Pirate's Life

"Only a few I promise!" She pouted, and lifted her fingers trying to count, "But then I think Ralph and Piers gave me a few...but Walter ruined it all" She said with a sigh. "I say six drinks of rum and it was gooooood" She told Cameron cheerfully.

Miranda watched as his expression dimmed, causing her own to be a bit sad too. "I can cope with this, it's just you I' ish worried about Cap'tin" She slurred slightly as his hands reached up to grab the sides of her face. His hands were so large, and held her comfortably.

"Saving you is the ultimate ghoalll..." She slurred some more, "Give the Cap'tin your life, or go down with your ship after all...right Cammy? I promise to protecht cha" She asked, feeling calmed as she looked into his eyes with a content smile.

"Maybe if we hide here the crew will quit harassing me..." She giggled, letting her head slouch down to his good shoulder, but staying open. So cold, she thought.

Cameron couldn't tell if she was comfortable squished between the thread of the edge of the hammock and the Captain's shoulder, but she didn't complain. He pulled his arm out from under her body and wrapped it around her shoulder. As he swayed his bad shoulder ached with pain. Piers was good, but not good enough to hide the pain entirely.

"You can sleep right here if you want. My men haven't been been formally warned not to touch you yet." Cameron shyly gazed anywhere but at her. Miranda lay so vulnerably next to him, she giggled in her drunkenness every few seconds.

He reahed up from around her body and slipped his fingers over her eyes. It stopped her blue orbs from gazing into his.

"Just sleep, it isn't so bad here."

When his hand touched her face, her giggles stopped.

"Yeah, stayyy here Cammy...you are warm" She growled half threatening. Her body curled against his chest and her eyes closed when she began humming the 'yo hohoho' part before falling asleep with one hand on his chest.

-------------

Light creeped through a spot in the ship which happened to spot her right in the middle of her face, causing her to wake up. A source of heat was at her side, and bare skin her pillow. But her eyes widened at the sight of Cameron who seemed completely at peace and asleep. A mental shout errupted, wondering what happened.

Carefully she pushed herself out of the hammock, and up onto the deck. It seemed like everyone was still asleep, or just not there and it was almost peaceful. The wind rolled around her, causing goosebumps along her arms and back.

Noice of squeaking wood arose as she made her way to the front of the ship where she rest her hands on the rails watching the ocean. It rolled in waves that seemed as if they pushed the ship to some unknown destination. It seemed as if an endless desert crossing out as far as the eye could see. It was beautiful.

But speaking of being beautiful, she was horribly afraid of what happened last night, and what condition she was in at the moment. Her hands pulled through her hair, removing tons of tangles, but not able to tame a lot of it. She searched around the deck, but not able to find anything she gave up, and sat down with a blush on her face. The Captain wouldn't do that to her, would he? He was injured, he couldn't have...but maybe he touched me? Her blush increased to flaming lengths.

Cameron stirred as the door to his room was shut. The bits of space next to him still radiated even with the absence of any body heat. The sun was bright through various cracks in the door, indicating that morning had long popped over the horizon, probably hours after the celebration died down.

He rolled out of the hammock and calmly dressed himself. He shoved an extra bandana deep into one of his coat pockets. After brushing the hair off of Miranda's forehead the night before, he realized she would need to keep it under control. That or she could cut it off.

As quietly as he could, Cameron snuck out onto the deck. It was common pratice for the crew to sleep in after a long days work, celebration, or generally any day in whih excessive amounts of rum were spilled onto the deck. The ship could man itself while they all lay huddled in the depths of the ship, hungover from a long night. Crates and empty barrels lay broken across the wooden deck, shoes were abandoned, and it smelled like the back room of a bar.

He reached for Miranda's head. She jumped, but as soon as she recognized it was Cameron leaning over her, she blushed and stared out over the ocean.

"Good morning." he said politely. "I brought you, well, your hair something."

His fingers brushed locks out of the way, and untangled them slowly. Apparently, the task had long been given up in the hours she'd spent on the ship. It was amazing how such a simple task could be so difficult. Cameron loosely braided the mess of curls before he rolled it into a small bun, and then he tied it off with the bandana.

"Your hair kept getting in the way last night..." Cameron said, unaware of the implications he'd accidentally uttered.

He was used to his own hair curling around his face in the middle of the night, shoulder length and wavy came with a price. When an entire wave of chocolate colored curls hit him in the eye, he'd nearly screamed. It felt like a giant spider had occupied the space on his nose, almost like a bushy mustache. Each time his eyes drifted open, mainly when his shoulder was bothering him, her hair was back. Back to attack his face.

In the few years of working under his mother at the brothels around town, he'd learned many things about women. Fortunately, as Cameron thought, they'd never taught him anything that would scar his ten year old mind. The women, they hugged him and adored him as one of the children of the women, but he didn't dare disturb the peace. It was also why he wouldn't dare to touch Miranda when she was drunk. He had too much respect for the women he'd seen each day at the brothels, if respect is what you would call it. The thougt of laying a finger a woman, without any form of consent, disgusted him. Miranda didn't know that about him. If she asked, Cameron had to wonder what he would say.

"There." Cameron said finally. He pulled at the edge of the bandana to tighten the knot, to keep it from getting in the way. The ends of the fabric splayed nicely into a sort of two strung bow. He thougt he was being nice, it was the least he had to do if she would staying aboard.

"Oi, Cameron!" Walter emerged from the lower deck, looking dandy. He ruffled the gray hair on his head and sheilded his eyes from the blinding light of the sun.

"Mornin' Walter!" Cameron dropped his formailities. He and Walter exchanged pleasantries, talked about the weather, whether or not they were hungover. Cameron even rolled down his sleeve to reveal the bullet hole in his shoulder. Walter was his best-mate, it was only right he knew everything Cameron did. After their chat, Walter sent Cameron down to wake up the men.

Walter wasn't sure if Miranda wanted to talk to him, more or less if she remembered him.

"Good Morning, Miss Bo--, Miranda." Walter corrected himself with an embarrassed face. "I'm Walter Haert. I wasn't sure if you remembered me or not. You had quite a bit to drink, you even wanted to wake the Captain! It's probably for the best you stayed with him after all."

After being scared half to death by Cameron who had carefully walked in behind her, things calmed down. His fingers ran through her hair, familiarly pulling three sections into a light braid that felt nice after being pulled away from her neck.

Things still felt weird, and wasn't helped by Cameron's statement, but she didn't want to ask further about the situation. Surely he wouldn't do that to her, but he is a pirate..but he was her Captain, and faith would have to persevere.

Before she could say anything to Cameron, Walter came up, and started a conversation with Cameron which gave her enough time to feel around the bandanna for her usual long hair. Compliments were often given at the Estate for her locks which were obviously from her mother.

As Cameron left, Miranda smiled kindly to him starting to remember slight memories of the night past when she hadn't yet drank. "I remember you Walter, surely I hope I didn't ruin your night too bad, although I do question what happened..." She said starting to look a bit hopeless.

"Do you know if...well" Miranda stuttered as a rosy blush colored her cheeks, "I woke up with Cameron...he isn't well a pervert is he?" She asked, suddenly embarrassed for her wording, knowing that he might scold her for bad talk of the Captain.

Walter let out a huge bellowing laugh. He had to clutch onto his heart to keep himself from keeling over. He wiped the water from the corner of his eyes and then directly locked eyes with the young girl before him. "Aye, he may seem like a pervert, but he wouldn't touch you."

He slowly made his way to Miranda's side and crossed his arms over the railing of the ship. It was a beautiful morning. The sea was calm, and there wasn't a cloud big enough in the sky to block the early morning sunrise.

"You see Miss Miranda, our Captain probably has the most decency out of any one of us. Whores aren't allowed on the ship, you see, because Cameron declared it that way. Now, I'm not comparing you to those women, curses no!" Walter lifted his arms and shook his hands, to deny any likeness to a woman who would sell her body.

For a moment he debated with himself. To tell or not to tell about Cameron's mother.

"You see..."

Walter returned his arms to the railing and glanced around. No one was here to eavesdrop yet. It's not like it was a big seret, but it felt strange to tell it to a woman.

"Cameron's mother is a whore. Sold herself to a famous politician, and bam, Cameron was born. He doesn't deny what I just said either, so it must be true. Cameron is a bastard son, eldest. His mother raised him in the brothels. Women to Cameron disgusted him, so he didn't dare try to fall in love or get with any of them. They'd turn around and sell thsemself to another man!"

Walter paused briefly to look around again. No one was on board yet.

"Of course, he knows better now. But he also knows that women cant be trusted. No offense. But as a respect to his mother, who was raped and abused her whole life, he told me that he once vowed to never harm a woman." Walter said, proud of his Captain in a way. "Ah, I'm rambling. Don't you worry your pretty head. My, our Captain, wouldn't ever hurt you."

Walter felt like he'd said too much. He smiled and patted Miranda's head. If anything, she should've been relieved that her first nights aboard The Veil had gone without any complications.

Miranda listened to Walter as he told the story of Cameron's mother. Miranda knew exactly the type of women Walter was talking about, whores. They swarmed the bar she worked at, and were on mens laps promising them sweet nothings in return for a few coin. It was a dirty job, but God knew how much they got. It was horrific.

But the more she listened, the more she respected Cameron. He must have cared about his mother deeply in accords to the ship's rules. It had made her more assured that nothing had indeed happened the night before, and she felt a bit more trusting in all.

"Thank you Walter, I treasure that you tell me things like this, I might have been worried still if I were in company with a whole crew of men while under the influence of drink" She said with a small smirk.

"I know I just arrived here on The Veil, but I feel more at home here then at the Governor Estate" She said, but gasped lightly, as her hand covered her mouth. Her eyes rose to Walter questioningly, knowing she had promised Cameron to tell no one.

"If any of he crew laid a finger on you last night, Cameron would've bolted out of bed to toss them over these very rails." Walter tapped them with his knuckles.

When Miranda let it slip she lived in the Governor's mansion, assumed to be in Old Jamison, Walter grinned a little. She looked distraught. The way her hand motioned over her lips showed the dainty qualities of someone who lived there anyway. Quiet, and shy about her little slip.

"Miss Miranda, don't worry." Walter smiled. "I've known Cameron for nearly fourteen years. Half of his life actually. If he didn't want me to know what you've just said, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you. It'd be me waking up the men down below. I've known since the minute you rolled out of that barrell, dead drunk, because the Captain knew it."

They could hear the grumbling of a mass of pirates starting to emerge from the lower decks. A shuffling of feet, and the occasional slamming sound of a pirate wobbling into the wall. After years of drinking, one would think they'd be better suited to being hungover.

"Miranda." Walter locked his brown eyes with hers, they looked like the sea. Cameron had said that too about her eyes. "You can ask me anything you need to about the Captain, and you don't have to worry about hiding yourself in front of either of us. Ralph too, he's my brother. Around us three, you can be Miranda Bogue, the real one."

With that charming note, Walter turned towards his fellow crew.

Cameron rolled a tipped barrell into the center of the ship. He propped it up and placed a grimy black boot on top of it, and then he clambered on up. The mast behind him was the only support he could hold to to keep from tumbling down.

"Mornin' crew." He called, all too cheerfully. The crew didn't notice the way his left arm didn't move, even though his right waved madly around. He gestured to the crew, and then Miranda, without waiting for any response. "This little lady is Miss Miranda."

An uncoordinated chorus of greetings sighed from the crew. Their eyes were too drooped, and their ears still ringing from the night before to notice the presence of a woman on board.

Cameron spoke up.

"She is the newest addition to our ship." Cameron intentionally stopped talking. One by one heads were popping up and gradually noticing that there was a girl standing near the rails.

Cameron flashed his devil grin to Miranda, and pulled his good hand from her to him. He whispered, "Come here!". He jumped off of his barrel and helped Miranda up onto it. Her hair was pulled back into the loose braided bun, a large blush stained her cheeks from all of the attention. The slight breeze coasting around the ship aimed itself at her, showing off the curves her borrowed shirt hid, and further embarrassing her in front of a gangly group of pirate men.

If she didn't like it, Cameron didn't stop to care. "Now, rules still apply men! No one touches her, sleeps with her, yadda yadda. I don't care if she agrees or not, I don't want to hear about it. I'll kick you off the ship."

When the men didn't stir at his warning, Cameron grew dark and glared each one of them in the eyes. His scar was like a third glaring eye the devil himself once owned. Cursed and an awful thing, the men took him seriously.

"If I even catch you looking at my little Miranda wrong, the sharks will taste flesh." Cameron warned. His men nodded in unison. The message was received, loud and clear, so the Captain could smile gleefully.

"Where will she be sleeping, Cameron?" Piers piped up. His delicate hand waved lazily above his head. Some men agreed, adding questions to Piers' thought.

"I mean, how can we not look at her if she's sleeping next to us?" One man, Arthur, asked. Cameron cautioned Miranda to stay away from that man for a while from behind his cupped hand.

"He wouldn't know probably." Hugh added. Cameron warned Miranda about him, too.

A miracle of a thought graced the Captain's mind. He groped at Miranda's side and pulled himself up onto the bit of space behind Miranda on the barrell. His arms hugged her shoulers. A thick head of curly hair rested itself on hers.

"She'll be sleeping with me then." Cameron winked at his crew, Miranda couldn't see the dumb face he made to his crew, who screamed in protest.

"Qu'en est-il la règle? Aucun homme n'est autorisé à toucher son, aucun homme! Oh capitaine, je suis plus jaloux.(1)" Piers spoke too quickly as he moved to the front of the crowd. He was yelling mainly at the Captain, with a hint of detectable sarcasm. After all, no one else spoke French, it meant having to listen to Piers.

"Eh. Je pense qu'il serait plus sûr de la garder avec moi. Piers, si vous étiez une femme, préféreriez-vous être bousculé par trente hommes sales ou un seul?(2)" Cameron replied, his foreign tongue causing a wave of confusion.

"Je veux choisir, en fonction de qui l'homme qu'on est. (3)" Piers yelled. His face grew red, from what no one but the Captain could tell. He was jealous his petite fleur was taken captive by the Captain.

"Calmez-vous, seriez-vous?(4)" Cameron teased, his voice grew soft. It was like he spoke to a flustered child.

"Le plus de temps elle passe seul dans votre chambre, plus comme une pute qu'elle va devenir. Juste la traiter comme l'un des membres d'équipage. (5)" Piers was screaming now. The crew backed away from him, forming a cluster around the two French speakers and Miranda.

To whatever Piers said, Cameron's grip grew tight. His face reflected the fleck of anger he felt against Piers. "Ne pas parler des femmes comme ça. Juste parce qu'elle passe du temps avec un homme ne fait pas d'elle une prostituée. (6)" Cameron growled. "Anyone else have anything to say?"

"Nah." Walter said merrily from the crowd. "What did he say?"

"Oh, just arguing about her safety." Cameron lied, more for Miranda's sake than the crews. If she found out that Piers wanted her so badly it would be a nightmare for everyone. Cameron wouldn't let her worry. "He's mad that we can't just make an extra room in storage, where he would've wanted his own office."

"Oh Oui. Oh, vous pouvez donc mentir à eux tous? Attends, je vais vous dire Miranda s'est plus tard. Je peux toujours parler anglais. (7)" Piers said cheerfully. His hidden intentions were unclear to the crew, who accepted his sudden calm mood.

"Tu ferais mieux de ne pas. (8)" Cameron smiled back just as happily. He'd forgotten all about Miranda being squished in his arms. Off the barrell he jumped before assisting Miranda. "Don't worry. The rule still applies."

Cameron held out his hand to Miranda. Funny, he thought, that someone always held their hand out for her. Piers did before she went off to drink, Cameron did when he accepted her on the crew, and again when she escorted him after being shot. The polite aura would shoot through a body just coming close to Miranda. He wanted to be kind, just to her, but why?

Why did I get so mad at Piers?





Translations: They have numbers now!
(1) What about the rule? No man is allowed to touch her, NO MAN! Oh Captain, I am most jealous.
(2) Eh. I think it would be safer to keep it with me. Piers, if you were a woman, would you rather be jostled by thirty dirty men or just one?
(3) I would want to choose, depending on who the one man is.
(4) Calm down, would you?
(5) The more time she spends alone in your room, the more like a whore she'll become. Just treat her as one of the crew.
(6) Don't talk about women like that. Just because she spends time with a man doesn't make her a whore.
(7) Oh, so you can lie to them all? Just you wait, I'll tell Miranda herself later. I can still speak English.
(8) You'd better not.

Miranda thought the idea of throwing the offending pirates over the rail for touching her was a bit extreme, but she probably wouldn't mind when the time came. Her eyes were still on Walter, but her hand dropped from her lips and a secure smile replaced the empty void.

Within the next few minutes, a major part of the crew arrived on the deck, swarming the middle portion of the boat. That was when Cameron arrived with a big smile on his face as if he didn't just wake up a stampede.

A barrel was rolled in front of the crowd, where Cameron took stand on as he addressed his men. That was when the introduction was made, in which caused poor Miranda to blush, and cross her arms across her waist securely, and a matter of seconds she was being forced onto the barrel herself. Up on the barrel, she could see all eyes of the men peering at her. Some angry, while others filled with lust. It was horrifying.

But before she was fed to the sharks, Cameron shouted rules aloud, many of which she was extremely pleased with. But it didn't help the fact some of the crew still looked at her with disgust.

Then the question of where she would sleep popped up, causing a whole stirring within the pirates. This caused her cheeks to flame even more as it became a discussion. But before she could put in her own input, Cameron came behind her on the barrel and held her in his arms. Miranda's lips opened in protest, but was quickly interrupted once more by Piers who seemed the most disturbed with her new sleeping arrangements which didn't surprise her.

The next few minutes took place in french, but along with the crew she was just as surprised. Everyone's head looked back and forward at the speaker, looking for a hint of English, but only receiving their angry emotions.

"My safety?" She asked softly, but not addressed as Cameron jumped off the barrel, and offered a hand up to her. Her hand took the top of his as she jumped down, bracing her knees in. Her glance returned to the pirates, but then back to Cameron.

"You want me to sleep in your quarters?" She asked again, but her cheeks remained a blush pink, as she couldn't even manage eye contact with the Captain. Sure he made a better heater than kettles, but would it be proper? It was always better than the alternative.

"Well, yeah." Cameron said, unembarrassed. Miranda wouldn't even make eye contact with the completely unabashed man. "Like I said to Piers, would you rather sleep around the bulk of the crew, where it's obvious they're thoughts aren't clean, or..."

Cameron lifted his hand to pull her chin up. He beamed, unafraid of the consequences from his crew, right into her eyes.

"Would you rather stay with the one man on the crew who wouldn't even think about sharing the same air space if he knew it bothered you?"

Of course, that wasnt the exact translation, but it sounded a lot more pleasing to the ear to hear about safety than a disgusting choice. Already he could imagine the look on Piers' face when Miranda would first stroll into Cameron's quarters, to sleep of course. But Piers saw it as something different. It wasnt the best way to keep the crew happy, for accomadations saske, no. His Captain was staking claims over a rule, for women, Cameron swore not to break. Piers was simply put, jealous.

Cameron released her chin and turned to address the crew, his earlier smile plastered over his face. He clapped his hands and ushered them to work. Grudgingly, they did as they were told. "Someone fix the floorboards! Battles do take their tolls you know!"

Piers furiously strode back downstairs, yelling so quickly yet so quietly in French that even Cameron couldn't translate it for the crew.

Everything Cameron spoke was a truth, but it just seemed unreal in a way. But what else did she expect for being a stowaway on a ship? So far it was pleasant but she hadn't even thought about what was happening back hope. She refused to think about it.

As her chin was raised, her eyes met Cameron's straight on. His eyes were truthful, and caring. For a moment it almost seemed as if her chest warmed completely, and just the sight of him was comforting in the seas unknown. His words were reassuring, and she would do her best to make up for whatever hospitality he showed her. She would even give her life to the cause to just stay.

The moment ended almost too abruptly as he turned and started barking orders to the crew. It was almost funny how he sounded.

"Cameron...surely it takes more then a few shots to take this vessel out, am I right?" She asked teasingly as she lifted her arm and punched his good shoulder, "As assured I am to know it takes more than one shot to tame you, otherwise I might just have to take your rank of Captain" She said with a joyous laugh.

"Hey, I need that arm you know." Cameron pouted as Miranda punched his arm. " I cant let them know i was shot in such a simple fight."

A few men started to nonchalantly tear up a few boards on the deck and replaec them. Everyone walking by avoided the gaping hole in the ship. Thankfully, it was the only damage the ship had taken, and further repairs weren't necessary.

"You might want to be careful about joking to take my place, and no. This ship is impervious to any serious damange, as far as I'm concerned."

Cameron paused to yell at a man hanging off of the ropes by his feet. He was yelling, but it was a fair warning if he didn't want to fall into the ocean.

"Mira, please excuse me, i have something i need to talk to Walter about." Cameron said. He felt around for a map in his pocket, the very one Jonas had given him three days ago in Jamison. "Feel free to do what you want for now, but stay out of the rum please."

Miranda sighed as Cameron left, leaving her to her own demise. It wasn't like she didn't trust Cameron, but she still felt nervous being in the company of the men. They were working so hard, and messing with them seemed a horrible idea else face the wrath of Cameron.

The more she thought about it, the worse she felt. She was becoming soft in a way. She was in Politics, not like she cared about that side of her family, but it was in her blood. Sure she could brandish a sword, but she was still just a commoner.

With a sigh, she walked to the side of the ship, keeping out of the way of two men bringing in boards to probably replace the ones damaged. Hopefully what Cameron said was true about the defenses of the ship, and she wouldn't have to worry about being stranded in the ocean hanging onto a log for survival.

Chills filled her with nervousness. Ignoring them for the moment, she took a moment to look out into the ocean. That's when she remembered Piers storming off after Cameron's speech. Concern grew over her as she thought about the exchange between the two in french. It was a better time now to figure out what the conflict was over.

Mira walked down into the crew's corners, but before she walked in unannounced, she peered around the corner looking for Piers. She saw him leaning against a post in the middle of the room, arms crossed against his chest and an irritated look upon his face.

"Piers?" She announced softly, taking a few steps into the room, "I don't mean to intrude but I noticed you were upset...it wasn't my doing was it?" She asked looking down at the wooden boards of the floor, "If it is, I want to apologize ahead of time" She finished, lifting a hand to adjust the bandana that slid down mid forehead.

"Ah, non, my petite fleur. It 'eez not your fault." Piers tried to sound forgiving, but only managed to hiss his words while gritting his teeth hard. "It 'eez 'zee silly Captain."

Piers leaned off of the pole and made his way to Miranda, crouched behind the door. He opened his arms as if to hug her, but he didn't move from the spot.

"'Ee does not want you to be exposed to me, clearly." Piers gloated. "Obviously 'Ee is jealous that you would spend more time with moi and crew than himself."

He muttered something angrily in French before shaking his head.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"According to Jonas, they're here, in Hillae Port. Whore city, Captain." George, the map man, perhed himself over an ancient scrap of paper with a poorly drawn map. He was trying not to sound excited that their next destination was the town of Hillae.

"Makes sense. The crew was always a bit... Horny. All the time." Cameron closed his eyes, recalling perverse images of his first crew from fourteen whole years ago. Each port they stopped in seemed to contain more women than the last. It blew Cameron's young mind, being Bly fourteen and having a whore for a mother. He couldn't even bring himself to drink.

"Thats all I can remember about them too." Walter added. The whole situation was humorous to the older man. "I can tell Ralph later."

"Good." Cameron nodded. "Georgie, how long will it be until we get there?"

George pulled out a newer copy of a current map, he ignored his new nickname too. He traced a few lines with his finger and paused, calculating.

"Two, two and a half days, depending on the effort." George said.

"Excellent." Cameron was pleased. He leaned off of the large table. The room they were in occupied the space under the front of the deck, a map room, a meeting room, or the dining hall. It served many purposes, as it was the only room that could house the entire crew. It wasn't a very set place to have such an important chat.

"Ill have Ralph encourage the men." Walter stated before leaving, George followed close behind.

Cameron was left by himself, starting at maps and charts.

Finally, after years of looking, he'd found them. They stopped in such a vulnerable town, it would be so easy for Cameron to find them, and then, he'd take his revenge for the curse and the hideous scar on his fae.

Miranda watched Piers closely as he walked around the room, "You are a doctor, I doubt Cameron would harbor any ill feeling towards you" She said with a sigh, taking a step towards Piers.

"That seems weird that he would be jealous when I am well I guess technically part of the crew now" She said, pondering that thought. "I should be able to socialize with the crew, but surely not sleep in a room of men, now that's improper, but if it soothes you any, I doubt I will sleep in the same spot as him" She said with confidence, but couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm sure it was all just a show" She finished off, and placed her hands on her hips.

"Zee Captain is my close friend." Piers stated. "We just do not see, eh that silly English phrase... Eye and eye?"

Piers looked for some sort of confirmation for his translation, but found none in Miranda.

"He does not want you and 'zee crew sharing a bunk." Piers explained. This did nothing to explain the real problem.


"Ah, terribly sorry. Allow me to rephrase." Piers grinned and moved closer to Miranda. He wrapped is hands around her waist and leaned his head in close. "Ee does not want you sleeping with 'zee crew, or me."

He whispered the last part into her ear, but wouldn't let go of Miranda's waist. The way he explained it, Piers made it seem like he was the only reason Miranda wasn't allowed to sleep in the company of the crew.

"Do not let zee silly Captain change your opinion. You are a strong girl, oui/? Just tell him to fly away or somezing."

Miranda listened, but the more she did, the more a horrible feeling bottled in the pit of her stomach as if something were wrong. It seemed the person from yesterday had changed completely in his attitude. Miranda felt like maybe she had betrayed Cameron by coming down here. But now the true feelings were being exposed.

Hands wrapped greedily around her waist like a snake and pulled her in close. Too close. Worry slipped past her face for a moment as she tried to regain composure. His lips touched the corner of her ear, and caused her body to become stiff as she tried shifting away.

"Why would I want to do that? He is the Captain after all, I will not treat the kindness he treated me like it never happened...Excuse me, I should be leaving now" She said a bit rushed as she pushed away from Piers and headed towards the door.

"You can be kind to him, but not me? Piers asked, offended.

He slammed the door shut, and left his palm flat on the wooden boards. His lips were smiling, but his eyes gazed like a viper at Miranda.

"Oh, Miranda." Piers cooed. He released himself from the door and pinned Miranda against the wall next to it. He pinched her chin and held it in front of his face. The action was similar to Cameron's not minutes ago, only Piers grip was coated with a slimy layer of lust. "You're the first woman to be on board in years, you think I am just going to ignore you?"

Miranda was stuck against the wall, pinned by the pirate whose eyes called out, they craved the body of a young woman.

"Do try to be quiet, my petite fleur." Piers whispered into her ear. His lips brushed over her neck when the door flew open next to them.

Ralph Haert, the toughest man on board, strolled in without taking a second glance their way. Piers' body stiffened, his head stuck hovering over Miranda's shoulder. The large man turned, slowly, his bored brown eyes penetrated through Piers back. Even facing the opposite direction, the French man knew he was being looked at.

"What are you doing Piers?" Ralph questioned him. He looked ready to snap his neck. Although it was a normal look, it probably frightened Miranda even more.

"Examining my patient." Piers lied. He tried to look up at Miranda and warn her to keep quiet, but Ralph scared him more than the idea of being grown overboard by Camerron.

Miranda was about to take a step out before the door was slammed, and within seconds she was slammed against a wall causing a sharp outtake of air in which she began gasping for air. Her eyes were big sapphires, wide open at Piers. His gaze disgusted her, but there was nothing she could do. Her chin was forced up, and she was completely still in shock.

No words left her lips as she felt the violating feel at her bare throat. She squirmed in place but was unable to do anything. That was until the sound of a door opened and Ralph walked in. Indeed, Ralph's voice even scared her more. She was defenseless. Help...she mouthed, feeling pressure on her throat. Her eyes pleaded with unsaid words.

Ralph was stupid, but not so dumb as to ignore the plea he saw being mouthed just feet away from him. He lumbered over and pulled Piers off of Miranda. Almost instantly she scurried away.

"I said, what are you doing, Piers?" Ralph asked again. He moved his body in front of Miranda. He would protect her, for the Captain.

"Nothing. Leaving. Pardon me." Piers hurried onto the deck without another word.

Ralph sighed, and then turned to Miranda.

"Are you okay? That was the right thing to do wasn't it?" Ralph asked. Now that Piers wasn't here, he acted like a child. His hardened, angry expression dulled to reveal the baby likeness to his face. "Here, let me take you to the Captain, is that okay? I'll carry you, that's okay right?"

The toughest man on board bowed down low to avoid the awkward upward gaze. Miranda so short, he kneeled to keep his head equal to hers.

"Or maybe you'd like to walk, maybe I shouldn't touch you. Yeah, come on, to Cameron."

As Ralph pulled Piers away from her, she quickly moved away. Her eyes were still large, and worried as Piers simply left after the encounter. After that, Ralph turned around so that he was now looking towards Miranda.

"I'm okay..." She said softly, not quite sure what to say, and still trying to comprehend what had just happened. She never really would have thought something like that would happen, maybe Cameron was right.

"Yes, thank you Ralph, I don't know what he was planning on doing...it wasn't right" She said, feeling disgusted with the situation. Miranda looked down sadly, "I doubt we should trouble Cameron with this..." She said, knowing that Cameron might as well turn into the Devil himself if he were to hear.

"I don't think that's a good idea..." Ralph declared. His face crew stern one more, his eyes slit. It had only been minutes since their Captain announced the rules around Miranda and they'd already been broken. He would want to know.

Ralph shuffled back to his bunk and stared awkwardly at the floor. He wasn't sure what he should do.

"I won't tell him, but you'd better. I doubt Cameron wants a crew with intentions like Piers. He would want to know."

Miranda looked up at Ralph and nodded. It would at least give her some peace of mind if she did. Miranda looked at Ralph, "Where is he?" She asked quickly, and was responded with the Dining Room.

Not knowing quite where it was, she took off through the halls a bit until she looked inside a certain door way, and saw the distinct figure of Cameron. He was standing at a table looking at maps.

"Cameron?" She asked walking a few steps in the door way. "I think there is something I need to tell you..." Miranda paused thinking about her wording, "I was assaulted in the Crew's quarters..but Ralph helped me, and so I am okay" She said, just then realizing she didn't do so well, and backed up a bit, keeping her eyes on the side of his face wearily. Her voice was a mere whisper, and her appearance was a bit wan.

Cameron was completely emerged in the maps. Johanna was at one point, Arbor to the North, Havensdale to the South. Towns were scattered, but none of them were important. Hillae was the destination. It wouldn't do the Captain any good to stare all day, but doing so made him feel loser. The prospect of revenge closing in fast seemed all the more real.

When Miranda crept into the room, his head was pulled from the clouds, and down into a horrible reality.

"What?" Cameron thought he'd heard her wrong. He aped to her side and gripped her shoulders. "Are you okay? My god who did this? Its hardly been an hour and my men are already harassing you?"

Cameron hugged her. His arms pressed her face into his chest. He had to hug her to hide the shock he was feeling. Unbelievable. How could his crew betray him so fast? Hadn't Cameron warned them?

"I guess you're just too pretty, they can't keep away." Piers always joked with him when he was hurt, maybe it would work with Miranda. Cameron pleaded. "I... I'm not sure what i should do. Please, Mira, you have to tell me who did this."

The sudden movement of Cameron as he came to her side startled her, and caused her body to tense up a bit. His words were rushed and questioning, "I am fine, of course...just startled maybe" She said with a soft sigh, but then felt bad considering it she got herself in the situation.

But then she felt him hug her close, and with that she finally was able to relax into his arms, laying her face against his chest. Her arms wrapped behind Cameron as she just held him close. She really had been concerned.

"Don't do anything, I bet Ralph scared him...just forget about it Captain..." She said as she listened to his heartbeat, a little fast for normal.