May the Father of Understanding Guide Us (Open)

Elizabeth sat on the crow's nest as she nursed a bottle of rum. She thought of everything that had happened, and everything that was still to come. She had killed without mercy, and never left any survivors. Of course, she could no longer attack British ships. She had been in more battles than she cared to admit, but she was damned proud of everything she had achieved, and yet, she had nothing to show for it. She missed the old days spent with her friends, but that was a different time in a different life. Now she had no friends, no family, and the world thought her dead. God, she had lost everything. All she had was her galleon, and her home back at Nassau. Elizabeth looked at the empty bottle of rum in her hand, and roared as she threw it to the deck below. A few men looked up at their captain, and shook their heads. They knew what she was going through, so they left her alone. The last man that tried to speak with her when she was like this had been ripped to shreds, and hung from the bowsprit. So they left her to her own business.

---

Morgana had returned to Ireland after her last encounter with Elizabeth. Everything had gone South. Tensions were running high, and the men had grown tired of her.
"God, remember what it was like when Edwin Shay ran the place?"
"Aye, I do. Heard he had a child down at the West-indies?"
"Well I've had enough of the O'Reillys, and I think it's about damned time we followed a Shay again."
"So that's it then?"
"Aye."

"Liz, please, Ah can't -"

Roger blushed when he noticed it wasn't Elizabeth who'd come through the door at all. It was one of her crewmen, or rather, crewwomen. She smiled and looked around, noticing her Captain wasn't in here. She was about to speak, but Roger knew what she was after.

"Knowin' her, she'll be on the riggin'. Give it a look."

She nodded and smiled, slowly closing the door. Stodd heard the door latch and winced, growling and wishing he could just vanish back into the bars of London, forgotten and broken. He'd been called back to service nearly ten times in the last three months, and each time he'd obeyed, only to vanish again. They wanted him to keep morale up, no other reason. Not that anyone who knew the state he was in felt very good. But, then again, Liz hadn't cared. She'd been happy to see him. She'd fought to see him. She embraced him and welcomed him into her, even though he was... nothing. He ran a hand through his hair, and stood, heading for the door.

He looked around him, silent, before looking up. Sure enough, there she was, watching the waters wash away. It looked like that woman had simply been looking for her captain, as she wasn't on the rigging herself. Roger stretched as he walked, looking up and sighing. He shrugged, and walked away from the ratlines and heading to the nearby hook, kicking off the winch and being yanked up to the top, landing with a soft thud. He looked up over to the captain, and took a long breath.

"It was Barbary pirates, funded by th' Templars. About five ships tae our one. Nothin' ta impressive, but fest. Three went doon, th' other two foond their way behin' us. One boarded through mah ain cabin, th' other over th' quarterdeck. Th' cabin boy... His name was Jacob. He was in mah room when it happened. Ah didn't see him amang th' corpses... nar those who got it safe... Garred was killed first, from what Ah know. Ah watched him die. Then th' pirates came in dozens... They pushed mah men to their brink... But for all we did, th' Turks ne'er stopped... I couldn't believe it. Then th' captain called out. 'Any who surrender will be given free passage away', an' well... half ay mah crew turned on me... Ah couldn't blame them, but... Ah had to kill my ain men 'at day..."

Roger stopped, sitting down. He didn't have any tears left; he'd been strong his whole life, so once he'd been alone after this, he'd let everything out of him. He didn't feel what he'd felt when it happened, and he'd only told this story to the Admiralty when he'd requested, and been denied, a dismissal.

"Ah was escorted as a prize tae their Templar masters... there was thes Italian, Acciai or somethin'... He was a lunatic. Killed the rest ay th' prisoners, all coz th' Turk captain wanted in oan th' Order... He interrogated me, insulted me, but he an' his partner barely spoke... Eveleen Cooper, a British pirate, moved to th' Med a while ago apparently... Th' other Templars I didn't recognise... it was those two who did this. He took mah finger... She wanted th' other... 'en she took mah eye, and tossed me intae th' waters..."

He looked over to her, and cleared his throat, preparing to head back down. He didn't know what had happened to any of them after the battle. He'd tried to go through recent files and documents when he was in Whitehall, but all he'd found was their histories. Acciai was, no shock, a well-known monster, but not a major issue to the British, and Cooper was being tracked for possible affiliated in the Caribbean pirate forces. The rest he didn't even known the names of. He took a long sigh, before grabbing the hook hanging off the other side of the nest, and preparing to leap down.

"And all I had to do was lose everything. Friends, family, my men, my life." Elizabeth drew her hood further over her face, and sighed. She trembled as she fought back the tears that threatened to flow once again. "You'd think that losing everything would be okay for someone who lost everything as a child, for someone who grew up with nothing. The truth is, it's worse." Elizabeth looked at the tattoos that littered her arm, and wiped away the tear that landed on her pale flesh. He was the closest thing she had to a friend, and she was going to lose him again. "I'll do anything for those close to my heart, and you know that. It just helps me in some queer way. It makes me feel human again, and not just like a monster. But I lost my humanity a very long time ago." Elizabeth looked out over the water, and breathed shakily as she thought of her friends. She couldn't take much more of it. Elizabeth pulled her knees to her chest, wrapped her arms around her knees, and buried her face in her arms as she cried quietly.

As Damian and his men sailed across the waters, they believed they saw what they were looking for - they had just seen fresh wreckage, some still burning. Not so far from it, however, was a ship... a Templar one, at that. "Half sail - someone tell me when half a minute has passed, we'll stop then.", shouted Damian - he wasn't sure if they were spotted - so, oncenhe was able to see a crew - a mostly female one, at that - he ordered again, "Raise the sails! Don't wanna get too close, now do we?", as he walked down the stairs, and then, running tkwards the mast, propelled himself up wards, where nobody else was, as he looked forward to the other ship. If they did nothing, so be it. Yet at the slightest hint of cannon fire, or aggression, they would either fight back, or flee. If they fought back... it would be slim they would win.

"Liz, 'at doesn't..."

He stopped himself when he caught her in his eye, saw how she was reacting to her own words. He groaned, running both hands through his hair and gritting his teeth, letting out his anger in the physical form, trying to just burn it all out. It took him a minute, before he walked over to her and got behind her, running his hands over her shoulders and pulling her back to hug him. He whispered to her, his voice low, barely audible over the wind.

"Ye didn't lose me. Ah was always with ye, an' ye with Ah. Everythin' yoo've lost isn't lost, sae long as it stays wi' ye. An' ye, Elizabeth Shay, hae a heart stronger than anyone Ah've ever met. All 'ose ye loove an' caur for live oan forevermair, within ye. Never forgit 'at."

"Thank you, Roger" Elizabeth said softly as she wiped away her tears. She buried her face in his chest, and smiled. She was trying to memorise everything about him before she lost him again. His scent, his voice, his warmth. She wanted to remember every little thing about him. Elizabeth looked up at him, and smiled before she gently kissed his jaw. Lights were being lit across the ship, and the men were hauling in the sails. She sighed, and wiped away the last of her tears before she looked up at Stodd. "I suppose we should be heading inside?" She noticed a rival ship not too far from their current position. "What in the nine circles of hell are they doing this far north?"

Roger shook his head, watching the ship. He couldn't see their flag, not with his messed up eyesight, but he knew it was going to be a fight. He gave her a soft kiss on the cheek, before he stood up. He held the hilt of his sword in one hand, and the butt of his gun in another. He'd have to make the decision to fight or cower eventually, and he had a feeling he knew which way he'd go.

"They need yoo down there, not Ah."

He smiled to her, and hoped this fight would be as quick as the last one was.

"Yoo go. Ah'll be here."

Elizabeth took out her spyglass, and examined the rival ship's colours. She hung her head when she realized whom its captain was. She hadn't blown the ship out of the water simply because it was flying a black flag, but now she wouldn't do it, she wouldn't kill the last of her friends.
"Stand down! No harm is to come to that ship!" She took the hook down to the deck before she raced into her cabin, and grabbed an old black flag.

"Haul in every scrap of cloth" Elizabeth roared before she raced up to swap the colours. She just needed someone to talk to, someone that knew her better than anyone else. Elizabeth sat on the gunwale, and watched the rival ship as she nursed a bottle of rum. Her men were ready for a fight, and they looked to their captain. Stevens sighed before he finally approached Elizabeth.
"Captain, I know you have a soft spot for pirates, and that may be one of your old friends but you must take action before the British do."
"Don't you think I know that, Stevens! I'm no pirate hunter, but I can't let them move any further..." Elizabeth hung her head as she raised her first in the air. "Fire a warning shot." After the first round of cannons, Elizabeth ordered her men to prepare for a battle. "Hold! Let's see what they plan to do!"

As Damian heard, and saw, the warning shots, his men yelled, until he finally raised his voice above the others, "Do not fire, yet! Prep the cannons - upon them firing again... do not hold back.". He was, at the least, glad that Elizabeth recognized him, likely. It took him a bit of gettingnused to see himself with a beard in the mirror, yet nonetheless,  he got used to it. He walked down nearer the cannons, and, finally walked towards the figurehead, rested his hands on the sides of the ship. He had polished it, along with some help, since the new one he got wasn't exactly the cleanest. He simply looked back up, staring at the ship, and, finally, lifted up a bottle of Scottish whiskey, and, opening it, took a swig of it. Looking back towards the ship, he , "Ya wan' talk this out 'ere, or 'ave yer lost ya love for drinkin'?", as he took another swig. If he was about to face an old friend, he might as well do it intoxicated. Jonathon, however, was simply staring at the ship, near the wheel. He made not a noise - as if observing, more so.

"Me? Lose my love of drinking?! Come on, Damian, you should know me better than that. I've been drinking since I was seven, so I don't think I'll be giving up anytime soon" Elizabeth said with a laugh as she hoisted her bottle of rum into the air. She had missed the company of her old friends. "Now let's talk about everything over a good drink. We may be on opposite sides, but that doesn't mean we can't talk." Elizabeth barked orders to her crew, and the galleon moved closer to the Assassin ship.

"Now where would you prefer to talk? Your ship? My ship? Or would you rather we sit on our respective gunwales, and bark at each other like dogs?" Elizabeth took a sip of her rum, and eyed Damian's crew cautiously. She didn't want to die just yet.

Upon her question, he finished off the whiskey, and said to his men, "Now, wait 'ere. I'll be 'eadin' on over, so Jon 'ere is in charge.", as he looked back over towards Elizabeth's ship, and said, "I'd be headin' over there - I'd want a challenge, if I were to be lured into a trap.", as he ran forward, and leaped over the edge, seemingly melting into the water.

Soaking wet, Damian climbed up the side of the ship - using open cannon slots, decoration, whatever. Jonathon watched over everyhing, as Damian, finally, reached the top, rising up until he reached his full height, his sword sheathed, as he stood in place. Jonathon still looked over to the ship, eyeing her crew, a bit at an unease, since Damian went over there all by him self.

"Welcome to the Siren, Damian" Elizabeth said happily as she eyed her old friend. "Well come on in. I just picked up a few bottles of whiskey back at England... stole them, actually." Elizabeth led the way to her cabin, and left Stevens in charge.

"It's so good to see you again, Damian" Elizabeth said as she chased Panther off of her chair. She pulled some bottles from the cabinet before she took a seat and gestured for Damian to do the same. She acted as if nothing had changed, but the Assassin skulls lining the walls said otherwise. Elizabeth took off her hat, and set it on the desk before she poured the drinks. "Can't say how much I missed you."

Eyeing the skulls lightly, he looked back towards Elizabeth, as he sat down. When she poured the drinks, and sat down, he said, "Can't say how much, either. So... I take it you've found about half of us?", as he waved over to all the skulls lined up. He picked up the cup, and, taking a gulp, set it back down, and said, "Things have been calm... or as calm as they could. We've sent a good few of men to scout Templar and British ships... yet they never came back. Since our original plans have all been destroyed, me and Arabella got married about a month after I ran away from you and Rogers.". He took another drink from the cup, he continued, "We also got one on the way, now.", as he took another light sip. Finally, he said, "How've you been?"

"Congratulations! I'm so happy for you" Elizabeth said excitedly. She looked at the old sword perched on the shelf behind her, and sighed. She missed her husband, and she knew that if he were alive, she wouldn't be a Templar. "As for me? I won't even try to lie to you. Things have been difficult. Assassins constantly coming after me, giving a portion of my plunder to the British, doing unspeakable things just to find Roger..." Elizabeth looked at Stodd's old clothes lying on top of the chest, and hung her head. She was certain that Damian had realised what was happening between Stodd and her by that point. "I try to think back to better days. Back to Inagua when everyone was still alive..."

Damian paused for a bit, and said, "Ah... I see. 'splains the moans I heard in the tavern a few months back.", as he took another swig. "And, well, it's as you would imagine. Ingua... well, the only living people there are Jonny, Tiago, and I. Dunno where Morgana left to, prob'ly Ireland.", and sat down the cup. "It's lonely, there. We have a couple good men guarding the place, just in case. I don't doubt Tiago, but... just in case.", as he looked back up at Elizabeth. Finally, he said, "So, it also seems the sides have turned, too. I'm the only Assassin, you a Templar, and your... 'Friend', another Templar.", as he relaxed lightly. "But, still... th' place ain't the same. Not by a longshot."

Roger stood outside, leaning against the wall of the cabin, just next to the door. He'd wanted to keep an eye on the ship, really, but at the same time seeing all those pirates and Assassins... It didn't make him fell all that good. He simply waited, listening in, barely hearing anything more than basic murmuring, and a few words every now and then. He clutched at the hilt of his sword, breathing slowly, feeling the... the moulded wooden hilt. Christ, some of these men were poorly equipped, but it'd do for now. In his other hand he held a rifle; should someone come out in a rush it'd be the sword. If he heard any sounds of fighting inside, it'd be the gun. He'd let the Assassin choose.



-------

https://acrpf.forumotion.com/viewtopic.forum?t=609