Isabella's POV:
I kept struggling against the two men holding me, gritting my teeth and trying to hit them with my legs, but my attempts were futile and all they did was laugh at me. I was now terrified to go on that ship, because I had no idea how Harry was going to react. It was the same feeling I was trying to convey to these stupid pirates, but they just weren't listening to me.
"Stop trying to escape, you idiot! You should be happy, you're going to your husband now." one says with a cackle and my eyes widen, my heart pounding in my chest as I truly thought about that.
To...Harry? It's been too long since he's been called my husband...but still, would he even be happy or even sane when he sees me? I doubt it...no, not only that...is he still angry with me? Or has he really forgotten about me?
Now I really was glad Layla was able to stay behind with my mother. I didn't want her to see her father this way. I never wanted her to know her father as a cruel, angry man. I wanted her to know the Harry I fell in love with, but as of now I don't think I'm getting him back.
"Why is he even docked here? How did you know he was here?" I ask curiously, making them pause at the base of the ship, looking at me with grim looks on their faces.
"Four years ago, he docked at a major port in England, more up the coast. The military tried to attack him and arrest him, but in return he blew the entire port city to pieces. From what I heard, all people could see for miles was the smoke and flames from the shore. Hardly anyone survived. He took what he needed - or what was left - and went on his merry way. Ever since then, any country is too afraid to face the Cutthroat Pirate, so they let him do as he pleases to avoid trouble." one man mumbles and I stare at them in shock.
That couldn't be true...could it?
"Cutthroat Pirate? What is that, a nickname?" I ask confused and the other man sighs. "That's the name sailors have given him. He's ruthless and cruel, and he cuts enough people's throats to own up to that name. He's been known as that for at least three years now. Didn't you know?" he asks and I shake my head at him.
"Anyways, that explains why he's here. Don't cause us anymore trouble, okay? We'll just make the exchange and that'll be it." he mutters and I try to struggle against them and beg them not to take me, but they ignored my pleas as they continued up the bridge.
I was dragged onto the ship and I looked around for familiar faces, but didn't meet any. I was about to yell out for Louis or Niall, or even Shayla, but I never got the chance to call for them.
I stumbled forward as we came to a halt on the deck, close to the Captain's door. I looked back up and my eyes widened in happiness as I saw Louis walk forward, his eyes falling to me before shock came on his face. He was still alive...and he was still here.
"Bella?" he asks astonished and I nod my head, not able to say anything at the moment. "We brought her for the Captain...to gain favor and passage through the sea." One of my captors says and I see fear and uncertainty dance across Louis's eyes. "Not sure this was the way to do it." he murmured before sighing, shaking his head before shrugging.
"Let me go see if he's willing to talk. If not, you'll be dead before you can even think." he says before walking up to the Captain's Quarters and opening up the door, disappearing inside and closing it behind him. My heart was pounding so hard I thought everyone could hear it. I wasn't sure if I was ready to face him...to see him again.
And if he didn't feel like talking to them...we were dead anyways.
A few minutes passed before Louis appeared again,a solemn look on his face. My heart fluttered with fear at the thought of him saying no, but I tried to hide my fear. If he did say no, I was preparing to run for my life.
"He will see you now." he murmurs and the two men let out a sigh of relief before dragging me forward. I let out a silent breath, thankful that we weren't dead yet. I cast Louis a look as I was pushed past him, but he just turned away, a sad look on his face as we went inside.
The door closed behind us and they let me go, but threw me to my knees, making me grit my teeth together as I lifted myself up, my gaze settling on the figure before us.
My eyes widened in horror as I saw him, sitting in a chair like it was his throne, a dark look on his face. His hair had grown long...basically as long as mine, but more wild in a way, and it was scary how dark Harry's eyes looked. He was staring down at me and I felt like I couldn't move under the intensity of his stare.
Bags hung under his eyes and they were set in what looked like a constant glare. He had no shirt on, but a black cloak that was halfway ripped from some sort of battle, exposing half of his stomach and only one of his arms. The black pants he wore were slightly ripped at the knees, and there was dark red patches all over the pants. There was also blood splattered on the cloak, and on his exposed arm there was a scar across the upper half of his bicep. And he had a bone necklace hanging around his neck, most likely from people he had killed.
I couldn't speak. The man I saw before me wasn't the man I knew. Whoever this man was...he terrified me. I didn't know who he was anymore.
"Why did you bring her?" he asks in a low voice, his piercing green eyes moving away from me and looking up at the two men, who seemed to be just as afraid as I was.
"W-well, she's y-your wife...we thought you'd want her back to be with you..." one stumbled out and Harry gives them a dry smile. "If I wanted her with me, don't you think I'd have her here already?" he sneers and from the corner of my eye I see them both shrink back.
"We thought we were helping you...in exchange for letting us go safely through the seas." the other man whispers nervously and Harry's eyes narrow threateningly, standing from his throne and looking down at the two men. I felt a chill go down my spine at his look, and I could basically hear the two men shaking in fear behind me.
"You think I need help?" he hisses and I swallow hard, hearing the two men begin to stumble over their words as they frantically begin to find something to bargain with and make up for their slip up. "N-no! That's not what we meant!" One begs and Harry takes a step forward, making me scramble back to avoid him stepping on me.
Without another word, Harry drew his sword and cut through both of them, my eyes widening as their blood sprayed from their necks and I felt a drop or two hit my face. The two men dropped to the ground dead, and I stared in fear at their dead bodies. My body was shaking as I stared down at them. They may have kidnapped me but they had clear intentions...and Harry just ruthlessly killed them without letting them explain.
"And you're here why?" Harry grumbles lowly and I turn around, seeing him glaring down at me from his full height. "I-I..." I try but I can't get anything out.
He kneels down to where we are face to face, my heart hammering hard in my chest as I stare into his heartless eyes.
"You look different." he says and I furrow my eyebrows. "I could say the same." I murmur and a smirk spreads across his face. "Good. I'm glad you've noticed." he says with a dark chuckle, looking up at my forehead.
"As I thought, they forced you. You didn't want to be here." he mutters before the smirk falls from his face and he stands back up, looking down at me with a dead look in his eyes.
"You have five minutes to get off this ship or I will kill you. Now go." he snaps and turns away from me. It takes me a moment to react to what he said before I scramble to my feet, backing up slowly while staring at his back, wondering if I should say anything else to him. This may be my only chance to talk to him...but it doesn't seem like there's any way I could reason with him the way he is now.
I can't say much to him.
"Goodbye." I whisper before turning around and jumping over the dead bodies, throwing the door open and running out onto the deck. I breathed hard, putting a hand to my chest as I stumbled over to the railing, gripping it for support. He was even more terrifying than what I imagined...but why did he let me go? I thought he would've killed me, the way he looked at me so fiercely.
"Bella?" I look over to see Niall staring at me with wide eyes, glancing over to the door before coming over to me. "Bella you have to leave." he says urgently and I swallow hard before nodding my head. "I-I know...I didn't even want to be here, I was dragged and-" "I heard." He interrupts before motioning his head.
"Go. While you still can. Get out of here Bells." he says and I nod, turning and running off of the ship, turning around once to see both Louis and Niall staring at me, and I felt tears come to my eyes. They hadn't changed. They stuck with him through all of this yet they were still the same boys I knew and loved.
I put up a hand as a farewell before I ran off the docks completely, sprinting down the shoreline until the mansion where Layla and my mother were came into view.
Stopping, I put my hands on my knees, catching my breath before turning around, staring at the ship I used to travel on. Something came to my mind and I felt my eyebrows furrow down in confusion.
Shayla...I haven't seen her. She wasn't on the ship.
My eyes widened and I nearly started walking back over there but I stopped myself, knowing I'd definitely be killed if I went there again. Harry probably wouldn't be so lenient the second time around. And as curious as I was to go find Shayla...I couldn't risk it.
Swallowing hard, I turned around, slowly walking towards the house, my heart sinking further than it has in years after seeing what he's really become. Before I knew it tears were in my eyes and I had to fight away the sobs that made my throat burn horribly. Actually seeing him like this...actually seeing the monster that he is...
It was tearing me apart.
I wipe my eyes fiercely before continuing on my way, running up to my mother's house and pausing, taking a few deep breaths before letting out a long sigh.
Opening the door, I walked inside and was immediately tackled in a hug by Darla, who was a blubbering mess. "I thought you were gone, just like last time! Oh dear, oh dear, you're safe!" she cries and I smile, giving her a hug and patting her head comfortingly.
"I'm fine." I say and I hear Layla's voice, making me break away from Darla as I saw my little girl running to me, looking scared out of her mind. I bent down to the ground and held out my arms, Layla running into them and throwing her little arms around me, hugging me tighter than she ever has before.
"Momma what happened? You were gone!" she cries and I stand up, holding her in my arms and squeezing my eyes shut. "I'm fine, baby girl. I'm fine." I whisper and she buries her face in my shoulder, clinging to me for dear life.
"Miss Isabella?!"
I was shocked to hear Wesly's voice and I looked up, seeing him standing by my mother with a terrified look on his face. "What happened? Layla ran to get me saying you were taken by two men! She gave me a...scary detail of the two men down to the freckles on their faces. Are you okay? How did you get away?!" he goes on bewildered, my mother sharing his same look and I let out a long sigh, not sure of what to tell them.
After thinking for a moment, I decided that there was no reason to lie about it. If I lied, it'd only make me feel worse inside. "I saw him." I whisper and my mother's face pales, Wesly looking at me confused. Layla slowly lifted her head and Darla covered her mouth with her hands, knowing exactly what I meant.
"I saw Harry."
Ta-da! Hope you guys like this one! What are your impressions of Harry? Not the best, I bet. But still, I'd love to know what you think!! Not so much of a cliffhanger so I did good this time haha! Love you guys!