Emma's POV:
I wasn't sure how long I'd been unconscious when I finally woke up. I groaned quietly, sitting up and lifting a wet cloth from my forehead. That was when I did a double take around the room I was in. It was all old-timey, in my opinion. In fact, it was a cabin in a ship, I realized. I could hear the familiar creaking and the sound of water lapping up against the sides of the ship outside. And at the moment, I was lying in a bed in this strange cabin, wearing a white nightgown. I shivered, but not from the cold. Where the hell was I?
Wanting to know where I was and how the hell I'd gotten on a different ship after the explosion, I got up out of the bed. Silently, my bare feet padded across the wooden floor as I went to the door, listening for any sounds. I couldn't really hear anything, so I quietly opened the door, peering my head out. No one was around, but there were other cabin doors on either side of the ship leading up above deck. Unable to quench my curiosity, I left the safety of the room I'd been in and walked straight ahead to the steps leading above deck. I quickly scurried under the stairs leading to the steering area of the ship when I saw a bunch of men moving about the ship, working hard. Heart pounding, I looked at them, seeing the clothes they wore. Nothing from this century, clearly. Now I was definitely curious as to where I was.
I was still watching the crew members mill about when all of a sudden, a monkey swung upside down right in front of my face, squeaking at me. I jumped back out from beneath the stairs with a scream, stumbling backwards. I fell back against some crates as the monkey swung upright and looked at me curiously. He wore little clothes of his own, I noticed. The monkey saw that he'd scared me and somehow, I could tell he looked guilty.
Slowly, the monkey approached me and held up a paw as if to shake my hand in friendship. I would've smiled if not for the men beginning to take notice of me. "Oh, look! The young lass is awake! Hey, lassie! Come to Mr. Coleman, why don't ye?" I followed the voice to a rather ugly-looking man with rotting teeth who watched me with hungry eyes. Clearly, he hadn't seen a woman in how long.
Suddenly, though, Mr. Coleman was shoved aside by a black woman wearing similar clothes to all the men, only for women. It dawned on me then that these were pirates. "Enough, you leech! Leave the poor girl alone! Hey! Whelp! I thought you were supposed to be watching over her!" the woman shouted to someone on the other side of the ship.
Hearing all the shouting, I instinctively shrunk back against the crates from everyone. "I just stepped out for one moment, Anamaria. I needed to get more water for her," a man's voice said in answer to being called 'whelp'. Suddenly, the handsome face that I'd seen hovering just above my head before I'd passed out again came into view. It was the same man. I looked away, not only because he was probably the most attractive person on this ship, but because I felt guilty for getting him yelled at. Plus, I didn't know anyone here.
The man walked past Anamaria and the monkey to come over by me. I couldn't help moving away from him without helping it. Even if he was attractive, I still didn't know what kind of a man he was. The man saw my fear and his face softened even more as he bent down on one knee before me, still taller than me. He held out a hand to me, offering a small smile. "It's alright. No one will hurt you while I'm around. Same with Anamaria. Come on. It's alright," he said.
I glanced around at the ship's crew members one last time and then back at the man's kind brown eyes and his outstretched hand. Cautiously, I took his warm hand and found it to be surprisingly soft even from all the work he must've done on the ship. The man smiled a bit more and helped me to my feet, shielding me with his body. "Come on. It's safer for you to be in my cabin," he said.
As the man led me away, I then heard Mr. Coleman calling after us. "Save some of that for the rest of us, why don't ye, whelp?" I immediately stiffened and jerked away from the man, much to his shock and surprise. I was nobody's conquest on this ship or any other ship. Not even for someone as handsome as this man. I quickly backed away from the cabin area below deck to the side railing of the ship.
Without giving it another thought, I leapt up onto the wood railing, grabbing hold of one of the many ropes around me for support. "Stay away from me," I warned the man. Concern and shock filled the man's brown eyes as he watched me. He slowly held up his hands to try and show he meant me no harm. "I'm not going to hurt you and I certainly won't let anyone else on this ship do so either. I promise you this. Now, please, come down from there," the man said.
I assessed the way he moved to see if his body language would give anything away. Nothing. All he wore was a white linen shirt, black pants that had laces to keep them up, and matching black boots. "How do I know you're not lying? I know what you all are. You're pirates. And based upon what I've read, many are not to be trusted," I said. The man seemed to consider this thought for a moment. "That may be true, but I can tell you I'm not lying to you and I'm not about to start. In fact, ask me a question and I will give you the honest answer," he said.
I pondered this for a moment, thinking about his words. "Any question?" I asked. The man nodded, rocking back on his boots a bit. "Any question at all," he promised. I nodded back, looking down and thinking about what to ask him. What question could I ask this handsome pirate to try and trust him a bit? That was when it came to my mind. Everywhere I read, pirates never revealed their true names unless they had promised a non-pirate a certain thing. And since this pirate had not been specific on terms, I could ask him this.
Looking up from the wooden deck, I gripped the rope I held tighter. "Okay, then. What is your name? Your real name?" I asked. The man slowly lowered his upraised hands to his sides, letting out a deep breath. "Will Turner. Short for William, my lady," he said. I relaxed a little as I realized by the look in his eyes that Will was indeed telling the truth. Slowly, I hopped down from the railing before Will, having used up my one question. I peered up at him and felt a bit better about being around him. "Now I know you really are telling the truth," I said quietly. Will nodded and moved aside for me, motioning for me to follow him back to his cabin once more.
Quietly, I followed him there and didn't say anything for a moment as I sat down on the bed. Will shut the door behind us and turned to face me, running a single hand through his damp hair. "I never got the chance to ask, but how are you feeling?" Will asked me. I looked down, rubbing my arm back and forth a bit. "Alright, I guess. Not really sure how I got on this ship. Or in this time. Clearly, I'm not from this century," I said.
Will nodded, looking down at me from where he stood. "I assumed so by the clothing you were wearing. What year was it that you came from?" he asked. I shuddered at all of this. "2015. I was on a cruise ship in the Caribbean with a whole bunch of other passengers and my family. I remember being by the railing and there being this huge explosion. It threw me off the ship and I just remember drowning and feeling like I was dead until..." I trailed off.
The realization came crashing down on me in seconds. I was here, but my family wasn't. I quickly stood up, standing right in front of Will, despite being almost a head shorter than him. "Where is my family? Was there anyone else?" I asked. Will looked down at me, his eyes sad. He shook his head. "No. When we came across the debris from your ship in the water, we didn't know what to make of all of it. However, we did find you lying on a piece of floating debris. You weren't breathing at all," Will said.
My heart tightened in my chest as I looked down. "I should be dead. Why am I still alive and not dead, Will?" I asked, my voice trembling. Will was silent for a moment as he saw how this news was affecting me. "I jumped in the water the moment I saw you. When we got back aboard the ship and I realized you weren't breathing, I did chest compressions on you and breathed air back into your lungs until you woke up again," Will finally said.
In any normal circumstance, I would've been blushing madly right now. Will had given me CPR, which basically meant that our lips had touched more than once. But, I didn't really care about that. I wanted to know why I'd survived and none of my family hadn't.
A single tear managed to escape and slide down my cheek as I looked back up at Will. "Why me, Will? Why did you save me?" I asked. Will looked down at me, his whole expression caring. "Because I knew I couldn't let you die," he said. Then, ever so slowly and gently, Will reached up and brushed away the tear on my cheek with his thumb. I wanted to shiver, but I couldn't. I was completely entranced by Will as his hand lingered there on my cheek. I wouldn't have had a clue as to what might've happened next if it wasn't for the knock that came on the other side of the cabin door.
"Oi! Will! You best be getting some sleep for the journey tomorrow!" a man's voice yelled. I instantly pulled away from Will, finally feeling my cheeks turning pink. Will glanced after me as I sat back down on the bed. "All right, Jack!" Will called back. "That's Captain Jack Sparrow to you, mate!" Jack instantly replied. His footsteps then faded away from the other side of the door.
With Jack gone from the door, Will finally looked back at me. "Right, then. I forgot to mention that the Black Pearl is traveling to Tortuga. I'm going to warn you now that you need to keep your guard up there. Lot of fights break out and many other violent things as well, but we have no choice. We need to get more supplies and I know Jack fancies some rum," he said.
I nodded, understanding completely. A man needed a drink and supplies for the sea voyage. I wouldn't be a priss and deny him that. Will nodded again and walked over by a desk on the other side of the cabin. "Well, I'll be up for a little while longer looking at these maps. I'll leave you to get some sleep," he said. I couldn't go against Will on that. I could see the sky darkening in the small window near the bed and I was beginning to feel tired again.
However, as Will walked over to his desk, I realized one thing. I knew his name, but he didn't know mine. "Will?" I asked quietly. Will turned to look at me, stopping. I gave him a small smile. "My name. It's Emma. Emma Smith," I said. A smile started to pull at the corners of Will's mouth when he heard my name. He bowed his head to me. "Sweet dreams, Emma," Will told me.