Disclaimer: I do not own POTC or its characters, but in this chapter I own Desirae and the plot. Please, no flame, but I'm open for criticism. Thanks!
~*~*~Chapter #4~*~*~
Desirae sat in her cell, watching as a little crab climbed up the wall with other tiny sea creatures. It seemed so content—so worry-free as it scurried around amongst the other creatures. Desirae found herself whishing she was that crab, that way she'd have no qualms. She shook her head, however, quickly dismissing such thoughts. 'Stop it, Dezi. Wallowing in self pity won't help the situation.'
She closed her eyes briefly. She knew she'd end up here someday, but she never really thought much of it or what it'd be like. This ship was full of the Old Scratch, and its king was going to confront her when he saw it fit. She could be there for days!
"You know, you should be more careful around the captain."
Desirae looked up sharply in the middle of the sentence, but she relaxed upon seeing Bootstrap standing there. She stared at him.
"You don't know me, Bootstrap, nor do you know my purpose here. So if you will please mind your own business, it would be appreciated." She looked back forward again, her face stone set.
"And what might that be?"
"That is strictly between Jones and me. I don't share personal information with people I just met, Bootstrap."
"Fair enough…" He studied her closely. "But I still encourage you to be careful. The captain is famous for his harsh and unpredictable temper. He'll sick the bo'sun on you in a second."
"Like I said before, a little lashing isn't going to scare me. I've been through much worse."
"The bo'sun is the least of your problems when it comes to the captain. Yes, he prides himself from cleaving flesh from bone with every swing, but if you give the captain a reason to flog you himself… you can say goodbye to more than just skin."
"Well, if he thinks he needs to strike fear into people to make them listen to him that's his problem. He hasn't gotten to know me yet and what I'm capable of. If he thinks I'm going to back down and cower under his wrath he's got something else coming."
"You are too rebellious for your own good," said Bootstrap with a defeated nature. "No one has ever stood up to the captain like you do."
She merely shrugged. "If not me then who?" She looked at him, a glint of meaningfulness in her eyes. Bootstrap stared back, thinking about her words. The girl was a bit bold, but she also displayed certain moments of wisdom. She was beyond her years and it only made him more curious as to who she really was.
"And what might you be doing down here, Mr. Turner?"
Both Desirae and Bootstrap looked in the direction of the voice, and Bootstrap straightened upon seeing it was his captain.
"Forgive me, Captain, I was just—"
"Getting back to work?" Jones finished for him, his voice smooth but threatening.
"…Yes, sir…"
Jones waited for the crewman to disappear back on deck before turning his full attention to Desirae. She wasn't even looking at him, flicking random shells across the cell.
"So have you decided what to do with me yet?" she asked bluntly, staring straight ahead and away from him.
"Indeed I have. If ye don't tell me what ye're doing on me ship this little chat session, then it's down to the depths with ye. That's what I've decided," Jones said, with a growl in his tone. He glared at Desirae, threatening her for like the billionth time that day.
Desirae turned and looked at him. "If I'm not mistaken, you should know why I'm here. Or did you forget about this too?"
Reaching down, she held up the pendant by the chain for him to see. The jewel center glimmered in the dim light, the little part hanging from the bottom corner spinning. Jones leaned in a little closer to get a better look, and he suddenly paused before looking up at Desirae.
"Aye... where did ye get this?"
"Then you should know why I'm here then!" Desirae suddenly stood and turned to face him fully. "I'm here because of you! Apparently I serve some purpose in something, and it's all because of you!"
"And this purpose is…?" Jones trailed off, raising a brow at her. This girl was beginning to make him curious. How did this woman know Aquila? And what did she mean by "I'm here because of you."
'There's only one logical explanation,' a voice in Jones' mind replied. 'No, that can't be it! The chosen one would have to be her child…'
"Hey, it escapes my mind," said Desirae to answer his question, causing him to turn back to her. "But my foster parents told me about how one day I might end up here—"
"How do ye know Aquila?" he cut her off.
"She was my mother, of course!" snapped Desirae impatiently.
Jones paused. A long moment of silence followed after that, and it wasn't long after did Desirae begin to grow impatient. However, he suddenly got a sly smirk and chuckled while nodding.
"Ha… are you now? What an interesting little fact…"
"So happy that you have your information, but I'd like mine!" Desirae said. "What is my purpose aboard this rotten ship?"
Jones glared at her angrily, momentarily forgetting their conversation. "Be careful whose ship ye be mockin'! And yer mother handed ye over t' me, if that sparks an interest in ye!"
Desirae froze. "Excuse me?"
"When she gave birch to you, she put you in my care—asked me to watch over ye. What… shocked that ye're related to the Devil of the Seas?" he cackled.
Her face immediately turned from shock to anger. "Well you wouldn't tell by appearance, that's for sure!"
Jones suddenly shot his arm through the bars and moved to seize Desirae by the throat with his claw, but she was lean and nimble and managed to narrowly maneuver around the attack and jump out of his reach.
"Violent as usual, I see. Just as the legends describe. Well, it's not going to get us anywhere, now is it?!"
He was at boiling point right now. "I do not and will not take any disobedience from my crew. Ye are no acceptation!" he spoke in a growl through his teeth.
Desirae sighed. "Look, screaming at each other like this isn't going to solve anything. I don't want any trouble…" And it was actually true. She really didn't want any trouble. She just wanted answers. "If you know my mother, then you must know about the Superlative Brethren, yes?"
"No, I do not know of this Superlative Brethren. I may have met your mother, but it does not mean I am familiar with any of your strange customs. I took ye from yer mother when she asked for the mere reason we used to know each other when I wasn't captain of the Dutchman. However, I couldn't take a baby on board, so, by the references of your mother, I left ye in the hands of—"
"You dumped me, I grew up, and now we're here, yeah I get the gist of it, but that doesn't answer my question!" Desirae took a step forward. "How old are you now? Well, whatever it is, I've been alive just a few decades short of you! How is that possible? Even to this day I can't figure out the answer! You are Davy Jones, so I'm asking you… HOW?!"
"Again, I can't provide ye with an answer! I only knew yer mother for a few years, and she seemed as normal as ever! So stop bloody yellin' at me, woman, because I could know less!" He then looked at her strangely. "Why are ye complainin'? Ye should be thankin' whoever did this to ye!"
"Well I'm not! I've watched all my friends and 'family' die before me! Everyone keeps dying, come to think of it, and I'm the only one still alive when they shouldn't be. I want it to end! Or I at least want an answer as to why!" she shouted, immensely frustrated by this point.
Jones glared at her hard, and Desirae glared right back. Both of them were seething. Jones couldn't bring himself to believe the woman had disobeyed like she was. His mind was working hard to find a way around this. The crew could not know about her or her mother. It would deface him and the fear that loomed over the ship and the sea that made them work would disappear.
"The only answer I'll give ye is that ye stay on this ship and see what ye find out," Jones snapped. "However, if ye so choose NOT to serve on this ship…well, ye seem to know me, so I'm guessin' ye know the rest." He grinned sinisterly at this.
Desirae stared at him along minute, already in deep thought. She had known this moment would come most of her life, but should she stay for something like that? It seemed not worth it, no matter how you put it. But she wanted answers, and she had gone so far to get it. There was no turning back now. And this purpose… could she ignore it if it were really true? Inhaling quietly and exhaling through her nose, she looked up at him with a stony gaze.
"I have a feeling I'm making a mistake doing this… but I'm choosing to stay on this ship…"
And with that fatal word, Jones grabbed her hand through the bars and shook, leaving the black spot brand on her hand. Just looking at her hand hade Desirae want to hurl. It was covered in green slime, but that wasn't what bothered her most. The mark seemed to be moving and growing, digging further into her skin.
"Fascinating," she said, her voice soft as she stared at her hand.
Jones "hmphed", stood, and turned to limp away.
"I am of little use in here, Jones," she called after him.
Jones didn't even bother to answer and disappeared up the stars, the patterned thunking of his crab leg echoing in Desirae's head. Staring after him a moment, she sighed while letting go of the bars and crashed in her little corner. She was in the crew now, why did he leave her here? She looked back to the brand on her palm. It was a permanent reminder of her decision and her future. By that point, if Desirae hadn't already regretted her choice, she was now. 'Lord, take me now…'
"Move yer worthless hide, ye wench! Captain wants ye on deck!"
Desirae was rudely awoken from her sleep by a kick in the side, and she snapped her eyes open to look up at her rooster. It was the bo'sun. Great.
"I said get up, ye wretch! Captain's orders!"
"Yeah, I'm up, I'm up, don't have a heart attack." Desirae went to get up, but she was suddenly hit back to the floor.
"Watch yer tongue, whelp! And get on deck!" He stormed from the cell, leaving the door open for her to follow. She begrudgingly did so, grumbling things under her breath as she went. Why was everyone n this ship so miserable? 'Well, it's kind of obvious, isn't it, Dezi?' She sighed inwardly. Yes, this would be a very long trip. 'Wonder what my fun-filled day will be like…'
It was pouring out. It wasn't as bad as the day she'd come aboard the Dutchman, but it was raining hard enough to make work miserable. However, it seemed she wasn't the only one having a rough time....
"Aiya!"
Desirae looked up from her work, over at the prow, and she raised an eyebrow upon seeing Hadras's head rolling across the deck, through the rain. She stared after it a moment before turning to where Hadras's body was groping around for its head, which was shouting directions at it.
"No! To the right! No, no! Turn around!"
Desirae winced when the body crashed into—Maccus.
"No…. Dat's the first mate…"
"Hadras, get yer head back on yer shoulders and get back to work!" Maccus grumpily shoved the body out of this way, and because it had no head it lost balance and toppled over. Desirae furrowed her brow. 'That was mean…'
"All right, ye idjit, get up."
She looked over towards Hadras's body again and raised her eyebrow once more when she saw that Clanker was helping the man back up. 'Well, that's different…' She began to wonder if she should lend a hand too. Hadras had been decent enough to her…. Should she return the favor?
Sudden loud, cackling laughter could be heard, and Desirae turned just as Jimmy Legs kicked Hadras's head and sent it skidding across the deck. The bo'sun laughed some more, and Clanker spoke up finally.
"Come on, bo'sun, leave 'im alone!"
"Mind yer business and get back to work, Clanker! Lest ye want a kiss from the Cat!"
Clanker's mouth glued shut. He didn't dare respond. Desirae shook her head in disbelief. Who did that guy think he was?
"Hey, back off!"
Jimmy Legs looked up at her sharply, as she walked across the deck towards Hadras's head. Clanker watched her through narrowed eyes, and from afar Bootstrap was keeping a wary eye on Desirae. 'I have a bad feeling about this…' Jimmy Legs seemed to growl.
"Mind yerself, whelp! And get back to work!"
Desirae didn't say a word as she bent over to pick Hadras's head off the ground.
"Oh, thanks, lass!"
She glanced down at him. "Sure…. This happen often?"
"More than I'd like."
"Ah." She walked over to where Clanker stood with the body in handed it over.
"Thanks, lass." The body took the head, and from beside it Clanker looked up at Desirae with the same suspicious expression. Desirae ignored him completely and was about to go back to her work, when a hand roughly grabbed her arm and spun her around.
"Whelp, I thought I told ye to—"
"Go to Hell!" She roughly yanked her arm from the bo'sun's grip. That was when Bootstrap stepped forward.
"Dezi!" he hissed, through his teeth.
"I swear, when I get off this ship, I'll have your head on a platter!" Desirae snarled, glaring into his eyes hatefully. "Why do you feel you have to pick on everyone, huh? Are you that insecure—" She was cut off, however, when she was suddenly slapped across the face by the bo'sun.
"What's this?" she heard a gruff voice shout.
"We got ourselves a slacker here, sir!" answered Jimmy Legs.
"Do we now?" Jones gave Desirae an analyzing glare, which she returned coldly. "Let's introduce her to the Cat then? Five lashes." He shoved her towards the bo'sun.
"Do your worst, you bloody devil! I don't fear you! Damn you to Hell, though it seems that you're already there!" she yelled. Jones glared at her dangerously. From amongst the crowd, Bootstrap shoved through to the front of the group.
"Dezi, don't—"
"Seven lashes!" snarled Jones.
The beating was brutal and relentless, but Desirae held her ground through the whole thing. She didn't cry out, and she didn't give in. By the time Jimmy Legs was finished, she was soaked in blood, which was mixing in with the heavy rain. She lifted her head to glare at Jones, but he had already gone. Then suddenly, a dark chuckle emitted from one of the crewmembers.
"Seems the little wench doesn't know her place… like many women." Desirae slowly turned her head as Jimmy Legs spoke. He grinned at her, but before she could say anything Bootstrap came in and grabbed her arm to lead her away.
"Come on, lass, he isn't worth it."
It was obvious she wasn't any more calm as she reluctantly let him lead her away, but she decided to let it be for now and brush it off, instead helping Bootstrap with some ropes.
"Well, I wouldn't expect anything else from you, Bootstrap," continued Jimmy Legs, as they walked off.
Desirae tensed. She continued to coil ropes with Bootstrap, ignoring the bo'sun; however, he spoke again.
"What's the matter, missy? Nothin' to say fer once? What a shame. I was hopin' ye could tell me why ye're such an opposite from a lady in the first place," Jimmy Legs sneered.
Desirae continued to ignore him, and Bootstrap sighed.
"Bo'sun, leave the girl alone. She's learned her lesson for now, go bother someone else."
"Awe, what's the matter, Mr. Turner? Does it bother you I'm teasin' the girl?" Jimmy Legs taunted, in a baby voice.
"Yes, as a matter-of-fact, it does. Now please leave." Bootstrap turned back to his work, and Desirae sent him a sideways glance and small smile. Jimmy Legs shook his head in disgust.
"What a shame. Can't take care of your own, so ye take someone else's instead. Whatever." He finally turned away to go back to his job, but he added one more thing while turning. "It's not my problem anyway. Us men are interested in ladies, and the ones that aren't always take after their slut mothers."
Desirae suddenly clenched her teeth and slammed the rope down on a barrel. That was it.
As Jimmy Legs was walking across the deck, he didn't expect what was coming. Fast as lightning, someone flew in from nowhere and shoved the bo'son out of the way. He let out a surprised shout and stumbled into a few nearby crewmembers, who managed to catch him by the arms. Everyone seemed shocked by the sudden attack, and all heads looked over to see Desirae standing there, her shoulders squared and feet posed in a heated stance. A few surprised voices were heard in the form of mumbles, as the bo'sun managed to get back on his feet. He looked up at Desirae angrily and snapped his whip in her direction.
"You! Whelp! That's ten more lashes!"
"Dezi!" shouted Bootstrap.
Desirae strode over to the abhorrent bo'sun, and he immediately got an irate look and threatening snarl. He approached her.
"You got a problem, little slut?" he said dangerously.
"Yes, as a matter-of-fact, I do," replied Desirae, somewhat calmly.
Bootstrap turned away from his work just as Hadras ran forward.
"Srorms, don't!" he shouted.
Suddenly, Maccus and a crewman made completely from orange-colored coral, Palifico, were suddenly walking towards the scene, and they along with Jimmy Legs surrounded her on three sides.
"Whelp," Desirae calmly turned her head to Maccus as he approached her, "I'd get back to work, wench."
"What are you gonna do about it?"
There was a brief pause, when Desirae suddenly jerked to the side and shoved Jimmy Legs' chest, causing him to stumble backwards. She straightened back up and was greeted with a blow to the face by Maccus, but that didn't stop her from immediately coming back with a sidekick to his ribs, surprisingly earning a cry of pain from him. Palifico came at her with a balled fist, and Bootstrap, Hadras… and basically the rest of the crew stood by with wide eyes, jumping when Desirae swiftly dodged the blow and upper clipped Jimmy Legs under the chin. He backed off, and Desirae turned around to face another punch to the face from Palifico. This only seemed to anger her further, though, because she instantly ran at the guy like a charging bull and tackled him from the middle, slamming him to the ground on his back. Hadras and Clanker jumped but smirked.
"Oh!" they shouted together. Bootstrap looked horrified.
Pinning Palifico down, Desirae delivered two hard punches to his face, causing him to grunt loudly as his head hit the deck, but he was saved by Maccus that came up from behind and shoved Desirae off. She stumbled forward towards the crowd, nearly running over a little shrimpy crewman, Penrod. He let out a shout and cringed away, and Desirae's eyes widened for a split second before she jumped out of the way, sending a roundhouse kick at Maccus, who was trying to use her distraction to his advantage. It landed directly in his gut, and he stumbled back; however, when she went to finish him off, Palifico grabbed her ankle from his spot on the ground, making her trip and nearly fall. Maccus ran at her and punched her across the face, causing her to shout, but she blocked his next blow with her arm and twisted it out of her way before sending a mean punch to his side. During his distraction, and she never let go of his arm, she stomped her foot down on Palifico that was holding her leg, making him cry out as she straightened back up to punch the first mate in the face. Once he was out of the way enough for her to turn her attention to Palifico holding her ankle, she bent down and sent two iron hard punches to his face. He was forced to let go, and she jumped from his grip and lunged at Jimmy Legs, who was still trying to attack her. She used his speed against him, stepping to the side at the last minute and getting him in a headlock. From there, she proceeded to knee him three times in the groin with angry shouts, and while she was doing this she had dragged him over to where a stack of barrels were next to the mast, and she slammed him against the mast with a yell. Jimmy Legs yelled out, and she smashed his head into one of the barrels, shattering it into pieces. He fell to the ground. The crew roared.
"Holy shi—!" shouted Clanker.
But Desirae wasn't finished. She marched over to the bo'sun, and with an angry shout, she forced him onto his back before straddling him, and she then began punching the living daylights out of him, hitting every part possible. All Bootstrap could do at this point was stare in disbelief mixed with horror, neither him nor anyone else noticing the captain coming up from the crowd.
As Desirae went to bring down another blow, she was startled when she felt a slimy hand and tentacle grab her wrist and yank her up.
"That will be enough, missy," he said, quiet and calm.
She glared at him coldly, blood leaking from her lip; however, she seemed in better shape than anyone else. Jimmy Legs got to his feet.
"Why you little—!" He went to swing his fist at her, but Jones grabbed his hand before it could cause any damage.
"Enough! This fight is over, and it will not resume! Understood?" He turned his head to Maccus and Palifico as they somewhat limped up behind Jimmy Legs, Maccus with a bloody lip. They were glaring at Desirae with death stares, but Jones only smirked at them cruelly.
"Will ye be okay?" His voice was dripping with mockery. They all looked at him as the crew burst into chuckles and cruel laughs, and this only caused the three men to snap their heads back to Desirae dangerously.
"Back to work!" Jones released Desirae (more of threw her at Bootstrap) and headed back to his cabin. As the crowd began to break up, Jimmy Legs suddenly could be heard cracking his whip in the distance.
"Back to work, ye bilgerats! NOW!"
Bootstrap looked over his shoulder, turning to Desirae with a sigh.
"Well, so much for staying on his good side… or the crew's for that matter."
Desirae chuckled a little to herself. It didn't matter how hard she tried. The triumphant grin on her face would last for the rest of that day.
Preview to next chapter:
"Hey, whelp."
Desirae turned--and immediately got a frown on her face; she scoffed.
"What do you want, Clanker?"
"And a good mornin' to ye."
She rolled her eyes, looking straight ahead at the sea.
"Actually, I wanted to congradulate ye."
She looked at him sharply in surprise. "Excuse me?"
