A Pirate's Song.

Chapter Seventeen.

When I woke up, the sun was shining through the porthole, my hands curled into slight fists near my face as I lay in the center of the feather mattress.

My eyes stared at the white letter that had been placed on the bed beside me, the red rose that had long since been preserved in time.

I could remember falling asleep against his warmth, I had heard his steady heartbeat and smelt his familiar scent.

The words written in the letter came back to me, Mary’s devoted love for the ocean that seemed to be stronger than anything was nothing in comparison to her love for Caleb, a love that because I could feel her emotions, danced within my chest.

I pushed myself to sit up on the bed, my knees tucked away beneath me, hair falling down one shoulder since my head was tilted to the side. My gaze landed on the leather bound book that rested on the night table beside the bed and I realized that I had yet to give Caleb directions as to where to go to find the fourth treasure.

I climbed off the bed and headed above deck.

There was not a cloud in the sky, men working around me, moving barrels and fastening ropes. One caught my attention, Nolan who set a heavy crate down near the side of the ship, his hands wound with bandages from having been bruised and cut. I didn’t know how long they had been moving things for but it must’ve been some time if his hands had gotten that warn.

“Good morning” a voice said from beside me.

I turned my head to glance up at Ben who was cradling a smaller barrel in his arms. I felt like smiling but at the same time there was something inside of me, telling me to avoid him. I decided to ignore it and gave a faint, almost sad smile that barely reached my eyes.

“Morning” I greeted, nodding my head. He noticed that something was off but before he could speak Nolan snapped at him from across the deck, telling him to stop his flirting and get back to work.

“Got to go” he announced, shooting me a smile. I watched him go, feeling awkward from the new found feelings that were erupting from my chest. I gave a heavy sigh that dragged out longer than expected.

“Well that was awkward” my head snapped back to look up at the bow where Rebecca was grinning down at me, her chin propped up onto her open palm as she leaned over the side of the railing.

I brushed her off and began making my way up the steps to where Caleb was examining the map on the table. The ship wasn’t moving and my chair was still there, reminding me of my leg and arm. My leg seemed to be doing fine but my arm stung whenever I would use it.

“What’s going on?” I changed the subject when I reached her, my head turning to glance over the crew. Rebecca leaned back against the railing, glancing from Caleb’s back to me.

“He’s looking for a box” was her casual reply. Caleb heard her, his red coat, thick boots, grey shirt and Captain’s hat, made him appear much more frightening than the night before. I quickly averted my eyes to avoid meeting his when he turned to glare at Rebecca.

“For the last time, it’s a chest not a box” he gritted out.

The sound of his voice made something in me stir. His gaze landed on me but I kept my own locked onto the horizon. After a long pause he huffed and turned back to the map. I looked at Rebecca to find her staring at me with furrowed brows.

“What’s inside the box?” I quickly asked, not giving her time to respond or bring up the tension between us. She narrowed her eyes as if suspecting me of something then shrugged her shoulders, eyes glaring at Caleb’s back.

“He won’t say” I knew that it was likely that they had gotten into a fifteen-minute argument concerning the contents of the box before I had interrupted them. Caleb’s hand struck the table he was leaning over, causing me to jump.

“Chest! Not box, chest!” he didn’t bother looking back at us so he didn’t see the annoyed grimace that crawled its way onto Rebecca’s features. She turned to look out onto the deck below, once more propping her chin onto her palm while giving a heavy sigh.

“Whatever it is, I hope what’s inside the BOX is worth all this commotion” Caleb turned sharply to glare at her but all he was met with was her back.

I pressed my lips tightly together, trying my best to suppress the laughter that threatened to escape me. Her emphasis of the word ‘box’ had made the scene even more humorous.

“What are ye? Deaf?” Caleb demanded, his one hand braced against the table while the other hung at his side, the compass clutched tightly in its palm. Rebecca made a show of perking up, her head turning this way then that until she finally locked eyes with me.

“Did ye hear something?” she asked, using the word ‘ye’ as a form of mockery. It was like watching two toddlers bicker back and forth when really Rebecca was twenty-seven and Caleb, twenty-nine. Caleb slammed the compass back down onto the table.

“Yer acting like ye a child” he declared, gritting his teeth as he chose to instead focus on the map and not on Rebecca who was visibly enjoying poking fun at him. She scrunched her face up in mock confusion and pretended to listen.

“There it is again-.” she raised her hand making a motion with it that involved her four fingers touching her thumb as if to mimic a speaking mouth.

“It’s like an irritating buzz, ringing in my ears” at this Caleb turned, ready to bite back at her when I threw my head back laughing. Both of them looked at me as I gripped the railing of the ship to stop myself from falling. I gasped for air, clutching my stomach with my free hand as Rebecca smiled down at me and Caleb, as usual, glared.

“Y-Ye be fighting like siblings” I managed to get out, making my own attempt at mocking Caleb’s way of speaking. His nostrils flared but somehow his angered face didn’t seem to bother me anymore. Becca turned to address him, her face stern when she spoke.

“See? I told you that it’s annoying when you talk like that” her serious tone made it that much more comical as I observed them.

His head turned his intense stare from me to her but instead of being weary she simply met it with a look that screamed ‘as a matter of fact’

“How I talk is none of ye business” the words came through gritted teeth. Rebecca raised her hand, pretending to wipe spit from her face then shook her hand off. She took a deep breath in and let it out through her nose.

“It is, when I was the one who taught you how to speak proper English” her statement took me by surprise. I wasn’t aware that Caleb could speak at least three sentences without using the word ‘ye’ once. My lips parted with a need to speak, a need to hear him talk like an Englishman and not a pirate but I was cut short by Nolan’s voice calling up to the bow.

“Be this it, Captain?” Caleb pushed his way past Rebecca to gaze down at the Irishman, both mine and Rebecca’s heads turning in unison to look at the ‘box’ we were so curious about. To our surprise it was a wooden chest with a golden lock on it and some delicate hand crafted detailing. Becca groaned.

“Finally-.” she headed for the steps to go down and investigate it for herself but Caleb’s dominant, demanding tone caused her to stop dead in her tracks.

“Take it to me chambers!” it was clear that he didn’t want anyone to know what was inside the chest including a long-time friend he had known all his life. I couldn’t help but be curious as to what it was or to wonder why it was being kept such a secret from all of us, including the men who had been searching for it.

“Ai, Captain!” with that, Nolan disappeared from our sight along with the chest. Rebecca and I shared a furrowed eyed glance which Caleb ignored and went back to staring at the map. I pushed the thought of the chest aside and stepped up to where he was, glancing down at the map. His muscles tensed at how close I was but he stayed in place.

“We need to head South” I declared, thinking back to what I had read about the location of the fourth treasure. Caleb looked up at me, his eyes flickering down to my lips before he nodded, turning quickly to address the rest of the crew.

“Set course South!” a series of shouts came back in response, the crew climbing to untie the sails, making it so that the ship straightened in the wind and tide, heading in a precise line in a Southward direction.

The fact that he didn’t question me showed me that he had placed his trust in me when it came to finding the treasures.

When he turned, I spoke again “The gem lies within a red sea” he paused, Becca looking at me like I had gone mad. After everything they had seen, from Sirens to a giant turtle that carries an island on its back, it was the simple red sea that made them think I was going mad. I sighed heavily when they didn’t understand the metaphoric quote from the text.

“A desert. We’re looking for a desert with red sand” at the mention of the word ‘desert’ I noticed that Ben glanced down at me from his place located on the sails. His concern was right, I was not meant to be on land for long periods of time, let alone a scorching desert where all you had to protect you from the smoldering heat was clothes and maybe an old pirate’s hat.

Caleb stepped up behind the wheel of the ship to man it.

“A desert it be then” he muttered, his eyes gazing out onto the open sea with his back to me. I was dreading the next location but there was no way around it.

If he wanted the seven treasures, he would have them and maybe I could be left in peace, no longer surrounded by pirates or haunted by vivid visions of a woman I hardly knew.

After sailing all day, Caleb decided to dock in a small town port where he allowed for his men to go drinking at the local bar or seek a brothel if they so wished. I wanted to stretch my legs and decided that I would join them on land. Ben had already gone, dragged off by a few of the crew and since Caleb didn’t really care what happened to me, I was left alone on the ship, debating whether I wanted to climb down with the netting or risk the jump.

“Need a hand, las?” I turned to find Nolan watching me with an amused look plastered across his chapped lips. I opened my mouth, gazing down at the docks below then back to him.

Did I really want his help? Rebecca had gotten down just fine on her own a few moments ago.

“I-I can do this on my own” I denied his help, hiking up the skirt of my white dress to place one bare foot onto the railing of the ship. I climbed up, hands moving to stabilize myself. Nolan suppressed his laughter when I nearly fell, a scream coming from my lips as I frantically waved my arms and grabbed hold of some of the ropes from the sails to hold myself in place.

“Graceful” the word came as a taunt followed by a gulp of rum from a green glass bottle.

I shot him a glare, my eyes going down to the dock that seemed so much farther beneath me than it had been before. I slowly began to lower myself into a kneeling position, moving to turn so that my legs were dangling over the side. After attempting to let go of the ropes a few times and shrieking every time I would begin to tip forward,

I managed to grab hold of the railing on either side of me. I could hear footsteps nearing me, my eyes going wide when I realized that Nolan was stood directly behind me.

“Any day now, lassie” he chuckled, reaching his hand out as if to shove me. I tried to dodge, my rear slipping off the side as I quickly turned to grab the netting. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the impact but there was none, instead I had successfully gotten into position to climb safely down the netting. Nolan watched as I slowly scaled the side, leaning over the railing to peer down at me while drinking his rum.

“Ye look a bit thirsty there-.” I could tell that he was joking and when I looked up, the image of the bottle being tilted down towards me made my eyes widen in horror.

“Have some rum” he enjoyed toying with me, more so than anyone else on the Sunken Soul. Caleb was just dangerous and deadly, Ben kind and caring, Rebecca fierce and reckless but Nolan was a sadistic man around thirty-six years of age who enjoyed watching me squirm.

“No!” I yelled, my hands slipping from the netting. I gasped when I fell a few feet and onto the deck, landing flat on my rear. His run trickled to form a puddle in front of me and in between my parted legs.

I groaned as his laughter echoed in my ears, reaching to rub at my aching behind while I staggered back onto my own two feet. Nolan reached for the side of the ship and flung himself over, carelessly, landing in a low crouch directly in front of me.

I yelped at his sudden appearance and stumbled back a step, my hand gripping my chest to make sure that I was still alive after nearly being crushed by his weight. He stood upright, a grin on his lips and his bottle still in hand.

“Did I scare ye?” I glared at him then stormed off, shoving past him, my feet slapping against the wood of the docks beneath me. I could hear him chuckle from behind me as if my anger made everything that much more entertaining. The light from the lamps that hung along the docks guided me onto the shore, boots thudding behind me when I stepped onto the sand, feeling it between my toes.

“Come now, las, there’s no need to be mad” his voice said but I refused to acknowledge him, refused to even spare him a backwards glance. The tavern where most of the crew were drinking at was located on the other side of the shoreline and I headed in that direction, towards the sound of music and laughter.

“It was a mere joke” he was at my side now, his strides much larger than mine. I pretended that he didn’t exist but I was quickly made aware of his presence by him stepping in front of me, blocking my path so that I collided with his solid chest.

“I can see why ye’re his type” I gripped the skirt of my dress, hands tightening when he pointed a ringed finger at me only to throw his head back and take a sip of his rum. He was starting to annoy me but his mention of me being Caleb’s type peaked my interest.

“Why?” I questioned, my eyes narrowing onto him. He bent down to untie one of his boots, taking it into his hand to shake the sand from it.

“Ye’re feisty, got a bit of a temper and ye got that look ye always get around the Captain” he did the same with his other boot then tossed them aside as if they didn’t really matter.

My eyebrows furrowed up in confusion at his last point. What look? I eyed the half-drunk man up and down.

“What look?” my question was followed by a round of laughter. He ran the back of his hand along his lips and stepped closer to me so that his chest was pressed up against mine. I could smell the rum on his breath and my nose wrinkled up in disgust at the strong scent.

“Ye a w***e” his words shot through me and my face grew emotionless, eyes dimming as they narrowed slightly. I was about to tell him what exactly a w***e was when he burst out laughing, pointing at my face like it was something amusing.

“There it is, that no bullshit, go f**k yeself face that the Captain likes so much” I froze when he spoke, my face growing confused and irritated all at the same time. This man was starting to get on my nerves and I was just about ready to step around him but paused when I thought back to the night that Caleb had called me a w***e. I had given him the same look, the nostril flaring, empty glare that I had just given Nolan.

“He called me beautiful” I muttered, thinking back to that night. Nolan’s ears perked up at my words and he nodded, stumbling before taking yet another mouthful of his rum.

“Ye think it was because of ye voice?” he questioned, his face clouded with humor and amusement as he slightly turned to head in the direction of the bar. I was about to ask something when he continued on his own, the light from the tavern framing him like an orange halo.

“No, it be that face, them eyes telling him to go f**k himself that’s got him all riled up” he left me standing there with so many unanswered questions. Was that when he first started feeling something for me? Did what happened the night before just add to that attraction or was it because Mary had the same face?

I shook my head from side to side as an attempt to clear it. Why did I even care?

I huffed and started in the direction of the tavern, pushing the conversation with Nolan to the back of my mind along with my endless train of questions.