Ocean Blue Ch. 07

Bega laughed at that, his head tipping back with the force of the laughter. "Dear, dear Katherine. Are you going to hold a grudge against me for all eternity?" He asked, draping his arm across the back of his seat and settling back comfortably.

"No." Katherine said softly, raising her heated gaze to Bega's, the blue depths swimming as the ocean did when a summer tempest hit. "I shall hold my grudge until you're dead and then, and only then, will I forget you and never let you cross my mind again." She saw the slight narrowing of his eyes and knew that she was crossing into dangerous territory. "What's worse, Toby? To be remembered or forgotten?"

Bega grinned maliciously at the woman in front of him, picking up his ale from the table and taking a long draw. "Certainly to be forgotten, Katherine. But I do not believe that you'll ever forget me." He laughed loudly at his own words, a chill coursing through Katherine's body as she listened to this mad man's joy.

"How could I forget the face of a man I've come to hate so much?" She asked, her voice soft but full of spite and venom as she lowered her eyes to the table. "What do you want from me, Toby? After all of our time together, you have to know that I have absolutely no idea of what to say to you."

Bega smirked, the corner of his mouth upturning in the most charming smile that he could muster. "It's simple, Miss Moore. I want the truth."

Blue eyes suddenly snapped to meet his, a slight smile gracing her lips as she heard his words. "Alright, Toby," she murmured, a sly look crossing her eyes for a brief moment before it was gone. "I'll play your game." Sinking back against her seat, arms crossed defiantly across her chest, Katherine stared at the man that she loathed, her mind clear and focused on the task at hand. She was going to beat the infamous pirate at his own game and she knew the art of talk was a beautiful thing.

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Philip's head pounded and his thoughts now were nothing more then a jumbled mess. His crew was dead, his best friend was dead, his ship had been sunk, and now he was nothing more then a prisoner. It was a fine situation that a proud sea captain should find himself in. Looking across the brig, he saw Anne frantically rattling the iron bars of the cage she'd been put in. He knew that it wouldn't matter how much noise they made down here; they were completely at the will of the most disgusting and sadistic man that had ever roamed the seven seas.

"Captain Montard, we have to get out of here." Anne finally spoke, her eyes wild and frightened as her voice shook with barely controlled panic. "Surely he can't just leave us down here forever."

"No, Miss Mickelson. You completely underestimate the man." Philip said as he lounged against the wooden wall of the brig, his appearance calm and cool even though he felt out of control. "He can leave us here for as long as he likes. In fact, he could leave our bodies for the rats without food or water for days if he so wishes. I suggest you make yourself comfortable. We are in for a long wait."

The highbred woman in the opposite cell let out a frightened sob, tears coursing down her cheeks as she gave the iron a swift kick with her foot, whining under her breath as she sank to the ground in a heap of cloth. "Surely Kate is doing something to help us. She has to be alive, right?"

Philip let out a long sigh, shaking his head at the thought. It pained him a great deal to not know what had happened to Katherine. Watching her as she struggled for breath and then turning as pale as death before those blue eyes closed as the air was cut from her lungs. He had hoped in that moment that she were dead, able to leave the world that had haunted her so much but his dreams were short lived when Bega announced to the crew that she was most certainly alive.

How could he have been so stupid to think that he could have saved her? Quite simply, this entire situation was all his fault, from the moment that he first lay eyes on her and thought back to the legends of his youth. It was all a curse now, he scolded himself as he hung his head low and sighed. The money no longer interested the youthful captain and now he'd simply settle for a happily ever after with his mysterious beauty, but even that seemed too far out of his grasp.

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The talks between the two in the captain's quarters seemed to have reached a stalemate, both simply staring at each other from across the table, Bega ready to unleash his fury as Katherine sat secure in the knowledge that there was nothing more he could do to her that could top the horrible deeds of her youth.

"You toy with me, Miss Moore, and I will have your head on a platter." Bega growled at the woman in front of her, his temper boiling even more when her eyes lit up and she smiled smugly at him.

"You kill me, Toby, and you lose your treasure. As much as you hate it, you need me." She leaned back in her chair, very much the master of the situation as the man across the table from her trembled in fury. "So, threaten all you wish. I know that until I deliver what you want, you'll never do away with me."

Bega's eyes narrowed for a moment before a cold grin crossed his own face. She thought she was so smart, that she had him backed into a corner, but he'd been here many times before with men more menacing then a teenage girl. "You're right. I can't do anything to you." He glanced over at Shelley, motioning him close and whispering an order into his ear. "But that doesn't mean that I'm at the end of my rope." He said, his voice full of something that Katherine couldn't place. She knew where this was going, and when Shelley came back a short while later dragging Anne behind him, reality settled like a cold limp in her stomach.

"You wouldn't dare. You know that she's worth more then a king's ransom." Katherine quickly said as Anne looked around the room with wild eyes, frightened at what could possibly be happening.

"And what do you believe I'll do, Miss Moore?" Bega asked, a leering grin on his face as he stood and cordially bowed to the frightened lady, taking her hand in his and kissing her knuckles.

Anne stared at the man before her with a horrified look on her face. Never in her life had she been treated as she was now and the very lessons that she'd been taught by her nannies and governesses filled her with a sense of self righteous outrage. She jerked her hand away from the pirate as if she'd been burned, backing away from him until she hit the boy that had drug her from below decks.

"Now, now, my lady Mickelson, no need to be so prim and proper." Bega said as he strode forward the swept the refined lady into the chair that he'd just vacated. "I just thought that you might like to spend time above the decks. Enjoying a nice meal with myself and Miss Moore."

"Anne, say nothing." Katherine quickly said, up and out of her seat so quickly that it threatened to tip back and crash to the floor.

Anne's face was screwed up with confusion, fine lines appearing on her brow as she looked from the pirate to Katherine, gasping at the appearance that the other woman had. "Mister...Bega?" She fathomed a guess that this was the man that Captain Montard had been talking about in the brig. "With all do respect, sir, but shouldn't she be in clothing?" She whispered softly, quietly mortified that this man would have her maid running around in nothing but her undergarments.

"Such a refined lady," Bega murmured as he trailed his hand over Anne's neck, brushing over her curls as he glanced at Katherine with a wicked grin. "You see, my dear, young Katherine simply hasn't appreciated all that I've given her. I fear that if I were to give her a gown, it would simply be treated with the same disrespect."

"Anne, for once in your life, shut your mouth." Katherine hissed, her hands gripping the sides of the table until her knuckles were white, her teeth set on edge as she saw the spoiled lady walking straight into Bega's carefully lain trap.

"And what would you do, Miss Mickelson, to give dear Katherine what you think she needs?" He asked, his hands resting against her shoulders as he continued to smirk at Katherine, just waiting for the words that he wanted to hear. He knew deep down inside that this high born lady was actually stupid enough to say it.

Anne looked up the pirate and then at Kate, her face thoughtful for a moment as she reached up and played with a piece of hair, twisting it between her fingers as she chewed on her bottom lip, trying to decide what she should really do. Finally, she left the hair from her fingers, her shoulders squaring under Bega's hands as she tipped her head to look at him once more.

"Anything, sir. I would do anything." Her voice was clear, full of courage as if she really thought that was the right decision.

"As I thought." Bega laughed as his fingers began to turn painful on her flesh, a cry of pain escaping from Anne's mouth as she looked to him with a question in her eyes. "Well, you did say anything, milady, and I am a man with certain needs." The meaning was clear and Anne began to panic, her pale skin turning another shade of white as she looked to Katherine for help.

"Toby, don't." Katherine tried to reason, the single thought passing through her brain that she'd never seen him with a woman in all of her years on the ship. She didn't know what kind of game he was playing or if he'd finally lost the last shred of sanity that he had, but she knew that she had to stop this quickly.

"Tell me, Katherine, did you do your job? Is she still pure?" He asked, laughing as Anne let out a scream, trying to scramble out of her seat and unable to break his grip on her shoulders. "No matter. I guess there's one way to find out."

Anne was jerked from her seat, gasping at the suddenness of the situation, her feet barely touching the floor as she was forced across the room. She stared with frightened eyes at the pirate as she was swept backwards towards his bed. "Kate!" She screamed, her eyes looking over his shoulder towards her maid as she felt the softness of a mattress against her legs.

Katherine couldn't think in that moment, her mind reeling with what was happening before her. She felt her fingers curl around the dinner knife she'd lodged into the wood of the table earlier and knew in that instant what she had to do to stop this and save Anne.

Rushing around the table and lunging forward, Katherine pushed Anne to the ground, delivering a hard blow to Bega's leg as he turned to stare at her, stunned at what she'd done. He barely had time to react as she swung the knife at him, catching his arm and tearing the flesh. He caught sight of her eyes as he grabbed her by the front of her shift, his hands curling cruelly into the fabric as he growled at the woman. Her eyes that were normally so beautiful suddenly didn't seem her own, replaced by the cold and calculating look that his former friend, the great captain of the Ocean Blue, use to carry.

"Damn you, James!" He bellowed as he shoved Katherine hard towards his desk, watching as she bounced off and the wince of pain that blossomed on her face as she hit hard on her side before scrambling backwards and searched for a new weapon, her knife having fallen from her hand in the fall. "Damn you for this wretched hell bitch of a daughter you cursed this world with!"

He'd never felt fury like this in his life, the blood dripping down his arm and staining the sleeve of his fine coat only enraged him more. All seemed to stand still in the next few moments as the clicking of a gun hammer filled the cabin and Bega slowly raised his eyes from his injured arm and towards the barrel of the gun that was now trained on him.

Katherine's hands shook as she held the gun before her, her fortune seemingly turning better as she'd found it tucked beneath the papers on the desk. She could hear a frightened whimpering from somewhere in the cabin and knew that Anne was still watching the awful scene before her.

"Do it, child," Bega murmured, his eyes dangerous as his blood dripped onto the cabin flood. "Make me believe you want to pull that trigger."

All of her wildest dreams were there in front her, but still her hands shook and the pit of her stomach felt icy cold. She winced as he shouted for her to pull the trigger yet again and something in her mind made her unable to do the simple task. Tears formed in her eyes and slowly trailed down her cheeks as Bega began to stalk forward. Katherine let out a surprised cry as she pressed her finger down so tightly, her eyes riveted to the captain's chest where the shot would hit...and yet nothing happened.

The gun did nothing, causing Katherine to stare at it in disbelief. "No," She whispered to herself as her mind tried to fathom what to do next. She didn't have any time to think as Bega's hand grabbed her wrist, a jarring blow raining down upon the side of her face that had her body dropping limp to her knees as the gun fell uselessly to the floor.

Katherine stared up into the face of the devil himself, her nose and mouth bleeding as she tried to clear her vision. Bega's face was twisted into an ugly sneer, his breathing harsh as he hauled the injured woman to her feet, dragging her unceremoniously towards the cabin door. The door was pulled open with a loud snap and Katherine was shoved out the cabin door, the thin shift that she was wearing swirling around her legs in the sudden wind that had picked up. She looked up to see all the men on deck turn, staring at her as they tried to figure out what the commotion was about as she swayed on her feet, her head still swimming.

"It seems that Miss Moore needs a small reminder of what will happen should she cross me." Bega announced to the men as he stepped out behind the red headed beauty. "Make sure to show her a good time."

Surrounded by lustful glances, some men who she had known since a child, Katherine was suddenly transported back into her worst nightmares, those nights and days on the ship that she wished so badly she could forget. She staggered backwards, turning to try and run for the cabin once more when she was grabbed from behind, hauled backwards amongst the cheering catcalls that she could never seem to escape. Her scream filled the night sky as she felt hands on her body, violating her and pulled the chemise from her body.

Bega watched the scene for a few brief moments, his gaze unconcerned as he turned and smiled at the sound of screams as he stalked back for the cabin. Slamming the door behind him, his hard eyes surveyed the scene before him. A trail of blood stained the floor and a whimpering woman sat curled in the darkness by his bed. He stared at Anne for a long while, his rage stoked further by the pathetic sounds she made.

"Get up." He growled, watching as the young woman shivered and looked at him with wide eyes, not moving from her spot. "I said up!" His voice filled the cabin, the timbers vibrating softly as his arm snaked out and delivered a harsh blow to Anne's face, unseating her and sending her sprawling further to the floor.

She sat, stunned, a shaky hand reaching to touch the enflamed skin on her cheek, breathing harsh as she saw blood on her fingertips from a split lip. She scrambled quickly to her feet, heedless that her ears still rang from the blow. Bega had stalked to his desk chair, seating himself and looking expectantly at the frightened woman.

"Well," He glared, his mouth so tight that his lips were turning white from the strain as he rolled up the ragged sleeve of his shirt to expose the deep gash in his arm. "Fix it."

Anne looked at the man as if he were crazy, the sight of blood turning her pale as the bile rose in her throat. "I...I don't know how." She whispered, her hand moving to her lip to staunch the flow of blood that coursed down her chin.

"Then I suggest you learn." He growled as he grabbed a bottle of rum from his desk, uncorking it and taking a quick swig before dumping the contents upon his wound, hissing at the pain that enveloped him. "Now!" He hissed through clenched teeth, watching as the frightened woman jumped at the sound of his voice, scurrying over to her side as he pulled open a compartment of the desk and motioned for her to pull out the contents within.

Anne reached into the drawer, pulling out strips of fabric and a small sewing kit, looking at him with horrors in her eyes. She was horrible at sewing, always refusing to do such at home, and this man before her wanted her to practice on his flesh.

"Sir, please, I can't do this." She stammered, her hands shaking even more as she was shot a cold glare.

"Then you'll join Miss Moore. The decision is yours." He was unaffected by the tears that were streaming down her cheeks as she struggled to thread the needle, her hands shaking so bad that she dropped the tiny object a few times before she succeeded.

A few moments later, the wound was neatly sewn, Anne heaving into a bucket over what she'd done, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed. Flexing his hand, Bega tested the girl's work, admiring how neat the stitches were. She seemed to be useful after all, he thought to himself, as he stood and grabbed the girl around the waste, tossing her into the cabin's closet like a heap of cloth. Slamming the door shut and bolting the door, he listened to the sounds around him: Lady Mickelson's sobbing and the screams of Katherine Moore coming from the deck. A smirk crossed his face as he found his desk chair once more, propping his feet upon it's cluttered surface as he savored the moment. Things couldn't have been going better, not even if God had planned it himself.

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Philip looked up at the rattling of the key in the metal door, his eyes widening as he watched the man roughly shove Katherine inside. Her arms and legs flailed as she tried to stop herself from falling, but she still landing hard on her hands and knees against the rough wood floor. Philip growled at the man, up in an instant and running at the solid steel bars. It was a moment too late, the door already shut and locked when Philip slammed into them, his hands gripping wildly at the laughing man on the other side.

"Calm down, Cappin'" The man said, flashing him a nearly toothless grin as he leered at Katherine still crouched on the floor. "Through the kindness of my own 'eart, I decided to give you a go at 'er for we come and take 'er again tomorrow. Enjoy." He dared to reach out and rattle the door once more before smirking and exiting the hold, slamming the solid door behind him and leaving the two prisoners in silence.

Philip's anger was beyond rage. How dare they treat him like this, a man of his reputation who had been on the water since before he could remember. It wasn't that long ago that his own name would have struck fear in the hearts of captains, but it seemed now that he'd been reduced to the sniveling captive that he was now. Thinking about her had him springing into action as he spun and stared at her, slowly standing on her feet as she stared down at her hands. They shook as if she had a deep chill and the wild thought of what could have happened to her raced through Philip's mind, turning his heart into a block of ice towards the men that this ship harbored.

"Kit?" He murmured, taking a small step forward, trying to get her to look at him. He saw her back tighten, the muscles stiffening under her thin chemise. It was then that he noticed the condition of it: dirty, torn, and then he saw the blood. "Katherine." He said, more concerned then he'd ever been about another person in his life as he strode forward and turned her to look at him.

She flew into a panic, knocking his hands away as her wide blue eyes darted wildly around. Her face was battered and bruised, a thin line of blood dripping down her chin from a cut on her swollen lip. "Kit, it's me." Philip murmured softly, trying again to lay a hand on her shaking body, but she was somewhere else, retreated deep into her mind.