"Oooh, would ye look a' tha'…" a second voice cooed as another figure stood behind the first.
"Like a flower 'bout to be torn from its bed…" a third, hoarse voice sneered.
"Well? Get on with it, we haven' got long ye lazy dogs!" ordered the first voice irritably.
Lorraine's eyes darted from figure to figure, not knowing in the slightest what one was to do in a situation such as this. Her head was spinning and she could hardly breathe.
Before she knew it, a pair of strong, rough hands had grabbed her sides and she was being held up in the air. Her arms were pinned to her sides causing her to writhe in the pirate's grasp and all the fear that had been growing inside of her for the past few hours of dread was suddenly released in a desperate scream that echoed in the lone field.
A different, grubby hand was clasped firmly over her mouth as tears ran down her now ghostly white face.
"Be silent, ye squirmin' little worm." The first voice demanded coldly as a piece of dirty cloth was tied over her mouth. She was put back down on the floor, and then forcefully pushed forwards against the wall and her hands and wrists were tightly bound with thick, coarse rope. She struggled and trembled, much to the amusements of the merciless pirates.
One of them then grabbed her and she was hauled over a shoulder like a sack of hay, utterly defenceless. This couldn't be real; it was too awful to be.
The three pirates ran out of the shed carrying Lorraine and across the field, eventually arriving at the market place by way of a shortcut, from which they now made their way along narrow streets and pathways. Everything seemed a blur to Lorraine; her sobs were muffled by the material covering her mouth as tears streamed down her face, the cool night breeze chilling her to the bone as it blew on her damp skin. Her tousled, light brown hair hung over her face as she looked towards the ground whilst being carried.
The cannon fire had stopped, as had the screams of the townspeople and she could now hear the soft, rolling waves upon the shore as she was carried along the wooden pier. They were now beside the massive, dark ship and Lorraine could also hear the gentle waving of the sails in the light wind.
As the pirate turned around she was able to look out to sea, which was now pitch-black. There weren't many stars out tonight and the thin crescent moon looked like a weak, pitiful thing in the ever-growing cloudy sky. Occasionally she saw the dark rolling waves catch some of the light further out from the pier.
She was then carelessly thrown over onto the deck, landing heavily on the wood.
"Careful now, ye witless oaf! We don' wan' 'er bein' spoiled now, do we lads?" the rough first voice leered as the crew members upon the deck stopped what they were doing to turn around and look at what had caused the sudden thud upon deck.
Lorraine's brand new cream dress was now covered in dark smudges of dirt and mud, and had been ripped in some places. Her long hair was messy and tangled and her wet, tear-stained face was pale, her wide usually bright eyes full of terror as she lay trembling upon the deck.
She half sat up and supported herself on her elbow, her head still hung low so that her face was not visible.
"Right, take 'er to the brig and inform the cap'n!"
Lorraine was surrounded by a swarm of grimy, putrid, foul men who all tried to smell hair and run their filthy fingers through it, or who wanted to touch her smooth dress, or her hands or her face. She squirmed frantically, desperately wanting to get away from these immoral people, but it was useless; her hands were so tightly bound that she could hardly feel them anymore. The gag came off during the commotion and she screamed as loud as she could; it was blood-curdling sound, surely someone would be able to hear her?
*****
The captain gave a start as he sipped his rum at the table in his quarters. He paused, his dark eyes narrowed before setting the bottle upon the table again, wondering what had caused the sudden, piercing sound.
He then cast his gaze back to the map spread out before him, but remained alert for any more sounds.
*****
"In ye go!" a thick, heavy voice chortled as she was thrown into a drab cell. The door to the brig was swiftly locked and the pirate laughed at her as he left.
Lorraine crawled forward and hung her arms loosely around the bars.
"Please, no…I…please, don't…please…" she muttered incoherently in a whisper.
The ship creaked and churned and she could feel it begin to shift. She moved away from the bars to look through the small gaps between the wood of the back wall of the cell.
That was it. They were definitely moving. There was no chance of escape now. She would probably never see her home again, nor her parents, or Thomas, or Rebecca, or any of her other dearly loved friends. She was imprisoned.
*****
Not many minutes later, a pirate came down and pulled her out of the cell. He led her along a corridor and up to the second deck. She was shoved into a small room and she sat upon the bed. The room was dark and gloomy and consisted of only a few pieces of furniture: a drawer-cupboard, a table, a wardrobe and the bed. There were also a few bookshelves nailed onto the wall above the table. There were many different vases and little trinkets scattered all over the room, rather resembling a little treasure trove, but it didn't make the room any more inviting or comfortable.
The vile-smelling pirate leaned in towards Lorraine and spoke to her:
"I guess ye be wond'rin' why ye're 'ere? Well, we poor lads 'ave been deprived of any…how shoul' I say it, entertainmen' for a good long while now, an' we be very bored. Now you're 'ere, that problem's solved!" he smirked and then took a step back, standing up at full height, "An' you, young missy, 'ave the honour o' bein' aboard th' Black Pearl," he leered at her.
Lorraine felt very uncomfortable and wanted to hide away, so she was relieved when he finally left and locked the door.
It took a few moments for his words to really sink in, but when they did, Lorraine felt sick. Any colour that had been in her face earlier now drained out. A single hitched sob was all that came out of Lorraine and she shuddered before laying her head against the soft pillows and huddling up on the bed as tears welled up in her eyes.
"She's in there, cap'n."
"What's she look like?" asked a smooth yet strong voice.
"Like a young unspoiled flow'r in the sun on a warm spring day. She looks young enough to be unspoiled anyway, an' she don't look the type to not be so."
"Aye…" came the reply of the smooth voice.
The door opened and Lorraine lifted her head up to look down the length of the bed towards the door.
A roguish, unusual-looking man strolled jauntily into the room. He had brightly coloured beads threaded with braids of hair and a red bandanna was tied around his head, which was mostly covered by a triangular, dark leather hat. He had a loose, rippled white shirt on that was half unbuttoned, and a he wore an open, black waistcoat. There was a long, white and red striped length of material tied around his waist and he certainly looked rather distinguished. His dark trousers looked a bit dirty, and his boots really needed a polish.
He took a few steps towards the bed, his sword, pistol, sash and various other possessions jingling and clattering as he moved, and peered at Lorraine's panic-stricken face. His dark brown, kohl smudged eyes were full of pity as he watched the tears streaming down the girl's pale face.
She turned away and buried the side of her cheek into the pillow as she curled up on the bed, facing the wall the bed was against.
Lorraine just wanted to disappear right there and then. She didn't want to be near this man – this pirate – at all.
Muffled conversation could be heard outside and the pirate turned his head.
"I 'ope he lets me 'ave 'er second. She may not be a virgin then, but she's still young an' fresh, ain't she?"
"I'd be 'appier if he wasn' int'rested in 'er at all, then I could have her…pure and unspoiled," the voice trailed off absentmindedly
Lorraine shuddered. She felt cold and afraid.
The unusual pirate raised an eyebrow, strode back to the door and spoke to the two crewmembers standing outside.
"She's a right beauty and I'm not about to let her slip away from me that easily, so you lads better get your hands back on deck or I'll see to it that you scallywags will be at the bottom of Davy Jones' locker before you can say Bob's your uncle!" he told them warningly, although there was a hint of humour in his voice. The two other pirates frowned but did as they were told and left.
The man returned and pushed the door shut before standing to the side of the bed for a few moments.
"You don't seem to be one for conversation, so I guess I should introduce meself: Captain Jack Sparrow of the Black Pearl." He told her proudly as he held his hand out her.
The Black Pearl? That meant that Lorraine was aboard the most feared ship in the Caribbean, and in the same room as the most dreaded pirate…
"Miss…?" he asked politely.
"T-Tyne." She stuttered, her voice shaking.
"Ah, Miss Tyne then. Now, I assume you know why you're here? Well, you don't have to worry any longer, because I'm not going to let anything of the sort happen here, savvy?"
After being incredibly shook up, Lorraine felt that she had to give into his generosity. Besides, he could turn out to be the only person she would be able to trust on this terrible ship.
She managed a weak a smile but she was still in grave danger by being aboard a pirate ship. There was an awkward silence, but the captain didn't seem to be aware of the tension in the air. He appeared to be rather disorientated and Lorraine noticed that he didn't seem able to stand still: he swayed slightly as he curiously inspected the underside of an elaborately decorated porcelain ornament that he had just found. He raised an eyebrow and there was a perplexed look upon his tanned face as he set the figure back down.
"Well," he breathed, straightening up, "rum is calling." There was a quiet rumble and the captain blinked as he looked down at his stomach, "and so is the fine cuisine of the sea, apparently...And you, missy?"
Lorraine shrugged, rather dreading the thought of dining with dissolute pirates.
The captain noticed her hesitancy and came up with a proposition.
"Dine with me tonight and I'll keep your pretty little head all safe and sound whilst you're on my ship, now do we have an accord?"
She thought for a moment; she was quite hungry, and this particular person seemed to be an honest and trustworthy man, for the moment anyway. But he was a pirate…
She agreed and followed him to a large room which had a long dining table in the centre. Plates of all sorts of food covered the entire table: there was roast pig, chicken, cod, haddock, eel, salad, peas, carrots, potatoes and more. Now this was gluttony.
Captain Sparrow pulled out a chair for her and Lorraine sat down even though she was still quite uncomfortable in being in the presence of a pirate.
He sat down himself and struggled over what to eat first, rather like a young child trying to decide which sweet to consume when given a large assortment. The captain soon grabbed himself a leg of chicken and dropped it onto his plate before he piled on various other pieces of food.
*****
By the time Lorraine was halfway through her meal; Captain Sparrow had already finished and had drained his glass of wine dry. He held out the almost empty bottle to Lorraine but she shook her head and declined, so he finished the bottle (rather quickly) by himself.
"Right, I'm off nex' door to 'ave a bit o' rum wi' th' lads while you finish your food…you know your way back, don'tcha?" he slurred lazily as he got up from his chair, wavered for a moment and then made his way to the door.
Is he really a pirate? Lorraine found herself thinking as he left. He didn't seem to be the heartless and menacing person she envisioned all pirates to be. There were of course those who matched her picture perfectly, but she didn't really want to dwell on that at the moment.
*****
She was quite slow in finishing her meal as she wasn't really that hungry, but then again, she wasn't all that sure when the next time she was going to have a meal would be – she might not live through the night when aboard a pirate ship.
This room, among all the others she had glimpsed so far, was dark and rather dim. It had a rather strong effect on her and she was beginning to feel fairly drowsy – she had had a very trying day after all. But she couldn't risk falling asleep; she was vulnerable enough as it was. Was it better to have a sleep now and be alert and vigilant for the whole of the next day, or to be very dimly aware of her surroundings throughout the entire night?
Lorraine pushed her plate away and held her head in her hand as she struggled to keep her heavy, sleep-yearning lids open. Her head slid lower and lower, and her arms were now folded upon the table and her head gradually came to rest upon them. Her loosely curled chocolate brown hair was highlighted with strands of dark gold in the flickering candlelight of the dark room.
The door quietly opened and the muffled hustle and bustle of the crew could be faintly heard in the room across the doorway. A figure stepped in and slowly crept over to the farthest end of the table where a beautiful young girl slouched over the table sat sleeping; the muted tones of her hair catching the firelight.
The sneaking figure gently pulled back the long hair hanging over Lorraine's face and his dry, sore fingers brushed her cheek. He leant in towards her and lightly ran his hands along her arms as he closed his eyes and deeply breathed in her scent.
"Out." Demanded a firm voice from the open doorway, where a silhouetted form now stood pointing a pistol in the direction of the man behind the sleeping girl.
The first intruder mumbled something incoherently and shifted his position.
"Out. Now." Repeated the figure in the doorway.
"Aye, cap'n." the prowler muttered as he left the room. The captain watched intently, still holding up the pistol.
Once he had left, Captain Sparrow went over to Lorraine and simply watched her for a few minutes. His dark eyes were unclear and he seemed troubled over something. He then cleared his throat, slowly pulled her chair out a bit and then gently put one arm underneath both of her legs and one arm around her waist. He picked her up without any hesitation or sign of difficulty (although he did waver a bit on the spot once he had her in his arms) and carried her to his large cabin upstairs.