Tempest's Embrace

Chapter 6

The sudden dip and movement of the ship along with rapid footsteps woke him.

With a groan, he leaned his head against the boards at his back still chained to the wall. The darkness around him gave away little of what was happening.

He could do nothing but hang there and fume under his breath about his predicament and how he ended up in these bloody chains.

Twice a woman deceived him. One when he was a young boy and the other now.

How he wished he could find them both and make them pay. More the woman that did him wrong so many years ago and tossed him out when his father passed away. Ruthless she was, the moment he was left on their doorstep following his mother's death.

But at this precise moment, none of that mattered because he was positive that the time would come to face her.

The rough quick footsteps approaching him pulled him away from his thoughts. Four men came towards him and immediately began to unchain him. With a smirk he listened to one of them warn him to not try anything as the other three bound his wrists in ropes and dragged him along  above deck.

He inhaled the salty brisk clean air misted with the aroma of the salty sea. He was immediately dragged to the ship's mast and chained to it.

There he watched as the men that chained him to the mast quickly walk away. Soon barrels and crates were rolled and shoved across the deck and tossed overboard. Frowning at what they were doing, he felt the ship switch its course as it dipped and slowly began to turn.

In the distance, men began to shout that the sails were dropped and the other ship had picked up speed.
The other ship....

That was it...another ship was coming for them. Annoyed he could barely see anything sitting on the floor.
Suddenly a slight scuffle was heard in the distance as Cuthbert stepped above deck with a captive in his hold.

The young girl struggled and cried out as Cuthbert shoved her to the ground where she quickly crawled to another captive.

He watched her as she tried to speak to the other captive. The chaos around them made it hard for him to hear her. She crawled away from the woman and stood looking out in the distance until that vile dog of Cuthbert pulled her close.

A surge of rage at how Cuthbert roughly handled her made him pull furiously on his chains. The moment Cuthbert backhanded her to the floor his chest tightened and he yanked harder on the chains.

He watched rigidly to the spot as she unknowingly scooted towards him. His gut tightened with her attempts to scoot away from Cuthburt. He felt relieved the man turned away from her and continued shouting orders.

Resting easy against the bonds, the heavy clinks of the chains caught her attention and she looked up and turned her head in his direction.

When their eyes met there was a sudden weight in Justin's stomach.

His jaw clenched as she observed him. Then slowly she got close.
He had no idea he was holding his breath until she knelt before him and he got a clear view of her.

Inquisitive eyes peered into his and slowly her fingers gently brushed away his hair from his face. He did not flinch but stood still long enough to look deep into her eyes then she nervously pulled away.

Suddenly the loud clap of a canon startled them both and he was met with a need to be free. But she pulled away and immediately he called her close but she refused. She was terrified.

Think Justin. We can not afford for her to run off and hide.

"Come here," he fought to stay calm as he spoke.

"Free me and I will save you," he promised.

She hesitated. Then jumping into action as the second boom shook the ship she panicked and inched closer to him.

Anxiously she looked at him.
"What do you want me to do?" her voice shook with fright.

"Undo the rope that is tied to the chains," he instructed swiftly.

He watched as she disappeared behind him. The seconds passed as he felt the rope loosening from around his wrists. She came around him pulled the ropes entangled with the chains from around his chest. Another canon flew over them with a direct hit to the mast above them and immediately he pulled her against him and dove out of the way as pieces of wood fell around them.

The wind was knocked out of her as he landed above her to cover her from the falling debris. Beneath him, she lay still until he abruptly stood up and pulled her up around the waist, and tugged her along the deck dodging the men that were running scared for their lives.

She fought him and reached out to point to her nana begging him to rescue her as well. He left her side and reached over for the woman that lay sobbing in the corner. He pulled the two women along towards the middle deck where more chaos formed as the ship was suddenly being overrun by pirates from the other ship.

They swung in on ropes like flying savages while others climbed aboard from the sides. Familiar faces of his men swarmed the ship and took down the enemy with little effort.

He corraled the women before him and stood to his full height immediately calling the familiar sailor before him that cut down one of Cuthbert's men.

"Bellamy!" he shouted over the men that fought around them.

The man turned to face him. Acknowledging his captain without hesitating he waited for his orders as he approached Justin.

"Take them," he ordered quickly pushing them into the man's arms.

"Captain!" Another man shouted, he turned in time to find a cutlass sailing through the air in time to swipe down an assailant to his right that approached them.

In the throng of disorder and shouts, Tempest panicked as the man she rescued handed her over to the other pirates that were attacking the ship. She gasped as one of them yelled for the man that she freed.

His gaze landed on hers before looking up to the man that pulled her away. Although he wasn't rough he was still taking her away.
Suddenly another man appeared at their side. She looked at the ship in the distance. She shook her head. Confused.
How were they going to board the other ship?
They could not jump into the violent water without being sucked beneath the moving ships.

She began to pull away as she saw exactly how they were going to the other ship as the pirate behind her hoisted her up by the waist in a tight grip and reached for a rope.

Before she could pull away.....he jumped off the rails and held on to the rope. All she could do is scream and pray he does not drop her. In the distance, she saw as the other man held Josephine. She did not fight. she did not flinch. She said nothing.

They were quickly walked on the deck and rushed below. It was here the pirate ushered them into a large cabin heavily decorated.
He said nothing as he quickly made for the door shutting them in and locking it.

So much happened she had little time to grasp all that went on.  The woman at her side that raised her from when she was just a child,  sat mute in a corner. Tempest felt alone as she too huddled to the corner. Her eyes lowered and she tried to think back to what just happened.

The man that she freed knew the pirates that attacked.

Captain? The man she freed was called.

In shock she faced him.

Take them! He told the man that held her.

She trembled in fear of what this meant. She just freed a Pirate Captain. She was taken aboard his ship.

"The likes of you would not last a day on that ship," Cuthburt told her.

Her vision blurred as she let out a sob realizing too late that she may be doomed.

Dear God! What did she do?

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Here we go I hope you liked it.
So sorry for the late updates but as some of u know I work from home and orders are piling in on me.

But here you have it....
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