Shadows Over the Sea
By Illoria
Disclaimer: Nope, nope... they're still not mine ;)
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Chapter One
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He was running through the streets, alert and afraid. The world was a blur of color, a patchwork of sounds. The tears streaked down his dirty face as he yelled out for his mother.
He didn't know where his mother was. All he remembered was the sound of breaking glass, his mother's scream, and then his head felt like it had exploded in pain. There was a man's voice, and then nothing – an empty black space. He'd awoken only a few moments ago in an alleyway, and he was still dizzy and disoriented, but he had to find her…
The street was empty save for him. He recognized sounds coming from the market, and he knew where he was as soon as he emerged into the open square. People rushed around doing their daily business just as usual, buying from the vendors, getting into the occasional argument over the prices. He spotted a man stealing two apples from a cart.
What was going on? Didn't these people know what had happened to him? Shouldn't they be afraid?!
He stepped into the market square, looking around dazedly. Everything looked normal here. Had it been a dream? No, of course not. It was so real, and he'd woken up in the middle of a street he'd never been on before. Nobody knew what had happened, but he had to get help!
He tugged on the pants leg of a man passing by. "Sir, can you –" He was cut off by a gruff voice mumbling something. He looked up at a lady and pleaded, "Ma'am, I'm lost and –" She didn't notice him.
The tears came again at the thought of his mother. He didn't remember the face of the man whose voice he'd heard back there, just before he'd blacked out. His head pounded and still felt as if it were going to explode at any second.
He kept walking through the marketplace but no one would listen to him. Eventually he started running around, asking everyone he saw for help, but they either didn't notice him or just didn't care.
He was suddenly overcome by a rush of sadness. He felt empty and alone, something he'd never felt before. Could his mother be gone, and there was nothing he could do about it? But if his mother was gone, then… he was completely alone.
Suddenly he bumped into something. He made eye contact with the tops of a pair of high, worn brown leather boots. His eyes traveled upward; grey-blue pants tucked into the boots, a very old looking belt, a shirt that looked like it's once been very nice but now needed a washing, a coat only a shade darker than the pants.
The man he'd just bumped into bent down so they were eye-level with each other. The man had kind-looking brown eyes which sharply contrasted with his overall worn look.
"I'm William Turner," the man said. His voice was rough, but it had a tinge of concern in it. "What's your name, son?"
His mouth fumbled for words. "J-Jack, sir," he said quietly. "Jack Sparrow."
**
Jack told William what had happened, and they'd gone back to where it had happened – the tiny apartment where Jack and his mother lived – to see if they could find anything out. It was fruitless. William took Jack all around Tortuga searching, but they found nothing.
Night was falling, and Jack felt worse than he'd ever felt. He felt hardly able to stand up. He was shaking and still trying not to cry.
He heard William sigh deeply from in back of him, but Jack didn't turn around.
"I… I'm sorry," William murmured.
Jack turned around, blinked back tears and looked up into William's face. "No reason to be. Not your fault," he stumbled.
No one spoke for a moment. In the brief silence, the truth took its time seeping into the six-year-old boy. His mother was gone. She'd been kidnapped or… or killed. Jack shuddered. He couldn't hold the tears any longer; they trailed down his face without a sound.
"Listen, Jack, it's not safe to be out here at night in Tortuga," William said suddenly. "Tell you what – come back with me to my ship for the night."
Jack shook his head. "How do I know… How do I know that I can trust you?" he said in a small voice.
"Well I s'pose there's no way I can convince you," William said.
Jack looked up into William's eyes and saw that they too were wet with tears. The man's eyes were honest and Jack was exhausted. He let William lead him to his ship. He struggled to keep his eyes open as they arrived at the ports, the world dark by then, and boarded a ship. William eventually lifted the little boy up and carried him.
**
When Jack woke up in the morning, he honestly thought he was at home like he'd been every morning of his life. He thought he would get up and look for his mother – sometimes she'd be there, sometimes not, depended on whether or not she was done with the job she did at night. If she was there he would rush into her arms and kiss her soft cheek. If she wasn't, he'd sit at the kitchen table and wait patiently, it was never long before she got home.
Then the ship rocked and he was jolted awake, and all the events of the previous day rushed back to him. He pulled the covers back over his head. Maybe if he went back to sleep… maybe this was just a dream, and then he'd wake up where he was supposed to be. Home, with his mother.
But voices around him made him realize finally that he wasn't in a dream. They were arguing, he realized. About him.
"We can't have a kid on board, Bootstraps."
"Just until we find a place for him. He doesn't have anywhere to go." Jack recognized William's voice and poked his head out from under the covers. His dark eyes fell on William and he was reassured just a little that he wasn't completely alone.
William looked over to realize that Jack was awake. "We'll discuss this later," he said to the man he was arguing with. He walked over to Jack and said, "Mornin'! Good night's sleep?"
Jack shook his head. "Not really."
William's smile faded. "Eh, understandable," he muttered. "Listen Jack, you're gonna stay on board here for now." The man he'd been arguing with scowled slightly. "So get up, we'll have ourselves some breakfast, and I'll show y'around. How's that?"
Jack nodded, pulled the covers off, and jumped out of bed. He followed William to the galley, where many men sat around a square table. A fancy chair sat at the far end of the table, cushioned in what looked like velvet, deep red with gold trim around the edges.
"That's where Captain Riley sits," William explained when he saw Jack eyeing the captain's chair. Jack nodded.
William took a seat in one of the few remaining empty chairs, and Jack sat next to him. Some of the crew members cast suspicious looks in Jack's direction. He felt like hiding.
Suddenly, a very tall man wearing an ornate red coat stepped into the room. The room was silenced. The man walked briskly to the head of the table, and Jack realized he must be the Captain that William had told him about. Once the Captain was seated, his eyes fell immediately on Jack.
"Bootstraps," he said. His voice wasn't as rough as William's, but it wasn't as kind, either. "Who's the kid?"
William stood and said, "Captain, his name is Jack Sparrow. He lost his mother just yesterday, and he doesn't have any place to go. I ask permission for him to stay aboard until we find him a place."
"No word of what happened to his mother?"
"No, Captain," William said. "I helped him search all yesterday."
"So that's where you were," the Captain mumbled. "This ship is no place for a child, Turner. He can't stay."
"Please, Captain," William persisted. "He doesn't have anywhere at all to go."
Jack's eyes darted back and forth from William to the Captain. He felt sort of like he wasn't really there in the room, like he was watching this happen to someone else.
The Captain sighed. "He can stay 'til we set sail," he said. "After that he has to go."
"Thank you, Captain," William said, relief evident in his voice.
"Keep the child with you at all times, Bootstraps," the Captain said. "We don't need him runnin' 'round the ship. Savvy?"
William nodded. "Yes, Captain."
The Captain sat down, and so did William, who smiled at Jack. Jack smiled back.
**
"See this is the helm," William explained as he led Jack to the front of the ship and to the wheel. "That there's the bow," he added, pointing to the very front, where a flag protruded; black with a skull and crossbones.
Jack walked closer to the bow and looked at the flag. "I've seen that before," he said. "In a storybook. About pi…rates…" He trailed off as he looked back at William, back at the flag. "You're…?"
William nodded. He pulled back his sleeve to reveal a P branded on the back of his right wrist. "Pirates, we are."
Jack looked up at him, wide-mouthed. For a moment he forgot everything as he exclaimed, "Pirates! I've heard all about pirates. My mom told me all sorts of stories. She worked for pirates, you know."
William looked perplexed for just a second, then realized what Jack's mother had really done for a job. Suddenly some things came together.
"Oh, yeah?" William said somewhat distractedly. "You… you ever seen pirates before son?"
"Well I've seen some people I thought were pirates around town all the time," Jack said. "But I've never met one before…" He looked up at William. "D'you have treasure?"
William chuckled softly. "Every pirate has treasure, son," he said. "But not all treasure is silver and gold."
"What do you mean?"
"Just, the real treasure," William said, "is this here." He gestured to the ship.
"The ship?"
William nodded. "The ship, the sea… That, son, is what bein' a pirate is about. Sure, there's gold. But it doesn't compare to the freedom of the sea."
**
It went on like this for five days; William taking Jack wherever he went, around the ship, in town. Then one evening, they arrived back on board and the Captain approached William. He took him aside and William told Jack they'd only be a minute.
Jack nodded. Once William and the Captain had moved aside, Jack walked quietly up to the helm. Ever since William had shown him this on the first day he'd been on the ship, he'd been fascinated. He wanted to be on the ship when it sailed, to feel what it would be like to steer. Secretly he wanted to sail away from Tortuga, away from the house he'd lived in where his mother had hugged him in the mornings…
She was gone now, and he knew it. The first couple of days, he'd thought maybe his mother was still out there. Maybe she would come looking for him. But the night of his second day on the ship, he'd heard William and another crew member talking. He was supposed to be asleep, but he couldn't help but listen.
"Is the kid leaving soon?" the crew member had said crossly.
"Come on, Taylor," William had said. "Go easy on him. His mother is dead."
The words had hit Jack dead-on. He hadn't slept that night at all save for an hour or two, and when he'd woken up something was different. The hope was gone.
Jack was brought back to the present by the sound of William's boots behind him. William placed a hand on the small boy's shoulder and said, "Jack. Come here."
William knelt down and Jack climbed up into his lap. "Jack, I'm afraid you can't…" He closed his eyes and shook his head. "No Jack, I can't do this to you. Captain Riley says that you have to leave, we're setting sail tomorrow. But I can't leave you here."
Jack looked at William, scared. "But…"
"Shh, it'll be okay," William reassured the boy. "I'll straighten things out and you won't have to be alone."
Jack nodded. He trusted William, but he was still afraid.
It showed in his eyes. William said, "Hey, how about I teach you a song? It'll cheer you up."
Jack nodded.
"Starts like this." And William started singing.
We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
We extort, we pilfer, we filch and sack.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
Maraud and embezzle and even hijack.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
We kindle and char, inflame and ignite.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
We burn up the city, we're really a fright.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
We're rascals, scoundrels, villains and knaves.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
We're devils and black sheep, really bad eggs!
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
We're beggars and blighters and ne'er-do-well cads.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
Aye! But we're loved by our mommies and dads!
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
William sung the song until Jack knew enough of the words to sing along. The little boy was laughing by the end, and William was smiling. He lifted Jack up and set him down in front of the wheel. "I'll figure something out, don' worry."
**
Jack must've fallen asleep, because next thing he knew, he woke up in his bunk and it was morning.
He was getting used to being on the ship. The first day he felt kind of seasick and he had trouble walking around, but he'd gotten over it quickly and now, he'd really gotten to like being on the ship. He loved the smell of the ocean and at night, he loved falling asleep to the sound of the waves lapping against the side of the ship.
Fully awake, Jack climbed out of bed. He was nervous; today was the day he was supposed to leave the ship. The Captain had said they'd be setting sail, and Jack couldn't come.
He slowly made his way to the upper deck, afraid of what he'd be told there. William was there waiting for him.
"William?" he asked walking up to the man.
"Jack," William said, kneeling down so that he was eye-level with the little boy. "We're setting sail today and Captain Riley says that you can't come on the voyage; it'll be too dangerous for you anyway. You have to stay in Tortuga. I'll bring you to the orphanage."
Jack's eyes widened, and his heart fell. "But…"
"But I'll be back," William added. "I'm not sure when, but I won't let you stay in that orphanage. Believe me, Jack. We'll be coming back to Tortuga anyway."
Jack nodded, a lump forming in his throat. "Promise?"
"I promise, son," William said. He stood and ruffled Jack's coarse black hair.
Jack didn't say anything as William led him off of the ship. He felt as if he was being torn away; he didn't want to leave. Stepping on land after being aboard the ship for five days felt very strange; stranger even than the feeling of stepping on a ship after never having been aboard one before.
Jack still didn't say anything as William led him through Tortuga, down streets and through squares, until they reached a medium-sized building with a sign on the front that told them they'd arrived where they'd intended to arrive… the orphanage.
William sighed heavily. "Jack, I hate leaving you here," he mumbled. "But really, the Captain's right in a way. I s'pose a ship's no place for a little boy."
"No!" Jack protested loudly. "I really liked being on the ship. And I really don't want to be here." He gestured to the towering orphanage building.
"I'll be back," William promised again. "Count on it, Jack."
"Soon?"
"I can't say. I'm not gonna lie to ya – it could be a year –"
"No!" Jack protested again.
"You can do this, Jack," William said. "And I might be back sooner but – don't get your hopes up, 'cause I might not."
Jack opened his mouth, but clamped it shut and looked down at the ground instead of speaking.
"Come on," William said. He opened the door and held it while Jack walked inside.
The ground was covered in a dark red carpet, and the walls were dark wood. There was only one window, and it was dirty. Jack and William walked up to a desk on the other side of a room, where a woman sat. She was writing on a piece of parchment with a fancy quill, and she looked up only when Jack and William were right in front of the desk.
"Yes?" she said.
William explained the situation to the woman, and she nodded. She went up a flight of stairs, and a nun came down with her. Jack had never met a nun before, but he'd seen a couple.
The nun looked down at Jack, and rather suspiciously at William. "Jack Sparrow?" she said after a brief pause. Her voice was rather shrill, and it made Jack cringe a bit; her words well-pronounced.
William hesitated, but put his arms around Jack. "See you soon," William whispered to the boy. Jack nodded.
The nun came closer to Jack as William retreated. "I suppose it is settled then."
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Review review review! Worth continuing? Worth trashing? =O Revieeeeeeew! :D
By Illoria
Disclaimer: Nope, nope... they're still not mine ;)
------
Chapter One
------
He was running through the streets, alert and afraid. The world was a blur of color, a patchwork of sounds. The tears streaked down his dirty face as he yelled out for his mother.
He didn't know where his mother was. All he remembered was the sound of breaking glass, his mother's scream, and then his head felt like it had exploded in pain. There was a man's voice, and then nothing – an empty black space. He'd awoken only a few moments ago in an alleyway, and he was still dizzy and disoriented, but he had to find her…
The street was empty save for him. He recognized sounds coming from the market, and he knew where he was as soon as he emerged into the open square. People rushed around doing their daily business just as usual, buying from the vendors, getting into the occasional argument over the prices. He spotted a man stealing two apples from a cart.
What was going on? Didn't these people know what had happened to him? Shouldn't they be afraid?!
He stepped into the market square, looking around dazedly. Everything looked normal here. Had it been a dream? No, of course not. It was so real, and he'd woken up in the middle of a street he'd never been on before. Nobody knew what had happened, but he had to get help!
He tugged on the pants leg of a man passing by. "Sir, can you –" He was cut off by a gruff voice mumbling something. He looked up at a lady and pleaded, "Ma'am, I'm lost and –" She didn't notice him.
The tears came again at the thought of his mother. He didn't remember the face of the man whose voice he'd heard back there, just before he'd blacked out. His head pounded and still felt as if it were going to explode at any second.
He kept walking through the marketplace but no one would listen to him. Eventually he started running around, asking everyone he saw for help, but they either didn't notice him or just didn't care.
He was suddenly overcome by a rush of sadness. He felt empty and alone, something he'd never felt before. Could his mother be gone, and there was nothing he could do about it? But if his mother was gone, then… he was completely alone.
Suddenly he bumped into something. He made eye contact with the tops of a pair of high, worn brown leather boots. His eyes traveled upward; grey-blue pants tucked into the boots, a very old looking belt, a shirt that looked like it's once been very nice but now needed a washing, a coat only a shade darker than the pants.
The man he'd just bumped into bent down so they were eye-level with each other. The man had kind-looking brown eyes which sharply contrasted with his overall worn look.
"I'm William Turner," the man said. His voice was rough, but it had a tinge of concern in it. "What's your name, son?"
His mouth fumbled for words. "J-Jack, sir," he said quietly. "Jack Sparrow."
**
Jack told William what had happened, and they'd gone back to where it had happened – the tiny apartment where Jack and his mother lived – to see if they could find anything out. It was fruitless. William took Jack all around Tortuga searching, but they found nothing.
Night was falling, and Jack felt worse than he'd ever felt. He felt hardly able to stand up. He was shaking and still trying not to cry.
He heard William sigh deeply from in back of him, but Jack didn't turn around.
"I… I'm sorry," William murmured.
Jack turned around, blinked back tears and looked up into William's face. "No reason to be. Not your fault," he stumbled.
No one spoke for a moment. In the brief silence, the truth took its time seeping into the six-year-old boy. His mother was gone. She'd been kidnapped or… or killed. Jack shuddered. He couldn't hold the tears any longer; they trailed down his face without a sound.
"Listen, Jack, it's not safe to be out here at night in Tortuga," William said suddenly. "Tell you what – come back with me to my ship for the night."
Jack shook his head. "How do I know… How do I know that I can trust you?" he said in a small voice.
"Well I s'pose there's no way I can convince you," William said.
Jack looked up into William's eyes and saw that they too were wet with tears. The man's eyes were honest and Jack was exhausted. He let William lead him to his ship. He struggled to keep his eyes open as they arrived at the ports, the world dark by then, and boarded a ship. William eventually lifted the little boy up and carried him.
**
When Jack woke up in the morning, he honestly thought he was at home like he'd been every morning of his life. He thought he would get up and look for his mother – sometimes she'd be there, sometimes not, depended on whether or not she was done with the job she did at night. If she was there he would rush into her arms and kiss her soft cheek. If she wasn't, he'd sit at the kitchen table and wait patiently, it was never long before she got home.
Then the ship rocked and he was jolted awake, and all the events of the previous day rushed back to him. He pulled the covers back over his head. Maybe if he went back to sleep… maybe this was just a dream, and then he'd wake up where he was supposed to be. Home, with his mother.
But voices around him made him realize finally that he wasn't in a dream. They were arguing, he realized. About him.
"We can't have a kid on board, Bootstraps."
"Just until we find a place for him. He doesn't have anywhere to go." Jack recognized William's voice and poked his head out from under the covers. His dark eyes fell on William and he was reassured just a little that he wasn't completely alone.
William looked over to realize that Jack was awake. "We'll discuss this later," he said to the man he was arguing with. He walked over to Jack and said, "Mornin'! Good night's sleep?"
Jack shook his head. "Not really."
William's smile faded. "Eh, understandable," he muttered. "Listen Jack, you're gonna stay on board here for now." The man he'd been arguing with scowled slightly. "So get up, we'll have ourselves some breakfast, and I'll show y'around. How's that?"
Jack nodded, pulled the covers off, and jumped out of bed. He followed William to the galley, where many men sat around a square table. A fancy chair sat at the far end of the table, cushioned in what looked like velvet, deep red with gold trim around the edges.
"That's where Captain Riley sits," William explained when he saw Jack eyeing the captain's chair. Jack nodded.
William took a seat in one of the few remaining empty chairs, and Jack sat next to him. Some of the crew members cast suspicious looks in Jack's direction. He felt like hiding.
Suddenly, a very tall man wearing an ornate red coat stepped into the room. The room was silenced. The man walked briskly to the head of the table, and Jack realized he must be the Captain that William had told him about. Once the Captain was seated, his eyes fell immediately on Jack.
"Bootstraps," he said. His voice wasn't as rough as William's, but it wasn't as kind, either. "Who's the kid?"
William stood and said, "Captain, his name is Jack Sparrow. He lost his mother just yesterday, and he doesn't have any place to go. I ask permission for him to stay aboard until we find him a place."
"No word of what happened to his mother?"
"No, Captain," William said. "I helped him search all yesterday."
"So that's where you were," the Captain mumbled. "This ship is no place for a child, Turner. He can't stay."
"Please, Captain," William persisted. "He doesn't have anywhere at all to go."
Jack's eyes darted back and forth from William to the Captain. He felt sort of like he wasn't really there in the room, like he was watching this happen to someone else.
The Captain sighed. "He can stay 'til we set sail," he said. "After that he has to go."
"Thank you, Captain," William said, relief evident in his voice.
"Keep the child with you at all times, Bootstraps," the Captain said. "We don't need him runnin' 'round the ship. Savvy?"
William nodded. "Yes, Captain."
The Captain sat down, and so did William, who smiled at Jack. Jack smiled back.
**
"See this is the helm," William explained as he led Jack to the front of the ship and to the wheel. "That there's the bow," he added, pointing to the very front, where a flag protruded; black with a skull and crossbones.
Jack walked closer to the bow and looked at the flag. "I've seen that before," he said. "In a storybook. About pi…rates…" He trailed off as he looked back at William, back at the flag. "You're…?"
William nodded. He pulled back his sleeve to reveal a P branded on the back of his right wrist. "Pirates, we are."
Jack looked up at him, wide-mouthed. For a moment he forgot everything as he exclaimed, "Pirates! I've heard all about pirates. My mom told me all sorts of stories. She worked for pirates, you know."
William looked perplexed for just a second, then realized what Jack's mother had really done for a job. Suddenly some things came together.
"Oh, yeah?" William said somewhat distractedly. "You… you ever seen pirates before son?"
"Well I've seen some people I thought were pirates around town all the time," Jack said. "But I've never met one before…" He looked up at William. "D'you have treasure?"
William chuckled softly. "Every pirate has treasure, son," he said. "But not all treasure is silver and gold."
"What do you mean?"
"Just, the real treasure," William said, "is this here." He gestured to the ship.
"The ship?"
William nodded. "The ship, the sea… That, son, is what bein' a pirate is about. Sure, there's gold. But it doesn't compare to the freedom of the sea."
**
It went on like this for five days; William taking Jack wherever he went, around the ship, in town. Then one evening, they arrived back on board and the Captain approached William. He took him aside and William told Jack they'd only be a minute.
Jack nodded. Once William and the Captain had moved aside, Jack walked quietly up to the helm. Ever since William had shown him this on the first day he'd been on the ship, he'd been fascinated. He wanted to be on the ship when it sailed, to feel what it would be like to steer. Secretly he wanted to sail away from Tortuga, away from the house he'd lived in where his mother had hugged him in the mornings…
She was gone now, and he knew it. The first couple of days, he'd thought maybe his mother was still out there. Maybe she would come looking for him. But the night of his second day on the ship, he'd heard William and another crew member talking. He was supposed to be asleep, but he couldn't help but listen.
"Is the kid leaving soon?" the crew member had said crossly.
"Come on, Taylor," William had said. "Go easy on him. His mother is dead."
The words had hit Jack dead-on. He hadn't slept that night at all save for an hour or two, and when he'd woken up something was different. The hope was gone.
Jack was brought back to the present by the sound of William's boots behind him. William placed a hand on the small boy's shoulder and said, "Jack. Come here."
William knelt down and Jack climbed up into his lap. "Jack, I'm afraid you can't…" He closed his eyes and shook his head. "No Jack, I can't do this to you. Captain Riley says that you have to leave, we're setting sail tomorrow. But I can't leave you here."
Jack looked at William, scared. "But…"
"Shh, it'll be okay," William reassured the boy. "I'll straighten things out and you won't have to be alone."
Jack nodded. He trusted William, but he was still afraid.
It showed in his eyes. William said, "Hey, how about I teach you a song? It'll cheer you up."
Jack nodded.
"Starts like this." And William started singing.
We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
We extort, we pilfer, we filch and sack.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
Maraud and embezzle and even hijack.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
We kindle and char, inflame and ignite.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
We burn up the city, we're really a fright.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
We're rascals, scoundrels, villains and knaves.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
We're devils and black sheep, really bad eggs!
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
We're beggars and blighters and ne'er-do-well cads.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
Aye! But we're loved by our mommies and dads!
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me.
William sung the song until Jack knew enough of the words to sing along. The little boy was laughing by the end, and William was smiling. He lifted Jack up and set him down in front of the wheel. "I'll figure something out, don' worry."
**
Jack must've fallen asleep, because next thing he knew, he woke up in his bunk and it was morning.
He was getting used to being on the ship. The first day he felt kind of seasick and he had trouble walking around, but he'd gotten over it quickly and now, he'd really gotten to like being on the ship. He loved the smell of the ocean and at night, he loved falling asleep to the sound of the waves lapping against the side of the ship.
Fully awake, Jack climbed out of bed. He was nervous; today was the day he was supposed to leave the ship. The Captain had said they'd be setting sail, and Jack couldn't come.
He slowly made his way to the upper deck, afraid of what he'd be told there. William was there waiting for him.
"William?" he asked walking up to the man.
"Jack," William said, kneeling down so that he was eye-level with the little boy. "We're setting sail today and Captain Riley says that you can't come on the voyage; it'll be too dangerous for you anyway. You have to stay in Tortuga. I'll bring you to the orphanage."
Jack's eyes widened, and his heart fell. "But…"
"But I'll be back," William added. "I'm not sure when, but I won't let you stay in that orphanage. Believe me, Jack. We'll be coming back to Tortuga anyway."
Jack nodded, a lump forming in his throat. "Promise?"
"I promise, son," William said. He stood and ruffled Jack's coarse black hair.
Jack didn't say anything as William led him off of the ship. He felt as if he was being torn away; he didn't want to leave. Stepping on land after being aboard the ship for five days felt very strange; stranger even than the feeling of stepping on a ship after never having been aboard one before.
Jack still didn't say anything as William led him through Tortuga, down streets and through squares, until they reached a medium-sized building with a sign on the front that told them they'd arrived where they'd intended to arrive… the orphanage.
William sighed heavily. "Jack, I hate leaving you here," he mumbled. "But really, the Captain's right in a way. I s'pose a ship's no place for a little boy."
"No!" Jack protested loudly. "I really liked being on the ship. And I really don't want to be here." He gestured to the towering orphanage building.
"I'll be back," William promised again. "Count on it, Jack."
"Soon?"
"I can't say. I'm not gonna lie to ya – it could be a year –"
"No!" Jack protested again.
"You can do this, Jack," William said. "And I might be back sooner but – don't get your hopes up, 'cause I might not."
Jack opened his mouth, but clamped it shut and looked down at the ground instead of speaking.
"Come on," William said. He opened the door and held it while Jack walked inside.
The ground was covered in a dark red carpet, and the walls were dark wood. There was only one window, and it was dirty. Jack and William walked up to a desk on the other side of a room, where a woman sat. She was writing on a piece of parchment with a fancy quill, and she looked up only when Jack and William were right in front of the desk.
"Yes?" she said.
William explained the situation to the woman, and she nodded. She went up a flight of stairs, and a nun came down with her. Jack had never met a nun before, but he'd seen a couple.
The nun looked down at Jack, and rather suspiciously at William. "Jack Sparrow?" she said after a brief pause. Her voice was rather shrill, and it made Jack cringe a bit; her words well-pronounced.
William hesitated, but put his arms around Jack. "See you soon," William whispered to the boy. Jack nodded.
The nun came closer to Jack as William retreated. "I suppose it is settled then."
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