Somewhere Weaknesses Are Strength

A smirk spread on Hayley's face, replacing the upset expression that once overtook it. Sebastian bit her lower lip, anticipating the answer. She really wanted that bath.

"So you've already cracked?" Hayley asked, amusement coating her voice.

Sebastian didn't want to call it cracking; she wanted to call it looking out for her best interest. Hayley couldn't expect her to stay in the room, chained to a wall, with only her thoughts to keep her company.

After all, her thoughts weren't the best company.

She shrugged as response to Hayley's question. There were no words that needed to be said.

"I thought you would wait till tomorrow to give in, if you gave in at all. You've taken all the fun out of this."

"Am I allowed to bathe or not?" Sebastian pushed the question.

If she wasn't allowed to bathe, she wasn't leaving the room.

"Of course. And I'll have the chef make you something to eat."

Pulling a ring of keys from her vacant belt loop, Hayley approached Sebastian. She sifted through the large amount of keys hanging from the ring. Sebastian watched Hayley, slight fascination for the number of keys taking over her.

What were they all for? She always assumed pirates had a skeleton key, ones that opened any lock regardless of type. Her father had one in the castle and kept all the original keys locked in a safe.

And how were her pants staying up with something so heavy connected to them?

Smiling victoriously with a small key pulled from the mass, Hayley leaned over and unlocked the shackles on Sebastian's wrists. She held out a hand for Sebastian to take. Sebastian refused it, causing Hayley's smirk to falter, and stood on her own with difficulty. The princess' obvious inexperience on ships made Hayley's smirk return.

"I'm going to let you walk freely but if you try to run, I'll put you on a leash. And that would just be demeaning to your status, wouldn't it, princess," Hayley mocked.

"Fuck off," Sebastian replied.

"I would watch my mouth if I were you."

Sebastian kept her lips pressed together in a tight line, biting her tongue. If she gave her tongue free range to do as it pleased, she would curse Hayley out. Language like that wasn't even supposed to be bred into her dictionary. Had her father heard her, she would have gotten a lashing. Anne had scrubbed her mouth out with soap on multiple occasions for mimicking the sailors.

She learned a lot from the sailors.

Hayley turned from Sebastian and walked the short distance to the pile of clothing on the ground. She scooped up the clothes, examining them. From where Sebastian was standing, she could see dirt stains and dust littering the clothes.

This room must never get cleaned.

"I'll let the maids wash these. I have more clothing for you in my room," Hayley said, not sparing Sebastian a glance as she spoke.

None of the clothes that Hayley had for her would cover any more of her body than the clothes in Hayley's hand, Sebastian knew that. She didn’t know how much she could take of this.

Hayley faced her again, "Well, follow me. And remember, it would be in your best interest not to run. Though I must admit, I would love to put a collar on you."

What they hell was Sebastian getting into?

"Come on," Hayley commanded, walking out of the door.

Sebastian followed after her. Outside of the room, there was a dimly lit staircase. Various crates were stacked against the walls. Sebastian had been held at the bottom of the ship the entire time. The crew wouldn't have been able to hear her cries. No matter how loud she was, her noises could not carry through the tightly put together ship. Zac and Josh must have been keeping watch of the door at the times she was to eat. There was no other way they could have heard her call them.

Hayley, who was already halfway up the stairs, turned to look at Sebastian.

"Are you coming or do I need to put the collar on you?" Hayley asked.

"You don't even have a collar," Sebastian replied from her place at the foot of the stairs.

Hayley rolled her eyes and reached into her back pocket, out of Sebastian's vision. When her hand returned to Sebastian's view, a black collar connected to a chain leash dangled from Hayley's index finger.

"You were saying?" Hayley asked, swinging the leash.

Sebastian eyed the collar. It didn't look remotely close to comfortable. Hayley would have too much fun yanking her around like a dog if she said the wrong thing.

"I was saying that my legs went numb from sitting so long. It might take me awhile to get up the stairs. I'm sorry if I slow you down."

"How considerate. Take your time. It's harder to have fun with a girl who has broken bones."

Sebastian sighed. Maybe she would have been better off staying in the small room. It would have been safer in there, not from disease but from Hayley. The captain wouldn't have wanted to walk up and down stairs constantly just to get to Sebastian. If she had known her placement on the ship, she probably would have waited to give in.

Careful, Sebastian made her way up the stairs to meet Hayley. Her steps were shaky. The waves crashing against the ship caused it to tip slightly; Sebastian stumbled.

"You'll get your sea legs soon," Hayley stated, watching Sebastian with interest, "not that you'll be walking much."

Tucking the collar back into her pocket, Hayley began walking up the stairs again. Sebastian followed close behind, trying to keep up on the rocking ship. It was the best that she could do. She didn't want to wear the collar and if she fell from the tipping of the ship, she could grab the captain for support.

And maybe force her to tumble down as well.

They reached the top of the stairs. Hayley pulled the key ring from her belt loop again, taking hold of the largest key. She put the key in the lock, turned it with no difficulty, and pushed the door open.

Sebastian noticed that the door to the room had not been locked. That explained the need for the lock on the stairs. Though, Sebastian would not have been able to make it out of the room due to the shackles that kept her connected to the wall.

The door at the top of the staircase led to a hallway. The walls of the hallway were covered in brightly colored wallpaper. There were no tables or objects decorating the hallway. This was most likely because they were at sea. Any object not nailed to the floorboards would have gone crashing to the ground. Hayley walked down the hallway, Sebastian in tow. One of the doors opened before they passed it; Zac stepped out, shutting the door firmly behind him. He noticed the redheaded woman first.

"Captain," he nodded in respect.

"Zac," Hayley replied, stopping as she approached him.

His eyes caught on the dirty skirt behind Hayley. He let his eyes travel up the frame, stopping on Sebastian's face and tilting his head to the side.

"You got her out of the room?" he asked.

"She willingly came out. Could you ask the chef to make some food? She hasn't eaten all day."

Zac gave Hayley a knowing look. This wasn't the first time she starved a captive to get what she wanted. Normally they held out for a few days. Starvation and terrible living conditions were the lighter side of her torture. The heavy side was terrifying to watch.

"What does she want to eat?" Zac asked.

Hayley looked at Sebastian, "What do you want?"

Sebastian could pick what she wanted to eat. This shocked her. She couldn't believe Hayley would allow her to do so. Sebastian wasn't expecting any sort of freedom. Apparently, she had been wrong.

"I don't know. Anything is fine," Sebastian answered.

She didn't know what they had on the ship.

Hayley looked back at Zac, "Get her a sandwich and a side of caviar, I suppose."

"The sturgeon eggs? Or the salmon?"

"Sturgeon."

"Can you not get the caviar?" Sebastian cut in.

"You don't like caviar?" Hayley asked.

"It's disgusting."

"What type of princess doesn't like caviar?"

"Me?" Sebastian asked.

She didn't know how to respond. Hayley's shock didn’t surprise Sebastian though. She had often been criticized for not eating certain delicacies. But some things were just too disgusting.

Like fish eggs.

"What would you like as a side then? A salad?" Hayley asked.

"That's fine."

Hayley returned her attention to Zac, "A sandwich and a salad with a glass of water then."

"Sure thing."

"Oh and take this to the wash," Hayley handed him the clothes.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Not that I can think of."

"I'll get right on it, Captain," Zac nodded and left down the hall.

Hayley resumed her journey through the hallway. Sebastian walked a safe distance behind her. The pair stopped at a door with "Captain Hayley Williams" engraved on it. Again, Hayley took the key ring from her belt loop and unlocked the door. She held it open, stepping to the side.

"Princesses first," Hayley stated.

Sebastian walked into the room, biting back a sarcastic comment. Her eyes locked on the bed. It was exquisite, almost as nice as the one she had at home. The entire room was well furnished; it was a complete turn around from where Sebastian had been staying minutes ago. Hayley entered the room and let the door close behind her.

"I'm going to lay down some ground rules," Hayley started, stepping around Sebastian to stand in front of her.

Sebastian turned her attention from examining the room to look at Hayley.

"As long as you do what I ask, you'll have freedom to do generally as you please. You'll be allowed to pick your own food, relax in here without restraints, bathe, and ask for whatever you need. On the other hand, if you don't do as I ask, you'll go back in the room and I'll take everything away from you. I have devices on this ship that you don't want me to use on you but I will if you don't cooperate. Understood?"

"Yes," Sebastian responded.

"You are not to leave my room unattended. The crew may have respect for me but they are still men and they won't hesitate to do something to you regardless of my orders. When I am busy on the ship—Zac, Josh, Jeremy, or Taylor will take care of your needs. They are my most trusted men; they won't hurt you."

All things considered, it was ironic that Hayley would keep the crew from raping Sebastian. But Sebastian was thankful for that protection.

"Okay," Sebastian said.

"If you need anything, just ask. Don't hesitate. You may be my captive but, because of what I'll be using you for, you'll be pampered to an extent. Any questions?"

Sebastian shook her head.

"Would you like to bathe before you eat?" Hayley asked, "The food should be done soon unless the chef needs to cook more fish."

Sebastian's stomach was hurting so bad she didn't want to do anything other than eat. Now that she knew she was guaranteed a bath, she would be okay.

"I'd like to eat first," Sebastian answered.

"You must be starving."

"I am."

"Then we'll wait to get you bathed. Let's take your dress off so you can sit on my bed without dirtying it and I can get to know you a bit while we wait."

"Okay," Sebastian whispered.

She didn't want to take her dress off in front of Hayley. But there was no point in prolonging her nudity. Or partial nudity, in this case.

Hayley turned Sebastian so she could untie the back of her dress, which she did with skilled fingers. She let the dress fall to the ground. Sebastian could feel the relief of finally being out of the corseted dress. Hayley turned Sebastian back around, her eyes landing on Sebastian's bare breasts.

"Wow," Hayley muttered.