wish you were here - chapter one, the heart thief.
-:-
"Your husband has arrived, Ma'am." The querulous old maid shifts anxiously at my dismissive shrug. "He requests an audience in the parlor."
I pull my robe tighter around my shoulders and rise from the bed, glancing at the storm lashing at the windows. It's wild tonight, wild enough that a shiver of part fear, part excitement runs down my spine.
"Perhaps the Master would prefer more appropriate apparel?" interrupts the old maid, as I go to leave my bedroom. Nobody is on my side in this house. I'm entirely alone in this bitter and boring hell.
A rude answer hangs unspoken in my mind. The room is cold and I glare at my confining wardrobe with distaste.
"Tell my husband that I have fallen ill." I say and flop back down onto the inviting blankets. The maid's mouth tightens and until I look at her and dare her to defy me. She ducks her head in a hasty curtsey and scurries off at my raised eyebrow. I let myself laugh somewhat maliciously, no matter how much they disapprove of the pirate wife, they cower anyway.
No matter how long I close my eyes and breathe deeply, sleep does not come. I rise again and open the window. The storm rises around me, whipping the blue curtains and disturbing the sheets on my bed. If I lean out further I can just see the sea, a dark stormy mass tearing at its boundaries. I feel for the sailors. I've outlasted many storms myself, but they never got easier.
Thinking of sailor's inevitably brings me to think of him.
He's been preying on my mind lately, since Jack came back to Port Royal. Jack Sparrow, whom I rarely see, brought me a large supply of rum and a great deal of gossip. Usually I welcome Jack, but this time I sent him away in disgrace for bringing me news about a certain person from whom I have distanced myself from completely.
It's been almost ten years but I remember him as if it were yesterday. Ten years and every day has been long, boring and painful since.
A fringe of raindrops drip from my golden flyaway hair and my throat chokes up.
"Elizabeth, come away from that window at once! You'll catch cold." My unwelcome husband appears at the doorway and pulls me away from the window. He is followed by a triumphant maid, who sneers at me before being brusquely dismissed by James.
"I thought you were waiting in the parlour?" I turn away to disguise my anger and shame at being caught crying over something that ended years ago. He lets go of my arms and I return to the bed, pulling the sheets around me. The window is still open, the curtains flapping, the raindrops staining the carpet. But despite the chill of the roaring wind, it is cleaner than any air in here.
"Master Hughes gave me something for you that I thought you might want to see." James looks worried and uneasy, knowing he is not wanted in my chamber and I have no intention of alleviating his worries.
James passes me a crumpled piece of parchment sealed with a messy blob of candle wax. Ignoring him, I turn back to the window and open the letter.
Deer Mrs Norrington,
Hear is the report that you rekwested
The Heart-thief atacked the merchant vesel Birdman, ownd by Jacob Mastairs. The Birdman was carring a lot of cargo, such as some silks and spices from the east. The atack was discovred by the navl ship the Endevor, who saw the Heart-thief fleeing the wreck. The sailors looked in the ship and found knowone aksept a girl. She was ded. All the cargoo was gon.
Your respecktfuly,
Ferdinand Hughes.
PS: If you wont to no more about the girl, Gibbs will be in Port Royal on fist day of winter and he might no something.
P.S.S If I hear anyting more on the heartthief I will tel you.
I fold up the letter, feeling marginally better. Hughes's massacre of the English language never fails to cheer me up. It's been a long time since I saw Joshamee Gibbs and the first day of winter is a week from now.
I don't need to know anything more about the Heart-thief. I already know that its captain is a lost man, not to mention cruel and ruthless enough to kill anyone in his path. But I keep the reports coming for old time's sake. Maybe I will go see Gibbs, just to catch up … I miss my old life.
I know it seems unfair to send Jack away for saying the same thing that Hughes does every few months, but Jack always manages to get under my skin by insisting that it's my entire fault. He believes that the Captain's just a broken-hearted man and I could heal that. But I've insisted on having no contact whatsoever. Not even persuasive, witty Jack shall change my mind.
Anyway it's Tia Dalma's fault through and through.
The floor creaks as James shifts uncomfortably.
"What are you still doing here?" I inquire icily. He coughs, I don't turn around and I'm not going to make it easy for him.
But Hughes's letter has softened my heart, so I find it within myself to relent. It's not his fault that I don't love him as a good wife and mother should. I face him and he holds out yet another envelope.
"I thought you might want to see this."
Feeling curious, I glance at the letter and realise that the broken seal is imprinted with Cutler Beckett's insignia. I look back at James, but his impassive face doesn't tell me anything.
Commodore,
It has come to my attention, yet again, that the Heart-Thief has been preying on the Merchant Fleets again. Those ships are under the East India Trading Company's protection, so it becomes your responsibility to rid my seas of this threat.
I am sure that you will send me regular letters of your progress. Also, if you happen to apprehend Captain Turner of the Heart-Thief, I'm sure that the East India Trading Company could find a little something for you to compensate for your trouble.
I would be glad to see the ex-blacksmith in my office dead or alive, Commodore.
I am confident in your skill and will look forward to your correspondence.
Sincerely,
Lord Cutler Beckett.
PS: I would recommend that you do not take your wife on the voyage, I believe that she and Turner have some kind of history.
PSS: If you happen to come across The Black Pearl or it's Captain, I'm sure I could also find a prize for you, though I'm eager for you to concentrate your efforts primarily on The Heart-Thief.
I sit down heavily on the chair, the colour draining out of my face. James looks a little worried as he bends over me, calling the maid and taking the letter from my limp hand.
"What are you going to do?" I ask, waving away a anxious-looking maid holding smelling salts.
"Elizabeth – " I can see it in his dark eyes, he's going to try convince me that killing Jack and Will is for the best.
"No, James!" I snap, aware that this is stupid and I'm losing control completely. "You can't, you can't – do this to me." I watch him try to be reasonable, but he's losing his temper too.
"Do you realise how many innocents have been killed by those two? It's for the best, Elizabeth," His green eyes darken with anger as I toss my head with contempt.
"I'll never forgive you." I hiss dramatically, ignoring the tears that are streaming down my cheeks and the melodramatic twist to my statement. That's the last straw for James, who I'll admit, I have given a hard time, over these long years.
"You haven't forgiven me for marrying you yet." He shakes his head bitterly. "What chance do I have?"
I scream in frustration and stalk out of the room, my robe billowing around me impressively.
"I set sail next week." He says, ignoring my drama.
I almost make it all the way down the stairs before I break down completely. Sinking down onto the step, with my back against the wall, I throw my head back and let the bitter tears pour down my face freely.
"Mama?"
"Go back to bed, Gracie." I say dully, choking down sobs and opening my eyes.
She's standing on the top step; her dark hair and pale skin making her look sort of ethereal in the half-light. Her eyes brim with tears, simply because she can tell I'm distressed. She opens her mouth, perhaps to reassure me, but the appearance of James distracts her.
"Come on, Gracie." He puts his hand on her shoulder and guides her gently back towards her bed. He's always been better to her than I, even though he knows he's probably not her father.
"Will Mama be okay?" I hear her wavering little voice ask. My heart breaks again, I'm not sure how it could break anymore, but it just did. She loves me more than I could ever deserve.
"I'm sure she'll be fine." James answers and I wish I could agree. If there were any reason that James could hate me, it would be for neglecting Gracie. I pick myself up and trail down the stairs.
Ignoring the footman watching me in my nightdress curiously, I push the doors open and enter the night.
The sky is dark with clouds and the thunder booms loud enough that I can't hear the worried footman calling me back. Rain pours down, soaking me and washing away the tears and fears for the moment. Glancing out to the sea I wonder if he's in the same storm, on his ship, the Heart-Thief. Lighting cracks over the land, illuminating the raging sea. I throw my head back and scream my brokenness to the night.
Tomorrow I'll be sane; tomorrow I'll fix everything up and make sure that James doesn't do anything stupid. But for now I'll just be free…
-:-
A figurehead emerges from the dark, lit by a lantern swaying in the rough winds. A winged man, thrusting his head out into the unknown.
A man paces the deck, nervously wringing his hands and looking back at the ship on the horizon again and again. It is to dark to make out the shape of the ominous ship, but the lamps winking at him in the darkness betrayed its presence. A pale girl confined in heavy linen and corsets approaches the man, a slight frown marring her pretty face.
"Daddy?" The man stops and turns to his daughter, trying to wipe the worry from his face for her sake.
"Yes, darling?"
"That ship on the horizon –" she trails off, noticing his expression. "That's why the men are worried?" she whispers, not really needing an answer. She knows.
He nods briefly.
"Sophie, darling, lock yourself in my cabin and don't come out unless I ask you."
She nods, but with out having any intention of going to the cabin at all. Luckily he wasn't paying enough attention to notice and so she slipped away quickly. Johnny, the man who she'd fallen in love with without her father's knowledge, was waiting just beyond the circle of light. The rest of the crew, who all fully supported the young couple's relationship, pretended not to notice as she threw herself into his arms.
"What's happening?" she asks, her voice wavering.
"The Heart-Thief." His face is grim, like the rest of the crew, seeing her face he stops. "It'll be okay." He reassures her, his green eyes gleaming earnestly. But he didn't look very reassured himself. "You better go to the cabin, like your father said. You especially aren't safe tonight."
She cocks her head to one side, confused.
"Why me?"
"Haven't you heard the stories?" His dark hair flops into his eyes, obscuring his expression for a moment as he appeared to be wondering whether he should continue. She brushes his hair away with a tender gesture and nods her head, motioning for him to continue.
"Once upon a time, The Captain of the Heart-Thief was engaged to be married. Somehow the both him and his fiance ended up on the Black Pearl, in the clutches of one infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. Anyway, while aboard the ship, Sparrow seduced his lovely maiden and eventually stole her honour. After that the girl repented and decided she loved Turner more. But he'd became convinced of her unfaithfulness and wouldn't have her. The girl broke his heart completely and he was never the same again. He became ruthless and cruel because one woman broke him, not unlike the legend of Davy Jones She went back to her hometown and he, feeling he had no other place to go, visited a witch-woman living on a cannibal island. The witch woman, who might have been in love with him, felt sorry that he loved a woman he couldn't have and gave him a charm."
"What charm?" Sophie interrupts, leaning closer and not noticing the crowd that had gathered around, all listening to Johnny's entrancing story.
"A charm that made it impossible for any woman on God's green earth to resist him." Johnny pauses, his vivid green eyes glowing in the lamplight and pulls Sophie close to him protectively. "Ever since, he and his ship the Heart-thief, named for the witch woman's charm, have been preying on ships, leaving none alive and no one aboard except a single woman." Johnny finished abruptly, remembering Sophie's presence and conveniently leaving out the fact that when found every one of those women were dead.
"That is quite enough superstition from you, Mr Matthews." Captain Mastairs bursts into the centre of the circle and notices Sophie in Johnny's arms. "And kindly unhand my daughter, if you please."
Johnny reluctantly let go of Sophie, who is quickly hustled away in the direction of the cabin. They never looked away from one another, until Sophie vanished from sight and Johnny was left in the cold, feeling a shiver of unease run down his spine.
-:-
The cannons had stopped firing a long time ago and even the terrible screams of dying men had petered out into silence. Sophie's shoulder ached from trying to break the door down and her hands were almost bleeding from the amount of times she had wrenched at the door handle and the steadfast lock.
She'd given up a while ago, so she just put her head down on her knees and sobbed, not caring who heard her. A quarter of an hour later footsteps marched over the silent deck and the key turned in the lock. Sophie leapt to her feet, hardly daring to believe her father was alive after all that time. For he was the own one that had the key.
The door swung open and Sophie almost screamed in horror. It wasn't the round jolly face she'd expected, a rough scary looking pirate. He grinned at her shock.
"You best be coming to see the captain, I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you."
Sophie screamed and protested as the man picked her up and dragged her out of the cabin, but it was useless. She fell silent as she saw the bodies. All the men aboard the ship, down to the cabin boy, lying dead or dying on the deck. Only hours ago she was sharing stories with these very same men. And her father…only hours ago she'd been arguing with him and now he was likely dead.
She started to cry, which seemed to bother the pirate carrying her. Suddenly she was set upon her feet, so she wandered through the lines of dead men, hardly able to see through her tears. She searched for one face, a face she wanted to see and dreaded seeing.
She saw Johnny's face and it was like a hot knife to the heart. She dropped to her knees, brushing his hair out of his eyes and dripping tears all over his face. He wasn't dead, but he was dying and Sophie knew it.
"Sophie…" He whispered, his green eyes dulled with pain. He raised his hand and touched her face briefly. His other fist clutched the pale blue ribbon she'd given him months ago as if it were the single most important thing he possessed. "I'm sorry…" His voice trailed off and the light went out of his eyes. Sophie felt the hand she was holding go limp and her heart broke in two. A single tear rolled down Johnny's cheek and Sophie couldn't tell if it was his or hers.
"Johnny, wake up, please!" She pleaded, but it was no use. A hand interrupted her heartfelt sobbing, pulling her to her feet. She whirled around, caught a fleeting glimpse of bright brown eyes and brought her hand up to slap the person's face. A strong hand caught her hand before she could slap him. She blinked through her tears at the man who had her wrist in a firm grip. By the respectful distance the rest of the ragged bunch kept, she assumed that the man she was glaring at was the legendary Captain of the Heart-Thief. The man who Johnny had been telling her about just hours ago. The thought made tears well up in her washed out grey eyes.
"You bastard," she whispered brokenly, looking back down at Johnny, lying dead on the deck.
"Did you love him?" The simple sound of that voice pulled her gaze back to his deep, brown eyes and she looked at him properly for the first time. He had dark hair that curled wildly around his face and was pulled back into a messy tail. His mouth was just about level with her cheek and so close that she could almost feel the faint shadow of stubble brushing against her skin . Instinctively she moved closer and was rewarded by his warm, inviting mouth whispering against her cheek.
"Love is only pain," he whispered and moved his strong brown hand over her wrist, up her arm. She shivered as he tilted her head back and their gazes met, grey eyes glazed over and brown eyes slightly bitter. "Forget him." He commanded in a whisper, moving closer. Sophie almost forgot her own name as his mouth closed over hers, sealing her fate with a magical starburst of desire.
They progressed to the cabin, oblivious to the crew, who'd started throwing the dead men over the side into the raging sea. A line of clothing trailed after them, a coat, boots and pair of Sophie's shoes, a pair of silk stockings and then they entered the cabin. He threw her down onto the bed before turning around and locking the door.
For a single second he paused and leant his head his head against the door, knowing what he was doing was wrong, but lacking the motivation to stop. Then Sophie called to him, her voice husky with desire and he gave in to the temptation.
She was still lying on the bed, only wearing a shift and corset; her dress already disposed of. He smiled down at her, trying to keep from looking as false as he felt. She sat up; her eyes alight and pulled his shirt over his head, running her fingers eagerly over his bare chest. He pulled the knife from his belt, as she wrenched down his breeches. Kneeling over her, one hand pinning her eager hands above her head, he placed the tip of the knife against her chest just where her corset ended. She didn't perceive the danger she was in and he didn't have the heart to kill her. So he simply ran the knife down her corset, freeing her from it's punishing restriction.
She took a deep breath and pulled his head down, keen for another of those mind-blowing kisses. He had other ideas, but she didn't really mind when he pressed his lips to her neck instead, leaving her mouth free to moan ardently. He ran his hand from the top of her knee, under her flimsy shift, up her slim thigh until he met her hip. Their gazes caught again as he pulled the shift over her head. She smiled; throwing her head back and letting him enter her.
-:-
She gave one last cry and fell back down on to the bed, her face gleaming with sweat and her eyes glowing with happiness. He pressed his lips to her neck, already feeling the regret welling up inside him. The knife was inches away from his hand. Better to do it quickly. It wasn't her fault at all… The knife was cold against her hot skin, but Sophie didn't notice as she gazed into Will's beautiful, bitter dark eyes.
Better to do it quickly…
She must have seen the agitation in his face, for a slight frown passed over her features.
"Will…?" She murmured
He moved the knife to where her heart beat frantically against his skin.
"Will…?"
He shut his eyes and lent his weight to the knife, parting flesh from flesh and Sophie from life easily. The heartbeat shuddered and failed completely. Sophie gave a contented sigh and the life left her grey eyes. Will opened his eyes and felt slightly sick as he realised how she still had desire in her dead eyes. He stood up and pulled his breeches and shirt on. Glancing back, he tossed a blanket over her naked body.
He didn't look back again.
