Sunlight flowed in like rivulets into the black and red furnished room, the maroon table peppered with small knife holes, cracks and makeshift holders for candles. The walls were brown like the ship and they too were slightly weathered from the years. His eyes fluttered open and he tried to sit up slowly until he realized that Jess had her arms wrapped tightly around his body as though he was a pillow. Gently, he stroked her sides and snuggled close to her.
She stirred momentarily and snuggled closer before falling back asleep again. Slowly, he fell back to sleep and dreamed of dancing on the deck with her.
"Captain!" he jolted awake and looked up at the familiar, yet blurred face of James.
"James?" he asked and rubbed his eyes. Jess had curled into a ball at the other end of the bed, facing and hugging the wall.
"The marines are coming, a patrol boat spotted us and they're approaching!" he spoke quickly and exasperatedly.
Quickly, he got up and swung his coat over his shoulders and went to his small bathroom in the corner and quickly brushed his teeth and drank some cold coffee while walking out of his cabin. The marines had his ship surrounded and he chuckled softly before laughing loudly. All his crew members had their weapons out and cocked, ready to fire. Even his ship's cannons were primed and ready to fire.
He walked to the edge and leaned in the sturdy wood.
"Admiral Banner, how goes the seas these years?" He chuckled and and the heavily built Admiral looked down from his position atop the ship.
"Been good. I warned you and your crew before, a few years back when we had that tea session aboard The Queen Anne's Revenge. Blackbeard was our mediator and he agreed. I would have the permission to kill you and your crew if I saw your ship pass by. What a lucky day it is for me..." He laughed softly and his vice-admiral, Frank, draped the admiral's coat on Banner's shoulders.
"So, feeling lucky huh? Hahaha you couldn't beat me in my dreams!" he laughed and his whole crew laughed with him.
Banner scoffed and chuckled softly as he took out his prized possession from the coat.
His iron glove with a blue crystal on the back of it.
Some of Zack's crew shivered and trembled when they saw the glove while Zack just stood there with his big smile plastered across his face.
Banner slipped the glove onto his hand and the straps immediately wrapped around his arm and he clenched his fingers. Immediately, the water currents around them started to churn and slosh around.
Zack grabbed onto the wood and he stared at the Admiral, who was in turn smirking back at him with his hand clenched. He opened his fist and the clouds above them started to condense into thick dark grey ones.
Jess awoke from the sudden movement of the boat and he had stopped herself from rolling off the bed. She got off the bed and collapsed on the floor before getting up. This really isn't for me~
She opened the door and she ran out, much to the crew's surprise and managed to make her way over to Zack with a little bit of James's help. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held close to him. All the while Zack stared at the Banner before Frank jumped onto the side of the ship and molded a fireball in his hand and threw it at Zack's ship.
Zack reacted quickly and pulled Jess away while drawing his pistol and shooting the fireball. It burst into pieces and he stared at Frank.
Frank had a look of insanity on his face, his eyes wide open and his evil grin on.
Zack growled and looked down at Jess as the ship rocked back and forth, cradled by the roughened seas.
She had her face hidden in his chest and he tilted her head up to kiss her cheek gently before smiling.
"It's dangerous out here, you should go back into the cabin." he said, being genuinely worried for her.
She shook her head and held him closer and tighter.
"N-No, I want to be with you if it means being with you when we d-" he kissed her deeply to cut her off from saying the word and his crew made a unanimous "Aww~"
Breaking away, he smiled and she looked up at him with her cutest blushing face.
"HEY! I'M THE ONE YOU SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON!" Banner shouted from his ship and thrust out his hand and the seas got rougher.
"Sorry, did I steal your spotlight?" Zack teased, earning a shoulder poke from the timid Jess and getting laughter from his crew.
"SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU USELESS DOGS~" he screeched in his high pitched voice.
Zack held his hand up and closed his eyes. Jess could feel his heart start to pulse faster as Zack concentrated on Frank.
Suddenly Frank pounced on Banner and tried to rip the glove off and Banner screamed and pushed him off and tried kicking him. Zack made Frank grab onto the screaming Admiral's arm and burnt a circle, fast and quick before yanking the arm off and throwing it off the side of the ship. Zack opened his eyes and caught the arm and put on the ground before snapping his fingers and yelling out a word Jess couldn't make out.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!" Loud explosions hit Bamner's ship as The Soaring Death fired it's canons.
Their ship rocked as his triple barreled canons fired it's explosive cannonballs into the other ships's hull. Frank forged several fireballs and Zack forced him to throw the flaming balls of fire back onto the deck to set the ship on fire.
Zack stared at the flaming and punctured ship in disgust before Jess's shaking finally brought him back into reality.
"Yes love?" he asked.
"P-please, please can we go? I don't like the sounds..." he smiled and nodded. Gently, he cupped her ears and shouted to his crew.
"Let's go!" everyone replied with a unanimous, "Aye aye Captain!" he smiled and laughed heartily. As they were leaving, he caught sight of a flaming fireball flying towards Jess and he quickly turned around so the fireball hit his back. Both of the hit the ground but Zack softened it with his arms. He got up from the floor but was still on his fours.
"AH! FUCK!" he screamed out loud and quickly threw his flaming coat into the sea. "That...was my favourite coat you BITCH!" he stood up and grabbed a rifle from his crew mate and held it up, so the sights lined up with Frank's head.
Jess got up from the ground quickly and she grabbed onto Zack's wrist shaking her head at him much like she had the first time they'd met.
"D-Don't give h-him what h-he wants Z-Zack, please j-just walk a-away" she stuttered out looking at him with a pleading look in her dark grey eyes, she just wanted to get out of there and she didn't want him or any of his crew to get harmed.
He growled loudly and threw the gun to someone. He didn't notice who it was but all he felt was pain overloading his senses as his vision blurred before he collapsed into Jess's arms.
Jess breathed a soft sigh of relief when he tossed the gun away, listening to her. She made a sound of surprise and worry and she sank to the ground holding Zack close to her.
"James! I need your help now!" She said quickly and loudly, but not loud enough that anyone outside of Zack's crew would be able to hear. She lowered her voice so only Zack himself could hear her. "Come on just hang on a little longer Zack, baby please..."
The wound was not a thrid degree burn but it was between first and second degree. He groaned softly in reply as the burnt wound on his back began to bleed slightly. His breathing increased in pace as he tried to focus his mind. But to no avail, the adrenaline and the pain only worsened as the burn stung like a hundred wasps had stung him.
James carried him into his cabin and went to get their medical supplies from his cabin before rushing back down and calling the stunned men to get back to their stations. He rushed into the cabin and quickly poured some salt on Zack's back and a loud guttural scream erupted from his throat and into a pillow as the wound sizzled softly.
He gripped the pillow hard as his breaths came in hard pants. The pain was undeniably harsh but necessary to disinfect the wound. James put some cream on his cleaned hands and looked up at Jess.
"Dear, could you clean up the salt please, ever so carefully Milady." he smiled and spoke, his voice concerned and worried.
She quickly grabbed a damp towel from the first aid kit which James had prepared and gently dabbed at the wound. Zack remained silent as he was far too tired to talk or make any sound.
James applied burn cream to his back and smiled before keeping the kit and leaving, pausing at the door.
"Take care of him would you Jess? He means a lot to me..." he smiled and left, closing the door. Zack grunted softly and tries to turn but Jess stopped him, holding his shoulders and squeezing them gently.
"Baby, p-please stay still ok? It's not a really bad burn but it's still a burn nonetheless s-so please don't aggravate the wound." he sighed softly and nodded, not feeling used to having someone other than James tell him that.
"You sound like James, heh, it's so weird haha! Ouch! N-No laughing..." he smiled and turned his head to smile a little at Jess.
She finally understood what James meant by he means a lot to me.
She smiles and gently strokes his hair and twirls it in her fingers and kissed his cheek gently.
"Rest baby, you were really brave just now...T-Thank you...F-For saving m-my life...a-again. But r-rest o-okay? You'll b-be all b-better in the morning!" she tried her best to assure him and he grunted softly in reply and crossed his arms under the pillow.
"It was the only proper thing I could do. So no need to be so formal about it okay?" He turned his head sideways to speak and laid down as he was.
She laid down beside him and closed her eyes, her hand reaching out to hold his. He squeezed her hand gently to let her know he was still there and she giggled. The both of them soon drifted into deep sleep, exhausted from the attack earlier and the help she gave Zack.