Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing related to Pirates of the Caribbean. That belongs to Jerry Bruckheimer, Disney, and a bunch of other people. Only original characters and plotlines are mine.
AN: Here's another chapter! Thanks so much to everyone for reading this story; I'm glad that people like it, or at least find it interesting (for now, at least). Thanks again, and please be kind and review.
Chapter 3: A Touch of Destiny:
By midmorning the next day, the Pearl made it to shore without any other traumatic incidents, though how they managed that was beyond Jack. No one else had gotten swept overboard, or even seriously injured -there were the usual strained muscles, pulled limbs, and a twisted ankle or two, but that was to be expected.
As Jack knew would happen, there were other ships limping into Tortuga, and he considered himself lucky that there was room for the Pearl to dock -his crew needed have their wounds tended to, and Gibbs had to take stock of what supplies they were short of or what had been lost in the storm. Needless to say, things were going to get very busy for him, and for his first and second mates.
Seeing as he'd been swept out to sea (and miraculously rescued), Jack had been forced by Anna-Maria into visiting the best doctor in Tortuga. By normal standards, men who called themselves 'doctors' in this pirate port were mediocre, at best, and at worst, hacks that killed more patients than they saved.
Luckily, Doctor Phillips was better than mediocre, and actually knew what he was doing. So when he told Jack to rest for a few days and let his first and second mates perform the tasks of seeing to the Pearl and her crew, Jack took the advice to heart and retired to bed.
Of course, after only one full day of sleeping and eating in bed, he was extremely restless.
"Normally, I like being a bit lazy, but only in small amounts," he complained to the empty cabin. "I'm a man of action! I need to go out and do something, or else I'll go mad from boredom!"
The problem was, there was nothing for him to do. The wounded were all resting in their hammocks, and Gibbs had made sure that their remaining supplies had all been tallied and appropriately restocked. Anna was in town with a list of medicines to keep onboard, and all the men who weren't injured or on duty aboard the Pearl were in town, amusing themselves. The Pearl wasn't even badly damaged, so all repairs had been finished quickly.
"Worst of all, we won't be leaving for a few days yet," Jack grumbled. "Why should I stay bedridden like a weakling? It's not like I've got a bloody concussion! I wasn't even hurt, just slightly soggy from a dip in the water!"
Not to mention that closed spaces were his least favorite places –they reminded him of jail cells and dungeons. Even his own quarters began pressing in on him after too much time indoors, which was why he preferred being outside and in the open during a storm or hurricane. With a rope around his waist to keep him onboard, the deck was where he'd much rather be, with the wind, the rain and the sea all around him.
'Outside is where I need to be,' he realized.
Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Jack pulled on his boots, effects, hat and coat, and threw open the door leading to his main cabin. A tray with lunch sat waiting for him, all of it portable food he could take with him. Onto a cloth napkin he tossed a chicken leg, some bread, cheese and an apple, taking it all with him onto the deck, where he immediately sat upon the steps leading up towards the helm.
As he ate his luncheon, he couldn't help but think about what had happened to him only a day or two ago. It wasn't something he wanted to bring up to his crew, or even Gibbs and Anna-Maria –if he did, they would think him mad, and that was the last thing he needed.
'Still, I can't help what I feel in my gut,' he reasoned to himself. 'And my gut is telling me that it wasn't mere luck that kept me from dying in the sea during that storm.'
Someone, or something, had saved him from drowning, and he could only guess what it was. It might have been either a sea spirit, like a nymph, a dryad, or a sprite, or it could have even been a mermaid (which was laughable). All Jack knew was that he had felt death coming upon him, and something had pulled him from an imminent watery grave.
'But had it been my time to go?' he wondered.
All he knew was that he'd been on deck, trying to help the men tie down several key ropes while Cotton held the helm, and somehow been hit by a bit of flying debris. He'd then gone overboard, and the next thing he knew, he was being saved.
'It felt like arms had been around me, dragging me to the surface. But I could swear that I was able to breathe as we made our way up through the water! How is that possible?'
It shouldn't have been, and yet, he'd been taken to the surface, air in his lungs, and somehow broke through the waves near the Pearl, where he was rescued by his crew.
But in the back of his memories, Jack could swear to Heaven that he'd felt a woman's lips on his own, a kiss that had surely saved his life. And as if that weren't enough, he could swear that, as he was being dragged onboard by Gibbs, he had seen the outline of a woman in the water. The others had been too busy fussing over him, but Jack knew what he had seen.
Shaking those dark thoughts from his head, Jack pondered what to do with his day. He had to take things easy, or else he'd get an earful from not just Anna, but also Gibbs. Honestly, it was like having his parents onboard!
He shuddered at that thought. 'Best to keep my mind on a happier note.'
Perhaps a walk along the beach would do the trick. It'd been a while since he spent time on land, and walking tended to open up the mind and put it at ease, so why not?
Quickly polishing off his food, Jack tossed the remnants over the side and headed down towards the docks, letting his feet take him towards the beach. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he would find something interesting down on the sand –unusual things tended to wash up on shore after a rough storm.
When I woke from my exhausted sleep, it took me a little while to determine my surroundings. Reading the emotions of the creatures around me, I immediately knew that it hade been a day since the storm –and judging from my internal sense of direction, I was also a long ways from my cavern.
This was not a good thing, as sleeping for long periods of time out on the ocean floor could be dangerous for even a mermaid. Currants could sweep us away, and we could easily be killed by these currants smashing us against rocks, or worse, washing us up into the sight of humans, who would not hesitate to capture, torture, and kill us.
How fortunate for me that one of the greater sharks was passing by! I knew that humans feared them, but if one catches a shark at the right moment and they are in the right mood, they could be very helpful –particularly if you promise to feed them something as payment.
Locating a conch on the floor, I quickly killed it. After keeping some of it for myself, I offered the shark the rest of my kill, like I had done with the dolphins. When it came to making bargains with sharks or other hunters of the sea, conch was the best payment –it was a favorite of theirs, but without hands or tools, it was incredibly difficult for them to get past the hard shell that protected the tender, snail-like creature within.
With the edge taken off his hunger, the shark permitted me to grip his large fin in my hands so that he could pull me along. When my grip was secure, he gave a powerful flip of his tail and we were off, racing through the water at speeds a human could not imagine. It would take time to reach my safe haven, but at least I would not have to make the swim myself!
When we finally reached the area outside the cavern, I immediately went to work, hunting mussels, fish and oysters to feed the shark, thereby fulfilling the other half of my bargain with him. That took a great deal of effort, but when I finished, I was home and the shark was content, so the both of us were satisfied.
After eating my part of the conch from what I had slain for the shark, I managed to flop myself down on the cave floor for a long rest.
The next day, I woke feeling very refreshed and contented. A new day had dawned, and I was eager to go out exploring again.
Stretching out my tail, I dove into the water and headed out to sea, only to be met by a shocking sight. Before me were two of my sisters, and one of my cousins, a Siren.
I didn't bother to ask how they had gotten here so quickly –it was likely that they asked Poseidon or one of the minor sea deities for help in getting to the Caribbean. No, what puzzled me was what they were doing here in the first place, as my sisters Anemone and Aquamarine usually remained in the waters off of England, or near the waterway that led to the Mediterranean. The Siren was a stranger to me, but from the red gemstone decorations in her thick black hair, it was likely that she'd assumed the name "Ruby," for her favorite hairpieces.
"Sisters," I greeted with a nod of my head as I sent my thoughts towards them. "Cousin. What brings you to my storm sanctuary?"
Anemone's blue-green eyes bore into mine as her thoughts answered my own. "You do, sister. We know what you did, not more than two days ago."
Our eldest sister, Aquamarine, shook her head, disappointment glowing in her purple eyes. "Oh, Coral, how could you do such a thing? You know how it is against our laws to save humans from death!"
That made me angry. "It is one of your ancient laws, not mine. You and those who seek the deaths of sailors created that law for yourselves to follow, not for the rest of us! A precious life was in danger, and I saved him. I have done nothing wrong!"
Aquamarine sighed, sending up a stream of bubbles. "Coral, what applies to us applies to all merfolk. You saved the life of a human, something that has been forbidden for centuries in order to preserve the secrecy of our people."
Anemone gave me a tender look. "We know that, in the last two centuries, one or two of our kind have saved humans from death, but they always grew to regret it later. Those same humans they saved eventually tried to hunt us and destroy anything in their path in order to discover our secrets. We cannot risk that same thing happening again."
The Siren, who had eyes of blue ice, glared at me. "I am here, Cousin, to act out punishment on behalf of our people, as is befitting a Siren daughter of Poseidon. Your sisters have a strong affection for you, and therefore asked for mercy on your behalf. Thus, I must put to you one last chance to redeem yourself for your act."
Her words frightened me a great deal. "Saving a life is not a crime," I insisted, "And if it is, it shouldn't be."
"Nonetheless, in this case, it is," the Siren firmly told me. "The choice before you is this: you must lure a human to his death, to be taken in the stead of the one who ought to have died. If you do not, you will be cast out of the sea and cursed, doomed to be turned into the very creature you saved and to live that way until the end of your days."
"In this case, you will be a human," Aquamarine sadly told me. "Please, Coral. We don't want you to become one of them!"
The very idea of leaving the sea and all that I loved frightened me. No longer would I be free to travel beneath the waves and see all of the marvelous, darling creatures that loved here. Instead of being suspended in the water, able to float and drift wherever I willed, I would be tied to land, forced to move by shifting feet back and forth. Rather than hovering over interesting things in the sand, I would have to hunch over and strain myself to investigate.
But could I take the life of another creature? True, I did so in order to eat, but humans were so like merfolk in form –could I take the life of someone who looked like me? My sisters did so, and gladly, but I was nothing like them.
'However, if I do not, I will lose everything I love dearly,' I thought, panicked.
Looking at them briefly, I sighed and hung my head. "I will try to do as you ask."
My stomach was in knots as I made my way towards the nearest island, one that my sisters had told me was inhabited by humans. As I neared shore, I could hear the chatter of hundreds of human minds, and had to try to block them all out. It was so much easier with dolphins and whales than it was with humans –the human mind was so much more complex and befuddled that it tended to give all merfolk aching heads whenever we ventured too close to their large cities.
All too soon, I arrived near the shoreline, keeping myself hidden as I searched for a human male, preferably one that was alone and very close to the water. Humans tended to wander into the sea to play or swim, so it was only a matter of time before I had to…
I shook the thought from my head. If I did not think about it, perhaps my task would be easier to carry out than if I did.
Nearing the shore, I hid behind a cluster of rocks and looked out at the sand. There was a human male, but also a female and a young one, who was also female –clearly a human family. The grown ones looked very happy as they stretched out a bit of cloth on the sand, the tiny girl running around laughing as she picked up things from the sand to show her mother and father. It was a charming sight, and I marveled at the odd way the little girl moved upon her tiny feet.
My heart immediately began to ache. What if I drowned a man who had young ones and a mate? How could I live out my centuries of life knowing that I had taken the life of a creature who had left loved ones behind?
I could not do it. I am not a killer.
Turning, I left the happy family on the beach, knowing I had done the right thing.
The Siren shook her head. "I am disappointed in you, Cousin. You could not even do away with a single human to save yourself from a horrible fate. That says a great deal about your character."
Anemone and Aquamarine looked at me with sadness, disappointment, and just a touch of anger. They had not been pleased when I returned without doing as they had asked, and had chosen to let the Siren speak for them rather than do so themselves.
I suppose I could have lied and claimed that I had done the deed, but as my people spoke in each other's mind, it was near impossible to lie. Thought usually came before one spoke actual words, and since my people did not use actual speech in the form of words –thus, any hope of lying was nonexistent for me. Humans could lie, of course, but they were able to think, then form whatever words suited them. How fortunate they were!
The Siren stared at me intensely, a cold, unfeeling look on her face. "Your punishment is clear. When dawn approaches, you will become human. You will be without the magic and lovely voice given to all mermaids. You will not have a friend in the world. Such is your fate after this day."
With that, she and my sisters were gone, leaving me floating there in the warm waters, my long tail resting upon the sandy floor.
I do not know what happened to me after they left. I could not remember swimming away from the spot, but somehow, it had grown dark and I was approaching an island that hummed with the thoughts of many humans dwelling there.
By the time I was in the shallows near the shore, it was deep night. The great area where the humans lived was in the distance, so no human could see me in the lack of light. Safe, for now, I was able to settle down on the sand just beneath the waves and close my eyes, a great emptiness filling my heart.
As I settled into sleep, the strangest dream crept upon me.
In my dream, I was awake as my cousin, the sea goddess Calypso, appeared before me, her form taking shape in the sea water. This very much unnerved me -I had seen her a mere handful of times over the centuries, and she had been glad to see me, but never before had she appeared in my dreams.
Why is she here now? Is it because I had brought her news and gossip from my travels, as well as small gifts from my scavenging of ships?
"Coral," she said, her voice clear and echoing in every drop of water around us, "You have always been good of heart to those around you, no matter what their shape or form. For this, I will do my best to soften the curse that your sisters and cousin have placed upon you."
She smiled. "Although I am a minor goddess of the sea, my powers cannot fully undo something cast by both merfolk and Siren, as Poseidon's magic flows through them, and is stronger than my own."
Her words were a puzzle to me, but I chose to listen. The words of a sea goddess should always be considered.
"While you will lose your voice, I will help you to keep much of your mermaid magic," she continued, smiling. "You will still be able to speak with the creatures of the sea, and to use the powers of your mind so that you may understand the words spoken by humans, as well as their ways."
That was kind of her, but what good were those when I could never return to my home?
Calypso, however, was not finished. "But the greatest gift I will allow you to retain is the ability to use the Breath of the Sea on a mortal in need. What many of the merfolk do not know is that possessing the Breath grants the bearer the ability to breathe beneath the waves for a long period of time."
She grinned. "Granted, that is of no real importance to a mermaid, as she already has the ability to breathe beneath the waves, but as a human with this power, it will be of great use to you, particularly if you wish to spend more than a few minutes swimming with dolphins or sharks."
I was speechless. This was far more than I could have ever hoped for! But why was she allowing all this? Why did she not think like my sisters and cousin did?
As though she could read my thoughts – which she probably could – Calypso reached out in her watery form and brushed my cheek with her hand. "You will be able to retain all of this because of your good deed towards others," she said kindly. "It is something your sisters could never learn, and I am proud that you are one of the few merfolk who has a good soul. For this, you will remain a mermaid in every way except in shape and voice."
Pulling her fingers back, I saw that her eyes were glowing white with power. "When you wake, dear Coral, you must remember this: that although you will be in a silent human form, should you find someone to love you for who you are, muted and all, you will regain the voice you have lost."
With that, my dream ended, and when it did, a terrible searing pain tore through my tail, causing me to wake and scream in torment.
It only lasted a moment, but to me, it seemed like an eternity. When the pain ended, I fainted in relief, collapsing onto the shallow sea floor with no idea what would happen when I woke.
AN: Well, what do you think? Poor Coral, but at least a certain Captain will be around soon to help her out! Please don't forget to review!