The slow heavy sound of her heart racing heart filled the box and she stilled herself, readied her body, and prepared her mind for whatever was about to happen next.
"Creak!!"
She felt the box moving upwards, exposing her to the unsuspecting individual.
"Wha- -"
"BAM!!"
Instantly, she rolled to the side. She snapped her legs on the knees of her victim, only stopping her attack when she saw him falling against the floorboard while the wooden box crashed and broke apart on the ground.
However, she didn't stop there. Immediately, she manoeuvred her hands through his neck and placed him in a chokehold. Even though she wasn't an ascendant, she still had some fighting skills, so the more he struggled, the more her hands tightened.
For a brief second, she wanted to release her grip and talk it out peacefully, but she shook her head. Knowing that this was Prince Wyatt's crew, she knew that she at least needed to have the upper hand before even attempting to talk or else she risks being through into the sea again.
And this time, there wasn't any Captain Crimson eye coming to save her.
She could feel his strength fading away. But, she wasn't sure. In a bit of desperation, she released held back a bit of her strength in order not to choke the man to death. However, it seems that she was a bit careless….
"Bang!!" Her back smashed against the shelves in the kitchen, sending a shocking ripple through her spine that caused her to let go.
"Bang!!!"
"CAAAK!!" Another one. She could feel it. The man wasted no time, and slammed her body again into the wooden shelves, causing her to open her mouth in stupefaction, as she felt like a bolt of electricity had just run through her body. In all her efforts and vigilance, she lay on the ground unmoving.
"SLAM!!" A foot ran through her face. Her mouth gasp as she woke up unwillingly.
The pain she felt across her face and body was unusual. It was unpleasant. Knowing that she had been utterly defeated and rendered in submission, she opened her mouth. She tried to speak a word, but... nothing came out.
She was still in the process of getting back her body, so the only words she could utter were gasps of air.
"You bitch!!" She felt a hand sink into her hair and drag her head upwards. Within a second, she was staring face-to-face with her victim - her assailant.
"You!" A shocked voice entered her ears.
Trying her best to recognise who the man in front of her was, her mouth instantly opened, moving faster than her brain could process "….Mad Jo-hn".
"BAM!!" Mad John slammed her head on the ground.
And then, it all stopped. Her mind which was in the process of rearranging itself turned static as air escaped her lungs.
It all happened so fast.
And so, she found herself laying on the floorboard once more, incapable of breathing properly, and idly, she realised that she was shaking, shivering even.
".… Please I ju-st want to talk" She spoke with difficulty. Her mind was slammed with a headache, rolling with the force of a boulder.
After a few minutes, she felt a hand grabbing her hair again. And instantly, she knew that her thrashing wasn't yet over.
Mad John raised her head until he could lock eyes with her uneasy and distant eyes. It was clear that his assaults were vicious because he hadn't given her any time to recover.
However….
"SMACK!!!" He ran his palm right through her cheeks, leaving a burning red handprint on her smooth feminine skin.
"You!! What are you doing here?" He growled. His voice sounded more harsh and sinister than usual.
'I ca - -"
"SMACK" Another hard slap ran through her cheeks. "Were you sent by Captain Crimson eye? Do you think that you had any chance of escaping here alive if you were caught?" He asked with his eyes widening in anger. His rage rippled through his body as his muscles became denser.
"N-No. I pr-om- - "
"SMACK!!" Another one.
"You know, every time I close my eyes to sleep, the only thing I kept on seeing are bad dreams. Bad dreams which included either you or that dead pathetic knight" He cursed "Every time I take a bath all I see is the injuries you guys have given me".
His eye bulged. His hands clenched her hair tightly, threatening to pull it out of her scalp. And although Clara felt the pain, she knew that there were still many worst things to come.
And so, she braced herself.
"You threatened me emotionally and physically. I watched as you killed my crew and threw them into the sea one by one..... What? Why are you silent? Did you think that I will forget? So because you have the power, do you think that I will ever forget standing there while I watched my crewmen, looked at me with betrayed gaze even after I promised them to do as they are told and yet... And yet, they died because you felt like it".
Mad John's eyes turned moist. Tears dribbled down his eyes like a man screaming to the heavens and wishing for the return of his dead friends. But, his visage, and the overwhelming pit hatred in his heart, spoke for themselves.
"I-I am s---"
"SMACK!!" Another hand ran through her cheeks.
".… I might be a sea slave, but I am still a human being…... You might be the daughter of one of the strongest pirates in Depths of Levethain, but right now, you are just a weak defenceless woman. And I will make sure you feel every fibre of my hate and frustrations" Mad John said.
Clara saw her chances of letting her true intentions known, slip by, the more time passed by. Every time she opened her mouth to speak, she would be slapped with the full force of a man holding nothing back.
Though she wasn't weak, but, there was still a limit to how much an ordinary person can endure. Slowly, she forced her still shuddering mouth to move.
"I ju---"
"SMACK!!" Mad John stood up with fiery determination in his eyes. His hands sank deeper into Clara's hair and raised it, forcing her to get on her knees with her face staring blanking at the floorboard.
He stared at the battered woman under his arms and said "You know, I have decided. I .will. Kill. You. Myself" And he walked forward.
He marched out of the kitchen, dragging Clara's hair across the wooden floor, forcing her to move along with him or else she lest her scalp itch with the pain of being pulled like a convicted delinquent by the hair.
Instinctively, Clara's eyes widened. She could not imagine dying right now after making it this far. She needed to fight him to submission and make him listen to her.
Sure, she knew all the things that she had done in the past. But for her, there was no other way to vent her frustration at that time without tormenting Prince Wyatt and his crewmen.
She could have explained, and tried to make him understand. But, she knew, that without a shadow of a doubt, there was no way that was possible right now.
He had already made up his mind, and the results weren't favourable for her.
And so, she filled her lungs with air and screamed "PRINCE WYATT!! WERE ARE YOU? I CAME HERE TO SPEAK WITH YOU!!".
Her words echoed and bounced off the walls and doors in the hallway. Yet, after a minute, all she received was absolute silence.
"There is no one currently on this ship. They gave all left with the captain, and he left me in charge to take care of it" Mad John said, not halting his movements as he continued onward to the upper deck.
His words sent a shiver down her spine. They were alone!!
"PLEASE, LET US TAKE I PROMISE YOU THAT WANT I AM NOT HERE TO CAUSE ANY PROBLEMS. I JUST WANT A PEACEFUL CONVERSATION" She screamed. But this time, at Mad John.
Mad John paused. He turned his head and looked at her.
"You almost choked me to death. And that isn't even counting the number of atrocities you have inflicted upon me and my fellow crewmen" He replied.
"I am sorry about what I have done to you previously"
"Okay. But I am still throwing you to the sea beasts"
"No, please. I only fought back now in instinct. I only wanted to put you down and talk to you peacefully before you caught me which would have ended in you instinctively attacking me".
Mad John nodded "Yes, you are right".
Clara sighed in relief 'At least, he can still reason properly' She thought.
"But I will still throw you into the sea and wait for you to strangle the sea beasts till they are half unconscious so that you can talk to them peacefully and strike an agreement with them to safely bring you back onbaord the ship" He responded "Maybe then, we can talk".