Author's Notes: This chapter is written as a
*Flashback* and takes place approx 15 years prior to the start of the movie.Please bear with me if future chapters take longer to be posted than normal, but as well as working full time, I'm starting the first year of my degree (study from home) on 19th Jan so chapters may take a little longer to get finished.
"Reibia" is Welsh for "Raven"
"Annar" is Icelandic for "Other" and "Halcon" is Spanish for "Hawk" ;-)
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#3 – Ashanae
Jack stared into the sapphire blue eyes of the eldest of the two girls they had rescued from the burning wreck of the HMS Audacious, surprised to see only curiosity in her steady gaze.
"Where is my cousin? Is she alive?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"Skinny little thing, bout thirteen, blonde hair? Wearin a blue dress?"
"Yes, that would be her," she murmured, a trace of humour in her tone.
"She be fine, miss. She's been taken t' the Captain's stateroom. I'm Jack Sparrow, First Mate of the Intrepid Explorer. You be safe now, savvy?"
"Ashanae Reibia," she introduced herself. "My cousin is Annar Halcon. Her father is the Governor of Port William, and yes, I understand. So what will be done with us now... pirate?" she wanted to know, regarding him calmly.
"We'll take ye back t' ye family," Jack answered, hiding a smile. Her bravery impressed him, although he'd never admit it. He also found her very attractive, in a posh, stuck up, straight-laced sort of way.
"And return us unharmed... in exchange for a hearty ransom?"
"You're very smart... for a woman."
"And you are..." Exhaustion, along with the pain of her injuries, finally caught up with Ashanae and she slumped back against the wooden deck, unconscious. More than a little irritated by the sentence left unfinished, Jack knelt down and gently lifted the injured woman in his arms. With a small sigh, he carried her to his own humble cabin and laid her on the generous bed. Knowing he was going to have hell to pay when she awoke, he quickly stripped her dress from her and stopped as his breath caught in his throat at the sight before him. The thin under dress covering her body hid little from his imagination, and he felt his pulse quicken as he looked at her.
A delicately boned face, with skin as pale as ivory, was framed by hair as black
as a Raven's wings. A large bruise, beginning to turn a dark shade of
purple, covered one side of her face and Jack felt a strange stab of anger;
it was as if the very presence of the ugly injury was offensive to him, though
he didn't know why. She was of slender build; her waist was slim, yet
the curves of breast and hip were full, and her entire body was covered in bruises
and cuts. Sliding the wet material up a little, Jack discovered a long gash
on her left leg, which stretched from her knee to mid-thigh.
"Bloody ell! That's gonna need stitchin," he muttered. Rising to his feet, Jack slipped from the room and headed over to the Captain's stateroom. Knocking on the hard wood, he waited until he heard Wolf bark "Enter!" before he stepped into the room. On the bed at the far end of the room, young Annar sat huddled in the corner, her eyes filled with fear. She let out a small squeak of terror as she spotted Jack, quickly covering her mouth as the Captain looked sharply in her direction.
"What is it Jack?" he snapped, sounding thoroughly irritated.
"Cap'n, the other survivor, Miss Reibia... she be needin medical attention Sir."
"Why? What's wrong with her?"
"She have some nasty injuries Sir, at least one I saw be needin stitches."
"Very well. I shall be there directly. Treat anything you can, I'll see t' the rest," he ordered, dismissing Jack with a slight nod of his head.
"Aye Sir." Turning on his heel, Jack left the room and headed back down to his cabin. As he entered the room, he saw Ashanae had not moved and he sighed again, wondering whether the girl would pull through. The depressions on her chest indicated she had several broken ribs, but Jack had no idea if there were any internal injuries. The worst of the cuts would be stitched by Wolf, but she would always carry the scars of this fateful day. Shaking his head, he quickly set to work cleaning the wounds and dressing the minor injuries, while he waited for his Captain to arrive.
Later that night
Jack entered Wolf's stateroom as he always did and sank into his customary
chair, physically and emotionally exhausted by the long day. He was a little
annoyed to see the younger girl sat opposite him, but his face remained empty
of emotion.
"So Jack, how is our other guest doing?"
"Not well Sir. While we've treated her injuries, she has a fever on her. Long as she can fight it, there be no reason she can't make a full recovery," the younger man answered. Carefully keeping his gaze fixed on his Captain, and away from Annar, his eyes conveyed the extreme concern he had about her condition.
"I see. Well, I am placing you in charge of our guests, Mr Sparrow. You are to see that they have all they need... and that they remain unharmed. We will deliver them safely to Port William." The Captain's tone told Jack that should any man among the crew lay so much as one finger on either girl, the First Mate would be held solely responsible.
"Aye Sir!"
"Now, I suggest we all have something to eat and get some rest." Casting a sly sideways glance at Jack, James Wolf turned his attention to the girl. "Eat child, and do not fret. Jack is a fine young man and we will not allow any harm to come to you. You will soon be safely returned to your family."
"Thank you sir," she replied meekly, glancing up at Jack for a brief moment. Seeing the warm smile on his face, she smiled in response and reached timidly for a small piece of bread. Jack winked at her, schooling his face into a mask of impish innocence and she laughed, tucking in to the rich food hungrily.
By the time they had finished their meal, young Annar's fear had subsided and she had opened up to the two pirates. She told them of her father, of life in England and of her father's hopes of a good marriage for her when she was of age. The coy looks she kept throwing in Jack's direction told both men the main reason she was no longer afraid; several times Wolf had to quickly turn a laugh into a coughing fit to hide his enjoyment of Jack's squirming.
Jack escorted Annar back to his cabin and settled her on the small cot at the far end of the room. He halted her protests by telling her that, due to her cousin's serious condition, it would be unwise for her to share the ample bed Ashanae currently occupied. The younger woman was understandably unhappy about the situation but eventually acquiesced and settled down on the small cot. She drifted off to sleep quickly, and Jack breathed a silent sigh of relief that she was finally quiet. Satisfied that he would not have to worry about the Governor's young daughter for several hours, Jack seated himself on the floor opposite his own bed. He leant back against the smooth wood of the wall behind him as his gaze fell on the injured girl.
"I wonder if the poor girl will recover?" he thought idly. He watched the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest, not happy that her breathing was quick and shallow. Her thin under dress was soaked in sweat and occasionally she would twitch violently, a pained moan escaping her lips as her body fought the fever.
"No, not a girl. A brave, intelligent woman," he corrected himself silently. "I just hope she has the strength to conquer the fever." Now he had time to study her more closely, he realised that Ashanae was no girl; she was a beautiful woman. He guessed her age at about nineteen, only a year or so younger than himself. One thing he found strange was that she wore neither wedding nor engagement ring.
"Surely her beauty has stolen some man's heart?" he mused. He was certain she would attract a great deal of attention amongst her own social peers; the rough, worldly men of the crew had definitely taken notice of her during the short time she had been in the boat after her rescue. Watching her closely, thoughts of a different nature began entering Jack's mind; how would her bare skin feel beneath his hands? Would being with her feel different to being with Scarlet? With erotic thoughts filling his mind, Jack eventually drifted off to sleep a few hours before dawn.
The pale light
of dawn woke Jack from a deep sleep, and it took him a moment to realise where
he was, and why. As he recalled the events of the previous day, his eyes fell
on the still form of the injured woman and he quietly got to his feet. Crossing
to the bed, he laid his hand on Ashanae's brow and was disturbed to feel
her temperature had risen. He glanced across at the younger girl, noting with
satisfaction that she was still asleep, then slipped from the room in search
of his Captain. Wolf was in his customary place at the helm, his eyes fixed
on the horizon.
"Cap'n, the woman's fever be gettin worse. Is there any more we can do?"
"I fear we have done all we can Jack. Stay with her. Try to draw the fever out."
"How, sir?"
"Gather extra blankets from my cabin. Wrap her in them tightly, but be mindful to keep a damp, cold cloth to her face. It will help to draw the fever from her. There are some herbs in the chest beneath my bed. Take a little from the blue bag with the gold tie, mix it in some rum and make her drink it. It may help," Wolf told him, though his tone suggested he thought her survival unlikely.
"Aye Sir!"
"Jack, keep the younger girl with you. If Miss Reibia should not make it, at least we won't be held responsible."
"Aye Cap'n," Jack replied. With a heavy heart, the First Mate collected the blankets and herbs from Wolf's quarters, then returned to his own cabin and did as the Captain had instructed.
Slowly stretching to ease out the kinks in his aching spine, Jack looked down at the woman beside him and sighed. After five days, her fever had finally broken but, two days later, she had not yet regained consciousness. The Intrepid Explorer was currently moored in a deserted cove while they waited for a severe hurricane to subside enough for them to continue on to Port William. As sometimes happens when a big storm is brewing, the winds had been so light they had made little headway in their journey. They were still at least a day and a half from their destination, if they had good winds after the storm. The crew were getting edgy about the fact that it had taken six days to travel a distance which should have taken them two. Mutterings about bad luck with women aboard were becoming louder and more frequent as each day passed.
"I don't think it be bad luck havin ye aboard. Ye got an incredible strength... for a woman," Jack murmured. Shaking his head slightly, he closed his eyes and allowed the images of Ashanae he'd been pushing back to enter his mind.
"And you are remarkably civilised... for a pirate."
As his brain registered the whispered words, Jack's eyes shot open and he looked down at the injured woman. Although she still retained a deathly pallor, her eyes were open and the barest hint of a secretive smile played across her lips...
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