Chap. 4
Stella awoke after in her room to the sound of yelling and stomping above
her. She threw on her shawl and ran to the deck.
"Now now, calm down everyone. If you want to know where we are headed you're going to have to let me OPEN ME MOUTH!!!" Stella came out onto the deck to find Jack screaming at the crew, who seemed to have gathered for a meeting.
'We've been heading nowhere for days, Captain!" said the female pirate Stella had heard referred to as Anamaria.
"I know, I've only been deciding which treasure to go after next. I mean, there are so many.." Jack said, though not convincingly.
"Ahhh, our new shipmate. Everyone, try to contain your joy, this is Stella Renbury. She'll be.er..joining us aboard the Pearl for awhile". The crew stared at Stella with an undeterminable stare, and then brought their attention back to Jack.
"So anyways, after careful consideration of all the options, and a pros and cons system only I can understand,-"
"Get to the point Captain! Where're we going? Ye called us out here to tell us SO TELL US!"
"OKAY! Alright, fine. We're going to.to the.um.going after the.ah.-"
"I don't believe it" said a sailor standing next to Anamaria.
"The famous Captain Jack Sparrow can't think up an adventure. Why I've never seen Jack without some kind of plan about where to pillage and plunder next."
"No really," said Jack, "I know exactly-"
"Give it up man, you're done!" Jack looked almost hurt for a moment, and then regained himself.
"Alright, fine. So I don't have a plan. Apparently, pirating is very "in" right now. There's nowhere to go! All the treasure's bloody gone!" Stella watched as a few crew members turned their backs and walked away, and the rest followed. Will looked at her and then came to sit beside her.
I don't get it Will. Can't you just sail around?"
"Well, that's fine for awhile, but a pirate needs a treasure to go after. That's what a pirate does!"
"Will?" Stella asked, a little surprised at the comfort and ease she felt with him.
"Have you been a pirate for long? It's just that everyone else is so gruff and worn down. And you and Jack seem to be such close friends, but you're so different." Will looked at the floor for a moment before her spoke.
"No, not very long. I was a sailor before that, but those were special circumstances." Will suddenly got up to stare at the sea. His eyes got that cold, distant sadness in them.
"And before that I was a blacksmith. I lived for the fire and the metal. I took such joy in creating something that I could wield, something so powerful. I still miss it, the sparks, the heat, everything.." Stella had a feeling that perhaps blacksmithing was not what he missed the most.
"Will do mind me asking what the special circumstances were?" Will squinted his eyes a bit, and seemed to be biting his lip. He turned to look at Stella with a pained expression.
"It's alright if you don't want to tell me, I mean, you don't-" Stella started, but Will interrupted.
"No, I'll tell you. You might as well know. Jack said pirates shouldn't have secrets. Now, everything starts even before I met Jack. There was a girl I had known most of my life. Her name," Will said with great pain, "Was Elizabeth Swann. She was the Governor's daughter, and therefore a lady of high society. The fact that she spoke to me was remarkable, me being but a humble blacksmith. But she did speak to me, and I loved her more with each breath she took." Will then went on to explain meeting Jack, Barbossa and the curse, and the adventure to save Elizabeth and get back the Pearl.
"And she chose me over a respectable man with a lot of power. She picked a simple life of a blacksmith's wife over one of class. But we had a beautiful wedding. It was on a grassy cliff overlooking the beach. It was small, only her close friends and family, and we even managed to sneak Jack in. But it was perfect. I'll never forget how Elizabeth looked that day. She wore a simple white dress, and she confessed later that she had left off the corset." Will smiled at this memory, and then continued his story.
"Her eyes looked into mine so deeply that I forget who I was. It took me a moment to shake myself out of it. The wedding ended, and we were given a private ship for our honeymoon. It was just us and eight sailors. We spent days just sailing. The sun was always out and I felt sure that I would never be happier. But the sun hid behind a cloud, and it stayed hidden for days. And then the rain came, it was strong and beat down on the ship. Elizabeth and I waited below deck for the storm to pass, but it didn't. We lost two sailors and then I went to help. Elizabeth begged for me to stay down below with her, but I refused. I regret that every day now. But I went up onto the deck and ran about, doing the best I could with my limited knowledge of ships. Another sailor was thrown overboard before Elizabeth came out onto the deck. I yelled at her to stay below, that it wasn't safe, but she wouldn't listen. And the wave came. I remember turning around to look at it and thinking that this was it. This was the last thing I'd see before I died. The captain yelled at us to hold on only seconds before it came crashing down on us. When the wave diminished, and I found myself still alive and on the boat, I found a new hope that maybe we wouldn't die here. That's when I looked for Elizabeth and couldn't find her on the boat. I heard a strangled cry coming from the water and I turned to see my wife, fighting to stay above the foaming waters. I immediately leapt in to save her, but she was out of my reach, and managed to grasp my fingers for a moment before she was pulled under. The few sailors left on the ship threw me a rope, and I was brought back onboard, in shock of losing the one thing that mattered most to me. We managed to survive the storm, and make it back to Port Royal, though I remember none of that. I don't even think I helped them sail through the rest of the storm. I wanted to die. When we reached Port Royal, I found I could not go ashore. I couldn't go back to this place that had so many memories. Luckily Jack was there, getting as many supplies as possible without getting caught, and I came aboard the Pearl, never looking back." Stella realized that she had tears streaming down her face. She opened her mouth to try and convey her sympathy, knowing full well that it would never be enough, but Will got up.
"I'm sorry, Stella. I have to go."
Later on that night, Stella headed to the galley for an apple, and heard noises inside Will's room. She peeked inside the cracked-open door to find Will, head in hands, crying on his bed.
"Now now, calm down everyone. If you want to know where we are headed you're going to have to let me OPEN ME MOUTH!!!" Stella came out onto the deck to find Jack screaming at the crew, who seemed to have gathered for a meeting.
'We've been heading nowhere for days, Captain!" said the female pirate Stella had heard referred to as Anamaria.
"I know, I've only been deciding which treasure to go after next. I mean, there are so many.." Jack said, though not convincingly.
"Ahhh, our new shipmate. Everyone, try to contain your joy, this is Stella Renbury. She'll be.er..joining us aboard the Pearl for awhile". The crew stared at Stella with an undeterminable stare, and then brought their attention back to Jack.
"So anyways, after careful consideration of all the options, and a pros and cons system only I can understand,-"
"Get to the point Captain! Where're we going? Ye called us out here to tell us SO TELL US!"
"OKAY! Alright, fine. We're going to.to the.um.going after the.ah.-"
"I don't believe it" said a sailor standing next to Anamaria.
"The famous Captain Jack Sparrow can't think up an adventure. Why I've never seen Jack without some kind of plan about where to pillage and plunder next."
"No really," said Jack, "I know exactly-"
"Give it up man, you're done!" Jack looked almost hurt for a moment, and then regained himself.
"Alright, fine. So I don't have a plan. Apparently, pirating is very "in" right now. There's nowhere to go! All the treasure's bloody gone!" Stella watched as a few crew members turned their backs and walked away, and the rest followed. Will looked at her and then came to sit beside her.
I don't get it Will. Can't you just sail around?"
"Well, that's fine for awhile, but a pirate needs a treasure to go after. That's what a pirate does!"
"Will?" Stella asked, a little surprised at the comfort and ease she felt with him.
"Have you been a pirate for long? It's just that everyone else is so gruff and worn down. And you and Jack seem to be such close friends, but you're so different." Will looked at the floor for a moment before her spoke.
"No, not very long. I was a sailor before that, but those were special circumstances." Will suddenly got up to stare at the sea. His eyes got that cold, distant sadness in them.
"And before that I was a blacksmith. I lived for the fire and the metal. I took such joy in creating something that I could wield, something so powerful. I still miss it, the sparks, the heat, everything.." Stella had a feeling that perhaps blacksmithing was not what he missed the most.
"Will do mind me asking what the special circumstances were?" Will squinted his eyes a bit, and seemed to be biting his lip. He turned to look at Stella with a pained expression.
"It's alright if you don't want to tell me, I mean, you don't-" Stella started, but Will interrupted.
"No, I'll tell you. You might as well know. Jack said pirates shouldn't have secrets. Now, everything starts even before I met Jack. There was a girl I had known most of my life. Her name," Will said with great pain, "Was Elizabeth Swann. She was the Governor's daughter, and therefore a lady of high society. The fact that she spoke to me was remarkable, me being but a humble blacksmith. But she did speak to me, and I loved her more with each breath she took." Will then went on to explain meeting Jack, Barbossa and the curse, and the adventure to save Elizabeth and get back the Pearl.
"And she chose me over a respectable man with a lot of power. She picked a simple life of a blacksmith's wife over one of class. But we had a beautiful wedding. It was on a grassy cliff overlooking the beach. It was small, only her close friends and family, and we even managed to sneak Jack in. But it was perfect. I'll never forget how Elizabeth looked that day. She wore a simple white dress, and she confessed later that she had left off the corset." Will smiled at this memory, and then continued his story.
"Her eyes looked into mine so deeply that I forget who I was. It took me a moment to shake myself out of it. The wedding ended, and we were given a private ship for our honeymoon. It was just us and eight sailors. We spent days just sailing. The sun was always out and I felt sure that I would never be happier. But the sun hid behind a cloud, and it stayed hidden for days. And then the rain came, it was strong and beat down on the ship. Elizabeth and I waited below deck for the storm to pass, but it didn't. We lost two sailors and then I went to help. Elizabeth begged for me to stay down below with her, but I refused. I regret that every day now. But I went up onto the deck and ran about, doing the best I could with my limited knowledge of ships. Another sailor was thrown overboard before Elizabeth came out onto the deck. I yelled at her to stay below, that it wasn't safe, but she wouldn't listen. And the wave came. I remember turning around to look at it and thinking that this was it. This was the last thing I'd see before I died. The captain yelled at us to hold on only seconds before it came crashing down on us. When the wave diminished, and I found myself still alive and on the boat, I found a new hope that maybe we wouldn't die here. That's when I looked for Elizabeth and couldn't find her on the boat. I heard a strangled cry coming from the water and I turned to see my wife, fighting to stay above the foaming waters. I immediately leapt in to save her, but she was out of my reach, and managed to grasp my fingers for a moment before she was pulled under. The few sailors left on the ship threw me a rope, and I was brought back onboard, in shock of losing the one thing that mattered most to me. We managed to survive the storm, and make it back to Port Royal, though I remember none of that. I don't even think I helped them sail through the rest of the storm. I wanted to die. When we reached Port Royal, I found I could not go ashore. I couldn't go back to this place that had so many memories. Luckily Jack was there, getting as many supplies as possible without getting caught, and I came aboard the Pearl, never looking back." Stella realized that she had tears streaming down her face. She opened her mouth to try and convey her sympathy, knowing full well that it would never be enough, but Will got up.
"I'm sorry, Stella. I have to go."
Later on that night, Stella headed to the galley for an apple, and heard noises inside Will's room. She peeked inside the cracked-open door to find Will, head in hands, crying on his bed.