(OT: Um so yes. My apologies for not including Will in this one. This is a chapter of nothingness... Well maybe a little significancy, but mostly just some fun description because I do love to do that. Even this wasn't that in depth for me. Near the end is tension bewtween S.F. and Elizabeth, but the rest is a little pondering, but mostly just what we know the woman must be thinking. I didn't include their entire scene due to time, and I liked how I ended it. Because even though we know what happens, it sort of leaves a cliff hanger for thoughts on the matter. I hope you don't dislike this chapter too much... Perhaps you'll get more out of it than I can see. I really just sat down in my bed and wrote it, so it was more of a "Ok, back into these characters. One on one." The next one. I promise. It will be William's turn. I know I have done more Elizabeth than Will. Ok, now I'm rambling. Sorry. Haha. That is what 11:26 PM does to me I guess.)
As the creased, permeable crimson red sails flapped open, Elizabeth tried not to tremble. The captain's dirty long fingernails scraped from the curve of her back, over her gaunt shoulders, and lightly rested upon her little wrist. The terror had finally struck her as the distance extended between her and Will, and now her options were limited.
"Come," Sao Feng said, gesturing to an elegant entryway.
She cautiously followed him up the flight of stairs, and he slung open the mighty doors with ease, gazing at the woman with the utmost certainty. She glanced down the polished winding staircase that spiraled into an expansive, elaborately decorated candle-lit chamber in awe. Elizabeth had no doubt that Sao had great taste, but she had small faith in what lay in store in that secluded cabin.
"My ladies shall attend to your every feminine desire for the remainder of the evening," he proclaimed softly, highlighting each word with the rise and fall of his voice.
Elizabeth swiveled to face the menacing and tattooed captain. The night. The night was to come when he would surely attempt and… With a bitter gulp… Probably succeed in compromising her honor through sheer force. She had swallowed too much by coming aboard the Empress, and there was no escaping at this point. The serene shores and Will's impressive smile was miles away, and there was nothing except the whooshing ocean against the vessel's sides. Collecting her last ounce of courage she dourly uttered, "And why would I need taken care of?"
"A woman of such finery," Sao gently drawled, stroking her thin arm briefly, "should not be subjected to a man's simple attire."
She released a heavy growl, but the captain was already clamping the door shut in her face, and the bolt twisted and locked her in the lovely draped chamber. She tentatively strode down the gleaming steps, her dainty feet barely grazing the ground. In fact, Elizabeth was quite content with her clothes; she had no feminine needs at the moment, and she resented Sao's tainted touch. She dreaded when the sun would set, but since she was unable to escape or evade, Elizabeth trotted to the bottom of the steps and peered over the railing when she heard the sound of sloshing liquid.
The woman was surprised to see a small alcove with two Chinese ladies pouring steaming buckets of water into a metal tub. "For me?" she asked blandly, and the women lifted their eyes as they ladled out the last drop of water. They remained silent as Elizabeth glided forward, and the girls then bowed at the waist. One woman, whose face was imprinted with deep wrinkles at her straight lips, dropped to the floor and tapped Elizabeth's kneecap. She immediately lifted her thick leg, and the woman removed her simple strappy shoes and then repeated the process with the other foot. Before Elizabeth knew it, the two foreign women had stripped off her black garb piece of piece and gently laid her two flintlock pistols and her personalized sabre on a side table. Standing with her arms crisscrossed across her petite breasts, she inched toward the broiling tub of water when she felt the wafting breeze against her nude flesh. As she slithered into the alcove and slipped into the simmering metal container, the two women exited, taking a solemn position on the opposite side of the staircase, watching for any commands or beckoning.
Elizabeth settled into the warm bath, stretching out her muscular limbs and draping her moist arms across the sides. After dousing her grimy hair with water, she tilted back her head and closed her eyes, and strangely, she imagined Will's concerned expression, marveling at her stupid bravery. Oh, how she wished that she had embraced him. She could nearly feel the red-marks around her wrist and hear her impending screams in the night. She had blamed that fiasco on him, but it wasn't entirely Will's fault. Yes, he had arranged the accord, but that was Will. He was rash and believed in human beings more than Elizabeth ever could. She hoped that those weren't her last words to him. That she would once again grasp his hand and nestle against his warm embrace eventually… Even if she was fatigued from Sao's needs. God, how those thoughts frightened Elizabeth! How could she… Be his. Be his property. How could she submit to him? She knew what that captain wanted. Will's little subliminal comments and gestures now balanced upon her shoulders. What had she signed herself into?
Groaning in agony of the future, Elizabeth dipped herself beneath the scorching waves, allowing her man-made waves to swirl around her head before rising and sighing deeply. She scratched the filth from her drenched tresses and then swiped the light muck from her cheeks and neck, rubbing her hands over her entire body to rid herself of the filth. Minutes later, after the water had cooled, Elizabeth cleared her throat, and the two ladies complacently returned, hoisting up a white cotton dressing gown and a few towels. Elizabeth had now accepted the fact that these women were unresponsive to her bareness, so she rose confidently, and as she stepped out of the tub with water droplets dribbling down her frail back, the women huddled around her and handed her a towel. She accepted the material with a smile, and after thoroughly drying herself, the deep-wrinkled lady hastily slid Elizabeth's arms through the dressing gown and tied a tan sash at the waist, while the other squeezed and pulsed her blonde locks dry. They guided her into the main chamber, and Elizabeth briefly searched for her clothing, before realizing that she was to wear a fantastically embroidered ensemble.
After grasping a chair, the two women thrust Elizabeth's shoulders down, and they started tugging combs and baleen-bristled brushes through her long tresses, murmuring mindless comments. She shifted in her seat, suddenly recalling every day in the governor's mansion, when she was surrounded by countless maids who swerved at her every beck-and-call, happy to oblige the young Miss Swann. Of course, she would not reject being pampered, but the painful memories of what might have been and what was smashed as a disastrous blur as she thought of her past, present, and future. The translucent dressing gown clung to her damp flesh, and she writhed in the seat as her hair was yanked into a tidy bun. Pins were twisted between strands, and they nodded in agreement as they displayed her new outfit, accompanied by a sophisticated headdress.
Elizabeth grimaced. The vest and beading was beautifully done, but she had no desire to wear such a piece. She would rather wear pants; she enjoyed the liberation of a comfortable pair of breeches…But at least it did not include a corset. They motioned for her to stand, and Elizabeth silently followed the instructions, spreading her arms as the dressing gown was removed and then replacing it with a black-trimmed, deep red robe with intricate little leaves sprawled hither and thither. She knotted the black sash slightly to the side and then grimly stared at the high-neck vest, dreading the irritation the beads would cause against her little neck. They were now stooping to the ground with an aqua-blue long skirt, and Elizabeth quickly gathered the material and allowed the fabric to droop at her small hips. Layers upon layers. Even though the red robe was extremely light-weight, she still felt the heat building in the closed-off chamber, and she wished a window could be opened or a fan supplied.
The two women slipped the Chinese queen's last piece of wardrobe, the complexly designed blue-green vest, over her arms. Elizabeth fingered the spiraling little golden swirls across the vest and aqua-blue tassels on either side, still able to admire the complexity and pretty intent, even if the singly-sewn sparkling beads rubbed harshly against her neck anytime she made the slightly tilt of her head. Finally, the ladies glanced to the neat and tidy bun atop the woman's head, and Elizabeth knelt down so that they could situate the dreaded headdress. They wriggled it against her head until it was securely fastened and then attached clip-on dangling and glimmering earrings.
Elizabeth rose and then strode forward, gripping the diminutive side table in front of her and dipping her fingers into the besotted water that had random green leaves floating this way and that. Her lips automatically pouted as they straightened the pieces of her wardrobe, and Elizabeth couldn't help but think, once again, of why these ladies were primping her beauty to its full extent. Yes, Sao would enter any moment, she thought regrettably, and sure enough, only moments later, the captain's heavy footsteps pitter-pattered against the stairs and his robes raked against the floor as he narrated an ancient Chinese poem, dating back to those romantic times. She turned partially, gulping down her regrets and mounting in courage. She wouldn't let him. She wouldn't let him deflower her as he intended. Elizabeth's fingertips lightly patted the table, and out of the corner of her eyes, she watched each Chinese lady bow their heads and step in reverse, plastering themselves against the far wall. As she listened to the foreign pattern of his speech, Elizabeth swiveled her head, revealing nothing in her expression. She refused to allow her thoughts to scatter across her face… Not yet.
He continued announcing every syllable, and his eyes would not leave the delicately wardrobed woman. Sao Feng's speech finished and he clapped his hands, issuing a tacit command to the ladies. They fled the room with such solemn dispositions; Elizabeth suddenly realized how they were held more captive than she ever was.
She turned back to the man as he dipped his hand into the shallow vase and spun the leaf softly against the lapping waters. "By this time tomorrow we will arrive at Shipwreck Cove, and you will be free," he said as he flicked droplets of water away from his face. He then continued, so self-assured, "Calypso."
"Excuse me?" she asked, dumbfounded by his strange announcement. Elizabeth was Calypso? Doubtful.
He plunged his nasty fingernails into the water, rinsing them lightly, and then drying them on a clean cloth as he clarified, "Not the name you fancy, I imagine, out of the many that you have… But it is what we call you."
Elizabeth almost replied with a singe, "You have mistaken me, Sir." But then, she thought of her advantages. Perhaps she should play along. Perhaps with the "powers" of a goddess, she could whip Sao Feng into submission, instead of the other way around. It was best to play his game, just as she had with Jack and his notion of curiosity. The woman inquired calmly, "We being who?" Sao Feng lifted his eyes, and Elizabeth released a soft sigh and a quick smile. Oh, wrong choice. Wrong choice! She cursed herself… She had unveiled something that wasn't there to reveal.
"You confirm it." The captain nodded and chomped into the green leaf, crunching in the silence.
Wrong. Incorrect. Misguided. Stupid.
Ah! Elizabeth wished she could rewind her phrase… Step back in time even for a mini-second to allow her time to have one more thought. Where had this gotten her with Jack? Yes, that was right. Burdened, guilty, and unworthy of her other half. Gulping down these terrible thoughts, Elizabeth had no other option except to continue to play his little game and pretend that in fact… She was Calypso trapped in human form.
"Confirm what?" Elizabeth asked, taking a step back. She must play coy for now, she thought perilously, and discover why he wanted Calypso instead of the beautiful and supple Miss Swann. He followed her steps and her words grew arch, "You've told me nothing."
"The Brethren Court, not I, the first Brethren Court, whose position I would have opposed," Sao said as he circled Elizabeth like a dog and slammed his fist against the wall beam, "bound you to human form, so the rule of the seas would belong to men and not..."
He met her face-to-face, and Elizabeth finished for him, "To me." Ah, so that was the full-tale… The legend of Calypso, the woman who no longer reigned the seas, and he was intent on releasing her. The woman's eyes rolled toward him, growing smug as she realized she had power if he believed such a thing.
"But one such as you should never be anything less than what you are."
"Pretty speech from a captor," Elizabeth uttered in a whisper, her lip jutting out, but her power now wavering. The glint of his eye terrified her in that moment. He was planning something. Something she wouldn't like. She continued, recalling those words that Will had once said… About a proper marriage. Eagerness. It had filled them both and was now billowing in the waves and crashing against the rocks. "But words whispered through prison bars lose their charm."
He glided around her, their proximity close… Too close. "Can I be blamed for my efforts? All men are drawn to the sea," he said, facing her head on now, a fire blazing in his eyes and his chest glistening in the candlelight, "perilous though it may be."
Sao Feng was grinding Elizabeth's last nerve, and she knew, he wanted to employ Calypso the exact same way he would employ a gorgeous woman. "And some men offer desire as justification for their crimes," she barked, her eyes sternly fixed upon him.
"I offer simply my desire," Sao Feng kindly replied.
"And in return?" Elizabeth had to know what he would receive from an amorous embrace, even if it was a revolting notion.
"I would have your gifts, should you choose to give them," he responded lightly, almost understandably.
His expression gave way to what lay in all men's hearts. She didn't trust him. She didn't trust his placid exterior when she had seen fury behind his eyes only seconds before. Sao's eyes did not leave her face, but her body tensed, as if her clothes were transparent. She allowed a smile to creep, but it quickly vanished as she slid forward haughtily, self-assured that this would have to be mutual. She did not hope; she forced herself to believe in a mutual agreement whether it existed or not. "And if I should choose… Not?" she inquired, rising into his face, absorbing his salty, flowery breath. Damn. There the flame was.
"Then I will take…" Burning scorching, singeing her words, and forgetting every ounce of propriety. "Your fury!" he commanded, shoving her against the vessel's beam once again, and his hands enveloped her throat. She writhed as his cracked lips sucked upon hers, and she slapped his arms and then opened her mouth, reeling him in for a moment until biting upon his lip and thrusting him away. Elizabeth's breathing was rushed as her head quivered. No, no, this wasn't going to happen. She slid along the wall. He wasn't going to… Something vibrated against her cheek, and exploded within the the Empress. No! A cannon had struck the junk ship and had rocked them sideways. Sao Feng tumbled to the floor, and pirates and the enemy rumbled above. The smoke was gradually clearing, and the captain came into view, splayed on the floor, his head tilted against the wall, and his eyes wide and wild. Afraid of his feral look and draining face, she cautiously asked, "Sao Feng?"