Chapter Seventeen

"Look at me when I'm talkin' to yeh, boy." I kept my eyes on the lamp on the floor. It had been a while since I'd last seen any thing other than the darkness of the hull, and though it wasn't much, I was still relieved to see it. Of course, that was hardly the only reason I took so much interest in the thing. "I said lookit me!" The woman took a firm hold of my chin and jerked my head up to make me meet her gaze. From the look of her, I could tell she had just had another row with that man of hers, and knowing that as well as I thought I did, I also knew she was going to be less than understanding with myself. Not that she ever was to begin with. "I've 'ad 'bout enough of the likes of you."

"I could say the same," I replied, scowling up at her. "What're you doin' down 'ere anyway? It ainae the time for yeh to be sweet talkin' meh just yet, is it?"

"Shut it." Though she often told me to keep quiet, it was the first time since the docks that she pulled a blade on me. Unlike the saber she had with her before, this one was straight like a dagger, yet it was much too long for one. What my real concern had nothing to do with that, of course. I just wanted her to keep the damn thing away from my throat. "I don' wanna hear another word outta yeh... Do yeh 'ear me?"

Though I wanted to say something just to spite her, I soon thought better of it. Given the way that woman was staring me down, I had a feeling she would cut me just as soon as look at me at that moment. However, I could also tell from the way she was standing that she was injured... if only slightly, and while I knew myself to be a fool, my tongue loosened to realize it.

"What happened to yeh?" I asked, my voice low. "Who was it that did yeh harm?"

"Ain' nothin' for yeh to worry 'bout," she snapped. With that, she snatched up the lantern from the floor and brought it alongside her face which caused her eyes to spark. "Jus' shut the hell up. Don' let me hear another word outta you 'till I come back down 'ere to keep yer sorry ass from dyin'"

It was then that she left me sitting there in the dark once more. Not that it troubled me all that much since it was all I had really known since finding myself on the forsaken ship. That and the wood of the beam I'd been tethered to. Before I had even been dragged aboard and taken to the hull, my hands had been bound behind me, and now that I was just where they wanted me, my only means of movement was to sit or stand against the beam I was held fast to. Something I soon learned to be grateful for during the long hours I spent there.

Of course, it was still a pain in my ass to try and live in such a place. Day and night meant little to me down there when all I could see were the shadows of the wood crates and the burlap sacks that were stored below deck. The only way I knew what was what was to listen to the sea as the ship made its way across her waters. Even then, I could only assume as there was no real way to say for sure unless my captor was willing to tell me herself.

I had yet to learn her name, but knowing how little good it would do me, I never really thought to ask. As far as I could tell, she was a woman. At the very least, the loose open shirts she wore gave me a glimpse of her chest, and though she was not the most well endowed woman I had ever seen, it was all the assurance I needed to keep from giving her a good, swift kick to that foul mouth of hers. After all, even at my worst, I was never one to strike a lady, and no matter how much of a man she tried to be, I still knew otherwise.

Thinking of such things, I had to wonder whether Popuri was some where aboard. At times, I could hear voices above me, and though I could never understand what was being said, I still tried my best to listen for hers among them. Even if I listened, though, it was still no use. As far as I knew, she could have been safe and sound back at Port Royal, or she might have been thrown into the sea. Despite my callous way of thinking most of the time, I still hoped that the captain was kind and strong enough not to let himself or his crew go through with such an act.

"God dammit..." I sighed, shaking my head. "What the hell kind of cursed mess did she get us into this time?" As soon as I thought to say it, there was the sound of the hatch being opened again, and after straining my eyes to see through the darkness, I saw a man making his way down the ladder and into the hull. A sight which caused me to find my legs to stand on. "Who's there?"

His laugh was the only reply, echoing through the space from all directions, but as he neared where I stood, I was able to get a few good looks at him before the flames of the lantern would flicker and leave him as nothing but another shadow. He was fairly tall though still a head shorter than myself, and if I hadn't heard him laugh, I might've thought he was another woman since he looked so damn thin. Aside from that, he looked to be the same as another man one would expect to find at sea.

"I hope Claire's been treating you well down here," he chuckled, bringing the lamp to his face while he came to stand in front of me. His face was tan and weathered, and despite the gentle slope of his nose and the softness of his chin, there was clearly some stubble there. "I would hate to hear she hasn't been keeping you fed and watered at least." To be honest, I barely heard a word of what he said. All I could think was how it was him... the same man who attacked Popuri back at the manor. "What is it?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"

"You're Viento," I growled, feeling the rope digging into my wrists, with the hemp leaving slivers in my raw flesh as I pulled against it. He only smiled back at me. "What'd yeh do to Miss Hurst?"

"Would you believe me if I said she has made herself quite well at home here?" he offered. When I glared back at him, his smile grew to become a grin as he leaned in even closer to my face. "Just so you know, Gray... I'm really not the sort of man who lies. I can promise you that any one thing that she has done aboard my ship was not done unwillingly by any stretch of one's mind or imagination."

"Yeh bastard!" With one swift kick, I struck the man hard in the chest. He stumbled back, not having been ready for it, yet even while he nursed his ribs, he just chuckled and shook his head. "What the hell are yeh e'en laughin' at?" Because if thought I was playing a game with him, he was more daft than I had guessed. "I asked yeh a damned question."

"I'm sorry," he said, his accent bleeding through his voice for the first time. It was strong... though not as strong as my own, but it was gone soon enough. "I didn't really mean to give you that impression. I've barely even touched the girl's shoulder... let alone any other part of her." Then he began to grin again. "Not that I wouldn't want to, of course. After all, you've got to admit she is quite easy on the eyes... Isn't she, Gray?"

"How the hell do you know my name?" I heard him say it before, but my curiosity was gone the minute he mentioned the young woman. Not that his last comment made me feel any more inclined to trust him. "Where'd you hear it? Who told you my name?"

"Ah... so you have forgotten me then." He sounded disappointed when he said it, almost like he wanted for me to tell him how he and I were old mates from back home, but I kept my thoughts to myself. "Well, that's fine because I remember you... Red Eye."

My heart stopped. I tried to say something- anything, really- to deny it, but I was left speechless. I knew better than to let my mouth drop open from shock, of course, yet I couldn't keep myself from staring at him like a fool. No one had called me that in years... so he had to have heard of me before I found myself the prisoner of Admiral Hurst. Back when I answered to no one outside of myself and the world went beyond even the sea.

"We met on the coast of Africa," the man continued. "Just before your capture if memory serves." My eyes narrowed as soon as he mentioned the incident, and it didn't go unnoticed. "Ah, so that's where that name of yours comes from," he mused, grinning once again. "They really do turn red."

"Aye," I agreed, "and if I was fit to, I'd be leavin' yeh a red and bloody pulp."

"Ha! Well, there's certainly no doubt about that." Viento paused for a time, his gaze heavy while he studied me once more, and then he started to chuckle. A sound that I had came to learn meant he was thinking of something that I would hate to hear. "What would you say if I were to ask you to join me?" he offered suddenly. "You may not be the captain as you once were, but I can assure you I'll be treatin' you better than those dogs you've been slaving away for."

"Yeh can take yer talk and save it fer someone else," I muttered, eyeing him carefully. After all, that's what that woman of his said, and I hardly thought she'd done well by me. Not as long as she was pulling knives on my throat. "I donae want nothin' ta do wit' the likes of yeh or that woman of yers. I got enough problems without workin' fer you lot."

I waited for him to try and argue his case with me, but for once, he stayed quiet. He only stood there with the lamp still in his hand. Right then I got the feeling I would never be able to figure him out. He was too far gone. Too peculiar as the admiral would say... which as much as I hated the man more so than the one before me, still made me all the more unsure.

"Very well, Gray," he sighed, closing his eyes and he turned away. "Maybe you'll change your mind once we reach the coast."