Pearl's Beginning

A New Crew

My body ached as I woke the next day. I didn't move for a while, letting the waves rocking the ship soothe me a little more. It was a lovely feeling, I never grew tired of it. The sun was coming through the small window and I realised that it was slightly open. The breeze coming through cooled me down. As I slowly turned in my bed, I saw Tricks sitting in a chair still asleep. He was curled up awkwardly, his head almost dropping off of his hand he was resting it on. I quietly giggled.

"Tricks." I whispered.

Nothing.

I repeated myself, only this time louder."Tricks."

          His head finally fell off his hand and he almost hit his head. I laughed as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Tricks was dazed for a moment before he stretched out.

"You're finally awake." he groaned as he continued to stretch his limbs.

"What do you mean 'finally'? That's a bit rude." I sat up in bed, confused at his statement.

"It's been three days since you went to sleep." he leapt out of his seat and next to me.

"Three days?! Why didn't anyone wake me?"

"We tried, we thought you were dead or in some sort of coma."

"Oh my god. How was I asleep for so long?"

"Mr Gibbs reckons it's because of those priests, that they've put some sort of spell on you."

My eyes widened."What sort of spell?"

"He doesn't know. But the person we're going to see will."

         Tricks left the room to let me get ready for the day. I wasn't sure who we were seeing or what they were going to do to me which scared me. But maybe they could reveal who those priests were and why they thought I was a goddess. It was hard to move as everything was hurting. Once I was finally dressed I stumbled out of the room and hauled myself upstairs onto top deck.

          As I took my first few steps outside, I only just realised how dark it had got. Was it nighttime already? I could have sworn that it was light when I woke. Was I hallucinating? Was this all still a dream?

          It was a surprise to me that Ragnar and his crew were here. I had almost forgot that they had joined us. The men were eerily quiet, not putting all their focus onto what they were doing. Some had stopped altogether, just staring out onto the darkness. We seemed to be near a bayou swamp before the anchor was hoisted.

"What are we doing here?" I quietly asked Lenny, not wanting to break the silence.

"I don't know. Captain hasn't said much since we got you back." He whispered back.

"It looks creepy."

"Some whispers have gone round saying we're seeing a 'voodoo queen'."

"What? Why are we seeing someone who works in voodoo?"

          Before he could say anything else, Jack started to shout orders. He wanted the rowing boat to be prepared though only one. I watched again as the men clumsily went to work, still distracted by the surroundings.

"Mr Gibbs, Miss Pearl, follow me." Jack waved his hand to us.

           We obeyed his command, following him towards the small boat.

"Keep the ship exactly where it is. Only us three shall go." Jack explained.

"Captain, do you not want any backup?" someone asked, confused why we were the only ones going.

"No." Was all he answered with.

         Mr Gibbs clambered in first, holding a hand out to me. I was hesitant, scared of the destination. I turned back to Jack.

"What are we doing here?"

"Getting you help."

"From who? And why?"

"Just get in the boat."

           I didn't like this side of Jack. It seemed dark and moody, just like the atmosphere around us. I took Me Gibbs hand and climbed into the boat with Jack following. My eyes never looked at him, not when we were lowered to the sea or as Mr Gibbs started rowing. None of us said a word.

            How did Jack know who to go to for voodoo? Was he friends with this person? My nerves were getting bigger as we strayed from the ship and further into the swamp. The trees seemed to be enclosing on us, their long vines almost entangling us. The water had turned a dark brown, thicker than usual water, there was no way anything could live in this. Mr Gibbs began to struggle with the rowing, pushing himself on. In the distance an old shack came into view.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Get ready to meet Tia Dalma."