Chapter: Chamberlin Manor
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Jack propped one shoulder against the doorframe of Sophia's tiny cabin, arms folded across his chest, watching the eerily silent woman as she sat sedately upon the bed. She had not made a sound in their entire walk back to the ship.
Sophia's mind was numb. She could still feel the man's fingers on her skin, and stared vacuously at the floor in an effort to rid the nauseating sense from her brain. She heard Jack shift his position awkwardly, and his brow was creased with worry as he spoke. "Sophia?"
Her name. It was said in the deep, gravely slur that was Jack. He was here, with her. He could save her from this darkness, the black unknown of her memories.
Sophia visibly started as she broke from the beginnings of another 'attack of nightmares,' as she had begun calling it, causing the bed to creak in protest beneath her. She lifted her eyes, wide with fear and shock, to Jack's.
Jack inhaled sharply, sucking the air through his teeth. Sophia looked much as she did the night he'd first seen her hair, both fear and innocence overriding the delicacy of her face to create a pale picture of utter desolation. His chest contracted with the memory of that night and also the reality that Sophia was completely and utterly alone on his ship.
Indeed, it must have been terrible for her, Jack realized then, to have her most dreadful experience nearly played out once again before her helpless eyes. Those men would have taken her body and run with it, broken it.
Jack had no sympathy for rapists.
Silently and with uncertainty, he stepped into the room and sat down beside Sophia on the bed, drawing the slender woman into the sanctuary of his arms with slow and deliberate motions so he would not startle her. There was nothing else he could do. She would have been left alone to her chimera, the terrible menace that was her nightmares.
Jack was beginning to understand the habits of Sophia's memories. A particularly traumatic event in the present that related to her defilement would spur flashes of her rapist, feelings of his hands breaching her personal space, her body. Flashes of fear.
He knew that she had nearly given herself into them again before he had spoken, and so now he held her as if saving her once again from their dark crevasse. He was keeping her from falling.
Sophia curled against the security of Jack's body as his arms wrapped firmly around her, turning her body as to face him full on and press her forehead into his shoulder, hard and safe. She felt him gather her more tightly into the embrace, and reached her arms upwards to drape around his shoulders, clinging vulnerably to the strength of his form, finding shelter against the flat plane of his chest. She felt the vibration of his voice as he murmured a near-silent word of comfort.
Sophia finally let herself cry, the suppressed sobs causing her body to shake in Jack's hold.
She was breaking down, she could feel her walls of strength crumbling with each tear that fell from her eyes, and yet she brushed away the embarrassment of being so vulnerable in Jack's presence. Now, she needed to cry, wash the black terror from her body. She needed to be clean.
Jack rested his chin against the top of Sophia's head, allowing his fingers to trail with a whispering touch down the onyx curls of her hair, stroking their softness briefly, before coming to rest at the small of her back. Jack ignored the discomfort welling in his chest. He'd never really held a woman to his chest solely to console her before, nor had he ever had any contact with Sophia as intimate as it was now.
She smelled of water. Not the water of the sea that Jack was so accustomed to, but the kind of water that flowed like Chinese silk across rocks and down waterfalls to finally rest in a lake so utterly still that it reflected even the clouds in the sky. She smelled of a day walking in the wet, mossy forests that Jack remembered from his childhood. She smelled of the lilac that his mother had placed in a vase on the table on Easter day when he was seven years old. Jack closed his eyes and inhaled.
Sophia's tears eventually slowed and her breathing calmed into a soothing pattern, the thoughts of rape gradually subsiding into a shadowed threat at the back of her mind. She let herself simply lean against Jack, her cheek pillowed against his shoulder, and the captain seemed perfectly content to allow her to do so.
After some time, Jack cleared his throat gruffly, breaking the silence that had grown increasingly uncomfortable now that Sophia had calmed herself, and cupped his palms around her shoulders to draw her back and take a good look at her. Wetness still shimmered in her eyes but she refused to allow it to spill down the pale hue of her cheeks. Jack lifted a thumb to wipe away a stray tear that quivered unsteadily at her jaw.
"Alrigh', love?" he said quietly, the deep lilt of his voice further more shattering her confidence. He must think I'm a blubbering lunatic. . .
Sophia nodded, her gaze dropping to her hands that twisted together in her lap. "Thank you, Jack," she murmured, brushing the hair that obstructed her features behind her ears.
Jack had the sudden and unexplainable urge to lift her chin with the gentle touch of his fingers and kiss her long and proper, kiss away her pain, and his eyes traveled briefly to the soft pink tint of her lips. However, he thrust the idea aside, making a noncommittal sound in his throat and waving a hand extravagantly in dismissal as a response to her thanks, before rising from his seated position. He was nearly out the door when the clear tone of Sophia's voice addressed him.
"And Captain, could we please get as far away from this port as possible by nightfall?" She wanted away from this place, away from the memories that swamped her brain, suffocated her.
Jack nodded imperceptibly. "Aye, lass. I suppose tha' could be arranged."
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India's green coast glittered enticingly in front of Sophia's eyes as she leaned over the railing of the ship, inhaling the scent of land, freshly rained upon and very adequately covered with foliage. She tried not to look at the ocean, painful and frightening, below her.
Her days on the ship had become easy and relaxed, and many members of the crew were becoming fast friends of hers. Anamaria was her sole feminine companion with who she could confess her tribulations, and Thandor was always a joy, his youthful vigor inspiring to the rest of the crew.
Jack, however, she had not had much contact with. Besides rare run-ins on the Pearl's deck while people scurried about their duties around them, they had not spoken much at all. Sophia remained in her cabin for a majority of the time and dined with the crew.
It was for this reason that when the captain swayed over to stand beside her, his dark eyes flicking appraisingly over the landscape, she was surprised. Prying her gaze from the terrain, Sophia turned her head towards him, her elbow resting upon the railing and her chin placed lazily in her palm.
"Tha's a sight for sore eyes, is it not?" He offered, glancing at her sideways briefly and halting his characteristic hand movements that Sophia was beginning to become accustomed to. She nodded silently. Realizing that she was not going to speak, Jack continued, "'S a pity you won't be setting foot upon it."
She had not walked upon land since their stop at Africa. Sophia lowered her eyelids.
So Jack knew that she was too weak to conquer her fear. Nevertheless, all was perfectly fine and dandy, save for the swell of humiliation in her gut and an embarrassing flush on her cheeks. Perfectly fine.
Sophia took a deep breath before speaking. "Yes. It is."
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Calcutta was a city of gray colors and impossible amounts of people. After gazing, fascinated, at the bustling docks and broken-down ships, Sophia went to find Jack. The captain was standing at the helm, feeding his crew last-minute instructions for the raid. Sophia strained to hear, but her attempt was foiled by the noise of the port.
As the pirates dispersed, their parting accompanied by loud shouts of glee and anticipation, Sophia caught Jack by the arm, demanding his attention. "You've never told me what place it is that you are robbing, Captain. I would think, as it is that I am indeed on your blasted ship and I could face the consequences of your actions just as easily as you could, I should be as informed as the rest of your crew."
Jack grinned, his eyes already glinting with the thrill of an oncoming invasion. He thoroughly enjoyed Sophia when she was in one of her fiery and argumentative moods. She was a worthy opponent, and seemed to always have a swift and witty reply on hand to whatever he may conjure in their conversations. "Aye, tha' you should. This, however, is one thing tha' you mustn't worry your pretty 'ead about. We'll be back in due time," he replied with the cocky tone that infuriated her so, before reverting to the businesslike tone he used when giving orders. "I've told Andrew and Caliso t' look after you in me absence, savvy?"
Sophia bristled. "I am perfectly capable of –"
"I know, love. You forget tha' this is Calcutta, land o' unlawful tradesmen and thieves tha' wouldn't think twice about snatchin' you right off this ship and sellin' you into the slave market. Pretty thing like you would go for a high price." Jack interrupted, his tone serious despite the faint makings of a smile at the corner of his mouth. This infuriated her to an even greater extent, yet she remained silent, disgusted that he had managed to frighten her into submission.
And so Sophia spent the night playing cards with Andrew and Caliso while Jack and his crew were out pilfering the countryside. She lost.
-
Sophia was jolted from her slumber by deafening whoops and clunks coming from outside her door. Groaning with annoyance and rubbing her eyes to rid them of the dry quality that sleep had brought, she threw open the door, her mouth promptly falling open in shock.
Paintings, chests of treasure and the like, and clothing were strewn in a disordered mess about the ship as it sped effortlessly away from Calcutta. The raid, it seemed, had been successful.
"Oy, Sophia! Lookie 'ere!" Thandor swooped towards her with a jubilant strut, taking her around the waist to lead her in a funny sort of jig, much to her surprise. "Riches an' treasure an' dresses for you! Wha' a lovely night it is!" The young man shouted gleefully as they picked their way through the bounty.
Sophia couldn't help but smile, relaxing into the easy rhythm of Thandor's dance. "It is indeed. You have had something to drink, have you not?" She asked wryly. She could smell alcohol on his breath.
"Th' drink o' th' gods, my lovely!" he replied, before finally releasing her to find some more of said drink. Sophia stumbled about for a moment trying to regain her balance after such a rigorous activity, laughing to the heavens with a joy she never would have guessed she held.
"Enjoying yourself, love?" The slur of Jack's voice penetrated her delight-riddled state and forced some sort of composure to return to her senses. She spun on her heel to face him as he sat, sprawled across the stairs that led up to the spiked wheel that controlled the ship. He'd draped strings of pearls and beads over his neck, stuck various rings on his fingers, and now held a jeweled goblet that sloshed with what she could only assume was rum.
Sophia ignored his question, instead asking one of her own. "You stole all of this?"
"Pirates never steal, darlin'. Pilfer, plunder, loot, commandeer. . . Aye, but never steal," he corrected her, sitting up to prop himself up on his elbows, gazing at her beneath heavy eyelids, one finger held up as if scolding.
"Very well. . . You pilfered all of this, then?"
"O' course!" Jack responded cheerfully, taking another generous swig of rum.
Sophia let out a meek "oh" and knelt down to explore the swag. Jack watched through an alcohol-induced haze as she ran her fingertips over the latch of a chest, along a length of a gold chain, over the floaty fabric of a yellow dress, entranced by the movements she made as she bestowed a gentle touch upon these items. Her hand froze over the frame of a particularly striking painting of an attractive woman in a powder-blue dress.
Sophia craned her head to read the engraving on the frame. A name. Patience Chamberlin.
Her jaw dropped. Whirling about to face Jack with her hands planted firmly upon her hips, she glared crossly at him. Jack looked up at her, flashing a lopsided grin from his reclined position on the stairs. "Wha' is it, love?"
"You robbed Chamberlin Manor?" she sputtered incredulously.
The Chamberlin family was well known as one of the wealthiest families ever to grace English soil, or any other soil for that matter. They were also known for catching the thieves that stole from them before the authorities did and inflicting much more severe punishments than officials ever would dream of doing. It seemed that at least a part of them had migrated to India, England's newest and most promising colony.
Jack's grin widened. Hoisting himself off the deck, he swaggered over to stand beside Sophia. "'S quite a nice place, actually. Masses o' guards. We 'ad a rough time gettin' 'round them," he said in a light tone, hands circulating and fluctuating to accentuate his point.
Through her shock, Sophia watched the gentle oscillation of Jack's body, marveling at how completely comfortable he was with the pitching and rolling of the ship, even while drunk. The striped length of cloth tied around his waist swung hypnotically against his legs.
"You are mad, Captain Sparrow. Absolutely raving," She found herself replying as she turned to stalk unsteadily back to her cabin.
"Undeniably!" His voice.
She was too tired to respond to Jack's joyful declaration.
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A/N: Little shorter than some previous chapters, but I did write this in about two hours, so this is what you get.
Aww, the first Jack and Sophia cuddle. It's so nice.
I know all you people are probably screaming at the computer right now for me to get on with the story. I PROMISE PROMISE PROMISE that in the next chapter the major mystery will be solved and the REAL plot will begin. (Mwaha, twelve chapters of exposition. I'm a little muddled in the head, as you may have guessed. We'll call it character development.)
You haven't forgotten Sophia's not so irrational fear of water and cryptic markings, have you?
