Lessons in Secrecy

"Let's try that again, love."

It was another scorching day aboard the Dutchman and Will was trying to get a few more sword-fighting lessons in before the sun set. God forbid they ran into any trouble, but he wanted Alanna to be prepared nevertheless. She gave her best efforts, but she was still lacking greatly in some areas. She was easily frustrated despite and words of encouragement, whether from him or his men. It was on one such parry that she finally snapped.

"Damn it!" she cursed, throwing her sword to the floor. "It's no use! I keep making the same mistakes. How you people do battle without injuring yourself is a miracle. You make it look so easy."

Will knelt and picked up the weapon and held it hilt-first in front of her, trying not to laugh. "It's not easy, I know," he agreed. "But you're coming along. You just need a little more practice."

"Fah," she scoffed, yanking the sword from him. " You're just saying that. I've got a long way to go, anybody can see that."

Will gave her a look that said 'that's not true' and looked to his crew for support. They all held the same expression, though all of them tried their hardest to keep a straight face. Grudgingly, Alanna took up the weapon, eyeing her comrades.

"I know what you're thinking," she said loudly, addressing them all. "I'll get this if it's the last thing I do. You have my word."

The men chuckled, but took the hint and went back to their duties. Will put on a serious face once more and moved into a fighting stance.

"Ok, once more," he warned. "I'm going to go a little faster so keep your guard up."

Alanna's face hardened, her eyes becoming more attentive. He gave no warning, but struck at once, nearly catching her off balance. She recovered her footing at the last minute, catching his blade inches from her body. Will moved fluently around her, making her take a defensive guard. Familiar with this pattern, she matched him blow for blow, circling his lean form with the eyes of a cat. She watched his movements intently; keen on spotting a flex of a muscle that would betray his next move. Unfortunately, many swordfights in his past had taught him to give nothing away, and eventually his intentions became very well hidden. In one swift motion, he feigned right, and in one side step he was behind her, striking for her neck. In the confusion, Alanna whirled and lost her footing. Will grinned and held out his arm to break her fall. In the next instant she found herself staring into his eyes, which were alight from the physical exertion.

"No bad," he asserted, leaning in for a short kiss. "You almost had me there."

"Almost," she said sarcastically as he lifted her to her feet. " I couldn't even land a blow on you, let alone one to disarm you."

"Well then I guess you're in trouble then," Arthur laughed, taking a swig from the tankard in his hand. "If another band of pirates decides to attack us, and we're out-numbered, don't count on one of us to come to your rescue."

It was meant to be a joke, but Alanna took it as an offense and lowered her head. She was trying her best, that part they couldn't deny, but what if he was right? Would she be able to defend herself in a real battle?

Arthur saw the discouraged look and re-thought his words. "I meant no disrespect, lass," he said kindly, placing her hand on her shoulder. "You'll be to best any of us in no time. Especially with a man like our William teaching you. Don't you worry."

Alanna offered a smile, assuring him there was no harm done. With another encouraging pat on the back, Arthur nodded to Will and headed back to his task. With a sigh, Alanna turned to Will. "I think that's enough for today," she said. "I think I've got more bruises than I can count."

"And there will be many more to come, trust me," he told her with a look of experience. She began to hand the sword back to him, but he protested.

"Keep it," he said with a smile. "I think you've earned it. It was one of my best work so I trust you'll keep it in good condition."

Picking up on the teasing tone, she moved closer. "And if I don't?" she challenged.

"If you don't," he murmured huskily. "You'll know what it's like to lose one's honor."

She scoffed. "Oh I think I've lost much more than my honor in the last few weeks, Mr. Turner," she informed him. "So I think I can survive without it."

Will laughed heartily and dipped her, kissing her passionately. The men above them stopped what they were doing and grinned down at the couple, hooting merrily.

Unable to keep her face straight, she broke the kiss, laughing along with them. Will released her, allowing her to recover at least some of her dignity. As she rose to her feet, she caught the eye of a youth standing in the corner of the deck. The smile died on her lips. The lad was tall and fair-skinned, with jet-black hair shadowing a pair of piercing emerald eyes. She found it impossible to look away as he moved stealthily around her, holding her gaze. Unwillingly, she began to tremble. She had never seen him before, since he apparently kept out of their way. Though he was part of Will's crew and therefore welcome, something about his eyes made her shiver involuntarily. For some reason, she felt the same bad vibe as when Will had mentioned Erebus and the Black Raven. What the connection was, she had no idea, but she made a note to tell Will about it when they were alone.

The opportunity did not come, however, until they were lying next to each other that night. Alanna had wrestled about how to bring it up throughout the evening, but could not find the right moment until now. Now that the time had come, she bit her lip against it. What would he think? Would he brush it off as unnecessary foolishness? After all, he had picked this crew himself…each of them had proved their loyalty to him. But what of this boy? Did Will trust him as well as he did the others? Either way, she wouldn't know until she asked. Feeling utterly ridiculous, she whispered into the darkness, hoping he'd be asleep.

"Will?"

The answering murmur turned her hope to ashes. He rolled over lazily and regarded her, his face relaxed.

"What is it?"

Alanna gulped, and Will's eyebrows furrowed. Whatever was on her mind, it was hard for her to address. No matter what it was, Will made a note of his own to let her know everything was all right. He drew her into his arms, his brown eyes gentle in the flickering candlelight.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me," he assured her. "I won't be upset, I promise."

She sat up to look at him better, settling herself against the wall. He moved with her, but she advised him to stay down. Smiling softly, he obeyed, propping himself on his elbow. She took a long breath, and plunged.

"Earlier today," she began. "After we had our lesson, I saw someone I hadn't noticed before."

She hesitated, but when he showed no sign of interruption, she took it for assent and continued.

"I don't mean to assume anything," she went on. "But as I looked at him, something just didn't feel right. He…he looked like he didn't belong."

A silent moment passed as Alanna waited for him to respond. His face showed no comprehension, but neither did it show anger or resentment. Seeing that he needed a bit more coaxing, she supplied him with more

"He's tall, gangly. With black hair and green eyes. He kept to the shadows a lot, and didn't speak to anyone."

For a moment, Will's face remained blank. Then, all at once, he knew whom she was talking about. He smiled in relief. "Felix," he sighed. "Felix Cuttifer. Yes I know of him. He came to be in my service when he was about eighteen. Unsteady lad. Spent nearly all of his first year below. He hated the ocean. After he got over the initial seasickness, though, he was always on deck. The crew loved him like one of their own, but I guess they felt the same way you do. They got a bad vibe from him, mostly because he spent most of his time by himself. After a while though, they got used it, and you will too. He's secretive, but there's nothing behind it. As I've told you many times before, you have nothing to fear."

Now having solid knowledge, she began to relax. He was absolutely right. Too many times she had encountered people she thought to be just quiet and wanting to stay out of everybody's way. She knew that better than anyone. She snuggled close to him, burying herself in his chest as she had done so many nights before. Her fears gone, sleep easily overtook her, surrounding her in its comforting embrace.

But as the crew of the Dutchman turned in for the night, little did they know Alanna's instincts were right on target. Unbeknownst to his comrades, Felix slipped from their sleeping quarters to deliver a message. Ever so silently, he crept to the edge of the ship, producing a small bottle from his pocket. Inside was a piece of parchment on which was the present coordinates of the Dutchman and hunches as to where they were headed. With a sly grin, he let it fall into the black abyss. He rubbed his hands together.

"Take care of that," he hissed to the open sea. "Erebus is going to need that if he wants to catch up to us. For the stunts I'm pulling, I better be getting my money's worth."

He swept his gaze over the deck, making sure he wasn't being followed. Satisfied, he watched the bottle until it was out of sight.

"It won't be long now," he said softly. "Soon Erebus will take what's rightfully his, and hopefully he'll keep his word and get me out of this god-forsaken place."

With one final glance toward the sea, he turned on his heel and disappeared into the shadows.

Just as Arthur had predicted, the temperaments of the sea began to change. Gigantic clouds began to form over the horizon, gathering moisture and strength as they hovered over the water. As the day wore on, the ocean became more and more aggressive, tossing the Dutchman around like she was a sailboat. Alanna stretched her arms over the railing, gazing at the oncoming storm. A lump of dread formed in her throat. Little did she know the careless thoughts from a week ago could come back to haunt her I've doomed us all she thought. Upon seeing her melancholy expression, Will strode towards her, placing a comforting arm around her waist.

"I know it looks bad," he said, following her gaze. "But we've faced worse than this. It'll be all right."

Alanna stilled herself, but did not trust herself to look him in the eye. "Forgive me," she said. "I don't see a lot of this. The idea of going head-first into a storm like this isn't exactly comforting."

"I know," he said, placing his chin on her shoulder. " But we have no choice. The nearest port is at least a day away. We'll be fine, love. Have a little faith."

As he turned away, Alanna grasped the locket around her neck, holding on for dear life. If the storm was as fearsome as it was leading on, they were going to need much more than faith to get them through the night.

Towards sunset, Will began dispatching orders to his men. From the looks of things, the wind was going to pick up considerably, and Will wanted to be sure the sails would not sustain any major damage. The men did as instructed, but, truth be told, they were a bit on edge. Even Arthur, old sea dog as he was, could hardly keep his eyes off of the approaching storm. As he secured the rope that held the sails in place, he shivered involuntarily. There was something brewing, and it wasn't the storm. He sent up a prayer to the sea goddess, pleading protection from her wrath…and from whatever else lurked beyond the horizon.

Though the crew of the Dutchman looked at the storm with an attitude of fear, it was a quite different atmosphere aboard the Black Raven. Erebus stood at the helm, a devious smirk on his face. They were a great distance from Will and his crew, but that would soon change when darkness fell. His cobalt eyes flashed with long-awaited triumph. After two years of waiting, he would finally get his chance. His thoughts were disturbed, however, when someone shouted from below him.

"Requesting orders, sir."

Erebus frowned and looked down. His first mate was climbing the stairs, the same lustful glitter in his eye. Erebus addressed him grimly. "Tell the men to douse every light aboard," he said. "Our objective is not to be seen. If my predictions are right, they won't see us until it's too late."

"Very good, sir," he murmured, and hurried off.

Erebus looked once again to the darkening clouds, and he gripped the wheel with fervor. "Revenge is sweet, my friend," he rumbled. "Tonight you will get what you deserve. May the best man win."