The Pirate and the Soldier Boy

Chapter 22

Carmen heard an enormous crunching sound and felt the whole boat shiver and then rock. It was followed by two more splintering crashes and a roar from on deck. Cannons sounded from below her.

She looked up from where she was sitting. The guard placed over her was startled. As the sounds from above started to become more clear, his expression turned almost to one of glee. The clash of steel, the firing of muskets, and battle cries of his crew mates. But he did not move from his place.

Another splintering crash exploded, this time hitting the corner of the very room in which they stood. Wood pieces flew everywhere, the entire ceiling demolished. As debris flew around her, Carmen dropped her head and let her jaw hang. She heard quick footsteps, and then the breathing of the guard was gone. No longer under the pretense of unconsciousness, she struggled against the bonds that held her tight to a bedpost, she tried to move her feet underneath her, but she was at too awkward an angle. She gave a small cry as the fresh lashes across her back rubbed against the hard wood of the post. Clenching her teeth she ignored the pain and continued twisting her wrists, trying to work at the bonds.

There was more noise from on deck than before, and the cannons had stopped. But a new danger became imminent as she started to see water run in the door. She had made barely any progress when the water had already risen several inches. A clatter sounded from the stairwell. She looked up quickly. And could hardly be happier with what she saw. White blonde hair dripping wet, as if he had fallen on the slick floor, the stubble on his chin just a little longer than when she had last kissed it, bare and bloody sword in hand, stood Levi.

"Oh Carmen, Carmen. What have they done to you?"

His voice was worried, and very angry. It seemed he would almost leave her there to go find whoever had tied her up and exact vengeance. He kissed her fiercely. "I'm never letting you make up the plan again. My rules from now on. You don't pay enough attention to your personal safety."

He kissed her again, grabbing her arms. As his lips grew stronger on hers, his hands moved to her back. Carmen gasped in pain. Trying to hide it she spoke quickly. "Untie now. Kiss later."

"Is that a promise?"

Carmen glared and he shrugged sheepishly. Levi took out a dagger and got to work. The water was now well above Carmen's waist, and he was working half under water, trying not to slice her hands.

His knife had just sawed through the first two ropes when another large crash sounded. But this time it was not on the slave ship. Levi stopped in horror. A horn sounded, confirming his suspicions. A horn that had been very familiar for the first half of her life. It brought both hope and dread. Levi jumped to his feet and started sloshing through the water towards the stairs. Carmen yelled after him. He turned around, panic written on his face. "That's the horn of the army."

Carmen nodded and he continued, speaking quickly. "They hit my ship. My beautiful ship. I have to take care of her. She's my living. And I owe an oath of allegiance to my crew. I promised to protect them the best I could, and we walked into a bloodbath to save you."

He stopped, his eyes full of sorrow and longing. "I'm sorry Carmen."

The water rose around her shoulders as Levi thundered up the stairs. Tears leaking from her eyes, Carmen strained at her bindings. The two cut ropes had loosened the others, and she made slow progress. As the water sloshed around her chin and neck, Carmen heard a renewed yelling from on deck, and a hail of musket fire. The king's ship must have boarded.

But Carmen didn't worry much about the outcome of that. She would probably be dead before anyone reached her. She stretched her neck and took one large gulp of air before the water became too high. Pulling at the ropes, she slipped her hands out of all but the last loop, her feet still bound. A disturbance in the water caused her to look up. She pulled her hands out of the last rope just as she saw a figure coming toward her. Out of breath, she opened her mouth, breathing in water. She fell sideways in the water, and her hand brushed against a rough fabric, familiar. She grabbed it as a reflex.The figure grabbed her arms, slinging her over his shoulder and dragging her free of the water, and she could feel herself dropping the heavy, waterlogged jacket she had grasped. Everything else went black.