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Pirates Of the Caribbean: The Ring of the Abyss

By: Anna Summers

Disclaimer: Long story short, I own all the characters you've never heard of before and the ones you have heard of sadly don't belong to me!!! Though I would truly love to own Will and Jack...
Happy Readings and Have a Good Day!
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Prologue

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It was dusk, and the moonlight shone through the clouds as the sun dipped and disappeared below the horizon. The Abyss steered carefully through the water. There was no potential danger, the water was calm, and the clouds randomly dotted the sky as the moon played, hiding and showing itself from time to time.

Katherine Pearl, barely eight years old, gazed along the flat-water surface as her father's ship made its way through the night. She had been sailing with her father since before she could remember, for she had no mother to care for her elsewhere. Katherine, or Kate as she was nicknamed, stood beside her father Joseph Pearl, a gruff looking man with kind eyes and a big heart. Kate looked at her father's eyes, lost in the night's sea. She often wondered what he was thinking, but she dare not ask. A pirate kept to himself, no matter the circumstances.

"Lovely night, eh?" Joseph broke the silence and looked down at his daughter. He smiled that smile Kate loved so much and she grinned back up at him.

"Aye, Papa."

"I have a gift for you," said Joseph as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object, which he hid from her view.

"A gift for me?" Kate stared at Joseph's hands, "May I see?"

Joseph opened his hand, revealing a beautiful diamond and ruby ring. Kate's eyes shone with excitement. Never had she received such a meaningful gift.

"It was your mother's. She told me to give it to you when the time was right. It's very important to our family, Katie girl, never lose that."

"I wont!" Kate admired her hand when Joseph placed the ring on her tiny finger. It was too large in size for her small hands, and it slid about.

"Ah, love, perhaps you should pocket it." Said Joseph, "And wear it when ye grow into it."

"I will. I'll never lose it, Papa. Pirate's honor."

Joseph laughed, "Ah, Pirate's honor, love. That's my girl. You best be gettin' to bed. Long day ahead of us."

"Aye. Goodnight, Papa." And with that, she skipped off to her cabin below decks.

Joseph returned to his state of peacefulness, staring mindlessly at the Caribbean Sea. He loved his life. He was well aware that people looked down on pirates, but he had never minded. Piracy was in his blood, and he was going to make sure that Katie's children and her children's children chose this amazing lifestyle.

Back in her cabin, Kate tucked herself into bed, glancing at her finger quite often. She adored the ring, and the fact that it had belonged to her mother made her adore it even more. At last, something to remember her by. She kissed the ring, and whispered into the night,

"I'll never lose you. You're mine forever."

And Katherine Pearl turned out the light and closed her tiny eyes as she waited for sleep to come.

It was soon thereafter, however, that Kate's eyes shot open again after hearing a rather loud sound coming from above deck. It was the warning bell, the one never rang unless they were subject to danger. She placed the ring in her pocket and buttoned it, ensuring its safety, and opened the door that led to the deck.

At first, Kate saw nothing. Then, it came through the mist like a ghost -- It was a ship. The first person Kate looked for was her father, who she found staring up at this mystery, sword unsheathed, ready for anything. She then spotted her father's first mate, Sirus, studying the strange ship from afar.

The ship was dark, so dark in fact that it nearly blended in with the night sky and made it difficult to see. There was no sign of life aboard, and the ship stood still, its flags flapping in the wind. Something white caught her eye, apparently an emblem on the flag, but Kate could not make it out in the dark.

"Appears to be abandoned, sir." Sirus observed.

Kate realized the bell had been rung due to the fear of collision, but once that had gone away, she believed they were in no danger anymore. She sighed. But it wasn't over yet.

Suddenly, out of the darkness, a shadow moved. Everyone saw it, and a hush fell over the crew of the Abyss. Another, the same shadow, only this time footsteps were heard. 'This is no abandoned ship.' Kate thought. 'Someone's there."

"Aye, anyone there?" Sirus shouted over to the ship. The ship itself was now close enough for any man to swing over easily with a rope.

The shadows accumulated, and soon there were nearly fifty of them, staring at the Abyss. All was quiet, and then the shadows took action. One by one, the shadows swung by rope onto the deck of the Abyss. They were heavily armed with swords and guns. The quiet ended as the mystery crew yelled and began to kill off sailors one by one.

Little Kate panicked. Her father's crew was dropping dead left and right. Terrified, she locked the door of her cabin and turned out her light, hiding under the covers. She heard a knock. Only, it wasn't a knock. It was a bang...an intrusive bang that scared Kate so much, she shook. She moved under the bed, where she watched in horror as two pairs of dusty boots kicked open the door and wandered around the cabin.

"Bloody pirates. Where be all the loot?" Said one man as he paced the room right and left. Kate tried not to breathe as she watched the men's feet travel just inches from her face.

"I've searched. There's nothing. Anyways, I don't need loot. Just find me that bloody ring." Said another.

Kate let out a silent gasped as she thought of the ring in her pocket. Surely he couldn't mean this one - or could he?

The men exited the room, and Katie covered her ears to block out the screams coming from the Abyss crewmembers. However, soon thereafter, it became very quiet on deck, and terrified Kate got out from under the bed and peered outside once again. The enemy ship had gone, and she saw it sailing away in the distance, reflected by the moonlight. She again saw its flag and it was clear that the emblem imprinted on it was that of a White Stallion.

Kate then had a thought that hadn't occurred to her before, and her heart skipped a beat as she cursed herself.

Papa.

She raced out on deck, and faced her worst fears. Her father's men - the men she had grown up with - were dead. There was no moving, only blood and bodies. Trying to overcome her fear, she raced about the deck until she found him.

Joseph Pearl, his own blood surrounding his body, opened his eyes astonishingly and looked at his daughter standing above him. He reached up with all his strength left and grabbed her hand.

"Katie."

Kate knelt beside her bleeding father, and clutched his hand tightly. "Papa, don't talk. Lie still," Kate choked back tears.

"Listen to me, Katie." He winced in pain, "Ye need to find someone alive on this ship - anyone. Take the lifeboat and paddle north. There's an island just a few miles off. Take me compass."

Kate obeyed, and picked up her father's compass from his lower coat pocket. When her hand emerged, it had blood on it, and a tear fell down her cheek.

"That's my girl." Joseph weakened, "And another, thing, Katie. Never lose that ring."

"Papa, why's it so important?"

But Joseph, who was fading in and out of consciousness, didn't hear. His voice cracked, and she felt his grip loosen on her hand.

"I love ye, Kate. Make me proud," his eyes closed.

"Papa, no you can't leave me here, you can't!" But Joseph Pearl was gone, and Kate wept for what seemed like hours over her father's corpse. Then a horrifying thought occurred to her and she spoke it aloud.

"What if there's no one else, papa?" There had to be someone. She kissed her father's skin gently, rose and began searching the ship calling names, sobbing hysterically.

"Anyone? Please. There must be someone here."

A single voice cried out from nearby.

"Katie, love, over here." It was Sirus, her father's first mate. His leg looked badly mangled and he was hiding behind some barrels, barely conscious.

"Sirus! There's no one else."

Sirus groaned, "The Captain? Your father must have made it."

She shook her head sadly as the tears accumulated in her eyes and slid down her cheek. Trying to be brave, she sat close to Sirus, who reached over to her weakly and wiped a tear away from her face.

"It's going to be alright, love." His voice was soothing; Kate had always liked it, especially when he had told her stories when she had been very young. As best she could, Kate told Sirus of what her father had instructed her to do. She helped him up, struggling with his large frame and hurt leg. Slowly they made their way to the lifeboat, where the two worked as a team to lower themselves using the rope and pulley down into the water.

"Which way, Kate?" Sirus studied Joseph's compass when their boat touched the water.

"Papa said to go north. He said there was an island not too far off,"

"Aye. Port Royal." Said Sirus. He took the paddles in his hands and began to paddle north.

Kate was much too small to help Sirus paddle. She looked back at the Abyss - perhaps the last time she would ever see it, and thought of her dead father. She took the ring out of her pocket and placed it on her small finger.

"You're mine forever," She whispered into the night, repeating the words she had spoken earlier. A sudden surge of anger overcame her. She wanted revenge. Whoever wanted this ring, whoever wanted to take Kate's only memoir of her parents, were out of their minds.

They'd have to kill her first.

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Apologies for ending on such a...murderous...note. But, ah, yes. That's all for today. Many thanks for reading my story please review!!!!
Seriously, review.
I will CRY if you do not review.
...And trust me, you don't want to see me cry. My face gets all puffy-ish and I look like a - All right I wont go into detail, but please review!