The Jackdaw managed to find refuge on top of a lone sandbar, anchoring on it and laying off it's sails for the time being.
The ship was heavily damaged and hurt from the previous battle. Splinters layed the deck like candy for children. Dried blood and wet blood alike paint the decks and walls from the wounds of the crew. The foremast to the mizzenmast was filled with scratches and scrapes of the whizzing cannonballs of before. It's white glossy sails were now filled with holes and cuts, making it appear like a slice of wilted cheese.
On top of that, several cannonballs managed to meet ends with the waterline of the Jackdaw, causing seams of water to fill the deck below. Many of the crew were working on it currently.
Edward walked the gundeck of the Jackdaw, observing and surveying the damage of his ship.
Down below, the screams of anguish and pain were heard, probably from the sick bay, as lines of wounded were being tended to. Most of them though are being tended to with painful methods beyond recognition.
Amputation was rather straightforward, and with no painkillers of any sort, was rather horrific. But for most men, it was better than dying of infection.
Captain Kenway walks up to a wounded crew member, whom he had just had a simple blunt wound on his head.
"Are you okay, lad?" Edward asks him, and the crewmember looks up.
"Yes sir," He manages to say, "I'm fine... only a wound, that's all."
"That's good," Edward only manages to reply, "Keep an eye on your kin, will you?"
To that, the man nods in approval, grinning at the Captain as he walked off.
Edward manages to find Ade, whom he was aft, accessing the rudder damage. The Prince had got them hard there.
"Ade.."
"Edward, I have the damage report and number of casualties.." Ade explains, sighing heavily.
"And? What is it?"
"Eight dead, twenty wounded.." Adewale tells, revealing a rather medium loss of life.
"Damn, what a bloody shame. And the damage?" Edward asks.
"Our rudder has been completely knackered, blown off from the cannonball. As for other damages, the fore and mizzenmast have been hit severely. Actually, the mizzen is in fact slightly limping to port." Ade explains.
Edward turns upwards to see the mizzen, and sure thought, the bloody thing was tilting in an awkward angle, almost pointing to the slim crescent moon.
"What else?"
Adewale clears his throat, "Well, the waterline has been breached, but don't worry, the men have kept it contained for now.."
Edward grins slightly, "That's a relief."
Adewale could only nod, "The gundeck though have been punctured a ton. Holes practically fill the starboard side of the ship, like moles. Also, much of our cannons are in disarray and in desperate need of repair, one even blew up."
Edward coughs, "Well, we'll work on that later."
"Captain, I have a question," Adewale asks.
"What is it?" Edward arches a brow.
"That ship the Prince, or what the crew called at, the Phantom, what are we supposed to do about it?" Ade asks, with concern written on his tone.
"What do you mean do about it?" Edward politely refutes, "For now, nothing, but later on, maybe in Nassau, I'll be sure to mention it. I suppose the rest would want to find out."
Ade nods, "I agree with that course of action, I'm sure Master Kidd and Captain Thatch would want to hear this incident. But as for the ship itself, what if it's still out there? Did you see how it just suddenly appeared out of the fog? Like a bird out of the clouds!"
Edward took Ade's analogies to note, as he wasn't wrong.
The Prince in literally one foul swoop, managed to both disable the Jackdaw slightly on the rudder, and hurt it's mainmast and crew. All with the most upmost accuracy.
"Aye, damn fine gunnery crew the possess," Edward compliments, reflecting on his adversary, "How about we sail for Nassau tomorrow? It's not too far from here, and we'll go and repair the ship. Maybe let the crew stretch their legs for a while.."
Ade laughs, "Sounds good to me, I'll set a course first thing tomorrow," He walks off, going down the ships steps.
Edward arches a brow, playing with him, "Why not set a course right now?"
"Because I'm as tired as a whale!" Adewale laughs, not looking back when talking and walking.
For Edward, he went to his cabin and slowly undressed for the night.
His weapons were placed neatly on the table, except for one small knife under his bed, in case of a mutiny.
Edward then crawled into his raggedy bed, with it creaking loudly as he did so.
With the sounds of the sea overlapping his ears, he slowly drifted to sleep, losing all troubles and thoughts as he did so...
...
Edward then awoke suddenly, he woke up in a cottage. With no clue where he was.
"Wha? Where am I?" He asked, frantically looking around in all sides and directions. He was completely clueless to where he was. His eyes searched in some directions.
He did that, until only moments later, he heard the feminine voice of a woman, with the English accent showing as ever.
Edward shifts his gaze towards the voice, in which, he sees her.
Caroline...
"Edward, are you alright?" She asked confused, looking at Edward with worried eyes.
For the love of God, she was still just as beautiful as he remembered. Her gaze at Edward hinted at a more worried look, as the reaction of him seemed worrying to her.
"Wha-" He stutters, looking around, "Caroline, where am I?"
She arches a brow, leveling different, "Your here, with me, are you alright?"
Edward immediately shifts his thoughts to other matters. Was this a dream? Or was he actually here? Let alone, what was even happening?
"The isn't a dream, is it?" Edward oblivious, asks her.
Caroline rolls her eyes, "No, your here. Did those fisherman down at the docks get to your head?"
Edward scoffs playfully, "What? No, I'm perfectly fine."
"This is weird, I was just on the Jackdaw, and now I'm here?" He thinks to himself.
"I think I just had a bad dream, that's all," Edward reassures, putting his soft hand on her cheek, slight caressing it slowly and lightly.
She slightly blushes and laughs, "Well, I'm glad your nightmare is over, love."
The couple both stay relaxing in bed, sleeping and enjoying one another's embrace as the sounds of the sea made their mind drift off like a rogue schooner.
However, Caroline opened her eyes, and turned to Edward.
She had a question to ask her, and she tries to wake him up, tapping and nudging lightly.
"Edward... Edward?" Caroline nudges, seeing Edward's sea eyes awake to meet hers.
"Yes Caroline?" His voice was deep, and soothing, "What is it?"
Caroline gulps," Is it dangerous Edward? Edward?" She asks.
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Edward mumbles slowly, his eyes beginning to fix.
"Privateering? Is it dangerous?" She asks again, giving off a more worried look.
Edward grins at her, "Wouldn't pay so nice if it weren't," He playfully responds.
For Caroline, she didn't exactly agree with Edward's line of work. From what she'd heard from men at the markets and taverns, the job of fighting in the sea was full of hazards and dangers.
The thought of Edward getting wounded, let alone, murdered, irked her heart to no end.
"Why not sail under the King's navy? Earn a proper wage, sail under gentlemen?" Caroline proposes logically, sounding stern.
"You'll be more safe, more secure, and you'll be sailing under our flag," She proposes again, trying to sound convincing.
"Sod to the navy's gentleman," Edward refutes, reflecting her claims, "For every coin I earn the Captain gets six-hundred more, that's no way to earn a fortune..."
Caroline gives off a disbelieving look, scoffing, "Edward... we don't need a fortune!" She rather says loudly, but regrets it.
Edward's look shifted to alert, as he hadn't expected Caroline to raise her voice.
Edward stands up from the bed, with Caroline looking up to him, "It's not about need Caroline! I want food that don't make me sick! I want walls that hold back the wind!" Edward sighs heavily, breathing into his lungs, "I just want a decent... life..."
Edward hadn't realized what the tone of his voice was, nor the words he was saying. His ear caught the sound of a little bit of sobbing sound, and he turns around, only to see Caroline in tears.
She was trying to hide it, trying to hide it hard, but she couldn't. Her emotions had got the best of her and it all resulted in her crying.
"Caroline?" Edward says concerned, quickly scurrying his way to the bed to meet her, "Caroline, is there something wrong?"
Caroline looks up to Edward, with it, revealing her rather puffy red face and wet cheeks, "I-I'm sorry, it's just that, your leaving soon and, I've just been worried for you..."
"I can't stand the thought of losing you, not now, not ever..."
Wait? He was leaving? But this wasn't a dream? Right? Wait, maybe it was a dream. But everything was so real, how could this be a dream?
"H-how long will you be gone with these privateers?" She asked worried sick, sniveling and sniffling her snot and tears.
"A year I reckon... two.. at the most..." Kenway said, vaguely saddened.
Caroline shifted the bed weight, moving closer to her husband, "Alright... no more than two... promise me?" She pleads and protests lightly.
"Alright..." He says, with her head resting on his chest, "No more than two... I promise..."
To that, the promise was shattered.
...
"Caroline!" He yells, waking up, and awakening to a familar gaze-filled sight.
Unfortunately for Kenway, the only thing he awoken too was the structure and appearance of the cabin of his Jackdaw.
The dream was so real, so impactful and sincere.
His heart now ached for Caroline, as it made him remember the promised he vowed to make.
The promise he never kept.
It's been much more than two years, in fact, it was nearing more than that number.
He couldn't even imagine what Caroline was thinking about him now, as most likely to her, he was probably seen as dead, or missing.
And to that, he gracefully fell under his pillow, and sobbed quietly...
Authors Note:
Here's the rewrite for the new chapter! Mostly everything is the same!
Thanks for reading! C'ya lads and lasses!