Nightmares By The Sea

Paul was pulled from a fitful sleep by frantic pounding on his door.
“Admiral! Billy’s in the nest and he claims to see black sails!”
Paul shot out of bed and answered the door. His first mate stood there, looking both afraid and excited at the same time.
“Run up a flag for the other ships to fall into formation. When we catch up, we’ll surround the Pearl. I’ll go aboard and get Evangeline and after than we can send the ship to Davy Jones, but I want Sparrow and his crew.”
The sailor nodded and went to follow orders and Paul dressed. He gave every appearance of being calm, but could barely get his buttons done, his hands were shaking so bad. Taking his spy glass, he went up on deck.
“Is it the Pearl?”
Paul looked up to see Gillette standing next to him, squinting into the distance. Paul raised his spy glass again and took another look.
“Hard to say,” he answered “I can’t make out her figurehead from this distance. Plus, she’s heading toward us, away from Fiji. But there are those sails….”
“How long till we cross?” Gillette asked, not taking his eyes off the horizon.
“Half an hour, I’d wager. You’d do best by checking your battle station. I don’t think the Pearl will try to best six ships, but--”
“But this is Sparrow,” sneered Gillette.
“Exactly, so we’d do best to be prepared. To your station.”
“Aye, Admiral!”
Paul checked himself for blade and gun and began to pray.

****

Evangeline sat at Jack’s desk eating and watching Jack draw up charts. She was ravenously hungry and deliciously sore. Jack had made love to her a final time with the morning sun streaming through the windows so he could take in every detail of her form.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Plotting a course,” he said, walking the sextant across the parchment, looking up long enough to wink at her.
“Where to?”
“Ah,” he replied “That’s a secret.”
“Come on….” she whined, sticking out her bottom lip.
“No, sorry, highly confidential. Not for a lady’s ears.”
Evangeline whispered a few very unladylike suggestions into his ear and he pulled her into his lap. There was a knock at the door.
“Bloody hell!” Jack yelled “No more door knocking! Go away!”
“Cap’n,” Gibbs called, a strange tone in his voice “We’re coming up on a fleet, sir.”
Jack stood up and opened the door.
“Say again.”
“A fleet, Jack,” Gibbs said, looking extremely worried “Six ships. The flagship has run up colors. Their calling for us to surrender.”
Jack ran up on deck, leaving Evangeline in the cabin. Just as Gibbs had said, six ships. Three approaching from the front, three from behind. How the bloody hell had this happened?!
“Did no one see them?!” he bellowed and every man looked sheepish.
“Damn!”
Evangeline walked up next to him and he turned to see all the color drain out of her face.
“Eva?”
“That’s the Atlas,” she said, pointing to the flagship “That’s one of my father’s ships. It’s my father.”
“Your father’s ships. Plural? Who’s yer da?” he asked.
“Paul Bryan.”
“Admiral Paul Bryan? Of His Majesties Royal Navy?” he asked, voice going up a notch.
She nodded.
“Would have been nice to know, luv.”
“You never asked,” she replied.
He put his arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head.
“Drop anchor!” he called “Run up a flag of truce.”
He turned to Evangeline.
“Don’t suppose you want to say howdy do to yer da and stay on with me?”
“What are you proposing?” she asked.
“Proposing,” he answered.
She gaped up at him.
“Close your mouth,” he said with a smile “I wouldn’t ask, only I’m pretty sure I’ll never find another cabin boy that can bend the way you do.”
Evangeline smiled and pinched him.
“Ow!” he cried “You’re mean….Don’t answer now, talk to yer da first.”
She nodded and kissed him passionately. Jack screwed his had on, patted her on the bottom and went to go meet Paul Bryan.
Evangeline watched as the two ships pulled along side one another. She spied her father’s form at the helm and her heart quickened.
“Daddy,” she whispered under her breath.

****

Paul stood at the helm with his first mate, eyeing the form on who could only be Jack Sparrow waving amiably from the deck of the Pearl.
“Does he think we’re coming to tea?” Paul asked and his first mate snorted.
“Actually, I hear he’s quite mad, sir.”
“Evangeline had better be safe or mad is the least of his worries. Throw over the ropes. I’ll go aboard. You follow after.”
“Aye, sir.”
Below deck, Gillette watched as the Pearl sidled up to the Atlas. Sparrow’s waving form drifted by and he was filled with white hot rage. The man had made him and his superiors look like idiots. He had been demoted and given to new leadership. Bloody Norrington had been discharged. He wouldn’t let Sparrow get away with it again.
He fired his cannon.

****

Paul was halfway between the two ships when the blast occurred. The rope he had been scaling broke loose from the Atlas and he crashed into the side of the Pearl with a bone jarring thud. Jack hit the deck, covering his head as rope, sails, and bits of wood rained down. Neither of them saw Evangeline look up in horror as the top half of the foremast tumbled down towards her. She crossed her arms in front of her face and braced for impact. The whole world went dark.
Climbing up the rope, Paul threw himself over the rails and thudded to the deck. HE righted himself and saw Sparrow frantically pawing though sails and debris. The cannon had severed the foremast neatly in half and the deck was littered with its remains.
“Sparrow!” Paul bellowed, drawing his sword.
Jack turned, looked at him, and resumed his search. Paul walked over and put the tip of his blade at the base of Jack’s neck. Jack rose slowly to his feet, hands in the air and turned to face Paul.
“Where’s Tanner?” Paul growled.
“Killed ‘im for touching my girl,” Jack answered.
“Where’s Evangeline?”
“That’s exactly what I’m trying to suss out, mate,” Jack said, his voice pained.
There was a groan and they both turned to see a very feminine leg peeking out from under a pile of sails. They both bolted for her, but Paul swung his sword at Jack.
“Don’t touch her!” he yelled.
Jack drew his own sword and they crossed blades, staring at one another.
Evangeline backed out from under the sails, checking herself for damage. Finding nothing except a large bump on the back of her head, she turned to see her father and Jack, blades locked together.
“No!” she yelled “Jack, don’t!”
Jack turned and looked at her, lowering his sword. The Pearl, rocking from the impact of the cannon, tipped slightly and Paul lost his footing. He shuffled forward a few steps and they all looked on in horror as his sword pierced Jack’s chest.
Evangeline screamed and ran forward as Paul pulled the sword out, shocked. Jack looked confused, took two steps back, and fell to the deck. Evangeline fell to her knees next to him and pressed her hands to the wound, willing the blood to stop flowing and looked up at her father.
“Do something!” she cried.
“Paul stood rooted to the spot. He’d never seen Evangeline so upset over anything before and the gravity that he’d misjudged Sparrow completely hit him like a gale.
“Damned Barbossa was right,” Jack said.
“What my love?” she asked, trying to get him to look into her eyes.
“It is cold.”
His eyes closed and his head fell to the side. Evangeline shrieked.
“My answer’s yes!” she yelled slapping him on the chest “Wake up, damn you, my answer’s yes!”
Paul pulled Evangeline away from Jack and motioned to his first mate to come over.
“Take him to my cabin, see if there’s anything to be done.”
The man nodded and loaded Jack into a longboat. Paul shook the still hysterical Evangeline by the shoulders, but it had no effect. He slapped her cheek and that silenced her She reached her hand to where she had been stuck and looked at her father with wide eyes. Then she hugged him, sobbing.
“I love him, daddy. Do something.”

A/N: Mwah hahahahaha!