<div class="floatright">(http://static.desktopnexus.com/thumbnails/739728-bigthumbnail.jpg)<strong><br/>   Ophelia Rockefeller<br/>   In the stateroom<br/>   With Captain Hawkes<br/>   Facing the consequences of her acts<br/></strong><hr/></div>Ophelia had felt that she had the upper hand, that the Captain was cowering from her. This was what she was  used to. Peoples always tended to rebel against the power of her family, at first, but they soon changed their mind and apologised. Sometimes she showed magnanimity to them, but when they had been too foolhardy in their revolt, she loved to humiliate them. And on this point, Hawke had gone way beyond all limits.<br/><br/>Thus, she was not prepared at all for Macheath's slap. It took a totally aback, mentally at first, and then physically as the strength of the blow almost threw her down. Her head was ringing and her cheek was red and warm. Her mouth opened wide, as well as her eyes. She could still feel the officer's handprint on her face. For a moment she was speechless, her incredulous eyes were moving from the Captain to the Commander and back. She had never been placed in such a situation before.<br/><br/>She saw the other girls moving out, leaving her alone with the Captain, who had locked the door behind them. Her arrogant expression turned to that of a trapped hare. Something was wrong, very wrong. But nothing had prepared her for that and she did not know how to react.<br/><br/><strong>"Captain... Wait... Don't do anything you might regret later... What are you doing?... Nooooo!!!!"</strong><br/><br/>She did her best to resist as Hawkes forced the gag into her mouth. With her arms securely cuffed behind her back, there was little she could do though and moreover the panic was paralysing her martial-art skills. The knotted cloth pressed against her lips, harder and harder, and as the pain grew she had to open her mouth. The ball of cotton penetrated past her teeth and she felt the Captain tying it behind her head. She had been reduced to silence once again.<br/><br/>She staggered backward until she could move no further, her back against a corner of the room. Hawkes did not pursue her. He calmly sat down in front of her, smoking. There was something even more dreadful in this calmness. She looked at him, her heart pounding hard. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. She was helpless in the hands of a mad tyrant. Remembering her training, she tried to calm down, to breathe deeper and collect her thoughts.