The Rise of Libertas
Leila_Data
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Chapter 4: The Black Pearl
Norrington was put straight to work scrubbing the deck of the Black Pearl. At first, he wondered why Robin allowed it. He considered that perhaps she enjoyed watching the Admiral perform such a menial chore. But then he realized that his location gave him the chance to observe everything happening on deck without anyone suspecting that he was watching. Robin likely hoped that he would gain some sort of important information that she could use to her advantage.
The first thing that was interesting happened shortly after they had boarded. Two members of the Black Pearl’s crew came from below deck. One had straggly hair, though the top of his head was bald, and the other had an eye patch covering one eye. Both men appeared dumbstruck when they first caught sight of Robin. They exchanged a look of shock before they approached her.
“Who…how…?” the bald one stuttered.
The one-eyed man smiled. “Jacqueline!” he exclaimed.
Norrington was sure that he must have heard incorrectly. It was impossible. This could not be the same Jacqueline that he had once known many years before—that he had once loved. Robin glanced toward him, her hair blowing about in the breeze, her eyes sparkling. No wonder her eyes were so familiar to him. It was Jacqueline. What had happened to her?
The man with the eye patch grabbed Robin’s hand and kissed it. The other man quickly grabbed her other hand, imitating the man with the eye patch. Robin laughed and gave the two a brief, quite unladylike hug before Barbossa ordered the two men to take Jack Sparrow to the brig.
“Can’t we at least negotiate this?” Jack asked before being taken below deck.
“Oh, we will, Jack, we will,” Barbossa said forebodingly. “Ah, hello, Jack,” he said as a monkey swung from a rope and onto his shoulder.
Norrington watched Robin stroll along the side of the ship, running her hand over the wooden railing almost lovingly. Questions flooded his mind as he remembered the young lady he had rescued from a desert island, how he had fallen in love with her, and then the pain he had felt when she had vanished. He had presumed her to be dead.
He stood and walked over to her, pacing along side her and eyeing the beautiful gold ring with a bright emerald she was wearing on her right hand—the ring he had given to her. “When were you planning on telling me?” he asked quietly. He was not sure how to interpret Robin’s moment of silence before she answered.
“I don’t know what you’re referring to,” she said, avoiding his eyes.
Norrington swallowed. “What happened to you, Jacqueline?” Robin paused for a moment and took a deep breath before she continued walking. “Jacqueline…”
“My name is Robin, Admiral,” Robin said coldly.
Norrington grabbed Robin’s hand from the railing. “I know this ring, Jacqueline. I gave this to you.”
Robin jerked her hand away from him. “I…yes, yes, I am Jacqueline,” she admitted. “I just go by Robin now. Ragetti has never stopped calling me Jacqueline, though.” She leaned on the railing of the ship and looked out onto the sea, her eyes distant.
Norrington shook his head sadly. “Jacqueline, what happened to you?” Robin said nothing. “You were…” Norrington trailed off.
Robin’s whole attitude suddenly changed and she laughed brightly. “A fine woman? Yes, I have had practice making men think that,” she said with a grin.
Norrington stared at her, astonished. “You were…you were acting? The entire time? I saved your life…”
“Yes, and I do appreciate it.”
“You were…” Norrington gulped. “You were a pirate…even then? Everything you said…everything you told me was a lie?”
Robin thought on that for a moment. “Yep, pretty much.” Then she added, “Except I did like your hat.”
Norrington felt as though his heart had been torn apart—something he had felt too many times before. He suddenly grew angry. “I trusted you! I-I—.” Norrington managed to keep the rest of his feelings inside as Robin laughed even more gleefully.
“I suppose you’ll never do that again.” Before Norrington could react, Robin said, “Don’t you have some decks to wash, Peter?” Robin casually walked away from the brokenhearted Norrington.
* * *
Elizabeth watched Robin leave her “friend” and wander up to where Captain Barbossa was currently steering the ship. Elizabeth saw Barbossa watch Robin apprehensively out of the corner of his eyes, but the woman made no threatening move towards him. In fact, she seemed to engage him in a pleasant conversation. Elizabeth turned to Peter, who was leaning partway over the railing of the ship. Elizabeth walked closer to him and leaned on the rail next to him.
“A pirate getting seasick?”
The man jumped. He had apparently been aware of her presence, which was not surprising considering that the bandana was covering more than half his face. He shook his head silently and looked back out to sea. Elizabeth studied him curiously for a moment.
“It is lovely, isn’t it?” Elizabeth commented, following his gaze to the open ocean. She glanced at him. “Where did you meet Robin?” she inquired. The man looked at her with his revealed eye. There was something vaguely familiar about it…he turned away again.
“I saw you speaking to Robin; I know you can talk.” The man shook his head again, not turning his head completely away from her and refusing to look back. “What won’t you talk to me?” she asked somewhat hesitantly. This time the man did not even acknowledge her, not even with a shake of the head. Elizabeth turned to look up at Barbossa and Robin. Even though she was speaking to Barbossa, Elizabeth could tell that Robin was watching her and Peter. “Did she tell you not to speak? Has she threatened you?” Still the man said nothing. “Whatever she threatened, she can’t carry it out on this ship; she’s not the captain.” The man chuckled a bit, but still did not look at her. “Why are you laughing?” Elizabeth asked, feeling slightly hurt.
“Elizabeth!” Elizabeth turned to the voice to see Robin rapidly pacing toward her and her “friend.” “Barbossa wants a word with you.” Elizabeth gazed at the pirate disbelievingly. “Well, go on.” Robin made walking motions with her fingers towards Captain Barbossa. “That way.” She point towards Barbossa. “Right over there.”
Elizabeth could not help glancing at Barbossa. He appeared to be watching the conversation intently, and when he saw Elizabeth look up at him, he beckoned to her. Elizabeth looked back at Robin in surprise. “You didn’t believe me?” Robin asked. Her voice sounded hurt, but her eyes were laughing.
“No, I didn’t,” Elizabeth said coolly. She glanced back at Peter. “First I want a word with you, though, Robin.” Robin appeared slightly taken aback. “I want to know why this man won’t speak to me.”
“I really think you should talk to Barbossa, Lizzie,” Robin said, her voice suddenly threatening.
“Don’t call me that!” Elizabeth shouted unwontedly. “My name is Mrs. Turner,” she said firmly. Robin smiled, almost happy to have annoyed Elizabeth. “What have you done to him?”
Robin blinked, appearing sincerely confused. “Done what to who?”
Elizabeth sighed exasperatedly. “Peter!” she exclaimed. “Why doesn’t he speak?” Elizabeth began reaching for the cloth around the man’s face. “What are you hiding?” she whispered. To Elizabeth’s astonishment, it was not Robin who kept her from removing the cloth, but Peter. Peter grabbed her wrist when it was less than an inch away from him, and he held it for a moment before firmly pushing the hand away. Elizabeth turned to Robin, whose smile was less than reassuring.
“I believe that Barbossa would like to talk to you,” Robin said. Elizabeth glanced at Barbossa, who was beckoning to her again. “I don’t understand why you don’t believe me.”
“I don’t plan on believing anything you say in the near future.” Robin looked vaguely surprised as Elizabeth turned on her heel and headed towards Barbossa.
“And she doesn’t even know me!” Robin remarked to Peter. Elizabeth turned around, hoping to catch the man saying something. But Peter was still silently gazing out at the endless ocean. Robin was leaning beside him, watching Elizabeth with an almost triumphant smile.
“What do you want?” Elizabeth hissed as soon as she reached Barbossa.
“I thought that getting you away from Robin and her…friend…would be rather prudent, Mrs. Turner,” Barbossa said. Elizabeth noticed that he seemed to be avoiding looking directly at her.
“Why?”
Barbossa was silent a moment before answering. “Because that friend is no friend—she has him for a reason, and that reason cannot be good.”
“Why do you assume that he’s not a friend?”
“Do you trust Robin, Mrs. Turner?” Barbossa asked.
Elizabeth scoffed as she glanced at Robin and Peter, who were now in deep conversation. “No, of course not. She’s a pirate.” She glanced at Barbossa, who was now grinning at her. “Yes, I am aware of the irony, Captain Barbossa.”
Barbossa chuckled a bit before becoming serious again. “You are right not to. If she says he’s a friend, you can be sure he isn’t.”
“Then what does she call her friends?” Elizabeth jumped when Barbossa suddenly laughed harshly.
“Friends, Mrs. Turner? She has none. Only enemies who hate her and enemies who love her.” Elizabeth shook her head and mouthed “What?” in confusion, but Barbossa did not see as he eyed Robin and her “friend.” “He’s likely not someone you want to be around. He could be dangerous.” Barbossa turned back to Elizabeth. “Trust me on this, Mrs. Turner.” Elizabeth smiled, almost thinking this to be a continuation of their joke, but Barbossa did not smile in return.
“Are you afraid of her?” Elizabeth asked in amazement. Barbossa said nothing. “You have power, Captain Barbossa—she is only a member of the crew. You’re the captain, not her. You—.”
“Am an enemy in her eyes,” Barbossa finished. “I left her on that island because I discovered that I could no longer trust her. Now she’s back, and I can trust her even less.”
Elizabeth smiled slightly. “You mean you trusted her before, Captain Barbossa?”
Barbossa smiled grimly. “I may not be Captain of the Black Pearl for long, Mrs. Turner.”
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