Pain

[Barbossa's Mistress]

Hi everyone! This is my first fiction...so we'll have to see how it goes. I'd love comments/reviews if anyone reads this. Thanks!

CHAPTER I

I hurried along the streets as quickly and quietly as I could. Nobody must see me. If they did, I would most certainly be caught and dragged back to where I had come from. Why was I running away? Well, I was running away from the terrible fate my parents had sealed for me. They expected me to marry Sir Allen Parker. Sir Allen had lots of money. That was the only reason why my parents thought I should marry him. They didn't think twice about love or a meaningful relationship. I guessed that they hadn't ever even loved each other. No wonder they were so unhappy.

Deep in my heart, I knew there was no way I wanted to end up like them. No way would I sit around and get old with a man I didn't care about. I would refuse to have his children as well. It wasn't that Sir Allen was a bad man; he just didn't love me. And to be honest, I didn't love him either. We had only met a few times and from what I could tell about him, all he cared about was money, fame, and a high status.

So here I was now, escaping from my fate. I had crept out of my room in the dead of night and was now tiptoeing along the streets. A sudden crack caused me to freeze and look around cautiously. To my great relief, the night feel back into silence. Telling myself that maybe I should be a bit more careful about where I stepped, I continued my run across the pavement once more.

I didn't really have a good plan about where I was going. I hadn't even bothered to pack anything either. All I had were the clothes on my back, the hat on my head, and the engagement ring on my finger. I had kind of forgotten about the engagement ring. For a moment, I wanted to rip the vile thing off my finger and throw it as far away from me as I could. Luckily, I stopped myself just in time though. I couldn't throw it away. After all, it was definitely worth a lot of money. Money was something I would certainly need later down the road.

As I continued down the road, rain started to spill from the heavens. It soaked through my dark pants and black shirt. I had dressed in black in hopes that nobody would recognize me for who I really was. The hat with the large brim on my head also helped conceal my identity as well. By now, I had almost reached the dock by our little town. Even through the rain, I could see a large ship resting by the dock.

My plan wasn't a very good one. As a matter of fact, it was downright stupid and very risky. Nevertheless, I was determined to take this risk. No way was I going to sit around and be a submissive little girl when it came to getting married. I believed in true love. If you didn't have true love, then what did you have? In my opinion, without love, you are nothing.

Anyways, enough about love for now. Right now, all that mattered was my plan. I had been planning to sneak aboard a ship in the harbor and sail far away from my little town and hope to never return. I was aware that there were several problems with my plan. After all, what if the crew members on the ship didn't like me? What if women weren't allowed on the ship? And thirdly, what if they found me and brought me back here?

Those were all very bothersome questions, but right now, I just had to shove them to the back of my mind. They didn't really matter now. I was willing to run the risk. As I scanned the sea ahead of me, my eyes rested on the one and only ship in the harbor. I couldn't help but think that it was rather strange that only one ship was by the dock. Usually, there were three or four ships resting there. No matter though.

I finally reached the side of the large ship and peered at it more closely. It was hard to see the details of it because of the rain, but I immediately knew it was a big and powerful ship. I grabbed the side of the ship and a robe hanging from it. I had never really climbed a rope before, but there's a first time for everything. Using all my strength, I twisted my legs around the rope and started to climb up it slowly but surely.

After only five minutes, I had somehow managed to climb the rope. I was now hanging rather precariously above the ship. I would have to jump down to reach the ship's deck. That thought made me take in a quick breath. Heights had always been one of my biggest fears and I was certainly a long way up right now. However, before I could chicken out, I heard creaking noises from somewhere nearby. Uh oh, that meant someone was coming! Without another thought, I let go of the rope and fell throw the air until I reached the bottom of the ship with a thud.

Hoping that nobody had heard me, I crawled behind a barrel of some unknown substance and held my breath. A loud voice and footsteps met my ears, "Did you hear that noise? It sounded like someone had fallen or something." Another voice answered the first voice, "Maybe it was just a mouse or something. You never know. But anyways, go haul the anchor in right away. The captain is in a hurry."

More footsteps sounded and the first voice contradicted the second one, "A mouse? How the hell would a mouse get on our ship?" The second voice retorted, "I don't know. But it is possible." A loud crashing sound told me that the anchor had been hauled up onto the ship. The sounds of many, many more footsteps and lots of voices met my ears. Apparently this ship had a very large crew.

I continued to stay crouched in my little hideaway as people all around me performed their assigned duties on the ship. Finally, I felt a lift from the sea below us; we were off! My heart seemed to soar as high as the heavens as the ship started traveling across the waves. I was finally leaving the place I had come to dread so much. Never again would I return here.

As I lay on my side behind the barrel, sleep started to overcome me. I was rather tired. It was the middle of the night after all and I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the last few nights. So despite the fact that it was raining, the fact that I was on a ship with a bunch of unknown people, and the fact that I hated being wet, I somehow managed to drift off to the world of dreams.

~ ~ ~ ~

"Hey, you there!" a loud voice in my ear and a kick to my side sent me spiraling out of my dreams and back into reality. I wasn't sure if I was quite ready to leave my dream world just yet. I had been dreaming about what I wished would happen in my future. I dreamed that the captain of this ship was a royal prince. He would treat me well, fall in love with me, and we would live happily ever after. I know it's rather pathetic, but it doesn't hurt to dream of happy endings and fairy tales, right?

The kick to my side caused me to cringe and clench my teeth. Blinking sleep out of my eyes, I rolled back into a sitting position and looked upwards. The man standing above me was short and stocky. His hair was straggly, the top of his head was bald, and he was pretty ugly to be honest. Still half asleep, I merely blinked up at him.

The stocky man turned around and called to someone behind him, "Hey Ragetti, get over here! I have something to show you!" Show him? Something wasn't boding well. I was getting a bad feeling in my gut. Looking around to get my bearings, my eyes fell on the flags hoisted above the ship. They were black and had a skull and crossbone marked upon them. Oh my god...was this a pirate ship?

Before I could think of this anymore, a tall and thin man with a very strange looking eye came over and joined the first man. Giving the first man a big grin, he said, "What do we have here? A stowaway perhaps?" The man, obviously named Ragetti, then turned to me and said, "What's your name, boy? Have you come to join the crew of the Black Pearl?"

Hm, the ship's name was the Black Pearl. I seemed to think I had heard that name before, but I wasn't quite sure. All I was sure about at this point was that I was in a bad situation. Pirates were cruel, reckless, and murderers! I had never even considered the possibility that I might accidentally board a pirate ship! Unfortunately, I was now paying the consequences of that.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled the wide-brimmed hat off my head and met Ragetti's eyes. In a firm voice, I replied, "I'm not a boy. My name is Bernadette Cook. But yes, I have come to join the crew. What can I do to help?" I figured this was the best thing to say to Ragetti. After all, I most certainly didn't want to displease pirates. They were known to be nasty at times.

Unfortunately, I had said the wrong thing. At my words, both men's eyebrows flew up and they gaped at me. I felt very uncomfortable under their stares and wondered what they were thinking as they stared at me. Before I could ask them what was wrong, another head appeared above me. This person had short grayish-brown hair, a wrinkled face, and shocked eyes.

"My, my!" the newcomer exclaimed. "Have you been stealing women onto the ship, Pintel?" The first man, who I assumed was named Pintel, quickly shook his head, "No, no, of course not, Mr. Gibbs! I was only doing my duties when I happened to come across her. She was just lying her behind the barrel where we were storing all the extra rum."

Mr. Gibbs frowned at Pintel and said, "What were you doing by the barrel of the extra rum anyways?" Pintel opened his mouth, started to say something, and then shut it almost immediately. He gave Mr. Gibbs a sheepish smile and then looked at his feet. By now, three more faces appeared over me. Two seconds later, the whole crew was towering over me.

I hated having everyone staring at me. I hated it even more that everyone on here was a pirate. Well, I assumed they were all pirates anyways. After all, this was a pirate ship and pirates sailed on pirate ships. Feeling uncomfortable with all the pairs of eyes on me, I made an attempt to get to my feet. Unfortunately, it didn't work out as I had planned. My legs felt like jelly beaneath me and refused to let me stand up.

Finally, a big man with dark skin and dark hair asked me rather loudly, "What's your business here, girl?" I didn't like this man much at all. His voice was too loud, his eyes were too wild, and I most certainly didn't like the way he was looking at me. Several of the men standing nearby had pistols in their belts or were carrying some other kind of weapon. All it took was one little pull and I would have a bullet in my head.

There were a lot of things I could say to the dark man. Finally, I decided that the truth would be best. In a rather unsteady voice that conveyed my fear, I stuttered, "I'm running away from home. I...I don't get along with my family." A long silence followed my words. Finally, a particularly scraggly and mean-looking pirate took a step forward and said, "I'll take her down below to the bunks. She'll be kept out of the way there and maybe she'll be able to do us some good."

I didn't like at all the way the man had said all that. I didn't want to go down below to the bunks. It would be cold and dark down there and I had no idea what the men would do to me. Pirates were brutal; whatever they did to me certainly couldn't be good. I slowly started backing up against the side of the ship with hopes that a magical prince would appear out of thin air and come save me. Unfortunately, I kind of knew that wasn't going to happen.

However, before anyone could grab me, the loud thud of boots crossing the deck sounded and a rather commanding voice said loudly, "Alright, alright, everyone out of the way. What's going on here?" At the sound of the voice, the pirates group around me instantly retreated and I was left shivering on the floor of the ship. I was really cold by now. I was only wearing a thin shirt and a simple pair of black pants. Why hadn't I remembered to bring a coat along?

Suddenly, a shadow was cast over me. Looking upwards, I say that a tall man was standing over me. He looked exactly what a pirate should look like. He wore baggy pants, brown boots, a black coat, and a belt with a large buckle on it. On his head was a large hat with feathers upon it and there was a monkey chattering noisily on his shoulder. What really caught my attention was the man's eyes. They were the deepest blue that I had ever seen before. It was surprising that I could even see his eye color considering how hard it was raining and all.

Pintel immediately answered the man's original question, "I found this girl hiding behind the barrel of rum, captain. She said she's running away from home. What shall we do with her now?" Pintel looked from the captain to me, and then back to the captain again. I held my breath as I waited for the captain's response. His next words would probably determine my fate once and for all.

The captain looked down and me and didn't speak for a long while. I was suddenly aware of how pathetic and awful I probably looked right now. My hair was wet and hanging in loose strands around my face. I didn't have any makeup on besides for eyeliner which had probably smeared all over by now. And I was also suddenly very self conscious of the way my wet shirt was clinging to my body.

"So you're running away from home, girl? There's gotta be a reason for it," the captain stated a-matter-of-factly. When I didn't say anything, he took a step even closer to me and said, "Well? Go on and tell us why you're running away. You can speak, can't you? I haven't heard you say a word yet."

Summoning up all my courage, I finally found my voice and said, "My parents were going to force me to get married to a man more than twice my age who barely knows me. I would not let myself submit to such an awful destiny. So I decided to run away by boarding the first ship I could find. And now I am here."

"I see. So you're running away to find true love then, aye?" the captain said in almost a comical voice. Blushing, I shrugged and looked at the floor of the ship. I wasn't exactly going to find true love when I was on a boat with pirates, but hopefully someday I would be able to find the man of my dreams who would love me for who I was.

When I didn't reply, the captain sighed, rolled his eyes, and then said, "You're going to have to learn to speak up, girl. This isn't really a place for a woman to be. Unfortunately, we're kind of stuck with you now. I could have my crew throw you overboard though..." The captain's words stirred up a pit of fear in my stomach. Would he be so cruel as do throw me overboard?

Giving me a lopsided smile, the captain continued, "I wouldn't do that to ya, little lassie. At least, not for now. I will warn ye though. This isn't a place for a young person like yourself. Dark things happen on pirate ships. I cannot say whether or not you'll be safe here. I can control my ship, but not always the crew. Stand up a second, girl."

I was getting more and more nervous by the moment. What kinds of "dark things" happened on pirate ships? What would the members of the crew do to me? I was trembling more than before, but that was more from anxiety versus from being cold at this point. I attempted to get to my feet, but like before, I couldn't make my legs move.

Sighing loudly, the captain took a step forwards, leaned down, and pulled me to my feet rather roughly so that we were standing right in front of each other. A strange feeling came over me as the captain looked me up and down from head to toe. I flinched as his gaze passed over my chest and down my legs. I didn't think I liked being scrutinized so carefully by an unpredictable pirate.

After looking me over to his satisfaction, the captain locked gazes with me. I was suddenly immersed in a sea of blue as I stared into them. A strange feeling that I couldn't quite idenitify started running through my veins. Something was wrong about this. Something was very wrong indeed. Unfortunately, it took me a long six months to find out exactly what that something was.

[Jas. Hook]

Jenna -

A few spelling and grammar blips.

As your pirate education grows you'll find your descriptions and historical correctness increase.

Interesting start though, will you continue to publish this story here?

Jas. Hook

[Cannibal Chrispy]

Excellent! Bravo! Grins although im not sure if eyeliner was available at the time, but the reference did help invoke the picture in my mind.

You have me "Hooked". Well done! and keep it coming.

[Barbossa's Mistress]

@JasHook: Thanks for reading, I really appreciate your opinion. Yup, I'll continue to post.

@Cannibal Crispy: Thanks so much! you're probably right about the eyeliner.

Btw, is there a rule against posting mature content even if you put a warning first? I just don't want to end up breaking the rules. lol

Chapter II

The captain and I merely stared at each other for a rather long time. I couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind as he looked at me. All I knew was that I was starting a much different life than the one I was used to. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing was yet to be seen.

Finally, the captain took a step back from me before snaking his hand forward to grab hold of my wrist. His long fingernails bit into my skin as he lifted my hand up to his eye level. Wondering what in the world he was looking at, I tried to snatch my wrist away from him. Unfortunately, all this did was cause his fingernails to bite painfully into my skin. It took a lot of effort to keep from crying out.

Deciding that I didn't really like the captain all that much, I stared at him with a look of hatred on my face. He had no right to grab me like this. Nobody had a right to do that. Sure, men may be more powerful than women, but women do have feelings too! Something told me that most of the members of this crew had forgotten about that.

The captain's fingers suddenly closed around my fingers and a moment later, he had tossed my hand aside and was peering at something in his hand curiously. Wondering what he had done to my hand, I looked down to see that my engagement ring was gone. Feeling rather indignant about this, I pulled myself up to my unfortunately short height of five feet and said, "That's my engagement ring. You have no right to take it from me. Give it back. I need it."

A long silence followed my outburst. All the members of the crew exchanged long looks. All their eyes went to the captain to see how he would react. Some of them looked fearful whereas others looked merely curious to see what would happen. From the looks on their faces, I could tell that the captain was normally respected to a great extent.

He didn't do anything to hurt me though. Instead, he threw his head back and laughed at me. A few of the other members of the crew joined in with nervous laughter. Before I knew it, the whole crew was roaring with laughter. I frowned and crossed my arms across my chest from irritation and in an attempt to hide the way my plastered shirt was showing off every curve of my body.

"Little girl, don't you see how contradictory you're being?" the captain asked with a lopsided smile on his face. Having no idea what he was talking about, I just stood and stared at him. Rolling his eyes, he went on, "You told me you didn't want to get married and that you wanted a life of your own. If that is so, then you won't be needing this any longer."

His words made sense to some extent, but he was tricking me in a sense. The ring belonged to me and was my property. He had no right to just take it like that. Frowning, I took a step forward and tried to grab the ring out of his hand as I said, "You have no right. That ring is mine. I'm going to need it someday."

"Oh really?" the captain asked with raised eyebrows. "What exactly are you planning on using it for? Are you trying to buy yourself a different husband?" I frowned and thought my words through before I answered. I didn't like the way the captain was speaking to me. He was obviously mocking me to some extent. And unfortunately, I still didn't know what his intentions were.

"Yes, really!" I snapped back with a bit of anger in my tone. "I was planning to use it to buy food and water when we reach a town. Then I'll leave your ship and start a new life for myself and I'll no longer be a bother to you. All I ask is that you let me stay here until we reach land next. That isn't all that much to ask for, you know."

"I could just make you stay here, you know," the captain told me with a teasing smile on his lips. "You're at my mercy here. If I were you, I'd keep my mouth shut. You're digging yourself into a hole, Miss...?" The captain let his words trail off as he looked at me curiously. He obviously wanted to know what my real name was. For a moment, I thought about lying. I didn't like my name much. Cook sounded so plain and ordinary. However, maybe I would have a better chance of escape if the captain found me normal and boring.

"It's Cook," I told the captain defiantly. "Bernadette Cook. But as I was saying, it's not like I'm going to do you any good if I stay here on the ship. You wouldn't really want to keep me here...would you?" My last two words betrayed my anxiety. No way did I want to be stuck on a pirate ship for the the rest of my life. I still had my dreams of true love even as pathetic as that might sound.

"Keep you here?" the captain repeated, "You'll just have to wait and see, Miss Cook. I'm sure we could find uses for you. In the meantime, go ahead and bring her down to the lower deck, Pintel. She's soaked to the bone and she's shivering so much that it looks like her hand is just going to break right off. And yes, Ragetti, you can go with them."

Ragetti had been giving the captain a hopeful look and now he broke out with a big smile. Ragetti said in an excited voice, "Thank you, Captain Barbossa. Does that mean that someone else can take care of my duties for the rest of the day?" Ragetti attempted to give the captain puppy eyes, but it didn't seem to work.

"No," Barbossa replied firmly with a roll of his eyes. There was a moment's silence and then he added, "Well? What are you all looking at? Back to work all of you!" At Barbossa's words, the crew immediately leapt to their feet and returned to work. I could still see a few curious gazes upon me, but at least not everyone was staring at me like before.

Barbossa turned his back and started to walk away from me. I wasn't ready just to let him walk away though. I wanted answers to my questions and suspicions. I wanted to know what he planned to do with me and what my fate was to be. And most of all, I wanted my ring back. It was the only thing I had left of home besides for the clothes on my back.

"Wait!" I cried out loudly. Barbossa stopped mid-step and slowly turned around to face me. Giving me a curious look, he asked, "Yes, Miss Cook?" Trying not to sound like an idiot, I said, "But...but what's going to happen to me on here? Surely you've had women on your ship before. What became of them?"

"Women on my ship?" Barbossa chuckled in amusement. "What good what that do any of us? The last thing we need is a female ending up with some whiny baby on our ship. The only woman I've ever traveled with before was a woman named Elizabeth Swann and those were very strange circumstances. So you, my girl, are the first to ever stowaway on the Black Pearl."

Even though Barbossa's words were rather foreboding, I couldn't help but feel happy at the sound of Elizabeth's name. With a smile on my face, I replied, "Elizabeth is my second cousin! She's spoken of you before." I left off there. I didn't really remember whether Elizabeth had said if Barbossa was a cruel or kind pirate. Only time would tell me the answer to that.

"Ah, so you know Elizabeth, aye?" Barbossa asked. When I nodded, he continued on, "She was a nice girl and a very hard worker. But tell me something, lassie, how exactly did Elizabeth end up? Where is she now?" I frowned, not getting why the captain was asking me a question like this.

"She's married to Will and she has a little child. Why do you ask?" I explained with my eyebrows raised. Barbossa leaned against the side of the ship and said in a voice that he thought it would be obvious to everyone, "I have a reason for everything, Miss Cook. I'm showing you that even Elizabeth, a good and strong fighter, ended up back on land as a faithful wife to her husband. She didn't stay on my ship and she certainly didn't board my ship because she wanted to." Barbossa chuckled at some old memory. I wished Elizabeth had told me more about her pirate adventures. I couldn't help but wonder what Barbossa had done to her.

"Anyways," Barbossa said in a loud tone, breaking out of old memories. "Go ahead and bring the girl down to the lower decks, Pintel. You too, Ragetti. Once you've seen her down there safely, get back to your normal duties." With that, Barbossa turned for the second time and started striding down the deck. I still wasn't ready to see him go though. Frowning, I called back once more, "Wait! I need my ring back. It's mine and I must have it."

Barbossa looked at me with a very amused smile on his face, "You forget your place here, Miss Cook. This is my ship and my crew. I'm in charge here, not you. Also, you forget that I'm a pirate. Pirates take and don't give back. Take here away, Pintel." Without a last look in my direction, Barbossa's figured faded from view.

Very upset that he had just stolen my ring, I started after him, but was stopped as Ragetti and Pintel grabbed my arms. Looking at them with indignation, I replied, "Get off me! I must speak to the captain at once! There any many things that still need to be discussed!" I couldn't believe these two men had the audacity just to lean forward and grab me like that.

"You may only speak to the captain when he speaks to you," Ragetti recited in a calm voice. Neither he nor Pintel released me. This only maddened me further. Feeling very upset, I struggled against them as hard as I could and tried to break free. My plan of escaping their grasps didn't end up work so well though. I didn't get anywhere. Pintel and Ragetti only tightened their grip on me.

As I struggled definatly, I heard another almost gentle voice in my ear, "There's no need to struggle, Miss Cook. Everything will be okay. Just trust me and have a little faith." Curious to see who it was who had just spoken to me, I frowned and looked behind me to see who had spoken. It was Mr. Gibbs. He had a friendly smile on his face and was looking at me in an encouraging manner.

Deciding that he was right and that struggling would do me no good, I stopped my fight and let Pintel and Ragetti start to lead me away. I didn't watch where I was going. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I wanted to know where I was going. Maybe it was a good thing I was going somewhere though. At least I was going to get out of the rain.

"Watch your step," Pintel told me as we reached small wooden stairs that led to the lower deck of the ship. I squinted and stepped slowly down the stairs in an attempt to keep from falling. The rain was making it rather hard to see where I was going. Ragetti and Pintel continued to hold my arms as we descended down the stairs. Neither of them were being rough with me. Maybe Mr. Gibbs was right. Maybe I didn't have anything to fear.

Once we had reached the lower deck, Pintel brought me straight across the room and opened a door. I barely had a chance to see the room as Pintel and Ragetti whisked me away. All I was able to make out were rows of bunks and a few barrels here or there. Ragetti pushed me forward into the room and said, "Here we are. The captain wants you here for now. We'll come for you later. For now, welcome to your new home, Miss Cook."

My new home? I didn't like the sound of that too much. I didn't want to be spending my life here on a ship with a crew of pirates. No, there were lots of other things I had planned for my future. Nevertheless, I decided to try to be nice to Ragetti. He hadn't done anything mean to me yet and I really ought to be grateful to him.

Trying to smile, I said in a wavering voice, "Okay. And you can call me Bern. Nobody ever calls me Miss Cook or Bernadette." That was true. Even my mother who loved formality had called me Bern. If I was going to be here for a while, I might as well make myself as comfortable as possible. When people called me Miss Cook, I felt like my mother.

Pintel was frowning though. Stretching his head, he said, "But the captain called you Miss Cook. I think we should all call you that." It took me all my strength to keep from rolling my eyes. Pintel was going way overboard on the whole captain thing. He was acting as if Barbossa were a god or something.

"Look," I started out, "Just because the captain does something doesn't mean that we all need to do it! I want you to call me Bern because it's what my friends call me. I want us to be friends, don't you?" The last sentence came out of my voice in a wavering voice. Who would ever have guessed that I would want to be making friends with pirates?

Ragetti liked my idea. Grinning, he said, "Alright then, Bern. We're officially friends now. I really need to get back up on dock though before Barbossa gets mad. He can have an evil temper sometimes." Pintel nodded fervently and added, "Yes, it's best not to cross Barbossa. But anyways, we'll see ya later, Bern."

With that, Ragetti and Pintel exited the room, shut the door behind them, and left me locked inside the small room all alone with my thoughts.

[Elena]

Kohl was used as eyeliner since antiquity - Cleopatra and Nefertiti used it too

[Cannibal Chrispy]

<Thinks Captian Max Factor has a nice ring to it. Laughs, Ohhh I have a new character.

A good read from our newest noveliste', Don't stop now!

[Honour Bright]

Btw, is there a rule against posting mature content even if you put a warning first? I just don't want to end up breaking the rules. lol

Moderator here-

From the guidelines which are more like rules.

PG-13 rated and under only... anything more than that will be nuked. No exceptions.

The rules are set down by my co-moderator, Mad Jack Wolfe.

And he runs a tight ship.

[Jas. Hook]

Jenna -

Although you follow a Disney story line some of your concepts are not 17 - 18 century but more modern ideas. Try to immerse your thought and writing back into that time period. The more you read and educate yourself on that time frame the more accurate your story line will become.

A non Disney piece you might be interested in reading and it follows a similar plot and will put your head into life during those times is: Heart of a Pirate / A novel of Anne Bonny by Pamela Johnson.

Another is: Jack's Favorite by Alfred Picardi

Keep up the good work!

Jas. Hook

Edited January 21, 2011 by Jas. Hook

[Barbossa's Mistress]

Thanks for all your comments! I'll be certain to check out those books, Jas Hook. Thank you for the recommendations. Hope everyone likes this next bit.

Chapter III

I sat in the corner of the small room that I had been locked inside. It wasn't really that bad of a room to be honest. The wooden floors were polished, the windows were clean, and there was a black rug on the floor. It was clean, but it seemed far too empty and kind of unfriendly. A painting on the wall would add so much color and personality to this room.

I sat in silence for a while, still shivering like a zombie. I was really wishing that I had bothered to pack some extra clothes at this point. Unfortunately, I had not packed extra clothes and I was now suffering from that. Too bad there wasn't a blanket lying around somewhere. I would love to cuddle up with one.

Seconds became minutes and minutes soon became hours as I sat all alone in the little room. By this point, I was starting to panic slightly. Had the captain and the crew forgotten that I was in here? And if so, what would become of me? Would I rot away in this little room with nobody but the blank walls witnessing my death?

Just when I thought I was going to start hyperventilating, the door to the little room finally opened once more. I immediately jumped to my feet and had to restrain myself from going over and hugging whoever it was who had just opened the door. It was Pintel. Standing behind him was Ragetti holding something burgundy in his arms.

Wondering what the burgundy mass could be, I craned my neck to get a better look at it. Crossing my arms, I feigned anger as I said, "I thought you had forgotten all about me! I was worried you were all just going to let me stay down here for the rest of eternitny!" Well, maybe not for the rest of eternity exactly. They would most likely find me the day after I rotted away.

"Sorry lassie," Pintel said. Surprisingly enough, he did look a bit sorry. Who would've known that pirates had feelings after all? Pintel went onwards, "It's a big storm out there. We're lucky that the ship didn't flood! Anyways, I think it's lightening up a bit. The captain said you could eat dinner with the rest of the crew down on the lower decks."

Ragetti tossed the burgundy lump in his arms to me. I caught it and held it up curiously. Ragetti explained, "You can wear that to dinner instead of those sopping wet clothes you have on." As Ragetti explained, his left eye twitched and a second later, it popped out of its socket and started rolling along on the floor.

Forgetting about the bundle in my arms, I gaped at Ragetti and his roll-away eye. Following my gaze, Pintel explained, "Ragetti lost his eye a long time ago. It's a long story. Anyways, don't mind him. Put your dress on and then meet us outside so we can eat. I'm starving and I'm sure every other member of the crew is too."

I returned my attention back to the dress and peered at it curiously. It was burgundy and velvet and was a rather beautiful dress. The only problem was that it was obviously meant for someone much bigger than me. The plunging neckline simply wasn't going to work with my small figure. I didn't want to protest and anger the pirates, but I didn't really have a choice in this situation.

As Ragetti made a lunge for his eye, I explained cautiously, "I don't think this dress is going to fit me. It's much too large." I paused and when curiousity got the better of me, I added a question I had been mulling over from the moment I saw the dress, "So who does this dress belong to anyways? Is it Barbossa's wife's dress?"

At my question, Ragetti's and Pintel's eyes expanded to the size of saucers and they both turned to look at each other with astonishment. I was about to ask what was so funny when they both started laughing. They laughed long and hard. When Ragetti finally stopped cackling, I asked in confusion, "What's so funny? I don't get it."

"The thought of Barbossa with a wife!" Ragetti replied, still smiling like I had said the most hilarious thing ever. Still not getting it, I replied, "Doesn't Barbossa have a wife?" Giving me a look like I had gone mad, Pintel shook his head fervently, "No, Barbossa most certainly does not have a wife. Can you imagine Barbossa with a wife, Ragetti?"

Ragetti gave a high-pitched laugh and shook his head as he attempted to clean his eye with one hand. Frowning, I watched the two of them. I didn't see what was so funny about the situation still. I continued, "Well, don't most of the pirates on the ship have wives? I mean, isn't it only natural for a man to grow up and marry a woman?"

Ragetti laughed even harder and Pintel rolled his eyes. Taking a step towards the door, Pintel said, "Really, Bern, do you honestly think any respectable woman would want to marry pirates like us?" I hadn't thought about that until now. But now that Ragetti brought it up, everything made sense. No wonder the pirates weren't married. Women were suppose to marry gentlemen, not pirates.

"Anyways," Pintel said, grabbing Ragetti's arm and shoving him out of the room, "We'd best be leaving so you can change and so we can eat! I'm going to starve to death here." With that, he turned and started out the door. I turned back to the bundle in my arms and then yelled to Pintel, "I'm pretty sure this dress is going to be too big."

Pintel paused in the doorway, shook his hair out of his eyes, and then frowned, "Hm, you're right about that. It does look a little on the big side. Um...why don't you at least try it on? It's the best we've got and you're sopping wet right now." Without letting me protest, Pintel shut the door behind him with a loud click.

Alone in the room again once more, I sighed and rested the dress on the bed as I stripped out of my wet shirt and pants. Naked besides for my lacy white undergarments, I attempted to pull the dress over my head. I was practically swimming in it. The neckline of it was much too low and just about reached my navel, showing way too much of my chest off. One little slip and it would reveal part of my bra to whoever happened to be looking at me at the wrong moment.

I frowned as I decided what to do next. Finally, I decided it would be best just to call out the door to Pintel and tell him about the dilemma. Creeping over to the door, I opened it just a crack and called out, "Pintel? Can you come in here a moment please?" As I peered through the door, I could see all the men gathered at one large table at the end of the room. Most were talking loudly and making wide gestures. They were obviously a rowdy crowd.

Pintel took his time in coming to see what was wrong. With a drumstick in one hand and with his mouth full of food, he said in a blurred voice, "What's wrong, missy?" I gave Pintel a funny look and pointed to the dress. It was pretty obvious what was wrong. I was clutching the bodice tightly in one hand to keep it from dropping.

Finally looking away from his drumstick, Pintel raised an eye as he looked at the dress. Suddenly, the door burst open and Ragetti followed him inside. His eyes widned at the dress and he said, "Wow, you look like a little midget in that dress, girl. We definitely need to find you something else to wear. That dress is gonna fall right off of you at any moment."

"That was my point," I explained to Ragetti with a roll of my eyes. "So can you bring me something else? If not, I suppose I can just put my old clothes back on." I looked to the ground where my wet clothes were sopping on the floor. I didn't really want to put them on, but no way was I going to run the risk of having my dress fall off completely. That would be very humiliating.

Pintel scratched his chin and thought for a moment. Finally, he said, "I don't know if there is another dress on board. I suppose I'd better go ask the captain. I'll be right back. You and Ragetti can just stay here for now." With that said, Pintel got up and sprinted off to wherever the captain was. I watched him go feeling kind of nervous.

Luckily, Ragetti wasn't the kind of guy who would hurt me even if he could. He simply sat besides me on the ground and started up an entirely random conversation, "So Miss Bern, tell me a bit about yourself. Do you like fishing or treasure hunting? Those are my two favorite things to do. Unfortunately, I never seem to end up with much treasure though." He shook his head sadly.

Deciding to be completely honest, I replied, "I've never been on a ship before. There's not much to know about me. I'm seventeen. My name is Bernadette, but you already know that. I guess all I'm really looking for is an adventure. I just want a change from the norm, you know? And if I'm being honest, I want to fall in love."

I supposed most of the pirates would've laughed at me for saying that, but Ragetti was different. Instead of laughing at me, he simply nodded with understanding and replied, "I completely understand where you're coming from, girl. I've always wanted to fall in love with a woman, but none would ever have me. No idea why. Have you ever been in love before?"

I immediately shook my head, "No, unfortunately not. Nobody has ever really loved me either. Sometimes I wonder if I'm unlovable or something. I suppose I won't know for a while though. I mean, it's not like I'm going to fall in love while I'm sailing on a pirate ship obviously." I rolled my eyes and smiled at Ragetti.

Ragetti didn't smile back though. Instead, he looked rather sad. Looking down at the ground, he said, "So you don't think anyone could ever love a pirate then? Are we cursed to be alone for the rest of our lives?" Ragetti's tone was solemn and I almost wondering if he would start crying for a moment.

My head spun as I thought about an answer to his question. I couldn't ever see myself falling in love with a pirate, but maybe that was because I had been raised in such a fine home by wealthy parents. There was no need to let Ragetti know that though. So instead, I told him, "I'm sure there's some special woman out there who could fall in love with you. I'm sure certain women could fall in love with pirates. There's got to be someone for everyone." I wasn't exactly sure about the last statement, but what else could I say?

Ragetti smiled at me and said, "Thanks for saying that." Then he grew solemn again and added, "But not you though, hm?" His question totally caught me off guard. I had no idea what he was talking about. I raised my eyebrow and waited for him to explain. Ragetti went on, "I meant that you don't think you could ever fall in love with anyone on this ship?"

I decided to be totally honest and so I went ahead and said, "No, not really." As soon as those three words were open, the door popped back open and Pintel appeared. Shooting Ragetti a funny look, he said, "Are you two talking about love? Why talk about love? I mean, there are about a million other things in the world to talk about!"

Ragetti and I looked at each other and both blushed a bright tomato red. Deciding to dismiss the topic, Ragetti said, "So Bern, I talked to the captain. He...erm...wants to see the dress." I frowned, but shrugged. The captain could have the dress back for all I cared. I waited for Ragetti and Pintel to leave, but they stood rooted to the spot.

Raising my eyebrows at them, I said, "Aren't you two going to leave so I can change? I'll give you the dress then." Ragetti and Pintel exchanged funny looks and I immediately knew something was wrong. Finally, Pintel said, "The captain wants to see you...with the dress on." He wanted to see me with the dress on? What the hell?

Frowning, I took two steps backwards and crossed my arms across my chest. Giving Ragetti and Pintel frowns, I replied, "No way am I going out of the cabin like this. It's simply improper!" I looked down at myself once more to see how the bottom of my neckline was rested just an inch above my navel and was showing off way too much of my chest.

Pintel gave me a little smile and said, "Sorry, lassie, but we've got no choice. The captain's words are law." Pintel looked me over for a minute and then said, "You have two options. Option number one is where you do as we say and go see the captain. Option number two is that you refuse to do as we say and we force you to go see the captain. Both options end up in the same result. So really, if I were you, I would go with choice one. It's definitely the easier of the two and I really don't want to hurt you."

I frowned and looked at the ground, deciding what to do. I didn't really have any good options in this situation. Pintel was certainly right though; option number one was much better than option number two. Sighing, I tried to take a calming breath before saying, "Alright then. I'll see the captain and I'll let him know exactly what I think of the way he's treating me. Bring me to him at once!"

Pintel and Ragetti exchanged shocked glances at my sudden change in attitude. Shrugging at each other, they opened the door to the little cabin I had been staying in. I was surprised they didn't hold my hand or arm as we headed out of the cabin. But then again, even if I did try to make a run for it, where would I run to? There weren't many places to go in a situation like this. The only escape was to the sea. Escaping to the sea meant drowning for sure.

Hoping nobody would see me, I crept quietly behind Ragetti. Unfortunately, luck was not with me and the two men ended up leading me right by the table where the crew members were sitting. As soon as one of the members of the crew caught sight of me, all the men were staring at me and whistling loudly. It was going to be the longest night of my life.

[Jas. Hook]

Jenna -

18th Century... nothing from K Mart or Victoria's Secret.

Keep writing!

Jas. Hook

historicromance.wordpress.com/2008/08

[Zingara Carmella]

Huhmm I wonder that dress sounds familiar was it the one her cousin Elizabeth wore? ah the curiosity (of course I would mind the dress ) by the way about Capt Barbosa not having a wife I heard rummors about him and Lady Barbosa...(ain't saying nothing , just a little monkey told me)

I like it little Mistress keep it rolling

[Jas. Hook]

Aye, I told ye that the monkey be a snitch, the bloody little bugger.

Jas. Hook

[Zingara Carmella]

humm maybe I could be of service ...you know animals are usually used in divination rituals ....

[danieldesu]

Very nice bilge, continuously updating chapters. I like it..!!