The Captain

six

Maverick escorted me down to be with Amelie not long after, which I was incredibly relieved by. 

She rushed over to me, face tearstained and pale. 

"Are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

I shook my head. 

"How about you, are you okay?"

She nodded, wrapping her arms around me. 

"I'm so scared, Flo. What are we gonna do?"

I smoothed her hair back. 

"Hey, look at me. We're gonna be fine. I'm gonna get you out of this."

She nodded, looking around the room we were stuck in.

"I'm afraid to touch anything."

I looked around. 

There was a small desk with some maps and papers spread around it, a broken compass and a knife. The bed was dark and small, probably big enough to fit both of us, but neither of us wanted to touch it with a ten-foot pole. 

"I'm not sleeping in here," she said definitively.

"No? Then you're welcome to sleep with me," someone said behind us. 

I turned around to see Ramsay looking at us. 

"If you even think," I prodded his chest, "about touching her, I will cut off everything below that stupid belt of yours and feed it to the Kraken."

He gaped at me, looking slightly taken aback.

"You're more feisty than the captain gives you credit for, lass. I'd keep an eye on that mouth of yours, it'll get you in trouble."

I stared at him, not backing down. Finally, he left, muttering something unsavoury about where I could shove my words.

Amelie was shaking when I turned back around. 

"He's not going to touch you. If he tries anything... I'll kill him."

She laughed, wiping tears away from her eyes. 

"Florence the bookworm turned murderer. I can't quite see it."

I chuckled lightly, pressing a kiss into her hair.

"We're gonna figure this out."

Suddenly, she gasped.

"They took your engagement ring!"

I wanted to laugh at the indignance on her face. 

"It's not really my top priority right now, Lia."

"Yeah, but like, it's not their property!"

"None of this is their property, honey. If they wanna take it, I'm really in no position to fight it."

"Not that you would've if you could."

I blinked. 

"What do you mean?"

She perched on the end of the bed.

"You're my older sister, Florence. Give me some credit. I know you aren't ready to get married."

I sank down next to her, gaze on my hands, both of us staring at the spot where the ring used to be.

"What makes you say that?"

She snorted.

"Flo."

I sighed. 

"I know. You're right, you always are... it's just... I'm not ready to be a wife or a mom... and this is gonna sound shallow, but Mr Thompson is so..." I trailed off.