Thankfully, the trip passed exactly as Julianne and Jack had hoped it
would, the good weather held all the way from Port Royale to Red Cay. For
the first few days of their trip, no one saw much of the Turners, who
stayed locked away in their cabin. Will occasionally made an effort to
check on their progress or talk with some of the crew, but spent most of
his time consoling a nearly inconsolable wife.
On the third night of their voyage, Elizabeth could take no more of the seclusion she had subjected herself thus far. Stepping outside of her room, she found most of the crew sitting together eating and talking amongst themselves. Unbeknownst to her, Jack and Julianne had asked their crews to keep it low key for the sake of the distraught parents. Looking over to the Pearl, Elizabeth saw Will leaning on the railing deep in what looked to be a serious conversation with Jack. She stood there and watched the two of them for a minute, smiling to herself as the captain comforted the younger man.
Turning back to her own mission, Elizabeth walked the length of the deck making towards Julianne's cabin. Though she loved her husband dearly, and greatly appreciated his efforts to keep her spirits up, what she needed right now was the companionship of another woman. All be it not a very ladylike one, but beggars can't be choosers, and the time that Elizabeth had spent with Julianne over the past few years, she had come to truly value her like the older sister she never had, despite their incredible differences. Besides, maybe something different than what she was used to hearing would help.
Reaching the door, Elizabeth knocked lightly. No answer came. Opening the door slightly, she peered inside but did not find Julianne sitting at her desk. Stepping inside quietly, she closed the door behind her and walked into the room. Looking around, she slowly made her way back to the personal section of the cabin where Julianne slept.
"Julianne", she called lightly before stepping into the other room.
When she got to the archway and looked inside, what she saw made her heart skip a beat and her breath catch in her breath. There, standing shirtless in front of the closet with her back facing Elizabeth, Julianne rooted around looking for another shirt.
"Juli", Elizabeth gasped as she saw for the first time the mess of scars that detailed the older woman's body.
Realizing there was someone else in the room, Julianne's head shot around and she looked over her shoulder in surprise. "What are you doin in 'ere", she snapped turning back to her closet and grabbing a shirt.
"Your back", Elizabeth continued, still appalled.
"What of it?" Juli threw the shirt over her head and walked out into her office, avoiding the other woman's gaze.
"What happened to you", Elizabeth asked quietly.
The older woman did not answer right away, but grabbed herself a bottle rum, took a drink, and stared out the window. "Bloodshed always gets his revenge", she stated finally.
Elizabeth's brows furrowed in confusion. "How?"
At this Julianne turned to examine Elizabeth, her harsh gaze boring down on the young woman. She was angry at her boldness, a proper lady was always taught not to ask such personal questions. After a moment's consideration though, her stony demeanor lessened and she turned back and threw herself lazily into her chair. After all, it wasn't everyday a society girl saw something like Elizabeth just had.
"After Jack and I turned 'im over to Norrington, Eric was pissed. And rightfully so. There was really no excuse for imposin himself on our business, but turnin him into the navy with the expectation he'd be hanged was cruel beyond reason. Unfortunately, as you've heard he wasn't hanged and after a few months he was out, got himself a new ship, and set out to get back his own. And he did.
Me n' Jack were screwin around up around Charlotte, havin fun, not payin any attention to the fact that he was out and he caught us totally off guard. Struck a deal with the lieutenant up there, promised he'd deliver 'im a promotion winning pirate as long as he got to set the punishment. And at the time, I was a bit stupid and full of meself. Figurin that no one really knew who I was, and bein a woman, I walked round town like it was nothin.
And that's what got me. Practically handed meself right over to em. He wanted me. I was the one who handed him to Norrington. I was the one with the ship at the time. I was the prize, the woman, the first woman ever to receive a corporal punishment for piracy."
~~~
Julianne was led into the courtyard, hands bound, between two men. Her head was held high and her face bore a stony expression, revealing not the fear that gripped her being. They walked her from the gate to the center of the crowd, over to where the gallows stood. Lifting her arms above her head, the men hooked the ropes that bound her onto a bolt that stuck out from the wooden frame. Satisfied that she could not move, one of them proceeded to pull a dagger from his side, and used it to slit the back of her shirt open.
Raising her eyes to the sky, she looked up for only a second before closing them. Up on the platform, one of the men had ascended up the stairs and was now reading her rap-sheet of misdeeds. Below, the other produced a long leather whip and unwound it carefully.
".and will receive the punishment thereof, of 15 lashes by whip", Julianne heard the orator finish, and prepared herself for the worst.
CRACK! As the sickening sound of the whip cracking across her back resounded through the courtyard, Julianne squeezed her eyes closed harder. Pain seared throughout her body, but she did not cry out or shed a tear. The whip cracked again and she tremored under the pain. Her breath caught and she felt like she was going to choke, but still Julianne remained silent.
The scene remained the same for several minutes as the hard leather was brought down against her body. Throughout the ordeal Julianne's eyes remained closed and her head down. And though she wanted to scream out at the top of her lungs, she would not give these people the satisfaction of breaking her. Instead, she clamped her tongue between her teeth and bit down until blood filled her mouth and she was forced to spit it out or gag.
By the time the fifteenth blow had been dealt, Julianne was no longer standing of her own free will, but rather was being held in place by hanging from her arms. Her entire body was wrought with pain, from the scorching on her back, to the burning in her arms that were nearly pulling from their sockets, she was numb to any other feeling.
She had counted in her head, and was relieved when the last crack had sounded. Having proven her point to all those who watched, she now allowed herself to faint under the extremity of her suffering. When she awoke hours later to the sound of someone saying her name, she was lying on her stomach on the dirt floor of her prison cell.
During the infliction of Julianne's torture and public embarrassment, Jack had watched from the crowd. That was his punishment from Bloodshed. To watch the woman he loved suffer while he stood idly by unable to stop it. Though he desperately wanted to tear her from the grip of the navy who held her captive, he knew he was no match for the lot of them on his own. He considered staging an attack with the aid of the Renegade's crew, but knew it too would be to no avail. So instead, Jack was forced to bear witness to the excruciating and unjustified abuse that Julianne was subject to. With every crack of the whip, his own body shuddered for her.
After they had carried her roughly out, Jack had gone directly to the lieutenant in charge in Anchorage and paid for her release. Since it had not been a capital offense, she was only to be kept in prison for a few months, but Jack had offered him a price that he could not refuse, despite his deal with Bloodshed. An officer led the pirate down to the prison and to Julianne's cell, where Jack found her lying face down in the middle of it, covered in a mixture of blood, sweat, and tears. Her back was a lattice of welts, bruises, and bloodied cuts, which were beginning to turn red and fester with infection around the edges. After the officer had unlocked the door and gone, Jack stepped inside, bent down, and quietly roused her from her sleep.
Against her better judgment, Julianne forced her eyes open and dragged her head around slowly. Vision blurred, she could not see the face peering down at hers, but the sound of his voice, and the familiarity of his smell, and of his touch, told her all she needed to know.
"Jack", she managed to whisper as she gripped his hand, but afterwards grew dizzy and fell silent.
"Shh luv. I'm going to get ye out of 'ere. Just don't struggle", he said soothingly as he bent down to pick her up. Julianne groaned under the motion but did not fight. Jack was careful not to aggravate her wounds further, and held her tight as she rolled in his arms and buried her head in his chest.
Taking her down to the waterfront, he entered the inn that stood there.
"I'm going to need a room with a bath", he said to the man behind the counter. The man looked at Jack as though he was crazy for a second, then seemed to catch on.
"That's the lass they gave it to up in the courtyard earlier today ain't she?"
Jack nodded.
"Well I'll be damned if I've ever seen anyone take a beatin like her. She's gonna be alright?"
"If I get her in a room and cleaned up she will", Jack answered, growing irritated that the innkeeper was holding him up.
"Oh right, right this way", he replied grabbing a key and leading Jack back to a room.
Going inside, Jack gently laid Julianne on the bed and proceeded to the bathroom to draw a bath. As the tub began to fill, he went back to the bedroom and took a minute to examine Julianne's back. It was difficult to gauge the severity of the wounds hidden beneath so much blood. Feeling her head, he knew that fever was beginning to set in, so Jack went ahead as he planned. Removing her clothes carefully, he gently carried her into the bathroom and set her down in the hot water. He prayed that she remained asleep throughout the ordeal because he knew it would be very painful.
Deciding it was best to get the hardest thing out of the way first, he leaned Julianne forward with one arm, and began to work on her back. Being as gentle as possible, he delicately wiped a clean towel across the whip's cuts, turning the water in the tub to red. When he was finished, he wiped the dirt from the rest of her, and got a glass of water to rinse the blood from her mouth. Satisfied that she was in much better condition, Jack pulled her from the tub, dried her off, and took her back out to the bedroom.
Pulling the bedcovers down, he grabbed a corner of one of the sheets and tore off a long strip. He used this to wrap around Julianne's body as a dressing for her wounds. Leaving her wrapped in her towel, he laid her down on her stomach and crawled into bed next to her. He did not sleep that night, or any night after until they left Charlotte.
~~~
"And there you have it", Julianne finished coldly, taking a long drink from her bottle and slamming it down in anger. Her eyes growing red with tears in the process.
"Juli, I'm so sorry", Elizabeth said in barely a whisper, astounded and disgusted at what she had heard.
"Not your fault luv", the captain assured her a little softer.
"It must have been awful."
"Worst thing that ever happened to me. Couldn't move for over a week."
"I thought you were going to die", Jack's voice commented as he entered the room followed by Will. "That week was hell for both of us", he added.
From her seat, Julianne's eyes met Jack's and in them she could see the truth behind his words.
"Look luv", Julianne began again turning back to Elizabeth. "We're ahead o' schedule so I'm gonna give the crews a few hours rest. Why don't' you go and get yerselves some sleep and I'll come check on ye in the mornin."
Elizabeth nodded. As much as she had wanted to talk to Julianne just earlier, she knew that recounting the story of her scars had drained the captain emotionally and thought it best to hear her word. Getting up from her seat, she bid the two pirates goodnight and followed Will out.
Alone in the cabin, Jack continued to watch Julianne as she stared blankly at the bottle she twirled between her fingers. Walking slowly to stand behind her chair, he laid his hands on her shoulders and leaned downed.
"Ye alright luv?"
She nodded silently, and he stood back up, unsure of what else to say. He did not stand there long before Julianne stood up and turned to him, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. He moved to take her by the hands, but she pulled them away before he had the chance and wrapped her own arms around his neck in a hug. Hack pulled her close with one arm, and ran a hand through her hair with the other. They stood there like that for who knows how long, neither speaking a word to the other.
"Stay with me tonight", she finally whispered to him. Pulling back to look at her, Jack nodded, wiped a stray tear from her face with his thumb, then kissed her lightly on the lips.
On the third night of their voyage, Elizabeth could take no more of the seclusion she had subjected herself thus far. Stepping outside of her room, she found most of the crew sitting together eating and talking amongst themselves. Unbeknownst to her, Jack and Julianne had asked their crews to keep it low key for the sake of the distraught parents. Looking over to the Pearl, Elizabeth saw Will leaning on the railing deep in what looked to be a serious conversation with Jack. She stood there and watched the two of them for a minute, smiling to herself as the captain comforted the younger man.
Turning back to her own mission, Elizabeth walked the length of the deck making towards Julianne's cabin. Though she loved her husband dearly, and greatly appreciated his efforts to keep her spirits up, what she needed right now was the companionship of another woman. All be it not a very ladylike one, but beggars can't be choosers, and the time that Elizabeth had spent with Julianne over the past few years, she had come to truly value her like the older sister she never had, despite their incredible differences. Besides, maybe something different than what she was used to hearing would help.
Reaching the door, Elizabeth knocked lightly. No answer came. Opening the door slightly, she peered inside but did not find Julianne sitting at her desk. Stepping inside quietly, she closed the door behind her and walked into the room. Looking around, she slowly made her way back to the personal section of the cabin where Julianne slept.
"Julianne", she called lightly before stepping into the other room.
When she got to the archway and looked inside, what she saw made her heart skip a beat and her breath catch in her breath. There, standing shirtless in front of the closet with her back facing Elizabeth, Julianne rooted around looking for another shirt.
"Juli", Elizabeth gasped as she saw for the first time the mess of scars that detailed the older woman's body.
Realizing there was someone else in the room, Julianne's head shot around and she looked over her shoulder in surprise. "What are you doin in 'ere", she snapped turning back to her closet and grabbing a shirt.
"Your back", Elizabeth continued, still appalled.
"What of it?" Juli threw the shirt over her head and walked out into her office, avoiding the other woman's gaze.
"What happened to you", Elizabeth asked quietly.
The older woman did not answer right away, but grabbed herself a bottle rum, took a drink, and stared out the window. "Bloodshed always gets his revenge", she stated finally.
Elizabeth's brows furrowed in confusion. "How?"
At this Julianne turned to examine Elizabeth, her harsh gaze boring down on the young woman. She was angry at her boldness, a proper lady was always taught not to ask such personal questions. After a moment's consideration though, her stony demeanor lessened and she turned back and threw herself lazily into her chair. After all, it wasn't everyday a society girl saw something like Elizabeth just had.
"After Jack and I turned 'im over to Norrington, Eric was pissed. And rightfully so. There was really no excuse for imposin himself on our business, but turnin him into the navy with the expectation he'd be hanged was cruel beyond reason. Unfortunately, as you've heard he wasn't hanged and after a few months he was out, got himself a new ship, and set out to get back his own. And he did.
Me n' Jack were screwin around up around Charlotte, havin fun, not payin any attention to the fact that he was out and he caught us totally off guard. Struck a deal with the lieutenant up there, promised he'd deliver 'im a promotion winning pirate as long as he got to set the punishment. And at the time, I was a bit stupid and full of meself. Figurin that no one really knew who I was, and bein a woman, I walked round town like it was nothin.
And that's what got me. Practically handed meself right over to em. He wanted me. I was the one who handed him to Norrington. I was the one with the ship at the time. I was the prize, the woman, the first woman ever to receive a corporal punishment for piracy."
~~~
Julianne was led into the courtyard, hands bound, between two men. Her head was held high and her face bore a stony expression, revealing not the fear that gripped her being. They walked her from the gate to the center of the crowd, over to where the gallows stood. Lifting her arms above her head, the men hooked the ropes that bound her onto a bolt that stuck out from the wooden frame. Satisfied that she could not move, one of them proceeded to pull a dagger from his side, and used it to slit the back of her shirt open.
Raising her eyes to the sky, she looked up for only a second before closing them. Up on the platform, one of the men had ascended up the stairs and was now reading her rap-sheet of misdeeds. Below, the other produced a long leather whip and unwound it carefully.
".and will receive the punishment thereof, of 15 lashes by whip", Julianne heard the orator finish, and prepared herself for the worst.
CRACK! As the sickening sound of the whip cracking across her back resounded through the courtyard, Julianne squeezed her eyes closed harder. Pain seared throughout her body, but she did not cry out or shed a tear. The whip cracked again and she tremored under the pain. Her breath caught and she felt like she was going to choke, but still Julianne remained silent.
The scene remained the same for several minutes as the hard leather was brought down against her body. Throughout the ordeal Julianne's eyes remained closed and her head down. And though she wanted to scream out at the top of her lungs, she would not give these people the satisfaction of breaking her. Instead, she clamped her tongue between her teeth and bit down until blood filled her mouth and she was forced to spit it out or gag.
By the time the fifteenth blow had been dealt, Julianne was no longer standing of her own free will, but rather was being held in place by hanging from her arms. Her entire body was wrought with pain, from the scorching on her back, to the burning in her arms that were nearly pulling from their sockets, she was numb to any other feeling.
She had counted in her head, and was relieved when the last crack had sounded. Having proven her point to all those who watched, she now allowed herself to faint under the extremity of her suffering. When she awoke hours later to the sound of someone saying her name, she was lying on her stomach on the dirt floor of her prison cell.
During the infliction of Julianne's torture and public embarrassment, Jack had watched from the crowd. That was his punishment from Bloodshed. To watch the woman he loved suffer while he stood idly by unable to stop it. Though he desperately wanted to tear her from the grip of the navy who held her captive, he knew he was no match for the lot of them on his own. He considered staging an attack with the aid of the Renegade's crew, but knew it too would be to no avail. So instead, Jack was forced to bear witness to the excruciating and unjustified abuse that Julianne was subject to. With every crack of the whip, his own body shuddered for her.
After they had carried her roughly out, Jack had gone directly to the lieutenant in charge in Anchorage and paid for her release. Since it had not been a capital offense, she was only to be kept in prison for a few months, but Jack had offered him a price that he could not refuse, despite his deal with Bloodshed. An officer led the pirate down to the prison and to Julianne's cell, where Jack found her lying face down in the middle of it, covered in a mixture of blood, sweat, and tears. Her back was a lattice of welts, bruises, and bloodied cuts, which were beginning to turn red and fester with infection around the edges. After the officer had unlocked the door and gone, Jack stepped inside, bent down, and quietly roused her from her sleep.
Against her better judgment, Julianne forced her eyes open and dragged her head around slowly. Vision blurred, she could not see the face peering down at hers, but the sound of his voice, and the familiarity of his smell, and of his touch, told her all she needed to know.
"Jack", she managed to whisper as she gripped his hand, but afterwards grew dizzy and fell silent.
"Shh luv. I'm going to get ye out of 'ere. Just don't struggle", he said soothingly as he bent down to pick her up. Julianne groaned under the motion but did not fight. Jack was careful not to aggravate her wounds further, and held her tight as she rolled in his arms and buried her head in his chest.
Taking her down to the waterfront, he entered the inn that stood there.
"I'm going to need a room with a bath", he said to the man behind the counter. The man looked at Jack as though he was crazy for a second, then seemed to catch on.
"That's the lass they gave it to up in the courtyard earlier today ain't she?"
Jack nodded.
"Well I'll be damned if I've ever seen anyone take a beatin like her. She's gonna be alright?"
"If I get her in a room and cleaned up she will", Jack answered, growing irritated that the innkeeper was holding him up.
"Oh right, right this way", he replied grabbing a key and leading Jack back to a room.
Going inside, Jack gently laid Julianne on the bed and proceeded to the bathroom to draw a bath. As the tub began to fill, he went back to the bedroom and took a minute to examine Julianne's back. It was difficult to gauge the severity of the wounds hidden beneath so much blood. Feeling her head, he knew that fever was beginning to set in, so Jack went ahead as he planned. Removing her clothes carefully, he gently carried her into the bathroom and set her down in the hot water. He prayed that she remained asleep throughout the ordeal because he knew it would be very painful.
Deciding it was best to get the hardest thing out of the way first, he leaned Julianne forward with one arm, and began to work on her back. Being as gentle as possible, he delicately wiped a clean towel across the whip's cuts, turning the water in the tub to red. When he was finished, he wiped the dirt from the rest of her, and got a glass of water to rinse the blood from her mouth. Satisfied that she was in much better condition, Jack pulled her from the tub, dried her off, and took her back out to the bedroom.
Pulling the bedcovers down, he grabbed a corner of one of the sheets and tore off a long strip. He used this to wrap around Julianne's body as a dressing for her wounds. Leaving her wrapped in her towel, he laid her down on her stomach and crawled into bed next to her. He did not sleep that night, or any night after until they left Charlotte.
~~~
"And there you have it", Julianne finished coldly, taking a long drink from her bottle and slamming it down in anger. Her eyes growing red with tears in the process.
"Juli, I'm so sorry", Elizabeth said in barely a whisper, astounded and disgusted at what she had heard.
"Not your fault luv", the captain assured her a little softer.
"It must have been awful."
"Worst thing that ever happened to me. Couldn't move for over a week."
"I thought you were going to die", Jack's voice commented as he entered the room followed by Will. "That week was hell for both of us", he added.
From her seat, Julianne's eyes met Jack's and in them she could see the truth behind his words.
"Look luv", Julianne began again turning back to Elizabeth. "We're ahead o' schedule so I'm gonna give the crews a few hours rest. Why don't' you go and get yerselves some sleep and I'll come check on ye in the mornin."
Elizabeth nodded. As much as she had wanted to talk to Julianne just earlier, she knew that recounting the story of her scars had drained the captain emotionally and thought it best to hear her word. Getting up from her seat, she bid the two pirates goodnight and followed Will out.
Alone in the cabin, Jack continued to watch Julianne as she stared blankly at the bottle she twirled between her fingers. Walking slowly to stand behind her chair, he laid his hands on her shoulders and leaned downed.
"Ye alright luv?"
She nodded silently, and he stood back up, unsure of what else to say. He did not stand there long before Julianne stood up and turned to him, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. He moved to take her by the hands, but she pulled them away before he had the chance and wrapped her own arms around his neck in a hug. Hack pulled her close with one arm, and ran a hand through her hair with the other. They stood there like that for who knows how long, neither speaking a word to the other.
"Stay with me tonight", she finally whispered to him. Pulling back to look at her, Jack nodded, wiped a stray tear from her face with his thumb, then kissed her lightly on the lips.