Pirate Captive

I Saved a Life

Nathan walked out of my cell that day and nothing was ever the same again. For one, I was upgraded to an actual room on the ship and not a jail cell. Granted, it wasn't really nice, but it was better than a cell. Nathan also gave me a change of clothes because mine were covered in a disgusting layer of salt and other sea grime. It was an off-white loose fitting peasant top with a brown corset around my waist. My ripped pants were now changed out for some fresh ones. I even had new boots. Apparently Nathan raided another ship and got them for me when I told him I was missing mine.

"Prisoner, how's the day going?"

I smiled when Nathan walked up behind me. I didn't know why but I felt myself smiling more often around him.

"The same as always, Fisherman."

After a week of staying in the cell, Nathan finally came to the conclusion that Preston wasn't coming for me. He moved me out of my cell and gave me my own room. I had to start from the bottom and work my way up the ranks. I'm not sure where it came from, but he called me Prisoner even though I could go almost anywhere on the ship.

"Enjoying your time on the ship?" he asked while sauntering up to me.

"Don't really have a choice now, do I? I'm still technically your prisoner, and you keep reminding me of that."

He gave me one of his aggravating smirks before he sauntered off. I shook my head in annoyance before weird thoughts crawled up from the back of my brain. Nathan was acting so much nicer than I ever thought he could be. Is he just gonna kill me when he gets tired of me? Or will he keep me around? What are his motives? One thought pushed it's way to the front and it probably scared me more than the others. Does he like me? I mean, he even has a nickname for me. Yeah, he still called me prisoner, but it was probably just a reminder for me. I wasn't free just yet.

I was relaxing in my "room" when the ship violently moved. I recognized it as cannon fire. We were under attack. I ran upstairs and saw what was going on. The Unspeakable was engaged with the same navy ship I was before I nearly died. Captain Nathan was on deck, shouting commands to his men. I looked across the water and saw a cannon being aimed in Nathan's general direction. Quickly doing some math in my head, the cannon was going to hit somewhere around Nathan. Moving quickly, I tackled him to the ground as the cannon ball flied above our heads.

"Get us out of here!" Nathan roared at his crew. They immediately turned us away from the navy ship. Cheers rose up behind us and I knew the navy officers were celebrating their victory.

I awkwardly stood up from the deck and hung back in the shadows. I just tackled my arch nemesis to keep him from dying.

"(L/n), a word," Nathan said as he walked past. He also grabbed my arm so I couldn't help but follow him. He led me into his office and shut the door. As soon as we were inside, he turned on me. "Why did you save my life?"

"I, uh, I don't know," I mumbled.

He grabbed my shoulders and slammed my back against the wall. "Don't play games with me, (L/n). Why did you save me."

My back ached but I tried to stay focused on what he was saying. He was so close to me. For once in my life, I found him terrifying. "I, I guess I wanted to pay you back. You saved my life. I figured I'd save yours." The second part took both of us completely by surprise. "I didn't think twice."

"What do you mean, (L/n)?"

"I didn't even hesitate to save you. I didn't think twice."

"What kind of game are you playing, (L/n)? Just some sick twisted trick to get me to lower my guard so you can take control of my ship because my crew will not stand for it!" The more passionate he got, the more he pushed my shoulders. At the end of his trade, he fully shoved me into the wall. I cried out in pain as I hit the wall behind me.

"Believe me, Nathan, I am nothing like Preston. And if I wanted to take over your ship, I would have let you get hit," I growled. He moved away from me and the door so I turned around and went down to the bottom of the ship where my room was. I sat down on my bed and just cried. It was the first time in years that I allowed myself to cry. I was supposed to be the captain, the strong one, the one who had all the answers. For once in my life, I was lost. I was alone. No one seemed to understand. I was fully adrift on the ocean with no sense of direction. For once the ocean didn't seem like my friend.

Someone pushed open my door and James, Nathan's second mate, was standing outside it.

"What happened?"

"N-Nathan started yelling at, at me because I, I s-saved his life," I hiccupped out through sobs.

"Why would he do that?" James asked sitting next to me on my bed.

"He, he thought I, I was trying to o-overthrow him l-like Preston did, did to me."

"He got all that from saving your life?"

"Y-yeah."

"Are you sure you're ok? Did he hurt you?"

"I, I just got my, my back slammed against the, the w-wall."

"Can I take a look?" I nodded and pulled my shirt up a bit so he could see my lower back. "You already have a bruise coming in. And scrapes. Want me to get you anything?"

I was about to answer when someone else walked through my door.

"I got this," Nathan spoke.

I flinched back on my bed, scared he was still mad at me.

"Uh, Captain, I have this all under control if you wanna-."

"James, that's an order. You're not disobeying your Captain now, are you?"

"No, Captain. I was just saying I had everything under control-."

"And I'm saying I can handle it now."

James shot one sad look back at me before he walked out the door and shut it behind him. When he was gone, I fixed a hard glare on my enemy.

"Come back for more? Why not break a rib this time."

"I'm sorry, (Y/n). I came to say thank you. And, I wanted to make sure you were ok."

"Oh, I'm just great. I've just been slammed into a wall multiple times and my back hurts like hell."

He walked over to me and tried to lift up my shirt.

"Oi! Hands off, jackass!" I yelled as I grabbed onto my shirt.

His hands immediately fell away from the hem. "I just wanted to see how bad I hurt you."

I softened my gaze before nodding my head. I turned around on my bed, my back to Nathan. I lifted up my shirt, still covering my chest. I heard him inhale sharply before I felt him touch a sore spot.

"Ouch! Ya know, that hurts, right?" I snapped.

"Sorry," Nathan said and I practically could hear him wince.

"So, Doc, how bad is it?" If I feel bad for being mean, I figured I'd just be sarcastic.

"You're entire back is bruised and you have several small scrapes."

I blinked at hearing his words. I didn't think it would be that bad. "What can we do?"

"We have some cream for your cuts that we got from a ship awhile ago. Plus, I think we can put some ice on your back to help the bruising."

"Uh, thanks."

He left to get the items and I stayed sitting on my bed, the back of my shirt still pulled over my shoulders. Soon I heard footsteps coming back. I turned my head to the door and saw Nathan was back. He sat back down on my bed and the mattress sunk toward where he sat. I felt his hands on my back, and soon stinging pain shot out wherever a scrape was. Every time he touched one, I'd hiss in pain. Every time I'd hiss, Nathan mumbled an apology. Finally, he was done. They had a bunch of large ice packs and Nathan somehow attached them to my back. I fell asleep that night flat on my stomach, my back covered in pain cream and ice with a cropped shirt I had from when I nearly died. So far, life as a prisoner was anything but easy.