Ch. 8

A reluctant Mr. Smee opened the door and he kept his gaze at the floor. She smiled as she quickly realized that he was following the Captain's orders by not looking at her.

"Mr. Smee, thank you for allowing me to come out of the cabin for a bit of fresh air. It was getting rather stuffy in there since we settled at port and off the open sea. "she said.

"Princess I'm not sure that I should be doin this but since you are a guest of the Captain and not his prisoner as you've stated I shall allow this request." Said Mr. Smee.

"Thank you for your kindness. Is there anything to eat? I'm famished." she said.

"Aye, come with me and I'll show you the ships Galley." he said.

She followed him up the stairs and out into the open sea air and sunshine. It seemed that after the storm yesterday that today was absolutely perfect. The sky was the deepest blue with only the softest painted clouds above them. The sun was shining down warming her face. She closed her eyes so her skin could drink in the warmth. She loved to listen to the sounds. She longed for their holidays at sea. It was by far her favorite thing to do. She loved to walk barefoot in the sand, to swim in the sea, and to feel the gusty winds blowing around her. She swore the salt air was medicinal.

Even Neal seemed to be in good temperament on those holidays. She often suspected that he brought her and Henry as a cover of some sort to whatever business he tended too while they were there. She and Henry took advantage of his absence and they would build sand castles and swim. They would sail around the small islands and then take in cultural events of the native people. She really enjoyed their time. Their holidays often ended abruptly though. Neal would come back and yell at the servants to pack their things and her ladies maid would come in and tell her they would be leaving in the morning.

"Milady?" asked Smee.

"Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Smee. What were you saying?" she asked coming out of the haze.

"I was saying that I have some cheese and bread. Would that be pleasing to you?"he asked.

"Yes, that would be wonderful. Is there somewhere I can sit up here?"she asked.

"Well, typically we don't so much as sit up here we are usually workin and following the Captain's orders." said Mr. Smee scratching his head.

"Oh, ok then. How about over there? Can I sit on those barrels?" she asked.

He laughed. "Well milady those are kegs of gunpowder. Hardly a good resting place for ye now."

"Oh, ok. How about I just let you continue the tour of the ship." she said with a slight smile.

Clearly she had a lot to learn about living on a pirate ship. It wasn't going to be like the ships she'd sailed on for holiday. She looked around on the deck as Mr. Smee took her on the tour. He explained each of the areas of the ship to her pointing out the more important areas to note like the storage bins, the Galley, the Brig, the sailors quarters and the wash rooms.

"This is where we keep the food. Let me pull some things for you." he said.

She watched as Mr. Smee pulled a small basket for her and put a few pieces of bread into it and a chunk of cheese. He turned around and handed it to her.

"Here you go milady. I hope this is to your liking. We don't have much until the Captain and crew return with the items they've bartered for." he said.

"Thank you Mr. Smee, now let's get back out onto the deck into the fresh air. It kind of smells in here." She said smiling.

"That it does." he said with a chuckle.

"Mr. Smee, do you have a blanket that I could use?" she asked.

"Aye milady I'll fetch ye one from the locker." he said.

She walked out back into the sun and felt the air blowing in her hair and the sun on her face. She took a bite of the bread in the basket and waited for Mr. Smee to return.

"Here you go milady." he said.

"Thank you Mr. Smee. I promise I won't be long and then you can return me below deck." she said.

She could sense he was very nervous about her being out in the open.

"OK milady, I'll just be taking care of the Galley." He said.

She laid the blanket down on the deck and sat down with her basket of food. She closed her eyes and drank in the sun. The feeling of freedom was overwhelming her. She knew she was kept in the castle but she never knew how much of a prisoner she actually was.

This is everything she wanted except that she wished she had Henry with her. She took a deep breath and lay back on the blanket to look up at the clouds. She reminded herself that Henry would be king one day and he would be loved by the people. Neal would have seen to it that she faded into the background.

Suddenly there was a commotion below on the shore that drew her back to reality. She heard some men rushing so she quickly picked up the blanket and basket and started to run towards the stairs. She saw Mr. Smee come running towards her.

"Milady, hurry I don't know what is happening but it doesn't sound good." He said.

She nodded and continued towards the stairs to the Captain's quarters. She shut the door behind her but was unable to lock it herself. She put her back to the door and could fee her chest pounding. She would have to talk to the Captain about that.

She listened at the door as she heard the men rushing aboard and yelling above on the deck. She heard them say something about Killian and that he was hurt. She couldn't wait below if that was true. She pulled open the door to be stopped with Smee standing in front of her.

"Milady, where might you be going?"he asked.

"I heard them say the Captain was hurt. I need to make sure he is ok." She said. She had a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach as Mr. Smee stared at her blankly.

"Milady, stay here. The Captain will be angry with me if I let you out and there is danger." He said.

"But Mr. Smee, is it true? Is he hurt?" she asked.

"I'm sure it ain't nothing but a scratch milady. He's been hurt worse than a scratch before and he's come out smelling like a rose." He said holding up his left hand and closing the door on her.

She covered her mouth with her hand and walked towards the window. She started to pace as she waited. He couldn't be hurt. She'd just found him. She owed him her life and she needed to make sure he was ok.

There was a rustle of feet above deck and then she heard thumping at the stairs towards her door. She picked up her sword and held her stance when the door flew open. Two men were carrying the Captain who was unconscious and bleeding from a cut on his head and from a wound on his shoulder. She dropped the sword and rushed to see him.

"Put him on the bed!"she yelled.

The men all jerked up and looked at her. They nodded and put him on the bed.

"Mr. Smee, get me some water and bandages. You there men, help me remove his coat. I need to assess his wounds." She yelled.

The men all seemed to be in shock but they helped her remove his coat. He was coming too. She looked at his face and saw his eyes were glazed over. She patted his cheek and tried to get him to focus on her.

"Captain, can you hear me?"she asked.

His eyes focused on hers and he smiled.

"Aye, there's my princess." he said with a slur.

"I've got the bandages and the water milady." Said Mr. Smee breathless.

"Good, place them right here." She said her eyes never leaving his.

"Captain, I'm going to clean your wounds Ok?" she said.

He blinked.

"Are you in pain?"she asked.

He blinked again gritting his teeth.

"Smee, get me some Rum for the Captain." she ordered.

"Ok, milady." He said rushing out the door.

"You there, men leave us." she said pointing to the other two crewmen who brought him in.

They nodded and left the room grumbling to each other.

She pushed up her sleeves and wrapped a towel around herself. She walked back over to Killian and opened his shirt so she could assess his wounds. The cut on his head was bleeding but as she cleaned it was only a surface wound. She applied some clean bandages there and went to assess the wound to his left shoulder.

He had a gash as it appeared as though he was stabbed or slashed by something.

"Captain, have you been sword fighting without me" she teased as she cleaned the wound.

He winced as she touched it.

"Mr. Smee, where is my rum?" she called.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He said as he rushed into the room.

She took the bottle and held it to Killian's lips and he took a big gulp. Some of it spilled down the sides of his mouth.

"Here please take another sip this is going to hurt." she said.

He nodded and she pressed the bottle back to his lips taking a long drink.

"Mr. Smee have you got a needle and thread aboard the ship?" she asked.

"Aye, we do. I'll get it now." He said rushing from the room.

"Good because the Captain needs a few stitches." She said smiling down at him.

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

She brushed her hand over his forehead smoothing back his hair from his eyes. She wiped the blood away with some bandages from his head.

"Let me guess, broken bottle over the head?" she asked.

He smiled.

"My captain I believe you had quite the adventure without me today." She said as she cleaned up the wound in his shoulder.

"Here you go mildady." Said Smee.

"Thank you Mr. Smee. I'm going to need you to hold him down for me. I believe these stitches will be painful given their location." She said.

"Aye, milady. "he said as he came around and held his Captain down.

"Captain, I'm going to stitch your wound. It's going to hurt but I'm here, Smee is here. Take another drink for me." she said holding up the bottle to his lips.

He nodded and sipped.

She took the rum and poured it over the wound.

He winced as the sting hit the wound.

She patted his arm and then took a swig herself.

She threaded the needle.

"Ok Mr. Smee, I'm about to start so please help keep him steady." She said.

"Aye." he said.

"Ok Captain, here I go." she said.

She began to stitch his wound together closing the gash in his skin. She could feel his body tensing as she took each stitch until he went limp.

"He's lucky it wasn't too deep. This appears to be near the surface as well so it shouldn't take too long to heal but I suspect he's had quite the blow to the head since he is so out of it." She said.

She cleaned up the remaining blood and wiped the wound down with alcohol once more. "Thank you Mr. Smee. I can take it from here. Do you think you can get some water and food for the Captain in case he wakes up and is hungry?"she asked.

"Of course milady. Uh, thank you for stitching up the Captain." He said.

"It's the least I could do for him. Is it safe for you all here on Tortuga or do we need to leave?"she asked.

"The men say that there was a rogue band of pirates in the tavern where they were having a drink. They actually looked a lot worse than our Captain according to the men." He said.

"Ok, so we are ok to stay and complete the jobs that you need to so we can leave port?" she asked.

"Aye, milady. We can restock the ship and complete the trades. Some of the men are still at the brothel." He said looking down at his feet.

"Ok, Mr. Smee please bring me the food, a bottle of rum, and some water. Then you can take your leave. I will take care of the Captain and see to it he is safe and will heal. " she said.

"Ok milady. " he said as he walked out of the room.

She slapped him on the cheeks to revive him. He shook and opened his eyes trying to adjust to the light. Killian grumbled and looked up towards her.

"Are you feeling ok Captain? I've completed the stitches. I'm going to take care of you." She said smiling as she cupped his cheek.

"Milady, I'm sorry you had to see me this way." He said slurring.

"Don't talk. You need to rest. Mr. Smee will be right back with something to drink." she said.

"Here you go milady." Said Mr. Smee.

"Leave them on the table and then you may go." She said.

"Thank you." He said with a smile and walked out shutting the door behind him.

She walked to the table and filled a glass with water for him. She also picked up the bottle of Rum and took a long swig to calm her nerves.

She carried the water back towards him and sat it on the table. She pushed the pillows under his head to elevate his body. He looked at her with glazed eyes.

"You gave me quite the scare today Captain." She said as she held the glass to his lips.

He took small sips of water and then lay back onto the pillows.

She walked around the other side of the bed and climbed into it curling up next to him. She grabbed his hand and interlocked her fingers. She felt her body start to relax. She took a breath and swallowed hard. She looked up to see his eyes were closed. She leaned up and pressed her lips to his cheek.

"Don't ever do that to me again." She said softly as she lay back down next to him.

She closed her eyes and snuggled next to him.

"It seems you will make a fine Pirate Princess after all." he whispered.