Somewhere Weaknesses Are Strength

A noise that resembled a dog's bark mixed with a bird's caw violently dragged Sebastian from her world of dreams. With a groan, Sebastian threw the comforter from its spot over her head to glance out the window. Outside, large, white birds were flying over the water. They weren't close enough to the ship for Sebastian to figure out what they looked like but their obnoxious calls could be heard in Hayley's bed chamber. Sebastian followed their movements. They were so carefree, dancing in the sky, occasionally dipping in the water.

Sebastian would be like them in a short number of days: happy and free. It was comforting to know that she could get away, that she wasn't stuck in the hold of a pirate. She just needed to hold on till the ship hit land.

Sebastian stretched her limbs, satisfied by the popping noise that followed. Limbs loose, she looked around the room. There was no food tray in sight. She didn't think she woke up before breakfast. But it was possible that she did due to the loud noise from outside the window.

Her eyes continued searching the room, landing on a white paper next to her. It was lying on the pillow Hayley had used to sleep, folded neatly with an unidentifiable word on the top. Sebastian grabbed the paper, unfolded it and let her eyes scan the words. The handwriting was barely legible. Not because Sebastian couldn't read; unlike most princesses, she had been taught to read and write. The writing on the page was a messy scrawl of script. If Sebastian squinted she could make out the words.

"Sebastian," the note read, "Captain ordered me not to wake you up since you haven't gotten a good sleep over the past couple of days. Considering I value my life, I'm following that order. Your clothing for the day is laid out on Hayley's desk. When you get dressed, call for me to bring you food. Here's hoping you learned to read, Zac."

Hayley was concerned about Sebastian's sleep. That was kind of her; she was the only person who had ever been concerned about how much sleep Sebastian got. Sebastian's father would wake her up early in the morning regardless of how late her duties kept her up. The generosity the captain was showing made Sebastian feel bad for plotting escape. Hayley was just trying to make sure she was comfortable and Sebastian wasn't truly appreciating it.

Then again, Hayley was only doing it so Sebastian would be comfortable when the captain touched her. At least, that's what Sebastian had gathered.

Sebastian pushed the comforter off of her body, air sweeping over her exposed body. It was comforting, almost like home. The salt smell was the only real difference. Her legs swung over the edge of the bed, toes meeting the wooden floor boards. She stayed like that for a moment, afraid to attempt standing without the captain there for support. Standing on the ever-rocking ship was a difficult action for her, an action she shouldn't have been taking part in. If anything, she should have covered herself with the comforter and called Zac to bring her the clothing. It was the safest plan if she wanted to avoid injury.

But Sebastian had more pride than that. She may have cried herself to sleep while in the room at the bottom of the ship and let Hayley touch her in inappropriate places but she was not going to let anyone else know that she couldn't stand on a ship.

It was likely that Hayley had already warned Zac of Sebastian's inability to stand and walk on the ship. For Sebastian's safety, Hayley would have told him. She wouldn't have cared about the pride Sebastian was harboring. Zac was probably expecting her to call for help.

Well, Sebastian would show them; she was going to stand on her own.

Sebastian pushed her body from the mattress, standing on the rocking boat. She attempted to remain poised, keeping her back straight and her head high. There was no one there to see her but she felt she had to keep her training in mind. She held her breath and shuffled toward the desk. Though it was against her training to shuffle, she couldn't risk taking her feet off the floor. It was too dangerous.

Sebastian managed to get to the desk without falling. She grabbed the set of clothes sitting on the desk and shuffled back to the bed as fast as she could. The trip was easier than she expected. But she wasn't planning on risking her life to put clothing on. She could do that just as well in the bed.

The bra was the first article of clothing to be slipped on. It was made of silk, smooth to the touch. The fabric was powder blue with a lace design that she was sure took the seamstresses ages to make. Sebastian clipped the bra in place like she had done many times before. There were times when she dressed herself without her nursemaid's help. She slid her feet into the matching panties, laying on the bed and lifting her lower regions off the surface to pull the clothing to cover her private areas. Sebastian sat up, grabbed the top, and slid it on without looking at it. The skirt followed.

Even fully clothed, Sebastian could feel the salt air assaulting her body. The shirt barely reached below her bra line and had cleavage dipping low enough to expose a portion of the powder blue bra. The skirt was much shorter than any she had ever worn and served no purpose in hiding her body.

Sebastian felt far more humiliated in the clothing than she thought she would. There was no way she could stand in front of anyone in the attire. She felt like a harlot. Hayley couldn't make her wear those clothes when they hit land. Sebastian would not get off the boat dressed like that.

Sebastian sighed, sliding her body back under the comforter. She didn't want anyone to see her like this, whether it was a crowd of people she didn't know or Zac. He had become her favorite of the pirates she met. She didn't want his opinion of her to lessen because of an outfit Hayley was making her wear.

"Zac," Sebastian called out, once situated under her covering.

Unlike the first time she called his name, she wasn't worried about who would walk through the doors. She was almost excited that it was Zac. It wasn't because she had grown a liking for him that lovers do; it was partially because he goofed around and made her forget she was on a pirate ship.

He would also be the easiest to pump information from.

Zac walked through the door, a tray of food balanced in one hand. He gave Sebastian a wide smile, walking over and placing the food in her lap.

"I see you dressed without kill yourself," Zac stated.

"And I see you got food faster than I expected."

She had been expecting him to walk in, tell her he would be right back, and leave to get food from wherever the food was kept.

"Breakfast ended ten minutes ago. I came back to start my duties for the day and heard you moving around. I figured I should get your tray prepared early and wait for you to call me," Zac stated, "However, Captain nearly shot me when she saw me getting food for you so early."

"Why would she do that?" Sebastian asked.

"Because she thought I woke you up or was planning to wake you up. She wanted you to get enough sleep."

Again, a small amount of guilt worked its way through Sebastian. Then she remembered the outfit she was being forced to wear and the guilt died.

"Why is she treating me so well?" Sebastian asked.

"Because she wants you to have sex with her and enjoy it."

It seemed everyone on the ship was blunt.

"How do you know that? Josh wasn't completely sure of that woman's intentions for me."

Zac seemed sure of his answer. Josh, when asked days ago, didn't seem to know the exact reason Hayley wanted her.

"Captain talks to me about things more than she talks to my brother. Josh gets jealous easily when it comes to Captain. They're not together or anything; Captain has no want to be with him. He just likes her, I guess. She doesn't want to set him off. She tells me everything instead," Zac said, "but she won't let me steer the ship. Apparently, coming close to running into a cliff has caused her to lose all faith in my navigating skills."

Sebastian could see the resemblance between Zac and Josh, though she hadn't known they were brothers. It was tad unsettling to hear about Josh's jealousy issues and even more unsettling to hear about Zac's lack of steering ability.

"Well, I should probably be leaving," Zac began to walk from the room.

"No, wait. Can't you sit and talk with me while I eat? I'd like the company?" Sebastian used the most pathetic voice she could muster.

Zac stopped, shifting his weight onto one foot.

"Are you sure you want me to sit with you?" he asked.

"Of course. I don't like being alone."

"Okay. I'll have to leave once you're done though. I need to finish some things Hayley has me doing," Zac sat on the edge of the bed.

That was easier than Sebastian thought it would be. Then again, Zac was the nice one. But now it was time to get as much information as she could out of him.

"So are you Hayley's whipping boy or captive nanny? I mean, she's making you take care of me while she's busy. She had you bring clothes to the wash the night before and get me food," Sebastian took a bite of a pastry.

"Oh, no. I'm the first mate. I happened to be the first person she saw when walking through the hallways last night. She would have asked anyone to do that or done it herself. And I offered to watch over you."

"So is Hayley a good captain?"

"The best. I think it's because she's a female; she has a higher sympathy gene than any man would. We get good food, good pay, good living conditions on the ship. Captain takes into consideration each person's situation before we set sail. She knows how to fight and navigate. Her reputation helps too. We're safe on the ship because everyone else is too afraid to mess with us."

Sebastian ate while he talked. She tried not to show great interest in what he was saying. She didn't want him to know her plans.

"So she's fair?"

"Yeah. To everyone. Well, not normally to captives but she hasn't even branded you yet and she does that before asking for what she wants."

"Branding?" Sebastian choked.

Zac nodded, "In the event she plans to let them go, she brands her captives. Even if she plans on killing them, she brands them. She makes sure no one else takes credit for what she does."

Branding hadn't crossed Sebastian's mind. That was demoralizing. If Hayley did it Sebastian, it would only take away her humanity. Sebastian would be no better than a pet.

Sebastian recovered from her shock, "You like it on the ship?"

She had to get information, no matter how shocked or scared for her life she became. She shouldn't have been that shocked. Plenty of pirates branded.

"Yes," Zac answered.

"How does Hayley manage to keep control of so many men?"

"The men are afraid of her. After she gained control of the ship, one of the men tried to overthrow her so she made an example of him, so to speak. But we respect her too. She's spectacular at what she does; we'd be nowhere without her."

"What did she do to him?"

"Things we can't talk about while you eat."

Sebastian rolled her eyes. She had seen criminals tortured and killed in her country while eating breakfast on multiple occasions. It was a way to build up her resistance to gore. As future ruler, she had to be able to watch criminals get torn apart. It was easy to watch while eating.

After she vomited the first ten times.

"Well, then how did Hayley become a pirate?" Sebastian asked.

"That's something you should talk to Captain about. It's personal information."

Sebastian cursed mentally. Hayley wasn't likely to give up that information.

"Can’t you tell me some part of the story? You wouldn't tell me what she did to the man, you should at least tell me this," Sebastian pouted.

She could see Zac's walls cracking, all resistance abandoning him.

"Fine," he grumbled, "But this doesn’t leave the room."

"You have my word."

"Captain was kicked out of her home when she was sixteen. She wasn't given any money or food; just the clothes she was wearing. She wandered around for awhile and the original captain of this ship took her in. He trained her; she was a natural at every task he threw at her, including torture. When he passed away, she was appointed captain."

Sebastian said nothing, letting the information sink it. She didn't know what she had been expecting to hear but it wasn't that.

"If you want the full story, you'll have to ask Captain," Zac stood and grabbed Sebastian's tray, "Farewell, Princess Cavalier."

He bowed in an exaggerated fashion and left Sebastian alone again.