Cover courtesy of @BarryVosloo
An action adventure pirate tale with all the expected elements. The ship carrying the governor's daughter is attacked at sea and she is kidnapped by Tortuga's most notorious pirate, Terrance Hollick. Spirited away to t...
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Hollick stood with his arm around Alicia as they watched The Avenger sail off in one direction and the long boats with crew and Marines in the other. Henry had left him enough men to sail the Frigate to Mole St. Nicolas, and would then sign on along with the few crew left from the Bright Star until he could bring them back to Santo Domingo.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"I feel sick about the Private, he was the one guarding your cell when-"
"I know, the lads told me. I was thinking of your father actually. Will you be all right?"
"I think so. I don't know, he was my father."
"I did try to-"
"Oh, Hollick, don't blame yourself. You saw what he was like at the end. The same mean, self centred man he always was. Even my mother told me she stopped loving him a long time ago. She stood by him but only out of duty." She leaned into him and wrapped an arm about his waist. "That's something you won't have to worry about with me, my love."
"Yes, well I certainly hope not, I've already chosen the name for this ship when she's refitted."
"Oh, what? Bright Star two?"
"No. I'm calling her, Alicia."
FIVE YEARS LATER
"Belay that jabber and raise yer glasses to the next Captain of the Alicia."
There was a loud roar of agreement and a blur of voices as they joined in the toast. Hollick leaned over and kissed Alicia then bent down and kissed top of the head of their four year old son, Terrance Hollick Jr..
"I wonder what sailing will be like when he's old enough," He said intimately to her.
"I wonder what he'll be like." She smiled back and took his hand.
"Give us a speech on behalf of the young 'un, Captain." The request drew another roar from the crowd in attendance.
Hollick held up a hand and stood. "Alright, you poor excuses for sailors... and you women that put up with them, quiet down and listen." He picked up his glass and drank.
"Today marks not only our son's birthday, but the anniversary of the birth of the Alicia. Before her I was proud to have sailed a magnificent schooner. Bright Star was her name. Some of you sailed her with me through many years of adventure with fair winds and foul. When the British stormed our haven in Tortuga, they ended that era and the Bright Star was sent to the bottom of the sea. That event prompted the hunt for a new ship and it was the very one that sailed against us that we captured. The Dark Sea... now the Alicia." Terrance Jr. began making noises as he banged his fork in the slab of cake on the plate in front of him.
"I don't think this is of much interest to him." Hollick ruffled his hair. "His mother and I have made a decision regarding the ship and what we will be doing with our lives."
