Blow Me Away (The first encounter)
I'm glad I have some readers. I wanted to tell you a few things. The first 4 or 5 chapters will most likely be short; they are simple scene setters. I want to try to keep Will and Elizabeth out of this. There is no specific reason other than my original version of this that I wrote for my "Craft of Fiction" class didn't have any characters like them in it. Cady wasn't Pirate King, but was the equivalent. I know this might tick some readers off, but I'm not sure how else to pull it into the PotC world.
Another thing: I HIGHLY recommend listening to the songs that I did when I wrote it. I don't like songfics. In dialogue, the songs seem cheesy. But the lyrics to songs influence my mood and my characters. The lyrics to Miley Cyrus's "Can't Be Tamed" influenced how I created Cady. I dislike Miley just as much as everyone else, so don't get the wrong impression. From now on, either the title of the chapter or a note at the top will denote the song that influenced said chapter.
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This chapter: Blow Me Away by Breaking Benjamin
Jack felt it; his crew felt it. Something was wrong in the seas beneath them. Jack had a feeling it had to do with Calypso. Hector Barbossa walked up beside Jack as he stood at the helm, a disturbed look gracing his features.
"You feel it too, Jack," he stated. He stared ahead. There was a change in the balance of things, a change that dear Calypso was apparently not fond of.
"The whole crew feels it, mate. The sea is angry. To be frank, I couldn't care less…but it is a little disconcerting. What has happened that angers our little sea witch?" Jack's distaste for Calypso did not go unnoticed by Barbossa.
"Now Jack. She is the goddess of the ocean upon which ye sail. No need to be angerin' 'er," Barbossa said carefully.
"Why bother, mate? Someone else has already gone and made her bloody mad. The water isn't a safe place for the crew until whoever she wants dead is made as such."
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Cady boarded her ship. She placed a hand on the green tinted railing and stared at the red sails. This was what she had been waiting for. Her crew looked at her appraisingly. Her first mate walked to her side.
"Captain, I'm Pan Mingsuk. I'll be your first mate until you choose another who you see as more deserving," the man spoke in clear English with a soft Chinese accent.
"Pan, I'm sure you are very deserving of the position." She turned to her men. "Men. I'm Captain Cady Callum. Elizabeth has honored me with her former title and I feel I am ready to fill the position." The men around her seemed to agree. She was relieved.
"Captain, we have created a flag for you," Pan said. He and another man spread out the flag they had for her. It took her by surprise. It was a black flag, as was tradition. But in an emerald colored stitch, they had a skull with a hummingbird perched upon it. She smiled.
"I see my reputation precedes me." Pan smiled
"Captain, we have heard nothing and no one can tame your unbridled energy," Pan said with a smile. Cady nodded.
"You have been informed correctly, mate. Now men, prepare to sail!" Her enthusiasm was met with an emphatic "Aye, Captain!" from her crew.
She stood at the helm. Her hands grasped the wheel carefully. She grinned and her colorful eyes shone with mischief.
"Where to, Captain? We aren't familiar with Caribbean waters," Pan asked.
"The New World, Pan. We're hunting for eternal life."
"Ambitious. I like it, Captain." Pan smiled.
By the time night had fallen, Cady was exhausted. She looked to Pan and as if he sensed her fatigue, he led her to her cabin. When he opened the door to the cabin, she gasped. It was decorated lavishly with artifacts and expensive dyes. She smiled.
"Thank you, Pan." Pan bowed and left, closing the door behind him.
Cady headed to her mat in one corner of the room. It was much better than the hammocks she was used to. She untied her armor at all of its joints and slipped it off piece by piece. She laid it neatly on the ground beside her. She place her Dao against her mat same as her pistol, just in case. She removed the leather tied from her hair and tied it around her wrist. She shook her matted hair and combed her fingers through it. Just days before she had cut her waist length hair down to its now shoulder length. She continued combing her fingers through the auburn and blonde (from the sun's bleaching) locks as if in a trance. She shook herself and blinked rapidly. Cady stretched towards the ceiling, wearing a simple thin cloth to cover her chest and a thin pair of cotton pants which she had cut the legs off of to the point where they were almost obscene to wear. She touched each trinket around her neck and noticed something felt different. She looked down at the small hummingbird and realized that the black pear that sat in its body was missing. How she had not noticed it in the tavern, she was not sure. She fumed. Realizing there was not much she could do about it now, she fell into an angry but deep sleep.
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Jack ran the small black pearl between his fingers. Taking it had not been his initial intention when he entered the room in which the barmaids had dropped Captain Callum.
He was simply curious at her familiarity and decided to see if another look would jog his memory. The girl was no doubt beautiful, though a bit sloppy and unkempt. She lay sprawled atop a pile of hay, mouth agape and a small snore escaping her. He walked over and looked down at her. It was then he noticed the small black pearl in its setting. He couldn't help it, he had to take it. He carefully pried it from its setting and put it in his pocket. Gibbs stood in the doorway and shook his head.
"Cap'n, you just stole from an unconscious female. An' ye' stole a black pearl. They're bad luck, ye know," Gibbs said in an ominous tone.
"Aye, Gibbs. We're leaving." Jack stopped in the doorway, tipped his hat at the unconscious woman, and headed out of the building and towards the Pearl.
Snapping out of his memory he placed the small pearl back in his pocket and removed his shirt and boots. He sat them on the ground beneath his hammock and yawned before plopping down. Arms above his head, he tilted his hat down to cover his eyes and fell into what he thought would be a peaceful slumber.
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Cady and Jack were both tossing in their sleep. Both were not yet dreaming, but felt something coming towards them. With a flash, the confused captains stood face to face on a deserted beach. They were both very confused. Cady spoke first.
"Who are you? And what are you doing in my dream!" Cady yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Jack. Jack on the other hand, stood silent for what must have been the first time in his life. He was confused. This couldn't possibly be the same woman he had seen at Tortuga. She was a decent height and very thin, frail even. She wasn't wearing much of anything and the lecher inside of Jack very much liked what he saw. Her eyes flashed at his dangerously as her hair blew gently across her face. "Well?"
"Jack Sparrow, love. Captain Jack Sparrow. And to whom do I have the honor of addressing?" Jack said with an ungraceful and somewhat mocking bow.
"Captain Cady Callum. Pirate King and captain of the Empress." Jack nodded and looked down, thinking. He looked up.
"And why, Missy, are you in my dream?" Jack smiled as Cady gritted her teeth. She took a deep breath and calmed before answering him.
"I don't know, Captain," she spat the word "captain". "But I want you gone." She almost pouted, her feminine nature taking hold momentarily. She crossed her arms and looked over the pirate before her as he did the same. He was handsome, no use in lying to herself. She hadn't been with a man in a while. Her mind was betraying her as she thought about how toned and tan his body was. The scars and tattoos were even more appealing. 'It's a pirate thing,' she thought to herself.
Cady turned her back and began walking away. She looked over her shoulder at a still frozen Jack. "Are you coming?"
"Aye, love," Jack said with a charmingly mischievous smile. Jack watched her hips sway for a moment before following. As he came closer to her he noticed she too was a seasoned pirate. Her back was littered with clean line scars and little "o"s, obviously from a whip. She had what appeared to be a stab wound on her side, and her arms were littered with cuts that seemed to be from small blades. Jack grinned. He wasn't dealing with a novice. "Where are you from, Captain?" He said this in a semi mocking tone. It didn't go unnoticed by Cady.
"That isn't your business, Captain. I am captain of the Empress now, so as far as you are concerned, I am from China." Cady smirked. 'Although I am obviously not,' she thought.
"Aye. Fair enough answer," Jack said. "To where are we walking, lassie?" he inquired.
"I have no idea. It's better than standing still," Cady said, looking back at Jack with raised eyebrows as if to say "Do you have a better idea?".
"Ah huh," Jack murmured. "Have trouble standing still?" He surprised her by brushing her hair away from her hummingbird tattoo. She suppressed a shiver of pleasure at the touch.
'Body, stop this nonsense!' she hissed in her mind. "Aye, Captain Sparrow. I am known for my energy. May as well not let the rumors fall false." Just then a loud crash made her dream world begin to fade.
Jack grinned. "I hope that cannon fire was not directed towards my end of this." Cady glared.
"Hope I never see you again, Captain Sparrow. I hope your stupid little boat sinks!" she spat before she was pulled from the dream by Pan.
"Captain! We're under attack!" Pan shouted at her, ignoring that she was barely dressed. Cady sprang from her bed and looped her Dao's strap around her shoulder. She didn't bother with shoes or more clothing before sprinting to the deck. She stood at the helm and looked on at the ship that was quickly sending a small amount of panic through her veins. Staring ahead, she spotted a familiar figure grinning at the helm of the opposing ship.
"Jack Sparrow," she hissed. "Bloody Pirates."