The Cry of Liberty

Chapter Twelve: Cuba

Jack stood on the rickety deck that sat below Tia Dalma's hut watching Sasha retrieve her belongings from the row boat they used to traverse the river. They had arrived safely in Cuba and helped the people on board settle into their new homes. Jack had called a meeting with all of his crew, including the men in the brig. He offered them all the same deal, all who wished to continue sailing under him would be welcome and any who did not would be dropped off at the closest British port to find their way back into the King's Navy.

"I look forward to seeing you out at sea again." Sasha set her trunk at her feet. "Free to be yourself this time.

"It'll be good to be my own man again." Jack nodded. He had given the straight life a chance and now fate had led him back to being an outlaw. They both stood there, unsure on what to do next. They knew this was coming. Sasha took a deep breath and pulled Jack in for a goodbye kiss. She ended it and picked her trunk up once more.

"You should get back to the Wench." She turned and made her way up the steep climb to Tia Dalma's tree hut.

Sasha spent the entire month and a half stranded in Cuba by keeping herself busy. She helped collect herbs and supplies with Tia Dalma, she helped out in the quickly growing villages, and she went out with the fishermen to learn their ways of capturing their food. When she had down time, mostly over meals and before bed, she would have Tia Dalma tell her stories. She told her old sea legends, stories of her own adventures, but Sasha's favourite was the stories of Calypso.

The wild nature of the sea goddess intrigued Sasha, admiring how she represented the true definition of freedom. She decided who she allowed in her domain, destroying those who would do harm. Sasha also liked these tales because when she told them, Tia Dalma seemed to have a new energy about her. When she got to the story of the demise of Calypso, the heartbreak in Tia Dalma's eyes and the way she clutched at the pendant around her neck, got the young pirate thinking.

"Just like men to strip away any power a woman possesses, to take control of something that isn't theirs to command." Sasha spoke bitterly. She and her host were sitting at the table in the middle of the hut, sharing a drink before turning in for the night. "Would you go through it again? For a love like that?" Tia Dalma didn't even act surprised, nodding somberly.

"For a love like ours, I would." She took a long drink of her herbal tea. "Would you?"

"I feel I'd be on Jones' side, well, from the relationship standpoint. I fear I've fallen for a man as wild and untameable as the seas but I wouldn't want to stand in the way of his freedom. That's one thing I admire most about him." Tia Dalma grinned at the young woman.

"So you had a good voyage wit him?" She teased, changing the subject. Sasha blushed but mirrored her grin.

The Cry of Liberty was a welcome sight, anchored off the Cuban coast. Elias waved to her from the dock as she ran across the sand. He braced for her hug, spinning her around and setting her back down. He looked his Captain over and raised an eyebrow. Sasha was dressed in a long blue skirt and matching chest wrapping, her chestnut hair tied up in an intricate braided ponytail, and her feet were surly burning against the hot wooden dock.

"Gone native, hm?" He teased as he motioned for the crew to offload some of the supplies they had brought for the islanders. "Does that make me the Captain of the Liberty?" Sasha playfully shoved him.

"I enjoyed my vacation but I'm not ready to retire just yet."