Liz's heart was going a mile a minute. Here she was being dragged away by a complete stranger who thought her a thief and she could not find her voice to even deny the allegations. His strong hand was wrapped painfully around her wrist and as she tried to pull away it only served her to be jerked forward. As soon as they exited the club the moonlight along with the nightlights bathed her abductor's form clearly and Liz almost lost her breath. Tall with broad shoulders and brown hair that fell across his forehead he seemed quite the man.
Liz shook her head in frustration. She was not supposed to be thinking these thoughts right now. Right now she had to think of what her father would do when he found her gone, right now she had to think of what that stranger would do to her, and right now she had to think if her life would ever be the same again. That final thought scared and she finally found her strength and jerked at his hand. The surprise of the pull caught him off guard and his hand released her. The moment his grip loosened Liz stopped abruptly and turned to bolt away from him. She had only ran a few feet however before she found herself surrounded by a bunch of other men. They looked as if they'd pounce on her at the slightest movement. That scared Liz even more. They looked angry and since Liz still had her hood on they could not possibly know that she was but a defenseless woman. Slowly she turned back around only to become face to face with her captor's eyes. Goodness they were mesmerizing!
'NO' Liz scolded herself in her head. But perhaps if she met this man under different circumstances........her train thought was interrupted by a lightning grip of his big hands went around her small wrist once again. He jerked her close enough for her to feel his breath on her face.
"Do not try that again cloaks man thief. I warn you for my men will not hesitate....." he left the sentence unfinished leaving her to conclude the rest for herself, then he surprised her by pulling her closer still and hissing" and neither will I ". Liz swallowed convulsively. She wondered if she should tell him who she was right now and have this whole mess cleared up. Obviously some person who wore a similar cloak had stolen from him and he mistaken her for that person.' Yes of course that must be it, I'll just clear the whole thing up" she thought but before she could speak a word she was being hauled off once again into the night. At first she hadn't thought of were they were going, but right now as she glanced ahead she could only see a dark trail, yet as she sniffed the air she noticed it as salt. The port! They were going to the port! 'But why?' Liz thought curiously. Surely he would think better to take her to the police. As soon as Max had grabbed his criminal's wrist a strange sensation of heat spread from his hand to his entire body. It left him confused and as he pulled him away into the night he contemplated it. Too lost in thought he was caught by surprise when he tried to escape. Giving him that warning seemed wrong to him for some reason and Max didn't know why. It was as if threatening this cloaks man was not a highly intelligent thing to do.
However shrugging the feeling off, he gripped at the wrist again and ignored the heating sensation again. Perhaps it was simply caused from his anger? ' yes of course' he thought rationally and he would make sure to make his thief pay for his crime. Since he couldn't take him to the law, knowing that he would be hanged himself, he decided to create his own punishment. First he would take him back to the ship, then he would demand his money back and after he would probably give him a whipping or some sort of painful deed and let him go before the ship sails.
His crew was right behind him when they reached the dock where their giant ship lay. Max turned his head and his gaze landed on Michael who came forward in acknowledgement. Without even being asked Michael answered his question.
"All here and accounted for" he stated and Max nodded his head in approval.
"Good then let's go!" he ordered and the men scrambled about climbing aboard and getting about their work. Max walked tentatively to the narrow ladder and contemplated how to get them both up there without trouble. He glanced thoughtfully at what he considered his temporary prisoner and looked him up and down. The cloak still shielded his face so Max could not make out his expression. Was he scared? Was he angry? Was he smiling with a ready plan to escape?
Max didn't like the last thought. He gave him a more thorough look this time and noticed that this man's figure was quiet small, almost like a woman oddly enough. Max's eyes went back to the hidden face. Without second thought he moved in and wrapped his arms around him and hauled him upon his shoulder. 'Surprisingly light as well' Max thought curiously. Max concluded that he must be dealing with no man, but a young boy, for all blossoming men looked to have a certain woman's complexion. Even he was one.
As soon as he had placed the young boy securely on his shoulder a soft, barely audible gasp emitted from him which Max chose to ignore and began ascending the ladder to the deck Once there he dropped the boy ungracefully to the ground with a thud and without giving him time to gain balance began to pull him to his cabin below. When the man swiftly pulled her onto his shoulder Liz couldn't help but gasp in surprise. The fear was still there but now it was frightfully replaced by excitement. Who would have thought that Lady Elizabeth Parker who was to marry Sean Deluca and become the richest and most respected woman in Florence would be sneaking out in the middle of the night, accused of being a thief in an indecent restaurant and being abducted by a stranger and carried off to his ship? It was rather adventuressly exciting in a way. Liz remained as still as she could as they went up the ladder yet whenever she glanced down to where her eyes would only allow her to see she couldn't' help but notice this stranger's buttocks. Liz blushed and scolded herself again for her train of thoughts. Before she knew it she was roughly let down from his strong shoulder and she landed heavily onto the wooden deck. She had time to regain her balance or even glance up to view her surroundings before she was being dragged away once more.
A few seconds later she realized they were about to descend some steps. She successfully climbed down the first few but his insistent pull made her lose her balance and she lost her footing and felt herself fall against him. She expected to feel herself slam into him so she closed her eyes before the impact.....but it didn't come and she felt two large hands gripping at her shoulders. Slowly opening her eyes, she found herself staring into his own. Her heartbeat quickened its pace and her breath caught in her throat.
"Watch it" he said in an irritated and impatient voice and then turned back around to continue their journey down. After the steps Liz realized they were walking through a narrow hallway and not long after they had stopped and her stranger had opened a door with his free hand and shoved her forcefully inside. Liz quickly turned around when she heard the click of the door. The room was dimly lit by a solitary candle so she could not see much of the room but she could definitely see him as he walked towards her rather menacingly.
Looking her up once again like he did before they boarded the ship he said "Now let us see your face thief" and reached with his hand to tug away her cloak. Liz jumped and moved away. Her move however she noticed did not please her captor for he stepped forward and before she could pull away he had grabbed at her hood and shoved it down.