Jolly Sailor Bold
Hi everyone! This story was actually my final project for my Writer's Craft class. I was pretty proud of it, so I decided to share it here. It has a little dash of Once Upon A Time and some Pirates of the Caribbean. There is slight mention of Captain Swan from Once, but I did alter quite a bit. This will probably be a three shot. Enjoy, and please review!
There was once a dashing and brave sailor named Killian Jones who sailed the Caribbean waters with his brother Liam in search of gold not yet seized by the wretched King of England. The older king was quickly falling out of favour with his court, because he was bent on spending all the money the kingdom had fought hard to earn. He entrusted his most devoted sailors, the Jones brothers, to sail through dangerous waters in pursuit of gold. On the fifth week of their trek, the wind howled like a wolf through the sails and water crashed mercilessly onto the deck. Liam's blonde hair whipping around his face, he jerked the ship's wheel while raven-haired Killian told the men to "batten down the hatches."
"Rough and stormy waters these are, but do not lose hope!" Mid-speech Killian caught sight of a flash of silver on deck. He squinted through the spray and gasped. Liam clutched wildly at an arm wrapped around his throat, eyes wild. The bearded and dirty assailant smiled maliciously, revealing several gold teeth. He looked Killian directly in the eyes and dragged his sword across Liam's neck.
"NO!" Killian screamed. His brother's lifeless body dropped to the deck. He unsheathed his sword and set off in furious pursuit of his brother's murderer. His fellow sailors followed, attacking the other pirates. Killian's blade clanged against the pirate's sword repeatedly. The bearded pirate brought his blade down on Killian's left hand, cutting it off. Killian howled in agony and clutched his arm against his body. When his blade finally met the pirate's throat, Killian barked out commands.
"Give me one good reason not to kill you now, you senseless pirate," Killian snarled, blade now drawing blood. He had to maintain his morals and good form despite wanting so badly to rip the man apart. The man spat in his face before laughing.
"We were sent by yer beloved king, landlubber. He offered a mighty amount of doubloons," the pirate sneered and Killian pressed his sword tighter against his throat.
"No, King Gifre would not do this to my brother. He was a good man," Killian's mind raced, not wanting to believe the pirate but losing the battle all the same.
"Well believe it. Not that I could say sorry for yer Cap'n, the lad was-" Killian slit the pirate's throat and lightning pierced the sky. His group of sailors cringed and were pushed aside as the few pirates left jumped onto their ship and sailed away. Killian grabbed a nearby rope and hoisted himself onto a railing. Grabbing a curved hook from a sail, he yelled out commands against the roar of the storm.
"The King sent those dastardly pirates after my brother and I. We will no longer sail under the British flag but under the Jolly Roger! We will go after those pirates and combat their tyranny. We will make them think us allies with our flag but we will be sailors with no alliances. Anyone who disagrees will walk the plank," the words were met by a chorus of cheers and dark blue Navy jackets being thrown down onto the deck. Gritting his teeth in agony, Killian looked around for an object to use on his stump. As his men prepared to sail after the pirates, Killian fashioned a metal object to fit around the stump of his hand, and thrust the hook into a hole. He would now forever be known as Captain Hook.
Miles away, the leader of a group of feared sirens, Maria and her betrothed Arsenio fought a group of sailors. Dragging them to the depths and ripping at their throats left the water charged with a ferocity and hunger, common among the sirens. The group easily sunk the ship. The other sirens drowned the men and Maria's voice eerily echoed through the sea while she sang a well known sailor shanty: "My name it is Maria, a merchant's daughter fair, And I have left my parents and three thousand pounds a year. My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold, there is nothing can console me but my jolly sailor bold." Maria sighed heavily, disappearing into her cavern. Her sister Zillah sat in front of a mirror, examining her long curls.
"Maria, my hair is a mess today. Please tell me I look beautiful," Zillah moaned but Maria pushed her aside without a word, fixing her hair instead of answering her sister.
"Honestly Zillah, quit acting like a spoiled brat and fix my hair," Maria retorted, causing her sister to throw her hands up. Not wanting to argue with her elder, Zillah began braiding Maria's hair with nimble fingers. Arsenio came in then, and Zillah pouted but excused herself. Maria bit her lip nervously and felt her scales begin to tingle with worry. Arsenio swam towards Maria, crushing his lips to hers after she tried to push him away. Maria did not believe in love, not when her mother had abandoned her father for a land lover a few months ago, but she tried to convince herself whenever Arsenio kissed her. At least he told her she was beautiful, that was all she needed.
In pursuit of the pirates, storms made the seas rocky and hard to pass. Hook sailed on, but his crew warned of the dangerous waters ahead: of mystical creatures. When hearing of these so-called creatures, Hook would give only a small guffaw before insisting they continue. One night, Hook withdrew a compass and sighed, watching the arrow spun endlessly. He groaned before thrusting the compass into a fellow sailor's hand.
"Mr. Swan, what is this? You gave me this wretched compass and it don-et work, savvy?" Hook gestured to the compass and Swan grinned before pressing it back into the captain's hand.
"Cap'n this compass points you to the thing you want most in the world," Swan glanced down at the spinning arrow, "I see you cannot decide?"
Hook glanced out at the moonlit waters, holding the ever-turning compass and angrily brushing away tears. His brother had been the last member of his family left alive, their parents had been killed off by a ravaging disease. Maybe the compass was pointing to where he would find love next; with a woman, or towards revenge in the pirate crew they followed. A wench may satisfy his desires, but not in the way he wanted. While the compass continued its endless spinning, Hook looked at the arrow and its quest to nowhere. Realization hit him while watching the path of the metal object and his heart sank into his stomach. A quest for revenge would only result in endless years of torment, always following leads and never getting anywhere. His brother could be avenged, yes, but his bloodthirsty ways would never cease. The murders would surely strike against his soul, the morals he had had instilled in him since birth would disappear. The shred of humanity left in him ached to be kept and he knew he needed love to fill the void. He desperately craved it in the small part of his heart he had tucked away beneath layers of pain and anger. Finally, the compass stopped its incessant spinning and pointed south toward the horizon.