The Blackheart Curse

Part VII

{"Dear Charlie of Jeshima,

You're a great kid. Amazing in every way. You're brave and intelligent. Everything I look for in an up and coming captain. I want you to direct the fleet after I'm gone. Keep my baby girl safe. She has the spirit of her mother and the spirit of a true-blooded pirate, two things that make a recipe for disaster. I would kill myself if anything happened to her, but, if you're reading this letter, it means I'm already gone and I can't take care of her. I trust Fox and Winston to make sure she's safe, but they don't have the same empathy and compassion that you do, son. She's too hard-headed for her own good. She doesn't respect Fox and Winston because they don't stand their ground with her, but you do. I've seen you challenge that girl in ways that she never thought possible. Please keep her safe. Even if it means sacrificing the fleet I'm entrusting you with, keep her safe.

Abaddon Blackheart, Former Captain"}

I read the letter carefully. The letter Captain Blackheart had addressed to me. I do my best to keep a stone face for Jocelynn's sake.

"Well?" She asks me. "What's it say?"

"Nothin' much." I shrug her off as I carefully fold the paper and stuff it in my pocket. "Just some goodbyes."

"Oh..." She stares at the wood and picks mercilessly at one of the pieces until it splinters off. When her eyes meet mine, I give her a 'don't worry' smile.

Silence falls. Only the gentle lapping of the waves is audible. That and the faint hum of the engine.

I don't know why, but ever since Jocelynn's meltdown, I can't seem to stop thinking about her. If she's okay. Constantly. Day and night. Her sobs interrupt my thoughts throughout the day. I can still feel her touch from when she hugged me, her fists clenching my shirt on my back. Now this letter isn't gonna help much. I find myself stuck between the want to lead this fleet and respect the captain's wishes and turn them all in at once and the want to keep what's left of Jocelynn's pride intact. If you'd asked me for my choice a few days ago, I'd've chosen the fleet, no contest. But now? Now it's different. I can't figure out why, but it's different.

"Pirate..." I look over at her. She's fallen asleep beside me. Her hair drifts in the soft ocean breeze. I react instinctively at the sight of the blanket falling off her body and bring the fabric up further over her shoulder. She takes a deep breath when I graze the scratch on her neck, then lets it out slowly.

Why does she have to be so beautiful?

I shake my head lightly, clearing my mind. She's a pirate, I have to remind myself. But what difference does that make? I look over at her again. I can feel my leg falling asleep, but she seems so peaceful. I don't want to move. Her sleep is more important than my comfort.

I must've fallen asleep because the next thing I know, it's nearly dawn. Macie is fast asleep and curled up with her head on my lap. Jocelynn's arm is around her and her head is against my arm. I chuckle to myself, finding it ironic that we'd ever find ourselves in this situation.

Dolphins swim alongside the ship, the same pod that does every morning before splitting off to do their own thing. They click and whistle at each other as they play in the current the large ship creates.

Jocelynn stirs lightly, her smell drifting to my face. She smells like vanilla with faint hints of the rum the men have on the ship. She smells nice- for a pirate, I mean.

"Good morning Mister Charlie." Macie looks up at me as she rubs her eyes.

I smile down at her. "Morning, kiddo. Shh." I gesture to Jocelynn.

"Oh, okay." Macie nods as she sits up. "I dreamt last night that a sea beast came right up to our ship!" Her big blue eyes are full of innocence and all the evidence that she's still only a child. Forced to grow up too fast in this cruel world. But she can be a kid as long as she wants as long as she's with me.