Chapter Ten: New Seas

Will lay there silently on his bed, letting the sound and smell of the ocean overtake his thoughts, his mind, his body. It had been two weeks since they'd left Port Royale. Jack still was mad when Will left, and Will understood. Being abandoned was something he knew about since his father had pretty much done the same to him.

James on the other hand, seemed to want to understand his obsession with the sea and tried to talk to him about it. But Will avoided the talks; he didn't want to explain it to his son. He couldn't tell him that he left because he couldn't stand to be in the same place where she had lived, it would make him seem like a coward, which he was not.

Alaina turned out to be not so bad a sailor, but she defiantly needed help. Caitlyn, his first mate's daughter, was trying to do that and it seemed to be working. Since Will didn't want Alaina to be the only female on board he had his first mate, Hans, bring his daughter along.

Caitlyn was a year older but the two became instant friends and decided to bunk together with the rest of the crew. Neither of the fathers were particularity happy about that but decided their crew was smart enough not to try anything.

So far they were headed off for Port Havana and would probably get there that afternoon. Havanna wasn't the best place to go, but it was better than Tortuga.

Will closed his eyes as sleep once again took over him.



***

"How's that song go again?" Caitlyn asked Alaina, trying to desperately untangle the coil of rope in front of her.

"A pirates life for me?" Alaina asked, looking up from where she was sitting on the deck watching the people on the shore.

"Do you sing anything else?" Caitlyn asked with a laugh.

Alaina rolled her eyes and started. "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me."

"We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot, drink up me hearties yo ho. We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot. Drink up me hearties yo ho!" Caitlyn joined in and they sang at the top of their lungs, much to the amusement of Will and the rest of the crew who went about doing their duties.

Alaina suddenly cried out in surprise as a familiar face walked down the peer. Caitlyn raised an eyebrow at the sudden outburst.

"What?" Will asked coming over to her and looking in the direction she had been.

"Nothing," Alaina assured, shaking her head and turning back to the frustrating task in front of her. "Just my imagination again," She mumbled, trying not to think about the dark man that had glided down the peer.

"Yoo-hoo? Anyone in there?" Caitlyn asked, waving hand in front of her friend's face.

"Huh?" Alaina asked, snapping out of it.

"So who is he?" Caitlyn asked casually, trying to undo one of the many knots in the heavy rope.

"Who is who?" Alaina asked, confused.

"Please Alaina, you had that far-off dazed look in your eyes, and that's only reserved for men." Caitlyn informed, rolling her eyes.

Will slowly backed away, feeling like he was intruding on some important conversation and walked over to help Hans unload some of the crates.

"Those two seem to be getting along," his first mate remarked, setting down the heavy crate and motioning towards the two girls. Will turned his head just in time to see Alaina smack Caitlyn's arm.

"They're just like each other," Will agreed as Caitlyn smacked her back and they both laughed.

"Too much for their own good I suspect," Hans said, then heaved up the crate and started to move it toward the gangplank.

Will nodded in agreement and picked up another one of the heavy crates and followed, but as he passed by Nickel he gave a nod over in the girls' direction. "They aren't allowed to leave this ship until I get back."

"Aye, Captain," the man acknowledged, and Will trudged down the gangplank and out to the pier of Havana.





***

"I'm getting tired of waiting," Alaina told Caitlyn as the two sat on the deck, waiting for their fathers to return.

"And what? Do you think I enjoy sitting here, bored out of my mind?" Caitlyn asked, lying backwards and staring at the clear blue skies in front of her.

Alaina sighed and followed her friend's suite. Staring up into the sky at the gulls flying overhead she wondered what was going on back home. 'Boys are probably wreaking havoc on Mrs. Bates,' she mused silently in her mind, picturing the two getting lost in Port Royale and Mrs. Bates trying to find them. Soon however, her thoughts drifted off to Jill and Alex. A small smile spread on her lips at the thought of the day of the storm almost a month ago.

The day Alex had kissed her.

She didn't know how it really happened, she didn't think Alex did either, but it had. It was stupid and rash and completely random, but they had. It wasn't a long, passionate kiss that left them breathless; it was a shorter, sweet, sincere kiss. Alaina just hoped it didn't mean they were more than friends. She didn't want to think of Alex like that, and Jill would go absolutely insane with shock. The three of them were the three musketeers, all for one and one for all. And it would remain that way. At least, she hoped.

Caitlyn watched with extreme interest as Alaina got up and walked over to the mast. "And what do you think you're doing?" she teased, propping herself up with her elbows.

"I want to get a better view of Havana." Alaina told her, starting to crawl up the long rope ladder to the crow's nest. "Don't get stuck," Caitlyn warned with a laugh.

Alaina glared at her. The last time she'd gone up there she had gotten her foot caught on a loose loop of the rigging and had to have her father come and help her down. She had gotten better at a lot of things; climbing however, she didn't think was one of them. But she didn't want to sit down there on the deck doing nothing.

'At least if I get stuck this time it'll give me something to do,' she thought wryly, carefully watching where she was sticking her feet.



***

"Finally!" Caitlyn exclaimed sarcastically as Will and her father returned. "We thought you had gotten yourselves arrested."

Will shook his head and looked around. "Where's Alaina?" he asked, not seeing her on the deck. Caitlyn grinned and pointed up and in the direction of the nest. Will raised an eyebrow but followed to where she was pointing. Sure enough, Alaina was leaning against the railing, her back facing them, her hair blowing all around in the wind. "How long has she been up there?" he asked.

Caitlyn shrugged. "A few hours."

"A few hours," Will repeated to himself, not straying his gaze from his daughter. He didn't know what she was thinking about, but it had to be something big for her to be alone for over an hour.

"Captain?" Hans asked after a moment.

Will snapped out of his trance and shook his head. "Well Hans, why don't we take a look on what we have below?"

Caitlyn shot her father a glare as he nodded.

Will's definition of 'taking a look on the stuff below' meant having some rum.

As Will and Hans began to head down the stairs, Will spoke up. "I have a feeling we'll have a visitor." Hans looked at his captain and grunted in reply.

***

The sun was still high in the sky and Alaina still stood in deep thought in the crow's nest. Caitlyn had tried to talk to her but Alaina was in no mood for chitchat; she just wanted to think, think about when would be the right time to tell her father that she had seen him.

She knew she couldn't keep it a secret forever, especially since he could be anywhere. Even here. She wanted to tell him, but she was scared of what he might do. To himself, and her. She couldn't picture her father mad; she never had seen him like that. He had always either been in high spirits or depressed. He had never been just okay. He had always been cheerful when Elizabeth was still alive, but that all had changed.

Alaina still didn't know why her father didn't blame her for her mother's death; she did. If it hadn't been for her, her mother would have never gone out in the street, wouldn't have gotten shot, and wouldn't have died in her father's arms. If it wasn't for her, her father would still be the same man he used to be, the boys would have memories, and she wouldn't have to go through her life alone.

It was her fault; it was all her fault. Things could've been better if she would've told her father she saw him in the first place, but she hadn't and now things were horrible.

'If I only would have said something, if only I would have stayed in bed, everything would be different,' she thought to herself, and a tear slowly made its way down her face.

Alaina turned her head and quickly brushed away the tear as she saw a dark man gliding down the pier towards their ship. She leaned over the railing to get a better look at him and her heart nearly jumped. It was the same man she had seen earlier that day and at around Port Royale.

A/N: Thank you for reading my story!!! I feel like I'm writing something worth while. Yay!!! Sorry it took so long, I got stuck. AGAIN. Anyways, hope you liked the chapter. The next one will be coming soon to a computer near you. Sorry. Had to do that. I appreciate all the feedback I'm getting and if I could, I would clone the faerie (aka Orli Bloom) and Johnny Depp and send them to each of you!!! That is if I could, but I can't…darn. Anyways! YOU GUYS ROCK!!!