Author's Note: Beware. Bad language, weird magic rituals and names you can't possibly remember follows.
Disclaimer: I don't own Jack *sob*. Or anything else, besides my freedom. Actually, that's partially owned by my parents. *brightens* I DO own anything you don't recognize, such as characters with long, weird names you can't remember (Catriona Woodcraft? Not very piratey or low class, is it? I just like the name).
~*~ A Witch's Daughter ~*~
Chapter Two: Ship's Council
She could have kicked herself. How could she have been so bloody stupid?! She had gut feelings — intuition, whichever you prefer — for a reason. She should know by now not to just push them away.
Damn Spaniards. Damn Italians. Fuck all Europeans. The thoughts became a mantra, repeating themselves inside her head. Frustrated beyond belief, she turned to the pretty girl lying unconscious in the boat beside her. A trail of blood trickled down her forehead where she'd been struck by a metal thing that had greatly resembled a broken part of some sort of light fixture. That same metal object was tucked away in a bundle of rags, along with the few other items she and Allanah had managed to grab before…well, before they showed up.
Catriona twisted in the cramped rowing boat and looked behind her, trying to peer over the broad shoulder of the man rowing the boat. "Are they still following us?" She demanded after failing to get a look at the chaos they had undoubtedly left on shore.
"Nay, lass." Despite his attempt to sound calm and collected, the man — Shi Nukuo, wasn't it? — looked and sounded worried.
"We be able to get away, once we reach Silver." An Arab, Ghalib Abdul, reassured her. "Don't worry, she be fine."
Catriona wasn't convinced. She thought they had lost Spanish Navy along the Barbary Coast, where they had pretended to be heading further west, to the Americas, in an effort to get them off their scent. Unfortunately, they had run into Santiago Lozano, a bounty/pirate hunter who had been actively pursuing them for months. He must have tipped them off. Catriona realized bitterly, and she once again cursed the Spanish.
They had finally reached the Silver Chimera. Catriona had never been more glad to see anything in her entire life. With a little help she was able to get Allanah up the rope ladder and on deck. The girl was surprisingly heavy for her slim frame, and Catriona stumbled backwards as the unexpected weight was shoved into her arms. Regaining her balance, she half carried, half dragged her unconscious companion below deck to her cabin.
Leaning Allanah against a wall, which she slid down immediately, she fumbled at her belt for the key. Untying the knot, she pulled it off the worn brown strip of leather and slipped it into the keyhole.
Most pirates didn't have their own private cabin, let alone one that locked, but Catriona was female, and the Captain's favourite, so she got both. Slipping the piece of silver in, she turned it, and with a click and a kick the door swung open. Pulling Allanah to her feet, she slung the unconscious deadweight's arm round her shoulder and dragged the taller girl to her oversized four-poster bed. Allanah landed with a thump and a groan.
You'd think unconscious people would be even just a little bit easier to move, Catriona thought, but no. Turning the girl over so she was face up was a struggle within itself, as Allanah was very unwilling to move.
Moving to a wooden chest at the foot of the bed, Catriona fumbled for the key hanging around her neck and slipped it over her head. Gently, she opened the large chest and surveyed its contents. Grabbing a clean white cloth from the table (probably a napkin she hadn't yet used) and her favourite bottle of rum, Catriona applied the rum sparingly to the material. No point wasting good alcohol.
Kneeling, she gently dabbed at the head wound, just under Allanah's silky obsidian locks. There, the cleaning was taken care of. But the blood still flowed strongly, though. Catriona bit her bottom lip, worried. Head wounds were bad, and this one looked pretty deep. She could always…well, why not? Allanah wouldn't care; she was practically a witch herself. And no one would ever need know…and she wasn't going to curse anyone or do anything else that fell into the category of 'stupid.'
Getting up, she strode across the spacious cabin and to the door, closing it. The little light she had was completely gone, save for the moonlight filtering through the small windows. She went to the table and grabbed a packet of matches and a candle. Striking the match against the rough surface of the wooden wall, the match sputtered before coming to life. Picking up the candle, she carried it to the oak bedside cabinet and carefully put it down.
Turning her attention back to the unfortunate victim, Catriona knelt by the chest and fumbled for the right ingredients. Some finely grounded comfrey, some dogwood — pretty flowers, as well as useful. A light blue candle, amongst other things, was laid out on the white silk bedspread. Lighting the blue candle with the already lit one, Catriona set to work. She pulled the white gold talisman from beneath her stained, once blue-white cotton shirt and looked at it. The pentacle sparkled in the flickering candlelight, giving it an unnatural glow. Her mother had given it to her, when she was just a girl and her mother had taught her the basic principles of magic. It was something an aristocrat would own, not a pirate or common whore's daughter, and her most treasured possession. Just looking at it gave her strength and confidence.
Glancing at the unconscious Allanah's face, Catriona set to work, wiping the wound once again with the now bloodstained cloth. She should really be using salt water, not rum to clean the cut. Pressing the cloth to Allanah's forehead, she wrapped her red bandana around Allanah's head, effectively holding the cloth in place.
Stepping to the door, she peeked her head out and saw a boy, younger than her, rushing past her cabin, obviously going into the lower levels of the ship. "Hey! You there! I'm talking' to you!" The boy stopped, and she could tell in the faint light he was Arabic. "Run down to the galley and me a boiling pot of water — just plain water — and some salt or seawater."
The boy looked confused — he obviously didn't have a firm grip on the English language. "Sea water instead of water?" He repeated.
"No, you idiot! Seawater instead of salt! If ye don't go now, I'll personally see that ye get a taste of the cat, savvy?" She snapped, and fear flashed across the lad's face. He practically jumped down the flight of the stairs to the galley down below, and Catriona smiled to herself. Any mention, however small, of the cat o' nine tails, the whip used for flogging only the worst wrongdoers, was enough to send a fully-grown man running in the opposite direction.
Coming back in, she pulled a little clay bowl from the chest and sprinkled the comfrey into it while burning a pinch of the herb in the flame of the candle. The smell of the burning herb made Allanah stir a little, wrinkling her nose slightly. She imagined a glowing, white-blue light was coming from her hands, forming a circle, encircling her entire cabin. 'Circle casting', it was called. Nothing, however powerful, could get in or out now. Closing her eyes, Catriona silently chanted to the God and Goddess, Lord and Lady — whoever those two divine beings were.
My powerful lord and lady fair
Thou watches over us all
I beg of thee do hear my prayer
And answer mine desperate call
A little chant she'd learned, a bit strange and she was sure it wasn't entirely grammatically correct, but never the less effective. As she ran the words through her head, she tried to envision the Divine Beings she had invoked. There they were, two glowing figures, standing side by side, smiling kindly at her.
She fumbled for her athame, the beautifully crafted silver dagger with precious gemstones encrusted into the handle, which she highly favoured and only used in spells. Pointing in the direction she believed to be north, then east, south and west, she silently asked the four Elementals, Earth, Air, Fire and Water, to come to her aid as well.
Right…now, some visualizing of Allanah — no, of the whole crew recovering from injuries and acting normally, some begging and grovelling of Divine Intervention, a ritualistic burning and cleansing — speaking of which, where was that damn lad? If he hadn't brought up water, she'll make sure he'll have a personal audience with the cat for real…
Opening the door she saw a small iron pot of water and some salt on a plate. Too scared to even knock? Should I feel proud and flattered, or embarrassed for him?
"Feel proud while you still can."
Catriona spun around, shocked, expecting to see Allanah sitting up, rubbing her forehead, but she was just as still as ever. That voice…so bloody familiar…
Grabbing the pot and plate, she ducked back inside and poured some of the water into a goblet before adding a few herbs in after it. Swirling until it was as mixed as possible, she not-so-gently shoved it between Allanah's unresponsive lips, tipping the contents down her throat.
There was a reaction; Allanah coughed and sputtered, sat up and looked around. "What bloody happened?" Were the first words to come out of the patient's mouth.
Shaking her head, Catriona grinned at her. "Later, mate. Drink up." She shoved the goblet into her hands. "And eat." There went the olives she had picked up — when they were retreating from Civitavecchia, she didn't want to come back completely empty-handed, and had grabbed the first bag she saw. "Now, I've got to go see the Cap'n, ask him why we haven't set sail yet." She packed all the spell ingredients and locked the chest, slipping the key over her golden head. Stuffing the pentacle back where it belonged, she turned to the girl currently occupying her bed. "Stay here, I'll be back."
~*~*~*~
"Catriona!" Avarice nearly hugged her, but stopped himself just in time. "Where were ye, lass?"
"Below, in me cabin, helping Allanah." She stated simply. "Why haven't ye set sail yet?"
"Let go the anchor! Unfurl the sails! We be sailin' towards the Atlantic!" Avarice turned back to Catriona and held up two fingers. "One; I didn't know if ye was aboard yet, and I'll not be leavin' me best pirate if all the Navies o' the world was comin' after me." Catriona brightened at the compliment. "Two, we don't 'ave a place to sail to. All the Spanish are at all the ports waitin' fer us. This could be the end o' the line for us. The crew of the Chimera, I mean."
"No way in hell!" Catriona resisted the urge to unsheathe her cutlass and slice something in half. Preferably something that wore a Navy uniform and pranced around in a wig. "Ye can't be serious, Avarice!" At his look, she added hastily, "Captain, sir. My mistake, sincerest of me apologies."
"But we ain't going down without a fight lass, I promise ye that." Avarice looked at her intently, studying her expression.
"Don't bother. We ain't going down at all, sir."
Avarice smiled. "That's what I like to hear. There be ship's council after we dine. Get Allanah to come. Everyone attending, an' then we decide where ter go next. That's an order."
~*~*~*~
Ship's council was when every crewmember of the Chimera — including the rats — gathered and decided on their next course of action. Avarice was a smart man — letting the crew decide what to do meant there was more trust and less hostility towards the captain. And less hostility meant less chance of a mutiny.
All the injured, including Allanah, appeared on deck, ready to have their say.
"I think we should travel to the Orient." A short Chinese man with a long thin black braid spoke up.
"Why would we want to go there? A bunch o' slanty-eyed blokes who can kill ye with their bare hands is worth some small little trinket?" There were murmurs of agreement.
Catriona spoke up. "China, Japan, India — they're all full of gold and silver, diamonds and rubies. That's true enough. But think about it, mates." Catriona looked around, making sure she had every man's attention. "Navy will be all the more likely to sail in those waters, ready to catch ships like us 'cause of that. And what do ye think the East India Company was invented for? Transporting sugar?" She didn't know what the East India Company was invented for exactly, but she guessed most of the crew didn't either.
"We can always disguise ourselves like merchants —" a tall black man began, but Catriona cut him off.
"Don't be stupid. They'll search the ship, see the cannons, the gold, not a stock of grain and such to be found, 'cept what's in the galley —"
"That's what we've been doing for the past five years, and it worked well so far." Countered another man.
Catriona ignored him. "Lads, why waste time an' effort trying not to get killed in the East when we can head west? I'm talkin' about warmer weather, nicer beaches, just as much swag as any other place in the world. True, most of His Majesty's Armed Forces are there. Incompetent bastards the lot of them, what with the near unlimited supply of rum around…"That caught their attention, if nothing else did. Standing up and giving her most charming smile, Catriona spread her hands. "I am, of course, talking about the Caribbean, mates."
"Don't be a fool, you're smarter than that!" Avarice was by her side in a flash, grabbing her wrist roughly. "We talked about this, love."
Catriona rolled her eyes. "I know, Cap'n. Somethin' to do with Cutthroat." She glanced around. "Who ain't even here."
"He has reasons." Avarice growled.
Catriona pulled her wrist from his vice-like grip. "I know. Look, Captain, I love you and Bill like fathers, both of ye. But I can't understand why Bill don't want to go to the Caribbean."
"Not anymore." Speak of the devil, there was Cutthroat himself. The moonlight fell across his handsome features. Beside her, Avarice was gazing, open-mouthed. "Cutthroat! You…ye feelin' better then? That cursed illness that afflicted ye so gone?"
"Aye." Bill flexed his fingers. "A complete miracle, if ye ask me. But Cat, darlin', if ye want to go to the Caribbean, ye got my vote."
Catriona beamed, her deep blue eyes sparkling. She would have asked him what changed his mind, but didn't want to remind him that he was against the Caribbean in the first place. Avarice was just as ecstatic as Catriona. He probably yearned to go to the Caribbean as well.
"All right lads, let's put it to a vote. Three options, raise yer hands. All in favour of stayin' in the Mediterranean?"
Not one hand was raised.
Avarice grinned, rubbing his hands together with glee. "How 'bout China, eh?" He waited. "And the Caribbean?"
The vote was unanimous. "All right, to the Caribbean it be. Set course for the Canary Islands. We'll be stocking up supplies there. It's a long voyage across the Atlantic. Miss Woodcraft, Miss Dove! From now on you'll be actin' like a proper lady and servant and be treated as such, ye understand? Got that, mates? No more scrubbin' the deck for these lasses. And start dressing like some, too. You two!" He pointed to a couple of pirates. "I want ye to bring up as many barrels as ye can. We're having a celebration." There were cheers all around.
Allanah groaned as she struggled to stand, clutching her head and moaning. "Well, Miss Woodcraft, I'll be retirin' to me cabin now."
Catriona was astonished. "Don't ye want to have some fun, rum and free entertainment?"
Allanah shook her head. "What I want is to sleep and ne'er awaken."
"That's understandable." Catriona nodded. "Good dreams, sweet night."
"And you."
Catriona made her way to the Captain's cabin, where she saw Bill and Avarice slip in. She meant to ask what had changed their minds, but stopped short just outside the door.
"You're sure?" Avarice, obviously pacing up and down with worry. "If you're not mate, I don't —"
"Look, do ye want me to tell ye again? I was lookin' out at the shore and I felt somethin' funny. I looked down at meself, and could tell straight away I'm better. Besides, I heard that my son's in the Caribbean."
They were having a private conversation, about Bill's illness and life in general, and while Catriona wouldn't hesitate in eavesdropping normally, she had too much respect for the both of them. Damn morals.
Sighing, she moved away, thinking she'll just join a group of drunks, when the mention of her name made her stop in her tracks. She hesitated, but curiosity overcame righteousness. Screw the scruples; they can't have a conversation about her behind her back.
Moving closer, she heard Avarice speak. "I think it's a good idea, but well, arranged marriage…"
Arranged what?! She thought, stunned. They can't marry me off like a rich lady!
"I never said arranged marriage. I merely hinted it'll be better if she was to…settle on land, and my lad's the man for her if she does."
"But you haven't seen him in nigh ten years, mate. He can be completely different. How old's your boy, anyway?"
"Couple of years older than Catriona here. And from my reliable sources, he's a good lad. She'll be happy."
This is not bloody happening. Oh, God, it is.
"But —"
"She'll make — she is — an excellent pirate, but I've grown to care for her over the years."
It would have been terribly sweet if the topic of conversation wasn't so terribly sick.
"Look, we're not gonna set 'em up. We'll introduce them, see how they get on, and at least they'll become good friends."
"Good. Catriona would be more dangerous if she knew of this."
Avarice didn't know how close he was to the truth. Catriona was about ready to barge in there and strangle him.
But they were giving her a choice, thank God. Now that she thought about it, she wouldn't mind being married to a man. She just wasn't sure if she could get used to the land. If she had a husband, he'll have to be incredibly understanding and let her go on these ventures. Or a pirate himself. Even better.
Catriona shook her head. She was seventeen, and while it was common enough for girls her age and younger to be married, she wasn't going to adapt so easily. She most definitely didn't want to get tied down so young.
She shook her head, moving towards the barrels. They were going to the Caribbean! It was a time for drunk partying, not self-pity. Besides, if she had enough rum, she'll wake up with a massive hangover and completely forget the unpleasant prospect of marital matrimony she just heard.
~*~
AN: It's done! Longer and hopefully better than last time. If anyone's reading this, please review! I'll bake muffins! Chocolate chip! *everyone runs away in terror*
