I groaned lightly, the gentle rock of the ship waking me once again. I slipped out of bed and pushed back, yet again, the screams I dreamt of. I hadn't gotten much sleep that night and I was exhausted but, instead of complaining, I got up and rummaged around my bag for a dress to wear. I glanced once at my father's pistol and Will's gun and put my father's into my boot along with the knife that I kept there.
Yet another day on the Black Pearl had begun and I was getting more and more discouraged every moment of every hour. The last three days had been torture as I struggled to keep up with making meals for the crew, doing odd jobs here and there, and coping with the snide looks and comments from all the crew members, well, all but Gibbs and Glenn. With every passing day Henry seemed to get a bit closer and I was starting to get nervous... but what was I to worry about?... Everything.
I pulled on a white sleeveless summer dress, which a sailor had once made for me, and would never have been allowed to be worn anywhere but my room back home, pulled half my hair into my leather strap and stepped out the door, my riding boots once again making noise on the dark wooden deck. I looked over the edge of the ship and down into the water. A soft cry came from my lips as I let my eyes rest on what looked like a fin sticking up from the water. Jack stepped out of his cabin and smiled at the sight. I turned around to face him.
"Captain!" I cried and pointed down into the water. Jack looked over the edge and looked back at me like I was a child.
"Dolphins." He said dully and I nodded. Jack flashed me a crooked smile.
"I've never seen one only drawings by the sailors that came to Port Royal." I said in awe as I smiled wide at the dolphin's long nosed face as it looked at me.
"Ye've seen the sailor's drawings?" Jack asked curiously and I blushed before looking around to make sure there were no eavesdroppers.
"I did used to sneak into pubs occasionally to listen to the pirates and sailors tell stories. Of course my father didnt know." Jack gave another crooked smile and I continued, "Of course, he also didnt know that I would swim under the docks and climb trees while he was gone. I've never really acted very ladylike no matter how much he wanted me to." Once again the conversation had led to my father, no matter how much I tried to avoid it. An awkward silence filled the air and I continued to look out into the water, watching as the dolphins jumped through the air. I forced myself, for what seemed like the millionth time in my life, to hold back tears. I wondered how many times I would have to do this very same thing, hide my sorrow from the world and wait for somebody's arms to hold me.
"Why do ye do that?" Jack's voice shook me from my thoughts. I looked at him, expecting yet another smart alack remark and braced for one.
"Do what?" I asked.
"Leave your body like that." I blushed again. "Just stare off..."
I shrugged, "I dunno. Just... lost in the past I suppose. It's nothing new." I added. I glanced at him and saw him with a dagger in his hands. My father's.
"HEY!" I exclaimed, jumping forward and reached for it. "You stole my dagger!"
"Borrowed," Jack countered loudly, backing up, "Borrowed without permission!"
"Give it back!" I jumped up, snatching it from his hands, my eyebrows furrowed in anger. "Were you just going to steal it from under my nose? Those are my things that dagger is very important to me!" Jack said nothing and I leaned against the side of the dock, growling under my breath. "You lot are all nothing but a bunch of despicable pirates!" I was close to tears.
"Sticks and stones luv," Jack said snidely. His eyes ran up and down my body, in my tight little dress and I put my hands over my stomach, feeling self conscious and violated at the same time.
"Will you stop looking at me like that?" I exclaimed, exasperated.
"Like what luv?" Jack asked in fake innocence, a smirk on his lips, and I rolled my eyes.
"As if you don't know," I shot back, "stop regarding me like I'm some piece of treasure and stop calling me luv! I'm here to find my father... not to be your or any member of your crew's whore or eye candy!" Jack looked surprised at my outburst but I turned on my heel.
Without another word to Jack I walked to my cabin and stepped inside, pulling on my cape and tying the middle around me. The sun could beat down upon me all it wanted but I wasnt going to take off that cloak. With a sigh, I stepped back out and went into the galley, entering and igniting the small fireplace beneath the stove top.
I slammed the knife that I had been using to chop potatoes into the wide wooden board with such force that it stuck. Glenn looked up from cleaning the counters with a frown.
"What's wrong with you, mate?" he asked not cruelly but not kindly either. I shrugged and sat down at the table waiting for the potatoes to finish and leaned my head on the table, ignoring Glenn's question.
"Dont get me started." I finally replied and stood back up, picking the knife up out of the board and getting back to work. Glenn chuckled and continued with his own work in silence.
Finally, when the kitchen was spick and span and a midday meal was set out on the table, I leaned against the wall and slid down onto the floor. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, before dozing off, the gentle rock of the ship lulling me to sleep.