A/N Thanks for the reviews!! Here's the next chapter.
Chapter Eleven.
Life is short, and I have little time left on this earth. What happens after I have left it, I do not know. Shall I burn in the fiery depths of hell, or shall I fritter away my days lolling on the clouds in heaven? Is there two such places? Or will I return as a ghost to haunt my executioner, to haunt the cheering crowd as my neck snaps and the life drifts from me? Life is too short to contemplate death. I shall greet it with open arms, just like Jack told me, I shall not falter, plead, or break down, not a single tear shall fall from my dry eyes. I will be like the tall chestnut tress in the grove that have stood for hundreds of years. Strong against the elements.
Surely that is the test of character, not how one reacts to life, but how one is when faced with death. I wonder how these jeering guards, who taunt and tease me now, shall be when their time comes. I wonder. . .
Jack often told me that to die was normal, common. To live, that was a privilege. And it set my mind thinking, all those years I had lived in London, not talking to anyone I hadn't been formally introduced to, not leaving the house without my hair in immaculate condition, changing if my dress started to crease, had I really been alive?
I envied Jack as he stood proudly watching his ship sail towards the sunset. He was alive. Soon I won't be.
I was not the only one who envied Jack. Barbossa paced the ship, barking orders in the Captain's absence, he desperately wished for a peek at the 'magic' compass. But like the rest of the crew he only saw glimpses of it as Jack snapped it shut, and clicked it open in a mindless fashion.
Every day I would watch the horizon to try and get a glimpse of Roberto's ship. He was coming to save me I knew it, but as time went on, and the days grew in number, still no ship appeared.
Jack took up his telescope and stared out in a similar direction. "He's keepin' his distance." He remarked.
He refused to say any more, and lowed his telescope and marched off. The sun glinting off the gold. If I just got one look through it I would be able to see much more then I could now. The thoughts raced through my head, and in about half a second I decided I would 'borrow' Jack's telescope, if only for a little while. Just to see if I could spot Roberto lurking off the horizon.
I had spent weeks, maybe even a month on the ship now, and had come to no harm. Jack had seen to that. But still I wasn't entirely sure of him, he had no intention of letting me go, nor of telling me why he had taken me in the first place.
In a way I was glad he had taken me, I mean what was there for me in Port Royal? Nothing but tears and grievance. The neighbours crying with their arms round me, 'telling me I'd get over it'. Well I didn't need to get over it. It was wicked of me, but I did not feel the loss as strongly as I should have done.
That night I took my chance to get the telescope. I watched as he retired for the night, giving control of the ship over to Barbossa. I, too, went to my cabin, and waited. I gave Jack enough time to have his customary bottle of rum, and fall asleep in his bunk. When I was sure he would be asleep, I got up and sneaked to his cabin. The door was slightly ajar, allowing me to peep in and see if he was asleep.
I could hear soft snores, as I creaked open the door. There it was on his desk, only a matter of yards away. I carefully walked to the wooden desk, and my hand reached out to pick up the compass. But something else on the table caught my eye. It was map, a route had been carefully marked out, including stops at various ports and islands. It was highly detailed, with certain areas marked off, as 'dangerous' or 'territorial waters'. But I wasn't look at the journey, it was the destination that interested me. We were heading to a small unmarked island, in the middle of nowhere. I didn't recognise it from my geography lessons back in England. I didn't remember Commodore Harrison mentioning the island, and he knew the Caribbean like the back of his hand. He couldn't recall his best friend's name, but maps were firmly imprinted on his mind, he was an excellent sailor.
My finger traced the outline of the island in wonderment. Why on Earth were we going there? And then I saw the compass. My shaking hand picked it up, and clicked it open. It definitely did not point North. So where was it pointing? I set it down on top of the map, the needle twitched slightly, and pointed towards the dead centre of the island. The compass pointed to the island. I gasped, and picked it up again, staring at it in wonderment.
"Where did he get this from?" I muttered to myself.
Jack stirred slightly in his bunk, causing me to jump. I took one last look at the map, set the compass down in it's original position, grabbed the telescope and crept from the cabin.
I took the golden telescope up onto the top deck. Night had fallen long ago, and the air was black. It would be little use that night. But I was going to try anyway, see if I could spot anything, just a silhouette of a ship.
But just as I lifted the telescope to my eye, Barbossa came up behind me. His hand fell on my shoulder, sending an icy chill down my back. And the first thing that occurred to me was; Jack is asleep.
Chapter Eleven.
Life is short, and I have little time left on this earth. What happens after I have left it, I do not know. Shall I burn in the fiery depths of hell, or shall I fritter away my days lolling on the clouds in heaven? Is there two such places? Or will I return as a ghost to haunt my executioner, to haunt the cheering crowd as my neck snaps and the life drifts from me? Life is too short to contemplate death. I shall greet it with open arms, just like Jack told me, I shall not falter, plead, or break down, not a single tear shall fall from my dry eyes. I will be like the tall chestnut tress in the grove that have stood for hundreds of years. Strong against the elements.
Surely that is the test of character, not how one reacts to life, but how one is when faced with death. I wonder how these jeering guards, who taunt and tease me now, shall be when their time comes. I wonder. . .
Jack often told me that to die was normal, common. To live, that was a privilege. And it set my mind thinking, all those years I had lived in London, not talking to anyone I hadn't been formally introduced to, not leaving the house without my hair in immaculate condition, changing if my dress started to crease, had I really been alive?
I envied Jack as he stood proudly watching his ship sail towards the sunset. He was alive. Soon I won't be.
I was not the only one who envied Jack. Barbossa paced the ship, barking orders in the Captain's absence, he desperately wished for a peek at the 'magic' compass. But like the rest of the crew he only saw glimpses of it as Jack snapped it shut, and clicked it open in a mindless fashion.
Every day I would watch the horizon to try and get a glimpse of Roberto's ship. He was coming to save me I knew it, but as time went on, and the days grew in number, still no ship appeared.
Jack took up his telescope and stared out in a similar direction. "He's keepin' his distance." He remarked.
He refused to say any more, and lowed his telescope and marched off. The sun glinting off the gold. If I just got one look through it I would be able to see much more then I could now. The thoughts raced through my head, and in about half a second I decided I would 'borrow' Jack's telescope, if only for a little while. Just to see if I could spot Roberto lurking off the horizon.
I had spent weeks, maybe even a month on the ship now, and had come to no harm. Jack had seen to that. But still I wasn't entirely sure of him, he had no intention of letting me go, nor of telling me why he had taken me in the first place.
In a way I was glad he had taken me, I mean what was there for me in Port Royal? Nothing but tears and grievance. The neighbours crying with their arms round me, 'telling me I'd get over it'. Well I didn't need to get over it. It was wicked of me, but I did not feel the loss as strongly as I should have done.
That night I took my chance to get the telescope. I watched as he retired for the night, giving control of the ship over to Barbossa. I, too, went to my cabin, and waited. I gave Jack enough time to have his customary bottle of rum, and fall asleep in his bunk. When I was sure he would be asleep, I got up and sneaked to his cabin. The door was slightly ajar, allowing me to peep in and see if he was asleep.
I could hear soft snores, as I creaked open the door. There it was on his desk, only a matter of yards away. I carefully walked to the wooden desk, and my hand reached out to pick up the compass. But something else on the table caught my eye. It was map, a route had been carefully marked out, including stops at various ports and islands. It was highly detailed, with certain areas marked off, as 'dangerous' or 'territorial waters'. But I wasn't look at the journey, it was the destination that interested me. We were heading to a small unmarked island, in the middle of nowhere. I didn't recognise it from my geography lessons back in England. I didn't remember Commodore Harrison mentioning the island, and he knew the Caribbean like the back of his hand. He couldn't recall his best friend's name, but maps were firmly imprinted on his mind, he was an excellent sailor.
My finger traced the outline of the island in wonderment. Why on Earth were we going there? And then I saw the compass. My shaking hand picked it up, and clicked it open. It definitely did not point North. So where was it pointing? I set it down on top of the map, the needle twitched slightly, and pointed towards the dead centre of the island. The compass pointed to the island. I gasped, and picked it up again, staring at it in wonderment.
"Where did he get this from?" I muttered to myself.
Jack stirred slightly in his bunk, causing me to jump. I took one last look at the map, set the compass down in it's original position, grabbed the telescope and crept from the cabin.
I took the golden telescope up onto the top deck. Night had fallen long ago, and the air was black. It would be little use that night. But I was going to try anyway, see if I could spot anything, just a silhouette of a ship.
But just as I lifted the telescope to my eye, Barbossa came up behind me. His hand fell on my shoulder, sending an icy chill down my back. And the first thing that occurred to me was; Jack is asleep.