Thanks to the lovely reviews from caripsle and GirlX2. It's much appreciated, really: ) Sorry I haven't updated in, what, two weeks? School's started and things have just been crazy trying to get back into the routine.
Disclaimer: You know the routine by now. I own Auburn, Lady Luck and Mary. Other than that, I got nothing.
Chapter Eight: Hell Before Heaven
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The weather turned colder as the Black Pearl continued on her course north, past the remaining colonies of England and France and into waters that most of the crew had never traversed through before. The days past quickly mounting into weeks and, eventually, a month. Mary had grown to wearing a midshipman's jacket that she found in the depths of the 'Pearl. When asking Jack about its origin, the man shrugged. "Not a clue dove, but I've had so many cabin boys and powder monkeys and the like that I don't even bother to keep track of 'em anymore."
On one particular sunny and warm day, a rarity now, the good Captain stood at the helm, watching his young passenger play with Auburn, how much the young girl had grown while under his custody dawning on him. Her hair was longer and wilder than ever, the scorching sun of the Caribbean lightening it to quite a softer shade. She had grown taller as well. Her face and appendages had become a caramel colour after, of course, it had toughened against some Hellish sunburns. Jack smirked at the memories of her being almost seared to a crisp, screaming bloody murder in his cabin as he tried to desperately to pin her down and put some Aloe Vera plant on the tender skin.
"Come on Miss Mary," Auburn teased, "I'll race you to the top of the foremast!"
"No you won't!" Mary cried, "I'm the fastest climber up these ratlines there ever was!" She turned towards Jack. "Ain't that right, Mr. Jack?"
Jack gave the girl a grin. "I don't know, Mary, he has longer legs than you and the boy is older."
"You watch! I'll show you; I'll show the both of you!" She vowed, placing her foot in the first loop and turning to Auburn. "If I win, you have to tell me a story AND play me a ditty on your pipes tonight, Aubie."
"And if I win, you have to dance for us, Miss Mary," Auburn replied with a grin. He had shown her a few steps and before anyone knew it, she was stepping and dancing all over the ship.
"It's a deal. See you at the top!" The girl cackled, setting off up the lines.
Jack watched the two children with a bemused look, scurrying upwards faster than any of his crewmen.
"Gibbs, will you get a look at that, eh?" He asked his first mate who was leaning leisurely against the railing near him.
"Quite a sight, sir. It's nice to have some young blood 'round 'ere, doncha think?" The elder replied.
"Aye, t'is."
Mary pulled herself up on the main mast and tapped the wood next to her just as Auburn reached for it.
"I WIN!" She yelled into the wind triumphantly.
"Oh you got a head start, that's why, Miss!" Auburn replied, already heading back down. "Come on down now, Mary. The cook needs me in the galley to help prepare the evening meal."
The girl waved at him. "You go on, Aubie; I wanna stay up here awhile in the crow's nest."
The boy shrugged, bracing himself against a good breeze. "A'ight but be careful, aye Miss?"
"As always Aubie. Remember, you owe me a song and a story later."
"Dutifully noted, Miss Mary." The boy gave her a nod and started back down as Mary climbed into the crow's nest and settled herself against the mast comfortably. She wasn't sure what struck her as so homey about the location but she knew it felt familiar and as she drifted into a sleep, she thought she heard a crackling of thunder far in the distance.
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The storm had unfolded quicker than anyone could have ever imagined.
"Cap'n, Cerberus must be pulling this storm out from the depths of Hell itself!" Gibbs cried, soaked through to the bone, as he unsuccessfully tried to get one of the sails fastened. The wind howled a reply that made every man's blood run cold. One might have thought there was a young girl's scream mixed in with it as well, twisting and playing with the ship and the men upon it like a toy as it did.
Jack didn't answer but tried his best to keep his precious ship afloat as the crew around him scuttled about, praying to whatever Deity they believed in above to save them.
"Get everything tied down and then get the men below!" Jack called back, squinting against the spray and rain.
"But Cap'n, what -"
"NOW GIBBS!" Jack roared, watching the enormous waves crest just off the starboard side. 'I'd rather lose what's able to repair than something that'd never reach a dock again,' he added in an afterthought.
Just as the crew had begun heading below deck, Auburn hurtled up the stairs, sliding all over the slippery deck. "CAP'N!" He yelled, frantically.
"Down below, immediately, Master Auburn!" Jack ordered, lightning accentuating the madness in his eyes.
The next two words that Auburn mouthed were lost to the wind but Jack's eyes widened in fear anyways, being able to read the boy's lips.
"Miss Mary."
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When Jack found Mary, she was in hysterics, clutching to the mast at the center of the crow's nest for dear life as the beam swung limberly back and forth in the storm. The captain swore he heard pitiful prayers spewing from the young one's chattering lips.
"Mary, what the bloody 'ell are you doing up here?" He called, beckoning the girl to him.
"I fell asleep, Mr. Jack, I'm sorry!" She sobbed, unable to let go of the mast. "I didn' mean to! I'll ne'er do it again!"
"You have to come with me; you'll die up here!"
"I'm too scared!"
"Mary, you have to trust ole' Jack." He held a hand out to her. "One step, that's it, I promise."
"I can't, I'll fall!"
Lightning cracked above them and she shrieked in fear.
"Miss Mary," Jack pleaded, thinking quickly. He wasn't in the mood to be struck by lightning but he couldn't figure out what would make the girl move. Sometimes, he really hated anything under the age of twenty-one. "What would Lily say? She wouldn't want you to die up here. Come now, lass. She'd trust me."
"Really?"
"Yes."
The girl shook, whether from fear or chills Jack couldn't tell, and slowly inched out her arm. Jack grabbed it and swung the girl towards him and felt her clammy arms latch around his neck.
"Now hold on, Mary, and we'll be inside quick as…" he stopped his sentence, the word 'lightning' not seeming very appropriate at that moment.
Clasping one arm around her protectively, the Captain was about to make his way down the ratlines when a sparkling blue met his eyes. Beyond the roar of the merciless sea and the Hell-initiated tempest, was land. Surreal green met by a striking blue sky, hazy mountains even farther in the distance. It wasn't just any land though, it was the destination he'd been seeking the entire journey.
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I've had this done for ages but haven't thought it good enough to put up yet. I hope you enjoyed it! Only one or two more chapters after this and then it's unsure of when you'll be hearing another tale from ole' Puck here. Hope you enjoyed it and please review!
Cheers,
Puck
