Crazy In Love | Buggy

s e v e n

His words kept replaying in my mind, echoing over and over again. The sound of them made me nauseous, made my body feel suddenly so weak as if I may just collapse to the ground at any second.

Of course, the realistic part of me knew this was going to be the outcome. A pirate was never going to be merciful. Especially not Buggy the pirate, a man known for being ruthless and cruel.

But there had been this tiny part of me that had hoped for mercy. It felt as if there was a softer side to him - I had really felt it. The way he had so gently dried my tears... it was just me being foolish and naive.

I became aware of his clowns advancing towards me, weapons held firmly in their hands. The reality of the situation was hitting me like a truck.

My entire town was about to be slaughtered like animals, and it was all my fault. I was frozen in a mixture of fear and shock. That is, until I saw the clown holding Jean put his blade to his throat again.

"No!" I screamed, pushing Buggy away and trying to run towards my little brother.

I didn't make it very far, Buggy was too fast for me. His fingers tangled into my hair and roughly yanking me backwards. The pain radiated across my skull, a hot burning feeling.

I slammed back into him, feeling his arms wrapped themselves around me, holding my firmly in place. The more I fought his grip, the more I lost hope. His strength was ridiculous.

It confused me. No human was this strong. Not that I had ever encountered.

"And where do you think you're going?" He lulled out in a tone that was dripping with sadistic enjoyment.

Since I couldn't free myself from him, I did the next best thing. I twisted around in his arms, turning around so that I could look him in the eyes.

This seemed to shock him. I guess he had been so sure that I was terrified of him (which I was) that he didn't expect it. Plus, everytime that we had made eye contact, it had been him forcing it. This was the first time I had initiated it.

His eyebrows shot up. "Got something to say, darling?"

"Don't let your men kill my brother, please. I can give you what you want."

He grinned mischievously at that, tilting his head to the side. "Oh, really?"

"Yes, I can get you your treasure. All I ask is for you to call off your men, and leave my town alone. Leave my brother alone."

Without hesitation, he yelled out, "Wait! Nobody hurt anybody!"

From my peripheral vision, I saw his clowns all freeze in their tracks. I searched for the one holding Jean, to make sure he had stopped too.

He had. Once I saw that, I relaxed just a little bit. I had bought us some time. Now, I just had to make sure that I didn't waste that precious time. I had to make this count. Everyone's lives depended on it, on me.

"I'm just dying to hear this. So, tell me, what is it I want?"

"Your maps, of course."

"My maps... which you destroyed, remember? How are you going to give me something that you destroyed?"

Part of me was tempted to correct him. I didn't destroy his book of maps, he did. But I didn't want to annoy him. Plus, the difference didn't seem to matter right now.

"I have a photographic memory," I confessed. "And I read that book a thousand times."

Now he looked interested. "Are you seriously suggesting that you've memorised my book?"