Chap. 2 Stella lay in silence for what seemed like hours. Her head pounded and her mouth ached for water. She could feel the boat riding the waves underneath her and she strained to hear anything in the harsh silence that seemed to suffocate her. After what she later spoke of as an eternity, she heard footsteps. She listened as they went down stairs, opened a door she guessed was to her room, and finally her blindfolded was lifted and she came face to face with what was clearly a pirate. Even for Stella, who had never before seen a pirate, she knew immediately that this was a perfect specimen. The man had deep, dark eyes that were rimmed with kohl, which only increased their depth. He had long black dreadlocks, braided with tiny beads, shells, and other suck trinkets, including a long, thin bone. He also had a fine mustache and a long braided goatee. He wore a rather old looking tri-corner hat, and a red bandana peeked out from underneath. He seemed to fancy jewelry as he had a collection of rings on his fingers along with the beads in his hair. As for his clothes, he was dressed like every other sea-loving man she'd ever met; a vest, a linen shirt (one she was sure had seen better days), pants, boots, and a belt around his chest and waist. The one around his waist had many things dangling from it including a sword and scabbard. He then grinned and Stella noticed a mouth full of shining gold teeth. He only kept the grin for seconds longer, because the second he cut her bonds, she kicked him in the crotch. Stella did not wait for him to recover. She sprinted out the doors and up the stairs, following the sunlight streaming in from above, although she had no idea what she was going to do once she reached the top. The stairs ended soon enough and she leapt out onto the deck. Stella ran to the bow of the boat and then turned around as the crew stared at her and then began to run towards her, holding ropes and chains. At that moment, the pirate she had kicked below deck ran out into view. "Now gentlemen, and lady, sorry love" he said, eyeing an annoyed looking female crew member, "she's not going anywhere. It's not like she can really dive into the bloody ocean, and make it back alive all by her onesies, eh?" The pirate then chuckled a bit and the crew got back to their work. He walked up to her and sat down on a near-by bucket, wincing a little as he did so. "Now dearie, I do hope you won't take it personal, the whole kidnapping thing, but I'm afraid it was necessary. You were too close to Tortuga for ye own good. And besides, it's always handy to have a hostage on board, in case we need ye for something." He then grinned again, and Stella began to think this was his trademark. "You will address me as Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy? Always Captain, know that. Now if you'll just follow me, I shall show you to your chambers." "I prefer to stay out here, Captain" Stella said angrily. "Suit yourself, I prefer it out here meself. Just be careful, not to get in the crew's way, they're a bit antsy today. He then walked away, leaving Stella all alone on the deck of a pirate ship, her brown hair blowing in the wind. She gazed out on the ocean, surprised at how blue it was. It was never that blue near land. Stella watched a school of dolphins racing beside the ship, and wished more than anything she were there with them. She wished she could carelessly jump and splash in the quiet blue depths, instead of sit and rot, like she feared she'd do on this ship. Or worse, what if Jack actually killed her, he had said she might come in handy! Still, it was better than back with her father. And here at least it sounded like she had an actual room, instead of a floor and a blanket. Stella smiled slightly at the thought of waking up each morning to the smell of the sea air, and the majesty of the ocean. She watched a lonely seagull fly overhead and then turned around to face the boat. She watched the crew going at various jobs and then glanced up at the crow's nest, squinting through the harsh sunlight. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust, but when they did she found she was staring at a man, a man with the most amazing brown eyes she'd ever seen. Eyes that staring down into hers, that seemed to cut into her like a knife.