Her Adventures on the Red Lion

The Wound

 The second the Captain drew his sword, everyone around them took ten steps back. They all stood in amazement of what was happening in front of them. For the Captain himself to draw his sword on you, you must have done something to horribly piss him off. No one moved to Anthony's rescue, but stood and waited for his sentence to be given. Everyone except Signe, of course.

 Signe moved in between the crowd of pirates standing in awe, and ran up to the Captain. "Jack!" she yelled. "What the hell are you doing?"

 "I asked this man a question and I'm waiting for an answer." he replied shortly, not looking away from his target on the deck in front of him.

 "This is ridiculous!" Signe shook her head in disbelief, "He needs help! He's bleeding!"

 Jack stood for a moment, over looking Anthony's bleeding thigh. The white pants he was wearing only made it look worse as the bleeding now ran completely down his leg. But a cold smile found it's way to Jack's face as he looked down. "Fine. Let him bleed then." he said coolie. He took a step forward and put his foot down onto Anthony's thigh, provoking the wound further. A devilish smile split across his face as the man beneath him screamed and writhed in pain.

 "Jack! Stop!" Signe screamed, grabbing hold of Jack's arm, trying to pull him off. "Stop it! Stop it!" she begged, pulling harder at his arm, but he remained where he stood.

 "Okay! Okay!" Anthony screamed out. Jack lifted his foot off of his leg, but his sword was still drawn.

 "Why does Signe know your name?" Jack demanded. "You know there is only two exceptions to the secret of your name. So tell me," he seethed, "which one does Signe fall under?"

 "N-Neither, Captain."

 "NEITHER ISN'T AN OPTION!" Jack yelled. He moved his foot back onto Anthony's leg, stepping down harder, making him scream even louder.

 Signe gripped Jack's arm again, doing her best to pull, but she knew it was futile. Jack was enraged, making him an immovable force unless you were stronger than she was. But to her surprise, Jack was suddenly pushed and forced backwards. Jack stumbled, nearly falling over. They both looked up to see Seananners standing in front of them. Signe was confused for a moment, remembering assigning him to the wheel deck. She looked up to the wheel deck to find Diction standing there now.

 "You need to calm down." Seananners spoke with calm words, but a voice full of concern. 

 "Are you defying your Captain." Jack spat back.

 "I'm doing you a favor." he replied simply. He turned and moved back to where his friend was still lying on the deck. Signe could see now that Anthony was very injured, he curled onto his side and gripped onto where his leg was bleeding from, breathing with choppy gasps and squeezing his eyes closed.

 She looked back to the Captain who still stood with his sword in his hand, but his face showed no anger or attempt to use it. He stood there with an utter look of regret on his face, like he had woken up from a fever dream only to see the havoc that he created. She was half tempted to tell him that it was his fault that his crew mate was in such a state of pain, but she had a feeling that's exactly what was going through his head already.

 Without any command or okay from the Captain, some of the crew stepped in and helped Nanners lift Anthony to his feet, before they began to carry him down to the haul. The rest cleared a path before going to their tasks about the ship or following the others down.

 Signe began making her way to follow the others, but looked back to the Captain. He stood, watching her, but when they made eye contact, he shook his head and ran passed her, up the stairs to the balcony. She guessed that he probably made for his corridors, but she didn't care. His outburst was appalling to her.

 She felt tears prick her eyes as she remembered the tender kiss they had shared in the room of the tavern. She had felt something different in him, a human, a man with a kind heart and a kind soul. But what she just witnessed was something she was trying to forget, a pirate. Signe whipped away the tears the tried to fall, realizing that the man she had fallen for was still a pirate, and no matter what she would try to do, she knew she wouldn't be able to change that about him. Not as long as he sailed under that black flag would he ever change his ways, no matter how much she hoped their love could change him.

 With her tears mostly dried, she walked downstairs. She found everyone waiting as Seananners did his best to stop the bleeding from his friend's leg. All was somewhat quiet as no one wanted to say anything, even though they were all thinking it. The only sounds that could be heard was the occasional whimper from Anthony, followed by Seananner's hushed apologies.

Signe walked over and sat down next to Anthony. She reached out and grabbed one of his clenched fists and he quickly accepted, gripping tightly to her hand, trying to stay as still as he could.

 "What happened?" Signe asked quietly.

 "He was shot with a bullet, through and through." Nanners replied. "But now it's a torn a little more because...." he didn't finish his sentence, but everyone grimaced and shook their heads. They all sat like that for a while before Nanners threw aside the cloth he had been using in frustration. "Alright, it's not gonna stop bleeding." he sighed.

 "So what are you gonna do?" Signe asked. "You can't just give up!"

 Nanners leaned back on his feet for a moment, thinking over all his options. "We don't have any doctor on board or any supplies." he muttered to himself. He looked up at Signe with a sad look in his eyes. He was not happy with the conclusion he had to make, "We'll have to cauterize it."

 When he spoke, multiple people began moving. Some to get supplies, and other to leave the room, returning to the top deck. "W-What does that mean?" Signe asked. She watched as Gassy brought out a thick knife and stuck the blade into the open flames of the stove. After a short while of sitting in the flames, he brought the now orange metal back over and handed it to Nanners. Others had cut away at the clothes around Anthony's leg and someone else had stuck a chunk of wood in between his teeth.

 Seananners brought the flat side of the knife down close to Anthony's leg. He paused though and looked up at her, "This is going to hurt Chilled really really bad. Are you sure you want to be here for this?"

 Signe looked down at the man on the floor, still gripping tight to her hand. He made eye contact with no one but stared up at the ceiling above him. He was shaking, knowing full well what was about to happen, already sinking his teeth into the wood between them. But between pity, guilt, and the death grip he had on her hand, Signe knew she couldn't leave. She just held both of his hands with both of hers and looked away from whatever was about to happen. Seananners took the hint and proceeded.

 Signe didn't know what cauterizing meant, but after seeing the elements needed for it, she quickly put it together. Although she might have figured out what needed to happen, nothing could've prepared her for the scream of nothing but pain that ripped through the haul that night.