CHAPTER 3 For a week they left Cameron in there and she did behave herself but refused to eat anything and refused to talk to anyone. Her arms were starting to hurt from being held up above her head and her back also hurt from the position she was sitting in. Her stomach growled from her hunger and a small ache had started there. She had a black eye and a bruised cheek from talking back to Zack a few times and her eye had gotten so swollen she could no longer open it all the way.

Cameron quickly opened her good eye when she heard the door to her room open. She was surprised to see the captain walk in. He knelt down in front of her and just watched her for a moment.

"Whata ya want?" She asked quietly.

"To know where your father might be located at the moment?"

Cameron looked up at him surprised. "He's not my father."

"That's not what my records show. Your name is Cameron Sparrow, is it not?"

At first Cameron didn't say anything. "You should know that I wont say anything."

"I thought that's what your answer would be but it doesn't hurt to try again." He jerked her face around to look him in the eye. "It's usually very rare that I would do this, but I'll make an exception considering you're a girl. You can work in the galley if you like we could use another cabin girl."

Cameron was a bit hesitant when he unlocked her chains. Her arms limply fell into her lap and she didn't move just starred up at him.

"Of course you don't have to if you don't want."

Cameron had to be somewhat grateful that he was doing this much for her, but she opened her mouth anyway.

"I'm better with sails." She blurted out when the captain started walking away.

Jim turned back to Cameron when she spoke. "Very well. Then I can keep an eye on you. We have a few holes that need stitching." She seemed to hesitate a moment before following him. "I've heard that you haven't been eating. Go to the galley and get something. I promise we haven't poisoned it." Jim laughed as he led her up onto the main deck and pointed in the direction of the galley. "I will expect you to get to work as soon as you finish."

When Cameron finished eating she got to work on the sails grateful to get some distance between her and the crew. When the crew started heading down to the galley to eat dinner she reluctantly followed. She sat by herself at the end of one of the tables and quickly finished.

A few days later after dinner Cameron headed up onto the main deck, which was empty at the moment. She walked over to the railing and leaned over closing her eyes imagining that she was back on the Black Pearl with her dad. He would come back for her, she knew it; he wouldn't leave her here. Cameron was jolted from her thoughts when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around quickly ready for a fight, but when she saw that it was just the captain she slowly put her hands down and turned back towards the Eithrium.

"I don't think I've done anything wrong, cap'n." She said softly but loud enough for him to hear.

"And I must say I'm impressed considering you are a pirate." He walked over and stood next to her but she still didn't look up at him. For a moment neither of them spoke until Jim decided to break the silence. "I assume that your father is going to come back for you."

"Don't worry cap'n. I'll make sure nothing happens to your crew or your ship as long as you let us be on our way." She looked over at him briefly but then turned back to the Eithrium.

"You miss him a lot! I can see it on your face."

"Why would you give a shit? I don't understand why you didn't kill me when you had the chance. I am grateful, don't get me wrong, but.I am a pirate and from what I've heard the crew talking about, you roam around trying to catch them and then kill them, am I right cap'n?" She turned back to him, a frown clearly showing on both her face and in her eyes.

Jim frowned right back but didn't say anything. He watched as she shook her head and laughed. "Yes, but."

"You don't have to explain. Just because I'm a women doesn't mean that I should be treated differently. I'm sure that if it were another one of my crewmembers then you would have killed them right then and there. It can't be just because I'm a women, I'm still a pirate. So why didn't you kill me and be done with it?"

Jim thought about that for a moment. "I wish I could answer that question myself, but I honestly can't." He shrugged and looked away from her. They were silent until Jim realized something. "Did you want to be killed?"

Cameron looked over at him calmly. "I'm not afraid to die, I'm afraid of how I will die. I was raised to not fear death considering that I've been a pirate since as long as I can remember. That's part of the code. If you fear death then your not fit to be a pirate."

Jim nodded in understanding. "You seem to be very well spoken, did you get schooling?"

"I learned a few things from my mom but I do occasionally slip up." She answered simply.

"What happened to your mom?"

"What's with the questions?" Cameron turned to him, suspicion and a mixture of annoyance clouding her eyes. "Are you just trying to butter me up so you can get me to tell you some deep dark secret or something?"

"I guess you could say that." Jim shrugged. "I know your hiding something, so why not just tell me what it is?"

"I have to say cap'n, that some what I have learned to trust you since you've done more then you had to for me but not that much. Your lucky since it's hard for me to trust people, even my father at times." Cameron looked away from him. "I better be getting to bed. See ya in the mornin cap'n."