A/N: I have pictures of Jamie, Isabelle, Louisa, Will (Jr.), Maria (grown
up), and Ranger at my website if you would like to see what the characters
actually look/looked like! For those who are interested, I will be putting
up further pictures later, if you review and tell me which character you
would like to see.
Lilitaliandragon: This is Jack telling Will (Jr.) the story 8 years after Isabelle died. Jack went back to the Isla de Muerta, but left differently to how he expected, which will be revealed in a later chapter after Jack tells Will the story and leaves him back at Tortuga (that was a slight spoiler, by the way). It all comes together in the end.
~~~~~
"Some storm," stated Will under his breath when Jack stopped speaking, and looked towards the horizon. "Aye, that it was. But some good did come out of it – we all survived, even the men who'd been washed overboard... for the time being."
~~~~~
Chapter 4: Isha
Will didn't say anything for a while; he moved to the edge of the ship, and looked down into the water. It was deep, bottomless, and he knew that while he was back on a ship, he'd never be comfortable there. "And then what happened?" he asked, knowing somehow that if he didn't, Jack wouldn't speak again. Jack grinned, and looked back up towards him. "I recovered by that evening, as did Anamaria, though Jamie was still asleep."
~~~~~
Jack walked out onto the deck, with crewmembers clearing out of his path – they all knew what their Captain was like with a headache, and since he was teamed with that *and* an aching back, they guess, rightly, that his temper was sky-high. He walked straight to the helm, and took over control from Rat, who didn't look very comfortable with the deck instead of the rigging under his feet
"Where are we?" Jack asked, and Rat looked a touch... nervous. "Well, we don' rightly know, Cap'n. That storm musta blew us way o' course, coz I ain't never seen land like this afore," he said, pointing towards the shore where a thick mist was settled knee-high over the entire land mass; the trees that emerged from the mist were strange, a pale blue in colour, and the fruits that hung from the branches looked like nothing anyone had seen before – including Rat, who'd sailed most of the ocean with various Captain's, both Pirate and Navy, before joining Jack.
"P'rap's we'd best get t' shore an' find somethin' t' fix this ship with?" questioned Rat when Jack didn't respond. "Aye, take 'er in," Jack said quietly, and Rat left to ready the crew for landing.
Ten men went to shore, Jack and Rat included. As soon as they stepped foot on the shore, it became painfully obvious that this wasn't a good place to be. "There's water up t' my knees!" complained one of the other crewmen, and Jack had to agree. He could see the ground through the mist, and when he reached down to touch the sand, it felt as though his arm was going underwater, but the sand was dry. And white. It was as white as a handful of diamonds, and glinted in the soft light overhead. It was evening, but there was no sun on any horizon. It felt clear, and the suns rays could be felt biting down on their backs, but the sky was overcast.
"Get the wood, get some of the fruit trees down, an' we'll go back to the ship. There's gotta be some inhabitants around," he finished, though more to himself than to any of the crew. They jumped to it, heading just inland to where the stronger trees were, but Jack held back closer to the boats. There was something in the bushes watching, he could feel its eyes on him and the crew.
A shout from Rat brought Jack's attention further along the beach, where the remains of a campfire lay under the mist. "There's bin someone 'ere, not to long ago. I'd say this," he pointed to the fire, "was from las' night. There's bin people 'ere afore now, so if we wait, p'raps they'll come back." Jack nodded, and wandered back towards the boats, only to find one missing.
"What happened to the boat?" he yelled to the closest pirate, currently involved in pulling apart the limbs of a tree. He looked at Jack, and then to where the boat had been, and shrugged, "I dunno, Cap'n – it were there a moment ago," he answered. Jack felt uneasy. "Keep your eyes open!" he yelled to the crew, before letting his hand come to rest on his sword.
He turned to look out at the Pearl, just to make sure that *it* was still there, before turning to see someone dart behind one of the fruit trees. He moved forwards, paused on the other side of the tree, and without warning reached around and grabbed a young boy, of no more than 13 years old. "Don' 'urt me, Guv," the boy said, with a strange combination of accents. The most predominant was the English Cockney accent, but there was a mix of German, and Spanish to his voice as well. "I didn't mean no 'arm – it were all a bit of a joke, see?"
Jack didn't look amused, "A joke? You steal one of my boats, and you think it's a joke? Give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you here and now?" he asked, drawing his sword and holding it to the young boy's throat. The kid paled, and gulped before answering, "Well, it weren't *me* who stole the boat, but I know 'oo did – I kin take ya to 'em, if ya want." Jack pushed the boy away, and left him to the mercy of Rat, who looked every bit the scary cut-throat that pirates had always been made out to be... though, Rat usually was just that....
Jack, and two of the crew, looked closer at where the other boat had been pulled ashore, and weren't surprised to see three pairs of footsteps. "They swam up, came ashore, kept low, and pushed it back out," murmured Jack to himself. A slight movement of the other boat startled Jack, but instead of running out into the water like the others would have, he jumped into the boat, sword drawn, and moved to the end. He held the sword down, and when it rose, he had it at the neck of a young man, about twenty or so. Either side of him were two other children, about the same age as the first, a boy and a girl.
"Ye think it's funny t' steal my boats?" he asked, and the elder shook his head. "Ain't like ye're gonna 'ave use for 'em anymore," he stated blandly, looking to see if the first boy was alright. Jack raised an eyebrow, "Aye? An' why is it that we have no further use for 'em?" The elder shook his head, and looked down. "When ye're in the Bermuda Triangle, mate, ye ain't goin' anywhere again."
Rat, who'd overheard, looked up. "The... the *Triangle*? Cap'n, there's been dreadful tales tol' 'bout this place...." Jack didn't take his eyes off the man in front of him, "If no one's got out, then why are there tales?" The man shrugged, "Maybe coz ships disappear inta here, an' don' come out again. Ye went through a big storm, aye?" he asked, and Jack nodded before the man continued, "Well, when we," he indicated the other three kids, "came through, th' ship we was on lost 'alf the crew, an' we ain't ne'er seen 'em again, so they either died, or swam t' safety."
Jack moved back a half-step, before leaning forwards again, "An' what year did ye come inta the Triangle, if that's where we so rightly are?" The man looked at his hands, moving his fingers as though counting to himself, before he gave up and said, "1612, as far as I remember – what year is it now?" Jack thought to himself for a minute before answering, "'bout 1721, or close to... hold up, you're tellin' me ye've been in 'ere for over a hundred years?" The man nodded, cheekily, "Aye, that we 'ave – if the year is really 1721.... The las' people we got in 'ere weren't too long ago actually... one guy, Armadaeus, he reckoned he had a way t' get back out. He took two other guys wi' him, an' we ain't seen 'im, or th' others since."
Jack stepped back, and moved the sword away. "I have a proposition for ye. The three o' ye wait 'ere wi' Rat, an' you," he pointed to the girl, who grinned, "what's your name?" he asked as an afterthought. She laughed, "Isabella," she answered. Jack nodded, "Isabella can come wi' me t' get th' other boat, savvy?" The elder of the four looked panicked all of a sudden, "Why Isabella? You don't need her to show you – any of us three could!" Jack nodded, "I know that ye could, but if I take Isabella, I know there ain't much chance that any of ye will pull some stupid prank t' get away, savvy?" The other nodded, and dropped his eyes. "Good, now – get onto land, an' we'll see what ye think of Rat."
As expected, all four were terrified of the pirate, though, surprisingly, Isabella seemed more apprehensive than scared. "Alright – Isabella – let's go get my boat back," Jack said, once his sword was returned to his belt and the three boys were under the watchful eye of pirate.
Isabella nodded, and led the way along the beach until they reached a turn they hadn't seen because of the mist. Tied securely to a tree was the missing boat. Isabella grinned, "We didn't do anythin' t' it, 'cept move it, guv." Jack nodded, "Aye, that appears true, but we'll see if we can sail it back first, savvy?" Isabella nodded, and climbed into the boat.
Within minutes, they were back with the rest of the crew, and the three boys. The eldest of them spoke up hesitantly when Isabella and Jack climbed out of the boat, "P'raps ye'd like t' come wi' us, an' we'll explain a bit 'bout what we've found out."
Jack nodded, and they followed the four until they reached what could only be described as a village. People of all different races, and times by the look of them, walked amongst the houses as though they'd been painted in. Isabella led the way through the trees, past two pillars shaped oddly like animals, and through the centre of the town. "Isha! We've found new ones!" she called, and an old woman walked out of her hut. "Really? Tell me, did you know you were inside the Bermuda Triangle?" she asked, speaking directly to Jack. He grinned, "Ah, no. but now I do, so if you'll kindly tell me how to get out of here," he started, but was cut off with a sharp look from the woman.
"My name is Isha; I am the eldest inhabitant of the Triangle, and let me tell you – you cannot get out." Rat laughed, and Isha glanced at him sharply, "What is it that you find so funny, Rat?" Rat looked as though he was going to faint. "How d'ya know my name?" he asked when he found his voice. Isha laughed, "I know a lot of things – I've been in here since before time began. I can tell you tales of the Triangle that could leave you so shaken you would be afraid to even close your eyes. But I'm not going to – I'm going to tell you some things you should learn about your new home."
~~~~~
Jack had moved, at some point, and was now standing behind the helm. Will glanced up, memories threatening to slip in. "Isabella... you named Isabelle after her?" he asked slowly. Jack didn't look at him, just nodded. "Aye, that I did... Isabella saved my life, it was the only way I had to return the favour."
~~~~~
Cliffhanger, I know, I'm sorry! This chapter needed to be finished, and if I'd continued on either storyline, then it would have been three times as long, and probably three times more confusing!
It is a commonly known fact amongst all writers that reviews are used as fuel for writing – the more reviews we get, the faster we write. If you really want to test this theory the review button is just below this on the left hand side....
BTW – Isha is pronounced ee-sha, not eye-sha
Lilitaliandragon: This is Jack telling Will (Jr.) the story 8 years after Isabelle died. Jack went back to the Isla de Muerta, but left differently to how he expected, which will be revealed in a later chapter after Jack tells Will the story and leaves him back at Tortuga (that was a slight spoiler, by the way). It all comes together in the end.
~~~~~
"Some storm," stated Will under his breath when Jack stopped speaking, and looked towards the horizon. "Aye, that it was. But some good did come out of it – we all survived, even the men who'd been washed overboard... for the time being."
~~~~~
Chapter 4: Isha
Will didn't say anything for a while; he moved to the edge of the ship, and looked down into the water. It was deep, bottomless, and he knew that while he was back on a ship, he'd never be comfortable there. "And then what happened?" he asked, knowing somehow that if he didn't, Jack wouldn't speak again. Jack grinned, and looked back up towards him. "I recovered by that evening, as did Anamaria, though Jamie was still asleep."
~~~~~
Jack walked out onto the deck, with crewmembers clearing out of his path – they all knew what their Captain was like with a headache, and since he was teamed with that *and* an aching back, they guess, rightly, that his temper was sky-high. He walked straight to the helm, and took over control from Rat, who didn't look very comfortable with the deck instead of the rigging under his feet
"Where are we?" Jack asked, and Rat looked a touch... nervous. "Well, we don' rightly know, Cap'n. That storm musta blew us way o' course, coz I ain't never seen land like this afore," he said, pointing towards the shore where a thick mist was settled knee-high over the entire land mass; the trees that emerged from the mist were strange, a pale blue in colour, and the fruits that hung from the branches looked like nothing anyone had seen before – including Rat, who'd sailed most of the ocean with various Captain's, both Pirate and Navy, before joining Jack.
"P'rap's we'd best get t' shore an' find somethin' t' fix this ship with?" questioned Rat when Jack didn't respond. "Aye, take 'er in," Jack said quietly, and Rat left to ready the crew for landing.
Ten men went to shore, Jack and Rat included. As soon as they stepped foot on the shore, it became painfully obvious that this wasn't a good place to be. "There's water up t' my knees!" complained one of the other crewmen, and Jack had to agree. He could see the ground through the mist, and when he reached down to touch the sand, it felt as though his arm was going underwater, but the sand was dry. And white. It was as white as a handful of diamonds, and glinted in the soft light overhead. It was evening, but there was no sun on any horizon. It felt clear, and the suns rays could be felt biting down on their backs, but the sky was overcast.
"Get the wood, get some of the fruit trees down, an' we'll go back to the ship. There's gotta be some inhabitants around," he finished, though more to himself than to any of the crew. They jumped to it, heading just inland to where the stronger trees were, but Jack held back closer to the boats. There was something in the bushes watching, he could feel its eyes on him and the crew.
A shout from Rat brought Jack's attention further along the beach, where the remains of a campfire lay under the mist. "There's bin someone 'ere, not to long ago. I'd say this," he pointed to the fire, "was from las' night. There's bin people 'ere afore now, so if we wait, p'raps they'll come back." Jack nodded, and wandered back towards the boats, only to find one missing.
"What happened to the boat?" he yelled to the closest pirate, currently involved in pulling apart the limbs of a tree. He looked at Jack, and then to where the boat had been, and shrugged, "I dunno, Cap'n – it were there a moment ago," he answered. Jack felt uneasy. "Keep your eyes open!" he yelled to the crew, before letting his hand come to rest on his sword.
He turned to look out at the Pearl, just to make sure that *it* was still there, before turning to see someone dart behind one of the fruit trees. He moved forwards, paused on the other side of the tree, and without warning reached around and grabbed a young boy, of no more than 13 years old. "Don' 'urt me, Guv," the boy said, with a strange combination of accents. The most predominant was the English Cockney accent, but there was a mix of German, and Spanish to his voice as well. "I didn't mean no 'arm – it were all a bit of a joke, see?"
Jack didn't look amused, "A joke? You steal one of my boats, and you think it's a joke? Give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you here and now?" he asked, drawing his sword and holding it to the young boy's throat. The kid paled, and gulped before answering, "Well, it weren't *me* who stole the boat, but I know 'oo did – I kin take ya to 'em, if ya want." Jack pushed the boy away, and left him to the mercy of Rat, who looked every bit the scary cut-throat that pirates had always been made out to be... though, Rat usually was just that....
Jack, and two of the crew, looked closer at where the other boat had been pulled ashore, and weren't surprised to see three pairs of footsteps. "They swam up, came ashore, kept low, and pushed it back out," murmured Jack to himself. A slight movement of the other boat startled Jack, but instead of running out into the water like the others would have, he jumped into the boat, sword drawn, and moved to the end. He held the sword down, and when it rose, he had it at the neck of a young man, about twenty or so. Either side of him were two other children, about the same age as the first, a boy and a girl.
"Ye think it's funny t' steal my boats?" he asked, and the elder shook his head. "Ain't like ye're gonna 'ave use for 'em anymore," he stated blandly, looking to see if the first boy was alright. Jack raised an eyebrow, "Aye? An' why is it that we have no further use for 'em?" The elder shook his head, and looked down. "When ye're in the Bermuda Triangle, mate, ye ain't goin' anywhere again."
Rat, who'd overheard, looked up. "The... the *Triangle*? Cap'n, there's been dreadful tales tol' 'bout this place...." Jack didn't take his eyes off the man in front of him, "If no one's got out, then why are there tales?" The man shrugged, "Maybe coz ships disappear inta here, an' don' come out again. Ye went through a big storm, aye?" he asked, and Jack nodded before the man continued, "Well, when we," he indicated the other three kids, "came through, th' ship we was on lost 'alf the crew, an' we ain't ne'er seen 'em again, so they either died, or swam t' safety."
Jack moved back a half-step, before leaning forwards again, "An' what year did ye come inta the Triangle, if that's where we so rightly are?" The man looked at his hands, moving his fingers as though counting to himself, before he gave up and said, "1612, as far as I remember – what year is it now?" Jack thought to himself for a minute before answering, "'bout 1721, or close to... hold up, you're tellin' me ye've been in 'ere for over a hundred years?" The man nodded, cheekily, "Aye, that we 'ave – if the year is really 1721.... The las' people we got in 'ere weren't too long ago actually... one guy, Armadaeus, he reckoned he had a way t' get back out. He took two other guys wi' him, an' we ain't seen 'im, or th' others since."
Jack stepped back, and moved the sword away. "I have a proposition for ye. The three o' ye wait 'ere wi' Rat, an' you," he pointed to the girl, who grinned, "what's your name?" he asked as an afterthought. She laughed, "Isabella," she answered. Jack nodded, "Isabella can come wi' me t' get th' other boat, savvy?" The elder of the four looked panicked all of a sudden, "Why Isabella? You don't need her to show you – any of us three could!" Jack nodded, "I know that ye could, but if I take Isabella, I know there ain't much chance that any of ye will pull some stupid prank t' get away, savvy?" The other nodded, and dropped his eyes. "Good, now – get onto land, an' we'll see what ye think of Rat."
As expected, all four were terrified of the pirate, though, surprisingly, Isabella seemed more apprehensive than scared. "Alright – Isabella – let's go get my boat back," Jack said, once his sword was returned to his belt and the three boys were under the watchful eye of pirate.
Isabella nodded, and led the way along the beach until they reached a turn they hadn't seen because of the mist. Tied securely to a tree was the missing boat. Isabella grinned, "We didn't do anythin' t' it, 'cept move it, guv." Jack nodded, "Aye, that appears true, but we'll see if we can sail it back first, savvy?" Isabella nodded, and climbed into the boat.
Within minutes, they were back with the rest of the crew, and the three boys. The eldest of them spoke up hesitantly when Isabella and Jack climbed out of the boat, "P'raps ye'd like t' come wi' us, an' we'll explain a bit 'bout what we've found out."
Jack nodded, and they followed the four until they reached what could only be described as a village. People of all different races, and times by the look of them, walked amongst the houses as though they'd been painted in. Isabella led the way through the trees, past two pillars shaped oddly like animals, and through the centre of the town. "Isha! We've found new ones!" she called, and an old woman walked out of her hut. "Really? Tell me, did you know you were inside the Bermuda Triangle?" she asked, speaking directly to Jack. He grinned, "Ah, no. but now I do, so if you'll kindly tell me how to get out of here," he started, but was cut off with a sharp look from the woman.
"My name is Isha; I am the eldest inhabitant of the Triangle, and let me tell you – you cannot get out." Rat laughed, and Isha glanced at him sharply, "What is it that you find so funny, Rat?" Rat looked as though he was going to faint. "How d'ya know my name?" he asked when he found his voice. Isha laughed, "I know a lot of things – I've been in here since before time began. I can tell you tales of the Triangle that could leave you so shaken you would be afraid to even close your eyes. But I'm not going to – I'm going to tell you some things you should learn about your new home."
~~~~~
Jack had moved, at some point, and was now standing behind the helm. Will glanced up, memories threatening to slip in. "Isabella... you named Isabelle after her?" he asked slowly. Jack didn't look at him, just nodded. "Aye, that I did... Isabella saved my life, it was the only way I had to return the favour."
~~~~~
Cliffhanger, I know, I'm sorry! This chapter needed to be finished, and if I'd continued on either storyline, then it would have been three times as long, and probably three times more confusing!
It is a commonly known fact amongst all writers that reviews are used as fuel for writing – the more reviews we get, the faster we write. If you really want to test this theory the review button is just below this on the left hand side....
BTW – Isha is pronounced ee-sha, not eye-sha