2 Weeks Later...

Nix sat in her hiding place, looking at the coin that had caused so much anger from the ship’s captain. She spent most of her time looking over the details. It had six small sapphires embedded in the gold surrounding the embossed image of what seemed to be a sleeping woman, her hair taking up most of the surface of the coin. It almost appeared as if the sapphires were meant to be flowers in the hair, with lines shaping petals around the stones barely visible. It was a beautiful piece of art, meant for show. Nix wondered if the coin was made as part of a collection or if it was simply a stand alone piece for a long deceased nobleman.  

As she was looking over the coin, the ship violently shook, almost as if they had struck something. The coin flew from her hands and she scrambled over to pick it up. Just as she was putting it back in her pocket two of the pirates walked in. They jumped back, eyes wide, shocked to see her standing in their food storage area. Nix let out a squeal of terror, knowing this meant something terrible for her. She froze in place; there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. The men advanced on her, “Look a’ what we got ‘ere!” One of the men jeered. 

“It’s a strumpet, yes it is!” The other proclaimed. 

“Let’s bring ‘er to the Captain! Women are bad luck on board the ship. He’s gonna wan’ to take care of her.”

“Please, I just want to get out of here. Don’t hurt me,” Nix begged. The men ignored her, grabbing her and dragging her up to the deck, roughly throwing her into objects and against walls along the way. 

When they reached the deck the other men turned their attention to the spectacle, the noise of their arrival causing much curiosity. Nix was shoved onto her hands and knees, scraping them against the ship deck. The captain, seeing this unwanted stow away, angrily stomped towards her. “I thought I smelled a rat,” his voice boomed. Nix held the coin with both hands to her chest, sobbing. This is it. She thought to herself. The captain grabbed her by the hair and roughly pulled her to her feet. She failed to meet his eyes, fear keeping her gaze at her feet. This angered the captain, “Such disrespect will not be tolerated you bilge rat!” He roared at her, using his massive hand to smack her right in the jaw. The force knocked her off her feet, violenting throwing her to the right. She braced herself with her hands, letting the coin fly out of them. It rolled on the deck and straight into the water. Nix lay on the deck writhing in pain, tears flowing down her cheeks, the entire left side of her face red from the force of the blow. 

    “What was it rolled out o’ yer hands!” The captain snarled at her, his voice now low and threatening. Nix whimpered, unable to amass enough courage to admit it was the coin. He rushed towards her, not allowing her to cower away from him. He grabbed her by the hair again, pulling her to her feet once more. This time, he shoved her into the mast, drawing his blade and putting it to her throat. “What was it rolled off me ship?” He growled, voice deep with anger. 

Nix didn't know how to respond to this massive man. He was an image straight from a nightmare. His clothes tattered and stained, rotting yellow teeth bared, and his sword pressed against her neck. If she even swallowed she risked a slight cut. "It was a trinket..." she softly cried, tears streaking her cheeks.

"A trinket?!" the captain roared. His face was red, the vein on his right forehead bulging. "A lying, thief ye are!" He aggresively sheathed his sword and grabbed her by the neck. He choked her, taking pleasure in watching her struggle for breath. After a few moments, just when Nix thought she would lose consciousness, the captain smiled, his stress seamingly vanishing from his face. He threw her to the deck and boomed "Bind the wenches hands and feet! Throw her off me ship and let the sea have her!"

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