A Pirate And The Prince

Chapter 5

The third day at the belly of the ship was like the two before. Colin and Murphy came down to our cell, they tied me up, Colin asked me questions that I refused to answer, and I got hit as well as cut and burned.
By this point, I had shut my mind out, and I didn't have a reaction to Colins torture like before. At the end of it Benjamin tried to talk to me. To keep me sane, I suppose.

When Colin comes back later the same day, my nonchalance nearly breaks.
“Suppose I do have to feed you.”
He sighs dramatically while carrying a tray with two bowls and cups.

He had given us water before, but not food.
He opens the door, leaves the tray in the middle of the cell, and gets out. Only then does he remove our ropes from the outside before leaving again.

When the door shuts, Benjamin comes to my side and embraces me, finally being able to move for the first time since coming down here.
“I'm sorry, Casper. If I could take your place, I would.”

My mind is numb as he tells me this, but I don't blame him.
“Lets eat.”
I tell him with a pat on his back. He nods and reluctantly lets go of me.

He moves the tray to my side and takes one of the cups filled with water. Tearing a piece of his shirt before dipping it into the cup, he urges me to remove my shirt and begins to clean the smaller wounds Colin had not burned shut.

“I am fine, Benjamin. We need to eat.”
I say after a while. It's not like I am going to get much cleaner like this.

“Fine.”
He grumbles and insists on feeding me even after my protests on me being able to do it myself.

“I know you can do it yourself, but you need to save your strength.”
Is all he says before feeding me another spoonful of the unrecognizable mush in my bowl. It tasted like rice, but nothing else, really.
We eat and share the water left from Benjamin cleaning me earlier. He settles next to me, supporting me weight by letting me lean on him.

He talks to me about the most haphazard things, clearly trying to keep the mood lighthearted. On occasion, he glances worried looks my way, but I can not bring myself to reassure him. All I can do is not think about anything.  Because the moment I start to think, I know I will spiral, and I can not afford to do that here.

We fall asleep like that, leaning on each other. Or more of me leaning on him. In the corner of a cell below my brother’s ship.

When I wake up, I know it is not morning yet because I am not woken up by my brother. In fact, nothing has woken me up, but I do feel like I woke up for a reason.
I ignore the constant stinging and aching all over my body as I sit up straight and look around the room. There is a single storm lantern hanging from the ceiling that casts a dim light to the room.

My eyes roam the room, and I nearly let out a surprised yell when I see a person's form in one of the corners. And I am sure I would have yelled if it wasn't for a hand that comes to cover my mouth.

“Shh, It's okay.”
I hear Benjamin whisper next to my ear. Momentary relief washes over me at his familiar voice.
“Can I let go?”
He asks, no doubt wanting to make sure that I won't freak out if he does. I nod my head, and he slowly removes his hand, and I let out a shuddering breath.

“Do you see it too?”
I ask  hoping with everything I have that he does, because if I have truly gone mad and am seeing things. Well, I am not quite sure what I would do, but it would not be very royal of me.

“Yeah. And I know him.”
He whispers back with a smirk.
“Would you stop creeping around, Rat.”
He sounds playful, but I can hear a note of impatience as he addresses the man in the corner.