Chapter: Colored Crimson
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Sophia could not sleep. The moonlight shone in slender slivers through the curtains, casting an eerie bluish hue around the room that transformed familiar objects that she knew so well into monsters and demons created by a wary mind. Demons. Sophia knew demons. They were hers.
Or perhaps she was theirs.
Despite the warm blankets that encased her body, she shivered. She had not directly thought of the events of her fifteenth year in quite some time, but Sophia suspected that the subconscious memories were always there, the demons were always laughing. She would find herself flinching as a stranger brushed by her, or, when she became so utterly and completely lost within her own mind that she knew not of her surroundings, even shrinking away from her own husband as they made love.
She was thinking of those nightmarish hours now. Recalling the nauseating stench of his sweat, the rough way in which he wrenched her knees apart. The pain when he moved inside of her.
And it had been hours, hours in which he assaulted her again and again, opening wounds over and over.
Sophia brushed the pad of her fingertip across her cheek. She was crying. Crying in the silent way of a broken woman.
Shut up, Sophia. You're not broken. She wasn't sure.
Sophia had to get out of this blasted house. Out of this bed. The bed on which, when her husband returned, he would demand that she perform the duties of a wife.
And so she rose, slipping on one of her more comfortable dresses, for she couldn't very well go tramping about Port Royal in her nightgown, and walked quickly from the room, from the bed and the house, the bright crimson of her dress billowing out behind her.
Her mother had said only whores wore red, but Sophia loved the color. It was full of life.
She had never noticed how empty Port Royal was at night. And yet the rowdy voices and music from the less savory section of the town made the desertion of the docks seem not as desolate as it would in silence. She walked slowly along the abandoned street closest to the water, her fingertips reaching out to ever so slightly glance across the sides of buildings as she went, steadying her less-than-sure footsteps in the dark. The moonlight reflected along the water, the breaking waves within it crescents of blue light in the midst of darkness. Sophia inhaled the scent of cold sand and salt, closing her eyes briefly in the ecstasy of it. She was grateful to be out of the stuffy bedroom with its monsters and dead feeling. Nothing was alive in there.
She paused briefly as the sound of boots treading along the ground echoed across the stagnant buildings, the muscles in her legs tensing, ready to flee if the worst should happen. But no, it was only two red-clad soldiers with their muskets and stony expressions. Hiding their surprise at her being out so late and unaccompanied, they tipped their ridiculous hats in her direction and were on their way.
It was only then that Sophia noticed a slice of bright light that shone between two massively jagged boulders jutting out of the water. These boulders protected a small cove from both the eyes of the townspeople and the elements. It was only because of the darkness of the night that Sophia was able to see the single lantern that swayed lightly on its perch, seeming to float in midair. She squinted into the blackness, but was unable to see anything but that small spot of piercing brightness. She found herself unconsciously walking towards the small, overgrown trail that led to that cove, used only by small children as they enlarged their playing territory. They would sit on a rock overhang and throw stones into the water, sometimes even clambering down the yet steeper path to the rocky shore.
Sophia decided to follow her subconscious decision, and, gathering her skirts in her hand to protect them from brambles and such, hurried down the path. She could feel the somewhat unpleasant sense of adrenaline welling in her chest and quickening her heart as she realized that going to investigate some mystery light, alone and in the dead of night, was probably not the safest thing she could be doing. The safest, she thought, would be to stay back in her warm bed and sleep the night away, obedient and expected. She didn't want to be obedient and do what's expected of her anymore.
Since that afternoon in which she had finally blown up and began yelling like a mad woman to Jack, Sophia had felt something within her break. She was still trying to decipher whether it had been her sanity, the strict conformity of society and its rules, or something else. All she knew was that ever since that day she had begun to act much more daring and spontaneous, so much so that she had begun to wonder of her health. First that silly dress, then kissing Jack on the cheek, and now this, which rivaled all those before. Her husband would not like it.
Sophia snapped from her state of reverie to gaze studiously over the cove as she rounded the corner and emerged from the various palms and flowers. Her eyes passed over a faintly familiar ship with quiet curiosity, and she could barely make out over the crashing of waves against rocks the demanding shouts of the crew members as they did what she could only assume was unload the various provisions.
She had the slightly inane notion that this ship was the Dauntless and James had come back early, for some reason docking here instead of the usual port, but soon realized that this was utterly absurd because he would never have done something so unexpected. Nevertheless, she had to make sure and slowly ventured down the steep incline towards the shore.
She had only made it down about three quarters of the way when she collided sharply with someone's chest. Stumbling back and stifling a yelp of surprise, she promptly tripped over her skirts and went tumbling down the path, carrying this stranger with her.
She finally rolled to a stop and lay there for several moments, listening to the unknown person get up, muttering several profanities as he, for it was in fact a man, rose from the ground and dusted himself off with the careless strokes of someone in a hurry. She creaked one eye open, before the other one followed in a shocked manner and she lurched to her feet. Luckily the path hadn't been dusty and she was only left with faint smudges of dirt on her dress and face. "You're supposed to have gone already!"
Jack turned, a slightly sour expression portrayed on his face at having just toppled down the hill somewhat painfully. At seeing Sophia, his features returned to their normal good-humored state and he sauntered casually towards her, fluttering his hands about as he moved. "You're not happy t' see me, then?" He shot her the famed lop-sided grin that usually managed to turn woman to jelly at his feet, but the pesky woman just stood there, gazing at him with amusement dancing in her eyes and her arms crossed over her chest.
Sophia ignored his question. "Why are you still here, Captain? You said you were leaving in the afternoon."
As he watched her speak to him in her usually brazen manner, the moonlight and shadows from the various foliage falling across the pale skin of her face, Jack was faintly reminded of the night four years ago when he'd first seen this enigma of a woman. She looked very much the same, the years since their parting having had little effect on her appearance. With the wide grayness of her eyes, she still appeared to be young and innocent, although Jack knew that she was not the latter at all. She'd seen her share of horrors.
He hadn't thought much about her confession of her rape that terrible night in his cabin, and had very nearly blocked the disturbing glazed image of her eyes from his mind. She had looked small, fragile like a wisp of smoke in the wind.
"Th' ship needed repairs, but we're nearly ready t' push off. Now, why are you 'ere? Out 'n th' wilderness in th' dead o' night's not th' wisest place for a lass like you t' be, love," he questioned, his eyes holding hers in a stare that unsettled her slightly.
At that moment the pair heard a rustling of leaves that was too unnatural to be wind and a crunch of dirt beneath a foot. Jack's face changed, and was now stoic and concentrated, focused intently on whatever had made that unnervingly human sound, and the lean muscles in his shoulders tensed. Sophia scarcely had time to wonder at how Jack could be such a completely different man in the face of possible danger before he grabbed her by the elbow and jerked her into a bush, following in her path quickly. He pressed the slender span of her back to his chest as to minimize their chance of being seen, his hand a comforting reminder of safety on her shoulder. She twisted her head awkwardly around to glance at him as he held a finger to his lips. Quiet. She held her breath.
A male voice pierced suddenly through the humid air, its tone somewhat shaky. Its owner was frightened. "Oy! You there! Jack Sparrow!" Sophia heard Jack curse softly. "C-Come out of there! This is the Royal King's navy! You're under arrest!"
Now it was Sophia's turn to grimace. The soldiers had followed her. "Oh, bollocks," she hissed, and Jacks fingers tightened on her shoulders, signaling her to remain silent. To her surprise, he eased out from behind her and into the open air. Sophia heard muskets cock before Jack spoke, his voice perfectly composed.
"Ah, well. . . Since you fine gentlemen seem to 'ave everything in order, I'll jus' be on me way, savvy?" Sophia watched through gaps in the foliage as Jack turned on a booted heel to "be on his way." One of the guards, as there were two, she could now see, made a nervous hum of protest.
"Stop! Y-You are under arrest, Sparrow! I. . . I'll shoot you!"
With a strangled sigh, Jack turned once again to face the two men, swaying quickly up to them and shoving his face uncomfortably close to the one who'd threatened him, his brow furrowed in an expression of false stupidity. "Very well, then." Jack retreated, barely able to contain the smirk that was threatening at his lips, and stepped towards the bush that Sophia still hid within. "I suppose I'll 'ave t' bid you men farewell. Tell the dear Commodore tha' I'm sorry I missed 'im."
Jack moved so fast that Sophia couldn't see his arm as it wrapped quickly around her waist and yanked her from the leaves. She protested in disjointed sentences, but Jack shot her a somewhat foreboding glare. Sophia realized then that if she had been found after speaking on seemingly friendly terms with a pirate with who knows how many pounds on his head she would be accused of treason. Jack was saving her as well as himself. Then they were off, Jack dragging her behind him as she struggled to keep up and cope with her voluminous skirts simultaneously. Sophia had a disconcerting sense of déjà vu as she felt Jack's hand gripping hard at her upper arm and her feet flying across the ground in a rapid run.
Sophia was gasping for air, something was constricting her lungs. They were sprinting along the docks, the Black Pearl in sight. Musket shots rang out behind them.
It was only then that she realized that the shots were not from her memory, but existed in the present. Jack quickened their already impossibly fast pace.
It seemed to Sophia that the next series of events occurred in movements slowed by a strange fluke of time. Just as they rounded the corner to safety, she heard the sickening slap of metal meeting flesh and a sharp hiss of pain from the man at her side.
Jack doubled over briefly, the pain from his shoulder causing his knees to shake and his eyes to squeeze shut, but was soon upright again and running, perhaps a little slower than before, towards the Pearl.
Sophia glanced at Jack as she ran. A river of vermilion was just beginning to stream steadily from a rough bullet wound on his left shoulder. Before she could let out a muffled cry of surprise, strong hands were pulling them onto the familiar decks of the Black Pearl.
The ship looked exactly the same as it had four years ago when Sophia had climbed her riggings, reveling in her freedom. But now, a dark shadow hung over the wooden structure, whether from the darkness of night or Jack's condition, she did not know. She glanced up to pass her eyes over the various members of the crew, all of whom were staring rather disbelievingly at her. Gibbs looked as if he was going to have a sort of epileptic fit, and was whispering what Sophia ruefully expected was something to the effect of "not another blasted woman." Thandor was gazing at her, open mouthed. He'd grown into his gawky long limbs, she noticed, and was now quite a good-looking man. Anamaria was smiling, which was a somewhat rare occurrence. Sophia recognized familiar features, an eye patch, a dirty blue sash, a shock of scraggly red hair, all of which spurred memories of their owners. Someone questioned in a shocked voice from somewhere within the group, "Miss Cuthburt?"
Sophia was about to answer when she was distracted by a quiet groan from the man at her side. Jack was swaying on his feet, his face a pale shade beneath the healthy bronze tan. Sophia's pulse quickened as she noticed the rapidly growing pool of red at his feet that trickled increasingly down the length of his body.
"Hurry, lads! 'Ee's 'urt! Get 'im t' th' cabin!" Gibbs shouted, and immediately several men lugged Jack up and escorted him to his quarters, one of the Captain's arms slung over each one of their shoulders.
Sophia stood, looking at that crimson bloodstain on the deck of the Black Pearl. She didn't notice as the remainder of the crew got the ship moving in open water with practiced actions, but, after several moments of motionless silence, turned and briskly walked towards Jack's cabin. She did, after all, know where it was.
She'd been there before.
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A/N: Ahh! I feel so bad! Poor Jack.
I was so happy that I got to write Jack being his normal (well, sorta) self again. I was so tired of writing a sad/angry/depressed Jack. We like happy/silly/half-drunk Jack so much better, but now he had to go and get himself shot! Ugh.
Hm… not much to say. Interesting character development (Yes, there's more) in the next couple chapters. They should be up soon, 'cause I gots break now! Praise be.
Read and review, ladies and gents. And, by all means, enjoy yourselves!
