Oh, how I love reviews!
I really must apologize at my unforgivable mistakes that occurred in the
past chapters. I am so incredibly sorry and I hope you all with forgive me
and enjoy the rest of this fic. While I don't know if I can go back and
fix the errors I have made, I promise to be a little more attentive to my
writing. Thanks again guys!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At first he felt numb.
He would have thought that this sensation was a bit strange, if he had had any time to think.
Then, like a lightning bolt, he felt it. White hot pain coursing throughout his body. *God have mercy* he moaned.
As Horatio tried to cope with the pain and focus on the raging sea battle all about him, his vision began to blur; everything going out of focus. All he could make out was the figure of a man approaching him quickly.
Horatio raised his cutlass swiftly, but his arm was too weak to even hold the handle, much less brandish it and defend himself.
He took his last few moment of life to reflect. What had he done? All his conversations with Archie flooded back, like a storm after cabin fever. And now he realized, although he had felt lonely, he had still had the hope of tomorrow. But now, with a powder keg ball lodged in his side, he had no idea what would happen to him.
The figure approached a little more quickly, yelling something undiscernibly. This annoyed Horatio, who would very much have liked to know what exactly the dastardly Frog was screaming. But he didn't dwell on it much, for now the side of the ship that he had been leaning against refused to hold him erect.
As Horatio landed on the hard, brown planks below him, he suddenly became aware of how much pain a small, hot ball could punish him with. Groaning with pain, he realized the futility of trying to fight the searing wound.
*By God, I hope the Frogs don't take the ship* Horatio thought as he let the sparking pain wash over him and carry him to the world without dreams. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well, could things be any worse?
Oh, apparently they could, for it now began to rain.
Abigail Cunningham couldn't see any way around it. She had had a bad week.
When her pa told her that the family had decided to send her away to school in Scotland, she cried. When she had been told that she would have to travel on her pa's merchant ship with her governess Ms. Fairchild, she cried. When these mongrel Frogs had taken over the ship, she screamed bloody murder and hit 3 of them with a frying pan. That part wasn't so terrible.
But being taken by Frogs and watching her pa's ship sink to the bottom of the ocean was unbearable. The horrid Frogs didn't seem to mind, they actually thought it was quite humorous to joke around about Abigail. Her stiffening body and stone-cold glares only seemed to make them all the more free to say what they wished. She didn't know what they planned to do with her, but she promised herself that she wouldn't stay long enough to find out.
But now, even that plan was ruined. This English ship, the Indefatigable, had gone and put more than a couple holes in her suicide plan. It had put a couple holes in the ship.
Looking around for any way to escape the horrible mess, Abigail mused to herself that it might be quite amusing to be a stowaway. But that too, fate had decided a different direction for her. A man, a young man, a familiar looking young man, had just crumpled to the planks, blood staining his fingers as he tried to hold his wound.
Abigail wouldn't have thought twice about it, but why did he look so familiar? She felt that he was important, after all, she had seen him give the orders to fire and board the Frenchies ship. But he looked so young, and this jolted a memory in her head. Abigail felt a rush of courageous blood flow to her legs and she ran over to him.
Archie, quite busy beating back the Frogs from Horatio's now still body, looked back and blinked. A dress? What in the bloody hell?
The Frogs were losing fast and regretted the disease that had passed among a few of their men over the past few weeks at sea. Their defeat seemed inevitable and everyone on board the ship could see their waning power.
Abigail held Horatio's head in her hands, looking for head injuries. As she moved his arm away from his side to inspect the wound, another young man knelt beside her.
"We best be getting him back to the ship miss, before he bleeds to death."
"Oh, yes, you're absolutely right, um..."
"Mr. Archie Kennedy ma'am. And you are...?"
"No time for formalities, Mr. Kennedy. This man needs a bed and a doctor."
"Of course." Archie smiled at the girl. *What the bloody hell is going on?* he thought. How does this slip of a woman get on a Frog ship, live, and then try to rescue the captain?
*Horatio's going to have a fit when he wakes up.* Archie mused.
He would have thought that this sensation was a bit strange, if he had had any time to think.
Then, like a lightning bolt, he felt it. White hot pain coursing throughout his body. *God have mercy* he moaned.
As Horatio tried to cope with the pain and focus on the raging sea battle all about him, his vision began to blur; everything going out of focus. All he could make out was the figure of a man approaching him quickly.
Horatio raised his cutlass swiftly, but his arm was too weak to even hold the handle, much less brandish it and defend himself.
He took his last few moment of life to reflect. What had he done? All his conversations with Archie flooded back, like a storm after cabin fever. And now he realized, although he had felt lonely, he had still had the hope of tomorrow. But now, with a powder keg ball lodged in his side, he had no idea what would happen to him.
The figure approached a little more quickly, yelling something undiscernibly. This annoyed Horatio, who would very much have liked to know what exactly the dastardly Frog was screaming. But he didn't dwell on it much, for now the side of the ship that he had been leaning against refused to hold him erect.
As Horatio landed on the hard, brown planks below him, he suddenly became aware of how much pain a small, hot ball could punish him with. Groaning with pain, he realized the futility of trying to fight the searing wound.
*By God, I hope the Frogs don't take the ship* Horatio thought as he let the sparking pain wash over him and carry him to the world without dreams. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well, could things be any worse?
Oh, apparently they could, for it now began to rain.
Abigail Cunningham couldn't see any way around it. She had had a bad week.
When her pa told her that the family had decided to send her away to school in Scotland, she cried. When she had been told that she would have to travel on her pa's merchant ship with her governess Ms. Fairchild, she cried. When these mongrel Frogs had taken over the ship, she screamed bloody murder and hit 3 of them with a frying pan. That part wasn't so terrible.
But being taken by Frogs and watching her pa's ship sink to the bottom of the ocean was unbearable. The horrid Frogs didn't seem to mind, they actually thought it was quite humorous to joke around about Abigail. Her stiffening body and stone-cold glares only seemed to make them all the more free to say what they wished. She didn't know what they planned to do with her, but she promised herself that she wouldn't stay long enough to find out.
But now, even that plan was ruined. This English ship, the Indefatigable, had gone and put more than a couple holes in her suicide plan. It had put a couple holes in the ship.
Looking around for any way to escape the horrible mess, Abigail mused to herself that it might be quite amusing to be a stowaway. But that too, fate had decided a different direction for her. A man, a young man, a familiar looking young man, had just crumpled to the planks, blood staining his fingers as he tried to hold his wound.
Abigail wouldn't have thought twice about it, but why did he look so familiar? She felt that he was important, after all, she had seen him give the orders to fire and board the Frenchies ship. But he looked so young, and this jolted a memory in her head. Abigail felt a rush of courageous blood flow to her legs and she ran over to him.
Archie, quite busy beating back the Frogs from Horatio's now still body, looked back and blinked. A dress? What in the bloody hell?
The Frogs were losing fast and regretted the disease that had passed among a few of their men over the past few weeks at sea. Their defeat seemed inevitable and everyone on board the ship could see their waning power.
Abigail held Horatio's head in her hands, looking for head injuries. As she moved his arm away from his side to inspect the wound, another young man knelt beside her.
"We best be getting him back to the ship miss, before he bleeds to death."
"Oh, yes, you're absolutely right, um..."
"Mr. Archie Kennedy ma'am. And you are...?"
"No time for formalities, Mr. Kennedy. This man needs a bed and a doctor."
"Of course." Archie smiled at the girl. *What the bloody hell is going on?* he thought. How does this slip of a woman get on a Frog ship, live, and then try to rescue the captain?
*Horatio's going to have a fit when he wakes up.* Archie mused.