Disclaimer: I still only own Christine and Anne. Still no word from Disney about giving me the rights to the franchise.
Author's Note: Flashback chapter three is underway. If all goes well, this will be the last one. Then the plot will continue forward. Special thanks to all those who have listened to me babbling on and on about the plot possibilities for this story and for help with making it work out. You know who you are.
MQMQMQMQMQMQMQMQ
Caribbean Tales
Book I—Curse of the Black Pearl
Chapter Four: The Pain of Burns and Further Loss
Port Royal was near, if Mr. Gibbs was to be believed. And Will certainly believed the older man. We were told to expect to see the small town within the next few days, unless the weather worked against us. Which, I hoped, did not happen. Not that I had much planned for when we did reach the city. Will would probably enter an apprenticeship with one of the tradesman in the city, but I had no idea what I would do. We would need to support ourselves, something that I couldn't do without some form of employment.
Nothing came to mind. I couldn't do what I had done when we were still in London, which had been to dress as a boy and work at the docks. With so many people—including the bloody governor—knowing who I was and what I looked like when we arrived there, it wasn't an option at this point. I would be no good as a seamstress, as the only sewing I was capable at was mending and making sails. That and patching up holes in clothes, but I only managed that with a great deal of finger pricking involved. I couldn't be a school teacher. I had only the basic education myself, so I wasn't fit to teach children. All that left me was being a maid of some sort, and I had no idea how to start that.
I was reasonably worried at this point. How could I support my brother without any sort of employment to allow me to do so? It did not seem like I would have any options open to me when we reached our destination.
A solution didn't present itself to me until Lieutenant Norrington came to me only a day or so before we were due to arrive in Port Royal. I had just left Will to play with the two young girls, Anne and Elizabeth. He had already grown quite fond of Elizabeth, though he wouldn't tell me why. Norrington had been kind to us, and seemed to approve of the friendship that his sister shared with the other two children. He even seemed to like my brother. That was good in my minds. That meant that he could perhaps recommend Will to a capable tradesman for an apprenticeship.
I glanced over my shoulder as Lieutenant Norrington came up to stand beside me. "Miss Turner," he greeted politely, nodding to me.
"Hello, Lieutenant," I replied, turning back to looking out at the ocean. I had almost forgotten how much I loved being on the open ocean like this. Surrounded by the water with the salt breeze playing with my hair and skirts…it was freedom. "Is there anything that I can do for you?" I asked, glancing at the man standing beside me.
"Actually…Miss Turner…" he said slowly, glancing at me in turn. "I believe that I can be the one to help you."
He had my full attention now. I turned to look at him and arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh? How so?"
For a moment the two of us simply stared at one another, and I felt the heat rising in my cheeks. Finally, Norrington seemed to come to his senses and cleared his throat softly.
"I have heard your brother mention that you are in need of some sort of employment when we reach Port Royal," he said, pointedly looking away from me and at the ocean. "I believe that I may have a solution for you."
I tried to ignore the burning sensation in my cheeks. I knew that Will worried about me, just as I fussed over him, but talking about our difficulties to a man we hardly knew…was not something I had expected of him. Will was a quiet boy, normally, and he rarely confided in anyone but me. To have him tell Lieutenant Norrington that I was in need of employment…I was torn between being touched by Will's concern and embarrassment.
"Oh…" I said slowly. "What…what sort of solution?" I asked, having to pause to clear my throat.
Norrington cleared his throat as well and rocked on his heels slightly. "My sister will be in need of a Lady's maid when we reach Port Royal, and she is already quite fond of you and your brother. It would…suit me quite well to have you take that position, so that Anne might have a companion she is comfortable with."
I blinked in amazement at this. He was…truly offering me such a good position, and he did not know me that well. I couldn't help but wonder, if he knew what I had been, would he still be so kind to me? Out of instinct, I moved my left hand to cover my right wrist, staring down at the foam on the caps of the waves below us.
"Lieutenant…this is…" I started to say, clearing my throat hastily and nodding. "Thank you. I am honored and…I would enjoy this position."
Norrington looked relieved and bowed politely. "Thank you, Miss Turner. I will go and inform Anne of this." He smiled kindly and nodded before he made his way below decks.
Once he was gone, I allowed my shock to sink in and stared out at the ocean. I had to keep on my guard now. I had overheard Norrington's very…intense thoughts on how piracy should be punished, and it truly made me nervous. The last thing that I wanted was an enemy who felt so strongly about the lifestyle that had been my past, and who would not hesitate to send me to the gallows if he found out. God…I hoped he never found out.
MQMQMQMQMQMQMQMQ
After my…moment with Jack—I could not call him "Captain" or even "Sparrow" in my mind now. He was always Jack—I had no idea how to act around the older man. So I settled for avoiding him. After all, what was I supposed to do after what happened? It wasn't as though we had really kissed. Though, I couldn't help wondering why we hadn't.
And now I was starting to scare myself. I didn't want anything like that with Jack. He was so much older than me, and…the captain of the ship I was serving on. It wasn't as though he was exactly accessible to me. Why was I even considering this?
So I threw myself into the tasks that were given to me by all of the different members of the crew. Though I did my best to avoid coming in contact with the first mate, Barbossa. He frightened me, and I had no idea why that was the case. Perhaps it was his unusually vicious appearance, or just the fact that he always had a look in his eyes as though he could see right through my disguise to the few feminine traits that I had. Either way, he was usually the only crew member that I tried to never speak to, or be alone with.
Still, I did my best to keep up my act as Christopher Sawyer. The last thing that I wanted was to be revealed now. What the crew would do when they found out I was a girl…wasn't worth thinking about.
All of that came crashing down after I had been with the Black Pearl for almost a year, in a way that none of us could have foreseen.
We had made a successful attack on a merchant ship belonging to the East India Company, and all seemed to be going well. The crew was already celebrating, and I had been running wild, taking rum to all the different men who were bellowing for it, which happened to be almost everyone. Even the captain and first mate were letting the high spirits get to them, cheering and celebrating with the rest of the men. And while I was just as excited as everyone else, I couldn't shake a feeling of impending trouble. I had no explanation for the feeling, but it persisted as I continued carrying bottles of rum around.
It wasn't until there was a shout from the watch in the crow's nest that I realized why I was so worried. The raid had been too easy. One ship all alone…it was too good to be true, and now we were paying for our overconfidence. Another East India Company ship was coming. For one moment, both Jack and I froze in comprehension of what was going to happen, our eyes meeting in shock before we both sprang into action.
"Man the guns, ye filthy dogs!" Jack barked, moving to take the helm himself. "Every man ready!"
I tried to push through the sudden rush of men to get to my father, but the press of humanity was too great. Instead of moving forward, I was just pushed back, further away from the one person that I wanted to keep an eye on. I had to make sure that the both of us made it through the inevitable battle. It was the only way for me to stay sane in this moment of action and frenzy.
For a few moments, all I could see or hear were the other crew members shouting and pressing against me. Once I regained my ability to think clearly, I found my father shouting orders at the men nearest him as he helped to run out the guns. With him now where I could keep close watch, I ran to grab a sword, or a pistol. Anything that could help me keep my father and I safe.
After the initial frenzy of motion, there was an almost deathly silence surrounding the ship as we waited for the enemy vessel to draw within firing range. The tension built up within all of us, and I could feel the sweat forming on my forehead. I didn't want this fight. I just wanted to get away from the other ship as quickly as we could. It was too late for that now, though, and I had to steel myself for the impending chaos of battle.
In the year I had been with this ship, I had been in battle several times. It never got easier. The screams of wounded and dying men, the shriek of canon and rifle fire, and the crushing sounds of wood splintering haunted me for days after each conflict. I hated it. Others on the crew seemed to live for the chaos and horror of a fight, but I was not one of them. I didn't think that I ever would be one of them. At least, I sincerely hoped that I wouldn't.
Finally, I heard the shout from Jack as the East India Company ship came within range.
"FIRE ALL!"
For a moment, I was afraid that I had lost my hearing after the roar of canons firing filled the air, but that quickly changed as I heard the canon balls hit their target. Hastily scrambling back to begin grabbing extra ammunition for the men working the canons, I almost didn't notice Jack's reaction to the other ship after his first shouted order. When I finally got a chance to look at him, I was shocked to see that he had frozen. His dusky skin had lost almost all its color, even his lips were white, and he seemed unable to form any words as he stared at the other ship's captain.
Turning to follow his gaze, I saw a man who did not look like any East India Company captain I had ever seen before. He was almost frighteningly well-kept in appearance, and from what I could see, shorter than all the other men surrounding him. It turned out that my first assumption that he was the captain of the vessel proved to be wrong, as I saw a man in a captain's uniform walking around barking orders. But Jack wasn't looking at the captain. His gaze was fixed on the first man I had noticed. The one with the chilling look in his eyes and seemingly no expression.
A chill ran down my spine, and I nearly dropped the canon ball I was holding. Thankfully, I was able to regain some control of myself before that happened, and I once more returned to the battle. Guns went off in rapid succession, both above and below decks, and the sound was deafening. Still, Jack kept his eyes on the strange man on the other ship. What was so important about this man, I couldn't help wondering. No answer presented itself as the battle raged on. Until I spotted several members of the other ship's crew preparing to board the Pearl. Another chill ran through me.
"Cap'n!" I shouted. "Enemies abou' ta board!"
That snapped Jack out of his stupor, and he began barking orders again, shouting at the men on the deck of the ship to prepare for enemies boarding. That included me. Gripping the sword I had snatched up tightly, I swallowed harshly and set my jaw. All I had to do was survive this day and pray that my father did the same. Simple…
Then the enemy was boarding and all other thoughts were chased from my mind. I hardly knew what I was doing as I slashed and swung my sword as hard as I could anytime a uniformed man came near me. In the back of my mind I was vaguely aware of someone shouting an order…and it sounded ominous. Then the cold voice managed to pierce through the battle-induced fog surrounding my mind.
"Take what prisoners you can! Kill the rest."
Prisoners…that meant that those of us caught would be taken to London, or whatever British port was nearest to us, put on trial and executed. And if I was taken, then my secret would be revealed, and I would have to go home to London. If my father was captured, then he would die and Will and Mama would never see him again. Will would grow up thinking that his father had abandoned him, and I couldn't let that happen.
A new fire seemed to enter my blood as I thought of this. Whatever doubts and fears had prevented me from fighting as hard as I could vanished, and I began stabbing the sailors who attacked me. Before, I had done my best to avoid killing, but knowing that if I didn't, I would lose my father forever…it became another matter entirely.
As I fought and slashed my way through my attackers, I suddenly found myself with my arms pinned to my sides. The sword was thrown out of my hands and it was only when I felt myself lifted off the ground that my sudden danger became clear. Throwing aside any care I had left for keeping my gender a secret, I screamed at the top of my lungs for help, my voice shrill with fear.
I could see my father somewhere in the chaos, but he was too far away. So was Jack…I was alone.
No…
…When I opened my eyes, I was in a ship's hold. Without looking around, I knew instantly that I was not onboard the Pearl. I couldn't see or hear anyone else. Had I been the only one who had been captured? If so, I didn't know if I was more hurt or relieved by this fact. If I was the only one, that meant that fewer of us would be executed; it also meant that I had not been fast or strong enough.
Hot tears filled my eyes, and I moved to curl up as tightly as I could in the corner, my back pressed against the cold, damp metal of the bars keeping me in. I was going to die. That much I was sure of. The East India Trading Company was not known for its merciful treatment of pirates, after all. If the stories were to be believed, then I was not likely to get a fair trial from the Company. It was all my fault. I shouldn't have snuck onto the Pearl when I knew that this sort of thing might happen. And yet, even knowing this, I couldn't bring myself to regret my choices that had brought me here.
Besides…I was sure that my father would find me. He would know I was missing and force Jack to follow the ship to get me back. I hoped.
I couldn't deny that there would be reasons for my father to not follow. It would reveal who I was to the crew, it would put the Pearl in danger, and it would probably end in everyone dead no matter what. And so, I resigned myself to my fate. I was going to die, and soon if whoever was captaining this ship had their way.
Even knowing this and accepting it as fact, I couldn't hold back the tears that were filling my eyes. I didn't want to die. Of course, no one wants to die. But I was still young. I still had things that I wanted to do and goals I wanted to achieve. I wanted to continue to sail the seas, and maybe find a way to reunite my family again, as I had originally intended to do when I first decided to follow my father.
Fate can be cruel sometimes.
I don't know how long I was in that hold. It could have been days, weeks, even months. I lost all track of time in that tiny little cage, the monotony only broken by the times when one of the guards would bring me my meals. Soon even that began to fade into the background for me, as despair took over. If Jack had been intent on getting me back, he would have attempted to do so by now. Clearly, a young cabin boy wasn't worth the notice of a great pirate captain like Jack Sparrow.
I later learned that two weeks had passed since I was taken by the East India Company when this finally changed. The guard who came to collect me made no attempt to be gentle with me, grabbing hold of my arm so tightly I could almost feel the bruises forming on my skin. He dragged me through the ship until we reached the private cabins of the various officers and such on the ship.
As he led me along, a sense of foreboding began to build up inside of my chest. Why did these officers suddenly want to see me? I was just a cabin boy, as far as they were concerned. Unless they wanted to question me before we reached whatever our destination was…
My thoughts were cut off by the door to one of the cabins opening and an amazingly chilled and controlled voice calling out, "Enter!"
I couldn't breathe suddenly as I was shoved into the room, stumbling forward, I fell to my knees and looked up to see the man I had noticed during the battle on the Black Pearl. He was smaller than I had anticipated, and yet he had a presence that intimidated me so much that I decided to stay on my knees rather than stand up and look him in the eye. His eyes were unfeeling and harsh, and almost painful to look at because of how frighteningly iblue/i they were. Swallowing harshly, I clenched my hands into fists to hide how badly they were quivering.
"Leave us," the man ordered the guard who had brought me in.
"Should I not chain him, Mr. Beckett?" the guard asked, glancing at me with a frown.
The shorter man looked down at me thoughtfully and then nodded. "Yes. That might be best, given what must be done. Chain him and then leave us."
Saluting smartly, the guard dragged me to one of the walls and placed shackles on my wrists, threading the chain through a ring in the wall, which made me wonder how many others had been brought here to be interrogated. The thought made my stomach churn sickeningly and I swallowed again, trying to keep the bile from rising in my throat. With the way I was now chained to the wall, my arms were twisted painfully to the side and up above my head, forcing me to face the wall directly perpendicular to the one I was chained too. To keep an eye on my current tormentor, I had to crane my neck in such a manner that the muscles of my neck were screaming in protest.
This man—Beckett, he had been called—paced the floor directly in front of me for a moment or two, his silence as chilling as his tone had been. I waited with baited breath, mentally yelling at him to just get on with it.
"So. You have been serving under the great Captain Jack Sparrow," he mused. "I wonder…things are never what they seem with Sparrow…"
Still mulling over this, he stepped towards me, the look in his eyes sending off all kinds of warning signals in my mind. And yet, there was nothing I could do to stop him as he reached up and yanked the hat and bandana covering my hair off. In the time that I had been with the crew of the Pearl, my hair had almost grown back to its original length, so my hair tumbled down just past my shoulders, almost to my shoulder blades. A few strands fell in front of my eyes and I looked at Beckett from behind my hair with a glare that I hoped was defiant.
Apparently this was not quite what Beckett had expected, as he did pause for a moment, but he did manage to keep any surprise he was feeling from his expression. Instead, an icy smile crossed his lips as he looked at me. "How interesting," he murmured thoughtfully, taking in the sight of my vibrant hair. "Yes…once again, Captain Jack Sparrow does not fail to impress me with his sheer audacity. A woman as a cabin boy…"
He turned away from me, chuckling to himself and calmly placing my bandana and hat on a table next to what looked like a small bed of coals in an iron brazier of some sort. That made my entire body tense, as though ready to spring. Not that the instinct would do me any good at this point. Sticking out of the coals was a long metal bar, and my imagination instantly ran wild with what it might be. One idea was the most obvious; a pirate brand.
I whimpered a little to myself as Beckett stoked the coals, causing them to glow brighter before he took out the brand and inspected its red hot surface with all the disinterest of a man looking at an everyday occurrence.
"Do you understand the gravity of your situation, Miss?" he asked slowly, still eyeing the brand thoughtfully.
My voice could not move past the sudden lump in my throat, so I remained silent. It was the smarter option at this point, as I doubted that anything I could say would sway Beckett one way or another.
"You have committed acts of piracy," he continued, clearly not having expected an answer from me. "And as such, you must be punished." Here, he turned to me, the brand still in hand, and sneered slightly at me. "This may sting just a bit."
I began thrashing, trying to pull free of the chains holding me. While I knew that such attempts were useless, the age-old instinct to fight or flee had kicked in, and I only knew that I had to get away from here, before he could touch my skin with that brand. But, as I had expected, I could not succeed in this attempt, and Beckett pressed the brand to the skin on the back of my right wrist.
Searing pain unlike anything I had ever felt before shot through my arm, causing me to twitch violently as a shrill scream of agony ripped itself out of my throat. Tears filled my eyes and flowed down my cheeks as my legs gave out, sending me into an awkward half-kneeling, half-crouching position with my arms twisted painfully above my head. The discomfort of how my arms were now positioned was nothing compared to the white-hot pain still lancing through my body, generating from my wrist.
Finally, the heat causing my pain was gone, but the screaming ache and agony were still present. Further tears of pain flowed down my cheeks, and my throat was raw from my almost inhuman screech from before. I didn't dare lift my head to look at Beckett, for fear of what I might see in his expression. All I wanted now, was for the pain to end somehow. I would almost welcome death now, if only that would make it disappear.
"Well," Beckett said briskly. "That is one nuisance dealt with…"
At that moment, the ship heaved violently, combined with the booming thud of a cannonball colliding with the wood of the stern. Looking up dully, I tried to will myself to believe that I was saved, that my father had convinced Jack to come after me. No such hopes were awakened as I looked around the room. They wouldn't find me here. This ship would either escape or destroy the Pearl before they ever managed to board and search for me. My eyes stung with fresh tears and I once more lowered my face so that my arm hid my expression from Beckett's view.
The sounds of battle raged on, and when I looked up again, I discovered that I was alone in the room. Beckett must have left to see what the bloody hell was going on. All the better to allow me to further sink into the crushing despair that threatened to overcome me. I closed my eyes again, and only opened them when I felt a pair of strong, calloused hands touching my face, clearly in an attempt to wake me. As I opened my eyes, I was amazed to see both my father and Jack standing before me.
"She's awake, William," Jack said with clear relief in his voice. "Have ye foun' the key?" he continued, his eyes never leaving my face.
For a moment—one mad, wild moment—I panicked. This was a dream. Or worse, I was dying and hallucinating in my last moments alive. The panic remained until I stared directly into Jack's eyes. No…this was real. The pain in my wrist combined with the look of determination and fear in Jack's eyes proved that.
"Here!" my father called, rushing over and unlocking the manacles on my wrists. "Christine…" he whispered, gathering me into his arms as I fell forward bonelessly, my eyes burning from all the tears I had already shed.
Jack kept back in this moment, watching the two of us closely and frowning. "We have ta go. Cover her hair, an' we'll ge' outta here, afore anyone else finds their way in here." That was when his eyes fell onto my right wrist, and his expression froze into a mask of such fury that I recoiled a little from him. "William…they branded her."
I strongly suspect that I swooned at that moment from the combined exhaustion and pain, because when I woke again, I was once more in the cabin I shared with my father. It was almost as though I had never been taken from the Pearl. Almost…except for the pain in my wrist. When I looked down to inspect it, I found that it had been wrapped in cold, wet bandages to both soothe the burning skin and to ensure that the wound would heal at all. Looking away from my wrist, I turned to see my father watching me closely.
"Ye're awake, finally…" he said with a heavy sigh. "How d'ye feel?"
"Like hell," I croaked, wincing at how raw my throat felt.
"I believe it," he replied, sighing heavily and coming over to stroke my hair softly. "Christine…ye have ta return ta England…"
MQMQMQMQMQMQMQMQ
I forced the memories back once more, pressing my hand against my pirate brand as I looked into the distance. This time I could start again. A new life, where no one knew me at all. This was the last option I had to leave behind my past, and I intended to embrace it wholeheartedly.
