This was just a little something that I decided to work on one day after I
found one of my favorite books--which happens to be a book about life on
the high seas--and thus, after reading said book, and watching--again--
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, this little idea popped
into my mind. I hope that it is to everyone's liking.
Title: All That Shines
Author: Your's truly, Memory Untainted
Rating: pg-13, I think. Strong language later on.
Summary: Pirates of the Caribbean/The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle crossover. The Seahawk is on course for Port Royal to deliever a "special cargo". A certain pirate crew comes across the Seahawk when it runs aground on a sandbar. The cargo falls into their hands. . .
Disclaimer: I own no one from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, nor the book The True Confessions of Charolette Doyle. I realize that perhaps the timeframes of the movie and the book may be about 100 years off--as I say, MAY BE--but please bear with me on this. Who know, you may actually enjoy it if you release the notion of how historically inaccuarte I can be. Thank you.
'. . .' - thoughts
". . ." - speaking
{. . .} - author's notes from me
. . .* - something that I am going to explain at the end of the chapter.
"/. . ./" - singing outloud
~~ - scene cut
Chapter 1
"Topgallant and royal yardmen in the tops! Man topgallant mast ropes! Haul taunt! Sway and unfid!"
The sailors hurried to do as they were commanded. The wind was finally picking up and they needed to pick up for lost time. The captain, Captain Roderick Fisk, stood at the wheel, holding it steady to keep them on course. They had been scheduled to reach England a day ago, then a huge storm right out of a sailor's worst nightmare had kicked up and blew them right off course, into a series of doldrums. With any luck, they would reach England the same time tomorrow.
"Doyle! Up the ratlines and the foremast! Check the foreroyal yard sail! Hurry now! Don't doddle!"
This was said with affection, for the sailor in question--Doyle, as the captain had referred to this sailor--was none other than Charlotte Doyle, the young hoyden to whom the crew had taken such a shine to on one of their more perilous adventures on the high seas. She had signed on at age thirteen, and shortly became captain thereafter. When they reached Charlotte's homeport of Providence, Rhode Island, she had left and none of them had expected her to show face again. Afterall, the young girl had come to them from a boarding school in England and was sailing home on their ship. But in this journey, she had gotten more than she had bargined for. She had wittnessed firsthand an attempted mutiny, the murder of one man and the supposed murder of another, yet again another murder--one for which she herself was charged--and then sentenced to be hanged by the captain of the ship, Captain Andrew Jaggery. The late captain Jaggery had met an untimely end after they had discovered that he had been the one to kill the man for whose murder Charlotte had been blamed. His body was sent to the sea. The crew had named her captain for the remainder of the voyage and then when they put into port, she had went back to her proper home, once again assuming the role of a proper gentlewoman. She found, however, that she no longer fit in among her own family. The dresses she had once been so proud of fit illy in comparasion to her sailor's garb. The house which she had longed so much to be in suddenly felt like a prison. She had, in conclusion to this problem, went home. She went home to the sea.
Now, at age fifteen, she was a sight to behold. In her usual dress of breeches and a canvas shirt, she ran up the ratlines and all the way up to the foreroyal yard in record time. She quickly and efficently did her assigned task and was down by Captain Fisk's side once more.
"Anythin' else, cap'n?" Even with all of the good school she'd went through, she was still apt to talking like a sailor while on the sea.
"Take the wheel, Doyle. Unless, that is, if you don't think you can handle it."
"I can handle it as well you know, Fisk, so don't you start that again. The last time, I wasn't as strong as I am now. Move away."
Captain Fisk chuckled but moved away all the same. Charlotte was the crew's pet, everyone's little sister. She was one of the only ones who could talk in such a saucy way to the good captain.
"Captain!" one of the sailors cried. "Land ho! England's port is insight!"
"Good show! I didn't know we were so close. Keep 'er steady there, Doyle. Nice and easy. Here, give her over. Go and help Ewing there with the flying jib."
Charlotte eagerly ran off to do as she was told and the ship was soon in port. It was by some miracle that they were suddenly that close to the English docks. None of them could explain it, and none of them found it necessiary to explain it. They were only a little behind schedule, and now they had at least some time to rest before they were to return out to sea.
~~
The next morning found Charlotte laying awake in the meager hotel room, the sun not yet risen, feeling deprived from not being on the ocean. The ocean had recently become her life and being away from it for any lenght of time caused homesickness.
In their lack of money, the crew of ten had had to share rooms. Charlotte found herself sharing with Ewing, Fisk, and Zachariah. They had taken the bathing screen and sort of blocked of Charlotte's bed. Even now, after two years of living with her on a ship, they still provided for her modesty.
Through the darkness, she looked out the window. The full moon shone in and bathed her in it's silvery glow. She longed with every fiber of her being to be back on the Seahawk and sailing back to her homeport, Providence. While there again, she probably wouldn't see her family, but rather stay on the ship for the few days they were in port. That was probably what she should have done now.
"Ewing," she called softly, hoping he was awake and she had awoken no one else. Nightmares had been keeping her awake once more and she need desperatley someone to talk to. "Ewing?"
"Hmm?" he grunted in response.
"Are you awake, Ewing?"
"Am now, mermaid." Charlotte smiled at the pet name that he was prone to calling her. This he called her in reference to the tattoo of a mermaid on his arm. Upon her first departure from the Seahawk after that first faithful voyage, he had kissed her cheeks and told her that she was his mermaid. The name had stuck with her ever since.
"I can't sleep. I had that nightmare again. That nightmare about Jaggery."
Ewing knew well what nightmare she was speaking of. The nightmare in question was a particularly frightening one to Charlotte. It was reaccuring, much to her dislike. It was the same everytime. In the nightmare, she was on the Seahawk, climbing out onto the cathead away from Captain Jaggery. The sea rose up and snatched him away, under the ship, and out of everyone's lives forever. Charlotte blamed herself for not being able to save him--though she hated the man--and her conscience plagued her ever since.
"Come then, mermaid. Get some suitable clothes on and we can look for something to eat."
"All right." Charlotte hopped out of bed and, behind the changing screen, dressed hurriedly in a fine dress that the crew had acquired in Singapore during a previous trip. The dress, something that many a fine young woman would kill for, was made of a smooth blue silk and had long, heavy, full skirts. It was actually made for someone more mature--someone older--than Charolette, but it fit her perfectly. Maybe a little too perfectly. The dress made her look much older than her fifteen years, more womanly.
She brushed her hair as neatly as possible. Being on the ship, she usually kept it short to allow it to stay out of her face, but as of late, she'd been binding it back and letting it grow. The sun had bleached it a golden brown, and she pulled it up neatly. She really hated to be confined in dresses and fancy shoes, but while in port, it was the way she dressed to please everyone else around her. At least she only had to endure it for a few days.
"Are you decent, Ewing?"
"Yeah, c'mon around."
Charlotte did as she was told, and recieved quite a shock. In all her time aboard the Seahawk, Charlotte had only seen the men dressed as she. They wore breeches and canvas shirts. She had never seen more than that. But here was Ewing, sitting on his bed, shirtless. His broad, muscular chest was tanned deeply from the sun, just as the rest of him that was visible. She gasped. He looked up, startled, and quickly pulled on his shirt.
"My apologies, Charlotte! I didn't mean to--It was--I mean--"
"It's quite all right, Ewing," Charlotte said with her eyes adverted. "Let's just. . . let's just go."
"Right, Charlotte."
With Charlotte's smaller hand tucked under his larger one, Ewing led the younger girl out of the small hotel and down the quickly awakening streets of London.
~~
"JACK! YOU'RE CRAZY! WE CAN'T SAIL THROUGH THIS STORM! WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YER HEAD THAT'S PUT YOU IN SUCH A FINE MOOD?!"
Captain Jack Sparrow just smiled at Gibbs and continued to turn the wheel wildly. The storm raged around them. The only way to make oneself heard was to shout, and that was just what everyone was doing.
"WE'RE ALMOST TO TORTUGA, GIBBS, I FIND NO REASON NOT TO SAIL THROUGH THIS STORM! WE'LL MAKE IT THERE FASTER!"
Gibbs merely shook his head and continued about his duties. This little game of chase that Jack and Will had been playing was going on a week now. Will was determined to prove that he was a good pirate and could run a ship himself and Jack was equally determined to prove that Will was wrong.
It had all started over drinks after Will's marriage to Elizabeth. Will and Elizabeth had went on honeymoon for three weeks, and as soon as they put back into Port Royal, Jack had looked Will up and took him out for drinks. This was crazy, as Jack was a wanted pirate in Port Royal--as well as everywhere else, but Jack talked Will into the drinks and they soon found themselves talking about one of Jack's many wild adventures.
"And then, one of the men falls overboard," Jack laughed. Will laughed with him.
"You know, Jack," Will said. "I could man a ship better than you if that story holds true."
Jack snorted. "Could not. I've had more of a go at it than you, young Will. You'd run yourself aground on the first sandbar on the way out of Port Royal."
"Care to make that a challenge, Captain Sparrow," Will asked with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "I was given a ship as a wedding present. The sister ship to the Interceptor, to be exact. We shall see who is the better pirate captain. I'll get a crew and set sail. If you can catch up to me, you are the better captain."
"With me in the Black Pearl? You stand no chance, lad. But, I'll let you have your little challenge. First one to Tortuga and back to Port Royal wins. You win, you get any gold I have on the Pearl. I win, I get all of your beautiful swords."
"Fine, Captain. If you happen to catch my ship, you get it. Sound fair?"
"Fair enough for a pirate!" Jack and Will had shaken on the deal and, being ever the gentleman, Jack had given Will a day's headstart. Now he was in hot pursuit of Will.
~~
Finally, the Seahawk was ready to make way. The crew had a change of plans and were now sailing off to the Caribbean. Charlotte was excited. She had always wanted to visit the Caribbean. She would be staying with her family while there. How would Elizabeth Swann react to seeing her young cousin Charlotte so changed? It seemed as if there were thousands of butterflies fluttering around in Charlotte's stomach at the thought. So much had changed about her. Her skin was tanned, her hands were rough, her hair had seen better years, and her schooling had been slightly overrode by the crew's language. Would her family reject her?
"We'll be making a quick, few hour's worth stop in Tortuga, Charlotte," Fisk said to her as she stood in his captain's cabin.
"All right, but why are you discussing your plans with me?"
"Because I want you to stay on the ship. Tortuga is a rough place, and not one for a young woman like yourself. There's no telling what could happen."
"But Fisk, that's not fair! Can I at least have an escort? Ewing's told me so much about Tortuga, and I just want a small glimpse for myself!"
"Ewing, eh? Well, if young master Ewing finds it amusing to fill a young girl's head with silly notions about a scandalous port, then he should also find it amusing to escort you around. Go on and give him my orders about this, Charolette."
"Thank you, Fisk!"
Charlotte hugged Fisk tightly around the waist and then ran off to find her newly acquired escort. They would be putting into Tortuga within the night's end, and she was excited. Her happiness pleased Fisk, but there was still that old sailor's worries in the pit of his stomach. Maybe letting Charlotte go ashore in Tortuga wasn't a good idea. . . The sinking feeling his stomach got thinking about Charlotte in Tortuga could attest to that. . .
E N D O F C H A P T E R 1
Okay, that may have sucked a little, but I'm a little new in this catagory of writing (it's PotC/TTCoCD* I'm speaking of) so please, understand just a little bit and pray for me that the chapters will get better. Hey, if they don't get better, you have my permission to keelhaul my muse, Winnie the Parrot. It's all her fault if this story sucks for she is my muse and she inspires me. And since you people must be planning on keelhauling Winnie and I doubt that she'll live, I should start looking for a replacement. Hasta luego, mis amigos. *sits down with the paper, looking through the Classifieds*
*PotC/TTCoCD = Pirates of the Caribbean/The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Some of you may have figured that out, but if any of you are like me (which I hope for your sakes that you aren't because I'm a bubble head) then sometimes translations are needed. ^_^
Title: All That Shines
Author: Your's truly, Memory Untainted
Rating: pg-13, I think. Strong language later on.
Summary: Pirates of the Caribbean/The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle crossover. The Seahawk is on course for Port Royal to deliever a "special cargo". A certain pirate crew comes across the Seahawk when it runs aground on a sandbar. The cargo falls into their hands. . .
Disclaimer: I own no one from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, nor the book The True Confessions of Charolette Doyle. I realize that perhaps the timeframes of the movie and the book may be about 100 years off--as I say, MAY BE--but please bear with me on this. Who know, you may actually enjoy it if you release the notion of how historically inaccuarte I can be. Thank you.
'. . .' - thoughts
". . ." - speaking
{. . .} - author's notes from me
. . .* - something that I am going to explain at the end of the chapter.
"/. . ./" - singing outloud
~~ - scene cut
Chapter 1
"Topgallant and royal yardmen in the tops! Man topgallant mast ropes! Haul taunt! Sway and unfid!"
The sailors hurried to do as they were commanded. The wind was finally picking up and they needed to pick up for lost time. The captain, Captain Roderick Fisk, stood at the wheel, holding it steady to keep them on course. They had been scheduled to reach England a day ago, then a huge storm right out of a sailor's worst nightmare had kicked up and blew them right off course, into a series of doldrums. With any luck, they would reach England the same time tomorrow.
"Doyle! Up the ratlines and the foremast! Check the foreroyal yard sail! Hurry now! Don't doddle!"
This was said with affection, for the sailor in question--Doyle, as the captain had referred to this sailor--was none other than Charlotte Doyle, the young hoyden to whom the crew had taken such a shine to on one of their more perilous adventures on the high seas. She had signed on at age thirteen, and shortly became captain thereafter. When they reached Charlotte's homeport of Providence, Rhode Island, she had left and none of them had expected her to show face again. Afterall, the young girl had come to them from a boarding school in England and was sailing home on their ship. But in this journey, she had gotten more than she had bargined for. She had wittnessed firsthand an attempted mutiny, the murder of one man and the supposed murder of another, yet again another murder--one for which she herself was charged--and then sentenced to be hanged by the captain of the ship, Captain Andrew Jaggery. The late captain Jaggery had met an untimely end after they had discovered that he had been the one to kill the man for whose murder Charlotte had been blamed. His body was sent to the sea. The crew had named her captain for the remainder of the voyage and then when they put into port, she had went back to her proper home, once again assuming the role of a proper gentlewoman. She found, however, that she no longer fit in among her own family. The dresses she had once been so proud of fit illy in comparasion to her sailor's garb. The house which she had longed so much to be in suddenly felt like a prison. She had, in conclusion to this problem, went home. She went home to the sea.
Now, at age fifteen, she was a sight to behold. In her usual dress of breeches and a canvas shirt, she ran up the ratlines and all the way up to the foreroyal yard in record time. She quickly and efficently did her assigned task and was down by Captain Fisk's side once more.
"Anythin' else, cap'n?" Even with all of the good school she'd went through, she was still apt to talking like a sailor while on the sea.
"Take the wheel, Doyle. Unless, that is, if you don't think you can handle it."
"I can handle it as well you know, Fisk, so don't you start that again. The last time, I wasn't as strong as I am now. Move away."
Captain Fisk chuckled but moved away all the same. Charlotte was the crew's pet, everyone's little sister. She was one of the only ones who could talk in such a saucy way to the good captain.
"Captain!" one of the sailors cried. "Land ho! England's port is insight!"
"Good show! I didn't know we were so close. Keep 'er steady there, Doyle. Nice and easy. Here, give her over. Go and help Ewing there with the flying jib."
Charlotte eagerly ran off to do as she was told and the ship was soon in port. It was by some miracle that they were suddenly that close to the English docks. None of them could explain it, and none of them found it necessiary to explain it. They were only a little behind schedule, and now they had at least some time to rest before they were to return out to sea.
~~
The next morning found Charlotte laying awake in the meager hotel room, the sun not yet risen, feeling deprived from not being on the ocean. The ocean had recently become her life and being away from it for any lenght of time caused homesickness.
In their lack of money, the crew of ten had had to share rooms. Charlotte found herself sharing with Ewing, Fisk, and Zachariah. They had taken the bathing screen and sort of blocked of Charlotte's bed. Even now, after two years of living with her on a ship, they still provided for her modesty.
Through the darkness, she looked out the window. The full moon shone in and bathed her in it's silvery glow. She longed with every fiber of her being to be back on the Seahawk and sailing back to her homeport, Providence. While there again, she probably wouldn't see her family, but rather stay on the ship for the few days they were in port. That was probably what she should have done now.
"Ewing," she called softly, hoping he was awake and she had awoken no one else. Nightmares had been keeping her awake once more and she need desperatley someone to talk to. "Ewing?"
"Hmm?" he grunted in response.
"Are you awake, Ewing?"
"Am now, mermaid." Charlotte smiled at the pet name that he was prone to calling her. This he called her in reference to the tattoo of a mermaid on his arm. Upon her first departure from the Seahawk after that first faithful voyage, he had kissed her cheeks and told her that she was his mermaid. The name had stuck with her ever since.
"I can't sleep. I had that nightmare again. That nightmare about Jaggery."
Ewing knew well what nightmare she was speaking of. The nightmare in question was a particularly frightening one to Charlotte. It was reaccuring, much to her dislike. It was the same everytime. In the nightmare, she was on the Seahawk, climbing out onto the cathead away from Captain Jaggery. The sea rose up and snatched him away, under the ship, and out of everyone's lives forever. Charlotte blamed herself for not being able to save him--though she hated the man--and her conscience plagued her ever since.
"Come then, mermaid. Get some suitable clothes on and we can look for something to eat."
"All right." Charlotte hopped out of bed and, behind the changing screen, dressed hurriedly in a fine dress that the crew had acquired in Singapore during a previous trip. The dress, something that many a fine young woman would kill for, was made of a smooth blue silk and had long, heavy, full skirts. It was actually made for someone more mature--someone older--than Charolette, but it fit her perfectly. Maybe a little too perfectly. The dress made her look much older than her fifteen years, more womanly.
She brushed her hair as neatly as possible. Being on the ship, she usually kept it short to allow it to stay out of her face, but as of late, she'd been binding it back and letting it grow. The sun had bleached it a golden brown, and she pulled it up neatly. She really hated to be confined in dresses and fancy shoes, but while in port, it was the way she dressed to please everyone else around her. At least she only had to endure it for a few days.
"Are you decent, Ewing?"
"Yeah, c'mon around."
Charlotte did as she was told, and recieved quite a shock. In all her time aboard the Seahawk, Charlotte had only seen the men dressed as she. They wore breeches and canvas shirts. She had never seen more than that. But here was Ewing, sitting on his bed, shirtless. His broad, muscular chest was tanned deeply from the sun, just as the rest of him that was visible. She gasped. He looked up, startled, and quickly pulled on his shirt.
"My apologies, Charlotte! I didn't mean to--It was--I mean--"
"It's quite all right, Ewing," Charlotte said with her eyes adverted. "Let's just. . . let's just go."
"Right, Charlotte."
With Charlotte's smaller hand tucked under his larger one, Ewing led the younger girl out of the small hotel and down the quickly awakening streets of London.
~~
"JACK! YOU'RE CRAZY! WE CAN'T SAIL THROUGH THIS STORM! WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YER HEAD THAT'S PUT YOU IN SUCH A FINE MOOD?!"
Captain Jack Sparrow just smiled at Gibbs and continued to turn the wheel wildly. The storm raged around them. The only way to make oneself heard was to shout, and that was just what everyone was doing.
"WE'RE ALMOST TO TORTUGA, GIBBS, I FIND NO REASON NOT TO SAIL THROUGH THIS STORM! WE'LL MAKE IT THERE FASTER!"
Gibbs merely shook his head and continued about his duties. This little game of chase that Jack and Will had been playing was going on a week now. Will was determined to prove that he was a good pirate and could run a ship himself and Jack was equally determined to prove that Will was wrong.
It had all started over drinks after Will's marriage to Elizabeth. Will and Elizabeth had went on honeymoon for three weeks, and as soon as they put back into Port Royal, Jack had looked Will up and took him out for drinks. This was crazy, as Jack was a wanted pirate in Port Royal--as well as everywhere else, but Jack talked Will into the drinks and they soon found themselves talking about one of Jack's many wild adventures.
"And then, one of the men falls overboard," Jack laughed. Will laughed with him.
"You know, Jack," Will said. "I could man a ship better than you if that story holds true."
Jack snorted. "Could not. I've had more of a go at it than you, young Will. You'd run yourself aground on the first sandbar on the way out of Port Royal."
"Care to make that a challenge, Captain Sparrow," Will asked with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "I was given a ship as a wedding present. The sister ship to the Interceptor, to be exact. We shall see who is the better pirate captain. I'll get a crew and set sail. If you can catch up to me, you are the better captain."
"With me in the Black Pearl? You stand no chance, lad. But, I'll let you have your little challenge. First one to Tortuga and back to Port Royal wins. You win, you get any gold I have on the Pearl. I win, I get all of your beautiful swords."
"Fine, Captain. If you happen to catch my ship, you get it. Sound fair?"
"Fair enough for a pirate!" Jack and Will had shaken on the deal and, being ever the gentleman, Jack had given Will a day's headstart. Now he was in hot pursuit of Will.
~~
Finally, the Seahawk was ready to make way. The crew had a change of plans and were now sailing off to the Caribbean. Charlotte was excited. She had always wanted to visit the Caribbean. She would be staying with her family while there. How would Elizabeth Swann react to seeing her young cousin Charlotte so changed? It seemed as if there were thousands of butterflies fluttering around in Charlotte's stomach at the thought. So much had changed about her. Her skin was tanned, her hands were rough, her hair had seen better years, and her schooling had been slightly overrode by the crew's language. Would her family reject her?
"We'll be making a quick, few hour's worth stop in Tortuga, Charlotte," Fisk said to her as she stood in his captain's cabin.
"All right, but why are you discussing your plans with me?"
"Because I want you to stay on the ship. Tortuga is a rough place, and not one for a young woman like yourself. There's no telling what could happen."
"But Fisk, that's not fair! Can I at least have an escort? Ewing's told me so much about Tortuga, and I just want a small glimpse for myself!"
"Ewing, eh? Well, if young master Ewing finds it amusing to fill a young girl's head with silly notions about a scandalous port, then he should also find it amusing to escort you around. Go on and give him my orders about this, Charolette."
"Thank you, Fisk!"
Charlotte hugged Fisk tightly around the waist and then ran off to find her newly acquired escort. They would be putting into Tortuga within the night's end, and she was excited. Her happiness pleased Fisk, but there was still that old sailor's worries in the pit of his stomach. Maybe letting Charlotte go ashore in Tortuga wasn't a good idea. . . The sinking feeling his stomach got thinking about Charlotte in Tortuga could attest to that. . .
E N D O F C H A P T E R 1
Okay, that may have sucked a little, but I'm a little new in this catagory of writing (it's PotC/TTCoCD* I'm speaking of) so please, understand just a little bit and pray for me that the chapters will get better. Hey, if they don't get better, you have my permission to keelhaul my muse, Winnie the Parrot. It's all her fault if this story sucks for she is my muse and she inspires me. And since you people must be planning on keelhauling Winnie and I doubt that she'll live, I should start looking for a replacement. Hasta luego, mis amigos. *sits down with the paper, looking through the Classifieds*
*PotC/TTCoCD = Pirates of the Caribbean/The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Some of you may have figured that out, but if any of you are like me (which I hope for your sakes that you aren't because I'm a bubble head) then sometimes translations are needed. ^_^