Kilmy: The Indomitable

5/ A Captive's Confusion

Footsteps echo on the stairs.

I sit up, glancing around for a weapon just in case. Of course, there isn't one. I don't move my eyes from the doorway, waiting for whoever it is to reveal themselves.

I clench my hands into fists, crouching on the cot. I'm ready if they cause trouble. I won't go down without a fight.

The girl appears in my view. Her eyes immediately dart to my clenched hands and she holds up a hand, smiling at me sheepishly. "Hey," she says quietly, slowly approaching the cell. Keys dangle in her hand. "We came to take you to a room. You're our guest and it's not right leaving you here like this. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah," Ilon adds, pulling my attention to him. I didn't realize he was standing behind her. "Just a wrong time and place type of situation."

She jingles the keys, walking up to the cell with pursed lips. "My name is Landa," she informs me, unlocking the door and stepping aside for me to come out. "What's your name?"

I don't reply.

"You can come out now. You'll have a much better bed upstairs than down here."

I watch them closely as I leave the cell.

"I'm truly sorry for the mistake." Landa pats my shoulder, taking the lead. "I don't know what he's thinking taking you from your home, but we will let you go at the first opportunity."

I don't respond. I don't know what to say.

If they're that sorry why didn't they take me off the ship while we were at Valencygne? Why are they making a big deal of this? What do they want from me?

They show me to my room, which is right next to Landa's.

"Don't be afraid to ask me about anything," Landa tells me, smiling. "I'm always willing to help where I can."

I stare at her. No one is willing to help me, aside from two people.

No. I can't trust them. They're pirates. They're liars and thieves. All of them.

But they've also been nice to me, aside from John.

They're taking me to a room, not keeping me in the cell. They're not throwing me overboard for John's mistake.

"And," Ilon adds, pulling my attention to him. "You can speak your mind here. You will be listened to."

I nod, but don't say a word.

"We're not what you think," he says quietly. Something flickers in his eyes for a second before it's gone. Was that...sadness? "We're not the monsters the government portrays us to be."

"The government are the monsters," Landa interjects, with disdain clear in her voice. "They're taking away people's rights." She shakes her head, glowering. "It's ridiculous."

"Anyway, let's go to your room." Ilon leads the way. I silently follow him, with Landa behind me. Not like I have a choice.

I'm led down the hallway. Ilon stops in front of the last room in the hallway and twists the knob, grinning at me. "Here you go!" He shoves the door wide open.

The room is a little small, but definitely better than the cell.

It has a single bed, with a nightstand right beside it. A lamp is perched on the nightstand. There's a window overlooking the sea below us. I walk to it, peering out. I watch as the black ship parts the water like it's nothing. Yet it won't take but a second to die in it for a woman.

I glance over at Landa, wondering how she got onto this ship. Did they kidnap her too and she somehow convinced them to let her live? Did she want to be here? How and why can a woman be a pirate? I've never seen a wanted poster with women on it.