Pirates of the Caribbean 06 Silver (2 page)

"I SAID, I'M SORRY!" he roared. Jack put his hand to his bandana, to keep it from flying off with the force of the pirate's breath. Which wasn't very fresh, we might add."That's very good," Captain Smith said soothingly."I wouldn't be here on your ship serving you, if it weren't for your little brat Louis continued, not willing to let go of the last word. "It was she who held the all powerful Sword of Cortes in her hands and said May my mother find you. May justice be done, and may it be done
by her hand,
the vicious pirate put his head in his hands, frustrated."Perhaps Mr. LeftFoot needs a bit more encouragement to behave," Silverback suggested. He sidled as gracefully as he could-- considering his leg--up to Captain Smith's side and rubbed his hands smarmily. "Perhaps you should lock Louis below decks, while he thinks about what he did. Or some other punishment that he's likely to understand. Hang him off the railing, perhaps? Make him walk the plank, maybe?"It was obvious that Silverback had no love for the dread pirate Louis. Jack thought about how he could use that. There was that old saying: 'any enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine. . . . But there was something particularly unsavory about Silverback. And not just how he could make people magically disappea
r and reappear somewhere else.

He looked untrustworthy, even for a pirate."Give me a plain old tough-guy scallywag any day," Jack muttered."Silverback does not look very trustworthy, does he?" Fitzwilliam whispered in agreement. "I have seen many others like him. Fancy clothes, snooty appearance, and such. All vile underneath," Fitzwilliam continued, before glancing down at his own silk suit and checking himself."All that brute understands is the lock and key. And the whip," Silverback went on.This time Louis did draw his sword. With a wordless bellow of rage he raised it and lunged at Silverback. The smarmy sailor didn't budge an inch. Instead, he calmly raised a hand and pointed at Louis. His crystal leg glowed an angry, fiery red. Left-Foot Louis's sword flew from his grasp as if it were knocked b
y an invisible hand. It landed
on the deck with a sharp clang, embedding itself in a plank. The other pirates stepped back.LeftFoot Louis howled and pulled out his knife, gripping it strongly with both hands. Silverback raised his hand again."That's enough!" Captain Smith roared. She strode between them, hands on her hips. I'm running a pirate ship here, not a gladiator arena. Both of you go below decks until you've calmed down for a while. Mr. Reece?"A cleaner-thanusual pirate came forward. He was handsome, with clear blue eyes and a smart red bandana, and he responded with almost military precision."Please escort them down the hatch--and don't let them up for at least three hours," Captain Smith said."Aye, ma'am," Mr. Reece replied with a grin. At least three of his teeth sparkled gold. But
they were set in an otherwise
perfect row of pearly whites, and looked more dashing than dastardly."I'm beginning to feel a lot less special," Jack said, touching his own bronze tooth. "It seems like these days everyone has one of these."While Mr. Reece led Silverback and Louis away, Captain Smith began ordering the rest of her crew about."You and you! Make fast the Barnacle to the Fleur. We'll tow her for now, until we figure out what to do with her. Pull up the anchor and hoist the sails. We're moving out, lads!" She gave Arabella a stern look. "And we're taking you and your crew with us, young lady
. Whether you like it or not."

CHAPTER THREE

The crew of the Barnacle watched glumly as their little boat was tied up behind the Fleur de la Mort. It was dwarfed by the pirate galleon--and looked kind of shabby next to it, too. Jack looked on with an envious eye as the pirates rushed about efficiently under Captain Smith's command. Ropes were knotted, sails were made ready, anchors were pulled up--and Mr. Reece took LeftFoot Louis and Silverback below decks.

Someday, Jack told himself. Someday, h
e
would have a ship as fine and grand as this one. With a crew that actually listened to his commands.Arabella pointedly refused to look at anyone or anything. Her chin stuck out defiantly, and her arms were crossed.When the captain was finished ordering her men about, Captain Smith turned to her daughter and smiled. Almost nicely."You've grown so," she murmured, reaching out a hand to touch Arabella's face."Let me alone!" Arabella snapped, slapping her mother's hand away. She turned to face the water, eyes red with angry tears.Captain Smith looked lost for a moment, for the first time unsure what to do. Then she gritted her teeth and took Jack aside."Can I have a word?""You can have several," Jack said brightly. "How abo
ut: 'good-bye or 'farewell' or
here's-your-ship-and-a-nice-pile-of-gold-as-an-unexpected-bonus?"Captain Laura Smith frowned. She took Jack by the arm and led him to the railing. "Captain Sparrow. Can you please be straight with a long-lost mother? For just a moment? How has Arabella been? How long have you known her?"

Jack opened his mouth to say something smart-alecky. But he was stopped by the earnest look on Captain Smith's face. She was dying for news of her daughter. So Jack took a deep breath and told her.
He started with how he first met Arabella--though he left out the bit about Fitzwilliam beating him in a duel. He told her about the city of bones they encountered and the treasure and the tracks they found of Left-Foot Louis (though the treasure was a lot bigger in this version, and th
e traps even
more deadly). He mentioned the sirens and their hypnotic songs and the sea monsters. He alluded briefly to the undead Cortes and the timely intervention of Montezuma. He finished by recounting the crew's mission to recover Tumen's medallion, and their battl
e against a roomful of zombies.

"On the whole, except for a tendency to prattle on and be a big know-it-all--" Jack concluded, a little more seriously--"which isn't entirely fair, since she really does seem to know it all--Arabella's the best first mate a captain could hope for, and a good friend."It nearly killed him to be that straight, but Laura's eyes were wide and bright in gratitude."Captain Sparrow," she said softly--and not sarcastical
ly, as she had earlier, "may I
have your permission to speak to your first mate--alone?"

"Well, that is Arabella's decision, mate, I mean mum, Jack answered. "But you have my permission if she doesn't mind."He went across the deck to his first mate who was still staring out over the waves. She stood with her arms folded and her back defiantly toward her mom."I'm not talking to her," she said before Jack could say anything."Bell," he said, sighing, "I'm not one to agree with Fitzy--ever--but she is your mum. My dad never even tried to talk to me. Maybe you should hear what she has to say. Then you can do whatever you want, and I'll stand by you. All right, lass?""Don't call me 'lass,'" she grumbled.He clapped her on the back."Come on, lads," he
said to the rest of his
crew. "There's a ... um ... very interesting fishy I want to show you off the prow.""What fishy?" Tim asked, curiously.Jean kicked his shin."Arabella would prefer some private time with her mother," Fitzwilliam explained, dragging the young boy with him across the deck.Arabella stomped up to her mom and looked
her in the eye defiantly.

"Oh, I`v
e missed you so much," Captain Smith said with a hopeful smile."I don't buy it, 'Mother" Arabella spat. "If ye missed yer own daughter so very much, why did ye find it so important to leave? And never give word of yer being all right?"Captain Smith sighed, sitting down on a barrel. She gestured for Arabella to join her, but her daughter
stayed standing. "It's a long
story, love. When I married yer father, running the Faithful Bride with him seemed like a nice, cozy little life. But he bought it without knowing the first thing about Tortuga. We thought it was a place for sailors and merchants to relax--not the pirate haven it turned out to be. They were always trashing the place--getting into bloody fights, smashing the furniture, sometimes the walls, often each other's heads. . . ."Despite herself, Arabella sympathized. It really did happen all the time--and as the barmaid, she was often in the thick of it."We were always in debt. Honest--rich-- patrons were scared away by the pirates. Who never paid their tabs, by the way. And any little profits we made went into maintaining the place. You don't remember the leanest years, Arabella. We barely had
enough to eat."

Captain Laura's eyes glazed over as she remembered. "I was so scared for you. I wanted to raise you right, with more money and food and things than my own parents gave me growing up." The captain paused. Then she continued, "I had one nice dress of my own. From your father's and my wedding. I cut it up to make your baby clothes, Arabella. We couldn't even afford proper cloth that would be soft and fit for a baby." Arabella turned her head to scratch her nose, so she didn't have to look at her mother's face. "I loved you, Arabella," she said softly. "You were my only joy in that hard life. And we were failing our wee little babe. There weren't a lot of options for an honest family in Tortuga. Well, not a lot of honest options." She gave a wry grin and shook her head. Then she sighed and continued. "This is how it happened, love.
I had this habit of listening
in on the pirates' conversations-- when you're a barmaid, no one notices you, you know.""I know," Arabella answered before she could stop herself. It was true, and it's what got Arabella started on this adventure as part of Jack's crew. Her mother smiled at the one admission."Well, I overheard this one smuggler telling another how he was havin' a spot of trouble getting his rum from Rumrunner's Island to Port Royal. He was always caught, and his barrels seized, no matter what he did. And a fierce battle always ensued--he lost more employees that way, if you take my drift. He even tried dressing as a lady once, all in skirts and finery, but he never could fool the authorities."Arabella's mother sat up straight, with a
smile, remembering the scene.
"So I say to him, 'Look here, mate--what you need is a real lady to smuggle in yer rum for you! He hired me on the spot. Every new moon--when the sea and night were dark--I boarded his ship, and if we were stopped by the authority, I would act all highfalutin about them stopping a lady about her business."Although the image definitely appealed to Arabella, the illegality of it did not. "My mother, the rumrunner," she said, shaking her head."I made enough to support us, young lady," Captain Laura said sharply. "At a time when the Faithful Bride was losing money faster than a marine on payday. And your father ... well, he wasn't working anymore. At anything. He just sat in the back and drank. With drink comes anger. And with anger, vi
olence."

The captain shook her
head sadly and angrily. "I hoarded my money for months to save for a time when I could take you and leave the Bride and your father forever. Take you someplace nice. Hispaniola, maybe. Or Boston. Or Newfoundland."

"Then a night came, just weeks before I had had enough, when I was double-crossed by me partner, LeftFoot Louis."Arabella's eyes widened in surprise. Then she frowned in suspicion."

'Partner?' I thought you said you just play-acted a part to get them past the navy and merchant marine. When did you become a 'partner' in this little scheme?"

"Well," her mother said with a faint blush, "it didn't stay so little, you know? After a time, the smuggling became a bit more profitable. ... I took a larger share . . . and the
Bride just became my cover. We
branched out into other ... areas ... of ... activity. But let me get back to the telling!" she said impatiently, changing the subject. "Louis took all my money. So one night, when he was in his cups at the Faithful Bride, I took out my pistol and shoved it under his gut!"

"What happened?" Arabella asked breathlessly. Arabella remembered that night, but from a little girl's point of view. All she saw was her mom being dragged out of the tavern. Not the part where her mom attacked a notorious pirate."Oh, he was much faster back then. When he was younger," Smith said disgustedly. "Grabbed me by the hair with one hand and grabbed the pistol with the other. He dragged me outside while your father slept upstairs, passed out from the drink." "I tried to run a
fter you . . ." Arabella said,
remembering. She couldn't have been more than four or five at the time. It was a blurry memory, filled with noise and crying and fear.. . . and two of Louis's men held you back . . ." her mother continued.. . . and I never saw you again," Arabella finished sadly."You must have been so scared, seeing me taken from you like that . . ." Captain Smith said. "But in the long run, my being taken from the tavern was not such a bad thing. Once outside, Louis stumbled in the rain. I drew my sword. . . ."

"You had a pistol and a sword?" Arabella asked incredulously."I. Was. Smuggling" Captain Laura said deliberately, as if she were spelling it out for her daughter to understand. "So I draw mine, he draws his, and before you know it we're clas
hing and clanging in the rainy night. Of c
ourse, he's drunk, and I'm mad, so it's hardly surprising when I get the better of him. I grabbed my money back and decided not to take any more chances with useless husbands and double-crossing pirates. I took myself off to a fine boat I had stashed away for just such an emergency. The Fleur de la Mort. Aye, she's a very special ship. With a very special quality." She patted the railing lovingly."So you just left," Arabella said flatly. "You took off in your fancy pirate vessel for the high seas.""I always intended to return for you, dear," her mother said. "I just ... didn't want you to know I was a pirate. When I came back, it was going to be as an honest woman with money and a house and a place you could move to, with dresses and toys like you never had. A dowry,
if you wanted
to marry. I thought you'd rather believe I was dead than one of the filthy dock rats who drink at the Bride."Arabella looked at her mother for a long moment, thinking.Her mother looked hopefully back."But you are a pirate," Arabella finally said."As are you," Captain Smith said with a smile.