Five

Anna was asleep on her cot, the sounds of lapping waves on the hull as her lullaby. The creaking woods of the Pearl added their own soothing harmony, and the shuffle of a pair of feet on deck provided an interesting, syncopated rhythm to the steady waves. In her dreams, the girl on the cot was flying through the air, to a destination unknown to her. She was weaving through the clouds with ease, and then she was suddenly falling fast toward the open sea. Her dream-self screamed, covering her eyes so she wouldn't see when the impact with the water would occur.

Coming slightly back into consciousness, she felt her body flung across the wooden floor of Damien's quarters. She collided with the wall, a pain searing though her shoulder. Anna opened her eyes just in time to see Damien flung out of his bed, going to land on top of her. A quick roll saved her from being crushed underneath the man's body. A curse escaped his lips as he stood wearily.

"You all right?" he asked her while attempting to smooth his ruffled hair. Anna nodded, still unsure of what had just happened. Standing up, she looked to the end of her cot and found her shirt and jacket. Somehow she managed to pull them on, though still half asleep. Damien didn't bother putting on a shirt or boots as he stormed out of their shared cabin and up onto the deck. Anna tried to ignore his well-tanned back and chest, and hastily slid her boots on. She ran up to the deck to find her friend striding to the wheel, where Captain Jack stood, his eyes scanning the sea feverishly.

"Captain, why have we changed course?" Damien asked Jack, his voice gruff with frustration. Although now Anna knew why she had been thrown across the cabin; the boat had been turned so sharply that the front end had whipped around, causing almost everything within the ship to be thrown. An eyebrow raised, she remained where she was, not wanting to interrupt the heated debate now being held by Jack and her friend.

"Here, take the glass," Jack told Damien. The Captain handed him a spyglass, and the sailor opened it and looked in the direction that he pointed. Anna turned her head and looked also, straining her eyes to see a dark dot in the distance. Her three weeks at sea had taught her that 'dots in the distance' were usually other ships. Naturally, being a pirate ship, the Pearl was to stay clear of any unfriendly ships on the waters it sailed…especially those governed by Britain's Royal Navy.

Damien and Jack talked for a while longer, still debating if the sudden change in direction was necessary. A few more sailors were beginning to appear from below deck, many of them looking as groggy as Anna felt. She had come to know a few of them; Athan and Aeden, who were twins not much older than herself, and old Gregor, who was the head cook in the galley. Besides Damien, these three men had welcomed her and taught her the way of like on the Black Pearl. Every once in a while, the twins would help her with her cleaning duties below deck and she, in turn, would help them as they swabbed the upper deck and cleaned the rigging. When there was absolutely nothing to do, she would join Gregor and help him prepare the evening meal while he told her stories of his younger pirating days. He was a gruff man, unlike the lanky, wiry twins, and sometimes it was nice for her to get away from their liveliness and spend an intriguing afternoon with the burly cook.

"I 'spose we'll be needin' to ready the canons," came a light voice beside her. Anna turned to see Aeden's light-boned face, and she smiled.

"I wouldn't do anythin' just yet," she replied, unaware that her speech was slowly becoming less sophisticated and more like that of common people. Athan slid down from his perch on a mast above them and landed on Anna's other side.

"We can outrun 'em," Aeden's brother said as he spit over the side of the boat. The two young men looked almost exactly alike, except Aeden had straight hair, and his brother's was slightly wavy. Athan put a hand on her shoulder and then rested his head there. "I've been awake fer two days straight. Alex, wake me when the Captain decides what to do." He remained there, with his head on her shoulder, and attempted to doze.

It was then that Jack took the spyglass back from Damien and walked down the steps to greet his crew. "Gents," he said. Athan stirred from his resting spot on Anna's shoulder and looked up at the Captain. "It appears that we have a bit of a problem in our midst." His eyes searched those of the crew, deciphering their inner feelings and fears of what was to happen. "A ship of the most Royal Navy is on the horizon, and we can't outrun it because of a rather large and annoying reef ahead of us. We'll have to turn and try and slide past them. It's our only chance."

No one stirred, and then Jack smiled, gold flashing from his teeth. "Good then! None of you object. So let's get to work, hoist the sails! Ready the canons, we may need to use them!"

Anna was amazed as the crew sprang from their sleepy states into alertness, hurrying to do the tasks asked of them. She ran below with a group of men to help with the canons, overhearing Aeden tell his brother that he was right to ready them. She couldn't help but shake her head at the idiosyncratic ways of men.