The Empress of the Seas

For the next few days I was lost in my mind. I wondered the ship not really knowing what I was doing or where I was going. I actually almost fell off the ship if it weren’t for Crystal catching me at the last second.

Truth was my head was filled with so many thoughts. No not of Jack, you hopeless romantics- not that I would have any reason to think about Jack. No, I mean why would I? He’s just a stupid pirate. Yeah, just a stupid, selfish pirate.

Anyway, my thoughts were centered on the legend. I knew it wasn’t just some silly story. There was just this sort of… feeling about it. That’s how I knew my dream about the meeting when I made Jack go to port was real.

Pacing in my room, I remembered the first day we went to port. Everyone thought I was going to leave, including me, until I saw Jack using his compass. Just how badly did he want to find this place?

I snapped out of my thoughts with a plan in my head. Whether he wanted me to or not I was going to find out more about this legend.

I swung open my door, stormed onto deck, and barged into Jacks’ cabin. I walked straight up to him at his desk but he ignored me and instead took a swing of rum. I snatched the bottle out of his hand making him look at me.

“Love, or should I say Dove, we have time to get drunk later but right now I’m working.”

“Ye are a sick bastard.” I said but he simple smiled and grabbed another bottle off the floor. He motioned for me to pull up a chair.

“Well if ye haven’t come for a drink please tell; why are ye here?”

I waited until he took another swing of rum, just for a laugh. “What’s the rest of the legend?”
Just as predicted he started choking and put down the bottle. I think it is safe to say he almost spit everywhere before swallowing and clearing his throat. “Why do ye want to know?”

I smiled, “Why don’t ye want to tell me?”

“Why are ye playing this game with me?”

“Why are ye losing?”

He stopped. “I am not losing.”

“Ye just did.”

He rolled his eyes. I continued to smile and drank from the bottle I took from him.

“So ye gonna tell me?”

“Tell ye what?”

“Jack…” He looked up at me as if debating something in his head.

“No, not gonna happen.” He shook his head. “The crew doesn’t know Gibbs!”

“And how do ye think they would feel if they knew that?”

“Ye wouldn’t,” he glared.

“Ye wanna bet on that?”

He took in a slow deep breathe like when your about to do something you’re going to regret later. “Ye can’t tell anyone.”

“I would never dream of it.”

“I’m serious!” And he looked it. His smirk was gone and he started whispering. “This isn’t any old legend. There are no curses or dead zombies or vicious sea monsters or swarms of things ready to kill us!”

“Sounds so dangerous.” I smiled and drank more rum.

He glared at me. “There is only armadas and fleets of highly trained soldiers all ready to do the bidding of their leader without any questions asked!” He paused to calm down a bit and looked straight at me. “If I were to tell ye, ye would have to swear ye wouldn’t tell anyone. Not my father, not Crystal, not Kyle.”

“Kyle knows everything.”

“What do ye mean?”

“I told ye before when ye met him, he just knows things. I don’t know why,” I saw the look on his face. “And ye can’t just ask him questions it doesn’t work like that.”

His face fell. “Fine, but ye can’t tell him.”

“I won’t.”

“I’m not joking, Emma.”

“Neither am I! Can’t ye see that! I want to find that treasure just as much as ye do!” I looked into his eyes. “It’ll be just like old times.”

He looked down at his hands that were on his desk. He remembered the old times. When we would hear of a legend and secretly try to find it behind my dad’s back. The ones we did find, however, were usually nothing more then a couple necklaces or a few coins.

“I swear on my life I won’t tell a soul.” He looked back up at me. “Ye have my word.” I said and put my hand out.

After a second he took it, “Where do ye wanna start?”

I smiled and looked down at the map that was spread across the desk. “Where exactly are we going?”

“Right about…” he smoothed out the map then slammed his hands down on top of it. “I have no idea.”

I laughed. “Then what are we looking for?”

“Her island, country, kingdom, I’m sure what it is or how big it is. I only know that it is marked with this symbol,” he pointed to a familiar looking symbol that looked like an A on a piece of paper that was off to the side, “and that to get in you need with that symbol.”

I studied the A that looked like it was a trademark of some kind, like an official seal even though it was so simple.

“What exactly is the prize here?”

He smiled. “They are very rich people, Emma.”

“How rich?”

“Hmm. Ok, The King of England; five times as much jewels and expensive things as him.” My jaw dropped and he leaned a little closer to me. “At least.”

“Wow,” was all I said.

“Yeah, plus if we get on the new queens good side then we have complete power of the seas.”

“I thought they were still looking for her.”

“They are but it’s just another thing to look forward to.” He took another swing of rum.

“So… how do we find it?”

“Find what?”

“Find what?” I said in disbelief. “Her palace! You know, where the treasure is!”

He shook his head. “Emma, I have been over this so many times-”

“But I haven’t.”

“I’m running out of ideas-”

“I’ll think of more.”

“There’s nothing else I can think of-”

“So let me try.”

He looked up at me and saw the look on my face. He knew that look. It was the look I got when I really liked a legend or treasure. It was the look I got when I wouldn’t stop until I found it. Sometimes Jack would try to stop us from going after a legend because it was too dangerous and Kyle would kill him if anything happened to me but once he saw that look he knew there was nothing he could do.

“Fine, but remember tell no one.”

I smiled. “I promise.”

But when I went to look down at the map there was the sound of cannon fire and the ship shook with the impact.