Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean or any of its characters
Chapter 1: Voyager
Jacklyn stood at the helm of The Santa Clarice watching as North Carolina faded from view. A young woman stood a few feet away from her waving at the relations that were not longer in view. She seemed so terrified and upset about the voyage onto the open see.
Jacklyn couldn't understand that fear. The sea seemed so exciting, with so many possibilities. She was enamored with the voyage less than an hour after they set off. The big blue horizon seemed so promising. She was so sick of being cramped up in that stuffy house in Charleston. She just wanted to be on the sea.
The sea...the sea was what was calling her most. The raucous waves beat heavily against the helm of the boat. The salty sea air seemed to warm the very marrow of her bones. She felt at home for the first time in years.
"Jacklyn, we should go under before you catch a cold," Jacklyn's father, Colonel Charles Darcy. He steered his daughter down to their room below. The Colonel, as everyone called him, was not a gentle man. He ran his home with an iron fist. No one dared challenge him, to his face. He was in charge of running the British military forces in the American Colonies.
Around midnight, Jacklyn snuck out of her bunk, and climbed to the upper deck. She was so excited at the thought of Port Royal. It had been ages since she'd seen her dear cousin Elizabeth. They had grown up together in England, but when Jacklyn's father was promoted and moved to North Carolina and Elizabeth moved to Port Royal, they began to write less and less.
"I can't believe she's going to get married," Jacklyn thought to herself, "and to a blacksmith nonetheless. It is quite unbelievable."
"Oh Will!" Elizabeth said as she ran toward her fiancé, letter in hand. "You won't believe the wonderful news I just received! My cousin Jacklyn is coming to the wedding tomorrow. She gets in today at noon. Isn't it thrilling? I haven't seen her in eight years."
"That's wonderful," Will said as he softly kissed her lips. "We'll go pick her up at the docks. It's nearly noon now." William Turner closed up his blacksmith shop, and the two began their walk to the docks. "So what's this cousin of yours like?"
"She's basically just like me. We're practically sisters. When we were kids we used to play pirates. In fact, her mother's the one that first taught me about pirates. Her mother, Aunt Catherine, was my mother's sister. She was the most brilliant woman. She worked for a few years on a merchant ship before she finally married the Colonel, so she always had the most brilliant pirate stories. She was actually at one of the ports where the Black Pearl landed. She was like a mother to me after mine died. There's the ship." Elizabeth and Will began to walk towards the ship.
"Will?" Elizabeth asked.
"What is it my love?"
"Do you see that man in the shadows? He's been following us since we left the shop," Elizabeth whispered conspiratorially. The man she was referring to was old and tattered. His clothes were filled with holes, and his face was gaunt. The man's hair was long and matted against his head.
"I don't know, but I've seen him before. Every now and then I'll see him following me around. Hurry along and we'll lose him in the crowd," Will said pulling Elizabeth towards the Santa Clarice.
"Elizabeth!" called Jacklyn, rushing towards her cousin. "It's so good to see you." The two hugged as Will walked forward.
"Oh! Jacklyn, this is my fiancé, Will. Will this is Jacklyn and her father, the Colonel."
"It's an honor to meet you both," Will commented, bowing to Jacklyn and shaking hands with the Colonel.
"I understand that you are a blacksmith?" The colonel asked disdainfully.
"Yes sir, I am," Will replied rebelliously.
"Daddy, the carriage is here," Jacklyn observed, pulling the two men away from a dangerous argument. "Let's talk at the house.