Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Pirates of the Caribbean
Sequel to: Curse of the Black Pearl.
The sea shanty I used little bits and pieces from to create my own is known as the "Eddystone Light".
Dear Family,
Things are doing quite fine on my front. My business is booming and I continue to meet the most interesting people. Life is never boring and is always worth living on my little hell-bound rock, but I must admit that I miss you all terribly. Has father forgiven me yet for my abandonment? Please let him know that I do love and miss him dearly and that my leaving was no indication of any lack of love for him.
Our mutual friend was in town and is still in possession of his ship. It's surprising really. Would have expect him to have lost it by now. He told me to relay to Lois some quite inappropriate things the next time I wrote, but I will forego mentioning anything he instructed I write since, knowing him, she already must know what he'd say to her.
Our other mutual friend is still giving chase, but I fear he is not as cunning, or crazy, as the one he chases and I doubt he shall ever catch him.
I write a full fortnight before I planned due to the fact that there are new happenings on the horizon that I feel I must share. There is news of something afoot, something dastardly. There are so many rumors that I must admit I am not sure which are real and which are not, but there was one rumor that I felt needed addressing immediately. It concerns our family, and no matter what father might think, I am still very much a part of the family and care for it deeply.
There are rumors of a new Governor of the East India Trading Company. Do you remember that little rat? Cutler Beckett? Yes, tis so. Somehow he's crawled and slithered up the ranks and if word can be believed, King George II has made him a "Lord". What is our world heading to if this is true? Considering his history and past fascination with Lois, and his declaration that she would regret having turned down his offer of marriage, I feel the need to warn you as he is the newly appointed director of the company's expansion in the Caribbean.
Also, there are rumors of the sea being in an upheaval. There have been more sightings of mermaids and other creatures which like to keep themselves hidden from human eyes. Something is obviously happening that is affecting those much more in tune with the sea than we humans are.
Our mutual friend, if he can be believed, has had a couple of those encounters himself, especially of the merfolk kind. I only ever take him for his word a third of the time, but he seems knowledgeable enough when it comes to them to prove that either he's a better storyteller than he is a paying patron, or he actually is telling the truth for once.
I shall not take up more of your time, but I felt you needed to be warned about Cutler Beckett should that news prove true.
Lu
Rereading the letter, Will folded it and placed it into his pocket as he gazed at the people mulling around the small island that was their last stop before Tortuga. The morning after Chloe's newest abduction he'd set sail for Tortuga on the first merchant ship leaving the Port, Lana having worked things so that people believed Chloe had been called to attend to a sickly aunt, while Will had been sent off on a mission for the Governor. That way no one questioned their disappearances. Lana would stay in Port Royal and keep up the appearances. She'd made Will promise to write her frequently so she would be informed, and to write exactly the moment when he found out what was going on.
The young blacksmith stared at those busy on the dock, trading with the merchants who were on the ship.
A part of him felt that he was wasting time going to Tortuga because Jack might not even be there, and even if he was who could really trust Jack's stories? His "encounters" with merfolk could have been to the extent of seeing a fin diving into the water. The whole grand story of how Jack had escaped the island he'd been banished to proved that he couldn't be trusted when it came to stories about himself and his exploits. And so much rested on this one.
Chloe…
Will closed his eyes tightly.
He hadn't slept since Estrella had burst into the smithy yelling about something happening to "Miss Chloe". He'd dashed to the Governor's house to find Lana in tears, the girl screaming about mermaids and trances and Chloe jumping off the cliff behind their back garden. He'd rushed to the cliffs himself, staring down into the darkness, unable to understand how she could have survived the fall, and yet hadn't Lana survived one from the same height before? It seemed like before something happened supernaturally-wise a Swann took a dive into the sea.
And then Lana had shown him the letter from Lucy and that was that.
Mermaids weren't known for coming to town to entrance girls into jumping into the sea with them, and they needed answers.
Chloe was alive.
Will knew it with all of his heart.
She was alive.
And Jack Sparrow was going to help him get her back again.
Whether he wanted to or not.
"Sir!" Someone yelled from the dock.
Will stared down at the water between the ship and the dock, at the fish visibly teaming beneath.
"Sir!"
The fish were more bountiful than he'd have expected, actually, especially this close to the shore.
"SIR!"
Sensing movement in the corner of his eye on the dock, Will gazed up to meet eyes with a man around his age who seemed vaguely familiar. "How may I help you?"
"You, you're from Port Royal, are you not?" The young man declared, eyes wide. "God has heard my prayers."
Will's eyes narrowed, never having thought he'd be the answer to anyone's prayers. "Have we met before?"
"Only briefly." The man declared. "On the eve of Commodore Norrington's promotion ceremony."
And suddenly Will knew who this man was.
He was the poor bastard a drunken Chloe had cornered and forced to listen to her story of love lost!
"It tis you!" He declared, pulling off his straw hat from his head and holding it between his hands. "You protected Miss Swann. You are her friend, are you not?"
"Yes." Will frowned, his grip on the rail of the ship tightening.
"Then you must come for her," he declared, shocking Will to the core. "I have arranged for a letter to be sent to Port Royal and yet it was to leave in this ship and-."
"Chloe's here?" Will was already making his way rapidly to the dock, unable to believe this, suspicious yet hopeful.
The man hurried towards him as well, still holding his hat between his hands. "I am Philip Swift."
"Will Turner," he declared almost as an afterthought. "Chloe is here? How?"
Philip put back on the straw hat as he began leading Will away from the dock. "Truly sir, we do not know this ourselves, and it has caused a large uproar. At first the villagers thought her a ghost, and then a mermaid, and now I fear the suspicious lot think her akin to some sort of pagan goddess." He sighed, shaking his head. "Father Wilcox and I have tried so hard to show these natives the truth, to teach them the ways of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so that they may come out of the darkness of their heathen, pagan ways. And yet-."
"Chloe." Will reminded, never having been much of a god-fearing man himself and not caring to hear of this man's plight changing the natives' belief system.
"Right." Philip nodded. "The thing is, three days ago she just walked out of the sea."
Will nearly tripped on his feet. "Excuse me?"
"There's not an island close enough to swim from, and there were no vessels in these waters before or after her appearance." Philip shook his head, obviously still trying to understand this himself. "The men called out that something was approaching from the distance, and a crowd of us gathered at the banks as finally she emerged from the water. Her hair and clothes were horribly drenched, a sword hanging at her side. Her clothes were torn and the bottom of her feet and hands and arms scratched. She collapsed onto the beach." He cleared his throat. "She regained consciousness some hours later at the mission house and yet…and yet…"
"And yet what?"
Philip cleared his throat, motioning to the door of a building Will hadn't realized he'd approached. "She is…you must see this for yourself."
Not sure what to expect, and still not completely certain that this was not some sort of a trap, Will opened the door and peered in, realizing that within was an enclosed garden. He sent Philip a narrowed glance, about to ask him to explain himself, when a soft voice echoed to him from within.
"My father was the keeper of the an ever glowing Light
He slept with a mermaid on the long and lonely nights.
Out of this union four there came to be
A Dreamer, an Adventurer, a Lady, and Me.
With a yo-ho-ho, let the wind blow free,
It's all for the life on the rolling sea…"
He'd never heard her singing before, and yet Will knew without a doubt whom that voice belonged to. Not hesitating any further he entered the enclosed garden, hurrying towards the sound of that voice. He moved passed banana trees and other fruit trees, following the sound of water and song.
"The first she was so beautiful, yet her dreams were what she feared
The second was spirited, yet a fool in what she dared
The third held poise and grace, and yet she hid behind a mask
And fourth I was, the fourth I am, and chosen for the task
With a tra-la-la, waves on the breeze,
It's all for the life on the rolling sea…"
Will froze when he finally came upon the indoor pond, finding Chloe sitting on the edge of a inner lake, a natural waterfall cascading softly next to her. Her dress was wet, highly inappropriate as it stuck to her body, the blonde combing her hair out with and odd comb that looked nearly coral-like in texture. She didn't seem to notice Will or Philip were there, singing softly to herself as she combed out her long, wet locks.
He cleared his throat, sending Philip a little disapproving look considering that Chloe was quite indecent as she was right now, taking off his cloak. "Chloe?"
She looked up, her gaze seemed to stare through him as the tone changed completely, her words shifting as well as she sang softly.
"A beauty great and heart so pure, yet childhood longin' won't endure
From yer nightmare he returns, seas will boil and hell will burn.
Captured, shackled, cruel demands...monsters also walk on land.
Yer heart an' fate do not entwine, stay on de soil ya still 'ave time.
With a la-di-da, hear the song I sing,
It's all for the life on the rolling sea…"
"Chloe." Will approached her carefully, resting his cloak around her shoulders, shielding her indecency from prying eyes.
"She's unresponsive, just sings." Philip Swift declared, obviously uneasy. "The local people are beginning to whisper about her."
"What do they whisper?" Will frowned, looking up at Philip with narrowed eyes, worried for her safety should the village people think her a witch of some sort and wished for her burning.
The missionary cleared his throat. "They say…they believe that when she sings she brings fish to the island…fish we desperately need."
Will straightened, confused, that was not what he'd expected to hear. "I've seen your waters, they are teeming with fish."
Philip's gaze went passed him to Chloe, visibly perplexed, a hint of fascination visible in his eyes. "They weren't three days ago."
Will cleared his throat, moving between them, almost uncomfortable with the way this man stared at the newly covered Chloe, who was still singing softly.
"With yer presence I know tis true, this island's been expecting you,
Heed the voice, yer mistress be, until ye paid yer debt to she.
The sea 'as claimed ye for 'er own, sins of the past to atone,
Claimed yer heart as 'er own, forced allegiance to 'er throne.
The life ye lived no more shall be, not now that ye belong to she,
Torn between earth an' sea, a battle looms before thee.
With a na-na-na, heed these words the key,
It's all for a life on the rolling sea."
Turning towards Chloe, Will eased the comb out of her hands, realizing it was a hair piece as well. The blacksmith's apprentice sat on the edge of the pool-like lagoon, running the back of his fingers down her cheek in what was probably a highly indecent move but he was only in the presence of the missionary and a part of him wanted this Philip Swift to know the sort of relationship he had with Chloe, even if he never truly came out and say it. It disturbed him, this part of himself, it seemed too much like a pirate protecting his horde of treasure from a suspected thief.
Those blank greens turned on him as Will gathered her hair to the side of her shoulder, squeezing out the excess water as best as he could before slowly twirling it together, using the coral comb to keep it in place as he curled the hair up into a high side bun, some blonde ringlets escaping and falling into her face.
"Please, retrieve her things for me. She shall be joining my voyage." Will watched Philip nod and hurry off. Only when the missionary had disappeared did he turn to Chloe and shift to kneel in front of her, his hands cupping her face and his brown gaze staring into her greens. "Chloe?" There was no recognition in those green eyes. Nothing at all. "Chloe." When she merely began to hum, Will surged forwards and kissed her. Her lips were cold and she tasted salty like the sea, but he pressed on. If the missionary came back this would be a horrible scandal, but Will couldn't stop himself. He'd been so worried, had had nightmares of growing old and never seeing Chloe again, never knowing what had happened to her. And yet here she was, by his side. He didn't care if she never stopped humming and singing, if she never spoke again. As long as she was here, safe, and with him, he'd die a happy man.
"Will?" Chloe whispered against his lips.
Pulling away, eyes wide, Will smiled widely to see focus in those green eyes, which were turned on him in confusion.
There was a soft blush on Chloe's face as she eyed him. "What are you doing here?" She then seemed to notice where they were, her expression completely confused. "Where are we?"
"What's the last you remember?" Will wanted to know, desperate for her to keep talking so he could hear the voice he'd been missing since her disappearance.
Chloe continued to glance around her in confusion before she peered down at herself to find her wet clothes sticking to her body, Will's cloak the only thing covering her and making her decent. Her blush intensified as she tightened it around her. "The last thing I remember was having dinner with Lana."
"So you don't remember the mermaid or falling off the cliff?"
"I fell off of a cliff?!" Chloe's voice broke. "How does a mermaid fit into that?"
A loud sound echoed throughout the air, piercing and vicious. Will had heard that sound enough times to know exactly what it was.
And yet it was Chloe who spoke as she rose to her feet. "Canon fire."
Will stood as well and drew his sword.
"We are under attack!" Philip Swift yelled as he hurried forwards, Chloe's sword in one hand. He skidded to a stop when he saw her. "Miss Swan, are you cognizant?"
"I know you from somewhere…" Chloe took a step towards him.
Will stood and moved between them, taking Chloe's sword and its holster from Philip, securing it around Chloe's hips. "We need to get out of here. We need to get to the ship and—."
An explosion rocked the earth, followed by another and another as screams and battle cries could be heard.
Philip's eyes closed as he fell to his knees and began to pray. "Oh father who art in heaven, be with us in our hour of need."
Will and Chloe shared a look over his head before movement at the door had them yanking out their swords and pointing it towards a fat priest who could be none other than the Father Wilcox Philip had been talking about earlier.
He stumbled to a stop. "P-pirates! They are coming ashore!"
Will moved forwards. "Get as many people as you can in here and lock yourselves in." He turned to Chloe.
She kissed him deeply before pulling away and hurrying out the door.
He watched her with what he knew had to be a besotted smile, before he hurried out after her.
There was a lot to be confused about. Even as Chloe dove into the fight, even as she clashed blades with the pirates who had invaded the island, there were an incredible amount of questions that boggled her mind. Where was she? What was she doing there? And what did mermaids have to do with the whole thing? Why was Will there? Why was the gentleman from James' inauguration ceremony there? Why were there pirates attacking? What is going on?
Who were these pirates? Where were they that they were being attacked by—?
Slicing the throat of the man she'd been dueling with, Chloe glanced towards the ship. It was large and glorious but she couldn't make out too many details, not with the sun backlighting it so fiercely. Even though, she thought she could make out a figure on the deck observing the happenings.
A girl screamed.
Turning away from the ship, Chloe searched through the chaos and mayhem to find a pirate chasing a young girl into the sea. She took off after them, dodging explosions and clashing blades. An old man tumbled to the ground in front of her, a pirate above him, ready to shove his sword through his victim. Reaching down, Chloe didn't break her stride as she yelled. "HEY!" When the pirate turned towards her she threw the sand in his eyes, following the blinding move by jabbing her sword deep into his gut. He stilled on her blade as she kicked him off onto the sand and continued on towards the girl. The pirate had caught up to her by now, and was grabbing at her shirt.
Two pirates moved in front of Chloe, blocking her view of what was happening. They smiled large, lecherous, black-toothed smiles as they charged her. A moment's panic settled in yet she didn't freeze. She mightn't have the natural talent Will did, or the years of cunning strategic moves that Barbossa did, but they'd both trained her, in her waking and sleeping life, and she used their combined instructions to dodge and parry. Soon the pirates' grins were gone as they fought her in earnest.
Shifting around, Chloe lost her footing and collapsed into the water. She gasped and came up for air to find both pirates holding their swords on her, grins on their faces as they entered the water after her.
Suddenly movement from both sides of her flashed fast as lightning, as two crocodiles shot forwards, each grabbing one of the pirates and yanking their unsuspecting victims into the water. Chloe turned and watched the crocodiles sink deeper into the water, which now turned red.
"NO!"
The girl's screams brought Chloe's gaze away from the water to find the girl, who couldn't be older than fourteen, pinned to the sand, half in the water, with the pirate straddling her body and ripping her shirt open. Chloe had lost her sword when she'd fallen into the water, but if she searched for it it'd be too late. That was why she didn't. It was folly to fight without a weapon and yet Chloe charged with a scream. She tackled the pirate, the force of her lunging at him threw him off of the girl and sent them both tumbling into the sea.
He easily overpowered her, shifting them around so that Chloe was pinned under the surface of the water, his hands around her neck. Her screams erupted like bubbles from her mouth as she struggled to get free. And then heat blossomed in her head and everything went black.
She wasn't sure what woke her up. It could be the sound of screams. It could be the feeling of the cool water against her skin. It could be the blood that was so thick in the air she could taste the iron on her tongue. Whatever it was, when Chloe awoke it took her a couple of seconds to muddle through the disorientation which clung to her like thick molasses. The last thing she could remember was pain. What had happened? And why was she in the water? An oar popped up and hit her on the side of her hip before it floated away with what seemed to be a capsized rowboat. There was blood in the water all around her. The beach seemed a league away. Had she been kidnapped by pirates? Again?
Something brushed against her and Chloe turned to see the side of the large pirate ship. She was this close?! The shock had her swimming backwards in time for rope ladders to be thrown down at her.
A harsh voice ordered something in a language she didn't know but had heard from the indentured laborers many people in Port Royal had... It was Chinese.
Chloe shook her head and swam backwards.
She paused and turned to look upwards, but the sun blinded her. There was a man standing there, she could barely see him outlined in the blinding sun.
Suddenly something brushed up against her for a split second, and only then did she remember that there were crocodiles in these seas. Not only that, but something must've caused the boat to capsize, and the blood that surrounded her had once belonged to someone. She'd been floating amongst chum just asking to become a meal. Terror rose in her chest and she almost swam towards the ship when suddenly something shifted under her and she found herself seated high on the back of the largest crocodile she'd ever seen. It seemed a hundred years old or more, its scales hard like a shield and covered in old scars.
For a split second Chloe was in shock, and then the tattoo on her hip throbbed in pain and she gasped, eyes wide in sudden understanding.
The crocodile swished its tail, the ridges so sharp they actually cut through the bottom half of the rope ladder, and with a huff of breath it began to swim away rapidly.
"ypso…" the voice behind her was brought to her by the wind, the sound shocked, awed. "Calypso."
Chloe glanced over her shoulder at the man once more with a frown. What in the world was he going on about? And yet the feeling of something brushing against her leg brought her attention away to find that other crocodiles had arrived and swam all around the one carrying her, like guards. "I, uh, am extremely grateful to you gentlemen for saving me but, uh, where are we headed? The shore and Will are that way."
She wasn't sure whether she'd actually expected the crocodiles to answer or not, but they didn't. A sigh escaped her lips as she shifted and tried to get in a more comfortable position above the large beast's ridged back. While they might be heading towards a bank where a bloody battle wasn't taking place, she wanted to go to the battle. That was where Will was. If he'd seen her get taken he'd be distracted, and if he was distracted he could get hurt!
"Calypso!"
Eyes wide in shock, Chloe turned to find that the ship had pulled up anchor and was following them. Who the hell was this guy and what was he doing? Didn't he see she was riding a huge crocodile? And what was this calypso thing he kept calling her?
The crocodile shook her slightly, almost in warning, and then it did it again. She had to grab onto it harder to keep from being thrown off, and the second she did the crocodile dove under the surface, followed quickly by the others. Chloe only had a second to take a quick intake of breath before she was completely underwater. She held on as long as she could, eyes closed, but soon her lungs were burning. Her eyes finally flew open and her breath escaped her in shock to realize just how deep the crocodiles had taken her. The remainder of her oxygen escaped above her in bubbles, which she tried desperately to claw back, but she'd lost all oxygen and the burning in her chest grew worse.
She could see the large vessel above them, blanketing them in shadows. The ship was right above them. Chloe pushed off of the crocodile and tried for a desperate swim to the surface, but the crocodiles circled her, snapping at her, forcing her away from the surface. She was starting to see black spots all around her. Why would these things save her only to kill her like this? In desperation she gulped in seawater, realizing she was about to die… and then… and then the impossible happened.
Chloe stopped fighting, stopped moving, and just breathed.
She could breathe.
This was just like her dreams when she was speaking to The Voice! Just like how it'd been when she'd died!
Eyes wide, Chloe yanked up the material of her skirt to show that her tattoo was glowing in the water.
As if able to sense that she wasn't above to try to surface, the crocodiles' movements shifted from aggressive to casual as they swum around her almost playfully.
Chloe didn't know how long they were there, they could've been there for a whole day for how much she knew. She was too taken with the situation, with the ability to breathe under water, to be with these magnificent beasts this way. Before being kidnapped by Barbossa Chloe hadn't felt a kinship with the sea, but throughout her many trials and tribulations she'd learnt to love the vast ocean and all within.
…
Mermaids swam around her, tails varying in color. They were incredibly beautiful, unlike anything she'd seen before, and yet there was still a visible feral quality to their faces.
Chloe smiled in awe as she floated in the water, breathing it just as easily as the mermaids and yet without gills. Something brushed her hair, and she turned to see yet another beautiful mermaid reach out her hand to her. She smiled because while she might be able to breathe under the water, she wasn't as fast as her tailed friends. Under the water their voices were muted but they didn't need voices.
'We are almost there' Marina waited for Chloe to grip hold of her shoulders, the blonde floating above her back, before taking off with a strong flick of her blue tail.
'You are brave to do this, that place is cursed,' another mermaid, Syrena, declared with a shiver. 'Even its waters are tainted.'
'One of our kind would never swim into the shallows, much less step foot on land,' Aqua declared with a firm shake of her head before she turned to look at Chloe. 'It is why we needed you.'
'I am not afraid of that place,' Chloe responded truthfully. 'And in a way I am excited – if you hadn't needed me I never would have known that the tales of a mermaid's kiss were real.'
…
Gasping, Chloe's eyes widened as the memory faded away. That was how she could breathe underwater! A mermaid must've kissed her! There were tales that when the mermaid wished it, she could actually bestow upon a land-dweller the ability to breathe under water, and the way that she did this was through a kiss. Not every kiss could or would give bestow the recipient with this ability, and somehow she knew that not every mermaid could do it. There was a hierarchy within the mermaid society, and only certain ones had the ability to give this gift. The mermaids themselves must've told her this while she was with them, there was no other way she could know this information.
I live an extraordinary life.
Sensing the shadow above moving, Chloe glanced upwards to see the ship beginning to sail away. The attack must be over. Will.
Almost as if able to sense her worry, the crocodile from before swam close, and she caught hold of one of the ridges on its back. It moved rapidly through the water, taking her towards the shore much faster than she would've been able to do by herself. The crocodile surfaced, letting out a huff of air seconds before Chloe surfaced on its back. There were dead bodies and blood everywhere, but there were cheers. The people had driven the pirates back – no thanks to her, but to her defense the crocodiles hadn't let her leave until the fight was over.
Once in shallow water Chloe slipped from the crocodile's back and hesitated a second before she rubbed the creature's head. It tilted its gaze towards her in almost a snicker before it turned and disappeared under the surface was once, it, and the other reptiles swimming away.
"Chloe!"
She turned towards the voice in utter relief. "Will." And by the time she turned around he was already there and she was in his arms. She didn't notice the whispers, didn't notice the people watching her – watching the crocodiles. She didn't hear the name that ran through the crowd. No. The only thing she saw or heard was Will.
"I'm so sorry!" She pulled away enough to look at him. "I don't remember how I got into the water but then there were crocodiles and I couldn't get back-!"
Will stared down at her, his expression very odd. He looked like he wanted to kiss her, desperately, but wouldn't because they were out in public and doing so would be 'highly improper'. "I thought I had lost you again." Will pulled her back into his arms and held her so close it was almost painful. "I cannot keep losing you."
"You will never lose me," she promised into his shirt. "Even if I disappear, you will always find me." She was sure of it. Somehow, Will would find a way.
"We need to go, the ship is readying to leave-," Will froze.
Chloe glanced up towards the bank to find the natives bowing. Her eyes widened in shock and confusion. "Why are they bowing?"
Will frowned. "We need to leave before they do not let us."
She blinked when she noticed something washed upon the shore. "Is that my sword?"
After going to grab her beloved sword, Chloe found out that Will had been right. The people hadn't wanted her to leave. She couldn't understand the language they were speaking, but the little that Philip Swift translated confused her even worse. They seemed to think that she had brought the fish with her – which was ridiculous. She had no magical fish summoning powers, but no matter how much she tried to explain it the people either didn't understand or just didn't believe. In the end it was Will who managed to get her onto the ship headed towards Tortuga without some sort of a riot breaking out – and that was only by promising the people that she was going to return to make sure the fish didn't leave. It was a huge lie but that was the only way that they'd let her go. There'd been presents though. No matter how hard she'd tried to refuse them in the end they ended up giving them to her. Philip whispered tiredly about idolatry, which annoyed her because she wasn't exactly asking for these things.
In the end, when she slipped into the room that Will had bartered for her, Chloe collapsed on the bed in exhaustion. She wanted to talk to Will, to tell him about her memory and the crocodiles – as well as her neat new little ability – but she wasn't sure she could. She hadn't heard The Voice in a while, and didn't want to do anything to annoy this Being, or give her any reason to punish Will.
That was why, while Chloe wanted desperately to tell Will, she kept everything secret as they sailed towards Tortuga.
TBC