Pirates Of The Caribbean Fan Fiction ❯ Mirror, Mirror ❯ Storm ( Chapter 15 )

Chapter 15

 

Ayse was bent over on her hands and knees on the deck of the Cielo Mio with a bucket at her side and a scrub brush in her hand. She moved the scrub brush over the deck, occasionally dipping it into the soapy water before returning to scrubbing once more. She wiped her brow with the sleeve of her shirt as James's watch thumped against her chest from the rapid movement of her arm and upper body.

She was four days into her journey, and so far, it had been smooth sailing - so to speak. They had made a stop at a port in Cuba and picked up a few more new crew members; one of them was a boy of about nineteen named Henry. He was not a very tall boy, nor was he remarkably built. However, he was good-natured and cheerful and willing to try everything. Some things he failed at, others he accomplished, but Ayse had made friends with him, as she did many other shipmates, though she dared not reveal her true identity.

Ayse sat back on her heels for a moment to take a breather as she wiped her sleeve across her brow, and she glanced up toward the distant sky. It had been clear and the weather fair for most of the day, but Ayse noticed a change in the wind, as did her fellow sailors. She looked out toward the distant horizon, and she could see that a storm was brewing.

Alarmed, she stood up and placed a hand on the railing and her other touched James's watch. The wind had already changed direction and it was rapidly picking up as the blue sky turned sinister and the building clouds blotted out the sun overhead. Already Russo was barking orders to the crew to batten down the hatches and furl the sails to keep them from ripping.

Soon the pregnant clouds overhead gave birth to a solid downpour as the wind blew hard into their faces making the rain sting like a thousand needles. Lightning flashed as thunder quaked through the sky, and the sea below swelled beneath the ship. The Caribbean had lost its welcoming, pristine appearance and was now dark, ominous, and angry. Her waters spewed over the deck and splashed Ayse, and she clutched the watch tightly in her fist.

Oh, James, I could really use some encouragement… she thought.

Russo was barking orders madly at everyone, and subsequently, he took Ayse up by the arm and steered her over to the opening that went below decks. “I want you to go down and man the bilge. Keep this ship dry as y' can.” Russo spotted Henry and called to him. “Henry! Accompany Andrew to the bilge!”

Henry came scuttling across the main deck, soaked to the bone from the rain. He and Ayse went down into the dark recesses of the ship and to the lowest parts of the ship's hull cavity where the pumps were located. There were three pumps in the bowels of the ship that had to be pumped at least once a day, for Ayse had learned during her journey that wooden ships were actually very leaky vessels (which explained why it was so damp below decks) and the task of pumping the bilge was a necessary chore that kept the boat from sinking over time. But during storms, the ship leaked twice as much and needed twice the manpower to pump her.

One man was already at a pump and Henry took one of the others and began pushing on the handle in an up and down motion. The water had already built up to about 60 centimeters and water was still coming in. Ayse manned her pump and began working hard trying to keep up with the other two men. The work was back-breaking and exhausting, and Ayse had to work even harder at maintaining her footing as the ship lurched and rolled with the force of the waves bearing down on the Cielo Mio. And to make matters worse, the water in the hold of the ship did not seem to be draining away, despite her and her shipmates' efforts.

Ayse was beginning to wear down, and she panted, her body unaccustomed to such hard labor. She gave out and dropped to her knees.

“I…don't think….I can go on…” she panted out.

“You have to!” shouted Henry. “Or the ship'll go down if we can't keep the water out! Put your back into it!”

“I…I can't,” Ayse choked.

“Yes you can!” Henry returned. “Don't slow down now. Just hang in there a little longer!”

Ayse managed to get to her feet and grasp the handle of the bilge once more. She began to weakly pump as the other two shipmates beckoned to her to, “Keep going!” and, “Put your back into it!”

Oh, James…I could use a hand about now. I don't think I can go on…

The lid of the watch around Ayse's neck had worked itself open partially, and James could hear everything that was going on. Ayse did not have the build of a man, and it was apparent to him that she would not be able to go on for very much longer. Women were not meant for such hard work, and James knew he had to do something…but what?

Suddenly, Ayse collapsed once more and clutched the watch from the outside of her shirt and panted hard, her brow dripping with sweat. James, out of desperation, suddenly had an idea and reached out to her as he had done so many times before. He'd heard stories of people becoming possessed by other spirits, and he concluded that if his spirit could inhabit a looking glass, then surely he could try to inhabit her body, if only for a little while.

Ayse suddenly felt a familiar coldness come across her hand and work its way up her arm. She knew it was James moving about her, but she was in no position to ask what he was doing; her shipmates were still working and shouting at her to get up. Once the coldness overtook her arm, she could feel it overtaking her entire body, and she instinctively held her arms against her as she felt something beyond her control draw her body up and to the pump.

Ayse…let me help you…

Her eyes widened as the voice she recognized as James's cut across her mind rather than the female voice of her own consciousness. The feeling was eerie; she not only felt cold, but she felt as though she were not alone in her own body and she was not the one in control of her own appendages. Ayse suddenly realized that James was in her body and in control!

J-James…are you really…? she asked in her mind.

Yes, I am. Please, let me lend you my strength. I've manned enough bilges in my time, and I would be quite fit for it. Besides, I do not fatigue since I am no longer alive and therefore cannot feel pain.

Yes, but I can! Ayse protested as she felt her body pumping the bilge without her control.

I hate to tell you this, but you would have been sore even without my help, James pointedly said.

After a while, the storm let up, and the seas began to calm. After a little more pumping, the hold was completely empty of water, and Ayse wearily returned to the main deck with Henry and put up her hand to shield her eyes from the blinding, newly born light after the storm. She looked out over the horizon toward the gray skies that happen after a storm and took notice of a bright, towering rainbow gracing the sky in the distance.

It was becoming late evening, and she knew the supper, if any was offered, would be meager, but Ayse was too tired to eat. After the sun had gone down, Ayse went straight below decks and settled into her hammock, absolutely fatigued and sore. She turned away from the rest of the crew coming down to rest and took out the watch, clutching it into her fist. James returned, and the coldness of his soul left her body leaving her feeling as she did before.

“Thank you for your help, James,” she whispered. She rubbed her neck. “Though my body is so sore that even my knots are getting knots.”

James chuckled. “`Tis the life of a sailor, Ayse, but we should cease with speaking for now. You're clearly exhausted and I refuse to allow myself to prattle on and take away from your rest.”

“It is not a problem, though I have missed our conversations these past several days,” she responded quietly.

“Once we fall upon land we shall be able to resume once more. For now, attend to your rest and we shall speak soon,” James responded. “For now, a good night to you.”

 

 

The following morning, Ayse awoke and found that she was barely able to move, for her body had grown stiff overnight from her sore muscles. She begrudgingly slid out of her hammock and trudged tiredly up the stairs and onto the open deck as the bell rang to indicate the change of watch. Her eyes blinked against the blinding light of the early morning sun, and she glanced around. A sailor in the crow's nest held a scope up to his eye and Russo was carefully handing out orders to the rest of the crew. Ayse awaited her own orders.

She stood at the railing when suddenly, the voice from the crow's nest rang out, “Land ho!” Russo looked up and followed a pointing finger toward the horizon where, far in the distance and appearing as nothing more than a speck, a dark grey mass rested on the flat line where the sea met the sky.

It was this announcement that made Ayse realize that she would have to abandon her new found shipmates and put herself in the hands of fate as she ventured down a dangerous path. For now, she needed to focus on her work until she could get to that spit of land in the distance that would bring her ever closer to her objective.