Eyes to See the World - Version 2
By: Raven in Red
Jenae, a young blind woman, joins Will and Jack in pursuit of the Black Pearl. JackOC, set during COTBP. Rewritten version of my original story, less Mary-Sueish and slightly different storyline.
Chapter Two: Escape
I was startled from my sleep that night by a booming sound coming from the harbor. The sounds of screams and shouting from the streets below, along with the breaking of glass and bricks.
"Cannonfire!" I gasped in fear, getting out of bed as quickly as possible. "Will!" I shouted urgently.
"Jenae!" Will ran into my room and grabbed my hands. "Come downstairs, now!" When we got down into the shop, he began arming himself. When he was done, he handed me a sword. "I pray you won't have to use it." After another scream from outside, he kissed my forehead. "I'll be back!"
My eyes filled with tears as Will ran out into the chaos that filled the streets of Port Royal. In fear, I sat against the wall in the farthest corner of the shop, waiting for Will to get back. All of a sudden, a cannonball crashed into the wall behind me. Bits of rock rained down on me. I didn't have time to duck before the biggest one struck my head.
"Jenae? Jenae!" I felt someone shaking my tired body.
"Will!" I gasped as I heard my friend's voice. As soon as the dizziness wore off, I asked, "What happened to me?"
"One of those rocks must have hit your head or something, because, when I got back to the shop, you were unconscious." He replied in panic.
I sighed and hugged him. "I'm just glad we're both alright."
"Me, too," he said. Then he grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. "Come on, we need to get to the fort! The pirates captured Elizabeth!" We wasted no time in leaving the shop and hurrying over to the fort. Once we got there, we approached the table where the governor and Commodore Norrington were gathered.
"They've taken her! They've taken Elizabeth!" Will said urgently.
"Mr. Murtogg, remove this man," Norrington said in a bored voice. Will shook off the soldier that tried to grab him.
"We have to hunt them down!" I said boldly.
"We must save her!" Will added.
"And where do you propose we start?" Governor Swann asked. "If you have any information concerning my daughter, please share it!"
"That…Jack Sparrow, he talked about the Black Pearl," One of the soldiers spoke up.
"Mentioned it is more what he did," another soldier corrected the first one.
"Ask him where it is!" Will said with excitement.
"Make a deal with him. He could lead us to it," I continued.
"No," Norrington said firmly, "The pirates who invaded this fort left Sparrow locked in his cell. Ergo, they are not his allies." In a slightly quieter voice, he said, "Governor, we will establish their most likely course and-"
He was cut off when Will slammed a hand axe on the table. "That's not good enough!" he shouted.
"Mr. Turner," Norrington pulled the axe out. "You are not a military man. You are not a sailor. You are a blacksmith. This is not the moment for rash actions." He shoved Will off to the side. "Do not make the mistake of thinking you are the only man here who cares for Elizabeth."
When Will and I left the fort, I spoke up, "Just because they won't ask Sparrow where the pirates have gone doesn't mean that we can't." Will held my arm tightly.
"Let's go down to the prison and see if we can reason with him," he agreed.
Once we got to the prison, Will shouted out, "You! Sparrow!"
"Aye?" I recognized the voice of the pirate.
"You are familiar with that ship, the Black Pearl," I stated.
"I've heard of it," Sparrow sounded bored.
"Where does it make berth?" Will asked.
"Where does it make berth?" Jack sounded as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. "Have you not heard the stories?" When Will and I gave no reply, he continued, "Captain Barbossa and his crew of miscreants sail from the dreaded Isla de Muerta. It's an island that cannot be found except by those who already know where it is."
"The ship's real enough. Therefore its anchorage must be a real place. Where is it?" Will raised his voice a little.
"Why ask me?" Sparrow taunted us.
"Because you're a pirate!" I spat out.
"And you want to turn pirate yourself, is that it?" He asked us.
"Never!" Will declared, grabbing the bars. When he let go, he admitted sadly, "They took Miss Swann."
"Oh, so it is that you've found a girl! I see. Well, if you're intending to brave all, hasten to her rescue and so win fair lady's heart, you'll have to do it alone, mate. I see no profit in it for me."
"We can get you out of here," I declared with a smirk.
"How's that? The key's run off," Sparrow contradicted.
"I helped build these cells," Will said. "These are half-pin barrel hinges." He lifted one of the benches and hooked it around the bars. "With the right leverage and the proper application of strength, the door will lift free."
"What's your name, love?" Sparrow asked.
I sighed. "Jenae Godfrey."
"And you?" he directed at Will.
"Will Turner," he said suspiciously.
"That would be short for William, I imagine. Good strong name…no doubt named for your father, eh?"
"…Yes," Will sounded even more suspicious.
"Ah…well, Mr. Turner and Miss Godfrey, I've changed me mind. If you spring me from this cell, I swear on pain of death I shall take you to the Black Pearl and your bonnie lass. Do we have an accord?"
In turn, Will and I shook his hand. "Agreed," I said.
"Agreed," he repeated. "Get me out!" Will shoved down on the bench. I heard a loud breaking sound as Sparrow climbed out of his cell.
"Hurry! Someone will have heard that!" I warned him.
"Not without my effects!" he declared.
"We're going to steal a ship?" I asked with uncertainty as we gathered under a bridge near the harbor.
"That ship?" Will added.
"Commandeer," Sparrow corrected. "We're going to commandeer that ship, nautical term." Then he addressed Will. "One question about your business, boy, or there's no use going: this girl, how far are you willing to go to save her?"
"I'd die for her!" Will declared.
"Oh, good. No worries, then," Sparrow replied. I became slightly suspicious. After a moment or so, he asked, "Do you see those rowboats down there?"
"Yes," Will answered.
"Jenae?" he directed to me.
I waved my hands in front of my eyes. "Oh, right," he remembered my blindness. I pointed out, "And until we've made further acquaintance, it's Miss Godfrey."
"Alright, Miss Godfrey," he teased. "Well, once those soldiers are out of the way, we need to climb under one of the boats. Savvy?"
"Alright, let's go," said Will.
Sparrow took my arm. I decided it wasn't worth it to protest as he led me down the beach. Will lifted up the rowboat as we climbed under. Once Will had joined us, we lifted it up and carried it down towards the water. I winced a little at first from the cold water, but eventually we were walking along the bottom of the harbor. The boat had trapped a bubble of air around us, which allowed us to breathe.
"This is either madness…or brilliance," Will said with uncertainty.
"It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide," Sparrow replied.
Once we had gotten far enough, Will took my hand as we ducked underneath the boat. He swam with one arm and held onto me with the other. However, somewhere along the line, my hand slipped from his. I began to panic and sink, since I was a terrible swimmer. I was losing water with every second. Suddenly, I felt myself being held by Sparrow. Once we had reached the surface, I breathed a sigh of relief and hugged him for saving my life.
"Thank you!" I said gratefully.
"No worries, love," he replied. Once I had caught my breath, we swam up to the ship. Sparrow climbed up first and then helped me. Will was last. When we were all assembled, Will and Sparrow walked down the stairs to the main deck, with me following close behind them.
"Everyone stay calm!" Sparrow ordered. "We are taking over the ship!"
"Aye, avast!" Will said boldly. The crew of the ship began to laugh.
"This ship cannot be crewed by two men and a woman," the man in charge mocked us. "You'll never make it out of the bay."
"Son," Sparrow said, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. Savvy?"
Sparrow and Will forced all of the crew into one of the rowboats. Once they were out of the way, we gathered at the helm.
"Here they come," Will warned. Jack patted my shoulder gently. I smiled instead of shaking him off. Since he had saved me, I felt a certain level of respect for him.
"What's the plan?" I asked the 'captain'.
"Once the Interceptor sails alongside us, we'll board it, unseen, and make our way off. We'll have to be quick, though," he replied, with a hint of warning. I was glad that he knew what he was doing, and that he had the right amount of authority.
After a couple minutes, Sparrow grabbed my hand. "Let's go!" he whispered loudly, leading us down to the bow. "Hold onto me," he instructed. I obeyed him and wrapped my arms around his shoulder. Using a rope from the sails, we swung across to the Interceptor. Will, using his hand axe, severed all the ropes connecting the two ships.
"Sailors, back to the Interceptor, NOW!" Norrington shouted.
After a few men fell into the water, Sparrow shouted happily, "Thank you, Commodore, for getting us ready to make way! We'd have had a hard time of it by ourselves!" He shoved me down onto the deck when I heard gunshots. After a little while, the shots stopped coming, and I decided that it was safe to stand up again. Will approached me and asked, "Are you sure you want to stay in that dreadful dress?"
I blushed a little bit and shook my head. I had been wearing a pink lacy gown with a corset. It wasn't exactly the proper attire for a ship.
Will laughed a bit. "I'll see if I can find something better for you to wear." Once he had left, Sparrow came up to me.
"Miss Godfrey, may I have a word?" When I nodded, he took my arm gently and led me over to the railing.
"Thank you for saving my life, Captain Sparrow. I am in debt to you," I said humbly.
"No worries, love…and now that we've made 'better acquaintance', you may call me Jack."
I laughed a little. "And you may call me Jenae." Just to be safe, I kept a couple steps' distance away from him. I still wasn't sure how I felt about him, but he had saved my life, and that had to count for something.
After a few moments of silence, he took a deep breath. "What's it like being blind?"
"It's hard to explain," I said a little bitterly. Then I softened a little. "It happened when I was twelve. I loved the beauty of the world so much. When I went blind, it felt like I had died inside. It's been seven years, but I still miss everything about my sight."
"I can only imagine what that must feel like," he replied gently. I smiled over at him. It felt good talking about myself to another person. It felt as if I had kept things trapped inside me, and now I was releasing them.
"Jenae?" Will called out. I carefully walked over to where his voice came from. Since the ship was new to me, I didn't know my way around through memorization, so I had to be extra careful.
"Yes, Will?" I answered. He handed a bundle of clothing to me.
"These should fit you well. Why don't you go change?"
I went into one of the cabins and changed. Will had given me a comfortable cotton shirt and pants, along with leather boots and a wide belt. I had a lot of trouble getting the belt on, so I went out to get Will's help. He wasn't around, so I had to find Jack. He was all too happy to help me, and he gave my waist a little squeeze when he was done. Once I had thanked him, I asked,
"Where are we headed off to?"
He sighed happily, "Tortuga!"
My face froze. "Tortuga?" I asked in disgust.
"Aye, love, Tortuga," he answered with a flourish.
"Um…why?"
"For a pirate like me, it's heaven on Earth!" He gave my nose a little tap.
"So, Will and I are just going to trail behind you wherever you go?" I crossed my arms.
"I'm getting to the point, love," Jack said as if I had threatened him. "There's actually a man there that I need to find. He can help us get a proper crew for out little journey."
"Alright, I guess I'll just have to put up with it, then." I said with a sigh, having heard every bad thing that was possible to hear about Tortuga. It was populated by pirates, drunken desperados, and whores, and it definitely wasn't the right place for a blind girl like me. With a sigh, I leaned on the railing again. "When will we get there?"
"Most likely by this evening," Jack replied. He turned and walked off towards the helm. I groaned in frustration. This was going to be a long night.
