Saving The Saviour || OUAT || CS - complete

Chapter 16

Emma's POV

After my duel with the captain, I had been downgraded to stay in the brig. It was cold and damp. I was cloaked in darkness, so dark that I couldn't see my hands in front of my face.

But, nevertheless, the darkness meant I couldn't see the rats crawling around me. So I guess that's kind of a bonus.

Every few days the crew would remember about me and send down a tray of mush that they expected me to call dinner. And to wash it down, a cup of sea water.

Every night just as I was about to fall asleep, the ship would crash into a huge wave and I would fall into something. Whether it be a barrel of rum or back up materials for the ship.

Either way, they didn't care. As long as I was breathing and had a heartbeat they left me alone.

I often wonder to myself how I've kept my sanity.

Perhaps I haven't?

All of my thoughts have clouded into a mess of failed hopes and unfulfilled dreams. Every memory of my family I have has become distorted and all I can remember is pain.

The one thing driving me forward at this point is Henry. I spent ten years without him, and that was enough pain for me. I can't imagine him having to go through the rest of his life without me.

Not having a family isn't something I'd wish on my worst enemy. It's a horrible feeling. Knowing nobody was going to be there when you get home. Knowing that nobody cares enough to ask how your day was.

I grew up without a stable mom figure in my life. Of course I had foster moms but they were come and go. Not having a mother to guide me, it ruined me. I had no hope, I didn't even want to continue if all I felt was pain.

And that's how I feel right now.

Suffocating in darkness, rotting in the tiny cell.

"What's on ya wrist?" One of the crewmen said, bringing down my regular plate of gruel.

I look down to my right wrist, remembering how it'd been broken.

"Splint" I shrugged my shoulders and pulled my knees to my chest. I wrapped my arms around my knees and rested my head, looking away from him.

"What's a splint?" He asked. He seemed intrigued. Like he wanted to know more, but he was probably scared to get into trouble for talking to me - I am still a prisoner after all.

"Makes it heal in the right way" my voice was scratchy and monotonous. I hardly showed any emotion any more. I was broken.

"Where I'm from, if something was broke you spent the rest of your life like that. A girl from my village was born with an extra toe. When they cut it off, they took with it like three other toes. 'Half foot' we called her. Hobbled till she died" the man had sat on one of the steps that lead to the brig.

Slowly, I turned my head to look at him. Though I couldn't see him, his heavy breathing was enough. I just needed to know I wasn't alone. I needed to know I hadn't completely lost my mind and that this wasn't another hallucination.

"Why are you telling me this?" My voice was no less scratchy, I haven't talked in to long that it feels like there's sandpaper on my tonsils.

"I have a favour to ask of you princess." His voice had lowered to a whisper, so delicate you'd hear a pin drop. "When you're rescued and you go home, would you take me with you?"

"But you're a pirate? Don't pirates love the pirate life?" Despite the tough texture of my voice, I still managed to have confusion clear in my tone.

I saw the man's silhouette shake his head profusely

"I hate it here!" He whisper-shouted. "I've been on the ship for almost 9 years. I've loathed every minute. I hate the stealing, I hate the drinking, I hate this ship. I'll do anything" he pleaded with me.

I thought about it. Sure, it would be nice to know I had a friend on the ship, someone I could talk to. But, what if it's a trick? Pirates always have some sort of motive.

Is he actually a pirate?

By the way he described it, he's not a pirate at all.

"Okay." I said bluntly. How could I beg for a chance at my normal life and deny someone a chance of theirs? I'd be a monster. " I have one condition."

I stretched out my legs and leant to my side, my head leaning in closer to the step that this man sat.

"Anything!"

"I need you to take off this cuff. I promise, I won't use magic to take my self away or hurt any of you. I just want to heal my wrist. Or at least take away some of the pain. It hurts like a bitch."

Just talking about the pain made it worse.

"I'm sorry princess, if I do the captain will know that I did. You have no idea what he's capable of. I can't take the cuff off, but I can bring you down some herbs to help with the pain. Captain gets these
bad headaches, he has some strong medicine to help. I could sneak you down some."

He was trying to help. This man, a man I knew nothing about and he knew nothing of me, was willing to risk his own safety to help me.

Nobody outside of my family had ever done that. No one has ever been willing to do anything for me if it meant their head would be on the chopping block.

"Thankyou" was all I managed to get out.

I don't know if it was my lack of sleep or making a friend, but I started to feel happy. A little bit of happiness in this dark tunnel of depression, it was a feeling I hadn't felt since I was kidnapped.

"I have to go. If I'm down here any longer the captain will suspect something" he quickly stood up and just as he went to leave, he turned around and placed a bread roll on the ground in front of me. "I thought you could use some actually food."

I didn't have time to express my gratitude before he ran back up the stairs to the lower deck.

Without giving it a second thought, I grabbed the roll and took a huge bite. It was still warm and the texture felt like the best thing in the entire world. I hadn't had solid food in almost a month.

It was only a minute before the roll was finished. And as I swallowed my last bite, a small smile graced my lips.

Finally, something to make me feel normal.

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