Disclaimer: see chapter 1
----
Jack spent two long, boring weeks alone in his cell. Once a day someone arrived to put food inside the doorway - usually rice with something spicy. He ate it mechanically, and spent the rest of his days alternately sitting still and thinking, and pacing the cell to keep himself lively.
Towards the end of the first week Jack stood up and stopped his guard as the dinner plate was put down. "Thanks," he said. The guard grunted, and seemed about to turn away. "Stay and chat for a bit?" Jack said, and for once in his life didn't mind if he sounded like he was pleading.
"Only for a bit," the guard said, and settled himself with his back against the wall by Jack's cell. "What d'you want to talk about?"
"This East India Company," said Jack. "I've never heard of it before."
"We don't work outside the Indian Ocean," the guard explained, his tone friendly enough. "But we rule these waters - the Dutch are trying, but they ain't got nothing on the might of the English. Not much chance for a pirate - tough luck fer you."
"Apparently," Jack said. "I suppose it's the gallows for me, then?"
The guard shrugged. "Couldn't say, I'm sure. All I know is that they could do with extra hands on board some o' the ships. This ruddy climate - sailors are dropping like flies." The fort clock struck one. "Better go. Don't want to be caught hob-nobbing with the captives." He grinned, and hurried off.
Jack sat down and picked at his meal, thoughtful.
At the end of the two weeks he was manacled again and taken out of his cell. They marched him across the courtyard and up into a room overlooking the harbour, furnished with a heavy desk and a few chairs. Jack felt his heart lift at the glimpse of blue sea out of the window, but he was not permitted long to gaze at it.
The English East Indiaman who had captured him was seated next to a stout soldier in full uniform, who flicked through some papers and then looked up at Jack.
"Ah, yes, the unnamed pirate from the Black Pearl. You neglected to say he was so young, Mr Tapley."
The Englishman, who was evidently named Tapley, shrugged. "It was unimportant. He is still a pirate, Major."
"Indeed. Well, do you have a name?" the Major asked, turning his attention back to Jack.
"Nightingale," Jack improvised. "John Nightingale."
"John Nightingale," the Major repeated, noting it down. "Very good. Now, Nightingale, you've been found guilty of piracy and of obstructing the duties of the East India Company. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Well," Jack said, "we didn't know 'bout this Company of yours. If we had, I'm sure my captain would've sailed on by."
Tapley snorted. "I'm sorry, Major, but you cannot believe such a tale as this. By all accounts they were sailing in our waters for some time before they came upon us - how can they not have heard of the East India Company?"
"We don't make a habit of chatting to them we capture," Jack said. "Honest mistake."
"Honest! You're a pirate. I would be exceedingly surprised if you are ever honest."
"There's honesty, and there's honesty," Jack returned. "We don't hide what we are, we take from them that can afford it, and we don't kill without reason. Now I grant you there's some as wouldn't be so generous, but not the Pearl."
The Major tapped the end of his quill against his teeth. "Nevertheless, Nightingale, I am in a difficult situation here. You are condemned by word and deed, although it is clear to me that your captain truly did not know that the ship you attacked belonged to the Company. By rights I should order you hanged."
"Then order it!" Tapley broke in.
"It is not so simple, my dear Tapley," the Major said, still thoughtfully.
Jack shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I might have a solution for you, sir. You agree that what I did isn't worthy of the gallows, and in return I join one of your crews. I'm a good sailor. Be silly to lose me to a noose."
"You wish to join the Company?" Tapley said, his face red with indignation. "Preposterous!"
"On the contrary, Mr Tapley," the Major interjected, "I think it is an admirable idea. Nightingale can repay the damage he and his fellows caused by serving the Company, and if he is indeed a good sailor then he will be extremely useful."
Jack nodded in encouragement.
"I am certain he will escape at the earliest opportunity," Tapley said.
"Escape to where?" the Major asked. "No, this is my judgement. He shall be branded as a pirate, so that should he escape he will be easily recognised; and then he shall join the Castle Frigate. You can order the men there to keep a close eye on him, Tapley. This is quite the best solution - I never enjoy ordering a hanging, particularly of one so young."
"Mighty kind of you, sir," Jack said, breathing an inward sigh of relief.
Tapley opened his mouth to argue, but the Major shook his head. "No, Tapley, you capture them and I punish them. That's the way we do things, you know that. Take him away."
Jack's guards took his elbows and hustled him away.
The branding took place next day, and was brief and excruciatingly painful. A brazier of coals was hauled into the courtyard outside the cells, and an iron shaped like the letter "P" thrust into it. Jack watched it get hot with a kind of fascinated horror. When it was glowing red they took off his manacles and held him down. One of the guards took the iron and placed it above Jack's right wrist before pressing.
He howled. But the pain went on, even after the guard had removed the branding iron. On his forearm there was a livid pink letter.
"Marked now, you are," the guard said, looking at his handiwork with pleasure. "They'll all know what you are."
"Thanks," Jack said sarcastically. "What I always wanted." He bit his lip to offset the pain.
They wrapped his forearm in muslin and some cooling paste and manacled him again. But this time they did not return Jack to his cell, instead leading him out of the fort and back towards the harbour.
Jack's spirits grew more lively as the water approached, and he smelt the familiar smell of salt and damp wood. His two weeks in captivity had been the longest time he had spent off the water since the day he left Portsmouth; he was longing to feel the movement of a ship underneath his feet once more.
At the gangplank to a smart-looking new frigate, the guards took off his manacles.
"Here you be," one of them said. "Major Clements said as how you weren't to escape, so mind - they won't be so generous next time."
"I will bear that in mind, certainly," Jack said, and gave them a little bow before turning and nimbly making his way up the gangplank.
His new captain was waiting for him, a disapproving look on his face.
"You're Nightingale?"
"Aye, aye, sir!" Jack said smartly.
"Welcome aboard the Castle Frigate, Nightingale. You've sailed aboard a frigate before?"
"No, sir. Just the Pearl."
"And what was she?"
"A bark," Jack said. "And a fast one."
"They share similarities," the captain said, but it was clear he was not comparing the two types of ship favourably. He beckoned to one of the sailors in blue busy coiling lines. "Now, Nightingale, you'll join the port watch and be under the eye of Midshipman Brown, here. Do your work and cause no trouble, and we shall all get along excellently. Do you understand me?"
"Perfectly, sir," Jack replied, the very model of an obedient sailor. The captain nodded.
"Good. Brown, do we have spare uniforms?"
"Not on board, sir," the midshipman said.
"Then Nightingale, you will have to make do with the garments you are wearing, though they are far from ideal. But do tie your hair back."
Jack took off his red headscarf, twisted it into a thick rope, and used it to bind his long hair into a rough tail at the back of his head. The captain seemed to approve, and Jack followed Midshipman Brown away.
Brown seemed friendly enough, though not especially talkative, and showed Jack his hammock. "I don't reckon you'll have anything to stow there?" he asked.
"Left it all on board the Pearl," Jack said regretfully. "Wasn't planning on getting myself clapped in irons by your Tapley."
"He's a dedicated bloke," Brown agreed. "Right, no time to stand around - we're setting sail to leave. There's work to be done."
They went back on deck and work began in earnest. Despite the fact that the frigate was, technically, an enemy vessel (to pirates, at least), Jack found himself so pleased to be back on board ship that he threw himself into the tasks he was given willingly. He was sent aloft for the hoisting of the great mainsails, and he climbed the rigging with alacrity.
By the end of the day, even Jack admitted to himself that he was exhausted from the work. His forearm began to hurt again as they sat down for supper in the mess - rice and stew - and he was glad that his watch had time for a rest before going on duty. He fell into his hammock and went straight to sleep.
They were sailing eastwards towards Indonesia, another of the East India Company's outposts, and within a few days there was no land to be seen in any direction. The long days of his captivity behind him, Jack settled back into life afloat and found that the sailors were not actually that different from the crew of the Black Pearl. They drank, when permitted, in the same quantities and knew many of the same shanties. Some of them hailed from Portsmouth like Jack. Those who had come most recently from England spoke of war and conflict, and most agreed that they were glad to be away from home.
Jack soon found himself much in demand both on and off duty. During his watches, he spent most of his time aloft, for his agility and lack of fear at the top of the masts were unrivalled. Afterwards, he was often asked for tales of life as a pirate. He told them, but could not resist embellishing the stories somewhat.
Not all the crew warmed to him. There were mutterings that the ex-pirate's presence aboard the frigate was "not right", and from several men Jack received outright hostility. He ignored them, content to be back at sea where he belonged.
But whenever he was on lookout duty in the crows nest, he looked for familiar black sails, and at night, he dreamed of the Black Pearl - surely, by now, hundreds of miles away.
----
TBC: not an ideal end for that chapter, but the next bit is too long and will form chapter 10.
----
Jack spent two long, boring weeks alone in his cell. Once a day someone arrived to put food inside the doorway - usually rice with something spicy. He ate it mechanically, and spent the rest of his days alternately sitting still and thinking, and pacing the cell to keep himself lively.
Towards the end of the first week Jack stood up and stopped his guard as the dinner plate was put down. "Thanks," he said. The guard grunted, and seemed about to turn away. "Stay and chat for a bit?" Jack said, and for once in his life didn't mind if he sounded like he was pleading.
"Only for a bit," the guard said, and settled himself with his back against the wall by Jack's cell. "What d'you want to talk about?"
"This East India Company," said Jack. "I've never heard of it before."
"We don't work outside the Indian Ocean," the guard explained, his tone friendly enough. "But we rule these waters - the Dutch are trying, but they ain't got nothing on the might of the English. Not much chance for a pirate - tough luck fer you."
"Apparently," Jack said. "I suppose it's the gallows for me, then?"
The guard shrugged. "Couldn't say, I'm sure. All I know is that they could do with extra hands on board some o' the ships. This ruddy climate - sailors are dropping like flies." The fort clock struck one. "Better go. Don't want to be caught hob-nobbing with the captives." He grinned, and hurried off.
Jack sat down and picked at his meal, thoughtful.
At the end of the two weeks he was manacled again and taken out of his cell. They marched him across the courtyard and up into a room overlooking the harbour, furnished with a heavy desk and a few chairs. Jack felt his heart lift at the glimpse of blue sea out of the window, but he was not permitted long to gaze at it.
The English East Indiaman who had captured him was seated next to a stout soldier in full uniform, who flicked through some papers and then looked up at Jack.
"Ah, yes, the unnamed pirate from the Black Pearl. You neglected to say he was so young, Mr Tapley."
The Englishman, who was evidently named Tapley, shrugged. "It was unimportant. He is still a pirate, Major."
"Indeed. Well, do you have a name?" the Major asked, turning his attention back to Jack.
"Nightingale," Jack improvised. "John Nightingale."
"John Nightingale," the Major repeated, noting it down. "Very good. Now, Nightingale, you've been found guilty of piracy and of obstructing the duties of the East India Company. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Well," Jack said, "we didn't know 'bout this Company of yours. If we had, I'm sure my captain would've sailed on by."
Tapley snorted. "I'm sorry, Major, but you cannot believe such a tale as this. By all accounts they were sailing in our waters for some time before they came upon us - how can they not have heard of the East India Company?"
"We don't make a habit of chatting to them we capture," Jack said. "Honest mistake."
"Honest! You're a pirate. I would be exceedingly surprised if you are ever honest."
"There's honesty, and there's honesty," Jack returned. "We don't hide what we are, we take from them that can afford it, and we don't kill without reason. Now I grant you there's some as wouldn't be so generous, but not the Pearl."
The Major tapped the end of his quill against his teeth. "Nevertheless, Nightingale, I am in a difficult situation here. You are condemned by word and deed, although it is clear to me that your captain truly did not know that the ship you attacked belonged to the Company. By rights I should order you hanged."
"Then order it!" Tapley broke in.
"It is not so simple, my dear Tapley," the Major said, still thoughtfully.
Jack shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I might have a solution for you, sir. You agree that what I did isn't worthy of the gallows, and in return I join one of your crews. I'm a good sailor. Be silly to lose me to a noose."
"You wish to join the Company?" Tapley said, his face red with indignation. "Preposterous!"
"On the contrary, Mr Tapley," the Major interjected, "I think it is an admirable idea. Nightingale can repay the damage he and his fellows caused by serving the Company, and if he is indeed a good sailor then he will be extremely useful."
Jack nodded in encouragement.
"I am certain he will escape at the earliest opportunity," Tapley said.
"Escape to where?" the Major asked. "No, this is my judgement. He shall be branded as a pirate, so that should he escape he will be easily recognised; and then he shall join the Castle Frigate. You can order the men there to keep a close eye on him, Tapley. This is quite the best solution - I never enjoy ordering a hanging, particularly of one so young."
"Mighty kind of you, sir," Jack said, breathing an inward sigh of relief.
Tapley opened his mouth to argue, but the Major shook his head. "No, Tapley, you capture them and I punish them. That's the way we do things, you know that. Take him away."
Jack's guards took his elbows and hustled him away.
The branding took place next day, and was brief and excruciatingly painful. A brazier of coals was hauled into the courtyard outside the cells, and an iron shaped like the letter "P" thrust into it. Jack watched it get hot with a kind of fascinated horror. When it was glowing red they took off his manacles and held him down. One of the guards took the iron and placed it above Jack's right wrist before pressing.
He howled. But the pain went on, even after the guard had removed the branding iron. On his forearm there was a livid pink letter.
"Marked now, you are," the guard said, looking at his handiwork with pleasure. "They'll all know what you are."
"Thanks," Jack said sarcastically. "What I always wanted." He bit his lip to offset the pain.
They wrapped his forearm in muslin and some cooling paste and manacled him again. But this time they did not return Jack to his cell, instead leading him out of the fort and back towards the harbour.
Jack's spirits grew more lively as the water approached, and he smelt the familiar smell of salt and damp wood. His two weeks in captivity had been the longest time he had spent off the water since the day he left Portsmouth; he was longing to feel the movement of a ship underneath his feet once more.
At the gangplank to a smart-looking new frigate, the guards took off his manacles.
"Here you be," one of them said. "Major Clements said as how you weren't to escape, so mind - they won't be so generous next time."
"I will bear that in mind, certainly," Jack said, and gave them a little bow before turning and nimbly making his way up the gangplank.
His new captain was waiting for him, a disapproving look on his face.
"You're Nightingale?"
"Aye, aye, sir!" Jack said smartly.
"Welcome aboard the Castle Frigate, Nightingale. You've sailed aboard a frigate before?"
"No, sir. Just the Pearl."
"And what was she?"
"A bark," Jack said. "And a fast one."
"They share similarities," the captain said, but it was clear he was not comparing the two types of ship favourably. He beckoned to one of the sailors in blue busy coiling lines. "Now, Nightingale, you'll join the port watch and be under the eye of Midshipman Brown, here. Do your work and cause no trouble, and we shall all get along excellently. Do you understand me?"
"Perfectly, sir," Jack replied, the very model of an obedient sailor. The captain nodded.
"Good. Brown, do we have spare uniforms?"
"Not on board, sir," the midshipman said.
"Then Nightingale, you will have to make do with the garments you are wearing, though they are far from ideal. But do tie your hair back."
Jack took off his red headscarf, twisted it into a thick rope, and used it to bind his long hair into a rough tail at the back of his head. The captain seemed to approve, and Jack followed Midshipman Brown away.
Brown seemed friendly enough, though not especially talkative, and showed Jack his hammock. "I don't reckon you'll have anything to stow there?" he asked.
"Left it all on board the Pearl," Jack said regretfully. "Wasn't planning on getting myself clapped in irons by your Tapley."
"He's a dedicated bloke," Brown agreed. "Right, no time to stand around - we're setting sail to leave. There's work to be done."
They went back on deck and work began in earnest. Despite the fact that the frigate was, technically, an enemy vessel (to pirates, at least), Jack found himself so pleased to be back on board ship that he threw himself into the tasks he was given willingly. He was sent aloft for the hoisting of the great mainsails, and he climbed the rigging with alacrity.
By the end of the day, even Jack admitted to himself that he was exhausted from the work. His forearm began to hurt again as they sat down for supper in the mess - rice and stew - and he was glad that his watch had time for a rest before going on duty. He fell into his hammock and went straight to sleep.
They were sailing eastwards towards Indonesia, another of the East India Company's outposts, and within a few days there was no land to be seen in any direction. The long days of his captivity behind him, Jack settled back into life afloat and found that the sailors were not actually that different from the crew of the Black Pearl. They drank, when permitted, in the same quantities and knew many of the same shanties. Some of them hailed from Portsmouth like Jack. Those who had come most recently from England spoke of war and conflict, and most agreed that they were glad to be away from home.
Jack soon found himself much in demand both on and off duty. During his watches, he spent most of his time aloft, for his agility and lack of fear at the top of the masts were unrivalled. Afterwards, he was often asked for tales of life as a pirate. He told them, but could not resist embellishing the stories somewhat.
Not all the crew warmed to him. There were mutterings that the ex-pirate's presence aboard the frigate was "not right", and from several men Jack received outright hostility. He ignored them, content to be back at sea where he belonged.
But whenever he was on lookout duty in the crows nest, he looked for familiar black sails, and at night, he dreamed of the Black Pearl - surely, by now, hundreds of miles away.
----
TBC: not an ideal end for that chapter, but the next bit is too long and will form chapter 10.