Revenge So Sweet

Seeking Truth

Silence.
Someone was talking to her.  Pain in her shoulder.
Silence.
Someone was yelling.

Danielle came to her senses slowly.  Something wet was sniffing at her face.  Instinctually her face backed away.  That's when she heard a single bark.  Was that a dog?  She wondered.
She couldn't quite open her eyes yet.  'Am I dead?' She thought to herself.
She could hear waves.  And the creaking of the ship.  She was warm on a soft bed.  She could feel a bandage tightly wrapped around her shoulder.  She tried to lift it slightly but felt some pain. No she thought.  She definitely wasn't dead.
Danielle opened her eyes slowly.  Her eyes were still a little blurry so instinctively she reached up to wipe the sleep from her eyes and winced at the slight pain she felt.
"Heel Perra" a voice commanded and she heard little feet tap across the floor away from her.
"Try not to overly use that shoulder." The voice said softly with a slight accent.
Danielle instead reached up with her other arm and rubbed her eyes and face.
She felt like she had been hit by a bus.  Although her shoulder felt the most discomfort, the rest of her body was tender and ached too.  She groaned.
"Who's there?" She asked groggily.
"Shhh...You've been through quite an ordeal.  You should rest." The voice said.
She was finally able to open her eyes.  Her vision was still a little blurry but she could make out that it was dark.  There was a dim light glowing nearby but everything it illuminated was still hazy.  She thought she could just make out a desk that the light had been set on.  A doctors desk most likely.  She must be in the ships infirmary.  The man, who she assumed was the doctor, was turned towards her and shadow and darkness hid their features from her.
"How did they know to come back for me?  Did somebody see me thrown over?"  Danielle asked her voice was raspy and weak and her throat hurt.
"I'm not sure how you came to be out there.  But I spotted you and pulled you aboard.  You were very nearly gone to the world."  The voice replied.
Danielle could hear shouting from somewhere outside of the room.
"I'll come back.  You should rest."  The voice suggested softly before walking out.
Danielle wanted to get up.  She felt that if she could just get her body to move a little she wouldn't ache so badly all over and perhaps she could at least sit up.
She stretched each leg out and then her good arm.  She arched her back in an effort to loosen her back which was in desperate need of a massage.  She could feel the stiffness all over but moving her limbs did ease her discomfort a bit.
The exertion of all her stretching wore her out again.  She was struggling to sit up properly.  Suddenly she felt strong arms around her.  The doctor had pulled her into his strong embrace and reached behind to adjust her pillows before settling her down comfortably.  She could smell the ocean all over this man.  A floral hint in his hair.
"Thank you."  Danielle said as the man pulled away.
"I told you, you should rest."  The man chided with a hint of humor.
Danielle smiled and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, and then realized that her hair was an absolute mess.  A crazy tangle set upon her head.  She immediately attempted to reach up and fix it.   But strong firm hands grabbed her arms and held them down.
"Don't.  Let me help you."  The man said.
Her hair was brushed through and put into a braid with the ease of a seasoned hair dresser.
"There.  Do you feel better?"
"Yes, thank you so much." Danielle said appreciatively.
"Now if you insist on not resting then I have some questions for you.  Will you indulge me?"  The man asked.
"Look doc it's real simple.  When the storm hit us, I saw a friend trapped on the deck.  So I made my way down but before I could even reach her I was thrown from the ship when a massive wave hit.  Then I woke up in this hospital."  Danielle explained.  "And oh my gosh!"  She suddenly remembered.  "Where's Honey?  Is she okay?  Did she get thrown too?!"  Danielle frantically asked.  "Her name is Doris Landry.  She goes by Honey!"
"I know not this Doris Landry." He stammered reluctantly.
Perra barked seconds before a knock on the door interrupted them.
The man stood to answer it and spoke to whomever had come.
Danielle thought she heard the stranger end the conversation with a "yes, captain."
Danielle found herself suddenly very alert.
"Captain?" She thought unpleasantly surprised.
"That's right miss.  But you may call me Rani." The man told her.  He was holding a tray, trencher, and pitcher which he placed in a clear space on the desk.  Then he pulled back a few curtains from the window, and blew out the only candle that had been lit.  "I've had some food and drink brought in for you." He said and Danielle stomach growled.
The rising sun cast a light into the room.
It was clear to her now what she had not noticed since waking up.  There were no vital monitors.  No computers.  There was no drawn curtain.  This was no infirmary or hospital.
"Where the hell am I?" Danielle asked now attempting to scoot herself out of the bed.
"You are in my quarters.  The captains quarters and aboard my ship, the Venganza.  You are safe here seniorita." Rani said.
"Okay, and where is here?  You're going to have to be more specific!"
The man stood.  More light came into the room.  Danielle was finally able to see that this stranger cut a striking figure.  He was tall and slender.  His hair which was black was long and fell just at shoulder length and it was tied back in a leather strap.  She had yet to make out his face however, which was still cast in shadow as the light behind him got brighter and the room more illuminated.  But what alarmed her most was his attire.
He wore a white shirt and black pants.  Around his stomach was a deep blue sash and leather belt.    Across his body he wore leather holsters complete with firelock pistols.  And at his side was a very sharp looking cutlass sword.  What kind of ship was this?  And what was this armed mans intention?
She had no idea what he intended to do with her.  Surely, no one in their right mind would be armed like that.  Killing even in foreign seas had consequences.  Her safety was in question.
She quickly reasoned with herself that if he had wanted to kill her he would have left her for dead in the ocean.
Darkly she thought, he may have other nefarious intentions.  After all she was in this mans bed.  This made her throat tighten painfully and her heart start to race.  She could feel a panic attack coming on.
"Calm yourself seniorita.  What is your name?" Rani asked gently.
"Ddd-da-da-nieeeelle" she managed to stumble out before hyperventilating.
Rani stood and slowly approached her.  His hands were held up in front of him so that she could clearly see that he held no weapon and intended no harm to her.
She struggled to regain control of herself.  He sat down next to her and put his hands on hers gently.  Danielle tried to pull away but it was a weak attempt and her hands were trembling.
"Look at me Danielle."  He instructed firmly but gently.
"I want you to look me in the eyes and focus.  And then I want you to count and breath with me.  Ready?"
The man was finally in a position where his face was not cast in shadows.  He must have been very young.  Certainly not a teenager but he could not be older than 20.  He had no stubble on his face and his skin would be almost flawless if not for the scar on his lower lip and the even deeper and more pronounced scar on the left of his face which started from temple just below the hairline and ran down avoiding eyebrow and eye ending just about below the cheek bone.  If his har were loose he could probably hide it well.  His brown eyes were so dark they were almost black and they were clear and intense.  And they were focused entirely on her.
"Inhale. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Exhale. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5." He counted and breathed, and she did her best to follow along.  Each time he would count a little higher until they were breathing in and out in counts of 10.  Danielle felt much calmer, or at least she was no longer panicking.  But her heart was still quickened looking into this strange mans eyes.
"Are you better Danielle?" Rani asked softly.
Danielle nodded her head but said nothing.  The truth was, she had no idea when was the last time she had brushed her teeth and this man smelt amazing.  She blushed and forced her gaze away from his.
Rani released her hands and stood up straight.
"I must insist that you answer a few of my questions.  You see, your circumstances are a bit mysterious.  And suspicious." Rani said clasping his hands behind his back as he paced near her.
"Suspicious?  She asked incredulously staring at him wide eyed.
"Yes." He said matter of factly. "You were found in the middle of the sea with no land nearby and not a vessel in sight." He added.
"I already told you.  I was swept into the sea by a large wave while aboard my cruise ship in the middle of that storm last night.  Wait what day is it?" Danielle asked suddenly realizing she had no idea how long she had been unconscious.
Rani looked at her speculatively and then answered.
"The date is the 28th of August."
"I've been unconscious for 8 days?" She asked perplexingly remembering that she had gone to port and done the tour on the 20th.
"Yes.  And I might add, that 8 days ago the weather was clear." He said now folding his arms over his chest and looking at her expectantly.
She looked at him angrily.
"I can't believe this.  You don't believe me."  She stated rather than asked.
"Do you have a satellite phone?  I need to call my best friend, she'll arrange for me to get on the next flight out of the next port we stop at." She said tightly.
Rani's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Satellite phone?" He asked.
"Yeah is this ship not equipped with one?  Maybe you can radio someone on land to get in touch with her?"
He seemed confused still and it aggravated her.  Was he being difficult on purpose?
"Oh c'mon!  What kind of captain are you?  Even I know this is like, boat safety 101 buddy!  I tell you, I'm calling the coast guard or whoever the hell is law over these waters just how unsafe your operating this boat as soon as I can!  And I'm positive you can't have weapons!"
"Boat?" Rani said, one amused eyebrow raised defiantly.
"You are clearly more addled in the head then I had assumed woman.  You're not making sense and your strange words confuse me.  Tell me, from where do you hail." Rani inquired.
Danielle looked at the man strangely.  Where the hell did this guy come from?  And who the hell talked like that?
"I lived and worked in Florida before I booked the cruise.  And that's all I'm telling you buddy." She answered.
"Ah." He said recognition finally apparent in his expression.
"La Pascua Florida.  In the Americas." He said.  "And I know not this buddy, as I have already informed you my name is Rani."
Her head was beginning to ache.  The Americas?  Who called it that anymore?  This man was really putting it on.
A determined look came into Rani's eyes as he surveyed her.  "We are getting nowhere seniorita.  So I will ask you directly.  Are you working for Henry "Black Heart" Kirkland?  He sometimes goes by the name Gonzalo."  He asked in a no nonsense tone.
"I'm not working for anyone."  She said.  Then she remembered.
"Wait!  Kirkland was the name of the Captain of the cruise liner!"  She recalled the blaring alarm and the announcement made by the captain during the storm.  The truth be told, she had never even known the captains name prior to that announcement.
He moved so quickly she didn't know what had happened.  But before she knew it he had his hand firmly on her good shoulder and was leaning down intently looking at her.
"So you were aboard his ship?  Are you spying for him?  Did he send you?  Are you his wench?"  He asked applying a bit more pressure on her shoulder with every question.
"What the hell are you talking about?  Listen, I'm not answering any more of your questions until the authorities are present." She said grabbing his hand from her shoulder and throwing it off of her.
He straightened.
His face took on a look of disappointment and then resentment as he grabbed and shrugged into a long black jacket.  He then placed his hat on his head and again straightened to his full height. 
Pointing at the gray dog who sat curled under his desk he commanded it to stay put.
He looked at her with one hand on the door handle.
This man absolutely looked like a pirate.  And his outfit was either a very authentically made replica of a historically correct pirate or she was going absolutely mad.
"Then I'm sorry seniorita.  But you will not be going anywhere until you break your loyalties to him and give me the information I seek."
And with that Rani left.  She heard keys and then a bolt slide into place.
"Wait!  You can't hold me hostage!  That's illegal man!" She yelled.
The only answer was the sound of Rani's boots on the hard wooden floor walking away.
Danielle looked around in the now empty room.  The sun had come up and its light now filled the area so that she could finally make out her surroundings.
She laid upon a small bed that could only fit about 2 people at most.  Looking above her she realized there was room enough to sit up but no way could someone stand up without hitting their head as the bed was almost like a very deep cupboard with bedding and an ornately carved wooden rail along the outside, assumably to keep the sleeper from falling out if the ship should tilt.
On the other end of the room directly opposite of the bed was the door to exit and enter.  On the wall behind her there was a large flag with a giant red 'V' shape.  On the opposite end the room was larger and all along the upper part of the wall was curved with windows and curtains.  In the center was the desk that she had first noticed with a candle and books on top of it.  A large sturdy chair set in front.  Above that desk was a large map with notes and markings that she could not understand.  The gray dog sighed beneath the desk on a his bed.  He watched her intently.
Below the window and on either side of the desk were book shelves packed with books.  Above and on top of the bookshelves several knickknacks were displayed.  On the wall near the feet of the bed she slept on, there were a double doors.  One of them was ajar and she could just make out clothing hanging up.  On the opposite wall that shared the door that Rani had exited was another shelf like cupboard with glass doors.  Inside the cupboard were nautical looking instruments assumably for his charting the seas.  Next to that was a chest.  Above the chest were 2 beautiful swords crossed at the blades, and 2 beautiful guns above them, below where the swords made an 'X' was one beautiful dagger.  All were framed.  They also were adorned with jewels and the handles and accessories that were crafted with designs.  These must have been made more as decoration, but by the looks of them they could easily be used to defend oneself.
Danielle sighed to herself, wondering what she could do. 
She pulled the blankets away from her body.  She was wearing some kind of white cotton nightgown.  It was thin.  She also noticed that she was not wearing her panties.  She remembered that she had not worn a bra but she distinctly remembered wearing panties under her sweats.  The bastard must have stripped her of whatever she was wearing when she fell overboard.  The audacity of the man made her grit her teeth.
Gingerly she slung both of her legs over the side of the bed.  Now in the sitting position she leaned into her good arm and pushed herself up to stand.  She became lightheaded and immediately grabbed onto the wall to stabilize herself until the dizzy spell stopped. 
She eyed the dog.
"If I come closer are you going to bite me?" She asked.  The dog just looked at her one ear flicking up.
Not trusting herself she walked slowly around the room always keeping one hand on the wall or anything she could, just in case she felt herself falling.
It felt good to be moving and she was thankful that her legs were cooperating.  She opened the double door cabinet and found it was as she thought, a closet filled with jackets and shirts, britches and shoes.  The material soft, but the jackets seemed well made and expensive.  Didn't the man own a regular pair of jeans? She thought.  Or a graphic T, or shorts for that matter?
She studied the things that were on the bookshelf.  Each item very different from the other.  They looked like things that were picked up along Rani's travels.
When she neared the desk the dog began to growl low in his throat.  She eyed him wearily and inched ever so closer to the desk.
"Good dog." She said.  The dog moved suddenly and she closed her eyes tightly in anticipation.  But nothing happened.  She peaked.  The dog had rolled over onto it's back and it's tongue was lazily hanging out.  She giggled.
"So you're a girl dog." She remarked inching forward.  The dog appeared to be harmless.  Her white belly on full display for her and white socks up in the air, Danielle reached down slowly and rubbed her bellow.  Her tail wagged.
Danielle studied the map and was confounded as it looked as if it must've been a historical map as much of it was not completely accurate or complete.  Wasn't he a sailor of the seas?  Surely, at the very least he could print an accurate map from any computer and printer or buy one from a store.
She looked at the food tray on the desk.  It had salted meat and pieces of cheese and bread.  She plucked one of each and made it into a small sandwich before devouring it.  It wasn't horrible but it was no gourmet snack.  She grabbed another piece meat and gave some to the dog then grabbed a few more pieces and stuffed them in her mouth hungrily.  She scanned the rest of the contents on the desk.  There were loose papers strewn about and they were covering an open book.  She read a corner part of it.
"Captains log" it said.  Perfect she thought she moved the papers out of the way to read the rest.  Nothing else had been written on this page as the day had just begun.  In the top right corner that had been covered by loose papers however she read something that made her stomach drop and the cheese fell from her hand midway to her mouth.  It was the date that alarmed her.
"28th of August" she knew this part because Rani had told her so.  What made her head spin once again though was the rest of it. 
It said "28th of August 1697".
"1697" she said breathlessly out loud.  Impossible.  Her mind just could not wrap around this.  This could not be a fact.  It must be another artifact.  But logic and illogic were playing games with her.  In her mind she knew that she had been born in the 20th century.  1991 to be exact.  And she had been on a cruise ship in the Caribbean in 2015.
However since she had awoken from being unconscious everything had not been of that time she had left.  She recalled the strange way Rani had been dressed.  Everything on him looking far too authentic and not like something from a reenactment or costume party but real.  Down to the golden buttons of his long coat.
Looking around this room.  The fact that there was no electricity but in the corners of the room were candle lanterns and a candle on the desk.  The man didn't even have a pen.  Only ink and quills.  The map, the weapons.  Even the way Rani had become confused when she asked for a phone.  He really did look as if he had never heard of such a thing.  And if this was all true and the year really was 1697 then he definitely would not know what a telephone is for another 150 years.
She sat on the desks chair and put her face in her hands.  Her stomach was becoming queezy.  She must be dead.  She can't be dead though.  The dull pain in her shoulder told her she could not be dead.  Danielle removed the bandage and tested her arm.  He had relocated the shoulder and really only felt a mild pain of bruising mostly when she extended the arm up.
She heard yelling outside of the room.  The ship was starting to turn, and out the window she could see that they were docking somewhere.  She climbed up onto one of the book shelves and opened a window she yelled as loud as she could.  She felt a sudden onslaught of sickness, luckily she already had the window opened she threw up.  Wiping her mouth she got down from the shelf.
Her voice was hoarse but her stomach felt better.  She used the water in the trencher to rinse her mouth thoroughly of the sick.  The dog was watching her alertly, surprised by all the commotion Danielle was stirring.  No one was coming to help her.  She looked up at the framed weapons.  Danielle pulled the dagger from below the sword and held it to her chest.  If that man or anyone for that matter came into the room she would be ready.  There was nothing left to do but wait, now.