Fanfare
New chapter!! Now... just a little A/N on this one... It lives up to its... T-rating, is it?... a bit more... maybe... at the end...
If that made any sense... Ah, just read it! Hehe.
Edit- Bugger... I've only just realise that doesn't like asterisks! That's annoying... It must have soo totally messed up my pauses before now... Grrrr... Lol. Argh! Looking back I see it's done it everywhere, so one part just runs into another! I hope it made sense! Bloody thing...
Chapter 13
A knock on the door makes me start awake, my eyelids snapping open immediately.
I find myself still in the corner where I had been, in the same position. I must have dozed off at some point without realising, but now, as I attempt to stand up, I vow never to do something like it again- my legs buckle with cramp from being in the same, strange position for however long I have been huddled there, and agonising pains shoot up my body.
It takes me a few moments to remember where exactly I am, as in the twilight everything looks different- even stranger than it did when the sun threw light into this cabin. However, my eyes adjust enough to pick out odd, unfamiliar-shaped furniture and I realise that I am on a ship- Serpiente's ship. I feel my stomach drop unpleasantly at this thought.
The knocking on the door starts up once more, more insistent this time. Now trusting that my muscles have returned to their normal state, I start to walk cautiously over to the door, slightly apprehensive as to who I might find there.
Again, the knocking is repeated, each time getting louder and seemingly more impatient. Skirting round an unrecognisable dark shape that is in my path, I find myself standing in front of the door, wondering what to do next. I am unarmed, and completely unprepared for who might be standing there.
However, my fears disappear as soon as I hear the voice, sounding so weedy and pathetic that I cannot stop myself from laughing. Now, instead of dread, I am filled with the feeling of disgust.
I swing open the door with such force it bangs into the wall behind it, then stare at the man before me with a very hostile expression on my face. He appears to shrink slightly before realising that he, in fact is the one in charge, while I am just his captive.
Chalmes gives me a small smile, which, when my facial expression does not change, quickly disappears.
"Sierra... Ah… Serpiente requests your presence in his cabin, for dinner. He has given me this dress to pass on to you, and he requests you wear it."
"And if I refuse?" I reply, shortly.
Chalmes looks uncomfortable.
"That would not be a wise idea… Not a wise idea at all. If you allow me to give you one piece of advice, just one… It is that you should stay on the right side of that pirate. He is not known for his patience."
I pause for a second, to consider what he has said. Then, so suddenly I make the man jump as though he had been hit, I reach out and snatch the dress from him.
"Happy now?"
"That was a wise move, Sierra." Chalmes looks relieved. "Now, on something slightly more pleasant- how are you today?"
In response, I slam the door shut, smiling with satisfaction as I hear him squeak in surprise. Then, I turn to the dress in my hand, and the pressing matter of attending dinner with Serpiente.
Standing in front of the mirror I have found, with only the light from one small candle I managed to light, I run my hands nervously over the dress I am now wearing. It is a beautiful, high-quality material, granted, but the style is rigid and uncompromising, the corset bones pushing my breasts up as high as possible while the low neckline reveals rather more than I would want. My reflection looks like a common whore from the streets of Tortuga, and not a woman going to dine with the captain of a ship.
Perhaps this is the effect Serpiente wants to create… I shudder at the thought.
I turn towards the door, the deep plum material rustling as it stiffly folds over itself. Then, I open the door and step into the corridor outside, almost standing on a sullen-faced man with scraggly red hair and an ill look. He starts to walk off, calling behind him with absolutely no emotion.
"This way."
I head towards him, catching him turn around slyly and casting a glance at the low neckline of my dress. He sees I have noticed, however, and tries to avert his gaze as though thinking I had not noticed him looking.
Trying to adjust the dress surreptitiously so I feel less self-conscious, I hold my head high in the air and breeze past the crewmember, continuing down the corridor despite the fact that I do not actually know where I am going. He scuffles after me to catch up, walking just a pace behind to point me in the right direction when we get to a pair of large black doors, as wide and ornate as the narrow passageway allows room for.
Scuttling ahead, the man pushes the doors open for me and gestures inside. Taking a deep breath, I stride into the quarters of the Serpent.
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The blond pirate is standing by the large window, staring out into the twilight outside. A painful pang rips through my heart as I remember Jack Sparrow in the same position, at the window of his beloved Pearl. Perhaps that ship is the only thing Jack really cares for, seeing as how I have now found out first-hand how he treats humans.
Hearing the doors opening, he turns around to see me walk in. A smile is carefully arranged on his face, but looks forced and unnatural and does not extend to his eyes- which remain as cold as ever.
These eyes soon slide down towards the front of my dress, using a stare that is so fixed it seems to bore right into me. I cannot believe it, but should probably have expected it- for all his airs and graces, Serpiente is no better than that scurvy crewman who had shown me here.
I cough loudly, making the pirate stop trying to stare into my bodice and instead fix his eyes on my face instead. The fake smile returns.
"Sierra… How nice of you to join me…" He walks over to a cabinet on the far side of the room, pulling out an elegant glass and filling it with some deep red liquid.
"I assume you are in need of some refreshment. Here." He holds out the glass to me, but when I do not move and do not break my stare, he hastily places it on the table.
"There is no point in all this coldness, all the stares and silences. It will do you no good. You are on my ship now and soon you will be my property- you should jut accept your fate."
He turns away and heads towards an elegant armchair, but pauses mid-way and looks back at me.
"However, perhaps there is still some part of you that holds onto the hope of a saviour, some part of you waiting for a window of opportunity in which you can make your escape. Perhaps you even think that a certain pirate will return to save you."
However hard I try, I see the satisfaction in his eyes when he sees a small glimmer of hope in mine. His mouth twists into a sneer.
"Poor Sierra, desperately hanging on to a tiny thread of hope that her knight in shining armour will return and save her from me, through some heroic rescue plan. I wonder… did she not see Sparrow's ship sailing away?"
Once again, he sees my answer in my eyes.
"Then you will know your hope is in vain. You are alone here and will have to deal with the situation as best as you can- which, I suggest, is by cooperating with me."
Seemingly pleased with how this conversation has gone, Serpiente heads over to the table, which is elegantly laid out for dinner.
"Join me, Sierra… Don't hesitate, now. My cook will be along shortly with out dinner for tonight, which I hope you will enjoy. So come, sit, and have a drink of this excellent wine. Oh…" He continues. "…And do not fear- I had Chalmes check for any poison or sedatives. He hasn't showed any ill effects yet, and so I think it is same to presume there is nothing unnatural in this wine…"
He laughs as his own joke, while I take the other seat at the table- luckily, as far away from Serpiente as possible but unfortunately this means opposite him as well. Clearly, I will have to endure being face-to-face with him for the whole evening.
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Much as I would hate to admit it, the food, when it arrives, is fantastic. I eat heartily, having not had any food over the last day, and even before that- during the time I was aboard the Pearl- the food was hardly of a good quality.
Crewmembers serve as servants, and are treated as such by Serpiente. A few times, as he waves his hand dismissively at someone, I see them giving him a dark glance. Apparently, the crew are no fonder of their captain then I am. I would perhaps have made some sort of comment on this, to annoy the pirate, but my attentions are fixed on something else.
Increasingly throughout the evening, Serpiente starts to make comments which, to me, seem personal and unwanted- aimed at my looks, figure, and once even what I would be like in bed. These comments make me feel uncomfortable and angry, until, just after the third course, I can take it no more.
"That's IT!" I scream, standing up so forcefully that I knock over my chair behind me. I storm over towards the door, intending to head back to my room and escape from the repulsive pirate. However, before I can get even half way across the floor, Serpiente is in front of me, a menacing look in his eyes.
"Now, what did I tell you about manners when we were back in the caverns, Sierra? Obviously the message has not got through… Perhaps I should repeat it."
He advances towards me, which means that I am forced to back up until I am boxed up against a wall, unable to move any further. Serpiente notices this and smiles cruelly.
"Now look where anger has got you… I told you it was no emotion for a lady such as yourself to have. Although I am sure it is not too late to get it out of you somehow…"
He brings his face right up close to mine, staring deep into my eyes. I try and press further away from him, but it is no use- the wall is pressed right up against my back.
However, I see something change in his face- something appears to soften, although the effect is no less disturbing.
I see his eyes drop, and he starts muttering, apparently to himself.
"Although, a woman with a bit of fire in her blood may be a welcome change, instead of one who conforms to how a lady should be. It needs to be tamed a bit, granted, but it could be quite entertaining…"
Without warning, he grabs hold of my hair and wrenches it back, pulling my head backwards as well and exposing more of my throat.
"What say you to that, Sierra?..."
With his other hand, he runs it up and down my uncovered throat, stroking the smooth skin. I swallow visibly, desperately trying to think of a way out of this situation without aggravating Serpiente more.
I shift my position slightly, but to my dismay this only makes the matter worse as I had feared. The man reads my movement as an escape attempt and presses his body even closer to my own, pinioning me to the wall with his own body weight. He gives another spiteful yank on my hair, making me gasp in pain.
"Now Sierra, don't try anything foolish. We wouldn't want you to harm yourself, would we? After all, I need you in one piece..."
His hand continues caressing my skin- the touch of his hand makes me feel physically ill, and I have to resist the temptation to be sick. As he moves further down towards my cleavage and the front of my dress, he brings his face right up close to mine, so near that I can see my eyes reflected in his own.
He presses his lips against mine, pinning me as much to the wall with this action and any pinioning he has done before. His kiss is rough and aggressive, with animal impulses only just concealed behind it, and soon he forces my mouth open just enough so that he can shove his tongue down my throat. This action is too much to bear- it makes me gag and retch- but he thankfully pulls away before I have to endure it for any length of time. I feel as though I can take the tension no longer, and so I start writhing and bucking as much as the space I have permits.
This time, my situation improves slightly, as Serpiente releases his hold on my hair to instead grab hold of one of my arms- which had escaped from underneath the mass of his body- trying to steady me. With my head free and the danger of having my neck broken gone, I start thinking of something that will distract him.
He shoves his knee between my own legs, attempting to hold me down in a more restraining way. As I feel a hardness against my thigh, and I realise that will have to think of something effective soon, or I could end up in and even worse situation than the one I am in now…
Then I realise that the last move he made was not a wise one for defending himself. As soon as this thought comes to me, I bring my knee of the leg between his up as high as I can, feeling as grim satisfaction as it connects with my target.
Serpiente immediately staggers backwards, doubled over. He relinquishes all hold on me, except that which he had on the front of my dress, which he pulls on in an attempt to steady himself until the material gives way and tears. He then collapses to his knees, and I watch in amusement as his face turns and interesting mauve colour and he attempts to gasp in air.
My humour is short-lived, however- even while he is bent over, he looks up at me with such a look of fury that I am sure he has just lost some part of his mind- his eyes are like those of a feral cat, spittle has appeared around his mouth and some of his hair has escaped from its usual slicked-back style, instead dangling over his eyes in greasy strands.
"You… bitch…" He lurches forwards, one hand aiming for my throat which the other gropes for his pistol.
However, he never reaches his goal.
The ship gives an almighty lurch, tipping so we are almost at ninety degrees to what we were at to start with. We are both thrown to the floor as it disappears from under our feet, and objects slide across the floor with us as we head helplessly towards the opposite wall. Screams from many terrified crewmen echo from all around, and I just hope that we have not gone over far enough for the sea to be able to take hold and turn us completely over.
Luckily, this does not seem to be the case. The force that was holding us as such an angle seems to disappear, throwing us back towards where we originally were. I end up against the wall with a chair lying across half of my body, with Serpiente strewn close by. The ship rocks back and forth, although not to the angle that it did the first time.
Without a backwards glance at me, Serpiente scrambles to his feet as fast as he can, cursing enough to turn the air blue, and strides out of the doors yelling at his crew to tell him what is going on. I extract myself from under the chair and, after checking the damage to my dress and finding that although the bodice is torn all down one side it is not completely indecent, due to my corset underneath, I also head up onto deck, to find out for myself what the hell just happened.
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Chocolat Pirate- You mean, the DVD I've had for... Ooo... 2 weeks now? Hahahaha... I knew there had to be something good about living in England... We got the DMC DVD waaaay before USA, and everywhere else basically! Apart from Australia... I think they got it before us... But anyway... Couldn't resist that little dig, mate... Apologies.
Hehe.
Oh, and thanks for all the positiveness... Lol. I'm joking, it really is much appreciated.
Captain Uschi- Yep, he did have a plan... Jack always seems to have a plan. Lol. And, well, here was the next chapter... For to find out what happened next! (For to... Hmm, great english that was...). Hope you like this one as much as the last!!