Chapter 6: A New Arrangement
"A redhead Jack?! A redhead!"
"Oh come now mate don't tell me you of all people subscribe to that ol' wives tale?"
This is just ridiculous. It's only hair.
William scowled, folding his arms as Joshamee Gibbs stared between Peggy and Captain Jack Sparrow with an aghast expression befitting a scandalised sheep.
He was not the only one. A line of men assembled along the pier where the Interceptor had been docked looked at the cabin girl's copper-coloured braid with wide-eyed disquiet, some shifting on their feet as she looked each one over.
Even though Peggy had taken some time to explain the bizarre meaning behind the superstition over an early breakfast, William still did not understand how a somewhat decent man like Gibbs could be so gullible to believe such nonsense.
"It's one thing to bring a woman aboard," Gibbs whispered as he tried to calm his nerves down to a respectable level. "But can ye afford to tempt fate like this with so much on the line? No offence to you lass." He added with a small nod towards Peggy.
"I believe it's worth the risk." Jack muttered absentmindedly as he looked the rest of his crew up and down with a critical eye "If I remember correctly, the best way to counter such misfortune under such dire circumstances as this is to speak to said redhead first before boarding and through that interaction mitigate any bad luck before we set off ey savvy?"
"Well yes." Gibbs sighed in defeat. "But still the crew…"
"I assure you Mister Gibbs, Pegsy 'ere will stay outta their hair. Won't you love?" Jack looked at Peggy, who rolled her eyes and nodded silently, per Jack's earlier instructions.
"Perfect!" Jack grinned steering his cabin girl to stand right by the boarding plank that led up onto the ship. "Now, Pegs, why don't you stand there while I inspect the rest of the crew? William, you come with me!"
Will shot Peggy an apologetic look only to receive a shrug in return.
It surprised him that she could be so calm about the disrespectful suspicious glowers shot her way by the pirates. It was not her fault she was born with red hair. If these men respected Jack enough to follow him, they should have had enough to pass on to someone he trusted.
However, despite his annoyance, William kept his mouth shut as he followed Jack to inspect the Interceptor's new crew.
They were nothing like the clean and respectable officers of Port Royal. All were rough, scruffy and unkempt like many of the locals of Tortuga. Many were older gentlemen around Gibbs's age though there were a few unique characters among them.
Marty, one of the shortest men Will had ever met, had a bald head, a thin braided beard, and the sharpest pair of blue eyes that he had ever seen. It put the young blacksmith in mind of a keen bird of prey. Despite his short stature, Will had no trouble believing the man would be a vicious opponent in a fight.
Another man, an elderly fellow called Cotton, was mute, his tongue having been carved out nastily with what appeared to have been a blunt knife. The poor man could only communicate through signing with his weathered fingers or via his talking blue and gold macaw, who only spoke in odd phrases he had picked up from a life at sea.
Then at the end of the line of crew was Annamaria, a woman with skin the colour of dark walnut, fierce brown eyes and long black hair. She had slapped Jack not once but twice, earning herself an approving grin from Peggy at the head of the line. Her ire was certainly justified in Will's opinion, for Jack had stolen her boat on his journey to Port Royal. Not only had he stolen the vessel, but also he had sunk it upon arrival making the debt even more grievous.
It was only at Will's intervention and offering to give the Interceptor as compensation to her and the crew that she was willing to settle the score. It was a good offer that Jack had quickly agreed to, though it was a blow to his pride.
Gibbs had seen rather put out by the presence of another woman aboard the Interceptor.
"No-no-no-no! It's frightful bad luck to bring another woman aboard sir. Especially since we already have one with…well…" The older sailor cringed but Jack's eyes were already turned towards the windy blue skies above.
"It'd be far worse not to have her." the captain muttered turning to watch the new crew as they dashed towards their ship.
Will followed his gaze and was surprised by the sight of every new crew member, lined up before Peggy and greeting her with the utmost respect as if she were a lady of noble status like Elizabeth. The men most terrified of her presence even gave her a slight bow, using their lowered heads as an excuse not to look her in the eye.
The only ones who were not afraid of her were Cotton and Annamaria. Cotton's parrot, named Paulie, croaked out a small "Ahoy there!" to Peggy who smiled and responded in kind before holding out her knuckle slowly. She waited a pause for the bird to gently rub its beak against her knuckle in a friendly manner, before smiling warmly and welcomingly at Cotton. The older man nodded respectfully and gave a guttural grunt and an encouraging smile. Only then did she speak and say hello.
Annamaria's greeting was curt and businesslike as she gave Peggy a wary once-over with her eyes. Annamaria did not believe in the superstitious nonsense like the rest of the crew. However, seeing that Peggy was closely associated with a man like Jack Sparrow it stood to reason many of them would be suspicious of her true motives for being put in such an important position like the captain's cabin boy.
"That went better than I expected," Peggy mumbled to Will as they watched Gibbs and Jack step aboard the ship, both men already discussing their next steps.
"I just hope they're up to snuff," Will muttered picking up a nearby crate of rum to carry up onto the ship. "Half of these men look like they've seen too many winters."
"I'd much rather a sailor have too many winters than too few." Peggy snorted as she picked up a goat gently in her arms. "Any man who can last till their age in this profession has to have some grit. Come on, let's get a move on. There's a storm coming soon. We're going to need to make sure everything is secure."
"A storm? But the skies are so clear." Will frowned, looking up at the skies above. They were as blue as a forget-me-not and very few clouds blotting out the sun. If anything, he was more worried about sunstroke than rain.
"They won't be by tonight," Peggy smirked, "you mark my words."
William's brow furrowed even more as he followed Peggy up the plank and onto the deck.
"How do you know there will be a storm?
"The sunrise," Peggy grunted as she tried resettling the goat in her arms as it squirmed. "It was red."
"And?"
"Haven't you ever heard the saying?" she quirked her brow "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor's warning."
"I thought that was just another superstition?" Will rolled his eyes as he followed a now very amused Peggy down below the deck
"No, that one's a fact. It's a real natural phenomenon. Ain't that right men?" she called out to some men checking over the cannons and their artillery.
"Ey? What was that lass?"
"The sunrise today. Reckon we're going to have some rough waters tonight." Peggy called and all the men nodded grimly.
"Oh aye, with a sun that red, it will be real gnarly." Marty quirked a brow at her from where he was checking some gunpowder.
"Told you." She smirked at Will who shook his head and chuckled in disbelief.
"I'll believe it when I see it."
Peggy raised her eyebrows, her smirk growing and her eyes sparkling with mirth.
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
SPLASH!
CRASH!
KaaBbbbboOOOOM!
"I hate it when she's right," Will muttered darkly to himself, shaking his wet hair out of his eyes only to wince as salty water crashed into his face with the force of a slap.
Despite his scepticism in his companion's ability to foretell the weather, William Turner had been proven oh-so-very wrong. While the morning and early afternoon had been relatively smooth and unhindered, the evening had only descended into absolute chaos.
Large clouds had gathered ominously all over the sky, darkening the skies so much there was barely any light save for the sporadic flashes of white lightning. Waves that were once gentle and shallow had become choppy and almost as tall as the deck itself. Many times, Will found himself swept off his feet by a wave splashing on top of him, pushing him painfully into the railings.
If not for Will's tight grip on the rigging he may have fallen overboard long ago. He was not the only one struggling to stay on his feet. Most of their motley crew were hanging on for dear life as heavy sheets of rain fell from on high, soaking each one to the bone and drenching the already slippery deck.
The only man who seemed to have any semblance of calm was Jack, who was manning the helm. One of the pirate's hands was firmly on the wheel and the other gripping the battered black compass tight as he tried to read it amidst the brief flashes of lightning.
How Jack could steer them towards anything with that broken device, Will could not guess. He could only hope that they were not being led astray.
The blacksmith winced as the ship rocked heavily to the port side and his body collided heavily with someone else beside him.
It was Peggy, drenched to the bone so that her clothes clung to her body and her red braid plastered to her back. She held onto a rope connected to one of the sails for dear life, swearing as foul as any other sailor would as she stumbled around trying to find her footing. For someone who normally had no trouble staying steady, her feet were betraying her in this weather.
What is she doing up here?! Jack told her to wait below with Annamaria.
Will's eyes widened as he then realised it was not just any rope she was holding onto, but the sail rope that held Marty. The smaller sailor had been up on the mast trying to keep the sails in place when he had gotten blown off by a massive wave and gust of wind combined.
"I got him! Help Gibbs!" Peggy shouted as Will tried to come to her aid.
Will barely had time to argue as another wave washed up upon the deck, bowling him over right into Gibbs's side. The two of them spluttered and gasped as they were washed across the deck and smashed into the side. To Peggy's credit, the wave barely bowled her over for she had braced herself against the back of the mast, her tight grip on the sheet allowing Marty to clamber back on the rigging.
"THANKS LASS!" He called and Peggy nodded, only to cough and choke as more icy water sprayed on her from above.
Gibbs and Will meanwhile rushed back to the other side of the ship to rebind some rigging that had come loose from the impact of the smashing water.
"HOW CAN WE SAIL TO AN ISLAND THAT NOBODY CAN FIND, WITH A COMPASS THAT DOESN'T WORK?!" Will shouted at Gibbs as they hauled on their sheet with all their might.
"Aye, the compass doesn't point North!" Gibbs agreed, and to Will's surprise, there was a hint of a smirk on the older sailor's face. "But we're not trying to find North are we?"
"Then what in blazes are we looking for?!" Will asked only to get splashed hard by another harsh wave.
He had not felt such a chill to his bones since he had first been shipwrecked all those years ago. God that seemed like a lifetime ago.
The lightning flashed above once again illuminating the deck allowing Will to see a familiar head of red hair dashing up the steps towards the helm.
"JACK!" Peggy cried as she clung to the railing to stop herself from tripping as a wave buffeted the ship to keel over dangerously to the port side.
"I told ye to stay below deck!" Jack shouted at her, his eyes flashing angrily. God that whelp was a bad influence on her, now she was directly disobeying a captain's orders.
"We're taking on water below!" Peggy shouted back, yelping as another rock from the ship almost sent her tumbling right into Jack.
"How much water?!" Jack wrapped the arm with his compass around her to pull her into his side while the other gripped the wheel and took half their weight.
"Enough to start losing supplies!"
"Even the rum?"
"Even the rum-GAH!" She gasped grabbing onto the older pirate's vest for support as her feet slipped beneath her. "How long do we have till we're outta here?" she glanced at the compass still clutched in Jack's hand.
"Not long lass!" Jack shouted, nodding to the needle which was staying steady despite the constant rocking of the boat.
"I'll never figure out how that thing works!" Peggy sighed as she pushed herself away from Jack's side so he could free both hands for steering.
"We should drop canvas, sir!" Gibbs shouted as he stumbled up the stairs towards them, Will behind him hauling on different ropes and re-tightening them.
"She can hold a bit longer!" Jack called back as he gave a firm spin of the wheel to right their course, to Peggy's great surprise he was grinning like a maniac.
Even Gibbs was mightily disturbed by the expression as he yelled:
"What's in yer head that's put you in such a fine mood, captain?"
"We're catching up!" Jack's grin turned into a victorious sneer, that faded as the ship's bow accidentally crashed headlong into another wave. The impact was jarring. The entire hull bounced harshly up for one heart-stopping sickening second before dropping harshly back into the ocean like a ball on concrete.
Many men stumbled and fell on their feet.
Peggy shrieked as she was thrown up a few feet before crashing into the railing!
"PEG!" she heard a voice shout as she tumbled over the side. By some miracle, she had managed to grab a rope before she could topple into the churning seas below and clung to it hard. She cried out in pain as she slammed hard into the side of the ship with a thud, the bullet graze she had received during the pirate attack at Port Royal bearing most of the impact of the hit. Still, she clung on.
"Man overboard!" She heard Gibbs shout, but already she was doing her best to clamber up the rope with only her arms. Her limbs burned from the effort as muscles she had not used in years struggled to remember the motions that had once been second nature to her.
Trust my luck! As soon as I get out on the water I get tossed over the side again!
"Curse ye Barbossa! Curse ye for kidnapping my friend and makin' me get back out here! Curse ye for makin' me sail through a ruddy storm to get to ye!" She growled to herself as she managed to get her feet braced against the hull, using them to climb up the side of the ship and ease the load on her already scrawny arms.
She was relieved when she saw William's head poke over the ship's railing, his terrified face softening with relief as he saw she was not lost to the waves.
"Give me your hand!" he shouted, reaching out one of his strong arms, the other holding tight to a rope to steady himself.
Peggy took the hand, growling as their fingers slipped and slid against one another as they tried to find purchase. Desperately she thrashed her arm out and wildly took a tight hold around his wrist, the hair on his arms offering her just enough grip. With a massive tug, he pulled her back on board as another wave crashed into them and jostled the boat to keel to the other side.
"Bloody hell!" Will cursed as he tripped backwards, one arm wrapped tight around Peggy and holding her close as they landed with a thud before the helm.
"Got her?!" Jack called turned the wheel once more to get the wind fully behind the sails.
"Got her!" Will shouted back as he and Peggy struggled back to their feet, their bodies half-entwined as they toppled over one another in a scramble of wet clothes and slippery floor. "Are you alright?!"
"Just dandy!" Peggy spat out a mouthful of seawater, her nostrils flaring with irritation as she ducked out from under his arm to re-tie another rope to its proper place by the railing.
Yet as she straightened up to check the rest of the rigging her right wrist burned like fire.
"AGHH!" she gasped, doubling over and clutching at her arm to Will's alarm.
"PEG!"
"I'm fine! Just a cramp!" she shouted, her eyes wildly scanning the horizon as she tried to straighten herself.
There, on the dark horizon in the distance, beyond the choppy waves, she could see the other ship illuminated by a momentary flash of green.
Her blood almost chilled to ice in her veins as she recognised the ship's outline. From its scraggly sails to its crocodilian-mouthed prow, a ghostly figure that was as much a ship as it was a monster from the deeps.
It was only there for a split second, a literal blinking of her eye and then it was gone. But even as it vanished from the horizon it was burnt right into her retina and her memory like the sun.
She was relieved when Jack shouted at her to return to her nook and obeyed his order without question. Nor did she struggle when Will grabbed her and dragged her back into the dark captain's cabin and dragged her to sit at the table in the centre.
"Peg!" Will called to her worriedly, slapping her cheeks as gently as he could as he tried to snap her back to her senses. "Peggy."
"I'm fine Will." She mumbled pushing his hand away. "Just had a bit of a shock. Is all."
"You're sure? You're absolutely sure?" Will searched her eyes, only to scowl as she shut them tiredly.
"Aye Will. I'm sure. Now go! They need everyone who can sail on deck."
"But Peg-"
"Go, Will! I'll be safe in here!" She mumbled just as the doors to the captain's quarters burst open and Gibbs bellowed.
"Oy lad! Get back out 'ere!"
"I'll come back to check on you soon," he whispered, planting a firm peck to her hairline before rushing quickly to join Gibbs outside.
Peggy watched in dismay as the door shut behind him, leaving her alone in the dark cold cabin…alone with him.
She didn't even need to hear his footsteps to know he was standing in the shadows behind her chair, nor did she need to see the shadow that loomed over her in the flash of lightning out the window.
Will would never have noticed him, for the devil had many ways to hide himself from the eyes of those he did not want to be seen by. It was an old trick he had often used with her, and she was a fool to think he would never use it again on her…or that she could ever have hidden from him.
"So…here ye are." the devil spoke, and though his voice was soft, it seemed to Peggy that it pierced the night air just as fiercely as any thunderclap. "Yer taller than last I saw you."
"It's been ten years." She said softly, keeping her eyes fixed on the table.
"Yes…Ten years." The devil rumbled; his wrath just as vicious as the seas outside. "Ten years since ye last reported back to me! Ten bloody years since ye abandoned yer duty to me! Yer captain! Ter whom ye had sworn yer oath, yer loyalty."
"Are you sure you didn't forget to check in?" Peggy muttered, wincing as what appeared to be a giant crab-like claw, slammed down on the table beside her hand.
"I gave yer a mission." The devil snapped, his mouth close to her ear, as many strange tentacle-like appendages slithered around her neck from behind. "I told yer to follow Jack Sparrow! To keep an eye on him, stick by him like a barnacle whatever the cost until his debt was paid in full."
"And I did so until I was tossed overboard," Peggy mumbled, voice trembling even as she willed herself to stay still and steady. "I did what I could to get back to the Pearl but-"
"LIAR!" the crab-claw once again slammed onto the table, causing a tear to fall down her cheek. "Wretch! Yer think I don't know what you've been up to these last ten years? Ye think I didn't know how you tried to escape me? ME? You thought you could run and hide on dry land and I'd not figure it out?"
"Captain-" Peggy started to say but was silenced as she was pulled bodily out of her chair to face the devil. He was still shrouded in shadow, but she needed no light to see the fury in his green-blue eyes above her.
"I could kill ye for yer disobedience." The devil snarled "By all means I should. I have all the right."
"We had a deal." Peggy trembled. "The thirteen years are still not done."
"Tis only a few months left-"
"We. Had. A. Deal," Peggy repeated, her voice firmer despite the fear in her heart.
For all the malice and terror, the devil bore he was still bound to his oaths as much as any other entity.
"Aye, we had a deal. And you broke it." He rumbled.
"No. I just got delayed." Peggy shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks "Am I not with Jack Sparrow now? Am I not running away now?"
That made the devil pause and the pale tentacles wrapped around her neck slackened ever so slightly.
"Nay…ye aren't." He admitted softly. "But I know yer kind. Cowards like ye wouldn't have returned to my ocean unless they had reason…" He trailed off and she could feel his sneer in the dark even as one of the tentacles around slithered up to caress her hairline, right along the spot Will had kissed her. "…Ahh…I see how it is then…That lad's the reason ye have disobeyed me. I should've known. Love…bah!" he scoffed. "Yer always was a foolish little chit. Tell me, does your dear beloved know yer soul belongs to another? That ye are bound to the dead and can never be with him?"
"No," Peggy whispered shutting her eyes.
"No? hmm, at least ye were capable of followin' some orders." The devil snorted. "I wonder though, can ye live with yourself knowin' that yer going to break the poor lad's heart soon?" his grin widened as she stayed silent. "What am I saying, of course, yer will. Women like ye are cold n' cruel when it comes to the affections of a man."
Peggy gasped as the tentacles around her neck suddenly released and she fell to her knees. As she fell, her right hand was still raised high above her head by his index finger which had been replaced by one long tentacle. It wrapped tight around her lower arm as he raised it painfully up into the air.
Peggy gasped and she bit her lip to stifle her cries of pain as she felt the tentacle's suckers grip the delicate skin over her veins. It was almost like getting bit by a leech, but instead of having her blood drained, she could feel something horrible and vile burn her skin and insides as it seeped into her body.
The devil hummed into the darkness as he gave her limb one final sadistic squeeze before letting her drop unceremoniously to the ground at his feet.
Peggy gaped at her arm. The spiral of circular bruises was now gone, only to be replaced by a single small ring of inky black on the inside of her wrist.
It was not the black spot. She had seen the black spot, a vile bubonic-like lesion that sprouted barnacles and disgusting slime from a person's palm. It was the ultimate death sentence. A sign to all that the sailor and all those who harboured him were doomed.
But she had never seen this awful brand before.
It was almost like a tattoo, but the veins around the mark were now stained with the same black ink and the skin was red and throbbing angrily.
"What…what is this?" she looked at the devil in horror.
"Our new contract." The devil sneered "Let it not be said I am not a generous man. Ye want to be with yer lad, you can be with him until yer time is up. Ye have eight months. Eight months with the one ye love, then yer return ter me, never to see him again. One hundred years before the mast as per our original agreement, and another hundred as compensation for the trouble ye put me through."
"Another hundred?"
"Aye, another hundred. That'd be ten years for every year you've disobeyed my orders." The devil chuckled with pride at his handiwork. "I'd not try runnin' again if I were ye. If yer do, then the ink in this mark-" He made a pointed glance to the black circle on her wrist "-will kill ye and send yer soul straight to the locker where ye belong. N' there will be no swimming away from that."
There was no sympathy in the devil's eyes as he straightened up to his full height, the large hat on his head curved upwards making his silhouette look horned and even more demonic than he already was. There was only a leer of triumphant sadistic pleasure.
And why shouldn't he be triumphant?
He had won.
It did not matter whether Peggy tried returning to Port Royal with Will and Elizabeth now. It would not matter if she had hidden herself in the deepest corners of the Asian sub-continent in the desert.
He would always find her, and she would never escape his hunt, in life or death.
"You've been pretty quiet."
"Just tired." Peggy sighed as she avoided Annamaria's suspicious gaze.
It was finally morning, the storm of last night long gone behind them. The sunrise over the ocean had been a luscious mixture of pinks and lavenders that heralded a pretty shade of bright blue dotted only by a couple of high clouds.
But Peggy was finding it difficult to appreciate the sight as she sat up on deck with Annamaria and Cotton and a couple of other sailors named Franky and Dodge stitching up a ruined sail. Her heart was too heavy, her chest so constricted she thought she might never breathe easy again.
Sleep had come at great difficulty to her after her visit from the Devil. Even after she had tried to bury herself in her bed she had to shut her eyes and fake slumber to fool Will and Jack. Jack was surprisingly easy to deceive, though that may have been because he was too tired from helming the ship all night to care.
However, Will had not been so easily duped despite his exhaustion. Why else would he deem it his duty to stay by her all night? Will was always bound by propriety unless his concern got the better of him.
Eventually, she found some sleep for a few short hours before dawn, though it did little to ease the ache in her heart.
Eight months…she only had eight months left of freedom, then she was no more.
How had time flown so fast?
And more importantly, how had she been so foolish to think she'd ever escape the devil?
"Ow!" she winced as her fingers slipped and the needle poked at her skin. "I'm fine." She added as Cotton spared her a look of concern.
"Anna's right yer lookin' mighty down lass," Dodge commented, wincing as Cotton's parrot Paulie flapped down from the rigging above, his wing cuffing the sailor over the head as he passed and landed on his master's shoulder.
"Hang the jib!"* The bird squawked at Peggy, turning his head side-on so one intelligent eye could watch her intently.
"Like I said. I'm just tired." Peggy mumbled as she sucked on her finger and inspected the digit. It was only a small prick. Nothing major. Good, that meant she could continue working. "It's been a while since I was on the ocean like this." She explained when Annamaria continued to look sceptical.
"How long?" the woman asked.
"Ten years."
Dodge and Franky both whistled in surprise.
"That's a long time to be away from the ocean lass." Franky quirked an eyebrow at her. "I heard you used to sail with the captain when you were a youngin' is that true?"
"Aye." Peggy nodded.
"What made you leave?" Dodge asked curiously, earning Peggy a few more raised brows from Annamaria and Cotton, as well as a few men securing the rigging around them.
Peggy felt her cheeks burn under the scrutiny as she exchanged a small glance with Will who was only a few feet away scrubbing the deck on Jack's orders. Even though he knew most of what happened he was curious to see if she would be just as honest with the crew.
"Well…" Peggy gulped. "I didn't have a choice 'n the matter. I got chucked overboard when that scumbag Barbossa tried to-"
"Barbossa?" Annamaria and Cotton exchanged horrified glances. "You got thrown overboard by Hector Barbossa?"
"Aye. The very same. Unless there's another vicious old codfish sailing the seas by the same name." Peggy added with a small smirk to herself.
"So…you survived Hector Barbossa?" Dodge seemed torn between awe and terror at the very thought "The man he's…he's a wretched demon."
"Not as bad as Blackbeard or Borgan the Butcher." Peggy shuddered in revulsion. "Of course, I have never met Blackbeard, so I don't know how bad he is up close, but Borgan now there's a right piece of work."
"What does he do?" Will asked as he carefully maneuvered himself and his scrubbing brush, so he was by the side of the barrel Peggy sat upon while sewing.
"What doesn't he do?" Franky shook his head fretfully. "Man lives up to his name right enough."
"But mainly he specialises in kidnapping, ransom and extortion," Peggy explained to Will's questioning brow. "He'll raid ports and take girls or young women from their homes and demand payment so outrageous in exchange for them returned. Those that can't pay will never see the girls again, those that do pay…well…they get to see what's left of them. If there are any survivors they usually are missing something. Hardly anyone escapes him unscathed."
"You can't be serious?" Will stared at her incredulously, his face paling as Peggy and all the sailors did not crack a smile.
"I wish I was. But alas, men like him do exist.'" She mumbled, looking back down at her stitches in the sail as Paulie the Parrot squawked in an almost angry tone:
"Cleave 'im to the brisket!** Sqwaaak! Scurvy dog!"
There was a pause as Cotton nodded with a grim sadness even as he sliced a thumb across his throat.
"Cotton's right. The man deserves to be fed to the sharks." Annamaria agreed with an aggressive stab of her needle through a patch. "Barbossa is a nasty piece of work but at least he does follow the Code. Borgan is just one of 'em sick bastards who thinks because he has a ship and flies no colours he has a right to call himself one of us pirates."
"He wouldn't be the first." Peggy snorted. "Contrary to what the officers believe back home William, pirates do have some rules we follow."
"Really?" Will almost sounded disbelieving. Lawless cutthroat pirates had rules and regulations? That sounded absurd…
"Aye, lad we do!" Franky nodded sagely glad the topic was turning onto something less grim "Mayhap the things we do might not be quite lawful or legal. But, that doesn't mean there are no lines no man should cross. Ooh, here we go." Franky grunted as he tried to snap a thread with his tooth.
"Here you can-oh…" Peggy's face fell as she reached to her hip and found nothing there. "Never mind." She mumbled downcast.
That's right. How could she forget the rotten cherry on top of her terrible first night at sea?
Her scissors, her silver pair of scissors, her most treasured gift from Will and her favourite tool of defence had been lost as she had almost fallen overboard last night. She had not noticed them missing until she had been getting dressed that morning and nearly had a panic attack much to her embarrassment.
She remembered the day Will had gifted them to her, his face alight with pride and eager nerves. He had put hours and hours of effort into the project. All that dedication and that care…now it was somewhere at the bottom of the deep blue sea.
Well, she supposed it was better than it being in the hands of the Devil. He often took such treasured trinkets like that from his crew if only for the sadistic pleasure of it.
Still…
A gentle pat on her shoulder snapped her out of her miserable thoughts and she looked down to see Will smiling at her comfortingly.
"I can always make you another pair when we get home. Or better yet a knife or a dagger."
"Better include a coin with that mate, otherwise yer and yer lass will both have very bad luck." Dodge piped in with a very knowing grin to Franky.
Peggy shook her head and smiled at Will, though her heart ached from the effort.
Home…the forge, the shop, their tiny apartment. As scrummy a landlord as Mister Brown was, it was still a good home. Both she and Will had worked so hard to make it so, and now in a few months she would have to leave it all behind, and Will would be all alone.
That was if they didn't get hung for piracy first.
But would the devil let her hang? Would he let someone else play with his food? Or would his new mark just send her to the locker when she died?
She was glad to hear Gibbs' shout from just below deck.
"Oy Peggy! Captain needs his lunch!"
"On it Mister Gibbs!" Peggy called swiftly dashing away, doing her best to ignore Will's confused stare on her back.
She knew she'd have to tell him sooner or later that she would be leaving, but just thinking of it now was making her feel almost seasick again.
Once again she was lying to him. Once again she had no choice but to pull the wool over his eyes and she hated it. Just when she thought she could finally be honest and her full self around him…
Get a hold of yourself, Peggy Blake. She chastised herself as she did her best to blink back her tears. You knew this day would come ever since the first day you two met. Deep down you always knew you'd have to leave him behind.
"My keen intuition regarding the female psyche tells me that you, Pegsy, are troubled."
Peggy blinked and suddenly became aware that she was no longer down in the hold. Indeed, she was no longer below deck. She was in the captain's cabin, standing beside Jack as he sat down at his table and ate his lunch of salted meat, bread, pickled vegetables and a peeled orange.
Damn, she must have gotten lost in her thoughts again. At least she had been able to do her task without thinking.
"Sorry Captain…just…" She trailed off and shook her head. "Honestly I don't even know what's going on." She said softly, eyes fixed on the wood grain of the table.
"Nothin' to do with yer head ey?" Jack asked through a mouthful of food.
"Huh?"
"Yer head. Y'know, fell over the side again." Jack took a swig of the rum bottle. "It's a bad habit y'know. Falling overboard."
"O-oh that. No. no that's all fine. It was more my arm that got the brunt of it." She waved him off casually. A little too casually perhaps because the side-eye he gave her almost made her want to hide.
Damn. The man was always so freakishly observant whenever she did not need him to be and such an airhead when it suited him.
"A'right! Come on lass sit down!" he dragged out the chair beside him with his foot.
"Jack-"
"Captain's orders. Sit down an' eat with me. S'boring eatin' all alone while everyone else is all busy out there! And that whelp's been takin' up so much of your time we've barely been able to chew the fat."
"But-"
"C'mon Pegs. For ol' times sake." Jack whinged, kicking the chair again.
"A-alright." Peggy gulped and hesitantly sat down, only to have a piece of bread shoved into her hands.
Instantly she felt her chest tighten at the familiar action. How often had they sat chatting as she waited on him, him sharing small morsels with her as they talked? Only now things were so different…
"How long till we find the Pearl?" she coughed, doing her best to squash down the depressing thoughts from her mind.
"Should be caught up the day after tomorrow," Jack grunted as he tore a chunk of meat with his teeth. "Luckily for us that storm gave us a nice boost in the right direction, otherwise it would've been more than four days."
"Thank Poseidon for that." Peggy sighed in relief. The less time they spent adrift the less time Elizabeth was in danger.
"Why would he take Lizzy?" She wondered aloud as she tore off a chunk of her bread. "Hector's not usually one for taking prisoners. So why the hell does he want her? I mean yeah sure she has a piece of the treasure from Isla de Muertos on her, and yes she's a pretty woman and the governor's daughter. But if they're trying to get rid of the curse then why take her captive? Why not just take the medallion and toss her?"
"All good questions Pegsy." Jack agreed as he stuffed his mouth full of vegetables and beans. "Which I do not have any answer to. Your guesses are as good as mine."
Peggy narrowed her eyes at Jack's disinterested shrug.
He seemed a bit too calm about the situation. True all he wanted was the Pearl back and he did not care much for Will's plight…but if he did not care about Will, then why did he want him to come along?
"Jack…" She bit her lip and leaned forward to strip off a piece of salted meat. "What happened to Bootstrap after we left?"
"Dunno luv." Jack swallowed a massive mouthful. "All I know is what I heard after we both got dumped over the side."
"And what did you hear?" Peggy prompted.
"Only that he's dead," Jack muttered. "Dunno how it happened. But what I heard was that Barbossa an' his scurvy dogs killed 'im and threw him away to drown in the briny blue like you. He did not have your luck when it came to getting tossed. Speaking of which," he coughed and pointed to Peggy with a ringed finger "I've been meaning to ask, how did you survive? Barbossa had you all tied and bound."
"I…I don't know Jack." Peggy shook her head as she tried to push away the sorrow at hearing the awful news. Poor Will. His father was gone for good. He'd be heartbroken. And poor Bootstrap. He deserved so much better than the rotten hand he was given.
"I remember wriggling out of the rope and swimming to the surface. Then there was this big piece of driftwood that floated across my path and I just clung to that until the next ship came. I nearly would have frozen to death had they not spotted me."
"Very lucky indeed." Jack snorted, clearly disappointed in the lack of action and adventure, though Peggy had no idea how she would embellish such a bleak tale. "And the whelp? How'd you end up with him?"
"The ship that saved me ended up in that awful hurricane barely a couple of weeks later. I don't know how it happened. The last thing I remember was getting washed overboard by a massive wave and the next minute I was laying on the beach at Port Royal and there was Will, trying to wake me up." Despite her heartache, she found herself smiling fondly at the memory. "He was so worried about me that he carried me to the forge all on his own and offered me a place to stay, no questions asked. We've been side by side ever since."
"Yes, I can see that." Jack wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Boy does a great job of sticking to you. He's very sticky. So sticky one might wonder how much he truly cares about you-"
"We're just friends Jack." Peggy rolled her eyes. Oh great, first the crew and now Jack. "This is what happens when you live together with someone for years. You care about one another, know one another. Trust me, when we find Lizzy you'll see she's the only woman for him."
"And that does not bother you in the slightest?" Jack frowned in confusion, but the wicked gleam in his brown eyes betrayed his keen interest to keep poking the bear.
"Not at all. Why should it?" Peggy stuffed the rest of her bread crust into her mouth. "He loves her. If being with her makes him happy why should it bother me?"
"Because it means your whelp will no longer fawn over you." Jack sneered. "Come on you can tell ol' Jackie. You enjoy him following you around and fussing over you like this, I can see it. Just like I can see how much you love being back out here on the sea. Oh yes, I daresay that hum-drum life in that dumpy port with your beloved eunuch was fine, but out here on the sea is where you truly belong anyone can see that, even him. So, here's my real question to you Pegs. Why are you so keen on staying away from the thing you want most ey?"
Peggy turned her face away, eyes burning hot even as she gulped down hard on the food in her throat, her fingers tracing her covered right wrist. How she wished she could answer that question aloud instead she just said:
"And how would you know what I want most hmm?"
"I don't. But I do know the look of someone who is running from something they don't want." Jack grunted as he began peeling the skin off his orange. "and clearly, that thing you don't want is bothering you right now or else you wouldn't be sulking and moping about the ship like this."
Peggy sucked in a deep breath.
"We've both been around the block a few times Jack. You know there are times we have no choice but to do what we can to survive. Sometimes those choices come back to bite us in the arse."
"Ahh. And which choice is comin' after you I wonder?" he glanced at the door to his cabin "It's not the whelp is it? he ain't still grousing about you lying to him?"
"No…He's been surprisingly fine about it all. He was mad at me, but he understands." Peggy mumbled avoiding his eye.
"And yet you're still holding yourself back from taking him for yourself-"
"Well what else do you expect me to do Jack?" she looked him dead in the eye as she rose to her feet. "I'm a pirate. I can't exactly offer him the life he wants."
"Ah, so you do love him. You're just giving up because it's easier to run away and take the coward's way out. I can respect that." Jack tipped his orange to her as if he were tipping his cup.
Peggy gritted her teeth but held back her temper. Had the comment come from anyone else she might have been able to shrug it off. Coming from Jack was almost like being stabbed in the guts and he knew it. The bastard.
BANG!
The gunshot was so loud it made Jack almost fall off his chair.
"What the-" Peggy squeaked to Jack who scrambled to his feet as the door opened with a slam. It was Will, and he was looking harried and out of breath.
"Fight on deck." He panted as Peggy rushed over to check him for injuries. His clothes looked rumpled as if he had been manhandled but otherwise, he was alright. "Yarrow and Daniels. Something about money. Gibbs is trying to break them up."
As if on queue a loud angry shout blasted behind Will's back accompanied by the unmistakable sounds of scuffling and thuds of hits being landed.
"Ugh! Step aside!" Jack rolled his eyes as he straightened himself up and pushed past the blacksmith with an annoyed scowl and a mutter "Just when things were finally getting interesting."
"Interesting?" Will quirked an eyebrow at Peggy who sighed.
"It's nothing. Just Jack being Jack." She mumbled, her hands patting the open collar of his shirt flat and smooth. "I know I keep asking this a lot nowadays but are you-"
"All fine." Will chuckled in relief. "Those two aren't exactly that strong."
"Strength doesn't matter when guns or weapons get involved." Peggy sighed as she stepped around to peer out the door.
Half the crew were on the deck. Some were standing by and watching idly with smirks or whispers, while others were restraining two struggling men. Jack was in the middle of it all with Gibbs who sported a bruise on his cheek and a scowl of annoyance.
"Money ey?" Peggy looked at Will who shook his head and followed her gaze with almost exasperated amusement.
"I think so. They were playing some dice game with some cups and-"
"Liars dice." Peggy snorted. "It's a fun game if you know the rules, but it can get pretty heated."
"So I saw. Yarrow threw the board halfway across the deck."
"And people call me a hothead."
They both chuckled, though Peggy's faded swiftly as she watched both men get dragged below deck to the brig on Jack's orders.
Just think…in eight months that'll be me. She thought miserably only to wince as she felt a small hard tug on the end of her braid.
"Ow! William!" she whined, glowering up at him.
"I'm sorry did something happen?" he smiled innocently down at her and was rewarded by her swatting at his chest.
"You little – pulling my hair like that, it hurts!"
"Pulling your hair? Now why would I do anything of the sort?" yet even as the words left his mouth his fingers playfully tugged on a stray curl that had escaped its bindings.
"Because we both know beneath those big beautiful brown eyes, you're a bloody rascal." She elbowed him gently in the ribs.
"You think my eyes are beautiful?" Will snorted enjoying the way her cheeks flushed almost the same colour as her hair.
"I was being sarcastic." She mumbled as she leaned away from his teasing fingers.
"Oh really? Ow!" Will grumbled as she elbowed him slightly harder in the side. "Now that hurt."
"Pff! Please, that was hardly a hit. Looks like someone's getting soft."
"Me? Soft?" Will scoffed "I'm not the one who gave up on my daily practice."
"You try squeezing in practice when Missus Berry has you up to your ears in laundry for twelve hours straight." Peggy shook her head.
"But you don't have any laundry to do now."
"Speak plainly Will."
"I don't need to. I think you know exactly what I'm saying." Will grinned.
"Five minutes and I'll meet you on the poop deck." Peggy agreed and was surprised to feel the first true smile of the day spread across her face even as she rushed back into the cabin.
It had been a long time since they had last sparred. She had missed their daily practices, but what choice did she have with all that work piled on her.
But now…now here she was…on a pirate ship. With eight months left and no job or petty small women telling her what to do.
I guess I better make the most of it.
Something was wrong.
Jack Sparrow could smell it in the air.
Or was that the rum he had accidentally spilt on his shirt? He quickly sniffed at his collar but found nothing out of the ordinary. Only the typical musk of a sailor who sweated in the sun got soaked by the sea and enjoyed a healthy diet of fish and rum.
And yet he could feel the prickling of something on the back of his neck as he looked around his cabin.
The day had been relatively peaceful since he had put Yarrow and Daniels in the brig to cool off. Now the rest of the crew were on deck either tending to their duties or watching and making bets as Will and Peggy practiced their swordsmanship up on the poop deck.
While Jack had fought Will and knew his skills were above average it was good to see Peggy had not lost her touch either. True she was a bit rusty from lack of practice, but once she had shaken the cobwebs off she was still the same ferocious little scamp she always had been.
Now it was evening, no storm on the horizon that night. Only a small night shift would be needed while the rest of the crew either slept or entertained themselves in the hold or on deck.
And Jack…well he was taking a nice quiet drink in his cabin and feeling oddly disturbed. Was it just him or was there the faint smell of rotten fish about the place? He had barely had time to notice it last night, what with how exhausted he was from the storm.
Or maybe Peggy was right to be revolted against him because he did smell that terrible? But no. He had been sure to bathe while in the company of the lovely Gabrielle while in Tortuga and Peggy had not complained to him about his smell today.
Was it the whelp? Was he the source of the smell? A blacksmith would sweat a lot after all and he had sparred for quite a while and scrubbed the deck.
But no. The boy was just as finicky about being clean as Peggy was. She had most likely drilled hygiene into him early on knowing her.
Jack rolled his eyes to himself as he silently stalked over and peeked inside the door to the cabin boy's nook.
Peggy was sleeping curled up on her bed beneath her blanket. She had removed all her soggy clothes and folded them neatly on the windowsill beside her bed. Her copper curls were loose about her thin excuse for a pillow and the sleeves of her shift had slipped precariously from her shoulders, revealing a gentle slope of her freckled décolletage.
On the floor beside the bed, Will Turner was resting soundly in a sitting position, his head resting against the side of her mattress on his folded arms with his forehead almost touching hers. He had bundled his brown vest into a makeshift pillow for his behind and had wrapped a thin but dry blanket around his shoulders for warmth. Despite the odd position, the lad seemed content with where he slept.
Then again, Jack could not blame him. Sharing a room with a woman while at sea was a sailor's dream, even if the lad did not quite have the hang of it yet. Seriously, what was the point of sleeping beside a woman if you were not going to enjoy her body in the same bed? Even without the sex, the heat of her soft form would be enough to ward the chill away. If the lad were content enough to hold her body against him in a tavern why would he be so against sharing a bed with her?
That boy is hopeless.
Jack took a long hard swig of his rum as he remembered the whelp's awkward blush at the prostitute's interest the night before. Ye gods and he called himself a man? Hiding behind Pegsy like that, sheesh! And he expected to win the heart of the fair lady he said he would die to save?
Jack could not wait for the lad to find his precious Elizabeth what's-her-face if only to watch the light leave his eyes when he was rejected by such a fine specimen of a woman. It was the least he deserved.
Jack was not often impressed by the high-born ladies. True, they were pretty but most were too delicate and particular for his taste. But that Elizabeth lass…now she had spirit. A real fire behind those brown eyes. Jack supposed he should have expected as such from a friend of Peggy's.
I'll give her credit. Pegsy may have a terrible taste in men, but her choice of ladies is impeccable. Jack rolled his eyes to himself.
Once again he found himself wondering why Peggy seemed to care so much about the whelp at all. Apart from his pretty face and fancy fighting skills, he wasn't all that special. Jack could think of over a dozen pirates and merchants that would kill for a lass like her on their arm or in their beds.
Even Jack might have pressed his suit. But no. Sleeping with a woman he had known since her literal childhood made his insides shrivel just thinking about it.
Still, that did not mean Jack had to like watching her get fawned over by this disgusting runt. Though he'd never sleep with Peggy, she was still his cabin girl goddammit! He did not waste months teaching her the ways of piracy and skullduggery to see it wasted on a fussy whelp like William Turner.
The pirate's eyes narrowed as they drifted back onto Peggy's sleeping face. It was peaceful and smiling, a far cry from the despondent and depressed lass that had eaten lunch with him earlier today.
Given the lass's unfortunate knack for getting tossed overboard, Jack might have believed it was the shock of catching up with her. But then he remembered how she had clutched hard at her right arm the day before, and the way she had done so again during the storm.
That had been twice now her arm was causing her trouble, though as far as Jack could tell, she did not seem to have any trouble using the limb while carrying heavy goods or hauling on ropes.
Had Barbossa injured her during their last encounter? No, Jack would have noticed a scar…or would he? The girl might not be afraid to show off her lovely chest when pressed, but she had always been very cautious about revealing her arms and legs even as a young one.
Little Pegsy is always so careful, always hiding something. Jack mused as he took another hearty swig. Hiding from the whelp, hiding from me… But what are you hidin' ey? That's the question…
He had wondered if he should try to get her drunk on some rum. That usually worked a treat in loosening tongues. But no. Peggy hated the drink and would only touch it to stave off dehydration in the bleakest of circumstances.
So, then what? What could he give to her that would make her talk? Or at the very least roll up her sleeves. Perhaps he could force her into some sweaty manual labour alongside her blacksmith?
No… that might not be a good idea either.
A sweaty woman showing off skin on deck for the sake of the captain could lead to all sorts of trouble and may make the men resentful of him. Jack had worked far too hard to get his revenge on the first bunch of scoundrels that had mutinied on him to have another whole crew betray him and all because of a woman.
Besides, he doubted Peggy would stick around if she suspected his true intentions. The girl was like a fish. Disturb the water just a little bit and she would swim away at top speed. He had nearly done so during their earlier conversation.
Jack quietly shut the door and sauntered over to his previous seat. Again, he could not help but feel like someone else was in the room watching him. Was the whelp awake this whole time? Wait why was Jack so worried about that? It was his cabin after all!
Will was adamant about being Pegsy's personal guard dog so Jack would not put it past him to be wary of his surroundings. The fact he was willing to sleep on the floor of her nook to ensure her safety was proof of his remaining distrust of the crew.
Ironic, since the lad was just as much a pirate as any of them. He may try and act all squeaky clean and do-goody-two-shoes, but Jack had never seen anyone adapt so quickly to life among pirates, not even Peggy. The ocean was in that boy's blood sure as eggs.
"A chip of yer old block ey Bootstrap," Jack mumbled as he drained the last of his rum only to frown as he caught sight of a couple of small dark stains on the rug beneath him. "Hmm wassat?"
He crouched down to swipe a finger against the largest splodge mark. It was dried and flaking.
It wasn't blood, nor was it varnish. It was dark brown much like-
"Ink?" Jack frowned as he took a small sniff as a couple of flecks stuck to his finger.
Yep, that was ink alright. And not very nice smelling ink either. It was very – he took another quick sniff – acrid.
He pulled a face as he wiped his finger on his vest to clean it, his eyes roving curiously about the cabin.
A writing desk was in the far corner of the room laden with charts. But he could not see an inkwell or a quill pen anywhere.
That was funny. He did not remember sitting down to take notes or write anything recently. So how had ink ended up on the floor?
It could have been Pegsy. Jack mused to himself. The girl might have scribbled a little while tucked away in here at some point.
Yes. That seemed like the most reasonable explanation. The brat could never stay still even when sick or injured.
Jack grinned with satisfaction as he upended the rum to catch the last few drops from the bottom.
However, none hit his tongue.
He sighed heavily as he peered down the neck of the empty bottle.
"Why is the rum always gone?"
*Hang the Jib - Pirate slang meaning to pout or to frown.
**Cleave him to a brisket - to kill a man by cutting across the chest from the shoulders to stomach.
And that's chapter 6. Peggy's troubles are growing deeper and Jack is getting more suspicious. He may be a flake but he is clever, he also likes to poke the bear so long as it does not harm him.
Hope you all enjoyed and as always please fave, follow or review if you would like to see more.
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FuzzyBeta