A Pirate's Love

Lantern in the Night

Jake's POV:

Shuffling. Voices. Bright lights. Horses nickering. Carriage bouncing. The total weight of my body dragging on the ground. Soft grass. Seagulls. The waves. The ocean. Quiet. Glimmers of dim images flashed underneath my eyelids, and seconds of sound reached my ears as consciousness returned and left. A cool liquid touched my lips, forcing me to open them. I swallowed hard, the feeling in my body slowly returning to me. I was lying parallel to the floor, my feet propped up comfortably. My back ached into soft bedding, my head spinning as I dared to open my eyes.

"Drink up, lad, before ye thirst to death," a familiar man's voice rang through my ears as a cup was placed against my lips again. In my confusion, I searched for Smith, only to find a clean-cut older man with his wiry grey hair combed over the bald spot on his head. He looked at me over tiny spectacles on his nose's tip. I took a sip of the liquid and let it travel down my throat. I couldn't remember the last time I drank water. It tasted so good.

"Who are you? Where am I?" I asked wearily, my head still spinning.

"You're in a cottage far out of town," he began, "and I have been charged to be your doctor. Though, I don't understand why I must tend to a man already facing the threat of the gallows. Why build someone up just to kill them?" He asked rhetorically, making my eyes go wide. He chuckled to himself as he sat at the foot of the bed. "You were unconscious for hours. When was the last time you ate?" He suddenly asked, changing the subject like it didn't matter.

"I can't recall. It's been a few days," I answered honestly, now focused on how shriveled my stomach felt inside my body.

"Well, that explains why a grown man like you fainted," he said as he stood. "I don't know why they starve their convicts just to build them up again," he muttered to himself. He went to a small stove in the corner of the room and stirred a pot of something in a bowl. "Mmm," he hummed, and he smelled into the bowl. "Everyone loves a good stew!" As far as I could tell, the stew was odorless and failed to waft through the small room. "What have you been convicted of?" He asked suddenly, bringing a bowl to me.

"I haven't had a trial yet," I said plainly, sitting up and taking the steaming food into my hands. It was a grayish concoction of mystery meat and hearty vegetables. I picked up the spoon and began to eat, only to be disappointed. Not only was it odorless, but tasteless as well. Still, anything would do to fill my stomach and clear my head.

"Ah, but what have you done?" He asked. I stared at him as I took in more spoonfuls, trying to eat peacefully. "Right, right, save it for the trial," he muttered, scratching his chin. "Well, whatever you have done, I hope you're brought to justice. They just put on quite a show today with all the hangings."

"I was there," I bickered, begging him not to continue so I did not have to recall the sight.

"Aha! So you must have seen the loaded gun they hanged today! The Feared Dan Deranged, they called him. Fearsome pirate he was. An ugly hanging, but it made a point," he said, too cheerfully for my liking.

"Shut up, old man, before I regain my strength," I threatened, feeling anger boiling inside me. I continued to eat, desperately trying to ignore him.

"Oh no, but you must see," he continued, ignoring my threat. He walked to a door on the other side of the room and opened it. Sea air rushed in, and a clear view of the beach and cliffside shone. "They've got a gibbet out there for him. You've got the best view in the whole country. A good feast for the fishes and the sirens, I dare say." My blood ran cold as he pointed out to the gibbet, and I followed his gaze. The man-shaped cage hung by the end of a stake planted in the sand at low tide. The sun was beginning to set, signaling high tide would come in a few hours.