For Love of the Sea Chap 21 01/09/2011

"Secure the rum?" The strange command echoed in my head as we slipped down the slick, mossy stairs back to our boat.

The ride back was silent, each crewman lost in his thoughts, with Will's silence covering the rest in a deafening, dark, oppressive gloom. Jack the Monkey who had perched on my shoulder for the walk to the dinghy had curled up in my lap, where I was absent-mindedly stroking the soft fur on his back. My mind drew me away from the dinghy and the dank swamp filled with ghost lights back to my conversation with the strange Tia Dalma. No matter how I approached the encounter, I couldn't shake the feeling of trepidation at some crucial point I was missing from the discussion. The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me.

A sound thunk when the side of the dinghy hit the hull of the Dutchman roused me from my thoughts. I stood, ignoring a whine of protest from Jack as he scampered up my side, launched himself off my head and onto the waiting ladder. He screeched once, before disappearing over the side and onto the deck. I followed.

Once aboard, each man made short work of vanishing below, leaving me alone with Will. I glanced up at the crow's nest just in time to see a head pull back over the side and disappear into the darkness.

"Get some sleep." Will's voice jolted me out of my hazy state. "The sun rises early out here." He turned towards the companionway, effectively dismissing me.

"Sir," I called, hurrying after him.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" He asked, one foot on the stair, his silhouette perfectly outlined in the dim light from deep within the hull.

I stopped, realizing I had no idea what I wanted to say. "Goodnight, sir." I ended, lamely.

A ghost of a smile flickered across his profile. "And you, Lieutenant."

I watched him withdraw into the ship, a wolf seeking the shelter and safety of its den. My heart went out to the Skipper, his only request to Calypso denied after centuries in her service.

I turned away, finding myself drawn portside, to perch on the rail and gaze out at the sea, lit with moonlight and gently rocking to her own rhythm.

A throat cleared behind me. I started and whipped around to see Bootstrap peering down at me. "Something on your mind, Bel?"

I turned back to the sea. "I don't know, Bootstrap. Everything made sense, well, until I died" I mumbled. "I don't get it. Calypso makes my head hurt… I don't know what I'm doing anymore. And on top of figuring out what I'm supposed to do, I have to figure out how to fix the giant gaping hole in Will's heart too?" I realized I was ranting and stopped short. "I apologize. That was unprofessional of me." I locked my face into the regulatory expression and nodded at him. "Goodnight, Bootstrap."

I turned to go but a hand on my shoulder spun me back around. "Look out there. What do you see?"

I shrugged. "The sea?" I picked at the railing with a fingernail.

"Out there, on here, it's the same. Freedom. I know it doesn't feel like it, but you can do anything, be anything, out here. If Calypso thinks you can heal Will's heart, you can. You will. And I will do everything I can to help you. He's a good man, but he won't let me close enough to help him. Maybe you'll have better luck. 'Night Bel." And with a quick nod in my direction, he vanished below deck.

I took a deep breath as I stared out at the sea. "Freedom, huh?" I laughed quickly, mirthlessly. My mind wandered back to my family and that of my crew, left to mourn our passing with only a folded flag and a few photos for comfort. "Some freedom." I glanced up at the stars as I turned towards the open hatch. "Goodnight, Sari. Mommy loves you." And as my feet led me down towards my bunk, a tiny voice on the wind whispered back "Wuv ma-ma"

GO NAVY BEAT ARMY GO NAVY BEAT ARMY GO NAVY BEAT ARMY

I woke to the sound of a bell, as the boatswain announced the coming dawn. I stood quickly and glanced out at the dark water through the porthole as I contemplated the previous night. The water seemed a living entity, singing its siren song, tempting the unwary and the bold with promises of freedom. As I shook myself from those thoughts and pulled on a pair of loose pants and slim tunic from the drawers, I could have sworn I saw a dark face with laughing eyes, Calypso's eyes, flashing in the waves.

I blinked, and the spectral image was gone. Climbing to the deck, I found Bootstrap standing beside the Captain behind the massive wheel.

As I approached, he turned and smiled. "Today, you learn how we find our crew and passengers. Stay close." He strode to the railing and called to all hands. "New passenger pickup. Loose everything, get us turned windward."

The crew scurried up the masts, loosing the scales and letting the sails unfurl into the early morning glow. As the sun rose over the clear water, the ship sank beneath the waves in a flash of green.

I watched as the wind picked up and the water caught in the sails. Bootstrap handed me a lifeline, which I knotted tightly around my waist. The current picked up and caught in the sails, pulling the ancient ship through the water I blinked as the water streamed past my eyes. As I adjusted, I noticed that while Bootstrap and the Captain were standing behind the wheel, neither one was actively steering.

"Calypso" Will commented, noticing my confusion. "Did you lock up the rum, 'Bel?"

"I will immediately, sir." I saluted and moved towards the hatch and untied my lifeline before descending into the hold. I picked my way to the galley supply room and felt my eyes widen at the vast stores of rum tucked in with the other foods and supplies. I grabbed the nearest bottle and looked around for a place to store it. As I glanced around, I noticed a small closet at the back of the storeroom. I opened it and found keg after keg of rum. Shrugging, I grabbed as many bottles as I could carry and placed them in the room, repeating this until all of the bottles were stored with the kegs. As I tucked the last one away, the ship started to rise. Closing the door quickly and pulling a sack of rice over to hold it shut, I raced back up to the main deck just in time to see a raft with a lone figure on it come into view.

Will's dark eyes glanced over at me as I rejoined the rest of the crew on deck. "Is it secure?" He asked, tension in every line of his face and running through his body.

I stepped closer to him and nodded briefly. "Sir, yes sir."

A slight quirk in the left corner of his mouth acknowledged me. "Thank you, lieutenant." His eyes never left the raft as the ship pulled up along side it.

The man on it was thin, with dark hair peppered with dreadlocks and dark, khol lined eyes that peered up at the Dutchman with interest. "Welp! So glad ye came to me rescue. Took ye long enough by my reckonin'."

A wary smile flickered across Will's face. "Jack, welcome to the Flying Dutchman."

GO NAVY BEAT ARMY GO NAVY BEAT ARMY GO NAVY BEAT ARMY

So a huge thank you goes out to everyone who is still reading this, especially bonniebeast for dragging me out of my RL and writer's block slump and back to this story. Hopefully, this will keep going now, I am not abandoning this. Thank you, and as always, reviews are appreciated.

Your obedient servant,

Arda's Angel