The atmosphere inside the Captain's Cabin of The Explorer was beyond awkward; it was electric with hostility.
Miss Elizabeth Swann was currently behaving like an angry cat backed into a corner. She stood with her arms crossed tightly over her chest, glaring at Hugo with a fury that could have melted lead. Her hair was a chaotic mess of golden strands, and the neckline of her elaborate silk dress was slightly torn from the scuffle, revealing a glimpse of her fair collarbone.
But Elizabeth couldn't have cared less about her appearance. In her beautiful blue eyes, a raging inferno burned.
"You despicable, shameless bandit! Scoundrel! Hooligan!" she spat, her voice ringing out with a vigor that surprised even the eavesdropping pirates outside. "What exactly do you want? Did you abduct me onto this dirty, stinking ship just to steal a worthless necklace?"
She took a ragged breath and continued without letting him speak. "I'm telling you, my father is the Governor! Commodore Norrington is my fiancé! They will catch up to you very soon! And when they do, every last one of you will be dancing on the end of a rope!"
Hugo sat behind his mahogany desk, casually toying with the Aztec gold coin he had just acquired. He watched her with a look of mild, detached helplessness.
Dirty and stinking? he thought. I designed this hull myself. It's reinforced with the best resins and kept cleaner than a Royal Navy hospital. And when did Norrington become your fiancé? Did the script change, or are you just lying to scare me?
He sighed, maintaining his composed facade. "Miss Swann, please. Lower your voice. It's bad for the acoustics."
Hugo's tone was dangerously gentle. "First, let me correct you. I am not a bandit. I am a glorious... explorer. Secondly, I 'invited' you aboard as an honored guest. It just so happens that your invitation required the temporary surrender of that little trinket."
He jingled the gold coin, the metallic clink echoing in the quiet cabin. "As for your father and the Commodore, I eagerly await their arrival. However, given the current speed of The Explorer, I suspect they might need to invent a much faster ship to catch us."
Hugo's nonchalance only served to stoke Elizabeth's fire. "You... you arrogant, insufferable man!"
Elizabeth's face flushed a deep crimson. Since childhood, she had been the sun around which all men orbited. Every man she met was either respectful, awestruck, or sycophantic. But Hugo looked at her as if she were a mild logistical hurdle. Worse, his eyes were ten thousand times more focused on that wretched gold coin than they were on her.
Was she, the belle of Port Royal, less attractive to him than a piece of ancient junk?
Indignation welled up in her heart. She decided she would teach this pirate a lesson in the only way she knew how. She took a deep breath, suddenly dropping her angry mask and adopting a pitiful, vulnerable look. Her eyes softened, and a slight tremor entered her voice.
"Captain... Captain, sir," she whispered sweetly. "I know you pirates have your rules. I am just a weak woman, alone and at your mercy. Whether I live or die is entirely up to you."
As she spoke, she secretly shifted her shoulders, allowing the torn neckline of her dress to slip a fraction lower, revealing more of her enticing cleavage. She cast a seductive, dewy-eyed glance at him, the kind of look that would have sent James Norrington into a stammering fit.
Outside the door, Billy and Hanson were practically holding their breath as they peeked through the gap.
"Holy crap..." Billy whispered. "Is she really trying to...?" "The Captain's only human," Hanson muttered nervously. "Can he handle a siren like that?"
Hugo watched Elizabeth's clumsy acting as if he were watching a poorly rehearsed school play. He even fought back a yawn.
"Miss Swann, I advise you to save your energy," Hugo said. He tucked the gold coin into his pocket and stood up, walking toward her until he was inches away.
"I've seen more of your 'damsel in distress' tricks in TV shows than you've eaten hot meals. You're transparent."
Elizabeth froze, her seductive act evaporating. "What... what is a 'TV show'?"
"Nothing you'd understand," Hugo replied, shaking his head. He looked down at her, a mischievous, predatory smile playing on his lips. "However, since you're so eager to be 'useful' to the Captain, I suppose I should give you a chance to earn your keep."
"What chance?" Elizabeth asked warily, pulling her dress back up.
"It's simple." Hugo pointed to the corner of the cabin, where a luxurious, private toilet sat, complete with velvet-padded cushions and brass fittings. "You can start by cleaning that. Spotless."
"Clean... clean the toilet?!"
Elizabeth's voice rose by eight octaves. She couldn't believe her ears. This scoundrel! This hooligan! This arrogant, blind fool! He actually wanted her, the daughter of Governor Swann to perform menial sanitation work? It was a fate worse than death.
"You... you're dreaming!" she screamed, pointing a trembling finger at his nose.
"Oh? You don't want to?" Hugo shrugged, turning toward the door. "Then forget it. Gibbs!"
"Aye, Commodore!" Gibbs shouted, snapping to attention at the door.
"Take Miss Swann to the crew quarters," Hugo commanded. "She'll be staying with Billy and Hanson. Give her the standard treatment, no favoritism. Her meals will be the same as the men: black bread, dried salted fish, and water. No rum. It's not good for a lady's constitution."
Elizabeth's mind raced. Staying in the dark, damp crew quarters with thirty sweating, cursing pirates? Eating bread as hard as stone and fish that smelled like rot? The very thought made her stomach turn.
She looked at the velvet-padded toilet, then at the grinning pirates in the hallway. Of two evils, she chose the one with the velvet.
"I'll... I'll clean it!" she hissed through gritted teeth.
"That's more like it," Hugo nodded with satisfaction.
Seeing the Governor's daughter humiliated yet compliant brought an indescribable sense of accomplishment to his mind. Little girl, you're playing a game with someone who knows the ending. If I couldn't handle a fiery lass like you, I'd be a disgrace to all transmigrators.