Something about this captain felt familiar to Christine. But she refused to acknowledge it. Her Erik wasn't the only man with a deep voice and she doubted it was uncommon that pirates wore masks.
Especially when tempting royalty as they were tonight. But most importantly, she didn't want to believe this brusque man could be even remotely similar to her Erik.
It was an insult to her Erik's memory. Even in the face of her cruelty, he'd been nothing short of kind to her. Even when she knew she had to have gotten on his nerves and angered him.
He'd seemed incapable of showing it to her directly. This man - no this monster in front of her would have no such qualms. Which is why she had no issues with holding her tongue tonight.
The pirate had gotten to his feet, rounding his desk so that he could be closer to her. She instinctively took a step back, wanting to keep distance between them.
A deep, darkly amused chuckle left him as he simply reached out to grab her wrist. He gave it a surprisingly gentle squeeze in warning when she stiffened.
"Stay still. I just want to get a better look at you miss. It's not often I get brought a little mouse." He drawled.
A shiver rolled down Christine's spine, but she complied- only after jerking her wrist away. She didn't want his dirty hands on her.
She kept her eyes on him as he circled around her, the occasional hum leaving his throat.
He reached out to pluck at the material of her cloak, rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger.
"You are a pretty little thing. Your clothing seems expensive too. Could you possibly be the princess?" His tone of voice was more than a little intrigued at this point.
In fact, it was almost mocking. It was like he already knew and he was asking to see if she would try and lie.
She truly felt like the little mouse that they kept referring to her as. Trapped and at their mercy. Christine hated it.
"Why ask questions that you already know the answer to?" Christine retorted before she could stop herself.
She felt dread bubble up in her belly. This was exactly the sort of thing that she had tried to avoid. She blamed it all on her wounded pride.
But she refused to show her fear. She wouldn't allow herself to go out like a pushover and tarnish her name. She wanted to go out as the woman that her Erik had loved.
The woman that her Erik had loved was not a trembling, delicate little flower. He'd adored her fire, even when it had burned him. Perhaps especially when it had burned him.
Rather than the angry reaction that Christine had braced herself for, she was met by laughter.
It wasn't mocking, nor was it dark. It was legitimately amused, genuine laughter. If it were from anyone else and under any other circumstances, it would almost be a pleasant sound.
But it wasn't and so it just spiked her irritation further. But this time she kept her mouth shut and her jaw clenched. There was no need to test her luck just yet.
The pirate slowly calmed down, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye as he shook his head.
"Oh, you. You're something else, aren't you. I have to respect that bravery. Though I wonder if you ever learned self preservation." He drawled almost tauntingly.
Christine had the good sense to be somewhat embarassed, though only inwardly. He'd made a very good point with that. But she'd be damned if she let him know that.
In fact, she wasn't even going to acknowledge his feedback. She didn't feel the need to do so. It wasn't as if this pirate held any importance to her, after all.
"What are you going to do with me, monsieur?" Christine questioned, arching a brow.
The pirate seemed to think this over, tapping his thumb against his lower lip. She couldn't tell if this was another act or genuine. She didn't particularly care either way.
"I'm sure you'd just love it if I told you that I'm letting you go. But unfortunately, that's not the case. You see, you're worth more to me here than you are free. So I suppose you'll just have to adjust to being without all your accomodations." The captain finally informed.
Christine's stomach had dropped as soon as he'd begun his speech, but now she knew for sure that she was screwed.
She didn't protest when he suddenly grabbed her arm and led her out of the room. She didn't even ask where he was taking her. It didn't matter.
It wasn't like it would change his decision. She was still stuck on this ship either way.
Erik was more than a little relieved when he finally got Christine settled and out of his presence.
It had been so hard to keep up appearances. Especially when she'd actually snapped at him. He'd forgotten how beautiful she was in those moments.
The silly, soft dumbass part of him wanted her to recognize him. To finally see him. To recognize him after all these years.
But he'd shut that side of him down before it could ruin his plans. She wouldn't have reacted positively anyway. She'd never felt the same way about him and she never would because he wasn't good enough for her.
But she was good enough for him. More than good enough. If she didn't want Erik, perhaps she could learn to want Captain LaRue.
A part of him knew that it was unfair. Knew that he was being deceitful. But he couldn't bring himself to care completely.
If it failed, he'd figure out what to do. But if she started to love him? Well, she'd be his bride. She could love him without thinking about how she could do better.
Because she'd never see his face again. He never made the same mistake twice.
A knock at the door broke him out of his thoughts and he cursed under his breath. Who the hell could this be? He supposed there was only one way to find out.
"Enter!" Erik called, not even bothering to hide his irritation this time around.
He sighed heavily when Joseph pushed the door open and looked around the room.
Of course. It should've been obvious. Buquet had been the one to find the 'little mouse'. Of course he'd be curious as to her fate.
"Cap'n? What did you decide to do with-"
Joseph shut his mouth quickly when he raised his hand to stop him. There was no point in letting him ask when he already knew where this was going.
"We're keeping her. But you'll stay away from her if you know what's good for you, Buquet." Erik informed, his voice none too gentle.
"But!-" Joseph's protest was cut short by the sound of Erik slamming his hands down on his desk.
Erik wasted no time in grabbing his crewmate by the collar, yanking him so close that he could smell the rum on his breath.
"The little mouse is mine. If you touch her, you're going to wish that you walked the plank." His tone was nothing more than a low snarl.
The only answer he received was a rapid nod but that was good enough. He released Joseph and watched as he scampered away.