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Post by Jack the Monkey on Jul 8, 2007 21:32:16 GMT
I'm writing this story called Beginnings, its a Barbossa kinda bio story, all about him. I hate to admit tho, I added romance in the later chapters because thats just how I am... I am such a sap! lol
Chapter One
Rain poured on the small green hills that covered the west end of the English countryside, bringing a crash of thunder that shook the lands. Nothing grew out here, in the drenched fields and muddy hills. Only tall weeds and trees, nothing a respectable man could sell to live. Families starved and went poor in such harsh squalls, with no sight of the sun for days. His family was no different.
A boy, becoming a man at the age of thirteen, ran down a muddy path, away from the small house that held his family. He couldn’t take it anymore, the pain in his belly from only eating once a day, his mother accusing him of stealing more food from her plate and his father beating him when he protested. The scars would never fade but he refused to let anymore be put on his skin.
The deep mud caught his foot for a moment and he stumbled and fell, breathing heavily as he wiped the mud from his face. After standing, he continued to run, not caring if he looked anomalous. The rain poured over him, washing the dirt from his hair and the swollen bruise his father left only hours before on his temple. He hated the land around him, the smell of the grass and the way things always seemed too dark.
He needed to get away.
He wanted to see the world…. Get as far away as he could from land.
To the sea.
--
“Out of the way boy!”
He was shoved down yet again, to the cobblestone path of the harbor town he had made it too, his legs tired and the sight of him would have made any man disgusted. The boy’s dark hair was matted and pressed against his scalp, mud and sweat crusted on his breeches and shirt, shoes starting to fall apart on his feet. More seemed to crumble off as he stood back up, rubbing his tired face with the back of his hand.
“Apologies...” He muttered quietly before glancing around at the busy town again. The boy was starved and even the smell of fish guts seemed appeasing to him. He kept his slow pace down the hills and ally ways of the town, moving for men much older and taller then him. All he needed to do was get to the docks, find a ship and be hired as a cabin boy.
Then he knew the food would come.
After treading through the expansive town, he felt a wind against his dirty face and the smell of salt excited him. The sun was brighter here, his eyes needed to adjust for only a moment before taking in the view before him. One of white sails and dark wood. Ships littered the waters here and he couldn’t help but feel over joyed for the first time in his young life.
Just one more road would lead him to the docks, he could make it. Before him, however, a coach rolled past, the horse’s hoofs clicking loudly as they pulled it along. The young man couldn’t help it, he was captivated by the exquisiteness of the painted wood and the massive white horses. It seemed like royalty in that coach, something he would die for.
Out of pure curiosity, he followed behind the sturdy coach, having to jog lightly in his tattered shoes. It led him far down the road, past most of the ships on the various piers. Until they reached the last pier, where the coach passed effortlessly onto, but the boy was cut off by two guards in blue coats.
“No civilians can pass.” One said loudly, giving the filthy boy a look of almost pity.
“Who was in here?” The young man said with urgency. “Who was that?”
The man who spoke before sighed lightly. “That was Captain Farrow.”
“Captain Farrow.…” The boy’s eyes observed between the men in front of him, the coach coming to a stop near an enormous boat, biggest one at this port most likely. Out of the coach a man with fine clothes and even from far away, he could see a glint of gold on the man’s hands.
He was rich, respected and everything the boy wanted to be.
“You need a job, boy?” The guard who had been silent finally spoke.
Quickly looking up, the boy nodded fiercely.
A small smile passed over the man’s lips. “I know of a boat, looking for a cabin boy.”
“Where sir?”
“Go down the opposite way of this pier. Look for the boat captained by Mr. Radley.”
“Thank you sir!” And without another word, the boy ran.
With a frown, the other guard spoke. “Yeh think that’s best?”
“As long as that filthy boy isn’t near me any, I don’t care one bit what Mr. Radley does with ‘im.”
--
The boat he found to be Mr. Radley’s was almost not worth mentioning. It was small compared to other boats and most likely twice as old. Walking down it’s pier the boy wondered slightly if he would even try to speak with the Captain, he was sure he could get a better job on a much nicer boat.
“Yeh gotta problem there boy?”
A bulky man, his dirty face glaring down, was now upon the boy. He carried some rope in one hand and a barrel in another. His body looked as filthy as the boy’s, only he didn’t even wear a shirt. The sheer sight of him made the boy almost freeze in his spot.
A hard gulp. “Mr… Radley… I’m here to be a cabin boy…”
The tall man laughed heartily before stepping up onto the small boat. “Come aboard then, if ya want to meet the Captain.”
Following quickly the smaller boy stepped onto the ship and almost fell at the unevenness of it. It had been the first time he had stepped on a ship and the constant moving on the sea made it harder then he thought to stand. The tall man had already set the barrel down, then tossed the rope to the boy.
Unable to really catch his balance in time, the boy fell backwards and hit his back on the rail. He swore in his head, pulling the rope he had intended to catch.
“Not a very good pair of sea-legs.” Another voice cut in. Behind the tall, burly man came another, an almost opposite. He was short and wide, covered in filth and a smirk of almost black teeth. His pudgy face was red from the sun and most of his hair was missing.
“Not sure if he’s cabin boy material, Captain. Seems like his first time on anythin’ that floats, let alone a boat!” The tall one gave a louder laugh then before.
Standing quickly, the boy ignored the new pain in his back. “No! I need a job!”
“Well he sure is determined.” Mr. Radley smirked again, walking closer to the boy. “You even know what a cabin boy does, squab?”
A sudden uneasiness passed across the boy’s face as he looked between the two men in front of him. The sun pressed down hard on his face as sweat started to train down his back. “No sir… but I can learn.”
It was silent except the occasional wave rasping the hull of the boat and the cawing of the sea birds in the air. Finally the pudgy captain turned and walked towards the taller, younger man. “You show him. We don’t have time to look for another boy.”
“Aye captain.” The man sighed before grabbing the barrel once again. “Boy. This way.” He then headed down a small stairwell.
Smiling, the young boy followed, keeping his balance as he did. Before he could follow into the dark underbelly of the ship, the captain yelled out once again.
“Oi! Squab! What be you’re name?”
The young man called out quickly. “Hector! Hector Barbossa!”
Step one of Hector’s plan had been realized. He was on a boat.
Next step, to be first mate.
--
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Post by Jack the Monkey on Jul 8, 2007 21:32:42 GMT
Chapter 2
The first day was the hardest. Hector learned a great deal about the ship and before he could even get a proper meal, he was forced to clean the small galley. The stench of the rotten food that was left over from the last voyage almost made him pass out as he entered the room. He hauled the rotten food up to the deck, dumping it overboard into the sea. They were miles from the town he had jogged to, even more away from that house and the horrible people called his parents. He walked back down and got to scrubbing.
Night would be coming very soon; the sun was setting off into the horizon with numerous reds and violets. He found himself abnormally happy, even though his body ached and the sweaty mess of his hair stuck to his scalp. He had decided something for himself and he would do anything to get it. Where he was now was the first main step.
“Boy, stop gazin’. Its time for dinner.”
The huge man who’s name Hector still did not know was suddenly behind him. As the younger teen looked up at the man, he saw that he looked less filthy and noticed for the first time what the man really looked like. There was a darkness to his skin he couldn't recognize, but it wasn't African.
The dark coal eyes of the man seemed to grin as he lifted up a bucket in his strong hand. "You look unfit to be at our table."
Before Hector could respond, the contents of the bucket was poured on top of him. Water ran through the boys reddish hair, rinsing out the grime that had been accumulated the past few days. After the bucket was depleted, Hector shook out his hair lightly and rubbed his slick hands on his pants. He still felt filthy but he nad no reason to complain.
"Thanks... I guess." He said, the back of his hand quickly wipping a drop from his blue eyes.
"Speak up you talk to low." The bucket was placed on the deck. "Follow. Captain wants you to serve."
"Wait!" Hector spoke up, almost yelling this time. The man looked down at him with a raised brow. "What is your name?"
"Is that an imporant issue, Barbossa?" The Captain joined in, walking up to the two, holding a pipe. Clouds of smoked tabacco urched from the robust man and his pipe.
Hector hated that smell. It smelt like his father and anything that had to do with him made his skin crawl. "I would think it is.. sir."
The taller man laughed and for some reason it made Hector a bit troubled. "Aison is what I'm called boy."
"Where are you from?" Hector curiosity was getting the best of him.
The Captain let out a aggrivated sigh, then walked closer to the thirteen year old, his cold eyes narrow. "Shut yer mouth. Yeh are here ta work, not ter make small talk. Dinner needs ter be served and if ya want ta eat, then yah'd better get in the galley right now."
It took all of him not to back talk to Mr. Radley, but the way he was glaring at Hector and the stench of the pipe made his blood boil. He had left his home to get away from such treatment, only to be stuck on a ship where the Captain's say is law.
"Soon." He told himself quietly as he walked down to the galley with Mr. Radley and Aison behind him. He knew that soon he would be a Captain himself, with expensive clothes and gold rings. Hector Barbossa was a name people would recognize as being a great Captain of the high seas.
Five years would pass before Barbossa would even leave the position of cabin boy. In those five years, Barbossa learned what it meant to be a sailor and that no matter what he tried to do, being an honest man hadn't brought him nearly enough profit. Mr. Radley was an honest man. Aison was honest enough.
Barbossa learned that after killing a man, there was no way to be honest ever again.
--------
The Greek Isles were easy enough to maneuver around, the Aegean sea was wide enough to pass by each of the islands without worry. But for someone who had no idea what direction was which, they could get rather lost. Lucky for Hector, he had passed by this way many times aboard the Masarda, Captain Radley's newest ship. Only a year after Barbossa had been part of Mr. Radley's crew, the old sea Captain was able to purchase a new boat, much bigger and a lot harder for a crew of three to handle. With the Captain's stingy nature, he just forced more work on the others.
It was nice when Hector got to steer the helm. He had grown a few feet in the past five years, his hair longer and his face matured. When he stood at the helm, nothing in front of him but sky and sea, he really started to feel as if he were part of something much grander than a small merchant ship.
With a force like a bear, a hand slapped the back of the coat Hector wore. Catching his breath, he looked over to see Aison, a huge grin on the man's face. "Doing well, boy."
"I told yeh, call me Barbossa. I'm not a boy anymore." Hector couldn't help but smile back.
"You will always be a boy, no matter how I look it." Looking off at the small islands they were passing, Aison's smile faded. "We are going deeper, towards the Dardanelles Strait. You have never been this far, have ya boy?" he asked with his broken accent.
"Nay." Barbossa leaned forward on the helm lightly. "Captains orders, though. Have yeh ever been this far?" A look passed over Aison's face, one Hector had never seen before. "I have been to every end of this earth, young one."
"What's the Black Sea like?"
"You two never stop, do ya?" Much to Hector's dispointment, Captain Raldley appeared with that blasted pipe. There was once a moment that Hector almost tossed it overboard, but was caught by a chuckling Aison. Luckly for him, Aison wasn't one to tell on him.
"Apologies, Cap'n." Hector moved as the even wider-than-before Radley took over the helm. "I was only curious."
"You'll know what its like when we get there! Back to work now, Barbossa."
With a nod, Hector walked by a smirking Aison, who quickly whispered, "Deck at dusk."
Jumping onto the shrounds, Hector smiled inwardly. It had been a week already.
--
Every week sence that first day Hector had been aboard the ship, Aison had been teaching him about things that didn't have to do with the ship. After learning to read and write, Aison taught him how to fight and finally, how to weild a sword. Hector wondered why such a huge and powerful man would not be Captain, but never asked. If there was one thing he realized about Aison, it was to never ask about the man himself. You would never get a straight answer.
Now the two men sat down next to each other, both a little worn out after a small spar with their swords. Aison grabbed the sword that Hector gave up and stood only a moment later. "Good match boy. You are better."
"Thank yeh." The teen sighed heavily. "Why did yeh teach me all this, Aison?"
Leaning against the rail, Aison looked downward at the sea. "These waters are filled with terrors, men and creature alike. You can never predict what the great Poseidon will bring to you."
"Poseidon?" Hector immitated Aison, only his gaze was on the man. "I thought you said it was Calypso who ruled the seas."
With a slight smile, Aison started to sing. "The king and his men, stole the queen from her bed and bound her in her Bones." He stopped and In a small moment Hector watched as Aison's finger traced over the hilt of his old sword. "Calypso is bound, away from all our eyes. Poseidon controls the waves, the habits. He has done good and bad."
Hector looked off in the distance. The song was stiring in his head. "Yeh ever wanted to go back, to land? To yer home?"
"Never once." Aison answered immediately and without hesitation, which made Hector a bit surprised. "Sometimes you have to, just to remember where you are from."
Then the man turned and walked away, swords in hand. He stored them in a place that not even Hector knew.
After gazing at the darkened horizion, Hector started to hum the song Aison had taught him many moons ago.
--
It took days to arrive at their desination in the Black Sea. It took only moments for the day to turn into a disaster.
Pirates were something common in any sea, but Persian pirates were something Hector found were a force not to be reckoned with. They were on the ship before he even had a chance to grab something to defend himself with and had him pinned on the deck with a swollen jaw and a thobbing headache. He heard the yells of Mr. Radley from under the deck and a loud sound of gunfire.
A voice that was familiar but speaking in a tounge he could not understand was nearby, his ears were ringing from the blow. The pirate that had been holding him down stood, pulling him up in the process. Instead of seeing more pirates, in front of him stood Aison, his eyes darkened and narrow.
"I don't have much time boy." Aison said quickly. "Listen... Come with us and I swear to you that you will be free. I will help you with what you want."
A vision of a Captain in a rich suit and gold jewelry flodded his mind. Behind him the pirates were all jumping back to their ship, muttering words that he didn't know. Aison grabbed Hector's hand and thrusted the sword he had always used into it. "Follow boy."
The pirate behind Hector let him go and he raised the sword up quietly. "You swear, I'll be a Captain."
"Yes, boy." Aison smiled wickedly then turned to the ships side. It was only them left on the deck and Hector spit some of the blood in his mouth out to the wood. A loud gunshot was heard and in a quick moment Mr. Radley was on deck, his arm covered in blood from a gunshot wound. Hector could hear a bullet fly by his head and in a pure instinct move he charged at his once Captain, sword plunging deep into the man's chest. A sickening sound of blood came up through the man's mouth and he was dead before he hit the deck floor.
Eyes wide with surprise Hector looked down at the man, knowing exactly what he had just done. The sword was stuck into the man's chest and the blood that pooled around the body moved with the waves of the sea. Before he knew it, Aison was grabbing the sword, then Hector's shoulder. "Boy.. follow."
Without a look back at the Masarda, Barbossa climbed onto a deck filled with pirates that were rummaging through the goods that they had looted off the smaller ship. Aison led him to the Captain's quarters and grabbed a nearby cloth to wipe the blade he held clean. Hector said nothing as he looked around at the small room, then took a seat at the first chair he came to.
"I'll answer any questions you have." Aison said, lowering the sword to Hector. "You will be my first mate on this ship, before I get yours."
Taking the sword, he looked it over with his blue eyes. Then back up to Aison. "Do yeh have any apples?"
tbc
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Post by Jack the Monkey on Jul 8, 2007 21:33:06 GMT
Chapter Three
The smell of stale wine was the first thing he sensed, next was the two hot bodies on eighter side of him. Sun came through the small window of the room and next to the small bed he had shared with two wenches sat many bottles of opened wine. Sitting up, it took a moment to gather his thoughts.
Hector was in La Rochelle, a small port town on the west coast of France. Aison had to stop here for some business with the French pirates that resigned here. It was never hard to find an excuse to get away, even just for a night. He had every right to. He was intitled to some free time for himself, he had been first mate to Aison for three years now.
He managed to rise from he bed without waking the french women, quickly dressing in his clothes, his coat one he managed to buy when the Hades' Jewel stopped at a port near India. It was tailored to him, dark in color and lined with silk. Hector found that being where he was now had become quite profitable.
After all, he was first mate to the Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea.
--
Three years back...
"You alright boy?"
Hector looked away from his apple core and the sunset exploding from the horizan, his eyes narrowing at the tall man who came behind him. Aison was redressed in a garb that looked very exotic to him, chest bare and the lower part of him wrapped in red silk. Around his waist was a small belt, the sword Hector had seen so many times before, hanging from it.
"Aye." Hector said, tossing the core into the sea below them. The foreign sky was littered with stars, all rearranged in postion's Hector didn't reconize. "I'm just tryin' to figure all this out."
"You may ask me." Aison moved closer. In the darkness he looked more threatning, his dark skin looking even more so next to the flamboyant red of the garb.
Hector however, wasn't nervous at all. "Five years I knew yeh. Not once, did I notice. I guess it was just poor judgement on my part." Pausing, Hector looked downwards, not really expecting any responce yet. His eyes looked over his hands, dirt under the nails and small scars lingering over the skin. "Why Mr. Radley? Why live, for five... perhaps more for all I know... years, just to kill him off?"
The Captain of Hades' Jewel walked to Hector's side and gave the smallest of smiles. "You ask the wrong question."
"Oh?" A bit of anger boiled in his chest. "What would be the right question?"
"Why did I not kill you?" Aison's dark eyes cut over like daggers. "That would be the right question."
Hector frowned and looked off at the dark sea once again. "Fine then, why did yeh not kill me?"
"I trust you will be a great man someday. I felt it when I first saw you on that dock."
This time, Hector laughed greatly. "Great man, eh?" Aison simply nodded. "All I want is to be a Captain. You've promised me that, Aison. I pray yeh will keep yer word."
"A man who makes a promise and does not fulfill it, is not a man at all." A large pat on the back followed and Aison smiled widely. "I swear to make you Captain of a grand ship."
"Will you now answer my question before?" Hector sighed as he walked with his arms crossed and started to observe the deck.
"Mr. Radley had something.... dear to me." The deep voice seemed a bit low. "I had to get it at any cost. I had to gain his trust to make him... what is the word? Ah...reveal it"
"What kind of thing did he have?" Hector frowned.
"No need to know." Aison grinned. "Tomorrow, boy, will you be first mate of my ship and I will show you what it means to be a pirate."
"Call me Barbossa, I am not a boy any longer."
A small look of gratification passed over Aison's face. "Once you prove to me you are not, I will call you whatever you wish."
--
For a week Barbossa had a recurring dream, in which he was sinking in a patch of quicksand. Yet as his hands reach down into it, it transformed into a pool of bubbling blood that formed ripples with every movement from his struggling body. The first morning he awoke screaming, the next he woke with a cold sweat. Days went by and he found it easier and easier to ignore the dream until finally, it just went away.
Months passed and he tried to find out what Aison needed from Mr. Radley. Each time he was turned down and Hector began to just do as he was told. Never had he seen an angry Aison, but a very annoyed Aison was intimidating enough. Hector decided instead to do everything in his power to prove to Aison he was no longer a boy.
He pirated, looted, pillaged.... killed.
It wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. He found that people usualy derserved to die and most were dispicable rotten fools. The gold taken from their hands was suitable enough. Chests of jewels became easier to find. His pockets grew and so did his appetite for different foods and clothing. Aison just fueled the fire that burned in Hector's mind, telling him of enchanting luxuries in the east and his own homeland, all the while teaching him how to fight and kill properly. Little did Hector know, Aison was just molding him. Into something that only Aison himself knew.
Hector was just happy to have his childhood dreams fulfilled. Food, clothes and recently women, all at his disposal.
--
Now Hector Barbossa walked down a dock toward his Captain's ship, his hand rubbing the short hair on his chin. After spouting out some oders to the nearby crew he ventured on board and to the helm. Aison was already there, maps in hand and talking to the helmsman in a tounge that Hector still did not know, nor care to.
"Meetin' went well I see." Hector said with a smile.
Aison grinned back and wrapped his arm around the shoulders of the smaller man. "Yes! The french are..easy pickings when it comes to me." The two laughed as they headed towards the Captain's quarters. They would be departing soon, Hector knew. He much perfered to be at sea, it had been his most welcoming home.
"I have the means now, to get you a ship." Aison said as he poured himself a small cup of a clear alcohol.
"Do yeh?" Hector helped himself to an apple from the nearby table. He had grown so accustom to the fruit, if he wasn't able to eat one a day it was torture. "I hope yeh got me one of more decent size then the last."
"Such ego, boy." Aison sipped his drink. "Are you up for a trip?"
"Anywhere would be grand."
"The Black Sea?"
It had been three years since they had pursued to the Black Sea. Three years since Hector had started his life as a pirate. "I'm ready for anythin' Cap'n." Hector took a large bite from his apple.
"Good boy." Aison muttered as he walked out of the quarters.
That night Hector had yet another nightmare. But this time it wasn't him who was being pulled into the bloody sand. This time he saw Aison struggling in front of him, but he couldn't move to help him. In fact, he could barely stand.
Looking down to his body all he saw was a skeleton.
--
Eyes of blue looked over the transoceanic view, trying their best to remember these waters, but couldn't. He did remember a chill in the air, the way the heavy waves rocked the ship. But that was on the Masarda, a much smaller vessel then Hades' Jewel. In fact the water was so still that Hector felt like he could walk on its glassy surface. The sun was bearing down on them, a hat he had purchased in a town in Spain sheilded his face.
It was eerily quiet. The small gusts of wind helped move the ship in a humdrum pace. The crew were scattered about, doing meanless chores to keep busy. Hector stood at his favorite place, near the helm of the ship on the raised deck. It was perfect to observe the sea as well the crew, he almost felt like a captain here.
"Boy!"
But he knew he wasn't.
Hector's eyes looked downwards at the Captain and Lord, as he walked up the wooden stairs. "Aye?"
"How goes the day?"
Aison had been in his quarters since the night before, leaving Hector in charge. He almost wished he would just stay in there. "Poor winds, not nearly enough to sail. This rate we'll be late to our port."
A puzzeled look came over Aison's face. "Odd indeed. I must say that would not be a good thing to be late." Turning to the helmsman, Aison spouted out orders in his native tounge and Barbossa watched as the man begain to turn the wheel in a different direction.
"What did yeh say?" Barbossa looked over Aison's still puzzled face.
"Different course. I dislike greatly to be late, so we will not show."
"And that makes better sense?" Hector almost yelled, his anger growing. "I do believe yeh had a boat waiting for me at that port?"
"Yes. But I think this is better course of action." Aison started back to his quarters.
Barbossa followed closely. "What was that yeh said about a man who breaks a promise, is not eh man at all?"
"I have broken no promise, boy." The captain turned to face the first mate. "What if the boat is not to your liking?"
"I will still take it. I have wanted nothin else for too long now."
It was silent as Aison looked over Barbossa's face, then smiled. "Very well." He yelled to the helmsman once again and the confused sailor did as told. "But I do not like being late, boy. It always brings bad luck." Hector stayed on the stairs as Aison walked away again, sighing deeply to himself. "Finally." The younger man muttered, wishing the winds would kick in already so he could get away from this ship and the confusing Captain Aison.
Nevertheless bad luck was all they found at the port of Phasis.
tbc
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Post by Jack the Monkey on Jul 8, 2007 21:33:34 GMT
Chapter Four
To this day Barbossa still doesn't know exactly why two of the flagships of the East India Trading Company where there, waiting for them in port, with their cannons pointed right at the Hades' Jewel. All he knew was it was too late, much too late because they closed in on the ship in a furious speed and the Hades' Jewel was close to destroyed in a matter of minutes.
As the men from the commanding ships boarded and swords began flying, Hector could only guess that the informant that Aison had in France had set them up for failure. Many men died at Hector's sword that day, yet there were too many to handle. Aison and he were the only ones left as their ship slowly started to sink into the blue depths of the Black sea.
Barricading themselves in the Captain's quarters, Hector tossed chairs, tables, anything of weight to the door, hearing the yells and loud thuds on the other side. Aison stood, blood soaking his chest from a gash received by a Corporal. Both the men gripped their swords, blood pooling where the tip was pointed.
"Bloody mess this is!" Hector yelled, unsure what the next move should be.
"Yes... it is." Aison touched his chest, the gash much deeper then he thought. "I knew this to be bad luck."
"This has nothin' to do with luck, Aison." Barbossa walked to his Captain, eyes looking over the wound. Obscene words were muttered before his eyes looked to the windows in the rear of the room. "I suppose we could swim for it."
"No... I believe I would be dead before then." Aison gave an unnatural smile. "You go. It is easier for one man then two to get away."
"I can't do that."
"You must!" Aison quickly grabbed the sword from Hector and pushed his own into the open hand. "I must tell you quickly. I leave my duties to you, Lord Barbossa."
Speechless, Hector could only stand, staring wide eyed at the man before him. Limping over to a cabinet, Aison's hands quickly tore it open to reveal a small chest. Without another word, he tossed it to Hector, who grabbed it with ease. "Mr. Radley's violation of trust. Guard it with your life, Barbossa."
The pounding on the door was growing. "Take it all, guard it and go forth to Shipwreck Island. It will be explained there."
Without any room to gripe, Aison pushed him towards the windows. "Go now Barbossa."
"Aye... Captain.."
Aison didn't turn back. Hector tossed a nearby foot stool through the window, glass shattering to the water below. Sheathing his new sword, he looked back only to see the barricade was plummeting and the men were pushing through. Laughter was the last thing he heard of the Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea.
As the cold water took him, he swam further away from the unrelenting falling wood. In his hand was the small chest, light enough for him to swim at an even pace. Luckily for him, the East India Trading Company wasn't very scrupulous with scouting for survivors.
--
He had to wait almost three days out on the beach until the huge ships of the East India Trading Company left the port. His stomach was growling insatiably as he rushed to the small town, annoyed more at the fact that his coat was ruined than not being able to eat. The chest he had held onto was still in hand, he had been unable to open its small lock with only force. Even if he desperately wanted to see what was inside, after Aison's words he refused to cause it any damage.
The port was undersized and the people were very foreign to him. None spoke in a language he understood, but when he saw a small vendor with bowls of soup being dished out, he could only turn over a gold coin that was worth a large amount more then a simple bowl of stew. The taste wasn't very enticing and he swore he could smell raw fish in it, but anything was better then to be starved.
Next, he followed the docks. He was sure he looked unusual to the people around him, as he was staring off at different ships. But he was busy deciding which seemed appropriate to him. Only one looked remotely large enough to make the voyage and as he walked closer to it, he could hear the people on board yelling in another language. Perhaps if only one was able to speak English...
"Usted allí, usted necesita a un compañero del trabajo?"
A man was yelling down to him, leaning against the rail of the large ship. Hector could only stare for a moment at the man, he wore clothing made for a Captain, a long black beard and a larger hat. He could only guess the language, it reminded him of one he heard in Spain.
"I can't understand yeh, but I need a ride!" He called back to the lightly confused Captain.
"Sí! Ride! You, come?" The man struggled with the words. Hector could only be glad he was so lucky.
--
Hector was unlucky in one aspect, they made him clean, cook and be a basic dog for the rest of the crew. He couldn’t complain, they wouldn’t understand him anyway. So he did as instructed by the Captain, who knew enough English to give him commands. He could only guess the ship was a merchant one, they had mounds of cargo down below deck.
Yet there were a few looks he got from the men on board and some kept asking him the same thing, “Usted es pirata?”
Unable to understand, Hector slept every night on the deck, away from their befuddled eyes. He kept the chest in a safe place during the day and it rested next to him by night.
Weeks later, the ship was at a stand still, no wind and no waves to guide them. Hector was already quite annoyed at the fact his clothes were ruined and he hadn’t had an apple in quite sometime, so the sudden outburst of voices made his somewhat peaceful nap wrecked. Mostly it came from the Captain’s quarters; He stood from his bed of rope and advanced to the source of the noise.
A small group of men were shouting at the Captain, who held his pistol high. It seemed to be a diminutive mutiny, nevertheless the Captain seemed to be just as nervous as the men. Hector stayed back for a moment, watching as the men lurched closer with their swords drawn. He leaned against the door of the room, wondering what exactly would happen next.
“Si usted no permanece detrás usted todo el dado!” The captain yelled at the group. Hector sighed deeply. This would be much more entertaining if he knew what they were saying.
A shot rang out and one of the men hit the floor. Mayhem then broke out as the six or so remaining men charged at the Captain, swords at the ready. Hector watched as each one was taken down by the man, most dead with a matter of seconds. As the last one fell, Barbossa smiled to himself. Perhaps this was his opportunity.
“You!” The captain roared. “Fight?”
Without answering, Barbossa drew the sword that Aison gave him only weeks ago and stepped closer, carefully avoiding the men at his feet. After just watching him even for a moment, Hector knew exactly how the Spanish Captain was at fighting with a sword. With a laugh, he knew that he could beat him.
As he pressed the cold steel of his blade against the neck of the Captain, his free arm pressing the smaller man’s body down on the ledge of a table, Hector grinned. “Thanks again for givin’ meh a ride.” He said the words slowly, as if taunting the frightened Captain.
He brought the blade across the thick neck in one efficient moment.
A few more of the crew were standing outside the room, the fear in their eyes giving Hector a new feeling in his. They feared him and that’s exactly what he wanted. He wiped the blood from his blade on the Captain’s coat, stopping when he took a good look at the pistol at the man’s hip.
He grabbed it and observed its detailed design and larger handle. “Just what I needed.” Laughing lightly he stuck it in his belt. The men who were still alive at his feet started to mumble as the men outside the room shuffled in to help.
“Capitán..”
“Aye, Captain.” Barbossa couldn’t help but laugh.
It was almost too easy.
--
Barbossa was pleased to find that the ship was filled with pirates like him, all who seemed rather loyal to their new Captain. In fact they all spoke to him with lots of enthusiasm, even if he had no idea what they said. He managed to get them to understand him better, especially when he was yelling orders.
The Captain before had a chest full of clothes, the sizes all too small for Hector’s taller frame. After a lengthy night of tearing and hemming, he managed to make a rather adequate coat and hat. A feather of royal blue was now safely fastened in his large hat and he managed to clean his boots off enough so they faintly shined.
A few nights later, he felt more at home then even on the Hades’ Jewel. After all, he was now a Captain and a Pirate Lord. If only he knew what exactly his duties as a Lord pertained.
His boat stopped at a rather large port off of Spain where Barbossa learned exactly how loyal his new group of crewman were. They brought on a blonde short haired boy dressed in rags, around the same age as Barbossa was when he first went to sea. They started talking to him rapidly.
Barbossa was about to yell at them to be silent, when the boy spoke. “Your men want you to know they are… pleased.”
It was after the boy spoke that Barbossa grinned. “Yeh want a job?”
The boy looked up finally, emerald eyes narrowed. “Oui.”
Barbossa could only laugh. Here was a French kid who spoke his language as well as the crews… what could be the odds?
Particularly that he knew the boy in front of him was in fact a girl.
tbc
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Post by Jack the Monkey on Jul 8, 2007 21:34:06 GMT
Chapter Five
The Espada, Hector’s new ship, finally began its extensive voyage to Shipwreck Island a few weeks after the new Cabin Boy came aboard. Something deep down made Hector a bit uneasy about the risk of having a girl in disguise aboard his ship, but he knew there was no other way to know what the men were saying about him. Unless he wanted to wait around for another translator, which he dare not do.
It was nice to have someone who could understand him, even if it was an adolescent twelve-year-old. After a lengthly discussion with a few of the men over rum, he came to find that the previous Captain was stealing more then his two parts of the haul. It made it almost impossible for the men to make a living, even as a pirate.
Barbossa willingly gave out some of the gold he found in his new room to the men, knowing that by doing this, he was gaining something much more valuable; devotion to him as their one and only Captain. All of them were excited to go somewhere else for once, the new world to the west seemed like a perfect place to start a new track in their lives.
The small wooden chest that belonged to Aison sat on a table in the large quarters and Barbossa still wouldn't try to open it too forcefully. Deciding early on that he would find out what was inside it when they arrived to Shipwreck Island, he simply ignored it even being there.
Barbossa was settled in for the night, relaxing in his quarters when a man opened the door to the Captain’s quarters. The Cabin Boy’s shoulder was gripped in his hand. Hector looked up from his new maps to see the man who he had designated his first mate. “What is it?”
“A man was caught stealing, sir.” The young girl said, trying to keep her voice low.
“Toss him in the brig for now…" Hector leaned back in his chair, kicking his legs up on the table. "Leave him for a few days. If he decides to steal again, he’ll walk the plank."
Turning to the tall man behind her, she began to translate. After nodding to his orders, the man turned to leave, about to drag the younger one out with him.
"Wait." Hector said sternly. "Leave the boy."
The small one’s eyes looked over at the Captain, confused. A swift shake from the first mate made her talk quickly and the man nodded again to Barbossa. Quickly he left, leaving Hector alone in his room with the small, perplexed girl. A raised hand motioned for her to come closer and as she did, the same hand reached for an apple from the basket he had on his table.
Obviously anxious, the girl stopped a few feet from the candle-lit table watching as Hector took a bite from the green fruit. He didn’t speak for a moment as he looked her over, seeing how filthy she really was. “What’s yer name?”
“I… go by Adan.” Her voice was trembling and Hector could only laugh to himself as her voice got lower with each syllable.
“And what be yer real name, Adan?” “Real name… ” Hector had to admit, she was playing this off rather well. She suddenly seemed more at ease, as if with each moment she was slowly becoming a boy. “I don’t have one.”
“Come now lassie…” As he spoke the girl froze, her eyes completely focused. “Don’t tell me yer mother didn’t give yeh a proper name?”
Shivering silently, the girl tried her best to sound composed. “I told you… I don’t have-“
“Don’t lie to me.” Hector said in between chews. He stood up from his chair, staring at the little girls eyes as he walked around the table. “I could tell the second yeh spoke. Just out with it miss.”
“Lucina..” She looked down, ashamed. “Don’t kill me…”
“I won’t be killin’ yeh. You’re too useful on my ship. Is that yer full name?”
As the girl nodded she took a step back the closer he got. He lowered himself to one of his knees, watching as the girl wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Yeh are aware this be a pirate's ship, aren't yeh?" Another nod. "I may be able to help yeh the best I can, but I don't know about meh crew."
She nodded once again. Hector sighed as he stood and grabbed another apple from his table. Then he tossed it to the girl and she fumbled and almost dropped the fruit. "Next time Lucina, speak up. I don't care for the silent types."
"Aye, Captain." Her voice broke lightly and she held the apple with both hands, looking less nervous them before. "Am I to leave now?"
"Aye. Go about yer duties."
The girl ran out quickly, leaving Hector once again in his quarters alone. It didn’t really matter if she was discovered, it was his say what would become of her. But his crew could see this as a betrayal of trust if he not say anything. He would have to play this card rather carefully, until they reached his destination. Finishing his favorite fruit, he smiled to himself. It was sure to be an interesting trip.
--
“Hoist false colors!” Hector yelled to the translating girl, who was hurriedly repeating his words. A flag was raised on the mainmast, one white with a red crest, a signal of a Spanish merchant ship. Hector’s vision was through a telescope, one he had found in the many chests of the fallen Captain. In the distance, a smaller vessel with the familiar flag of the East India Trading Company was floating on the wavering ocean.
They were relatively far away, but it was better to play it safe then to worry about it. It may have been a smaller ship but after what had happened to the Hades Jewel and his former Captain, he knew not to underestimate the E.I.T.C.
Closing his telescope, the Captain of the ship began to bark out orders. “Fall off helmsman, keep yer sights to the west! Eyes on the enemy ship gents, our luck they leave us be.” As he walked down the stairs to the main deck, the cabin boy repeated his words and the men did as told. “Adan, to my side.” He called out and hastily the girl ran to her Captain.
“Yeh wouldn’t have heard any kind of insubordination from the crew, have yeh?” As he spoke to the girl, he tightened a knot from the mast.
“No sir… not yet anyway.”
He found the knot stiffer then usual. “Rain will be heading our way soon, tell the quartermaster.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, lowering his head slightly to speak softer. “Keep yer ears out for anything regarding that issue, Lucina.”
“Aye Captain.” Hector crossed his arms, looking off to the slowly fading ship. There was no way to be sure, but he had a small inkling that seeing an E.I.T.C. ship here was no fluke.
Rain came and left, as did the night. The enemy ship was gone from their sights but Barbossa still didn’t feel at ease. It was too early to say that the men disliked their Captain as it could have only been one rat among the sea dogs. Or perhaps he was being a tad overboard to suspect any of his men of that kind of treachery. He at least had one pair of ears and eyes to observe for him, even if it put her at risk.
Although, she put herself at risk pretending to be a boy.
--
A month passed with no word of treachery. Lucina gave a report every night, about what the men were saying and how the men felt about their Captain. After so long without a word of any betrayers, Hector felt more at ease.
Most likely he would search out a new crew when they arrived to their destination, anyway.
A night when the winds were still, Hector stood at the bow of the ship, finding himself staring at the stars. He was charting out the stars in his head, to familiarize himself with the new sky. It was much easier to sail with the stars, because they would never change, at least in his lifetime.
Raising his spyglass, he looked upwards to gather a better view, observing each cluster of the tiny diamonds in the sky. “What are you doing?” A voice broke his concentration and he lowered his hands and looked over at the girl.
“Remembering… Yeh should do the same, a sailor should always know his ways on the sea.” Hector closed his telescope and hitched it to his side belt; another find on an earlier raid.
Lucina’s small form rested against the railing, her short hair ruffling in the slight breeze. “I never wanted to be a sailor.”
“Then why are yeh here, lass?” The Captain went back to looking at the stars, his mind both there and with her.
“I ran away.”
Hector looked down at the much smaller girl, frowning. “Ran away from yer home?”
Shaking her head, she leaned over further, looking down at the sea. “More like from my life. I was living in an orphanage. I never knew my parents.”
“Yeh be a lucky one.” Hector said quietly, suddenly feeling quite despondent.
The girl looked up at the man ten years her senior, shocked. “Lucky? I was treated like filth…”
“Believe me or no, I understand yeh. That’s why I left.”
“You too?” Her eyes focused on him.
Barbossa wasn’t used to any kind of admiration, especially towards him. It made him a little uneasy. “Aye. I wanted to get away from land.”
“I wanted to be a lady…” Suddenly she was crying, something Barbossa surely was not used to. He almost snapped at her, telling her not to be so pathetic, when what was in front of him really sank in. She was alone, a lot like he was when he first went to sea with Aison and that horrid Mr. Radley. It was almost ironic how much they were alike.
“Don’t be doin’ that now.” Reaching into his coat of azure blue, he pulled out a small lace handkerchief, its white slightly faded. Lowering it in front of her flushed face, she took it with silence and proceeded to wipe the tears off her smudged cheeks.
Dirty and slightly wet, she returned it to him. “Sorry Captain.”
“It be alright.. get some sleep.”
With a small smile, the girl turned and walked away from the bow, heading to her hammock down below deck. In a weird sense, Hector felt a little more melancholy. After tucking his lace back into his coat, he looked back to the stars. Aison had helped him with his dream of being a Captain, so he found it his responsibility almost to help Lucina with becoming a lady.
Just what type of lady that would be, he still wasn’t sure.
tbc
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Post by Jack the Monkey on Jul 8, 2007 21:34:32 GMT
Chapter Six
It took three days to find Shipwreck Island after finally coming into the Caribbean. One of the first things to surprise Barbossa about the Caribbean was the waters there. They were cool and translucent even in the deeper parts of the seas. The Island that they had come to seemed impenetrable; it took another day to carefully sail around the whole of the Island while looking for the pass to port.
Through a threatening cavern The Espada sailed rather smoothly much to Hector’s surprise. He had been worried to venture into a place where the word shipwreck was in the title, but he was glad to know his ship maneuvered rather well.
The view of Shipwreck Cove astonished him, mounds of empty ships pilled upon each other, forming a small city. The working ships that were docked at the various ports were all banishing different pirate colors. In the darkness of early evening the lanterns inside each of the wrecked hulls looked slightly eerie.
“Is this real?” A voice said beside the mesmerized Hector. Averting his gaze for only a moment he saw the 'cabin boy' who's eyes were wide.
Hector could only chuckle. “It be real.”
After finally finding an empty port, Hector allowed most of his crew off first to enjoy the many different kinds of entertainment that there was to offer. Knowing that half would probably never come back, he needed to venture forth and not only find some new crewmen, but to get his own questions answered.
Placing his hat on his bandana-clothed head, Barbossa walked out of his quarters, nodding to the few who remained on deck. Tucked under one arm was the small chest Aison had passed to him for safe keeping. Half way down the gangway, his eyes noticed a small figure standing alone on the ledge of the port.
“Master Adan. Yer not off to mingle with the other crewmen?”
“No Captain.. I was hoping you would let me follow you around.”
With a slight frown Hector lowered the small wooden chest. “Then make use for yerself... and yeh better not fall behind.”
With a nod, the girl clutched her cargo with both hands. “Yes Captain.”
--
“And I am tellin’ yeh, I am not a bleedin’ spy.” A dark skinned pirate smiled wickedly. Even in the low light of the exposed deck Hector could see the malice in the man’s eyes. If he could he would have cut the man’s throat open, knowing that he meant business. Unfortunately, he was overwhelmed by a group of blood thirsty men looking for conflict. Being detained was not something Hector enjoyed very much, especially when they had taken his new favorite pistol and Aison’s sword.
Disgusted with the fact that one of the men with extremely poor hygiene was gripping his arms tightly behind his back, Barossa found it harder to keep his calm demeanor in the new town. “We saw you sail in, the colors you held. It was Captain Aison’s and I know all his men.” The group leader spoke slowly, almost like a snake’s hiss.
“Open yer ears yeh fool. I already told yeh, Aison passed his rights to meh.” Trying to pull away again, Hector felt another pair of hands gripping his shoulders. Four men now confined him to his spot and he silently memorized their faces. “I’ll kill yeh all if yeh don’t let me pass.”
A yell of pain was heard then a high pitched voice yelled in French. The leader of the group turned his face from Barbossa to see another shirtless man holding Hectors traveling partner with one hand. The other he held to his mouth, faintly snarling. “The little piranha bit me!”
“Porc vil!” She yelled again, pulling harder on his vice grip around her arm. “Let me go!”
“Just kill the bloody squib.” After hearing his orders the man who held Lucina grinned viciously. He drew a small dagger from his side, and turned it under her neck quickly.
“If yeh kill my crew…” Hector spoke slowly but with a supremacy that he himself never knew he had. “I swear I will rip yer skin from yer bones.”
More pirates had surrounded the group, some chanting to kill while others raised their arms in protest. Hector heard a few men yell in Spanish, he could only guess it the crew he sailed in with. Lucina had stopped struggling, the dagger pressed hard against her small throat. Another voice yelled from the crowd, “This ain’t right by the code!”
The leader was ignoring the riot that was forming and chuckled lightly as he pressed his own pistol to Hector’s chest. “Go ahead and try.”
A loud shot rang out and Hector almost flinched, thinking it was the pistol near his heart. Instead he watched as the grin across the leader’s face slowly fade and his eyes roll up. As he slumped to the ground, the men who held Hector’s arms let go and he took that opportunity to rush to Lucina’s captor, his confusion helping Hector pull the cabin boy from his grasp.
Before he could dodge, he held a hot sting across his face, where the dagger the man held cut over his right eye. Yells were now all around him, cursing in Spanish. As Hector turned his face to look, blood covered his vision. His one clear eye saw the man being beaten by half a dozen of his crew.
It happened all so fast that Barbossa could only take in what was around him, the group of men that had held him scattered in the crowd and the leader lay dead in a pool of blood on the rotting deck. Lucina was gripping his arm tightly, unable to move. Lifting his free arm, he wiped the blood from his face, wincing as he felt a gash. Lucina following, he walked to the dead pirate and grabbed his own pistol, Aison’s sword and the small wooden chest.
Another loud shot was heard and the riot calmed. A voice called out among them, who happened to be the gun’s owner. “All of you, contain yourselves!”
Hector looked to the man who spoke, unable to make a clear view of him. He did see the man raise his arm and point to him. “Bring that man with me.”
“Aye Captain.” A few men around Hector calmly took his arms again, but not menacingly . “The Captain wants to talk with you.”
Hector shrugged the arms away. “Ah can follow just fine meself.” He tugged his arm, motioning to Lucina to let go and walk in front of him. She did as he wanted, also taking the chest from his hand silently. As they started to walk behind the tall Captain, Hector reached into his coat to find his handkerchief and pressed it firmly on his gash.
What a start to his career as a Pirate Lord.
--
“Please. Sit.”
The room Barbossa had come to was one made of an upside-down hull, the ribs of the old ship looking as if they were sitting in a whale’s belly. A large table was made in the middle of the room, nine chairs surrounding it. The taller Captain took a seat, motioning to the chair across from him. Hector took the seat, moving his handkerchief to look clearer at the man across of him.
He wore a red coat, faded yet elegant. Something Hector would most likely barter to get. One very peculiar thing about him, was his hair. Jewels and trinkets were weaved into the long black tresses, some looking quite heavy. His hat, was large with a feather of a bird Hector didn’t recognize.
“Tell me your name, sailor.” The older man asked quietly.
“Captain Barbossa.” Hector responded, glad to see, literally, that his eye wasn’t damaged.
“Captain Teague.” The man retorted, leaning back to his chair. “Mind if I ask you some questions?”
Without answering his question, Hector asked his own. “Are yeh a Lord here?” “Not anymore. Will you answer my questions?”
“Ah have some of my own.” Hector reached over and took the chest from Lucina’s grasp and dropped it on the wax covered table. “Did yeh know Captain Aison?”
“Know?” Teague’s expression didn’t change. “As in, he is dead?”
“Aye. Killed by the East India Trading Company. Left me his things, named me Captain.” “Named you Captain? Interesting…” Teague stood from his chair and walked at a turtles pace around the table. “It’s true he didn’t have a successor. How can we be sure you didn’t kill him?” The man’s eyes narrowed in Hector’s direction as he kept his slow walk.
“I guess yeh can’t.” Barbossa shook his head in frustration. “I have this of his.. I have no idea what be in it.” His slightly bloody hand lay on the chest. “Somethin’ he went to great lengths to keep safe, that’s all I know.”
Teague paused a moment as he looked at the chest, then continued to walk. As he got closer to the cabin boy, she moved to Hector’s other side. “I wonder why he left it to you.”
“Don’t ask me what was in his mind at his last moments…” Hector stood, showing he was not to be intimidated. “Will yeh tell me what’s inside?”
“Captain Aison’s piece of eight.” Teague reached out, his slightly bony calloused fingers touching the chest. “Do you have the key?”
“No… no key was given ta me.”
Teague looked over the man in front of him, then back to his bloody face. “May I see his sword?”
Hesitant, Hector’s hand lingered over the hilt, and then he pulled it out from his leather belt. Carefully he held it out to Teague’s awaiting hands, who took it then at once began checking it over. His fingers ran over the silver and gold of the hilt, pressing in each small crevice.
A small click was heard as he pressed on the butt of the sword, a smile coming across his face. “You did get a key.” He lowered the sword and handed it back to its new owner, who took it with a small rush. The handle was unfastened, a small little crack in the side. Carefully Barbossa pulled on it just slightly, to find a small compartment with a single gold key inside.
“I’ll be damned.” Hector muttered, increasingly surprised at the fact that the key was there the entire time. His finger reached inside and pulled out the key, then closed the hilt with another click. After sheathing the sword back at his side he pulled the chest closer and inserted the key.
A promising snap was heard as the top was loosened and Hector quickly opened it back to peer inside. It was lined in a cloth that looked rather old and faded and covered something small and round. Reaching inside, Hector pulled out a small wooden ball, with some kind of round circle carved into it.
“It looks like an eye…” Lucina spoke suddenly, her emerald eyes focused on the idem in Hector’s hand.
“Aye… it does.” Annoyed, Hector turned to look at Captain Teague, who was already slowly walking around the table yet again. “What is this? I thought yeh said it was ah piece of eight?”
“It is the Lord of the Caspian Sea’s piece of eight. Passed down from the very first Brethren Court, used to help bind the goddess Calypso.” Teague found his chair and sat down. “I see that Aison didn’t explain anything to you.”
Hector sat back down as well. “All he said was to come to Shipwreck Island.. and that I did.”
“Very well then. I guess it will be my job to teach you.” Teague smiled a bit. “But it won’t be free.”
“Ah…” Barbossa leaned back, the small wooden eye dancing in his hand. “No honor among thieves, is it?”
“All too true.” Captain Teague couldn’t help but chuckle. “First, let’s examine the code.”
“The code?”
Teague waved his hand and two men seemed to come out of nowhere, caring a very bulky old book. As Hector looked it over, he came to realize that this would take much longer then he originally thought. tbc
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Post by Jack the Monkey on Jul 8, 2007 21:34:54 GMT
Chapter Seven
“Here you go, Captain.” The small French girl said, placing a bottle on the wooden table. Her eyes were watching her Captain quietly as he grabbed the offering and took a long swig. In front of Hector was the largest book Lucina had ever seen, composed of paper that was hastily glued together in different kinds of hand writing. Barbossa had been looking over and reading it through the night and all the way into most of the next day.
He had been alone since the night before, with the exception of Lucina, who fell asleep in a nearby chair until only moments before, when she offered to get Hector something to drink. Seeing how the entire place was filled with pirates, the best she could find was rum.
Hector was not complaining. “Aison should have told meh about all these rules…”
“I never thought pirating had rules…” Taking her seat next to Hector once again, Lucina rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
Leaning back, feeling exhausted, Barbossa ran a hand over his rough cheek. The wound on his eye had stopped bleeding long before and all that you could see now was a swollen red line from an inch above his eye to the lower part of his cheek bone. “Neither did I lass… Yet here we are.”
The girl’s eyes looked over her Captain, feeling suddenly ashamed. “I’m sorry about your eye.”
“It wasn’t lost.” Barbossa looked over at her briefly. “Yeh don’t need t' worry.”
Pulling her legs up to her chest, Lucina sighed noiselessly. “I’m really not much of a fighter.”
“Ladies have no need t' fight.” He felt her eyes turn to stare at him. “Yeh should really take a bath while we’re here, lass. It will help make yeh look less like a lad.”
“But…” She almost started to stammer. “The crew...”
“I’ll have a new one soon enough. Yeh are only goin’ t' be on my ship until we find a respectable port. Then yeh are goin’ ashore.”
“I will?”
Barbossa took another long drink of his rum. “Aye.”
Silence passed as Hector began to turn through the pages of the book, knowing that even after reading the entire thing twice, it was good to memorize as much as possible. Lucina was still watching him, unsure of what to say. Looking down at her arms she saw the built up dirt and sticky mess that had been there for days and imagined it all washed away.
A small smiled passed over her chapped lips as she thought about it.
Food was brought in by none other then Captain Teague himself, setting a plate of bread and diverse fruits and cheeses. Barbossa helped himself to an apple he spotted and then tossed a small roll to the young cabin boy nearby. Teague took a seat across from the Lord of the Caspian Sea, watching silently as Hector closed the large book and rubbed his eyes lightly. “I’ve read enough.”
“Do you swear by your Lordship to follow the code?” The former Lord said quietly, folding his hands together on the table.
Hector chewed quietly then spoke. “I do… otherwise I would be marooned, wouldn’t I?”
Teague smirked more or less to himself. “Precisely… You have read enough.”
“Now...” Hector tossed the apple core to the table, then grabbed some bread for himself. “What can yeh tell me about these pieces of eight?” In the opposite hand, Hector raised the wooden eye to Teague’s view.
--
With all his questions answered, Barbossa found himself wandering around Shipwreck Cove with something else troubling his mind. What would he do now, after coming so far from his home and the European waters where he had spent so much time? Obviously he could go back to the waters in which he ruled over, but would that really do him any good?
Finding a tavern in an abandoned hull, he found himself ordering large amounts of rum. Taking refuge in a seat in the busy tavern, Hector simply sat and waited. Waited for some kind of sign of what he was to do next. His head hurt lightly where the swollen cut was, but the more rum he drank, the less it hurt.
Hours passed without a single inkling of a suggestion. Half drunk and fully annoyed, Hector left with the bottle of rum almost empty in his hand. Night had come quickly, so in his mind the only other thing to do was to head back to The Espada and partake in some well earned sleep.
But that wouldn’t happen, because Hector was almost knocked out by a hefty object hitting him across the head. Now with a splitting headache, Barbossa turned behind him to see a young boy; wearing baggy clothes and a faded red bandanna. He was not even a teen yet and he was holding another coconut, ready to toss. “Give me yer sword!” The boy yelled, and then proceeded to throw the hard coconut.
Hector dodged with ease, his eye throbbing yet again. “Best behave, lad. I won’t go easy on yeh, just because yer a squib.”
“I’d devastate you, old man!”
That did it. Hector tossed the bottle he held, with the little bit of rum left. The kid dodged it, but as the glass shattered, a piece flew by and stuck into the boy’s exposed leg. With a gasp, the kid fell to his knees. Hector took a few strides towards him, frowning from the pain in his head. “Ah told yeh, didn’t I?”
“I need yer sword!” He was up again, pulling the glass out of his leg. “That way I can acquire your ship!”
Looking rather confused, Hector crossed his arms as he watched the dark haired boy tie a small cloth around his bloody leg. “And why would a toddler such as yourself be needin’ my ship?”
The boy balled his fists, ready for a fight. “That be no business of yours.”
“Ah...” Hector really wished he hadn’t spilled all his remaining rum. “That’s where yer wrong, boy. It is my business because is it’s my ship.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” The kid retorted. “Because once it’s my ship, it won’t be your business anymore, so therefore, it really isn’t your business!” The kid was getting excited now, his hand suddenly pointing to the sword. “So if you will hand that over please, without delay.”
“Do yeh really think yeh can beat me?”
“Of course I can… I’m Jack Sparrow.” The boy’s cockiness made Hector seethe. “Soon to be Captain.” He added on, for additional vigor.
“Jack Teague.” A sudden additional presence made the two bickering pause to look at a very agitated looking Captain Teague, who had apparently been listening on long enough to be giving the younger boy a very nasty look.
“Sparrow.” Jack argued, now his full attention to his father. “I said I was leaving, why are you following me, eh?”
“Arrogant boy… Hector here would have killed you in an instant.”
“Hector?” Jack turned his attention back to Barbossa, who was feeling more isolated then ever. “What kind of name is that for a pirate?”
“What kind of name is Sparrow? Proves yeh are even more of a squib.” Even in the darkened room they were in, Hector could see a smug look on the kid’s face. He wanted nothing more then to tear it off.
Captain Teague walked in-between the two, focusing on Hector for a moment. “My boy thinks he’s the Pirate King sometimes. I apologize.”
“No worries, just tell him t' stay away from my ship.” Hector peered over Teague’s shoulder to give Jack a glare.
The kid just stood with his arms crossed, frowning. “I’ll find Kidd’s treasure myself then.” Jack started to grin a bit, that is until Teague turned around, the pieces of silver in his hair making a light sound as he did.
“Go, now. Don’t ever be messing with Barbossa again, or I’m afraid I’ll kill you myself.”
With that warning, Jack first gave a look of disgust to Barbossa and then ran off, slightly limping at his injured leg. It was silent between the two Captains for only a moment, until Barbossa’s curiosity got the best of him. “What kind of treasure did the lad mean?”
“Captain Kidd’s. Said to be thousands of gold doubloons, silver bars. Anything a pirate would die for.” Frowning, Teague looked at Barbossa. “And most have.”
“And where is it said to be?”
Teague looked surprised, but shook his head. “Far north. An island filled with pitfalls and giant oaks. Impenetrable to all who dare to tread.” Teague smirked lightly. “You thinking of traveling there?”
“I guess we’ll see where the wind takes me.” Hector shrugged lightly, his headache slowly fading at the thought of having all that swag. Before turning to leave, he looked back at Teague. “What is it I owe yeh, for yer help?”
“Lets just call it even… for now.”
Hector wasn’t really sure he trusted the look Teague had on his face, but he really didn’t need to worry about it now. He started back to his ship to get some sleep and in the morning he knew exactly what he was going to do.
He would get a new crew and then he would go north. The trip across the Atlantic was favorable enough, he had an abundance of plunder to show for it, but the idea of all that gold, laying to rest at the bottom of some island… got him ready for more.
--
Much to Hector's surprise, a good deal of his original crew wanted to sail with him. With the exception of a few, some who Barbossa had never seen again to this day, Hector was able to gather a few more sailors to help. The Espada was a ship that didn't really need so many men, but when word spread that he would be going after the dreaded Captain Kidd's lost treasure, he had plenty of offers.
It took him a day to gather things for the trip, he found that haggling with pirates for provisions were not very profitable to him, but there was no other choice in the matter. It was late evening when they were ready to sail, so Hector decided to stay at port for another night. He spent the night away from any of the brothel's or taverns in Shipwreck Cove. Hector found that he wanted a night away from the unconventional.
He was alone in his cabin, leaning back into his chair, one of his hands pressing a cool cloth to his slightly swollen cut, the other playing with the wooden eye. His thoughts were on Aison and why the man had left such a power over the sea's to him, but then he could only guess that the real reason was because Hector was his first mate.
Tossing the eye back into the small chest on his large desk, Hector dropped the cloth as well. Lifting up a bottle that was there, he raised it lightly before bringing it to his lips, muttering a small final farewell to Aison.
A knock on his door surprised him. Without even asking, Hector simply said, "Enter."
A small figure came into the candle lit room, looking around for just a moment before closing the door and walking further in. "Evening Captain."
"Evenin' Lucina." Hector stood from his chair. "Yeh look much better, don't yeh?"
After bathing, Lucina defiantly looked more like the young girl she was, her short hair was a brighter yellow and her face was more alive. She still wore the slightly baggy clothes of a cabin boy and she held a new item in her hands, a cap. Hector guessed it was for extra protection from the crew members.
"Thank you Captain."
"Had yer fill of Shipwreck Cove?" Barbossa grinned lightly as he leaned against the table, arms crossed over his fresh white shirt.
Lucina could only frown. "Oui.. the men here are so... " She was at a loss of words for a moment. "Foul.." Watching her Captain chuckle for a moment, she continued. "I wanted to ask you... why are you... being so nice to me?"
Barbossa looked passed her for a moment, taking in a deep breath. "I suppose it's because yeh don't deserve such treatment. Any child yer age should be able t' do what they want in their life..."
"Like you did, right Captain?" She gave a small smile.
"Aye." Reaching out, he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Like me."
Hector slept rather well that night. It was as if he was being born again in that cove. He was no longer Hector Barbossa, but Captain Barbossa, Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea. But he soon found that the world for pirates was never as easy as the stories dictated.
--
tbc
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Post by Jack the Monkey on Jul 8, 2007 21:35:45 GMT
Chapter Eight
"Yeh sure she'll be taken care of?"
Lucina watched quietly, twisting the hat in her hands. Her Captain was standing just a few feet in front of her, talking with an elderly woman that Lucina could only guess was the governess of the house before her. It was huge, compared to many she had seen before. She could see past Hector to the inside of the house, where a few younger girls were chatting excitedly while they watched.
Instantly she felt very out of place. The girls wore fancy dresses and their much longer hair done in beautiful ribbons. "I assure you," The elderly woman sounded pleasant enough. "That she will be brought up to be a proper lady."
Barbossa turned to look down at the small Lucina, his hat making his face hidden from the sun. He wore his best clothes, even if they still had a slight weariness of the sea. "Exactly what yeh wanted, isn't it Lucy?"
"Lucy, what a nice name." The elderly woman smiled warmly, her wrinkles showing fully on her face.
"Aye." Hector was facing the governess once again. "Our dear mother loved that name." He took off his hat and placed it over his heart. "God rest her dear soul."
Lucina watched in amazement as her Captain lied, astonished as he gave such a believable speech. Not only did she almost believe him, but the lady in front of him was almost swooning with admiration. "What a kind brother you are, sir."
"It's what our mother would have wanted, Mrs. Mabb." Placing his hat back onto his head, he reached back to coax the nervous Lucina from where she stood. "Would it be alright if I see her to her new room? Just so she's settled?"
"Normally men are not allowed in our establishment.." The woman smiled warmly. "But I will allow it this once. Right this way."
The trio walked up a large set of stairs, Hector making comments about the paintings and choice of decor, all the while Mrs. Mabb chatted away in response. Lucina watched the other girls in the halls give her odd looks, most likely about the fact Lucina still wore a cabin boy's clothes.
An empty room in the far of the hall is where the elderly Mrs. Mabb stopped, opening the door for the other two. "This will be Lucy's room. I'll give you a moment to say your goodbyes..." Before she turned to leave however, she spoke once more to Barbossa. "And about the payment arrangements..."
"I shall discuss it after I say goodbye, thank yeh Mrs. Mabb." Hector said with a smile.
Nodding, the old women walked away briskly.
Lucina walked around her new room, it being bigger then she thought it would be. There was a simple bed and dresser and a window covered in white cloth. Everything looked rather fancy, and still a little alien to her. "Are you sure I can't come with you?"
"I told yeh, this is the best place for a lady to be raised." Hector took a quick look around. "Mrs. Mabb believes me t' be a merchant. Yeh won't tell her otherwise."
"Yes Captain." Lucina spoke with a sigh.
"I arranged for dresses t' be brought to yeh as well." Hector paused only a moment before reaching into his coat pocket to retrieve a small lace handkerchief. Reaching out, he laid it over Lucina's now outstretched hand. "Take this.. I'll be back to check on yeh as soon as I can will it."
Before Lucina could respond, he turned to leave the room, closing the door behind him. Thankful, yet scared, Lucina sat down on her small bed and began to cry into the lace that he had given to her.
--
Time, as always, has a history of repeating itself. Barbossa had still been rather naive at that fact, seeing how he went for a treasure he barely knew about and lost a great many men for it. He learned that fighting was not only necessary to survive, but to live a life worth anything.
Captain Kidd's treasure was supposedly buried in a deep channel, stored in chests many feet down. He thought it was luck when he found the Island with ease, then a half unearthed tunnel. But he soon found that the reason so many had been lost there was because of a constant change in the earth that made the grounds above his crew topple down onto them.
Hector was never one to give up so easily. Another year passed as he constantly unburied the dead and cast new crew inside. He himself was almost lost in the earth, it took three days to dig himself out. Hardened by the truth of the treasure and the repetitive nature of it, Hector took refuge in knowing that in the end, it would be all worth it.
Barbossa never got to the end of the channel and never saw the small glimmer of one dabloon. Two years he waisted on digging up treasure, only to come up with nothing. He took his remaining crew from the expedition and decided that it would be easier to do it the more dishonest way.
Late at night, whether he was at his helm or in the bed of a wench, he kept going back to the beginnings of his life and where it led him till now and what he had to show for it. To most men, being a pirate is a horrible, despicable thing. To Barbossa, it was a living.
Once, after staying away from the Island for three years, Hector went back to find Kidd's treasure.
This time, he saw gold.
--
Three days of celebrating on his ship with his crew made Hector a little careless, getting a little too drunk off wine and finding that a man on board was trying to steal some of his dabloons from the Captain's quarters. Hector made him walk the plank, then shot him in the water to gather sharks.
Hector knew sometimes he seemed harsh to the members of the crew, but he also knew what a mutiny was like for a Captain. Consequently, it was best to make them too scared to even think about trying it. After the whole ordeal, he laid a course to the Island where he had left Lucina, her tuition would be up soon and he had to pay the governess another pretty bundle in order to keep the girl there longer.
The mansion that the governess had made into a school for ladies had been burned down. Most of the port was in shambles now that pirates had taken over the once small and respectable port. Night had fallen permanently over the island and as Hector searched the streets for the girl he had left five years back, he cursed himself for not coming sooner.
Old houses were now inns for pirates, taverns filled to the brim with drunken sailors and excitable wenches. The crew of the Espada were happy enough, they could go on land to spend some of their well earned money on what they wanted.
Barbossa looked into every place he came too, searching for what he knew to be lost. Admitting to himself that it was a lost cause, he found a seat at a tavern and ordered a bottle of rum. He found it rather hard to look up from it's amber liquid until late into the night, when most of the guests had passed out drunk on the floors.
“Sorry about yer dress.” A voice said over the low tones of the band in the corner and Hector recognized it as the person behind the bar. He ignored it and took the finishing gulp of his rum.
“It's alright.. I can get the mess out I think.” A voice of a woman responded and Hector looked up for only a moment to see if she would be worth his time tonight.
A blonde woman was there, looking down at a stain on her blue dress. Her hair was in her face and his vision was slightly blurred, but Hector could tell she was a real beauty to be a wench. He stood from his seat and walked closer, stepping over passed out bodies to get to the girl and tender. As he got closer, he set the empty bottle down on the counter and pulled his hat from his head. “Another round, sir. For me and the lady.”
Hector didn't notice the shock in the girl's face as he spoke, nor the way her body froze up as he filled the gap between them. He was watching as the tender opened another bottle of rum and handed it to Hector. “Thank yeh.”
The man nodded as he took some money from Hector, then gave a look to the blonde girl. “Rum tonight Lucy?”
It took only a moment for Hector to recognize the nickname, before he turned his hazel eyes back to look at the girl. Tears were in her eyes as she stared at him, but quietly responded to the man behind the counter. “No thank you..”
Before Hector was not a scrawny little girl anymore, but a mature young woman trembling. “Lucina?” He asked quietly.
“Captain...” Without warning, she pushed forward and wrapped her arms around his body. In his slightly drunken stage, he didn't even notice that he hugged back.
--
“What happened here?”
The two were sitting on a hill looking over the town. Off in the distance he could see the port where his ship was docked beside a few others. Lucina was being very lady like, her legs folded under her body and Hector's coat over her shoulders. Her face had matured the most and Hector guessed it had something to do with the things that happened here.
“An armada of ships... Of the Royal Navy, thinking our port was harboring pirates.. destroyed most of the town, but they only found one pirate.” Looking over at the man next to her, she tried to smile. “I did some learning, while at Mrs. Mabb's. Your money wasn't waisted.”
“I didn't think yeh were still alive.” Hector admitted, offering the bottle of rum he carried to her. She took it quietly. “Glad t' see I was wrong.”
After a moment of silence, she drank from the bottle. Passing it back to him, she smiled. “I was hoping you would come back soon.”
“I would have and I did.” Hector pulled his hat off, running his hands over the bandanna on his head.
Lucina smiled again, her eyes slightly growing tears again. She reached in her dress, pulling out a small handkerchief. It's lace still looked perfect. “What now, Captain?”
Barbossa watched her quietly, still astonished on how different she looked and how her beauty had grown. “We can do what ever we want, Lucina.”
tbc
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Post by Elizabeth Swann on Jul 14, 2007 13:28:22 GMT
wow really good, increadibly long, but really good!
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Post by Jack the Monkey on Jul 20, 2007 14:23:37 GMT
Thanks... I like writing long chapter stories... the potc fic I wrote before was 20 chapters long.
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Post by Cap'n Jack on Jul 20, 2007 16:28:29 GMT
Wow O.O have you got cahpter 9 yet? Im DYING to read it D: lol
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Post by Jack the Monkey on Jul 21, 2007 0:18:09 GMT
I'm working on it!!! Im kinda busy with just getting home from vacation then i have work and all...
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