The salt wind blew from the south, and Corinne Young breathed it in with a contented sigh. She looked out from her perch atop the crow's nest and watched the clouds go by. The sky was a beautiful azure blue, and the water glowed.
Suddenly, she saw something...it looked like...
"Land!" she shouted down to Jack. He pulled out his telescope and looked in the direction she pointed. He nodded, and then turned the helm towards the dark blue shape on the horizon.
The Black Pearl was nearly out of water, and they were searching for a spit of land large enough to contain fresh water. From there, they could go another month without restocking food and stores.
Corinne swung down from the crow's nest, heading for the hold. There she grabbed a huge empty water keg and tried to toss it up on deck, but she struggled with its weight above her. Anna Maria jumped down to help her, and soon they were back on top deck.
"We'll be there by noon," Jack surmised, glancing to the sky. The sun was close to the center; they would arrive at their destination within the hour. Then he turned the wheel to the left slightly; the Pearl sometimes had a tendency to veer right a little.
"What did you want me to do when we get there?" she asked, climbing up onto the poop deck.
"Thought there might be some date or coconut palms somewhere on the island; if you can find something." He chuckled. "Obviously, you couldn't carry a full seventy gallon barrel of water, even with help."
She grinned. "We'll have to work on that."
"Indeed." He tossed a lock of hair back from his forehead. Then, as he turned to answer someone else's question, Corinne headed for the main cabin. She entered, searching for her knife. She found it, lying on the table. It was a long blade – the only thing she was skilled enough to handle yet, but she was learning quickly. She tied the belt around her waist and grabbed a bottle of rum. Jack would pass it around before they left the ship, as a tradition. He grinned as she stepped back into the sunlight.
"You know my heart, luv," he laughed.
Corinne threw the bottle to him, and he tossed a mouthful back. He offered her some, but she shook her head. She may have loved being a pirate and may have been in love with one...but she had no stomach for rum. That would have to be his area of expertise. The experiences she'd had with rum did not coincide with the 'happy memories' label.
"Still sober and dry?" he wondered mournfully. "You don't know what you're missing, darling."
She raised her eyebrows. "I often wonder how you have any room for food or drink inside you next to your hot air, Captain Jack Sparrow." She folded her arms smugly.
"My hot air takes second place from my heart, luv." He grinned when she shook her head and rolled her eyes. She always did that when she was beaten and had no reply. Because she knew he was right.
"Well then, leave some of that rum for the rest of us who still has room inside!" Gibbs shouted, and the others laughed. Corinne didn't bother blushing; most of the tender moments she and Jack shared ended with some joke from the crew. It was their way of showing that they accepted her.
The island was small, but it looked like it would service their needs. Jack and Gibbs went off in search of fresh water, while Corinne headed towards the other side. She didn't see any fruit-bearing palms on this beach, but maybe something that was worth keeping grew on this hunk of rock.
The air was fresh, and she plodded through the sand until she reached the trees. There were several birds in the palms, and they squawked while turning a suspicious eye on Corinne. She ignored them; she could handle Mr. Cotton's parrot, but these ones were wild and she didn't have time to deal with them.
The atmosphere inside the foliage was quite different from the open sea or the beach; the air stuck to her skin and she felt closed in. But it was only because of the close canopy of palm trees overhead. Apparently, no one had ever - or at least not recently - been on this island.
The smell of rum reached her nostrils, and she turned her head to the left. It was unlike Jack to bring any ashore when they were doing a task like lifting water barrels. If someone got drunk and dropped his keg, it could spring a leak or shatter. She frowned; that didn't smell like it was coming from the shore side, though. It was coming from up ahead.
Pulling out her long knife, Corinne hacked away at the bushed in front of her, determined to find something worth keeping before they left. She couldn't help with the heavy things or the difficult tasks yet; after all, she'd only been a pirate for three months. That wasn't long enough to make her invincible like the rest of them.
She grinned to herself; if they were indestructible, they wouldn't be on the run. Gibbs had told her of the curse that had been over the Black Pearl and all who sailed under its flag. Now those pirates were unbeatable.
Then, a noise from ahead broke her reverie. She listened; it was the sound of...voices. She didn't recognize any of them. All the same...she knew she ought to look to make sure.
Peering through the foliage ahead, she nearly gasped in surprise. There were over two dozen men camped in a large clearing, and they were all starting to light fires. Apparently, the Pearl had arrived just before they had.
"You're not getting back on that ship until you find me something to keep," ordered the man she assumed was the captain. The men dispersed, and Corinne stumbled backward, belatedly realizing that she'd stayed too long already. She backed up against a tree, and turned around to find her way...and she was staring into the sneering face of a pirate. He grabbed her arms and twisted one behind her.
"'ello, miss." He barged through the underbrush and into the clearing. The captain looked up, surprised.
"I brought you something worth keeping, Cap'n," he let a crooked grin grace his ugly face.
"Indeed you have," the captain replied, grinning himself. "Where ya from, Missy? Maybe we can find something good on your ship."
"I don't have a ship," she replied. "My ship was wrecked here three months ago and I barely escaped with my life." She added a haughty look as she straightened her posture. "And you look as if you barely escaped from a good washing with only your life."
That earned her a slap, a hard-fisted blow across the cheek. "Respect those who are kind enough to let you live," he growled. "And I have yet to decide on that yet." He motioned to the pirate who still was holding her arm twisted behind her back. "Take her aboard, and if we tire of her, we'll throw her to the sea."
A throaty laugh escaped the pirate's lips, and he half dragged, half shoved her into a boat. Then, seizing her again, he tied her wrists behind her. "It's time to go aboard your new home, miss."
The captain began shouting orders for the men to return to the ship. Apparently, he didn't believe her little story about being shipwrecked. Well, it was the best she could have come up with...even if she was wearing pirate clothing.
"What's 'appening?" One scalawag asked, pulling his hat off and wiping the sweat from his brow with his forearm.
"I think there's other pirates here," another answered. So this one was smarter than he looked.
Several other pirates piled into the little boat as well, having found coconut palms or wild animals that were now dead. They all looked greedily at her, and she closed her eyes and set her jaw, ignoring their stares.
The boat ride did not last very long, and soon they were on the other ship. It was newer than the Pearl, but it appeared as if it had seen better days. Probably the pirates had already battered it within an inch of its life. The pirates spilled out onto the deck, storing their wares and heading for the hold to find some rum.
Below deck, Corinne stumbled along the ship's belly; her hands were totally numb from the ropes and twisting and she was beginning to see white spots in front of her eyes. She vaguely noticed an iron cell...was it empty or did she have a cell mate? She couldn't tell. The pirate opened the door, untied the ropes, and heaved her in, closing it with a loud clang. The clickety click click click of the key's final locking did not break her stupor. Corinne felt the jerk as the anchor was pulled up and the gentle rocking as the ship began to sail...but none of that mattered now. She was already too close to passing into a dark world...