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!
And thanks to my reviewers so far, evilspoofauthor1Sven, Alex, and Sokorra Lewis. I do hope you enjoy this third chapter, and I promise I will get the next one out in less than a week (though I won't promise any shorter length of time...).
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Thae Curst Waters o' Hell (con't)
Each day I see little more
O' me die inside
Each day I see little more
Fade into thae hellish skies
Look into me black eyes
And see nothin' starin' back
I look into me mirror
A soulless woman stares me back
A soulless ghost ter wander
Thae curst waters o' hell
A lonely spirit ter wonder
What fer she sold her soul
A faithless crew an' a demon ship
A loveless lie an' a lost heart
Me family dead an' none ter mourn
Thae lost soul o' a pirate woman
~~~
Isabella leaned against the wheel of her ship, her face raised to let the wind caress it, a smile playing on her lips at the coming of a storm. Behind her, she could hear her guest pacing the deck, muttering things under his breath every so often. "Ye know, ye could try talkin' ter me, instead o' ter thin air, Cap'n Jack." She turned, pushing herself upright, and looking down at the man who paced the main deck. "Ye might get better results."
Jack stopped pacing, turning to look at her with an odd expression on his face, one of mingled annoyance and confusion.
Isabella sighed. "It be a long story, Cap'n Jack, an' I donnae need ter tell ye. Aye, I be a ghost, an' me ship be one as well, but durin' a sterm, or in thae fog, or durin' a moonless night, I be as real an' alive as ye, as real an' alive as me crew. An' no, it ain't like thae curse that got Barbossa an' his crew o' mutineers." She paused. "An' if ye be willin' ter join me, I be needin' sommat ter eat." She slid down the rail to the main deck, and stalked towards the boats.
Jack followed, taking the oars to row them towards the island despite her glare, where a fire pit had been going for a while now, roasting meat for a meal, to which the grinning first mate had invited his crew. Not him, just his crew.
"Ye know I'm perfectly capable of rowin' thae boat meself."
"Aye, mate." Jack kept his answer uncharacteristically short, still trying to figure her out, Isabella supposed. She shook her head, preparing to leap out as soon as they were close enough for her to wade in.
Men. All thae same, ne'er believin' ye can do on yer own. An' this one 'as a woman in 'is crew, so why Cap'n Jack's bein' such a bloody fool.... She shook her head to clear her thoughts, leaping lightly into the surf, and stalking towards the beach, drenching herself to the skin. Not that she cared.
"Captain! Come an' eat!" Conner grinned at her, looking over her shoulder at Jack as the annoying man joined her. "An' Captain Jack. What a pleasure it be!"
~~~
Jack sat near Isabella in the doorway to a small hut that she'd led him to, deep in the jungle. He could see a tomb rising from the mists that were all that penetrated this far beneath the canopy, curiousity rising. "Who's the tomb for, luv?"
He could feel the angry glance Isabella shot at him. "That be me business, an' no other. Ye leave it be."
"Sorry, didn't know it was so tender a subject." His voice was glib, certainly not the tone one would take for an apology. Unless you're Captain Jack Sparrow.
"Ye be careful wher' ye tread, Cap'n Jack. Ye be findin' yerself in over yer head if ye don'." Isabella was staring out at the tomb, her eyes troubled, though her expression remained blank, as it had been since they landed on the beach.
"Luv, you're forgetting one thing. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." He grinned, turning to look at her, and got a sigh in response.
"Ye donnae know when ter leave well enough alone, do ye? Donnae say I dinnae warn ye." She paused, drawing in a deep breath. "Fourty years back, me ship an' me crew were ridin' out a sterm in that harbor yer ship an' me own be in now. Nasty sterm, worse than this. An' lightning hit thae ship. Ignited thae powder. We dinnae ha' a chance ter get off before thae Nevermore was blown apart. We sank that day.
"I made a deal wit' thae devil ter save me crew, an' 'e gave me a demon ship ter git them back ter Tertuga. But thae price. Thae price was beyond what I imagined, all ter save a faithless crew that left me wit' no crew ter sail me ship. Every bleedin' one I cared aboot died. Quickly, an' nae pleasently. Me daughter, she danced at thae end o' a hangman's rope in thae noonday sun. I could nae do anythin'. She was seventeen. Me niece, me nephew, me brother an' 'is wife. Me daughter's father. All o' them be dead now, been dead some near fourty year." Isabella smiled, the expression slightly insane, and Jack shivered involuntarily.
"That's quite a story, luv...."
Isabella stood, her eyes blazing with an unholy light deep inside them. "It be thae truth, ye over-grown ox! If ye didnae want ter believe me, ye could have kept yer mouth shut, an' not been so much a fool as ter press me." She spun, and stalked away, leaving Jack blinking in confusion, trying to figure out what he did wrong for a moment before heading after her.
Isabella stood on a cliff that overlooked the harbor, where the gale shrieked and spun about her, the storm's intensity gathering strength. A hurricane, be like. She lifted her head to the wind, closing her eyes to let it blow back the loose strands that curled about her face. Sterm like thae one tha' took me ship, an' me soul. A laugh began deep in her throat, a mirthless chuckle that melded with the storm winds to create an unearthly sound of bitter regrets.
"Aye, Lucifer, ye damned bastard! Ye caught me in me words once, but ye tain't be catchin' me again!" Her voice was nearly lost in the wind, barely audible at the tree line where Jack stood. "Ye'll be sorry fer thae day ye ever made deal wit' me! Ye hear me, ye sorry excuse o' a fallen angel?" She raised a fist, shaking it at the storm, the wind howling in her face to plaster her sodden clothing to her skin, outlining her well-built form and sleek limbs.
Jack felt a lopsided smile form on his face, surprised at the woman who now glared out at the ocean, threatening the devil himself without an ounce of fear. Now there is my kind of woman. He chuckled, making her whirl, and glare at him instead.
"How long ye been standin' there, ye soddin' bastard?" Her voice was a harsh sound of pure anger, her eyes blazing with a fire that was all her own, and not the hellish light he'd swear he'd seen earlier.
"Not long, luv, not long." He smiled at her anger, stepping out of the trees to join her on the cliff edge. "It's a lovely view from up here. You come up here often?" He had to shout to be heard over the wind, but he didn't care, keeping his earlier grin on his face, Isabella regarding him as if he'd perhaps grown an extra head.
"Cap'n Jack, ye are thae strangest man I e'er met. Ye'd grin and laugh in thae face o' death, I suppose."
"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. What else did you expect?" He grinned and bowed for effect, hearing a dry chuckle from Isabella, who shook her head, a slight smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
"Aye, what else did I expect from ye?" Isabella paused, a light shining in her eyes that effectively doused Jack's mirth. "What say ye ter spendin' a day aboard thae Nevermore wit' me? After thae sterm passes."
Jack stared at her a moment. Are you daft? You have the Pearl to worry about, Jack. Don't even think about that proposal for a minute. He'd never been one to listen to that inner voice of caution, unfortunately. "Why not?" He grinned again, and Isabella looked surprised, as if she'd expected him to turn her down. What are you getting yourself into now, Jack?
~~~
Isabella spent the rest of the storm out by her daughter's grave, silent and brooding, only moving once to go releave herself, and grab a small something to eat. Why did ye make him that offer, Isabella? Are ye a daft fool? She chuckled mentally, a dry sound without any amusement. Or is he thae one to be daft, acceptin' without thinkin' on it a whit? How will sommat thae things that ye see affect him? Can 'e deal wit' where ye be sailin' until thae next moonless night, or sterm, or foggy mornin'? Aye, it like to be only a day, since thae moon be on thae wane, near ter be thae new moon, but....
Her thought were cut off by the arrival of Jack. He'd gone down to the beach to tell his crew what crazy adventure he was off on now, and he'd been delayed getting back up to where Isabella perched in the jungle. "The storm's nearly over." He offered his hand to help her up, and Isabella looked at it a moment before she accepted it, allowing Jack to haul her to her feet.
"We be wantin' on board thae Nevermore before thae sterm is quite over. After that it be quite a ride, Cap'n Jack, if ye still be feelin' up ter it." Jack looked offended at the very idea that he'd back out of this, and Isabella shook her head, a wry smile on her face. "Jist pray ye donnae be regrettin' it afterwards."
