"Bring the sails down! Now!!" Anna Marie commanded above the roar of the
ocean within a storm. The wind was making the wheel impossible to control
and the sails were bound to through someone overboard.
Will had picked up his place in the crew quickly. He pulled on the ropes with the others, sweat mixing with the salt water sprays and buckets of rain. "Duck," a crew member said casually as the others kneeled for an instant. Of all the customs, Will had not known of this one. The fore boom hit him right on the head, sending him to sprawl on the deck.
"Christ," Anna Marie muttered as Jack looked over the unconscious body. "Will someone bring him down below?" She walked down to the deck finding the others busy with the ropes.
"Why don't you go down below with him and I'll make sure the ship doesn't go too much off course. When the storm is over, you can tell us how bad a job we did then. Savvy?" Jack said. He hoisted Will on his shoulder and slapped his face to wake him up. "There should be some water below that you can splash on him."
Anna Marie was about to tell Jack he should take Will down below but that would make them all believe even more heartily that she was the captain. No, she had to take his orders. She was still having gripes on being a woman in a male dominated lifestyle when she followed Jack with Will dragging in tote.
A splash of water that seemed to drench him, made Will realize he was no longer outside. He saw the silhouette above him and noticed the long hair, the feminine figure. "Elizabeth."
"Try Anna Marie next time and you'd be right," she retorted. That wouldn't be the way Elizabeth would talk, Will thought. Though, his thoughts weren't helped by the mostly blinding pain his head was swimming in.
"What happened?" he asked.
"No, no. It's 'What the hell happened?' Man, tell me you were like this before you met the broad." Her harsh words didn't match the way she was taking care of him. She had his head on her lap and wiping a damp cloth on his head.
"What problem does the crew have with Elizabeth?" Will was sick and tired of everyone bad-mouthing her without him really understanding what was so bad about her to them.
Anna Marie rolled her eyes and got up without warning. Will winced as his head hit the floor. He pressed the cloth against his forehead to ease the pain. "Elizabeth was yer treasure and you got it. Good for ye. But yer supposed to spend your treasure, use it to get what you want and then go and then, when you've spent it all, go and get some more treasure." Will looked up at her confusedly. "Yer with the Mayor's daughter who is also good buddies with a British Commodore. Yer supposed to be looting, pillaging, making a mess of towns and getting away with it because of your connections. Yer supposed to know us so that when we're sentenced to be hanged, we miraculously escape." One look at the boy made her realize she would be effective talking to the stool she was sitting on.
"So is that it? You need me as leverage again," Will said, utterly upset and frustrated.
"What? No, no. I was just sayin'-Listen, forget about it, okay?" Anna Marie was getting impatient with him. Their cultures were miles apart. How would they ever understand each other? "We need as many people as possible and the captain thought we needed to get ye outta there."
"Then, where are we going? Why do you need so many people? The ship is doing just fine with the crew you have now." Will couldn't understand what was going on but it must be big.
"We need an army," she said. She took a minute to decide if telling him would be safe and then leaned forward. "We're going to set the slaves on Espanol free. There is a rebel group formin' already. We're just gonna to help them out a bit," she finished with a smirk. "The French have a lot of money but they'll have a lot less when we're done."
"You are insane. You are attacking an entire colony. You are not pillaging a town and then leaving it. You are attacking an entire island and then keeping it. It will never work," Will said. Anna Marie just stared at him, obviously upset, and then left. The Caribbean sun could be seen coming down the stairs. While she was gone, Will thought his headache might go away if he just closed his eyes.
"Will! Will, wake up! Don't ye dare go to sleep." Anna Marie shouted as she slapped his face. When he opened his eyes, her brown eyes were looking down at him, worry written on her face.
Will just looked curiously up at her. "You were worried about me," he said wonderingly.
Anna Marie just huffed and, seeing as he was just fine, through him a bucket. Going up the stairs, she yelled behind her back, "We need to get the water off the deck. Shuffle off ye good for nothin."
Will had picked up his place in the crew quickly. He pulled on the ropes with the others, sweat mixing with the salt water sprays and buckets of rain. "Duck," a crew member said casually as the others kneeled for an instant. Of all the customs, Will had not known of this one. The fore boom hit him right on the head, sending him to sprawl on the deck.
"Christ," Anna Marie muttered as Jack looked over the unconscious body. "Will someone bring him down below?" She walked down to the deck finding the others busy with the ropes.
"Why don't you go down below with him and I'll make sure the ship doesn't go too much off course. When the storm is over, you can tell us how bad a job we did then. Savvy?" Jack said. He hoisted Will on his shoulder and slapped his face to wake him up. "There should be some water below that you can splash on him."
Anna Marie was about to tell Jack he should take Will down below but that would make them all believe even more heartily that she was the captain. No, she had to take his orders. She was still having gripes on being a woman in a male dominated lifestyle when she followed Jack with Will dragging in tote.
A splash of water that seemed to drench him, made Will realize he was no longer outside. He saw the silhouette above him and noticed the long hair, the feminine figure. "Elizabeth."
"Try Anna Marie next time and you'd be right," she retorted. That wouldn't be the way Elizabeth would talk, Will thought. Though, his thoughts weren't helped by the mostly blinding pain his head was swimming in.
"What happened?" he asked.
"No, no. It's 'What the hell happened?' Man, tell me you were like this before you met the broad." Her harsh words didn't match the way she was taking care of him. She had his head on her lap and wiping a damp cloth on his head.
"What problem does the crew have with Elizabeth?" Will was sick and tired of everyone bad-mouthing her without him really understanding what was so bad about her to them.
Anna Marie rolled her eyes and got up without warning. Will winced as his head hit the floor. He pressed the cloth against his forehead to ease the pain. "Elizabeth was yer treasure and you got it. Good for ye. But yer supposed to spend your treasure, use it to get what you want and then go and then, when you've spent it all, go and get some more treasure." Will looked up at her confusedly. "Yer with the Mayor's daughter who is also good buddies with a British Commodore. Yer supposed to be looting, pillaging, making a mess of towns and getting away with it because of your connections. Yer supposed to know us so that when we're sentenced to be hanged, we miraculously escape." One look at the boy made her realize she would be effective talking to the stool she was sitting on.
"So is that it? You need me as leverage again," Will said, utterly upset and frustrated.
"What? No, no. I was just sayin'-Listen, forget about it, okay?" Anna Marie was getting impatient with him. Their cultures were miles apart. How would they ever understand each other? "We need as many people as possible and the captain thought we needed to get ye outta there."
"Then, where are we going? Why do you need so many people? The ship is doing just fine with the crew you have now." Will couldn't understand what was going on but it must be big.
"We need an army," she said. She took a minute to decide if telling him would be safe and then leaned forward. "We're going to set the slaves on Espanol free. There is a rebel group formin' already. We're just gonna to help them out a bit," she finished with a smirk. "The French have a lot of money but they'll have a lot less when we're done."
"You are insane. You are attacking an entire colony. You are not pillaging a town and then leaving it. You are attacking an entire island and then keeping it. It will never work," Will said. Anna Marie just stared at him, obviously upset, and then left. The Caribbean sun could be seen coming down the stairs. While she was gone, Will thought his headache might go away if he just closed his eyes.
"Will! Will, wake up! Don't ye dare go to sleep." Anna Marie shouted as she slapped his face. When he opened his eyes, her brown eyes were looking down at him, worry written on her face.
Will just looked curiously up at her. "You were worried about me," he said wonderingly.
Anna Marie just huffed and, seeing as he was just fine, through him a bucket. Going up the stairs, she yelled behind her back, "We need to get the water off the deck. Shuffle off ye good for nothin."