Hey guys! Im sorry I'm late! College kicked in and kicked my ass lol but I also wanted to apologize for all the typos last chapter. I tend to write at night while I'm laying in bed and sometimes I get super tired while I do lol But also I wanted to thank you guys for reading and reviewing :) it really inspires me to keep writing and coming up with new ideas. I hope you guys like the story so far!
Chapter 13:
Tala was admittedly hesitant to go back to the tavern where she had been struck with a tankard a couple of days prior. It was more than clear that the inhabitants of the island weren't fond of her kind. However, she had been promised a free drink, and if she was being honest with herself, she really needed it.
After all the time she spent aboard the Jolly Roger, she expected to be used to Hook and his crew by now. Unfortunately, it still drove her near to madness at night whenever they sat up into the wee hours of the morning gambling, drinking, and howling with laughter down below the room she was given. It was a little closet of a space, with little more than a bed and armoire, so there was little to block the sound from seeping through the cracks in the wooden walls.
Of course, deep down inside, she knew she wanted to see a friendly face again. She thought of him often, ever since he came to her rescue that day in the tavern while Hook was busy with other things. Tala wasn't used to being defended and protected so blatantly by a stranger. She wanted to thank him properly, at the very least.
This time, she took Hook's advice and adorned more local attire. He had at least purchased her clothing meant for a woman that day he dragged her all over the island. She was given a long, pale blue dress with an apron over it to wear, but Tala made a few alterations herself.
First, she cut the sleeves a little further up on her arm, as the climate was much too warm for long sleeves, and she sliced through the bottom layer of fabric to shorten it. Rather than falling around her ankles, the dress stopped just above her knees, making it easier to run or pounce if she needed to do so. It was the only way she would agree to wear a dress, so the very frustrated Hook let it slide, despite how much money he spent on it to begin with.
Wearing her newly redesigned dress, she slipped into the tavern as silently as she could early that morning. Thankfully, there were little to no patrons there that morning. It would certainly make things a little easier. Tala stepped further into the room and took a look around for a moment until a familiar voice caught her attention.
"I'm surprised to see ye here, lass." Sebastian threw his cleaning rag over his shoulder and folded his arms as he looked across the room at the tribal girl in a ripped up dress. "I thought Mr. Morrow scared ye away for good."
"I'm not easy to scare," she replied calmly, making her way over to the bar. She sat on a wooden stool across from it and looked up at him. "I think I'll have that drink now."
"Rough night?" He eyed her torn sleeves curiously.
"Rough is all I know now."
He didn't ask her to elaborate or clarify, figuring that delivering his promised drink on the house was more important than prying at that very moment. He put together something sweet using the island's natural fruits, then mixed it with rum. Once it was properly stirred, he poured it into a tankard and slid it over to her.
"Ye didn't mention that you were a prisoner of the infamous Captain Hook," Sebastian scoffed, going back to work cleaning up the bar before business picked up in the afternoon. Tala watched him, occasionally sipping from the sweet nectar in her tankard.
"Is that important?"
"I'll say it is. Hook demands respect around these parts. Might be dangerous fer me to even be speakin' with a woman claimed by James Hook." He glanced up at her briefly to see her reaction, and he wasn't at all surprised to see her roll her shoulders back and sit up with outward pride. She obviously took offense to such a claim, which was intriguing.
"He has no claim over me now or ever," she growled out in annoyance. "A wolf cannot be claimed by a man. Not even a Captain."
"A right proper man would let the wolf claim him," he grinned back at her a little mischievously. Tala felt her cheeks flush, and a smile grew where a frown had been before.
She couldn't quite describe or understand the feeling that suddenly plagued her chest. It felt like something fluttering beneath her ribs, and she wondered if maybe it was an illness. Maybe this new island was causing something to happen to her body. Tala brought up a hand to clutch the dress over her heart.
"Listen, little lass, as much as I enjoy yer company, this place isn't any good for the likes of you. Our customers aren't the most well-mannered men."
"Oh, but I want to thank you. For last time."
"Thank me tonight, then, when I take off. Mrs. Harbor will be runnin' things herself here this evenin'. If ye want, I can show ye the most beautiful spot on the island. It might give ye a place to go when things are too rough." He tilted his head a little and smiled in a way that made the feeling in her chest only grow more defined, more uncomfortable. "Wouldya like that, lass?"
"Yes. If only to thank you," she finally answered, standing up quickly. "I'll leave now, then."
"See ye tonight, lass."
She was in a hurry to leave the tavern and try to calm that restless feeling inside of her. It was a strange and foreign sensation for her, but it wasn't completely unpleasant. Thinking about that smile made it worse, but it also lit up her face in a way it hadn't been since she was taken prisoner aboard the Jolly Roger.
When she spoke to Sebastian, she no longer felt like a prisoner or a savage. She felt like a woman, and that was something she wanted to explore just a little more.
Hook was surprisingly still sober when he heard her little feet came pattering down the creaky wooden stairs later that night. He was sitting at the table where some of the men had been rolling dice moments before. They all moved outside to light up cigars and down more pints of ale, but he stayed in, leaned back in a chair with his feet propped up on the table.
He looked up when he noticed her come creeping around the corner like a little mouse escaping a fox in the night. It didn't take long for her to realize he was sitting right there, mere feet away from the door she needed to slip out of.
It concerned him that she was wearing her traditional garments again, those little slips of fur that left little to be imagined. This time, however, she wore those thick bands of sun-dried leather around her wrists and throat that she used before to protect herself. If she only wore a little paint on her face, he might think she was going to war.
"Where are you off to, little wolf?" He hummed the question softly. "You left this morning, and now you're leaving again. Why is that?"
"Does it matter to you where I to?"
"Of course," he frowned, sitting upright and dropping his feet from the table. "I brought you here. You were aboard my ship. You're my responsibility."
"I'm exploring. That man... from the tavern... He offered to show me a place on the island I can go to hide if I want to," she told him honestly, seeing no reason to lie about it. Her plans were innocent enough, and it wasn't like she was off to murder anyone. She didn't understand the problem, though there clearly was one for Hook.
"You're sneaking off into the night to see a man?"
"I'm not sneaking," she pouted. "I'm leaving without drawing the attention of your crew dressed like this. I know how much you hate it when I wear these around them."
"I'd rather you not wear that around a tavern boy either," he huffed back at her. "This boy means only to get you out of whatever you choose to wear. Why make it easy for him?"
"What does that mean?"
"Are you really so naive?" Hook stood up now, taking a few steps closer to her. "Do you not know the desires you stir within men who look upon you like this?" He moved even closer. "Don't you know how badly he will want to touch you with so much of your... soft, sunkissed skin naked to the eye?"
Tala shivered a little when she felt Hook's fingertips on her shoulder suddenly. They brushed over her skin with the gentlest of touches, though his hands were rough and calloused. When he stepped into her completely, leaving only and inch or two between them, Tala wondered if he had been drinking again. She could smell the faint aroma of rum on his breath once he was close.
"He won't touch me," she tried to reassure him.
"Don't be so sure. I wouldn't hesitate." His hand fell away, and he suddenly stepped back a few times to put distance between them. "Go. Be free, little wolf. Live for yourself like you wanted, but don't trust that tavern boy. He wants what all men will want from you."
"Is that all you want from me?"
"Not anymore."
His boots thudded heavily against the wooden stairs as he made his way up to his room. Tala watched him go, pondering on his words, his expressions, and the tone of his voice. Something was off about him, and it started because she mentioned the man from the tavern.
Why was Hook so against her making friends? What did desires have to do with it?" Tala couldn't be sure, but she knew she made a promise that she meant to keep. Pushing her thoughts aside for the moment, she left through the front door to find Sebastian.