Elena's P.O.V.
Heavy. That's what I felt.
I was blind and deaf, could not find it in me to wake up, so I just let the darkness embrace me.
The second time I found myself surrounded by weights, I tried to find the energy to wake up, but instead, I blacked out once more.
It was a weird phenomenon. You feel like you're waking up, but when you try to open your eyes, you just fall into darkness. I never remember being dragged into unconsciousness nor when I rise from the heavy sleep.
It was truly a bizarre feeling.
My memory was foggy and unclear, and I could not understand how I ended up in this limbo. However, what I did comprehend was that the poisonous coma lost its strength every time my mind woke.
One day, after the virulent slumber had thinned out, I found the vigor that I needed to finally open my eyes. It was a slow and painful process. A sharp light pained my sight, forcing me to squint to see my surroundings.
Although most of it was blurry, I could make out a wooden room. An old desk was in front of me, decorated with a globe and some orientation equipment. The smell was overwhelming; dirty and rotten meat swirled in the thick, isolated air.
Confusion was the new poison, but it was not as toxic as the glue holding me in my position. No matter how much I tried to lift my arms and legs, I could not move.
I shook, tried to slip out of the ropes to no avail. My hands were tied down to the chair's arms, my feet suffering the same fate.
"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to wake up," a somewhat familiar, deep voice spoke, its whereabouts unknown.
Panic rose, beating in my chest like the bass of a song that sung my bewilderment. I could not understand what was happening. Where am I? Who are they? What's happening? Why am I so afraid?
They took me, it all came crashing down, the surreal memories finally surfacing. Theater. Francis. Pain. Darkness. It was still blurry, came in pieces, but it was not difficult to translate it into a full picture.
The pirates kidnapped me.
Well, that's a big turn in my summer break. I knew I should have accepted Hazel's offer to go on a vacation with her and her family.
"Mada, we need to inform the captain," another one spoke, his voice sounding more younger and lighter, an innocent tone attached to his words. "He said to summon him when she woke- wait, what are you doing?"
Before he and I could comprehend the actions of Mada, he was standing within the frame of my view.
My eyes widened at the sight, shocked and scared to see the familiarity of his appearance.
His blue eyes narrowed sharply, almost glaring even. Although he was dirty and smelled of sweat and fish, his features mirrored unmistakably Adam's.
God, you have got to be kidding me.
He crouched, looking at me from a frog's perspective. "So ye are the one he has been looking for." Although he looked like Adam from head to toe, he certainly did not sound like him.
I gave him a puzzled look, already uncomfortable with his presence and his cold gaze.
"Mada, please, leave her alone. We need to tell Captain Claes that she has awakened." The red-haired boy did not speak like the rest, I noticed. His vocabulary did not drown in the strange, pirate tongue. Instead, he spoke gently and elegantly, but most of all, his words were touched by a tone of kindness.
Was he a pirate too? It seemed unlikely due to the softness and sensitivity in his young, blue eyes. He was a frightened, thin child. Pale and freckled with bruises running up his bone-like arms.
"Shut yer mouth, scallywag," Mada spat, causing the smaller boy to flinch. Then he turned towards me, his rough fingers forcing the handkerchief around my mouth down. "What's yer name."
My throat was dry and bloody, not moistened for what felt like years. I moved my jaw to drive the stiffness away, trying to waken it from its long slumber. "Why do you want to know?"
He clenched his teeth, suddenly drawing a dagger to press it to my throat. "Speak or else I'll slit ye."
I found anger where fear should have been. "Be my guest."
"Put the dagger down, lad. I need her alive and breathing for the moment being." His cold order broke the ice, which was followed by the command coming to life as the weapon vanished from my skin. "At last, ye finally woke," he chuckled, walking around to sit behind his desk. "Took ye long enough. Though I don't usually kidnap lasses, I should've taken into consideration how the drug may affect a landlubber yer size."
"Where have you taken me?" I snapped, tired of him beating around the bush and finding amusement in my situation. He was the only one who could provide me the information I needed, despite the fact that he could knit lies and paint a picture of a twisted truth.
The captain smiled, but it was neither warm nor cold. Just sly like an eel. "Leave us," his eyes held their gaze on me until we were finally alone. Without a warning, he rose from his chair to separate the heavy curtains, giving me a first-row view of despair. "Ye can drop all of your escape plans, Doll. Ye won't get far without scuttling yourself."
Ocean. A deserted ocean.
There was a long silence, only broken when I decided to speak. "How did you know?" My defeat summoned a twisted smile. "How did you know about me and the theater?"
He approached me slowly, never losing his grin. "I know more about ye than just the theater, dearie. A lot more. Though it hasn't always been fun following you and that rapscallion around for months, I can't say that I regret it. Aye, my favorite part of it all must have been the music. Ye're a great pianist and singer, I'll let ye have that." He pointed at me. "Oh, what's yer favorite? The time ye rode off to the lake or when ye went to the ball? Or perchance that time when ye played that song over and over again?" He laughed, watching my alarmed expression. "Ye know, I'm surprised the rat hasn't said anything. He's helplessly falling for ye, ye know."
"You're a sick person," I shook my head, feeling angry and exposed to every tale he told. "What good will all this do?"
"Oh, ye have no idea," he crossed his arms, sitting on the desk. "Ye're the key that will help me take down that damn rat."
My eyes tried to search for something, but the only thing there was, was hatred and a numb coldness. "Why do you hate Ethan so much?"
So suddenly and so quickly, he lunged at me, curling my collar in his fist with a twisted expression of black anger. "I will not hear that rapscallion's name on my ship, ye hear me! Say the rat's name and I won't hesitate to give ye an eye blacker than the monk's - ye hear me?"
"Let go of me," I spat, feeling both irate and frightened at the same time.
With a rough push, he withdrew. "But now that we're already talking about the rat, I have a mission for ye." He did not wait to hear my question as he pulled out a paper and a feather pen. "Ye will write a letter to him, tell him what I want ye to say. It will make it easier for me to have him agree to my terms."
I looked at the empty paper, watching it until every possibility of its outcome surfaced like a movie. Although every prospect had varieties, the outcome of the letter never changed: Captain Claes would kill Ethan.
Francis went through torture to protect me, I felt the heavy memory press itself to my eyes. And I would do the same for the prince.
"No," I shook in refusal, not wanting to give in so easily. As long as I can, I will protect Ethan from him - for better or for worse, the pirate will not touch my friends anymore.
He laughed, finding my answer entertaining. "I wasn't asking ye. It's an order. Whether ye like it or not, ye're going to write that letter."
Without fear reflecting in my eyes, I met his smirk. "No."
Little by little, his smile fell. He was quiet for a while, which I did not know if I preferred over his loud voice. Without a warning, he raised his hand and brought it down. "Whatever I order ye to do, ye will do it. If ye don't, I will make ye."
A burning pain scorched my cheek, and my hair masked my face as the strength had forced me to one side. "No."
Then my foot suffered a similar fate - without any warning and mercy.
The captain grasped my collar, "Ye really want to take this dance, don't ye?" As I was still in a turmoil of pain, I couldn't find anything to say. "I don't have time for this nonsense. Ye will write that damn letter, whether ye like it or not, ye will."
He suddenly barked out a name, which was quickly followed by a foreign voice. "Captain?"
"Take this landlubber to the cells, and make sure she is chained up. I don't want the lass to get too comfy."
"Aye, aye, Captain Claes."
Ropes disappeared, freeing my wrists and limbs from the tight grips. Although it was a relief for my blood circulation to feel life come back to my fingers and toes, I still found my back and joints sore when I was forced to stand.
The weight on my foot was overwhelming, and I would've been on the floor had it not been for the pirate that refused to let go.
"I will deal with ye later," the captain's eyes pointed sharply at me before they landed on the pirate. "Get out of my sight."
***
"Hey, could you slow down a bit? My foot is aching." I tried to follow his quick and long steps, but it was too difficult with my hurt limb. Fortunately for my physical health, we finally arrived the room that contained several cages. "Hey, take it easy, Smee."
His grip tightened, leaving a future bruise on my arm as he turned me to meet his dirty face. He looked to be in his forties, just like the captain. Scars covered his greasy skin, but it was his heavy fish smell that stood out the most. "Shut it, girl. Unless ye wish for another hit on that pretty face of yers, I suggest ye find yer place."
I waved my free hand in front of me, aware of the dangerous buttons that I was pushing, "Jeez, have you ever heard about brushing your teeth? It makes a person's breath stink less, you know?"
The pirate's jaw clenched, and he lifted me by my dress' collar, almost making me fly off the ground. "Watch yer mouth."
"You know, I think I should be the one telling you that."
Smoke came out of his nose and ears, and oh boy, was he not amused.
He took a hold of my arm again, wrenching the door to one of the cells and throwing me mercilessly inside it. The bruised side of my face met the ground first, kicking the energy from my body as I could not stand against the pirate dressing me in heavy chains.
"Are those really necessary?" A foreign voice spoke with a heavy French accent attached to his words. His sharp gaze gestured towards the shackles that went around my wrists, feet, and neck, finding them just as pointless as I did.
"Mon Dieu, does the girl frighten you so much?" A second voice laughed in mockery, his French dialect similar to the first one. He leaned on the bars, his blonde hair as bright as his smile. "What did she do to you, beat you up? Do not take it as an offense, puant, she was only trying to help you improve that ugly face of yours."
The pirate growled, slamming my door before he went to kick the bars to those who spoke. "Stay out of it, rats. It's none of yer business."
"Now, now, I would surely hate to use such sharp words. Sooner or later, we will get out out of here and when we do, your words will bite you back. Hard," a third and much deeper voice spoke, his French accent just as clear as the others'.
He snorted with laughter, "None of ye inmates will be able to escape. It's the Blackburry we're talking about. As long as Captain Claes' alive, ye won't escape his ship." Without giving them a chance to reply, he turned sharply towards me, pointing a glaring finger. "And ye better behave or else I'll give ye a black eye."
"Why, so you can match it with your soul or teeth?" My comment made him sneer like a lizard. Afterward, he kicked the bars of my cell before he fled out of the room with furious steps. "Such an idiot. . ."
Laughs emitted from the cell next to me, "He surely is an idiot, indeed." The blonde-haired looked at me with his blue orbs, his features containing amusement and smiles.
"I must say, that was one hell of a show," the third said, his gigantic size towering over everyone and everything. It was barely that his head touched the roof of his cage-like cell.
My shoulders shrugged, making the shackles surrounding me chatter and echo, "I don't go down without a fight."
Another gleam filled the room, turning the air light and easy. "Oh, are you not a funny one?" Blondie's smile shone like his eyes, reflecting interest. "Now tell me, Ma Dame, what would your name be?"
I narrowed my eyes, looking for a hidden truth in his face. "Elena," I answered after finding his appearance free from masks.
The older boy nodded, "Ah, the name suits you, but I shall call you Ãliane. It has a clang to it, do you not think so too?" He winked, which made an amused chuckle leave my lips. It didn't take too long before the person with the deepest voice smacked the flirtatious boy on the back of his head.
Blondie's friends rolled their hazel and brown orbs in annoyance; as if it happened too often.
"Ma Dame, if you do not mind me asking, but how did you end up here?" It was the third one who spoke, the warm hue in his eyes watching me with curiosity.
I sighed, feeling the growths of the dismal and worry in my stomach. "They want to use me to hurt someone," I lifted my arms, feeling how the weight of the chains pulled me down, mirroring my hopes. "And since they have been stalking me for quite the time, they will do anything to erode every possibility of me escaping."
He scratched his black hair, bewildered over my answer like the rest. "Stalked you? Now, why would they do that?"
The shackle around my neck made it difficult to shrug my shoulders. "Because the captain knows about the relations I have with a stupid prince that he hates for some unknown reasons."
Blondie's face scrunched curiously, "A prince you say? Who is this idiot you are so kindly talking about?"
I laughed at the irony, "How many stupid princes do you know?"
"You would be surprised, Lady Ãliane."
For the first time in our conversation, the person owning the first voice finally spoke. "What is the name of this prince?" His hazel eyes were curiously looking at me, his eyebrows furrowed in a messy knot that mirrored his brown hair.
A silence passed before I could find it in me to say his name without a weight holding me back. "Ethan. Prince Ethan of Areadan."
That's when it all turned into a turmoil of stillness. The quietness fell like a blanket in the air, choking every sound. Surprised expressions painted their greasy faces, making them look older than their true ages.
"You are talking about the heir to the most powerful kingdom of all times, Ma Dame. Are you certain it is him?" The brown-haired one continued, his hazel eyes reflecting what I detected as worry.
"Unfortunately, that is the idiot I'm talking about."
The blonde-haired one was quick to break the thick ice, "Ah, if he only knew of the warm words you spoke of him."
He did not fail to summon another laughter, "I try my best."
"Captain Claes kidnapped you because he knows Prince Ethan will come for you," the black-haired guy mumbled, lifting his head to meet my eyes. "Are you not worried, Ma Dame?"
"Worried? Yes, but most of all, I'm annoyed," I shifted into another position, wincing as I moved my throbbing leg. "I have better things to do than being held as a captive."
Blondie sighed, "Tell me about it."
"I fear you are more than just a captive, Dame Elena." The hazel-eyed started, his accent thick. "You are one of the few that stand close to His Majesty. And taking their long past into consideration, I worry that his hatred will continue to grow," he gestured to my face and limb. "You are the key to his vengeance."
And I hate it, I wanted to say, but words were as helpless as me.
"If Ethan is smart - which I doubt he is - he will see the trap and figure out a solution that will save us all." It was the first time I voiced my hopes, but it tasted bitter rather than optimistic.
"Oui, Madam Elena," the tallest of them all gave me an encouraging smile, his gleam shining like the sweat on his black skin. "We shall wait and see."
"Now, gentlemen, if you don't mind me asking this," I started, altering my attention on their three oily faces. "Why are you here?"
The brunette chuckled for the first time, giving me a proud smile that reached his hazel eyes. "We are one of their greatest enemies, fought and defeated them with swords and brains." Suddenly, his gaze fell on his blonde-haired friend. "But it so happened that luck was on their side as our watchkeeper fell asleep when they ambushed us."
"I am a human being, not some night owl," he quickly defended himself, which summoned an eye roll from his two friends.
The curiosity grew stronger, parallel to the taste of familiarity.
Although they looked to be around Carl's age, it was a touch of familiarity that caused a long train of thoughts. Their leather clothes, French accents, and a somewhat familiar symbol tattooed on their clothing.
Why do they seem so familiar?
"Wait, who are you?" I let my burning question slip out of my lips, waiting for the last piece to fall in its puzzle.
The brunette looked at me again, his shoulder-long hair flying as he turned to me. With a smile stretched across his strong features, he spoke. "I am Athos, Dame Elena."
"And I Porthos," the black-haired continued.
Blondie waved with a gleam, "Aramis here."
Athos then opened his arms, "And we're the Musketeers."
That's how I met my first celebrity - or in this case: celebrities.
The moment felt surreal. I thought they were only some characters in the books I've read, or the tv-series and movies I always binge-watched.
Struck with such strong awe, I forgot about my hurt leg and tried to lean forward. Wincing, I withdrew with the chains that followed. "I have heard about you!" Their smiles grew in appreciation when they found out that their names were well-known across the world. "But wait, aren't you supposed to be four?"
"Ah, she do know about us," Aramis laughed, finding hilarity in the situation.
Porthos pointed at the cell on the other side of the room, "D'Artagnan has yet to awaken after one of the pirates knocked him out."
I took a hold of the bars to lift myself from the ground, being careful to not put weight on my foot. The shackles were heavy and restricted me, inhibiting my freedom.
It was too dark to see him as clearly as the Musketeers caged next to me, but I still managed to make out his Asian features as half of his face was not hidden by the shadows.
Poor D'Artagnan, I winced and sat down, remembering the feeling of being stuck in a dark limbo.
"How do you know about us?" Athos asked, genuinely curious about my knowledge about them.
I turned my body towards the Musketeers, fiddling with the cold metal caging my wrists. "I'll tell you if you tell me what Ethan did to Captain Claes."