The ship cruised speedily over the waves that tried to batter the bow.
I was feeling agitated. Despite the sharp wind blowing my hair as proof that we were actually moving, the lack of scenery whooshing past made me feel as though we were getting no where. On many an occasion I could imagine that the quiet placidity of this way of travel would have pleased me, but as it was, I was too anxious to rectify any undue problems that Elizabeth may have encountered. I wished for maybe the fifty-thousandth time that Elizabeth was alright, and had managed to persuade the pirates to... not to kill her.
I turned away from the vast sea and leaned against the railings of the ship. I could see many a sailor rushing here and there securing ropes and any loose objects. The sense of urgency that was given off as these tasks were undergone surprised me, and I stopped the nearest sailor and asked him what was going on.
The midget looked at the sky before answering me. "Jack says a storm's a comin'."
"Red sky in morning..." I muttered to myself as he hurried off.
"And now you know sailor's lore, eh?" Came a drawling voice.
I turned my head and stared at Jack defiantly, trying hard not to let him intimidate me, or at the very least, let him know that he intimidates me. "And that matters, why?"
"It doesn't. I just find it amusing, s'all." He said with almost a sneer.
I pulled my lips back in a weak attempt for a smile. "That's wonderful. Did you want something specific or is this just one more friendly chat for me to notch on my belt?"
He glanced down to my waist, where my dress was obviously not belted, raised his eyebrows and looked back at me before answering my question. "Yes. I did. You, below deck."
I stared at him blankly, not comprehending.
"This storm's going to be a rough one, I don't want to run the risk of anything getting thrown overboard."
"What? Concerned for my safety or is it that you're afraid that I'll all of a sudden start throwing random objects off the ship?"
His lips twitched into a sour smile. "No harm in taking precautions." He strolled over to the hatchway and kicked it open with his foot, gesturing for me to climb down.
With a resigned sigh I pushed myself away from the railing. "It would appear that I have no choice." I stated bleakly.
"It would appear that way, yes."
The storm broke an hour or two later, coming up quickly. A sudden crash of thunder halting my pacing which had occupied me steadily for the past hour or so. Stopped in my tracks as I was, I was unprepared for the heavy jolt of the ship as a wave crashed into its side and I was sent sprawling across the small room. With a cry of pain I realised I had flung my injured hand out to break my fall, I felt the bandages dampen with blood once more.
I had little time to worry about this, however, as the ship gave another lurch, sending the loose articles of furniture sliding across the tilted floor, and me scampering hurriedly out of their way. Water streamed down the hatchway, closed only by an open vent, drenching me from head to toe, and the candles flickered wildly as the heavy candle-holders swung violently with the heavy motion of the ship. I cursed loudly as one of them hit my head.
"Right! That's it!" I shouted at the small room, my voice barely distinguishable above the roar of the storm, coming to the conclusion that it could not be less dangerous in this little room than it was out on deck.
I was halfway up the stairs when my hand flew to my neck, remembering what Jack had said about things falling overboard. I didn't want to risk losing the medallion to the angry sea, not when I'd come so far to get it here already. My eyes searched the room and fell on the small table, which contained a drawer. Jumping down, and landing a few feet to the left of where I had intended, I struggled against the swaying room to get to the table and tugged the drawer open. With a decisive pull on the medallion's chain, it released itself from my neck effortlessly, and I shoved it in the drawer. Another wave sent me sprawling as soon as I had slammed the drawer shut, and I wasted no time in groping my way up the ladder and onto deck.
On deck I realised the full futility of a ship in the face of a tempestuous ocean. For a moment I almost believed Gibbs' bemoaning about bad luck as a wave sprawled over the side of the ship and doused my already wet form in water.
I looked around wildly, my eyes skimming over the crew, searching for the maniac who was sailing the ship.
Jack stood at the helm, his stance was easy but there was a wild look in his eyes as he stared straight ahead that seemed to defy the storm to throw it's best.
Close by, Will gripped to a rope for dear life as he attempted to yell something to Gibbs above the noise of the storm. that doesn't work?" I caught his last few words over the wind.
Gibbs gave something of a wild grin. "Aye, the compass doesn't point north, but we're not trying to find north, are we?"
I groped my way over to where they stood, clinging to various ropes. "What exactly are we trying to find?" I yelled.
Gibbs' eyes widened in shock as his head turned towards me, and he made the cross over his chest. Although I did not catch the words, I saw his lips move and felt sure that whatever he was saying had something to do with the mother of God named Mary.
"Miss Ebony!" Will shouted at me frowning ferociously.
"Ebony." I corrected him, absentmindedly, although my voice was drowned out by the howling wind.
"You should be below deck!"
"Why?" I shouted back.
He gave me a look that clearly stated his opinion of my sanity.
"And don't give me that 'it's not proper for a lady', crap, I've just spent three hours sitting in a shoe box, and ten minutes being tossed and thrown about like a piece of driftwood, so I'm really not in the mood."
Another gust of wind roared around us and I glanced anxiously at the sails that seemed to be itching to break away from the ropes that held them. "Are the sails going to hold?" I asked, or shouted really, at Gibbs.
He glanced up at them, let out a "Mother's mercy," and pulled himself up the stairs to the helm, groping at ropes and wood to stop himself being thrown away.
"We should drop canvas, sir!" He bellowed at Jack.
"She can 'hold a bit longer." He returned in remarkable good spirit given that we were on a boat that seemed desperate to keel over and be lost to the waves.
"What's got you in such a fine mood, Capin'?" Gibbs shouted.
I didn't hear his reply but I saw him grin. His eyes skimmed the deck of the ship to land on me and his countenance changed. I saw him gesturing to Gibbs angrily, making Gibbs throw a glance in my direction. In the next instant Gibbs had taken the wheel and Jack was heading down the ladder towards where I stood with Will.
He stood before me for a minute, staring angrily into my face, appearing to be at a loss to say anything. His hands clenched and unclenched, tensing up to form a clawed shape. "I believe I told you to stay below deck!" He shouted at me.
"Where I can be thrown about the room furiously and end up crushed beneath a flying desk? Thanks, but I'm fine up here!"
"That's not what's on offer!" He said furiously, grabbing my arm and attempting to pull me towards the hatchway.
I wrenched my arm out of his grasp. "No. I don't know what it is with you men and the idea that a girl can't handle herself aboard a ship as well as a man, but that's your problem, not mine. And I am staying up here."
I heard an exasperated and annoyed growl come from Jack. "No, your not!" He made another grab for my arm and pulled it at the same moment as another massive wave crashed into the ship. The result of the two different forces being upon me at the one time was enough to make me loose my balance as my feet slipped on the wet deck. Jack dropped his grip on my arm for a minute as he fought to steady himself, and I fell, my head hitting the deck in a jarring impact that made everything go black.
I woke in agony. The ship was still rocking but not with the same force that it had been subject to the night before. My hand went to my head, and with a painful grimace I felt something akin to amusement at the familiarity of the gesture. I tried to count how many times I had passed out or injured myself over the past couple of days and failed, blaming the strange grogginess in my head for my inability to think straight.
Fighting a sudden feeling of nausea, I gave the tiny cabin that I once more found myself in a quick glance, and startled at the fact that I was not alone.
Will was sitting at the desk. His back was to me and he was turning something over and over in his hand. The soft daylight that was beginning to light up the room caught the object, making it flash for an instant, and with a sharp intake of breath I realised the object in Will's hand was the medallion.
I dared not breathe for a minute, a thousand questions regarding Will's possession of the trinket clouding my mind.
As though my lack of breath had suddenly alerted Will to my consciousness he turned his head to look at me. His eyes were more sombre than I had ever seen them. He held up the medallion, his eyes questioning mine more intensely than words ever could. At length he spoke.
"Do you know how this got here?"
"It's mine." I said immediately, unthinkingly saying the first words that came to my head.
Will smacked the medallion down onto the wood of the table, a sudden, loud sound that made me jump.
Unsure and uneasy I eyed Will carefully, searching for some sign that might explain his strange behaviour. Surely he couldn't know about the medallion. There was no way...
"Where did you get it?" His voice was hollow, empty.
"Does it matter?" I asked, trying desperately to bring the conversation away from the dark direction in which it was headed. I tried a light smile but failed.
"Yes. It matters." He paused, although his eyes did not leave mine I'm sure he wasn't looking at me. "It's mine."
A gasped intake of breath filled my lungs and I stared at him, not understanding.
"My father sent it to me, when I was living in England. It was the only thing I had from him. I thought I lost it on the voyage to Port Royal." His gaze returned to me and he repeated his question with more force. "Where did you get it?"
I swallowed nervously. "From Elizabeth. During the pirate attack on the house. It just happened to end up in my hands..."
"Elizabeth..." He repeated in a dazed voice.
I nodded, finding myself unable to say anything, more confused than ever.
I studied Will, trying to discern how much he knew about the medallion. He was not looking at me anymore, he was staring intently at the shiny surface of the gold, studying its intricate pattern.
"It's what the pirates were looking for." I let out. His gaze returned sharply to me. "It's why they attacked the house, why they took Elizabeth, because they thought that she had it. And when they find out she doesn't..." The effect of voicing my fears for Elizabeth's safety out loud was startling, and I let out a strange hiccup of a sob as my eyes filled with tears.
With a scrape of the wooden chair on the floor Will moved over to the bed and sat down on it next to me, his arm awkwardly patting my back. "She'll be alright." He said in way of comfort, although I could hear in his voice the tremor of fear.
I shook my head. "Only if I can get the medallion to her."
I held out my hand for the medallion, wanting to once more examine the object that was causing so much grief and uncertainty.
Will let it drop into my hand and I held it up to the light, which glinted off it.
The sudden sound of the hatch to the cabin being pulled open and I reflexively shoved the medallion beneath a fold of my dress. Will's eyes followed my action then raised to my eyes in a question.
I raised my eyebrows back at Will, willing him to say nothing as Jack descended the stairs into the cabin.
"Well..." He drawled in an almost smug way, leaning casually against a beam. "Woken up have we? Seemed like a pretty nasty fall last night."
"A fall which wouldn't have happened had you not grabbed me." I returned in a slightly lethargic voice.
He sighed exasperated. "Luv, I really don't have the energy to go into the fact that it was your own fault for being up on deck in the middle of a storm in the first place. I just came down to fetch the blacksmith, unless of course, he's busy." His eyes lingered purposely on Will, whose arm dropped self-consciously from my back.
"Are you going to be alright?" Will asked me seriously.
I nodded. "I'm actually just a little tired."
"Come along, lad, let us leave young Miss Ebony to her rest." I ignored the sneer in his voice, waiting for the two men to climb out of the cabin and leave me alone.
With hands that shook slightly more than I would have liked to admit I fastened the medallion's chain around my neck once more and slipped it inside my dress.
I then lay back down on the pillow and stared at the opposite wall for a very log time before eventually falling asleep.
Hmm.
Well? What do you think?
I'm not even going to give you my opinion of this chapter, but whatever, at least it's done.
And now for my many, many, many thanks...
VagrantCandy: Heh, yes, you could say that there's some "tension" between Jack and Ebony... Thanks for your review!
Irishbabi6: Yay! I'm glad you like it!
Flister: lol, not that you like to brag or anything... I'm glad you enjoyed it though, and I would try to have a nice day except that I am weighed down by the guilt of not studying...
Katweenathesmiley: hehe, thankyou! Actually, the original verse that I heard was "Red sky in morning, sailor's mourning; Red sky at night, shepherd's delight" so I guess it's just one of those things that changes depending on who's telling it. In any case, sailor, seemed to fit, lol. Thanks for your review and I'm really glad you liked it!
Star4: Yayness, glad you like it! I also would like to find out where it's going... I guess only time will tell, lol
Devilslass: hehe, thankyou! Ikes! Sounds like you've got it worse than me with TWO jobs... here I am without even one. Working in a coffee shop would be very fun however... Now excuse me whilst I drool over my keyboard with the thought...
PurpleDreamerStar: It's good to be back! Thankyou so much for your review... what a lovely word 'fantabulous' is, lol
Kat: Yay! Not just one, but TWO reviews! I feel so special! Anyway... You voiced an interesting theory, but I shall say nothing in reply to it, lol :P. Yes, France shall be fun.. although I won't understand anything, but meh.. Shame about you not going to Ireland, I'd love to go there someday. And yes.. I also must have the torture sessions called exams, starting tomorrow in fact, with English, which I am almost certainly going to go crap in because I am spending the day which I had put aside for revision, finishing and uploading this chapter. I hope you appreciate it, lol. I'm also doing Unit 2 Lit, my exam is next Tuesday, I think (probably should check that at some point), and I am oh-so looking forward to writing those ever-so fun passage analysis's on Pride and Prejudice and Turn of the Screw (Please note heavy sarcasm). Oh well, thanks so much for your review(s)... Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
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