Chapter 5
One Week Later
The moon is full and bright, lighting my way as I carefully pick my way around and across the hundreds of rocks and boulders littering the entrance of the cave. After a very narrow scrapes and a bruised knee, I make it to the cave's entrance and peer in. Relieved to find the tide low, I lift one edge of my skirt and slowly walk in.
"Jack?" I call out, my voice echoing back from the end of the cave. "Hello?"
"Anna." I hear a husky voice from the shadows to my left.
"Hello Jack." I say slinging my sack over my shoulder and carefully walking across the cave, thankful that the light of the full moon is shining and eliminating the way. The rocks were already dangerous and loose, to walk in complete darkness would be disastrous, especially for me.
"What are you doing here? And why are you bringing me food?" Jack asks harshly
"What?" I fake horror. "I can't be nice anymore? Is that a new law that Father forsook to tell me?"
"No," He says, then a small smile appears on his face, "But it does say that in the Pirate Code."
"Ha, ha, ha." I reply sarcastically.
"Why are you here?" He asks again.
When I get to a small platform, I put my sack down and rub my shoulder. Carrying a bag filled with food across town isn't exactly the easiest thing to do.
I turn to Jack. "Well," I tell him, "If you must know, I needed someone to talk to so I decided I might as well bring your food a week early. I also did it to be nice, not that you even know what that means, and because you'd probably be as helpful as dust if I didn't."
Jack Greaves chuckles but it turns into a nasty cough lasting at least ten seconds.
Dragging the sack over to the feet of the old man, I get to my knees and start rummaging in the old crate that Jack always keeps to the left of his "throne" as he likes to call it.
"What are you doing?" he asks brusquely.
"Ah, here it is." I say, ignoring his question and getting to my feet and holding up a small vial.
"It's full," I sigh, disappointed. "You didn't drink any of it? No wonder your cough is getting worse."
"I don't need no medicine. I am no prissy old man that complains at everything. I am a pirate, darn it." Jack says, getting flustered.
"Says the man that sits all day and relies on a young girl to feed him." I tell him, slightly annoyed.
He makes a face and squirms in his chair. "What did you want to ask?" He asks roughly.
I let him squirm for a few more seconds before I respond.
"Well, as you know, the party signifying my coming out into society was last week."
"So?"
"Well, when I was there, I met someone. He was nice and all, but then I found out that h-"
"Marry him."
"What?"
"Marry him."
"I heard you the first time." I say, slightly shocked at his answer. I would have never in a million years expected him to answer that. 'Kill him' maybe, 'Make his life a living nightmare', probably, but 'Marry him? Never.
"But why on earth would I marry him?"
"Well, it's a man and you look kind of uncomfortable talking about him. You must really like him."
A silence covers the room for a few moments.
"You are so annoying." I tell him through gritted teeth and squinted eyes. "You don't even know my question."
"You and your questions. Why can't you ask your father or something?"
I laugh softly, "You know why I can't. Besides, I doubt he would know the answer."
"So, ask it already!"
"All right, all right. Well, I found out that he wasn't who he said he was. He was pretending to be Mr. Frederick Barrington, a wealthy merchant from Harbor View."
Jack's face starts changing, from bored, to interested, to shocked, to angry.
"Um… Jack?" I ask him. "You're starting to look like a slice of moldy old bread."
"Sorry," He says, "Go on."
I look at him warily but continue none the less, "The thing is, I kind of liked him. He was nice and shy, which isn't really how most men are. Normally they are confident, and kind of egotistical. Frederick, or whoever he was, was actually sort of awkward and nervous. But he was still polite respectful and kind, and gentlemanly."
"So what's the problem?"
"The problem is, I don't know what to do!" I shout my frustration suddenly taking a hold on me.
"What on earth are you talking about?" Jack says, also shouting. "Do you have to do something?"
"No! Yes! I don't know!" I sigh, completely exasperated. "I know I should just let it be but I feel as if I have to do something. I don't know what. Maybe find the man or something."
"Listen to me Annalee," I look up at Jack, "This 'imposter' is most likely a dangerous man. You would do well to stay away from him if you do ever see him again. For the moment, don't look for him, don't talk about him, and don't think about him. He is only bad news."
"It's just that I don't know if I believe that he is dangerous. He was so nice and charming when I met him."
"Anna," Jack's voice softens and I sit back on the floor, my knees clenched to my chest, "You haven't seen much of the outside world. You are in a pretty little bubble safe from the horrors of reality. What this man did to you is nothing compared to other things. To pretend to be someone you're not and fool a young girl, is nothing. In fact it is pretty pathetic. No harm came out of it and you should just be grateful that that is all he did."
"You're right." I say, feeling quite defeated. "You're always right."
"Of course I am." Jack responds, "Why else would you come for my advice?"
Jack ruffles my hair and I stand up.
"Thanks, Jack." I look around, "Well, I had better be getting to work."
"What on earth are you talking about?" Jack reverts back to his usual sour self. "Shouldn't you be getting home? Someone might notice you missing?"
"Don't worry, you stale piece of meat." I tell him, "This isn't the first time I sneak out. I've been doing this for around a year and a half. I am practically an expert."
"Of course," Jack says, sarcastically, "And letting your sister find out about our meetings was completely on purpose."
"Absolutely." I say, turning to Jack, a large grin on my face.
I start rummaging around in the heaps of old crates, chests, and sacs, trying to find a way to keep all the junk Jack is strangely attached to while making his home a little more tidy.
"Piece of meat?" I hear Jack ask to himself.
I bite a laugh and continue my clean up.
After around an hour of sorting through Jack's collections and making a little progress, I decide that it is time to return home.
"Before you protest, you wrinkled bean," I tell him, "I will be back soon to finish up."
Jack closes his mouth and starts mumbling something about a sassy brat and mush for brains.
I grab my sack and quickly snatch a book from a small crate sitting in the corner. "Riding the Waves". Perfect.
"Good bye, Jack." I tell him, already halfway out of the cave.
"Wait!" Jack calls.
I turn back and look at the shadows, expectantly.
"Why are you always referring me as food?" He shouts, "Are you planning to make me into a stew once I die or something?"
I just laugh and ignore him.
After circumventing the rocks, I finally get to the soft sand of the beach.
As I walk along the small waves towards the cluster of trees at the edge of town, I think back on the first few times Jack and I had met. I had been so young, only fourteen years of age.
Flashback
"What do you think you're doing?"
I jump at the raspy voice and turn towards it. Even with my lantern held high, the darkness and the fog rolling in make it impossible to see the figure sitting in the shadows.
"Who's there?" I manage to sputter out, my forehead sweaty and my hands suddenly clammy.
"What are you doing here?" The voice says.
"I am sorry," I say, "I didn't know any one was here."
The voice doesn't respond and the figure in the corner doesn't move.
I slowly, step by step, make my way over the bumpy rocks and onto a flat surface.
"Hello?"
"The Swann girl. Little Annalee Swann."
I turn around and find myself face to face with an old man.
His face is weathered and he looks to be nothing more than skin and bones. He is slouched in his seat, unmoving. The only thing that convinces me that he isn't dead is his bright piercing eyes. They look into mine as if being able to see through me and into my soul; as if he knew all my secrets and all my fears; as if he could see into my past, every day of my entire life, and into my future, all the days to come.
I shiver, feeling all of a sudden cold, wishing I had brought something warmer. The truth is, the wind or the cold had nothing to do with it.
"Who are you?" I ask.
Nothing happens for a few minutes and I almost turn back to the entrance, when the old man speaks up.
"You shouldn't have come here." He says, "It is dangerous."
My naïve mind, doesn't completely understand his words as I reply.
"It is alright," I tell him softly, hoping I don't sound threatening, "The rocks aren't that hard to get through and the tide is low."
I feel goose bumps form on my arms and on the back of my neck as he chuckles, the strange, creaky noise reverberating around the cave.
We stare at each other for a few moments, my eyes wide with fear and his eyes, squinted and assuming.
The old man then lifts his nose and makes a show of sniffing around, his eyes finally falling on the side of my cape, where a small pocket is.
His eyes, move back and forth from the pocket to my face, expectant and impatient.
As obvious as the hint was, I stood still, looking at the man for a few minutes before catching on and taking out the contents of the pocket.
Holding out a small roll of bread, a large carrot stick and a sweet potato, the man grabs them quickly and holds them up to his nose, breathing their scent in and sighing loudly.
I watch quietly as the man starts engulfing my midnight snack.
As the old man finishes the food, I look around, spotting a small crate filled to the brim with books.
Placing the lantern on the ground, I walk over to it, the man's eyes, always on my back.
I grab a couple of the books and walk back over to the light and the old man, who has finished his meal. I squat beside the lantern and stare at the covers.
One of the titles read, "The Glory of the Mast" and the other is, "Famous Pirates, Caught and Hanged"
I look up at the man, "You read books about pirates? If anyone caught you, you'd be investigated and possibly but in jail."
"I don't read them."
I sigh relieved.
"I write them." The old man says, chuckling at my stricken and shocked expression.
"You could get hanged or put in prison for life!" I tell him, my fear of him having dissipated slowly over the past couple minutes
Again he chuckles, this time slightly warmer and less frightening.
"The young can be so naïve and blinded. They know not of the hardships the rest of us have to face." The man says, partially to himself and partially to the wind that is starting to pick up.
"Little Swan," he says crouching down to meet me eye to eye, "Death or the deprivation of freedom is the least of my concerns."
"What is the most of your concerns?" I ask him, my voice high and airy.
"Well," the old man straightens up and his eyes take a playful glimmer. "Right now, it is my grumbling stomach."
I also get up, "I could bring more food." I tell him, "I mean, if you want."
He looks at me suspiciously. "What would you want in return?" He asks. "I don't want to feel indebted to you in any way."
I look around, trying to think of something, when my eyes fall on the books that I had mistakenly left on the ground.
I bend down and pick them up before holding them up. "How about some books?"
After a few moments of consideration, the old man agrees and we shake hands on it, slight smiles on both of our faces.
"Since you know my name," I tell him, "I think it only fair you tell me yours."
"Jack Greaves."
I take a quick peak outside the cave and see that the moon has moved and I should probably be getting back home. Father and Lizzie will soon be back from visiting Mr. Attlee and his family, including his two daughters, in their new home.
"Well, Jack Greaves," I say, "I think that it be best if I head back home. I'll be back in around a week with more food. That is around the time that Father will be gone to Harbor View and Lizzie will be too busy planning her birthday garden tea."
Jack doesn't respond, but nods his head and I start walking towards the exit, being extremely careful where I place my feet, which often tend to somehow tangle up with each other.
The minute I step outside, the wind starts blowing harder until I can barely keep my cape from flying off. Clutching it to my shivering body, I slowly make the steep climb up the sanded hill separating this part of the beach from the plateau above, where the town of Port Royal rests.
I need to find an easier way to access the cave. I tell myself It would be difficult for me to carry a sack of food down this hill without hurting myself and climbing up it is nigh impossible.
Finally reaching the edge of town, I slowly make my way through the back streets and alley ways back home, thankful for the fog that had completely obscured most of the town. Hugging my body and keeping my chattering teeth still, I slowly but surely arrive back home where a nice warm bed awaits me.
End Flashback
A few months later I found out that Jack was an ex-pirate in hiding. By this time, I liked him too much to turn him in.
I also learned that Jack was crippled from his last attack on a merchant ship. He couldn't and still can't walk, he could barely move. His whole bottom half was paralyzed. It did help because he couldn't chase after me when I got on his nerves.
Strangely enough, it wasn't the fact that he couldn't move that bothered Jack. It was the fact that he had to rely on other people to do the things that he couldn't.
The only downside was that I became something of a servant for Jack, providing him with food, keeping his "home tidy", and keeping him entertained. In fact, I still do.
I finally come to the trees where I rest for a few minutes before entering town.
Walking quickly, I reach home fast, using the exact same path that I did that that first night so long ago.
