Author's Note: I know I've said this before, and I'll probably say it again, but I am so sorry for taking so long to update. I had this chapter nearly finished, and then my computer got very sick and I lost everything on my hard drive. It's been in and out of the shop for the past couple of weeks. It's better now, and I can't make anymore excuses for not finishing this. I owe a great deal to Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe's Trafalgar for all of its descriptions of naval warfare. If you've not read any of his books, I strongly recommend them. Lots of battles, historical details, and some sexy, sexy men (mmm… Sharpe). But I digress, back to the story.
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is not mine, and belongs to whomever it came from, like those geniuses at Disney. Savvy?
Muttering about mutiny and betrayal, Jack grabbed Adriana by the arm and dragged her below as The Pearl continued to race towards the new ship. Every second brought The Pearl and all aboard closer to the enemy's cannons. Adriana was brusquely deposited in the Captain's Quarters. The doors were slammed shut behind her as another gun fired from the hostile ship. She heard the splash of the thirty-two pound ball hit the water just feet shy of The Pearl's bowsprit. The Pearl crashed through the spray, and Jack gave the order to take in sail and weigh anchor. He had to turn his ship to avoid being raked, and to attempt to blast the living daylights out of Commodore Norrington. Men swarmed all over The Pearl's rigging, and more flooded the lower decks to man the cannons.
Adriana swayed on her feet as she heard the ship creaking. Never given the chance to acquire her sea-legs, the abrupt change of direction caused her to collapse against the wall. She stayed there as The Pearl fired all her starboard guns, one after the other, in response to the Commodore's challenge. The explosions were much louder than Adriana could have imagined. Just a few more rounds, she thought, and her ears would bleed. She could only imagine the noise a deck or two down, where the guns were actually being fired. The Dauntless fired a full broadside at The Pearl. From the sound of it, Adriana presumed they had at least twice as many guns as The Pearl. She figured she was done for.
Jack stood fearless on the deck as Norrington fired his first full broadside. The speeding balls splashed into water all around his ship. They whipped through the rigging, and one snatched little Cooper from his perch in a bloody mist. A scant few hit The Pearl proper, but they sent slivers flying through the air in search of eyes to blind. Jack was thankful that he wasn't any closer to Norrington and his Dauntless. He had enough fire power to blast The Pearl to bits in a matter of minutes. The distance between the ships, Jack reckoned, was near a quarter of a mile, give or take a few hundred yards. However, the distance was just as prohibitive for him as it was for Norrington. With his few guns, he didn't have much of a chance of crippling his foe. He cursed himself for being so foolish. A ship as lightly armed as that Spaniard wouldn't come after a ship with a reputation like that of The Pearl alone. He should have known some heavily-armed behemoth would be lurking in wait. Jack Sparrow was much cleverer than this!
"Fire!" He bellowed.
Adriana heard the other ship fire, and then a heartbeat later, she heard the cannon balls whistling through the air. There were splashes, crashes, and a high-pitched scream came up from below. She shuddered. She was trapped, and she was going to die a horrible death. She heard Jack's voice confidently order his crew to fire. The guns below her fired, not synchronized as before, but in a more haphazard fashion. Seconds later, The Dauntless began her broadside again, just as organized as the first, and more lead rained down upon The Pearl.
Jack admired the discipline of Norrington's crew. "A right-proper killing machine," he muttered. He raised him voice and ordered, "Fire at will!"
A thought came into Adriana's head, half hopeful, and half despairing. She might survive the cannon fire, but when The Pearl was crippled, this Norrington fellow would come aboard and kill her for being a pirate. She had to get out of her ridiculous pirate getup. She crawled along the floor, doubting her legs would support her. She reached Jack's cabin as another broadside walloped The Pearl. She was certain she had seen what could have been a dress at the bottom of one of the trunks she had rummaged through earlier; the events of today seemed decades away now. She threw back the lid of the nearest trunk, and began digging. She tore his room apart, only pausing to flinch when she heard a cannon ball shatter the ship near her or she heard a man's pitiful screams.
Jack paced the deck, weighing his options. He could stay here, and let his ship and crew be slowly blown apart. He could try to sail off; The Pearl could probably outrun The Dauntless, but with the damage she'd already sustained he stood no chance of outrunning the other ship. His mind went back to the fight to the bloody death; he'd die nobly, with his ship. Then Adriana drifted into his thoughts. She'd die too, a little voice whispered. He cursed himself for letting her get at him this way; she'd turned his guts to jelly. He sighed. There was no way he could let her die like that, smashed into bloody pieces or drowned, her corpse devoured by sharks. There was one more option, which he dreaded to think of, surrender.
With every passing minute Adriana became more panicked. She couldn't search the chests fast enough. Her heartbeat thudded in her ears, a reminder of her mortality. Each falling cannonball was like a grain of sand dropping from the hourglass of her life. She didn't know if this shot, or the next, would be her last. Finally, her fingers clawed at something silk. She pulled it out, and shook it to ease some of the wrinkles. If she hadn't been so terrified, she would have thought the dress gorgeous. It was a rich grey silk gown, with a low, square neckline, which, along with the cuffs, was trimmed in a delicate lace. A wave of relief briefly swept over her, receding with the next broadside from The Dauntless. She tore off her pirate clothes, and slid into the dress. After a bit of coercion, she was able to get the dress secured. It was tight, but that was the style.
By now, the sun was completely gone from the horizon, and twilight was fast approaching night. Jack stopped pacing, and gave the order for a white flag to be raised. It was now or never. If he didn't surrender while there was light enough to see his white flag, then the battle would last all night. He'd soon enough run out of powder and shot, and then The Pearl would be a sitting duck. He'd already lost five men, and another dozen wouldn't survive the night. The Pearl was riddled with holes, but thankfully none were near the waterline. She'd lost a mast. Escape was out of the question. They were all dead men anyways; maybe this was the only way Adriana could live. He heard his order to cease fire echo along the lower decks, and he escaped to his cabin before the questions started.
His cabin looked like a bomb went off. His clothes, blankets, spare sails, and false colors were everywhere. His mood darkened as he scanned the room. Adriana stood in one corner, her legs firmly planted in an attempt to look defiant, but her face told a different story. She was clearly terrified. He took out his tinder box and lit a lantern, illuminating the dark room. He glanced at Adriana again, to remind himself that this sacrifice was worth it. She was just as striking as he remembered. She was also wearing a dress the color of a black pearl, which threw Jack slightly. He scowled as he grabbed his jacket from the hook behind the door.
"Ye best tidy up, company's comin'," he growled as he left the room.
