Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own anything related to Pirates of the Caribbean or Little Mermaid. Well, except the movies, a Jack Sparrow poster, a magazine with his picture, and the Pirates soundtrack, but that's pretty much it. Only original creations (characters, places, etc) are mine.
AN: I know I'm updating early this week, but I'm making up for posting this story later than normal. Plus, I'll be way too busy later this week to post, so it's better I do it now than later. Thanks so much for reading, and please don't forget to review!
Chapter 2: A Set of Intriguing Events:
Yawning, I stretched out on the seaweed-covered stone I had made into a bed and let my tail swish slowly about in the water. I had chosen to make a nest on land last night, as nighttime sea creatures tend to poke their noses against us mermaids while we sleep. The cave was chilled, but merfolk weren't bothered by things like warmth or cold, and with a large mound of kelp and seaweed to soften the rock, I had no difficulty sleeping well.
An arm's length away from me was the wooden box I had taken from the sunken ship, its contents spilled out across the stone. After some time in the captain's living area, I had come up with little else to take with me. The garments humans wore were of little use to me, and after two hundred years of exploring ships, I had come to learn that, unlike mermen, human males possessed little in the way of things to decorate themselves with. It appeared that human females possessed these lovely things, but always seemed to requires far more than any mermaid could ever hope to gather.
'How they hope to wear all of it at once is something I will never understand,' I thought, shaking my head as I toyed with a necklace with emeralds set in it. 'Some of it is so heavy even a merman would have difficulty wearing it for very long!'
Perhaps they wore things one or two at a time? If so, they must have a horde somewhere, and go back to change out what they didn't want to wear anymore. But that would tie them down to one place, and that would not do for a mermaid or merman –we loved being free to go wherever we pleased and seeing new things. Being in the same place with the same people tends to get very boring to beings that could live several thousand years, barring accidents.
Tracing my fingers over my new findings, I knew the pearls would be my favorite hair adornment. With the long strand draped carefully around my arm, I bent over the still water of the lagoon, using it for a mirror, and began putting my hair into a tight braid.
Over, under, around, and through my locks wove the strand of pearls. The large center pearl sat perfectly at the center of my forehead, and the strands pulled to the back of my head, where they crossed over each other once before being interwoven within my braid. When I reached the end of both braid and strands, I firmly wrapped the pearls over and around the braid's tail and securely clipped it in place. Pleased with my work, I admired how prettily the pearls shone against the darkness of my hair.
'Now to look over the other things I brought back.'
Besides the bracelet of rubies and the necklace with emeralds, there was a smaller, thinner bracelet of blue sapphires, another bracelet of golden yellow stones the size of my fingernail, and several pairs of pretty things that I knew went on the ears. I had never worn them, but my sisters adored them. I should save them, for my next visit to their island.
My favorite of all my finds, however, were the two bracelets of white pearls that went beautifully with the strand in my hair. Since the pearls matched, and the other things were too heavy to wear (in my opinion, at least), I chose to tuck them into my satchel and return to the wreck for a more thorough search. There was likely a great deal that I had missed in the lower levels, and I could sort through all of my findings after I finished. Besides, I needed to catch my morning meal.
Slipping into the water, I narrowly missed an eel slithering past. It turned and gave me a watery hiss, and tried to bite my tail, but when I hissed back and flashed my poison-filled fins at him, he turned and swam off, muttering curses about me. I only smiled and headed out into the ocean, ready to hunt.
As I was new to the Caribbean, I was relatively unfamiliar with which fish were eatable and which were not. Luckily, I had paid attention to what the dolphins had hunted yesterday, and listened to their suggestions on what to hunt, so I was able to catch myself a nice meal of fresh, sweet fish. Perhaps this afternoon I would find another conch, or some clams, or even a crab.
Returning to the vessel, I dove downwards into its depths, searching for anything interesting. Here, I knew, most of the sailors slept, and they tended not to have much, so it was mostly out of curiosity than the desire to add to my collection.
As I emerged from the wreckage, a massive form glided overhead, covering me in its shadow. Looking upward, I wondered what a whale was doing here, and closed my eyes to ask it. However, instead of reaching the impressive, wise mind of a whale, I heard the jumble of human thoughts, and immediately withdrew my own questing ones. It wasn't a whale up there; it was a ship!
Normally, I avoided humans, but sometimes, my curiosity won out and I had to see what they were like, at least from a distance. Indeed, I had occasionally seen them from afar, sometimes by accident and sometimes for just a small glimpse, but perhaps it was time for me to get a closer look. Besides, I really ought to see what caused my sisters and cousins to dislike humans so much, and if they were the evil creatures we believed them to be.
With a flick of my tail, I shot through the water, careful to keep my head below the waves as I trailed behind the ship. It took a short while, but I soon began to realize that we were headed for the same island where I had my cavern, a fact which made me worry. I knew that no one had been in that cave before I arrived, but if humans decided to settle there, even for a little while, there was the risk that I would be seen and, eventually, hunted by them.
'I had better start looking for a second sanctuary soon, in case this should happen again.'
Much to my relief, the ship floated to the far side of the island, away from my cavern, and let down their huge metal anchor to keep their ship in one place. Well, that was a relief! They certainly wouldn't be able to discover my safe refuge from here!
A much smaller boat was lowered to the water, and I could not resist surfacing to take a closer look. Keeping myself hidden behind part of the ship, I studied the men in the tiny vessel. All were dirty, and a good number of them had hair on their faces as well as their heads, but they all seemed cheerful as they settled down to sit. I noticed, however, that they seemed to be waiting for something…or, perhaps, someone?
One of the ropes holding the little vessel steady began to sway wildly, and I couldn't resist a look upwards to see what was causing it. That was when I saw the oddest man begin the climb downwards towards his fellow sailors.
If it weren't for the legs, I could have sworn to Poseidon himself that this fellow was a merman. There were all sorts of odd things woven into his dark hair, as well as a piece of red cloth holding it all back and in place and I had to admire the way the rings on his hands sparkled. Merfolk did not wear rings –our hands had to be free in case of danger, and to handle our tools under water.
Squinting, I was thankful that my eyes were so keen, as I was able to see the black markings around his eyes, which were as dark as his hair. He was a very beautiful, for a human –I had never seen a more perfect nose or elegant face, and his smile was not only catching, it seemed to be a bit naughty as well.
Taking an even closer look at his face, I saw that there were even beads dangling from the hairs on his chin! Biting back a giggle, I watched as he turned briefly in my direction, his eyes not on his surroundings, but on the men around him. I saw him talk to some, nod towards others, and grin at a fellow with grey hair, who smiled back at him.
I believed him to be just another sailor, but the way the others deferred to him and his manner of dress indicated that he was the Captain. I watched in fascination as he stood at the front and directed the men towards shore, yelling things as the men labored to get to their destination. However, by the time they reached land, even my excellent eyes could barely see them clearly, and so I decided to risk a closer look. There were several stone outcrops in the water that I could hide behind, out of sight of both the men on land and on the ship.
Ducking under the water, I made my way to a cluster of tall rocks near the shore, and let my head out of the water only to just above my mouth. I could clearly see the ship, and the shore, but behind the rock, no one could see me…or so I hoped. Even if they did spot me, by the time anyone let out a cry of alarm, I would be gone long before they could hope to catch me.
Under their own power, my eyes drifted towards the Captain. I watched in amusement and amazement as he swayed oddly down the sand, his hands waving in the air in the strangest manner. In a merman, such gestures would not be unusual –we merfolk often gestured while speaking mind-to-mind with one another to emphasize what we were saying. In a human, however, this was unusual, and even I knew that the way he walked was not normal.
Now, I did not understand human speech, but I could read his actions and caught a glance of his thoughts, which was helpful. Apparently they were gathering food and other things for the ship, and the Captain wanted to be sure there was enough to last a while.
I honestly don't know how long I clung to the rock, watching him move back and forth, helping his men and giving them orders until the smaller vessel was full. That was when two or three men took it back to the main ship to be emptied, and brought it back to be refilled. This happened two or three times before the Captain was satisfied, and by then, all of them looked happy to leave.
Back to the ship they all went, talking and laughing tiredly, and it was here that I had a full view of the Captain's face. He looked very pleased, and very handsome, but he also looked more than a little smug with himself. I sighed quietly –there were several mermen I had met who were just as arrogant as this fellow looked, and I hadn't been able to bear being around them for very long. A pity this human looked as they did.
'But he is still good, at least a little. He obviously cares for his men, and is at least on good terms with them, so he must not be so terrible.'
From my hiding spot, I waited until the anchor was lifted and the ship was heading out to sea before emerging. By then, they were far enough away that they could not see me, and I was free to go where I pleased.
And, of course, it pleased me greatly to trail behind the ship and its fascinating Captain.
We hadn't gone far from the island before I noticed a change in the water. A large storm was coming, and though I was relatively safe enough in the sea, the humans were in very great danger and I dared not warn them for fear of being attacked and killed.
'They are sailors,' I assured myself. 'They must know how to take care of themselves in a storm.'
I should have left them at that point, but for some reason, I could not. A part of me cried out that I needed to leave and go to my cave for shelter, but my heart told me to stay and be sure that the ship and its crew were alright.
As I expected, it wasn't long before the waves grew rough, and the currents beneath them soon followed. The water changed from a clear blue to a menacing grey, and as I looked up, I noticed that the ship was rocking from side to side. This was going to be a very bad storm indeed, and to keep myself safe, I needed to delve deeper into the sea, so that I would not risk being harmed by objects falling from the ship or being tossed about in the currents.
Down I went, down into the darker depths of the water, but I always stayed within sight of the ship, waiting for trouble to come. When it came to humans, trouble was always close by.
I found myself growing tired as great gusts of wind blew the ship forward and the currents pushed against me, but still I swam on, determined to stay as close to them as I could. I did stop to rest once and a while, and to hunt a fish or two for sustenance, but never for long. I ate while I swam, and stopped only when necessary.
Up above, the storm grew stronger, and I dared to rise a bit in the water, my senses strained as I tried to measure how dangerous things were all around me. The sea was my home and my element, and I was able to read it perfectly in whatever situation arose. That was why, when a living human splashed into the water, I knew immediately.
Terrified for the poor soul, I raced to the floating form, and was shocked to see the Captain with the beaded hair. Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around his waist and began to haul him back to the surface. Before we had gone too far, I knew that I would not make it in time –he would die long before then, drowned in my arms.
Looking at his unconscious form, I made a quick decision. Closing my eyes, I called on the small spark of magic that each mermaid possessed, a power that was rarely used by my people. When I felt it swell up into my throat, I opened my eyes and pressed my mouth to the Captain's, parting his soft, warm lips with my tongue to give him the Breath of the Sea.
I aught not to have done it, but the Breath was the only thing that could save him. It gave humans the ability to breathe underwater, but only for a short time -just long enough for them to reach the surface and to the air they naturally breathed. In my lifetime, no mermaid had used this ability –it had been used frequently in ancient times, back before we were hunted and feared by humans, but not now.
From my throat drifted a small wisp of shining blue mist that was pure sea magic, and at my will, it flowed from my lips and past his to settle into his lungs. Once the power had fully left me, I pulled away, waiting to see if it took to him.
For a moment, nothing happened, but to my relief and joy, he began to breathe as I did, though he remained mostly unconscious. That was good; at least he would not be able to see who –or what- had saved him!
Grabbing a firm hold on him, I swam towards the surface, my tail straining to get there before the spell ran its course. It felt like ages, but finally, there it was, and I, nearing exhaustion, forced myself to breach the water, the Captain still in my arms. As I struggled to keep him afloat, I realized that I could not let his sailors see me. I would have to abandon the poor man as close to the ship as I dared without being caught.
Turning onto my back, I ducked myself beneath the water and turned the Captain so that he faced upwards, letting him breathe while I swam at his back, clutching to the back of his clothes so that I was not seen as I took him back towards the ship. It took ages, swimming through the rough waves, but when we finally reached the ship, it wasn't long before my burden was spotted by one of the crew.
Relieved that I could now release the man I carried, I sank deep below the waves just as a rope dropped to the water and a man jumped after it.
Not daring to remain, I let myself sink to the bottom of the sea, where I was able to find a nice patch of sand to curl up and fall asleep on.
"Captain, are you alright?" yelled a voice in his ear, startling him awake.
Opening his eyes, Jack looked up at the anxious faces of his first and second mates. "Aye, I believe so. What happened? The last thing I remember is a wave knocking me overboard."
Anna-Maria snorted. "That's what Gibbs saw, but really, Jack, you know better than to try running along the deck without a secure rope around you for safety! And what were you thinking, leaving the helm to Cotton when you should be navigating the Pearl through a storm?"
He waved her words aside. "Nevermind that. What happened? How did I get back onboard?"
Gibbs shook his head. "You must have a god of luck on your side, Captain. Sure enough, you went overboard, but somehow, as the Pearl sailed onwards through the storm, you managed to drift up close to us. Not sure how, but when I tried to search you out in the sea, there you were. It was almost like Poseidon himself was pushing you towards the ship so that we could find you."
Anna rolled her eyes. "Must be that Jack Sparrow luck you always talk about, Gibbs. Now, we've a ways to go before this storm tires out. Do you want the helm back, Jack, or should one of us take over it while you rest up in your cabin?"
Jack scowled at her. "Rest up in my cabin? What sort of whelp do you take me for, Anna-Maria? You two get back to work while I get us to shore, savvy? We'll be in Tortuga early tomorrow, and only after we're safely in its docks will I settle for a rest! Now get back to your duties, before my Pearl sinks into the sea!"
Without hesitation, they ran off, leaving Jack to haul himself to his feet and get to the helm, where he relieved Mr. Cotton. As the mute man and his bird headed off to help the rest of the crew, Jack gripped the wheel's spokes and frowned, his concentration fully on getting them safely to dock.
But in the back of his mind, part of him wondered how on earth he'd managed to escape death this time, when he was sure the sea should have claimed him.
AN: Well, what do you think? A shorter chapter this time, but one with a lot going on, so hopefully that makes up for it. Please be kind and review to let me know how I'm doing. Thanks!