This is a remake of Ocean's of Dreams, except that it's going to be a bit different, in some cases.
I want to give you guys more of an understanding of Genevieve, not just as Will's sister, but as her own person too. This chapter will give you some insight in the way she thinks and sees the world. I'm also trying to establish her as a different person to how Gabriella was in my original fic.
Please let me know what you think of this so far!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. I only own Genevieve and any other original characters that may pop up.
Updates for this fic are going to be slow, so expect some delays between chapters. Gen is a bit of a fickle character that doesn't always want to be written about.
That was the day when Elizabeth Swann spotted us drifting unconscious, clutching each other's hand. We were saved thanks to her spotting us, and we were brought onto their ship that was headed towards Port Royal. Her father, Governor Weatherby Swann, had made sure we were given dry clothes and warm food once we awoke from our slumber. He took pity on us the moment he saw us huddled together, pressed to each other's side. He offered to bring us to Port Royal with them and get us situated to start our new lives.
We didn't have any other option than to accept.
"Genevieve, can you fetch me more ginger root?" Uric Wrenn called to me without looking up from his table.
He was bent over the rugged table, a large book opened in front of him. His long, messy greying hair was tied back from his tanned face as he skimmed through the material he was focused on. I looked up from the herbs I just started to tie together so I could hang them to dry and hummed softly in compliance. I've been under the care of Ulric for the past eight years since I arrived in Port Royal. Uric was a tough taskmaster, but he never shied away from teaching me his craft. It was thanks to him that I didn't have to work in the taverns, instead, I was surrounded by herbs and books day in and day out.
Wiping my hands on the apron around my waist, I headed to the back of our shop to get the herbs. I paused before returning to the front and picked up some mint leaves as well. While I didn't know exactly what he was making, I had an idea of what he was making. I remember a ship captain stopping by and speaking with Uric while I was preparing some herbs for drying.
"I brought some mint as well." I mentioned, setting the herbs down next to him and returned to my table where I was preparing a salve.
"Hmm?" Uric paused in what he was doing, and I could hear him shifting a bit to look over at me.
"It will keep the seasickness at bay, at least until it wears off or the poor sap finally gets his sea-legs working again." I mused, chuckling a little to myself as I began crushing some oats.
I could hear Uric chuckling under his breath as he continued his own work, leaving me to finish my own. Over the past eighteen years, an odd bond and formed between the two of us. He stopped treating me like an inept little child after I finished a few projects he was behind on. Before that, I had to sit in my little corner with his books, after he taught me how to read, and gather ingredients for him when he needed them. He still did that to this day though, some habits were harder to break than others, but he never stopped me from taking on my own clients or working on his projects.
"You best not let others hear you speak like that, missy." Uric responded in his usual gruff voice, but there was not bite to his words.
He knew it was partially his fault that I was a brash woman with a quick, sharp tongue. It was one of the traits that I gained from him, other than knowledge of medicinal herbs and how to bring out their full potential. Working in this type of business was hard, and it didn't allow for a soft heart to grow without thorns. Otherwise, everyone person who came in here in need for a hangover remedy would have been treated with love and compassion, when really, all they needed was a kick in the arse and booted to the streets where they belonged.
I can't even remember the number of times drunken sailors tried that with me, believing me to be soft in heart because I was a woman. They quickly learned that that was not the case when I physically removed them from the shop. Despite having a small place that my brother Will and I called 'home' Uric had given me a small cot in the shop where I often spent my nights when Will was busy at the blacksmiths. Those nights got lonely at first, but after realizing that I could spend time with Uric's books, I found myself focusing on learning and expanding the knowledge he had started to provide me with. The Apothecary was my haven, and it was the one place, aside from being near the sea, where I felt at peace.
"You were right about the mint." Uric spoke up, causing me to jerk slightly as I set the vial back onto the table.
"And?" I asked, turning around to look at the older man with a raised brow. "You knew it would the moment I put it onto your table." I pointed out, wondering what he was trying to get at.
"Yeah, but you were the one who thought of it before I did." He pointed out, smirking a bit with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Who knows, you might be as good as I am one day." He jested, causing me to smirk at him.
"I already am." I boasted, but we knew I still had much to learn. "You best be careful, else I surpass you." I jested back.
The two of us shared a small laugh, the bantering was a normal occurrence in the workshop. I finished with the ointment I had been working on, pouring the concoction into a jar before sealing it. It would have to set for a bit before I could take it to Missus Hudson. In the meantime, I decided to start on another project for Governor Swann, apparently, he needed some help sleeping and was requesting a drought from us. Heading to the floor to ceiling shelves, I looked for the herbs I would need to make the drought.
"I'll need…" I murmured to myself as I reached up to grab some elder berries, hops flowers, thyme, and some jasmine flowers. "This should be good for the base…" I mused, taking the ingredients back to my table.
In all honesty, this drought was rather popular for whatever reason, aside from the droughts sailors got from us before they went out to sea. It could be potent if someone used too much, and I had seen it cause someone to drop into an endless sleep until Uric gave them a counter drought to cure them. That person hadn't listened to Uric's careful instructions and that was the price they had to pay. Luckily, this wasn't the first time the Governor had requested this drought, so he knew the risks.
"Working on the Governor's request?" Uric asked, catching my mutterings as he sealed some liquid into a jar and began shaking it.
"Yes, I figured while I wait for the balm to settle, I would get started on something else." I replied with a bit of a smile. "Besides, it's a nice day for a walk up to the high-class society."
Uric chuckled at that, knowing it was a rare occurrence for us to go up to Governor's home, or any of high-class homes. It was part of our job though to do so when they request something for us. Uric though, hated going out of the shop unless it was time to call it a night, so I often went in his stead to drop orders off, and if need be, take new ones. Everyone in Port Royal knew where I worked, and I had often been flagged down for an order that they could have stopped by the shop to give. But I knew part of it was because no one wanted to get on Uric's bad side, especially when he was in the middle of an order. Some of our concoctions were time sensitive, so any disturbance in making them could set us back hours.
"Mind taking this to the port?" he requestioned, and I turned to see a jar in his fingers. "Captain Montague of The Darling requested it. Drop it off to him, would you?"
"Sure, that's on the way back from the Governor's place." I agreed, thinking about the route I would need to take.
Being that I knew Port Royal quite well thanks to being Uric's runner, I could easily plot out my path to be efficient and quick.
"I'll also stop by The Hollow Dove and pick up some food." I added, tapping my chin slightly before going back to the drought.
The Hollow Dove was a tavern near the port, it was always filled with sailors during the nights since they provided different services. I knew the barkeep, Solomon, quite well, mainly because he had caught me stealing when I was younger when it was hard to get food. We were on good terms now, and I did pay penance for my misdeeds by working in his kitchen after Uric had finished me with during the day. Nowadays, Solomon happily offered me food whenever I stopped by, keeping up the tease that I was no longer 'some street urchin' like he first thought when he caught me.
"Good, I'm sure Solomon would be happy to see his little thief." Uric smirked over at me, causing me to roll my eyes at the jest.
I would never live it down, but when it came to Uric and Solomon, I didn't mind it too much. The two men had been good to me, so I really couldn't complain.
"You just want some free food." I pointed out, knowing that was also the case too, since most of our funds went to importing herbs, and that got expensive sometimes.
"Nothing wrong with that, either." The older man stated as he walked over my table, setting the jar next to the balm. "Anyway, once your done that drought, you can head out whenever you like. I'm sure that brother of yours is waiting for a visit from you."
At the mention of Will, I looked up from the drought, blinking slightly. I suppose it had been a couple of days since he and I saw each other last. I had been busy here at the shop, and if I remembered correctly, he had been working on a commission piece for the Governor. Some kind of ceremonial sword or something of that kind. Anytime we got busy like this, it was rare for us to see each other, even if we did share a small shack together. It wasn't uncommon for us to sleep at our places of work and continue on to the next day.
"I mean… I guess…" I shrugged a little as I stirred the concoction a bit. "It's been a few days; he's been busy for some upcoming ceremony or something." I mentioned, turning to face Uric.
"You mean the ceremony to for the new Commodore Norrington?" Uric supplied and I nodded a little.
"Yeah, I think that was it." I mentioned, much to his amusement as he shook his head.
"You gotta learn to pay better attention to what that brother of yours tells you." He chuckled and I rolled my eyes at him.
"I pay attention well enough; I have stuff going on too." I reminded him and turned back to my table where I began to carefully pour the drought into a small vial. "I can't remember everything little thing he says. From talking about Miss Swann, to complaining about Mr. Brown, to swooning over Miss Swann again…" I trailed off, shaking my head at that.
My brother Will was madly in love with Miss Elizabeth Swann, the young woman who spotted us stranded after pirates attacked the ship we were on when we were children. Ever since their first meeting, my brother had pined after her, from a distance of course. Social normalities would never allow them to be together, even if Will somehow became a lord or something to that effect. My brother would forever be a blacksmith in the eyes of society, and that alone meant that Elizabeth was forever out of his league.
"You know, it's not a bad thing to be in love, child." Uric spoke quietly, becoming thoughtful as he rummaged around the shop. "Your brother is naïve, don't get me wrong," the old man shot me a knowing look, "but there is nothing wrong with allowing yourself to love." He pointed out gently.
I put the stopper into the vial, frowning a bit as I gave everything a shake. I knew what he was referring to, it was the fact that I was starting to be considered an 'old maid' due to be unmarried and working in an Apothecary still. Even at twenty, I was less interested in building relationships, preferring to have a way to provide for myself. I suppose my reasoning for that came from the fact that my father was never in my life… that in turn caused me to become slightly bitter about relying on a man to bring me happiness. Even though my father did send me my most prized and precious gift that I still wore today.
The necklace with the moonstone pendant.
My mother always told me that despite how much she loved my father and wished for him to return to us. But she raised us without his help, doing everything thing that she could to make sure there was enough food on the table for us and that we didn't grow to resent our father. I knew she missed him terribly, and that she longed for him to return to her. I suppose I resented my father a bit for that, mother waited endlessly for his return, but he never did. Not even a letter was sent to her, until the day he sent Will and I our necklaces… though I doubt Will remembered about his, I hadn't seen him wear it since we got rescued.
"Not everyone deserves something like that…" I murmured with a soft sigh. "Sometimes one has to live life out as a spinner in order to see a happy ending."
I set the vial down to set and began packing everything else into my satchel. I could sense that Uric was frowning at my response, but he said nothing as he turned back to his station to continue working. We were busy for once, but then again it was always around this time of season that ships came into Port Royal constantly. The last item I packed was the vial I just finished and once I made sure I had enough coin for lunch. Before I left though, I made sure to look presentable enough to be allowed inside the fancier homes. I braided my hair over my shoulder and changed into a clean olive-green dress.
As much as I didn't care about my appearances, Uric always stressed the importance of appearing clean when dealing with those with wealth. Even if most knew me, if I looked like a slob or a working girl, I would not be allowed entrance to deliver their orders. It was a pain most of the time, but I understood where he was coming from. Once I felt that I looked acceptable, I told Uric I would be back, and left.
It was a beautiful day in Port Royal, like it usually was. Bright sun, clear skies and the scent of salt water filtered through the air through the other scents of the town. My first stop was the Swann residence, as it usually was whenever the Governor sent us a request. I headed down the familiar pathway, spotting different people go about their day. I passed by the baker, catching the scent of fresh baked goods, and made note to stop by there on my way back. My route took me past the blacksmiths, and I poked my head inside to see if Will was there, I wasn't in any hurry. When I did, I was quite happy to see my brother still there, inspecting an exquisitely made sword in the sunlight.
Even though I was very unfamiliar with procedure in making a sword, I was quite familiar with recognizing the quality of one.
"That's the best one yet," I mused, walking further into the shop. "I can't spot any sort of blemish or imperfection. Well done."
Will's reaction was not fully unexpected for someone so focused on their work, but the way he jumped and flailed around was still amusing to witness. My brother spun around, his dark eyes wide in surprise and shock as he stared at me, slightly slack-jawed. It was almost as if he was seeing a ghost instead of his sister… not that I really blamed him… he's told me time and time again just how much I looked like our mother.
"Gen!" Will stumbled, a bright smile crossing his face as I approached him.
"Morning, Will," I chuckled softly, giving my brother a gentle smile as we embraced.
I was expecting the scent of steel and sweat to assault my nose as we hugged, but I didn't get that this time. Instead, it smelt as if he had freshened up slightly. When we pulled back from one another, I took a good look at my brother. He was dressed in clean clothes that day, which meant he was heading up to the Swann residence as well. He only every dressed up when there was a chance to see Miss Elizabeth.
"Going up to Governor Swann's residence?" I asked curiously, smiling softly at my twin.
At the mention of the Governor's residence, a flush rose up on my brother's cheeks, and that goofy smile appeared on his face. And I knew he was thinking about Miss Elizabeth again. I contained my need to sigh at his fancy of the woman, so I smiled instead. I would need never try to douse my brother's chance of love.
"Yes, I just finished the sword the Governor commissioned yesterday, and I was just looking it over." He explained, excited to show me what he did.
I nodded my head to him to show me and he proceeded to explain everything to me, including how he had made the sword perfectly balanced and where he inlaid gold into the masterpiece. As I've mentioned before, I might not understand how swords are crafted, but when it came to my brother's creations, I could see the craftmanship and the hard work he put into them. Not to mention that I carried two long knives on my person, mostly at my brother's insistence. But what made them special to me was the fact that my brother made them himself, and out of all the knives I had used, they were by far the most superior that I had ever handled.
"Want to head up together, then?" I asked him curiously. "The Governor requested a sleeping draught from us and its just finished."
My brother didn't even have to respond to give me an answer as he packed the sword away in its velvet sleeve and then into its box. Once that was done, my brother pulled on his coat and together we headed out to the Governor's home.