FicWad

There was a long awkward silence in which I panicked and Barbossa looked confused. Finally after a few seconds, Barbossa tilted his head back and laughed almost evilly. Everything inside my body tensed and I immediately went into fight or flight mode. I could fight, but that would be rather stupid. I mean, it was me against Barbossa and his whole crew. No way could I take out the whole crew and its captain. And if I decided to flee, where would I go? The only place to go was the sea.

As I hesitated unsure of what to do, Barbossa finally stopped laughing and replied, "Ya think I want to marry ya, little missy?" The way Barbossa said this was rather amused. Was there perhaps a possibility that Barbossa didn't want me for marriage after all? Barbossa went on in an amused voice, "Ya think that I want you to have my babies?" Barbossa let out another cackle.

I was starting to think that maybe I was wrong about all this. From the way Barbossa was acting, he didn't even seem to have considered the possible thought of marriage to me. I shrugged and my cheeks blushed. I felt rather embarrassed about the whole misunderstanding. After all, it seemed that I had completely jumped to conclusions.

"Lookie here, Miss Cook," Barbossa said, leaning down slightly so we were at eye level, "Ya seem to think that everyone here is out ta get you and wants yer body. Let me tell ya this much: I have no sexual interest in ya at all. Yer way too small and haven't developed yet anyways. So believe me, Miss Cook, yer safe with me. I wouldn't ever hurt ya in that way."

I now felt rather stupid. I guess I was always just assuming the worst. I should try not to do that. It only made me look like an idiot. However, for some strange reason or another, I felt a little defiant at Barbossa's last statement about me being too small and underdeveloped. I supposed that I shouldn't care what someone like Barbossa thought of me, but I still felt the tiniest bit hurt.

I still had quite a few questions floating around in my mind though. Looking over at Barbossa, I said, "Well, what exactly do you want me here for if you don't want me around in...that way?" Barbossa laughed again. He was apparently finding my statements to be rather amusing this morning. Finally, Barbossa answered, "There are other uses fer a woman other than sex, ya know."

I supposed that was true, but my parents hadn't really ever believed that. In their opinion, a girl's duty was to get married and created heirs for her husband's family. So in other words, plainly put, a girl's purpose was to make babies also known as having sex. Still puzzling over the same question, I raised my eyebrows at Barbossa and said, "Well...what are the other uses then? Actually, wait. I don't care about that. Let's get more specific. What exactly do you want me for?"

Barbossa inspected his long black fingernails under the lighting and said simply, "Must I have a reason fer keepin' ya on the ship? It's not like I could've done much with ya anyways. My only other option was throwin' ya overboard and lettin' ya swim to land." Peering at his index finger carefully, Barbossa added, "We both know ya would've drowned that way."

He was right; I would've drowned. Still though, I didn't exactly appreciate him letting me know that. I stayed silent for a few minutes. The only sounds were the clunk of silverware as Barbossa and I continued to eat the oatmeal. Suddenly, without any warning at all, a loud chirping noise sounded and a whirl of brownish-black fur went whizzing across the room.

Startled, I dropped my spoon and peered over to where the ball of fur had landed. A little monkey was sitting on Barbossa's shoulder. The monkey was very cute and when he saw me, he started chattering excitedly. Barbossa stroked the monkey's neck gentle and the monkey shut his eyes in pleasure, "What a good boy you are, Jack."

Wondering if the monkey was named Jack, I interrupted cautiously, "Is that your monkey?" Barbossa looked up from Jack and nodded, "Aye, this is Jack. He's a wonderful little boy, aren't ya, Jack?" Barbossa pulled a peanut out of his pocket and fed it to Jack. I watched the two interact with fascination. I hadn't ever expected Barbossa to treat anything with this much affection and respect. It was clear that he loved Jack very much though from the way he was stroking his neck and smiling at the little monkey. For totally unknown reasons, I suddenly wished I had someone who would stroke my neck and look at me with that much affection.

Finally, Barbossa looked over at me and said, "Want ta hold him? He's a very good boy." I hesitated a moment and then held out my arms. I had never held a monkey before, but I assumed there was a first time for everything, right? Jack leapt into my arms and immediately scurried onto my shoulder. Then he started peeling a nut he had been eating earlier.

Eating his last bite of oatmeal, Barbossa pushed the bowl to the opposite side of the table, crossed his legs, and asked, "So do ya have any more questions for me, Miss Cook?" I had been so busy with Jack that I had completely forgotten about all my other questions. Racking my brain, I quickly came up with another one.

"So," I started out, "What exactly do you plan to do with me? Are you going to drop me off at an island?" Barbossa frowned at my question, "Drop ya off at an island? I don't think you'd like that very much. Wouldn't ya prefer to be dropped off at a town or some kind of settlement like yer used to? I wouldn't want ya starvin' to death on an island."

Barbossa had another good point. I would most likely drown if he dropped me off at an island. I would be much safer if he dropped me off at a town. Deciding to go ahead and voice that aloud, I said, "Yeah, I suppose being dropped off at a town would be quite a bit better. When will we be reaching the next town?"

I hoped we reached the next town soon. I mean, this was definitely a case where the saying "the sooner, the better" applied. Barbossa looked thoughtful for a moment before replying, "Very soon. Didn't ya hear Mr. Gibbs earlier?" I had heard Mr. Gibbs, but I hadn't really been paying attention to what he was saying since none of it made any sense to me.

Rolling his eyes at me, Barbossa said, "We should be arrivin' at Tortuga in two day's time. We can drop ya off there and ye'll never have have to meet another pirate as long as ya live." Barbossa smiled at me and for some weird reason, I couldn't smile back. That was strange. The thought of never seeing a pirate again should've made me happy. But for some reason, as Jack chattered in my ear and put a paw in my hair, I couldn't manage to smile.

I finished my oatmeal in silence and then looked over at Barbossa, wondering what I should do next. I had other questions, but they were rather inconsequential at this point. All that mattered was that I would be at Tortuga very soon. For me, Tortuga meant freedom, a new life, and possibly my Prince Charming. I wondered if maybe my prince would agree to get me a monkey...

Barbossa broke into my thoughts and said, "Well then. Anything else?" I shook my head and stroked Jack's back tentatively with my middle finger. Jack cooed excitedly and scampered down my arm. Barbossa's face broke into a smile as he watched Jack. I could see a few yellowish teeth in his mouth, but for some reason, they didn't look bad. They just looked...right. I guess Barbossa fit the definition of "pirate" to the T. He was exactly what you would think a pirate should be like.

Remembering that Barbossa had asked me a question, I shook my head and replied, "Not for now." Barbossa nodded and stood up. He stretched his hands over his head, yawned, and then looked back down at me as he said, "Yer welcome to go wherever ya like on the ship. Ya may want to stick ta yer cabin or up on deck with me though. Ye'll be safest there."

"Okay," I said, thinking that through. It was hard to be restricted to certain areas of the ship, but it would only be for two days. After the two days, I would leave and never see a pirate ship ever again. At least, I thought I wouldn't. Standing up weakly from the bench I had been sitting at, I looked over at Barbossa and said, "I'll go to the cabin for a bit I guess."

Barbossa nodded and started towards the door. Halfway there, he paused, swung around and asked, "Want me ta walk ya down there or will ya be okay on yer own?" I contemplated his question before deciding that I could make it down to the cabin alone. I mean, it wasn't like the black man would still be waiting for me down there. He was dead.

So shaking my head, I brushed past Barbossa, out into the sunlight, across the deck and then reached the stairs. Nobody seemed to be around. I wondered where they all were. Probably getting breakfast somewhere I assumed. As I descended down the stairs, a loud squeak caught my attention. Whirling around to see what it was, I twisted my ankle and tumbled down the rest of the stairs and landed on the floor with a thud. I bit my lip from the pain and then tried to get up.

A big jolt of pain in my leg kept me from getting to my feet. So instead, I lay back down on my back and tried to figure out if I was seriously hurt or not. Thank god that none of the men were around right now. It would've been so embarrassing if one of them had found me like this. As I searched my body, a little ball of fur came and sat next to me. It was Jack.

I stroked Jack's fur softly and felt the jolt of pain once more. Looking around once more to make sure I was alone, I rolled up my pants and saw a large gash along my thigh. It started at my waist and went down another foot. Blood was seeping from it and pooling onto the floor. I paused, frowned, and tried to decide what to do next. I didn't know how to treat wounds like this and I didn't want to bring attention to myself. Probably the best thing to do in this situation was to ignore the pain and pretend like everything was okay.

So using all my strength and biting my lip to make sure I wouldn't cry out, I slowly got to my feet. The wound hurt, but there was nothing I could do about it. All I could do was exactly what I was doing; going back to my cabin, locking the door, and then lying in bed to try to get some rest. After all, I would be at Tortuga soon and I would never have to deal with another pirate again.

~ ~ ~ ~

After I had retreated to my cabin, I had stripped down, collapsed in bed, and had immediately fallen asleep. Suddenly, I was awoken rather roughly by someone shaking my shoulders. My eyes popped open at once and I stared around nervously. The first thing I felt when I awoke was the pain from my thigh. I tried to ignore that though.

Leaning over me was the captain. He didn't look all that happy. His eyes were narrowed, his arms were crossed, and he almost looked menacing. Trying to blink the sleepiness out of my eyes, I looked up at Barbossa and said, "Is there something you want?" I was a bit annoyed at him for waking me. I had been sleeping quite deeply.

"I came down ta find the charts ta Tortuga, and me sees a pool of blood on the damn floor," Barbossa explained, narrowing his eyes even further. Going on, Barbossa added, "Yer hurt, aren't you? What happened? What didn't ya tell me?" There was another unexplainable emotion in his eyes, but I couldn't tell what it was.

Gulping, I tried to look completely honest as I lied, "Hurt? Of course not. Maybe the blood was from the man that you shot earlier." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew they were a mistake. Barbossa's frown deepened and he said, "I know yer lyin' ta me. Look at yerself. It's clear that yer bleeding."

Frowning, I looked down to see that Barbossa was right. Blood from my leg had seeped through the tan blanket and had stained it red. Biting my lip, I held the blanket tightly around me to keep myself covered. I had taken off my pants earlier and now as lying in bed with just my blue top and panties on. Now was certainly not the best time for Barbossa to lift the blanket and inspect my cut.

Barbossa gave me a severe look and said, "That can get infected real easy, ya know. We're gonna have to stitch it up. But before that, yer gonna have to let me see it." Barbossa's words hit me hard. I most certainly didn't want him seeing it. He wouldn't be able to look at it without seeing my panties, and that was just plain embarrassing.

Shaking my head, I held the blanket down and said, "No. I can't let you see it. Just leave it alone. It'll be fine. I can see a doctor when we get to Tortuga." There were doctors in Tortuga, weren't there? I assumed there were, but I wasn't really sure. I was sure that no way was I letting Barbossa see my thigh and underwear though.

"If it got infected, we'd have to take yer leg off," Barbossa said seriously. "So what'll it be, missy? Would ya rather lose yer leg or have me stitch it up for ya?"