Disclaimer: Pirates of the Caribbean and all related characters belong to Walt Disney, Gore, Jerry, Tony, and Terry
Setting: Takes place right after Curse of the Black Pearl.
Characters: Norrington, Gillette, Groves, Anamaria, Murtogg, Mullroy, Marty, Will, Elizabeth, Jack Sparrow, Tia Dalma.
Chapter 15: The Light of Eden
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There was no doubt in James’s mind; the climb would be long and difficult. He chose to use some of the trees to climb up to the structure, which turned out to be a rather large house, covered in leafy vines. He had to marvel at his nemesis, the so-called Prince of the Sea. The man was certainly creative with his title, the name of his ship, and his home away from the sea. He had to admire how the pirate captain was able to build such a structure.
“I do not like this,” Anamaria was having the same amount of difficulty as he was. Her shirt was sticking to her chest by her sweat. “We did not fight many on the ground. He probably has the rest up there.” She stared at the bottom of the house.
“He probably has most of his crew with him at sea,” Gillette said from another tree. “Only keeps a handful here to guard the place.”
“And half of that handful was on the ground. The other half is inside, waiting for us.”
“Which is why we will use extreme precaution,” James grabbed onto another branch and pulled himself up even higher. “I am getting to old to be climbing trees.”
“You are doing well,” Anamaria said.
After what had felt like an eternity they had made it to the top, right near a closed opening in the floor of the house. Square in shape it was similar to a hatch in the ships upper deck. The rusted padlock, hanging from one corner was another obstacle they were going to have to get through.
“I’ll take care of it captain,” the youngest member of James’s crew carefully sidled himself closer to the pad lock.
“Be careful, Calvin,” James watched the sixteen year old with a wary eye as Calvin removed the small leather pouch from his belt. He had recognized the youth as the oldest midshipman amongst his Navy crew.
“Don’t worry captain,” Calvin removed a few thin metal tools and while his legs wrapped around the branch he pushed them into the lock and begun to twist and turn them. “I wish you had taken me along with you when you went to give the medicines to the doctor.”
“You would have been helpful,” James agreed as he grabbed onto Calvin’s legs. The teenager would have helped Andrew open the window much faster. “I just didn’t want to put more of my crew into further danger.”
“And it is cracked,” Calvin removed the rusty lock and allowed it fall to the ground.
“I’ll go first,” James said once he managed to pull Calvin back.
“James,” Anamaria hissed. “Don’t be a fool.”
“I’m not,” he carefully slid himself down the branches and removed his hat. “I will be careful.” He used his sword to push open the door and quickly placed his hat on the end of the blade before he pointed up through the hatch. He nearly lost his grip at the sound of the shots firing above.
“I was right,” Anamaria tilted her head to the side and aimed her pistol through the hatch. Seconds after she fired her shot they heard the groan of a man.
“There is more than one,” Calvin fired his pistol, but there was no reaction and a third shot reigned down from above, missing them, but hitting a different tree branch.
“There are only three of them,” Gillette fired his shot, striking his target.
Two down and one to go, but when James looked up he saw nothing. Did the third behave in a cowardly fashion and run off? The sound of a bell clanging answered the question. He had gone to alert the others who were in the dwelling.
James grabbed onto the edges of the hatch and pulled himself through the opening as fast as he could before he unsheathed his sword once again.
The bell ringer released the chain and pulled out his own sword to battle with James.
Their blades struck each other with a loud metallic clang as Anamaria and the others crawled through the opening. Theodore had is pistol ready and aimed at the man James was fighting.
The two doors on opposite ends of the room opened and several men came racing into the room. Theodore had spun around and fired his shot at one of newcomers along with Murtogg and a few others. While Anamaria, Calvin and Andrew had attacked with their blades.
The bell ringer was a skilled fighter, better than the man James had fought on the ground and James had to jump back, to keep from nearly being stabbed. He stepped forward and thrust his blade. The edge of his sword came nicked the wrist of the other man. James pulled back and struck his blade against the other man’s knocking the blade from his hands.
“On your knees,” James pointed the sharp tip of his blade to the space between the other man’s eyes. “Do not even think about moving.” He struck the man in the back of the head with a closed fist.
He had heard the metallic clang of the blades and ran towards Anamaria’s side to assist her in battle.
Not like she needed his help. The Pirate woman had cornered her opponent and while her face was covered with perspiration it was clear the cornered man was suffering through the most difficulty. One leg was shaking as he tried to brace himself. His chest was moving rapidly as he gasped for air.
“I am sorry,” James ran up to Anamaria. He said not another word and swung his blade against the enemies. The combined strength of both him and his lover was enough to send the other man’s sword to fly through the air. “You were making him suffer.”
“I shall put him out of his misery,” Anamaria slapped the other man across the face before he grabbed him by the collar and slammed his head against the wall.
James turned around at the sound of another fist hitting flesh and watched as another man slumped to the floor in front of Gillette. Another battle had come quickly to an end. There were bodies on the floor, none from James’s crew this time. Several of the men were in agony or out cold, only one appeared dead and there was one man on his knees hollering at the top of his lungs.
“I’ll take care of this one,” Calvin struck the man on the side of his head with his pistol, knocking him out. “Not a shot, nor a blade came close to his flesh. I do not understand.”
A squeak answered their question and Arrow crawled out from the unconscious man’s trousers, licking up the blood on his mouth.
“Arrow,” Theodore just stared at his ferret, jaw had gone completely slack.
“He proved to be a tricky weapon,” James resisted the sudden urge to cross his legs. He felt a great amount of sympathy for the injured man.
“What about the survivors?” Murtogg pointed at another unconscious man.
“Keep them secure,” James commanded. “Tie them up if we have to, lock them up if we can find a place.” He pulled out the compass. “We are only here for Rosemary’s bracelet.”
-
The interior of the house wasn’t too fancy. It was clean and kept in a decent shape. There were a few small end tables, holding vases and woven baskets, both containing flowers. There were some paintings and even a few tapestries on the wall. The compass leads them past a few rooms and down the hall, pointing to where? James had no idea, possibly a treasure room.
“What a strange place,” Andrew commented as made their way. He paused by a few hanging tapestries and round mirror, surrounded in a wooden frame with leaf like carvings. “What is the purpose of this place?” He paused and stared around. “I wonder.”
“A prince needs his castle,” James said, the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile as they were lead past a dining hall. He stared in admiration at the fine oak table dressed in garnet colored linen and surrounded by throne like chairs. “I do wonder why he would keep such jewelry in his kitchen.”
“I shall go inside first,” Theodore brushed past James and slowly entered the kitchen. “One!” He shouted before they heard the hollow echo of metal striking against something hard followed by a grunt from Theodore and a scream, a woman’s scream.
“My hand,” the same woman cried again.
“What is going on,” James had his sword drawn as he rushed into the kitchen, and nearly tripped over a discarded pan.
“You bit my hand,” a young woman near Elizabeth’s age stared at Groves’s ferret while she gingerly held her hand. “You naughty, naughty weasel.”
“Just her,” Theodore pointed at the young woman before he massaged his shoulder. “Nearly struck my head and would have if it wasn’t for Arrow. She got my shoulder instead.”
“You shouldn’t be here.” The woman removed her focus from Arrow. She wore a simple white dress. Her sable brown hair was kept in loose waves and she wore a ribbon tied into a bow at the top of her head. She was pale, almost ghostly. Her small mouth was set in a pout and her hazel eyes glared at James and his crew. “Father will be very upset when he returns.”
“Who are you?” James demanded. He lowered his blade. This young woman did seem harmless. The only weapon she had used was a pan and it was on the ground.
“Don’t lower your guard,” Anamaria whispered. “She may only to be unarmed.”
“Who is she?” Andrew kept back, standing mostly in shadow.
“I asked you a question, Miss,” James swept his eyes over her. He couldn’t see where she might have weapon hidden, possibly a blade strapped to her ankle under her gown. “We want to know your name.”
“I am the prince’s princess,” she answered, still cradling her bitten hand. “You shouldn’t be here. Father said that no one should enter this part of his castle and he will be very angry at all of you.”
“The Prince of the Sea has a daughter?” Andrew asked.
“Yes and no,” the young woman said. “Not by blood.”
James wasn’t sure what she was talking about. “Your father leaves you here, alone with some of his crewmen?” He raised an eyebrow.
“They do not live in here,” she spread out her hands, displaying a copper bracelet on her left wrist. “They live in their quarters, not the main part of the house. Mostly they take turns to guard. And half of them sleep outside.” She frowned. “Outside under the stars and in the morning they can feel the sun on their faces, with no glass in the way.”
“James,” Anamaria whispered into his ear. “The bracelet.” She pointed at the jewelry, the young woman was wearing.
“I see,” he nodded. The bracelet was just like Rosemary had described, two thick bands on the ends and woven in the middle with aquamarines. “Miss, I cannot help notice your jewelry.”
The girl held out her wrist. “Do you like it? It’s the last gift father brought me. He is always bringing me gifts and stories of the world.”
“Did he tell you where he found such a gift, miss?”
“Lenore,” she said. “My father said he found his family gift on an island and won it back from an evil witch.”
“That wasn’t what she told us,” Theodore said. He was still favoring his shoulder
“I do agree with the evil part,” Anamaria nodded and went to examine Theodore’s injury.
“Do you suppose she lied?” Murtogg asked.
“Someone was lying,” James gritted his teeth. “Lenore, the witch your father mentioned,did she challenge your father to a game?”
“There was a game and my father won.” Lenore clasped her hands together and beamed.
“The witch said your father cheated and the prize was a different piece of jewelry. She said the bracelet belonged to her mother, and before it belonged to her grandfather and before it belonged to her great grandfather.”
“Father would never lie,” she folded her arms and tilted her head back.
“Lie or not, the witch won’t remove her curse from Captain Norrington unless she gets the bracelet back,” Theodore tried to grab Lenore but she jumped back.
“Do not touch me.” She turned to face James. “She put a curse on you? How dreadful.”
“The captain is cursed?” Murtogg blinked.
“Theodore,” Andrew and Anamaria snapped at Groves.
“You three knew?” Calvin pointed at them. “And you didn’t tell us?”
Anamaria sighed. “We might as well let it out. A witch put a spell on James. They switched his soul with another James, one from a world that is similar. The other James is in the Royal Navy and so are the rest of you.”
“He doesn’t act like a naval officer,” Calvin stared at James. “Why didn’t you tell us?” Several other members of the crew nodded along.
“We might have acted like Theo,” Murtogg said. “We might have staged a mutiny.”
“This isn’t your world?” Lenore asked. “You just want to go home?” She slipped the bracelet off and handed it to him. “I don’t care if she lied. It isn’t right. You can go home now.”
James stared at the bracelet before he took it. “Thank you, but you are just handing it to me?”
“You just want to go home. Father can always get it back.” She smiled. “Will you tell me a story about the outside?”
“Are you trading the jewelry for a
story?” James asked. There was something off about her. She was clearly a young
adult, but the way she spoke and her mannerisms reminded James of a young
“Even if you don’t tell me the story you can still have it, but I would so very much like to hear about your travels.”
“Have you ever been outside?”
Lenore shook her head. “Father says it is dangerous. I never left and never can leave.”
“You have never been on the ground?” Anamaria’s voice was only a little more than a whisper. “You have never been on a ship, never been to a town.”
“Never heard music,” Andrew added.
“Only from music boxes and father singing.” She sadly stared at the window. “I have asked many times to go outside, but father says it is to dangerous. I have to stay in Eden.”
“There are many dangers in the world,” James closed his eyes. The poor woman was a prisoner in the house. She never truly lived. He wanted to take her to Port Royal himself so she could be on a ship, see the ocean, to interact with other people and hear real music.
“Eden?” Andrew stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of a window where the sunlight struck the top of his copper hued hair.
“This home is Eden,” Lenore approached him. “Your hair is very pretty. I have only seen red hair in paintings, never on a real person.” She raised her hands. “May I touch your hair?”
“You want to touch my hair?” Andrew just stared at her. “You don’t want to touch my hair. It isn’t clean, and it is full of sweat.”
“And you are the chained lady,” James realized. “A prisoner who doesn’t know she is a prisoner.”
“I am a prisoner?” Lenore asked.
Anamaria nodded. “Do you want to leave this place, just for a little while?”
Lenore smiled. “I would love to. I don’t remember what it is outside.” She turned to James. “I am not the chained lady.”
“You are not?” There were two prisoners in this strange home. “Where is she?”
“This way,” Lenore lead them through another hallway, only stopping by a painting of various fruit. “Are they not pretty?” She pointed to the plums. “They are my favorite.”
“I also enjoy the taste of plums,” Andrew nodded along.
“I have never tasted them,” she smiled, although her eyes were still sad. “I just know they are pretty. They are deep purple on the outside and golden on the inside.”
“Would you like to taste some plums?” James asked.
“I would love to.”
Anamaria grabbed the back of James’s shoulder. “You are thinking of taking her with us.”
“It is wrong to keep her here for her entire life.” James said.
“We have only came here for the bracelet and the real prisoner. She is his daughter.”
“And a daughter who will never grow up, a woman who will never live,” He stared at Lenore. “If she was still a child I may not consider it, but she is an adult, however the decision shall lie with her.”
“I think she may have taken a fancy to Andrew,” Murtogg said as they entered another room.
“The Chained Lady,” Lenore pointed at a painting on a wall.
“Is it Andromeda?” Theodore tried to stare up at the painting, but his injury had made it difficult for him to stare at it for long.
James tilted his head to the side as he studied the picture. The woman in the painting was a figure of beauty. Her golden hair floated around her head, tugged into various directions by invisible forces. She appeared somewhat familiar, except for her eyes and the color of her hair. The chains that kept her bound where inky black ropes, the very ends were grinning skulls.
“Mother,” Lenore whispered while tears slid down her cheeks.
“Where is your mother?” James asked.
“She died a long time ago,” Lenore stared at the ground.
“I’m sorry,” Andrew said.
“There is no pain in Heaven,” Lenore wiped the tears away from her cheeks.
“Was your mother a princess?” The red head asked.
“Mother wasn’t a princess. The royal blood is from father and it is weak.”
“So he was descended from royalty,” James nodded
“There is a story, you need to hear,” Lenore
turned to James. “Father told me this story several times. Long ago there were many royal children in a
place called
“The Prince of the sea is descendant of these royal exiles,” Theodore tried to grab his shoulder again, but dropped his hand when his eyes met with Anamaria’s.
Lenore nodded. “Father traced his
blood to the royal exiles, but
“Proud of the fact the British empire has a great establishment in the sea.” James crossed his arms.
“Yes he was.” Lenore nodded. “He met a woman, a beautiful woman named Eve and they fell in love, but Eve was to marry a man of high rank and her family would not allow her to marry the one she truly loved. Father promised her he would build her a castle and call it Eden.”
“Eve is your mother?” James asked.
“She was. Father sailed the sea, raided ships and built Eden for her. When he came for her he discovered her husband had died in a war and she was sick and had a baby girl, a few months shy of her second birthday. He took them, took us to Eden and tried to make mother well, but the illness killed her when I was three. Father promised mother he would raise me well, and keep me safe.”
“He kept you safe,” James bit back from accusing her father from not raising her well. “But safety should not be the same as imprisonment.”
“Why do you say I’m a prisoner?”
James sighed. “Because many fathers keep their daughters safe, but they also allow them to leave their homes. They are allowed to see outside.”
“Would you love to see the waves of the sea?” Anamaria offered. “Would you like to see other people? People who are not pirates? Would you like to ride in a carriage through a town, attend tea.”
“Listen to flutes and harpsichords,” Andrew added. “And taste plums.” He smiled and pointed to his head. “And even see more people with red hair.”
“More than anything,” Lenore clasped her hands again. “To walk outside and feel the sun. I want to be outside, but I don’t want to disappoint father.”
“You can disappoint him and truly live,” James said. “Or you can spend the rest of your life here, knowing that you had the offer, and wondering what if.”
Lenore stood silently. She stared at the painting of her mother. “Mother May I go?” She waited another minute. “She would want me to see the world. I want to go.”
“Very well,” James smiled. “It will be a bit of a tricky climb and a long walk back to my ship, but I believe you will enjoy the journey.”
“A journey,” Lenore repeated as she followed them.
James continued to smile as he walked next to Theodore. “How is your shoulder?”
“Not as much pain as before,” Theodore said. “Marty is going to be disappointed. We did not find his jewel.”
“Not necessary,” Gillette cast a glance back at the girl. “Lenore is a French name, means light.”
James stopped in his tracks. “She is the Light of Eden?”
“The Chained Lady turned out to be a painting,” Andrew said.
“We will have to inform Mr. Small he cannot have her. She needs to be free.” He would have to think of something for Lenore. When they returned to Bermuda he could arrange passage for her to travel to Port Royal and give her instructions to seek out Mr. Brown’s smithy and give her a letter to give to Turner. That would be the plan.
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Replies:
Ogreatrandom, thank you. I’m glad to provide the distraction you seek
Rokhal, thanks. I am trying to write better fight scenes.