Disclaimer: I don't own PotC in any way.
Claimer: I own Marie and Caleb.
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Marie yawned, blinking the sleep from her eyes. Despite the previous night's excitement, she had slept peacefully. This sudden realization caused Marie to jump off the bed; had they been spotted by the other ship or were they going to fight?
She rushed over to the wardrobe and flung the doors open. She quickly pulled out a dress, tried to forget where it may have come from, and put it on. It was hard to do the up the laces on her own, and she cursed as she fumbled around in her hurry. She pulled on her slippers and ran up on deck.
Marie shielded her eyes, expecting to step out into bright sunlight, as she had the day before, but the sky was overcast and a dreary drizzle has settled a dampness over everything. She strode over to the railing, looking for signs of the ship she had spotted last night. Nothing. She breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that they were safe.
"'Mornin,' lass," Mr. Gibbs said from behind her as he coiled rope. Marie turned quickly, why did everyone always seem to sneak up on her?
"Mr. Gibbs, what happened to the ship from last night? Have we lost it?"
"Calm down, young miss, we're fine. Outran 'er. She never even spotted us."
"But who was it? Pirates? The navy?"
"Don't worry yer pretty head now. We're outta harm's way and that's all that matters," he said gruffly, turning back to his work.
Marie nodded dumbly. She realized that she had actually wanted something to happen. She was actually—could she admit it?—enjoying this adventure of hers. Her fear had subsided instantly at this realization.
Marie wandered to the stern to find Jack. Instead, she found Caleb standing at the wheel and Jack was nowhere to be seen. She lingered back, suddenly feeling shy. She watched him for a few moments, taking in his tall, muscular frame.
Caleb turned suddenly, "Marie? What is it?"
She mouthed an Oh of surprise before speaking, "I-I was looking for Jack," she stammered, inwardly cursing herself for being so obvious. "Well, erm, is there anything I could do to help out on deck?"
Caleb grinned, "Want to learn to steer?"
Marie smiled and walked over to him. "Alright…it doesn't look too hard."
"Well, steering the ship takes some strength and you have to know where you are and what you're doing, or at least keep an eye on what's ahead. You don't want to hit sandbars or reefs. That's the number one thing to worry about," he said, winking at her.
Caleb stepped back to allow Marie to grab hold of the wheel. "Try turning," he ordered.
She turned the wheel, and was satisfied to hear the ship groan as it began to turn slightly to the left. Suddenly, she was forced to steer the ship forward once more. "It is hard to turn!" Marie smiled and let Caleb take charge once again.
She stood beside him, staring thoughtfully ahead into the mist. "Dreadful weather today," she remarked.
Caleb nodded, "Not enough wind. We're going to be late."
Marie looked at him, "Late for what?"
He looked away, cursing softly, "I wasn't s'posed to mention that. Well, you would've found out sooner or later. We're going to reach Tortuga by nightfall."
"Tortuga?! You are not taking me to that—that—!" She couldn't think of words to describe the place.
"Shhhh! We're going whether you like it or not, Captain Jack ordered it. Besides, it's not that bad."
Marie glared at him, "Sure, you'd think it was great! Sluts and whores at every street corner and drinks and chaos everywhere! It's mad to go there! I'm not leaving this ship!"
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