Rose of the Sea

Tortuga

Drew's POV:

It's chaos in the fort. The men are running around in panic as cannons ring through the air. I snag Mutogg by the arm as he's rushing down the steps from the battlements.

"Murtogg!" I shout over the roar. "Where's my father?"

"I-in the Commodore's office." He stammers out.

"And James?"

"Up on the battlements!" He shouts, pointing over his shoulder. At that, he rips himself out of my grip and continues to flee.

Ignoring him, I take the stairs, two at a time, until I'm in the moonlight on top of the fort wall. I can see James a few meters away calling out commands. I do my best to push through the soldiers trying to reload the cannons. As I clamber over them, I take a second to glance down to the Pearl. The flash of a cannon lights against the inky blackness, and I instantly leap over the men remaining between James and me to tackle him to the floor just before a cannonball flies up to hit the fort wall right where he was standing.

"Brianna?" James mutters, looking up at me, laying on top of him.

I smile at him. "Hello James, do you normally stand on top of the fort this time of night? Dreadful weather for it." I comment nonchalantly.

He stares at me, blank-eyed. "You saved me."

I stand up off of him, smirking, and hold out a hand to help him up. "Yes, I did. Same as you would for me." I say when he's on his feet. "Now come on man!" I cry.

He smiles at me and turns back to the cannons, ready to command fire again, but my arm shoots out to stop him. "Look," I say, pointing down to the cove. "They're retreating."

And naught but five minutes later, the port is free of pirates. It wasn't until later that I realized why they had retreated.

***

"Come on, I can go after her," I say to James as we both pour over the schematics of the fort.

"No," James says stoutly. "I need you here to help oversee the repairs to the fort. Now, why don't you change into something more suitable?" He gestures to my attire.

"I can't exactly rebuild a fort in a ballgown can I?" I snap.

He huffs in frustration. "And I can't protect you if you're not here."

I shift my weight into my right hip, crossing my arms. "And that's what you did last night? Protect me? James, you're perfectly able to take care of things here, so why can't I go?"

James looks up from the papers scattered on the table, setting his jaw. He turns to me and his eyes soften as he wraps an arm around my waist. "Having you back made me realize how much you mean to me. I can't lose you again."

I lock eyes with him, the man I grew up with, the only one who believed in my abilities as a navy officer. My best friend. "James..." I mutter, my face softening.

Before anything else can be said, Will storms up to the table. "They've taken her. They've taken Elizabeth."

James lets go of my waist, turning his attention back to the papers before him. "Mr. Murtogg, remove this man." He says, waving his arm.

"We have to hunt them down. We must save her." Will protests.

Father holds up a hand to halt Murtogg trying to drag Will away. "And where do you propose we start? If you have any information concerning my daughter, please share it."

"That Jack Sparrow. He talked about the Black Pearl." Murtogg speaks up.

"Mentioned it, is more what he did," Mullroy adds in.