The Phoenix

Chapter 3

  I open the door to the Captains Cabin and I see Finn Killian and the captain turn to look at me. I put a hand on my stomach and smile a little.
  "Is the dress to painful?" Killian asks stepping forward. I shake my head.
  "No it's okay for now. I can handle it." I say softly. Alexander walks up to me.
  "When we get up there I will tell Jackson, my helmsman to head to the nearest port and we will buy you some more comfortable clothing." He says. I nod.
  "Okay. That would be great." I say with a sigh as I take let out the deep breath I took. He nods and clears his throat a little.
  "Look um... like I said earlier... the rest of the crew are snakes... the minute they see you they will start saying things and try to make moves on you..." Alex says. I gulp and nod.
  "Okay..." I say softly.
  "The best way to protect you from that is to say... to say you are my girl... they know not to touch the Captains girl. If they do there are very serious consequences..." he says. I bite my lip and nod.
  "Okay... um... but if you tell them that stuff do I have to like... be with you?" I ask. He smiles a little.
  "I mean if you want to. That would be... fun. But no. You don't have to sleep with me or do that sort of stuff with me. It basically just means I'm claiming you as mine and that I will do with you what I want and it's none of their business. They can't touch you." He says. I nod a little.
  "Okay... I guess we can do that." I say. He nods and bites his lip.
  "Okay. Just... ignore what they say. Please. Trust me. Once we get up there they are gonna get an earful about hurting you." He says. I nod.
  "Okay. Just... don't let them touch me. Please. I don't want to be touched by perverts right now." I say with a small laugh. He smiles and nods.
  "As you wish Milady." He says. "Shall we?" He asks holding out his arm. I smile a little and nod taking his arm. Killian comes to my other side and they both help me up the stairs to the main deck. When we get to the deck I smile and Killian let's me go.
  "Thank you guys." I say softly. Alex slowly wraps his arm around me doing his best not to hurt me. I smile a little at him.
  "I'm gonna have you come up to the Sterncastle deck with me, okay? Jackson is up there and I need to talk to him. I can keep an eye on you up there and you will be away from most of the crew." He says. I nod and turn my head looking up at where the ships helm is. I see a young man steering the ship. He turns his head and looks down at us. He smiles.
  "Aye Captain!" He yells down. Alexander turns his head from looking at me to the young man. He nods his head toward him. Jackson calling out to the captain gets the rest of the crews attention and they all turn to us. They all grin when they see me. I bite my lip and kinda lean into Alex. He holds me a bit closer.
  "Aye Cap! We heard 'er screamin'. Did ye 'ave a long night?" One crew member asks with a toothless grin and a wink. I clench my jaw a little. I look up at Alexander and he death glares the man.
  "Ah... she's quite the beauty eh Cap?" Another man asks stepping forward. "Can I 'ave 'er next?" He asks with a grin. My eyes meet with the man that Alexander called Cutter. The man that dragged me by my hair.
  "Nah Cap'n. Let me go next. I know for a fact that hair is good for holding onto. I bet ye had a blast pullin' on it last night. She was pretty loud... sounded like she had fun." Cutter says. "By the way she's holdin' onto ya, looks like she enjoyed it. Like she wants more." He laughs. "Come with me next governors daughter. I'll show ye a good time." He laughs reaching out for me and going for my hair again. I grip the back of the Captains shirt in a death grip. Leaning further into him as Cutter gets closer. Alex lets me go and pushes me behind him into Finn, Killian, and Harry's arms. They all stand in front of me protectively. I hold onto Killian and Finns arms. Watching the captain.
  "SILENCE YOU DOGS!!" Alex yells. His Scottish accent roaring at the crew. I'm not gonna lie. I love his accent. He shoves Cutter to the ground. The crew gasps and backs up immediately. They all look between Cutter and the Captain. "If any of you lay a finger on her I will chop your good for nothin' fingers off one by one!! I just spent the whole night fixin' her up!! Those screams were from pure torture! THAT YOU GUYS CAUSED!!!!" He snaps. He glares down at Cutter. "Her whole back is cut up, broken, and bruised because YOU!! YOU DRAGGED HER BY HER HAIR!!" He screams at Cutter. I gulp and grip Finn a little tighter. Cutters eyes widen and he starts to crawl backwards as the Captain walks toward him. "Fixing her up without proper medical supplies could have killed her with how much pain you guys caused her! How much pain we had to add to it to fix her up! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED IF SHE DIED?!?!?" Alexander yells, fire radiating from his eyes. His muscles bulging from anger, his veins popping out, his power over his crew roaring out of him like a lion. "YOU COULD HAVE RUINED EVERYTHING!!!! If word got back to her father and The Admiral that she died because of you sewage rats, they wouldn't get me what I needed!!! THEY WOULDNT GET ME WHAT I NEEDED AND MY LITTLE BROTHER WILL BE DOOMED!!! DONT TOUCH HER!!! SHES MINE!!! DO YOU DIRTY WORTHLESS PIGS UNDERSTAND ME?!?" He screams at them. My eyes widen a little at his fierceness. Finn bites his lip and wraps his arm around me as I step closer. All three of them still being protective.
  "Aye aye Captain!" The crew yells back. Alex looks down at Cutter and pulls out his sword. He raises it and cutters eyes widen. I scream and run up to Alexander and step between him and Cutter. I throw my hand up and catch alexanders hand with the sword in it.
  "No. No... everyone deserves a second chance... please... give him one more chance... if he fails... you can kill him..." I say softly holding my side as I wince a little. Alex furrows his eyebrows and looks at me.
  "He dragged you by your hair and cut you up and broke you... after everything you had to go through last night because of him... you wanna give him a second chance?" He asks. I bite my lip and turn my head looking down at Cutter. His eyes are wide as he looks at me. I raise an eyebrow at him and turn back to the Captain, my hand still holding his from striking Cutter.
  "One more chance... if he even looks at me wrong or makes a wrong move... you can kill him..." I say softly. He sighs and nods once.
"Fine. But if he makes one wrong move I'm gonna tie him to the anchor and drown his sorry backside." Alex says. I bite my lip and nod.
"Yes sir." I say softly. He nods and I slowly let his hand go. He sighs and sheathes his sword. He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me beside him protectively. He looks down at Cutter and I look down at him as well.
  "One wrong move... I will have your head. Do you understand me? Don't touch her." Alex growls. I put my hand on his chest.
  "I think he gets it." I laugh a little. "Come on. Let's get you cooled off a bit before you explode." I say with a laugh. He looks at me and I raise an eyebrow and grab a fist full of his shirt. I tug on him as I turn to go to the sterncastle deck. "Come on." I say gently tugging on his shirt as he slowly starts to follow me. I smile at him and as we get to the stairs Killian runs up.
  "Let me help you Serena." He says. I nod and let Alex's shirt go. He stops Killian.
  "Let me make this easy for all of us. I got her." He says softly. I look at Alex and then at Killian. Killian nods and steps back. Harry, Finn, and Killian all standing behind us ready to follow. "Put your arm around my neck." He says to me. I bite my lip and gently wrap my arm around alexanders neck. He gently bends down and picks me up bridal style. I gasp a little out of surprise and hold onto him. He chuckles a little as he starts up the stairs. The other three follow us up. Once we are up he gently sets me down and I put my hand on his chest to steady myself. I bite my lip as I look up at him.
  "Thank you..." I say softly. He nods and looks down at his crew who are staring at him and I with wide eyes. Cutter still laying on the ground. I let my hand slide down his chest and fall at my side. He looks back at me for a second then gulps.
"You okay?" He asks softly. I nod.
"Yeah. I'm just gonna go sit down for a minute." I say softly. He furrows his eyebrows and puts his hand on my head then tucks my hair behind my ear.
"Killian get her another cold cloth for her head. She's pretty warm. Finn stay with her. Harry I need you." He says. Then strokes my hair. "Do you need anything else?" He asks. I shake my head.
"I'm fine Alex." I say using his real name. He bites his lip and smiles a little with a nod.
"Okay. I quite like it when you say my name. Except it's Captain Alex or Captain Alexander or Captain Phantom." He says. I smirk a little and roll my eyes.
"You are Alex to me. Okay? I'm not part of your crew "Captain". So I'll call you what I want." I say with a smirk. I smirk wider as he raises an eyebrow at me and I wink at him. "Now... back to work Alex. Your crew keeps staring." I say patting his chest and turning on my heel and go sit down. I catch the small smirk he gives off before I turn fully.
"I swear woman..." he says then mumbles a few things that I can't understand before turning to his crew. "What are you lazy mutts standing around for?! GET TO WORK YOU PIGHEADED TERMITES!" He yells. I laugh a little. He turns to Jackson and Harry joins him as Finn comes and sits next to me. "Jackson set the course to the nearest port. We need some supplies for lady Serena." Alex says. Jackson nods and starts to turn the helm.
"Aye aye cap'n." Jackson says. Alex nods and turns to the crew.
  "Full sail!" He yells.
  "Aye aye Cap'n!!" The rest of the crew yells. I watch as they all get to work and they move with ease as they do their jobs. I sigh and turn to the side of the ship and look out into the ocean. I watch as the water crashes into the sides of the ship and I smile a little as I see a few dolphins come up next to the ship and try to race with it.
  "Milady? Are you alright?" Finn asks softly. I look at him. I smile a little.
  "Yes. I'm fine. I am just missing my daddy. We used to sail together all the time." I say. "With William. The dolphins just reminded me of it. Every time we go out my dolphin friends come to see me." I say softly. He smiles a little.
  "Well hopefully you get to go back home and do that with them again." Finn says. I smile and nod.
  "William... what's his story? You said something about not being there for his wedding?" Alex says. I look back at him as he comes and sits down next to Finn and I. I smile a little.
  "He was my fiancé... our wedding was supposed to be next week." I say softly. I bite my lip and look down at my hands. "He's an amazing man... he's everything a girl could ever want." I say. But my eyes furrow a little bit. Finn and Alex furrow their eyebrows and look at me.
  "But..." Alex says. I look up at him and let out a sigh.
  "I don't know... I love him. Very much. But... he's like my best friend. I always kinda saw him as a brother, but my father thinks he's the best choice for me. Which I agree. He could take care of me and love me. He's really good at doing that already and we aren't even married. It's just that... I don't know if I love him the way I should love him." I say softly. Finn and Alex nod.
  "Is there a particular reason why you think that?" Alex asks. I bite my lip and look at him. I search his eyes and sigh.
  "It just doesn't feel right I guess..." I say softly. They nod. Killian comes up with another cold wet cloth and hands it to Alex. He gently presses it to my forehead. I close my eyes as he does. "How long until we get to the next port?" I ask softly looking out at the sunset hitting the water.
  "We will get there mid morning tomorrow." Alex says. "You should go down and get some rest. You can take the bed. I'll sleep in a chair or something or on the floor like I did last night." He says. I shake my head.
  "No it's your bed you should sleep in it. I can sleep on the floor." I say softly. He shakes his head.
  "You are the one that's hurt and needs all the rest you can get. You are sleeping on the bed. I can always join you if you want me to." He says with a wink. I roll my eyes and and look at him.
  "Fine. I'll sleep in the bed. But you either get the floor or you stay as far on your side of the bed as you possibly can." I say. He smirks.
  "As you wish." He says. I push his arm and stand up.
  "One wrong move and I'll have your head." I say mimicking his words to Cutter. I smile and wink at him. He frowns and glares at me. I laugh and start toward the stairs. "Are you gonna make your men stay with me in the room?" I ask.
  "Not in the room but I am gonna put Finn outside your door. Just to be safe. Until I get there." He says. I nod and slowly start down the stairs.
  "Okay. Goodnight then." I say.
  "Goodnight Serena." Harry, Killian, and Alex all say to me. I smile and let Finn lead me down to the cabin.