Gracie sat anxiously in the room she shared with her brother. She had
packed light, the drunken Captain she had pleaded with to take her and her
father to Tortuga had finally accepted. All she needed right now is to hear
word from her father, himself.
"Father?" She asked as she heard the shop door open. She pushed the door aside and smiled as Will walked in.
"Gracie, we have some bad news." He explained nervously.
Gracie frowned. "Bad news? All you had to do was tell mother we were going to go for a while. Thomas could run the shop. He's done it before when you had that terrible burn. Besides, why do you say we?"
Will stepped out of the way to reveal her mother, wearing the angriest and disapproving face she had ever seen. Worse than the time she brought home a sailor when he was too drunk to walk, worse than the time she had caught her and her brother fighting with a pair of old cutlasses, and even worse than the time she had been thrown in jail when she had stolen some fruit from the market.
"Grace Lyn Turner! What in the world do you think you are doing?!" Elizabeth yelled, her fair skin beginning to turn redder by the second.
"I want to meet yours and father's friend Captain Jack Sparrow! I want to know if he would teach me to become a pirate." Gracie said with her head held high. There was no use in being ashamed of what she wanted to do.
Elizabeth shook her head. "Absolutely not! No! I have protected you from such things since the say you and your brother were born." She turned to Will. "This is your entire fault. I told you not to tell them such stupid stories. Filling their heads with dangerous thoughts is what you did!"
Will nodded. "I'm wishing I listened to you."
Gracie shook her head. "No! Don't wish that father! I deserve to know our family history and you can't run away from such things!"
"If your grandfather knew what you were planning on doing. . ." Elizabeth started.
"Oh, you mean the governor." Gracie said in mid curtsy. "You mean, A MAN I HAVE NEVER ACTUALLY MET!"
Elizabeth shook her head. "First of all you aren't going; it is much too dangerous for a girl your age. Second of all. . ." she stopped noticing the face her daughter was making. "Oh, come here."
Gracie slumped and walked over to her mother whom had pulled her into a tight embrace. "Mother, I really want to go."
Elizabeth let go of her daughter and set both of her hands on her shoulders. "A girl doesn't belong gallivanting from pirate ship to pirate ship.
Gracie frowned. "You did."
Elizabeth stepped away from her. "I most certainly did not."
"Yes you did. You on the Black Pearl with Bourbossa, then you escaped onto the Dauntless, and then you were taken back onto the Black Pearl, then you were marooned onto a deserted island, and then you were picked up by the Interceptor and really you just kept jumping ship." Gracie explained.
Elizabeth shot a look at Will that screamed, 'your fault,' and turned back to her daughter who was eagerly waiting for her explanation. "Yes, but I was kidnapped. Given the choice, I would have stayed on solid ground, like what you are going to do."
Gracie smirked and grabbed the small bag of clothes that sat beside the table in the middle of the room. "Actually no. You see, mother, I have already made plans and the Captain, a respectable man is supposed to come to be sure I arrive on time and you see he owes me a favour and he wishes to pay it off before he leaves this God-forsaken place." Grace nodded. "And he's willing to bring me along, even if by force is necessary so I if were you I would let me go."
"I. . . I. . ." Elizabeth sputtered staring at her daughter's dead serious face. "I can't believe you be so secretive!"
The door burst open and a large burly man stood staring at them, not saying a word.
Gracie bit her lip. "I believe someone once told me, actions speak louder than words."
Elizabeth head dropped. "I believe I did last time you were punished."
Gracie nodded. "Mother, please let father come. I know he must miss Jack. I will come back I promise!"
Her mother nodded quietly. "Go on Mr. Turner. I believe your daughter needs you."
Will's face dropped as he watched his wife begin to cry. "Darling I won't go unless you want me to."
Elizabeth took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. "No Will, you will go with our daughter. If you don't go with her I would be worried sick. Go on." She said shooing him out of the house. "Go!"
~*~
Grace smiled as the ship began to leave the port. She couldn't help but think this was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her. She could feel it in her bones, the call of the sea, pulling her into it.
She ran to the quarters that had been loaned to her and her father and closed the door behind her. "Father isn't this exciting?" She grinned.
He looked up from the desk her sat at. "Oh yes, quite." He said quite a bit less enthusiastic.
Gracie frowned. "Father, you look pale. Are you ill?"
He shook his head quite vigorously. "No, it's been almost seventeen years since I last been on a ship. I just need to get used to it."
Gracie grinned. "It's been a month for me."
"What! You have never been on a ship before in your life!" Will said getting up from the chair and quickly sitting back down until the wave of nausea passed.
"Well, it was only for a few hours. I met this man and we just sailed around the port. It wasn't as if I went to America." Gracie replied defending herself.
Will shook his head. He remembered being adventurous like at fifteen, but never to the degree that she went too.
Gracie knelt on the floor by her father's feet. "Father, do you remember the time when I was about four and I asked you if I could be a pirate when I was older?"
Will smiled. "Of course I do. I told you that you were a Turner and you could be whatever you wished to be."
She nodded and rested her head on his knee. "Were you serious or were you trying to make me stop arguing with Thomas?"
Will sighed and stroked her long wavy hair that spilled over her shoulders like a waterfall. "At the time I was trying to make you two to stop arguing, but after watching you grow up into the young woman you are, I see that you could whatever you please, mainly because I have seen that you would fight anyone who said differently."
Gracie looked up into her father's dark eyes. "I learned from the best."
"Only because you argued the fact that you may need to protect yourself in the future."
"Mother was so angry when she found us in mid lesson, with my cutlass in the air. She said I looked like I little pirate and that she wasn't raising pirates." Gracie laughed.
Will bit his lip. "The reason why your mother is so protective of you is because you have the heart of a pirate. She's seen it since you were little. You refused to play with the little girls, and when the boys played pirates you refused to be the damsel in distress. She had to point it out to me." We blushed. "You don't tell your mother this but I was quite proud of you. No daughter of mine was going to be a damsel in distress."
Gracie rolled her eyes. "There was no point to the damsel. You stood around and screamed until a boy would come and untie you. It was awfully boring."
"I can tell Jack is going to like the likes of you." Will smiled.
Gracie's eyes lit up. "Do you think he would let me join his crew?"
Will got up and covered his face with both of his hands. "Oh my dear Lord. I created a monster."
Gracie blushed and tried to get up off the floor only to have her foot stuck in the inner layers of the dress. "Oh this bloody dress!" She yelped finally kicking it free.
Will laughed. "You were never comfortable in them were you?"
Gracie took the seat her father was sitting at and frowned. "You wouldn't be either father. They are big, hot and heavy. They serve absolutely no purpose other than to make me frustrated. So I'm getting rid of it."
Will stood up. "And what are you planning on wearing?"
She lifted her booted foot to reveal a dagger strapped around her ankle. "I'm going to make it have a purpose."
"And where did you get that?" He said snatching it away from her and looking at it. "It was made beautifully."
Gracie blushed. "I made it."
He quickly put the dagger on the desk and grinned, lifting her off the chair and spinning her around. "I knew you weren't just at my shop everyday to talk to me! You were watching! And all those questions! Oh, we'll make a blacksmith out of you yet!"
Gracie frowned as he put her down. "I thought you wanted to call the shop Turner and son."
Will shrugged. "I'm flexible. We'll call it Turner & Turner." He smiled squeezing her tight.
The frown stayed on her face. "But, what if that's not what I want to do?"
Will still smiled. "You're my daughter. I'll love you no matter what."
Gracie smirked. "Even if I become a pirate, under the name of Gracie the Gruesome?"
Will opened his mouth to speak and quickly shut it. "You might have to talk to your mother about that."
~*~
"Miss Grace?" The large burly man, who turned out to be the Captain opened the door. "Oh, Mr. Turner, we will be arriving at Tortuga in about an hour."
Will nodded and proceeded to collect his belongings.
The Captain lingered for a few moments by the door and quickly stepped into the room. "Mr. Turner, I know this is none of my business, but what business does a girl like your daughter have in a place like Tortuga?"
Will scoffed. "It's more like my business that she has commandeered. She wishes to meet an old friend of mine and we figure this is the place to go to find him."
"And which friend is this?" The Captain, who turned out to be quite curious asked skeptically.
"I would rather not say."
The Captain nodded. "What vessel? I could tell you if it is in the port."
Will shook his head. "I would rather not say."
"You know what really surprised me?" The Captain said smiling, obviously slightly drunk. "Ol' Jack Sparrow is in port. Yup, with the Black Pearl and everything. I couldn't believe he came out of hiding with that reward on his head."
Will smiled. "Oh. Yes, quite surprising."
The Captain nodded and made his way to the door. "I best leave you to your collecting and preparations. I'll have the crew to tell your daughter to make her way back here."
Will nodded as he walked out of the room. "Thank you Captain." That man had just gave him the best information. Now, only if he could find Jack. Well that was fairly simple. He was Captain Jack Sparrow. He would be in one of two places. "His favourite bar, or Jail." He murmured as he threw in a few pieces of his daughter's shredded dress.
"Father?" She asked as she heard the shop door open. She pushed the door aside and smiled as Will walked in.
"Gracie, we have some bad news." He explained nervously.
Gracie frowned. "Bad news? All you had to do was tell mother we were going to go for a while. Thomas could run the shop. He's done it before when you had that terrible burn. Besides, why do you say we?"
Will stepped out of the way to reveal her mother, wearing the angriest and disapproving face she had ever seen. Worse than the time she brought home a sailor when he was too drunk to walk, worse than the time she had caught her and her brother fighting with a pair of old cutlasses, and even worse than the time she had been thrown in jail when she had stolen some fruit from the market.
"Grace Lyn Turner! What in the world do you think you are doing?!" Elizabeth yelled, her fair skin beginning to turn redder by the second.
"I want to meet yours and father's friend Captain Jack Sparrow! I want to know if he would teach me to become a pirate." Gracie said with her head held high. There was no use in being ashamed of what she wanted to do.
Elizabeth shook her head. "Absolutely not! No! I have protected you from such things since the say you and your brother were born." She turned to Will. "This is your entire fault. I told you not to tell them such stupid stories. Filling their heads with dangerous thoughts is what you did!"
Will nodded. "I'm wishing I listened to you."
Gracie shook her head. "No! Don't wish that father! I deserve to know our family history and you can't run away from such things!"
"If your grandfather knew what you were planning on doing. . ." Elizabeth started.
"Oh, you mean the governor." Gracie said in mid curtsy. "You mean, A MAN I HAVE NEVER ACTUALLY MET!"
Elizabeth shook her head. "First of all you aren't going; it is much too dangerous for a girl your age. Second of all. . ." she stopped noticing the face her daughter was making. "Oh, come here."
Gracie slumped and walked over to her mother whom had pulled her into a tight embrace. "Mother, I really want to go."
Elizabeth let go of her daughter and set both of her hands on her shoulders. "A girl doesn't belong gallivanting from pirate ship to pirate ship.
Gracie frowned. "You did."
Elizabeth stepped away from her. "I most certainly did not."
"Yes you did. You on the Black Pearl with Bourbossa, then you escaped onto the Dauntless, and then you were taken back onto the Black Pearl, then you were marooned onto a deserted island, and then you were picked up by the Interceptor and really you just kept jumping ship." Gracie explained.
Elizabeth shot a look at Will that screamed, 'your fault,' and turned back to her daughter who was eagerly waiting for her explanation. "Yes, but I was kidnapped. Given the choice, I would have stayed on solid ground, like what you are going to do."
Gracie smirked and grabbed the small bag of clothes that sat beside the table in the middle of the room. "Actually no. You see, mother, I have already made plans and the Captain, a respectable man is supposed to come to be sure I arrive on time and you see he owes me a favour and he wishes to pay it off before he leaves this God-forsaken place." Grace nodded. "And he's willing to bring me along, even if by force is necessary so I if were you I would let me go."
"I. . . I. . ." Elizabeth sputtered staring at her daughter's dead serious face. "I can't believe you be so secretive!"
The door burst open and a large burly man stood staring at them, not saying a word.
Gracie bit her lip. "I believe someone once told me, actions speak louder than words."
Elizabeth head dropped. "I believe I did last time you were punished."
Gracie nodded. "Mother, please let father come. I know he must miss Jack. I will come back I promise!"
Her mother nodded quietly. "Go on Mr. Turner. I believe your daughter needs you."
Will's face dropped as he watched his wife begin to cry. "Darling I won't go unless you want me to."
Elizabeth took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. "No Will, you will go with our daughter. If you don't go with her I would be worried sick. Go on." She said shooing him out of the house. "Go!"
~*~
Grace smiled as the ship began to leave the port. She couldn't help but think this was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her. She could feel it in her bones, the call of the sea, pulling her into it.
She ran to the quarters that had been loaned to her and her father and closed the door behind her. "Father isn't this exciting?" She grinned.
He looked up from the desk her sat at. "Oh yes, quite." He said quite a bit less enthusiastic.
Gracie frowned. "Father, you look pale. Are you ill?"
He shook his head quite vigorously. "No, it's been almost seventeen years since I last been on a ship. I just need to get used to it."
Gracie grinned. "It's been a month for me."
"What! You have never been on a ship before in your life!" Will said getting up from the chair and quickly sitting back down until the wave of nausea passed.
"Well, it was only for a few hours. I met this man and we just sailed around the port. It wasn't as if I went to America." Gracie replied defending herself.
Will shook his head. He remembered being adventurous like at fifteen, but never to the degree that she went too.
Gracie knelt on the floor by her father's feet. "Father, do you remember the time when I was about four and I asked you if I could be a pirate when I was older?"
Will smiled. "Of course I do. I told you that you were a Turner and you could be whatever you wished to be."
She nodded and rested her head on his knee. "Were you serious or were you trying to make me stop arguing with Thomas?"
Will sighed and stroked her long wavy hair that spilled over her shoulders like a waterfall. "At the time I was trying to make you two to stop arguing, but after watching you grow up into the young woman you are, I see that you could whatever you please, mainly because I have seen that you would fight anyone who said differently."
Gracie looked up into her father's dark eyes. "I learned from the best."
"Only because you argued the fact that you may need to protect yourself in the future."
"Mother was so angry when she found us in mid lesson, with my cutlass in the air. She said I looked like I little pirate and that she wasn't raising pirates." Gracie laughed.
Will bit his lip. "The reason why your mother is so protective of you is because you have the heart of a pirate. She's seen it since you were little. You refused to play with the little girls, and when the boys played pirates you refused to be the damsel in distress. She had to point it out to me." We blushed. "You don't tell your mother this but I was quite proud of you. No daughter of mine was going to be a damsel in distress."
Gracie rolled her eyes. "There was no point to the damsel. You stood around and screamed until a boy would come and untie you. It was awfully boring."
"I can tell Jack is going to like the likes of you." Will smiled.
Gracie's eyes lit up. "Do you think he would let me join his crew?"
Will got up and covered his face with both of his hands. "Oh my dear Lord. I created a monster."
Gracie blushed and tried to get up off the floor only to have her foot stuck in the inner layers of the dress. "Oh this bloody dress!" She yelped finally kicking it free.
Will laughed. "You were never comfortable in them were you?"
Gracie took the seat her father was sitting at and frowned. "You wouldn't be either father. They are big, hot and heavy. They serve absolutely no purpose other than to make me frustrated. So I'm getting rid of it."
Will stood up. "And what are you planning on wearing?"
She lifted her booted foot to reveal a dagger strapped around her ankle. "I'm going to make it have a purpose."
"And where did you get that?" He said snatching it away from her and looking at it. "It was made beautifully."
Gracie blushed. "I made it."
He quickly put the dagger on the desk and grinned, lifting her off the chair and spinning her around. "I knew you weren't just at my shop everyday to talk to me! You were watching! And all those questions! Oh, we'll make a blacksmith out of you yet!"
Gracie frowned as he put her down. "I thought you wanted to call the shop Turner and son."
Will shrugged. "I'm flexible. We'll call it Turner & Turner." He smiled squeezing her tight.
The frown stayed on her face. "But, what if that's not what I want to do?"
Will still smiled. "You're my daughter. I'll love you no matter what."
Gracie smirked. "Even if I become a pirate, under the name of Gracie the Gruesome?"
Will opened his mouth to speak and quickly shut it. "You might have to talk to your mother about that."
~*~
"Miss Grace?" The large burly man, who turned out to be the Captain opened the door. "Oh, Mr. Turner, we will be arriving at Tortuga in about an hour."
Will nodded and proceeded to collect his belongings.
The Captain lingered for a few moments by the door and quickly stepped into the room. "Mr. Turner, I know this is none of my business, but what business does a girl like your daughter have in a place like Tortuga?"
Will scoffed. "It's more like my business that she has commandeered. She wishes to meet an old friend of mine and we figure this is the place to go to find him."
"And which friend is this?" The Captain, who turned out to be quite curious asked skeptically.
"I would rather not say."
The Captain nodded. "What vessel? I could tell you if it is in the port."
Will shook his head. "I would rather not say."
"You know what really surprised me?" The Captain said smiling, obviously slightly drunk. "Ol' Jack Sparrow is in port. Yup, with the Black Pearl and everything. I couldn't believe he came out of hiding with that reward on his head."
Will smiled. "Oh. Yes, quite surprising."
The Captain nodded and made his way to the door. "I best leave you to your collecting and preparations. I'll have the crew to tell your daughter to make her way back here."
Will nodded as he walked out of the room. "Thank you Captain." That man had just gave him the best information. Now, only if he could find Jack. Well that was fairly simple. He was Captain Jack Sparrow. He would be in one of two places. "His favourite bar, or Jail." He murmured as he threw in a few pieces of his daughter's shredded dress.