Pirate Pleasure

Chapter 7

It's the middle of the night when I wake up with a naked pirate on top of me. It's Chris. I panic and lean over to barf over the side of his hammock. All of that rum really messed me up.

I look down at my body and to my horror, I'm in the nude. With a gasp, I roll out of the hammock and skillfully avoid falling onto my vomit. I try to stand up, but as soon as I do, a horrible headache brings me to my knees. My face contorts into a grimace from the discomfort of this hangover.

I crawl around the captain's quarters searching for my wench dress. After a few minutes of aimless wandering, I discover my dress hanging on the doorknob to the exit. I have no recollection of how it got there. I slip it on and cringe at the heavy stench of alcohol that my outfit retains.

I look down to examine my injured ankle and see that the bandages are filthy and foul smelling. I crawl over to wake Chris and ask him for help before I stop right in my tracks. I can't trust him again. He purposely intoxicated me just so he could do the nasty with me. That horrible sinking feeling returns in my stomach as the aftermath of this incident finally hits me.

"You're 17!" I think to myself, "How could you do this?"

I come to a quick and simple conclusion. I need to get out of here. If I'm at home, I won't have to ever deal with Chris again!

Limping my way back to the door, I turn the knob ever so quietly and hobble out onto the deck. The sky is a dark shade of blue from the illumination of the moon. I'm still dizzy and nauseous, but nearly as much as before.

With a deep breath of fresh air, I take a full view of my surroundings. Crap. We're in the middle of the ocean. Where do I "run away" to?

I squint my eyes to read the time on the rusty clock behind me. 4:59

The boat seems to be currently drifting towards nowhere, so I pick up a map and the pair of binoculars lying on a wooden crate. There's a red dotted line drawn across the map. This must be the ship's route.

My eyes drift over and study the top left point on the map. Squinting my eyes, I struggle to read the scribble that is intended to be words. Finally, I identify the illegible print. It labels the city of London. My eyes follow the red dotted trail to the next point, which appears to be at Berlin, Germany. I repeat the process and see that the next few points are in France, Brazil, Mexico, the United States, Canada, and finally, Scotland. To me, these aren't just random locations. They're the route of Alestorm's tour!

Every point on the map is checked off except for the last one, which is at Piratefest, Scotland. All of the questions in my mind instantly go away. The ship is sailing towards Scotland!

I snatch the binoculars back off a crate and hold them up to my eyes. There's a large cloud of fog blocking my vision so I struggle to spot anything. But suddenly, I see a large, dark lump in the distance. Is it really what I think it is? Could it be? I think it's-

"LAND HOOOOO!" A pirate shouts from the deck behind me, interrupting my thoughts. With a gasp, I realize that I can't be seen. I'm supposed to be in the captain's quarters! I duck down to my knees and clench my teeth as my ankle throbs. I toss the map and binoculars across the deck. A quick roll is what saves me from being spotted by the buff pirate walking by.

I quickly lift up an overturned wooden crate and crawl beneath it. It's a tight and cramped little space, but being in here is better than getting caught. The clicking of pirate boots approaches me, stops, then moves away. A small sigh of relief comes out of me. I'm safe here, but for how long?

"AYYEE!" a gruff voice shouts angrily. I immediately know this is Chris. "SOME SALTY SEA DOG BE MESSIN' WITH ME WENCH! WHERE SHE BE?"

I hear the seamen murmur before one says, "Cap'n, we thought she be with you. We have no clue where the wench be."

A hear a growl as Chris stomps down to the deck. "Well, ye better be findin' her! Cause' I gotta hangover! Woaah! I've been drinkin' to much for sure," The crew joins into Chris singing Hangover. I'm shocked at how easily the crew is able to break out into song. Still inside the crate, I bob my head to the beat. For doing this on the spot, this is pretty good. The jam session comes to abrupt halt, and my body freezes as I hold my breath.

I must have been getting a little too into my head bobbing, because before I can do anything else, the crate is lifted off of me and I'm revealed. I lay limp on the ground, and I don't even bother fighting. I'm no match against all of these brutal pirates.

Dozens of hands hold my body down on the dirty wooden deck. "Cap'n Chris! We found yer wench!" a pirate with a raspy voice shouts.

Without a word, Chris paces over to where I'm held down. He lifts his leg and then stands in a straddle over me. He places his boot onto my chest. I wheeze as he digs the heel into me. I squirm in pain as my thoughts overwhelm me. Why is Chris being so cruel?

"Chris," I manage to cough out, "Why?"

I look up and see Chris clenching his teeth in anger. "Because yer not bein a respectful wench," he replies, "and yer gonna have to pay for this. I'm sellin' ye to another pirate at Piratefest. I had enough of ye."

My stomach drops. It's all over. Because I couldn't stay in Chris's room, I'm being kicked off the ship. The man I lost my virginity to is shooing me away like it never happened. I should have known. Did I really think a pirate was ready for a dedicated relationship? But I know part of me still loves Chris and that goofy drunken smile he wears. But worst of all, no more Alestorm concerts.

The sadness silences me and I give Chris a small nod as his seamen sit me up and begin to tie me to a chair. I'm right back to where I started here, tied up and helpless. Chris pats me on the back as an attempt to get my attention, but I block him out. I refuse to make eye contact with that man.

Silent tears flood out of me as the pirates go about their normal daily business here on the ship. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Chris steer the ship as we approach Scotland. The foggy morning air makes my skin damp.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Soon after, we arrive at land. Chris and the crew begin to take doubloons for wench tips and make plans to steal spices. I'm beginning to become drowsy, so I shut my eyes.

There's many sounds around me, such as the crashing of waves, the clacking of footsteps, and the murmurs of hungover pirates, but suddenly I hear a very familiar voice. I open my eyes to look around. I think it's shouting my name! Whipping my head around in all directions, I look around at the ships until I see one with Captain Hook steering the ship to land. When I squint, I notice something. Meghan is on that ship.