The Black Rise Ch. 01

The cold and wet surrounded her small frame in the darkness. She placed a shaking hand on her head and winced as pain lanced through at her touch. Groaning, she lifted herself off the ground to be on her hands and knees, trying to get her bearings.

Water sloshed around her hands... dirty water... she noted. The last thing she could remember was the shuddering jolt of the ship she was on, and the feeling of being swallowed up by the cool yet comforting sea water. What was meant to be an end to her troubles, she thought grimly, seemed to only be the beginning of new ones.

Shouts could be heard above deck and she turned to face the only rays of light coming in through the trap door. Which ship she was on was the biggest question at the moment. Looking around, she took herself to be in the hold of the ship; barrels and crates surrounded her small jail on all sides. Nothing looked familiar and based on her poor memory before hitting the water, she could only conclude that the ship she had previously been on had sunk, but who caused it? Was she in their ship now? Or had someone else picked her up?

A man's scream pierced her thoughts, and she began to realize that wherever she was, it was not friendly to her, if the jail she was in and the scream above was any indication. Time to plan. Nothing was within her reach. Ugh. She stretched out to the barrels, but her finger tips could only brush up against the wood. Even if she could reach them, she thought, there was likely not much to use. She looked down at herself. Pity, she mused, she had actually liked the dress she had on, though now it was irreparably tattered and soiled. Nothing on her person would be helpful, and nothing was in her cell except mud and water sloshing around. Well...

**

The body of the crew member from The Hanover flopped over the railings of the deck. The crew cheered, glad to be rid of the screaming guppy. He certainly would not have made a formidable addition to the crew of The Black Rise.

As the crew laughed, the Captain looked over the horizon, considering the girl below deck and what he should do with her. He had taken girls to be sold, some to be ransomed, and some irritated him just enough to be left screeching in the bow waves.

"Jim, Toad, go get the girl an tie her to the foremast."

"Yes Captain!"

**

Kneeling in her small jail, she waited and watched as the trap door opened to let two men climb down. The first, was slight and short, but he had a distrustful gleam in his eyes that she took in immediately. The second man was a bit older, and looked slower. The first would have to be her target.

She tried not to shake as the men laughed whilst unlocking her cell.

"Come with us easily, girly, and we might persuade the Captain to let us keep ya!"

She glared at the small man as he laughed at her, but meekly put her head down to stoop through the door. Just as the small man's hand was about to come around her arm to grab her, she wheeled around with the largest mud pie she could keep in her hands and smashed it into his face.

She wasted no time with the man's shock giving her precious seconds to bolt towards and up the trap door, the larger man only taking the time to let out a booming laugh at his crew member's muddy face, dripping with stale dirt and water.

While the laughter shocked her, she didn't let it slow her down as she made her out of the hold, and up a second ladder to the deck; the trapdoor screaming of freedom as the sun shone through the thick latticework.

"Nnnmmphh!!!" She struggled as strong hands grabbed her from both sides, lifting her kicking form fully onto the deck. Her face reddened as she heard the laughter of the crew directed to her failed escape attempt. The men who grabbed hold of her simply lifted her to the foremast and began to tie her up as easily as if she were a rag doll.

"The Captain will have his hands full with this one!"

"Jim, you let the little fish slip through your fingers this tim- oh HA, boys, look at Toad!"

She couldn't help but give a small hidden smirk as the men laughed at Toad, but this faded quickly when he caught sight of her, tied face-forward to the mast. While the men continued to laugh and tease Toad, he stalked over to her, and she wondered if she hadn't just made her death a fate all the more painful than expected for her actions.

She could only let out a quick gasp as his hand roughly took her hair and wrenched her head back to look at him.

"I see you pay for that, whore."

"ENOUGH!"

She wondered as Toad let go of her hair at the command. Was it the Captain of the ship? She wished she could see, but being tied forward to the mast cut off any chance of looking behind her properly. She decided to put her head down, to make herself seem meek and humble to the Captain. Maybe she could still get out of this.

Toad left her side and she closed her eyes, listening for any hint of danger approaching.

"Go on with your duties, men, we sail for the Isles."

'Was he just going to leave her there,' she thought to herself?

She heard was the men scrambling around to their jobs, and she kept her eyes shut tight when she was occasionally jostled by a crew member.

She heard the sails being unfurled, and the wind catching them. Her heart sank as she wondered where on earth this new voyage would take her, and if she would manage to survive it.

Heat beat down on her back as she remained tied against the mast. More than once she had tested the ropes keeping her in place, but even in her mind she knew it was foolish to hope for a slip up of a knot made by men who live at sea. She had finally opened her eyes when curiosity had gotten the better of her after having been left alone by the crew. They had been sailing for at least half an hour, by her guess, and she tried to take in as much around her as possible, without drawing extra attention to herself. While the sun had thankfully made quick work of drying her dress, she soon worried what the heat would do to her as sweat began to bead down her back.

**

The Captain looked on at his crew, diligently working and staying away from the girl after they had set sail, though he knew it wouldn't last long. He needed to decide what to do with her before the men decided for him. She struck him though. He had watched and chuckled as she tried to escape, and had to turn around and cover a full out chortle when Toad had arrived with his face covered in mud. This girl was certainly the most amusing he had had on board.

He took his time to watch her. He didn't miss the small movements of her testing the ropes that bound her. He also didn't miss the way her little facade of humility lifted when her shoulders set after realizing she was being left alone at the moment. A little actress, it would seem. Her dress was an absolute travesty, barely clinging onto her small frame and revealing toned legs beneath the ripped skirts. The beautiful blush pink colour was long made history, but hints could still be seen around the top of the dress; a lovely shade against her light brown locks. His cock twitched at the thought of the dress being torn off of her, and with that thought in mind he had made his choice with what to do with this one.

**

Her back stiffened when she heard them. Boots. The rest of the crew wore simple soft shoes or went barefoot on the deck, so the sound of boots was certainly noticeable, and even more so because they were certainly headed in her direction. She cast her gaze down low again, to try and keep up the pretense of being a demure lady.

Worn, black leather boots stopped directly in her gaze and she couldn't help but feel fear creeping up her spine; this was likely when she would learn her fate aboard this ship, however long or short that may be.

She flinched when a hand made its way along her back, caressing the burning skin her tattered dress was no longer covering on her shoulder.

"Seems you were not made for the sun, were you girl?"

She shook her head in agreement, but kept her gaze down, now if only to avoid giving him the frown that had formed on her face after he touched her so familiarly. How dare he? The grip of the crew members had not shaken her sense of dignity the way that caress had. A sudden tug on her chin from his rough hand brought her face to face with him despite her best efforts, and he smirked at the frown that was set there.

"You will look at me when I speak to you, unless I say otherwise, do you understand girl?"

He felt the small movements of her chin as she began to collect a glob to spit at him. Faster than she could have expected, his hand moved over her mouth, while another moved to the back of her head. With his lips close to her ears he hissed at her, "swallow."

Swallow or breathe seemed her only options and now did not seem like the time to fight over something so trivial, so she gulped it down.

He chuckled as he released his hold and stepped back to face her again; her frown had turned into a full death-glare.

"You will do as you're told when you're aboard my ship, girl, or you will be punished... likely thrown to the sea if I tire of you, understood?"

She gave a quick nod to show her understanding and then turned her head away in anger. What an ass, she thought to herself. He was clearly the one who had caused all of this in the first place, and why the Hanover was now lying at the bottom of the ocean with its crew. She wished she had joined them, rather than suffer this new hell. If she had made it to the railings in her mad dash from bellow, she would have hurled herself into the sea; now she had to await whatever fate this man had in store for her. Maybe it would be worth it to disobey, just to be tossed to the waves. No. She wanted her fate to be on her terms. She would find a way to turn the tides her way.

A moment passed, and then another. She realized during her reverie that he hadn't said anything. Why was he just standing there?

She ventured a look up at him to see him regarding her with a cocked eyebrow.

"You're mute."

Her eyes widened only a fraction as his revelation. He figured it out quickly.

He leaned an arm against the mast. "Most ladies we take aboard have been screaming, crying and ranting by now at the simple treatment of being tied to the mast or being handled by my men, and you're simply too bold in nature not to say anything if you could. Ha, how interesting. Diego!"

She watched as a large man walked up to the captain. He was lean, yet muscular and had a stance almost as dominating as the captains.

"Take her to my quarters and be sure to secure her well, we certainly will not be putting trust in this one any time soon. And be sure Toad stays away from her for now until he has cooled off."

"Yes, Captain."