A/n- I hope everyone is enjoying so far! It's great to see so many people reading my story and would like to thank those who have followed and reviewed and favourited my story so far! Enjoy!

Chapter 4

The air was cold against her face which contrasted greatly with the warmth that currently surrounded her body. With a slight groan, she rubbed her delicate fingers across her face, pulling a disgusted expression at the feel of her skin which was still dirty from before. As she rubbed her face, memories began to slowly sink back to her. The flag which had a skull hung loosely in her imagination and a blood covered compass glinted from the corner of her eye. The compass suddenly came to mind and all she could recall was its frantic spinning as though it was not sure of which direction to point. Screams and shouts and an array of bangs entered her mind and within seconds it stopped as she jerked upwards breaking herself from the trance.

She realised she had been trapped, there had been a cage and a man. But it was all so confused and blurry to her cloudy mind. The room which she had yet to properly acknowledge in detail was now darker than before. The Spanish Captain was no where to be seen but there were several candles lit around what she supposed was his cabin, judging by the looks of the furniture and ornaments.

The cabin was beautiful and regimented in style, it's curtains and couch both a deep red with inlays of golden thread. It was what to be expected from the Spanish Captain who had seemed so ridged despite his kind behaviour towards her. Gently, she lifted herself up and squeezed her eyes at the small amount of pain from the back of her head. She remembered the compass with blood on it and could only guess that it was hers. Looking down at her hands, she grimaced at how unclean they looked, which she assumed may have been because they had come in contact with her face. For a moment she found herself feeling embarrassed and worried in regards to her appearance but told herself internally to be quiet. After all she had just been saved and her looks could be put on hold for the time being.

Moving once again to sit up, she carefully grabbed the fabric which had slipped from her body. She held on to it carefully, now aware of her unclean appearance and gave a soft gasp when she realised that it was the Captain's coat. His medals jingled slightly as she pulled it closer and the smell of tobacco and the sun hit her. It was comforting. It was even more comforting when she took into account that he was a gentleman who had treated her with such respect. She new that she could not stay in her current position much longer however, and although she could only assume it was night, she pushed the warm coat of her and steadily stood up. Her long white dress, which was now covered in god knows what and her own blood must have looked appalling. The corset that she had been wearing suddenly sprung to mind and she stumbled forwards by the memory of her donned in a beautiful gown. Steadying herself, she turned back and gently placed the Captain's coat around herself and slowly tried to find the way out. But as she was moving towards the double doors of his cabin, she couldn't help but be intrigued by the large map upon his desk.

Looking tentatively at the door, as though waiting for someone to appear. She cautiously walked closer to the desk until the map was in full view. The map was beautifully drawn and she could definitely tell that this was from a royal naval ship as pirates would not have been able to preserve such a elegant looking map. Across it were small models of ships which had black flags and crudely drawn skulls upon then. They were all turned on their sides and Constance leaned forward to touch one, wondering if they had fallen. Yet as she reached to touch one a strong hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back, causing her small frame to topple into the figure who had grabbed her. A long arm had now wrapped itself along her waist and she gave a squeak as she looked up at the face of Captain Salazar.

"I see you are awake". He stated, his eyes narrowed at her. She nodded and gently pushed away so that she was standing on her own again.

"Yes... Thank you again. I was just admiring your map". She replied awkwardly suddenly realising how the situation may have looked. "I am not overly familiar with such elegant maps you see and it looked interesting". She attempted to explain but Captain Salazar instead guided her back towards the couch she had been sitting on.

"While you have been asleep we have found you a bed to have for the rest of your journey. My men have also got a bath ready for you and some clean shirts. After you have dressed, it would be advisable to sleep again and then tomorrow morning we shall discuss...your past". And with that another figure entered the cabin, his eye covered by a patch and his expression awkward.

"Lieutenant Lesaro will escort you to your new quarters. Goodnight Constance". He spoke softly and walked away with a rather pensive expression upon his face. Constance allowed the awkward looking Lieutenant to escort her out of the cabin but as she was just about to pass through the double doors, she stopped and turned around.

"Captain? What about your coat?" She asked softly. She watched as his back straightened, the outline of his muscle pressed against the white shirt as he turned to face her. With a small bow he gave her a smile.

"You can keep it for your modesty for now". And with that she was walked out of the cabin and felt the cool air prickle against her skin.

The ship, as she recalled was the Silent Mary, was magnificent, even in the dark its majesty was not lost. The crew had stopped their duties as she had walked out and Constance felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she was suddenly met with several surprised looking faces. Faces which appeared to be taking in her appearance. Despite it being nighttime she was amazed that there were still many working but she had no time to question her situation as the Lieutenant was carefully steering her down some stairs, which groaned under the weight as they went down. Soon enough she was met by a door to a small room and as the Captain had explained there was a reasonable size tub filled with clear water and some clothes folded hurriedly upon her bed.

"Thank you". She said gently and slowly shrugged the Captain's warm coat off her slender shoulders. Lesaro took it from her and patted it out as though he was removing any dirt, causing Constance to lower her eyes slightly feeling rather embarrassed. Without any other words the Lieutenant went to leave but stopped just as he reached the door. Without turning he spoke gently.

"Sleep well and someone will collect you in the morning to meet with the Captain. You are not to leave this room in the meanwhile". And with that the door was shut with a soft click and Constance stayed still for a few seconds listening to the footsteps disappear.

Now that she was totally alone she got into action by taking off her clothes and grimaced as they scratched against her skin. Her head was still sore and she flinched when she touched the spot tentatively. She turned her head slightly and gave out a cry of alarm when her reflection looked back at her. To say she looked awful was an understatement. Matted blood had dyed her pale hair at the ends and her face was greasy with dirt. Her dress which had now pooled at her feet had taken on the majority of the dirt and quickly she took the cloth near a side table and dipped it in the tepid water. Rubbing her face with some force, she watched as she began to look normal again. Her pale face was sprinkled with light freckles and her pink lips were chapped. Her green eyes looked tired and she covered her mouth to release a soft yawn. Within seconds she had thrown herself rather ungraciously into the tub and pulled a face at the temperature of the water. It did not take her long to wash herself but her long hair appeared to be more of an issue. She remembered when her maid would wash her hair and how she was massage her scalp in a heavenly way. The memory shocked her as she realised that her memories were coming back. Soon enough she remembered her life back home, her family, the servants and...and.

Too soon everything became cloudy once more but she was satisfied with what she could remember. She came from a family of some notable status and was privileged in her life. She had not lived in the town, rather a large house in the countryside which was relatively near the towns. Her mind went back to her younger days and memory upon memory of her dancing through the fields and the meadows made her smile. Her family flashed through and she suddenly realised how very far from home she was. Here she was, naked in a bath, at the age of 19 upon a Spanish Naval ship in the middle of the Mediterranean, from what she could gather from her quick glance at the map. Despite not knowing Spanish, which would make reading the map a tad harder than usual, her father had some old maps in his study which he would teach her when he had time. But that was long ago and how she ended up in her predicament was a mystery.

There was a empty pierce of her memories that had yet to return and she was sure that once it came to she would fully comprehend the situation at hand. For now she decided to wash and get dressed in the oversized clothes, thankful that they had some spare uniform available. The shirt was much too big for her slim frame and looked almost like a dress. The trousers were just as bad and she pulled them up as high as possible, using the belt provided to tighten them as best as she could. Carefully she crawled into the rather lumpy bed and stared at the burning candle which was on the table beside her head. She did not blow it out but instead stared at the flame hoping for her memories to return. She would be on land soon enough and hopefully back home in England in no time. She just had to survive for a week.

Her last thought as her eyes closed was the image of the meadows she had played in as a child. But even in those meadows the image of the flag hanging low with a skull haunted her in her dreams.