As the shade of night started to spill over the sky, Ruby-Rose was enjoying the spoils of victory; the delectable meat of roast pork and roast chicken were cooking nicely on the spit, the pirates were taking everything they could carry and took it aboard The Oracle. The aroma of coal and chicken was floating about the ship, uplifting the mood of her crew as they drank champagne and danced to the music of Finch's accordion. All this cheer was watched by the defeated Captain Ferreira and his officers as they dangled 20ft in the air. Ruby-Rose could not help but giggle as she sat on the stairs and drank a bottle of of Spanish Captain no less.

Ana Maria sat beside her and toasted to their success, she stared up at the captives and shook her head;

"You never cease to amaze me English Rose, you have managed to pull off the biggest conquest of your career…Congratulations Captain" Ana Maria said proudly.

"Credit where credit is due, do you think I would have done all this without my shipmates or you my great Jamaican companion" The pirate princess roped an arm around her best friend and pulled her close, they both marvelled at the triumph the day had brought them.

"I can't keep on doing this forever though Ana" Ruby-Rose sighed

"Can't keep doing, you've barely started; retiring after six years is just absurd"

"Twelve." Ruby-Rose replied as her breath whistled over the bottle while she took another swig of wine.

"What?"

Ruby-Rose relished the sweet alcohol before swallowing it and after wiping her mouth dry stretched her elbow upon her knee.

"I've been in this business for twelve years not six…Six years is how long I've had my freedom but before that I was an understudy of sorts"

"With who…?" Ana Maria chirped, revealing her slightly-intoxicated state of mind. The young captain grinned but she did not laugh and stared out to the sea.

"My father of course, who else do you think would have had me? I stayed ashore for a few years then one day he had enough and dragged me aboard The Oracle where I stayed under his command for two years: We travelled half around the world. Even rendezvoused with Jack a few times"

"You never told me that, why would you not share that with me?" Ruby-Rose's first officer exclaimed, a little saddened by the idea.

"It was trivial Ana, nothing to shout home about"

"…Trivial, Jack Sparrow I doubt that – you're hiding something from me I know you are" Ana-Maria replied playfully, it was at this point Ruby-Rose tensed up and seemed reluctant to answer.

"Yeah well some things are best left hidden away"

"Ruby-Rose what is it? It's clear to me it has affected you deeply, what's the use in bottling things up all the time?"

Ruby-Rose nervously scratched the back of her neck and fiddled about with the bottle, she took a huge gulp before pressing on;

"About a year after the mutiny we docked into Hong Kong and Jack and I masqueraded as aristocrats and even danced at a ball. After he kissed me I knew things would not be the same after that…and I was right" The pirate princess said hoarsely.

Ana-Maria Varens could see the ghost of rejection in her friend's eyes; she put a hand on the Captain's shoulder. Ruby-Rose responded by smiling weakly before heading down to the mess hall as the luxurious feast that her crew stole was now being solved.

The presence of good food and cheery company did well to cast out the painful memory and revel in the spoils of victory: White china plates were served along with tall, shining goblets that most had only seen as tools of the rich. But here they were, pauper sitting beside pauper eating a spread that most could only dream of. Their manners were unsurprisingly below par but the mood was light so none of that mattered. Captain Sparrow and her crew tucked into the finest meats, fruits and wines that could ever be laid on the table of a pirate ship. They chomped and chewed with smiles on their faces and before long the Captain proposed a toast.

"Earnest, humble pirates, this indeed is a day of days; none of us have dared as much as we have today. You should all be proud you should all be feeling triumphant. For today we have been blessed with the good favour of Poseidon, of Davy Jones and of the usually fickle element for a job well done…cheers" She said raucously, she drank up the contents of her goblet and slammed it on the table. The crew were jubilant, loud and full of some much glee they could have exploded

The ship rattled, the plates and timber chinked and groaned and Ruby-Rose almost lost her balance. Both she and Quartermaster Laurie dashed outside, the rest of the pirates attempted to carry on regardless but guilt and anxiety had already begun to rain in on their parade. The men scavenged as much as could before bolting up the stairs and onto the upper deck to see what the fuss was.

Ruby-Rose stood leaning against the ship's hull, she grew wary as she noticed the ocean's restless swirl: waves that were rough and choppy, indicating a storm was approaching but she knew that was not the sole reason behind the disturbance. It would be an absurdity that was absolutely unheard of – A captain being spooked by the will of the sea – She sensed it was something more. The usually-gracious moon had turned there back on The Oracle, hiding under a blanket of thick clouds; the night brought an eeriness that nobody appreciated. Even Ruby-Rose who had a reputation to keep was unnerved by such an atmosphere. Loneliness on land was one thing but dealing with at sea it was a bleaker affair.

"Giles get up that Crow's nest, let's see what's out there" Ruby-Rose ordered, her guard was up and the mood that was so joyous had disappeared completely and was replaced by nervousness.

Michael Giles stood meekly beside his crew member and stared up at the endless sky. The wind was picking up and storm clouds were hovering over the mast he began to remember the horror stories of men being struck by lightning…out doing the same job he was in. The very idea of it was making his blood run cold.

"Begging your pardon Captain but it would be quite useless, there's nothing but blackness out there and it would be worse up there" He answered with a trembling finger pointing upward.

"You have your orders Mister Giles, something is amiss tonight: We could take our chance to ignore it or we could check our bearings….it's better to be safe then sorry, go to Mister Giles" Ruby-Rose said sternly

There was a pause from the group as Michael Giles stayed where he was, trying hard to control his fear of the unknown. Delays of any sort were not treated well and this was no exception.

"Well have you lost your hearing Giles, the captain gave you an order son so jump to it" Thom Laurie roared, the young man broke away from the circle and got hold of the rope ladder that led up to his post. Wiping away the grease from his hand he placed the leg of chicken in his mouth and started to climb.

"The rest of you: Light the torches and break ties with The Solstice - make ready to set sail" The pirate princess grimly announced, the crew scuttled back to their posts and started work: Ben Crawley and Drew McFadden broke the gangplank and threw in the corner of the bow and severed all ropes The Solstice, leaving it's crew still hanging.

Thom Laurie brought a flame from the Mess hall's fire and handed over to his captain she was about to light the first torch but he blocked her path.

"We really should wait until we get the all—clear, we should not reveal ourselves to hastily Ma'am"

"I understand that Quartermaster and it's duly noted but we have little choice, we're as blind as bats out here" An irritated Ruby-Rose replied. She stared almost hypnotised by the flame and only turned away once her eyes had watered.

"Mister Giles, anything to report?"

Ruby-Rose held her breath in wait of the pirate's reply; she looked down at the chunk of iron that was used as the main beacon of light. At last the dreaded notion of a threat of danger had reared it's ugly head but a danger of what exactly.

"No Ma'am" Giles bellowed, overlooking a small silhouette that was slowly looming closer to the ship.

Ruby-Rose threw down the flame and it transformed from a weak flicker to a strong glow of fire within second. The entire deck lit up in it's wake and Ruby-Rose could see what was in front of her, there was silence then suddenly an odd whistling sound that grew louder and louder. For a split second her heart stopped and she feared she would not scream out the warning in time.

"ALL HANDS TAKE COVER!" She yelled and threw herself along the staircase, the whistle grew so loud it was screeching then a loud crash rumbled the ship. The young Captain got to her feet and scrambled up to the helm where Isaac Quinn was desperately trying to regain control of the ship.

"Isaac, I'll take the wheel – help Beckett and McFadden load the guns – Ana Maria! Take Christy below and check for damages…all of you MOVE!" Ruby-Rose-Rose screamed wildly. The determination to survive growing stronger the moment she gripped the wheel, she could feel the ship shaking under the pressure of the on-going assault. She steered the ship away from The Solstice as far and as fast as she could.

"A Frigate, an armoured frigate Captain just off the stern" Giles hollered while hanging on to the mast for dear life.

Ruby-Rose threw her sodden hair back as she became drenched after the cannons forced surges of water swelling all around The Oracle.

"I wondered when they would show up" She groaned, watching the first frigate gain on her with another following swiftly behind.

Down below water was gushing everywhere, the damage was not severe but it was enough to be problematic and possibly even hazardous if the assault did not end soon. Ana-Maria was busy hammering the broken timber to obstruct the flood on one end and Christy was manically loading three different cannons with their ammunition.

"What did I say? A bad idea, a horrendous idea but nobody takes any notice" The peasant girl whined, yelping like a puppy once the cannons were fired.

"Shut your trap Jamieson and help me" Quinn scolded, to which Christy immediately obeyed and shoved more balls into the weapon.

Ana Maria was watching her friend under a cascade of salt water and continued to hit the timber.

The Oracle managed to fire a few hits to each enemy frigate but it was not enough.

"I think it's time for a Plan B Captain if you don't mind me saying so – You do have one don't you?" Laurie teased, staggering up towards the helm and being the protective one Ruby-Rose was not amused.

"Of course I do, I'm not a fool Thomas but I will remember what Plan B was if they would just STOP BLOWING HOLES IN MY SHIP!"