Secrets of a Pirate's Heart

Chapter Three

After the night of eating and drinking was over, the Captain returned to his cabin and insisted that Scarlett follow, even though she resisted. Everyone aboard was already in their beds, or sprawled across the floor, fast asleep. The feeling of being the only one around who had their senses with them made Scarlett uneasy. She had no desire to sleep in the same room as the Captain.

"Where do you suggest I sleep?" Scarlett asked, as she hesitantly entered his cabin in hopes she could talk to him.

"There's a bed in here, you know," he replied, a little tipsy.

She sighed, knowing it was useless to attempt reasoning with him. "You're going to bed," she said with stern determination and led him to his bed.

He stopped suddenly and grabbed her arms, looking at her with what seemed like genuine concern. "Where are you going to sleep, love?" Despite this, Scarlett easily guided him into his bed.

"Never mind that, I can take care of myself." Scarlett helped the Captain tuck himself under his bed covers and crouched along his side waiting for him to fall asleep. Only a few minutes passed before he was snoring softly and Scarlett felt safe to tend to herself.

She stood up and glared down at the Captain, who peacefully slept off his drunkenness. An idea entered her mind to grab a knife from his desk while he was sleeping - he would be utterly helpless - but she shuddered at the thought of committing it. He was fortunate she wasn't that kind of person.

Quietly, she stepped away and reasoned that, though she loathed sleeping in the Captain's cabin, she would loathe finding different sleeping quarters even more. She snuck around and searched for a pillow and blanket in the cabinets, but she found that there were none. Scarlett crossed her arms and decided against stealing the Captain's, for fear he would wake up angry. With only one option left in mind, she blew out the candles and laid down beside the wall farthest from her despised captor. The wood floor felt harder than stone, but even though her body ached, that seemed not to matter at all.

She laid silently - endeavoring to stay perfectly still - as she stared into the dark. She listened to the ship creak and moan from the ocean's relentless waves. It felt lonely to her, to be out in the middle of the black, chilling ocean with barbaric strangers who had no regard for her.

It was impossible to not think of home. Even if she tried to avoid dwelling on it, somehow it always crept back into her mind: the warm crackling fire and the comforts of her very own bed; not the cold that made every inch of her body ache and the unbearably hard floor she laid on. However, despite how she yearned for physical comfort, she wished even more to be with her family, safe from any dangers outside in the terrifying world she now faced. She had taken so many things for granted, naïve to what really lurked outside her door.

Scarlett wondered what her family was doing that moment as she thought about them. Were they out searching for her? Scarlett wished she could tell them, in some way, that she was okay. Or did they think that she could be dead? What if they stopped searching for her, and she never made it back? Tears had begun to stream down her face, but that horrifying thought caused her to sob until it felt like her heart was choking the breath out of her.

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Scarlett awoke to hear the muffled hustle and bustle of the pirates outside the cabin. She turned onto her back and realized a blanket was draped over her with a pillow placed under her head. Did the Captain do this? she thought.

She stood up and fixed her dress, then laid the pillow and blanket back on the bed. She glanced at herself in the mirror placed on the Captain's desk and noticed the stress clearly showed on her face. Her eyes were dark, her cheeks stained with tears, her forehead shiny with sweat, and her hair tangled. Walking closer, she ran her fingers through her hair and wiped her forehead, but it was no use.