Chapter Two

For the second time that day, the same pair of dark brown eyes blinked open to see rays of light. These rays were not sunlight, though; they came from a candle sitting beside the bed Jade was lying upon.

This was not her bed. This wasn’t even the bed in the room at the governor’s mansion. Where am I? She thought.

Jade sat up in the bed, and looked around, taking in her surroundings. The room was lit by the single candle. It was a small room, very simple and basic. There was one small window, and she could tell that the sun had just set. She was still wearing the dress that had been given to her by the governor.

She went to the door of the room and attempted to open it. It was locked. She could not get out. She turned away from the door and looked towards the window again; she noticed a pair of pale gray-blue eyes looking in on her. As the eyes met with hers, they widened, then popped out of sight. Jade rushed over to the window to look for the person the eyes belonged to. She saw no one, only the woods.

She continued to stare out the window, alert for any movement at all. Noticing a slight flicker of motion, her eyes darted to a nearby bush. Panicky anticipation came over her. From the bush, a squirrel darted out and scampered up the nearest tree. Jade’s spirit calmed at the sight of the tiny mammal, and she relaxed slightly.

Sensing something not right, Jade turned back towards the door and jumped at the presence of a woman there. Jade quickly observed her.

The woman was of average height and her hair was a pale blonde, which seemed to stand out in the dark room, even more so than the candle light. This woman was also young, slender, and fair skinned. Her presence was very eerie, though Jade could not tell why.

The woman glared at Jade with envious green eyes. She must not be the one who was at the window, Jade thought, noting the color of the woman’s eyes.

“Who are you?” Jade voiced aloud.

“My name is Eleigha.“ The woman said.

“Where am I and why am I here?” Jade asked her.

“You are the one Quentin wants to be his next wife, and I cannot let that happen. You see, the governor is in love with me, and I will not allow him to be charmed by some low-born peasant.” the blonde woman said haughtily.

Jade burst out in laughter. She laughed and laughed, until her gut ached and tears streamed down her face. “You think…You actually think that I would want to marry him?” Jade laughed even more. “I am only seventeen! Why on earth would I want to marry any man, much less one who is pompous, high-born, and doesn’t even know me?”

“Never the less, I’ll not take a chance on it. So, I have, rather cleverly, devised a way to make you disappear.” Eleigha said proudly. “You’re going to be sold.”

“Sold?”

“The pirates’ slave trade is booming. A healthy, young thing such as yourself will fetch a pretty penny. Duncan!” Eleigha shouted.

A young man with reddish brown hair and a slight goatee walked in the room. Thick rope was slung over his shoulder. Muscles hardened by long years of working on a ship bulged beneath tight clothes that had seen too many years of wear. He carried the pirate’s cutlass blade and pistol tucked into a sash of faded crimson cloth tied around his waist.

A Pirate! I’m being sold to a bloody pirate! Jade thought. This is not good.

“Yes, ma’am?” the pirate called Duncan asked. His icy gray-blue eyes moved to Jade and examined her up and down.

“I want her gone by tonight. It’s better she’s smuggled away in the dark than tomorrow running the risk of having her discovered or escape. Once you’re gone, do whatever you like with her, just make sure she never comes back to Calcap City.” Eleigha smiled sarcastically at Jade then turned and left the dark room after accepting a jingling, leather bag of coins from the pirate.

Fear crept into Jade as she realized that Duncan was staring at her as if she was some w***e for him to prey upon. He slowly took steps toward her, and she started backing away. This is definitely not good! she thought again. She had no way out; there was no way she could get around this muscular man or outrun him even if she could get out the door. Her mind kept searching for some escape as she kept backing away from him.

Finally, as an idea popped into her head, Jade realized that he had backed her into the corner. He got closer, and Jade put her plan into action and kicked him between the legs, bringing him to his knees. As she tried to run around him, he grabbed her ankle and jerked her down in rage. He pulled her towards him and grabbed her wrists. Wrenching her arms behind her back, he bound her hands together with a piece of rope he had been carrying. She tried to keep fighting him, but pain overflowed in her shoulders and arms.

The muscular man then caught her kicking legs and bound her ankles together as well. The coarse rope cut into her skin as she kept trying to fight. On impulse, she wanted to scream her lungs out for help, but she knew it would do no good. There was no one to come to her aid. Duncan ripped a strip of dark cloth from the bed sheet and blindfolded her.

He lifted her up onto the bed causing her to whimper in fear. He laughed, "It's too bad I be havin' to wait 'til we land in Northerburge to have ya. The prospect of claimin’ yer pretty face now is awfully tempting, love."

Shivers ran through Jade’s body, afraid of what this man was going to do to her. She felt his large hands lift her off of the bed and hoist her over his shoulder. Duncan walked out the door and into the cool night air, carrying Jade off into the forest.

After a short time walking, Duncan put Jade into a carriage hidden on the side of the road. She heard him give orders to the driver, then climb inside the carriage himself. You have to get out of here! Think! Jade demanded of herself. You can’t just wait and let him decide what to do with you, no matter how scared you are. Braving her fear, she asked him, “Can you please take this blindfold off of me?”

He laughed, “Sorry, love, we can't have ya knowing how to get back to Calcap, now can we? Miss Eleigha would be most displeased. Aye, displeased indeed... Cap'n”

“Why would I ever want to come back?” Jade asked in reply, “And do you think that I am so incredibly dim-witted that I couldn’t read a map to come back if I wanted to?”

He didn’t answer her, but she heard him move to sit next to her. She felt his hand move onto her leg and his hot breath on her neck. He whispered in her ear as he moved his hand up her leg, “The blindfold stays on.” His hand crept up further along her thigh. Fear and disgust swarmed her.

She tried to conceal her fear and angst, but could not keep her muscles from tensing with anxiety. As his lips touched her neck, Jade’s disgust grew into unbearable impalement. “Please, stop.” The only response she got was his hands moving from her thigh up her body to her breasts. She started to struggle to get away from his touch. “Get off me!”

He laughed and continued to kiss her neck. He moved his hands again and started taking the dress off of her. Jade continued the struggle with him and managed to push him back off of her a ways. It gave her enough time and room to bring up her legs onto the seat. Though she still couldn’t see, she kicked out with her bound feet in hopes that she would hit him. The kick hit him squarely in the chest and knocked him against the wall of the carriage.

All grew silent except for the rattle of the carriage, the hooves of the horses, and the howl of a lone wolf deep in the forest. Oh no! Jade thought. Oh no! The fear welled up inside of her. What is he going to do to me? The answer came soon when a fist struck her in the face and knocked her into unconsciousness for the second time that day.

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As Jade regained consciousness, visions of a man flashed in her mind. This man was not the pirate Duncan, but he was a pirate, a pirate with dark blue eyes, the color of the sea. He was not like others, though; he was good. Still in a deep slumber, Jade dreamt of this pirate until late the next morning when she awoke to mumbled voices outside the room she was in. Sitting up in the hard, scratchy straw mattress that passed for a bed, she recognized one of the voices as Duncan. The second voice, though, was rougher, deeper, and seemed to have a worse understanding of grammar.

Jade would have sighed and shook her head at the grammar, for even with her poor education, she could speak properly, but the predicament she was currently in kept her mind in a panic.

At any minute, these men could barge in on her and do whatever they wanted. She did not have the strength to fight back a second time, much less against foul of the foul-mouthed, ill-mannered brutes.

Abruptly, the voices stopped, as shouts were heard further away. She could hear cannon fire following the shouts, and the two men rushed into her room and grabbed her. “Come on, dearie,” The rough man said, dragging her out of the bed.

“No!” she refused. More guns were fired, followed by more screams of terror and confusion.

Duncan grabbed her up and growled, “Come now, missus! The city’s under attack!”

Jade leapt up, grabbed a plain milk maid’s gown that laid on the top of a stool next to the bed, and ran after the man with the rough voice. Duncan followed her. This is crazy! she thought, I’m going with two men that would kill me as soon as they could if I deny them. Yes, another thought countered, but they are the only way you’re going to get out of this city alive. She kept running after the somewhat bulky owner of the voice she did not know. It was easy to keep up with him. Duncan followed close behind her. Looking all around him, he suddenly put on a burst of speed and grabbed her arm. He pulled her in line with the other man, and yelled over the noise and confusion.

 

“Head for the other side of the city. It doesn’t seem to be under attack!”

“Leave the wench! There’s no use for her!” The man shouted back.

“No!” Duncan replied. “She’ll fetch a pretty penny at the slave trade, even if I do take her before I decide to sell her!”

“That penny will do you no good if she gets us killed in this…” His shout was cut off by the sound of an explosion nearby. All three ducked their heads to avoid the flying debris. Jade tripped over a body lying amidst many others in the street, but Duncan’s strong arm kept her from falling to the ground.

They continued to run and run, taking turns up and down different streets. After the first five turns and several other explosions, Jade gave up trying to keep hold of her bearings and concentrated on running. She ran out of fear; she ran until she thought her leaden legs could not hold her for a second longer. She ran for her life. Taking another turn around a crumbling building, Jade saw the harbor, crowded with small fishing boats and further out, a huge ship flying the colors of the ___________ pirates. Jade stopped short at the sight of the ship, knowing that there was where these two men were taking her.

She could not sit and think over the decision she now faced as she would like to. If she went with the pirates, they would keep her until they could make port again to sell her as a slave. Even if she lost her virtue on that ship, she would still be alive. But if she turned back, she could lose her life at any instant. Beside the fact that cannons were tearing bodies limb from limb, countless people had seen her with these pirates, and after the attack was over, they would be quick to blame whoever they could for their demise.

It’s too late to turn back now, she thought as Duncan grabbed her arm once more and pulled her along the road to the harbor, danger, and an uncertain future.

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[TLK]

"He was not like others, though; he was good."