Calypso's Children

Chapter Four: Torment on the Sea

They were heading back to the ship by longboat, and the expanse of water never seemed so long as it did that evening, with the island of the cannibals pulling away oh-so slowly, threatening and dismal. Anna sat beside Commodore Norrington, staring at the island like the child who will never see their home again. Norrington said nothing, but could not help but feel regret for the young woman, who had come out of a gruesome tragedy as the only survivor. There was some degree of guilt on the conscience, he knew, for escaping death when others could not.

Anna sighed and turned her head, observing the ship that towered in the distance. It was far more optimistic than the rest of the scenery, but it failed to stir any hope or relief within her. Every day in that cage, surrounded by darkness until the cannibals came in to speak to her in their strange tongue, holding indistinguishable objects out towards her, she had pretended and prayed that the rest of the crew and her father were in the same situation, holding on to faith that one of them, if not her, would break free and rescue the rest. But now she could not hide within that hope, and there was none before her. The Commodore was sent by Lord Cutler Beckett, and so to Lord Beckett she would return, who was a distressing ordeal all by himself. The Commodore had made it clear what Lord Beckett was after, but Anna's discretion of information would not stop him from taking her back to Port Royale, and if she would not tell the Commodore, she knew very well that Lord Beckett would stop at nothing to achieve the information, for he was a man that denied himself nothing. She looked at the Commodore, who stared determinedly off into the sunset. "Take me to Kinsale. Please." she requested.

Commodore Norrington jumped slightly, as if surprised she had spoken. The silence had been so heavy before that her voice, even as quiet and soft as the request had been, cut through like a lighthouse beam in a fog. He looked down at her. "I'm afraid we lack enough rations to get us that far." Norrington had feared that she would ask to be taken somewhere, possibly the residence of a relative, and had made an excuse early on, so that it would be able to roll off of his tongue with confidence.

"The next safe harbor, then." she pressed.

Norrington did his best to look accusatory as he turned on the small bench towards her. "Is there a particular reason you resist making berth in Port Royale? You wouldn't, I hope, be in bad reputation with the law?"

"Most certainly not!" she said, straightening her back indignantly.

Norrington straightened in his seat. "Then you wouldn't oppose a few nights in Port Royale before you are taken to any region of your choosing."

Anna's jaw clenched with agitation. She knew her request would not go over favorably, but on all accounts it never hurt to try. She could not help getting one last barb in, however, "I suppose you are a man of your word, Commodore. One would hope that people given the power to help others would not exploit that power for their own gains. Of course I doubt you are anything like that Lord Beckett." she said, smiling with a venomous sweetness at Norrington.

Norrington could see the smile from the corner of his eye, and refused to acknowledge her, besides saying, "So you have previously been acquainted with Lord Beckett, have you?"

"Yes, he employed my father, Dante Bower." They were almost upon the Legacy, and Anna turned to watch it progressively advance. Norrington had suspected as much about her relationship with Dante. It explained not only her knowledge about Calypso in Salo, but also the reason why they would have a woman as passenger. Generally sailors were superstitious, and would never take females on board unless commanded to do so by a higher authority.

Aboard the Legacy, Norrington turned to lieutenant Gillette. "She's under your charge." he ordered, loud enough that Anna, standing a bit of a ways away with a hand shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked around, heard it as well. They both turned to Norrington upon hearing the statement.

"What?"

"What? Why on earth do I have to have a charge?"

"Safety purposes." he said and turned, making his way down into the hold. Anna followed, and Gillette chased after her. Norrington did not notice his entourage until he was in his office. "May I help you?"

"You haven't yet told me where I am to stay."

"Oh, yes. Gillette, see to her accommodations."

"This way, Miss Bower." Gillette said as he motioned her out of the office. As the door closed Norrington could hear a faint "That was so lazy." from Anna, and could not help but chuckle slightly, while at the same time feeling slightly irked at the impudence of her comment. The chuckle escaped his lips only because he agreed slightly, but his mind was distracted enough without worrying about who was staying where.

Norrington settled into the chair behind his desk, which was only half as grand as the one that decorated Lord Beckett's office in Port Royale. He slid open the drawer and pulled out a bottle of rum from the velvet lined compartment. Some things hadn't changed just yet.

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When Anna first saw Commodore Norrington burst through the door of the little hovel she was imprisoned in, she felt her heart vault into the heavens. She was not directly aware of the things that came out of her mouth until she was outside, and even then she was not able to take her eyes off of him. She shook her head, feeling foolish, while trying to scatter the memories, though the attempt was in vain. She had simply gone mad on that island, to be so infatuated so quickly and easily. Now she was angry, not only because when she first saw his face it felt like her heart was singing, but because it still was. There was an undeniable desire there, beneath the surface, and she did not want to acknowledge it because, as far as she was concerned, the Commodore was against her best interests at hand. No doubt those feelings would drain now that she was among civilization, she assured herself, but however assuring it was, it was still slightly depressing, not being able to have the things one wants.

"Here we are, Miss Bower."

"What?" Anna blinked and looked at Gillette. They were in a room, a standard ship cabin, with a few more than standard decorations. "Oh. Yes. Thank you." Anna began to go farther into the room but stopped. Somebody's belongings were already scattered neatly over the room.

"This was previously my quarters, but it's yours now. There are some uniforms in the armoire over there. You may change, and then I'll return to move my belongings." Gillette explained, backing out of the cabin, his hand ready on the knob of the door.

"Why don't I just stay in an empty room? I think that would be a bit simpler..."

"Oh, no. All of the other quarters are much smaller."

Anna blinked, not quite grasping the disadvantage that the other rooms had to this one. "Well that's no problem at all–." But the door closed without a preference to her opinion. Anna shrugged and peeled her ripe dress off of her dingy skin, making her way over to the basin to wash away as much of the grime as possible. When she gave up trying to feel satisfied with the outcome, she opened the window and poured the disgusting mud-water out, letting it mingle with the sea, and put on an old officer uniform. It didn't seem like something a lieutenant should keep, but perhaps he kept it as a keepsake. She looked down at the gawky garb, baggy in the places where she lacked male anatomy and tight where she exceeded it, but not overly uncomfortable.

Anna walked over to the door and opened it for Lieutenant Gillette, who waited patiently, back turned to the door with his hands clasped behind his back. He turned to look at her and gave her a smile that looked neither happy nor sad. "You know, that's the second time I've had a woman wear that uniform." He said as he walked over to a chest at the foot of the bed.

"Oh?" Anna inquired politely.

"Yes, you've heard of the pirates of the Black Pearl?"

"Yes. That must have been a nightmare."

"Indeed. Well, Miss Swann, the governor's daughter, we rescued her from a tiny island out in the Caribbean, in nothing but her night gown, so I lent her my old officer uniform." He explained as he removed clothes out of the armoire by the armload and laid them gently inside the chest.

"I see."

"She and the Commodore were planning to marry, and probably would have too, if it weren't for that pirate, William Turner, who beat him to the rescue."

"But... I thought you just said you rescued her from the island."

"Oh, we did that time, but Mr. Turner rescued her from the cursed pirates."

"... How many times was she rescued?" she paused. "Did you say Miss Swann and Mr. Norrington were to be married?"

"Yes, he's been heartbroken about her engagement to Mr. Turner. I think he was in love with her."

"Oh..." Anna sighed, a little surprised to feel so dejected. "I hope the Commodore doesn't mind you indulging all of this information to me." She said, hoping the change in topic would help a change in mood. She fingered an intricately carved chandelier that was nailed to the wall.

"Most of the Spanish Main knows about it already. The fight made us all but famous, really. Commodore Norrington was so embarrassed, and was so fierce about restoring honor to himself... I imagine that was the reason he sailed through the hurricane..."

"What?" Anna exclaimed, and with a snap the arm of the chandelier broke off. Anna cursed, something she had learned from years of acquaintance with sailors, and quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment.

"... and completely disappeared for months." Gillette continued, clearly trying to pretend he had not seen, or heard, what just happened. "He lost his title, his honor, and became part of Jack Sparrow's crew."

"Jack Sparrow? Him I've heard of." Anna was also pretending nothing had happened, looking around for a place to hide the broken brass arm.

"A complete loon, and a total idiot." Gillette stated, clicking the chest closed. "Mad with the heat, or rum, or something. Anyways, that's how he got here. Recovered Davy Jones's heart and delivered it to Lord Beckett, who restored his title. He told me the entire story on our way to the island where we found you. Quite an adventure."

Anna stuck the chandelier arm in the drawer of a small stationery desk to the left of the door to the room. "Fate is a funny thing."

Gillette left at last, trailing the last of his luggage, and Anna had nothing left to do but to sit on the edge of the bed and stare out of the window. It was then, for some reason, that reality hit. It was not that she had been living in a fantasy life until that moment, but the weight of what happened finally struck, breaking through the reigning numbness with a force that swelled like a tempest inside of her. Her family was dead. The entire crew, people she had grown to care about, were gone forever. She had been on that island for so long, dreading the worst while hoping for the best, but it was that night that she finally mourned her loss.

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At what point was it acceptable for a person to give in to the fact that they would never be ultimately successful in their endeavors? James Norrington swirled the rum in one of Beckett's crystal tasters as he reflected on his past. It was difficult coming to terms with the events that had happened, as surreal as they were, but harder still was the realization that everything he had hoped to accomplish backfired. Had he tried too hard, and, in doing so, lost everything? It was impossible for him to see how he had deserved the losses, after fighting so hard for the proverbial side of good, while those that blatantly defied the law and took what they would for themselves ended up with the very thing they had wanted most. Simply taking what one desired certainly did work, Norrington had discovered, but he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Such deviousness would have a consequence, or it should, at least. Norrington swallowed nearly half of the rum in the glass, hoping, slightly, that there would be repercussions to his actions, so that at least one bad thing in his life would be justified.

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Author's Note: The paragraph rulers aren't working for some reason. This chapter took way too long, I know, and I'm not at all happy with it. Yet I couldn't abandon it any longer. I've been working on it little by little this entire month, in the space of time that I couldn't sleep and wasn't working. Transitions are always the hardest, in life and in stories, and it is harder still when you have to deal with several in both reality and fantasy. But I think the frame has finally been set in place, so I can continue with ease. Somewhat.