Previously, on Pirates In Love...

In the hustle and bustle I ended up staying on the other side of the bar, near the stage where the girls were dancing, which was now empty. The girls were hiding behind the bar. The men didn't think I was a part of the crew, they all had their backs to me. There's no way they can beat all these guys… They're in trouble! I started to panic. Nathan can't even fight right now, there's no way he won't get hurt again! I looked around the bar, but there was no exit close to the crew. My eyes fell on a small guitar propped up against the stage.

I have an idea!

I grabbed the guitar and hopped on stage. I brought the stool up to the edge where there was a small amplifier for my voice. I crossed my legs on the stool and hiked up my skirt past my knees, revealing as much leg as I could. I untied the ribbon from my braid and shook my hair out. I unbuttoned my blouse a bit and let the collar hang past my shoulders. If there was one thing I learned in Yamato, it's that drunk sailors can never resist a Siren's voice. What song, what song? I strummed the guitar loudly, instantly grabbing the attention of the men closest to me. It's a start…

~
I see you over there, so hypnotic
Thinkin' 'bout what I'd do to that body
I get you like ooh baby baby, ooh baby baby…
~

I sang it slowly in a sultry voice, strumming light chords on the guitar. More of the men started to turn to look at me as my voice filled the room.

~
Got no drink in my hand, but I'm wasted
Gettin' drunk on the thought of you naked
I get you like ooh baby baby, ooh baby baby…
~

The men started to quiet down allowing my song to reach the other end of the bar. I made eye contact with as many as I could, trying to captivate them. It had been a long time since I had sang in front of men, and I could feel my voice shaking. My chest tightened. But I had to keep going.

~
And I ain't tryin' to fight it, to fight it
But you're so magnetic, magnetic
Got one life, just live it, just live it
Now relax, n' get on your back!

If you wanna scream, yeaaaa-aaah..
Lemme know n' I'll take you there
Get you goin' like ah-ooh
Baby baby, ooh baby baby...
~

The men started to hoot and holler at me. I sang louder. I looked at the crew and motioned with my head to tell them to get the fuck out of here. They took the hint and started to edge over to the side door. Thomas wasn't budging, though, he kept staring at me. Christopher grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him out.

~
Boy tonight you're the prey, I'm the hunter
Take you here, take you there, take you under
Imagine me whisperin' in your ear
That I wanna, take off all your clothes n' put somethin' on ya
~

The men were getting rowdy with their catcalls and whistling. But then there was a bigger commotion at the back where they sounded profoundly pissed off.

Drunken Bastard 1 - "They're gone! Where'd they fuckin' go?"
Drunken Bastard 2 - "Let's go git 'em!"

A bunch of the men ran out the doors in a fiery rage. The ones closest to me looked at me suspiciously.

Alex - "Ahem. So, that's all for now, thanks for listening, I'll see you never!"

I picked up my skirt, ran out the back door, through the kitchen, and out into an alleyway. I faintly heard a man yell, "She's one o' them! Git her…."

With pounding heart and quickening breath I started to run. I didn't even reach the end of the alley when a sharp pain shot up my thigh. I fell to the ground. Dammit! My leg, it hasn't healed yet? It was good enough for walking, but not enough for running for my life, apparently. I got up and rounded the corner, trying to hop, skip, and jump my way back to the ship.

"Aaah!"

I caught a glimpse of Morgan's face before he flung me over his shoulder.

Morgan - "There you are!"
Alex - "Captain?! Where is everyone?"
Morgan - "Back at the ship by now."
Alex - "You came back for me?"
Morgan - "Of course! No man left behind!"

He weaved through the streets trying to lose the mob of angry men. Up this hill, down these stairs, through this side street, around this corner - suddenly, bright moonlight spilled out onto the cobblestone and the sound of the ocean wasn't muffled anymore. We're almost there! I pushed myself up on Morgan's back to look in front of us. I could see the rest of the Sirius crew waving us over and preparing to cast off. Morgan lept up the gangplank and as soon as we were on, Russell and Christopher pulled it up. The rest of the crew pushed us off, putting us out of jumping range from the drunken gang. We jeered at the men on shore. My blood was pumping with adrenaline, it felt fantastic. I stepped up on the railing, grabbing a rope to steady myself, and yelled,

"How'd you like my singing, boys?!"

I was feeling pretty proud of myself. My plan had actually worked! I turned around, smiling widely, expecting to see a happy crew. Instead I was met with several different expressions, none of which were happy. Their faces looked so ghostly in the moonlight. I picked up my skirt and jumped back down. I was a little embarrassed after realizing my blouse was still hanging off me, so I adjusted it. I put my hair back up in a low ponytail.

Alex - "Is… everyone okay?"
Thomas - "Miss Alex… You have a beautiful voice."

Thomas's face could have been mistaken for a tomato. He looked at the ground and shuffled his feet.

Eduardo - "That was quite the distraction." He seemed pleased, but looked very serious. "But… how does a young virgin like you know how to seduce men like that?"
Alex - "Uh… well, it's easier when they're drunk…"
Morgan - "Let's get out to safe waters first. You've got a great story to tell, I hope!" Morgan smiled.

Eduardo took to the helm as the men unfurled the sails. What will they think of me when I tell them of my past? I didn't want to think about it. I remained silent as I helped Thomas tie up some ropes. He couldn't look me in the eye.

We all settled on crates on the deck with a cluster of lanterns in the middle. Shadows flickered across the men's faces. Everyone seemed to be deep in thought. Morgan needed to have a drink in his hand so Thomas grabbed some booze from the hull, and soon everyone had a mug of their own.

Christopher - "Alex, how do you know how to sing like that?"
Alex - "I learned… when I was fifteen…"
Christopher - "Fifteen?!"

I took a deep breath before launching into my story. I had grown up in an orphanage one town over from Yamato, but when I was twelve they had to kick me out since it was too full. They didn't have enough space and were sending the older ones away. I didn't have anything to my name except an old necklace that I had on me when I was abandoned. I travelled to Yamato and began begging in the streets, and sometimes I'd have to steal food, clothes, and other items when begging didn't bring in enough money. I became a pretty good pickpocket. I slept in the streets with the other homeless children. Somehow I figured out that singing in the streets got me more money, so I started to do that. When I was fourteen, a couple ladies asked if I'd like to stay with them, and that maybe they'd have a job for me. I agreed immediately. I didn't even think about what the job could be. The thought of a warm, dry bed was too enticing.

They brought me to a large house with many rooms. I wondered if it was a mansion, but as it turned out it was a brothel. A brothel called Sirens. It was notorious for its beautiful women who would both sing to and pleasure men. They had a bar on the ground floor where the ladies would sing and entertain. The ladies had picked me up because of my voice, not realizing how young I was. When they found out, they argued with the owner to not use me to pleasure men, but to keep my virginity and use it as a sort of 'bait' to draw in more clients. As I told my story, I realized how crude and dirty it made me sound. I hesitated to continue.

Christopher - "And the ladies there, they taught you how to sing?"
Alex - "Yeah… They were very nice to me and very protective. Whenever a man got too close, they'd come over and distract him. They were like my guardian angels. They trained me in singing and in, um, attracting, I mean, entertaining men. I had a room, a bed, hot meals every day. It was nice, compared to the streets, but, well, it didn't last long."
Morgan - "What happened?"
Alex - "Um…"

As I told the rest of the story, I could only talk to the ground. I kept rubbing my arm, I felt so embarrassed.

One night the owner took me to his office. He was in some talks with clients who were interested in buying my virginity, and they were coming by that night. Before they arrived, the two ladies who had taken me in managed to sneak me out. They gave me a few supplies and told me to run west to a small village outside of Yamato and ask for Mildred. They kissed my forehead with tears in their eyes and apologized for getting me involved.

Alex - "How could I be mad at them, I'm the one who said yes. And they treated me so well for the year I was there. They taught me so much and protected me. All I could do was pray for their safety. They would for sure get caught by the owner, and I didn't know what would happen to them. I didn't want to leave!"

My voice cracked and I started sobbing.

Alex - "But I had no choice! I had to!"

The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming. It was the lowest moment of my life, abandoning them and possibly leaving them to a fate that was worse than what mine would have been. I hated it, and I never wanted to feel that way again. I never wanted to feel like I had to be protected, and that people had to sacrifice themselves for me. But it was hard not to feel like that on a pirate ship. I felt a hand on my head. I looked up to see Christopher with a sad look on his face. My vision was blurred from tears, but I think everyone else looked very solemn as well. Christopher pulled me into a hug. He rubbed away my tears with his soft hands.

Christopher - "That's too much for a young girl."
Russell - "Men who sell children. They're scum."
Morgan - "Young girls shouldn't be doing that kind of work…"
Alex - "Well… The work wasn't that bad, since I only did the singing."
Nathan - "Yer cryin over it..."
Alex - "I never said that I didn't like it. Actually, I'm embarrassed because… I did like it."

Christopher pulled back to look at me, puzzled.

Alex - "It's not the most honest work, but it was the first thing I was ever good at. I wouldn't want to do it forever, I don't want that kind of life. But it's fun to sing! And have people enjoy it, and even pay to come and hear you sing. Even though, it was, well, not just for the singing they wanted. I didn't much like how the men treated me, but the ladies told me I had the sweetest voice and that's why they liked me... Haha." I rubbed the back of my head.
Morgan laughed. "Even in a situation like that, you have such a pure reason to do what you did."
Thomas - "You're just sad about not helping those ladies?"
Alex - "Yeah… I never went back there. I was too scared, and they told me to never go back. I don't even know if they're…"

I didn't want to think about whether they were alive or not.

Alex - "But, if I ever see that brothel owner again, no mercy!" I slammed a fist into my hand.
Russell laughed. "Yah? And what would ya do?"
Alex - "Um. I dunno. But something bad! He deserves it."

The crew laughed mockingly. They all thought I wasn't strong enough to hurt anyone.

Eduardo - "How about this. We'll go over there together and give this guy a thrashing. Poke his eyes out."
Alex - "Ugh, gross Eduardo."

The mood lightened up on the ship. Morgan asked Eduardo to change the bearing and head to Moldor. Eduardo did not look happy about it. One by one, the crew retired for the night. I wasn't very sleepy, so I decided to walk around the ship a bit before bed. The moon was large tonight. It gave everything a silver tinge. Even the stars seemed a bit brighter, as if competing with the moon. The breeze was nice, but a bit too chilly. I shivered. A heavy coat fell over my shoulders. I looked over to see Morgan join me by the railing.

Morgan - "Alex…"
Alex - "Captain?"
Morgan - "... I'm sorry."
Alex - "For what?"
Morgan - "For my behaviour that first night you were here."
Alex - "..."
Morgan - "I didn't think you'd turn out to be such a… You have a courageous, yet innocent soul. Unlike any woman I've encountered. It's the kind of soul that I shouldn't think I can tarnish. I was wrong to treat you that way."
Alex - "Um…" Did he just call me a woman?
He chuckled, as if he'd amused himself. "You have your own… weird way of doing things. And it's what makes a man like me unworthy."

He moved closer and gently stroked my cheek. His hand was rough and calloused, but it was comforting. He looked at me in a sad, loving way. It made my heart flutter. I could get lost in his gaze and be perfectly fine with it.

Morgan - "I won't pursue you… You deserve better."

What does he mean, I deserve better...

He took his hand away and walked back to the cabin. Just like that, the moment was gone. I tucked his coat tighter around me, very confused. He used to look at me like I was just another conquest, but he was different now. And even though what he said sounded like a rejection, it felt like a confession.

A confession of what?

Lyrics from Scream by Usher, based off of the acoustic version sung by Corey Gray.