[Vereena]
"You're sorely mistaken. You took the wrong person," I grumbled, gazing angrily at the pirate captain, whose name I did not get. I don't care.
I am still frightened, but after seeing his face, the fear has diminished somewhat. Even if my anxieties were trembling within, a small amount of courage gave me the fortitude to not shrink in his presence.
I desired nothing more than to be back in my father's arms... with Prince Tarquin, and to forget this nightmare ever occurred. They must be really dead worried by now, looking everywhere for me. Perhaps, someone had told them that pirates stowed me away. I could only hope.
I was so caught up glowering over this towering man, and my thoughts filled about my father that I neglected to notice the stout man leaning forward to my face. My body responded instinctively and sought to avoid inhaling his horrible breath. Initially, I believed he was going to touch my face with his filthy hands, but he only gazed at my bosom.
"You sick stinkard, stop staring at my chest!" I hissed at him as I became instantly uncomfortable with his leering glance. I would've slapped him in the face if only my hands weren't bound.
However, he did not heed to my words, and turned his attention to his captain, rubbing his fat fingers to his chin as though he was in deep thoughts. Which I find it funny, cause I thought of him as incapable of cognition.
"Cap'ain, look at that st'ne. D'yah think 'tis real?" He promptly inquired.
I, then recalled the necklace Prince Tarquin had given me. I immediately froze, caught off guard by his question. My breathing quickened, knowing exactly who were these people as the captain peered down at the object clinging to my neck and leaned forward.
The corner of his lips loops upwardly. His enormous hand grabbed for my necklace, and before I realized what was happening, he had already hastily undone the clasp. I have no idea how he accomplished that, but his fingers worked nimbly and unsuspected before I realized it too late. I didn't even feel his hand grazing my skin. I just hear the necklace jangled into his palm.
My mouth wend wide, too stunned as cold dread draped all over my body, looking at the necklace Prince Tarquin had entrusted to me dangling in the filthy hands of a pirate.
"Such keen eyes," he commended the stout man, raised the necklace to his face and swung it as the precious stones glistened in the light.
No.
No, they couldn't have it.
They mustn't know that it's real.
I began to get hysterical inside, but I forced myself to remain calm on the outside. I'm a respectable lady. I have been taught how to hide my emotions and keep my composure, trained to portray expressions necessary in every situation.
I took a deep breath and swallowed hard to remove the clog of dread stuck up in my throat before I spoke, denying the authenticity of the necklace just to protect it.
"No, it's just a replica. It's a gift from my friend. It's worth nothing," I uttered with such dripping confidence. I would have applauded myself for not stammering if I were in different circumstances, yet I must remain with my blank expression to uphold my lie.
The captain shifted his attention to me. His brows furrowed, lowering the necklace as he squatted to level his singular gaze on mine, his face moving closer, too close for my comfort. I swallow my perturbation once more, so discreetly, and hope that he doesn't notice it.
I tried not to inhale, but my lungs suddenly became scant with air, forcing me to take a deep breath. For the second time, I was confounded by the fact that he did not have a terrible odor, just like the stout man. Instead, he reminded me so much of what my father smells like. Sea salt and ocean breeze. I resisted the need to close my eyes—to inhale more of him, instead, I kept my gaze locked on his face.
He narrowed his one eye on me, examining whether or not I was telling the truth, until he laughed as if he found my remarks humorous rather than compelling.
"Nah, you think I am fool?"
I subconsciously gape at his response, my face distorting into perplexity. Did he see through my façade? Were my trainings have gone for naught?
No, I refused to capitulate. This might be one of his ploys to turn my words against me.
"You're a bloody murderer."
I hardened my heed on him, sharpening my stare in contending, and lifted my chin in defiance. One thing I regret not having learned is how to spit in someone's face. That would be a very unladylike behavior but sure is satisfying. I would take any wage just to learn that trick and use it on this very specific smug person.
However, instead of getting insulted by what I said, he only chortled a peal of deep laughter, showing me off his set of white teeth, which caused me to scowl immediately. How is this pirate so well-groomed? Aren't they supposed to be covered with filth and unhygienic? The stout man was just how I envisioned them to look like, but this giant was not what I anticipated.
"Hah, charming," he heckled, moving a bit away, allowing me to have some room for myself without him invading my personal space. As much as he reminded me with the nostalgic scent of my father, he's still the person I loathed for this very moment.
I cleared my head and thought of another alibi that would cover my first lie.
"Look, Captain…" I started, trying to recall his name but failing as tremors began to consume me.
The stout man seemed to have sensed me struggling to remember the cretin's identity. He scowled at me and hissed.
"Cap'tain Steele, you s'lly brat," he instantly grumbled, reminding me of the name.
"Yes, Captain Steele," I reckoned, nodding my head and attempting to appear credible as I proceeded to speak.
"You took the wrong person. I am not the Admiral's daughter. In fact, I was nobody." I supplemented yet another lie, concreting the statements I just made up inside my head in a spur of time. "That necklace, I stole it from Lady Vereena. It wasn't mine. I swear to the gods in heaven."
As soon as I complete narrating my invented story, I am almost out of breath, looking anxiously at the captain and hoping he will accept and believe my lies. I even felt bad for taking advantage of the gods' name with my deception.
Captain Steele looked at me for a brief moment, calculating each word I said, and then he looked down at the necklace, then back to my face, questioning my identity.
"What's your name, then?"
I opened my mouth to answer his inquisition but paused when I realized I hadn't thought of any sobriquet that would complete my pretend identification. My mind were in jumbles, cold pellets of sweat running down my spine as I conjured up random false names.
"I am Brianna…Brianna Salter," I blurted, hoping that it sounded plausible.
My pulse hammering, my throat suddenly congested with apprehension. Captain Steele looked at the stout man first as though he was trying to conform if I was telling the truth before his gray eye stared back at my face.
"If I ever found out you were lying. I will kill you," he threatened, the corner of his square jaw clenching, and I nodded stiffly.
Wait. He didn't say it straightly but did he believe me?
I blinked a few times and let everything slowly sinks in.
Does this mean he bought my statement? I wanted to applaud myself, but I knew it was yet too soon. I needed to be back home first before I could fully celebrate my bravery. However, my predicament hasn't been solved yet with the lie. I am still in the middle of the ocean, knowing nothing exactly where we were.
Captain Steele only cast me a long sideways glance and was about to stand up, but he halted halfway when I opened my mouth and quipped.
"You're going to take me back to Pearlshire Harbor?"
I tilted my head to look at him. I know I am holding on too much to my hopes that I could convince them to bring me back by some miracle, but my world crumbles into the soles of my feet when they suddenly burst into a peal of ridicule laughter.
"Are you daft? If we took the wrong person, why would you think you're important enough for us to make turns?" He derided, finally standing up and cocking his head to the side as he continued to mock me.
"You can jump off the deck and swim your way back to that persnickety place," he added, his visage filling with amusement and looking at me in coy, while I, on the other hand, was stunned with disbelief.
"No, you can't do that," I disputed, turning my gaze towards the endless stretch of ocean and then back into the captain's preening face, shaking my head viciously.
Yet, he only flashes me his grin of mischief. "Oh, I certainly could and would. In fact, you can start now," he prompted, addressing his attention towards his companion. "Osier, ready the plank. We have a swimmer."
"Aye, aye, cap'ain." The stout man came closer, grabbing me by the shoulders and removed me from the pole, forcing me to stand on my feet even though they were still tied. I struggled to get my balance, hopping awkwardly and snarling, when a clammy pair of hands touched my skin.
"Just make sure you can outswim the hungry sharks." He taunted, looking so amusingly with my inhibitions. I wanted to slap him, punch him in the face and gauge his remaining eye, but all that could only run in my head as the stout man began to drag me towards the railings.
I protested, twisting my wrists and spiking up my heel on the wooden surface, wriggling violently.
"No, please, no…." I pleaded, drawing closer to the edge where a wooden plank was suspended immediately above the plunging drop towards the water.
Panicking. I was heaving up in frantic as the loud crashing of waves muffled my cries.
I don't know what else should I do. I was out for more alibies, and there's no way I could lie about anything. They're going to throw me off the deck and I do not know how to swim. Surely it would kill me in an instant.
I have no idea what happened next, but I just found myself confessing who I really am.
"Yes, I am Lord Admiral Valter's daughter," I cried out, failing to notice the single bead of tear that had rolled off my cheek in fear. "You are right. I am his daughter."
My voice went out trembling that I barely recognized it as my own.
The captain walks closer to me, prompting my neck to crane just to look at him on the face.
"I know. Do you honestly believe I can be duped by your words?" He groused, bringing up his index finger and using it to tip my chin high. "I knew who you were exactly the moment I saw you. You're father made quite clear when he announced you before the prince." He proclaimed, and I fought a shudder running down my skin just as the rough pad of his thumb grazed the side of my jaw, rendering me utterly immobile with sheer fright, and for some reason, it mingled with anticipation.
I don't know why I am feeling that, but I chose to ignore it and whisper what would be of me if he already knew the truth about my identity.
"What are you going to do with me?"
He pursed his lips into a thin line, giving me the impression that he was considering the situation, but we both knew that he already had everything planned out.
"Let's just say, I'll let your father go mad for a while thinking about his dearest daughter," he eventually said, letting go of my chin and bringing the necklace he took closer to my face.
"Maybe I can send him a gift. A piece of you. Perhaps this necklace will serve as a reminder that your pretty little life revolves around my palm. But for now, I'll have the Admiral's precious daughter to swab my Jewel's deck," he enunciated carefully, and then he stepped away from me, pulling something out from the band of his pants.
My eyes widened immediately at the sight of the blade. Panic riles me up for again, and I stop breathing, thinking that he will stab me with it. But instead, he only went for the binds on my wrists and then squatted to release the ones on my feet as well. He, then casted me a warning glance before he bellowed, calling out someone from a distance.
"Patton! You've got a new swabbie!"
I instantly flinched at the loudness of his voice, but my attention went to another man running from the elevated part of the deck, holding a brush in his hand, beaming as he stared down at me.
"Aye, captain. Leave the lass to me."