Piracy

46. Aiding Him

 "Wren! I need you!"

There was no hesitation as I mounted the ladder, but during the long, arduous climb, I began to wonder if I was to be used as a distraction for the enemy, worse yet, bait. Harry hadn't been happy with me for many days, and maybe he'd completely run out of patience, finding that I'd taken his locket. 

"Hurry up," I heard his voice hissing from above. 

I moved as fast as I could, hoping I wasn't going to be fed to the wolves. I didn't stop until I heard Harry's voice a few feet above me. 

"Give me your hand," he commanded. I let go and reached up, and he pulled me swiftly to the mouth of the cave. I lunged into him, and he caught me, murmuring, "Easy now. Are you all right?" 

I caught my breath and looked up at him. It was there that I saw a glimpse of my Harry. I smiled and said, "I'm fine, I'm fine, really."

"I need your jacket," he said quietly. "My  jacket, actually." 

Fantastic. I was probably going to catch hell for wearing his clothes, although he had allowed me to before. I obediently removed it from my shoulders and handed it over. He dug around inside the thick material and after a bit of a struggle, he retrieved a key. He looked at me with love in his eyes once again and said, "Thank you, darling." My eyebrows scrunched together as I bit my bottom lip. I nodded, not trusting myself to keep it together if I didn't hold my emotions in a tight grip. "Wren," he said softly. I looked at him with hope in my eyes. "Please don't leave me." He stole a swift kiss from my lips and raced into the darkness of the cave, guided only by a small torch. 

Once he was out of sight, I cried out in relief. He still loved me. He still needed me. And god, I needed him. I needed him to be safe and well, so I dropped to my knees and prayed again. 

Unfortunately for me, I hadn't noticed a stranger lurking in the darkest corners of the cave. I had no idea how he'd gotten there or why. Perhaps he lived there and we had disrupted his peaceful abode. He put that notion to rest when he stepped into the pale moonlight. It became clear that he had been lying in wait for the perfect moment, and somehow I presented that perfect moment to him. This was no hermit - he was the epitome of all my nightmares, the face I thought I'd never see again, the only one who symbolized true terror.

Madera.

"No!" I shrieked so loudly that I was sure the entire kingdom heard. I turned to run towards the ladder, but he was too fast. He grabbed me in a split second, warning me to keep my voice down. I managed to scream again before he clamped a large smelly hand over my mouth. I struggled to save my life, but he was much too big and strong.

How could this have happened? How could Madera be alive when I saw Harry kill him with his own sword? Even if Madera had still been alive when they threw him overboard, there was no way he could have survived in the ocean on his own. I had so many questions tumbling through my mind with moments of sheer terror mixed in. 

There was no time to process what was happening. All I heard was Madera's sickly voice saying, "Why don't we go and meet the king?" He shoved me mercilessly up the cold, uneven steps of the tunnel, keeping his hand glued to my  mouth until I heard him rip a piece of fabric and then he tied it in place of his hand. "Don't ye dare say a word," he muttered. I had been so sure he was the same despicable man I'd encountered on the ship, but his voice sounded different somehow. 

I ignored him and screamed, pushing everything I had out of my throat and past the gag. Then I heard the click of a gun and felt the cold metal pressed against my neck.

"If ye scream again, me dear, ye'll be sleepin' with a slug through y'er head," he threatened.

Again, I was choking on fear as he shoved me up, up, up the winding stairs. My head was pounding, I couldn't see two feet in front of me, and I felt vomit rising in my throat. I could figure out his plan since he didn't seem the brightest fellow - he was going to use me to distract Harry and then demand that Harry let the king go or he would kill me. I was his bartering coin, a life for a life.