Captain of the Bloody Rose

The servant looked at the man nervously, having been told by his master that in no uncertain terms was he to allow anyone inside the house. But if he really was messenger carrying news from the Queen, well the whole house could get in quite a lot of trouble if they refused a message from the Queen. He did have the seal as well, a mark that showed his undying loyalty.

Opening the door slightly, the servant realized his mistake far too late. The door was open now, and the house open, unknown to Thomas.

Joseph had silenced the man by knocking him out cold and already stepped into the home, making his way around, re-buttoning his shirt.

He passed the empty kitchen and found himself in front of what he assumed was the master bedroom. he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword silently drawing it before pushing the door open, quickly now. His two toned eyes were narrowed, set for work. He wasn't there to make nice.

“What the bloody hell?!” Thomas cried out, wearing his night gown. He hadn’t thought, no he hadn’t dreamed that some ruffian would find a way into his home. Not when he’d strictly told his servants to keep everyone out. Then again, maybe all was not lost. He didn’t recognize this fellow. Maybe he was like some of the other desperate pirates. Simply needing money.

“What do you want?” He asked, his fear betraying him.

"I'm here representing the ever desirable Rose of the sea." he said removing his hat, his two toned eyes piercing. "I'm here to collect a debt."

It took a moment for him to register what this pirate was saying, for obviously the man was a pirate. When it did though he nearly screamed.

“How the hell?! You can’t be from….from…that witch!” He cried, his reaction entirely overdramatic and comical. At least he would have found it so if he wasn’t terrified for his life.

Jane had a right to a mighty grudge you see. This man had come right from under her, stolen everything from her that should have been rightfully hers. Yet, he was the nephew, and a man, and so the courts awarded him the fortune and left Jane Hart destitute.

“I suppose she’s still barking about that money!? Well she can’t have it! I don’t even have it! I lost every last cent of the damn cursed money the moment I took it. Tell her that and get her the hell off my back.”

"Wel if you don't have the money, you'll be payin' with somethin' else mate." he said his voide as dangerous as his eyes and he advanced on the man. "You choose. The money, that fancy old sword of yours, or your life." he said. "An' trust me, I have no qualms taking your life followed by the sword."

Thomas gulped. He was a selfish man by nature, one that had spent his entire life grasping for more and more. The one thing however, that he wouldn’t part with was his life. He pointed a shaky finger at a polished chest at the foot of his bed. When Joseph opened it, there lay a beautifully made sword, the hilt fashioned with silver and green silk. When he pulled out the blade the word Hart was engraved just as she said it would be.

“She didn’t order my death?” He asked shakily.

He put the 'Hart' sword into his sabers sheeth. "No." he said. "She just asked me to get what's her back to her.

He turned back to the man raising his blade to neck height. "If I were any other scaly wag I'd have your head and you're fortune. Best count your blessings and take your blows." he warned,

Thomas simply nodded. He was counting his lucky stars alright. But the moment the two colored eyed pirate left his house he was already scheming, trying to find a way to get back at his cousin.

“This isn’t over Jane dear.” He said coldly.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jane meantime was proving to herself once again why she should never go to pubs. The things the men were doing to try and impress her now were getting ridiculous, and one simply wouldn’t leave her alone.

“Come on luv’ I could show yous a great time.”

She huffed in reply, giving her characteristic sarcastic remark. He didn’t like that and decided to grab her roughly by the arm. In that moment the bar went almost dead silent, her men watching with anger in their eyes. They wouldn’t come to her aid unless she asked for it, but they sure as hell didn’t like people messing with her. Seemingly he realized his mistake and let her go scowling. Having had enough she got up and left, putting a few coins on the counter to pay for her drink.

She walked outside into the dead of the night, and breathed in deeply. There wasn’t a soul in sight, just how she liked it. She started to make her way back to the docks but didn’t get too far when she noticed a group of burly looking men that had been at the bar earlier.

“Crap.” She muttered, looking for an escape route. Jane was a fighter, but she wasn’t an idiot. One man she could take on. Two would be a bit harder. Four battle hardened men set on one thing was not so easy a task.

“Well well well. If it isn’t the Captain of her own ship out alone.” One the men drawled coming closer to her.

“Get the hell away from me.” She snarled, realizing very quickly she wasn’t going to escape from this one. Once again she cursed the fact she was a woman.

“I don’t think so pretty. Its time you learned some manners.”

She fought, oh did she fight. Like a hell cat she clawed, bit, punched, even stabbed one guy before her weapons were taken from her and she had been hit in the head, hard. On all fours on the ground she sputtered, trying to get hair into her lungs, her face throbbing from where she’d been hit. Her lip and eye already bruising.

Someone kicked her hard in the ribs and she distinctly heard one crack.

“That’s for stabbing John in the leg you psychotic bitch.” He growled, picking her up by the hair. It was all she needed, taking her hands and sticking her fingers through his eyes, blinding the sucker. She fell heavily, but in the distraction made a run for it, each breath more painful for the last.

Quickly she hid behind some boxes, hearing the men searching for her. ‘I need to get back to the ship.’ she thought desperately trying to breathe.

"Oi." Joseph grabbed Rose from behind covering her mouth. "Don't scream, it's me." he said. "here..." he slipped ehr cousins sword into her hand. "I'll distract them. Can you run ot the ship fast enough?" he asked her.

All she could think at that moment was ‘Bloody hell why is it always him?!’

When he let go of her mouth she gasped in pain, nodding quietly. She didn’t trust herself to try and speak or she would give away just how injured she really was. That was the last thing she needed right now. She felt him shift behind her and leave. When she heard a yell she made a break for it, running as bloody fast as she could clutching the sword to her breast.

Reaching the ship her men rushed forward, horrified at the sight of their Captains swollen and bloody face.

“Back there. Go. Help him.” She gasped out, clutching her side. They didn’t need to be told twice, pulling out their weapons and racing off to where she had pointed.

By the time they got to him, Joseph was standing in the empty street holding his side panting. People from windows and doorways had watched in shock. he's taken down those men with only one real hit to mention.

He turned around, saber up and ready when he heard hurried footsteps, his eyes gleaming. He only lowered it when he realized it was his shipmates approaching. He took a step forward and nearly collapsed, pale faced.

One of the idiots had gotten a good dirty shot in with a dagger, right in the gut. "Where is she?" he asked, breathing heavy with his hand still inplace.

The men looked at him in shock not sure what to do. The man was bleeding pretty heavily and needed some medical attention. Yet the look on his face was startling. He looked like a chained animal let off the leash, vicious and uncontrolled.

One of them tried to come forward to help him up, only to take a step back at the vicious look in his eyes.

“She made it back, but she looks to be in bad shape.” Another said, accepting that Joseph wouldn’t accept anything from them until he knew.

“You need help or you’re gonna bleed to death.” He tried to step forward. "Collins needs to see you mate."

Joseph stayed standing keeping his eye on his shipmate, panting before he coughed, an unsightly amount of blood escaping his mouth as his knees gave out. his sword clattered to the cobble Stone road.

His ears were ringing and he hardly recognized the feeling of being picked up, the harshness in his eyes fading as his eyelids drooped. his entire front was soaked in blood. His racing heart haddn't helped slow the bleeding any.... He should have known better.

he was out of shape. Still too slow to have taken on that many men at once.

The men carried him quickly to the boat, Collins was already waiting. He had a feeling that Joseph would rush off and do something entirely stupid. What he hadn’t expected to find was his Captain gasping for breath and leaning against the railing waiting with bated breath for something. She wouldn’t even let him take a look at her face she was so focused on something out there in the darkness.

“Collins!” A man yelled, supporting Joseph with another.

“Take him to medical ward.” He called, following him quickly. From the stricken look on Janes face, this was exactly what she had been waiting for so intently.

Collins worked through the night, and for a while it was pretty touch and go. By dawn however, Joseph was stable and by some miracle alive. The rest of the crew had returned and heard of the midnight brawl. No one had seen Jane however. Not since he’d been brought back. She was sitting in that small room, waiting for him to wake up. Thinking over and over again, ‘Don’t die because of me you bastard. Please don’t die.’

It was mid morning when Joseph finally showed any signs of life, stirring slightly as his face contorted. An incohearent mutter passed his lips.

"Cap'in." one of the men had finally mustered the balls to open the door to the small room. "Figured you'd be hungry ma'am." he said holding a bowl of food. He blinked when the Captain blatantly ignored him.

The man left the bowl on the floor, worried about what he saw. She was never usually like this when a crewmen got ill or injured. She always made a point to visit them, but never was she so wasted and dead looking. Then again, what had happened was quite the mystery to them all. All anyone knew was that when Skip went in to ask what they should do they set off immediately, anxious to get out of port.

Jane hadn’t even let Collins touch her face, and so when her deckhand reported what he saw, well there was quite a lot to say. Blood was caked on her face from where her forehead had been cut open. There was a large bruise on her face, almost black in color, and her lip was split. If she had let anyone see underneath her shirt they would have seen the far larger and worst bruise of them all across her rib cage.

"Dont die on me." She finally whispered aloud, her minds mindless repetition coming out in words.

Joseph's sea green eye flickered open for a moment, rolling dizzily to look around before closing again. A few moments after that he opened both eyes, a sluggish groan escaping him as he tried to sit up.

He'd only gotten hit once, but once it enough when you're using blades.

“Thank god.” She whispered, leaning over to put her hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t get up.” She said as loudly as she could without gasping. “You were badly injured. You need to rest.”

She wouldnt be able to stop him of course if he insisted on doing something stupid. Just that one movement of her own was enough for her body to scream out in pain, a pain she ignored.

He grunted, but obeyed her, staying on his back. He moved his left hand, reaching up- lightly touching her face, obviously in a delirium. "Never quick enough...." he slurred, light headed and weak. He'd lost quite the amount of blood, and the painkiller Collins had given him to slow his heartbeat left him intoxicated to an extent.


He let his hand fall back down, laying over his chest as his two toned eyes closed. They fluttered though, the dark skined man obviously attempting to fight off sleep.

Jane flinched slightly when he touched her face. No one had ever touched her face like that, like they actually gave a damn. His words confused her for a moment before she remembered the woman he had lost. The woman her family had sent to die. In his delirium he must have been thinking of her. At least that’s what she told herself.

“You saved my life.” She murmured, disbelief lacing her voice. Moving her hand she hesitated a moment before she brushed his hair out of his face lightly. "Sleep." She said softly.

He mummbled something, again she couldn't make out what and closed his eyes.

It didnt take long for his chest to slow it's rising and falling motion, sleep pulling him under once more.

Jane sighed and drew her hand away. He was going to live and that was all that mattered to her at that point. Slipping from her chair she hit the wooden floor hard, reaching out with her hands to stop he fall. There was no way she was going to be able to leave she decided, and when she was honest with herself she didn’t want to. Until he was awake and talking she wouldn’t be able to be sure of everything.

The pain she felt made it impossible for her to get back in her chair so she stayed on the floor, resting her head on the side of his cot. One hand, the hand filled with stitches cradled her head, resting near his own. Close enough that she could feel its heat, but not so close that she was touching him.

((Shes asleep now. Feel free to TIme skip))

The next few days among the crew were tense and pretty quiet. The first mate had announced they were headed to a new port to restock on supplies, and still noone knew how their captain or their newest crew member were holding up.

On the 5th day, Collins had come in to check on Joseph to discover something he had been hoping against.

The wound had become infected.

It didn’t take long for Collins to convince Skip that someone needed to forcibly remove their Captain from the room. The only way they managed to do it and not injuring her further was by actually forcing her to breathe in some chroloform. Skip had this sad task, and they made sure none of the crew knew about it. They took her to her room, and he finally was able to assess her himself, cleaning her own wounds and making sure she wasn’t messing herself up more.

Then he returned to Joseph and sighed. He had to reopen the wound and try and let out the infection that was starting to fester. The likelihood of him surviving this was dropping rather quickly. Collins would be sad if the man died, having grown fond of him, but more than that he worried about the Captain’s sanity should it happen. She did seem a bit off her rocker at the moment.

Collins needed fresh medicine was what he needed, and getting to another port couldn’t happen fast enough. When they finally pulled into dock, applied a medicinal poultice and bandaged the wound again, Collins left him alone, deciding it was up to God now.

The few days away from the stricken man had been good for Jane it seemed. At least she was going about her normal duties again, but she had taken up a habit of watching him during the night vigil, letting Collins sleep.

“How is he?” She asked, trying to be her normal cold self but the tone fell flat with Collins and Joseph’s life one the line.

“Surviving, which a lesser man would not have done. I’m afraid he’s in God’s hands now miss. Tonight he’ll either die or he’ll live.”

She nodded, though he could have sworn there was more emotion in her green eyes then he’d ever seen before. She walked past him, and gingerly took her seat beside him, and started what she’d done for the last three nights. She started talking. About what didn’t matter, but constantly berating him about getting better didn’t seem to work so instead she started to talk to him about her life, the things she’d seen and done.

“He says that tonight will be the deciding factor. You’ll either live or die. Honestly, I don’t know what I’ll do if you die. I may just lose it. The rest of ship thinks I will. Its funny how much this matters to me. You killed me that day, and yet you’ve saved my life. Hell you saved me from a lot worse than that. I can’t believe how stupid I was. I should have known that would have happened. Should have never left the damn ship.” She stopped for a moment, her voice catching in her throat.

“I’ve had men die on me before. I never cared. I really didn’t. I guess what they say about me is true. I’m a cold heartless shrew. But I care if you die. I care more than I should.”