Chapter 11

Constance slowly opened her eyes. The world was no longer so dark and for a moment she felt relaxed. But that moment was not long enough for seconds later she remembered everything. Everything flashed before her eyes and as though time had caught up she remembered being shoved harshly over the side of the Silent Mary. The Captains cruel words echoed around her and she recalled the world going black.

Looking around, the room she was in was rather dark and she wondered how long she had been unconscious. Through blurry eyes, she rubbed them trying to clear her head and nearly jumped as she recognised the figure who was at his desk. Due to how dark the cabin was, as for some reason all the candles had burnt out, she couldn't see that clearly. However, she was pretty damn sure that the Captain was sat at his desk. Coughing she cleared her voice to speak as he realised how groggy she felt.

"Captain? Armando?" She whispered loudly, switching to his first name. But the figure did not move and Constance began to feel slightly uneasy. Standing up, she wobbled for a second and had to sit back down before trying again. Once she was back up, she very gingerly made her way to the captain and the closer she got the more confused she became. Finally, when she was near the seat opposite the Captain, she slapped her hand to her mouth with an audible smack as she realised he was currently faced down in his map. She was about to walk around the desk to see if he was ok when the door opened with a small squeak and some light flooded the room.

Lesaro stepped in and gestured for her to come towards him. As she got closer, he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room, before closing the door once again.

"The Captain is sleeping, it is best to not disturb him. He is quite temperamental". Lesaro whispered as he began to pull her down the corridor. She did not question him as she could believe the Captain being one to cause a fuss if he was awoken. She noticed that Lesaro was going back towards her quarters and tugged his hand to stop him. He in return gave her a bored expression.

"I would like to go up please". She demanded, not quite sure why but she wanted some fresh air. Lesaro didn't look like he wished to argue and moments later they were up on the top deck yet again. She noticed that the ship appeared to be going faster than usual and that the sky had relatively darkened.

"What is going on?" She asked the Lieutenant who appeared to be rather flustered as he shouted orders at the occasional officer in Spanish.

"We are following a ship". He huffed as he moved around her. Realising she was getting in the way but intrigued by the situation at hand, she followed Lesaro to the wheel. She watched as he gestured for the officer who had been controlling the wheel to move and he began to steer it himself.

"A pirates ship?" She asked. The images of the bodies in the sea had yet to leave her mind and she really didn't want to go through that again. Lesaro nodded in reply and she gave him a dismayed look.

"And will we get an encore of the last performance?" She asked desperately, trying to look for the ship they were chasing. Lesaro suddenly shoved a telescope into her hands and she gave him an odd look. Not knowing quite why he gave her the object, she looked through it and could just about make out a rather large vessel. It looked larger than the one the Silent Mary had destroyed before and she gulped. She had a bad feeling about this. She passed the telescope back and turned to face Lesaro who looked like he was trying his best to ignore her.

"You aren't going to shoot them again are you?" She asked, suddenly aware of how naïve she must sound. She understood why they did it but the shock of seeing it happen was alarming to her.

"Yes, most likely. Now can you go back below deck". Lesaro snapped, suddenly losing his cool. Constance lowered her head and was just about to head down when she heard Lesaro asking an officer nearby to wake the Captain. Apparently, they were gaining on the ship ahead at quite some speed and would be on them in the next hour. She turned her head and saw the officer look terrified at being asked to wake the sleeping Captain and she decided that she may as well offer. After all she would have to talk to him sometime. She was still rather annoyed at the whole situation with the shooting of the pirates and of course the young boy, but she would try and put it behind her in the meantime. For now, she could hardly just stand and complain about it.

"I will wake him if you would like". She offered with a smile, trying to hide her anxiety. From the look of the officer who had been given the duty in the first place, he was now looking very relieved and she started to wonder if this was a good idea.

"Si si. But be polite. Tell him that the pirates ship is close now and that we need orders". Lesaro said quickly, his eye never leaving the sea in front. She was about to go but suddenly thought of something. Secretly she wanted to ask about his eyepatch but kept that to herself.

"What happened after I fainted?"

"The Captain took you to his cabin. Now go and wake him". Lesaro ordered, his tone laced with exasperation. She was surprised the Captain had wanted anything to do with her after her behaviour towards him but put it down to him being honourable. She wondered how tempted he was to throw her of the ship and was very thankful that despite him being a ruthless pirate hunter, he did have some morals left.

Walking rather quickly, she reached his cabin door and debated on knocking but decided that it would most likely not wake him. Grabbing the rather intricate door knob that she had never had a chance to admire before now, she pushed the door open with a slight creek and grimaced as her feet caused the wood below them to groan. She wondered why, when she actually wanted to be quiet, that everything around her wanted to cause as much noise as possible.

Mentally preparing herself, she walked towards the sleeping Captain and she began to shake slightly. Constance hoped he had calmed down from their argument and prayed that if she was to wake him, he wouldn't suddenly spout a tirade of abuse at her. She was now deeply regretting her decision to wake him. Realising that she was procrastinating over doing it, she walked closer and nearly giggled at the sight of the Captain with his head faced down and hair splayed everywhere. It was a stark contrast to the usually impeccable, well-kept Captain that she had observed so far.

"Captain? Armando? You are needed upstairs". She said quietly hoping that he would wake. When he didn't move, she started to panic thinking he may not be asleep. She didn't quite know what made her think he had died but she placed her shaking hand on his shoulder and gave him a soft shrug.

Suddenly a strong hand grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. He was most certainly not dead. Constance gave a cry of alarm as two deep brown eyes looked into her own wide ones and the warmth of his breath covered her face. She blushed at the close proximity and swore for a minute his eyes had flickered to her lips but she couldn't be quite sure.

"I…I was told to get you". She blurted out and was thankful when he released her hand. He didn't say a word and she watched as he stood up, towering over her small frame. She got the feeling that he had not planned on sleeping as he looked slightly bewildered but he managed to hide it well as moments later he was marching towards the door. For a second she wondered if he thought she was part of a dream as he failed to acknowledge her.

She followed after him and became aware that he was most likely blatantly ignoring her. They were just about to ascend the stairs when he turned around all of a sudden.

"You will go back to your quarters". He ordered, his voice gruff from sleep and his accent thick. She frowned in response.

"Why?"

"I do not need you getting in the way or shouting about how unfair life is or hurling anymore abuse". He snapped, obviously still annoyed at their last encounter. "It will also keep you safe". He added as an afterthought.

"But-" She started and was cut off by a gloved finger pressed firmly against her lips.

"Don't argue back and stop being stubborn. Now get back to your room or I will carry you there myself". She drew back against the wall as he growled the last part and she felt very much like a child. She wasn't sure why she wanted to go up top so much but a small part of her wanted to watch the events unfold. When she wanted to explore the sea, she had never thought in her wildest dreams that she would be in her current situation. Her life back home had been rather boring and yet here she was. She was in the middle of the sea with a terrifying pirate hunter and adventure. She didn't want to be pushed back into her room and kept away from the action. Pushing his hand away from her face she stood her ground.

"I can help". She argued, although not quite sure how she could help.

"No, no you can't. Now get back to your rooms". And with that he stalked away up the stairs and she huffed. A part of her knew he was right as she probably would cause a fuss if she saw them shoot at people in the water again. But she still felt the thrill of adventure pull her in. She decided that she would go back to her rooms for the time being.

As she walked back she allowed herself to smile, perhaps just a peak at the action wouldn't be so bad. Of course, she would have to wait till it all began.