Pirates Of The Caribbean Fan Fiction ❯ Mirror, Mirror ❯ Tortuga ( Chapter 16 )

Chapter 16: Tortuga

 

The mooring lines were cast, and Ayse's shipmates fastened the furled sails high up in the masts as the Cielo Mio slowly pulled into the berth. Once the gangway had been put out, the crew met with the Captain and the First Mate as they were given instructions on when to return from their shore leave. Sadly, Ayse knew that she probably would not be coming back to that ship, as much as she wished she could.

She placed the pocket watch down inside her shirt and held her hand there as she made her way into the anarchy and boisterous chaos that was Tortuga. The word Tortuga meant `turtle' in Spanish, as her father had once mentioned, but upon seeing it through her spyglass, she could see why it was named as such; the island's mountainous terrain looked like that of a turtle's head and shell from a distance.

Ayse wandered into one of the many taverns that the port had to offer and found herself in the middle of a noisy crowd riddled with brawling and drinking. As she picked her way through, she was pushed, bumped, and shoved about by the hordes of men who were simply having a good time. A bottle flew past her head and shattered on the floor next to her, and at another point, she had to duck to avoid getting punched in the face.

The girl finally found her way out of that place and into a darkened alley where she took a breather and pulled James's watch out from her shirt.

“What in the world have I gotten myself into?” she asked, opening the lid.

James chuckled slightly. “I see you're not very fond of this God forsaken place, either.” He glanced around. “Do not let anyone see you with this watch. And exercise extreme caution.”

“Where do I find this Joshamee Gibbs fellow, James? I didn't see anyone in that tavern that fit his description.”

“There are several more places to check. If all else fails, try looking for pig sties.”

Ayse's face contorted into a mixture of confusion and disgust. “Pig sties?”

“You'll see what I mean,” he said.

“But what about Jack Sparrow? Should I look for him as well?”

“Honestly, you'll be better off looking for Mr. Gibbs as you have more of a chance of finding him than you do Jack. However, I must warn you that Mr. Gibbs is extremely superstitious, so no doubt my face in this small glass will give him a fright something terrible.” He looked over upon hearing some voices. “Now go, before someone sees you!”

Ayse nodded and closed the lid of the watch. She had put it away just in time to see a pair of pirates rounding the corner, both with bottles of rum and singing sea shanties loudly and marching to the tune. They knocked into Ayse, sending her to the ground, and one of the men took a swig and scowled at her.

“Watch where ye going, lad!”

“I…sorry,” Ayse simply said, getting to her feet. She backed away and left the alley.

Frankly, this place was scary, and she thought it wise to keep to herself and find the man she was looking for without any trouble. She looked in every tavern she could find, but to no avail. Finally, Ayse opted for the latter of James's suggestions and decided to look for pigs.

She wandered around peering into the pens of snorting, muddy, smelly swine until she came to a barn somewhere in the quieter district of the seaport. Ayse pushed open the door and peered in, following the horrid smell of pigs until she came to an open pen with about three pigs basking in the mud. Inside the pen, a man was laying next to a pig and had his arm wrapped around its body and a large rum bottle wedged between the animal's back and his chest, obviously passed out.

Ayse glanced around and found a rake hanging on the wall. She turned it and began to poke at the sleeping human with the handle of the rake.

“Psst…wake up,” she whispered.

He did not stir, instead drawing the pig closer to him in a tighter grasp, which earned a grunt from the animal in protest.

She frowned, put down the rake, and spotted a horse trough filled with water and a bucket nearby. Taking the bucket, Ayse scooped up a pail full of water and threw it over the man. The animal he was holding jumped up and ran with a squeal, and he shot up sputtering, cursing, and wiping the water from his face.

“What in blazes did ye do that fer, lad?!” he spat in his thick Scottish accent, brandishing a knife.

Ayse blinked and stood with her hands behind her back. “Are you Joshamee Gibbs?”

He paused to look up at the person addressing him. “Aye, and what if I am?”

“Then you would be the person I would be looking for.”

He frowned, confused, and then pulled himself to his feet. “Eh? Yer lookin' fer me?”

“Yes.” Ayse looked around, straining her ears for any noise that would indicate they were not alone. “Is this place safe to talk? I would rather not have anyone eavesdropping on our conversation.”

“Well ye never can tell in this place, but I keep a small cabin not far from here if ye'd come with me. What's this all about anyway, and who are ye?”

“To answer your first question, I shall fill you in when we get to your residence, and for your second, my name is Ayse Thomas.”

His eyes went wide. “Ye ain't a lad, then. Yer a lass.”

“I had no choice but to wear a disguise. I don't mean to rush, but can we please get to wherever it is you want to take me post haste? What I have to speak to you about is quite important.”

He nodded. “Fine, fine, lass. Follow me.”

 

 

Ayse sat down at a table within the walls of a small one-room log cabin and accepted a tin cup full of fresh water. After spending the past two months out on the open sea with nothing but grog to drink and Johnnycakes to eat, the cup of water was certainly a welcome relief.

“So what ye come lookin' fer me fer?” Gibbs asked, joining Ayse at the table.

Ayse reached down into her shirt and pulled out James's pocket watch. “I have come to you seeking the whereabouts of Jack Sparrow.”

Gibbs cocked his head, immediately suspicious. “Cap'n Jack Sparrow?”

Ayse nodded. “He's the only person that I know of that can help me with my quest.”

He frowned. “Why Jack Sparrow?”

“Because he knows how to find Calypso.”

Gibbs's eyebrows rose incredulously. “C-Calypso?! Woman, are ye mad?”

Ayse shrugged. “Perhaps, but I would still be in Port Royal if I weren't helping my friend.” She pushed the pocket watch toward him. “And Jack is the only person that can save him.”

Gibbs took the watch and examined it carefully. He'd seen this watch somewhere before…on someone's person back when he was in the Navy. He turned it in his hand to read the initials that it bore: J.N.

Gibbs suddenly blinked. “N-Norrington?! Th-this is Admiral Norrington's watch!” He leaned closer to her. “How did ye get this?”

“Well, it actually washed up on the beach, but it's what's inside that is of more interest.” She paused, placing a hand on his to stop him from opening it. “I have been told that you are a very superstitious man, Mr. Gibbs. Please…allow me to open it so…well so that you don't throw it. I shan't know what to do if this watch is broken.”

Gibbs looked incredibly bamboozled as he allowed Ayse to take the watch and open it. He was not sure what to expect, or even what was going on, but he figured that there would indeed be quite a tale involved.

Ayse opened the lid and gazed down at James's face in the palm of her hand. “Hello, James. Would you like to say hello to Mr. Gibbs?”

If Ayse hadn't turned the watch around in that moment, Joshamee would have thought that the woman in his home was thoroughly mad and he would have thrown her out for sure. However, he peered at the tiny glass in the lid of James's watch, and to his absolute shock, the very face of the Admiral whom everyone had believed to be dead appeared to him just as plain as day.

His eyes went wide, and he began to back away from the watch as though it were a deadly snake. “Th-that can't be…”

“There are a good many things that we have seen that cannot be but certainly are,” James told him pragmatically. He paused, gauging Gibbs's reaction. “It is good to see you as well, Mr. Gibbs.”

Ayse picked James up. “Now, now, James. Do try to tone it down on the sarcasm. I was afraid of you when I met you, remember?”

“Yes, I remember well, but you had reason for your fears; you did not know whether I was a good spirit or a harmful one. Gibbs here has served with me on the very vessel that brought Governor Swann and his daughter to Port Royal so many years ago. He should know what sort of man I am, whether I am alive or not.”

“An' that's just it…you're a man that ain't supposed to be alive…yet…you are,” the man in question trailed, venturing to draw nearer to the table. He took another look at James. “Well…for the most part.”

Gibbs didn't quite want to sit down, so he kept his distance. Instead his eyes fixated on the watch and the man within it. From what he could see of Norrington and his lady friend's interaction, they seemed to be quite close, but not only as friends. He had seen the twinkle in Ayse's eyes when she looked at him that he'd seen in many a woman in love; it was apparent that she loved Norrington, and whether or not she was aware of it, Gibbs could tell that her heart was the reason she had traversed halfway across the Caribbean.

He slowly eased himself down into his chair at the table and nodded at Ayse and James. “Ye…want to tell me how ye got in your predicament, Sir?”

Ayse glanced up and then back down at James. “Shall I tell it or do you want to tell it?”

James nodded. “I should be glad to relate my story to Mr. Gibbs so that you may have a bit of a rest. We are very fortunate to have come this far.” Ayse placed James down on the table and turned him to Gibbs where the Admiral related his entire story, from his death aboard the Flying Dutchman to how he had wound up in a looking glass and on Ayse's person.

“And so you see our plight?” Ayse said as James ended his tale. “It's why we must find Jack Sparrow! He truly is our only hope!” She took out a bag of money from her knapsack that she had saved over the time she'd been in Port Royal and held it out to him. “And I am prepared to offer you every shilling I've saved up to help me find him. It's all I've got.”

James glanced up at Ayse. “Really? I didn't know you had any money saved up.”

“Well, it's leftovers from the money my father sends me each month to take care of my needs,” Ayse told James.

“If I would have known that, I would have told you about the stash I keep behind my dresser so you wouldn't have to use your father's hard earned wages,” James sighed.

“And that's why I didn't tell you I was going to use it because I figured you would tell me something like that and insist on my taking it,” she responded. Then she smiled. “But all is done, and money is just money, James.”

Gibbs had sat back and watched this exchange with some amusement. Though they were quite obviously friends, they really did sound like a couple who had been married for a long time. The thought of this made him outwardly laugh, and both his companions looked up at him.

“And what do you find so humorous, Mr. Gibbs?” James said sharply.

“Ha ha…you two sound like you'll make the perfect couple if ye ever get out of that glass,” he said amusedly.

Ayse's face went red. “Mr. Gibbs! It isn't like that at all!”

“Indeed,” Gibbs chuckled. He pushed Ayse's satchel of coins away. “An' ye kin keep that. I haven't a clue where Jack is.”

Ayse looked horrified. “Y-you don't know where he is? But…we came all this way…”

Gibbs nodded. “Last I saw of Sparrow he was going after the Black Pearl again…Barbossa stole it from under him once more, but…I can certainly think of somewhere you can find him if you wait long enough.”

“And that would be?” James pressed.

Gibbs got out a map from a small bookshelf and spread it out across the table. He pointed toward a northwest shore off the coast of Haiti. “Norrington, a very familiar friend of yours lives here, and I'm sure if ye go visit her, she kin help ye more than I can.”

James blinked, and his jaw fell slightly. “Elizabeth…”

Ayse bit her lip at the mention of Elizabeth and frowned. Ever since she had heard about James's ill-fated engagement with her, she could not get over how the woman could so easily tear apart James's heart. Nor could she get over that he was so obviously hung up over the woman even though she had married.

“Isn't there anyone else?” Ayse suddenly blurted, a hint of animosity in her voice.

The two men looked up, surprised. Gibbs had somewhat expected Ayse to not want to be involved with a plan that involved a former love of the object of her affection, but James was completely blown away by the reaction since he had known Ayse to be very agreeable and pleasant.

“Is…there a problem?” James asked suspiciously.

“Well, no…not really,” Ayse sighed. In those few seconds, Ayse realized that this was probably the best Gibbs could do, and if it would have a more promising chance of seeing Jack Sparrow, then she would simply have to go with it, despite her own personal feelings. “I suppose that will have to do.”

James frowned but he let Ayse's little quip go. “Yes…that will be fine. I understand that she and Sparrow have become good friends, and I have absolute confidence that she will do everything she can to help us.”

“Will you be coming with us, Mr. Gibbs?” Ayse questioned.

He shrugged. “I might as well. I'm about due for another adventure, and if Jack has the Pearl back, then I want t' get out to sea with `im.” He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “The entire island of Haiti is controlled by pirates, so we shouldn't have much of a problem getting passage there. But you…” He eyed Ayse. “Ye will want to keep the fact that yer a lady a secret. Ye know anything about bein' a sailor?”

She nodded. “I've learned a good deal on the way here. I'm certain I will do fine.”

“Good. We'll board a ship tomorrow.” He stood up and pointed to his flimsy bed. “For now, ye kin rest here an' get a good night's sleep. Ye look tired an' we want ye fresh for your trip. We leave at dawn.”

“Where will you sleep?” Ayse asked. “I don't wish to inconvenience you.”

Gibbs waved a hand dismissively. “There's plenty o' places to sleep in Tortuga.”

With that Gibbs waved and left the small house leaving James and Ayse alone. She removed her shoes and fluffed the dirty, worn out pillow distastefully as she lay back with James in her hands.

“So that's it, then. We're going to Haiti to look for Elizabeth.”

“You…were rather displeased when she was brought up. I promise that she will help us, Ayse.”

“It isn't that, James,” she responded sharply.

“Then…what is it?”

“It's nothing. I'll get over it.” She turned over and left James on the tiny bedside table. “Let's just…go to sleep.”