Hehe, I guess it's been longer than a week again. Oops. I've been a little busy working on my other story lately. You can read that one too if ye'd like. It's called Fiction-Land, although I'd like to rename it to something more creative, and it's in the Kingdom Hearts section. It's got Wesley in it too, though. I'll try to get the next chapter up quicker. Read on!


Chapter 15

I looked down after a second, surprised that it was not I who was dead, but "Boswell." A half-dressed farmer, half-dressed black, British soldier ran up.

Out of breath, he asked, "Are you all right Stephen?" Before noticing he had saved, not his friend but a boy. "Wait," he continued, "you're not Stephen."

Not again, I thought.

"Man, I hate it when that boy sends me pirates to transport, but you're Wesley right?" He inquired after looking at me for a second.

I nodded. That was a good sign.

"You're okay Kid, come on." He put his arm around my shoulder and we walked ashore as he kept talking, "So where're ye headed?"

"Tortuga," I replied.

Kemina popped up from her hiding place, grabbed the bag of mail, and jumped into the water to follow. Boswell—the real one—turned around when he heard the splash.

"Kid it's a good thing we've got a long journey because you have a lot of explaining to do."

"As do you, it's not often ye find a pirate in British uniform."

He looked at his clothes and smiled.

Not too long after that, the three of us were herding a flock of sheep across the island. We had stopped off at Boswell's hideout, met his assistant, dropped off some mail, and gotten another change of clothes. Then, we were on our way—with a smelly flock of sheep.

"And so," Boswell finished up his explanation, "That man wanted to kill Stephen while posing as me. And I would be taken away to rot in a jail 'til they hung me. I was really only waiting for you to start fighting before I did too. Now what's your story? Why ain't ye on the Pearl like you're s'posed ta be?"

"Well, I'm actually hardly ever on my ship because of being a bug. I was on a ship of the Spanish Armada waiting for my ship. As expected, it wasn't too long before they found out I was a pirate, but being as the are Spanish government officials, with no respect for even their own law, they were to kill me the next morning instead of on land."

"How did you get out?" Kemina asked. "What did you do?"

"The only thing I could think of to do: cut a hole in their ship. Then, obviously, they'd have to stop at a port. They were at the nearest island by morning and decided they might as well turn me in. Then, I took off and ran to save my life. I met Kemina," I gestured to her, "in the forest, and she came with me. And now, I'm going back to my ship."

"But Wesley," Boswell continued, "we both know your ship doesn't dock at Tortuga."

"Right, it's a place that can only be found if ye already know where it is. But I don't know, and someone on Tortuga does."

"Sorry Kid, Jack's been lost. No one's heard from him in months. He jus' disappeared after a storm." He went to the front of the flock; Kemina and I stayed in the back.

I thought for a while. There was no other way to get back, and Jack couldn't be gone. In my mind Jack couldn't die, and if he did, it wouldn't be that easily. I had to find him! Then, I was interrupted by Kemina.

"These pants are so uncomfortable! Worse than the last," she complained to herself. She took one shoe off and turned to me, "You wanna trade?"

I looked at the shoes and smiled, "No thank ye, anyhow, they wouldn't fit, too small."

"You could walk barefoot," she suggested.

"You walk barefoot!" I replied, trying to show her I wouldn't do it any more than she would. But then, she took her other shoe off with an "okay," and kept walking.

"No! I didn't really mean that," I said, hurrying after her, "there's thorns—" but before I'd gotten that out, she stepped on one.

"Ow!" She called, looking at the bottom of her foot. There in her heel was a small red dot where the thorn had punctured.

"Now your shoes are really going to hurt you," I said, trying not to laugh. Then, she laughed, so I did too.

We continued traveling through the islands one by one, POLAND by POLAND. While none were quite as exciting as Boswell's, each one was different with its own challenges. Climbing up fifty foot rock cliffs, sneaking into the governor's wagon, and a fifteen foot snake that scared Kemina so much she fainted were just some of the experiences. Every POLAND was also different; from kingly merchant to hobo, and from African slave to British soldier.

Eventually, we came to the last leg. I started worrying. I still had no idea what to do once on Tortuga. Everyone had mentioned that Jack was missing or most likely dead. I was sure I could find someone to help me on Tortuga, but then I remembered the people there hated me. Not everyone hates me for my fiasco with Jack, do they? I asked myself, but I couldn't think of anyone I would ask for help who wouldn't hate me. And even if they didn't, would they when they found out I was still looking for him? Would anyone be stupid enough to go searching for him? No one knew where he was.

I was thinking of all these things as we climbed the last hill to get into Tortuga around dusk. All of this was interrupted by Kemina who could still only think of her own discomfort. I heard her say something about it.

I rolled my eyes and replied, "How 'bout I buy ye a dress when we get down there if ye stop complainin'."

She thought for a second, and, apparently conceding herself to the idea, she changed the subject. "You still haven't told me about this Jack we're going after."

"And ye have yet to tell me a single thing about you."

"All right…I was born just outside of Madrid, Spain, the second of twins. The doctor insisted my father have me killed, but Mother wouldn't have it. She sent me down to live with my grandparents in the Caribbean. But they were both very old and had died before I was six. There was no one to take care of the plantations, so the Africans took over. Gradually, the slaves took over the whole island."

"That's unusual," I noted when we got to the top of the hill. "Look," I pointed down, "Welcome to Tortuga."

"That doesn't look too bad," she stated mistakenly as we continued walking. Then, she kept telling the story, "However, the woman they elected queen took pity on me and my friend around my age. She allowed us to live, and work for her in the palace—one of the old plantations. I know it seems weird, but Saba's really a nice place."

"Aye," ( smiled, "that's weird." I helped her down off a large rock.

"So, I told you about me, now tell me about Jack."

"He's the first real pirate I officially met. He was in love with my mother, before she died."

"Oh, your mother died. You never told me that part," she said sadly, taking my hand to hop down the last small jump.

"Hmm…Jack was the only thing that really made her happy after Sammuel died. He could make anyone happy, though, always drunk—but a happy drunk. And if ye could make it past his dirty face and bad breath, he's truly an intelligent, kind man."

She laughed. "And why are we looking for him?"

"He's the only person who can lead us back to my ship."

"Oh," she said, suddenly distracted by the older man who warns of coming volcanic disasters. "Poor old man," she empathized as we approached him, "left here with no support."

He was not as active as he had been before. Now he sat at the edge of town vaguely mumbling the warning. "Don't forget 'bout the volcano Kid," he commented quietly as we walked by.

I patted his shoulder. "We won't stay long Gramps, no worries." I walked on. It was nice to know someone didn't hate me, or maybe he just didn't remember that he did.

"He's delirious too!" Kemina exclaimed pitifully, "Shouldn't we help him?"

"Kemina," I replied, drawing her away from him, "his parents left him a gigantic inheritance. When he was 24, he moved down here and invested it all in a lifetime supply of alcohol. Then, the alcohol—not his age—made him delirious. He doesn't need your help."

"Oh," she was shocked.

"Now, prepare yourself for the real city." I gestured out as we became surrounded by men with rum, women with guns, children with swords, drinking and revelry everywhere. Kemina just looked around, horrified by how people could get away with such things.

We kept walking into the city, and Kemina kept scooting closer and closer to me as she saw more and more unusual people. Suddenly, she grabbed my hand. I looked to see what had bothered her. Then, I saw it, a drunk man on a balcony flirting dirtily with a woman in a very revealing dress. I could tell she was a prostitute because she seemed to enjoy the crude comments and nasty remarks. Something must have made the man mad because he dumped his beer down her dress. She slapped him and walked away.

Kemina looked scared. She was probably thinking, What if that happens to me?

I realized what she was thinking, so I turned to her and said, "Kemina, if anyone tries to do that to ye, ye tell him to stop." Then I kept walking.

"And what if he doesn't?" She asked, following me.

"The people will make him 'cause there's enough girls here who like it, that, legally, they have to protect those who don't," I paused and looked back at her as I turned the corner. "You'll be all right. Don't worry."

This street wasn't quite as crazy as he last. This was the "honest" merchant side of town, which didn't mean there were no thieves. It was just easier to get caught.

"Wait!" Kemina called, suddenly stopping in front of a man by the side of the road. She pulled off her hat, letting her hair fall down, and pulled a small pouch from the hat. As she reached for the few silver pieces in her pouch to give to the "beggar," I caught something out of the corner of my eye. Cautiously, I took one.

"Thank ye Miss," The pretend beggar said to Kemina as she moved toward me, "May Morgan bless ye fer the kindness of yer heart!"

She frowned, unaccustomed to the saying. I just smiled and shook my head, continuing to walk.

"What was that for?" She asked, catching up.

"What?"

"That look…you shook your head at me. Why?"

"Hide this in your shirt," I replied, seemingly changing the subject. I handed her a large bag of gold pieces—what I had stolen from the "beggar."

"Why? You didn't steal it or anything…did you?"

I just smiled.

"From that poor old beggar? You should be ashamed of yourself!" She turned away a little.

"No Kemina, you should be ashamed of yerself." I said calmly, "he had six of these, six! A beggar like that can make more money off of kind, ignorant people like yerself than an honest business man can. And ye fell right into his trap."

She looked back to me, and I continued, "Life amongst pirates is different from that in a palace. There ye live to help others; here to live, one can help no one but themselves…so well ye hide the gold fer me or not?"

She took the bag and stuffed it down her shirt. We continued walking, and Kemina acted like she was pregnant. In less than a minute, we were at a small market stand, and the clerk was laughing at us as Kemina tried to decide on a dress.

"Which do you like Wesley? Blue or yellow?" She asked holding them against herself.

"They're the same dress," I replied, not really caring, "and they're both blue and yellow."

"Yes, but this one has more blue, and that one has more yellow." She held the left one out for blue and the right one out for yellow.

"I don't know; I can't tell the difference…blue."

"Blue then," she laid the blue dress on the counter near a mail bag I was getting to hide the money and handed the yellow one back to the clerk.

"Oh, very nice choice," the clerk commented, fondling the dress one last time. "May I inquire as to the occasion for such a nice, pricy dress?"

I thought for a second. That dress shouldn't have been "pricy."

"How expensive is it?" I asked.

"Ten shillings," he replied, "imported from—"

"Ha!...My mother could make it for less than two! No importation necessary. I shall not pay you more that that fer it, and two for the bag as well, savvy?"

"Fine, as you say…is that all?"

:"Aye."

"That'll be four shillings," he told me, but Kemina still had the money.

"Kemina," I said when she didn't pay him. Somehow she had gotten distracted by some rings. "Kemina," I repeated.

"Huh?" She looked away from them holding one.

The clerk took advantage of her interest in the, saying, "Those rings come directly from West Africa. Made from a stone—"

"Jiwe mwa moto," Kemina interrupted, "I know. Meaning 'the stone of energy' in Swahili. Supposed to change your personality to that of the phrase engraved in it. I want this one." She handed it to me. The clerk looked surprised; he didn't even know that much.

It was made of a red marble-ish stone surrounded by a gold outline and engraved on it were some gold squiggles. It was beautiful.

"Where's the phrase?" I asked, looking around for words.

"There," she replied, laughing as she pointed to the squiggles. Then, she read it.

"What?"

"It means love in Swahili."

"In Swa-what?"

"Swahili…the language most Africans speak."

"You speak the language of the Niggers?" The clerk was surprised again.

I handed him the ring and Kemina handed him four of the coins from her bag, noting, "Not Niggers. Africans." He pushed the stuff toward us. I grabbed the mail bag and Kemina grabbed her dress and ring. We walked off before he could notice she hadn't paid for the ring.

"You bloody pirates!" he called after us. "You stole that!"

We quickened our pace and blended into the crowd, laughing all the while. Not to far down the road, we stopped off at a tavern for Kemina to change into her dress.

"How do I look?" She asked as she came back out.

"Uncomfortable," I replied. Then, I continued, "I never expected you to do that."

"What? Go into a bar?" She handed me the bag of money back.

"That too." I took the bag. "But to steal a ring."

She broke out laughing again, and I put the money in my mail bag. She'd had a drink; I could tell.

"Come on," Kemina laughed, "let's go find Jack."

"Give it back," I said, this time following her.

"What?"

"My money that you stole to buy a drink."

"I didn't buy anything," she lied.

I just watched her for a second. There had only been time for one drink, yet she was tipsy already.

"Honestly Kemina, alcohol really doesn't look well on ye."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Uh huh," I agreed, "ye can't even walk a straight line."

"Well, you stole all that money anyhow."

"Aye, but I didn't get caught. Stealin's only okay if ye don't get caught." She had a confused look on her face, so I added, "Seriously!"

We kept walking and eventually made it to another main road. Kemina grabbed my hand again because of all the unusual people.

"Where are we going?" She asked after a while. So I started explaining Becca, how she had taught me sword fighting, and that she was the only person I could trust. Suddenly, Kemina's hand left mine. I turned around to find her, but I couldn't. It was dark now, and searching by the light of the surrounding bars, I finally caught a glimpse of her. Kemina was trying to get away from a man. People were going about their business like nothing was happening. She wasn't making a big enough fuss, but there were so many people between us. I couldn't get to her.

"Kemina!" I called, trying to find my way through the crowd.

"Wesley!" She screamed back, looking away from the man. He had her by the wrists, and was talking dirty to her with alcohol breath. "Stop it!" She pulled away, but he held tighter. "Let me go!"

Finally, I broke through the crowd. I grabbed Kemina's elbow at the same time as she screamed, "Let me go!" again and he let go. Kemina fell into my arms. However, because of Kemina's last plea that made the man let go of her, everyone in the crowd turned and looked at us.

Obviously, they thought I was the culprit because instantly I was surrounded by men. Kemina was ripped from my arms, my bag was thrown to the ground, and I was escorted to the front of the square. Kemina wanted to help, but she noticed the man who harassed her picking up my bag and walking away. She paused, contemplating what to do first, before chasing after the man. Kemina grabbed the bag and kicked the man in the shin. They fought over the bag for a second—like a game of tug-of-war. Then, the man figured he could live without the money. He pushed Kemina over and ran off, leaving her with the bag.

After a moment, she got up and brushed herself off. She hurried to the front of the crowd to save me. However, when she got there, I was already about to be hung. The people had brought me up to a small ledge and tied my hands behind my back. Another man emerged with a rope. He threw it over a branch of the tree next to me, and the hoop fell down in front of me. I swallowed and held my breath as one of the men—who seemed to be the leader—placed the rope over my head. This was not how things were supposed to go. I closed my eyes.

That's when Kemina showed up. "Mi Dios," she whispered, "you are fast."

My eyes shot open, "Kemina! Do something!"

"Aye," the leader laughed, pushing me a little. I almost fell off the ledge because I couldn't balance too well. He continued, "She'll do somethin' to save ye, my perverted friend."

I looked down at Kemina. She just stood there. Why wasn't she helping? Was she scared? Confused? She couldn't be. There was nothing to be confused about. The leader pushed me again. I was going to fall soon if she didn't do anything. If I fell…well, you know. Kemina had so much going though her mind. I could tell that much. When I stumbled the second time, though, she snapped out of it.

"Stop!" She screamed, climbing onto the ledge. "He didn't do it," she said to the leader. "He didn't do it!" She repeated to the crowd.

Finally, I thought, breathing again.

"What?" The man with the rope asked. He probably figured that if she were going to do that, she would have way before then.

"This is my friend, Wesley…he was protecting me."

"Why didn't ye say so Miss?" The leader asked, taking the rope off my neck and untying my hands. Kemina hugged me.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, laying her head on my shoulder. I felt uncomfortable like that. We weren't even friends yet. We'd only known each other for a week, but she was already hugging me. Girls were quick into a relationship.

The rope man walked over to the leader. "That's a little suspicious," he said. The other man nodded.

"Do you think she might say somethin' different if he's not around?"

"I don't see why…" The leader thought for a moment, "We'll just have to find out." He walked up to us. "Miss, if this young man's not to blame, then who is?"

Kemina looked out into the crowd, eyes searching for the man. I looked too, but neither of us found him.

"He's not here," Kemina replied.

"He's not here," the leader repeated, glancing back at the rope man. "If you saw a picture of him, would you recognize him?"

"Yes."

"Come along them."

She looked at me for an answer. Maybe she was afraid of being with yet another pirate. Maybe she didn't want to leave me there alone. I don't know why she looked at me, but I smiled back. There were plenty of things I could do to keep busy. She set the bag down and followed the leader. He stopped for a moment to whisper something to the rope man, and with a pat on the back, he and Kemina left. The rope man came over to me and grabbed me by the elbow.

"I'm gonna keep me eye on ye," he said quietly. He picked up the bag and led me off in the same direction as Kemina had gone.