Author's Note: I know it's been a while but I had a lot of trouble figuring out how I wanted this chapter to happen. I kept revising and I'm still not sure I got it exactly how I wanted it, but I guess you guys will be the judges! Please review, I need to know if I should continue with this…and some feedback would be great! Thanks especially to Seraphina2 (I'm so glad you thought Jack was in character! I was worried about that one! He's a hard one to write dialogue for!), Shadows, and unplugged32 (oh, and I missing reviewing for your story too! Sometimes you just completely miss an update-I missed 3 of yours so I'm the one who should feel bad! I'll send you one soon! I promise!), who reviewed for the last chapter! I'll try to write up chapter 5 asap, if everyone is still interested! ;)
~Chapter Four~
It was dark. So dark he sometimes wondered if he had gone blind. But then someone would open the hatch leading down to the dungeons and the stream of sunlight both thrilled him and filled him with despair. How long he had been down there, he had no comprehension. It felt like months, but it couldn't have been more then a week. They fed him well enough…he saw no reason why he should…but he still felt weak and weary. All he could do was lay there, thinking of that first day, and what he could have done differently.
****Will was not the only one they had taken from the ship. As he stood with his head hung and eyes closed, listening to the screams of horror and clang of swords, sounds of a struggle rose above the din. He looked up and saw two of the pirates dragging a resisting sailor across the plank and over to their ship. Will recognized him. It was Jacob, a young man from Port Royal on his first mission away from home. Only 17 years of age, he had come aboard fresh faced and eager to sail. When he found that Will was a master swordsman, he had asked for tutorials in the trade. Every day, when his duties were done, Will had taught him a few steps, or movements, and the boy learned rather quickly. But obviously it hadn't been enough to save him today.
The pirates, tired of his resistance threw him roughly onto the deck of the ship. His blond hair fell over his face, and he pushed it back as he scrambled to get to his feet. He was lithe and fit and had his footing in a matter of seconds, but when he saw Will tied up, he paused. And that was enough time for the woman behind him to hit him on the head with the handle of her sword. Will winced as his eyes glazed and he sagged forward.
She smirked and shoved him toward the mast and tied him securely next to Will. When she ran back to the other ship Will looked to see if he was still conscious.
"Jake…are you alright?" he looked at Will, a small smile growing across his face.
"You know what a hard head I have…" Will laughed a little, but Jake suddenly frowned. "What are we doing here…I mean, why take us prisoner?" Will shook his head
"I don't know…"
The battle only lasted a few more minutes. The pirates, victorious, came streaming across the planks to their own ship, cheering and carrying hoards of plunder. Will could scarcely believe that they were all women, but they were. Young, old, fat, skinny, and all of them covered in dirt, men's clothes, tattoos, hair of varying lengths, (obviously cut with a blade), weapons, wounds, and scars from battle, (either this one or one from the past). Some of them looked as though they might have been attractive in the past, but the cold, cruel and harsh reality that was a pirate's life carved out any beauty that might have existed in them once upon a time. As they dumped their loot on the deck and began to sort it, the door to the captain's cabin swung open and a woman of impressive stature strode out. Tall and slim, she wore a long coat made of red material over a man's dress clothes-white shirt, black vest, black pants-and the black boots of a pirate. A wide brimmed red hat sat atop her head, and accentuated her wild tangle of flaming red hair that reached her waist. The other pirates stopped what they were doing and turned to her.
"Ladies!" She shouted, her voice trained to the projection and commanding tone of a leader. "Well done! You've proven yer selves once again!" A roar of approval followed her words. The Captain smiled and then held her hands up for silence. "So what's the take in? Any prisoner's from that god forsaken boat?" The woman who had saved his life earlier stepped forward and pointed to the mast.
"Two, cap'n'" The captain smiled and strode toward Will and Jake. The women cleared a path and she was suddenly standing directed in front of him. At the close proximity, Will could now see that she was blind in one eye. A gruesome scar slashed from her forehead to her chin, causing her eye to be a milky white colour. Where most pirates would cover up this gross deformity, she seemed to wear it with pride. She walked slowly in front of them, inspecting them like cattle. Will felt a rage well up inside of him and he struggled against his bonds, his hands itching of his sword. The captain laughed maliciously and said,
"Nice….very nice…cut them loose." A pirate stepped forward and sliced through the ropes. They both fell forward, Jake because of his head injury, Will because he had been tied up so long. The women laughed cruelly and it only furthered the seed of anger growing within Will. He quickly straightened, ignoring the rush of blood flowing back into the limbs cut off by his bonds, and stood ready to defend himself. Jake also struggled to his feet, but once he got there he wavered slightly and placed a hand on the mast to steady himself. The one-eyed captain watched their efforts with amusement and called out loudly,
"Looks like the boys are tired from the beatin' we gave 'em!" The women laughed again, and Will saw an "opportune moment", as a friend had once put it. The woman who had cut the ropes still stood next to them, and was holding her sword. Will lunged sideways and grabbed it from her, punching her in the face during the movement. Her loud laughter at his expense was cut off abruptly and her hands flew to her nose which had begun to spout blood. Will then rushed forward and the captain of the Black Widow suddenly found herself at the point of a sword.
"Now, now m'lad." She sneered at him, not at all daunted by the fact that her heart could be pierced at any time. "That was not very gentlemanly." Will glared at her.
"Being a gentleman was what got me here in the first place-I will not make the same mistake again." Her smile grew wider, showing tooth decay and gold replacements.
"Ladies…" Hands suddenly grasped him from all angles. A brief struggle ensued, but being outnumbered, Will soon found himself face down, with his hands lashed behind his back. "Get 'im up" said a voice from above, and he was jerked roughly to his feet and held in place by about four women. He found himself in front of the Captain again. She smiled coldly and said,
"Very rash," she stepped closer to him and reached out, grasped his chin and turned his face to hers. When he wrenched out of her undesirable touch she laughed again. "There's spirit in this one girls" She stopped laughing abruptly and looked at him grimly. "That's something that can be broken." She turned and began calling out orders to her crew. They immediately sprung into action, moving so swiftly that he understood why they had caught up to his traveling vessel so quickly. The Captain pivoted on her bootheels and yelled, "Take our guests bellow!" Will was shoved violently toward a set of stairs. He struggled again and called out to the Captain's receding figure
"What do you want with us!?!" but she only smiled grotesquely at him, the smile of someone who knew something horrible, and took pleasure in knowing it.****
That was the last time he had been outside. He was beginning to feel wild within his confinements. The cell was barely big enough for himself, and Jake was in it with him. And Jake wasn't very good company. He had suffered a severe concussion and was sick with the effects of it for the past few days. Will felt bad for him but sometimes he wanted to tear his hair out or throw himself against the bars. He was getting to the point where he saw no reason in going on. Obviously something worse then this awaited him once they made port. The pirates fed him well and left him alone (physically-whatever orders they had not to harm him obviously did not extend to verbal insults), but Will dreaded that this was the calm before the storm. Why wait until the rain began to fall?
There were two things that stopped him from ending his life. One was that he would not abandon Jake. He felt responsible for the boy, even though he was a few years older. He could not let him face whatever was about to happen alone. The second was Elizabeth. He would not give up without seeing her one last time, and he clung onto the memory of her like a lifeline. He did not know what the future held for him, but he knew that while Elizabeth was alive, he would not give up. He just hoped that she had not given up on him.
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Well, there you go…I'm still not sure I'm satisfied with it, but you tell me what you think and then I'll make my mind up! Please review! I love reading your responses…anyone who's an author on this site knows how they can make your day-so go ahead!