Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS. THE ONLY THING I OWN IS THE WRITING, ISABELLE AND MARY.
I look out at the deep blue ocean, feeling the cool breeze and salty spray on my rosy cheeks. My cousin, Isabelle, stands by my side, dressed in a frilly yellow dress. I turn and smile at her, my excitement making me let out a little laugh. I've never been out on the ocean before.
"Isn't this just so amazing, Isabelle?" I ask her, "I've never been on a boat, have you? Just look at the ocean! It seems to go on forever!"
"Yes, two other times." She nods and then says, "My goodness, Mary, you are acting quite foolish! You are nineteen years old. There is no reason to get so excited over something as simple as this. This trip is going to take around a week, and, I assure you, you will be very sick and tired of being on this ship by then. You will be begging to get off. You will see that this is not near as 'amazing' as you imagine it to be."
"You are so very boring, Isabelle!" I shake my head and let out an annoyed huff, "Can you at least let me enjoy this a little? Can't I enjoy myself for once?" I frown as I continue to look out at the shimmering water. She walks away silently, and I smirk to myself. She's always telling me to 'grow up' and 'act my age'. The world is so exciting, and yet she expects me to stay cooped up inside like some little old woman instead of going out and seeing the world!
I stand in the same spot for hours, just admiring the sea. Above me fly white birds, below me I see fish swimming. It's so beautiful. I decide to look behind me to see how far we have gotten from the shore. There is nothing but open sea all around me. It makes me slightly nervous, but at the same time it's exhilarating. This is what it is like to live! The ocean is so beautiful, truly breathtaking. I can't take my eyes off of it! I don't even notice it when the sun starts to sink below the horizon. I could stand here forever, well, if Isabelle wasn't calling for me that is.
"What is it, Belle?" I turn around and look at her, slightly irritated that she had interrupted my thoughts. But when I see her face, I have to force myself not to die of laughter. I know she is upset with me, probably for standing here all day, but I could honestly care less. The look on her face is absolutely priceless!
"Come with me, it is late and you are going to go to bed. You have been up here for hours!" She gives me this frown and I roll my eyes.
"When did you become my mother?" I ask with a snort before turning away from her to look back out at the water. She grabs me tightly by the shoulder and I groan inwardly. Here comes the lecture.
"I am older than you, Mary, and you are to respect me, listen to me, and obey me. Now you are going to come with me, and you are going to go to bed. Right now." Her voice becomes extremely quiet and I gulp. I reluctantly turn around to see anger in her sky-blue eyes.
"Y-yes ma'am." Isabelle may only be six years older than I am, but you don't want to see her angry. She is vicious when she's angry, I know from experience. I decide I will not argue. I may as well just listen her and do what she says.
Almost instantly she calms down, her usual little 'proper' smile coming back to her face, "Now there is a good girl," She says. We go below decks to where we are to sleep. I find my nightgown already laid out for me atop a small bed made of straw covered by a simple, white bed sheet . Quickly I don my nightgown and lay on the rough, makeshift mattress. It's extremely uncomfortable, and straw is poking my back in the most annoying way, but, as soon as I lay down and get settled, I realize just how tired I really am. It's been a long day. I close my eyes and fall asleep within seconds.
"Mary! Mary get up!" My eyes snap open and I sit straight up. My cousin is beside me, her eyes wild with fear. She's trembling. something is definitely wrong.
"What's going on?" I ask her.
"Pirates!" Isabelle cries, "We're being attacked!" Just then, a cannon goes off and I hear someone let out a terrified scream. The cannon fire missed us; if it had hit, I would have felt it. I get up and start running up to the main deck. Isabelle follows shortly behind me. I know that if I stay below, and we start to sink, I will most surely die. Another cannon goes off and I feel the boat rock back and forth. We've been hit. I look around the deck and see that men are running around, yelling and shouting orders at each other.
Suddenly I hear Isabelle let out a cry, and I spin around to see where she had been just a moment before. She isn't there. I can't see her anywhere! My heart rate accelerates and I hear blood pounding in my ears. Isabelle is gone. She is dead, consumed by the sea. I know it. She has fallen overboard and drowned. I'm doomed. I am going to die, just like her.
I shake violently and fall to me knees as the ship is hit again. I ignore the tears that threaten to spill over my eyelids. Tears won't save me; tears won't bring my cousin back. I stand once more, bracing myself against the railing. I don't want to die, I really don't, but I know there is no hope.
All of a sudden the boat shudders and I hear a loud crack as a last cannon is fired and lands a direct hit on the ship. We're sinking. Screams sound from the lower decks. Screams of the dying: women, men, children. All innocent, all doomed to die in the deep, dark ocean with no chance of ever being found. I cannot bear to hear their pitiful cries. I can hear the sound of a crying baby, and I have to cover my ears. It doesn't help, I can still hear the infant's screaming cries. No, he's gone silent. All the screaming and crying has ceased below me. They're all dead. They're all dead and I'm next. I can see the crew jumping into the ocean, killing themselves. Oh the agony! So much pain! I can't stand this!
I know there is no hope for me, I have to be the only person left alive on this ship. I want to stare right into the eyes of our attackers when I die. I want them to regret what they've done. I want them to feel the pain and the suffering of all these people who they killed. My cousin, that baby, everyone. Boldly I turn to face them, clenching my fists in preparation for the inevitable.
Much to my surprise, there is no one there. Nothing, no ship, no nothing. They are gone, just like that. I don't have any time to make sense of this, because suddenly, a wooden beam falls from the mast and strikes me upon my head. I sway for a moment before falling flat on my face. Everything goes dark and I lose consciousness.