Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Chapter 7

"Sister?!" Both Elizabeth and Jack reacted the same way: they were struck dumb. Well, I had expected this. I had, figuratively, dropped a connonball in their laps.
"Yup. Sister."
"But where--? How--?"
"Jack, d'you remember what i t was that happened when you were twelve?" Jack shivered at the memory.
"Of course I remember it, Jaqueline. How could I forget? Horrible, horrible stuff, luv."
"What are you talking about?" Elizabeth looked the exact picture of one who has no idea what's going on.
"Hm? OH, sorry 'Lizabeth," I had nearly forgotten she was there, "Jack an' I were talkin' 'bout the events of when we last saw each other."
"Oh. Well then, carry on, carry on." She waved her hand as if in dismissal.
"Like I was sayin' d'you remember the details?"
"Every one. 'Cept why you disappeared."
"Of course. It's easy to get lost in a hubbub like that was." I turned to Elizabeth. "Ya see, our family is, obviously, one of pirates. Seventeen years ago our ship, the Black Pearl--"
"Black Pearl? You mean the Black Pearl that left us here?!"
"The very one, luv. anyway, our ship was attacked by another ship: The Pheonix. The crew of the Pheonix was completely female. Just y'know random fact, there. They attacked; we had no idea why..." My voice trailed off as I was plunged into the land of memory.

The Pearl was under attack! A huge crew of only female pirates swarmed over the dack-rails. My cutlass was out instantly, held in my right hand as I fired off a few rounds from my pistol with my left hand. Fighting for the Pearl, the safety of my crew and family, as well as my own life, I encountered many broadsword weilders and other skilled swordswomen. I parried and returned each attack blow-for-blow. I had just crossed swords with what must have been the hundredth epee since the attack began when I felt a sharp pain in my swordarm; I nearly dropped my cutlass. I turned to find the b***h who'd stabbed me and came face-to-face with my mother. Seeing that she had attacked me, the desperate, bloodthirsty look on her face turned sheepish.
"Oops. Sorry, Jaqueline, luv. I thought you were one of the enemy," she said and turned back to fighting the enemy. After that, there was a lull in the fighting directly around me. I stopped to catch my breath. Over by the wheel, my father was fighting off three swordswomen at once; he could handle 'em. Mum was fighting a broadswordist with a fervor I hadn't seen in her since I was five. The rest of the crew were doing all right; no casualties for our side yet. But where was Jack? I spotted him by the mainmast, struggling against at least ten enemy pirates. Cowards! Attacking a twelve-year-old! Enraged, I rushed in to help him. i replaced my cutlass in its scabbard and unsheathed the two katanas strapped to my back. I burst through the small mob surrounding my little brother, slashing and stabbing enemies to reach him. He had parried an attack just as I got to him; I cut down the woman and smiled at Jack.
"Mind if I cut in, little bro'?"
"Not at all, Jaquie! Help yourseelf to a foe."
Together we managed to fend off most of our attackers. I thought we were doing pretty well when Jack was pushed into my right side, jolting the wound I had gotten earlier but hadn't had a chance to bind up. I stumbled, and recieved a slash across my ribs from an enemy pirate. I thrust my sword forward, running her through. She coughed up blood in my face. Reeling and blood blind I stumbled back, rubbing at my face with my sleeve. I had let my guard down, and got slashed again; a long cut that started at my shoulder and ended at the opposite hip. Somehow I managed to keep standing, but this time I dropped both katanas.
"Jaquei!" I could hear the concern in Jack's voice and was about to tell him I'd be fine, when an arm wrapped around my shoulders and something was pressed over my nose and mouth; something that smelled sickly sweet, yet bitter at the same time. My vision became blurry. The last thing I saw was Jack turning back to look at me as he fought, a look of terror on his face, mouthing the word "No!" Then everything went black.

"...I can't remember much after that--" I was jolted back to the present. Jack had picked up telling Elizabeth the story where I had left off. "--but the crew of the Pheonix sorta disappeared, along with my big sister."
"Oh my," Elizabeth gasped, "What happened to you, Jaqueline?"
"Well, ya see," I hesitated to tell, but I had to tell someday, "I had been captured by the crew of the Pheonix. They used some sickly sweet mixture to knock me out. I had also lost a lot of blood in the fight, so I was probably easy to carry. When I came to, I was tied to the mast on the Pheonix. They had taken my weapons, and, oddly enough, bound up my wounds. Even the one that Mum had accidently dealt me--"
"What?! Mum wounded you, Jaquie?!" I smiled at the old nickname. "Though I guess it's not so surprising. she did get pretty frantic when she fought. She must have mistaken you for an enemy."
I scowled. "Can I continue?" I growled, feigning annoyance. "Anyway, so I was tied to the mast, weapons gone, and wounds mysteriously bandaged. I heard footsteps and looked up to find a woman swaggering toward me. She smirked and untied me from the mast, leaving my wrists tied behind my back. When I asked her who she was and why dhe's untied me, all she said was, 'Well, we didn't want you getting away when you woke up. That would've been a waste of a perfectly good hostage.' Then she handed me off to another woman. i later found out that the first woman was the captain of the Pheonix. The crew member she'd handed me off to led me down some steps to the ship's brig. once there, she untied my wrists, shoved me to my knees and shackled my wrists to the wall. Then she left. Hours passed, days, weeks, maybe months even. I was fed; well enough, at least, that I didn't starve. After a while, long enough that the days seemed to bleed into each other, a woman came to visit me in the brig. It was the same woman who'd chained me there in the first place! She crouched in front of me and said 'open your mouth'. when I didn't, she pushed my mouth open and put something on my tongue. Whatever the thing was, I started feeling weird a few seconds later. The deck seemed to buck beneath me, and if I had been standing I would have fallen. I asked what she'd put in my mouth and she smirked and said 'Oh, just a mild sedative.' I was gonna curse her, but everything went black."
I don't know if I kept talking to Elizabeth and Jack, but I was once again swept into the land of memories.

When I awoke I was no longer in the Pheonix's brig, but sitting at a table. I wasn't tied of shackled to the chair; just sitting there, head in my arms like a student who falls asleep in class. I heard the sound of a door opening. Tensing, I whirled around, ready for an attack...and saw Jack. My little brother stood in the open doorway with my mum and dad. Whas this real? Was I really home on the Black Pearl? I checked myself for the wounds I'd received in the battle with the crew of the Pheonix. They were gone; not even a scratch was left. It had all been a dream! I looked back at my family and almost ran to hug them. Jack smirked and pointed at me.
"Ha. Did you fall asleep in the galley again, sis?"
Sis? Jack never called me sis; only Jaqueline, Jaquie, or "luv". Waitaminnit!
"You're not my little brother. Jack would never call me sis. And those people with you can't be my parents."
"Heh. You caught me. I'm not your little brother. I'm something else."
He punced, fangs appearing in his mouth. I screamed--
--and woke up. Thank God, that had all been a dream. I was back in the Pheonix's brig. with a jolt I realized that I wasn't shackled to the wall anymore. I was sprawled on the floor, the grain of the cool wood floor pressed against my cheek. It was pretty clean for a ship's brig. As I scrambled to sit up I felt a strange pain in my neck; right above my collarbone. My fingertips drifted to my neck and came away bloody. There were two pinprick-sized holes in the side of my neck. My Gid; the dream I'd had--it was true! No, I hadn't been bitten by my own brother, but I had been bitten--by someone on the Pheonix! I wiped the blood from my neck with my sleeve. I was about to rush to the door to see if I could get out when I realized something: My wounds didn't hurt anymore! I looked at my arm; the bandage was gone. Through the rear in my sleeve that Mum's sword had mad I could see a small, diamond-shaped scar. I looked down at my chest. My shirt had been open earlier so I could see the bandages covering me from shoulder to hip. Now my shirt was closed again, but as I slopped it off my shoulder I could see a thin scar. I assumed there would be scars from the other wounds as well. Wow; I knew i was a quick healer, but that was too quick. What had the done to me?
The door to the brig opened. My jailkeep was back. I snarled at her.
"What do you want? What have you done to me?!"
"Well, I was coming to see if you were awake, and quite obviously you are. C'mon, it's mornin'. I assume you're hungry?"
Truth be told, I was. I was ravenous.
"Here," she threw a small loaf of bread down to me, "it'll keep your strength up 'til we get to the galley."
I had wolfed down the bread before she finished talking.
"Whoa, you really are hungry. C'mon."
I followed her out onto the deck. The sun was just coming up, but compared to the dimness of the brig it was nearly blinding. My breath hissed through my teeth as I inhaled the salty sea-air. I staggered back against the wood doorframe.
"Oops, sorry," whe winced, "I'd forgotten how long you'd been in there."
She took a sashe from around her waist and handed it to me.
"Here," she said.
I looked at her in confusion.
"Why're you giving me your sash?"
"Put it over your eyes. It'll let some sun through, but not enough to hurt your eyes. Besides, i have plenty more in my cabin."
I shrugged and raised the sash to my eyes. Then I was falling. I hadn't fallen overboard, I was just falling. I felt slim, strong arms catch me, and looked up into the woman's face. My vision was getting blurry.
"Jaqueline?" She looked worried, "Are you all right?"
I looked at her in confusion again.
"How do you...know...my...?" Then everything went black. Again.
pirate pirate pirate pirate pirate pirate pirate pirate pirate pirate pirate pirate pirate pirate pirate pirate pirate pirate pirate Wow! That was the longest chapter ever! So, now we know who Jaqueline is. But we still don't know how she became a vampire. Btw, does that scar of hers sound familiar? and who is this mysterious new character she's met? And how does she know Jaqueline's name? Read my next post to find out! Comments please!