by Ryan Gilbert
And that is exactly what he did.
Beaming from ear to ear, Eli caught Maggie in his arms, twirling her around on the warm sand. With his arms around her waist, he kissed her, much like he had whenever he had first left New York. He was going to war then, and he was going to war now.
“I c-can’t tell you how l-long I’ve missed that,” she said, holding Eli’s head in the palms of her hands.
“I’d wager it’s been a long time,” said the carpenter with a smile on his face.
“Finally, I c-can see you.”
The girl looked up at the face of the man that she loved, the same face that she had been unable to see for years, and it brought her to tears. She hugged Eli as tightly as she could, not wanting to let him go.
Stunned, Eli asked, “Wait… you can see me? Now?”
The girl nodded, smiling up at her former fiancée.
“Yes, I-I can see. I-I can see your face o-once again.”
Taking hold of Eli’s hand, Maggie led him away from the water’s edge. As he looked past her, he saw the faint glow of a fire over by where she had first appeared. He could also make out the bones of a skeleton crouched next to it.
Feeling the tension in Eli’s hand, Maggie said, “You d-don’t need to worry, m-my love. It’s only Ben. He h-helped me prepare this.”
“This?” asked the carpenter.
“A picnic.”
Ben stood up, nodding to Maggie and walking out of sight. As Eli got closer to the small area surrounding the fire, he saw the crudely repaired bowsprit of a damaged Fancy hanging out over the water. A couple steps later, he saw the whole ship resting on the water, the hull wrecked by the unceasing assault that the Red Sky and the Flying Dutchman had given it. How it was still sailing was a miracle.
“Is that how you got here?” Eli asked in shock.
Maggie nodded her head.
“After the N-Navy left, we were able t-to get free… after a c-couple hours. With m-mother dead, I didn’t know w-where else to go, so we f-followed your ship.”
“Onboard the Fancy?”
Maggie giggled and shook her head. Her response confused Eli, especially since her father had kept her prisoner onboard that very ship.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
Still giggling, she said, “I n-never understood why he p-picked that name. I think… I think I’ll c-call it Blind Justice. I will f-fix everything my father did… and I will use his own s-ship to do it.”
Eli snatched the girl up in his arms again and gave her another kiss. She was no longer the timid daughter of a shop owner. She had grown into a powerful woman, commanding a crew of supernatural creatures. Eli was proud of her.
Breaking the kiss, Maggie looked up at Eli with a smile and asked, “Shall we eat, m-my love?”
At the outskirts of Yorktown, Julia led Riggs through the woods, searching for one place in particular. Julia had visited it many times during her time living in the town. Even as they walked, the Captain had no idea where they were going.
“Are you goin’ to tell me where we’re headin’ or not?”
“It’s just ahead. Be patient,” Julia scolded.
Sure enough, the girl was right. As they broke through the line of trees, both Riggs and Julia laid eyes on their destination.
It was a graveyard.
“Why’d ye bring me to a graveyard?” Riggs asked.
Julia turned to Riggs, a serious look on her face.
“Because I needed to show you something. Now follow me.”
The girl weaved in between headstones and grave markers, obviously looking for one grave in particular. The pirate captain could do nothing but blindly follow her. Whatever it was that she needed to show him must have been important if she had dragged him all the way to Yorktown for it.
At last, Julia appeared to find that for which she had been looking. She stopped in front of a grave freshly adorned with roses, staring down at it as Riggs joined her. When he read the name, he understood why she wanted to return to her hometown.
Daniel Travers
A Loyal Friend Who Gave His Life Protecting Us
“You miss him, don’t ye?” asked Riggs.
Letting out a breath of air, Julia said, “Daniel was my friend for as long as I can remember. Of course I miss him.”
The girl took hold of the Captain’s hand as she fidgeted with her belt.
“But Riggs… that’s not the only reason why I brought you here.”
It was then that he noticed a tiny book tucked into Julia’s belt. He had seen it many times in his quarters, but he had never bothered to open it out of respect for Julia. Pulling the book out of her belt, she handed it to Riggs.
“Did you ever talk with Daniel?” she asked.
“Can’t say that I ever did. I saw him a couple times, but I never spoke to ‘im.”
Looking down at the grave, Riggs continued, adding, “Seemed like a nice chap though.”
Julia held the book in her lover’s hand, saying, “Daniel is one of the reasons why we’re both still here. Do you remember back to when my father first captured you?”
Grinning, Riggs said, “Hard to forget that, sweets.”
“Whether you know it or not, Daniel Travers helped us escape. After I returned to Yorktown, he was one of the few people I could talk to about my love for you. He supported me every step of the way… even when times were tough.”
Sniffling, Julia said, “He died trying to keep Garrett from taking over my father’s ship… trying to protect us and the entire world.”
Now, she let go of the book, leaving it in Riggs’ hands.
“I want you to read the last entry in his journal. It was a letter to me, but it has something in it that you need to know.”
Intrigued, Riggs opened Travers’ journal and flipped through it, page by page. He reached the last page rather quickly, having to flip back through several blank pages.
The letters on the page flew by his eyes as he read the letter intently. He could tell that this what written by a man unsure of whether he would come back from a voyage. He had seen many letters like this, written by pirates in Rebelde. As he read, he saw Travers’ entire story laid out in front of him. It was a pity that they had not crossed paths before.
It was then that he reached the final sentences of Daniel Travers’ letter.
Watching her lover’s reaction, Julia could tell exactly when Riggs read that Daniel was his brother. His eyes opened wide as he slowly glanced up at the grave. He let the journal fall at his side. Riggs threw his tattered coat behind him, kneeling down in front of the grave of the brother that he never knew that he had. Sniffing the air, he could smell the roses wafting into his nose from where they rested on the grave. It evoked a sense of familiarity from Riggs, like he had just been reacquainted with something that had been gone for a long time.
“How long did ye know?” Riggs asked Julia.
“Only after the attack on New York,” she replied, “I didn’t want to tell you until after we defeated Every, but with everything that has happened, I figured now was the best time.”
“Thank you, Julia… but I don’t know how much this is goin’ to help.”
Sliding her hand into his, the girl said, “I’ll tell you how it’ll help. I’ve already told you what Daniel did for both of us. Clearly, he saw something in you because it forced him to abandon years of training and hard work to help set you free. Any of those other soldiers would have left you and the crew to rot in the brig of the Magistrate… but not Daniel. He believed in you and knew you were destined to do something greater than any pirate has ever done.”
Julia pulled Riggs to his feet, holding onto both of his hands. She stared wistfully into his eyes with a fiery passion.
“Let this be that something,” she said.
At first, the Captain did not respond. He looked down at the grave once more, and then he turned to Julia.
“When I mutinied for control of the Red Sky, I set out to be the most
notorious pirate of all time. I never imagined that I’d end up here. An entire armada is pursuin’ me… a resurrected mermaid is comin’ after me… again… and with the ship belongin’ to the god of death no less.”
With a grin, Riggs said, “I say we fight ‘til the end.”
Looking over the grave of Travers, Riggs directed his attention toward the horizon. So many adventures awaited him, Julia, and his crew. In his mind, Riggs questioned whether he could beat Ororis again, but he just brushed off the thought.
He would certainly fight as hard as he could.
Resting his hand on his brother’s grave, Riggs started to sing his song. Slowly but surely, Julia joined in, gently laying her hands on her Captain’s shoulders.
There was going to be a war…
… and they were ready for it.
“Give me the sea;
Give me the wind.
Give me a ship
To plunder the land.
Steal and lie;
Steal and lie;
There are no rules,
But you will not die.
Raise the skull and crossbones;
Bring fear into a man’s soul.
Shoot and loot, steal his gold;
Send him down to the depths below.
Ororis, you’d better be planning.
You cannot give us time to mend.
Death and revenge shall come to you;
We will bring your reign to an end.”
The End… For Now
« COMING SOON »
Era of a Red Sky
The Red Sky Series
A Red Sky Is Upon Us
A Red Sky Has Fallen
A Red Sky Rising
Dawn of a Red Sky
Era of a Red Sky