That night as soon as Annabelle was sure that her mother was sound asleep, she padded down to the washroom and took two more pills than were required. A part of her wanted to take a couple more, but another part of her wasn’t ready to die. Not in a long hot; which is why she only took two more than she was supposed to take. Please let this work, she thought as she fell into her bed. Please let me get back to the Calypso’s Sword, And with that, Annabelle fell into darkness.

--

“Luv?” asked a familiar voice. “Luv are you alright?”

“Ugh…” Anna-Bella muttered as she opened her eyes. “What happened?”

“You fainted luv,” stated Alan as he helped Anna-Bella up. “Do you, do you remember what I said?”

“Of course I know what you said,” Anna-Bella said as she looked Alan in the eyes. “You said in order to protect me from the ruffians and delinquents on your crew you would let me stay here in your cabin. Not as your whore but as your guest…as, as-”

“As my love,” finished Alan as he took her hand. “Anna?”

Anna-Bella shook her head and pulled away. “I-I do not know what to say,” she stated honestly. “This is all happening too soon. Too fast…we just buried the souls from the Emerald Pearl. I just buried William on some god-forsaken spit of land and now you want me to be you’re…”

“Hush now,” Alan soothed as he took Anna-Bella into his arms. “I am sorry luv, I should not have said anything. You are still grieving; I should have been more sensitive to that fact…”

Anna-Bella shook her head and buried her self into the crook of his shoulder. “I just never thought that I would lose him and I, I do not think that I am ready,” she paused and let the sobs consume her for a couple of moments. “Maybe,” she continued finally. “Maybe I should return to England. Maybe everything will be better if I go home,”

“Oh luv,” Alan stated with a sigh. “I wish that you would call the Calypso’s Sword home, even if you stay as a guest and not my love.”

Anna-Bella pulled away from the captain and looked him in the eyes. “You are not going to let me go Captain,” she asked in a quiet voice. “Are you?”

“If you insist on going luv, then I will let you go,” answered Alan honestly. “But I do not want you to go and if there is something, anything that can get you to stay then I ask that you stay.”

Anna-Bella looked at the captain. “You really do care about me Alan,” she began in a quiet voice. “You really care about me don’t you?”

Alan nodded. “Of course I do luv, what would make you think any differently?”

Anna-Bella shrugged her shoulders. “I do not know,” she stated honestly. “You are a pirate.”

Alan shook his head. “I am a man first and foremost,” he stated quietly. “And I am a man who wishes that he held your heart, for you hold mine...”

Anna-Bella smiled widely and while she was still grieving over the loss of William she knew that her heart had always belonged to Alan. Knowing that in her heart, she leaned forward and kissed him square on the mouth. At first, Alan was too shocked to do anything, but he soon regained his senses and kissed Anna-Bella passionately.

...

The days passed and they soon turned into weeks which turned into months. Anna-Bella was not only known as the best galley cook that the Calypso’s Sword had ever had but she was also known as Alan’s wench. The latter was not a title that she enjoyed but she had quickly learned that by being the captain’s wench she would not be touched.

And so my days went on, Anna-Bella wrote in the diary that Alan had pillaged from one of the merchant ships coming from England. I learned the ways of the ship and the personalities of the crew. They all learned to enjoy my fine cooking, and it was fine cooking compared to the gruel that they were used to. I know that it was only soup but it was warm and hearty and it has kept us nourished for all these long months at sea. Hurricane season is coming soon and we will be staying close to port in case we have to weather a storm...

Anna-Bella paused and wondered if she should write down what she feared. “I lose nothing by putting my thoughts to the page,” she whispered quietly in her cabin which she shared with Alan who was taking the midnight watch on deck. “I might as well write all that I am feeling.”

I know that we will be able to weather any storm that god in heaven sends our way, but I am afraid of another storm, one that we may not be able to weather. There are several men on the crew who have not been happy with the way that Alan has been running things. More specifically the feel as though my love should be sharing me with the rest of the men. They’re a bunch of dirty cretins and they are not worth my time, or Alan’s but there is something in their eyes that make me fear them...

At that moment, Anna-Bella heard a clattering from up above. There were shouts and the sounds of swords clashing. Fearing the worst, Anna-Bella ran up on deck just in time to see Alan run through by the pirates he commanded. “NO!” she cried running to her beloved’s side. “Alan...”

But it was too late, he was already dead. Furious, with her blood boiling she took up Alan’s sword and fought for her life. Yet there were so many of them, and only one of her. She soon found herself cornered with no where to run. “What says you wench?” sneered one of the pirates. “Any last words?”

Anna-Bella just glared at the lot of them and spat at their feet. That only enraged them all the more and she soon felt the searing pain of a sword running through her. Breathless she fell to the deck and as her sight faded to black she stared upon the face of her beloved Alan knowing that she would not have done anything differently.

--

When the darkness faded into twilight she no longer felt the pitching deck beneath her dying body. Instead she felt a hard uncomfortable mattress with a lumpy pillow beneath her head and coarse, suffocating sheets all around her body. Slowly as her hearing returned she could hear the steady beep…beep… of a heart monitor. It was at that time that she knew, I’m alive… she thought as she drifted off to sleep again. I really am alive.

The darkness overtook her again and this time she dreamed normal nonsensical dreams. She thought that she had seen a man with a devilish smile and dirty blonde hair for one brief shining moment, but the dream faded to nothingness moments after and she had no memory of his intense and shining blue eyes.

Sunlight lit her world, though her eyes were still closed. She could hear voices but she couldn’t process what they were saying- especially since she drifted off once more. The third time that she floated to consciousness she felt a slight pressure on her hand. This third time she also heard a voice calling to her. “Come on Anna,” it was saying in a familiar voice. “You have to wake up…”

But which Anna am I? She asked herself as she struggled to open her eyes. Am I Anna-Bella the pirate or am I Annabelle the student. She tried to squeeze the person’s hand but found that it was hard to do, especially with the questions that were whirling through her mind. Do I love Alan? She asked herself. Or do I love John? Alan is dead and John is alive but he left me…

“Please Anna,” the voice continued- closer now, quieter and more desperate as well. “Please Anna I’m sorry for walking out on you. If you wake up I’ll make sure that I never do it again…I’m so sorry…”

That’s John! She thought with a jolt. That’s my dear John and he’s sorry…

With that, she finally managed to force her eyes open while she gently squeezed John’s hand. At first she was blinded by the harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital but in seconds her eyesight adjusted and she saw John looking down at her. “Hey there…” she whispered weakly.

“Hi,” John replied with a slight embarrassed laugh. “You okay?” he asked.

Annabelle nodded. “Yeah,” she stated. “I’m okay.”

John sighed with relief and then leaned forward enough to place a gentle yet soulful kiss on her lips. “I was so worried,” he whispered into her ear. “I was so worried that I was going to lose you.”

Annabelle shook her head. “No,” she assured as she gripped his hand as tight as she could. “You’re never going to lose me John, never…” she paused and glanced away. “I am sorry,” she began sadly. “I should have never let a dream get me so unbalanced.”

“I shouldn’t have felt jealous for something that didn’t exist,”

Annabelle looked sharply at John. “But it did exist,” she insisted. “At least- for me it did…but it doesn’t matter now.”

“No?” asked John with a raised eyebrow

“No,” she assured. “No the dream is over now,” but even as she said that she knew that that wasn’t entirely true. Annabelle knew that her entire life was a dream control and she would have to enjoy every single moment.

And she did; when John left to get her something to drink Jamie came in and the two friends made up. After than her mother came in, and while their conversation was stilted and a little uncomfortable, Annabelle could see that something within her mother had changed. The two of them had never been especially close, but the shock of almost losing her daughter had made her mother realize that she needed to treat their relationship better.

As for Annabelle she lived every day to its fullest. She smiled more and laughed more and remembered that just because she wasn’t asleep didn’t mean that her life wasn’t a dream- and she loved every single minute of it.

-THE END-

AN- So this is it. The last chapter. Thank you for reading and a double thank you to those who reviewed. I hope you enjoyed this little short story as much as I enjoyed writing it! Till next time folks! TTFN- Ta Ta For Now!