Pirate's Life For Me....

The Derelict

  "I swear to God, Deana, if you do something like that ever again, I will kill you." Vane was like a storm with his harsh expression and rumbling voice as he limped toward me. The shot to his leg had been properly tended to, and he seemingly refused to use a crutch to help him walk until his wound healed. When he stood just inches from me, his eyes seemed rather dark, and I felt like a scolded child.

  Unable to continue looking him in the eye, I glanced to the side while hearing the creaking of the rocking ship and the voices above deck.

  "Yeah, well-"

  "Well, nothing." Vane's rough hand harshly grabbed my jaw, forcing me to look at him as he growled, his face so close to mine that I could feel his breath on my face. I had instinctively grabbed onto his wrist, and he tilted my head up a little more. Oh, he was pissed. His face and tone were red flags warning of this, and how he narrowed his eyes made me feel like a mouse caught in a lion's paw.

  "I don't want your excuses, I don't want your explanations. You could have died. Shit, you damn near had your fuckin' neck broken by that fuckin' rope! What you did was reckless, Deana. You should have fuckin' left me and escaped." I opened my mouth to say something, but my captain didn't give me a chance to. "Don't. Nothing you say can fix how you sent me off so that you could die." Tightening my grip on his wrist, I glared while raising my voice.

  "I love you, Charles." I stated, and I saw him pause. "I love you, and I didn't want to see you beaten and with a noose around your neck. I figured it'd better be me at the gallows than you. Me? I'm just some street rat with a big name. But you?" I scoffed. "You're fucking Charles Vane, feared captain and renowned man that others will follow into the depths of Hell. You hanging from a noose would shake the very foundations of what's left of the pirates, and Nassau would be forever lost to British rule. Sure, Captain Flint could do some damage on his own, but, believe it or not, your death would be catastrophic to what we're doing here-"

  "Answer me this....did you risk your life because it was a tactical move....or because you love me?"

  "Because I love you." There was a silent pause, then Vane was leaning down and kissing me. His gentle lips were in great contrast to his rough grip still on my jaw, but I found it rather pleasant.

  "You're a fool." He said lowly.

~

  "Oh, Jesus. They are not fucking around, are they?" Anne asked while looking at the beach being bombarded by cannons. "We're supposed to sail into that? One ship against their entire fleet?"

  "A favorable wind. We'll be upon them quickly. We'll take fire, obviously. If we can just get our vanguard aboard one of their ships, we could disrupt their entire line. Do not look at me like that." Jack said while both Anne and I were looking at him like he was an idiot. "This is the plan. Harass their line. We....create uncertainty in the minds of their soldiers on the ground and undermine their confidence in their command."

  "Yeah, and I'll know how they'll feel."

  "Sails!" Someone on the boat shouted. "East-southeast!"

  "East?" And we rushed over to the man holding a spyglass, leaning on the edge of the boat to faintly see the sails peeking around the island.

  "Six ships. British colors."

  "Who the fuck is that?"

  "Reinforcements, likely." The man lowered the spyglass, looking at the ships with his own eyes. "It seems Governor Rogers was able to enlist the aid of one of his colleagues. I'll put a launch in the water now."