Chapter Two
Catalina opened her eyes and gazed up at the barn roof she had spent the night in. She sat up and brushed the straw from her clothes and went to the window. She leaned out and took in a breath of morning air as the sun warmed her face. Catalina climbed down from the loft and went outside. Breakfast and provisions were the first things she needed to get this morning, so Catalina went off to the market.
The marketplace was in the center of Speightstown and was full of merchants of every kind. Catalina walked past carts with fruit, vegetables, and bread neatly arranged on them. A sweet aroma of maple syrup filled her nose as she passed Martha Lee's bakery.
Catalina bought some food, packed an extra pair of clothes and marched off to the blacksmith's to meet jack.
Enter Jack...
"Aye Cap'n we loaded the cargo and are ready to go,"
"Now I must tell you all something," said Jack Sparrow, "so listen closely,"
The crew gathered in close to their captain.
"I'm taking on a new crew member. Her name is Catalina and…" Jack paused here and considered if he should tell them she was his sister or not. "She's my sister. I don't want to be hearing any complaining about having a woman aboard, and if any of you try too woo my sister, well you'll have me to answer to, savvy?".
A few nods of the head and murmurs of "aye Cap'n" satisfied Jack, and he turned and pranced back into Speightstown to meet Catalina.
Enter Catalina...
Catalina arrived at the blacksmiths and searched for Jack. He must be running late, she thought. A couple minutes passed by, and Jack wasn't there. It was already a quarter past noon. When she looked around again and didn't see him, panic rose in her chest. What if he left without me? But jack wouldn't do that, he'd want the treasure. Well then where is he?
Catalina heard a whistle and turned to see Jack leaning against a wall. He grinned and Catalina calmly went over to him.
"I was starting to think you wouldn't show up," she said to him.
"Me? No, I was here, just inside Fredrick's for a bit, waiting for you,"
"oh, well, I'm here now, so what's the plan?"
"I suppose we just go out and look for that treasure, eh?" Jack said.
"Yes, and you agreed to take me to Tortuga ,"
"That I did. Now, we must be on our way," said Jack and he began to walk back to the pearl.
"JAAAAAACK!"
Jack stopped and turned to see Charlie running towards him, arms flailing.
"Wait Jack!" he yelled and he finally caught up with them. He was holding an old envelope in his right hand. "Jack, thank goodness. I was hoping I would catch you before you left," he said puffing, catching his breath.
"How may I be of assistance Charlie?" Jack said.
"Will you do me a favor and give this to my brother? I was goin' ta mail it, but never got around to doin' it," Charlie asked hopefully.
Jack took the letter from Charlie and looked over it. Joshamee Gibbs was written on it, and Jack grinned.
"Aye Charlie, I'll help you out mate," said Jack, tucking the envelope into his coat pocket. He shook Charlie's hand saying, "I'll be seeing you,"
"Thankee Jack. Smooth sailing to you," Charlie said smiling. He nodded to Catalina, turned and then left.
"Who's Joshamee Gibbs?" Catalina asked as they began to walk towards the Pearl.
"Oh, Mr. Gibbs is an old friend of mine. He helped me go after the Pearl a while back. He's a good man, a good pirate," said Jack brushing a loose braid back from his face.
"I see," said Catalina, unsure of what to talk about.
"How's uncle Tom?" Jack asked smiling.
Jack and Catalina's uncle Tom was the only family they had. He raised them after their parents died and taught them everything they needed to know, even sword fighting.
"He died, Jack, a few months ago, I'm sorry," Catalina said. It pained her to tell Jack of this and she just stared at her boots as they walked.
There was a long silence before Jack answered in a dry voice, "What happened?"
"Well, you know, he got old and I guess his heart couldn't take it anymore. And then when you left. .." Catalina stopped here because she felt she didn't need to go on.
They walked in silence the rest of the way to the Pearl. Catalina and Jack crossed the stone bridge leading to the dock, at which the Black pearl was anchored.
Jack walked amongst the crew and introduced each of them.
"Here's Cotton, Magillacutty, brothers Luke and Ronald cook, and good 'ol mister Thompson. You'll get to know the others once we set sail, they're somewhere about the ship,"
Catalina nodded and followed Jack up the ramp onto the ship. It might've been her beauty or simply the fact that the sailors hadn't seen a woman in a while, but when she stepped aboard, every man stopped what they were doing to look at her as she followed Jack. Jack noticed this and he loudly cleared his throat, and the men went back to work.
"Now our crew cabins are nearly full, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to sleep amongst the men, so, being my sister, I feel it is my duty to give you the spare cabin," said Jack amusingly, as the two of them went down below deck.
"Well gee Jack, how can I thank you?" said Catalina sarcastically.
"That'll come in due time," said Jack.
They walked down a dark corridor and Jack opened a door on his left. He held the door open for Catalina.
"After you," he said, and she walked past him.
The room was dimly lit by a few lanterns and smelled of damp wood. In one corner was a table with some books on it. On the opposite side of the room, there was a four-poster bed with maroon sheets and curtains. There was one small window that looked out about six feet above the water.
"It's not much, but it's home," Jack said, slipping into the room.
"It's great Jack, really, it is," said Catalina reassuringly.
"Well, you can leave your things here for now and we'll go up and set course," Jack said.
Catalina dropped her duffel on the floor and she and Jack walked down the corridor once again, and climbed the stairs leading to the main deck.
"Alright mates! Listen up, we're setting a new course, but we're still headin' for Tortuga, savvy?" Jack said to his crew, who'd all come aboard.
"Where we be headed Cap'n?" asked Mr. Magillacutty.
"Well gents, I'm giving you an early Christmas present," Jack said.
"Hoorah!" yelled the crew.
"Mr. Thompson, may I have a word with you?" said Jack.
Mr. Thompson, a tall, young man with dark brown hair and muscular torso confidently strolled over to Jack. Catalina caught his eye and he flashed her a strong grin.
"Aye Cap'n" Mr. Thompson said, in a warm voice. His voice was deep and strong, but in a way calming.
"You and I must speak with Catalina to set course," Jack said.
"Aye,. Catalina, pleasure to meet you. I'm Louis Thompson," he gently kissed her hand and Catalina blushed.
"Come, come, we don't have all day," said Jack, leading the way to his quarters.
"Ladies first," said Louis.
Catalina hurried past him and followed jack to his cabin. They went in a room and Jack closed the door behind them. Jack lit a few candles as Catalina's eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room.
"Now," said Jack, sitting in a chair behind the table, "where are we headed Catalina?"
It's an island called Pantanula. It's quite small, about 4 days south of here," she said. Catalina could feel her face growing warm with Louis' gaze upon her.
"uh, Cap'n, why exactly are we going to this island?" asked Louis.
Jack and Catalina exchanged glances and Jack said, "well, for treasure of course,"
Louis nodded and a grin slowly spread across Jack's face.