For the next couple of nights, Daniel stayed in Autumn's cabin. She panicked every time a crew member looked at her. She only felt comfortable when Daniel was around.
She was washing Daniel's clothes when suddenly, there was a loud boom. Startled, she dropped the shirt she was holding. She turned toward the sound. She saw another ship coming toward them. Another boom sounded. Then there was a splash by the ship. Daniel came running. He looked out toward sea and saw the ship.
He looked at Autumn. He took her arm. "I want you to go to your cabin," he said.
What's going on, Daniel? she asked.
"Just go to your cabin," he said.
She didn't move. He pulled her to her cabin. He pushed her gently into the room.
"Do not come out until I tell you to," he said. "Keep the door closed. Do not answer to anybody. Understand?"
She nodded. He pulled her to him and kissed her hard. Before he could pull away, she kissed him back. She looked at him. She cupped his cheek.
Be careful, she mouthed.
He kissed her palm. He left the room. She shut the door behind him. Feet pounded on the deck. Men shouted at each other. Suddenly, she heard gunshots. She paced the floor. She was afraid that Daniel would get hurt. Somehow, she knew that an enemy ship was raiding the Lily. Unwillingly, an image of Daniel doing battle with evil men came to her mind. She could see Daniel falling and being killed. Before she could stop herself, she flung open the door. She saw men in sword to sword combat. She looked around for Daniel. She couldn't find him. Panic rose in her throat.
She carefully walked around the ship, looking for Daniel. She found him on the other side of the ship. He impaled one man and turned to fight another. He plunged his sword into the man's stomach. The man fell. Daniel wiped the sweat from his brow. He turned and saw her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man come charging toward Daniel. She opened her mouth to scream, forgetting about her vocal cords. Daniel saw her open mouth. He whirled to the side. But it was too late. He got the man's sword in the chest. He fell to the ground.
She looked around to find a weapon. She spied a gun. She quickly picked it up. Daniel's attacker stood over him. He pulled the sword out of Daniel's chest. He got ready to plunge the sword in again. Autumn pointed the gun at the man and pulled the trigger. The man fell to the side. She dropped the gun. She ran to Daniel.
She fell to her knees beside him. Blood seeped out of the wound in his chest. She ripped a strip of cloth from the hem of her dress. She pressed the cloth against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. Slowly she began to notice that the sounds of battle seemed to stop. She looked around. Bodies littered the deck.
She pulled the cloth away from Daniel's chest. The bleeding stopped. She threw the bloodied cloth over the railing into the ocean. She pulled Daniel's head onto her lap. She stroked his blond hair away from his forehead. Hot tears cascaded down her cheeks.
She heard feet running toward them. Her eyes searched wildly for a weapon. She was relieved when she found it was Cook.
"What happened?" he asked.
She pointed at the wound. Cook nodded.
"Well, the enemy ship has fled," he said. "We are throwing the dead bodies into the ocean." He reached for Daniel.
She covered his body with her own. She shook her head. He is still alive, she mouthed. She could feel his chest rising and falling.
