Legal Note: I do not own any of the characters associated with Pirates of the Caribbean. I do not have any legal right to use them or any other proprietary words originating from these movies. This story was done just for the fun of it. Not for profit. If you like it please tell me. If you don't like it please tell me why with particulars but not excessive detail.
Author's Note: In September of 2009 I expressed to my friend Pirate-on-fleet-street an interest in writing a few oneshots with unusual pairings (ones that are not Sparrabeth or Willabeth). We decided that it would be fun to cooperate on such an undertaking. This story and eleven others are the products of that venture. We hope you will enjoy them.
Summary: Post AWE. Ragetti gets a visitor late in the night. Someone he once spoke to as a lover would. Words can communicate more than what is said. PAIRINGS CHALLENGE
Done because Pirate-on-fleet-street was curious to see how I would handle a "mushy" romantic story.
A Visit in the Fog
The night was quiet. Its only sound was that of the wind in the rigging and the soft rushing of the water under the keel. A fog had drifted in from the east as the Black Pearl made way to Tortuga harbor with its rum houses and flesh pots. Three weeks since the Battle of the Maelstrom and she was refitted and as sleek and deadly as ever. Ragetti sat in a coil of rope on the forecastle sipping now and then from a mug of rum and carving on a small bit of wood. He found it amusing that a bit of teak from the shattered deck of the Endeavor would be his new eye. A soft tread on the deck made him turn.
"So, Masta Ragetti, I find ya alone at last." The voice was a familiar one. It should be after so many months at sea with her. But Ragetti had never thought to hear it again. His heart skipped a beat as his gaze traveled up the tattered yet elegant dress. The slim sailor scrambled to his feet in near panic.
"I did not mean ta startle ya," Tia Dalma said smiling. She stepped closer. Ragetti stepped back with shock writ large on his face. His retreat was arrested by the starboard rail. There was no escape now. Tia Dalma closed in. "Afraid? Why should ya be afearin' me?"
"'Cause!" Ragetti choked out. "Wha' we done to ya."
Tia Dalma smiled. It was not her usual, all knowing cat's smile. It was a gentle smile. The smile of a woman to a man. She raised her hand to stroke the pirate's cheek but he flinched. Her eyes softened. "Ya did not'ing to me, Masta Ragetti. No. Ya did somet'ing foh me."
Ragetti shivered under the light touch. His pulse was racing. He wanted to run. His knees felt weak and he couldn't tear his eye from the woman's face. Her beautiful face. Nervous sweat beaded on his lip and forehead.
"Wha' did I do fo ya?" he stammered finally.
"Released de goddess." She was leaning in so close now that he could feel the warmth of her breath on his cheek. He could smell the sea breeze on her skin. "It was yo'r words dat broke de bonds. De bonds dat held de goddess in 'uman form. A form dat almos' drove 'er mad."
"But..." Ragetti stammered. "You're... You're 'uman now. Again."
Tia Dalma chuckled softly. "No. And yes. De goddess is free. But I am not de goddess... now."
"Then...What are ya?"
"Jus' a woman." She kissed his chin softly. Her hand remained gently stroking his cheek. A lover's caress. "An' you aur de man her love."
"Love?" Ragetti gulped. "Me?"
"You," she said softly but firmly. "It were you who spoke dem words. Spoke dem de way only a man who love a woman could. Did ya t'ink I ne'er saw ya look at me? Did ya t'ink I ne'er felt de way yer eye foll'ud me? Trou de cold and trou de heat. Trou all dat we suffa'. It was yer eye dat alway' was 'pon me."
It was true. He'd been fascinated by the way she moved. The turn of her head. The sway of her supple hips. The subtle power of her stride as she paced the deck endlessly. Tia Dalma had been a woman of majesty and beauty. A woman as far out of Ragetti's reach as Elizabeth Swann. But a woman he loved none the less. From the moment he'd learned Captain Barbossa's plan Ragetti had meant to see it through. And when Barbossa had fumbled the soft words, Ragetti had found courage enough to set her free. Come what may, he knew Calypso must be free. But it was Tia Dalma he'd fallen in love with.
"So, Masta Ragetti," she breathed softly. "Will ya not speak some words now?"
"I..." Ragetti stammered again. His body was quivering but not from fear now. "I don' kno' wha' ta say."
"Den kiss de woman you love." She leaned in close and their lips met. Softly at first. Gently. Passionately. Hungrily. They kissed and suddenly Ragetti's heart soared. She was his. She was his! And he was hers. Now. Completely. Forever.
Additional Note: If you enjoyed this story and wish to read the other stories in this challenge, you can find them on my profile and on Pirate-on-fleet-street's profile. fanfiction(dot)net/u/1931701/Pirate-on-Fleet-Street