A/N: I do not own POTC or any of its characters. I only own the story line and my original characters.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Neptune's Curse
Prologue
The babe was born at the heart of the storm of the century, when the winds blew as hard and as fast as the crack of a whip and its vicious roar conquered the sound of her first cries. As she made her way out into the world, the waves, well over fifty feet tall, crested over the bow of the ship. It swayed back and forth with each punishing blow.
When her mother finally held her for the first time, she found the baby's skin to be as pale as her father's, nothing like her own dark visage. In fact, the woman realized that her baby bore no resemblance to her at all. She wasn't sure if that made it easier or harder for her to do what she had to do . . . to give her up.
The baby girl looked back at her mother with eyes the color of the ocean. As lightning flashed and lit up the sky and their small cabin, the newborn's hair shown to be as white as snow.
It will be easier for her; the woman thought bitterly, no one will ever know who she is.
And before she could become any more attached to the sweet smelling bundle in her arms, she passed her off to the ship's captain.
He took her carefully, a worried look in his eyes and a nervous smile playing on his lips.
"What would you like us to call her?" he asked kindly.
She looked away, a tear forming in her eye.
"Adrianna," she replied so softly he wasn't sure she had even spoken.
He had never heard such a name before and shifted uneasily at the thought of giving the baby he was to take into his family such an unusual moniker.
As if she could read his mind she spoke fiercely in her thick accent, "It means 'from the Adriatic,' where she was conceived. I may not be able to keep my daughter, and she can never be told from whom she came, but she needs to know about Neptune's curse."
He looked down at the girl he would now call his own. And though she was not of his own flesh and blood, he felt himself become overwhelmed at the sight of her.
"Adrianna," he whispered reverently, and then he stilled.
"Neptune's curse?" he asked.
But when he looked up, the woman had disappeared. All that was left in her place was a gold medallion embossed with the shape of a trident and a baby that began to cry in want of her mother.
It wasn't until he saw the frown on his wife's face that he actually thought about what he had taken upon himself and his family.
Two weeks after Adrianna's birth, Captain William Taylor had docked in Port Royal. His wife, Isabella, had come to greet him after a year apart and when she saw the small child in his arms, her displeasure became very apparent. That night he had slept on a daybed near the simmering kitchen fire since she thought he had brought the result of one his indiscretions home for her to raise. No matter what he said, she refused to believe the baby now living under their roof was not her husband's child.
That was until one day about a month later.
Though she was unhappy with the arrangement, she was a good woman and a good mother and attended to the baby's needs, albeit begrudgingly. She had eager helpers when it came to their four boys who had welcomed Adrianna with open arms. In fact, they seemed to worship the beautiful baby girl they had already come to call their sister.
The family had just seen Captain Taylor to the docks where he was to set sail on a four month voyage around the island of Cuba on a trade mission under the order of Governor Swan. As they walked back, the boys fought over who would carry Adrianna home. They became rambunctious and Adrianna began to wail. The sky started to darken and the sea became choppy. As James, the eldest at age nine, attempted to hold her up and away from his younger brothers, Adrianna slipped from his hands and fell into the gray water surrounding the docks.
Isabella cried out, hoping that one of the sailors who were close by would rescue Adrianna from the murky depths. James decided it was up to him to jump in after her but as he climbed the railing of the dock, the water began to bubble from below and Adrianna appeared on its surface. The water surrounding her continued to rise, like a fist from the sea, holding the baby safe in its grasp. Isabella ran to grab the baby and when she was finally safe in her arms, she held her tight to her chest.
Isabella began to cry, sure that the infant would not have survived the ordeal. But when she looked down she found Adrianna very much alive. And she was smiling!
The storm clouds cleared and the sea calmed.
It was in that moment that Isabella became convinced that not only was this child not her husband's . . . she also may not be human.
A/N: I am back with another POTC fic. And though you have no reason to trust me, I will be finishing this one. I already have this story planned out, unlike what I have done in the past. I promise adventure, sword fights, sea monsters and lots of action behind closed doors involving a certain dashing pirate captain. So please, give this story and shot and let me know what you think!
Tink
