Merry Christmas! No, this isn't a holiday themed oneshot, but it is a gift to Mar (setarip) on HTR from your secret santa!!! Suprise!!! Hope everyone enjoys their holiday, and thanks for reading!
PS: I never actually say little William's age in this.... I'm imagining about seven or eight... just old enough to get into some real mischief. :D
72. Mischief Managed
And so begins another day out at sea, I sighed, making a full circle on the spot, my eyes searching for a speck of land on the glassy, eternally stretching water. It wasn't that I hated the sea, quite the contrary, but we had been sailing on the Pearl for a full five days without making port once. The vast blue sea was driving me crazy. I had been playing ball against the side of the ship, but as always, that game got quickly boring with only one player. My mind was about to explode from boredom. I hopped off my temporary stool of the tightly tied down cannon and meandered across the deck. The sun, creeping its way to its zenith, shone brightly in my face as I wandered around the deck.
"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me…" I sang under my breath as I looked for some entertainment. My mother was on deck, mending a sail that Uncle Jack insisted she fix, Uncle Jack was either steering the ship, up in the rigging, or somewhere below deck with his precious rum, and the crew was working. Who cares what they're doing? I chuckled to myself. They'll stop after I pester them to end my boredom. Of the three, Uncle Jack was probably the most entertaining, but he was also the hardest to find. When you wanted him, he was never there, but when he was around, it seemed as though there were multiple Jacks. Mum says he's crazy because of his rum, but I wouldn't know, as she won't let me have any. Personally, I think there's a deeper story behind that dreadlocked pirate.
I slowly meandered down the stairs to the hold below the ship and walked around. Reaching the little alcove under the stairs, I sat down on a barrel, picking at a splinter on the wall of the ship. I sighed, kicking my feet against the barrel, a resounding thump echoing through the enclosed space each time my foot hit. I felt like I would explode if I didn't find something to do soon.
Creak. Creak. Creak. Creak. I jolted my head up to see where the noise was coming from. In the darkness, I could make out a figure walking down the stairs, muttering to himself. I quietly hopped off the barrel and got close to the stairs, peering through the spaces between each step to see who it was. The shadowy figure walked towards the corner where a chair was. Stopping suddenly, he set down a bottle on an overturned apple crate.
"Bugger," came a muttered curse from that direction. Uncle Jack, I thought triumphantly. Finally, something to do! I watched as Jack rummaged through his trinkets all over him, evidently trying to find something. "Bugger," he said again. "Where did I leave that thing?" With a shake of his head, he walked back towards to the stairs, still searching. I looked up, and when I finally saw him disappear from my line of sight, I put on a sneaky grin and crept out from my hiding place.
Checking behind me periodically to make sure he wasn't coming back down, I snuck towards where he left his rum bottle. When I got to the crate, I carefully picked up the bottle, as to not spill any on me. If I smelled of rum, it would give me away. I was severely tempted to try some, but I knew better. There must be a reason why Mum didn't let me drink it.
I spun in place, trying to find a good place to hide the bottle. My eyes fell on a small hole in the planks of the ship, just big enough to pour the rum out. Perfect, I thought to myself as I hurried over to the wall. Carefully, I tipped the mouth of the bottle out of the hole and poured out the vile drink. I chuckled at my brilliance. An empty bottle was easier to hide than a full one. I quickly stuck the empty bottle behind one of the crates and stepped back, admiring my handiwork.
Suddenly, I heard a commotion from the stairs. Panic coursing through my body, I quickly went back to my hiding spot behind the stairs. I peered through the gap between the steps and watched as Uncle Jack came back into the hold. As he walked towards where he had left his precious rum, I quietly snuck up the stairs and back to the deck of the ship.
Squinting in the sun, I hurriedly crossed to the bow of the boat where I had left my ball I had been playing with earlier, so that when Uncle Jack came back up, I wouldn't look suspicious. Unfortunately, nothing could ever get past Mum.
"William, what are you up to?" she asked with one eyebrow quirked. I turned around to where she was working and tried to look innocent.
"Nothing," I shrugged at her with my adorable smile on and continued on my way to the bow. She just shook her head and went back to the mending.
"Elizabeth!" Jack yelped a couple of minutes later as he ran across the deck. I looked up from the bow of the ship where I was playing ball and smirked. "Why is the rum gone?"
Mum looked up at him, confused. "What?"
"The rum! Why is rum gone?" he yelled, his arms flailing around. Mum shot me a look.
"The rum is gone?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow in my direction. Jack let out a growl that was probably supposed to be menacing, but almost made me laugh.
"WHY. IS. THE. RUM. GONE?!" he shrieked, his face contorting in fury. I stifled a laugh. Mischief managed, I thought with a snicker.