Disclaimer: Pirates of the Caribbean is owned by Disney, not me. I do
however, own Catherine, Mary, and other random characters, but if you see a
story with a girl named Katherine, who is basically in the same predicament
as my Catherine, the author is not plagarizing my work.
The clink of metal-on-metal could be heard throughout the entire smithy. In harmony with that tone, a woman's voice could be heard shouting. It was late, and Will Turner was finishing up his most recent order. Sweat poured down his back and sparks shot out beneath his work.
"Will," the voice screamed. "Will! Have you seen Catherine?"
Elizabeth Turner marched into the smithy. Will was still bent over his work.
"William, I asked you a question," Elizabeth pouted. Will finally looked up; he had locks of black hair dangling out of his ponytail and his eyes were swollen with tiredness.
"Elizabeth, love," he said, quietly. "I have been working for five hours straight since tea and through supper. The only thing I know is that I have nearly finished and I must finish before this cools." Elizabeth nodded.
"Well, as soon as you're done, could you look for Catherine?" she queried. "I'm going to sleep." She turned on her heel and marched out of the smithy. Will shook his head and turned back to his sword. A couple more pounds and he was finished. The smithy had heated as quickly as his body and he was covered in sweat. He stepped outside into the Caribbean air, which was not much better, but it was enough to stop the continuous perspiring. He took a deep breath of the humid air and stepped back inside to find a girl climbing down from the rafters.
"Catherine," he said sharply. The girl fell off immediately, stood up, and turned round to face her father. She gave and audible gulp.
"Y-yes father?" she stammered, attempting (and failing) to reply nonchalantly. "What were you doing Catherine?" William Turner's anger coursed through his veins. "Do you have any idea how worried your mother was?" Of course, not concerned enough to go look for her herself, Will thought to himself.
Catherine shook her head.
"What were you doing Catherine?" he repeated.
"Waiting father," she muttered.
"Waiting? Waiting for what?" he replied.
"BecauseIwantedtopracticemyswordfighting," she said quickly. "Good night father!" she sang with false sweetness.
"Stop," he said curtly. "Repeat what you just said."
"Good night father?"
"No Catherine, before that. You know what I was talking about."
Catherine looked up at him. "B-because I wanted to practice my sword fighting," she whispered.
"Where did you learn to sword fight?" her father burst out.
"I-I watched you when you-you used to p-practice."
Will let a little smile play on his lips. "Let's see how good you are then." Will went and drew a sword out and tossed it to Catherine. Then he drew one of his own.
"En garde," Will said, smirking. They fought for hours on end. Catherine, in her dress and petticoats, was doing almost as well as her father, who was a lot more comfortable in his pants and shirt. Light was beginning to pour through the open window and Catherine had to finally put her hand up and make her father stop.
"Father, I'm done," she panted. "I need to sleep. It's probably four thirty in morning. I'm tired." Will Turner straightened up and put his sword back in its holder along with Catherine's.
"Off with you," Will said to Catherine, who turned and made her way to their house. Will took a deep breath and followed.
~*~
When Catherine walked into her room, she found her sister Mary sitting in bed, scratching out a letter.
"So where have you been?" Mary asked, not looking up from her letter.
"What does it matter?" Catherine replied, peeling off her outer garments.
"Well, you've been gone all night, and you're sweaty," Mary replied matter- of-factly. "That usually means one thing.." She let the sentence hang eerily. "Well I wasn't doing that."
"Then what were you doing?"
"I was sword fighting."
"With who?"
"Father."
Mary seemed to have heard, but did not reply. Catherine took off her second and third layers and lay down on her bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.
~*~
The next day, Catherine's handmaid woke her up around midday to tell her that her mother wanted to see her. Catherine simply rolled over and pulled the blankets over her head.
"Miss," her maid insisted. "Miss, your mother desires to see you." The maid shook Catherine. Catherine rolled over and glared at the maid.
"Go tell my mother I will be there in half an hour," Catherine snapped.
"Miss, if I may be so bold, your mother insists -"
"Fine. I'll be down in five minutes." The maid nodded and bustled out of the room. Catherine moaned and lifted herself out of bed. Her maid had opened the window and the bright light was giving Catherine a headache. Catherine pulled on her robe and slippers and traipsed down the stairs of her home. Seated inside the parlor was Elizabeth Turner, who had grown slightly larger in her middle years and she now wore a wig to cover up her graying hair. She was sipping her afternoon tea. Her eyes shifted over to Catherine.
"Sit," Elizabeth said curtly. Catherine crossed the room and sat on the fainting couch across from the table.
"Your father explained to me this afternoon where you were last night," Elizabeth said dangerously. Catherine looked down at her feet.
"The governor's granddaughter - sword fighting!" Elizabeth shouted. "An for no practical reason either. I only fought because I had too. I never see your sister, Mary, prancing around with a sword. It's time you do something practical."
Elizabeth took a sip of her tea. "Therefore, your father and I have decided to hire you a tutor to teach you sewing and table-setting. All practical information I learned when I was your age." The idea of a tutor hit Catherine like a cannonball.
"You're - you're hiring a tutor for me?" Catherine asked incredulously. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.
"And what, may I ask, is wrong with a tutor?" Elizabeth asked, her voice getting louder. "Your sister Mary has been begging for a tutor for the past year."
"It's always about Mary isn't it?" Catherine shot back.
"I will not be spoken to like that. You are getting a tutor. Now get out of my sight." Elizabeth took another sip of tea as Catherine marched out of her house and down the streets of Port Royal. It didn't take her long to figure out she was only wearing a robe and her slippers, so she scurried back to her house and put on something more suitable. Again she marched onto the streets of Port Royal. The humid air was stained with the stench of a hard day's labor and the men unloading the vessel were covered with sweat, which cleansed their pores of the mud from the ground. Hardly anybody was working because it was teatime; and those who could afford it were drinking their tea. The streets were basically deserted except those shop owners who were bustling back to their shops before tea ended.
"Good mornin' to yeh, Miss Turner," rang a voice from the docks. Catherine turned around and saw Old Mister Smith loading boxes of tea onto the dock.
"Good morning Mr. Smith," Catherine replied politely, as she crossed over to the dock. "What do we have this morning?"
Mr. Smith grinned his toothless grin. "Tea leaves from the Orient ma'am. S'posed ter be the bes' tea leaves around. I expect yer house'll be gettin' some any day now."
"I don't doubt you're right," Catherine replied. "Goodbye Mr. Smith."
"Goodbye lass."
Catherine walked away from the dock and towards her father's smithy. He would be taking his tea around this time, so she decided to join him. Port Royal was not a big town; it was probably less than two miles from end to end. The walk to her father's was not a far distance.
As she walked, her mother's voice popped in her head and reminded Catherine about her tutor. She would have to discuss that with her father. The window to the smithy was open and she could hear voices drifting out of it.
"William, please," one man's voice begged. "You owe me. I've saved Elizabeth more times than you can count on both hands."
"I've already told you," Will's voice said. "I won't do it. I've gotten older. I have three children. I can't leave them with the possibility of no father."
"Your father did," said the other man quietly.
"I've tried so hard not to turn out like my father," Will replied angrily. "And stop adding rum to your tea!" he snapped.
"Sorry mate," the other man muttered. Catherine peeked into the open window and saw a man with thick, black hair hanging onto his back; his beard braided into two braids and rings on every finger. His booted feet were propped up on the table and he was stirring his tea with the bone pick from his hair. Catherine had heard about men like these. These men, these pirates, were to be hung if found. She couldn't imagine how one had managed to get into Port Royal. Why was her father conversing with one? He had always warned her about pirates, so why was he talking with a man that had kohl around the bottom of his eyes? The pirate looked around and saw Catherine staring in through the window. He gave a small smile.
The pirate took off his hat and gave a small bow.
"Right mate. You're not going to help me so I'll just leave and never darken your doorstep again." The pirate sighed. "You're positive you don't want to help me mate?"
"Go Jack," Will said, looking at his cup. "Just leave and never come back." Jack gave a great sweeping bow and left the room. Catherine saw him come out and she started walking away quickly. She would have liked to have talked to him, certainly, but her father seemed too upset with him, so she headed for home. Just as she was at the gates of her home, she felt someone grab her hand. She whirled around. Jack Sparrow was grabbing her hand and showing his gold teeth to the fullest.
"Hello luv," said Jack.
"Let go of me," Catherine shrieked. She tried to pull away, but Jack pulled out his pistol.
"I'm afraid I can't do that luv," replied Jack. "Your father, as you have no doubt overheard, has agreed to help me with one of me problems."
"No he hasn't."
"He will now. Savvy?" Catherine's eye grew wide and she looked at the pistol in a whole new light.
"No luv, I'm not going to kill you," he said softly. "But your father doesn't know that, now, does he? So if you'd go with me quietly.."
Catherine pursed her lips. "Then what makes you think I'll go with you quietly?" Jack hit her on the head with his pistol and she fell down in a dead faint.
"This luv," Jack said smirking.
~*~
When Catherine finally woke up, she was lying on the deck of The Black Pearl and salt water was hitting her face.
"What the -" Catherine coughed as the water poured down her throat. She sat up and spit out the water. She saw the grinning face of Captain Jack Sparrow crouching down in front of her.
"Time to wake up poppit," said Jack, standing up. "We've got a long day ahead of us." He walked over to the wheel and pulled out his compass. Catherine slowly got up and felt very queasy. She ran to the edge of the ship and retched.
"Ah, that can happen if you've never been on a boat before Miss Turner," quipped Jack with a trace of laughter on his face. Catherine wiped her face with a shaking hand a turned to face Jack.
"I want to go home," she said, her eyes narrowing.
"And I want an endless supply of rum luv." He looked at her and saw how serious her face was. "Your father will be here soon. Don't worry too much Catherine." She managed a weak smile.
~*~
Will Turner walked into his home late at night. Elizabeth was seated in the parlor, waiting. Will peered in on her.
"You can come to bed now Elizabeth," he whispered with a small smile on his face. Elizabeth turned to look at him. Her eyes grew slightly wide.
"Where is Catherine?" Elizabeth sounded worried.
"She's not home yet?" Will looked perplexed.
"William Turner. Where is Catherine?"
"Not - not with me.."
"Where is my daughter? Where is my eldest daughter?" Elizabeth stood up knocking the table over and spilling cold afternoon tea.
"Elizabeth, love, please calm down. I'm sure she can't be." Will stopped mid-sentence. "Jack."
"WHAT?" Elizabeth screamed. "What about Jack?"
"Don't worry about that. Tell your father we need a ship and we need the fastest one." Elizabeth nodded and left the room to go wake up her father up.
"Jack, I never thought you'd stoop so low," Will muttered.
~*~
Catherine had been violently sick for the past two hours. She was becoming deeply dehydrated and the only clean drink was the rum in Jack's flask. Heavy alcohol was not a good combination for the sixteen-year-old.
"And then one time," Catherine hiccuped, "I walked in on me mum and dad.." She giggled hysterically and Jack rolled his eyes.
"You need to cut back on the rum luv," Jack said, trying to remove the flask from her hand."
"But Jack, it's sooo good," she complained. She tried to pull it away from Jack, but he succeeded in removing it from her hand. He put the flask around himself and stood up to see how the ship was doing. Catherine tried to stand up, but all she could do was hoist herself enough up to lean over the edge of the ship and watch the waves roll.
"They're so pretty Jack," she muttered. "Pretty waves.pretty waves.." Catherine watched the waves over and over. She traced the waves with her finger.
"Jack?"
"What?"
"Why is water so wet?"
"I'm only a simple pirate Miss," he replied, slightly inclining his head. "I can't tell you why the water is so wet."
"Oh.." The waves and the sound of the stormy air hypnotized Catherine; she soon fell asleep.
~*~
"I figger, Ol' Bootstrap's got some explain' ter do," yelled a pockmarked pirate with a billowing hat. The pirates across from him cheered as he held "Ol' Bootstrap" at gunpoint.
"Shall we show him what happens ter pirates who betray their crew?" The pirate was smiling widely. The other pirates whooped and hollered. Catherine was near the front of the pirates and she could see someone that faintly looked like her father.
"Leave him alone!" she shouted, but the pirates could neither see nor hear her.
"So Bill," the pocked pirate began (all the other pirates hushed immediately), "tell us, whatever did happen to that piece of gold lad?"
"Lost it," Bill muttered.
"Yer trying to tell me yer the reason we be cursed pirates?"
"Aye. I reckon we should be cursed because of what we did to Captain Jack." The man's black hair was flying every which way, and his green eyes sparkled with what looked like victory.
"I reckon he's no longer Captain, Bill. I reckon what we did to him no longer matters. That's what I reckon." Scattered applause was heard throughout the rest of the pirates.
"That was mutiny that was, Barbosa." Bill lifted his head to glare at Barbosa. "And the deepest circle of hell is reserved for mutineers."
Barbosa got an ugly look on his face. "Well, Bootstrap, I expect I will be seein' yeh in hell then. You had as much a hand in this as I did." Barbosa made direct eye contact with Bill. "Bring the cannon," Barbosa bellowed.
Cheers and cries for the cannon echoed Barbosa's order. "Goodbye Bill," he muttered. The cannon was brought quickly and they tied it to Bill's bootstraps. Catherine watched in horror as a large, lead cannon was strapped to the back of bootstrap and they lifted him to the edge of the boat. Raucous laughter spread throughout the ship like the Plague.
"Come on Boo'strap," one of the pirates yelled, "I 'aven' go' all day to see you die!" Impatient, the pirate ran forward and knocked Bootstrap Bill into the sea.
~*~
Catherine opened her eyes and looked around. She was apparently in the Captain's Quarters, but it was very dark and she couldn't see anything. She sat up very quickly, only to collide with a man's jaw.
"Sorry Jack," she muttered, lying back down and holding her head.
"Quite all right little missy," a gruff voice said. The voice was not Jack's.
Catherine's eyes grew wide and the hair prickled on the back of her neck. The man lit a candle and she saw whom she had bumped into. He was an older man, quite pale, and his black hair was streaked with gray. He looked strangely familiar. He gave Catherine a warm smile.
"Hello Catherine," he said. "I am your grandfather."
~*~
"I suppose you would like a crew as well, William," said Governor Swann, sounding slightly exasperated.
"I'm in no need of a crew Governor," Will insisted. "Please, I just need a ship. I - I can sail it by myself." The governor remained unmoved. "Please, this is your granddaughter we are talking about." Governor Swann looked up from his book and surveyed Will closely.
"The Interceptor is being repaired William," the governor replied sadly.
"Your second fastest ship then. Please Governor." Will glanced at the old governor and saw his mind was slowly shutting down. It took him a few seconds before he could reply to anything and he moved more slowly than ever.
"The Skirmish only has half the speed of the Interceptor, but she is the second fastest ship the Navy owns," the Governor replied slowly. Will's eyes filled with hope.
"Thank you Governor. Thank you."
~*~
Catherine screamed. Upon hearing her scream, Jack rushed below to find out what was wrong.
"Catherine, what's -" Jack stopped mid-sentence and grinned.
"Hello Bootstrap," Jack chuckled at the sight of Bootstrap Bill's worried face and Catherine curled up in a corner far away from Bill.
"Ah.hello mate," Bill replied, looking frantic. "Ah.I don't know where Catherine, if that's her name, is. She.ah.disappeared." Jack nodded and continued to laugh.
Heading over to her corner, he cooed, "Catherine, poppit, it's alright. Come out." He gave her his hand and stood up. Jack moved her over to Bill.
"Catherine," Jack said, finding this all hilarious, "I'd like you to meet your grandfather."
"We've met," Catherine replied in a high-pitched voice. "But - but I thought he was dead."
"I were near dead Cate," Bill said, speaking up. "I wasn't alive neither. I was cursed Cate. A cursed pirate aboard this ship here. 'Twere a terrible thing. All because we mutinied this cap'n here. But that's a story for another day, lass," Bill ended quickly. Catherine looked at Jack anxiously.
"Were you.pushed off this ship?" she asked Bill.
"How the ruddy -? How d'you know?" Bill said. "Yer father didn't tell ye, did'ee lass?"
"No," Catherine replied cautiously. "I had a dream." Jack sharply turned his head to look at Catherine, but as soon as she returned his gaze, his eyes flickered to the window.
"Looks like we've got company mate," Jack said quietly.
The clink of metal-on-metal could be heard throughout the entire smithy. In harmony with that tone, a woman's voice could be heard shouting. It was late, and Will Turner was finishing up his most recent order. Sweat poured down his back and sparks shot out beneath his work.
"Will," the voice screamed. "Will! Have you seen Catherine?"
Elizabeth Turner marched into the smithy. Will was still bent over his work.
"William, I asked you a question," Elizabeth pouted. Will finally looked up; he had locks of black hair dangling out of his ponytail and his eyes were swollen with tiredness.
"Elizabeth, love," he said, quietly. "I have been working for five hours straight since tea and through supper. The only thing I know is that I have nearly finished and I must finish before this cools." Elizabeth nodded.
"Well, as soon as you're done, could you look for Catherine?" she queried. "I'm going to sleep." She turned on her heel and marched out of the smithy. Will shook his head and turned back to his sword. A couple more pounds and he was finished. The smithy had heated as quickly as his body and he was covered in sweat. He stepped outside into the Caribbean air, which was not much better, but it was enough to stop the continuous perspiring. He took a deep breath of the humid air and stepped back inside to find a girl climbing down from the rafters.
"Catherine," he said sharply. The girl fell off immediately, stood up, and turned round to face her father. She gave and audible gulp.
"Y-yes father?" she stammered, attempting (and failing) to reply nonchalantly. "What were you doing Catherine?" William Turner's anger coursed through his veins. "Do you have any idea how worried your mother was?" Of course, not concerned enough to go look for her herself, Will thought to himself.
Catherine shook her head.
"What were you doing Catherine?" he repeated.
"Waiting father," she muttered.
"Waiting? Waiting for what?" he replied.
"BecauseIwantedtopracticemyswordfighting," she said quickly. "Good night father!" she sang with false sweetness.
"Stop," he said curtly. "Repeat what you just said."
"Good night father?"
"No Catherine, before that. You know what I was talking about."
Catherine looked up at him. "B-because I wanted to practice my sword fighting," she whispered.
"Where did you learn to sword fight?" her father burst out.
"I-I watched you when you-you used to p-practice."
Will let a little smile play on his lips. "Let's see how good you are then." Will went and drew a sword out and tossed it to Catherine. Then he drew one of his own.
"En garde," Will said, smirking. They fought for hours on end. Catherine, in her dress and petticoats, was doing almost as well as her father, who was a lot more comfortable in his pants and shirt. Light was beginning to pour through the open window and Catherine had to finally put her hand up and make her father stop.
"Father, I'm done," she panted. "I need to sleep. It's probably four thirty in morning. I'm tired." Will Turner straightened up and put his sword back in its holder along with Catherine's.
"Off with you," Will said to Catherine, who turned and made her way to their house. Will took a deep breath and followed.
~*~
When Catherine walked into her room, she found her sister Mary sitting in bed, scratching out a letter.
"So where have you been?" Mary asked, not looking up from her letter.
"What does it matter?" Catherine replied, peeling off her outer garments.
"Well, you've been gone all night, and you're sweaty," Mary replied matter- of-factly. "That usually means one thing.." She let the sentence hang eerily. "Well I wasn't doing that."
"Then what were you doing?"
"I was sword fighting."
"With who?"
"Father."
Mary seemed to have heard, but did not reply. Catherine took off her second and third layers and lay down on her bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.
~*~
The next day, Catherine's handmaid woke her up around midday to tell her that her mother wanted to see her. Catherine simply rolled over and pulled the blankets over her head.
"Miss," her maid insisted. "Miss, your mother desires to see you." The maid shook Catherine. Catherine rolled over and glared at the maid.
"Go tell my mother I will be there in half an hour," Catherine snapped.
"Miss, if I may be so bold, your mother insists -"
"Fine. I'll be down in five minutes." The maid nodded and bustled out of the room. Catherine moaned and lifted herself out of bed. Her maid had opened the window and the bright light was giving Catherine a headache. Catherine pulled on her robe and slippers and traipsed down the stairs of her home. Seated inside the parlor was Elizabeth Turner, who had grown slightly larger in her middle years and she now wore a wig to cover up her graying hair. She was sipping her afternoon tea. Her eyes shifted over to Catherine.
"Sit," Elizabeth said curtly. Catherine crossed the room and sat on the fainting couch across from the table.
"Your father explained to me this afternoon where you were last night," Elizabeth said dangerously. Catherine looked down at her feet.
"The governor's granddaughter - sword fighting!" Elizabeth shouted. "An for no practical reason either. I only fought because I had too. I never see your sister, Mary, prancing around with a sword. It's time you do something practical."
Elizabeth took a sip of her tea. "Therefore, your father and I have decided to hire you a tutor to teach you sewing and table-setting. All practical information I learned when I was your age." The idea of a tutor hit Catherine like a cannonball.
"You're - you're hiring a tutor for me?" Catherine asked incredulously. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.
"And what, may I ask, is wrong with a tutor?" Elizabeth asked, her voice getting louder. "Your sister Mary has been begging for a tutor for the past year."
"It's always about Mary isn't it?" Catherine shot back.
"I will not be spoken to like that. You are getting a tutor. Now get out of my sight." Elizabeth took another sip of tea as Catherine marched out of her house and down the streets of Port Royal. It didn't take her long to figure out she was only wearing a robe and her slippers, so she scurried back to her house and put on something more suitable. Again she marched onto the streets of Port Royal. The humid air was stained with the stench of a hard day's labor and the men unloading the vessel were covered with sweat, which cleansed their pores of the mud from the ground. Hardly anybody was working because it was teatime; and those who could afford it were drinking their tea. The streets were basically deserted except those shop owners who were bustling back to their shops before tea ended.
"Good mornin' to yeh, Miss Turner," rang a voice from the docks. Catherine turned around and saw Old Mister Smith loading boxes of tea onto the dock.
"Good morning Mr. Smith," Catherine replied politely, as she crossed over to the dock. "What do we have this morning?"
Mr. Smith grinned his toothless grin. "Tea leaves from the Orient ma'am. S'posed ter be the bes' tea leaves around. I expect yer house'll be gettin' some any day now."
"I don't doubt you're right," Catherine replied. "Goodbye Mr. Smith."
"Goodbye lass."
Catherine walked away from the dock and towards her father's smithy. He would be taking his tea around this time, so she decided to join him. Port Royal was not a big town; it was probably less than two miles from end to end. The walk to her father's was not a far distance.
As she walked, her mother's voice popped in her head and reminded Catherine about her tutor. She would have to discuss that with her father. The window to the smithy was open and she could hear voices drifting out of it.
"William, please," one man's voice begged. "You owe me. I've saved Elizabeth more times than you can count on both hands."
"I've already told you," Will's voice said. "I won't do it. I've gotten older. I have three children. I can't leave them with the possibility of no father."
"Your father did," said the other man quietly.
"I've tried so hard not to turn out like my father," Will replied angrily. "And stop adding rum to your tea!" he snapped.
"Sorry mate," the other man muttered. Catherine peeked into the open window and saw a man with thick, black hair hanging onto his back; his beard braided into two braids and rings on every finger. His booted feet were propped up on the table and he was stirring his tea with the bone pick from his hair. Catherine had heard about men like these. These men, these pirates, were to be hung if found. She couldn't imagine how one had managed to get into Port Royal. Why was her father conversing with one? He had always warned her about pirates, so why was he talking with a man that had kohl around the bottom of his eyes? The pirate looked around and saw Catherine staring in through the window. He gave a small smile.
The pirate took off his hat and gave a small bow.
"Right mate. You're not going to help me so I'll just leave and never darken your doorstep again." The pirate sighed. "You're positive you don't want to help me mate?"
"Go Jack," Will said, looking at his cup. "Just leave and never come back." Jack gave a great sweeping bow and left the room. Catherine saw him come out and she started walking away quickly. She would have liked to have talked to him, certainly, but her father seemed too upset with him, so she headed for home. Just as she was at the gates of her home, she felt someone grab her hand. She whirled around. Jack Sparrow was grabbing her hand and showing his gold teeth to the fullest.
"Hello luv," said Jack.
"Let go of me," Catherine shrieked. She tried to pull away, but Jack pulled out his pistol.
"I'm afraid I can't do that luv," replied Jack. "Your father, as you have no doubt overheard, has agreed to help me with one of me problems."
"No he hasn't."
"He will now. Savvy?" Catherine's eye grew wide and she looked at the pistol in a whole new light.
"No luv, I'm not going to kill you," he said softly. "But your father doesn't know that, now, does he? So if you'd go with me quietly.."
Catherine pursed her lips. "Then what makes you think I'll go with you quietly?" Jack hit her on the head with his pistol and she fell down in a dead faint.
"This luv," Jack said smirking.
~*~
When Catherine finally woke up, she was lying on the deck of The Black Pearl and salt water was hitting her face.
"What the -" Catherine coughed as the water poured down her throat. She sat up and spit out the water. She saw the grinning face of Captain Jack Sparrow crouching down in front of her.
"Time to wake up poppit," said Jack, standing up. "We've got a long day ahead of us." He walked over to the wheel and pulled out his compass. Catherine slowly got up and felt very queasy. She ran to the edge of the ship and retched.
"Ah, that can happen if you've never been on a boat before Miss Turner," quipped Jack with a trace of laughter on his face. Catherine wiped her face with a shaking hand a turned to face Jack.
"I want to go home," she said, her eyes narrowing.
"And I want an endless supply of rum luv." He looked at her and saw how serious her face was. "Your father will be here soon. Don't worry too much Catherine." She managed a weak smile.
~*~
Will Turner walked into his home late at night. Elizabeth was seated in the parlor, waiting. Will peered in on her.
"You can come to bed now Elizabeth," he whispered with a small smile on his face. Elizabeth turned to look at him. Her eyes grew slightly wide.
"Where is Catherine?" Elizabeth sounded worried.
"She's not home yet?" Will looked perplexed.
"William Turner. Where is Catherine?"
"Not - not with me.."
"Where is my daughter? Where is my eldest daughter?" Elizabeth stood up knocking the table over and spilling cold afternoon tea.
"Elizabeth, love, please calm down. I'm sure she can't be." Will stopped mid-sentence. "Jack."
"WHAT?" Elizabeth screamed. "What about Jack?"
"Don't worry about that. Tell your father we need a ship and we need the fastest one." Elizabeth nodded and left the room to go wake up her father up.
"Jack, I never thought you'd stoop so low," Will muttered.
~*~
Catherine had been violently sick for the past two hours. She was becoming deeply dehydrated and the only clean drink was the rum in Jack's flask. Heavy alcohol was not a good combination for the sixteen-year-old.
"And then one time," Catherine hiccuped, "I walked in on me mum and dad.." She giggled hysterically and Jack rolled his eyes.
"You need to cut back on the rum luv," Jack said, trying to remove the flask from her hand."
"But Jack, it's sooo good," she complained. She tried to pull it away from Jack, but he succeeded in removing it from her hand. He put the flask around himself and stood up to see how the ship was doing. Catherine tried to stand up, but all she could do was hoist herself enough up to lean over the edge of the ship and watch the waves roll.
"They're so pretty Jack," she muttered. "Pretty waves.pretty waves.." Catherine watched the waves over and over. She traced the waves with her finger.
"Jack?"
"What?"
"Why is water so wet?"
"I'm only a simple pirate Miss," he replied, slightly inclining his head. "I can't tell you why the water is so wet."
"Oh.." The waves and the sound of the stormy air hypnotized Catherine; she soon fell asleep.
~*~
"I figger, Ol' Bootstrap's got some explain' ter do," yelled a pockmarked pirate with a billowing hat. The pirates across from him cheered as he held "Ol' Bootstrap" at gunpoint.
"Shall we show him what happens ter pirates who betray their crew?" The pirate was smiling widely. The other pirates whooped and hollered. Catherine was near the front of the pirates and she could see someone that faintly looked like her father.
"Leave him alone!" she shouted, but the pirates could neither see nor hear her.
"So Bill," the pocked pirate began (all the other pirates hushed immediately), "tell us, whatever did happen to that piece of gold lad?"
"Lost it," Bill muttered.
"Yer trying to tell me yer the reason we be cursed pirates?"
"Aye. I reckon we should be cursed because of what we did to Captain Jack." The man's black hair was flying every which way, and his green eyes sparkled with what looked like victory.
"I reckon he's no longer Captain, Bill. I reckon what we did to him no longer matters. That's what I reckon." Scattered applause was heard throughout the rest of the pirates.
"That was mutiny that was, Barbosa." Bill lifted his head to glare at Barbosa. "And the deepest circle of hell is reserved for mutineers."
Barbosa got an ugly look on his face. "Well, Bootstrap, I expect I will be seein' yeh in hell then. You had as much a hand in this as I did." Barbosa made direct eye contact with Bill. "Bring the cannon," Barbosa bellowed.
Cheers and cries for the cannon echoed Barbosa's order. "Goodbye Bill," he muttered. The cannon was brought quickly and they tied it to Bill's bootstraps. Catherine watched in horror as a large, lead cannon was strapped to the back of bootstrap and they lifted him to the edge of the boat. Raucous laughter spread throughout the ship like the Plague.
"Come on Boo'strap," one of the pirates yelled, "I 'aven' go' all day to see you die!" Impatient, the pirate ran forward and knocked Bootstrap Bill into the sea.
~*~
Catherine opened her eyes and looked around. She was apparently in the Captain's Quarters, but it was very dark and she couldn't see anything. She sat up very quickly, only to collide with a man's jaw.
"Sorry Jack," she muttered, lying back down and holding her head.
"Quite all right little missy," a gruff voice said. The voice was not Jack's.
Catherine's eyes grew wide and the hair prickled on the back of her neck. The man lit a candle and she saw whom she had bumped into. He was an older man, quite pale, and his black hair was streaked with gray. He looked strangely familiar. He gave Catherine a warm smile.
"Hello Catherine," he said. "I am your grandfather."
~*~
"I suppose you would like a crew as well, William," said Governor Swann, sounding slightly exasperated.
"I'm in no need of a crew Governor," Will insisted. "Please, I just need a ship. I - I can sail it by myself." The governor remained unmoved. "Please, this is your granddaughter we are talking about." Governor Swann looked up from his book and surveyed Will closely.
"The Interceptor is being repaired William," the governor replied sadly.
"Your second fastest ship then. Please Governor." Will glanced at the old governor and saw his mind was slowly shutting down. It took him a few seconds before he could reply to anything and he moved more slowly than ever.
"The Skirmish only has half the speed of the Interceptor, but she is the second fastest ship the Navy owns," the Governor replied slowly. Will's eyes filled with hope.
"Thank you Governor. Thank you."
~*~
Catherine screamed. Upon hearing her scream, Jack rushed below to find out what was wrong.
"Catherine, what's -" Jack stopped mid-sentence and grinned.
"Hello Bootstrap," Jack chuckled at the sight of Bootstrap Bill's worried face and Catherine curled up in a corner far away from Bill.
"Ah.hello mate," Bill replied, looking frantic. "Ah.I don't know where Catherine, if that's her name, is. She.ah.disappeared." Jack nodded and continued to laugh.
Heading over to her corner, he cooed, "Catherine, poppit, it's alright. Come out." He gave her his hand and stood up. Jack moved her over to Bill.
"Catherine," Jack said, finding this all hilarious, "I'd like you to meet your grandfather."
"We've met," Catherine replied in a high-pitched voice. "But - but I thought he was dead."
"I were near dead Cate," Bill said, speaking up. "I wasn't alive neither. I was cursed Cate. A cursed pirate aboard this ship here. 'Twere a terrible thing. All because we mutinied this cap'n here. But that's a story for another day, lass," Bill ended quickly. Catherine looked at Jack anxiously.
"Were you.pushed off this ship?" she asked Bill.
"How the ruddy -? How d'you know?" Bill said. "Yer father didn't tell ye, did'ee lass?"
"No," Catherine replied cautiously. "I had a dream." Jack sharply turned his head to look at Catherine, but as soon as she returned his gaze, his eyes flickered to the window.
"Looks like we've got company mate," Jack said quietly.