Insanity (Watty Awards 2012)

                Hi! This is my first serious attempt at a story. And I would love all of yalls comments and critques to tell me how I may improve or if I should even continue. I hope yall like it. Also, I am in summer school and I work so I will try to post as often as possible but it may be about a chapter a week, and for that I am sorry.                                                      

                                                                             Chapter 1

A Normal day….Or is it?

Angelica looked out over the bow of the St.Piere vessel. Her long jet black hair blew in the breeze, and out of her face, allowing her to see the sea in all its splendor.  Her soft tan Spanish skin radiated in the sun light as she took in a deep breath of the sea air. Angelica leaned over the railing and caught a glance at herself in the water. She was beautiful by anyone standards a perfect example of a gorgeous Spanish woman. Only problem was her Irish green eyes. How she hated that feature in the image. She wished they were brown, like a normal Spaniard, but no they had to be that ugly emerald green.  A gentle hand touched her shoulder. She turned and smiled at her father.

“Hola Papi” She said. Nacio Ramanos was a prominent Spanish nobleman and was an advisor to the King of Spain. He was a medium built man, not too fat, but not skiny either. His receding gray hair was covered by his ugly white wigs all politicians wore.  He grinned at his daughter and stroked her face gently.

“ Hola, hija. ¿Se excitan a casa a España? Sólo estará unos días hasta son el hogar.” He said with a smile.

“Si Papi!” the truth was Angelica could not wait to return home. She was glad that she finally got to see the Americas, but they were still not home. Her father had to go there to find out first hand how the colonies where doing for the king, but she knew it had to be more than just that because he kept a tight hold of a scroll that had a legal seal upon it.

Suddenly, a whistle blew loudly, followed by a trumpeters call to arms. She turned quickly to see a ship far off on the horizon. Men buzzed swiftly around her getting to there stations. Some carried bayonets, while other’s went below deck to the cannons. All officers where guiding the naval men, yelling orders that she, herself did not understand. One came and beckoned her into her quarters with her father. She stood in the room with the other small group of passengers. Most where women and children who were returning home after they failed to find a great life at the colonies. How they all afforded passage was beyond her for they all looked like lowly peasants. Angelica glanced out the window , and saw that the vessel had gained on them. It was a large ship with a black flag that had a strange red x on it.

“That’s strange” She thought. To her most pirate ships were supposed to have skull and crossbones yet all this one had was a bloody red x. What was so terrifying about that? Then the ship fired upon there vessel. The whole ship shook wildly as the cannon fire tore the ship apart. What was more disturbing was when the firing stopped. All she heard was the hurried steps of naval men, and loud clink, clink, clink, clink, clink, clink, clink. She felt the ship moving sideways.

“That’s not right…” She murmured while she held on tightly to her father.

“Gancho de anclaje…” He whispered to her softly. She could tell he did not want to scare the other women. Grappling Hooks was not something these frightened bodies needed to hear at the moment. A gun blast went off and then the real fighting started. She could hear the loud clanking of swords, firing of pistols, and a dog barking.