It had been a long and exhausting week. My legs were so sore; I had to find a secluded area to sit down every hour. My arms gave out almost every time I was asked to carry something. The crew was noticeably frustrated. Fortunately, most of them just rolled their eyes and didn't confront me about my apparent weakness. However, Duncan made a point to laugh at me every single time. And I swear he was giving me the extra heavy supplies on purpose, just to see me struggle.
"You need to toughen up boy. What's gunna happen when we meet some vicious looking creature of the deep and you can't keep your sword up?" Scrum said to me one morning, after I had dropped the bucket of water I had been carrying.
"Sorry Scrum." I mumbled and began mopping the area closest to the stern of the ship. As much as I was struggling on the ship, I didn't regret my decision. I had known going into this that it wasn't going to be easy.
I must admit though, every time one of the Captains walked by I tensed up. Jack wasn't nearly as frightening as Barbossa but I still didn't want him to see me failing. Although he always looked as if he was somewhat drunk, Jack was much wiser than he actually appeared. I got the impression he was very intuitive. Earlier in the week he predicted that a storm was coming while there wasn't a cloud in the sky. A few hours later, he was right. Not only that but he knew that one of the crew was stealing and was able to tell who it was without even thinking twice about it. The man confessed everything for fear of his wrath. Jack locked him in the brigs for a dew days. But that's what scared me; he just knew things. I didn't know how much longer I could pull off pretending to be a boy before he got suspicious. So I avoided his presence any time I could.
Barbossa was an entirely different issue. He didn't show up where I was very often, but when he did he bellowed orders in a way that would make any man on this ship want to curl up into a ball and hide. I found myself constantly on edge, preparing to jump at the sound of his voice. However, his voice isn't what made me the most nervous. On multiple instances, he passed by me, quickly glancing over the work I was doing, but his monkey always looked right at me for a much longer period of time. It may sound crazy, but it really got me worried. He even started jumping up and down on Barbossa's shoulder and pointing at me yesterday. Luckily, Barbossa was distracted with a much more important issue at the time, so he couldn't be bothered.
My stomach began to rumble. The food on this ship wasn't great and we didn't get fed often, which made the manual labor even more challenging. Looking up at the sun, it had to be nearly noon. I was getting better at determining the time of day by just using the sun's position. They would be serving lunch hopefully very soon.
The heat was starting to make me feel faint. I needed to get inside and rest without being noticed.
"You alright mate? You lookin' pale," stated a grungy, older looking pirate. He was mindlessly wiping down the same part of the balcony over and over again with a rag. He'd been doing this for some time now.
Before I could answer Mr. Gibbs was before us, carrying that map again.
"Vick, have you ever heard this place?" He had the map in front of the old man who was inspecting it closely. He shook his head.
"Great." Mr. Gibbs mumbled sarcastically. I then noticed him looking over at me.
"You don't look so good."
"That's what I said," Vick chimed in.
Mr. Gibbs moved closer to me, so I kept my head down.
"I'm fine. Just hungry." I retorted.
He grasped my shoulder and tried looking under my hat to read my expression. After a few seconds he tapped my arm and told me to go get some food before the lunch horn sounds. He told me if anyone gave me trouble to just tell that person that Mr. Gibbs said it was okay.
I hurried off, grateful that I wouldn't have to wait in line. Eating would hopefully give me some of my strength back. Hastily, I went down the stairs and into the second door on the right, which was the dining cabin. A large, long table laid out an assortment of food, from bread, to fish, to fruits. There were several things that looked unappetizing but I was in no place to be picky. I went to grab a plate, but when I glanced up, I realized I wasn't alone. Jack Sparrow was standing there picking at what looking like some sort of fish with a fork. His expression was one of utter distaste so he moved along and grabbed some fruit instead. I moved quietly around the table, hoping to not draw any attention. However, eventually he noticed me.
"Not the most appetizing spread of food you've ever seen is it?" I wasn't sure if he was looking for an answer or just muttering to himself. "I swear I've seen this fish before somewhere," He said as he pointed to the fish he was picking at a moment ago. I smiled and nodded.
I was surprised he hadn't asked what I was doing, eating before any of the crew. But he didn't seem to care at all.
"So how's your experience been so far on the Black Pearl lad? Everything you hoped and dreamed it would be?" He flashed a quick smile, awaiting my answer as if he knew it wasn't all it was pegged up to be.
"Great. It's…it's been great. The crews nice." I said as I walked around to the side of the table where he was. It was my plan to avoid getting too close to him but he was standing where all the good food was located and I really wanted some. Jack had put his plate down at this point and was simply leaning against a wooden post, biting into an apple.
He chuckled at my response. "Bloody drunks. All of them, I swear. Never ever trust the drunks," Jack then reached under the table and pulled out a bottle of rum, bit off the top in one swift motion, and began chugging the contents. Was he trying to be sarcastic? Funny? I humored him and chuckled lightly. I stretched over the table to grab a piece of bread when suddenly I felt everything start to sway and my legs give out. My plate dropped to the floor, however before I had hit, I felt myself being lifted upwards. Everything was still spinning but I felt a light few slaps on my face that brought me back to full consciousness. Jack had me propped up and placed me against the wooden post.
"You alright lad?" He was looking into my eyes for the moment, but I quickly closed them shut and started to move away.
"Yeah…yeah I'm fine. Just a little dizzy from the heat that's all." I leaned my head against a different wooden post and tried to move my legs slowly towards the exit. Before I had reached the door, however, Jack was next to me with a new plate of food and had wrapped my arm around his shoulders.
"Even so, how about we get you to your bed and have you rest up? We can't afford the crew to be passing out on us right now," He said as he assisted me down the hall. The stairs weren't easy since my legs still felt fairly weak. I pointed in the direction of my hammock and he helped me onto it, passing me my plate of food and a fork.
"Eat and sleep." He said and spun around to leave but then stopped abruptly, as if mulling over something. My heart sunk. Jack then reached into his boot and pulled out a small bottle of what I could only assume was rum and placed it next to me on the hammock. And just like that, with a charming smile and a wink he was gone. I smiled to myself, taken aback by his kindness. I didn't expect him to be so easygoing. Definitely not what I had pictured when my uncle was telling me stories about him and the countless adventures this man had been on.
I woke up to a dark room, dimly lit by the a few candles spread out across the cabin. Placing my now clean plate on the floor, I began to get up. I felt significantly better than earlier. Looking around the room, it was empty save for one man on the other side who was passed out, half naked, in his hammock. Several loud bangs rumbled above me and I heard what I believed to be cheering of some sort. I'm about to leave, when I notice the bottle of rum Jack had given me, still full, on my bed. I grab it and slide it into my boot. If I don't drink, someone else will.
While walking down the hall towards the deck, the cheering and yelling gets louder to the point where I am debating whether I should just go back inside. What in the world could possibly be going on? I decide to take the risk anyway and step onto the deck.
I am immediately enveloped in a sea of men, raising their arms high in the air, some cheering, and some booing. Names are being screamed loudly, I think I make out Duncan and Scrum. Since I'm so tiny I have the advantage of being able to push myself through the crowds of men to the front, holding onto my hat tightly so no one accidently knocks it off.
Once in the front, I see that a large circle has been formed around Duncan and Scrum, both with swords. Duncan has a huge, confident smile on his face while Scrum looks somewhat defeated, yet still determined.
"Kick his ass Duncan!" Someone screams from the other side of the circle and a good deal of men chime in with agreement. To my left I notice Jack, Barbossa, and Mr. Gibbs all staring in amusement at the swordfight; Barbossa has a large bottle in his hand and passes it along to the other two.
Scrum starts to run at Duncan and just when he looks like he might get him, Duncan twists out of the way and trips Scrum so that he is lying flat on his stomach in defeat. He flips over to face Duncan, who now has the tip of his sword to his throat, smiling arrogantly down at him. Scrum raises both his hands in surrender and the crowd erupts in cheers. I stand there clapping along, secretly wishing Scrum had actually won. Duncan holds out a hand to Scrum who takes it. However, Duncan let's go before Scrum is completely up and he falls back down with a loud thud and the crowd breaks out into hysterics. Scrum rolls his eyes and eventually gets himself up and moves back into the circle. Barbossa then starts walking forward and gives Duncan and congratulatory slap on the back.
"Very nice, very impressive." Barbossa calls out. "Who is the next brave soul who will challenge Sir Duncan to a dual?" Duncan stood there holding out his hands, palms up, and motioning anyone to take him on. The excitement could be felt in the air, and yet no one appeared willing to volunteer. At that moment, I could feel several men shoving each other around behind me, trying to entice each other into stepping up. One of them shoves hard into my back, while another fumbles and knocks me into the circle. I try to steady my legs and regain my balance, but when I do I notice that all eyes are on me. Duncan stares at me in shock for a moment, but then a huge smile spreads across his face. I look around at the crowd who seems amused and then over at Jack whose face went from amused to solemn once he realized who I was. He appeared to be very concerned, as did Mr. Gibbs who was standing next to him, staring at me in confusion. It was clear that they all believed I had volunteered to fight.