Aboard the Black Rose

Chapter Two - Naked

     The two strangers and Cass paused for a moment. The two stared and the one quickly realized she was outnumbered and naked. Very naked. Very naked in front of complete strangers.

     With a yell the tall man lunged forward, capturing Cass’s wrists in his large hands. He swung her arms behind her, pushed against her knees, and soon had her kneeling on the ground unable to move.

     “The Captain asked you a question wrench.” The man spat.

     Cass started to tear up, “I’m sorry. I don’t know how I got here.”

     “And your name?” The man pushed harder against her arm.

     “Cass. My name is Cass.” Between the events of the night before and then this stranger roughly handling her, she began to sob.

     “James! That is enough. I doubt the crying naked girl is going to hurt us..”

     James let go of his hold on Cass, and she immediately covered herself up, still kneeling on the floor. He took a step back, but didn’t want to give the stranger too much freedom. The woman stepped closer to Cass and knelt next to the girl on the ground. She placed a hand on Cass’s chin, forcing her face up. Cass’s green eyes met the bright blue eyes of the woman in front of her. Cass flushed with their closeness. They held each other’s gaze for a while. Then the captain let go of her face and stood back up.

     “Are there some extra clothes down here we can get her?”

     James nodded, “Yes Captain. They might be a bit big on her, but I know where we have some extras.” The man leaves, goes deeper into the room and begins shuffling some crates around.

     The captain and Cass are both quiet as James is away. Neither one moves, and Cass begins to wonder what is about to happen to her. Sure, they are getting her clothes, but to what end. They are just extra clothes. Do they mean to torture her? Are they playing a mind game of making her feel comfortable before they begin the torture. Or are they planning on keeping her. If she really is on a ship, and this is the captain, is she going to be used for some type of pleasure for those who do the captain's bidding?

     Or maybe, and Cass hoped of all the worse outcomes that they would choose this one, they will put her to work. Maybe they will just make her a slave to cook and clean for them. And then when Cass is through all of this she will wake up from whatever nightmare she is having.

     James came back with pants and a shirt. He tossed them on the ground in front of Cass. When she didn’t move to get dressed he sighed. “You are supposed to put the clothes on.”

     Cass’s skin felt hot as the man just stared at her. “Sir, would you please turn around so I may get dressed?”

     The man was about to protest but the captain cleared her throat. When he looked at her and saw the seriousness in his eyes he grumbled under his breath but turned around to give Cass some privacy. The captain turned around as well.

     Cass quickly slid into the pants and shirt, surprised at the lack of undergarments that were brought. Maybe they just didn’t have any that would fit. When she was finished getting dressed she stood up, making sure to not be too close to them. “Ok, I’m dressed.” As she stood there, her face red, she tightly wrapped her arms around her body.

    The two strangers turned back around. The captain was biting her lower lip and the man kept looking from the captain to Cass and back. What were they going to do to her?  The silence between the three of them was heavy in the air, practically tangible. Cass didn't know what to say, she feared that she would just make the situation worse.

     Finally it was James that spoke, “Captain, having a woman on board. It’s bad luck.”

     The captain snapped her head to face the man and glared at him, “really James? This superstition again? How long have I been running this ship?”

     James’ cheeks turned pink, “you know you don’t count!” His cheeks reddened even more when the captain’s eyes thinned giving him the pre-death glare no one ever wanted to see more than once in their lifetime. “I didn’t mean it, not like that. I know you are a woman. I…” his stuttering stopped as the captain's eyes thinned dangerously. If Cass wasn’t so scared of these two, she would have thought it hilarious how the much larger man squirmed under the gaze of the shorter woman.

     When she was sure that her crewmate was over his bout of stupidity the woman turned back to Cass. “So, Cass, how is it that you show up on board suddenly when we haven’t seen land for a week? And why were you naked?”

     Cass blushed deeply and looked down at the floor. She didn’t know what to say to this lady, and she was sure that she must still be dreaming. The last thing she remembered was laying in the shower after everything that went down with Adam West. Should she just play along? Even if she did play along what would she say? The captain cleared her throat again and Cass took an instinctive step back.

     “I-I don’t know. Honestly.” she stuttered, head down. This wasn’t exactly what she meant by playing along.

     A low hum came from the man. “Amnesia, Captain? I’ve heard of it before.”

     The captain nodded, “Yes, but it still doesn’t explain how she has been able to be unseen for so long.” She moved towards Cass and the timid woman took a step back. “Please, do not move. I am not intending on hurting you.” Cass forced herself to stay still as the captain brushed her hair out of her face. Cass’s skin prickled with goosebumps as the woman touched her. “I don’t see any trauma to the head.”

     She continued to study her body and she paused at Cass’s arms. They were starting to discolor from when James grabbed her. She gently held her arms and looked at them closely. “These are going to bruise nicely.”

     James blushed and realized that he didn’t need to use so much force on a woman so small. “What are we going to do with her, Captain?”

     The captain drops Cass’s arm. “Why don’t you gather everyone. We will meet in my room.”

     James nodded, “Yes Captain.” He turned and left. When he passed by the laterin the hallway it deeped the shadows in the room.

      “Come follow me.”

     Cass followed after the captain. As she walked down the hall she stumbled a bit with the rocking of the ship. The woman in front of her walked with grace, the swaying didn’t seem to bother. It was as though the woman was born to be on a ship. The hall was lined with few lanterns. As she moved down the call the captain turned them off. The hallway was not very long and they went up some stairs. There was another hallway, similarly lit. At the end of the hall the captain entered a room. “Come.”

     Cass follows the captain into the room. At first the room was pitch black, but once the captain turned on the lantern Cass was able to get a good look around. It was a large room with a desk, multiple chairs, and a side door. Next to the desk were boxes filled with papers. The desk itself was clean on top and Cass wondered if this was to keep papers from flying around the room as the boat swayed. Then she wondered how the chairs and desk didn’t move with the swaying.

     As soon as they were both in the room the captain sat on her desk. She pointed to the chair closest. “Please, sit there.” Cass quickly sat down hoping that this would help the little bit of nausea she was beginning to feel. As she sat down she realized that the chair was somehow anchored to the ground. The rest of the furniture was probably anchored down as well.

     “Th-thank you, captain...” Cass paused. She realized she didn’t know the name of the stern looking woman.

     “Joanna. I am called Captain Jo.”

     Cass nodded, “Thank you Captain Jo.”

     The captain nodded but didn’t say anything else. She wasn’t in the mood to talk right now as she was trying to figure out what to do with the stowaway on her ship. They both sat in silence for a few minutes before heightened noise outside the room told Cass that the others were arriving. Her heart pounded in her chest and her nausea worsened. What were they going to do to her?