Chapter 17: Stowaways

The homecoming for the Pearl was greeted by excitement all around. There were three definite things being done before the Pearl could set sail again - Jack was insistent for all three things. The first was that the Pearl was being repaired - the storm had caused damage to the mast, and the boom, along with snapping many of the ropes. The second was that the Pearl had to be restocked with supplies - fresh water, food, and emergency equipment. And the third, something agreed on by Will, was that they needed a full crew. Many ships would have returned to home, because of the storm, so there would be almost the full population of sailors to choose from. And this time, it wouldn't be the most trustworthy sailors they accepted - it was going to be the strongest, and the quickest on their feet.

They pulled into the dock after dark, so very few people were around. The few who were, though sent the message around, so by the time everyone had gotten onto land, the village was there, waiting. At the house, Elizabeth heard the commotion in the village, and looked out the window. The light from the lanterns hanging around, and being carried by the villagers, showed the bow of the Pearl, and she felt the same flurry of excitement that she felt every time Will returned. Anamaria, who was reading an old book by candlelight, saw Elizabeth at the window, and smiled. It was easy to read her friend, but she wondered how long the stay would be for.

Upstairs, Louisa and Isabelle were talking - about Will and Jamie - and Isabelle saw the arrival of the Pearl out of the corner of her eye. She stopped talking mid-sentence, and stated - "The Peal's back!" Louisa jumped, and almost fell off the edge of the bed in her haste to turn around and see for herself. The two girls looked at one another, and started laughing almost instantaneously. It took them a while to calm down, and when they finally did, they heard the front door open, and Elizabeth and Anamaria welcome their men.

Neither said anything, they just stood and ran down the stairs as fast as they could in their dresses without falling over. "Da!" called Isabelle as soon as she saw her father, who was only just being released by Anamaria. "Hello to ye, Bella. Been good?" he asked, sweeping Isabelle into a hug. She laughed, and when he put her down, she nodded, "Aye, since when do I not?" Jack laughed, and Isabelle glanced coyly at her mother, "Only, ma'ma an' Elizabeth tried t' make me into a lady, when ye were gone!" Jack sent a stern glance towards Anamaria, who tried to keep from laughing, and pretended something on the ground was very interesting. "Anamaria... ye didn't? Please tell me ye didn't corrupt my daughter while I was gone...?"

Meanwhile, Louisa didn't pause to say hello to her father - she jumped at him, and as per usual, he caught her. "Louisa, what have ye done that I shouldn't know about?" he asked her, laughing. Louisa shook her head against her father's chest. "Nothin' Da - I'm jus' glad you're back, savvy?" Elizabeth tried to stop herself from laughing. Behind them, still at the door, Will and Jamie stood in silence. After the exchanges between the girls and their fathers, they glanced at each other. "Now, why d'ye expect *they* get welcomed back by the ladies, an' we jus' get left wi' the luggage?" asked Jamie, keeping a straight face. Will shrugged, and they carried the last of the things inside. Most of their things had been left on the ship, as with what happened at the return of every journey.

Later that night, once the four men had eaten, Isabelle retired to her room, leaving Louisa alone to talk with Jamie and Will about their travels. She couldn't help but laugh when she was told about their adventures in Tortuga, much to Will's distress. "...an' so, I had t' follow him. There was no way I was stayin' wi' Da and Bootstrap - they were all business, no fun a'tall - so I followed Nine-cat. I tell ye, Cannonfire, I ne'er seen someone, a'side Da, who can drink so much a'fore they get drunk! I couldnae keep up wi' him - an' when we woke up the next day, it were nearly time fer cast off, an' we was already late. But no, Nine-cat had t' stop t' see Cherie an' tell her that their business together were done, an' earn himself another slap, mind ye, a'fore we headed back to the Pearl!"

Jamie paused, giving Will the chance to jump in, "I had t' tell Cherie it were over, Louisa - she's too clingy!" Jamie sent Will a glare before turning back to Louisa. "Anyway, as I were sayin', Cannonfire - we gets back t' the Pearl, still drunk, an' Da an' Bootstrap don' say anything. Here am I, knowin' Da's temper when it comes t' bein' late, expectin' explosions, an' he don't say anythin' louder than normal speakin' - but he sent us t' the galley. I thought, aye, we probably deserve t' be treated like a cabin boy, comin' back late an' all, but no, that weren't what Da had in mind - the smells o' the galley when you're gettin' o'er the drink could nearly kill ye!"

Louisa laughed, and Will looked away. "Well, now, ye own sister turns against ye when there's more an' two o' ye - you don't deserve t' have a brother like me, Louisa. All th' times I defended ye as a kid...." Louisa cut him off with a wave of her hand, "Oh, aye? An' what 'bout all the times ye threw me o'erboard t' 'see if I could swim'? An' all the times..." It was Will's turn to cut his sibling off. They stared at one another, before both started laughing.

The next morning, Will and Jack broke the news that they were leaving that night. Louisa and Isabelle asked if they could go along, but were refused almost before they had a chance to finish asking. "But why, Da?" asked Isabelle, and Jack found himself struggling to find an answer. 'It's too dangerous' was too simple, and Isabelle *had* lived in the Triangle all her life. Will was adamant that Louisa couldn't go along. "Ye ain't goin', an' that's that - savvy?" his voice was dangerously close to a yell, and Louisa didn't press the point. Will and Jamie didn't dare to say anything - the girls knew they were going, but if it had been mentioned, they'd have been dragged into a family argument that didn't really concern them.

Once Jack and Will had gone to check the progress of the Pearl's repairs, and Jamie and Will had gone to round up the pirates in the village, Louisa and Isabelle made their plans. They'd sneak onboard, and only reveal themselves once they'' left the pass. Louisa knew her father would never turn back once a journey had started, and once they were clear of the river, they could come out of hiding. They didn't pack anything except what they were wearing, though they each added a small dagger to their bodice - they weren't allowed to leave the house without a dress, so normal clothes were out of the question.

It wasn't as hard as they'd expected to sneak onto the Pearl. They waited until the men working on the repairs had gone back to get more materials, and simply walked up the gangplank. There was one cabin not being used - the Pearl had three cabins; the Captain's cabin, the one meant for the first mate, and one for the mate's next in command. When the Pearl had been in the Triangle, the Captain's cabin had been for Anamaria and Jack, and the other two were for Jamie and Isabelle. Now, Jack was in his original cabin, and Will had the one for the first-mate. The third cabin was empty, as neither Will Jr. nor Jamie would take up the offer to use it - they stayed together in the crew's quarters - and no one else was deemed worthy enough for the cabin.

Once they were inside, they remembered that the ship wasn't leaving until that night, and now they were there, they couldn't leave again. Isabelle had the papers with her, Armadaeus' journal, so she was set, and Louisa seemed content to go to sleep on the bed. After a few hours, even Isabelle slipped off, leaning against the bed, the papers still in her hands. She was woken, rather roughly, by Louisa several hours later. "What? What is it?" she asked, sleepily, and Louisa held a finger to her lips. "Shh... we haven't quite left the river yet... we've got to stay quiet for a bit longer, 'til the water calms down again, savvy?" Isabelle nodded, and subtly pushed the papers out of sight, under the bed.

They stayed in the cabin for another hour, a while after the waters calmed, and then decided to wait until someone opened the cabin door before they made their entrance. Thankfully, it was Jamie who opened the door. He pushed the door open, and neither Louisa or Isabelle dared to breathe. He hadn't even looked into the room, when he called out to Jack, "Cap'n! The room's right fer storage!" The girls didn't hear Jack's reply, but Jamie's answer was a simple, "Aye, sir!" and turned to go into the room, only to stop in shock. Jack's voice was heard down the hallway, and Jamie called out tentatively, "Uh, Da, we have a slight... problem." Jack's face appeared in the doorway, and he began to ask, "What problem... oh. I see. A problem...."

Isabelle stood and looked at her feet, whereas Louisa was suddenly very interested in the porthole. Jack backed out of the doorway, and called up to the deck, "Bootstrap! I think yer needed down 'ere!" Will appeared, but before he had a chance to say anything, Louisa jumped in, "Da, I'm sorry, but I couldn't stay behind - ye said I could go on the next venture ye took, an' this is it!" Will shook his head, "Louisa, I'm disappointed. I thought ye were lady enough to do as ye were told - but I can see ye ain't. An' since you're fair determined t' come along, ye can be in charge o' keepin' the deck clean, an' the sails mended - savvy?" Louisa had been about to protest, but thought better of it when she saw her father's face. Jack nodded in agreement, "Aye, an' the same goes for you too, Bella. Ye disappointed me, an' ye'll not have my trust like before."

The two captains headed back to the deck, and Jamie backed away uncertainly. Louisa had known she'd be in trouble, but she hadn't thought she'd feel so badly about it. On the deck, Jack and Will said nothing about the two extra passengers in the spare cabin, but stated that the cargo still on deck be taken to either the hold, or the galley, whichever suited best.

The girls did appear a little while later, much to the astonishment of the crew, but no one questioned anything. They were heading to a place where only Jack knew how to get to, and the legends that surrounded it scared most of the crew more than seeing the actual place.

Louisa hated mopping decks. There was no other way to put it. She hated it with a vengeance - the mop head ended up covered in grime, and no matter how steady the ocean, the bucket would always spill, creating more mess for her to clean. Isabelle felt the same way, but as she'd lived most of her life on a ship, she was used to it.

The sails, though, were a different story. The one thing about the lives of noblewomen that Louisa found interesting, was the fact that they sewed. Sewing, and repairing, sails wasn't boring to her, in fact, she preferred it over mopping so much that she offered to mend every tiny catch in the linen to get out of mopping. Neither Jack, nor Will agreed to this though, and Louisa tried to find mending work to do every time there was a dull moment. Isabelle, on the other hand, hated sewing. She didn't have the knack for it, and was more often than not dripping blood onto the material. It was a good thing the sails of the Pearl were black, or there'd have been random splotches of blood all over the sails.

It was on the morning of the Wednesday of the third week at sea, three weeks of mopping and mending, that the call came from the crow's nest, "Land ho!" Louisa stopped mopping, and looked up, at the same time Isabelle walked out of the cabin rubbing her fingers. Isabelle had finished her mending for the day, and Louisa just about to, as the sun was going down, and it was too hard to see if the deck was clean or not. Jamie swung down from his vantage point at the top of the mast, and Will followed soon after. Both had been in the crow's nest, as they were usually during the day, and it had been Will who'd spotted the small bit of land jutting out against the horizon.

Jack looked up at the two from his place at the helm. "Aye, lads, 'tis the Isla de Meurte - we came at it from th' other direction las' time, an' it were early afternoon, not nearly dark. Mind, we didn't go to the island until *after* dark then, but ye still have an excuse fer not recognizin' the place!" Both boys looked embarrassed, and tried to find an excuse for not recognizing the place. Will Sr. walked up from underneath deck, and looked to what everyone was enthralled by. Above the Isla was a cloud, in the approximate shape of the Jolly Roger. Gibbs looked as though he were going to faint, "'Tis bad luck, havin' that cloud above the Isla, considerin' there be a dead pirate inside." Jack ignored Gibbs, and yelled to the crew, "Lower the boats! Bootstrap an' I are goin' in!"