A/N: Thanx to those who reviewed, you rock! Sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I was suffering from a severe case of Writer's Block. Special thanks to Pirate-on-fleet-street for the ideas on how the story should go! ^_^

Chapter 8

Ragetti's POV

I was dead. So very, very dead. Jack grabbed a blanket, pulled Carmen out of bed, and wrapped it around her.

"What the hell did you two do?" he asked angrily.

"I can't remember, Jack. I really can't." she said, looking scared.

He whirled around and pointed at me, "An' you! What did you do to her? Did you rape her? Get her drunk? Or did you pay her? Which one is it?"

"I d-don't remember, cap'n."

Carmen came to my rescue, "Jack, we were both drunk. I got drunk, then Rags did. We don't know if we even did anything. It was both our faults."

It was then that I remembered that I was standing there naked. I turned a shade of red. I tried to hide it, but Teague noticed.

"Well, son, you should be ashamed of yerself! An' ta think that you were an innocent little man!" He slapped me so hard that I bumped into the wall and fell down. I felt the back of my head. There was blood.

Then Pintel yelled, "Don't hit me nephew like that!"

"Pintel," I moaned, "Don't drag yerself inta this!"

Carmen screamed, "Don't hit him like that! It's not his fault! Um... We didn't do anything! It's all becoming clear now!"

Jack raised an eyebrow, "How do ya believe that I am gonna believe that? Does everyone think that I am insane?"

Everyone stared at the ground, but once again, Carmen spoke up, "Jack, you're an expert on rum, you should know about this!"

Jack paused, "I am an expert on rum. And wenches. And getting drunk. Maybe I should let the runt live..." then he started to talk to himself again, "I don't know, what do you think? Well, yes I should believe me little sister, but she was a prostitute. But I have been drunk before. Maybe I should believe her. No, shut it!"

Everyone stared at him, looking scared. Then he announced, "The whelp will be sent to the brig, but he won't be killed. Yet. I don't want this to happen again."

Carmen looked shocked, "Jack! You can't do that!"

"Yes, I can!" he roared.

I was dragged, only in a blanket to the brig by two of Teague's crew members. Cotton and Gibbs were holding Pintel back, as he was trying to get to me.

"Don't take 'im! He didn't do nothin'!"

"Jack!" Carmen yelled, "You can't do this! Please don't!"

Teague turned to look at her, "It's already done!"

She crumpled to the ground and started to cry. Jack and Teague looked as if they wanted to comfort her, but instead they walked out. Everyone else soon filed out, including the two men painfully grabbing me by the arms and dragging me to the brig. They locked me in the brig. It was so unkempt, that it made the restroom quarters of the ship look nice and tidy. I could have sworn that there was a dead body in the corner.

I was in there for who knows how long. It was freezing in there, and all I had to wear was a blanket. So on top of being tired and hungry, I was naked. Then I heard foot steps. For a moment, I thought it was some type of executioner. Instead, it was Carmen. She was wearing a red dress with black sleeves. Her curly black hair was down. Had she always been that beautiful? No. I couldn't think about her that way. That's what got me into this mess.

"Carmen, what are ya doin' 'ere? If they find ya 'ere, you'll be in trouble!" I said, scared not only for myself, but for her.

"I wanted to see you. I brought you some food and water. I also brought you your clothes," she said, taking items from a sack.

"Why did you come?"

She smiled that distinctive smile, "Because Rags, I care about you. You listen to my crap all day, and you don't complain. You saved my life one time, now I'm gonna save yours."

I was confused, "Wot? Why 'Ow?"

"Because Jack's my brother and Teague's my father, and they're both idiots! I'm gonna bust you outa here, and I'll run away with you."

"Why?" I asked, confused.

She rolled her eyes, "Listen Rags, I've been overprotected my whole life, and I'm tired of it. Don't get me wrong, I love him and me dad, but it's time to move on."

Run away with Carmen? Why was the idea so appealing to me? I was about to give my answer when we heard a noise.

Carmen smiled at me and said, "I'll be back. I promise." She then ran away out of the brig. Then, Pintel came by.

"Hey Ragetti. How're ya holdin' up?"

"It's fine. Carmen came by an' gave meh some supplies. She asked meh ta run away wit' 'er. Wot should Oi do?"

He was silent for a moment, "Do ya care for 'er? I mean, would ya die for 'er?"

I seriously thought about it for a moment, "Yeah, oi would."

"Then go for it. Leave meh, an' go wit 'er."

"What? Leave ya? No, oi wouldn't. We said we'd be together for each otha!" I said, standing up quickly.

He shrugged, "Ya love 'er. You'd die for 'er. Go wit 'er. She needs ya. You need 'er. I'll be all roight. I swear."

"Oi don' love 'er!" I said defensively, "I just care about 'er. I need ta protect 'er!"

He backed down, "Okay, okay. But go wit 'er. Just go. I can't talk for long, so I'll see ya tomorrow, an' ye can tell meh abou' yer plan." And with that, my uncle Pintel left me to think about my future and to ponder what he had said about me and Carmen.

Me and Carmen.

Us.

Alone with no one to tell us what to do and when to do it.

We'd be free. Wait, no. I can't be in love with Carmen Sparrow. I just can't.

Can I?

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A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. Please R&R!