Annie and Giacomo returned to the galleon waiting for them in time for lunch. They recounted parts of their adventure to the curious Ahmet and Zehra, before they separated-- Annie heading to report everything to the captain and Giacomo, Ahmet in tow, to attend to his surgeon's duties.

It was the middle of the night when the two lovers were startled awake on their nest of sails by a loud cannon sound, followed by the ship's shudder and groan.

"Pirates!" Giacomo called, jumping to his feet and pulling his clothes on hastily. "Stay here, Annie, I beg you, don't make me worry..."

"Ahmet!" She called, getting dressed hastily too, even as they heard another cannon ball hitting the water's surface so close that it made the galleon skip.

"I'll bring him here. I love you," Giacomo promised after a swift kiss; then he was gone.

Ahmet reached her in a few moments alone, telling her excitedly that Giacomo went to find Zehra. The cook and the smallest of the powder monkeys, those who were not skilled enough to be of any use to the crew in a battle, joined them soon.

To Annie, the battle seemed to last for hours, the awful sounds reaching her from above making her imagine the worse... She was tempted to run on the deck in search of Giacomo several times, getting more deaf to Zehra's well meant, wise words as the time passed, only changing her mind when Ahmet ran in her arms, pleading with her to stay.

She let him lead her into the most quiet corner then, and there she sank to the floor, staring in front of her silently, forcing herself to shut out all that was going on around her.

Annie only came back to her senses once she noticed Giacomo kneeling in front of her, after what could have been minutes, hours or days...

She stared at him for a long while before she drew him in an embrace, her mind only now registering that he looked ruffled and worse for wear, but otherwise unscathed.

Giacomo pulled away slightly to wipe the silent tears streaming down her cheeks with his sleeve as he whispered, "It's all over, Annie...."

She nodded, and as she finally looked beyond him, she saw Jos standing close by, his arm around Zehra's waist.

"Is everyone well?" Annie asked hopefully.

Giacomo closed his eyes briefly and took a deep, rugged breath, then looked at her again as he said, "We... lost many good sailors tonight, Annie, and... our Captain Francis..."

She brought a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle a sob. She had grown attached to the captain, it couldn't be true that she would never see him again...

"I know... " Giacomo soothed her, pulling her into another embrace, letting her bury her face in his shirt shortly, before he urged her to her feet. "Come, we must go."

The moment they reached the main deck, one of the sailors told Jos that Antonio had declared himself the new captain of Restless Soul.

"No way," the boatswain whispered to Giacomo, who ran his hand through his dishevelled hair despairingly.

"Antonio!" Jos called as he pushed his way through the small crowd gathered on the deck, towards the spot where the quartermaster stood. "I want you to put this to vote!"

Several feeble calls of agreement followed his words.

"Are you challenging my authority, Jos? As the ship's quartermaster I'm the next...."

"I'm doubting your loyalty to Restless Soul and its crew! I was told that you ordered one of the men to remove the Yellow Jack, Antonio. And I believe that's the reason why we were attacked tonight..."

"We were attacked because we have women on board! It's bad luck... "Antonio thundered.

"Not even someone like you can believe that," Jos challenged. "Let us vote, let us choose our next captain freely!"

An excited, but at the same time timorous whisper ran through the crowd, before one of the men called, "Giacomo!"

Many others followed him. Hands reached for the young surgeon, pushing him and Annie, whose hand he refused to let go, towards Jos and Antonio.

It all happened in a flash then-- Annie saw a glitter of silver in Antonio's direction before she heard a low hiss of a blade flying through the air, barely missing her face and Giacomo's shoulder as it rushed between them, before it clattered to the wooden floor somewhere behind them.

The next thing she saw was Jos' fist connecting with Antonio's face with a sickening crush, then the despicable man lay on the floor, gagged and bound.

"Take him on board of the vessel that attacked us, with all those who want to follow him. Make sure to cut their sails and then let them go to the devil!" Jos ordered one of the men who pulled Antonio to his feet.

He then turned to Giacomo, "Will you accept the honour, boy?"

Giacomo looked at Annie who smiled at him encouragingly. Unexpectedly, he took off her kerchief, letting her hair loose. "I accept on one condition. As long as I'll be your captain, she will be my sailing master."

Many loud cheers and only a few surprised gasps followed his words.

The sun had just risen and so, without further delay, they all set to work on repairing the galleon as well as they could, casting occasional glances at the other vessel drifting swiftly away from them.

Luckily, Restless Soul did not suffer much damage, it only lost its figurehead and the tip of the bowsprit.

During the next couple of days separating them from their next destination, they mourned their dead-- apart from the captain they lost five sailors. Other ten had followed Antonio, thinning their ranks greatly.

However, the fully-rigged galleon was built in such a way that it could sail even with a fraction of its original crew. Following the sailing master's directions, they set sail for the island of Elba. There they stayed for nearly six weeks. A fourth of Annie's small treasure paid for the repairs of the ship and hiring the new members of the crew.

And the wedding, of course.

The next time Annie set foot on Restless Soul, she was dressed in her aquamarine robe and carried in Giacomo's arms. He only let go of her when they entered the captain's cabin, refurbished to become their own.

"Welcome home," Giacomo said, spinning her around to offer her the complete view. "What do you think?"

"It's beautiful," she said, smiling contentedly. It was amazing to see how many curtains, mirrors, carpets and lanterns he managed to fit in the cabin, making it look like a room of Barbarossa's palace.

Her smile faltered when she remembered her Baba, but Giacomo, as quick to read her mind as to reassure her, said, "Remember how many notes we left for him anywhere we could. He will know where to find us, or at least how to get in touch..."

Just then the galleon lurched under their feet as it left the dock. Giacomo took Annie's hand in his and led her outside on the balcony. There he stood in the doorway behind her, his arms wrapped tightly around her body, his chin resting on top of her head.

They watched the sunset, elated by the love they felt for each other, hoping that their long voyage to England would be adventurous, but safe, until Ahmet, whom they already regarded as their adoptive son, recalled them back to reality a while later.