We all stand there for a moment, digesting what we've just heard. So now I have to sneak onto a plantation of one of the most respected men on our island, and steal one of his slaves.
"Great," I say, with sarcastic optimism.
"So you'll help me?" Anne says.
"Aye, but on a some conditions."
"Name them," she says. I'm in no mood for shenanigans, so I get straight to the point.
"I am the captain of this crew. I'm not going to have us fighting over stupid things at crucial moments."
"Done," she says. "Anything else?"
"Meet me tomorrow on the west side of the Morgan family home. We will make sure to be just in sight of the house at noon. You should be able to find us."
"Aye. Almighty then, I think I'll be gettin' to an inn and gettin' some shut eye. Spent most of the night and this morning lookin' for this ratty old place." She looks at mother. "Don't let the boy give directions next time."
She leaves, and I and mother begin talking. We talk for several hours when we start to hear voices.
"Shh!" Mother says.
"Wha--"
"SHH!" I wait in silence before she says in a hushed tone, "Get your sword, and some pistols! People are outside!" I grab the guns, and strap my sword to my side. start loading pistols as the voices get really close. In muffled tones I can hear the conversation.
"Alright boys, everyone got the torches lite?" They all seem to agree. Mother raises her gun, but I put my hand over it, forcing it down.
"Wait mother, they are just going to burn it, keep us from coming here. I don't think they have any idea we'er here!" I whisper. They continue outside.
"Sir, what makes you think he's coming?"
"Oh, hes a criminal, they always come back to their roots, he will get here, and get the message."
"What if he's already been here?"
"Then he will return, and see the same result."
"Well, what if he-"
"Private, please shut up and throw the torch." A window bursts, and three or four torches are tossed into the house. "Alright boys, lets pack up and get out of here!" The voices move away as smoke fills the house.
"Alright Edward, grab the guns before the fire reaches the--" An explosion interrupts her. "The gun powder!" she finishes.
"Mother, we have to get out of here now!" The smoke invades my lungs. Its thick and black. I can no longer see where I'm going, so I just kind of flail around trying to find a door, a window, or something.
"Edward, walk with the smoke!" mother coughs out.
"Why?! I want to get away," I cough several times and finish in an out of breath voice, "From it!"
"Think boy!" she coughs. "The smoke goes out the window! Follow it!" I heed her advice, and try to feel where the smoke is going. "I'm out!" she yells. Explosions are going off, from all the gun powder and weapons my uncle has had here. My mind starts to get foggy. My vision starts to go dark, as it gets increasingly hard to breath. "God, please help me!" I'm such a fool. I keep asking for things, and I barley recognize His existence. I suppose He must though, as He's been answering my prayers thus far. "God, I'll know your real, please just get me out of here!"
I start weakening, and I fall to my knees. I start to crawl towards my mothers voice. I don't know what she is saying, but she seems to be calling to me. Great, I survive the jump off a fort just to die in my own home! I keep crawling, and then I see it! The smoke is pouring out the window, just above my head! I'm so weak though. My vision is all but gone, and I can barley hear her calling me. I cant even hear the explosions any more. Maybe they stopped. Wait, who is calling me? Oh, right, mother! I've got to help mother! And Nathan! I put my hand up, and grab the window frame, and with all my might, I lunge up and out of the burning house.
I'm so weak, I barley remember mother dragging me away from the home, into some tall grass. As I regain my strength, awareness, and senses again, I see her looking around, making sure the navy is no where to be found. We stay there for hours, watching the house burn. We talk for most of it, just old stories about my father, and how they met, and different things he did. I wish I could of met him. We stay there that night, expecting the navy to stay clear. We take turns taking a watch though, just in case. The old wooden cabin smolders, providing a small amount of warmth around it. We rise before the sun does, and head towards the town. We have to go through there to get to where Uncle Nate it.
We pass through easily enough. We make our way into the woods, and around the Morgan family home. Its around ten in the morning when we finally settle in the bushes, just in sight of the home.
"You think we will get him out of here?" I ask.
"Oh I'm sure of it! It cant be that hard, there are no guards here." We wait for a couple more hours, until we hear footsteps. We both ready our guns, preparing to shoot, as Anne pops out of the bushes. She comes up as we put down our weapons, and its beside us.
"So whats the plan?" she asks.
"Well," I say, "Mother is going to go find my uncle."
"Just me?" she asks.
"The slaves probably wont hurt a woman. Many of these are respectable, and honestly, treated pretty well. Most of them are more like servants here, and the few criminals that are here, should be kept at bay, but keep your pistols at the ready."
"So what are you and me gonna do?" Bonny asks.
I smile as I say, "We are going to brake into the house!"
"Your kidding me."
"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Anne starts to laugh.
"You mean we are going to brake into the house that once held the man who practically started piracy here in the Caribbean?!"
"Yep!"
"This is going to be fun!" she laughs.
"Alright mother, just knock on the door when your ready. Lets move!" I hug mother, and we go our separate ways. I and Anne cross the long patch of open grass in between us and the home. Its a nice home, large and beautifully white. Columns hold up the porch, and the windows are large and arched. We make our way closer. I can see the slaves a good way off, gathering sugar cane. My mother has already disappeared behind the tall plants.
As I and Anne make our ways up the steps, a man opens the door, and says, "Anything I can help ya' with today?"
Anne simply pulls our a pistol, and levels it at him. "Get back," she says.
"Oh please, don't hurt us!"
"Get back!" I say, as I draw my pistol as well. He backs up into the house. "Wheres Mr. Morgan?!"
"Hes out in town! Please don't hurt me!"
"Anyone here with a means of defending this place?"
"Why would I tell you th--"
"TELL ME!" Anne screams, shoving her gun closer to him.
"N-No! Only m-me and the sla-slaves! Please don't hurt me!"
I lower my pistol, and sit down in one of the clothed chairs. Its comfortable. The sweating young man stands, until Anne orders him to sit. She sits as well, but keeps her pistol in hand. While waiting on mom, I look around the old home. This place is historic! I learned about Henery Morgan in school! About how he raided the Spanish forts in Panama, and Portobello! Both huge forts! Morgan became vary rich, and vary quick, attracting every pirate there was here to the Caribbean! I scan the room. We must be in the den. Swords are hanging around, along with models of ships and other trinkets. The young servant looks like he has calmed a bit. I hear a knock on the door.
"Well sir, it was nice meeting you." I put away my gun, and hold out my hand for him to shake it, he just looks at me.
"I said, it was nice meeting you!"
"Um, you t-to?" he replies as he lightly shakes my hand. I feel kind of bad for putting him through this. He's scared out of his mind. I turn around and head for the door. I pull it open, and before eyes stands my Mother, and about forty other men.
"Whats this?"
"Hey!" I see men moving, as my uncle shoves through them. He rushes straight towards me, and wraps his big sweaty arms around me, squeezing me to the point I cant breath.
"Hey uncle Nate!" I manage to whisper out. He lightens his grip.
"Edward I'm so sorry all this had to happen. I'm sorry I never told you! I couldn't!" I look at Mother.
"I told 'em everything."
"So who these guys?" I motion around my uncle, who is still hugging me. He pulls away and steps back with his arms open.
"These men are your crew!"
"My crew?! Can any of them sail?!"
"Aye, we can sail," one says. "Well, many of us can, and those who dont can learn quickly."
"Alright uncle, but where do we get a ship?"
"Well, we're going to steal one!"
"We cant do that!"
"Boy, we're fugitives! We have to if we're going to stop them! Ay, who is this?" He motions towards Anne.
"Forgive my manners, this is our new found pirate friend, Anne Bonny."
"Pleasures all mine miss," he says. She rolls her eyes.
"Alright, lets get going then!" After a whiles walk, I finally ask my uncle.
"So, whats the plan?"
"You've always thought me to be a coward, havn't you Edward?" I look down, and I guess that satisfies as his answer. "You see what I've been preparing for now?" I nod. "Thank you." After a little while longer, I ask him of the plan again, and his reply is, "Just watch." We all, in broad daylight march right up into Port Royal, and straight over to the docks. We walk up to a merchant.
"Ay mate," my uncle says.
"What can I do ya for?" says the merchant.
"That your ship over there? The caravel?" He motions out to a ship, with two masts, with two square sails on the middle mast, and one triangular one on the back."
"Aye mate. She's a beauty isn't she?"
"Aye, say, 'round what the crew she can hold?"
"Eh, 'round fifty or so, why?"
Nathan looks back at us and says, "Load up boys!"
"What are you doing?" says the merchant, looking displeased and confused.
"Sorry mate, tell 'em the Goldsteel's sent cha'!" he says, as he punches the man in the face. He slumps to the ground, out, cold. "Alright boys! We need to get out of here before the fort starts firing on us!" We begin rushing to the end of the docks, boarding the dingies. "OK, as soon as you board, prepare the rigging to sail! Send the dingies back for the next few! When the last get on, load them up and lets go!"
"Aye!" we shout. The process begins. As soon as get on board the ship, we begin rushing, preparing the rigging to sail.
"We got no cannons!" Someone yells. After about half an hour, we're loading the dingies, and then we start sailing, heading away from the harbor. Suddenly we hear a loud boom, followed by several others. The world stands still, as we all look to our side. Cannon balls rain down all around us. As the crew begin to scream, giant splashes of water wash over us. One strikes the ship, but its at the vary end. Not to be worried about.
"What do we do captain?!" Nathan screams. I keep watching as the fort fires on us. "CAPTAIN!" I turn towards him. He's looking straight at me. I turn behind me, assuming he's talking to Anne, who is surveying the damage.
"Me?"
"Aye! Hurry up! Where are we going?!"
I stand there, startled for a moment, before I say, "South east! Get out of range of those cannons!"
"Aye aye! Make way to the southeast!" He continues shouting orders. It's strange seeing my uncle shouting out orders. Its inspirational! Mother walks up behind me and touches my shoulder.
"He was a captain in the navy once. He was kicked out with your father. Joined his crew to! Was the first mate! Bet cha' didn't know that!" she said.
"Add that to the long list of stuff I never knew," I say jokingly.
She looks down and says, "I'm sorry Edward."
I turn and hug her and say, "Oh I'm sorry mother, I was just sporting!" The cannons stop firing, as we are out of range by now. The crew gather, and Nathan looks at me speaks.
"OK Edward, ya first order of business is to assign positions." I dont know enough about ships yet at all, so I look to Nathan.
"Alright Nathan. Your the first mate! Your first order of business is to assign positions!" The crew all laugh. After he has done it, I, he, Mother, and Anne all meet by the wheel.
"Alright uncle. I know everything. No need to fill me in. You know who has the keys and the maps, right?"
"No."
"What do you mean, no?!" Anne says.
"I know of one person!" he returns.
"What do you mean? I thought Mathew told you of all three!" Mother says.
"When he set this thing up, he wanted no one to know all three. So, he told me who had the first key. The one with the first key, he told them who had the second. The second, the third, and the third. The third person has the map! And the third alone, knows who has the key to the map!"
"So its some kind of circle?" Anne says.
"Yep!" he replies.
"Alright, so who has the first key?" I ask.
"Bloke named John Morgan. Used to be your fathers gunner!"
"Alright, so where is he now?" Anne asks.
"Well, last I heard he was on Cuba," Nathan says.
"Alright then! Make way for Cuba!" I call out.
A few hours later, I'm leaning over the rails, staring off into the distance. I think about everything thats happened. Two years ago, I was ready to be married to a beautiful woman. I lived with my uncle, and I was an orphan. Now I'm technically a pirate, my father was a pirate, my mother is alive. I am homeless, I'm sailing with an infamous pirate, and I've no idea where my fiance is. My uncle walks up to me.
"It's been a long time Edward. Ow' ya been?"
I look up at him, and say, "It's been good uncle. The navy served me well. How have you been?"
"Oh I been OK. Bein' a slave isn't so bad. Morgan treated us pretty well. Guess he knows the quality of work a man puts out is by how much e's fed." He laughs, but then sobers. "Edward. I'm sorry all this had to happen. I knew it would. Spent your whole life getting ready for it. I had hoped it wouldn't, but I knew one day they'd be after you."
"It's OK, uncle. I spent most of my time trying to find out what you hid from me. I never imagined all this would happen. How did our family get caught in all this?"
"We just did mate. We just did. But anyways, its a day of joy, my boy! Where all back together! Tell me about the navy!" I turn around and lean back on the rails, with my back to the beautiful blue ocean, and start to think.
"It was fun. I got see England, well, a bit of it. I graduated top of my unit, no thanks to you!"
"I knew I taught ya well! Bet you had problems taking orders though." My laughter tells him he's right.
"I got to be there when they caught Blackbeard."
"Aye, Anne told me all about it. I ask myself now, how did your father manage to get himself into all this."
"I ask myself the same. Why did you both leave the navy?" He looks down, and a bit of anger washes over his face for a moment.
"I was a prominent man. Had plenty of money, and had no problem courting the ladies, just had the problem of holden' on to em!" He laughs. "But your father was one of the best privateers in the navy. They came to em, and told him a pirate was headed from England to the Caribbean, and he was to take him out. Well, your father agrees, and so he goes after the ship. When he see's it, he realizes, it wasn't just any old ship. They sent him to kill the king of England! He turned his ship around and went straight back to Port Royal, demanding answers. They tried to shoot him as he took off out. Well, a couple weeks later, he comes and tells me, and hides on my ship for a couple days. I drop em off on Tortuga, where he gathers a crew and starts pillaging navy vessels, and setting slaves free from the slave ships. So a couple weeks later, they come to me, the higher ups. And well, they ask me if I know where he's at. I say no of course. I didn't. And well, they kick me out. Tell me they'll hang me if they seen me with him. Well, I left, and joined my brother. He met Sarah, and settled down, and I found The Lord by her ministering. Mathew wasn't quite the same. He was questioning, much like you are!
So eventually, they find em again. And ask him about a journey. His reward would be money, and the governors chair! All he had to do was help them find a treasure. He finds out what it is, and tells em he'll think about it! Well, your mother invited me to supper one night, and they burst inside, demanding his answer. They drag him off, and I take off with you. Well, the next day they took your mother, and somewhere around a month later, your father shows up to my house. Dirty, and tired. He slept with you that night. Right by your crib." I just keep looking at him. "So he wakes the next day, and he tells me he escaped from the navy, and stole their maps, and everything! Everything they needed to find the treasure. He finally gave into The Lord on the voyage! Oh, he was so excited, and full of spirit! We rejoiced together. So finally he tells me he found the treasure.
Tells me it lies in the center of a city of gold! Well, my natural reaction is amazed! Men have looked for the fountain of youth, and for the city of gold ever since we came to the new world! I tell him that and he says, ooh no, its not the fountain of youth, but let me build up to that! I agree, so I asked em more about the city. He said it was about the size of Port Royal. He said, it wasn't made of solid gold, as most believe, but it was made with all kinds of riches. Silver and gold where in the streets. Buildings where overlaid in the stuff. Buildings made of pure marble. Coins, and treasures laid everywhere. All in the streets! This is where he told me his plan. He said it was so much, the English could not be trusted with it. After the evil they had already tried, and planned for the cup, he couldn't trust them. So he knew it would take them at least another fifty years to figure out where the island was at, since he stole their maps. So he mapped it out! He gave keys and a map to his crew, telling each person only one other person that had the key. He planned to go back, and if he couldn't, he wanted me to. He told me John Morgan had the first key, and that he would know who had the next. I ask him, I say, 'so what was the treasure? Did it give eternal life?' And he says, oh yes! that's the best part! But tell me first, where is Sarah? She wasn't home last night.' I look down and tell him what happened, and he bursts out the door! Just takes off! That was the last time I saw em. He never told me about the treasure. His body was on display the next week."
"Its amazing how this story has been twisted uncle. Everyone has a different version to tell."
"Well, that's what happens when everyone has a mouth, but the not the knowledge of the story their tellin'. That's the truth though, my boy. I was there!"
I say, "Aye," as a crew rushes up to Nathan.
"Sir, we have a problem."
"Well, I'm not the captain here." He points to me.
"Captain, we've a problem."
"What is it?" I say.
"We've no food. The one cannon that hit the ship, took out what little food was on the ship. There's no way we can make it to Cuba!" I look to Nathan.
"What can we do?" He looks back at me.
"Well, I guess were going to have to take a merchant!"