HUNT FOR THE GOLDEN MERMAID
AN UNDERTAKER?
"Do we have a headin' cap'n?" Mr Gibbs asked his captain.
"Mr Gibbs I was, as it were, just considering that very matter" Captain Jack Sparrow smiled on the deck of his ship, the Black Pearl.
"Well where be the headin' then cap'n?"
"Aye cap'n we must know these things" Anamaria nodded.
"Well as ye folks know we are runnin' out of very important necessities" Jack sighed.
"Aye" Anamaria and Gibbs agreed.
"The rum, is almost gone" Gibbs added.
"Port Royal, is gettin' close, lads" Jack grinned.
"Jack, we can't be going to Port Royal" Gibbs shook his head fiercely, "It'd be bad luck"
"Not only bad luck cap'n but ye sure to be hanged" Anamaria agreed as she leant on the railing. "Tortuga is closer cap'n"
"Right ye are Anamaria but we 'ave connections in Port Royal"
"The Turner's are 'ardly connections for rum, Jack" Gibbs laughed.
"Tortuga is best" Anamaria insisted.
"Tortuga it be then, lads" Jack nodded and took the helm.
---
"So where exactly are we going?" Will Turner asked the Pirate he followed down the streets of Port Royal.
"Haven't the faintest, lad" she called over her shoulder, "but we're making great time, don't ye think?"
She looked back and grinned to Will who looked to her amused. She suddenly tripped because she wasn't looking where she was going and found her face flat on the cobblestone street in the middle of the market. People looked at her not with concern but curiosity. She did really have the pirate vibe.
"Alright, I know where we have to go" Will pulled Kate up to her feet.
"And were is that?" she asked.
"Home" Will sighed. Why was he doing this?
"Home?" Kate asked, "I don't have a home in this port ya scallywag" she laughed.
"No, my home" Will said regretfully and grabbed her wrist again.
"We're not doin' the draggin' thing again are we Mr Turner?" she asked worried.
"Just follow me then"
"Lead the way!" she bowed and followed Will.
After a short walk the two of them came upon a cottage-like home. Very family based, very homely, very not like Kate Sparrow.
"This be the place, then?" she asked Will.
"Aye, this be the place" Will smiled, "Built most of it myself!"
"Oh lovely" Kate nodded with a mock smile and followed him up the path to the door.
"Elizabeth, I'm home" he called through the house and hung his jacket on a hook.
"Elizabeth?" Kate asked with an eyebrow raised.
"My wife" Will smiled happily.
"Will? You're home early" A woman's, presumably Elizabeth's, voice rang through the house.
She appeared at a doorway from what could only be described as a sitting room and her face went from delighted, to confused, to annoyed.
"Oh, dear" Kate whispered, a frown forming on her face.
"Who's this, Will?" She asked. Will walked across the room to his wife and kissed her cheek. He lovingly rubbed her slightly swollen belly.
"Allow myself, to introduce... myself" Kate said not so intelligently.
Elizabeth's facial expression said it all.
"I am Katherine Sparrow, or Kate if that tickles ye fancy and ye must be Will's bonny lass" Kate smiled and curtsied with her shirt. "By the looks of it ye are expecting a little Turner, William 'ere failed to mention that"
"Sparrow?" Elizabeth asked annoyed.
"Why is that so hard to believe 'round here?" Kate asked.
"Sparrow?" Elizabeth asked Will who nodded.
"She was being arrested, I had to help her"
"Arrested? Definitely a Sparrow then" Elizabeth nodded.
"I am standin' before the two of ye" Kate commented just a little bit annoyed. "And why did ye bring me to yur lovely home, William?"
"Of course, I was getting to that. Elizabeth, Kate here needs to find Jack but she looks too..." he paused then looked at Kate, "pirate-y, to be walking around Port Royal.
"And?" Elizabeth asked.
"And I was, we were wond-"
"We?" Kate cut in, "Mr Turner I have no idea why I am here"
"Ok, I was wondering if you could clean her up and give her a dress?" Will asked hopefully.
"Clean me up?"
"Well she is a Sparrow, Jack's daughter I'm guessing?"
"Aye. That I am"
"So I suppose we can help her, if she needs to find Jack" Elizabeth smiled, "Why is it you need to find him?"
"You don't want to ask" Will cut.
"Why?"
"She'll start blabbering" Will whispered through his teeth.
"Ye know Will, I was jus' startin' to like yer too" Kate said and rolled her eyes.
"We better get her cleaned up quickly, there is a ceremony at the docks tonight" Elizabeth hurried the too of them.
"Oh a fancy well to do" Kate smiled. "I'll have to wear a dress then, aye?"
"Yes, you will" Elizabeth smiled and directed her to her and Will's room.
"Aye, I was worryin' 'bout that" Kate sighed and followed the beautiful, pregnant woman before her.
---
"Ah, woman!" Kate yelled at Elizabeth.
"I'm sorry, Kate, we just have to scrub" Elizabeth sighed.
She was scrubbing Kate's back clean. She had taken the blue ribbon out of her hair, which Kate stressed to be very important to her. She couldn't get the beads out and suggested that she would give her a hat to wear to the formal gathering.
"Tell me Kate, have you ever had a bath before?" Elizabeth asked as she wrung the black water from the wash cloth she was using.
"Of course I've had a bath" Kate said offended, "Me ma used to bathe me"
"Who was you're mother?" Elizabeth asked carefully.
"'er name was Giselle Brook. She were a beauty" Kate smiled as she hugged her knees into her chest, "not like me, she took care of herself"
"Past tense?" Elizabeth asked. "I'm sorry"
"Not yur doin' miss, it were a long time ago"
"How did her and Jack meet?" Elizabeth continued questioning her.
"Well I've only heard me ma's side. But 'e wasn't a cap'n then, 'e was just a simple pirate. had 'is eyes on 'er for a while, 'e did" Kate laughed, "Every time 'e docked in Tortuga 'e used to stare 'til one time 'e introduced 'is self. Well they didn't stay together for too long, long enough for 'im to give 'er that ribbon and to make yours truly here"
"So that's why you didn't want me to touch that ribbon?" Elizabeth concluded.
"Aye."
Elizabeth had finished scrubbing Kate's back and was surprised there was normal skin underneath all the dirt. She picked up the soap and began to rub it through Kate's hair.
"How far along are ye?" Kate asked suddenly.
"Pardon? Oh the baby" Elizabeth smiled by just the thought of her and Will's unborn child. "Only a month"
"You thought of any names?" Kate asked.
"No not yet" Elizabeth sighed, "How long have you been a pirate?"
"Too long to call to mind how it started" Kate grinned.
"Wasn't it tough? You must have been just a girl, I was fascinated by it as a girl but never thought I would actually do it" Elizabeth explained.
"I see you have a soft spot for pirates miss Elizabeth" Kate smiled and turned her head back to her, "when you live in Tortuga, lass, you see the raids and plunder everyday, it's a part of life"
"Oh." Elizabeth nodded.
She rose from her knees and fetched a jug, filled it with water and rinsed the soapsuds from Kate's hair. It was no longer as filthy as dogs fur.
"You've never met Jack?" Elizabeth asked. Kate intrigued her.
"No, never"
"Not even while living in Tortuga?"
"It may be a small island but there always be a commotion"
"I see"
"I left soon after me ma died anyway," Kate sighed. "I guess that's when my profession really started"
---
"Hurry Elizabeth, we will be late!" Will said through the door of his bedroom.
He was dressed in his finest clothes, a dark blue jacket and waistcoat with white slacks and shirt. He had readied the carriage and was just waiting for Elizabeth and Kate. He prayed to god that she would pass off as a lady.
"We'll be there is a moment darling" Elizabeth called.
"Pronounce the 'h's properly. Open your mouth wider"
Will got worried, she can't speak like a lady? Ah... he would be hung for helping a pirate... again.
Just as he began to pace, the door to his bedroom opened and out walked his lovely wife, followed by a young girl, not pirate.
"You two look lovely" Will smiled and kissed his wife.
He couldn't believe the transformation. No dirt touched Kate's skin, the dress she wore was a deep purple and he could tell it was in two pieces, a corset and a skirt. Her hair looked lighter and it was curled now but most of it was pinned up under a matching hat.
The make up she wore was light, not kohl-lined eyes and the scar that once burdened her skin was hidden by the ribbon of her hat.
"Why thank ye- er I mean, thank you kind sir" Kate curtsied.
"Oh my word" Will said open mouthed.
"I know!" Elizabeth squealed happily.
"We are actually going to pull this off!" Will smiled and hugged his wife then Kate who ginned widely.
"I look like a lady," she said still grinning.
"Why the gloves?" Will asked as he fingered one of the white gloves that Kate wore.
"To hide her tattoos" Elizabeth explained and pulled down one of Kate's elbow length gloves, flashing her distinctive tattoos.
"She took one of your pistols too, Will" Elizabeth admitted, regretfully.
"What?" Will asked outraged, "Where is it?"
"Strapped to me shoes, mate" she smiled. "What be this well to do for?"
"Christening of a ship, the Fearless "
"A ship aye, hmm" Kate thought rubbing her chin with her thumb, "And it's called the Fearless?" she laughed.
"Yes and no ideas, or commandeering" Elizabeth warned.
"Ye sure yur not a pirate, Elizabeth?" Kate wondered.
"Kate, we need the town to think you are a young woman, not a pirate, behave" Will pleaded.
"Ok, I promise I wont act like a pirate, I will be a lady" Kate smiled.
Will sighed happily, she's not as conniving as he thought.
"Hurry, we will be late" He ushered the two ladies out the door.
"We must take the rest of my effects in the carriage" Kate objected and went into the house and fetched them.
"Why?" Elizabeth and Will asked.
"I mustn't loose 'em" She frowned.
"Fine, just hurry"
"Sir" Kate grinned as she collected her things, all of her things.
---
Captain Jack Sparrow sat in his quarters, more confused than usual. His eyes shined over as his body swayed with his beloved ship.
He simply sat in an old wooden chair staring at his compass. It span, changing direction every second moment. It never did that to him, to others it may but to him never.
After a few moments more of gazing at his broken compass he flicked his eyes to his map and couldn't help but wonder if his heading was wrong.
He suddenly grunted and leapt from his chair, knocking it over as he did. Jack ran to the double doors to his cabin, swung them open and searched his deck.
"Mr Gibbs!" he hollered, tripping across the deck.
"Aye, Cap'n?" Gibbs answered.
"I have been thinking about my decision. And that thinking has made me think that the thinking of said decision was not the right thinking after all." Jack spluttered to his first mate.
"Cap'n?" Gibbs inquired, confusion coloured his face.
"The heading, Gibbs. My ticker is tellin' me it ain't right" Jack confirmed, tapping his temple.
"Oh" Gibbs nodded and paused. "Oh? And why that be, Jack?"
"mecompassaintworkin'" Jack mumbled.
Gibbs looked at him in question.
"My compass..." Jack sighed. "... I just got a feelin' Gibbs"
"A feeling?" Gibbs asked and leant on some rigging.
"Aye, a feeling" Jack nodded, his pride left him for a moment. "I ain't sure what to do, mate"
"I see Cap'n. And what about the compass?"
"'S been havin' some technical difficulties" Jack admitted.
"Should we stay on way to Tortuga?"
"I still think Port Royal is the place to be, mate. Me gut is tellin' me"
"Change course?"
"Aye, it's for the best." Jack nodded, staring into space. He left a sighing Gibbs a moment later.
---
"Remember, you look like a lady so you are a lady" Elizabeth prepped Kate as they walked to the dock.
"And you must sound like a lady too" Will warned.
"I can do it" Kate sighed, "ye two have to jus' trust me" she smiled.
"Fine, just please behave" Will added as the three of them walked to where the ship christening was being held at the dock.
"Bugger me" Kate gasped at the sight.
Lights and lanterns were hung from rooftops and glowed beautifully in the moonlight. Chairs and tables were set for people resting and an orchestra was set to the left of the dock. The ship, the Fearless was the main attraction, it hosted three huge masts with enormous white sails and hundreds of ropes controlled them and supported the masts.
The exterior of the ship was painted white and black stripes, the colour changing to each deck.
"I said behave!" Will whispered harshly.
"Oh right," Kate mumbled, "Beautiful ship" she smiled.
"Indeed" Elizabeth nodded.
The three walked to where the crowd had gathered, near the ship. Scattered through the crowd was plenty of red uniforms, officers. Kate sighed, this wasn't going to be an easy task.
Men watched Elizabeth and Kate arrive, surveying the two of them even though Elizabeth was pregnant, by a month. This surprised Kate, not just the fact that men were watching Elizabeth but men were watching her. She wasn't used to that one bit.
When the three of them reached the crowd a young officer made his way to them, Kate was sure that was it and she would be sent to the gallows.
"Mr Turner" he nodded to Will, "Mrs Turner" he bowed to Elizabeth and kissed her hand. "And who may I ask would this lovely young woman be?" he asked motioning to Kate.
"This is Katherine Brook, Lt. Winsor." Elizabeth smiled.
"She is my cousin from Santiago, she will be staying a few months" Will explained her further.
"Miss Brook, a pleasure to make your acquaintance" he smiled politely and kissed Kate's hand.
"Likewise Lt. Winsor, but I'm hardly a woman, I am only sixteen after all" Kate smiled, she didn't like the look of this Lieutenant.
"Hardly a matter my dear" he said still smiling.
"Oh ye think-" Kate began to say but coughed, realising she let her voice slip.
"Are you alright Miss Brook?" Lt. Winsor asked.
Will and Elizabeth just glared at her.
"I'm fine thank you, Lieutenant" Kate smiled.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Quite" she nodded.
The Lieutenant smiled and eyed her again. Elizabeth and Will watched him, it seemed they were not that fond of this man either. Kate looked at the ship again, trying to keep her gaze off of the man that was staring at her.
"I see you like the ship" the Lieutenant smiled, "She is quite beautiful."
"Yes, she is" Kate agreed, still gazing with awe at the ship.
"If I may be so bold Miss Brook, it is nowhere near as beautiful as yourself" Lieutenant Winsor inquired.
Kate's eyes bulged; she was shocked and had no idea what to do.
"Uh...I...um..." she mumbled before Elizabeth cut in.
"I'm sure Theodore, Katherine's fiancé, believes the same thing Lieutenant"
"You have a fiancé?" Lt. Winsor asked, just showing his disappointment.
"I do...?" Kate spluttered, looking to Elizabeth who nodded, "Yes, I do"
"Oh" the Lieutenant breathed and looked at the Fearless.
After a moments hesitation he turned back to Kate.
"He is a lucky man"
"The luckiest" Will nodded enthusiastically.
"Oh please, stop it" Kate smiled, which was obviously faked.
"May I inquire to this young man's profession?" Lt. Winsor challenged.
"Oh...he's a...a..."
"He's an undertaker" Elizabeth smiled.
Kate's eyes bulged, what was this woman doing to her?
"An undertaker?" Lt. Winsor asked surprised.
Kate looked to Elizabeth who was smiling widely as she nodded to the Lieutenant. She looked back to Lt. Winsor, still confused.
"Yes" she said her face slightly scrunched, "he's an undertaker"
"An Undertaker" Lt. Winsor repeated to himself in an amused tone. "About as useful as a blacksmith" he added, only Kate heard.
"Someone must pay respect to the dead when it is time to, Lieutenant" Kate argued she was offended even though there was no such man as Theodore.
"That is true, Miss Brook. But there are far more important professions other than an undertaker" Lt. Winsor answered slickly.
"And by that you mean a member of the Royal Navy" Elizabeth added.
That impressed Kate. Before the Lieutenant could add anything to Elizabeth argument Kate excused the three of them.
"Well Lt. Winsor it was very interesting making your acquaintance but I'm sure there are many others that I should make tonight" she said in a somewhat warm tone.
"Yes, she is right. Katherine should be meeting Elizabeth's Father" Will smiled.
"Of course" the Lieutenant bowed then kissed Kate's hand.
"Goodbye Lt. Winsor" Kate curtsied and followed Will and Elizabeth further into the crowd.
Here it is, earlier than I expected, chapter two!
Jack finally made his appearance, don't worry he will be much more involved as the plot thickens...more as how the plot reveals itself.
Thanks to The Black Pearl Sorceress and ThunderBenderPrincess for their comments.
Just to make it clear to everyone this is NOT a WillOC fic, I think Will and Elizabeth are indeed made for each other, I wouldn't want to ruin that.
So you like? You didn't? Constructive criticism? Let me know in a review.
Thanks for reading,
Meegsie St James.