Hector Barbossa: Beginnings

By: Kimmy-Sama

Chapter Three

The smell of stale wine was the first thing he picked up on, next was the two hot bodies on either side of him. Sun's rays came through the small window of the room and next to the small bed he had shared with two wenches sat many bottles of opened wine bottles, empty. Sitting up, it took a moment to gather his thoughts.

Hector was in La Rochelle, a small port town on the west coast of France. Aison had to stop here for some business with the French pirates that resigned here. It was never hard to find an excuse to get away, even just for a night. He had every right to. He was entitled to some free time for himself, he had been first mate to Aison for three years now.

He managed to rise from he bed without waking the French women, quickly dressing in his clothes, his coat one he managed to buy when the Hades' Jewel stopped at a port near India. It was tailored to him, dark in color and lined with silk. Hector found that being where he was now had become quite profitable.

After all, he was first mate to the Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea.

--

Three years back...

"You alright boy?"

Hector looked away from his apple core and the sunset exploding from the horizon, his eyes narrowing at the tall man who came behind him. Aison was redressed in a garb that looked very exotic to him, chest bare and the lower part of him wrapped in red silk. Around his waist was a small belt, the sword Hector had seen so many times before, hanging from it.

"Aye." Hector said, tossing the core into the sea below them. The foreign sky was littered with stars, all rearranged in position's Hector didn't recognize. "I'm just tryin' to figure all this out."

"You may ask me any question." Aison moved closer. In the darkness he looked more threatening, his dark skin looking even deeper next to the flamboyant red of the garb.

Hector however, wasn't nervous at all. "Five years I knew yeh. Not once, did I notice. I guess it was just poor judgment on my part." Pausing, Hector looked downwards, not really expecting any response yet. His eyes looked over his hands, dirt under the nails and small scars lingering over the skin. "Why Mr. Radley? Why live, for five years... perhaps more for all I know, just to kill him off?"

The Captain of Hades' Jewel walked to Hector's side and gave the smallest of smiles. "You ask the wrong question."

"Oh?" A bit of anger boiled in his chest. "What would be the right question?"

"Why did I not kill you?" Aison's dark eyes cut over like daggers. "That would be the right question."

Hector frowned and looked off at the dark sea once again. "Fine then, why did yeh not kill me?"

"I trust you will be a great man someday. I felt it when I first saw you on that dock."

This time, Hector laughed greatly. "Great man, eh?" Aison simply nodded. "All I want is to be a Captain. You've promised me that, Aison. I pray yeh will keep yer word."

"A man who makes a promise and does not fulfill it, is not a man at all." A large pat on the back followed and Aison smiled widely. "I swear to make you Captain of a grand ship."

"Will you now answer my question before?" Hector sighed as he walked with his arms crossed and started to observe the deck of the new ship.

"Mr. Radley had something... dear to me." The deep voice seemed a bit low. "I had to get it at any cost. I had to gain his trust to make him... what is the word? Ah...reveal it"

"What kind of thing did he have?" Hector frowned.

"No need to know." Aison grinned. "Tomorrow, boy, will you be first mate of my ship and I will show you what it means to be a pirate."

"Call me Barbossa, I am not a boy any longer."

A small look of gratification passed over Aison's face. "Once you prove to me you are not, I will call you whatever you wish."

--

For a week Barbossa had a recurring dream, in which he was sinking in a patch of quicksand. Yet as his hands reach down into it, it transformed into a pool of bubbling blood that formed ripples with every movement from his struggling body. The first morning he awoke screaming, the next he woke with a cold sweat. Days went by and he found it easier and easier to ignore the dream until finally, it just went away.

Months passed and he tried to find out what Aison needed from Mr. Radley. Each time he was turned down and Hector began to just do as he was told. Never had he seen an angry Aison, but a very annoyed Aison was intimidating enough. Hector decided instead to do everything in his power to prove to Aison he was no longer a boy.

He pirated, looted, pillaged... killed.

It wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. He found that people usually deserved to die as most were despicably rotten fools. The gold taken from their hands was suitable enough. Chests of jewels became easier to find. His pockets grew and so did his appetite for different foods and clothing. Aison just fueled the fire that burned in Hector's mind, telling him of enchanting luxuries in the east and his own homeland, all the while teaching him how to fight and kill properly. Little did Hector know, Aison was just molding him. Into something that only Aison himself knew.

Hector was just happy to have his childhood dreams fulfilled. Food, clothes and recently women, all at his disposal.

--

Now Hector Barbossa walked down a dock toward his Captain's ship, his hand rubbing the short hair on his chin. After spouting out some orders to the nearby crew he ventured on board and to the helm. Aison was already there, maps in hand and talking to the helmsman in a tongue that Hector still did not know, nor care to.

"Meetin' went well I see." Hector said with a smile.

Aison grinned back and wrapped his arm around the shoulders of the smaller man. "Yes! The french are..easy pickings when it comes to me." The two laughed as they headed towards the Captain's quarters. They would be departing soon, Hector knew. He much preferred to be at sea, it had been his most welcoming home.

"I have the means now, to get you a ship." Aison said as he poured himself a small cup of a clear alcohol.

"Do yeh?" Hector helped himself to an apple from the nearby table. He had grown so accustom to the fruit, if he wasn't able to eat one a day it was torture. "I hope yeh got me one of more decent size then the last."

"Such ego, boy." Aison sipped his drink. "Are you up for a trip?"

"Anywhere would be grand."

"The Black Sea?"

It had been three years since they had pursued to the Black Sea. Three years since Hector had started his life as a pirate. "I'm ready for anythin' Cap'n." Hector took a large bite from his apple.

"Good boy." Aison muttered as he walked out of the quarters.

That night Hector had yet another nightmare. But this time it wasn't him who was being pulled into the bloody sand. This time he saw Aison struggling in front of him, but he couldn't move to help him. In fact, he could barely stand.

Looking down to his body all he saw was a skeleton.

--

Eyes of blue looked over the transoceanic view, trying their best to remember these waters, but couldn't. He did remember a chill in the air, the way the heavy waves rocked the ship. But that was on the Masarda, a much smaller vessel then Hades' Jewel. In fact the water was so still that Hector felt like he could walk on its glassy surface. The sun was bearing down on them, a hat he had purchased in a town in Spain shielded his face.

It was eerily quiet. The small gusts of wind helped move the ship in a humdrum pace. The crew were scattered about, doing meaningless chores to keep busy. Hector stood at his favorite place, near the helm of the ship on the raised deck. It was perfect to observe the sea as well the crew, he almost felt like a captain here.

"Boy!"

But he knew he wasn't.

Hector's eyes looked downwards at the Captain and Lord, as he walked up the wooden stairs. "Aye?"

"How goes the day?"

Aison had been in his quarters since the night before, leaving Hector in charge. He almost wished he would just stay in there. "Poor winds, not nearly enough to sail. This rate we'll be late to our port."

A puzzled look came over Aison's face. "Odd indeed. I must say that would not be a good thing to be late." Turning to the helmsman, Aison spouted out orders in his native tongue and Barbossa watched as the man began to turn the wheel in a different direction.

"What did yeh say?" Barbossa looked over Aison's still puzzled face.

"Different course. I dislike greatly to be late, so we will not show."

"And that makes better sense?" Hector almost yelled, his anger growing. "I do believe yeh had a boat waiting for me at that port?"

"Yes. But I think this is better course of action." Aison started back to his quarters.

Barbossa followed closely. "What was that yeh said about a man who breaks a promise, is not eh man at all?"

"I have broken no promise, boy." The captain turned to face the first mate. "What if the boat is not to your liking?"

"I will still take it. I have wanted nothin' else for too long now."

It was silent as Aison looked over Barbossa's face, then smiled. "Very well." He yelled to the helmsman once again and the confused sailor did as told. "But I do not like being late, boy. It always brings bad luck." Hector stayed on the stairs as Aison walked away again, sighing deeply to himself.

"Finally." The younger man muttered, wishing the winds would kick in already so he could get away from this ship and the confusing Captain Aison.

Nevertheless bad luck was all they found at the port of Phasis.

tbc

A/N:

Hmmm I really like Aison.