NONE TO SPEAK OF

Erika blinked slowly and tried to remember why her head was pounding. She sat up slowly and saw she was in a ship’s brig as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dark. The room was dark and cold and there was nearly an inch of icy water sloshing around on the floor. She could feel the gentle rock of the sea and realized she had to be on a ship of some kind. She seemed to be below the water level, so it couldn’t be a simple fishing vessel. She curled up on the pitiful cot she had been lying on as the memories of the previous night came flooding back. The image of Argyle lying wide-eyed in front of her, blood spurting from his neck seemed to be burned into her mind. She rested her head on her knees and started sobbing silently. She didn’t know where she was or what was going on, but she did know that it had been pirates that had killed Argyle, and apparently taken her away.

As if sensing she were conscious, footsteps came down the dark steps. The three pirates from the inn leered at her through the bars that surrounded Erika. A fourth pirate wandered closer and Erika was shocked to recognize Mr. Taylor, one of the sailors from her voyage to Port Royal. He was no longer wearing the simple uniform of a sailor, but the rag-tag assortment of a pirate, complete with the menacing smirk.

“Well, well, well. Our guest of honor has finally woken up!” Mr. Taylor said advancing until he was nearly leaning against the bars.

“Mr. Taylor, wh…what’s going on?” Erika stuttered meekly. She started and shrank back against the wall as he gave a sharp, barking laugh.

“That’s Captain Taylor to ye!” he said glaring down at her. “Ye didn’t think I was putting up with those rich snobs and that bastard Jeremy for the joy of sailing, did ye?” Erika tried to swallow, but the lump in her throat remained firm. Her mind refused to accept the fact that Mr. Taylor, the man she had sailed with for several weeks, was a pirate captain. “I’ve been disguising myself as a sailor for quite some time now. Makes it very easy to gain access to rich passengers and the loot they come with. It’s amazing how much they bring with them for even short trips. Didn’t ye wonder why the tavern was so easily attacked with no warning?”

“But…but why? Why did…did Argyle….”Erika choked on rising sobs.

“If that meddling oaf had minded his own and stayed outta my men’s way he wouldn’t have gotten hurt.” He spat as he unlocked her cell. Two of the pirates ambled in and grabbed Erika firmly by each arm. “Take her to my cabin. There she can find out about her duties on board. And think, Argyle bein’ so chivalrous is exactly what got you into this mess as well. If he had stayed outta things we wouldn’t have had to take ye. Granted, ye are quite a fine catch. A nice ransom ye might make, even for a little urchin.” Taylor sneered as the pirates dragged Erika out of the cell and up the stairs. Erika heard the cell door close and slow deliberate steps behind them.

Several decks up Erika blinked painfully as the group stepped into bright sunlight. Her head pounded harder in the light and as she readjusted to her surroundings she saw a dozen or so pirates scuttling about the ship’s deck. The pirates turned sharply and shoved Erika into what must have been Captain Taylor’s cabin. Erika stumbled and nearly fell into the long table as the two pirates backed away. The larger of the two leered down at her as he said, “Don’ even try ter leave. There’s no where fer ye to go. The Cap’n’ll be here soon enough.”

With that he slammed the door and Erika was left alone. Erika stood next to the table, trembling as she looked around the room. The shutters were closed, making the room dimmed, though it was still much brighter than the cell decks below. The long table had leafs of paper, maps, bottles of ink, quills and a compass strewn across it. The table was in the center of the room, and to the sides were cabinets messily crammed with clothes and chests tightly locked. There was a bunk on the far wall with sheets messily thrown on it and a ragged sheet hanging from the ceiling in make-shift hangings. Erika was slowly walking around the table trying to take in her surroundings. The door suddenly banged open and Erika jumped back against one of the cabinets. Taylor stood silhouetted in the sunlight glaring down on her.

“Little mouse, ye’ll have to learn there’s no place to hide on me ship. I know this ship probably better than the back of me hand. Now come over here.” He barked at her. Erika jumped and didn’t register the last command. In two steps he walked over and grabbed her by the hair and dragged her over near the table. “The first thing ye need to know is to mind.” He growled releasing her hair roughly. “Ye will do what ye are told or ye will be punished.” Erika shirked away as he got in her face. “As a guest on me ship ye will have duties ye need to look after.”

“Guest?” Erika gasped before she could stop herself.

Taylor smacked her across the face before Erika even knew what was going on. Her head pounded and she felt like her eye was going to explode. “As we are givin’ ye the accommodations of me ship, ye will look after the tidying of it. Ye will look after me decks and the cleaning of the ship.” Erika gulped at his putrid breath, harsh and full on her face. “Today ye are to clean the entire upper deck or there will be dire consequences. Understood?” Erika could only nod meekly.

Taylor walked back to the door and grabbed a bucket with a dirty rag in it. “Start with the area up near the wheel. We don’t have all day ter wait for ye. So make it fast.”

Erika stood shakily and took the bucket. It was heavier than she had anticipated and she stumbled, spilling some of the water on her nightdress. Taylor made no move and said no word. Erika tried to move quickly but just ended up sloshing more on the hem of her nightdress. She ended up toddling out of the cabin and up the stairs to the front of the ship. She could feel the pirates on deck leering at her as she passed. A very large, dark skinned pirate stood at the helm and gave a nasty smirk as Erika set the bucket down. She tried to avoid his glare as she bent and grabbed the rag from the bottom of the bucket. She heard footsteps stomp up to the helm and stop near the large pirate. Erika hesitantly looked up and saw Captain Taylor standing above her with the same nauseating look he had in his cabin.

“This is me first mate, Smythe. Should he give ye an order, ye should follow it like it were me own.” Taylor said with a nasty grin. Erika gulped and just started scrubbing the deck. “Yer gonna have to scrub harder than that to get this deck clean.” Taylor said, his smirk gone. He snatched the rag away and scrubbed a patch of deck until the black scum was scraped off the deck. The brown wood contrasted with all of the gunk on the wood surrounding it. He threw the rag back to Erika and crossed his arms. Erika started scrubbing and found that though Taylor had made it look easy, it took a lot of muscle to scrub through the grime. After a few moments she heard Taylor walk back down the stairs and she felt a little easier that they were no longer staring at her. After another small patch was cleared her muscles started to seize up and her shoulders were aching.

“Ye have a lot to do today so ye should hurry up.” Smythe barked down at her. Erika started and tried to force her arms to continue scrubbing. The rest of the helm didn’t look as neat as where she started, but Smythe didn’t attempt to stop her when she made a retreat down the stairs. The rag and the water were so disgusting Erika didn’t see how it was supposed to clean anything. She tried to stay away from the pirates as best as she could, so the result ended up a distinct ring around the outside of the ship with filth still all along the inside. Whenever she would get near a group of working pirates they would make sneering remarks at her and some cat-calls. Taylor came up from below and stood behind Erika. Before she knew what was happening he grabbed her arm and dragged her up. He dragged her down a level and shoved her in a room. It took her a moment to realize she was in the mess hall. There were a few pirates sitting at the long tables eating some crusts of bread and some kind of stew. Taylor shoved her down at a table and went over to the far side of the room. One of the smaller pirates on board was standing next to a large pot with his arms crossed. Taylor went over and the man shoved two bowls in his hand.

“Ye might wanna eat.” Taylor said gruffly as Erika stared down at the bowl. “These ingredients are still fresh. Ye were only out a few hours. Ye’ll be mighty hungry here soon.” Erika raised her pounding arms and picked up the grubby spoon and dipped it into the stew. She thought she had gotten used to ship food, but she still had to force herself to lift the mushy brown liquid to her lips. She had to admit that it didn’t taste nearly as bad as it looked, but if this were the “fresh” stuff, she would hate to have to eat the old stuff. After seeing her take a bite, Taylor inhaled his like she didn’t exist. Erika ate hers a little more slowly, but did her best to keep up with Taylor. He finished his stew and went to grab an apple from another table. He stared at her as he ate the apple and then spoke. “Let me explain how things will work. Ye will eat when ye are brought food or when ye are brought to the mess. Ye will scrub whatever deck you are brought to. At times ye will help out Tin here with the meals. As a woman that should be easy fer ye, right?” he said with a nasty grin. “Here is your only warning: if ye do not do as is expected of ye, ye will be punished.” Erika gulped, but nodded. He stood and grabbed her arm once more. Erika fought a cry as he squeezed her throbbing muscles. Sure she had scrubbed before, but never under duress, and never through what seemed to be years of horrid build up.

Back on deck Erika was shoved her bucket once more. This time she took it to the back of the ship and worked to make the circle less apparent around the edge of the ship. As the sun set, Erika found it hard to ignore the colors over the sea and try to continue to clean the ship. At the point where Erika could no longer see the difference between what she had and hadn’t cleaned Taylor came and pulled her up without a word. He led her to his cabin and sat at the long table. Erika was exhausted and stood as close to the door as she could. Everything about this man terrified her and she wanted to keep as much distance between them as possible. She didn’t realize she had been lost in a blissful absence of thought until a sharp smack brought her back to reality.

“I do not like to repeat myself.” He growled as Erika stumbled back a step. “When I ask a question, I expect an answer. I asked you what you managed to accomplish today.”

“I…I did what I could….” Erika stammered, not really sure what he was wanting her to say.

Taylor smacked her again. “That was not the question. Did you manage to get the top deck finished?” he barked. Erika hesitated before shaking her head no ever-so-slightly. He smacked her hard, sending her to the floor. “When I give you a task for the day I expect you to complete it.” He shouted. “Today, I will let you by with a warning. But in the future I will not be so tolerant. Smythe will take you back to your room. I expect better from you tomorrow.” Erika jumped as a dark hand latched onto her already bruised upper arm. He pulled her up from the ground and dragged her down the stairs. Erika struggled to keep up so her bare toes would be scraped less. They reached the bottom of the ship and Smythe shoved her through the door into the brig. Erika curled up on the hard cot and fell asleep almost instantly. She didn’t think she had been so exhausted, even the day when her father died. Her dreams were filled with gun shots and mortal wounds. Argyle kept showing up with blood pouring from his neck and mouth and nose. In all of her dreams there was just a constant screaming, which she realized was her own as she hit icy water. Smythe was standing over her with an ugly look on his face.

“Get up, wench. Ye have work to do to make up for what ye lacked yesterday.” He growled. Erika shivered but stood up as quickly as possible. She was given a bucket with new water, but the same filthy rag. She fished for the rag and let out a harsh hiss as the salt water stung her raw knuckles. She knew she couldn’t afford to avoid the center any longer and started around the crow’s nest. She scrubbed the deck and tried her best to ignore the ache in her arms back and hands. Every time a pirate would pass by she would feel a hand on her back or head. She tried to ignore them and kept her eyes firmly down. She scrubbed all the way to the captain’s cabin and then hesitated before going back into the mix to work her way out again. She saw Taylor start to approach from the corner of her eye and quickly went to where she left off. Even with her head down she could see a wicked smirk across his face as he seemed to consider following her but decided against it. She barely noticed when her knuckles began to crack and bleed, so long as no one touched her. With every tiny touch every sense was magnified ten-fold. Every time one of the pirates would walk by she would become painfully aware of just how her arms ached, just how her back was protesting, how the salt water burned her little open cuts, how her stomach begged for something in it.

By the time the sun had passed its mid-point Smythe came over and nudged her with his foot. She glanced up to let him know she was paying attention, but kept her eyes averted. “If ye want to eat ye’ll come now.” He said shortly. Erika got up quickly to follow him. She kept far enough behind him that she wasn’t in immediate striking distance but close enough that he knew she was hungry. When they got to the mess a firm glare sat Erika in a chair near the door. Smythe went over and grabbed two bowls, throwing one down roughly in front of Erika and going to sit with some of the other pirates at another table. Erika tried very hard to without the sigh that wanted to burst from her chest. She couldn’t ask for anything more than to be left alone if only for a little while. She picked up the grubby spoon and looked down at the mush before her. She was so hungry she no longer cared what exactly she was eating any more. She forced herself to slow down and allow the mush reach her stomach, hoping it would help assuage her hunger a bit more. Smythe got up when she was about half way through her mush and she hesitated with her spoon but he walked right on by without so much as looking at her. She had no clue what she was supposed to do. Did she follow him back out of the mess or did she wait to be escorted. Her answer came moments later when Taylor came walking in to the mess. He smirked down at her before grabbing a bowl and a piece of bread. He sat down across from her at the small table and stared at her as he ate and she finished.

She thought hard before she carefully opened her mouth and timidly asked, “Why do you eat as though there is no food?” she asked in nearly a whisper. Taylor’s smirk widened but he made no move nr said anything. “I…I mean, you’ve just left port, yet you and your men eat small portions and small hunks of bread….” She said even softer before quickly looking down at her nearly empty bowl.

“I was hopin ye would ask something like that. Means you’re paying attention. We’re not goin back to port for quite some time.” He said his smirk widening and his eyes flashing with malice. “It means, above all else, ye have nowhere to go. Ye can hide, but ye know we will find ye on our own ship. Ye can run, but where would ye go? No one will find ye. Ye are in the middle of nowhere.” As he spoke Erika realized he was right. She had nothing she could do.

Erika fell into a sort of pattern. By the fourth day after her capture she would wake up on her own before Smythe or Taylor would finish descending the stairs. She was expected to scrub one level a day. She made it down to the brig and had it cleaned, thinking that her pattern of life might even out. Her arms were not as achy as they got used to the work and some of the grime was off of the deck. Of course, once she got used to this, was when all hell broke loose.