"Blind Eyes"
Disclaimer: I still don't own it, prolly never will. In any case, I'm not holding my breath. (
Chapter 4 - Here be treasure
If you are blind, how can you tell the difference between being asleep and being awake? For one, there is no light to ensure you that you are no longer dreaming. Dreams can often seem so real that they are almost indistinguishable from reality. Do you hear in your dreams? Do you feel in your dreams? Do you smell and taste in your dreams? Ah, dear reader, now you can see how truly desperate the life of the blind can be! For someone like our Lily Rose, reality occasionally became quite intangible. What were visions, what was reality, what was just a dream? Could her senses be trusted? And worst of all, what was she to do when her own senses decided to betray her?
She was awake. She had cleared her mind enough to make that decision. The boat was rocking (but it had rocked in her dream the night before), the blankets that enveloped her were coarse and scratchy against her face. Pain and discomfort were a general indication of a true waking reality. Now that she thought back to the previous night, Volais' sword to her stomach hadn't hurt. Another indicator that Lily was awake was the weight on the bed that she felt (obviously aside from her own weight). Someone was sitting on the bed. Sitting, not lying down, she could tell this by the weight distribution and the fact that nobody was touching her. She figured that it was Jack, this being his room. She heard his gentle breathing and knew that he was not awake. He had probably propped himself up against the wall.
Lily felt instantly safe again. What was it about the indomitable Captain Sparrow that made her feel this way? It was a combination of things really. Maybe it was the fact that she found him to be incredibly noble, despite his ties to the unscrupulous business of buccaneering. He had humanity and strength of character. And he had saved her and comforted her when she was afraid and irrational.
Lily pushed away the covers and tried to sit up without disturbing Jack. She could feel where he was on the end of the bed because of his body heat. Intuition was a useful skill to the blind. There it was again, that whiff of exotic spice that was Jack Sparrow. She couldn't place it, even now. Lily casually leaned into Jack and inhaled.
"Can I help you with something, love?" Jack's sudden query had startled Lily so badly that she pitched backwards and would have fallen off the bed if Jack had not grabbed her arms firmly.
"I'm sorry. I, uhh. . ."
"No explanations necessary. I know my charms must be irresistible." Jack laughed.
He was still holding her arms firmly. Why in God's name was he still holding her arms? Shouldn't he have let go by now? Please God make him stop touching me!!
"Mr. Sparrow--"
"Jack." He corrected.
"Jack, I think we need to talk about last night." He let go of her arms when he heard that.
"Isn't it a bit early for morning after talk, love?" Lily imagined that if she could see Jack's face, he probably would have winked at her.
"Please Jack."
"Look, there ain't much to discuss. You had a bad dream, that's it."
"Jack I don't want you to pity me. I just couldn't stand it if you did." Lily said. She suddenly felt like a child.
"I don't pity you. Hell, if I had escaped from Volais, I would have nightmares too." Jack gave Lily a friendly pat on the back and stood up.
"Thank you, Jack." But Lily still felt inadequate and foolish. Jack had escaped from the clutches of Volais too, and he was not suffering any ill- effects. She silently vowed herself to be stronger.
**
Lily spent the rest of the afternoon orienting herself in the ship. From Jack's bed to his door was seven steps. From the door to the table was five steps. From the table to the bed was also five steps. Once Lily had oriented herself completely with the positioning of objects on Jack's tables and dressers, she decided to venture outside. From the door of Jack's room to the stairs at the end of the hall, nine steps. Twelve steps up to the main deck. Here she ran into some of the crew members. They were very helpful as she oriented herself. They would call out if she were about to crash into something.
She had made her way from bow to stern and felt confident that she could remember the orientation of it all. As she made her way to the wheel, Jack called out to her.
"Wanna go at the wheel, love?" Jack called down to her.
"I would love to, but I'm blind." Lily emphasized the word.
Jack walked up to Lily and grabbed her by the hand. He dragged her to the wheel and placed both her hands gently on it.
"Jack this isn't going to work."
"Trust me, love. Half of steering a ship is intuition. And you happen to have that in spades." He helped her turn the wheel as needed. Eventually Lily began to relax and trust herself. She heard the little voice inside her tell her which way to turn the wheel. It was while she stood there that a vision came to her.
An island. A cave. Treasure. It was not far from here. The island pretty much consisted of a chain of caves on the ocean. Lily could see Jack steering the Black Pearl into one of these caves. She could also see herself wearing strings of pearls and gold bangles.
"Jack!" Lily cried and she accidentally spun to wheel a bit too vigorously. The ship lurched in the water and made a few horrible sounds. Lily almost fell over.
Jack cried out and tried to steady the wheel of his precious ship.
"Lesson number one: Never do that again!" Jack cried as he patted the wheel of his ship lovingly.
"Sorry Jack! I need a piece of paper!" Lily grabbed hold of Jack and shook him. "This is important Jack; I just saw a cave full of treasure."
Jack bounded off and returned with a small leather bound book and a charcoal pencil. Some members of the crew had gathered around. Word of treasure is lifeblood to pirates, after all.
"I didn't know Jack could read." One of the crew commented.
Jack shot a haughty look in the crew's direction. "O'course I can read. I keep a record of everything we do on this ship."
"OOOh. He keeps a diary!" Some of the crew sniggered at this suggestion. Jack ignored them. He opened the book and put the pencil into Lily's hand. She immediately sketched a map of a small island chain. She put two small marks on the map as well.
"This is the current position of the ship." She said as she put a dot on the map, "And here be treasure." Lily smiled as she put an X mark on one of the islands. "I think in all it's a two day journey. Volais doesn't know about it either. I think."
Jack picked up the map and studied it with a smile. Yes, it was defiantly worth the hassle of not having a bed to sleep in if he had a clairvoyant treasure hunter with him.
** AN: Computer worm fears have kept me offline in the past few days. I plan on going to see "Pirates" for the third time during the weekend as a means of inspiration. I have a doozy of a plot twist coming soon, I just have to figure out how to work it all in.
More to come in the next edition of our exciting adventure!! Please R&R!!
Disclaimer: I still don't own it, prolly never will. In any case, I'm not holding my breath. (
Chapter 4 - Here be treasure
If you are blind, how can you tell the difference between being asleep and being awake? For one, there is no light to ensure you that you are no longer dreaming. Dreams can often seem so real that they are almost indistinguishable from reality. Do you hear in your dreams? Do you feel in your dreams? Do you smell and taste in your dreams? Ah, dear reader, now you can see how truly desperate the life of the blind can be! For someone like our Lily Rose, reality occasionally became quite intangible. What were visions, what was reality, what was just a dream? Could her senses be trusted? And worst of all, what was she to do when her own senses decided to betray her?
She was awake. She had cleared her mind enough to make that decision. The boat was rocking (but it had rocked in her dream the night before), the blankets that enveloped her were coarse and scratchy against her face. Pain and discomfort were a general indication of a true waking reality. Now that she thought back to the previous night, Volais' sword to her stomach hadn't hurt. Another indicator that Lily was awake was the weight on the bed that she felt (obviously aside from her own weight). Someone was sitting on the bed. Sitting, not lying down, she could tell this by the weight distribution and the fact that nobody was touching her. She figured that it was Jack, this being his room. She heard his gentle breathing and knew that he was not awake. He had probably propped himself up against the wall.
Lily felt instantly safe again. What was it about the indomitable Captain Sparrow that made her feel this way? It was a combination of things really. Maybe it was the fact that she found him to be incredibly noble, despite his ties to the unscrupulous business of buccaneering. He had humanity and strength of character. And he had saved her and comforted her when she was afraid and irrational.
Lily pushed away the covers and tried to sit up without disturbing Jack. She could feel where he was on the end of the bed because of his body heat. Intuition was a useful skill to the blind. There it was again, that whiff of exotic spice that was Jack Sparrow. She couldn't place it, even now. Lily casually leaned into Jack and inhaled.
"Can I help you with something, love?" Jack's sudden query had startled Lily so badly that she pitched backwards and would have fallen off the bed if Jack had not grabbed her arms firmly.
"I'm sorry. I, uhh. . ."
"No explanations necessary. I know my charms must be irresistible." Jack laughed.
He was still holding her arms firmly. Why in God's name was he still holding her arms? Shouldn't he have let go by now? Please God make him stop touching me!!
"Mr. Sparrow--"
"Jack." He corrected.
"Jack, I think we need to talk about last night." He let go of her arms when he heard that.
"Isn't it a bit early for morning after talk, love?" Lily imagined that if she could see Jack's face, he probably would have winked at her.
"Please Jack."
"Look, there ain't much to discuss. You had a bad dream, that's it."
"Jack I don't want you to pity me. I just couldn't stand it if you did." Lily said. She suddenly felt like a child.
"I don't pity you. Hell, if I had escaped from Volais, I would have nightmares too." Jack gave Lily a friendly pat on the back and stood up.
"Thank you, Jack." But Lily still felt inadequate and foolish. Jack had escaped from the clutches of Volais too, and he was not suffering any ill- effects. She silently vowed herself to be stronger.
**
Lily spent the rest of the afternoon orienting herself in the ship. From Jack's bed to his door was seven steps. From the door to the table was five steps. From the table to the bed was also five steps. Once Lily had oriented herself completely with the positioning of objects on Jack's tables and dressers, she decided to venture outside. From the door of Jack's room to the stairs at the end of the hall, nine steps. Twelve steps up to the main deck. Here she ran into some of the crew members. They were very helpful as she oriented herself. They would call out if she were about to crash into something.
She had made her way from bow to stern and felt confident that she could remember the orientation of it all. As she made her way to the wheel, Jack called out to her.
"Wanna go at the wheel, love?" Jack called down to her.
"I would love to, but I'm blind." Lily emphasized the word.
Jack walked up to Lily and grabbed her by the hand. He dragged her to the wheel and placed both her hands gently on it.
"Jack this isn't going to work."
"Trust me, love. Half of steering a ship is intuition. And you happen to have that in spades." He helped her turn the wheel as needed. Eventually Lily began to relax and trust herself. She heard the little voice inside her tell her which way to turn the wheel. It was while she stood there that a vision came to her.
An island. A cave. Treasure. It was not far from here. The island pretty much consisted of a chain of caves on the ocean. Lily could see Jack steering the Black Pearl into one of these caves. She could also see herself wearing strings of pearls and gold bangles.
"Jack!" Lily cried and she accidentally spun to wheel a bit too vigorously. The ship lurched in the water and made a few horrible sounds. Lily almost fell over.
Jack cried out and tried to steady the wheel of his precious ship.
"Lesson number one: Never do that again!" Jack cried as he patted the wheel of his ship lovingly.
"Sorry Jack! I need a piece of paper!" Lily grabbed hold of Jack and shook him. "This is important Jack; I just saw a cave full of treasure."
Jack bounded off and returned with a small leather bound book and a charcoal pencil. Some members of the crew had gathered around. Word of treasure is lifeblood to pirates, after all.
"I didn't know Jack could read." One of the crew commented.
Jack shot a haughty look in the crew's direction. "O'course I can read. I keep a record of everything we do on this ship."
"OOOh. He keeps a diary!" Some of the crew sniggered at this suggestion. Jack ignored them. He opened the book and put the pencil into Lily's hand. She immediately sketched a map of a small island chain. She put two small marks on the map as well.
"This is the current position of the ship." She said as she put a dot on the map, "And here be treasure." Lily smiled as she put an X mark on one of the islands. "I think in all it's a two day journey. Volais doesn't know about it either. I think."
Jack picked up the map and studied it with a smile. Yes, it was defiantly worth the hassle of not having a bed to sleep in if he had a clairvoyant treasure hunter with him.
** AN: Computer worm fears have kept me offline in the past few days. I plan on going to see "Pirates" for the third time during the weekend as a means of inspiration. I have a doozy of a plot twist coming soon, I just have to figure out how to work it all in.
More to come in the next edition of our exciting adventure!! Please R&R!!