Revelations:  Part One

"Do you remember when we fell in love?
We were young and innocent then.
Do you remember how it all began?
It just seemed like heaven,
So why did it end"    

***

            And that was the last of Sophia's composure, the little bit she had saved to keep from slamming Jack's door with all her might.  Now gone, she stomped across the deck back to her room in a rage, tears spilling uncontrollably from her eyes.  Entering the room she shared with Anamaria, she found the other woman sitting on her bed sewing together a torn shirt. 

            "Ye alright luv", she asked in concern upon seeing Sophia's tear stricken face 

            "I hate him", Sophia only cried in response, her voice muffled as she buried her face in her pillow. 

            Anamaria stood, walking first to the door to lock it and then making her way to Sophia's bed where she sat down next to her and ran a comforting hand through her hair. 

            "Shh, I know ye do.  It's alright."

            "No it bloody isn't alright", Sophia shot back angrily.  "Ye know my life was fine, bloody fine until a coupla months ago.  Why did he have to sail into Port Antenea?  Of all places in the Caribbean he had to pick the one where he'd run into me.  I've spent the last 13 years o' me life trying to forget about him, convincing myself he'd neva existed and now look at me", she continued to sob. 

            "I know, I know", Ana soothed.

             "NO, YOU DON'T KNOW", Sophia screamed at her, finally releasing all of her anger. 

            Anamaria was slightly taken aback at the outburst, but knew Sophia was just blowing off steam and refrained from getting angry herself.  "Yer right", she agreed with the woman who was sobbing in her lap.  "I don't know, because ye won't tell me."

            For a minute Sophia stopped crying, just long enough to consider what Ana had said.  "I grew up with Jack.  I've known him longer than anyone else in me whole life, and same for him", she began out of nowhere.  "Our mums worked together in Tortuga, I'm sure ye can guess what they did.  Neva knew me dad, neither did Jack, both were pirates, coulda been anyone really, ye know how it is.  But lucky for him when the brothel our mums worked in got a new owner, he took a liking to Jack's mum, made her his wife, moved her to the management side of things, and Jack got a daddy of sorts. 

            So yeah, we grew up together, knew each other before either o' us could even walk or talk.  Both lived in the house, Jack had his own room next to his parents' and I stayed with me mum.  Though most nights I ended up down there with him because I wasn't allowed in me own room when business was being conducted, and honestly I wouldn't have wanted to be anyway.  I hated it, every last second of it.  Being kicked out o' yer home so some filthy bastard could fuck yer mum, then waking up the next morning sometimes to find he'd beaten the shit out o' her the night before.  It was a miserable existence and I begged God everyday to get away and never have to live that life when I was older."

            Across the deck of the Black Pearl the ship's captain sat at his desk, full bottle of rum in his had and another empty one beside that.  It was apparent from the gray streaks that stained his cheeks that tears had recently ran their course downward, but he didn't care.  Spinning the neck of his bottle clumsily between his fingers, he allowed the memories that he had blocked out for so long to finally play out across his mind. 

            A young Jack, barely seven years of age, sat at the small wooden desk in his room scribbling pictures on a tattered piece of paper.  Concentrating hard, the tiny tip of his tongue protruded from the side of his mouth, and his brow furrowed as he tried to block out the sounds that filled the brothel, remaining audible against his tightly closed door.  He was drawing a ship, the hull was nearly complete and he now began the upward line that would become the mast.  Pressing his pencil firmly against the surface of his paper, he was startled at the sound of his door being flung open causing the tip to snap off.

            Turning to the door to find the culprit of the intrusion, he was not surprised to see the little blonde girl who stood in the doorway, tears burning in her eyes.  Some silent understanding seemed to pass between the two and immediately the girl ran to him and the two grabbed each other in a hug. 

            "He's hurting her", she managed through sobs, her face buried deep in his hair and neck. 

            Jack had no words of comfort for her, they had been in this situation too many times before to come up with anything original.  Instead he only hugged her tighter.  When she had finally calmed down, she turned to examine the drawing on his desk. 

            "Yer quarterdeck should be higher than the foredeck", she commented, grabbing his quill and adding a few lines.    

            Across the room, the door was still hanging wide open, the sounds from outside filled the room louder than before and finally the little girl could take no more.

            "Can we go now Jackie", she asked him in a small voice, dropping the quill and giving him a serious look.

            "Yeah, come on", he replied taking her small hand in his. 

            Leaving the room, Jack closed the door behind them and headed for the back door. 

            "Me an' Sophie are going", he called to whomever was listening.  No one was, and in truth, it wouldn't have mattered if they had been. 

            The memory tugged at Jack's heart.  The pain of that night, like so many others, when a six and seven year old were forced to face the harshness and evils of the world together.  The years passed very much the same as that night.  Two children whose only solace in the world was one another. 

            "I swear, if it wouldn't have been for Jack I probably wouldn't have even lived through it", Sophia said to Ana after a long pause.  The nights were endless, the two of us sitting huddled tight together in the darkness of his room just trying to block out the horrible cries and groans that filled the house.  Somehow we made it, even though there were times when I was convinced we wouldn't."

            "Let's go", a voice demanded from the doorway. 

            Jack looked up to see Sophia there as was the custom.  Casting aside the book he was reading, he blew out his candle and headed for the door.  Their hands enclosed around one another's and they were quickly on their way out of the house and down to the waterfront.  Creeping silently through the shrubbery, they made their way away from the docks toward a small inlet that had come to serve as their haven over the past years.  As their feet hit the soft sand of the beach, each quickly began to shed their clothing as they moved straight for the water, neither bothering to stop in the process.  Shirts and breeches were carelessly flung off and soon the sound of splashing water followed. 

            Diving into the water, Jack was quick to grab Sophia and dunk her under.  She came up laughing and did not hesitate to retaliate.  Their playful battled ensued for a time, shouts of laugher filling the air, until Jack brought it to an end.  Grabbing her around the waist, he spun her around, pulled her tight against him, and kissed her sloppily.  The affection was returned, and soon enough the two adolescents were making their way clumsily for the sand. 

            How it had come to this, neither could say.  Most likely, it was just the natural progression of relationships between two friends of the opposite sex.  It had started with a kiss when they were both around ten, just a harmless little attempt to see what it was all about.  But night after night spent sleeping in the same bed, developing bodies and hormones had eventually taken their toll.  They weren't lovers by any stretch of the imagination, hell, they weren't even old enough for that.  But young minds become curious, and young bodies desire to experiment, and as convenience would have it, both tasks were accomplished.

            So there in the sand the chaos of mouths connecting hands exploring ensued, both enjoying the sensation of one another's touch and familiarity.  They had yet to engage in the ultimate culmination of passion, that would come in time.  It was an uncharted territory that neither was ready to explore, mental demons still preventing the body from attaining its deepest desire.  For now, they were content with the pleasures the hand and tongue could provide, and settled as such. 

            When both had finished they lay side by side on the sand, Jack on his back and Sophia on her stomach, one arm thrown lazily across his chest.

            "Come on, we've been gone a long time", Jack said sitting up.

            "Do we have to go back?  It's not like anyone's going to miss us."

            "Well we can't sleep 'ere all night, and I'm tired."

            "We have before", she protested.  "And no one noticed then, I might remind you."

            Jack sighed.  "Well you can sleep 'ere if ye want, but I'm tired and I want to sleep in my bed."

            Sophia huffed in fake irritation.  "Alright", she whined in a sing-songy voice.

            "Thank you", he replied extending a hand to pull her up. 

            They made their way back to the brothel much the same as they had come.  Making sure to go around to the back door, as they had always been instructed they stepped inside and took the usual route straight to Jack's room.  They had almost reached their destination when something caught Sophia's attention; the house was silent save for the screaming of a solitary voice. 

            "Come on", she urged Jack, making for the main hall that opened up to all the other rooms. 

            "No."

            "I want to see what's going on", she argued.

            "You know we aren't supposed to be out there.  Last time we were caught Mark beat the living shit out o' me for it."

            "I don't care", she shot back, ripping herself from his grip. 

            She hurried to the archway that separated Jack's family's living quarters and the business half of the house, and peered out.  In the hall everyone was gathered in silence, and was staring up at the second floor each baring a look of horror.  Sophia's brows furrowed as she craned to see what they were looking at, and despite Jack's warning she stepped into the room to get a better look.  What she saw made her heart stop.  The focus of everyone's attention was her room, her mother's room.  From inside her mother's screams of pain could be plainly heard and Sophia over heard another of the ladies whisper quietly to the woman next to her. 

            "He's killing her."  Even before she had finished the sentence, the woman became aware that Sophia was standing nearby.  "Come here luv", she urged the girl, but Sophia did not comply. 

            Grasping frantically at her side, she found her dagger fixed in its place.  Something Jack's step-father Mark, always scolded her to have.  Grateful for it now, she took off running, and flew up the stairs in the direction of her room.  Had she taken the time to think it over she would have headed the cries urging her to stop, but anger enveloped her and reason abandoned.  She did not know what she would find on the other side of that door, but throwing it open she was greeted by the worst.  There on the bed a huge, despicable man towered over her mother, pounding her face and body with clenched fists so hard that blood flowed freely from gashes and bruises.  It was clear that the woman was on the verge of death, as she no longer had the will to protest or fight back. 

            Upon her intrusion the man turned on Sophia, who stood unable to move, frozen by terror.  Jumping from the bed, he quickly advanced upon the girl.  Staring at him with a mixture of fear and hate, Sophia did not flinch when he grabbed her by the shoulders.

            "I see its two for the price o' one tonight", he leered in her face. 

            At his comment Sophia instinctively did the only thing she could think of, she thrust her knee upwards, making contact with the man's groin.  He screamed and lunged forward but Sophia stepped back and drew her dagger.  In a blind rage she lost all control over herself and attacked ruthlessly.  Driving her dagger into his shoulder, she quickly retrieved it as he now fell backwards.  Jumping on top of him, she continued to stab him repeatedly, barely able to see through the tears and blood that stained her face.  She screamed and sobbed, plunging her dagger into his flesh again and again, until the pain became overwhelming and her efforts half hearted. 

            But she did not stop until a pair of arms wrapped around her, rendering her immobile, and pulled her from the man.  Bawling hysterically, she fell into Jack's lap, covering him in blood as well, and cried long into the night. 

            Half of the bottle left, Jack downed the remaining contents of his rum in one large gulp.  Setting it back down he wiped his stinging eyes, thought whether it was due to more tears or the burn of such a strong drink he could no longer tell.  Pushing his now second empty bottle aside, he quickly reached for a third as the horrible scene played out in his mind again and again.  Uncorking the rum, he started in on it quickly as he delved deeper into his long forgotten past.