The Pirate and the Poem Lover

Chapter 6

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As soon as Eliza pressed the rum-soaked linens into Captain Charles' cut, he loudly winced in pain, arching his back away from her. Eliza cringed at the action and guilt started to consume her. It was bad enough that he was in pain, she shouldn't have been making it worse but she knew it needed to be done.

So she took a deep, deep breath and pressed the linens into his cut once more. He winced again but not nearly as violently as he had the first time. Eliza looked up at the ceiling and sighed with relief as she continued to gently rub away the dried blood on his shoulder.

After a few minutes, Eliza had almost completely relaxed and she no longer worried about hurting the captain. He didn't seem to be in too much pain from the alcohol which made almost all of Eliza's guilt disappear. She began to mindless rub at his cut, keeping her touch gentle as she did but after a while, it didn't seem like the cut was being very well cleaned by the bloodied linens. She bit down on her lip, pausing for a minute to try and figure out what to do.

"What's wrong?" Captain Charles breathed out and Eliza's eyes widened.

She didn't know what to tell him but she didn't want to leave him unanswered. She tried racking her now-panicked mind for something to say but all that came out were stutters and mutterings.

"I just.... Erh.... I can't.... Seem to get the deep cut on your shoulder clean with just the linens," She stated in a disappointed and sad voice. She heard Charles sigh with annoyance and she quickly squeezed her eyes shut, wishing more than anything else in the world that she knew what to do.

"I'd hoped this wouldn't have to be done but that's was a silly thing to even imagine. Alright, here's what I need you to do, Eliza...."

Captain Charles went on to explain that Eliza would have to douse the cut with rum and just hold a piece of linen beneath the cut to catch any alcohol that would undoubtedly spill over his chest and back. Eliza's eyes widened at the thought and she glanced down at the nearly full bottle of rum beside her on the bed. The whole idea seemed reckless and painful but it was the only idea that seemed feasible for the time being.

"But.... Won't that hurt you?" Eliza asked in a nervous, scared tone.

"Aye, a great deal. But it's the only thing we can do. I'll have to gag myself, probably with my shirt. Don't tell me before your pour the rum, just do it quick and make sure you pour it all over the wound, aye?" Charles asked coolly.

Eliza almost could believe what she was hear but she nodded her head anyways and agreed, though it was the last thing she ever wanted to do. Before Captain Charles stuffed his shirt into his mouth, he snatched the bottle from Eliza once more and took a long gulp before handing it back to her.

She wiped off the top and held the bottle over Captain Charles' shoulder with a shaky hand, pressing the linen into his back with her other hand. She was so hesitant and afraid that she felt paralyzed by the thought of what she was about to do.

She was about to cave in and pull away from the captain's shoulder when the door to his quarters burst opened. Frightened by the sudden sound, the bottle shakily tilted forward in Eliza's palm, spilling rum all over the place. She gasped as Captain Charles howled out in pain through the gag in his mouth. Eliza looked down to see that rum was spilling everywhere but it had at least cover his deep cut completely.

Eliza rushed to grab extra linens and soak up the rum before it sunk into the bed and blankets. She was so distracted by cleaning up the mess she had made, she almost didn't notice the captain spit out his shirt before grabbing the bottle and gulping it down.