Kingdom Hearts of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
Chapter One: Eight Years Ago
A ship sailed across the open sea. It was foggy, almost impossible to beyond ten meters. As the ship cut through the unnatural fog, a young girl's voice could be heard singing. Kairi Swann was singing a favourite song of hers. She had forgotten where she had learnt the song but it had appealed to her. She stood at the ship's bow, watching out to sea and singing her song.
…Drink up, me hearties, yo ho,
We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot,
Drink up, me hearties, yo ho,
Yo ho, Yo ho,
A pirate's life for me…
We extort, we pilfer
We filch, we sack
We drink up…
Kairi gasped as the hand of deckhand Joshamee Leon clasped her shoulder. She turned around to face him as it was only polite.
"Quiet, missy! Cursed pirates sail these waters," said Leon, warningly. "You don't want to bring them down on us, do ya?"
"Mr Leon, that will do," said Lieutenant James Zexion.
"She was singing about pirates!" said Leon, pointing at Kairi. "Bad luck to be singing about pirates with us mired in this unnatural fog. Mark my words."
"Consider them marked," said Zexion. "On your way."
"Aye, Lieutenant," said Leon. "Its bad luck to have a woman on board too. Even a miniature one."
Leon took a swig from his leather hip flask as Kairi addressed Zexion and her father, Governor Vincent Swann.
"I think it'd be rather exciting to meet a pirate," said Kairi, expressing her opinion.
"Think again Miss Swann. Vile and dissolute creatures, the lot of them," said Zexion. He turned to look at Kairi. "I intend to see it that any man who sails under a pirate flag or wears a pirate brand gets what he deserves. A short drop and a sudden stop."
Kairi didn't understand the Lieutenant's use of imagery and looked to Leon who explained what he meant in one action. He grabbed his necktie and pulled like he was being hanged, with his tongue hanging out. Kairi looked scared at this and gasped, looking back to Zexion. She was about to say something when her father stepped next to the Naval Officer.
"Lieutenant Zexion, I appreciate your fervour, but I'm concerned about the effect of this subject will have upon on my daughter," said the Governor, concern in his voice.
"My apologies, Governor Swann," apologized the Lieutenant, walking away to inspect another officer.
"Actually, I find it all fascinating," said Kairi, wanting her opinion voiced.
"Yes, that's what concerns me," said Vincent, walking off to follow the Lieutenant.
Kairi had to stop herself from chuckling. She and her father always had a little joke, but she always knew when to act regally and not laugh.
She watched her father as he walked the across the deck. She turned back to face the sea, smiling. She saw a beautiful parasol which she had seen some of the other ladies holing during her father's garden parties. It was open and floating on the surface of the water. She watched as it passed the ship. She turned her head to see if any other parasols would pass them but instead of a parasol, she saw a young boy, about her age, unconscious on a raft of wood. She turned and shouted as hard as she could to draw the attention of someone on the deck.
"LOOK A BOY, THERE'S A BOY IN THE WATER!" shouted Kairi, pointing out to sea as everyone turned to look at her.
The crew ran to the side and looked at the surface and they all saw the boy.
"MAN OVERBOARD!" shouted Zexion, causing a lot of movement on the deck. "Man the ropes! Fetch a hook! Haul him aboard!"
Kairi watched nervously as the crew pulled the unconscious boy up onto the ship. An important looking officer came on deck and walked up to where a man had the boy in his arms. Kairi continued to watch nervously at the crowd surrounding the boy. They placed him on the floor as the made sure he was alright.
He's still breathing," said Zexion, as Leon looked out to where the boy had come from.
"Mary, Mother of God!" he said, looking toward the flaming wreck of a merchant ship.
Kairi turned to see what Leon was looking at and leaned over the side to get a better view, just as the rest of the crew did so.
"What happened here?" asked Vincent, worry sounding in his voice.
"Most likely the powder magazine. Merchant vessels run heavily armed," said Zexion, stating a possible theory.
The flames engulfing the ship made the main mast crumpled and fell to the sea. Debris and items of trade were floating in the ocean, with a British flag floating just under the surface.
"Lot of good it did them," said Leon, stating his opinion. "Everyone's thinking it, I'm just saying it. Pirates!"
"There's no proof of that!" said the Governor, chuckling. "It was probably an accident."
Kairi walked up to the boy, who lay forgotten on the deck, and looked down at him worryingly.
Rouse the captain. Heave to and take in sail. Launch the boats," ordered the lieutenant.
Everyone got to work getting the boats ready to sail to the wreckage of the merchant vessel. A man picked up the boy and placed him on an window box which let light into the deck below.
"Kairi, I want you to accompany the boy," said Vincent, crouching slightly so he could talk to Kairi. "He'll be in your charge. Take care of him."
She nodded and walked to where the boy lay. The Governor watched Kairi walk away, his face filled with worry. The crew rowed fast to the flaming wreckage, hoping to save as man people as they could.
Kairi walked up to the boy and looked over him. There was a gold chain going under his slightly open shirt. Kairi stroked the boy's long wet hair out of his pale face when he woke up and he grabbed her hand, causing Kairi to jump. He was breathing heavily like when someone had water pumped out of their lungs. Kairi recovered her composition and smiled.
"It's okay," she said, taking in a deep breath. "My name's Kairi Swann."
"Sora Turner," he said, stuttering or shuddering from the cold.
"I'm watching over you, Sora," said Kairi, smiling.
With that he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Kairi looked at the chain again and wondered what it would have dangling from it. She pulled in the chain revealing a golden medallion. It wasn't attached very well because as she pulled at the medallion to have a closer look, the chain slid off from around his neck and was swinging in the wind.
"You're a pirate!" Kairi gasped.
"He can't be a pirate," she thought. "He's just a boy."
As she was thinking, Zexion surprised her by speaking.
"Has he said anything?" he asked.
Kairi turned to face him put kept the medallion behind her back. She didn't want them to hurt him.
"His name's Sora Turner. That's all I've found out," said Kairi, telling him half the truth.
"Take him below," ordered the Lieutenant to two men in white wigs.
Kairi walked to the stern of the ship and looked out to the ocean. She looked around to make sure no one was nearby or looking at her. She looked back at the medallion in her hands and lifted it up so it was closer to her face. It had a very weird design with a skull in the middle with points sticking out symmetrically. As she looked at the medallion, she noticed a ship in the distance. Her focus changed from the medallion to the ship and she saw something she feared. A ship with black sails covered in holes was sailing away from the scene of the wreckage. Her eyes widened as she looked more closely at the flag atop of the main mast. Flapping in the wind was a skull with two curved swords crossed placed under the skull. Kairi knew enough about the navy to recognise that a black flag with a skull usually meant pirates. Kairi closed her eyes, not waning to watch anymore and hoping that they didn't turn back to their ship.