Before The Dawn
Chapter V: Of Investigations and Waiting
By FalconWing
Anamaria was troubled. She had managed to hide it from the rest of the crew but she could not keep the truth from herself, no matter how hard to tried to deny it.
It was now two mornings after the wedding and Jack had still not returned.
At first she had dismissed him, her rationale being that Jack would be Jack and knowing him he was probably still sleeping off the hangover he would undoubtedly have acquired after a whole night of drinking. But then noon of the day after had come and gone, and then the sun had set and there had still been no sign of their captain.
He had told them all to expect him at dawn the next day and here it was more than twenty four hours after that specified time. Now Anamaria knew that Jack was his own man and the exception to every rule, but when it came to risking ship and crew he was always punctual. Whatever was keeping Jack, it couldn't be good.
Anamaria's brow knitted in concern. For all that she often held the affectation that she found the man incorrigible, she knew she had a soft spot where the irredeemable rogue was concerned.
And that's why, after taking a last look at the sun, she decided to go ashore herself.
She made her way down the deck towards where Gibbs was standing, stopping beside him, patiently waiting for him to wrench his attention away from the flask in his hand. When he finally did notice her, he started in surprise.
"Gibbs, I'm going ashore to look for Jack." Her worry was evident in her clipped tones and frequent glances to the spot Jack had last been seen, rowing around the head. She didn't even wait for a reply, merely stepping off toward one the remaining row boats. Gibbs gulped and hurried after her.
"Are you sure that's wise? I mean you're not exactly unnoticeable. How many women do you see in Port Royal walking around in men's clothing?"
Anamaria stopped and turned so abruptly that Gibbs very nearly walked straight into her. "The last time I looked, Mr Gibbs, it was I who was second mate and you the quartermaster, not the other way around." Her steely voice and hard gaze certainly had him looking very much like he regretted his words. Good. The less Gibbs got in the way, and the sooner she could find her captain, the sooner they could be back on the open seas doing what they did best – plundering the ships of those who didn't deserve the wealth they had.
Getting into the boat, she allowed a few members of the crew to lower her into the water. Then, picking up the oars, she started rowing in the path Jack had taken only two days earlier.
It took her a good twenty minutes and, used to the work as she was, her shoulders were slightly stiff by the time she reached her goal.
The docks. Pulling up, she jumped out and turned to tie it up. As she finished doing so, something to her right caught her eye. Straightening up for a better view, she saw with some consternation Jack's own boat. The fact that it was tied clumsily suggested that it had not been Jack who had tied it but it could be that he had merely been in too great a hurry to bother doing so himself.
She shook her head softly to clear her thoughts and made her way along the dock. Her boot heels sounded loud as she strode briskly toward the shore. She caught a few snickers at her clothing but the lift of a chin and a well-aimed glare soon had them turning their heads away suitably chastened.
As the harbormaster approached she unashamedly used one of Jack's common practices and threw the man three shillings informing him to "forget the name."
She smirked and continued on her way as the man struggled to contain his pleasure, fumbling as he hastily stowed the money in his purse, calling after her with his customary "welcome to Port Royal Miss Smith."
Surmising that the best place for information was a tavern, she made her way to a place called the Hawk's Talon. Here she ordered a drink and sat in a corner listening to scraps of conversation. After a while, having discovered nothing but everything she didn't want to know about seducing a tavern wench, she paid and left.
Approximately six bars and five and a half rums later, she was seated at the back table of the Royal Bequest, debating whether or not to return to the Pearl. So far the only thing she had achieved was to spend money on drink she didn't have the time to enjoy.
At least, she was considering it until the entrance of two Navy men in pristine red and white uniform.
She didn't know what it was about them that made her shuffle over in her seat and prick her ears for snippets of their exchange but she was extremely glad she had when she caught onto what they were saying.
"…heard they took some of the guests, leaving the rest locked in a room with the servants. Mr and Mrs Turner, the Commodore and about thirteen others all gone," The taller one was saying.
The younger man butted in. "Wasn't there a body found too in the streets going down to the dock?"
Anamaria's throat constricted. Jack was smarter than he looked but he did have the tendency to let his tongue run away on him. If he had said something that didn't please these people – and knowing Jack that wouldn't be hard for him to do – it wouldn't have been difficult for them to simply lodge a bullet in his brain.
But she heaved an internal sigh of relief as the older man replied, "Yes, I believe that was Dr Wittenby. I don't know what we're going to do for a doctor now, but I'm sure Lieutenant Gillette will sort something out. The governor won't; I heard he was in a right state. It looks as though they've been taken for a ransom; else why not take him as well? This is the second time in just over a year that his daughter's been kidnapped by pirates."
The young man was all ears now. "Really, I haven't heard about that. I've only just transferred from St Kitts. What happened?" This was all it took to set the older fellow into the whole tale, and Anamaria got up to leave, having got what she wanted and not really wishing to hear the whole spiel. Most of it was probably utter rubbish anyway.
She drained her glass and signaled to the serving maid, dropping a few coins on the table. Then she marched purposefully out the door without a backward look.
She made her way back to the docks and untied both boats, winding the rope from Jack's around the stern of her own. Then she rowed back the Black Pearl where she was hoisted back aboard and bombarded with many a question from faithful shipmates. She told them what she had overheard in its entirety and there was unanimous agreement.
They would head to Tortuga where, like as not, the other crew would be headed also. Anamaria made her way to helm of the ship and watched as ropes were secured and the sails unfurled.
"Hold on tight, Jack. We're coming for you." She glanced at the sails as they filled with wind and the ship eagerly leaped forward. Her sleek black hull sliced through the waves, picking up speed as she was steered toward the distant horizon.
"The Pearl's coming for you."
– – – – –
Elizabeth sat huddled in the corner of the small room she was trapped in. He gaze was fixed out the small window she was sitting under but she didn't see the azure ripples of the ocean sparkling in the sun or the wisps of white cloud that drifted lazily across the blue expanse of sky.
"…kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot…" She sang slowly and sorrowfully, pausing every now and then to clear the lump from her throat. From a distance she didn't look much different, only a bit disheveled. It wasn't until you got closer that the tear tracks making their way down her cheeks were visible and though her eyes had long since dried there was a distance to them that anyone who knew her well would recognize. A fading purple bruise was only just evident on the left of her jaw.
Her mind rebelled at the harshness of reality. She was married. She was meant to be experiencing the joys of newly-wedded bliss. Instead here she was, trapped in a conjoining room to the captain's cabin.
And to think she had been panicking when the merchantman hired to deliver her wedding dress had never arrived. God knows what had happened to it. They had had to scrounge around for something to wear, but in the end she had winded up wearing the dress her mother had married her father in.
Now she sat in the dirty and rumpled remains of that once beautiful gown as she waited on the whim of some barbarous scoundrel.
There had been one point where she could have sworn she had heard the murmur of Jack's voice, but that couldn't be. Jack was captain of the Black Pearl again now and would be busy out looting some unlucky merchant, not conspiring with this Captain Clavell. She would have probably pondered that thought a bit more, but it was soon after that that the captain had come to 'visit' her.
The man was worse than Barbossa. He had marched in, grabbed her chin and roughly forced his mouth on hers. Her first instinct had been to knee him in the groin and this she had done with considerable force.
He had doubled up in pain, face contorted. When he had recovered sufficiently he had backhanded her across her mouth before stalking out and slamming and relocking the door. She hadn't seen him since.
And now she sat huddling with her arms hugging her knees to her chest – waiting for him to return. She knew he would.
And next time she might not be so lucky.
"…drink up me hearties, yo ho…"
– – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Hey, thanks for reading again. Its great to know if people like my story, don't like it, or think there are some aspects that need improvement so please review. A special thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter: Oneiriad, bubblehead, Lyn, Beregond'sGirl, LunarianPrincess, ErinRua, dshael, peachfreak, Alaawya, neaky-noo Savvyness and Anita Lawn (BTW I'm quite fond of that paragraph myself and that's why I left it in their even though it is kind of random). Anyone who reviews will be honored for eternity.
Next chapter should be up pretty soon. I get really annoyed when other people leave me on cliffhangers for ages so I make a marked effort not to do the same to others. Hope to get lots of reviews – hint hint, nudge nudge.
Love y'all…
FalconWing.
