Rose Turner stood on the docks of Port Royal with her mother waiting while her father finished paying for their passage to England. Will smiled apologetically as he joined them.
"Sorry that took so long. Our ship is over there, the Liandra," he said, pointing to a rather large ship further down the dock.
On board the Liandra Captain Tavington was shorting papers in his cabin when the first mate Aaron Cooper entered. Tavington looked up from his papers.
"Haven't you ever heard of knocking, Mr. Cooper?" he asked irately.
"Sorry sir," Cooper apologized quickly. "But the passengers are boarding now."
"As they are supposed to, Mr. Cooper. Do you have something important to tell me or not?" Tavington snapped.
Cooper cleared his throat before speaking.
"I was wonderin' what ye wanted to do about th' crew, sir."
Tavington arched an eyebrow.
"I want them to be doing their jobs," he said.
"Not that crew, sir. The crew," Cooper said, dropping his voice.
"I see. Make sure that there is no mention of them, or there shall be severe consequences. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Cooper?"
"Aye Captain," Cooper nodded, and left the cabin.
Tavington sighed and rubbed his temples. Cooper wasn't the most intelligent man around, but he knew hold to hold his tongue, and his ale. Even when drunk he wouldn't let a secret spill. The rest of the crew was another matter, and there were some thing Tavington didn't want all of Port Royal knowing.
Rose hung back a little as her parents boarded the Liandra. The ship was old; that much was clear. But there was something else about it that sent shivers up and down Rose's spine. Just as she was about to set foot on the gangplank, an old man bumped into her, nearly knocking her over. Mumbling an apology, he scurried off. Rose regained her balance, and looked after the man. She shook her head and turned to board the ship, when something caught her eye. Bending down, she picked up a silver medallion that hung from a chain of the same silver. She stared at it for a moment, the pocketed it, and walked on board. She mother turned to make sure she was on.
"Rose, we should be getting to our cabin," Elizabeth called.
Rose looked around again, and then followed her mother below deck to the passenger cabins. There was one other family, and a single man who were also passengers, but Rose didn't pay attention to them. Somehow, she couldn't shake the feeling that the old man had bumped into her on purpose.
Later that night, when the other passengers were talking or playing some sort of game, Rose was up on deck, trying to get some fresh air. Slowly she took the medallion out of the small bag that hung at her side, and examined it. It didn't look like anything she'd ever seen before. It wasn't very large, but it was covered in the most intricate swirling designs. Like one giant endless knot, Rose thought. Suddenly she heard what sounded like footsteps behind her. Shoving the medallion in her bag, Rose whirled around, looking for whoever was on deck. But there was no one else on deck, at least, no one she could see. Glancing around uneasily, she stepped away from the rail, towards the middle of the deck.
"Is anyone out here?" she called.
There was a whispering sound, and Rose could've sworn she felt someone brush past her. Stifling a scream, she bolted for the hatch to the lower decks, yanked it open, and fled down the stairs.
Cooper was walking towards the hatch, when Rose came flying down, nearly bowling him over. Chuckling to himself, the grizzled old sailor helped Rose pick herself back up.
"Calm down lassie. What's got ye so spooked?" he asked.
Rose gulped down several breaths before answering.
"There's something out there," she answered breathlessly.
Cooper frowned.
"Something out there? Lass, I tink ye'd better explain some more."
Rose took a few more deep breaths.
"I can't explain it, but I thought I heard someone behind me, but when I turned to look, there was no one there," she said. "And when I asked if anyone was there, to see if it was someone playing a trick on me, I could here whispering all around me, and I thought I felt someone brush past."
Cooper's frown deepened.
"Why don't ye go get some sleep, Miss…?"
"Turner."
Cooper nodded.
"Miss Turner. Get some rest, an' I'm sure this'll all seem silly in the mornin'," he said.
Rose nodded uncertainly, and continued down the hall. Cooper, once she was out of sight, walked up to the hatch and opened it carefully. Looking around, he got out and walked, rather quickly, to Tavington's quarters.