill turned and walked off to start his duties. Rosalyn walked back to the Captain's cabin, closing the door quietly behind her. The rocking ship would have been hard on her a week ago but the way the ship moved was like second nature to her now. Sitting down on the bed, she dug in her chest of things, not seeing anything she could use. Instead, she pulled on the sheets on the bed, tearing off a long strip and then tearing that in half.

As she dressed her hands quietly, she thought about Davy. Around her neck lay the necklace he had given her and she refused to take it off. That night, just two days ago was engraved into her mind. The feeling of his cold lips, they seemed to warm against her own made her skin start to shake lightly. Never had she felt this way, towards anyone. Davy Jones was becoming more then the monster who ruled the seas. He was becoming a dear friend, someone whom she could learn to love.

A loud crack of thunder brought her away from her Captain and back to the time at hand. Work was needed to be done. She had left her coat in the room before that morning and grabbed it now as she hurried out of the cabin.

Time seemed to fly by as she helped with the ship. They were being tossed among the waves and she felt the water crash around her as she held onto the ropes she was tying down. Knowing that she had to be careful, she stayed close to the mast, that way if she needed to she could easily grab a hold of it.

"Miss Puckett to the crow's nest!" She heard the first mate call to her and looked upwards, her hair tossed about as her ribbon came undone. An uneasy feeling in her stomach made her feel like she would vomit, the height alone was making her uneasy. She didn't catch why she needed to be up there, but she did as told and started to climb the ropes.

Her hands were bleeding once again as she got to the top and she held on tight as she pulled herself into the nest. The wind was more intense around her up there, yet the movements were not as bad. Looking down to the deck, she saw waves crash upon it harshly. The crew were almost covered in the water yet they seemed unaware of it. Trying to focus on what she was doing, she looked around the ship only to see the tall waves of the ocean.

Davy's voice calling out from the helm made her look in his direction. "We're almost upon it, keep up the pace!"

She wondered what he was talking about and what he saw that she didn't. Up this high and she could only see the flashes of lightning and the water. Rain had stopped she noticed, but the wind seemed just as harsh.

As a bright light flashed, she saw something right in front of the ship, moving along with the harsh water. It looked like a ship. But as they came closer to it, she saw in surprise it was a sinking ship not unlike the one she had survived not that long ago.

The Flying Dutchman came to a stop it felt like, not far from the ship's side. She had perfect view of the deck of the other ship. It was covered in water and a few sailors scrambling to keep it afloat. Almost instantly she watched as the crew from the Dutchman seemed to appear on the deck. Screams and yells was what she heard then, some making her skin crawl.

Part of her wanted to go down to the deck, to see what was happening, but her feet seemed glued to the spot where they stood. The waves were calming down, as well as the wind, yet Rosalyn still felt cold. Davy's crew surrounded the men on board the sinking ship, catching them and lining them up near the railing of its port side.

Finally Rose got the courage in her to pull out of the crows nest and climbed down. It was much easier to go down in softer weather than up in rough weather. After she was down she ran to the front of the ship, pushing her hands down on the railing there to look over at the boat as well as she could. The sailors, about five that she saw, were still alive. They were kneeled down with the crew of the Dutchman behind them. It was an eerie sight to Rose and she wondered why they would be doing such a thing.

Davy's presence surprised her, he had seemed to board the ship and walked in front of the men. With the best Rosalyn could see, he was smoking his pipe. She also noticed he was talking, but the rumble of the thunder and the waves made it hard for her to hear. A hand touched her arm as she leaned forward more, but she did not turn. Her gaze was focused only on what was happening in front of her.

"Rose, get back to the cabin, yeh shouldn' see this." Bill Turner's voice came over the rumbles but Rose ignored him.

Davy walked up and down the water logged deck, observing the men before him like cattle. There was something so devilish about him that made Rosalyn wonder why she had never noticed this part of him. Bill pulled on her arm again, almost to beg her to look away.

As she watched, Davy grabbed a man's throat with his claw and she could only guess that the man was dying in his grip. A simple turn and push and the man was falling overboard, dead before he hit the water. It was frightening to see Davy like this, able to so easily kill a man and then walk to the next. The night two days ago was now

far from her mind.

Pushing away from the railing, she looked over at Bill. He was standing next to her, his eyes looking at her and not the scene not far off. Her mind was filled with questions, but dared not to ask them.

"This is what you meant by collecting souls. Am I right?"

"Aye. I told yeh this. Why are yeh surprised?"

Rosalyn felt a little stunned at the whole situation and absent mindedly pushed her hair off her face. The sky was darker, the sun setting behind the clouds of grey. "I suppose I have some right to be. I have never seen him like this."

"He's a monster, Rose."

Looking back to the other boat, she saw the crew members pulling only one of the five that was there only moments before to his feet. They were laughing and rummaging though trunks from the ship. Davy walked among them like a king in his domain.

"He's a lost soul." She responded, looking back at Bill with a familiar sting in her eyes. Quickly she turned and ran off towards the cabin.

On board the sinking ship, Davy lifted his cane from the ground, dropping it when he had come aboard. As his finger curled around it, he silently turned back to his ship to see a flash of a familiar red coat. Rosalyn had been standing on the front deck, no doubt watching what he had just been doing. As she ran off, away from him, he felt something inside hurt deeper then ever before.

"Back to the ship!" He called fiercely, his mind wandering as he came aboard his home. The crew followed behind him, carrying boxes and other things that they could use on the ship. Davy ignored the laughter as they taunted the new crew member, tossing him below deck.

So Rosalyn had seen him at his work, seeing that he was in fact a devil. Would she still want to look at the stars with him? Or even be in the same room as him? He could not see why she would want a man like him. Perhaps this will make her want to be taken ashore even to an empty island.

He stepped up to the helm of the ship, giving the heading to the helmsman. As he walked to the back and looked off into the dark cloudy night, he knew that what had happened two days ago would never again.

If he had a heart, he would have heard the sound of it breaking yet again.

Rosalyn laid on her back, her hands over her eyes. She was scared, scared of what Davy could do. Scared of what he did. He was not someone to be so straight-forward with. All the tales her father had told her when she was younger were true. He was the devil of the seas. But the more she thought about him and the way he held her in the water, made her doubts start to drift. Yes, she told herself, he is a demon of the depths, but he was also a kind man who has shown her more to this life than any man she could even imagine.

And to Rosalyn, he was someone who her heart was falling for. Sitting up, she decided not to run. She would face this head on and never be afraid again. Isn't that what she told herself when she first took a step through the door of his cabin?

Running outside, she looked around at the dark ship. Night had fallen so quickly because of the storm and it took a moment for Rosalyn to let her eyes focus. In an instant she was going up the stairs towards the helm, nodding to the helmsman before walking to her Captain who stood with his back to her.

"Captain." She said quietly, walking up next to him. All of her wanted to take his arm like she did that night but resisted.

His eyes, the ones she wanted to see better in the night's abyss looked to her. "Miss Puckett."

"Rose." Smiling, she lifted her hand and touched the necklace she wore. Davy caught this, a part of him happy to see she had not taken it off. "I was hopping the clouds would be gone by now. I wanted to learn more about the stars."

Davy watched her in slight amazement, but turned away quickly. "Unfortunately for you, they are not."

Rosalyn felt her heart sink as he spoke, his voice cold. She looked off at the choppy waters and placed her blood soaked bandaged hands on the railing. "Davy, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

Rosalyn moved her hand and touched his lightly, wanting more than anything to just feel his skin against hers. "For wanting to stay with you." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Davy gripped her hand as she said this. For a moment he was speechless, the look on her face was so beautiful he thought her an angel. "Yeh be a fool for wanting it."

"Then I guess I am a fool." Rosalyn placed her other hand around his, clasping his the best she could in her small hands.

Almost bending down to her, Davy caught himself. It was still early. His crew were still about and the last thing he needed was someone watching them. "May I walk you to the cabin?" He asked softly

The tenderness in his voice made her face light up. "Yes sir, you may."

To Be Continued...

A/N: Thanks again to all my reviews! I have over 100:) I have never had this many on any of my stories. Thank you all!