Assassin of the Black Flag(open)

"I remember" Elizabeth said quietly, still cold from the memories that haunted her. Even though she could defend herself, she felt that much safer in her husband's arms. She could finally sleep peacefully, when she did sleep, knowing that there was someone at her side.

Sam turned and let the light go out before he pulled the covers over the both of them. He gave his wife a kiss goodnight before he rested against her, his arms still enveloping her lightly. As it always was each night, a nightmare gripped his chest and cold sweat broke out over his body. He tossed for a moment before he sat upright rather quickly, chest heaving and hair plastered to his forehead with sweat.

Sleep had escaped her grasp yet again, so Elizabeth just lay in bed, and examined her ring. She almost leapt out of the bed when Samuel shot up. "He must have had one of those nightmares he told me about." Elizabeth gently rested her hand on Samuel's shoulder, and wrapped her arm around him. "It's alright, love. Everything is going to be okay" Elizabeth said soothingly.

Meanwhile, in the sitting room...

"Brother, I am not-" said the voice of Damian, holding the leather book and a shovel. He was interrupted by his brother Jonathon, also holding a shovel, said, "Quiet, man... We bury the book in the jungle, and nobody will find it..."

Sam shivered when she touched his shoulder, though made no move. Instead, he held his head in his hands for a little while. Then he rubbed his face before he looked at his wife, his eyes full of pain. They looked wet, like tears were hidden there though they weren't falling just yet. Sam hung his head and stared at the covers. "I saw my parents," he croaked softly.

"But, brother what about the bo-" Damian had continued, but was once again interrupted, when his brother semi-yelled, "We'll bury the damn box somewhere else!" He seemed to remember where they were, and said in a hushed voice, "We can bury it in the sea, if you want... Just toss it in there, eh?"

"You too? I know just how it feels. I'm here for you, remember? And if you want to talk about it, I'm here." She looked at Samuel, and smiled as she cupped his cheek with a warm hand.

James Kidd

"Jaysus! What the hell are you two going on about" Kidd asked as he entered the livingroom. He noticed the shovels the Butchers were holding, and took a step to the side. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me what's going on?"

Sam nodded slowly and ran a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh. "I know I wasn't there when they were killed," he whispered, tears beginning to fall down his cheeks. "But every night I dream that I was with them. That father was protecting me with mother. Then I...see a black object in the man's hand and then...as the gun fires I wake up..." he broke down, burying his face in his hands while his back heaved violently and soft sobbing noises escaped him.

"Can't tell ya that, lad..." He adjusted his shovel, as he picked up a wooden box. "We are just burying... dangerous objects. Jonathon said, walking out, singaling for Damian to follow.

(Yo, I am not gonna be one for a while, so, ya. See ya.)

David emerged from the shadows, slightly drunk (sorry I had to) "That Lad... is Captain James Kidd. But if you can not tell, why don't you tell me. I am old enough for you, aren't I Lad?" he said, standing up for his fellow Assassin.

Elizabeth "Demon" (Shay) Donnelly

"I'm sorry, love, I truly am" Elizabeth whispered as she pulled Samuel into an embrace, and rested her head on his shoulder. "I know what I'm about to say might hurt you, but I'm glad you weren't there when it happened" Elizabeth said softly. "It destroys you."

James Kidd

"Lad's the last thing you lot should be calling me" Kidd mumbled before he went up to Elizabeth's study to brew more of Elizabeth's hangover remedy.

Sam let her pull him into her and rested his head on her shoulder and wept. His back heaved hard and even shook violently. Truth be told, so was he. He was glad he'd lived but at the same time, it was his parents. "And then on occasion," he added heavily, his voice returning to a high whine. "I see my Mentor...getting hung....for stuff he didn't even do!!"

"Remember, love, they may be dead, but so are the people that took your family and your mentor from you. Try to find peace in knowing that your family has been avenged." Elizabeth pulled away from Samuel, and gently lifted his face to hers. "I won't let anything like that happen to us. I promise." She hated seeing Samuel in such a state, as it reminded her of the day she almost lost him back at Torres' mansion at Havana. "Everything is going to change. We will not end up like our parents" Elizabeth said softly as she looked into Samuel's eyes, and gave a reassuring smile.

(What time is it where you are?)

Sam looked up into her calm, smiling face and felt soothed. He closed his eyes and gave a heavy sigh. "Thank you, Liz." he whispered softly, pressing her hand to his cheek.

(7h53am. Sorry, I'm trying to rescue pages 1-73 while I still have the tab open)

"It's a pleasure, Sam." Elizabeth sat in silence with Samuel, waiting for him to fall asleep again so she could sneak out and prepare for their meeting with the pirates. There were to be twelve pirate captains arriving the next morning, not including the ones already at Inagua.

(On my end it says that there's only 8 pages)

Sam gently kissed his wife before he laid back down, resting his head on the pillow, which felt cool to the touch. Slowly, his eyes began to close and sleep grabbed him with greedy hands. It wasn't long before he was back asleep, hopefully the rest of the night.

(I know, same here. Luckily I had page 72 open, so now I'm going back and copying everything to post in the free-write section.)

The roar of the cannons had scared Elizabeth from her sleep, causing her to fall from the tree, and land on her back.
"Jaysus! What the hell is going on?!" Elizabeth quickly ran to the end of the courtyard, and looked out over the docks. Six ships were moored a short distance away from the docks, all of them shooting their cannons towards the open ocean in unison.

"Wake up! All of you! We've got guests" Elizabeth shouted as she stormed through the house. She raced off to her study, grabbed Thatch's coat and tricorn hat from the mannequin resting in the corner of the room. "Come on you lot! We need to go" Elizabeth shouted as she shrugged on the old black coat. She had changed into her familiar black robes some time during the night before she looked over the plans and made sure that there was enough of her hangover remedy for all the pirates.

(Do you know what happened to the rest of the pages?)

Sam woke with a start at hearing his wife call out. Hurriedly, he got himself prepared, leaving his hair a jumbled mess while he dressed in his new robes. He made sure his necklace was there before he made for the door, drawing his hood up. He stopped near the dresser, where his brother's gun lay. He hesitated on taking it, afraid to lose it as it was the only thing he had from his brother. Finally, he made up his mind and swapped out his gun for the pistol his brother had used. He made sure it was loaded and that he had some ammo for it before he shoved it into his pistol holster, leaving his gun on the dresser. Hell, Sam even unwrapped his father's sword that the bureau in the Keys was able to recover from the burnt house. The hilt was infused with some ash from the fire, tucked in the crevices that wound around the hilt. Sam gripped it tight and slowly switched out the scabbards, his for that of his father's.

Only once he was ready did he leave the house to stand with Liz, a hand on each weapon at his desposal. "Templars or British?" he asked without looking to his wife.

Yom im gonna be gone for about a week on vacation, 'kay? 'Kay.

(DarkAssassin, I have no idea what happened to the pages. I think we just reached the limit and it was reset? Guillotine, you have no idea how insanely jealous I am.)

Elizabeth was sitting on a branch of the tree she had fallen from earlier. Upon seeing Samuel emerge from the house, she jumped out of the tree, and caught Thatch's hat as it fell after her. Elizabeth crossed her arms as she stood overlooking the ocean.
"Templars or British?"
"Neither" Elizabeth said coldly before she closed her eyes, and inhaled. A smile crept onto her face as she smelt the burnt gunpowder. "Those are our reinforcements. Assassins, mercenaries, and some of the finest pirates you'll ever meet." Kidd raced past holding jars of the hangover remedy, hoping that he would get to Rackham and the others before their guests arrived. The cannons finally fell silent, so Elizabeth pulled a golden flintlock from her bandolier, and fired a shot into the air. A bell rang near the docks and, as if by cue, longboats were sent out to the ships to collect the pirates. "Make sure Jackson is with you. This meeting requires the presence of every captain and their quartermaster."
"Captain Shay, everything is ready for the captains' arrival. Adéwalé, Bonny, Hornigold, Kenway, Kidd, Rackham, and Vane are waiting at the docks as we speak."
"Thank you, Johnson." Elizabeth dusted off the old tricorn hat, and carefully placed it on her head. "Let's get a move on. I don't want to make them wait any longer than I already have."

(Just realised that all the old posts now have their own thread.)

(I reasoned those who fell inactive here got deleted from the post)

Sam nodded and then went to the docks to collect Jackson before he returned to Elizabeth's side. To be honest, he was nervous. He couldn't believe they were going to plan a plan to take back Nassau. Hopefully it would work and they'd drive the damned British from the pirates' only safe haven.

Elizabeth "Demon" (Shay) Donnelly

Elizabeth looked down at her pocket watch, her cold expression was unwavering. She went up to her study, and grabbed the chest filled with charts, documents, letters, and maps. She had been gathering information since the day the pirates lost Nassau.

"Let's go" Elizabeth said coldly before she led the small group of men down to the tavern.

Normally when pirates were gathered together, there was an overabundance of laughter, drinking, and good cheer. This was not such an occasion. They were all as cold as Elizabeth had been since the second she woke up. An inferno of hatred blazed in the eyes of everyone that had gathered at the tavern. Elizabeth dropped the chest on a table before she opened it, and pulled out a drawing of a man that every pirate had come to despise.
"I believe it's finally time we discussed a certain thorn in our side. Governor Woodes Rogers" Elizabeth snarled as she plunged her dagger into sketch, firmly lodging the dagger in the table. Although most of the pirates knew each other, Elizabeth took it upon herself to introduce each of the men, and the pale woman, who were gathered at the tavern. "Howel Davis, Edward England, Henry Jennings, Richard Worley, and Ingela Gathenhielm." She then introduced Hornigold and the others, before she turned to Samuel with a look upon her face that seemed to ask if he wanted to introduce himself.

Sam took a step forward, his hand firmly clutching his father's sword though he kept it in its sheath. "Samuel Donnelly," he had a feeling he'd receive some murmurs, as nearly every pirate knew the Donnellys were all dead. This brought back mixed feelings, though he kept them shoved down with a deep breath.

Elizabeth "Demon" (Shay) Donnelly

"Now that that's out of the way" Elizabeth said coldly before she turned to Worley, "Did you bring what I asked for?"
"I did better than that, captain Shay, I brought a whole ship of those bastards. You know, just incase a few of them decided to die along the way."
"Good, have your man bring me five of them" Elizabeth chuckled as she removed her dagger from the table. Elizabeth turned to Samuel and was sure to speak quietly so the others couldn't hear what she had to say. "Listen, I don't want you to see what I am going to do. So please, when this meeting is over, I need you to leave with the others." There was a hint of sorrow in her voice as she spoke. She looked around the room for a moment, searching for someone. "Where's Shuter?"

Sam watched her face for a moment. He didn't like the fact that she would rather see him leave with the rest instead of standing with her. Then he gently took her head in his and spoke in a hushed voice, pressed his mouth to her ear. "Don't forget your promise. After the meeting here, we take a month off for us." He did sound a little weary, but his voice was strong as always. Sam placed the smallest kiss on her cheek that was turned away from the pirates gathered and then straightened back up, flexing the hand that held the shard of Eden.