CHAPTER FIFTEEN
"Things are not goin' to plan."
Captain Jack Sparrow stood at the wheel, admiring the blue water before him. It had been so long since he had had chance to sail a ship, so now he was taking full advantage of being able to do so. Of course, this would never be a leisurely feat, far from it. They were, of course, off to find Elizabeth and then hopefully come into contact with Will Turner. Though, the difficult component of the plan was actually finding the girl, all she had said in her message was off the coast of Sri Lanka, but that could be anywhere. Sighing, Jack let go of the wheel and rested his elbows on it. He looked out for any sign of land. Before they had commandeered the ship, Jack had forgotten to fetch any provisions, and as luck would have it, the ship did not hold any. So, they were off to the nearest island to buy some fruit, meat and, hopefully in Jacks case, some rum.
Placing his hand in his trouser pocket, Jack pulled out a piece of now water-stained paper. The pirate read Elizabeths message over once more, thinking back to Port Royale to where all this mess had begun. Of course, Jack knew exactly who to blame; Commodore James Norrington had sent him away in the first place, the man seemed to have no tolerance of pirates no matter how forbearing he had appeared last year. Jack looked behind him to find Faye twisting her dark hair into a long French braid down past her neck. Faye looked up, smiling at Jack and tied her hair at the end with a piece of cloth.
'Where are we?' she asked, flicking her braid behind her neck. She stood up and walked over to him, gazing out onto the azure sea.
'Near the Maldive Islands.' Jack replied. 'We should be able to stop off there for some supplies'
Faye nodded and leant her head on Jacks' shoulder. Having only ever been on a ship once before, she was beginning to feel slightly seasick. Faye closed her eyes and sighed deeply.
'Somethin' wrong?' the pirate asked, looking down at her and taking his hands off the wheel.
'Just a little seasick, that's all' Faye opened her eyes but shut them quickly as yet another wave of dizziness came over her.
'Sit down,' Jack eyed the wheel carefully to make sure he could leave it unattended and let go of it, taking Faye by the shoulders and sitting her down leant against the mast. He placed a hand on her head and closed his eyes.
'Ye're awfully col'.' Jack said, taking off his jacket and draping it around Faye's shoulders. Even though the day was warm, Faye was extremely cool to the touch.
'Thankyou, Jack' she pulled the coat tighter around her shoulders and closed her eyes 'I'll be fine, go back to work.'
Jack smiled and kissed the top of Faye's head. 'Call if yer need anythin'.' Jack sauntered back to the helm.
Elizabeth felt sick, not just sick like that of a common cold; she felt lethargic and even the thought of food made her feel ill. The Governors Daughter looked over at Irving, who was seemingly asleep, his hair hanging loosely in front of his eyes.
'Irving!' Elizabeth whispered through the bars. She needed someone to tell her what was wrong with her, she needed a second opinion; Irving stirred but did not open his eyes. 'Irving!' Elizabeth repeated.
Finally he opened his eyes and looked at her wearily. 'Mmm?' he asked, rubbing his eyes.
'There's something wrong.' Elizabeth moved closer to him and sighed, looking down.
'What d'you mean, there's something wrong?' Irving replied, completely nonplussed. In his opinion it was to early in the day for conversation.
'With me;' Elizabeth answered 'I don't feel right'
'Probably just seasickness.' Irving said realistically.
'No, I have been seasick before and this is not it' Elizabeth thought back to what she had eaten the past days, in fact she wasn't sure if she had eaten anything except an apple. Suddenly having an idea, she undid the makeshift bandage around her hand and gasped.
Her wound was worse than it had started. The glass embedded in her hand had festered into a red mess. Elizabeth tentatively touched the abrasion and drew a sharp breath in; the wound was terribly inflamed. The redness had spread from the bloodied area out toward the rest of her hand, on closer inspection, Elizabeth noticed minute shards of glass embedded into the gash, unwilling to budge because the wound had begun to heal over the pieces therefore making it even more painful than ever.
'It's infected' Irving said in an all-knowing tone of voice.
'You think?' Elizabeth snapped back sarcastically. Irving widened his eyes, slightly taken aback by her tone of voice. Noticing this, Elizabeth apologised. 'Sorry about that.'
'Forget it' Irving reassured. He took Elizabeths hand carefully through the bars and looked at it carefully.
'Almost gangrenous' he said, looking at it and ignoring Elizabeth's protests to take her hand back.
'How do you know?' she asked, diverting her gaze from the mess.
'I used to live on a farm; we'd see it all the time in our cows.'
'Deadly?' Elizabeth asked apprehensively.
'Good question. In cows, yes, though I am not too sure about humans. Best play it safe though,' Irving reached into his pocket and pulled out a small flask and dabbed some of the liquid onto a piece of torn material.
'This may sting a bit' Irving said timidly. He carefully applied the alcohol around the cut and sighed deeply as Elizabeth tried to draw her hand back. 'Relax' he said soothingly, continuing to dab the rum onto Elizabeth's hand.
'Thankyou' she said unsurely. Irving nodded and ripped some cloth from his shirt, coating it in alcohol to disinfect it. Irving carefully tied the material around her hand.
As Irving's fingers touched hers, Elizabeths' mind flashed back to a little over a year ago. She had been below deck with Will when she had confessed about the medallion. She had been so close to admitting her love for him, so close to telling him she was the one she loved more than anything else in the world, but she didn't. Elizabeth had hurt Will that day, hurt him more than anyone could hurt another person, yet he had forgiven her and proposed only some months after Jack had left them. Now she was separated from him, at the moment she would give anything to be held in his arms once more…
'Elizabeth?' Irving waved a hand in front of Elizabeths face. She snapped out of her daydream and looked at him.
'Oh, sorry; mind ran away with me.' She supplied rather sheepishly, pulling her hand away from him.
'If you don't mind me asking,' Irving said, taking a sip of the rum in the flask 'What were you thinking about?'
'Old friends.' Elizabeth replied, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes, she let memories of Will flood back into her mind; his smell, his touch, his voice.
'Who?' Irving asked, he too shutting his eyes.
'My Fiancé' Elizabeth said, playing with the silver engagement ring on her finger. She hadn't even given it a second look during the whole escapade, but now she saw it, it was more beautiful than ever. Will, no doubt, had spent almost two months of his earnings as a blacksmith to pay for it.
Of course, Elizabeth had insisted it was too much and too extravagant but Will had replied that she only deserved the best in the world, and that was what he had got her.
Irving nodded and flicked some hair out of his eyes. 'How long have you been apart?'
'Only about four days, but it feels more like four years' Elizabeth said, twisting the ring around her finger and looking at it with admiration.
Elizabeth felt another wave of nausea overcome her. Closing her eyes she leant her head against the wall and exhaled deeply. Darkness overcame her followed by a feeling of extreme cold. She began to shiver, her teeth chattering and fingers shaking uncontrollably.
'Elizabeth?' Irving whispered desperately through the bars, hoping she would hear him.
Hecuba Jones was the best herbalist in Brazil. Her apothecary held herbs ranging from Rosemary to exotic herbs from far-east India. She had powdered dragon blood, frankincense and murre. Opium Poppies from Asia infused the room with a pleasant scent; a high set of shelves lined the wall behind the counter. Glass jars sat on the shelves containing age-old herbal remedies, incense and essential oils.
Hecuba began unpacking some star anise she had ordered from India and placed them in an almost empty green glass jar and stacked it at the back of the room. She flicked some red hair from her eyes and continued to unpack her imports and placing them in the corresponding jars. After packing away all of her star anise, Hecuba heard a knock at her shop door.
'Come in' she said, not looking up.
'Hecuba!' a voice exclaimed from the doorway, a woman walked in, her shoulder length black hair bobbing up and down beside her ears.
'Anamaria!' Hecuba walked out from behind the counter and enveloped the woman in a warm hug. She planted a kiss on her cheek and stood back to inspect her. 'You haven't changed a bit! What brings you to Brazil?'
Hecuba and Anamaria had been friends for a long time. They had first met through Jack Sparrow when Hecuba and Jack used to court. Of course, Hecuba and Jack didn't last long as an item due to the Pirates wayfaring ways and fondness of women, but Jack and Hecuba had still stayed friends, though hadn't seen each other in some time.
'It's a long story' Anamaria said wearily, walking further into the room.
'Well, I've got the time' Hecuba said, going back behind the counter and sorting herbs in a paper bags.
Anamaria nodded and sat on a stool in front of the counter. She recounted the events of Jack, Will and Elizabeth right down to the last detail. Hecuba fixed her friend some hot chocolate from fresh cocoa and listened to her story.
'And so…' Anamaria concluded 'I am here to pick up supplies before we go any further.'
'Well, what d'you need?' Hecuba rested her elbows on the bench top 'I just got a new import of cinnamon if you need any.'
'No, do you have any Wormwood?' Anamaria asked, shifting in her seat.
Hecuba nodded and took a small wooden stepladder and placed it in front of the shelves. She climbed to the top rung and reached up and grasped a large blue jar, bringing it back down with her. The jar contained dried leaves, obviously quite fresh.
'Wormwood' Hecuba began as she clambered down the stepladder 'is a bitter, aromatic herb. It goes by the genus and species name Artemisia Absinthium, native to Europe; can be used for vermifuge and a tonic, but mostly used for making Absinthe.'
'I know' Anamaria said, smiling slightly at Hecuba's encyclopaedic explanation.
'Yeah, sorry about that, habit I guess. I usually get myself to inform customers of what they are buying.' Hecuba placed the jar on the counter and pulled out a paper bag from under the tabletop.
'That's okay' Anamaria said, placing her elbows on the counter.
'How much?' Hecuba asked; taking her scales out from under the counter and opening the jar, letting a pleasant smell fill the room.
'Hmmm…One and a half pounds should do.' Anamaria replied, taking out her suede purse and juggling it in her hands.
Hecuba measured the dried leaves in the scales, once pleased with the amount, she scooped them back into the paper bag, twisting the top to prevent them falling out. 'Don't worry about paying me. It's on the house.'
Anamaria smiled and tucked her money back into her pocket 'Thanks. Any Anise?' Anamaria queried and leant her chin on her palms.
'Sure' she pulled down a jar of small brown herbs and planted them on the table 'Pinpinella Anisium…got them imported from the Mediterranean just yesterday.' Pulling another paper bag from the pile, she got out a silver scoop 'How much?'
'Um, just a pound' Anamaria said, fishing out her purse once more 'and I insist on paying you this time.'
'What d'you want with all these herbs anyway?' Hecuba asked, measuring out the Anise. 'These are all key ingredients for making Absinthe'
'Don't worry, I'm not making Absinthe' she said reassuringly. 'I'm running low on supplies, that's all. Besides, if I wanted absinthe, I'd just buy it.'
Laughing slightly at Anamaria, Hecuba handed over the herbs. 'Well, if you do, be careful and don't drink too much of it.'
Anamaria briefly looked outside. 'I'd better be off, need to meet Will at the marketplace.' Anamaria stood up and walked behind the counter, embracing Hecuba tightly. 'So good to see you!'
'You too' Hecuba smiled 'Come back with Jack some time, I'd love to see him again.'
'I bet you would!' Anamaria stepped back and winked at Hecuba furtively.
'Oh, shush!' Hecuba replied playfully. Laughing she flicked some red hair out of her eyes 'it's not like that. But,' she paused 'is he still solo?'
'As far as I know.' Anamaria smiled 'Unless he's picked up a whore on his way.' Suddenly Anamaria heard a knock on the shop window. Looking over she saw Will waving frantically at her, carrying a crate of fruit. 'That's Will…better go!'
Kissing Hecuba briefly on the cheek, Anamaria hurried out from behind the counter and onto the street, meeting Will.
'Hullo' she said, taking an apple from the crate he carried and biting into it 'I see you had a productive day in the markets.'
'Mmm.' Will replied, adjusting his arms under the crate 'and it's not over yet. Gibbs says we should stay the night here; there's an inn down the road called The Thirteen Hounds.'
'Sure.' Anamaria said, as they walked along the street toward the aforementioned Inn.
The inn was large, larger than any she had probably seen before. Smiling, Anamaria walked in with Will and was confronted by a loud and raucous pub scene, men playing cards and women gossiping in groups. Though, there was something different about the inn, something she could not quite place. Ignoring the odd feeling, Anamaria led Will to the bar and smiled and the Brazilian man behind it.
'Hello. Has a Joshamee Gibbs arrived yet?' she asked, leaning on the counter-top and flicking some hair from her eyes.
'Actually, yes; he's just over there.' The bartender pointed a finger toward the window and Anamaria saw Joshamee, Cotton, Marty and several other members of the crew.
'Thankyou' the pirate said 'Do you have any rooms available?'
'How many d'you need?' the man asked, pouring a glass of rum and sliding it down to a customer sitting near the end of the bar.
Anamaria looked over at the crew and counted some twelve people including herself and Will. If each person shared a room with another they would need less.
'Um…six?' she asked apprehensively.
The man thought for a moment as if calculating a mathematics problem. 'You're lucky' he said 'just had a load of merchants leave this morning.' He held out a set of six keys. 'Rooms eleven to seventeen should be vacant'
'Thanks very much' Will said, taking the keys from him and making his way over to the crew, Anamaria following him.
'We've got some rooms' Anamaria said, sitting next to Gibbs, Will next to Anamaria. The blacksmith handed out the keys to six of the members.
'Pair up, guys. Two each room' Will took a key for himself and tucked it in his pocket. The crew paired up leaving Anamaria and Will together as a duo.
'I guess it leaves us then?' Anamaria said, taking the keys from Will and tossing them in her hands. 'Is that okay?'
'Yeah, fine'
It seemed Anamaria had let her dislike for the blacksmith diminish over the past year, finding that the supposed eunuch did indeed have a kind heart and was a true pirate deep down.
Anamaria rolled over in bed, Will had given her the bed and insisted he sleep on the floor. Anamaria had offered to share the bed with him but soon realised that Will felt uncomfortable considering that he did have a fiancé. Of course, Anamaria had meant nothing by it, no, she wasn't the romantic type and never had been. She remembered slapping a boy in the face when she was a teenager when he so much as put her arm around her.
As far as she could tell, Will was asleep. Slightly parched, Anamaria got out of bed and walked down the stairs and to the bar, hoping the bartender was still there so she could get a glass of water. Unlucky for her, he wasn't. Going behind the bar, Anamaria found a glass tumbler of still water and poured it into a glass. Sipping the liquid, she smiled. Once finished, Anamaria placed the glass back where she had found it and did the same with the tumbler of water.
Walking back out from behind the bar, the room was almost fully black save for a few low burning candles along the walls. Suddenly, Anamaria felt a hand around her mouth. Stifling a squeal, she turned around the face the dark person, curling her hands into fists; she beat them hard against the strangers' chest.
'Don't fight me, darling' the voice said. It was a strange voice, one she did not recognise from anywhere - a complete stranger.
Before she could reply, Anamaria found herself being dragged up the stairs and into a room. The stranger threw her on the bed and Anamaria immediately tried to get off it, but to no avail. The man, or so she guessed from the voice, pinned her down by the wrists and sat on top of her, kissing her collarbone softly.
Anamaria tried to cry out but it was impossible. She slapped the assailant in the face but it seemed to be encouraging him more because he then proceeded to kissing her mouth. Anamaria pursed her lips against the man and pushed him off her, causing him to land on the hard wooden floor.
Anamaria stood up and began to run toward the door but to her dismay it was locked. Tears springing from her eyes, Anamaria pounded on the door hoping to attract some attention to herself.
'Help!' she yelled through the door, but soon found herself once again pinned against the wall, the man undoing her loose linen blouse.
Anamaria grasped his hands in hers and stopped him going any further with his actions. Breathing erratically, Anamaria called for help once more.
Hearing a scream, Will woke with a start. It was someone calling for help, perhaps he just dreamt it, or maybe the call for help was genuine, maybe there was someone needing assistance. Deciding to investigate, Will got up off the floor and noticed Anamaria wasn't in her bed, could the call be coming from her?
Will, panicked by the thought of Anamaria being in trouble, hastily ran to the door and opened it. Following the now third call for help, Will was lead to room number six. Trying in vain to open the door, Will called through the door.
'Ana!' he called desperately.
'Will!' the voice came from the other side 'Help me!'
Will backed up a few paces and ran hard at the door, crashing into it with his left shoulder. Wincing at the pain, Will tried once more and collided hard with the wood.
'Damn English Oak!' Will cursed the wood for being of such good quality. Why was it, when he needed to get through it the most, he was confronted with a good quality imported wooden door?
Once more, Will hammered the door with his shoulder, finally breaking it almost off its rusty hinges. A disturbing sight faced Will as the door reluctantly fell open. Anamaria was stuck to the wall, fastened by a mans' grip on her wrists.
'Get off her!' Will demanded. The man turned to face him. Will had never seen him before, he was young, perhaps only in hid mid-twenties. His face was difficult to see due to the darkness of the room.
The man slapped Anamaria sharply across the face and held her by the neck. 'You bitch!' he said grasping her by the neck and holding her against the wall.
Will came up behind the man and pulled him by the back of his shirt. 'Leave her alone!'
The stranger let go of Anamaria, turned around and gave Will a deathly stare.
'Run!' Will said to her whilst he held the man back with all he could muster. 'Go to our room!'
Anamaria ran out the unhinged door and down the hall, back to her room.
'Now,' Will said to the stranger 'leave and don't come back here. Do you understand?' Will now held the man by the scruff of the neck.
Will poised his fist to the mans face and glared right back at him. 'Do you understand me?' he asked succinctly.
The man, seemingly scared of being found out, left the room in a hastened jog. Will, sure the man was gone for good, walked out of the room and back to Anamaria.
'Ana?' he said cautiously from the door. 'Are you all right?'
Anamaria sat on the edge of the bed, curled up in a tight ball, he knees hugged to her chest. She sobbed quietly and turned to face Will with tired eyes. She nodded solemnly and turned back to the almost darkness in front of her.
Will walked further into the room and sat on the bed beside Anamaria, he placed a friendly arm around her shoulder and sighed. 'Did he hurt you?'
Ana nodded and lifted up her hair, Will briefly got up and reached for a white wax candle before sitting back down next to her. Will looked at where she indicated and shone the fiery light onto it. Her neck was bruised from where he had pinned her against the wall and a red palm mark was planted on the side of her face.
'I'm sorry,' Will said, his eyes downcast 'I should have come earlier.'
'It's not your fault, it's mine;' she reasoned 'I shouldn't have gone down on my own.'
Ana had never actually been in a situation like that before, she always thought rapists targeted gorgeous teenagers or young children, obviously not; but she was one of the lucky ones, she had got away before anything could happen. Anamaria began to let tears fall down her coffee coloured cheeks once more and wiped them away quickly.
Will pulled her close to her and ran a hand through her hair 'Sssh, it's all right. It's going to be all right.'
Ana buried her head into the blacksmiths' chest. It was strange; Will was the last person she would have picked to seek solace in at a time like this. Normally she would have turned to Jack, but Will was the best she had.
'…An' so,' Jack continued 'Barbossa marooned me on an Island with one pistol and only one shot.' Jack had just been telling Faye of the mutiny that had occurred on the Black Pearl some many years ago.
'But, Jack, how did you get off the island?' Faye asked, interested by the tales Jack had to tell. They were always so full of action, so interesting.
'Tha' is a good question' Jack said, holding up his index finger for emphasis and shifting in his hammock.
Jack and Faye had dropped anchor just off the coast of the Maldive Islands to get some sleep for the night.
'As it turned out,' Jack began 'The rum-runners used the island as a cache. When they came round to deposit more o' the precious liquid, I was able ter barter passage off.'
'Sounds amazing…' said Faye in a tone of admiration. 'but, honestly, to tell the truth, I thought it would be more action packed and exciting. You know, brandishing of swords, blood, fighting, that sort of thing.'
'Well, sorry to disappoint' yer,' Jack said sarcastically 'but there was brandishin' o' rum if that will suffice?'
'It'll do' Faye replied, laying back in her hammock and smiling up at the ceiling. 'You know what, Jack?'
'Wha'?' he asked, leaning his chin on his palms.
'I'm really enjoying this.' She paused 'You know, this whole ship and just having the whole ocean at our disposal, it' so…'
'Free?' Jack suggested.
'Yes…free.' Faye smiled and closed her eyes and undid her hair, letting it flow freely over the edge of the hammock.
Suddenly Jack had a feeling, an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. Faye looked over at him to see him staring into space.
'What's wrong, Jack?' she asked, propping her chin up on her palm.
'Oh.' Jack snapped out of his trance. 'Just 'ad an odd feelin' tha's all.' He said, trying to reassure her the best her could.
'What kind of feeling?' she queried.
'I don't know, it just feels like…' he paused unnecessarily 'Things are not goin' to plan'
Faye nodded and sat back up, walking over to Jack planting a soft kiss on his lips. 'Everything will be fine' she said, giving him a quick hug around the neck before hoisting herself into his hammock.
'I 'ope so' he said, steadying himself as Faye rocked the hammock slightly. 'I really do.'
Faye leant her head on Jacks' shoulder and smiled, closing her eyes and smelling the scent of rum, seawater and general pirate. While it was not the most pleasant of smells, it was comforting none the less.
(A/N: I cannot stress how sorry I am for not updating it sooner! hugs all who have waited. Lets start from the top shall we? Well, I originally wrote this chapter about three weeks ago but just haven't been able to upload it because we had to send out computer away to get serviced So...there ya go! But it is here now so enjoy and I shall try to update soon. Em)
