Chapter Twenty Seven: Oh, Anna, Where Art Thou?
~~ "Anna! Anna! Where the hell are you, Anna?!" The Captain yelled, stomping all around the ship, he figured out that the first mate lied. "Anna!"
He yelled once more, I gulped. "H-Here" I peeped, hardly believing my voice left the room. "C-Captain, I-I'm here" I said louder, gasping and cringing as I attempted to move.
"Anna! Damn you, answer me!" He yelled, becoming increasingly irritated; I sniffled.
"I'm down here, Captain! I'm down here" I whimpered, calling louder; the Captain paused and he yelled at the crew to go silent. "I-I'm down here...Captain...I'm down here!" I called; there was rapid footsteps running down the stars, tens of sets of them!
"Anna!" He cried in relief, rushing down to me, he paused when his boot touched a puddle of my blood; his eyes grew large and then he sighed in frustration, clenching his fingers together to form a fist. He turned to his crew. "I want to know, who whipped her?" He asked calmly, no one spoke up.
"Who whipped her?!" He yelled, his calmness zipped out of the room as fast as the crew wanted to! One of the men who held me down stepped forwards.
"S-Sir, Manuel and I held her down while first mate Isac whipped her, sir." He said quietly, bowing his head; the Captain nodded and stepped up to him, patting his shoulder, then, in one quick motion, wrapped his hands around the man's head and cracked the man's neck! His body fell to the ground with a lifeless thud; the Captain never blinked an eye.
"Manuel, step forward." The Captain growled, and, Manuel, the other man who held me down, suffered the same fate as the latter man. "Move these bodies" he ordered to the crew, who, pulled the bodies of the dead crew members out of the room and threw them into the ocean. The Captain turned to me and touched my cheek. "I'll be back, okay?"
He said softly; I nodded and sniffled. The Captain stood and walked away, returning moments later, dragging his first mate by the back cuff of his shirt; the Captain showed the first mate's face to me. "Is this the man who hurt you, Anna?" The Captain asked, I nodded and the Captain grinned, pulling the first mate up to his face. The first mate, subsequently, began begging the Captain for his life.
"Oh, don't worry, I've got something special for you." The Captain hissed, grinning sinisterly and walking the first mate back up the stairs whilst the ship's doctor ran to me and began treating my wounds. The alcohol cloth stung terribly against the wounds; I cried out, burying my teeth into my lip and clenching my eyes shut, arching my back away from the doctor.
"I'm sorry, dear, but, your wounds need to be sterilized to prevent infection." He said softly, I whimpered and relaxed back, allowing him to dab my wounds again; my teeth dug deeper into my lip, causing blood to dribble down, from my newly-wounded lip, and touch the deck, moving with the motion of the boat.
~~ The doctor was still treating my wounds when the crew came down to sleep. The crew was silent as they watched the doctor do as much as he could for me, he wiped his forehead and the Captain walked down the stairs, his coat drenched in dried blood, along with his hat; he was wiping his hands on a cloth. "Is she fixed up yet?" He asked, walking closer to us, the doctor sighed.
"There's not much more I can do for her, save give her a healthy amount of morphine to take the pain away. He cleaned her flesh from her bone, Captain, he was merciless." The doctor said, looking up from my back, to the Captain.
"And so was I" the Captain said, sitting down in my hammock. "What is her chance of being infected?"
"Down here, high. On deck, medium, in a room of her own, with ready supplies, minimal; though it's not impossible. I've given her as much defense against disease and infection as I can, Captain." The doctor said, the Captain nodded; he turned to me.
"I'm going to break my own vow..." he said softly, he stood and bent down, lifting me up as carefully as he could, and he carried me away; he did, indeed, break his own vow. For he took me to his bedroom and laid me down on my stomach on his bed, pulling up the sheets to my waist. The Captain sent the doctor away and placed a chair beside the bed, on the side he placed me; he sat down and sighed, rubbing his face.
"I'm sorry" I croaked, half of my face hidden in his plushy pillow.
"You have nothing to be sorry for."
"Yes, I do; if I wasn't so clumsy none of this would've happened." I said, the Captain became quiet. "Where are we headed?" I asked after a small pause.
"Singapore, to meet with Edward." The Captain said in monotone. He drew out a cigarette from his pocket and struck a match against the chair, lighting the cigarette; sighing afterwards and relaxing into the chair. The room fell silent again; it wasn't until I reached my hand out and grasped his that the silence was broken. "What are you doing?"
He asked, his eyes closed, I sniffled and wiggled my hand into his own and tightened my grip. "Holding your hand" I said quietly.
"Why?"
"It...it makes me feel better."
"How?"
"Because...it makes me feel like you love me again." I said before burying my face into his pillow and smiling at the scent. It smelt of his soap of lavender and sea salt; the Captain gave a long sigh and I peeked out from behind the pillow to see his eyes were open, and he was looking to me. "I know you care about me" I said softly. "Because, well, you wouldn't have worried about me being missing, had you not, but, care and love are two different things."
I whispered, he squeezed my hand and I smiled to him. "I don't know if I can do it, Captain" I whispered, my throat feeling as if it were caving in upon itself. "I don't know if I can start all over again, I don't know if I can erase all of those feelings...they're so persistent, Captain, I...I feel like I'm gonna burst at the seams." I blurted out. The Captain's grip loosened, I began to panic. "They're not bad feelings, Captain, no, they're wonderful...when they can be properly expressed; Captain, they're the same feelings you and I had when we walked about the shops together, w-when you bought me that cake and I tackle-kissed you."
I said, pausing, the Captain smiled at the fond memory. "The same feelings we got when you taught me how to hold someone's hand" I smiled and blushed. "When I spied on you when you bathed" I confessed, he turned ot me and laughed.
"You watched me whilst I bathed? How many times?"
"A few..." I said, grinning; he brought my hand to his lips and kissed the top, sighing.
"Did 'ya like what 'ya saw?" He asked, raising his eyebrows, I giggled.
"Very much so." I answered, laughing; a smile was painted in rosy ink upon his lips.
"I knew it would be a long shot, about the starting over, but, I...I don't know...I don't know what I thought. I was so blinded by anger and...heartbreak...I.." He said, he sighed, turning to me once more with shining eyes of glass; I forced myself up, breaking our hand holding, and sat up, falling forwards into his arms and holding him tightly to me. His arms rested on my waist, he was scared of hurting me. "Well, Anna, instead of watching me bathe, how about you join me?"
He asked, I giggled and my cheeks became tinted with cherries. "Don't mind if I do!" I cried happily, squeezing him tighter. I paused. "Does that mean I can kiss you again?"
"Yes, Anna." He answered; I squealed happily and bounced, kissing his cheek. He stood with me and laid me back down upon the bed, he kicked off his shoes and plopped down beside me, holding his upper body in the air by way of his elbows. "So" he said as I hugged his arm and laid my legs over his. "Explain to me everything that happened since you left the ship, and end it when you woke from your hangover."
(A/N)
No problem, Mademoiselle Lauren! Yes, a blindfold, I feared the actress who portrayed Christine (Grace Morgan) was going to fall into the Orchestra Pit! Haha, have fun!
