fic:: Ship in a Bottle: Prologue [Pirates of the Caribbean]
Title: Ship in a Bottle
Author: whensheflies
Fandom/Pairing: Pirates of the Caribbean; J/E in future chapters. Gen Navy boys in the prologue.
Rating/Disclaimer: PG for the prologue, probably R for future chapters. The Mouse owns all.
Summary: Jack Sparrow now has a fleet of ships. The only problem? They're all miniature-like and in bottles. One bottle in particular will bring Jack back into dealings with one Pirate King. Post-OST, except for the prologue set during the Whitecap Bay aftermath.
A/N: Well, this happened. I blame dreamhusband for making me fall in love with the Navy boys. I just had to try my hand at them. This fic is partly inspired by danglingdingle's thought provoking drabble, And Then, The Dread in which The Flying Dutchman had also become a part of Blackbeard's collection of ships. I wanted to play on that idea a bit more, while also playing with my beloved Sparrabeth. I'm posting this as I write, so hopefully I don't take forever to write this. As always, I appreciate every comment I receive.
Ship in a Bottle
Prologue
Seagulls nesting.
If he turned his back, Theodore Groves could almost believe it to be true. But when he closed his eyes, he could not erase the scene of abject carnage happening just off shore. Only a former pirate would abandon his ship and crew to murderous mermaids without a second glance. Groves had no other name for his feelings towards Barbossa than disgust. A better captain, he thought, would do everything in his power to save his crew or go down honorably with them. James Norrington would have gone back. Groves pulled in a shaky breath and tried to calm his nerves. Thinking about James at a time like this was pointless. It only made the sound of the dying men more profoundly terrible. For all his mutinous thoughts, Groves was no deserter. He had no choice but to agree.
"Seagulls nesting," he said, voice dripping with disdain for his ruthless captain, "Nothing more."
Barbossa was already limping onward before the sounds of dying British Navy men were silenced, while Groves and the other two survivors stood vigil. Andrew Gillette stepped closer, placing a hand softly to Groves' shoulder.
"There was nothing you could do, Teddy. Nothing any of us could've done." Gillette whispered.
Groves shrugged off his friend's touch, unable to take his eyes off the roiling spot of sea where their ship was once afloat. "That doesn't make it any better. Innocent men left behind to die. What kind of captain does such a thing?"
It was then that the third member of their party spoke up. "The kind of captain that knows when to say when. Barbossa may be a right bastard, but he'd not waste his life or ours on a fool's errand. Those men died so that you might live to see the end of this journey. So, let's not rot on this beach like the rest of them and push on." said Joshamee Gibbs as he turned from the beach and headed after Barbossa.
Gillette offered Groves a small smile, nodding in agreement. "Master Gibbs is right. Let us be on our way, Teddy. There is nothing left for us here."
"I will not leave until it comes." Groves said, firmly planting his feet in the sand.
Faced between his friend and the possibility of being left behind, Gillette was quick to respond. "Until what comes?"
"The Dutchman. At least then I'll know that our men's souls will be on their journey towards peace." replied Groves.
"Master Gibbs, just a moment please!" Gillette called after the man before turning back to Groves, "Those poor souls are with God already, Teddy. Must your superstitions be the cause of our desertion? All for the sight of a bloody ghost ship? Our captain has left without out us. We must go."
"The Dutchman will come, Andrew."
Desperate to pull his friend away from the scene, Gillette nodded his head vigorously. "Yes it will, but perhaps not right away. The seas are vast and ours could not have been the only men lost this night."
"There were too many. The captain of the Dutchman would have sensed such a massacre and come straightaway." Groves persisted.
Gilette sighed, knowing that Groves was right. The Flying Dutchman and its new captain should have come by now. He looked inland and was still able to see Gibbs trudging through the growth, though Barbossa was long out of sight. They would have some time yet before Gibbs was also beyond their line of vision. "Very well. We'll stay a bit longer, but we must go soon. Even if the Dutchman doesn't come."
Groves nodded and returned his eyes to the sea, while Gillette kept his eyes on Gibbs in the distance. A cool wind came off the sea, chilling the two Navy men to the bone. The ocean was now silent, almost eerily so, without so much as a stirring of waves. The longer they waited, the more Groves' grew distraught. Why wasn't the ship here by now?
Unbeknownst to Gillette and Groves, they were patiently waiting for a ship that would never come. They waited for a ship that could not come.
~ * ~
tbc
Author: whensheflies
Fandom/Pairing: Pirates of the Caribbean; J/E in future chapters. Gen Navy boys in the prologue.
Rating/Disclaimer: PG for the prologue, probably R for future chapters. The Mouse owns all.
Summary: Jack Sparrow now has a fleet of ships. The only problem? They're all miniature-like and in bottles. One bottle in particular will bring Jack back into dealings with one Pirate King. Post-OST, except for the prologue set during the Whitecap Bay aftermath.
A/N: Well, this happened. I blame dreamhusband for making me fall in love with the Navy boys. I just had to try my hand at them. This fic is partly inspired by danglingdingle's thought provoking drabble, And Then, The Dread in which The Flying Dutchman had also become a part of Blackbeard's collection of ships. I wanted to play on that idea a bit more, while also playing with my beloved Sparrabeth. I'm posting this as I write, so hopefully I don't take forever to write this. As always, I appreciate every comment I receive.
Ship in a Bottle
Prologue
Seagulls nesting.
If he turned his back, Theodore Groves could almost believe it to be true. But when he closed his eyes, he could not erase the scene of abject carnage happening just off shore. Only a former pirate would abandon his ship and crew to murderous mermaids without a second glance. Groves had no other name for his feelings towards Barbossa than disgust. A better captain, he thought, would do everything in his power to save his crew or go down honorably with them. James Norrington would have gone back. Groves pulled in a shaky breath and tried to calm his nerves. Thinking about James at a time like this was pointless. It only made the sound of the dying men more profoundly terrible. For all his mutinous thoughts, Groves was no deserter. He had no choice but to agree.
"Seagulls nesting," he said, voice dripping with disdain for his ruthless captain, "Nothing more."
Barbossa was already limping onward before the sounds of dying British Navy men were silenced, while Groves and the other two survivors stood vigil. Andrew Gillette stepped closer, placing a hand softly to Groves' shoulder.
"There was nothing you could do, Teddy. Nothing any of us could've done." Gillette whispered.
Groves shrugged off his friend's touch, unable to take his eyes off the roiling spot of sea where their ship was once afloat. "That doesn't make it any better. Innocent men left behind to die. What kind of captain does such a thing?"
It was then that the third member of their party spoke up. "The kind of captain that knows when to say when. Barbossa may be a right bastard, but he'd not waste his life or ours on a fool's errand. Those men died so that you might live to see the end of this journey. So, let's not rot on this beach like the rest of them and push on." said Joshamee Gibbs as he turned from the beach and headed after Barbossa.
Gillette offered Groves a small smile, nodding in agreement. "Master Gibbs is right. Let us be on our way, Teddy. There is nothing left for us here."
"I will not leave until it comes." Groves said, firmly planting his feet in the sand.
Faced between his friend and the possibility of being left behind, Gillette was quick to respond. "Until what comes?"
"The Dutchman. At least then I'll know that our men's souls will be on their journey towards peace." replied Groves.
"Master Gibbs, just a moment please!" Gillette called after the man before turning back to Groves, "Those poor souls are with God already, Teddy. Must your superstitions be the cause of our desertion? All for the sight of a bloody ghost ship? Our captain has left without out us. We must go."
"The Dutchman will come, Andrew."
Desperate to pull his friend away from the scene, Gillette nodded his head vigorously. "Yes it will, but perhaps not right away. The seas are vast and ours could not have been the only men lost this night."
"There were too many. The captain of the Dutchman would have sensed such a massacre and come straightaway." Groves persisted.
Gilette sighed, knowing that Groves was right. The Flying Dutchman and its new captain should have come by now. He looked inland and was still able to see Gibbs trudging through the growth, though Barbossa was long out of sight. They would have some time yet before Gibbs was also beyond their line of vision. "Very well. We'll stay a bit longer, but we must go soon. Even if the Dutchman doesn't come."
Groves nodded and returned his eyes to the sea, while Gillette kept his eyes on Gibbs in the distance. A cool wind came off the sea, chilling the two Navy men to the bone. The ocean was now silent, almost eerily so, without so much as a stirring of waves. The longer they waited, the more Groves' grew distraught. Why wasn't the ship here by now?
Unbeknownst to Gillette and Groves, they were patiently waiting for a ship that would never come. They waited for a ship that could not come.
~ * ~
tbc