Sorry for the long delay between chapters, I keep getting wrapped up in Melolabel's stories,(shameless plug check out "Tapas at Twilight"). I think this story is going to be longer than I first anticipated and it's going to start taking some big leaps in the next few chapters. Let me know what you think Review, Review, Review!! PLEASE... Thanks to Melolabel who got me started, gets the good ideas rolling, and explains all the little acronyms to me...
Mike Newton Chapter 6
MPOV
God is punishing me for some sin, which is so completely unknown to me that I have no idea how to rectify it. That is the only explanation I have for this situation. To have someone as enchanting and beautiful as Bella come into my life and now the possibility of losing her? The thought of her taken prisoner or dead, just the thought was making my blood boil and I could feel the muscles in my neck getting so taught they felt like steel.
We only have about 12 hours before the pirates catch up to us. Sailors may not be the most pure and innocent of Gods creatures, but pirates are not sailors; they are something much darker and sinister. There would be no mercy, no pardons, and no reprieve. They would take what they wanted without a second thought.
I had been standing on the crow's nest for the past 3 hours scanning the horizon and trying to figure out somewhere I could hide Bella, but if the ship sinks I don't want her trapped. I had considered disguising her as a man, an old woman, even putting her in a small skiff covered in canvas and hoping that it would go unnoticed and get carried back to shore. None of these would work.
The passengers were panicked. With good reason. I could see a large group with Bella's father leading them in prayer. The crew and many of the men were gathering and preparing all of the weapons we could muster or create. Jessica Stanley was smearing lard around all of the railings and along the outside edge of the ship, anything to try and impede getting boarded. Cullen was with Bella below and as much as I hated the thought of it, it's what I needed right now; someone to keep her out of the commotion so I could concentrate on fixing the situation.
As I lifted my father's spyglass to scan the horizon again I was shocked. It seemed there was another ship! It was much further away maybe a day or a little more. I could tell it had its colors raised, but it was so small I couldn't make out any details yet. I began to ring the bell as hard as I could. I jammed the spyglass shut and put it in my breeches. Grabbing a rope I swung out of the crow's nest and scurried down the mast as fast as I could, I leapt the last ten feet and bound across the deck to my father. I don't know how the last 12 hours had changed him so much. He seemed smaller, older, tired. I felt sorry for him, he had a glassy look on his eyes as he surveyed the ship that was quickly gaining on us. I didn't want to alert anyone else yet so I came right up to his side.
"Father, there is another ship."
"I know son, I've been watching it." I couldn't remember a time when he had called me son. I wouldn't have expected it to shock me so hard. I pulled my thoughts together and looked at him. I realized that he thought I was still referring to the pirate ship we had been watching. I needed to shock him out of this stupor. He might be an awful father, and a pathetic man, but he was certainly a good captain and I needed him to focus. Feeling all my years of neglect swell, feeling the sacrifice of my mother, feeling the weight of a thousand generations of warriors and kings on my shoulders, I felt myself stand taller and I would not be subservient anymore. I would take my place on this ship and in my own life. Bella helped me find that strength, a strength I never knew I had. A warm wind swept past us and in the pink and orange clouds of the setting sun I saw my destiny lay out before me and everything became crystal clear. I stepped right in front of him and slapped him full on the face. He spun around and fell over catching himself on the edge of a crate.
When he turned around and stood up I knew that he no longer saw me as nuisance, a reminder of his failures. He saw a man standing before him and he had respect. I was breathing so hard I thought my chest would burst. He was rubbing his check and staring right at me.
"There is a SECOND ship following us." I pulled out the spyglass and handed it to him. He starred at me for a moment then snapped to himself. He took the spyglass from me and turned to the horizon.
"God save us."
"They have colors run up, but I don't know if they are friend or foe."
"And we won't know, but we must hope they are friend. If there is anything left for them to pass." Mr. Stanley passed near us and my father called out with a new conviction. "Stanley! I am not ready to give up this ship, are you?"
"No sir."
"I want you to gather every man and able bodied woman on this ship right now. If we are going to have a chance we will need more than Charles Swan's prayers."
BPOV
When I first woke and tried to sit up the room was spinning so hard I thought there was a storm. I immediately lay down again. I could tell that something was different and I realized that my shoes and corset were off. I looked over and saw Edward sitting on a stool across from me holding my mug of water and looking at me so intently I could feel his gaze all over my body. I pulled myself up on my elbows.
"Edward, how long have you been here?"
"I haven't moved." How could he say so few words and put so much meaning and intensity into them? My head was swimming.
"I'm fine now really. Could I please have a moment?" I looked at the corset on the bed beside me and looked at him.
"Of course, of course. I'll just.." His face turned bright red and he stepped around and out of the room quickly.
As I was re-lacing my corset I was trying to consider how I had let my heart get so easily and quickly swept up, by not one man, but two. How could I hurt either of them? I felt like my soul was being divided and I didn't know if there would be anything left for me. To spurn either of them would be more pain then I could consider. Suddenly Edward burst into the room with Angela. I had gotten to know her a bit and she was very kind, and very pregnant. I looked at Edwards face and saw a deep concern.
"Bella, there is a problem. Angela will explain everything to you. I have to go now, but I am coming right back as soon as I can." His face was so full of pain, I was so confused.
"What? Right now? Why?" Angela took my hand in hers and wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
"It will be alright Bella, Edward has to go now."
"No, you can't go, I need to know what is going on!"
"Please Bella, just stay down here, I need you to stay down here and watch over Angela." I felt so hurt. Angela was holding me so tightly but with a woman's care. Edward rushed from the room and my heart collapsed a little. Angela explained that I had fainted and while I was resting they had spotted pirates chasing us. They were very close now less than 12 hours away. She said that it didn't look very good for us but everyone was doing their very best and all we could do now was pray and follow directions.
I said a quick prayer in my heart, for my father, for Michael, and for Edward. But I could not sit still. How could I stay trapped in this tiny room with all of these emotions and this whole situation happening above decks? What was Mike doing? I felt like I needed to see him. I needed him now more than ever.
It felt like we had been sitting there for days, it had probably been about 6 hours when someone knocked on the door. Angela was resting on the bed and I was sitting on the stool. I was so on edge I practically jumped out of my skin. Mike opened the door and came in. I was so relieved to see him. I felt the relief wash over me in waves and I felt betraying tears pool in my eyes and spill out.
"Oh Mike!" I threw myself across the room and into his arms. I didn't care that Angela was there or if it wasn't proper. I buried my face in his chest and let his strong arms engulf me.
"Bella listen to me, very carefully." Mike pulled a large knife out of the rope holding up his trousers. "I need you to be very strong. If anyone makes it into this room I need you to attack, no questions asked, no hesitation. Believe me, they won't hesitate so you can't either."
"No Mike, you stay here with me, I need you here."
Mike pulled me into his arms again and whispered into my hair. "There is no where else I would rather be." Then he pulled back, looked deep into my eyes and kissed me. This was not a new kiss, or a lusty kiss; he kissed me with a passion and strength that lifted me off my feet. He kissed me with a million promises and imparted to me a confidence in myself and in him that I had not thought possible.
"Bella, we have a plan, it's not much but it's our only chance at survival. We can't just sit by and let them take us. It would be so much worse than death Bella, you can't imagine how evil those men are." I felt a shudder ripple through his body when he said that. I could tell he was scared, not of them but for me.
"Where is my father? What is this plan? Please Mike," I reached up and gently pulled my finger along his face. "I need to know what is going on."
"I can't fight you Bella, I am your servant and at your command. You have more power over me than a whole armada of pirate ships." Mike put his hand on the small of my back and led me from the room. We both immediately became acutely aware that I was still just wearing my undershirt and corset, but there was not time for embarrassment now. We sat on a chest and he told me the whole plan.
EPOV
Captain Newton had become more positive that the ship chasing us was the pirate ship of Captain James. He chased ships like ours not for the material loot he could plunder but for the people he could capture and sell as slaves in far off lands. He was a legend on the high seas and it seemed that he was now our reality. All of the men and several of the woman stood together on the deck as Captain Newton addressed us.
"I have never heard of a ship escaping the dark clutches of Captain James. I know that our future seems bleak but I am not ready to sit back and let him have us! We are on the side of what is right and true. We have done no wrong and will not accept an awful fate that is determined for us. We will take fate into our hands and shape our own tomorrow! What happens from now on out will be our own decision." He had a strength and confidence beaming from him that I had not seen in this man before. Right next to him was Michael, he seemed a foot taller and his long wild hair gave him a look of danger but his face showed nothing other than unwavering determination.
We were to go on the offensive. None of the sailors, including the Captain had ever heard of a ship attempting this before. Or if they had tried, they had not survived to tell the tale. We were organized into groups and given assignments. We dispersed to prepare for our roles in the upcoming attack. As I looked at the people around me I was beginning to have great misgivings. Perhaps Captain Newton was overestimating the threat from this other ship. What if it wasn't a pirate ship at all? Though that seems unlikely since it wasn't identifying its self.
I was grouped with a few other men, one boy about 12 years old, and a woman of about 18 years. She was certainly the most energetic of the group. She was practically bouncing off of the deck with the anticipation of the upcoming encounter. We were positioned on the starboard side towards the bow of the ship. We had several knives and a few heavy objects in sacks tied to the ends of long ropes. Our task was to make sure no on got on board in this section. There were several other similar groups around the ship. The ship had four small cannons that would be manned by the crew, two on each side of the ship. And several women were below decks boiling oil and wrapping small weights in several layers of cloth that could be soaked in oil and lit on fire and launched over to the other ship. I was disgusted with the dark work we were doing. Preparing to attack other men, to kill and harm. But I knew there was nothing that could be done. I also knew that I would do whatever it took at any moment to protect Bella.
I needed to go check on her and to find out where she would be during all of this. I told the other members of my group that I would be gone for a moment and I headed down the side of the ship for Bella's quarters. Just as I reached the ladder to head down, Mike Newton was on his way up. We stood face to face. I could tell that he hated me. But I also saw something of respect mixed with pity.
"Where is Miss Swan?"
"She is taken care of." Mike said curtly.
"I'm going to need more information than that." I countered and took a half step forward. Mike stepped up the final rung of the ladder onto the deck and was standing as close as possible to me, looking down to my face. Though he had a physically intimidating presence, I was certainly not going to let him bully me. "Everyone on this ship is following along with a plan that I am sure will bring everyone certain death. I know this is mostly your idea and I am here supporting it. But I will not do this blindly. Tell me where Miss Swan is." I could see Mike regarding my face for a minute and without letting go of an ounce of confidence or strength he replied.
"She is in the lower storage room with Angela. They each have a large knife and I showed her how to stab a man so that he would be incapacitated at once. She is strong and she knows she needs to be strong right now. I have confidence that no one will ever reach her anyhow…if everyone does their job." Mike said in a low, controlled voice without ever looking away from my eyes. I couldn't back down now.
"I am going to go check on her personally before we are forced into this ugly situation." I seethed right back.
"That's not possible."
"How dare you tell me where I can and can't go? I don't care who your father is, I still have rank here."
"Pardon me sir," Mike said with a mocking tone and a false bow. "If you will look over your shoulder you would see that the enemy is upon us." I immediately turned and saw the unnamed ship. There were three persons standing at the helm as clear as day. Two men and a woman with long untamed hair swirling in the wind. I was so shocked by the presence of the woman it took me a second to notice there were at least a dozen cannons aimed at our ship.
MPOV
How much longer was I going to have to deal with this idiot Edward? He was so busy posturing and trying to prove something to me he hadn't even noticed how close the enemy was. I took a close look at the ship and the size of the cannons. We would not survive for long if they used them all at full force. But they didn't intend to sink us. As soon as I saw the woman on the helm I was positive it was Captain James' pirate ship. He was known to have a female companion just as violent, unmerciful, and wild as he is.
As soon as Edward's attention was distracted I raced for the rigging to one of the large sails and scurried up it as fast as I could go. I had a long coil of rope at the end and if they got the ship close enough and were distracted by the passengers attacking them from below I would be able to swing over to their ship and attack the Captain.
There was an awful hour of complete silence as everyone waited for the order to begin their attack. The air felt so thick with anxiety and fear I could hardly breath. I knew this moment was testing everyone beyond anything they had ever known or expected in life. I gazed out over the ocean that I loved and understood and wondered why there were such evil people and why were people so complicated and difficult. Then I saw the clouds began to roll in and I knew that a storm was coming, soon. Perhaps the sea was more moody than I was giving her credit for. I heard the signal horn blast and looked down. The passengers were in shock. The horn was sounded again and everyone snapped into action. Large slingshots were launching flaming objects at the other ship, many falling short but a few made it over. Two of the cannons went off and one cannon ball ripped into the stern of the other ship and the other grazed the top decks and knocked out the banister. Then the sickening crack of at least six cannons went off and I wrapped my leg and arm around the rigging ropes. The whole ship was almost knocked over on its side. The screams from below were frantic. All semblance of order and offense or defense were gone. It was mayhem and I had no idea how this would play out. The ship righted herself and I looked back over. It was frightening how calm yet malicious the three persons on the helm looked, they had total confidence that they would overcome us. As they had every other ship they had ever set designs on.
Let me know what you think, where do you think the characters are headed, who's POV do you want more of? Let me know what's working for you!