Thank you all for your patience! Things have been crazy in college lately. It's now finals week for me. After Thursday, I'm done with my freshman year of college. It feels so weird. Anyway, wish me luck on my finals and especially wish me luck on my jury (the music major version of a playing final, it's so freaking stressful). Remember to review, fav, and subscribe!
Also, the two Shakespeare poems in this chapter were two of the movements of Three Madrigals by Emma Lou Deimer, which I recently sang with my university's choir. We also sang Carmina Burana, which was painful for my soprano vocal chords.
When Lydia woke up the next morning, she half expected to find herself locked in that room below deck. Instead, her eyes were greeted by the harsh light of the sun. She winced and squinted her eyes. She sat up on her left arm and rubbed her eyes with her right. That was when she noticed there was a coat on her, laid down almost like a blanket. She narrowed her eyes and turned to the helm. She almost immediately saw Barbossa standing at the wheel, no longer skeletal or decaying.
And he wasn't wearing his usual coat.
Lydia tensed her jaw and stood up. She took the coat into her hand and cleared her throat. Barbossa turned around a smirked. "About time you woke up, Selwyn," he said. He took his coat from her and quickly put it on. He turned back around and continued to steer the ship. He looked down at his compass, glancing occasionally at Lydia.
"Where are we going?" she asked. He narrowed his eyes and swore under his breath.
"The place where this all began," he said. "Tis the only way to end this curse."
"Which would be where?" she repeated. He sighed and shook his head.
"They call it the Isla de Muerta," he answered. The Island of Death... Lydia thought to herself. It was an ironic name, seeing how the curse of the treasure on that island didn't grant that luxury to Barbossa and his crew. "What are you smirking about?"
"The irony," she replied. Barbossa rolled his eyes.
"Excuse me if I don't find humor in my circumstances," he snapped.
"Understandable," she said. She sat down on a random barrel and looked into the sea. The sunlight glittered off the water. "And how long will it take to get to this island?"
"Another week," Barbossa said, not looking away from the crew on his ship. There was a moment of silence between them. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and let out a ghost of a laugh. "I'll not be saving you from your own stupidity a second time."
"I assure you, you won't need to," Lydia said. There was silence once more. Perhaps this was what it was going to be like for the next week. Lydia staring off into the vast nothingness that was the sea while Barbossa watched her as if she had anywhere to escape to. "O mistress mine, where are you roaming?
O, stay and hear! Your true love's coming,
That can sing both high and low:
Trip no further, pretty sweeting.
Journeys end in lovers meeting,
Every wise man's son doth know.
What is love? 'Tis not hereafter.
Present mirth hath present laughter.
What's to come is still unsure.
In delay there lies no plenty.
Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty.
Youth's a stuff will not endure."
"So you've moved onto Shakespeare?" Barbossa said. "You do realize what that poem's about?"
"I'm aware," Lydia replied. "It was simply the first to come to mind for some reason. Besides, staring at the ocean an only provide so much entertainment."
"I wonder which one will find its way into your head next," Barbossa muttered. Lydia smirked and looked towards the sea again.
"Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more.
Men were deceivers ever,
One foot in sea, and one on shore,
To one thing constant never.
Then sigh not so, but let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into hey nonny, nonny.
Sing no more ditties, sing no more
Of dumps so dull and heavy.
The fraud of men was ever so
Since summer first was leafy.
Then sigh not so, but let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into hey, nonny, nonny." Lydia still stared out at the sea, resisting the urge to see Barbossa's reaction to that particular poem.
"Now that's just cruel, Selwyn," was all the pirate captain had to say in response to her choice.
"Surely not as cruel as you are." She heard Barbossa let out a huff rather loudly and obviously.
"I just want a nice, easy life. What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing is wrong with that until innocent people start dying because of it. An explanation is not an excuse." Suddenly she felt a hand under her chin. He forced her head around to look him in the eye.
"You wouldn't have that sentiment after a decade of Hell, I assure you," Barbossa growled. He let go of her chin and smirked. "I can see the fear in your eyes, Selwyn. That defiance you had a moment ago is long gone."
"Are you certain of that?" Lydia question, fighting the stammer that threatened to make itself known. Barbossa merely smirked and let out a low, dark chuckle.
"Aye," he said. "Absolutely certain." Two stared at each other, neither saying a word. Suddenly there was a loud screech and Jack the Monkey made himself know. However, neither Barbossa nor Lydia expected the monkey to climb onto Lydia's shoulder. She stared at the monkey, wide-eyed and slack jawed. "Strange." Lydia turned to a smirking Barbossa. "He's never taken a liking to anyone but myself." Lydia sat stone cold, her face expressionless. She had no idea what to make of this. Barbossa went back to the wheel while Lydia sat and stared over the ocean. She lightly stroked the undead monkey's head, trying not to think of how bizarre it was that she was actually petting an undead monkey.
Jack watched as he crew readied the Interceptor for sailing. He finally had a ship, a crew, and a way to regain the Pearl. He watched Alice scurry onto the deck from the shore. In her hands were two bottles of rum. She looked up at Jack with a teasing smirk and raised one of the bottles of rum. He sighed as shook his head as he leaned against a mast. She walked up to the helm and tossed him one of the bottles. "I got your bottles of rum. Now can I wear the hat?"
"How'd you even get the rum?"
"It's not that hard. You just need to know how to stroke egos," she replied, her grey eyes twinkling mischievously. "Didn't need to pay a shilling."
"You really should have been born a pirate," Jack said as he uncorked the bottle of rum. He took a long swig, feeling the alcohol burn its way down his throat.
"Hat?" she asked. Jack laughed and rolled his eyes.
"You truly are bent on wearing my hat." Alice shrugged.
"It's an awesome hat. I won't harm her," she said.
"Her?" Jack asked. The young girl shrugged again.
"I figured she was a her. If I'm wrong, please tell me." Jack sighed and shook his head. This girl truly was a strange one… Jack took his beloved hat from his head and plopped it on top of Alice's thick blonde mop of hair. She cleared some hair from her eyes and smiled. Her light grey eyes lit up from excitement. For a moment, Jack's smirk faltered. It almost shocked him how much his hat suited her. "How do I look?" she asked with a light chuckle.
"More like a pirate than a noblewoman," he replied. She smirked and twirled a loose strand of blonde hair around a finger.
"Good," she said. Jack took the hat from her head and placed it swiftly on his own head. Alice sighed and shook head. "I guess that's fair... I never specified how long I could wear it. I should have done that..."
"See, unlike dear William, you're starting to understand our methodology better," Jack said with a smirk. "You know where the mops are. Get to work." Alice stuck out her tongue and rolled her eyes. Jack shook his head as he watched the girl bounce away. Never before had me met a woman with that kind of energy. He looked down on the deck to see Will almost glaring at him. Jack raised a challenging eyebrow, almost daring him to come up to Jack and make his complaint known. Will settled for tensing his jaw and continue to move barrels of supplies onto the ship. Jack smirked as he turned to the wheel. He took out his compass and watched as the needle spun around. It settled on a direction and Jack immediately knew where he was going.
The crew was scattered amongst the deck, preparing the Interceptor for sail. Alice emerged onto the deck, carrying a soapy bucket and a mop. She looked up at him and smiled briefly. Then, of course, the girl's clumsiness kicked in and she tripped over nothing. She miraculously kept the bucket from spilling, though some of the soapy water fell to the deck. She set the bucket down, shrugged at Jack, and started to mop that area.
This was going to be an interesting journey.
They had been sailing for three days now and Alice loved every second of it.
She loved smelling the seawater every moment of every day. She loved the crew and how they'd invite her to play games with them. She loved how Jack would occasionally put his hat on her head as if she were a hat stand or something. And of course she enjoyed the company of Anamaria. After all, it was nice to talk to another woman sometimes.
Of course, Alice knew she had to do her part to ensure the ship ran smoothly. She had become a cabin-boy of sorts. She mostly ensured the deck was clean and killed any rats she found near the supplies. When there was nothing to do, Alice would train with her dagger. Anamaria and Jack had taught her a few techniques whenever they caught her practicing. Today started out like every other day for the past week; clear skies, bright sun, merriment and determination amongst the crew, Will skulking in a corner...
Then the storm came.
It came suddenly. One moment the sun was out, the next the sky was dark and there was a torrential downpour. "Strike the royals!" she heard Jack call out. The crew rushed to follow his commands. The ocean beneath them started to swell. The ship rocked over the rough waves, lurching from side to side and front to back. Alice ran to secure rigging, gripping the sopping wet rope as tight as she could. The rain had already soaked through all of her clothes. "Strike the top gallants!" Lightning cracked through the dark sky and thunder boomed immediately after it. Alice normally found lightning pretty; however, in this scenario it was more terrifying that beautiful. Jack maintained his place at the wheel, attempting to steer the ship through this massive storm. "Strike the gallants!" he called out. The storm grew worse and a few minutes later, Jack called out, "Reef the mainsail!"
A large wave suddenly crashed over the side of the ship. More specifically, the side of the ship Alice happened to be on. The salty water crashed over the side and pushed Alice across the deck. Her hands slid from the rigging and she let out a squeal. She hit the other side of the ship, her back and head hitting the wood. She felt the dull pain start to grow in the back of her head as she went to her knees and coughed up the seawater she swallowed. Her wet blonde hair was clinging to her face, seemingly unaffected by the harsh winds. "Swann!" she heard Jack shout. She turned to him as he shouted, "Get below deck and secure the supplies!"
"Aye!" she called out. As she attempted to run across deck, another wave crashed over the bow and hit Alice. She let out a scream as she was thrown from her feet and pulled by the water. She felt someone grip her wrist and help her to a rope. She looked to her left and saw Gibbs and Will.
"How can we sail to an island that can't be found with a compass that doesn't work!?" Will asked.
"Aye, the compass doesn't point north," Gibbs shouted over the wind and thunder. "But we're not trying to find north, are we?" Alice looked up at Jack, who was staring at his compass. Gibbs fought his way through the downpour and up the stairs to the helm. "We should drop canvas, sir."
"She can hold a bit longer," Jack shouted back. Alice stood up, holding on to some of the stays.
"What's in your head that's put you in such a fine mood, Captain?" Gibbs asked. She looked up and saw Jack smiling.
"We're catching up!" he shouted. He looked over and saw Alice still on deck. "What are you still doing on deck, Swann?"
"I'm working on it!" she shouted back. "The storm likes to send waves at me." As if on cue, another wave shot across the ship, sweeping Alice into it's cold, salty embrace. She screamed as the force of the water pushed her across the deck.
The last thing she registered before losing consciousness was a sharp pain in the back of her head.
Kitty watched as marines began to load supplies onto the HMS Dauntless. She stood next to her father as she watched the final preparations be made. "Are you sure it is wise to bring me along for this venture?"
"Wisdom is not the motivation behind my actions," Weatherby Swann responded. "Selfishness would be the more likely motivation."
"I understand wanting to keep me close," she said. "I have lost three sisters, just as you have lost three daughters. I cannot help but think it might be safer in Port Royal. But then again, how do I know it will be safer here than it would be on the sea?"
"So you agree with my decision to bring you?" he asked with a faint smile.
"I guess that is my complicated way of saying so, yes," Kitty replied. "I still can't believe the Commodore is allowing it, though."
"I suppose he could be driven by selfishness as well," her father said. "You are a very dear friend to him."
"Yes," Kitty said. "A dear friend, indeed." Weatherby turned his head and looked at his daughter.
"You still seem uncertain," he said.
"We're always uncertain," she said. "It is merely human nature to doubt oneself."
"And that's how I know you're avoiding answering me," her father said with a ghost of a smile. "What's troubling you, Kitty? Aside from the obvious."
"The only thing troubling me is that my sisters are stuck in the Caribbean with pirates. What troubles me even more is that Alice is there by choice," Kitty said. "I love her dearly, but..."
"I share the same sentiment," he said. "Commodore Norrington will find them. They'll be fine."
"In body, maybe," Kitty said. "But what about in mind? Lydia and Elizabeth might not be the same after such a trauma." Weatherby placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. Kitty looked up at her father and saw the fear in his eyes.
"Your elder sisters are both strong," he said. "The difference between the two of them is that Elizabeth knows her strength. Lydia has yet to find hers."
"Then I pray she finds that strength," Kitty said. She let out a breath and turned to look at the Dauntless once more. She looked to her left and saw Commodore Norrington speaking to Gillette and Groves. The two men nodded and walked towards the ship. Norrington looked over at the Governor and his daughter and motioned for them to come to him. Governor Swann walked towards the Commodore. Kitty followed him like the loyal and dutiful daughter she was.
"Governor, Miss Swann, we should be ready to embark shortly," the Commodore told them. "Are you both prepared?"
"We are," Governor Swann said.
"Good," Norrington said with a curt nod. Governor Swann nodded and headed towards the gangplank. Kitty let out a breath as she stared at the ship. "Are you all right, Katherine?"
"Why has everyone been asking me that?" she asked with a forced smile. "I think the answer should be obvious by now." He placed a hand on her shoulder. Almost immediately Kitty could feel her heart starting to race.
"We will find them," he assured her. Kitty bit her lower lip and nodded. She turned back to Norrington and forced a smile. She let out a deep sigh. "Katherine, if you should need anything-"
"I know," she said. "I'm sorry. Forgive my rudeness, I didn't mean to interrupt you. I've just heard it so many times by now..." Norrington nodded and moved his hand from her shoulder. She felt a faint coldness when his hand left the spot. "Shall we get going?"
"Yes," he said. He walked towards the ship while Kitty followed him. She had no idea how long this journey would take. She only prayed that she would see her sisters alive and well again.