Anne was in unbearable pain as she was on the ship, but she had given birth to a baby girl. The baby looked smaller than I would have thought, but considering the conditions that she was in during the nine months in the cell.
If only Mary had survived.
Mary was buried at the St. Catherine's church in Jamaica. We made sure that her body was taken care of and not thrown overboard like a worthless corpse. She wasn't worthless... she was more than I would have ever wanted in a friend in this world.
Now she was gone.
Now I had to face this world without her.
The thought brought tears.
Days later, Bonny and I talked for the first time after being on the ship together. Our conversation was as gloomy as the disappearance of Mary's fun and sarcastic presence, and it wasn't about good things...
"I am not safe on the waters," Bonny said as she held the child on her arms. "I am going to go to South Carolina, change my name... it will be safer for both of us. If you want, Ria..." Her eyes lifted from her child to me. "Caspian and you can come with me. It isn't safe for the two of you to be in the waters. What if you get caught again? This time you will surely get killed. There will be escaping then..."
"It's a nice offer, Anne..." I sighed, placing my hand on my stomach sadly. "But I have things that must be taken care of."
"Then... this is the last we will see each other, isn't it?"
I slowly nodded, "Yes. I'm afraid so..."
Silence hung between us.
"Have a nice life, Ria," her voice became even softer than I imagine, swallowing. "I need to go now, it was fun while it lasted..." She turned and walked into the fog across the beach. I knew as she walked away that that would be the last time I would see her... Anne Bonny, who in the book was went missing after she was in jail, had turned and was heading to America where she would lay low and live the rest of her life in peace.
I turned and walked back to the small ship when Amul and Caspian were. They were watching me from the ship as I approached closer to it, when I boarded it Caspian helped me by holding his hand out for me to grab it for support. I turned my head to see that Darnel was sitting somewhere remaining quiet, watching everyone that went down.
"I do not think it is a good idea that a child is on this ship," Amul crossed his arms tightly over his chest. "Is that not the Scarlatti boy?"
"It's a long story how he got here..." I sighed. "We're going to have to go back to Kingston and drop him off."
"No!" The boy slid off the barrel and stood on his feet. "Don't take me back to my father!"
Both Caspian and Amul looked at each other with confusion, I spoke to the boy, "We can't keep you, Darnel. We have our own problems, we have to many things on our plate to have you here."
"My father wants to send me to Italy the same he done Victoria! I do not want to go there, he wanted to send me after he took you to this Mordecai and got the money. My sister Victoria is a snob and my mother only cares for money, and my father is the same! I do not want to turn out like those people," He fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a paper. "Um, I actually took a piece of paper out of my father's desk that tells about everything you done for the past three years. I-I meant to give it to you on the ship but you... kind of jumped off... the words on the paper is a bit smudged... from the water."
I slowly walked up to the paper and grabbed it from him. when I looked at it I saw it was actually a letter, "Wait... it's a letter?"
"He was sending letters back and forth from Mordecai. He would pay my father for information about your whereabouts. He told him everything he learns from spies. Like your whereabouts and even when he heard you went to prison."
"Spies...?" Caspian raised an odd brow. "There were spies watching us? How strange this man is," Caspian's voice was sour.
"He seems to want you badly," Amul spoke. "Should we take you to him? To see what he wants?"
"No," Caspian obviously snapped quickly. "Not when she's having my child Amul, and certainly not after. I do not like this man for being so persistent on getting on woman he knows nothing about."
"Is there anything else you know about Mordecai, Darnel?"
Darnel grinned a little, rocking back and forth on his hell. "I might..."
"Well then, boy. Tell us."
"As long as you keep me on this ship and not return me back to my family, I will tell you all you need to know."
"You blackmailing little boy," Amul's voice became stern.
Caspian looked at the little boy himself, and then he grinned himself. His grin however wasn't humorous, "The smartest thing to do with the boy is take him back to Kingston, return him to his family, and use him as our lil' spy."
"U-Um..." Caspian soon took down the little boy's poor confidence, pausing his rocking motion. "I... I don't think they would trust me if... I was brought back by pirates. Do you guys want to risk, um, sending me back and getting caught yourselves?"
A giggled and looked back at Caspian, realizing that he was purposely trying to take down the boy's confidence to see if he would bounce back. Even I was surprised that he did. Caspian just turned his head and walked to the wheel, "Smart kid. Alright, lad have it yer way. One back talk out of yer and I'll throw yer overboard."
"O-Okay sir," Darnel nodded, and not wanting to provoke Caspian anymore he walked back under deck with Bear.
"You went too hard of the boy," I approached Caspian, seeing Amul getting the sails down. Which was easy for him with a ship this smaller, way smaller than the Dawnbreaker was.
"I had to get him back for that attitude he had with me back at the part years ago," he turned his head and grinned at me. After being in the prison for so long he was growing a nice beard, it was on the ridge of his jaw and on his chin. It still looked handsome on him however, I put my hand onto his cheek to caress it.
"I am sorry about yer loss, Darlin'," his grin smoothly went away. "I know it was hard..."
"It's... fine," I continued to grin at him although it was hard with the painful memory in my mind. "Right now I have something to worry about," I lowered my hand from his cheek and onto my stomach. He looked down, his eyes following the movements of my hand. Sliding his hand under mine and placing it protectively onto it. "Hmm..." he thought calmly.
"What are you thinking about?" I noticed the thinking look on his face.
"The past," he answered honestly. "Go under the deck and get some rest, Darlin'."
"Are you sure?"
He nodded and kissed my forehead, and instead of arguing I just made my way to the deck. I trusted the two men enough to leave them to be steering the ship on their own. Once I made it below deck I found my bed and slept in it. Instead of sleeping first, I wept....
The keys are becoming a curse... a pain.
Everything she had told me were true.
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
Now the only thing that I had to worry about was time. Ironic, given that it had done nothing for me in the first place. Time had passed since all we have been doing was stay on this ship surviving on the supplies that was here. Which was more than we possibly thought. Now we were just cruising over the water with no specific location.
Where else could we go?
Darnel and Bear kept each other company, and I walked around in the ship more than waste energy climbing to the deck. A month later it was raining and everyone was in the ship. Amul was in his room, laying on a large bed sleeping. Darnel was also sleeping in his room, with Bear lying next to him.
Meanwhile I was in the large kitchen where the supply of food we have been storing was there. The ship had a bunch of rooms but with only four people and a dog aboard.
I missed the Dawnbreaker. I had a feeling Caspian missed it more. I was hungry but I didn't want to get anything mostly because I was thinking about the others being able to eat more than myself.
Just as I began to think that...
"If yer hungry, lass. Then eat," Caspian stepped into the little kitchen and walked behind me. He had an apple in his hand, throwing into the air and catching it he placed it into my own hand. "Eat."
"Are you ordering me?"
"Yes," as he grinned I took a bite out of the apple. "Yer should not worry about any of us, lass. Yer the important person on this ship with yer condition. Eat more, Darlin'. We will have to find land for yer to get done with yer pregnancy."
"Where else can we go?" I spoke sadly. "We're wanted everywhere else.... There isn't any place we can go."
"I know a place, it is a bit of a trip but it'll be safe there," I took another bite of the apple. "Yer can have the child there," He placed a hand over my stomach calmly. "There is not much people there, but they are friends of Amul. In Africa."
"Africa? Jeez Caspian, that is a trip. I don't know if I'll make it that long."
"We will," He kissed my shoulder. "The Caribbean is not safe at this moment, so Africa is the safest place at this point. Amul and I talked around it, he is sure that his friends will allow yer to temporary stay until the child is born."
"I didn't know Amul had friend's in Africa. Like who?"
"A child hood friend of his, separated when Amul was taken by slave traders to keep his friend from harm when he was a boy. They had written to each other, but I do not know their present relations to each other."
"Alright," I took another bite of my apple. "I trust you."
After eating, the two of us went to bed.
The trip was much longer than I would have thought. By the end of the trip we were rationing food, months went by and I couldn't look at my feet anymore. Everything hurt, and I became pissed off at everything. I threw an apple at Amul because he was just breathing... I apologized to him later but I found myself crying when I saw sorry. It scared Amul and even Caspian. Amul didn't even want to hug me with my emotional break down.
Poor Darnel didn't even know how to handle it.
At the end of the trip we hit land, realizing that it was Africa. I was so relieved to walk on land again after months of being on that small ship. I was worried about the people that Amul would react seeing us, but when as I met the people Amul knew it was in a small village a good distance from the beach, and the person Amul talked to was a man who spoke an odd language. African I assume. Amul seemed to understand every word and even responded with it, and I saw the man that he spoke to look at me repeatedly.
After he nodded he turned away.
Amul returned to Caspian and I, translating what the stranger said. "Mundy agreed to let you two stay, it is the least he could do for the two who saved my life. His wife seen you walk into the village, Mouse," He grinned to me. "And she already convinced him to let you stay. She likes the way you look, she thinks you are beautiful."
"The hell? How?" I looked down at myself. "I feel horrible and I'm pregnant as hell."
He shrugged, chuckling. "Everyone will allow you two to stay. You may not understand what any of them say, they do not speak English, and the ones who did were taken."
"How sad..." I frowned. I turned my head to see that Bear and Darnel were already playing with the other children in the village. All the kids seemed to be trying to catch the huge dog as he jumped and pranced around. The clothes these people wore were beautiful, they had beads and they danced as they beat drums.
It was sad I couldn't understand a word they said unless Amul translated it for me. Like Mundy's wife, who adored me and my hair, would always want to touch it and even braid it. I let her, not wanting to break her heart and get kicked out because I didn't want someone touching my hair. We didn't have anywhere else to go to be picky about hair.
So I remained in the village with close watch. Until one day after being in the village for a while, I felt pain fill me and my water breaking, which meant one thing.
Shit...
So I had my baby in a large hut in the village. Mundy's wife was there, and I could see why Anne screamed this much on the ship. This was painful.
When it was over I heard a baby's cry, and the women dancing and celebrating. When I was rested and better they handed me the little baby they wrapped in a pretty animal printed blanket. "Oh, a boy?" I smiled when I looked at the baby who was crying in my arms, and never in my life have I seen something so perfect and pure. And so small... his hands were so fragile and small, melted my very heart.
The women said something to me with a congratulating tone and stepped out. Caspian stepped in a moment before they were gone, and hearing the baby he gradually made his way to the side of the pile of blankets I was on. He crouched down by my side, "Boy or a girl?" He spoke softly.
"Boy," I moved the blanket gently from his face, seeing that his loud cries were calming.
I didn't know what was running through Caspian's mind at that moment. He just stared at the baby with a weird look in his eyes, I didn't know what it was. Even in my condition I couldn't help but question it, "What's wrong?"
He still stared at the baby, placing his large hand on the infant's head. I was surprised myself to see how small he was compared to Caspian's own hand, it made my heard melt more seeing the baby move his body and even stretch.
"What are you thinking about, Caspian?" I finally looked at his face, my look worried. "Are you thinking about your previous..."
"Aye," he didn't nod with his answer. "He is smaller than I am comfortable with."
"I think he's a bit premature, but only by half a month. No big difference," I smiled, keeping the blanket around the infant to keep him warm. "Don't you want to hold him Caspian?" I offered.
"No," He was quick to say.
It was shocking. I thought it would be a rhetorical question since fathers would usually want to hold their baby after they are born. "Why not?"
"I do not trust myself," it was obvious on his face. He was still haunted with the fact that his lack of knowledge about a baby, with no mother around, was the reason why his first one died. I never seen Caspian so weak about something so small in my life.
"You didn't know how to take care of her then, and plus the mother was gone. You have me to help you with this," I assured him. "Just hold him, even if it's a moment."
It took a couple of small words to assure him until he finally took the little baby in his arms. "We need to give him a name," Caspian whispered.
"How about..." I began thinking, until one name occurred to me. A memory. "Mark."
"Mark?" He looked at me, then returned his gaze to the baby's sleeping face. "Mark Aalen Woodrow."
"Where did you get Aalen from?"
"It is my middle name," He grinned, chuckling. "Odd, isn't it?"
"I don't even want to ask," I too laughed. "Fine. That's his name."
Amul suddenly walked into the hut where we were, his head nearly touching the ceiling. He still made his was to us however, seeing the child and grinning, "A boy or a girl?"
"Boy," I answered. "We just gave him a name before you walked in."
"Truly? What is it?"
"Mark Aalen Woodrow," I repeated the name to Amul. Once Amul heard the name he fell silent, his mind in thought. "I see... it fits him well."
The baby began crying, causing Caspian to become baffled. To keep him from panicking I grabbed the baby and held him into my own arms, and there we all stood staring at the baby. A smile grew wide on my face, unable to control it, so happy.