Origins of a Pirate

Chapter 18

(A LONGER chapter! I got my reviews!)

It was strange, this lifestyle. The uncaring masses seemed to fear those who involved themselves with it and those who involved themselves ignored each other for the fear of being killed. The dark cold understanding of silence radiated from every dark alley of the towns, from every prostitute hall, from every gambling den. It seemed as if everyone, every single person in the entire world only cared for himself, not bothering to step out of the way to assist another in need. And that's what Jack loved.

He understood the business, the trade of pirating. The years of making his mark upon various vessels had given him wisdom, the likes of which very few could say they had achieved. After all, he had been aboard almost every ship in the Caribbean, first a deckhand, then a simple sailor, a navigator, a boatswain, and lately even a first mate.

But now he was ready to get the title that he had only been able to proclaim for so many years. Captain.

Of course he had been a captain before, but only in a metaphorical sense. He was captain of his mind, of his brain, of his existence- although he usually left that part out. He loved the sound of the word- the way it rang when he spoke of it. His dream had been achieved.

He had stolen- excuse me, commandeered the ship easily, maneuvering it away from the docks in the dead of night. It was unmanned unarmed and unguarded. It was his. A former war vessel, the fastest ship in all the Spanish Main. The Black Pearl.

All he needed was a crew. And he knew just where to start.

His childhood friend, Hector Barbossa.

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"WHAT???" Teague sat up in his chair, sputtering.

"Dad... I don't want to do this anymore. It just doesn't feel right... pirating."

"No. I will forbid it. Your mother will never forgive me. We would never leave you alone on that wretched island for even an hour- much less a lifetime."

"Look Dad... and mom... I'm of marrying age. I can get a husband, a merchant perhaps. I want to live an honest life. Although Tortuga is not the most ideal place to raise a family- anything would be better than this."

"But Ginny... sweetie..."

"I don't want to be treated like a child anymore. I can do it- I know I can."

Teague gulped. There was no way out. "Very well. I'll drop you off the next time we make port."

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"Spectacular! Amazing!"

"It's astounding really!"

"A boy of just sixteen?"

"I heard he had succeed in several daring and dangerous missions. And with that last one I'm not surprised."

Cut listened in as the generals spoke among themselves. His last raid of an illegal brothel had been a huge success- and in reward he had been promoted- an officer. He was moving up the ranks quickly and had been told many times that soon he would soon be promoted to be a colonel- or even a lord.

With a string of promotions under his belt, Cut felt he that he could soon return to his family and be hailed and welcomed as a valued man, and shunned as the vagrant boy he had been so recently. Maybe he could finally get the respect he so longed for from his older brother. His father would finally be able to look him in the eye and respect Cut as a man.

And the dreams went even farther. Perhaps he could get married. Perhaps this woman would be the beautiful daughter of another lord- no a king! She would be beautiful and generous and kind to him and one day, when the time was right the two would be blessed with a child. A perfect child in a perfect home with a perfect father.

But there was still a lot of work to do.

Officer Beckett hunched over his papers and began to read.

Alrighty then. I made this chapter longer as I got my reviews. But I would still appreciate any comments and this time let's get it up to 50. Oh and one more thing: the length of the time in between writing chapters may become longer because I go back to school in a week and I'm not entirley sure what a new year will bring. I've heard my new teachers are really hard... and judging from my summer work, they are. But I will still try to update reguarly.

As always, enjoy!