Disclaimer: Pirates of the Caribbean and all related characters belong to Walt Disney, Gore, Jerry, Ted and Terry.

Original Characters such as Julia Carlisle and Abigail Peterson are my own creation.

Characters: James Norrington, Theodore Groves, Murtogg, Mullroy, William Turner, Elizabeth Turner, Julia Carlisle, Abigail Peterson.

Setting: A few months after The Chosen.

Hearts Across the Sea

Chapter 6: Melodious Voices


Not a single person was late, in fact they were all a few minutes early and were waiting beside the Atlantis for Captain Theodore Groves The Naval officers and Marines save for Murtogg and Mullroy had bewildered expressions on their faces. Several of them were staring at the four civilians who stood a few feet away from the ship.

"At ease men," Theodore commanded. He turned to one of the lieutenants. "Is she completely prepared Lieutenant Donnelly?"

"She is," Donnelly nodded. He hadn't been in the Caribbean long, his face was still as pale as moonlight, hadn't been exposed to heat as much as Theodore or half the other sailors have. "We have made sure she is filled with enough food and supplies."

"Thank you lieutenant," Theodore nodded at him.

"I might be asking a word," Donnelly blinked his blue eyes and frowned. "I may need to ask a word with you." The Irish lilt he had started with faded into a British accent. "Why are the Turners, Miss Peterson and the Admiral's fiancée with us?"

Theodore stared at the man at glanced at Julia Carlisle. Like Abigail and the Turners she brought along single trunk, along with a small basket. The young woman was not staring at the ship or the naval officers but at a golden pocket watch in her hand.

"I will answer your question," Theodore said. "And afterwards I will address a few things. The reason they are coming is during the event where Mr. Turner was possessed I have come to admire the fighting abilities of the young women. Mrs. Turner's reading hobby has given Admiral Norrington clues on the whereabouts of several of the pirates he had arrested in the past. Miss Peterson and Miss Carlisle are as equally cunning and now that Mr. Turner has been cured of his ailment his skill with the sword will be needed."

"I understand," Donnelly nodded.

"Now for what I wish to address," Theodore placed a hand on the lieutenant's shoulder. "First of all I do not believe Admiral Norrington had asked for Miss Carlisle's hand in marriage. He would have made that fact known to us all." Theodore was certain he would have been the first to been notified about that happy bit of information. "Secondly you are from Ireland. I know you are from the Emerald land. Do not hide yourself. I served with one of your own men and was the one of the finest officers to serve in the Royal Navy."

"Yes," Donnelly nodded. "I mean Aye, Captain."

Theodore turned to address the rest of his men. "You may all board, naval officers first and Marines second. Civilians are last."

"Shouldn't it be Ladies first?" Abigail asked. She had carried two trunks with her and one leather bag.

"Ah Miss Peterson," Theodore kept his wide grin as he stared into her dark eyes. "I was wondering when you were going to question my authority."

"I was not questioning your authority," Abigail did not smile in return. "I was just asking a simple question and I had thought you were an officer and a gentleman."

"Abigail," Elizabeth and Julia had gasped at the same time while William coughed and looked away.

"If it were just civilians I would have the ladies board first, but I need to make certain my men are first to help you find your way."

"Thank you, Captain Groves," Elizabeth said and reached for the large trunk she shared with her husband.

"Sergeant Murtogg and Sergeant Mullroy, I need you to assist Miss Carlisle and Miss Peterson with their luggage.

"Yes Captain," Mullroy was the first to race over to the young women and hefted Julia's trunk up. Murtogg grabbed the smaller of the two trunks Abigail brought along.

"I thought I had told you to pack light," Theodore had grabbed one end of the larger trunk.

"I have," Abigail grabbed the other end and helped him lift it. "All my essentials are in the other trunk, the few gowns I choose to wear, plus what I use to keep clean and my diary, oh and an extra pair of shoes."

"What is all in here?" Theodore stared at the other trunk.

"Several dresses that my mother chose for me," Abigail smiled and Theodore could almost here the gears in her mind turn. "All those she bought for me when she wanted to introduce me to men in high society. It will be a pity if we come across a storm and it falls overboard."

Theodore felt his jaw drop, but Abigail continued.

"She will not be pleased that I left. I wrote a letter for father and he would understand. He respects you, Captain. It also seems that I may not be attending my clarinet lesson," she rolled her eyes.

"You play the clarinet?" Theodore asked.

"Badly," she hissed through clenched teeth. "Some have the skill and talent. I do not, but mother does not understand it."

"I am sorry she refuses to listen," Theodore stared at the back of Abigail's head, as they continued their way up the gangplank. He let his mind digest the latest chapter he had read on Abigail Peterson.


Elizabeth Turner stared at the framed cloth in her hands as she continued to weave the needle through, creating simple patterns and designs, once she had managed that with ease then she would move on to trying to actually create pictures and images. She had been at work for over an hour, seated outside and on deck, away from the sailors. She kept her head bent down, staring at her work, less she would feel the urge to assist the sailors in work at the sails.

"Bloody hell," Julia swore under breath. She had chosen to sit next to Elizabeth while she drew. The small basket she had brought on board had contained parchment, quills, ink, sticks of graphite and charcoal and a few brushes.

"What happened?" Elizabeth raised her head to look at her friend and winced at the cramp that had developed at the back of her neck.

"It broke," Julia stared at the stick of charcoal she held, the end had broken off, leaving a strange and blunt end, with noticeable fractures and cleaves. "At least it didn't ruin my picture." She pointed a charcoal stained finger at the parchment spread across her lap. She had sketched the image of several sailors, hard at work.

"Thank goodness for that," Elizabeth studied the image, feeling a twinge of envy of her friend's abilities.

"Supper shall be ready within the hour," one of the sailors had approached them. "The captain wishes his guests to dine with him." The man scowled at them before he walked away.

"They do not like me," Elizabeth picked up the needle once again.

"Why would you say that?" Julia asked.

"Whenever I meet with one of their gazes they would turn away, or frown or even glare at me." She pushed the needle through the cloth and pulled as far as the thread would let her.

"I never really noticed," Julia wiped her fingers with a rag she brought along and picked up a small knife.

"They smile at you." Elizabeth said. "I know they like you."

"I think you are being a bit paranoid," Julia brushed the edge of the blade against the charcoal, witling off bits until the end was sharp once again.

"I am not. They respect James, look up to him in admiration, and I broke his heart. They hate me because of that," she stared into Julia's eyes. "You found his heart and put it together, healed it."

"James," Julia set the charcoal and blade aside and picked up the pocket watch she had carried around.

"I'm sorry," Elizabeth had realized she had said the wrong words too late once again.

"It is not you fault," Julia placed the pocket watch back under her gown and picked up the charcoal and the blade. "He is always on my mind. I fear for that dream to become a reality and if I wasn't drawing I would have become a statue, unknowing and unmoving from the fear inside my head. I would gradually stopped eating and sleeping and would have gone mad."

"Hopefully Captain Groves will not think you have gone mad, or think you to be wicked." Elizabeth's eyes widened when Julia stared her strangely. "You have revealed your secret to him."

Julia shook her head. "I haven't. I have told him about my dream, but he thought it was remaining aspect of being a Favorite. He didn't know I always had such dreams before. He did reveal he had seen a vision that no one but him could see that told him about what was going to happen to James."

"And the crystal dove had given the same message to Will," Elizabeth added.

"I wonder which ship may be faster," Julia stared at the deck. "I pray that we may make it in time."

"I have heard Captain Groves compare the Atlantis to the Interceptor and The Naiad to the Dauntless."

"Oh," Julia put the blade away and picked up her sketch once again.

"Incoming!" One of the sailors near the stern of the ship bellowed and several naval officers and Marines scrambled forward, many picked up their weapons on the way.

"What is going on?" Elizabeth had set down her embroidery and stood up.

"You are not going to see are you?" Julia asked.

"Of course I am," she ran off towards the direction everyone was heading towards, only stopping when she came to face the backs of several uniformed men.

"Stand back all of you," Abigail Peterson shouted from the front. "You are going to frighten the poor creature."

"What is going on?" Elizabeth demanded.

"Not certain," one of the Marines stepped and grabbed Elizabeth's arm. "It might be best to do what she says."

"Do what who says?" Julia had caught up to her.

"I haven't the faintest idea," Elizabeth tried to see past the men and found herself inching around the men in uniform to see what was going on.

"It is a bad omen," one of the sailors said. "A dead seagull on the deck brings bad luck to us all."

"It isn't dead," another man said. "Just seems to be injured."

"Quiet," Abigail shouted and finally the men backed away to the point Elizabeth could see what the commotion was about. In one arm she carried a blanket, in her other hand she held onto something, and Elizabeth wasn't quite certain what it was.

There was a seagull scuttling about on deck, one wing stretched out and unmoving while the other was flapping. The bird moved around in circles, its beak snapped at any sailor that had tried to grab it and when it wasn't trying to peck at crew it released a shrill cry.

"Don't be afraid," Abigail spoke softly to the bird. "I have something for you." She handed a large blanket to the nearest sailor to her. "Are you hungry?" She held out the other object she had been carrying. It was gray and slick and when the sunlight struck it just right, Elizabeth could see scales. It was a bait fish.

"What is she doing?" Julia whispered. "She is going to get herself hurt."

"I think she might know what she is doing," Elizabeth brought a finger to her mouth.

"That is it," Abigail cooed at the bird. "The river cried out to the duck to come and play, come and play," she sang. "The duck swam in the river all day, all day." She slowly stepped closer to the seagull keeping her eyes on its beak and held out the bait fish. "The duck saw a frog sitting on the bank catching flies, catching flies. The frog stared back at the duck and blinked its eyes, blinked its eyes." She took another step towards the bird and stood within a hairsbreadth from it. "The duck cried out to the frog to come and play, come and play."

The seagull raised its head and opened its beak. It did not move as Abigail placed the small fish inside.

Abigail continued to sing as she motioned to the sailor with the blanket to come near her. She did not turn her head and held out her arm for the blanket.

The seagull was too preoccupied with its treat to pay any attention to Abigail as she continued to sing.

"The frog sang out to the deer come and play, come and play." She stepped forward and used the blanket to grab onto the bird. "Please don't fight me. I only want to help."

"Abigail what were you thinking?" Julia asked.

"I was thinking this poor bird was going to end up drowning itself." Abigail struggled to keep the bundled up seagull from trying to escape her embrace. "It has an injured wing."

"Move along," one of the marines shouted. "There is nothing else to see here."

"I wonder how it injured its wing," Elizabeth said.

"It could have injured itself trying to escape from one of its natural enemies," Captain Groves stepped past the dispersing crowd. "Or someone may have thrown something at it, or tried to shoot it." He paused in front of Abigail. "I was informed of your task Miss Peterson. You do not wish to keep the seagull aboard do you?"

"Of course I do," Abigail glared at him. "At least until it is well."

"Very well," Groves nodded. "As long as you remember the bird is your responsibility."

"I understand," Abigail stared at the bundle in her arms. "I will need some supplies."

"Ask some of the crew," Groves turned around. "I have important matters at task."

"I thought you were taking a nap," Julia said as Abigail walked past her.

"I was and then I needed to walk. I stepped out on deck as this poor bird crash landed."

"Will you need any help?" Julia offered.

"I am going to need something to use as a splint, and I will need more fish to feed it."

"You two return to the cabin," Elizabeth instructed. "I will catch up." She needed to see her husband.


Admiral James Norrington stared at the map spread out on his desk. One hand held onto the sextant. The other hand held onto a quill and used it to mark the coordinates, calculating the speed of the wind against The Naiad's sails. They were making good time and hopefully the will be able to find out what happened to the other missing ships and he can return to Julia.

"Time to assign the night watch," James grabbed onto his lantern and left his cabin, only to step out and face not a single member of his crew where they should be. He held the lantern up higher and squinted in the darkness. He could see several sailors and marine gathered at the sides and staring at the railing.

"What is this?" James demanded. "Gentlemen you are not at your posts."

"None of them will respond to orders," Lieutenant Pryce stepped up from below deck, followed by four Marines. "Nearly all of them are like that. They just stare-"he paused when the men began to hum. "Off to the sides, all their eyes are vacant."

"We may have to use physical force," James approached the nearest sailor and paused when he heard several other voices join in on the humming, female voices. "Are they staring at the water? There could be women from a wrecked ship, do you not hear that?"

"I hear it loud and clear, sir," Pryce nodded. "Gentlemen, I want you to…" He trailed off when the humming was replaced by singing. "Rescue these…women…from the…" His eyes widened and pupils dilated. His arms dropped to his sides as he slowly approached the railing.

"What is going on?" James demanded as he watched the last members of his crew gather around and stare off into space. "You need to-"He paused when the singing grew louder. Never before had he heard such dulcet voices, the chorus was music from heaven. He felt his own arms drop as he stepped closer to the side. The vision of the rail and the sea turned into a blur.

James suddenly felt himself sliding down the deck, his arms flailing about as he tried to grab onto anything. His arm smacked across the railing, causing him to jerk back as pain radiated through his arm. He felt his fingers strike against the open palm of another man before he grabbed onto his wrist.

"What is happening?" The marine asked. James recognized him as Lieutenant Chase

"I have no idea," the ship was steady seconds ago, and now it was turned over its side.

"Admiral watch out," the marine shouted as the section of the foremast had broken off and was falling toward them.

"Let go," James released his old on both the man and the railing and closed his eyes as he fell and braced himself to be engulfed by the cool water of the sea. He did not allow himself to sink for long and twisted his body to swim away from where the mast had fallen. He waited for the unenviable splash before he tried to surface.

He released his breath he had kept in his lungs and opened eyes, blinking away the burning drops of seawater. He tread the water and searched for his men and what could have caused The Naiad to turn over.

"Admiral," the marine had had caught had swam over to the floating section of the mast. "Swim here."

"Thank you," James swam towards him. "Did you see what had happened?"

"I didn't see anything," Chase said. Like James he had lost his hat once he fell over. "Except for a woman swimming."

"There was a woman swimming out here alone? In the middle of the night?" He turned his head and stared in horror as the remains of The Naiad sank below the surface. He saw several other heads and more surfacing, many had grabbed onto pieces of plywood, floating crates and barrels, several had joined James and the young marine.

"I swore I saw her, and then she opened her mouth and started to sing and the next thing I know this happened."

"Sirens," one naval officer said. "We are the victims of sirens. They are the type of mermaid."

"I have thought they were half bird and half human," James frowned. He had heard the story of Odysseus. On another thought, why were they discussing a type of mythical creature?

"All I know is they are mermaids," the sailor continued. "They crave the flesh of man and live near dangerous rocks and reefs. When they sing the distract sailors, entrance them with their song and cause them to either run their ship into the rocks, or to jump over into the sea."

"Preposterous," Chase shook his head.

"Then what be that?" He released one hand from the mast and pointed out at the waves.

A young woman was staring back at them with unblinking eyes. A few seconds later two more women joined the first. Several more surface and while James was certain he saw several men they were mostly women.

"Merfolk," the sailor gulped and began to pray silently.

"They can't be real," Chase shook his head as the strange new folk sank below the water.

"No," James clenched his teeth. This wasn't happening, but not matter how much he willed it to not happen he could not bring back his ship. He opened his eyes when he felt a slick body rub against his and several men shouting for help.

The sailor next to James grunted before he shot beneath the waves.

"Admiral," the marine was pulled under, but he tried to keep holding on to the mast.

James grabbed onto his hand and held on with all his strength. Sharp claws raked across the back of his hand and he released his hold of Chase.

"You are letting this happen?" James stared at the sky. "After I was one of your warriors, you re going to allow this to happen?" He watched in horror as the rest of his crew were pulled under the waves, wondering why they had yet to touch him. After the last man was pulled under he closed his eyes and felt a single tear travel down his face. "I failed them again," he whispered. "I failed you, Julia."

He felt a pair of hands grab onto his chest and he opened his eyes to see ghastly and clawed fingers trying to sink through his waist coat. He only had a second to take a deep breath before he was pulled under.