THE SMELL OF THE OCEAN

Author: Saralonde
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: You/Jack
Categories: Action/Adventure, Romance

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from POTC, it all belongs to Disney, but I do own the characters I made up myself, like Dana and Isaac.

Summary: You wake up somewhere in North Africa, with no recollection of who you are or how you got there. A doctor takes you in as his assistant and you lead a happy life, until the day a man collapses on your doorstep and leaves you a silver bracelet. You soon find out that many people are interested in this bracelet and have to flee. A journey across half of the world begins, which leads you directly onto the Black Pearl.

Author's Note: This is my first attempt at fanfiction and I’d like to say thank you to Nikki, my beta reader, who gave me important advice on this story.

* * * * *

CHAPTER 1 – A Bad Awakening

The first thing you feel when you wake up is pain. It seems to be everywhere – in your arms and legs, your whole body and, what is worse, your head. The second thing you feel is the heat and thirst. It adds to the pain in your head, making you feel dizzy and light-headed. Although your eyes are closed, you know that the sun is shining directly on your face.

Very carefully, you lift your hands in front of your face. An immense pain shoots through your arms at the movement and you can’t hold back a groan. What did you do to be in such a state? Despite the pain, you keep your hands up, and a satisfied smile appears on your lips when you can see their shadow through your closed eyelids.

Now it is time to open your eyes. You start with the left one, very slowly. Although your hands protect you from the direct sunlight, you feel blinded and the bright light makes your headache worse. Nevertheless, you keep the eye open and decide that it is now time to open the right one. For some reason, the movement of your right eyelid hurts immensely and you can’t open it completely. Confused, you touch your eyelids with your hands. Compared to the left one, the right one feels much bigger and swollen, you cringe at the touch.

“This is not good,” you mumble to yourself.

You sit up in order to see if you have other wounds on your body. But as soon as you’re sitting upright, the dizziness in your heads increases and you fall back, hitting a pointed stone. You howl in pain. It’s already bad enough that your whole body hurt before you even fell on the stone. Honestly, you thought that it couldn’t get worse. Well, you were wrong. You start your next attempt at sitting up with much more prudence, stabilizing your body with your arms. This time, you do not fall back. You still feel light-headed, but it’s much better than before.

Now that you’re sitting, you’re able to examine your surroundings. The place looks a little bit like a desert. It is not a sand desert with huge dunes, but there are rocks everywhere and only a few bushes. Everything looks very dusty and the heat is nearly unbearable. How the hell did you get here?

You search your head for a memory, something that will explain how you came to this place, but you can’t find anything. Actually, you can’t find a single memory. You search your mind frantically, but there is nothing that you can remember. You don’t know where you were last, you don’t know where you came from, and you don’t even know your name. Panic rises inside of you. Surely, there must be something that you can remember. You look around the place again, hoping that you recognise it and that suddenly, your memory comes back, but no such luck. Instead, your headache only worsens.

The sun is burning, you know that you’ll have to get out of it and find something to drink if you don’t want to die of thirst. On the horizon, you can see something that resembles a town and you stand up carefully, still not having forgotten your fall on the sharp rock. Your legs are shaky and you fear that you might faint again, but very slowly, you start walking towards the houses. Your body hurts and every step causes you pain. Furthermore, you feel like your brain is knocking against your skull with every step you take.

After what seems like an eternity, you finally reach the first houses. Under different circumstances, you would have taken a moment to admire the small houses built of clay in the shape of dices. The architecture does not seem familiar to you, it looks… maybe African. However, your dry throat and the dizziness, which you’re sure is partly caused by your lack of water, make the need to find something to drink more urgent and you don’t have time to dwell on such thoughts. The narrow streets are strangely deserted, only a few people can be seen. Their dark skin is only more proof that you must be somewhere in Africa. As you pass by an older looking man, you stop to ask him where you can find something to drink. The man just stares at you silently then, after a short moment, he turns around and walks away. His impolite behaviour startles you a bit. Did you do something wrong? Maybe this was a rude question to ask. Or – a thought strikes you – maybe he didn’t speak English.

You try again and ask another person, this time a young woman who is carrying a bucket of water. Again, you get the same reaction. The woman stares at you, then shakes her head and continues on her way. You head in the direction she came from, hoping that it leads you to the place where the woman filled the bucket with water. For the first time this day you’re lucky. The narrow lane where she came from leads you directly to a well. Many women are gathered around it, some of them have their buckets already filled while others are still empty. As you approach the place, most of the conversations die and everybody stares at you. Apparently, they do not see strangers very often.

Next to the well, there is an empty bucket with no woman beside it. You don’t have your own container and you know that you will have to borrow one, so you take it and ask: “May I please use it?”

As is expected, nobody answers. You wait a few moments to see if somebody stands up to take the pail away from you, but when nothing happens, you knot it to a rope and lower it into the well.

The water has a reddish brown colour and a metallic taste, but you pay no attention to it. It feels so good to drink and quench your thirst that the bad taste doesn’t matter. After having emptied the bucket, you lower it into the well again. This time you use the water to wash your face. It feels very dirty, dusty, and you need a little bit of refreshing.

When you’re done, you realize that everybody is still staring at you. You put the pail down and leave the place. Now that you’re feeling better, you need to think things through. You don’t know where to go and finally sit down in the shade of a small building.

Where are you? How did you get here? Where do you come from? Who are you? Why do all the people around you speak a language that you can’t understand? So many questions wander through your mind and you have no answers to them. You obviously don’t belong here. It’s not only the language that you don’t understand, but also the different colour of your skin that marks you as a stranger. Your hands and arms are white, at least at the places where they are not covered with bruises, while everybody else has a darker skin.

What are you going to do next? You have no place you can go. Maybe someone misses you and is looking for you, but you don’t know where you can find this person. Is there a tavern somewhere where you can go to and ask if someone is looking for a white girl? But what are the chances that the people in the tavern will understand you?

The sun is already disappearing behind the horizon and darkness falls over the small town. It is now that you realise you don’t even have a place to sleep. With the night comes the cold. Sitting there in the darkness, shivering, you finally start to cry. You cry about the despair of your situation, the loneliness and the emptiness in your head.

* * *

The sun wakes you up the next morning. Your body aches from your bruises and the hard ground you’ve been sleeping on doesn’t make things better. Despite the pain, your mood has changed, the despair being replaced by optimism. There has to be someone in this town who speaks English and you are going to find him.

“Excuse me sir, do you speak English?”

The man just stares at you before turning away. You sigh; it’s not the first time today that you see that reaction. The people either shake their head, shrug their shoulders or turn around and walk away immediately. Furthermore, the sun is burning and the heat is getting worse. Today is definitely not your lucky day. A woman walks up to you and you decide to have one last go.

“Excuse me, do you speak English?”

The woman looks at you with big eyes and you can clearly see from her face that she doesn’t understand a word of what you just said. You let out a frustrated groan and are ready to turn away, when the woman points to the building behind you. She says some words in her language and then disappears into a nearby alley. Satisfied with her reaction, you walk around the house until you find the entrance. Next to it, there is a wooden sign.

“Isaac Dubois, doctor,” you read. Under this inscription, you see signs that you cannot read, but the part in your language gives you hope that this Isaac might understand you.

When you enter the house, about fifteen pairs of eyes turn to stare at you. You look around the room. This seems to be the waiting room and these people apparently want to see a doctor. You take an empty seat and wait for your turn.

It does not take long and a door opens. A man, who you presume to be Isaac, steps out, together with a young boy who says something to him and then leaves the house. Isaac lets his eyes wander over the people waiting for him.

“J’aurais vraiment besoin d’un assistant,” he mumbles to himself before saying something in this foreign language. (I could really use an assistant)

Delighted that you finally understand something, you jump up. “Bonjour monsieur,” you say. It is only now that you realise that you just spoke French. This is interesting. Where did you learn it?

“Bonjour,” the man answers. “Comment est-ce que je peux vous aider?” (How can I help you?)

“J’ai entendu dire que vous avez besoin d’un assistant.” (I heard that you need an assistant.)

“Entrez.” (Come in.)

And with this word, he leads you into his room. It is exactly the way you imagined it to be. There is a desk with one chair behind it and two chairs in front of it, a couch and many cupboards, certainly filled with medicine and bandages. The man motions you to sit in front of his desk and takes the seat behind it.

“Do you have any experiences in the medical field?” he asks you.

You look at him with a frown. “How did you know that I speak English?”

“I didn’t, but I wanted to find out and I’m pleased to hear that you do. It is always good to have an assistant who speaks more than one language. So you know French and English, what about Arabic?”

“If Arabic is the language that everybody else speaks, then I must disappoint you. I cannot understand it,” you answer.

“Hm, I see. What about the different Berber-languages?” he asks.

“No sir, the only languages I speak are English and French.”

“Do you have any experiences in the medical field?” Isaac repeats the question he already asked at the beginning of your conversation.

Do you have any experiences? To be honest, you don’t know, but you are not going to tell him that. “No sir, I don’t.”

“Let’s say that you will be my assistant. How much payment do you want in return?”

“I don’t need much. All I ask for is a place to sleep and something to eat,” you reply.

Isaac leans back in his chair and thinks for a while. “What’s your name?”

Your name… your name… as you do not know it, you say the first name that comes to your mind. “Dana.”

“Okay, Dana. This is how it goes: You will help me today and in the evening, I will decide whether you will be my new assistant. Is that alright with you?”

You nod your head. “Yes, sir.”

You still can’t believe your luck. A few moments ago, you were sure that you would end up starving in the streets and now you have a job, a place to sleep and someone who will provide you with food. Alright, so maybe, you don’t have it yet, but with a bit of chance, you will have it at the end of the day.

“Oh, and Dana, before we start working, I would like to have a look at your eye and the wound on your forehead.”

You look at Isaac in surprise. There was a wound on your forehead? You didn’t know anything about it. But then again, you didn’t have a mirror and it’s impossible for you to look at your face.

You are glad when Isaac doesn’t ask where you got the wound. You know that he has also discovered some of the bruises on your arms, but he doesn’t say a word about them. The only thing he asks is if you have other wounds that he needs to take care of. You shake your head in response.

“Then, would you please call the next patient in?”

As you make your way to the door, you suddenly realize that you can’t just go out and say ‘the next one, please.’ Nobody would understand you and you would look ridiculous. Swiftly you turn around, facing Isaac.

“How do I say ‘the next one please’ in Arabic?”

Isaac is obviously pleased with your question and answers you with some words of this strange language. It takes you a while before you can pronounce them properly, but it makes you incredibly happy when you go out, repeat those words and a man gets up and comes in. How exciting, you just communicated in Arabic for the first time in your life!

* * *

The day passes by quickly. Isaac had taught you a lot and he seemed to be satisfied with your progress. At the end of the day, you are even allowed to disinfect a wound and bandage it, with Isaac standing next to you, looking over your shoulder and praising you for your good work.

Now, there is only one patient left. He is an older man and you instantly notice that he has a limp in his right leg. Isaac exchanges a few words with him and then the man rolls up his trouser. His leg is bandaged. Very carefully, so you don’t hurt the man, you undo the dressing. A foul smell hits you immediately and you feel a wave of nausea sweep over you. In order to control your stomach, you inhale deeply and when you feel better, you take a look at the man’s leg. The wound is infected, with black edges and a glowing red centre and there, in the middle of the wound, maggots wind themselves in the flesh. This is the most disgusting thing you have ever seen in your life – or at least in the part of your life that you can remember. Still staring at the wound, you start hearing a distant rustling. You suddenly feel very warm and a thin layer of sweat starts covering your body. Isaac’s voice seems to fade into the distance, as the rustling gets louder and louder and then everything goes black.

You wake up only seconds later, lying on the cold floor. Isaac eyes you with concern and gives you a glass of water that you take gratefully. Once you empty it, he tells you to go and wait for him outside. You are glad that you can leave the room and the maggots behind, but at the same time, you are ashamed of yourself. This should not have happened. Okay, so the wound was nauseating, but this was still no reason to faint. Now you are sure that Isaac will not take you as his assistant. Who needs an assistant that faints when a patient comes in?

The door opens and the man comes out. He gives you a look that you can’t interpret, maybe pity or concern? As soon as he leaves the house, Isaac locks the front door and motions for you to come back inside his room. You both sit down at his desk, but instead of reproaching you for fainting, Isaac keeps quiet. After a few minutes, you can’t take the silence anymore.

“I’m sorry,” you blurt out.

“What for?”

“My fainting a few minutes ago. I don’t know what happened. I didn’t have anything to eat for a while and maybe it was the hunger, I’m not sure.”

“You felt hungry while you saw his wound?” Isaac questions with a look of surprise on his face.

“No, I… actually…”

You are at a loss of words. Of course, you were not hungry and food was the last thing you thought of, but saying that you needed something to eat seemed to be a good excuse. Besides, it is true that you haven’t eaten in more than 24 hours.

“You fainted because you thought that it was disgusting,” Isaac states.

You just nod; there is no sense in denying it. “Yes, I did.”

“This is nothing to be ashamed of.” The expression on Isaac’s face is now completely serious. “I fainted many times when I was younger and I think that you won’t find another doctor on earth who hasn’t had the same problem. After a while, you’ll get used to it.” He pauses for a moment, before he continues. “Do you still want to have the job?”

“What? The job… oh… yes, of course, I do!” you exclaim with joy. You were sure that he would tell you that you are no use to him after this incident and feel utterly relieved when he doesn’t. This means that you’ll have a job, a bed and food. And while you’re here, you can start doing some research in order to find out if someone misses a girl that fits your description.

“Come on then, I will show you your room.”

* * *

Isaac leads you to the back of his house. You cross a kitchen and ascend the stairs to the second floor. A short corridor leads you to four doors. Isaac opens the one at your first left. “This is where you will be sleeping.”

You step in and gaze at your surroundings. There is a single bed on your left side and a desk on your right, just under a small window. It’s already dark outside and the moonlight shines in. The room is simple, but nice enough.

“This is great, thank you,” you say.

“Well, there is a wardrobe over there, if you want to put anything in it.” Isaac looks at your clothes. “Do you have any spare clothes?”

You look down at yourself. You’re wearing a pair of brown trousers and a white shirt – or at least that is what you think the original colour might have been. Now it has changed to a kind of grey or brown, stained with dirt.

“No, I don’t have clothes other than the ones I am wearing.”

“Hm, look into the wardrobe; I think there are still some clothes left. You can try them on and keep them if they fit you. But before you do that,” he says, when he sees you heading towards the closet. “I will show you the bathroom.”

He leads you out of your room and towards another one. The sight of the bathroom makes you gasp. Standing in the middle of the room, is a white bathtub made of marble.

“Wow, this is beautiful,” you exclaim.

“A stranger once gave it to me in order to thank me for saving his son’s life. My wife Gabriella used to love taking a bath in there…,” Isaac tells you.

“Your wife?”

“She died seven months ago, together with Gabriel, my son.”

His voice fades and his eyes become clouded as he thinks about his loss. You take this as a hint to excuse yourself and explore the clothes in the wardrobe. There are a few shirts and trousers and you presume that they must have belonged to Gabriel. They are too small for Isaac, but they fit you perfectly.

Now that you have clean clothes, it is time to take a bath. You fill the tub with warm water and take off your shirt. It is only then that you see something hanging around your neck. It looks like a small cobweb in the middle of a ring, with one feather attached to its bottom. Although, you don’t remember having seen such a thing before, you know immediately what it is.

“A dream catcher,” you whisper. ”It is supposed to keep the bad dreams away.”

Where did you get this? You were not even aware of having it. And how is it possible that you know exactly what this is, but that you can’t remember having seen such a thing before?

* * *

When you come out of the bathroom, now dressed in new, clean clothes and feeling much better than before, the dream catcher around your neck tucked safely under your shirt so no one can see it, you catch the smell of food. Your stomach begins to rumble and you realize that you haven’t eaten in at least two days.

Isaac is already waiting for you in the kitchen. “I’m glad to see that the clothes fit you,” he says when you enter.

“Yes, they are perfect. Thank you very much.” You look at the dinner he is preparing. It’s something that doesn’t look familiar to you. “Can I help you with something?”

“No, I’m nearly done. Well, you could get out two plates. They’re in the cupboard on your left.”

You do as he says and hand him the plates. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before. What is it?” you inquire as he fills the plates with food.

“It’s called ‘couscous of seven vegetables’, a classical Berber dish.”

The couscous is delicious and it feels great to eat something. “You are a great cook,” you tell Isaac, who seems to be flattered by your compliment.

“Yes, I needed to learn to cook when Gabriella was gone…”You are not sure how to respond to this and feel slightly uneasy. Isaac must have sensed this and quickly changes the subject. “So, tell me more about yourself. Where do you come from and why are you here?”

You hope he doesn’t notice you tensing. Speaking about your past is not really a subject you like, especially as you don’t have anything you can tell him. “Well, I… I come from England,” you stammer. “A small village near London…”

“Then what are you doing here? And what happened to your eye and your forehead?”

“Actually, this is not a topic I would like to speak about. It is a memory I’m trying to forget and…well…I don’t feel comfortable talking about it,” you answer hesitantly, hoping that he won’t investigate further.

“Erm… so about the man with the snakebite today,” you try to change the subject. “Are there many snakes living in this region?”

Isaac gives you a suspicious look but to your great relief, he accepts the change of subject and does not ask further about your past.

* * *

That evening, you fall on your bed, exhausted, when a reflection catches your attention. Lying on the floor next to your bed is a small mirror. You pick it up and lift it to your face. The sight makes you gasp. An unknown person stares back at you with a very nasty cut on her forehead and a swollen black eye. You touch your forehead with your hand, feeling carefully around the cut. It looks bad and you didn’t realize that it was so long. Starting just above your eye, it cuts through your eyebrow and ends just below your hairline. This will make an ugly scar.

Tearing your gaze away from the cut, you observe your reflection. You see a female person, too old to be called a girl and too young to be called a woman yet. Your hair, which is still slightly damp from your bath, falls down straight and ends on your shoulders. The candlelight makes it difficult to tell its colour, but it seems to be some dirty blond. Your eyes are bright, maybe blue, and they look much too big for your face.

So this is what you look like. You don’t recognize the sight at all. Then a question comes to mind: Do you have any relatives that look similar to you? Maybe you’ll see one of them soon, maybe they are looking for you, and then, you have to identify them. Perhaps, if you find them, they can give you your memory back. The idea of finding a relative gives you some hope. Now all you have to do is to look into the mirror and learn the characteristics of your face, so you will be able to make them out in the face of a stranger.

* * *

It takes Isaac exactly one week to find out about your loss of memory. He asked many questions the last few days and you know that he got suspicious that something is wrong, but you try to make up stories in order to answer his questions and satisfy him.

This evening, while you are eating a local dish with a long name that you can’t remember, Isaac questions you about a scar on your neck. Of course, you didn’t know that there was one, because your neck is a place that you can’t see, but you will just invent another story to tell.

“Well, I’ve had this scar for a long time already,” you start. “There was this accident, when I was young. I tripped and fell on my back, and a sharp stone cut my neck…” You trail off when you feel his intense stare on you. Did you say something wrong?

“Dana,” Isaac starts cautiously, “there is no scar on your neck.” There is no scar? Then why the hell did he say so? “It was a test,” he continues. “I’ve noticed that you were only hesitantly answering me when it comes to your past and you reminded me of a patient I had a few weeks ago. Do you know what amnesia is?”

“A person who suffers from amnesia has lost his memory.”

“Exactly. Two weeks ago, there was a woman in my house who didn’t remember who she was, she didn’t recognize her family and she couldn’t recall her name. She somehow reminded me of you and so I decided to take a chance and ask you about that non-existing scar on your neck,” Isaac tells you.

You let the information sink in. Isaac was cleverer than you had expected him to be. It didn’t take him long to figure out your secret.

“Will it come back?” you ask, your voice barely a whisper.

“I don’t know. No one can tell, but there is a chance that your memories might come back one day,” he informs you.

“One day?” you repeat. “How long will it take?”

“No one can tell. It might take a few days, or a few weeks, or…”

“…it will never come back,” you finish the sentence for him.

He nods solemnly. “I will keep my ears open for you. Maybe someone misses a girl like you. If I hear anything, I will tell you immediately.”

You push your food away, not feeling hungry any more. ‘It will never come back.’ Your own voice resounds in your head. Maybe you’ll never remember who you really are. Until now, you were sure that you would find out about your life and that you would find someone who’s looking for you, but now, you aren’t so sure anymore.

Not able to take Isaac’s pitiful glance anymore, you excuse yourself and climb up the stairs to your room, where you fall on your bed, feeling empty.

* * * * *

CHAPTER 2 – The Silver Bracelet

Four years later

With concern, you look at the man lying next to you. He is not very old, nor is he very young, maybe forty, maybe fifty years old. His dark short hair has already a few grey strands in it and his face shows the signs of a hard and difficult life – a life that will soon come to an end.

Although his steel-grey eyes are open, you guess that he cannot see you or his surroundings. His breathing is laboured and irregular and you know that he is going to die. You’ve seen people die before, you watched them when their breathing became more and more irregular, when the pauses between the breaths became longer and when it finally stopped. That’s the reason why you know exactly what expects you.

When the stranger came in this morning, you knew immediately that he wasn’t feeling well. The fact that he collapsed right on your door step was proof enough. Isaac and you carried him inside your room. Once, he must have been a strong man, but now he was thin and worn out. You positioned him on the couch and Isaac let you do the work. During the last four years, you had learned a lot and Isaac transferred more and more tasks to you. It flattered you that he thought of you highly enough to let you diagnosis the illness the man suffered from.

Isaac helped you take off his clothes. It’s impossible to make a diagnosis when you can’t see your patient properly. As soon as the clothes were off, you registered the swollen abdomen. Although the man was thin, having hardly any muscles or fat, his abdomen looked inflated. A careful touch with your hands confirmed your suspicion. You let them run over the hard, round ball before you turned to Isaac.

“He’s got a cancer, it’s easy to feel.”

“Maybe it’s best to carry him upstairs,” Isaac said thoughtfully. “Will you stay with him in case he wakes up? I can handle the patients by myself.”

You nodded. The fourth room upstairs was used for patients who, for some reason, had to stay here. Sometimes, the reason was that they needed constant observation from you or Isaac, but on other times, the reason was that you didn’t know the person and you couldn’t very well leave a dying person in the streets.

This is why you are here now, sitting next to a stranger who will soon take his last breath. Isaac checked on you a few times, last time in order to say that he would go to bed and that you should wake him up around midnight. You watch the moon outside. Is it midnight now? Maybe it is already past, but you won’t go and wake up Isaac. You are quite sure that the man will die pretty soon and there is no need for you to disturb the doctor when it’s not necessary. Isaac will probably be pissed off with you when he finds out that you didn’t wake him up. He keeps reminding you this whole time that you need to sleep, too.

The breathing stops for a moment and you freeze. Is he dead? After several seconds, you hear a strangled sound and the breathing continues. The interval between his breaths becomes longer and every time you wait for him to take the next breath, you freeze. Then finally, you are sure that it has completely stopped. Just as you reach over to feel his pulse, the rib cage suddenly moves again, making you jump away with fright. The stranger takes one final breath, before going limp. At this instant, you know that he is dead.

With one hand, you close his half-open eyes and then search his pockets. He will be burnt tomorrow and Isaac and you always take all the belongings of a dead person. You don’t want to steal them; you’re no criminals. No, you only keep the belongings in order to give them to the relatives, should they ever appear.

The man’s pockets are empty and you are about to leave the room, when your eye catches something on his right wrist. You hadn’t noticed it before and curiously, you step closer. It’s a bracelet, and a very beautiful one, too. Made of silver, it looks rather simple, but when you turn it a little, you see the stone in it. Judging by the colour, it is probably an aquamarine, but you aren’t sure. You have never been interested in jewels, at least not during the last four years. Around the aquamarine, there are several engravings in the silver. You recognize two dolphins, their noses touching, and two snakes, winded around each other. Intrigued with your little find, you let it slide into your pocket. If a friend or relative comes, you’ll give it to him and until then, you’ll keep it in your closet.

* * *

“This smells incredibly good.”

Isaac turns around. “I decided to make eggs for breakfast today, we still had the eggs we were paid with last week and I don’t want them to get tainted,” he explains.

Grabbing some food, you sit down at the table. It is not unusual for patients to pay with food or other goods they have. You like this habit because it means that there is a huge variety in what you eat, depending on what the people bring along.

“When did he die?” Isaac questions.

“I don’t know,” you answer truthfully. “It might have been around one o’clock in the morning.” You stuff the eggs into your mouth. “He wore a bracelet around his right wrist. It’s silver with a stone in it, maybe an aquamarine. I put it into my locker upstairs; just so you know if someone wants to have it,” you say.

Isaac nods. “Its fine, you can keep it there and in case that no one shows up, you can have it,” he answers.

“It’s a pity that the man lost consciousness before we could find out his name. We can’t even inform his relatives. Maybe they’re worried about him.”

“If they know that he was in this region, they will perhaps do some research and find out,” Isaac states.

“Maybe – maybe not. After all, no one came here to look for me, did they?” you reply with a bitter tone in your voice. For four years you’ve been trying to find out about your past, but no one seems to know you. What’s even worse – you feel like nobody cares for you. Nobody came to look for you and there were no rumours in the region that a girl was missing.

“I’m really sorry,” Isaac says sincerely.

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault that people don’t care about me. And it’s not that bad either. After all, I can be quite happy with the current situation, so let’s just forget about it, okay?”

You smile in order to show him that you are fine and to your great relief, he changes the subject.

“Tell me, why didn’t you wake me up last night?”

Oh no, you knew that this would be coming sooner or later.

“As I told you, he died around one o’clock in the morning. There was no use in waking you up for one hour,” you explain.

“Yes, but I feel guilty that you stayed up half the night while I could sleep,” Isaac complains. “And when it was midnight, how could you know that he would die at one o’clock? If he had survived until this morning, you would have spent the whole night awake.”

“But he didn’t survive until this morning,” you defend yourself. “Besides, you looked so tired and…”

“Next time, it is me who will take the first shift,” Isaac interrupts you. ”And you will not contradict,” he adds in a tone that makes it clear, that he will not accept any disagreement.

“Yes Isaac, next time we’ll change the shifts,” you answer, knowing fully well that there is no way you will win the argument now.

* * *

“I would like you to come back in three days, so I can take a look at the wound again,” you tell the patient, a young woman, in fluent Arabic. Oh yes, your Arabic has improved a lot since the day you arrived here. Isaac taught you a lot and you soon realised that speaking this language was absolutely necessary.

The woman leaves the room and you go out in order to ask the next one to come in. It’s a busy day; at least ten patients are waiting outside for their turn. Just as you are about to say ‘the next one, please’, a white man walks up to you.

You’re not surprised at all. Sidi-Hajjaj, the name of the town you live in, is not far from the sea. Isaac once told you that there is no doctor in the towns situated at the coast, and that’s the reason why many sailors come to see you when they’re sick. You’ve seen many different kinds of sailors, young and old men, captains and ordinary members of the crew, there even was an officer of the Royal Navy once. Most ships, especially those of the Royal Navy, have a doctor on board. Nevertheless, there are also ships without proper medical supplies and their crew members come to see you.

The first thing you notice about the sailor is the way he walks. He staggers towards you as if he were drunk. You have to hide your disgust. Treating drunken people is always difficult. Once, a drunken sailor emptied his stomach over you. Another time, a man, who had had too much alcohol, started beating you because you would not let him come in immediately and told him to wait until it was his turn.

“What do you want?” you ask the stranger, trying to sound as self-confident as possible.

“I want to see the doctor.”

He slurs his words while speaking, another sign for you that he is obviously drunk. Your whole body tenses and you just hope that this man is not violent.

“Is it urgent?” you ask.

“Of course it is,” he states, gesturing with his arms.

“Then tell me what brings you here.”

The sailor lifts his sleeve and you can see that his arm is bandaged. The bandage is large, too large to cover a snake bite. This means that it’s probably just a normal wound, maybe infected, but if he is still standing, it can’t be that bad. Furthermore, he is still able to wave his arms about which means that it doesn’t even hurt badly.

“I’m sorry, but if your life is in no direct danger, this means that it’s not urgent. Would you please sit down and wait until it’s your turn?”

The man looks at you, a shocked expression on his face. “But luv, do you not know who I am?”

Now it is your turn to look shocked. Do you know this man? You scrutinize his face, he has brown eyes, two braids dangle from his chin and his hair, decorated with many beads, is held back by a bandana. He doesn’t look familiar at all, but that doesn’t mean anything. After all, your face didn’t seem familiar, too, when you looked into the mirror for the first time.

“I’m Captain Jack Sparrow.”

A grin spreads on his face. You wait for further explanation, but it doesn’t come. How does he expect you to react? The name doesn’t ring a bell, and you still don’t know if you’ve met him before.

“Do we know each other?”

His eyes wander over your body, checking it out, and finally rest on your face.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Well, Mister Sparrow…”

“Captain Sparrow,” he interrupts you.

“Captain Sparrow, as there is no reason why you should pass before the others, I would like you to sit down and wait.”

Before he can react, you call out ‘the next one, please’, in Arabic, and turn towards the woman who stands up.

“Do you think it’s wise to argue with a pirate?”

The tone of his voice makes a shiver run down your spine. Maybe it’s not such a good idea to contradict him, especially if he really is a pirate. You’ve heard stories about them and know that they often act violently when they get angry, but on the other hand, you’re not willing to give in. Everybody else has to wait, too, so why should he pass before the others?

“Mister Sparrow…”

“Captain!” he corrects you.

You fight the urge to roll your eyes. That would probably not be the wisest move right now. “I’ve told you before that you’ll have to wait until it’s your turn.”

On the outside, you appear calm and brave, but inside, you feel frightened. What if he hurts you? You still remember the incident with the drunken sailor who attacked you. He broke two ribs and he would’ve hurt you more, if it wasn’t for Isaac who knocked him out with a chair. As you don’t want this to happen again, you pull the next patient inside and slam the door in front of Captain Sparrow’s face.

“That was probably a bad idea,” Isaac declares. “I don’t want you to break your ribs again.”

“I know,” you answer.

Isaac is right; you shouldn’t have slammed the door in front of Captain Sparrow’s face. At least, you didn’t hit him with it; that would have been really bad.

“It’s just… he upset me. Why should he be the only one who doesn’t have to wait?”

Isaac sighs and shakes his head. “One day, you will get yourself in serious trouble,” he states before turning his attention to the next patient.

Her whole body is enveloped in an indigo coloured fabric, only leaving small slits for her eyes. Although the cloth is not wrapped up tightly, you can make out her curved abdomen. Her outfit leads you to two conclusions: First, this woman looks like she belongs to the Tuareg, a tribe of nomads that lives in the Sahara and rarely comes so far to the north and second, she is obviously pregnant.

Isaac tells her to sit down and asks her, how she is feeling.

“I’ve had labour pains lately, but this is only the sixth month of my pregnancy,” she explains. “It is still much too early for the child to come.”

“May I have a look at your stomach?” Isaac asks.

“Does this mean that I have to undress?”

“No, you don’t have to if you’re not comfortable with it. Of course, it would be easier for us, but you can keep your clothes on if you want to,” you intervene.

You know that many women are not comfortable with taking off their clothes. Sometimes, it is really difficult to make a diagnosis through the clothes, but you don’t want to offend anybody. Strangely, men usually have fewer problems with this and you realized that they are nearly always willing to undress.

The woman seems relieved about your proposal and lies down on the couch. Isaac carefully puts his hand on her abdomen, trying to feel as much as possible through the clothes.

“What’s your name?” you ask curiously.

“Roya,” she answers.

“And what are you doing here?” you question, trying to start a conversation. “Usually, the Tuareg cannot be found in this region.”

“I know, we rarely head so far to the north, but Shayan, my husband, found a trade partner near the coast and we’re here in order to sell some of the goods we made,” she explains.

“What are you trading with?” you enquire.

“Fabric. I don’t know why, but this man seemed to be obsessed with the indigo fabric I’m wearing and wanted to buy all our stocks.” A short silence ensues. “Have you heard the rumours?” Roya suddenly asks.

“About Shirin cheating on her husband?” you answer. “Everybody is talking about it, poor woman.”

“Who is Shirin?” Roya questions, with a small frown on her face.

Oh, so she isn’t talking about your neighbour? This is the newest gossip in town and you feel terribly sorry for Shirin. There isn’t even a proof that the rumour is true, but everybody keeps talking about it and the poor woman has to endure the stares everywhere she goes.

“Never mind,” you reply. “What rumours were you talking about?”

“People say that the Black Pearl is anchoring not far from here. They’re looking for a trinket, a silver bracelet, or at least that’s what I’ve heard. The crew is cursed and the captain is the devil himself.”

They’re looking for a silver bracelet? Your thoughts go to the bracelet hidden in your locker upstairs. Surely, they’re not looking for that bracelet?

“What do you mean: The crew is cursed?” you enquire.

The woman lowers her voice before speaking. “They come directly from hell and will never die. People say their look can curse people and turn them into stone.”

“They can turn other people into stone just by looking at them? I’m sorry, Roya, but I don’t believe in ghost stories anymore.”

“Just remember my words and be careful,” she whispers and for the second time today, you feel a cold shiver run down your spine.

* * *

Through the pus covering Captain Sparrow’s wound, you can make out the shape of a small tooth. The infection is not very grave yet, but if not treated properly, it could get dangerous.

Reluctantly, you allowed him to come in after Roya was gone. You didn’t like the fact that he didn’t have to wait, but you’re not very fond of broken ribs either.

“Where did you get the bite marks?” you enquire.

“It was the bloody monkey,” he grumbles. “Damn that animal. If it wasn’t immortal, I would have already killed it. Don’t know why it keeps followin’ me.”

“You were bitten by an immortal monkey?” you ask unbelievingly.

“Aye, that’s what happened,” he answers.

Unconsciously, you press a hand to his forehead. Maybe the infection already spread and caused damage to the brain. But the forehead is cold and he doesn’t have a fever. Then it must be the alcohol that damaged his brain. There is no such thing as curses or immortal monkeys. You just don’t understand why everybody is talking about supernatural powers and abilities today. With a shake of your head, you try to get rid of these thoughts and concentrate on your current task – healing Captain Sparrow.

“Captain, I will have to clean the wound. It might sting a bit, but it’s absolutely necessary,” you warn Sparrow.

To your surprise, he doesn’t emit a sound when you pour the alcohol over his arm. He doesn’t even flinch when you rub the liquid further in. Curious, you try to get some more information about him.

“Tell me,” you say, “what’s the name of your ship?”

He swells with pride when he answers: “It’s the Black Pearl, the fastest ship in the entire ocean.”

This is the captain of the Black Pearl? The man who is supposed to be the devil himself? For a devil, he acts strangely. Of course, you never believed that he is the devil, but you expected him to be an evil man, not such a strange person who talks about immortal monkeys.

“And what are you doing here in Africa? This isn’t exactly the place where you would expect to find the fastest ship in the world.”

“I’ve got errands to run, places to see, people to talk to…” he replies vaguely.

You shrug. If he doesn’t want to talk about it, you’re fine with it. It’s none of your business anyway.

“By the way, talking about people,” he continues, “as a doctor you surely see many different people and hear a lot of rumours.”

“Of course I do,” you answer, unsure of what he wants to know. “Maybe less than in a tavern, but I hear quite a few nonetheless.”

“Ye see, I’ve got this friend of mine,” he explains, “and he just disappeared a few weeks ago. I was wonderin’ if you knew him.”

You finally finish cleaning the wound and can now bandage it. “What’s his name?”

“Nicholas Clerk. He’s a little bit taller than me, has short dark hair with a few grey strands in it and steel-grey eyes.”

You don’t like the direction in which the conversation as headed at all. That’s the exact description of the man who died last night. Maybe you should tell Captain Sparrow that his friend is dead, but a voice in your head tells you to be careful. ‘They’re looking for a trinket, a silver bracelet.’ That’s what Roya said. This man, he is the captain of the Black Pearl and he is obviously a pirate. Maybe the stranger with the bracelet isn’t his friend and Sparrow only wants to find the bracelet. You feel like you shouldn’t trust him and decide not to tell him about what happened last night.

“No, I don’t think so,” you answer, trying to sound as casual as possible. “He definitely wasn’t here, I would’ve remembered him. What about you, Isaac, have you heard about him?”

Isaac, who is sitting behind the desk and watches the scene from a distance, shakes his head. “No, I don’t think people have been talking about a man who fits your description.”

You are grateful that Isaac decided to play along. In order to underline that you are telling the truth, you add: “If we see him, we can tell him that you’re looking for him. Your name’s Captain Sparrow, isn’t it?”

“Aye, it is, but if he hasn’t been here yet, he won’t show up. I will find him by myself; you don’t have to worry about it.”

So Captain Sparrow doesn’t want you to inform his ‘friend’ that he’s looking for him? This only confirms your suspicion and you’re glad that you didn’t give him any information.

* * * * *

CHAPTER 3 – Run, And Never Look Back

Author’s note: A tagelmust is a combination of a veil and a turban, worn by the Tuareg to protect themselves from the sand.

~ Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans ~

It’s funny how sometimes a whole life can change within a few minutes. During the last four years, nothing too exciting has happened in your life. You still try to find out more about your past, but deep inside, you know that you won’t have any success. In the beginning, you were upset about it, but now, you realise that you’ve got everything you want. You live together with a man who treats you like his own daughter; you’ve got enough to eat and to drink – what more could you possibly want? Since you’re happy, there is no reason why you should ask for more and you don’t plan on leaving Sidi-Hajjaj any time soon. Unfortunately, fate has different plans for you.

It’s the middle of the night and, like any other normal person, you’re sleeping, when Isaac storms into your room.

“Hurry up, you have to leave immediately!” He shouts.

Being still half asleep, it takes you a while to understand what he just said. “Leave?” You repeat dumbfounded.

“You cannot go in your own clothes,” a female voice states. “I brought you a robe and a tagelmust.”

You turn towards the door and see that Roya has arrived, holding a long indigo coloured fabric in her hand. Isaac has meanwhile started to rummage through your belongings.

“What’s going on?” You ask, now feeling wide awake.

“They’re coming,” Roya answers. “Someone told them that you’ve got it. We have to leave immediately. Stand up and I will help you into your clothes.”

Somehow, you have problems following what she’s saying. It doesn’t make any sense to you. “Who are they?” You inquire while Roya starts wrapping the fabric around your body.

“Pirates,” she answers. “They’re even worse than the crew of the Black Pearl. Rumours say that they’re sailing under the command of Captain Garrigan.”

“And what exactly are they looking for?”

“This,” Isaac answers and attaches the silver bracelet that you got from the dying stranger three weeks ago to your wrist.

Your voice is muffled by the tagelmust that Roya just wrapped around your head when you ask your next question. “Who is this Captain Garrigan? I thought it was Captain Sparrow who was after the bracelet.”

Roya has finished dressing you and your whole body is now covered in fabric, except for small slits for the eyes. She eyes you and then, looking satisfied with her work, she finally answers your question. “Many people are after it because it holds great powers. Rumours say that the person who owns it can control the sea.”

Control the sea? This is ridiculous. You don’t believe in all these stories about supernatural powers. After all, Captain Sparrow didn’t turn you to stone, did he? But before you can voice your doubts, Isaac pulls you into a hug.

“I will miss you,” he whispers.

Immediately, you pull away from his hug. “Wait – you won’t come with us?” You ask, the astonishment clearly audible in your voice. You still don’t understand what is going on and the things that Roya and Isaac said don’t make any sense to you.

“No, I’m an old man, I will stay here. This is where I live and this is where I’ll stay.”

“I won’t go without you,” you protest, not quite believing what he just said. “This whole story is ridiculous. Don’t tell me you really consider that all the talk about supernatural powers is true?”

“Look, Dana, what I believe isn’t important. Fact is that Garrigan is looking for the bracelet – and you don’t want him to find it, do you?”

“But if he’s really dangerous, then you should come with us,” you say, feeling frustrated.

“No, I will stay here and you will go with Roya.” His voice makes it clear that this is not a subject to argue about.

You close your eyes and take a deep breath. You don’t want to leave him behind, he is like a father to you and you don’t have anybody else in your life. “After a while, Garrigan will certainly give up, and then, I’ll come back.”

Isaac doesn’t answer.

“I will come back, won’t I?” you ask, feeling not only frustrated that you don’t understand what’s happening, but also slightly insecure.

“Never forget that I love you like my own daughter,” Isaac says, ignoring your question.

“It is time to leave,” Roya reminds you.

“I love you, too,” you whisper to Isaac before turning around and walking away, without looking back. Tears come to your eyes, but you try to blink them away. Nobody said you had to go forever; it’s just a temporary thing, isn’t it?

The night is cold and clear. Under different circumstances, you would have taken a moment to watch the stars, but Roya is walking fast und you don’t want to fall behind. Her speed surprises you, how can a pregnant woman move so fast? You hurry behind her, when a sharp stone bores into the sole of your foot and makes you jump up in pain. It is only now that you notice that you didn’t put on any shoes.

“Roya, wait,” you call, trying to keep your voice as low as possible to avoid attracting any attention. Not that there are many people outside at this hour who could have possibly heard you, but the whole talk about dangerous pirates somehow managed to make you feel nervous.

The Tuareg woman turns around, waiting for an explanation as to why you wanted her to stop.

“I didn’t put on any shoes,” you explain, “and I won’t be able to walk a long way without them. There are sharp stones in the desert that could slice my feet open.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. You don’t have to walk a long way, there’s a camel waiting for us just outside the town.”

A camel? You’ll have to ride on a camel? The camel might be one of the most popular animals in the region, but since that first day when one of them spat right into your face, you’re not extremely fond of them anymore. The idea of riding on one of these spiting animals seems repulsive to you, but on the other hand, you’re not exactly keen on walking barefoot in the desert either.

“I’ve never ridden a camel before,” you declare, “and to be honest, I don’t even like camels very much.”

Roya stops as though the thought of someone not liking camels seems impossible to her. Slowly, she turns around towards you and says, “Don’t worry, we’ll ride it together and I’ll teach you.”

You can’t imagine that riding on a camel is any worse than standing next to it. At least, while I’m sitting on its back, it can’t spit in my face, is your initial thought. But, there are definitely worse things than the slimy camel spittle. Like sitting on the animal while it’s moving, for example. If you couldn’t hold on to Roya, you would have since long fallen off. The camel rocks back and forth, and from side to side, and with each step it takes, it makes you jump into the air. Soon, your head hurts from all the swaying.

“Where are we going and how long will it take us?” you ask after a while.

“My husband Shayan is waiting for us in our camp. You will stay with us until the pirates have calmed down.”

A scream escapes your mouth when the camel makes a sharp movement, nearly sending you flying to the ground.

“How do you know that they are a threat?” you ask while clutching Roya’s arm. “I saw Captain Sparrow three weeks ago, but when he asked about the bracelet, I lied to him and he believed it. What makes you think that they will come back?”

“Oh no, it’s not Captain Sparrow who is the threat. It’s Captain…” Her voice stops abruptly and you lean to the side, trying to see what startled her.

Through the darkness, you see a group of three men walking towards you. It is too dark to make them out properly, but judging by the look of their clothes, they’re sailors, maybe pirates.

“Hey, you over there!” One of them shouts towards you.

The camel stops abruptly and jolts you forward. You crush into Roya’s back, but luckily for both of you, her balance is much better than yours and you don’t fall off.

“No matter what happens,” she mumbles, “don’t say anything.”

She then turns towards the man, asking, in Arabic of course, “Can I help you?”

“Do you know where we can find a doctor called Isaac Dubois?” The tallest and apparently strongest of the men asks.

Now that he has gotten closer, you can observe his features. He’s got a beard that covers half of his face, a very prominent nose and short curly hair. But what strikes you most are his eyes. They’re so dark that you can’t discern the pupils and they give you the feeling that you can see his black soul through his black eyes.

“I’m sorry but I don’t understand you,” Roya answers in Arabic.

“I think they’re Tuareg,” another man throws in. “I’ve heard many stories about them. They’re barbarians and not real humans, which means that they clearly can’t speak English.”

The man with the dark eyes looks at you closely and shivers run down your spine. Immediately, you look away, hoping that it’s too dark for him to notice your blue eyes.

“Aye, we’re just wastin’ our time,” he finally exclaims after what seems like an eternity to you. “Let’s go.”

You don’t dare say a word, fearing that they might hear you and come back. It is Roya who speaks up first.

“The man with the beard was Captain Garrigan,” she explains. “He’s a very evil man and it is best not to cross his path. Shayan eavesdropped on a conversation yesterday. It was between a young man and this Captain Garrigan. Apparently, the young man had been asked where to find a doctor by a man with a silver bracelet and Garrigan found out about it. That’s how we knew that the pirates were going to come.”

It seems that everybody is looking for the bracelet and you truly don’t understand it.

“But... what’s so special about this bracelet? And don’t tell me that it can control the sea, I don’t believe in these supernatural stories. After all, I saw Sparrow and he didn’t turn me into stone. There must be something else about it,” you voice your doubts.

“I don’t know more than what I’ve already told you. People believe that if you own it, you can control the sea. I wanted to do some research about it, but I didn’t want to draw any attention towards our tribe.”

Both of you are silent for a while, Roya probably lost in her own thoughts while you’re busy trying not to fall off the camel. The ride through the cold night takes a long time, and when the camp can finally be seen in the distance, it’s already at dawn.

“Roya,” you ask, “why are you doing this for me? Why did you come and warn me?”

“You saved the life of my unborn child,” she answers, “and now I save yours.”

* * *

You travel with the Tuareg for two months. Two long months during which the indigo colour of their clothes slowly rubbed off on your skin, during which you somehow got used to all the camels surrounding you and during which you learned more about the fascinating people that are the Tuareg. Two long months, during which you missed Isaac immensely and wished that you could return to Sidi-Hajjaj.

Your wish finally comes true on a cloudy afternoon. Clouds are rarely seen on the North African sky, but they are a welcome change from the merciless sun. Shayan had a conversation with you the day before and announced that you were approaching Sidi-Hajjaj, which means that you could return to Isaac. Both of you believe that the danger is now over and that the pirates are no longer looking for the bracelet – or at least not in this region.

You say good-bye to Roya and make her promise to come and see you once her baby is born. Although she had problems with early labour pains about three months ago, the baby now seems to take his time and doesn’t want to arrive.

“I’ll give you these herbs and if the baby hasn’t arrived in three weeks, you will cook a tea with them. It should start the labour pains and you’ll be able to get your little child,” you instruct her.

“Thank you. Hopefully, I won’t have to use it. Personally, I wouldn’t mind if the baby came today, because I feel really uncomfortable.”

You give her a very careful hug before leaving the tent. Just as you are about to step outside, you turn around and say with a smile: “I’m looking forward to your visit.”

Roya returns your smile and you step out into the open. Little did you know that the two of you would never see each other again.

Shayan is already waiting for you, together with about four more men. They’ll go to one of the costal village in order to trade with their fabrics and will leave you close to Sidi-Hajjaj. Shayan proposed bringing you directly to Isaac’s house, but you know that it would be a detour for them and insist that they leave you on their way. A little walking won’t kill you.

About three hours after saying good-bye to the Tuareg and thanking them for their hospitality, you finally reach your house. To your surprise, the door is wide open – and no one is sitting in the waiting room. A layer of dust covers the unoccupied chairs. This is strange because during the day, there are always people waiting in this room. Actually, you can’t remember a single day when this place wasn’t busy. But judging by the dust covering the chairs, a few weeks must have passed since the last time someone sat on them.

A bad foreboding creeps up on you while you walk into Isaac’s room. What you find there makes you gasp. The furniture is destroyed, the bandages and herbs lie scattered on the floor and the red cushions of the couch are ripped open.

“Isaac?” You scream. A rustle answers you and you turn around just in time to see a rat running away. You scream his name again, several times, while walking around the house and looking for him. The kitchen, the next room that you enter, is in no better state, as well as the rest of the house. Everything is destroyed, and except for a few rats, you can’t find a living soul.

The bathroom is the last room that you explore. The door is ajar and you push it open. The first thing you see is the bathtub. Apparently, whoever destroyed all your furniture has been in here, too, and he must have been very violent. A crack runs through the once white marble, which is now sprinkled with several dark spots. Upon closer inspection, you realise that they consist of dried blood. With a terrible foreboding, you walk around the tub. What you see there confirms your worst suspicions. Blood is smeared all over the floor. Although there is no corpse, you know that Isaac is dead. He would have never left the house and judging by the amount of blood on the floor, he must have died because of his severe wounds.

Your cry pierces the silence and you fall down to your knees. Tears roll down your cheeks and you start sobbing uncontrollably. Isaac is dead. The person who accepted you when you had nowhere to go, the man who taught you so much and who was like a father to you is gone. You realise that you will never hear his voice again, you will never be able to talk to him again and you will never be comforted by him again when you feel miserable because of your amnesia. Memories of the time you shared together rush through your head.

You don’t know how much time you spent on the floor crying, but it must have been several hours. The darkness of the night falls and when you feel like you don’t have any more tears, the sun is already rising.

You know that you can’t stay here. The people accepted you as Isaac’s assistant, but you don’t know how they feel about a female doctor. Furthermore, the house reminds you too much of the happiness you experienced here and the memories start suffocating you. No, you will have to leave this place. Maybe you can find Shayan, he’s supposed to be at the coast, and ask him, if you can stay with the Tuareg for a while – at least until you know what to do with your life.

Quickly, you pack a few belongings. There isn’t much to take, you won’t need your clothes in the desert and the rest of your belongings were destroyed, but you find a few herbs and bandages that you can take.

Without looking back, you finally leave the house and close the door. You know the way to the coast; you have often seen people coming from there. The sea isn’t far away, and if there wasn’t a row of hills between Sidi-Hajjaj and the coast, you would’ve been able to see it from your house. After a while, you start smelling the salt in the air and by midday, you arrive in a small town.

The first thing you notice is how busy this place seems compared to Sidi-Hajjaj. The narrow streets are filled with different people. Besides the locals, you see many sailors, and they all seem to know where to go. For a moment you feel lost. How are you supposed to find Shayan among all these people? You don’t even know for sure that he is in this town, he just told you that he had a trading partner in one of the villages located at the coast. This means that he could be anywhere, you’re sure that there are lots of communities situated at the shore.

Without any real aim, you wander along the streets, hoping to find your friend. He’s wearing the indigo coloured tagelmust that every Tuareg wears and every time you catch a glimpse of indigo fabric, your heart leaps a stroke. Unfortunately, there are many Tuareg in the streets, and even more people wearing indigo coloured clothes. For a moment you consider looking for camels because Shayan and his friends arrived here with their camels, but you soon find out that it’s as useless as looking for the tagelmust. There are camels at every second corner and you can’t tell the difference between them. Roya gave the tribe’s camels different names and she laughed at you when you said that they looked all the same. She was able to see the differences between them, an ability that you never acquired.

At one point, you believe to see Shayan in the distance and lift your arm to wave at him. Only a second later, you feel a strong grip around your wrist and a slightly familiar voice murmurs into your ear, “Look at what we’ve got here.”

Swiftly, you turn around. Standing right in front of you is one of the men that you saw with Captain Garrigan about two months ago. He is holding the same wrist that you’re wearing the bracelet around and you realise that your waving made the tissue of the Tuareg robe that you’re still wearing slip up, revealing your bracelet.

The man’s breath smells foul and makes you feel sick and you imagine that he’s not a pleasant person. Without thinking twice, you do the only thing that comes to your mind. You lift your knee and hit him directly in the groin. The man doubles over, groaning, and at the same time, he loosens the grip around your wrist. You seize the opportunity, free your arm and immediately start running.

Around you, there is a market and the place is bursting with people. It is difficult to advance quickly in the crowds and you unintentionally bump into an old man. Both of you fall down to the hard ground and the man shouts at you angrily. Quickly, you jump to your feet again and continue running. The accident made you lose the little lead that you had and looking over your shoulder, you see that your pursuer has nearly caught up. He is running fast and you fear that you can’t escape. His long arms reach out and he can already touch your robe with his dirty fingers, when pure luck saves you.

At one of the small stands, a young boy is playing with a chicken. For unknown reasons, he upsets the animal, making it run into the street while screeching loudly. Fortunately for you, your pursuer trips over said chicken and falls to the ground.

By the time he gets up again, you’ve already covered a good distance. However, you know that the pursuit is not over yet and you need either another fortunate coincidence or a place to hide.

Looking around, you realise that you’ve arrived at the docks. The pirate is still far away and you swiftly turn to your left. When you realise your mistake, it is already too late. You’ve run onto a footbridge that leads you nowhere except to the ocean. There are two ships anchoring in the harbour and a young boy is sitting at the end of the bridge, staring at the horizon. What you need now is a place to hide. Without thinking, you climb onto the ship to your left.

“Whatever you’re trying to do, you can’t escape me.”

The voice makes you freeze and you know that you’ve been discovered. Your plan didn’t work and when you look down, you see your pursuer standing on the footbridge.

Fear arises in you and the image of the dark spots on your bathroom floor floats through your mind. If the man catches you, he will surely kill you, just like he killed Isaac. Both of you stare at each other, not moving, while you frantically think of a way to escape. Out of the corner of your eye, you see that the young boy has gotten up and is looking at you both with huge interest.

Splash.

A huge wave appears out of nowhere and breaks directly over your pursuer’s head. The force of the water throws him back, right into the sea, where he disappears from your view.

The young boy who has witnessed the scene stares at you with wide eyes, before running away onto the other ship. You are too shocked to move. Where did that wave come from? Was it just a coincidence? The sea is calm and there are no waves at all. Why should it move by itself?

Bubbles emerge from the water and you realise that the man might dive up at any second. As you don’t have the time to look for a good hiding place, you just rush inside the interior of the ship you’re on. You’ll stay here until the man has left, and then you’ll leave the place and look for Shayan.

* * *

“Are you sure you’ve seen it correctly?” a voice asks in the distance. You peek on deck and see a man talking to someone else who is hidden from your view.

“Yes, I have. It was a huge wave and it appeared out of nowhere. I’ll tell you, it was the boy. There’s no other explanation. He has the bracelet and he used it to create the wave,” the man says.

“Where is he now?” The words are strangely slurred and the voice seems familiar, but you don’t know where you’ve heard it before. It’s a pity that you can’t see the other man, but you don’t dare leave your hiding place. You can only imagine what the men will do when they find out that you’re hiding on their ship.

“He left on the other ship.”

You can’t understand the response because at the same moment, another person boards the ship and heads right towards you. Quickly, you leave your current position and go further inside. You can already hear footsteps behind you and you know that you’ll have to find a place to hide. To your left, there’s a door and you hastily open it and slip inside the room. The footsteps become louder and you hear someone passing right in front of the door. When they finally fade away, you let out a breath that you didn’t know you were holding.

The room you’re in is obviously a storage room. There are crates of different shapes which probably contain food and water. You press one ear to the door and listen to the sounds outside. It is quiet and you take this as a sign that it is safe to leave the room. Just when you’re about to open the door, you hear someone coughing. Footsteps announce the arrival of another person. They approach your door and then stop abruptly. The door opens.

Your heart pounces loudly in your chest while you crouch behind a crate, trying to be absolutely still. If only your heart stopped making such a noise. Although you know that it isn’t possible, you feel like the other person must hear your heart beat, too. The one who just entered walks around the room, only stopping a few times because he has to cough. Judging by the sound of his coughs, he’s not feeling very well.

Someone else comes into the room a short while later.

“Do you think we’ve got everything we need?” the man asks.

His question is answered by a series of coughs.

“I don’t know about the rum,” the other person finally answers and you’re surprised to hear that it is a female voice, “Is there any in the boxes over there?”

Footsteps approach you and you hold your breath. What will they do if they discover you? Surely, you will be punished. Will they kill you? You don’t even know what kind of ship you’re on. From your current position, you can’t see what’s going on in the room and how close the two people are to you. Suddenly, the box behind which you’re hiding moves and a second later, you come face to face with a man.

He jumps back a few steps in surprise, the astonishment about finding someone hidden in the storage room evident in his face. You both stare at each other for a while. The man somehow reminds you of Isaac and you imagine that under different circumstances, you would easily become friends. Your mind races while you try to find something to say, but nothing comes out of your mouth.

Finally, the man turns around and says: “You wait here while I’ll go and get the captain.”

You follow his eyes and see that he’s talking to the woman that you heard earlier. She’s got a fiery look in her dark eyes and you imagine that it’s best not to mess with her.

“Hurry up, Gibbs,” she answers and the older man disappears.

The two of you are now alone and the woman lets her eyes wander over your body. You’re really glad that you’re still wearing your Tuareg clothes. The tagelmust hides the fear that must be written in your face.

Sudden coughs interrupt the silence and the woman doubles over in pain.

“Are you feeling alright?” you ask. It’s a stupid question, you know, because she clearly isn’t feeling alright, but you’re glad that at least, you succeeded in saying something.

Surprised, the woman looks up. You can tell that she wants to answer, but her coughs are getting more violent and she finally falls down to her knees. Her dark skin is turning slightly blue. Quickly, you rush towards her but you can’t catch her before she looses consciousness.

Worried, you place a hand to her forehead. It’s glowing and confirms your suspicions. The coughs, the fever – these are all signs for pneumonia. With trembling fingers, you try to feel her pulse. Your own heartbeat resounds in your ears when you don’t find it. If this woman is dead, they might think that you killed her, and they won’t be happy about it. Your hands move from her wrist to her neck, where you can finally feel the fluttering beat of her heart.

“What have you done to Anamaria?” a threatening voice asks behind you.

Immediately, you freeze. It’s not difficult to guess what the person behind you is thinking. You’re a stowaway on this ship and the person who was assigned to guard you is now lying unconscious on the floor, leading everybody else to the conclusion that you harmed her. Carefully, you turn around and find yourself face to face with a pistol. When you lift your head to see the owner of said pistol, you gasp. Standing right in front of you is none other than Captain Jack Sparrow.

* * * * *

“What have you done to me friend?” Jack repeats, waving his pistol.

“Cap’n, I’m not sure if he can understand you,” the other man, who Anamaria referred to as Gibbs, interrupts.

While Jack thinks about Gibbs’ statement and clearly also about what to do with you, you try to come up with something intelligent to say, something that will save you.

“Please, don’t harm me.”

‘Please don’t harm me?’ This isn’t really intelligent or convincing and you mentally scold yourself for saying such a stupid thing.

Gibbs jumps back a few feet when he hears the sound of your voice. “It’s a woman!” He cries out.

Jack ignores his comment and repeats for the third time, his pistol still raised. “What have you done to Anamaria?”

“Sir, er… Captain,” you correct yourself, remembering how he insisted on being called Captain the last time you met him. “I didn’t harm her. She’s seriously sick and most probably suffers from pneumonia.”

“How do you know?”

“She was coughing and she’s got fever.”

“She’s right,” Gibbs throws in. “Anamaria has been coughing a lot.”

“Please,” you add, getting a sudden idea of how to save your life. “I’m a doctor and I could help her, if you promise not to harm me in return.”

Jack thinks about your offer for a while, his eyes trailing from you to Anamaria and back again.

“You’re a doctor?” He asks, disbelief in his voice. You nod your head firmly.

“Alright, we have a deal,” he says hesitantly, finally lowering the pistol. “You heal Ana and I’ll let you live. But be warned: If you lied to me and I find out that you aren’t a doctor as you said, I might just change my mind.”

You let out a sigh of relief. He’s not going to kill you now. Although you fear what might happen if Anamaria succumbs to her illness. Pneumonia is a dangerous disease and you’ve seen enough people die of it.

“Gibbs, help me carry her to her cabin,” Jack orders before looking at you. “You’ll follow us.”

Gibbs looks as though he wants to say something, but finally decides otherwise and keeps his mouth closed, turning to Anamaria and lifting her up. You follow them to her cabin.

* * *

A knock on the door makes you jump up in fright and you realise that you’ve been asleep. Before you can say anything, the door opens and Captain Sparrow enters.

“How’s she doin’?” He asks, pointing towards the woman lying on the bed.

“I guess she’ll be fine,” you answer. “She woke up about an hour ago.”

Jack nods and sits down on the edge of the bed, looking at his crewmate with concern, before turning towards you. “Tell me, what’s a lass like you doing dressed in these clothes? You’re obviously not a Tuareg; your blue eyes and your perfect English betray you.”

You shift uncomfortably, not wanting to tell him about your past. “I don’t think that’s any of your business, Captain Sparrow,” you answer stiffly.

“Of course it is. We’ll be on the same ship for quite a while, and I need to know me crew.”

If you weren’t so tired, you would’ve probably argued with him again, just like you did earlier when he told you that you had left Africa to pursue another ship and probably wouldn’t come back to the place again. Your reaction was worse than he expected, you had screamed and shouted and finally broken down crying; causing Jack, who apparently wasn’t comfortable around crying females, to leave the room. This is too much for you. Within two days, you’ve lost everything you had, first Isaac and then the Tuareg, too. If you ever return to Sidi-Hajjaj, they would be long gone, and you know better than to start looking for them in the desert. This means that even if you can go back to Africa, you will never live the life you had again. While watching over Anamaria, you came to the conclusion that you need to move on, even if it seems impossible for you at the moment.

“Lass, are you alright?” Jack’s voice interrupts your thoughts.

“Well, you can use the other bed; no one else is usin’ it at the moment.”

You nod gratefully and take a look at Anamaria. She’s sleeping quietly and her fever has gone down a little, which is definitely a good sign. Jack watches you with interest as you lie down on the bed, but shows no intention of leaving the cabin.

“Do you intend to stay here the whole night?” You ask him, feeling slightly irritated. You don’t like being watched while sleeping and you would like to have some privacy, some time on your own to think about your current situation.

“Actually, it’s already early morning,” he replies with a smirk. “And yes, I intend on staying here.”

Too tired to argue, you roll over so that you face the wall and close your eyes. Just as you’re about to fall asleep, Jack’s voice wakes you up again. “Don’t you want to take off that…that veil or whatever it is that you’re wearing? It must be pretty uncomfortable while sleeping.”

Yes, in fact, it is uncomfortable to sleep with the tagelmust and you’ve never done it before, but you really don’t want him to see your face. You’re scared that he might recognise you as Isaac’s assistant. There have surely been many rumours about his death and the mysterious disappearance of the doctor’s assistant and you’re afraid that he’ll pull two and two together, realising that you’re the one with the bracelet. After all, he knows about the huge wave that appeared out of nowhere at the docks, washing your pursuer away, and it’s easy to tell that you must’ve been close.

“It’s called a tagelmust,” you reply tiredly. “And no, I never take it off, not even for sleeping.”

You hate lying, but you can’t just say that you don’t want him to see your face. Apparently, he believes you and soon you hear him leave the cabin. You let out a content sigh. Now you’ll finally be able to sleep. But at the very moment you close your eyes again, you hear a shifting noise from Anamaria’s bed.

With a yawn, you roll over and see that she is awake. “How are you feeling?” You ask while getting up and fetching some water for her to drink.

Your question is answered by a cough and you wait for her to finish before handing her the cup of water. She drinks the first sip and immediately spits it back out.

“Are you trying to kill me?” She shouts, her voice sounding hoarse and dry.

“I added some horseradish,” you explain. “It’s going to help against the pneumonia.”

Anamaria eyes the water carefully before gulping it down. You see her shiver in disgust at the strong taste, but she doesn’t comment on it further. Instead, she asks you what time it is.

“Jack came here about five minutes ago,” you answer, taking the cup from her hands and putting it on the table. “And he said that it was early morning.”

“Then it’s time to get up,” Anamaria replies and swings her legs over the edge of the bed.

Alarmed, you cry, “No! You mustn’t get up. You’re still much too weak and you should rest.”

Her face darkens at your words and her eyes narrow to small slits. “I am not weak,” she grumbles, her voice dangerously low.

“No, you aren’t weak,” you hurry to say, realising that you’ve probably made a mistake. “But you’re sick and you should really stay in bed. Pneumonia is a dangerous disease.”

“I’m fine,” she protests and slowly stands up. Her knees are shaking and you can tell that she will never be able to make it out of the cabin in her current condition.

“Captain Sparrow ordered you to stay in the cabin until you’re no longer sick,” you lie quickly. You really hate lying, and this is the second time within a short period that you’ve had to do it, but you can’t think of any other way to make the mulatto woman stay in bed.

Anamaria shoots you a dangerous look, but she gets back in bed. “When I’m feeling better, I’ll kill him for ordering me such a thing.”

You just nod, feeling slightly uncomfortable for having told the lie. For a few minutes, you stand there, watching Anamaria’s breath even out, before you finally climb into your own bed. This time, nobody disturbs you and it doesn’t take long before sleep overcomes you.

* * *

When you wake up, you’re surrounded by darkness. There aren’t any windows in the cabin and the candle, which illuminated the room yesterday, as long since burnt down. For a moment, you lay still, enjoying the soft sound of waves crashing against the ship. It takes you a while to realise that something is missing. Shouldn’t you hear Anamaria’s breathing as well?

Alarmed, you jump up and hurry towards the door. Unfortunately, your tagelmust loosened while you slept, and your foot gets trapped in the long fabric. You can prevent from falling to the floor by grasping the nearest thing that’s within your reach – probably the table, but you knock over a chair in the progress. It falls to the ground with a noise, loud enough to wake up anybody else who’s with you in the cabin. But what if Anamaria can’t wake up? Maybe she died while you were sleeping. Jack’s warning is still fresh in your mind and terrible images of what he might do with you if you let his friend die cross your mind. Maybe he’ll shoot you or he’ll throw you overboard. Are there sharks in these waters?

After what seems like an eternity, you feel the handle of the door in your hand. You pull it open, faint light streams into the cabin and illuminates Anamaria’s bed – which is empty. A sigh of relief escapes your lips. You aren’t happy that she got up while she is still feeling weak, but at least she’s alive.

It seems like you’re not the only one who is unhappy that Anamaria got up because when you reach the deck, you see her and Jack standing at the helm, arguing loudly. Moonlight illuminates their features and you notice how Anamaria’s pale face is torn in rage. She lifts her hand and before Jack has the time to react, she slaps him. Hard.

For a moment you admire her courage. You remember slamming a door in Captain Sparrow’s face, nearly hitting him with it, but the situation was different. Back at home, you had Isaac to help you when things got bad, and you knew that the other patients who were waiting would’ve come to your rescue, too. Here, you don’t have anyone. You’re on a pirate ship, with no one to save you if you get in trouble.

Leaning against the railing, you watch the reflection of the moon glistening on the calm sea. How long did you sleep? Just before going to bed, Jack told you that it was early morning. You must’ve slept the whole day and part of the night. It doesn’t astonish you that you were able to sleep so long. You were exhausted after being awake for two days and two nights.

A rumble in your stomach makes you wonder when you had your last meal. It must’ve been with the Tuareg because you feel starved. Turning towards the helm, you see that Anamaria has stomped off. Jack’s face is dark, giving away his bad mood. This is probably not the best moment to ask him for food, but you don’t know what else to do.

Just as you’re about to walk towards him, a monkey jumps in your way. The moonlight shines on him, showing pieces of flesh that hang from his bones. You blink a few times, not quite believing what you’re seeing. This monkey looks… dead. The decay has already started. But for some reason, he seems to still be alive. Your heart starts beating rapidly while you wonder what the creature is that has just shown up. When the animal opens its mouth and screams at you, panic overcomes you. With a scream, you runaway, hurrying through the narrow corridors. Too upset to find the way back to your cabin, you finally end up in what must be the galley. After having assured yourself that the door is well closed behind you, you sit down against the opposite wall, shaking violently.

Your mind still refuses to believe what you just saw. There is no such thing as half perished monkeys. Maybe your eyes were playing a trick on you. But deep down, you know what you saw and although you can’t explain it, you know that it’s true.

The door opens and you instinctively press closer to the wall, until you see that it’s Captain Sparrow who enters the room.

“There you are!” He cries. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“W…what was it?” You ask, your voice still shaking.

Jack moves closer, swaying slightly. “Just the bloody immortal monkey. I’m sorry if it scared you, but I thought we left it in Africa. Don’t know why it keeps followin’ me.”

So he was telling the truth when he said that he was bitten by an immortal monkey. “And I thought you were too drunk to know what you were talking about,” you mumble.

A small frown appears on Jack’s face. “What did you say?”

“Nothing,” you answer quickly, getting up. “Erm… you said that you were looking for me?”

“Aye, actually, I just wanted to know how you’re doing, you seemed pretty shocked by our little animal guest.”

“No, I’m fine,” you reply, waving with your hands as though the little incident was nothing. “It just surprised me, that’s…” A loud grumble from your stomach interrupts you.

“Are you hungry?” Jack asks and before waiting for your reply, he goes to a basket and takes out an apple.

“Yes,” you admit. “That was the reason why I came on deck.” With one hand you catch the apple that he throws towards you.

“This is the only thing I can offer you now, but in a few hours, Richard, our cook will get up and prepare breakfast.”

You nod gratefully and bite into the apple. “Thanks,” you mumble.

Meanwhile, Jack sits down on one of the wooden benches and motions for you to take the place next to him. “I still don’t know what you were doin’ in my storage room,” he begins.

Your answer is muffled by the apple in your mouth. “I really didn’t want to stowaway on your ship; I just needed a place to hide.”

Jack gives you a sign to elaborate on the subject and you quickly think about how much you can tell him. “Well, someone was chasing me and I didn’t want him to catch me, which is why I came aboard the Black Pearl. When I wanted to leave, all of a sudden, there were people everywhere and I couldn’t escape without being seen. That’s why I hid in the storage room where Gibbs found me.”

Both of you are silent for a while before Jack speaks up again. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re wearing Tuareg clothes.”

“No, it doesn’t,” you sigh. You will have to tell him about your past, or at least give him a good explanation as to why you’re wearing these clothes. Reluctantly, you add, “I’ve been travelling with the Tuareg for two months and they gave me their clothes.”

To your relief, Jack doesn’t investigate further. “If you want to change your clothes, I’m sure that Anamaria can lend you some.”

“No, I really like them,” you hurry to say. Under no circumstances do you want to take off the tagelmust and show your face to Captain Sparrow because you’re too scared that he might figure out the connection between you and the bracelet.

“Shouldn’t you be outside captaining your beautiful ship?” You ask, trying to distract him from your appearance.

“No, Gibbs is standin’ at the helm; he knows how to navigate the Pearl. But if you want to, I can give you a tour of the ship,” he offers, getting up.

Relieved that he dropped the subject, you accept his offer and follow him on deck.

* * *

The sun is sending her first beams into the world, colouring the sky in red and orange, when you finish the tour. Jack showed you his whole ship, while telling you stories about his former adventures. To your great relief, you didn’t meet the monkey again, but Jack also told you about his encounter with Barbossa, the curse and Jack, the monkey. The fact that this horrible animal was named after the captain had made you laugh, but you quickly stopped when you saw Jack’s face. Apparently, Barbossa is a sore subject that you’d be better off avoiding.

Now you’re standing at the railing watching the sunrise. It’s beautiful and makes you think about all the African sunrises you’ve seen. On summer mornings, Isaac and you used to sit on top of your house, waiting for the sun to rise. You never talked, because words weren’t necessary to enjoy the beauty of the spectacle. These mornings spent together were usually the only quiet moments you had, before the town woke up and you had to start working.

“Ship ‘ho!” A cry interrupts your thoughts.

You narrow your eyes, searching the horizon, and, sure enough, amidst the shades of red and orange, you can make out the small shape of a ship.

* * * * *

CHAPTER 5 – Trapped

“No matter what happens, you stay here,” Jack orders you and Anamaria while the rest of the crew prepares to board the merchant ship that is now floating side by side the Black Pearl.

You don’t protest, feeling relieved that you don’t have to board the other ship. You don’t even know how to fight and you would just feel out of place.

Anamaria, on the other hand, looks furious about Captain Sparrow’s decision.

“I’m coming with you,” she protests immediately.

Jack shakes his head. “No, you’re going to stay here. You’re still sick and besides, someone has to guard the Pearl.”

“I’m not…” A loud cough interrupts her words.

“Ye see, that’s exactly why I want you to stay here.”

Instead of answering, Anamaria throws Jack a dangerous look that would have scared anybody else to death before stomping off. Jack, however, doesn’t seem to worry too much about Ana’s bad mood.

“She’ll calm down eventually,” he says, shrugging with his shoulders before turning towards his crew. “Let’s go then.”

Everybody else boards the merchant ship, leaving you behind. As Anamaria has stomped off, probably sulking in her cabin, you’re on your own now. Without haste, you walk up to the helm, trying to find a position from where you can observe what’s happening on the other ship. Your eyes, however, get caught by the magnificent wheel and you walk towards it, hesitantly stretching out your fingers to the dark wood. If Jack were here, he probably wouldn’t allow you to touch it, but he can’t see you at the moment. As your hands grasp the helm, a feeling of familiarity washes over you. It is almost as though you’ve already been in a similar position before. You know that you can steer the ship without difficulty, although you can’t remember ever having done it before. Standing here feels almost like being at home.

When you hear footsteps, however, you quickly step away from the helm and the feeling dissolves into thin air. You see Anamaria walking up to you, still looking weak from her illness.

“Do you want some more horseradish?” You ask, already knowing the answer.

Anamaria shoots you an angry look and you refrain from adding that it would be good for her.

“I’m just trying to help,” you mumble, more to yourself than to her.

Anamaria turns her head slightly, having heard your words. “I don’t need anybody’s help.”

You figure that it’s best not to say anything else and turn your attention towards the scene on the merchant ship. The other sailors are all standing on deck and you wonder what they’re thinking. Are they scared? Or maybe they are angry with the pirates who take away their goods? You think that it’s probably both. They might be angry, but they’re too scared to show it. When the Black Pearl hoisted the Jolly Roger, they immediately gave up – to your great relief. You’re not a friend of fights and spilling blood. In the end it’s always you who has to sew the men together.

From your current position, you see Jack talking to the captain of the other ship. They’re too far away for you to make out what they’re saying, but you see the other captain shaking his head fiercely. Some of Jack’s crew have left the deck and are searching the insides of the ship, probably looking for valuable goods.

“Thank you.”

The words draw your attention back to the woman standing next to you.

“What for?” You ask, studying her profile.

“Thank you for taking care of me when I was sick,” she replies, never taking her eyes off the scene on the other ship.

You shrug your shoulders. “It was nothing,” you say. Although you try to keep your voice as casual as possible, you’re more than happy about what she just said. You haven’t really talked to her since you arrived on the Black Pearl, but you hope that maybe, she finally warmed up to you.

When Anamaria doesn’t say anything else, you return your attention towards the merchant ship. One of the men from Jack’s crew has returned with a boy. Even from the distance, you recognise him as the one who watched you when the wave hit your pursuer back in Africa. Pieces of a conversation that you overheard come back to your mind. I’ll tell you, it was the boy. He has the bracelet and he used it to create the wave. Oh my god! Realisation hits you and makes you gasp. Jack thinks that the boy is wearing the bracelet – but he isn’t because you have it.

“Are you alright?” Anamaria asks, having heard your gasp.

“Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just a… it was… a bit of water sprayed in my face and scared me.”

Anamaria turns her head and looks at you suspiciously. “The water scared you.”

“Well, it… it was… cold and I… I didn’t expect it,” you answer, cursing yourself for your stammering.

She raises her eyebrows and you know that she doesn’t believe you at all, but to your great relief, she doesn’t investigate further and looks back at the merchant ship.

The attention of the whole crew has now turned towards the child who is looking around in panic. The captain – probably his father – jumps forward to protect his son, but is held back by the strong arms of two pirates. His angry shouts reach your ears, giving you a bad feeling in the stomach.

What is Jack going to do to the boy? He will find out that the kid isn’t wearing any bracelet and then he’ll probably believe that the boy hid it somewhere. Is he going to harm him?

You hold your breath when you see Jack griping the young boy’s arms. He slides up the sleeves, but as expected, there isn’t any jewellery to be found.

You have to go and tell him that the boy doesn’t have it, your conscience screams. But your feet don’t move and all you do is stare at the scene that develops on the other ship. Jack has drawn his cutlass and is now pointing the blade at the boy’s neck. The wind carries the child’s cries to your ears and you feel like you’re going to be sick.

If the boy is hurt or even dies, it’s entirely your fault. You could save him by walking over and saying that you have the bracelet. You could protect the child. But instead, you stay where you are because you’re scared that Jack might harm you instead of the boy.

The feeling of guilt is increased by the captain’s screams that reach your ears. You’re a despicable person and you hate yourself for what you do. When you saw the child, you should have immediately run over and told Sparrow about the bracelet. Now, the boy is going to pay for your cowardice.

A wave of nausea sweeps over you at the thought of an innocent person loosing his life because of you.

“Are you sure that you’re alright?” Anamaria interrupts your thoughts.

You blink a few times before turning towards her. Your eyes follow hers and you suddenly realise that you’ve been gripping the railing so strongly that your knuckles turned white. Immediately, you release the grip.

“Yes, I’m fine, just feeling a bit sick.” The words come out easily, and technically, they aren’t even a lie. You do feel sick, but not because of the waves as Anamaria probably thinks but because of the guilt that eats up your insides.

When you look at the merchant vessel again, you see that the crew of the Black Pearl is returning to their ship, carrying various boxes and crates – and the boy is still alive. But the feeling of relief lasts only until you see Jack Sparrow coming towards you, looking absolutely livid.

“In my cabin, now!” He snaps at you. When you don’t obey immediately, he grasps your wrist and drags you along.

“Captain!” Gibbs shouts at him, pointing at something. Your eyes follow his hand and see that there’s another ship on the horizon.

“Not now,” Jack hisses, not even looking towards his first mate and therefore missing what you just saw.

“But…”

“I said NOT NOW!”

You see Gibbs cringe at the sound of Jack’s voice and wonder what happened. Jack is absolutely furious and, as you realise just now, you seem to be part of the reason for his anger. The doors of his quarters are coming closer and you press your feet against the ground, trying to keep him from dragging you there. Jack, feeling your resistance, pulls hard on your wrist and makes you scream out in pain. He’s stronger than you and completely ignores your struggle, dragging you into his quarters. With one hand, he slams the doors behind him, while the other is still wrapped around your arm.

“Do you think I’m a fool?” He shouts at you, finally releasing your wrist.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you lie, looking everywhere but his face. Of course you have an idea what he’s talking about.

“You’re a bad liar,” Jack grumbles, his voice dangerously low, “and you made me look like a fool in front of everybody.”

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about.” You try to sound confident, but fail miserably.

“Do you know what the boy told me?” Jack continues, ignoring what you just said. You keep still, feeling that he doesn’t expect you to answer his question. “He said that there was a third person, a woman wearing a blue robe and a blue fabric wrapped around her head, and he told me that this woman climbed on my ship to hide from her pursuer. But when he discovered her, she used powerful magic and created a wave that washed the man from the bridge.”

You don’t answer, not knowing what to say. All the guilt that you felt about not helping the boy dissipates into thin air, now that you know that he betrayed you.

“Where is it?”

Instantly, you back away from Jack.

“I… I don’t have it,” you whimper while making your way towards the door.

“Don’t try to lie to me,” Jack growls.

Your hands seize the handle of the door and you push it down. To your sheer horror, the doors don’t open. You try again, shaking the doors violently, but they remain closed. Jack must have locked them when you came in.

When you realise that you won’t be able to escape through the door, you turn around, facing Jack Sparrow again. He’s mere inches away from you, only having to stretch out his arms to grab you. Swiftly, you jump to the side, but it is too late. Jack has already taken hold of your tagelmust. With all your force, you try to pull away from him, feeling the tagelmust loosening before it unwraps itself completely. The sudden loss of resistance makes you lose your balance and you fall to the floor. When you look up again, you see that Jack is staring at you with wide eyes.

“I know you; you’re the doctor’s daughter.”

I WAS his assistant, you correct in your mind but don’t speak it aloud. Jack is still gaping at you, while you jump back to your feet and look around frantically, trying to find an object that could serve you as a weapon.

“What happened to him?” Jack asks suddenly.

Your head snaps back towards him. “What happened to who?”

“Nicholas Clerk. The one who wore the bracelet before you got it.”

“He...” You hesitate, not sure if you should tell Jack about Nicholas’ death. If they were friends, it might darken Jack’s mood even further. But then again, lying to Jack doesn’t seem the wisest thing to do either, especially now that he can see your face. “He died from cancer.”

A shadow passes across Jack’s face.

“W… were you friends?” You ask.

“One might say so,” Jack answers, coming closer towards you. “Why didn’t you tell me about the bracelet?”

“You never asked,” you answer, grabbing the closest object that you could use as a weapon. It’s a candleholder.

“But I asked about Nicholas, and you lied to me.” Jack grasps a candleholder, too, and advances towards you.

Loud noises from outside draw your attention to the door and when you look at Jack again, he has already gotten very close. You feel like a cornered animal, trying to escape the hunter. At any minute he will strike, killing his prey.

“What’s so special about the bracelet, anyway?” You ask, trying to buy time.

Jack and you have now started to move in a circle. “I’ll tell you if you give it to me.”

“Never,” you answer, jumping forward and trying to hit Jack with the candleholder. But Jack has excellent reflexes, and before the metal hits his skin, he has already caught your wrist.

“Do you think it’s wise to argue with a pirate?” He repeats the very same words that he already told you when you first met.

Time seems to stand still as you look at each other. His eyes observe your face and you suddenly feel very naked without the tagelmust.

The voices outside are getting louder. Someone bangs on the door. Jack and you turn your heads simultaneously, just in time to see the doors falling to the ground. In their place, you see Captain Garrigan, giving you a wide grin that shows his rotten teeth.

“I knew that I would find you here.”

Neither you nor Jack expected to see him here, but you’re the one who uses the distraction first. With a jerk, you free your hand from his grip and launch towards Garrigan, ramming the candleholder right in his abdomen. Surprised, he doubles over and before he recovers, you’ve already disappeared out of the door.

What you see outside, however, doesn’t give you much hope. Jack’s crew is standing at one side of the ship, Garrigan’s at the other. They aren’t fighting but you know that if they would, no matter who wins the battle, you’ll always be the looser.

For a moment you pause between the two groups, not knowing what to do, and then you run up the stairs towards the helm. Just as you arrive there, you hear Garrigan and Sparrow talking to each other.

“…think you mistook her for someone else,” Jack says.

You lean forwards and see them coming out of the Captain’s Quarters.

“No, I don’t think so,” Garrigan opposes, “she ‘as it and that’s wha’ ye argued ‘bout.”

Hearing his words, you shift uncomfortably. Garrigan knows that you have the bracelet, Sparrow knows it, too. They both want it, and they’re both armed whereas you only have a candleholder as a weapon. But… come to think of it… An idea forms in your head. You do have something else.

The candleholder falls to the floor, drawing everybody’s attention towards you.

“Garrigan,” you cry, “I want you to leave the Black Pearl and never come back.”

The two captains stare at you as though you’ve lost your mind, Garrigan showing an expression of sheer disbelief on his face whilst Jack gives you a pleading look. His lips move and you could swear that you heard him mutter something like “don’t do anything stupid”, but it was probably only the wind.

“Why should I do such a thin’?” Garrigan enquires.

“Because if you don’t,” you shout, rolling up your sleeve and revealing the bracelet, “I will sink your boat and create a wave which will take you down to the depths of the ocean.”

Murmurs erupt from both crews and you smile, feeling satisfied. Dealing with Garrigan is easy, and once he’s gone, you’ll find a way to get away from Sparrow, too.

“I don’ believe ye.”

You freeze. This is not what you expected Garrigan to say.

“Ye better, mate. She can sink your ship with no effort,” Jack comes to your help, grinning madly. The situation changed for his favour and he will profit from what you did.

“Na, I don’ think she be able to do tha’.”

“Luv, why don’t you send our dear Captain Garrigan a warning. Maybe that’ll make him take you more serious,” Jack suggests.

This definitely doesn’t go according to the plan. You don’t even know how to create a wave. Sure, it worked back in Africa, but you can’t remember how you did it. It was as though the wave came out of nowhere, saving you just at the right moment. Unfortunately, now that you need it, you can’t do it again.

“See, I told ye tha’ she can’t do it.”

Alarmed, you realise that Garrigan has started walking towards you.

Concentrate! Maybe it’ll work if you just concentrate enough. You think of the water and how it rises, forming a high wave. Water, high waves, lots of power, and the ocean doing what you want it to do.

Splash.

A wave crushes against the starboard side of the Black Pearl, wetting Jack’s crew.

“Is tha’ all ye can do? Get yer crew wet?” Garrigan laughs. His dark eyes sparkle dangerously as he comes closer.

You throw a despairing look towards Captain Sparrow, but he stands rooted to the spot, clearly not believing what he just saw.

“Ronald, come here,” Garrigan bellows.

A man steps forth and to your shock, you recognise him as the one who pursued you two days ago. As he ascends the stairs, you instinctively step back, until your way is blocked by the railing.

Garrigan just laughs at the horror written on your face.

“Hold her,” he orders Ronald.

Strong arms grasp you and you wriggle in his grip, but Ronald is much stronger than you and doesn’t let loose.

“No,” you scream, trying to kick the approaching Garrigan with your feet. Your kicks only seem to amuse him because he starts laughing even louder.

“Quite the feisty one, aren’t ye?”

His face is now so close to yours that you can smell his bad breath. Disgusted, you try to turn your head away, but a hand on your chin forces you to look in his eyes. “I like ye and I think tha’ I migh’ take ye with me.”

This is too much; he has just crossed the line. Without thinking, you spit at him. The saliva drops from his nose and under different circumstances, you would’ve laughed at the sight. But the angry expression on his face tells you that you might have gone too far.

His palm connects with your cheek, making your head fly backwards. Your face feels like it’s on fire and you’re pretty sure that you have a red handprint on your cheek. For a moment, you find it hard to focus, everything seems blurry around you. You blink a few times and when your sight clears again, you see Garrigan holding the bracelet in his hand.

“Take her with us,” he orders, his voice cold like ice.

“NO!” You scream, wriggling harder, trying to kick Ronald. But he’s much stronger than you are and his grip doesn’t even loosen the slightest. In a desperate attempt to free yourself, you slam your teeth in the only body part that’s close enough – his shoulder.

The man lets out an angry cry, but he doesn’t let loose. With force, he throws you forward. The railing hits your stomach, knocking the air out of your lungs. He pushes again, and this time you start losing your balance.

You’re going to fall into the ocean, and you don’t even know if you can swim. In a last attempt to free yourself, you throw your head back. You hear a terrible noise when your skull hits his nose, before everything turns black.

TBC...

Note from admin: this story is now put on hiatus due to the request from the author.

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