Chapter 3

"Down in the Brig"

As his victors burned the destroyed ships of his fleet, Admiral Villeneuve sat in the brig of the HMS Victory along with several of his men and officers, unaware of what lay ahead for them all. Some were thinking of their families back in Paris and how they were wondering what would happen to them. However, Villeneuve was thinking of the mutual respect that he was now starting to develop for his fallen enemy. Both men were high ranking admirals and they both loved their countries.

"Sire, you seem quiet," said a French officer, taking note of his superior's solitude. "Are you afraid of what is going to happen to us?"

After a brief silence, Villeneuve turned back to the officer and sighed heavily.

"No, my friend," he replied, quietly. "I'm not afraid of what is going to happen. The victors will be the judges of our fate and the vanquished will be the accused. If we die for our country, then so be it."

"Do you think of your family?" asked the officer. "How do you think they are feeling?"

"They are probably thinking of me just as much as your family is thinking about you," sighed Villeneuve. "I can't help but think back to our attack on that wedding ship off the coast of Denmark. Do you realize what we have done?"

The officer was confused for a moment upon hearing this. In his mind, attacking the wedding ship was part of the orders they had received from Paris. France needed sailors for its navy and they were simply filling the void. It seemed that now Villeneuve was starting to have second thoughts about the attack that put them in this position.

"In attacking the wedding ship," continued Villeneuve. "We slaughtered innocent women and children as well. After attacking, I saw innocent people either dead or dying and I could not help but think of what we were doing. But, I had no other choice. I had to follow orders or be shot to death or worse."

"You are right, sire," replied the soldier. "I had the same feeling too. If only I didn't join this group to begin with. I joined to fight for the glory of France, not to kill innocent people at random. We are enemies with the English and we don't do such to their innocent people as well."

Villeneuve agreed with the officer and wondered just exactly what would have happened if he didn't attack the wedding ship to begin with. He would have still had his prized Navy and the fellow Admiral he had admired would still be alive and all of this would have been avoided.

"Do you think that King Eric and Queen Ariel would be easy on us?" wondered the officer. "In attacking the wedding ship, we carried out an attack on Denmark as well?"

"I'm not sure, my son," sighed Villeneuve, turning around to face the officer. "It's likely that we would be surely killed by firing squad or even hanging. If I were to die, I would prefer to die a soldier's death and be shot by a firing squad. Hanging is only a punishment reserved for cowards and scallywags."

"It doesn't matter what they would do to me," sighed the officer. "All that matters is that I enter the master's paradise with my family that have passed on before me."

Villeneuve couldn't agree with this young man more, he didn't want any part of the kingdom of the underworld as much as anyone. He wanted to enter paradise and be entitled to the riches of the heavenly Jerusalem. It didn't matter if he won or lost this battle on the seas, he just didn't want to suffer the consequences of his actions anymore.

Meanwhile, back the HMS Victory, Ariel came back to her private quarters and changed into her pink nightgown. The Bible that she had been reading was still on the nightstand and she grabbed it to look at it some more.

As she looked at it, Ariel wondered if her conversation with Triton had meant anything. Yes, he did admit to allowing Ariel and her family to be nearly killed in the battle, but Ariel had once again failed to convince him to back down on his quest to find and destroy the ship that killed Queen Athena all those years ago. All that Ariel wanted to do was to return home to Denmark and put this behind her, but in doing so would display cowardice in the eyes of the English.

"Ariel, may I come in?" called a voice, knocking on the door.

"Sure, come in, Eric," replied Ariel and Eric opened the door and entered the room. "How was your meeting?"

"We've gotten a plan in place," said Eric as he went behind a shade to undress. "Half of our navy will return to Denmark with the dead and wound while the other half continues the pursuit with the English. Believe me, there was a part of me that wanted to be a part of the half that goes back."

Ariel sighed as she climbed back into bed and pulled the covers over her. It gave her a sense of relief that she wasn't alone in wanting to go back, but Eric was right, they had a duty and a promise to their country to fulfill.

"Are you reading a bible?" remarked Eric, taking note of Ariel reading the large black book.

"Vanessa told me to read one," replied Ariel, putting the bible down. "She says it gives people a sense of comfort. It's very fascinating."

"There are plenty of wonderful stories in it," said Eric, climbing into the bed. "My parents taught me that the Bible can give people a sense of hope and sanctuary."

Ariel then began to think back to her first days as a married woman and remembered that certain words were spoken at their wedding from a book that was very much like what she was reading now. During this time, she could also remember that the priest had given her and Eric what was called the Body and Blood of Christ. She didn't know it at the time, but Ariel was given both spiritual and physical strength that day.

"I hope you are right, Eric," said Ariel. "Let's just hope that the next few days can give us the strength we need to get through all of this."

Nodding in silence, Ariel agreed as they all went to sleep that night, anxiously awaiting what the next few days would bring…