Disclaimer: Captain Jack Sparrow, the Black Pearl and her crew, none of them are mine. Much as I might like for the captain to be mine, he's not, and I'll return him to those who do own him in much the same shape I borrowed him in.
Author's Note: Isabella Raven, the Nevermore, her crew, and the other members of the Raven family are mine. So is the song 'Captain of the Nevermore' that Isabella sings, and the verses of poetry that begin each chapter. Oh, and please send reviews to my e-mail: captainisabellaraven@yahoo.com. Thanks!
~~~ ~~~
The Curst Waters o'Hell
I sail the waters o' hell
A demon ship beneath me feet
Nightmares me only companions
Beneath hellish daylight skies
I made a deal with thae devil
Ter save a faithless crew
An' now I sail thae waters alone
Through thae dark fires o' hell
It be me time ter rest
When by me side do sail
Another soul ter save me dreams
From these nightmares o' hell
~~~
Jack sailed the Pearl smoothly into dock in Tortuga, a contemplative frown on his face, hoping that he'd be able to forget about that annoying woman and her blasted ship he'd seen in the fog a few days ago. How the hell she could manage to insinuate herself into his thoughts, and blast it all, dreams, so quickly he hadn't a clue. But he had every intention to wipe her out of his mind. Easier said than done, mate.
"How long we staying in Tortuga, captain?" Annamaria was leaning against the railing, her head tilted, and an eyebrow raised in question.
"A few days. I'll find everyone when I'm ready to leave." Jack sauntered off after his crew, quite sure his ship would be where he left it when he got back, and headed for the nearest tavern. Some rum and a pretty wench would solve the problem he'd been having quite nicely.
"Have you heard? The Nevermore is returning to Tortuga again...." Jack got by the conversation quickly enough, but it was enough to ruin his mood.
So now I'm getting a cosmic slap in the face, am I? He shook his head, and stepped into the nearest tavern, quickly getting a drink, and looked around for a pretty wench. It didn't take him long to find one, and convince her that she'd want to spend the night with Captain Jack Sparrow.
~~~
The next morning, Jack had a scowl on his face as he headed back for the Pearl. Tortuga was full of people talking about the Nevermore as if it was some bloody legend.
"Cap'n!" Gibbs came hurrying up to him, and Jack favored him with a frown. "The Nevermore, the ship we encountered in the fog, there's something...."
Have I done something to deserve a cosmic slap in the face? I'm trying to forget about the bloody woman and her bloody ship!
"Captain, the Nevermore is a ghost ship." Gibbs took a swig from his flask as Jack returned his attention to his first mate.
"What did you say?"
"The Nevermore, she and her captain aren't alive no more. They're a ghost ship."
Jack started walking again, the rolling gait he always had vanishing as he went back towards the Pearl. Another ghost ship. Just what I need. For your information, I did not deserve that slap! He turned to Gibbs as the man followed him. "Find the crew. We're sailing on the tide."
And I'm going to find this bloody ship and her bloody woman captain, and prove this ghost story wrong, savvy? Jack, you're talking to yourself again. That isn't healthy. He shook his head, a slightly crazy grin coming to his face as he began to hum a tune. ..a pirate's life for me!
~~~
"What have you done, Izzie?" Liam's voice was accusing. "What have you done to us?" He faded into view from the grey fog that shrouded the moors of their father's birthplace and theirs, his shirt gaping away from the hole blown into his chest by a ship's cannon.
"Liam, I'm..." Isabella trailed off as another figure came from the fog. A girl barely twelve, with her father's bright blue eyes, and mother's golden wheat hair.
"Why, Aunt ÔBella?" Her voice was soft, her eyes brilliant with tears of hurt.
"Ye traded us for scum, mother! Ye traded me life fer a bunch of bastards; traded me soul fer naught." The dark brown eyes of her daughter met Isabella's as she spun to face the seventeen-year-old.
"No..."
"My son. You killed my son before he even could live!" Isabella whirled again, her eyes meeting the angry green of her sister-in-law's, tears welling up to blur the image of the woman with the body of a lifeless infant in her arms.
"I'm sorry. I didnae know. Please...." Isabella tried to back away, only to run into her brother, who gripped her arms.
"You're going to pay too, Izzie. You'll come join us soon enough. Join us in hell...."
~~~
Isabella woke with a scream, bolting upright in her bed, the rocking of her ship soon reminding her where she was, soothing her only slightly. The Nevermore always knew when she was troubled, when she was in trouble, with the semblance of life it had been given fourty years ago. It's only a dream. A nightmare, certainly, but only a dream. This time. At least thae crew is safe on thae island. Nae need fer them ter hear me screams as I sail thae waters o' hell in me dreams.
She stood, throwing back the covers, and grabbed clothes, dressing quickly before heading up on deck. Around her, the water glowed red with unholy light, the sun blazing high above her head through a haze of smoke. A sardonic smile creased her face as she leapt to grip the wheel, the Nevermore responding smooth as silk to her touch on the wheel, guiding it through the wreckage of a ship, wreckage she recognized as she would her own reflection. Thae Nevermore. Here me ship rests, while I sail a demon ship. A demon ship wit' me own ship's face an' me own ship's name. A devil ship that's me own now.
The red light sparked flaming highlights in her thick black hair, and lit the depths of her black eyes with the same unholy fire. Isabella was aware of the fear she would inspire if her own crew was still aboard when the sun or moon rested on the ship, aware that she'd loose the crew in an instant if the knew the horror that their captain truly was. More than a ghost, but a damned soul that sails curst waters in a demon ship. Damned superstitious fools would think them own selves curst thae same as me by bein' Ôere.
"So our good captain decided to come and sail with us again, did she?" Isabella snorted at the comment from the slim man who stood leaning against the rail.
"So ye finally got yer due, did ye, Shane? Tis about bloody time ye did." Isabella spun the wheel, making Shane grip the railing tightly, or risk being tossed overboard. "Ye an' those faithless curs ye called companions."
"You called us companions once yourself, Captain." Shane shoved away from the rail, stalking towards her. "You once called us brothers."
"That was before ye abandoned me an' thae Nevermore. Before ye left me an' me ship in Tertuga, an' vanished so I couldnae find ye, Shane. All I found was a boy lookin' fer a way off Tertuga, e'en if Ôe was sailin' on a curst ship."
"So I heard. Conner Riley. A man with a wife in Port Royal, and two small children, who want him home, not sailing on a pirate ship that will get him hung in the end. By the good Commodore Norrington who lives in Port Royal, much as I ended my days there but yesterday at noon." Shane grinned, one hand closing around the wheel. "Time to begin welcoming home your crew, Captain."
~~~
Jack ignored the looks that passed between his crew as he whistled, steering the Pearl with ease, occasionally looking down at his compass. He managed to keep a frown off his face as the thing spun crazily, not settling on any one direction, and shook it. Blasted thing. There isn't a thing here, yet it's insisting there is. What the bloody hell is wrong with it? He shook it again, then shrugged, tucking it back into his coat, turning his face up to look over the water. A small island was directly ahead of them, and he grinned, heading for it.
There was a natural harbor, deep, and well protected on either side by high promontories. The beach was fine, glittering white sand, in stark contrast to the cerulean blue water and the dark green of the jungle, nearly blinding in its intensity. Jack called out orders to drop the anchors, curious about the island now.
A rumble of thunder in the distance made him frown, and look to the east. Grey clouds smudged the horizon, and sent streamers of dark color across the bright blue sky. A storm was approaching fast, and Jack's face took on an expression of mild confusion. There had been no warning of an approaching storm.
"Furl the sails and batten down the ship for a storm!" Jack locked the wheel, directing his crew in preparing for the storm, keeping one eye on the darkening sky. So focused was he on the coming storm and his ship that he didn't notice the ghostly form that began to form in the exact center of the small cove, masts rising towards the coming clouds like skeletal fingers, shrouded with their spider's web of rigging, black hull gleaming with moisture in the sullen light, sails filled with an unearthly breeze.
"Captain!" The cry from one of his crew made Jack spin, and his eyes widened as the figurehead of a ship came into sight, the diamond eyes of a raven glittering at him with a brief semblance to unholy life.
