Chapter 4

If one imagines a young woman who lay fast asleep, to gently flutter her eyes open when awakening in such a way as to provoke wonder at this graceful entrance into the morning, this thought should be stopped before it can develop into an accepted truth.

This is not how Ruth awoke the next morning.

In fact, as the bright morning light streamed in hard, concentrated ribbons, as the window was in need of cleaning, and illuminated the room, Ruth's eyes snapped open, and then closed tightly at the ridiculous amount of glaring light. She groaned, and slowly rolled over, pressing her face into her pillow.

The day before had not been very easy on her, and as the memories of trauma, of fear, of learning, and of revelation quickly flashed through her mind, she wanted nothing more than an extra day of sleep. She then realized as she looked back on the previous day, that she had not had a proper lunch or supper, and it was no wonder then that she hardly had any energy.

It seemed that on cue, this had began to dawn on her aching body, and she felt a deep rumble from within her stomach. It seemed that only food was on her mind now, not the fact that her hair was mussed from sleep, or that her clothes were, for lack of a better word: wretched.

As she sat up on the bed, her mind began to wander back to the time after Jack bade her goodnight, and left her to sleep. He claimed that he needed to mind the ship, and even as captain, she thought, he volunteered to take the less prestigious duties of the ship.

She then looked to the cabin's sofa, which she noticed now held a pillow and a pile of bundled blankets, and sighed as she remembered how Jack would not allow her to take the sofa, even when she persisted.

"Don't be silly, love," he had said, "You need it more than I do."

………………….

Jack scanned his eyes over the abyss of the ocean, looking away only to avoid the glare of the sunlight, and drew his compass from his coat. As he ran his thumb over the smooth, flawless top of the device, he felt the strongest wave of nostalgia for his old, tattered compass.

Though it seemed inanimate, its eerie way of predicting and accurately giving the direction of the holder's desired item or person made it appear as if it had a mind of its own. The compass held a great part in the reason of his mammoth success in his illegal industry. It was essentially his partner in crime.

But yet, a strange series of events took his beloved accomplice from his hands and thrust it into the vast mouth of the sea, where it was never seen again. Of course, he had leapt into the sea, which now had become his temporary enemy, but try as he might; the compass flew into the darkness of the ocean faster than he could swim. Even several other crewmembers attempted to retrieve it, but declared the depth of this particular part of the ocean to be much too deep to venture into.

It was as bright as a Caribbean day could be that day, but to Jack it was only as dark and bleak as the arrival of a hurricane.

Tia Dalma, an eccentric shaman and its creator and giver still to this moment has not the slightest idea that Jack has lost it. Nor does she have the slightest idea that now his course is set for her dark, mysterious homeland to retrieve another.

The only thing now that kept Jack's hope from its fullest for her generosity now was a possible pay. The voodooist would not even think twice as to hand over another one of these precious tools for free, as she could possibly believe that the wily captain was lying. The only thing that Jack could do now would be to ask for an estimate…and the potential price churned his breakfast within his stomach in sheer anxiety.

Because he had bargained for the compass, there was no value in terms of currency that he could use as reference. It was all a matter of finding something beyond Tia Dalma's grasp that he could obtain for her.

Ruth suddenly leapt into this itinerary, and his grip tightened upon the compass. He sincerely hoped the girl would not mind a short stopover.

After contemplating his plan, Jack stuffed the compass within his coat pocket, for the mere thought of his old compass only made him sick with yearning.

……………….

After Ruth had wiped the buildup of crusty matter from the ends of her eyes and had attempted to finger brush the ends of her long hair, which fell right to almost the end of her back, she exited the cabin, and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the ship's back.

The glorious sunlight, which had only aggravated her in the cabin, only left her in awe as its rays illuminated the backs of the sails and peeked behind one as the sail moved steadily in the lazy breeze, and it seemed as though the giant wings of the ship were the masses of billowed clouds that hung seemingly heavily in the Caribbean sky.

The breeze that had moved the sails gently ruffled her hair like a reassuring parent, and she smiled as she was given a respite from the harsh sunlight. It was only on a ship that she could realize the beauty of a typical Caribbean day. The beauty of the ship and the sea seemed to bring her back to her childhood, when her father would take her aboard, but for only short sojourns at a time.

With the incredible steadiness of the ship as it sliced through the ocean waves, and the slow, minimal rocking of the ship, Ruth felt that she rode upon a ship that knew the very heart of the sea, and rode to its rhythm, making it seem like a part of the ocean…

"You see them, Ruthy?" her father would say as she sat upon his lap.

"Dada, what are they?" Ruth had never seen creatures so strange as they basked in the sun, with their bodies as sleek as a fish's, but their faces crafted like an animal's.

"They're seals, Ruth. Listen to their call."

The air filled with barks as this community seemed to comfortably go about their day, even as any other creatures would have possibly reached insanity with the level of noise. It sounded like some sort of pandemonium or anarchy, but many of the creatures still managed to lay motionless upon the roasting rocks that jutted from the sea as they enjoyed the blanket of heat that the sun provided.

"They sound like puppies, Dada!"

"They certainly do, Ruthy."

Ruth cupped her small hands, "Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf!"

Her seal imitation only seemed to blend into the cloud of noise above the community. One seal appeared to be looking in her direction.

"Look Dada, they're talking to us!"

Fearful of losing his child's happiness, he decided to play along with his young daughter's game.

"Well, I say! Let's be polite and answer them, shall we?"

Ruth nodded eagerly and cupped her hands again, "Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf!"

Captain James Porter placed his own strong hands over his mouth and proceeded to bark like his daughter, even as the rest of his crew looked on, bewildered…

"Enjoying the view, love?"

Jack's throaty voice brought Ruth from the depths of her memory, and gasping, she looked to her side to see Jack with his head tilted upwards, his mouth slightly ajar, as if trying to see what Ruth was so engrossed in.

"I…it's just that…your ship is, and the day…it's beautiful."

Jack brought his gaze to her level and smiled, "I must say that even after years upon this ship, I'd have to agree with you, Ruth. It's just that nobody ever stops to marvel at the glory of this great structure like you did now. I suppose that I'd have to now believe you when you said that your own father was a pirate. You seem to have an uncanny connection with my ship. Love of the sea…of a ship. It must be in your blood."

Ruth smiled at this, and looked to the ground to avoid the sudden burst of sunlight in her eyes.

"Yes, I've always seemed to have a strange fascination with the ocean and its inhabitants. I think that was how my father wanted to raise me…he wanted me to grow a deep appreciation for the sea because it is a gateway to adventure, but even though man has traveled through many of its paths, the ocean itself is so vast that there are many more that are yet to be explored."

"Did your father teach you that lesson in particular?" cocking an eyebrow in curiosity.

"No," Ruth said, grabbing bits of her hair that strayed from behind her ear, "but even by his actions it was clear as to what he wanted me to learn. Before he died, though, God rest his soul, he did tell me that life is much too short to waste, and that seeing the world beyond your homeland can set you free from boredom, from emptiness, and from ignorance. Since that moment, I feel that my true source of happiness in this world is traveling."

Jack narrowed his eyes, but not just from the glare of the sunlight, and nodded as maturity and wisdom seemed to radiate from her as she spoke. The way she composed herself reminded him of someone…someone he spoke to only years ago, but seemed so distant now, like a word hidden in one's mind that they have suddenly forgotten.

"I hope I didn't recover any unwanted memories by bringing up your father's death, love," he said gently, "I know that you've been through enough as it is."

As the day fully awakened, Ruth noticed that this seemed to summon crewmembers to the deck, and their rush seemed obvious as they hurried about their duties, eager to start the day as early as possible.

Ruth averted her eyes back to the captain, "Don't worry, Jack," she said, "I do miss him dearly, but I think that talking about my father like this only brings up the happier memories I have of him. That's all I have of him now, Jack. Memories."

……………….

"After breakfast, I'd like you to meet my crew and my first mate if you don't mind, love," Jack said as they weaved through barrels and crewmembers and took a different set of stairs down into the mess hall.

"Not at all," she replied briskly as they entered, and Ruth's growling stomach only worsened as the smell of cooked fish filled her nostrils.

Jack then led her over to a table and pulled a seat for her, "Now I also hope that you won't mind being alone, as the rest of my crew has finished their meals, and I have a bit of unfinished work to attend to."

"I'll be fine, Jack," she said.

"After you finish though, I would like you to meet me at the helm…you of course do know what the helm is, don't you?"

"Of course," she said.

"Alright then," he said clapping his hands together as to conclude his speech, "now to retrieve your breakfast."

He then disappeared behind a doorway in the corner and shortly returned carrying a plate of breakfast with a fork and a mug of water.

"There you go, love, please enjoy, and don't hesitate if ye need anything else," he said, and smiled as she thanked him gratefully and sincerely.

As soon as the captain left her, all notions of proper table manners vanished, and she began to ravenously dig into her food, only stopping to bring the mug up to her lips for water. Aboard the previous ship, the only food that she ever received were, sometimes fresh meals if the captain felt generous, but many times leftovers and scraps, and even though it was usually enough to satisfy her hunger, it was frankly, quite disgusting.

When she had finished, she closed her eyes in contentment, and allowed her food time to digest before she went up to the deck.

…………………

As Jack gently guided The Black Pearl through the dazzling streets of the ocean, he noticed his first-mate from the corner of his eye.

"Mornin' captain," Joshamee Gibbs said gruffly, but with a strange bleakness about his voice.

"Mornin' Gibbs," Jack replied lazily, and turned to see him nervously twisting his hat in his hands.

"Somethin' wrong, Gibbs?" Jack said, squinting in concern.

"Well, I…uh…the girl we found, aboard our last find…she, uh, she didn't look too well. You know, it's bloody bad luck to bring a sick girl aboard. Is she doin' alright now?"

Jack sighed and turned his eyes back to the sea, as he nearly felt a rush of excitement as he began to believe that Gibbs had felt true concern for the young girl, "Don't be such a bloody superstitious fool, Gibbs. Yes, she's actually quite fine now. It's just that aboard that ship had a bit of a scare, you know they had clearly beaten her, and the last thing she needed was to be told that she would be boarding yet another crude pirate ship."

Gibbs frowned at this, "But I thought that-"

"Well, well, there she is now," Jack said hastily, eager to cut into Gibb's nonsensical claims about women bringing bad luck onto ships when he had quite a prosperous run when Annamaria was onboard.

As Ruth approached them, Jack welcomed her with a grin, "Ello' there Ruth."

Ruth also greeted Jack and glanced somewhat nervously toward Gibbs, who had led her to Jack's cabin the day before.

"This, love, is me first-mate, Mr. Gibbs," he said extending a hand toward the tensely smiling Gibbs, "but the crew prefers to simply call him Gibbs. You may do so yourself."

Ruth smiled, "It's very nice to meet you, sir."

Gibbs simply muttered likewise and bade Jack goodbye before heading back to resume his duties. Ruth frowned confusedly in his wake.

"I suppose he doesn't care much for my presence," she said, her eyes downcast and slightly solemn.

Jack himself was surprised that even Gibbs wasn't softened by her charm, "Oh, don't you worry about the old codger," he said reassuringly, "just to clear the air though, he's not particularly fond of having women aboard…he thinks it brings bad luck to the ship."

Ruth nodded, her eyes bright with understanding, and with realization, "Oh yes, I remember my father mentioning that old superstition. He of course wasn't a superstitious man, but his good friend was…" her voice trailed off as she stopped herself from relinquishing too much information about her father's status on board his ship.

Jack nodded curtly, and proceeded with divulging to her another reason for her meeting with him, "Now, the reason I wanted you to report to me again was to make certain travel arrangements with you…firstly, where were you headed before the Sea Charmer intercepted your ship's path?"

"We were headed to Port Royal."

Jack's eyes widened at this uncanny coincidence, "Well, love, it seems that you're in luck! Two good friends of mine reside in Port Royal, and after this stopover, I was intending on paying them a small visit. It seems that our arrangements can simply… work themselves out, eh?" he said, flashing her a toothy grin.

Ruth's smile broadened, "Why, that's fantastic, Jack! It seems that my circumstances have been changing for the better since I came aboard."

After they had discussed this beautiful similarity, Jack then called Gibbs over, who sulked back, and he ordered him to man the wheel while he tend to other "miscellaneous chores". With his hand upon her shoulder, he led her the main deck, and called the remainder of his crew over.

"Listen here, men! This here, as you might have heard to realized, is our newest addition to the ship! I know ye all may be excited to see a young woman, but under no circumstances are you to touch her in…don't be stupid men, in ways that you know are inappropriate or uncalled for, or harm her in any way. Is this understood?"

After a raucous "Aye," Jack turned to a stunned Ruth, "Feel any more comfortable?"

"Jack," she said, a short, nervous laugh underlining her voice, "I could have just declared Femina Sententia…"

"Yes," he said, "You could have, but I don't want you working on me ship just yet. My curiosity and interest in your upbringing has led me to proceed in testing your nautical knowledge. Not only has my curiosity brought this upon you, but we are going to be together for…" afraid of confessing the true estimated amount of time their journey would take, he improvised, "…a while, and at one point or another, I would like a bit of your assistance. I want you to tell me about every major piece of equipment used upon a ship…starting with this part of the deck."

Ruth tapped quickly into her memory as the game started, deeply hoping that she remembered everything her father taught. She had not utilized this information for quite some time, and a wave of anxiety washed over her as she thought of accidentally switching the term of one device or area for that of another. This certainly wasn't a test her life depended upon, but she strangely hoped to impress Jack.

Jack lead her over to the first task, and gestured toward the ropes holding the whipping sails as if they were rowdy black stallions, rather than a fragment of the ship.

"Now, I'm quite sure that you know what the sails are, but do you know what holds them in place?"

Ruth narrowed her eyes as she associated the image of these sturdy ropes with a memory from her past…

"That," she said in a matter-of-factly tone, "would be the downhaul."

"That's correct," Jack replied, "the downhaul is an especially useful word to know."

"What about the front of a ship?"

"The bow."

"The back?"

"The stern."

"How about the bottom levels of a ship?"

"The bilge."

He then pointed to the corners of the sails, which bore holes within the glorious sails that were used to insert ropes.

"The clew."

Then, Jack led her to a lever of some sort that Jack said was used to maintain the rudder's direction.

Ruth cocked her head, "The whipstaff."

"Would you happen to know the device used to lift the anchor?"

"The windlass."

Ten questions and just as many short rounds of applauses later, Jack nodded his head, and ended his test.

"Very impressive, young lass," Jack said, "You've truly outdone yourself. You may be more knowledgeable then several of me crewmembers," he concluded with a chuckle.

"Well, it's easy to pick up on the nautical language with a pirate as a father, I suppose," she said modestly.

Jack shrugged at this and turned to the helm. Gibbs threw him a look that read "impatience" clearer than the Caribbean sea.

"Well love, I'm afraid that I must be returning to me duties, but you are more than welcome to stay in my cabin for the time being. I have a few books that you could read. Or perhaps ye can take a little catnap. Whatever suites yer fancy."

Ruth looked toward the stairs descending into the cabin area, "I think I'll catch up on my sleep, Jack."

"Very well, then," Jack said with a grin, extending his arm to her, "I'll have to escort you though, dear, being that I, in fact, have the key. Shall we?"

Ruth smiled and looped her arm in his, "By your lead, Captain Jack Sparrow."

……………….

The night sky, which twinkled with the light of millions of stars, cast a milky light onto the sea, illuminating the crests and apexes of the gently churning Caribbean waters. The moon threw a stripe of its, soft, but brilliant essence onto the sea, and Ruth felt a strange longing to jump in and bathe in the soothing light, like one might long to find the end of a rainbow in order to find a pot of gold.

As the rest of the crew swung their glasses of rum about with them and tipsily danced to various songs, which seemed incomprehensibly because of their now slurred voices, Ruth stood quietly at the railing, trying to drown out their voices with the beauty of the plentiful night sky.

She studied the light sliding over the gently rolling waves, and mused on the miraculous event that followed her leave of her captors. She had fallen into the hands of a good pirate.

As much of a paradox it seemed, it existed. She truly believed that her father was the only respectable pirate captain that had ever lived.

It seemed that as soon as she had stepped foot onto Jack's Sparrow's ship, her circumstances have only brought hope…and not to mention certain conveniences. It seemed too good to be true. She expected a rough voice to wake her from a pleasant dream and order her to begin preparations for breakfast. She pinched her arm. She wasn't dreaming.

A miracle was at work.

Yet, she had had conflicting feelings aboard this ship, and as they returned to haunt her, she retrieved a piece of paper from the pocket of her shirt, which Jack had provided her with, and held it, gazing at it as if it were a precious stone. It was not just any piece of paper, and it was in some ways a family heirloom. Given to her beside her father's deathbed, her dying father had described this paper as the secret to his last store of treasure upon this earth.

Because of the situation, she did not dare to greedily open it, but her father had told her to open it after he had died, and at a time she felt truly ready to take on the challenge. She ran her thumb over its cover, the fold crisp because to this day it remained unopened. Even if the hope of escaping her captors and finding her father's treasure could have compelled her to open it…it had only helped her to keep it shut. She only wanted to obey her father's dying wish, and at that time, a feeling of readiness did not seem clear.

Here, she was not only free from abuse, but she also had access to a ship. Her father's ship had unfortunately been burned down by the Royal Navy, which had forced him to retire to the Cayman Islands.

As soon as she came into possession of this treasure within itself, she felt that she could not bring herself to show anyone, let alone a pirate. If she did decide to negotiate with Jack, she would have to trust him on a level that was almost unheard of. She carefully placed the paper within her pants pocket. Why, then, if trusting a pirate to such an extent seemed unspeakable, did she feel suddenly ready to open it?

As she gazed into the night, tears surfaced to her eyes, and she prayed and she hoped that Jack was really the man his first impression had made him to be.

Author's Note: I truly hoped you enjoyed Chapter 4. Please try and review if you can everybody! Your reviews are more valuable than you think. And don't be afraid to be honest! Honesty is the best policy, you know! I can try to do Chapter 5 and soon as I can, but unfortunately, summer reading is a major drag this year (All the King's Men is a really long book!).