spacebabie | Hearts Across the Sea 14 (Reply)

Disclaimer: Pirates of the Caribbean and all related characters belong to Walt Disney, Gore, Jerry, Ted and Terry.

Original Characters such as Julia Carlisle and Abigail Peterson are my own creation.

Characters: James Norrington, Theodore Groves, Murtogg, Mullroy, William Turner, Elizabeth Turner, Julia Carlisle, Abigail Peterson.

Setting: A few months after The Chosen.

Hearts Across the Sea

Chapter 14: Calm Before the Storm

James barely heard what Lorelei had told him. His eyes were held fast to the pale green glass like spheres, stacked on top of each other. He studied the faces of the men closest to him. Three were ordinary naval officers by their standard uniform, another handful were marines, all of them had their mouths closed and their limbs sprawled out. He did not turn away from them, not even when he felt Lorelei’s fingers grab onto his shoulder.

“You do understand what I am offering,” Lorelei’s voice had softened even further.

“You lied,” James did not turn around. “Your people have told me they were well cared for.”

“They are,” she released her hold of him and approached the sphere containing Lieutenant Pryce. “No harm can ever come to them.” She ran the tip of her finger down the surface of the sphere.

“The are dead,” James had lowered his voice to a soft growl.

“No they are not, they are merely sleeping. It is similar to animals that hibernate, once the enchantment has been removed they will be as they were, in fact they would not know how much time had actually passed.”

“I was told they were well cared for like myself,” he did not stop his glower. “I had thought they were in their own rooms, with beds and food.”

“Oh they were, until the last of my single subjects had made their choice.”

That had sparked another question. “And where are these men?” He had no idea if they had already been transformed or not.

“They are in their own rooms with their future mates.”

“Are they still human?”

“They are,” Lorelei laced her fingers together. “You can see how much my subjects love me. They want to wait until the full moon. All four of you can be transformed together.”

“And did my men agree to this?” James wasn’t certain if the others were forced, or have they actually fallen in love with the mermaids.

“You will have to ask them yourself,” she brushed her fingers over Pryce’s prison. “But you still have your own decision to make. Agree to drink the potion and become my mate and we will free your crew, and return them not only to the surface, but also to the nearest land. If you choose not to then not only will you remain a prisoner, but we will have our post mating feast.” She stared at Pryce and ran her tongue across her lips.

“My only choices,” James’s voice cracked. He felt his legs turn numb. He stared at his sleeping men. He could not even imagine their bodies being laid out on the tables in the kitchen while the cooks prepared their knives. He shuddered at the basic thought.

“You do not have to make the decision now.”

“I would only be delaying the inevitable,” He grabbed onto Julia’s ring. He did not mean to fail her, nor betray her, but he did not have much of a choice. He was not going to fail another crew. “I accept.”

“My love,” Lorelei’s eyes lit up.

“Yes,” James tried to keep himself from tearing up. The strength in his legs had given out and he fell to his knees. “I am your love now.”

“Are you hurt?” Lorelei raced to his side. “Where does it hurt?”

“No place that you can see.” He stared down. He refused to look into her eyes, or explain how it was his heart that was truly injured.

Theodore was proud of his ship. He admired the beauty of its structure; it’s wind speed, and durability. He loved the way that it was painted, mostly black with a white streak over the cannon windows and an artistic detailing near the stern. The crisp white sails were made out of the finest flax and not a single one had needed a patch and he had hoped to keep it that way for at least a while.

He enjoyed being on the upper deck. He loved having the wheel in his hands, guiding her through the waves. He was willing to guide his ship through the fiercest storms, through the edge of whirlpools, through fog and even under the stars during night. When the first droplets of light drizzle had started to fall he did not react.

“The clouds look worse,” Lieutenant Donnelly held up a spyglass to his eye. “Ye should be getting yerself below deck before it gets even worse.”

“Nonsense,” Theodore shook his head. “If there is a storm then I should be the one to remain on deck until everyone is safe.”

“Are ye certain, captain?” The lieutenant blinked his pale blue eyes. “I can take the wheel for a while.”

“You can take the wheel for a short while,” Theodore approached the stairs. “At least until after I make certain our guests are safely below.”

“We are going to be going up against something odd, are we sir?” Donnelly had taken control of the wheel. “I know you have had such brushes with the supernatural in the past. You have helped saved Port Royal against demons.”

“Yes we are,” Theodore nodded. “Does anyone else know what we are up against?”

“Most of the crew has been speculating, several of the marines had been discussing mermaids and faeries.”

“I am sorry if we hadn’t been exactly straight with you.”

“You do not have to excuse yourself, many would have left the ship back in Tripoli, not I sir. I feel a bit honored in rescuing Admiral Norrington from a sea witch. In fact this mission has been quite exciting.”

“Keep in mind that there is a strong possibility that it will become dangerous.” He hoped the young lieutenant would not develop a thirst for such adventures. He didn’t need half the navy to sail out in the search of sea monsters and other myths, or what they had once thought as myths.

“I am not a fool sir. I am not only excited, but I also feel a bit of fear in my heart. I know it will be dangerous. This Mr. Saris is a bit of an expert on mythology and the kind?”

“He does seem to know what we are about to face.” It was actually the combined knowledge of Whitecap, the Fates, and Saris, but Donnelly and the other crewmembers did not know that. “I will return shortly.”

“Yes, captain.”

Theodore did not dwell on the change of Donnelly’s accent as it drifted to and through across the Irish Sea. There were more important matters at hand. He had to warn Turner and the others to stay below deck, because of the storm.

“You do not have to worry,” Saris informed Theodore as he had walked past the shabbily dressed man. “This is not her doing.”

“Pardon?” What on the blue Earth was this man referencing now?

“This storm is not caused by Lorelei. We are not close enough for it to be her magic.”

“I see,” Theodore chewed the bottom of his lip. “How close do we have to be before she can affect us?” He hoped Whitecap would be able to protect his ship when they come across such a storm?

“Six more hours,” Saris explained. His cold unblinking eyes caused a chill to pulsate through out Theodore’s body. “That would put us a few hours away from reaching our destination.”

“We will still try to be prepared.”

“We may be closer to her lair before she sends a storm our way, it all depends on when one of the subjects has informed her.”

“Thank you for informing me.”

Saris shrugged. “That is why you still allow me on your ship is it not?”

“It is part of the reason,” the main reason is that time was not on their side. The storm they are about to sail through will slow them down and if they want to reach James before the spell is performed then they certainly cannot pull into the nearest port to let Saris off. “I certainly cannot just abandon you out here in the middle of the sea.”

Saris did not chuckle at the weak joke, nor did he nod or even blink. “I have already warned the others of the weather. The Turners and the ladies know not to go up.”

“Thank you,” Theodore wasn’t sure what to make of Saris making his work shorter for him.

“I have seen Miss Peterson enter your cabin. I believe she is waiting for you.”

“Waiting for me to see her out and demand an apology,” Theodore hissed through his teeth. What had entered that woman’s head this time? She knew better than enter his cabin unless she was invited first. “Thank you again.”

Theodore tried to keep his anger down beneath the boiling point as he made his way to his cabin. He braced himself for the ridiculous explanation that woman was going to give him. She was most likely use that smug little voice of hers that would start grating and then gradually become a bit on the pleasant side the longer she talked, smile that pretty little pleased smile of hers and flutter her lashes at him.

“What am I thinking?” He shook his head before he grabbed onto the doorknob. What he was going to do was barge into his cabin, grab her by the arm and escort her out. He would not wait for an explanation or an apology, just shove her out the door and then lock it behind her. “Abigail Peterson,” he opened the door. “I want you-“

His body petrified once the door had finished swinging open. Abigail was seated at his table with Whitecap sitting down on the polished surface. Abigail’s fingers had gathered some of the faerie’s pale blond hair and was weaving it into a different style. That wasn’t what had caused such a shock alone. Abigail’s hair had also changed, half of it was coiled and coifed and pinned into place by various needle like pieces of coral, while the other half hung loosely, pastel colored seashells and actual pearls were woven through out her new style

“You want me to what?” Abigail asked.

“Hello captain,” Whitecap waved to him. “I invited Abigail in here, I am sorry if I may have accidentally upset you.”

Theodore could not remove his eyes from Abigail. “I am sorry, could you repeat yourself?”

“I invited Abigail so I could apologize to her. I know I must have done something wrong,” Whitecap explained. “She also apologized and I asked if she could make my hair look like hers, because the style is very pretty and I offered to style her hair differently. Is her new hairstyle pretty?”

“Yes it is,” Theodore nodded. “It is very pretty, but where did you get the sea ornaments?”

“I summoned them.”

“What do you think of Whitecap’s hair?” Abigail asked. She put the last curl into place. “I have to admit it was a bit difficult, even with the tiny pins she provided. They are the same as what is in my hair.” She pointed to the rods of coral.

“It is also pretty,” Theodore nodded before he returned his focus to Abigail. “I have come to inform you we may come into contact with a worse storm six hours from now, although it may be later.”

“Mr. Saris had told us we were about to sail into a storm,” Abigail held up a piece of lace that had tiny ribbons at the end. “I made this rather quickly and it is not the best quality, I am afraid.”

“It is very lovely,” Whitecap’s smile grew even larger. “Thank you.”

“Your welcome,” Abigail carefully tied it on as a form of a miniature headdress.

“Miss Whitecap in the future I hope you will inform me of the next time you wish to invite anyone to my cabin,” Theodore tried to sound professional despite how pleased he was at the sight of the two getting along.

“I promise.” The faerie nodded one the headdress was tied on.

“I should have informed you myself,” Abigail said.

Theodore shrugged. “You do not have to apologize for anything. In fact I am pleased to see that you have made your amends.”

He had accepted. Through out the day James had thought about what he had agreed to. He sat on the edge of his bed, and the various seats of his living quarters, unmoving. He did not feel the slightest bit tired, nor did he feel hungry. He refused the dish Lorelei had ordered for him. She knew he was forced into it. She knew he would never truly fall in love with the nymph. He would have never forced Elizabeth into such a circumstance. He wasn’t the one who had said he wasn’t going to rescue Turner if Elizabeth did not accept his proposal.

After a few hours he had finally allowed his guard to fall and wept, and after an hour of grieving he asked to visit with his men who were still awake, the ones who were forced to give up their humanity along with his.

“It isn’t right,” lieutenant Chase of the Royal Marines sat down on the sofa of his living quarters. “They can’t force us to do this.”

“They have,” James said weakly. “The spell is different for the three of you,” he stared into the eyes of the other men in the room with him. One was a young naval officer by the name of Samuel Cook, the other was a Marine named Johnson, and James had yet to know his first name.

“She told me they can change us whether we agreed to it or not,” Cook had chosen to sit in one of the few chairs in the room. “She told me that fact today, long after I agreed.”

“You have agreed?” James sat up and stared into his eyes. “You are willing to turn your back on the Navy and give up your humanity?”

“It wasn’t just her beauty,” Cook sighed. “She has this laugh, and she was telling me some stories, embarrassing stories about this Lorelei.”

“I had agreed with Dulcet,” Johnson added. “Although she didn’t share any stories about Lorelei and I know why. She was teaching me how to play this game with sand dollars and when Lorelei walked by she froze. She turned into a complete statue and when this queen of theirs had left she trembled.”

“I had thought they were her loyal subjects,” James blinked. “I had no idea they were afraid of her.”

“And dislike her,” Cook added. “I should actually correct myself, they downright loath her. Aria had told me that each night she makes a wish Lorelei would get bored with their colony and just swim away. She had also mentioned you are not the first man Lorelei had set her eyes on.”

“What happened to him?” Chase asked.

“Lorelei got bored of him, their love drifted and he swam away.”

“So that is my fate,” James sighed. “Not only am I being forced into this, but I am only to be her mate for short while.”

“You don’t suppose she will keep to her promise?” Johnson asked.

Cook grinned. “My Aria has said she better, unless she wants a rebellion.”

“It might be hard to convince those like Dulcet,” Johnson told him.

“We just have to wait and pray,” Chase sat back and sighed. “Once we know they are safe and have sailed away from this area I am going to swim back to Port Royal and back to my Madeline.”

“That would also be my plan,” James held his hands together and prayed. He asked the lord to watch over Julia, and his men, for the promise to be kept so that he would be able to return to the one he truly loved.

Everything was coming together for Lorelei, once the sun had set there were be three new mermen in the colony and her James would be a nymph. It was also the first night of the mating season and she needed to only wait a few more hours.

“Everything is in place,” Crimson had followed her into a small room with a round pool in the center; the bottom of the pool did not have an underground tunnel, connecting to the sea like the others.

“Have you brought the blankets?” Lorelei had set a small chalice down on the stone bench at one side of the room and placed a few jars and a vial next to it.

“I have brought plenty,” Crimson had set four rolled up blankets down.

“What of the wraps?”

“Tigris is brining them in.”

“Good. I have a feeling he will warm up to me.”

“I agree,” Crimson nodded. “How can anyone not love you?”

Lorelei shrugged. “I have no idea myself. I wonder what color his scales will be. That is always fun to guess.”

“Your majesty,” Tigris’s voice carried to the entry. “Lorelei we may have an emergency.” She carried dark green rolls of cloth under her arms.

“What is it?” Lorelei asked. She had grabbed onto one of the jars.

“A few of the sentries have seen a Navy vessel coming near.” She set the wraps down. “What should we do?”

“They are probably searching for the missing ships,” Lorelei shrugged. “They can’t know what happened to the others, at least until we set the rest of James’s crew free.”

“What if they are here to rescue James?” Crimson asked.

“That is a possibility. Send the usually attack and bring back the survivors. If it is just a search mission we will release them.”

“And if they are not?” Tigris asked.

“If not we will kill them.”