Pirate Dreams
Chapter 2
Caris giggled and stumbled on the edge of the pavement along which she had been trying to balance. Kim reached out to grab her sleeve but missed and just laughed with her friends. It was midnight, the Pipe and Compass was closed and all that awaited the group was a long, sobering walk home. Caris was the first stop since she lived so close to the pub. She said goodnight and after struggling with the key, tiptoeing up the stairs and wrestling to get her clothes off, Caris flopped onto her bed and fell straight asleep.
-
The sun was shining, the sea sparkled blue and a fresh breeze whipped Caris's long black hair across her face. Caris brushed her hair back behind her ears and breathed in deeply. The air was salty but fresh. She looked down to see she was dressed in her bathing costume and standing alone on the deck of an ancient sailing ship. It creaked under her as the wind shifted, and the billowing white sails tugged at their restraints.
"The winds have shifted. This isn't a good sign." A deep, commanding voice stated from behind her. Caris turned and saw a smartly dressed man whom she hadn't noticed before. He was obviously the captain of the ship she was on. He wore a dazzlingly clean uniform, blue overcoat, white lapels with gold stitching and embroidery. A black three cornered hat sat on top of an orderly crop of black/grey hair.
The man he was talking to was younger and also dressed in a navy blue uniform but it wasn't nearly as smartly decorated as the older mans and distinctly lacked a hat. The younger man didn't comment on the captains remarks. He stared past the captain and looked directly at Caris, his face as white as a sheet.
"Gods, Samson, you look like you've see a ghost." the captain remarked, turning to see what Samson had been staring at. His mouth dropped open when he saw Caris. Caris looked at them quizzically, then smiled.
"Hi there, how's it going?" she said politely. The two men just gaped at her. The younger backed away slightly.
"Ay, there be a change in th' winds. We'd best be headin' off." A deep, thickly accented voice called from the cabin, announcing the arrival of a grey haired man dressed in a dirty white shirt, faded blue overcoat and loose but dirty trousers tied at the waist with a piece of rope. His hair was wind-swept and seemed to creep down his cheeks like carpet, to meet under his thin as a thick beard. Caris snorted at the sight of the sheer amount of hair on this mans face, but quickly covered her mouth, blushing, as the man turned to frown at her.
"What in the..." he looked her up and down. Caris realised that in her peculiar setting she must have looked very out of place in a swimsuit.
For no reason in particular, she grinned madly at the newcomer "Oh, don't mind me. I'm just going for a dive." She said merrily, and with that she climbed onto the deck railing, raised her arms above her head and dove down to the water below.
Shouts of shock and surprise erupted behind her but soon faded out until only the rushing of air past her ears was left. It felt like she had been falling forever, not that she minded. Flying was the best feeling in the world, even if it was only a dream. Caris pulled her arms back and held them out at her sides. She turned until she was parallel to the water and glided along calmly until she slowed to a stop, only hovering over the water.
Odd, she thought, suspended in mid air. She waved her arms back and forth but didn't move. She thrashed her arms and legs about madly. Still nothing. Suddenly, the floating feeling was gone and she fell onto the water. It was hard like the ground, but soft and furry, like an animal.
-
Caris hit her head. She winced in pain and when she opened her eyes her whole world was black. After a stunned moment her eyes grew accustomed to the dark and she realised that she was lying on the rug in her bedroom, with her duvet in a crumpled heap on the opposite side of the bed to her. Picking herself up, Caris rubbed her head. It ached. After a quick stop in the bathroom, Caris straightened out her bedding and fell back to sleep with ease.
-
Caris felt warm and comfortable. She could feel sunlight on her face and her body, caressing her exposed flesh. A soft wind danced around her. It brushed the loose, unruly threads of hair away from her face and whispered to her as it played amongst the trees and bushes. Caris raised her arms and stretched. Her bones ached and tingled as the feeling flowed back into them.
"Mmm..." she sighed as the wind picked up and brushed against her again. It stroked her cheek and rested under her chin.
For a moment it seemed to develop a rough texture, but Caris didn't have the opportunity to examine the texture further. She opened her eyes to find herself staring at a pair of dark brown eyes, framed with dark eyebrows pulled together in a frown. The eyes moved closer and stared into her own dark blue eyes. Caris pulled back as far as she could to get away from them but her head rested against something firm.
"What are you doing up here, then..." a husky, drawling voice with a familiar accent said vacantly. The face moved closer until their noses were almost touching.
Caris drew in a deep breath and screamed as loud as she could. The man jumped and drew back in shock, eyebrows raised. He wobbled slightly, and then disappeared from Caris's view.
Thud.
Caris sat up where she was. She wasn't entirely sure what had happened. Surveying her surroundings, still feeling groggy, Caris came to the following conclusions:
1. She was in a tree.
2. She was on an island.
3. There didn't seem to be any other people apart from her and the strangely familiar man, but she couldn't quite remember where she knew him from.
4. In this interesting groggy state she now found herself in, she didn't have any balance.
Thud.
"Ooof."
The man groaned and drew in deep breaths. Caris sat up again. She was definitely on the ground now, lying across the man who had cushioned her landing. She stood up and staggered forward, tripped over her own feet, and managed to stop herself falling by hitting a tree. Above her was the branch she had woken up on.
The man was now standing and had regained his breath. Suddenly it came to Caris where she had seen this man before.
"You're that dream guy!" she said, then mentally kicked herself for sounding so stupid. Was it possible for someone to be drunk in their dream?
The man raised an eyebrow at her. Caris decided to change tact. "What were you doing in my tree?"
"You're tree?"
"Yeah, and this is my island. You'd better have a good reason for being here." Caris stood and folded her arms."
"Nice try, love. I've been visiting this island... regularly, you could say, and I've never seen you before."
"Visiting?" Caris smiled. "Well where's your boat?"
"Don't have one at the moment," he replied, taking an unsure step towards her, "I'm in the market."
Caris smirked, her senses returning to her, "I see." The man walked past her and headed off through the thin scattering of trees, as if looking for something.
"You won't find one there. Boats are usually kept in the water." Caris stated. The man chose to ignore her.
Caris wasn't too bothered by his ignoring her, or his presence, so she walked away from him, towards the shore, to survey her newest surroundings. If it wasn't a dream, Caris could have sworn she was on holiday on an exotic island. White sand, blue sky, crystal clear water, and Caris - dressed in her jeans and plain black t-shirt.
A rustling sound behind her indicated that the strange dread-locked man was back. He walk up next to her and pushed a bottle of what looked like murky water, into her hand.
"This'll make you feel better, love." he said. He flopped down to sit in the sand and took a swig of his own bottle of murky liquid.
"I have a name." Caris said. "I'm Caris. What about you?"
"The names Sparrow. Captain. Jack. Sparrow."
-
by Astramina
Chapter 2
Caris giggled and stumbled on the edge of the pavement along which she had been trying to balance. Kim reached out to grab her sleeve but missed and just laughed with her friends. It was midnight, the Pipe and Compass was closed and all that awaited the group was a long, sobering walk home. Caris was the first stop since she lived so close to the pub. She said goodnight and after struggling with the key, tiptoeing up the stairs and wrestling to get her clothes off, Caris flopped onto her bed and fell straight asleep.
-
The sun was shining, the sea sparkled blue and a fresh breeze whipped Caris's long black hair across her face. Caris brushed her hair back behind her ears and breathed in deeply. The air was salty but fresh. She looked down to see she was dressed in her bathing costume and standing alone on the deck of an ancient sailing ship. It creaked under her as the wind shifted, and the billowing white sails tugged at their restraints.
"The winds have shifted. This isn't a good sign." A deep, commanding voice stated from behind her. Caris turned and saw a smartly dressed man whom she hadn't noticed before. He was obviously the captain of the ship she was on. He wore a dazzlingly clean uniform, blue overcoat, white lapels with gold stitching and embroidery. A black three cornered hat sat on top of an orderly crop of black/grey hair.
The man he was talking to was younger and also dressed in a navy blue uniform but it wasn't nearly as smartly decorated as the older mans and distinctly lacked a hat. The younger man didn't comment on the captains remarks. He stared past the captain and looked directly at Caris, his face as white as a sheet.
"Gods, Samson, you look like you've see a ghost." the captain remarked, turning to see what Samson had been staring at. His mouth dropped open when he saw Caris. Caris looked at them quizzically, then smiled.
"Hi there, how's it going?" she said politely. The two men just gaped at her. The younger backed away slightly.
"Ay, there be a change in th' winds. We'd best be headin' off." A deep, thickly accented voice called from the cabin, announcing the arrival of a grey haired man dressed in a dirty white shirt, faded blue overcoat and loose but dirty trousers tied at the waist with a piece of rope. His hair was wind-swept and seemed to creep down his cheeks like carpet, to meet under his thin as a thick beard. Caris snorted at the sight of the sheer amount of hair on this mans face, but quickly covered her mouth, blushing, as the man turned to frown at her.
"What in the..." he looked her up and down. Caris realised that in her peculiar setting she must have looked very out of place in a swimsuit.
For no reason in particular, she grinned madly at the newcomer "Oh, don't mind me. I'm just going for a dive." She said merrily, and with that she climbed onto the deck railing, raised her arms above her head and dove down to the water below.
Shouts of shock and surprise erupted behind her but soon faded out until only the rushing of air past her ears was left. It felt like she had been falling forever, not that she minded. Flying was the best feeling in the world, even if it was only a dream. Caris pulled her arms back and held them out at her sides. She turned until she was parallel to the water and glided along calmly until she slowed to a stop, only hovering over the water.
Odd, she thought, suspended in mid air. She waved her arms back and forth but didn't move. She thrashed her arms and legs about madly. Still nothing. Suddenly, the floating feeling was gone and she fell onto the water. It was hard like the ground, but soft and furry, like an animal.
-
Caris hit her head. She winced in pain and when she opened her eyes her whole world was black. After a stunned moment her eyes grew accustomed to the dark and she realised that she was lying on the rug in her bedroom, with her duvet in a crumpled heap on the opposite side of the bed to her. Picking herself up, Caris rubbed her head. It ached. After a quick stop in the bathroom, Caris straightened out her bedding and fell back to sleep with ease.
-
Caris felt warm and comfortable. She could feel sunlight on her face and her body, caressing her exposed flesh. A soft wind danced around her. It brushed the loose, unruly threads of hair away from her face and whispered to her as it played amongst the trees and bushes. Caris raised her arms and stretched. Her bones ached and tingled as the feeling flowed back into them.
"Mmm..." she sighed as the wind picked up and brushed against her again. It stroked her cheek and rested under her chin.
For a moment it seemed to develop a rough texture, but Caris didn't have the opportunity to examine the texture further. She opened her eyes to find herself staring at a pair of dark brown eyes, framed with dark eyebrows pulled together in a frown. The eyes moved closer and stared into her own dark blue eyes. Caris pulled back as far as she could to get away from them but her head rested against something firm.
"What are you doing up here, then..." a husky, drawling voice with a familiar accent said vacantly. The face moved closer until their noses were almost touching.
Caris drew in a deep breath and screamed as loud as she could. The man jumped and drew back in shock, eyebrows raised. He wobbled slightly, and then disappeared from Caris's view.
Thud.
Caris sat up where she was. She wasn't entirely sure what had happened. Surveying her surroundings, still feeling groggy, Caris came to the following conclusions:
1. She was in a tree.
2. She was on an island.
3. There didn't seem to be any other people apart from her and the strangely familiar man, but she couldn't quite remember where she knew him from.
4. In this interesting groggy state she now found herself in, she didn't have any balance.
Thud.
"Ooof."
The man groaned and drew in deep breaths. Caris sat up again. She was definitely on the ground now, lying across the man who had cushioned her landing. She stood up and staggered forward, tripped over her own feet, and managed to stop herself falling by hitting a tree. Above her was the branch she had woken up on.
The man was now standing and had regained his breath. Suddenly it came to Caris where she had seen this man before.
"You're that dream guy!" she said, then mentally kicked herself for sounding so stupid. Was it possible for someone to be drunk in their dream?
The man raised an eyebrow at her. Caris decided to change tact. "What were you doing in my tree?"
"You're tree?"
"Yeah, and this is my island. You'd better have a good reason for being here." Caris stood and folded her arms."
"Nice try, love. I've been visiting this island... regularly, you could say, and I've never seen you before."
"Visiting?" Caris smiled. "Well where's your boat?"
"Don't have one at the moment," he replied, taking an unsure step towards her, "I'm in the market."
Caris smirked, her senses returning to her, "I see." The man walked past her and headed off through the thin scattering of trees, as if looking for something.
"You won't find one there. Boats are usually kept in the water." Caris stated. The man chose to ignore her.
Caris wasn't too bothered by his ignoring her, or his presence, so she walked away from him, towards the shore, to survey her newest surroundings. If it wasn't a dream, Caris could have sworn she was on holiday on an exotic island. White sand, blue sky, crystal clear water, and Caris - dressed in her jeans and plain black t-shirt.
A rustling sound behind her indicated that the strange dread-locked man was back. He walk up next to her and pushed a bottle of what looked like murky water, into her hand.
"This'll make you feel better, love." he said. He flopped down to sit in the sand and took a swig of his own bottle of murky liquid.
"I have a name." Caris said. "I'm Caris. What about you?"
"The names Sparrow. Captain. Jack. Sparrow."
-
by Astramina