The night air was filled with the sound of raucous laughter and many men
thoroughly enjoying themselves. The Stella Maris lay anchored off the
shore, protected from the weather by a cove of sorts. The men were resting
after a long day, amusing themselves as best they could.
In their midst, a young man was jostled back and forth, his hands tied and his eyes covered with a coarse cloth. Each time he stumbled, or fell, a cheer went up from the men, and the game would begin again. His fury was mounting, but he refused to lash out at them, knowing it would only give them cause to provide him with more pain.
Another man walked into the moonlight, quiet and contemplative as he watched his men's antics. As he passed them, the men stood to attention for a moment, their eyes hard as they looked on the man they had made their captain.
Christian Danielson smiled a grim smile. He knew he had not endeared himself to his men by setting the woman afloat, nor by calling off the attack on the Red Dragon when he had procured what he had wanted. They certainly didn't understand why they were keeping Will Turner, when he should have been set adrift with his wife, or killed. But then, Danielson did not keep to any code but his own.
He signalled the game to stop, and drew the blindfold from Will's eyes. The younger man scowled at him, hatred seeping from every pore.
'Well, Mr Turner, how do you like the hospitality of the Stella Maris?' Danielson asked him insincerely.
Will snarled angrily.
'You swore I'd go free,' he spat. 'You're no more a man of your word than Barbossa was.'
Danielson drew in a mocking breath, shaking his head at the furious pirate.
'Strong words, Mr Turner,' he disapproved. 'Are you sure you'll be able to back them up?'
Before Will could answer, there came a loud cry from the crow's nest.
'Sail ho!'
Every head, including Will's, snapped up to peer into the gloom above them.
'Where away?' the bo'sun shouted back, and Will found himself waiting anxiously for the answer.
Despite himself, he desperately wished to be rescued, before Danielson began slicing off his limbs. Thoughts of Elizabeth and their unborn child crowded his mind, and he found himself hoping the ship approaching was here to return him to them.
'Larboard!'
The pirates hurried to peer over the larboard side, and sure enough, a ship could be seen emerging from behind the headland. There was no way they couldn't have seen the Maris even though she was tucked into the cove.
'Sir, it's the Dryad,' the first mate told the captain, peering through a telescope. 'She's running up a signal.'
He handed the telescope to Danielson, who put it to his eye, his lips moving silently as he worked out the message being sent to them. With a short laugh, he lowered the eyeglass, turning to his crew with an incredulous expression.
'They're taking on water, and wish to come alongside,' he told them, for once letting his crew laugh at something so ridiculous. 'Run up a signal, Mr Lundy. Tell them to come alongside. We're not going anywhere, are we, lads?'
He glanced over the men as they laughed nervously, obviously not at all used to seeing their captain in such a good mood. His eyes fell on Will, and the good humour vanished.
'Take young Mr Turner below,' he ordered, his eyes glinting maliciously. 'Make sure he's comfortable.'
He turned away as Will was dragged from the deck, and no one saw the small figure slip from the rigging and into the stern cabin.
*~*~*
Will was marched down to the brig and thrown bodily into the cell, watching impassively as the pirate locked him in. He couldn't help but feel anxious that the Dryad, Ana Maria's ship, was sailing straight into the mouth of danger. Asking for help was not something he would have expected from her, to tell the truth, but then, he did not know Ana Maria as well as he should. From the way she treated Jack, he wasn't sure if he wanted to.
The wooden bench was damp beneath his hand, and he felt his stomach turn at the smell that rose from the dark recesses of the deck. He had been left a single lantern, that illuminated very little of his surroundings, something he was almost grateful for. He had no wish to know what horrors lay in the bowels of this ship.
Once again, as always when he was left alone, his thoughts turned to Elizabeth and what could have happened to her. He had seen her taken on board the Red Dragon, and was grateful for Captain Fitzpatrick's kindness in saving her, but still knew nothing of the man's character. How could he know that his wife and unborn child would be safe in the hands of pirate? There was only one pirate he would trust with them, and unfortunately he had not come across the Black Pearl for a long while.
There was a clink from the cell door, and he looked up sharply. His alarm melted away as he looked into a very familiar, very welcome grin.
'Jack!'
Jack winced, motioning him to keep his voice down, as he fiddled around inside the lock.
'Save the greetings for later, we've not got much time,' he told him, listening for the loud click that would set his young friend free. 'All you need to know is that Elizabeth is safe, and we're going to get her as soon as we get off the Maris.'
He swung the door outwards, and Will slipped out to join him. He grasped his effects from the table nearby as Jack turned to slip further into the ship.
'Where are you going?' he hissed.
'Making sure we don't have any problems in the pursuit area, mate,' Jack answered calmly. 'Still remember how to break a rudder chain?'
Will felt a grin slip onto his face as he followed Jack Sparrow onto the upper decks of the Stella Maris, the sweet taste of freedom on his tongue.
*~*~*
Papers were strewn everywhere, chests flung open and bags untied, and still she couldn't find it. Marin had been searching Danielson's cabin since she and Jack had slipped aboard, and was still no closer to finding her captain's trinket than before. It didn't help that every now and then a sailor would shuffle too close to the door for comfort and she would be forced to hide herself until he had passed.
She was now knelt before the big desk, exercising her skills in lockpicking to get into the second of four locked drawers. The first had yielded nothing but maps and bearings, and a compass that squeaked loudly. The lock loosed with an audible click, and Marin quickly pulled out the drawer, heaving a sigh of relief as her fingers closed on Elias' locket.
As she stood, the trinket stowed safely away in her belt pouch, the door swung in, and Danielson strode into his cabin, pausing for a moment at the sight of a young woman standing amidst the chaos that she had created. He locked the door behind him, a cruel smile on his lips.
'Well, well,' he said conversationally. 'What have we here?'
Marin swallowed hard, feeling her heartbeat speed up in a frightening manner. He was between her and the door, and the key was placed firmly in his pocket.
'Oops, wrong ship,' she said cheerfully. 'I'm most dreadfully sorry about the mess, but my captain will be expecting me, so if you could see your way clear to letting me go?'
Danielson's expression never changed. He stepped forward, moving towards her deceptively slowly.
'I'm afraid I cannot do that, miss,' he told her, his tone full of insincere concern. 'You see, you cannot just present me with the sight of a lovely young woman and then take it away before letting me have my fill, now, can you?'
Marin's eyes widened.
'You wouldn't dare!' she exclaimed, alarmed by his proposition.
He grinned at her, not a pleasant expression at all. Before she could prepare herself, he was upon her, his arms locking around her slender shoulders to prevent her from fighting as he pressed his lips against hers. Marin did the only thing she could think of. He let go of her instantly, blood welling up from his lower lip where she had bitten down.
'Feisty little thing, aren't you?' he laughed. 'We can soon cure you of that.'
Pouring a glass of brandy from one of the many bottles that stood on a surface, he downed the contents in one gulp, throwing back his head to let the burning fluid slip down easily. As he did so, the moonlight caught on a chain that hung around his neck, and Marin found herself staring at it, her grip tightening on the locket in her belt pouch.
'I believe you have something of mine, miss,' Danielson went on, spying the hold she had on the cloth pouch.
'It isn't yours,' she snapped. 'You stole it from Elias Fitzpatrick.'
'Ah,' Danielson nodded. 'I should have guessed that old dragon would send someone else to do his own dirty work. I wouldn't have expected such a lovely young woman as yourself, though.'
He reached out to touch her cheek, and she jerked back violently, her eyes on the open window beside them. As she moved backwards, the candlelight fell on her face, highlighting her features in golden light. Danielson froze, shocked beyond belief, as he saw a face from the past look out from the features of the little thief.
'Bloody hell,' he muttered, staring wide-eyed at her. 'So Delaney did have a daughter.'
He had no chance expound upon his words, because Marin brought her knee up as hard as she could. As he crumpled slightly, his eyes crossing in pain, she slammed his head down onto the desk, and he collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.
There was no way she could slip out un-noticed now, she knew, since the crew would be waiting for the captain to return on deck. She glanced out of the window, and saw her companions waiting a little way away for her, two solitary figures cradled in a rowboat. With a shrug, she clambered up onto the windowseat and dived down into the cool welcoming waters of the cove.
Jack grasped the back of her coat and hauled her aboard, looking her over for any sign that she had been hurt or injured. They had seen the altercation in the cabin from where they waited, and Will had had to physically restrain him from rushing to her rescue.
He motioned Will to light the lamp that hung on the prow of their little rowboat as a signal to the Dryad. Another lamp was lit in answer, and immediately the Dryad began to come about, nowhere near close enough for the Stella Maris to open fire. If it was one thing Danielson's ship was known for, it was the short range of his guns.
Marin slipped into an oarsman's seat, taking one of the oars from the man they had been sent to rescue.
'Nice to meet you, Will Turner,' she said pleasantly. 'I'm Marin.'
He smiled down at her, obviously amused by her cheerful state.
'Pleasure, Marin,' he replied as they drew on the oars. 'What's going on?'
A shadow passed across Marin's face as she remembered the locket around Danielson's neck, and the look on his face when he had seen hers in the candlelight.
'That's what I'd like to know,' she muttered softly as they pulled away from the crippled Stella Maris, and out of the cove to the warm welcome of the Black Pearl.
In their midst, a young man was jostled back and forth, his hands tied and his eyes covered with a coarse cloth. Each time he stumbled, or fell, a cheer went up from the men, and the game would begin again. His fury was mounting, but he refused to lash out at them, knowing it would only give them cause to provide him with more pain.
Another man walked into the moonlight, quiet and contemplative as he watched his men's antics. As he passed them, the men stood to attention for a moment, their eyes hard as they looked on the man they had made their captain.
Christian Danielson smiled a grim smile. He knew he had not endeared himself to his men by setting the woman afloat, nor by calling off the attack on the Red Dragon when he had procured what he had wanted. They certainly didn't understand why they were keeping Will Turner, when he should have been set adrift with his wife, or killed. But then, Danielson did not keep to any code but his own.
He signalled the game to stop, and drew the blindfold from Will's eyes. The younger man scowled at him, hatred seeping from every pore.
'Well, Mr Turner, how do you like the hospitality of the Stella Maris?' Danielson asked him insincerely.
Will snarled angrily.
'You swore I'd go free,' he spat. 'You're no more a man of your word than Barbossa was.'
Danielson drew in a mocking breath, shaking his head at the furious pirate.
'Strong words, Mr Turner,' he disapproved. 'Are you sure you'll be able to back them up?'
Before Will could answer, there came a loud cry from the crow's nest.
'Sail ho!'
Every head, including Will's, snapped up to peer into the gloom above them.
'Where away?' the bo'sun shouted back, and Will found himself waiting anxiously for the answer.
Despite himself, he desperately wished to be rescued, before Danielson began slicing off his limbs. Thoughts of Elizabeth and their unborn child crowded his mind, and he found himself hoping the ship approaching was here to return him to them.
'Larboard!'
The pirates hurried to peer over the larboard side, and sure enough, a ship could be seen emerging from behind the headland. There was no way they couldn't have seen the Maris even though she was tucked into the cove.
'Sir, it's the Dryad,' the first mate told the captain, peering through a telescope. 'She's running up a signal.'
He handed the telescope to Danielson, who put it to his eye, his lips moving silently as he worked out the message being sent to them. With a short laugh, he lowered the eyeglass, turning to his crew with an incredulous expression.
'They're taking on water, and wish to come alongside,' he told them, for once letting his crew laugh at something so ridiculous. 'Run up a signal, Mr Lundy. Tell them to come alongside. We're not going anywhere, are we, lads?'
He glanced over the men as they laughed nervously, obviously not at all used to seeing their captain in such a good mood. His eyes fell on Will, and the good humour vanished.
'Take young Mr Turner below,' he ordered, his eyes glinting maliciously. 'Make sure he's comfortable.'
He turned away as Will was dragged from the deck, and no one saw the small figure slip from the rigging and into the stern cabin.
*~*~*
Will was marched down to the brig and thrown bodily into the cell, watching impassively as the pirate locked him in. He couldn't help but feel anxious that the Dryad, Ana Maria's ship, was sailing straight into the mouth of danger. Asking for help was not something he would have expected from her, to tell the truth, but then, he did not know Ana Maria as well as he should. From the way she treated Jack, he wasn't sure if he wanted to.
The wooden bench was damp beneath his hand, and he felt his stomach turn at the smell that rose from the dark recesses of the deck. He had been left a single lantern, that illuminated very little of his surroundings, something he was almost grateful for. He had no wish to know what horrors lay in the bowels of this ship.
Once again, as always when he was left alone, his thoughts turned to Elizabeth and what could have happened to her. He had seen her taken on board the Red Dragon, and was grateful for Captain Fitzpatrick's kindness in saving her, but still knew nothing of the man's character. How could he know that his wife and unborn child would be safe in the hands of pirate? There was only one pirate he would trust with them, and unfortunately he had not come across the Black Pearl for a long while.
There was a clink from the cell door, and he looked up sharply. His alarm melted away as he looked into a very familiar, very welcome grin.
'Jack!'
Jack winced, motioning him to keep his voice down, as he fiddled around inside the lock.
'Save the greetings for later, we've not got much time,' he told him, listening for the loud click that would set his young friend free. 'All you need to know is that Elizabeth is safe, and we're going to get her as soon as we get off the Maris.'
He swung the door outwards, and Will slipped out to join him. He grasped his effects from the table nearby as Jack turned to slip further into the ship.
'Where are you going?' he hissed.
'Making sure we don't have any problems in the pursuit area, mate,' Jack answered calmly. 'Still remember how to break a rudder chain?'
Will felt a grin slip onto his face as he followed Jack Sparrow onto the upper decks of the Stella Maris, the sweet taste of freedom on his tongue.
*~*~*
Papers were strewn everywhere, chests flung open and bags untied, and still she couldn't find it. Marin had been searching Danielson's cabin since she and Jack had slipped aboard, and was still no closer to finding her captain's trinket than before. It didn't help that every now and then a sailor would shuffle too close to the door for comfort and she would be forced to hide herself until he had passed.
She was now knelt before the big desk, exercising her skills in lockpicking to get into the second of four locked drawers. The first had yielded nothing but maps and bearings, and a compass that squeaked loudly. The lock loosed with an audible click, and Marin quickly pulled out the drawer, heaving a sigh of relief as her fingers closed on Elias' locket.
As she stood, the trinket stowed safely away in her belt pouch, the door swung in, and Danielson strode into his cabin, pausing for a moment at the sight of a young woman standing amidst the chaos that she had created. He locked the door behind him, a cruel smile on his lips.
'Well, well,' he said conversationally. 'What have we here?'
Marin swallowed hard, feeling her heartbeat speed up in a frightening manner. He was between her and the door, and the key was placed firmly in his pocket.
'Oops, wrong ship,' she said cheerfully. 'I'm most dreadfully sorry about the mess, but my captain will be expecting me, so if you could see your way clear to letting me go?'
Danielson's expression never changed. He stepped forward, moving towards her deceptively slowly.
'I'm afraid I cannot do that, miss,' he told her, his tone full of insincere concern. 'You see, you cannot just present me with the sight of a lovely young woman and then take it away before letting me have my fill, now, can you?'
Marin's eyes widened.
'You wouldn't dare!' she exclaimed, alarmed by his proposition.
He grinned at her, not a pleasant expression at all. Before she could prepare herself, he was upon her, his arms locking around her slender shoulders to prevent her from fighting as he pressed his lips against hers. Marin did the only thing she could think of. He let go of her instantly, blood welling up from his lower lip where she had bitten down.
'Feisty little thing, aren't you?' he laughed. 'We can soon cure you of that.'
Pouring a glass of brandy from one of the many bottles that stood on a surface, he downed the contents in one gulp, throwing back his head to let the burning fluid slip down easily. As he did so, the moonlight caught on a chain that hung around his neck, and Marin found herself staring at it, her grip tightening on the locket in her belt pouch.
'I believe you have something of mine, miss,' Danielson went on, spying the hold she had on the cloth pouch.
'It isn't yours,' she snapped. 'You stole it from Elias Fitzpatrick.'
'Ah,' Danielson nodded. 'I should have guessed that old dragon would send someone else to do his own dirty work. I wouldn't have expected such a lovely young woman as yourself, though.'
He reached out to touch her cheek, and she jerked back violently, her eyes on the open window beside them. As she moved backwards, the candlelight fell on her face, highlighting her features in golden light. Danielson froze, shocked beyond belief, as he saw a face from the past look out from the features of the little thief.
'Bloody hell,' he muttered, staring wide-eyed at her. 'So Delaney did have a daughter.'
He had no chance expound upon his words, because Marin brought her knee up as hard as she could. As he crumpled slightly, his eyes crossing in pain, she slammed his head down onto the desk, and he collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.
There was no way she could slip out un-noticed now, she knew, since the crew would be waiting for the captain to return on deck. She glanced out of the window, and saw her companions waiting a little way away for her, two solitary figures cradled in a rowboat. With a shrug, she clambered up onto the windowseat and dived down into the cool welcoming waters of the cove.
Jack grasped the back of her coat and hauled her aboard, looking her over for any sign that she had been hurt or injured. They had seen the altercation in the cabin from where they waited, and Will had had to physically restrain him from rushing to her rescue.
He motioned Will to light the lamp that hung on the prow of their little rowboat as a signal to the Dryad. Another lamp was lit in answer, and immediately the Dryad began to come about, nowhere near close enough for the Stella Maris to open fire. If it was one thing Danielson's ship was known for, it was the short range of his guns.
Marin slipped into an oarsman's seat, taking one of the oars from the man they had been sent to rescue.
'Nice to meet you, Will Turner,' she said pleasantly. 'I'm Marin.'
He smiled down at her, obviously amused by her cheerful state.
'Pleasure, Marin,' he replied as they drew on the oars. 'What's going on?'
A shadow passed across Marin's face as she remembered the locket around Danielson's neck, and the look on his face when he had seen hers in the candlelight.
'That's what I'd like to know,' she muttered softly as they pulled away from the crippled Stella Maris, and out of the cove to the warm welcome of the Black Pearl.