I warn you now: firstly the first few paragraphs are just fillers and not that interesting, but secondly, this chapter also has a bit of violence against Orianna, so if you don't want to read it, skip to the bottom. Please read it and hopefully you'll enjoy it. From this chapter on, the storyline and plot (romance included) becomes more developed and hopefully interesting. (Please tell me of any spelling mistakes so I can fix them up…thanks)
Tavis took her retreat as an invitation and stepped forward, closer to her. Orianna smiled as she felt around on the table behind her until her hand rested upon a cold metallic object. Grasping the lantern firmly in her hand, she waited for him to edge a few steps closer before muttering a simple apology for what she was about to do and before he could react, connected the heavy object with his head. Orianna watched horrified as he crumpled into a heap on the floor before worrying that she had killed him. Reaching down, she searched for and felt his pulse until assured that he was still alive.
Orianna didn't exactly know the direction she was supposed to go in, something told her she was nearing the captain's room. Knowing that Tavis would suffer a somewhat painful headache when he woke up brought a smile to her face.
If everything went accordingly, she would find the captains command room with little difficulty. At first after leaving Tavis, she didn't know whether to run and hide again or to think up a plan.
After realizing that the crew and passengers were still locked up, she had made a decision to find the keys to let them out, that way the pirates wouldn't leave without a fair fight.
A severe chill ran through the whole of Orianna's body, causing her to rub the tingling skin as if it would ease the feeling left behind. The last time she had experienced such a violent feeling was when she was a little girl.
Abigail, her best friend at the time and herself were playing down near the local village lake. Since it was the middle of winter and the waters top was apparently frozen, Abigail had started running towards it intending to skid across its slippery surface. Orianna, laughing and following suite was overcome by an intense shivering reaction that made her stop in her tracks.
Even for a child of around eight, she knew well enough that it wasn't the bite of the frosty air that made her skin shudder, something was going to happen.
Orianna yelled out for her friend to stop but it was too late, Abigail had already reached the edges of the lake and was in the process of getting her feet on the ice.
Before attempting another call out to her, Orianna ran back up the hill and scanned the area for anyone that could help. Spotting a man cutting log wood just near the beginning of the forest, she turned and glanced at Abigail.
Although she was still safely skidding across the ice, Orianna knew something ominous was coming. Running as fast as her small feet could manage against the deep snow, she dashed her way until she was close enough to gain the man's attention.
Upon seeing an almost hysterical girl running towards him, the man put down his axe and yelled out if she was alright.
Orianna in the process of fighting against the ankle deep snow, babbled her tear ridden fears to the man causing him to swiftly pick her up over his shoulder and break into a run up to the lake.
Orianna fearing the worst had imagined seeing Abigail nowhere, only a large gaping hole in the ice; instead she was faced with a jovial Abigail, skidding and running from corner to corner, stopping when she saw the man and her friend.
Seeing the girl safe and well on the ice, the man gave a quizzical glance to Orianna who was red faced with causing such a futile alarm. Mumbling something under his breath about immaturity, he turned to leave but was stopped in his tracks when a sound of cracking ice and shrill screaming reached his ears.
Long story short, Abigail was eventually rescued, suffering from a bout of shock and an intense fever lasting weeks but that feeling, the one that feels as though a sack of ice was being poured over your bare skin, has forever stayed in Orianna's memory.
The similarity of the two sensations utterly disturbed her, and as with before she didn't ignore it, instead she walked on with more caution and swiftness than ever before. She had a good idea of where she was going but the likeness of each passageway made it difficult for her to be completely certain.
Orianna was partway between one of the hallways in question when a floor board creaked close behind her. Instantly flinging herself around, she was only faced with an oddly uncomfortable air of stillness; turning back wearily, she listened for any give away signs.
Continuing further only a few steps, Orianna was vaguely aware of a small number of soft pounding sounds and a slight whoosh behind her, before she was pulled to the ground by something heavy.
A mix of pure shock and fear made her motionless for a few moments before she regained her wits. Orianna tried to push herself up but the person holding her down had an impressive weight to his advantage, causing her to struggle for breath.
Attempting a slightly shrill scream for help, Orianna felt the mans hand swiftly cover her mouth at the same time as pulling her head back causing a small gasp of pain to catch in her throat.
The man now manoeuvred himself so that he sat on the small of Orianna's back, pinning her arms above her head with one arm and continuing to cover her mouth with the other.
Orianna wasn't stupid, she knew what he wanted to do; the possible outcomes of this situation made her sick to her stomach.
It was a secluded hallway near the back of the ship, rarely ventured in by anyone and now since everyone was locked away, her only chance was to fight…to fight hard and ruthless without a care of the consequences.
If the worst scenario still managed to occur then she'd know that she tried, she wasn't going to be easy prey to him: not now, not ever.
Orianna was still struggling as the man bent his face beside her ear and proceeded to whisper so quietly that she wasn't sure what she heard. A frustrated "what?" left her lips and he repeated himself, this time in his normal level of speech. "I said, has the little lass lost her way?"
Orianna refused to give him an answer, prompting him to place his knee hard into her shoulder blade. He laughed slightly as she squirmed beneath him.
Orianna now knew what he was about; he was a man that revelled in causing pain, choosing easy victims to inflict his cruelty…she had her work cut out for her.
"A fighter, are we?" he teased as she tried to free his grasp of her hands. "Girls like you should learn your place.
Immaturity and pigheadedness aren't attractive in females, neither is sneakiness. What did you expect to accomplish by running through the halls? Eh? Were you looking for something? Well I'll tell you what you found…" he paused.
Orianna, slightly puzzled at the silence, wasn't left waiting very long for an answer since the man in one swift motion rolled Orianna over so that she was now lying on her back.
Still pinning her down, he leaned only a few inches away from her face and with a disturbing smile, whispered in her ear, "you found me"
A feeling of intense fear caught hold of her as she realized that this would be the only chance she'd have before he attempted the unthinkable.
By immersing himself so deeply in his own twisted power play, he hadn't realised that by rolling Orianna over, he had exposed himself to the potential viciousness of her knee connecting with his most highly prized attachment.
His realization came soon enough as he instantly doubled over from the searing pain between his legs. Orianna took the opening and pushed him off before his brain could comprehend what she was doing.
Her body was shaking so much that she stumbled every few steps, struggling to get her legs to run.
This gave the now recovered beast the ability to catch up and before Orianna knew it, she was fiercely pushed forward by the man whose temper was now more volatile than she dared imagine.
She was consequently hurled into the wall, faltering backwards until she regained her balance; a sudden rush of pain started from one of her ribs.
Clutching the injured area and being in no state to run without him catching her again, Orianna blocked herself against the pain and pitched herself at him, managing to get one good connection between her fist and his face.
Swearing viciously, the man grabbed both her arms and pulled her to the ground but before he had a proper grip on her, Orianna moved herself so that his grip slacked and she fled his grasp.
Running with a slight hobble in the opposite direction to the front of the boat, she could hear him start pursuit. 'Doesn't he ever just give up?'
Turning a corner and seeing a familiar stretch of hallway bearing the number 42 cabin, Orianna managed a smile before he lunged for her, only managing to grab hold of her skirt, which inturn pulled her down.
As she fell to the ground, her head scraped the very edge of one of the walls and she gasped at the sudden pain. Orianna laid there, her whole body feeling weak and tired as the man slowly approached and stood over her; a victorious sneer crowning his thin lips.
Feeling something trickle down along the edge of her face, Orianna's hand began to wipe it away, only to stop when she saw a dark red shade smudged upon her fingers.
"Can you feel that?" He asked casually. "That to me feels like the woman is finally where she belongs….at my feet, isn't that right".
Orianna felt like grabbing his head and putting it somewhere anatomically impossible. She was just about to voice her thoughts when the man grabbed her by one arm and pulled her up, pushing her against the wall.
Taken by surprise, Orianna only just turned her head in time before he attempted to put his filthy lips on hers. Even the feel of his lips on her cheek made Orianna's stomach turn.
Disgust and anger mixed up within her until finally, she gripped his shoulders and pushed him into the opposite wall, taking the breath out of him.
Feeling a bit queasy, Orianna went to turn away when the man in a fast reflex, circled his arm around her waist and brought her violently to the floor.
'Not again', she grumbled out as the pain following from the fall pounded through her whole body; her head feeling the worst since it was the first to meet with the hard wooden floor. The man now lifted himself up and got to his feet, staring down coldly at her limp form.
Knowing that her will to fight was starting to lessen with sheer exhaustion, she decided there and then that this was her last chance for escape.
Summoning as much strength as possible, Orianna once again aimed her foot for the one place in particular known to cause a great effect.
With more force than she knew she had, she kicked him so hard that, from the surprise and pain ridden impact, the man was flung backwards into the wall and justly fell into a tight ball on the floor.
Orianna lifted herself off the floor and walked over to his foetus like form and proceeded to kick him hard in the back, then his legs with desperate anger, wanting him to hurt more than her body was.
Still trembling and feeling faint, she ran, well a run that was expected for her state, up the hallway until she was exposed to small passage way leading up to the stairs for the deck.
Skilfully pulling her-self up by the hand rails, she managed to reach the top and managed a few small steps into the dark, cold night before she crumpled to the floor, on the brink of unconsciousness.
In all her confused state, she hadn't realized all the stunned pirates that were watching the scene unfold, speechless as she fell hard onto the floor, beginning to worry when she didn't move from then on.
Captain Rebus had just finished attending to his sons bruised and throbbing head. He had come across the strange sight as he patrolled the ship for any left behind treasures that the other men may have overlooked.
To say he was surprised to see his unconscious son lying on the floor, in the middle of a deserted hallway, wouldn't even come close.
After procuring a small pot of smelling salts from his belt bag, Rebus had successfully roused his son until Tavis was able to stand on his own two feet without relying on his father's arm.
Deciding to ask questions later when they had more time for a full explanation, he and his son had started making their way back to the rest of the crew.
Midway, a small crew boy came running hurriedly towards them, uttering words so fast that it took him two tries at it for Captain Rebus to fully understand the situation. "Captain…Captain, hurry, there's a woman, she…she's bleeding, she's not moving, captain help". Sensing the urgency of the situation and although not completely understanding what the boy was on about, Rebus quickly followed the young messenger, with Tavis trailing close behind.
Upon reaching the deck, Rebus and Tavis had to physically push through the crowd surrounding the girl until they finally sighted a small form being supported in the arms of one of the crewmen.
Edging closer to the lass, Rebus' chest tightened as he saw her bruised and slightly blood tinged appearance. Looking to his son standing beside him, he saw Tavis looking more shocked and affected than any man standing around.
"Do you know the lass?" he finally asked, suspecting an earlier connection than first let on. Although Tavis had assured his father when they first met up during the raid, that he had made no contact with anyone aboard, Rebus now saw that his son may have withheld from him.
His father's voice had brought him out of his thoughts and Tavis quickly covered his emotions with an unaffected mask.
"Not very much, her name is Orianna or something similar. I ran into her a few times and she was the one who so very graciously gave me this earlier on", he said, gesturing to his bruised forehead.
"She had hidden in the dining room during the raid and went looking for a safer place to hide when I came across her". Looking around he saw the accusing eyes of the crew and quickly understood his mistake.
"Don't worry, I wasn't the one who did this to her, god no. The last thing I saw of her was when she was about to connect a lantern with my head after I tried to block her escape, how she got like this…I have no idea."
Satisfied with his answer to a certain extent, Rebus then called out to two of the cabin boys and instructed them to run and fetch a pitcher of water, some cloths and bandages.
I finally have an idea of where this story is going, so in the future there's going to be more answers, plotline and romance (the love/hate kind). Thankyou to everyone that's reviewed (youse are all beautiful, brilliant and magnificent) so if you've read the story, review if you want to, I'd really appreciate it.