Outside, the crew grew silent as soon as they saw the little girl emerge from the captain's cabin, but after a yelling-at from Jimmy Legs they resumed their previous work. She walked silently among them, occasionally stopping to watch one of the crew members while they worked. She wasn't really heading in any particular direction; she was just wandering and following the pull of some unseen force. Then she saw Evelyn talking with a man who wasn't as deformed as the rest of the crew, and knew why she'd been drawn here.
"You knew my papa." she said, interrupting the man mid-sentence even though she knew it was rude.
"Who was your father?" the man asked.
"Jack Sparrow, and you're the one Davy called 'Bootstrap'." Michaela said. Bootstrap nodded, then gave the girl a puzzled look.
"How did you know I knew your father?" he asked.
"I could just tell; I don't really know how to explain it, but sometimes I'll just know something and I won't know how I know it except that it's always true." Michaela replied.
"Well, I did know your father. I served on his ship until the rest of the crew, led by Jack's first mate, decided to mutiny. I never really agreed with what they'd done, but there was nothin' I could do about it. After we found the Aztec gold your father had been searching for, and realized that the curse on it was real, I sent my piece to my son. He's probably about your age, I believe." Bootstrap said. Michaela looked at him thoughtfully, then frowned.
"So he wasn't a good captain?" she asked.
"It wasn't that he was a bad captain, he was just a little inexperienced with the crew he'd had at the time. He learned the hard way that you can't be too trusting, even with your first mate, because then people can use it against you." Evelyn replied.
"You're just saying that; you don't really think he wasn't a bad captain. You think the Black Pearl is better off in the hands of the man who was his first mate." Michaela said. Evelyn was silent for a moment, then sighed.
"I don't want to believe that, but I can't deny that it's true." she said. Michaela nodded, clearly not convinced, but decided against pressing the subject. Then she turned to Bootstrap and smiled.
"If you were on my papa's ship after the crew mutinied, how did you end up here?" she asked. Bootstrap sighed.
"I'll tell you some other time, but not now; I have work to do and if I don't get back to it the Bosun'll turn my back to minced meat." he said. Michaela tilted her head to the side and gave him a quizzical look, then shrugged and skipped off back to the stern. Davy was just leaving his cabin when she went by, and smiled to himself when he saw her. How anyone could be so carefree on the Flying Dutchman was beyond him, but he was glad she wasn't troubled by her surroundings.
"Michaela?" he called so only the girl would hear him. Michaela stopped skipping and walked back to where Davy stood.
"What do you need?" she asked, grinning in a maddeningly cute way.
"I need you to go below deck and tell the cook to make something for yourself and Captain Marsdan, and tell him to bring your dinners up to my cabin when they're done." he replied. Michaela nodded and went off on her little errand with a huge smile on her face. Davy went back into his cabin and sat down at his organ once again. They'd had no problems on their trip thus far, and were making good time. Tortuga was, of course, still a few days off, but Michaela and Captain Marsdan needed to know some things before they left. Davy had to be sure that they understood.
Twenty minutes later there was a knock at his cabin door.
"Come in." he said, not bothering to turn around.
"Where should I set their food, Captain?" the cook asked.
"On the table next to the bed will be fine." Davy replied.
"That little girl is somethin', isn't she? The crew doesn't know what to make of her, and neither do I. She's got such a light-hearted spirit, but there's sufferin' underneath all her smiles; I'm sure of it. That little girl's been through some terrible times." the cook said, setting the tray of food down.
"She lost her mother a year ago." Davy said, more thinking out loud than anything else. The cook froze at this, unused to having his musings answered by his prone-to-brooding captain.
"That's awful. Poor thing; I don't know how she can be so cheerful here." he said.
"She's looking for her father, so I told her I'd take her to Tortuga with Captain Marsdan." Davy replied.
"You're letting them off the ship?" the cook asked.
"They are merely guests, now go and tell them their dinner is ready." Davy replied. The cook nodded, cleared his throat nervously, then hurried out of the room. Less than a minute later Davy was nearly knocked off his bench as Michaela jumped up beside him to give him a hug. Then, as quick as she had come, she hopped off the bench and climbed onto the bed to eat her food.
"Don't you have anything to eat?" she asked suddenly. Davy chuckled.
"I'm immortal; I don't need to eat." he replied, turning around to smile at the girl. She frowned at this.
"But don't you ever eat just to feel normal, even though you don't need it?" she asked. Davy shook his head.
"I've no need for normalcy; if you'd lived the life I have you would understand." he said. Michaela sighed and started to eat her food, and then Evelyn walked in.
"Well, you've made yourself right at home." she commented, grinning at Michaela who just grinned right back.
"There's something important that I need to tell you both." Davy said as Evelyn sat beside the girl and began to eat.
"What?" Michaela asked.
"When you go into Tortuga, you mustn't tell anyone that I brought you." Davy replied.
"Jack will want to know." Evelyn pointed out.
"He does not matter, but no one else can know." Davy said.
"I won't say anything." Michaela said, and Evelyn nodded.
"You have my word." she said. Davy sighed.
"Captain Marsdan, you may finish your meal outside if you wish; I need to have a word with Ms. Pearl in private." he said. Evelyn nodded and stood up with her food.
"I'll leave you two alone then." she said. Michaela grinned at her as she walked out, then climbed off the bed to sit on the bench beside Davy. They sat in silence for several seconds; the only sound was Michaela swinging her legs so her feet made a barely audible swooshing noise on the floor.
"I have a very important question to ask you." Davy said finally. Michaela didn't say anything; her blue eyes suddenly serious. Davy was struck with the vague notion that her deep, blue eyes seemed to carry the spirit of the sea in them.
"I don't really know why, but I care about you very much. I have a desire to take care of you and keep you safe, and if I'm going to be honest; I love you. I just want to know if that bothers you." he said. Michaela stared at the floor and clasped her hands in her lap in a very serious manner. At once, Davy grew worried that he should have kept his feelings to himself. Then she cleared her throat, still staring at the floor.
"So, does that mean that no matter what happens you'll never leave me?" she asked in a quiet voice. Davy leaned forward and wrapped her in a tight, and somewhat slimy, hug.
"Yes, it does." he whispered, kissing the top of her head. Michaela lifted her head and smiled at him, then laid her head against his chest.
"Love you too." she whispered with a yawn, closing her eyes. Davy lifted her onto his lap and quietly hummed his organ song, his arms wrapped securely around the little girl. Ten minutes later they were both fast asleep. Evelyn walked in on this scene in surprise, then smiled and shook her head as she walked back out.