NONE TO SPEAK OF

Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. I do own Erika and Argyle and Artmesia. So if you want them you must ask permission.

I know you guys are reading it out there so GIVE ME REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I totally crave them. So this chapter gets more action, but the beginning is still really fluffy. So let me know what you think. Any constructive criticism is welcome, in fact encouraged. If you have any ideas or suggestions just let me know. It'll be amazing.


Erika opened her eyes to brilliant sunlight streaming through the small porthole of her cabin. By the looks of things the storm had completely dissipated. But something didn’t quite feel right. There was something that was bothering her, but she couldn’t put her finger on just what it was. When her stomach growled, Erika got up and dressed intent on getting some breakfast, though she had the sneaking suspicion that it was closer to lunchtime. After having traveled for the better part of a week she had long ago given up on trying to actually style her hair at sea. Even if she could manage to get it done, the spray of the sea quickly caused it to fall down.

When Erika got to the mess hall she almost laughed thinking about the previous night. This time there was no group of people crowded about the tables half asleep and worried. In fact, the hall was completely empty. The cook seemed to be preparing the next round of meals, so Erika grabbed an apple and made her way on deck. She saw sailors scurrying about, doing various tasks to attempt to repair the damage from the storm. The sails had several tears in them and the railing along the starboard deck was completely obliterated. As she surveyed the damage, Erika realized what had been wrong in her cabin. The ship seemed to be listing slightly starboard. Erika assumed there must be more damage then was just visible on the deck of the ship. The captain was standing near the bow of the ship, watching the sailors and occasionally barking out orders. When he saw Erika standing there, he walked over to her. She was the only passenger that really ever came on deck or made conversation with the sailors. Most of the others either got too seasick or felt that they shouldn’t be talking to the crew.

“Hello Miss Erika!” the captain said jovially. “I hope last night’s excitement didn’t disturb you too much?”

“Oh, no, not at all. I mean, Argyle woke me of course, but once I returned to my cabin I slept quite soundly. Is there anything I can do to help with the repairs?” Erika asked hopefully. The one thing she had hated about the journey was that there was nothing to do. She was so used to always doing something to help Elizabeth or at the very least prepare to help her that having no duties to do was making her bored out of her mind. “Perhaps I could help mend the sails?”

“Oh, no no no.” The captain laughed. “This is not fitting work for a lady! My sailors have everything under control. Or at least everything we can tend to while on the sea. Though I should probably tell you that we were blown off course a bit during the storm. And some of the damages can only be tended to if we dock. Luckily there is a port nearby that we will stay at for the night so we can make the proper repairs. That does put us at least two days behind schedule.”

Erika fought to hide her disappointment. She had so been looking forward to being in Port Royal in the next few days. Now it was going to be a few days longer than that! Instead she tried to focus on the first portion of the captain’s message. “We shall be docking for the night?” Erika asked curiously.

“Yes. We should be there in no time at all. I have a friend who owns a tavern who will be hosting us for the night and providing meals.” The captain said looking about the deck once more. “If you will excuse me, I must return to my duties.”

Erika and the captain exchanged a nod, and the captain went back to barking orders at the sailors on deck. Erika sighed and headed back to the mess hall. She went into the mess hall and grabbed a bowl of porridge and sat at a nearby table. She picked at her food, no longer all that hungry. She was so involved with her thoughts that she didn’t even notice as Argyle walked into the room.

“Miss Erika?” Argyle said finally snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Hmmm?” She said jumping as she saw Argyle sitting across from her.

Argyle laughed as he saw the startled look on her face. “I asked how you were doin’ today. You musta been in yer own little world.”

“I’m sorry, Argyle. I guess I’m just a little disappointed that I shant be home as soon as I had wanted.” Erika said with a sigh.

“Ah, I see. So the cap’n has told you that we’ll be dockin’ for the night?” Argyle said nodding his head. “We’re not that far off course. And at least we’ll be able to get onto dry land. We’ll be at the dock in a few hours.” Erika smiled. Even though it wouldn’t be home, land did sound awful nice.

“Do you think the tavern will have more to eat than porridge?” she asked with a mischievous grin.

Argyle laughed, throwing his head back. “I’m sure Artmesia will have something besides porridge.”

Argyle was right about the port being close. It seemed like next to no time the captain was going around and telling the passengers to only bring a change of clothes with them to land and to leave the rest of their possessions on the ship. When the ship finally came into the port, several of the sailors went ahead to the tavern to meet the owner and make arrangements for the crew and the passengers. The captain oversaw the remaining sailors who were doing their respective jobs before he led the passengers and three sailors onto the land. Many of the passengers, more specifically the women, heaved and enormous sigh of relief at being on solid ground once more. Erika found it much more disorienting to walk on the flat ground once more after being on the rocking ship so much. The captain led the way down the main street and stopped at a tavern right near the port.

Before the captain could reach for the door handle, the door burst open and a woman with dark shoulder length hair enveloped the captain in a gigantic hug.

“Jeremy! I was wondrin’ if ye were ever gonna come an’ see me!” The woman said not relenting her hold on the captain’s neck.

“I’m sorry it’s been so long, Artmesia. I’ve been very busy lately. You know I could ne’er forget a love like you though!” the captain replied with a wide smile, wriggling out of her chokehold.

“Some of yer crew ‘as already come and said ye were needin’ some help. You know I’ll hold ye for the night! Besides, we’ve got plenty o’ room with all these blasted rumors goin’ around.” Artmesia said leading the group inside the tavern. A blast of warm air and noise came washed over the passengers as they stepped in the door. The sailors that had come ahead of them were already around the tables with drinks and dinner in hand. A few other men that weren’t apart of the crew were already drunk and rowdy. The passengers quickly sat down and began to warm themselves as Artmesia quickly went about getting them all steaming bowls of stew and bread. Erika sat at one of the tables near the bar and eagerly began to eat her stew. She hadn’t realized just how hungry she was until that moment.

“What rumors are there going around, my dear?” the captain asked sitting at the bar as Artmesia returned.

“Rumors ‘bout pirates.” Artmesia said lowering her voice slightly. “’Bout a week ago warnin’s started comin’ in ‘bout increased pirate activity ‘round these parts. Seems to be the same group a pirates tha’s goin’ around on the attack. Most folks don’t wanna stay too close ta’ the port, for fear that the pirates’ll attack more here.”

“Can’t say I disagree. Aren’t you worried that you’ll be attacked?” the captain asked staring thoughtfully into his drink.

“Oh!” Artmesia said with a wave of her hand. “Most pirates’ll rob ye blind but not do much else. Long as ye don’t provoke ‘em ye got nothin’ to fear. Besides, if pirates are gonna attack the port then no one is safe. They’ll ravage the whole place, an’ take what they want. There’s not much tha’ can be done bout that.”

The captain laughed at the woman’s bold statements and began to eat his own stew. Artmesia disappeared from behind the counter to tend to some of her guests. Erika couldn’t help but over hear the conversation and felt the fear rise in her throat. She had heard stories of pirates, just like every other child in the Caribbean. Elizabeth had always been fascinated with pirates and had tried to learn all that she could about them. Erika had never quite shared her interest. She had a good healthy fear of pirates and had always hoped never to challenge or increase that. She believed the stories of the pirates who would rob people blind and then leave them for dead, or who would kill you and then look for any valuables. Elizabeth chose to dwell on the romantic tales of adventures and travels with little casualties. Over the last year Elizabeth had written Erika many letters telling of the goings on of Port Royal. In several she told about a pirate who was supposedly a good man as well. Those letters told of fantastic tales on the sea and kidnappings and rescue. It hadn’t made much sense to Erika and she assumed that it was simply Elizabeth’s imagination getting the best of her. She knew for a fact that Captain—no he had been promoted in her absence—Commodore Norrington would never let a pirate go under any circumstances.

Argyle walked in to the tavern at that moment. He and a few other sailors plopped down at the table with Erika. Erika was startled at their sudden arrival and tried to smile through her fear. The other sailors nodded in response and waved to Artmesia. Artmesia made her way over carrying several drinks and stew for the sailors. “’Ere ye are loves.” She said setting the bowls in front of them. Argyle took his and began to eat much as Erika had just a few minutes earlier.

One of the other sailors at the table was attempting to get Artmesia to sit on his lap as he tried to sweet talk her. Artmesia slapped him sharply across the face and stood up. “Ye best watch yerself! Or ye can stay or yer ship! I’m not some common tavern girl ye can take an’ do what ye will with! Don’t ye be getting’ fresh with me or me husband John’ll have some words with ye!” Argyle and the other sailors howled in laughter as the dejected sailor turned bright red and scowled down at his bowl. Erika couldn’t help but smile at the other’s laughter.

“What’s the matter, Miss Erika? Are you not feeling well?” Argyle asked, noticing that she was rather pale.

“Oh, um…yeah. I’m fine. Just….”Erika began, faltering under his gaze. He had only known her for a week now and yet he could already tell when she was lying. “I just heard the captain and Artmesia talking about a pirate threat.”

“Ah,” Argyle said simply. “Don’t fret. Pirates aren’t usually that much of a threat. Just don’t provoke them and you’ll be fine.” He continued with a shrug. The other sailors at the table nodded in agreement. It was the fact that they all kept using the word ‘usually’ that was worrying Erika. Seeing that she still looked worried and frightened, Argyle said, “The rest of the crew and I will be in rooms near all the passengers to look out for you in case anything should go awry. Things’ll be fine. Don’t worry now. Just try and enjoy yourself.” Erika smiled and relaxed a bit. If the sailors were near them, then there couldn’t be too much trouble, right? They knew what to do incase of a pirate attack, didn’t they?

Erika couldn’t help but to relax as the night went on and she listened to the stories the sailors told. Argyle told of his young wife and how she was expecting their first child in a few months. His excitement was blatantly apparent as he spoke of the oncoming child. The others spoke of their experiences on the sea, and of the terror of asking their father-in-laws’ permission to marry their daughters. The eldest sailor present told of when his first child was born and what it was like to watch him grow. He spoke with regret of being on the sea so much, but he just couldn’t stay away. He told how he some times brought his wife and son along with him, but they couldn’t come on this voyage because his new daughter had just been born. All the sailors confided that they had large sums of money hidden in their homes in case something ever happened to them so their wives and children could survive.

The gentler side of these rugged sailors entranced Erika as they spoke of their family and loved ones. Late into the night, the eldest sailor said, “I believe we should be goin’ to bed now. We’ve a busy day tomorrow fixin’ the ship if we wanna get outta here tomorrow night.” With that they all stood and stretched.

“Would you allow us to escort you to your room, my lady?” Argyle said with a smile and a wink.

“I would be honored.” Erika said with an exaggerated curtsey and a large grin. Argyle accompanied Erika to her room and then made his way down the second hall to his own.

Erika pulled her nightdress out of the small bag she had brought and quickly changed into once Argyle had left. Though she had done very little during the day, she was completely exhausted. Erika collapsed onto the bed and quickly faded into sleep as she pulled one of the soft pillows closer to her.

Several hours later the noise of slamming doors and loud footsteps up and down the hallway woke her. Confused by the sudden commotion Erika sat up and rubbed her eyes. For a moment she thought that perhaps it was later morning than she thought, but one look out the window told her it was sometime deep in the night. As her mind began to clear of the persisting fog from sleep she began to hear the voice coming from all of the rooms around her. She could hear some urgent conversation and then a muffled scream. Erika jumped up and pulled on her robe. She ran to the door and threw it open. Up and down the hallway she could see wild looking men kicking in the doors or coming out with jewels and valuables. A hand suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into her room, slamming the door behind them. Erika tried to scream but the same hand that had grabbed her covered her mouth.

“Shhhh! We must be quite now!” a voice Erika recognized as Argyle’s said from behind her.

He took his hand away from her mouth and she turned to face him. “Wha…what’s going on?” Erika asked and she couldn’t stop herself from shaking violently.

“Pirates have attacked the port. It seems the warning were more accurate than we had thought….”Argyle said putting an arm around Erika in an attempt to stop her shaking. “They have already pillaged our ship of any valuables. You need to hide. No one has been hurt thus far….”

The door suddenly burst open and two pirates came in, a third standing in the doorway. “Ah! Two whelps in this ‘en!” one of the pirates said bearing his teeth. Erika screamed and backed up until she hit the wall. Argyle took a step back and then stood his ground.

“We’ve nothing of value. We left everything on the ship.” Argyle said staring at the first pirate. The second pirate wandered over and grabbed Erika by the arm. She screamed at his touch and tried to shrink away.

Argyle turned quickly and tried to go over to Erika. The first pirate grabbed his arm and kept him where he was. “Leave her alone! I told you! There is nothing of value! You’ve already taken everything we had!” The pirates ignored him and the one holding Erika surveyed her evilly. Erika whimpered softly and turned her head under his scrutiny.

“I wouldn’ say ye’ve got nothin’ o’ value. This ‘ens a lot younger than the rest….” He said maliciously.

Argyle suddenly punched the pirate holding him and lunged at the one holding Erika. The pirate was startled and knocked Erika to the ground. Argyle was standing up and getting ready to grab Erika when the third pirate who had been watching from the door suddenly took action. He took two steps forward and thrust a short knife straight through Argyle’s neck.

Erika screamed and backed into the corner as the blood shot from his neck and he hit the floor. Argyle lay facing her, his eyes staring blankly ahead. Erika screamed again and again, the tears poured from her eyes as she stared at the lifeless form of her friend.

Erika was so entranced with the horror before her she didn’t even notice the pirates were still there until the third one came over and casually pulled his knife from Argyles throat. The other two went over to where Erika was crouching and began to pick her up. Erika kicked and fought, still screaming. One of the pirates slapped her hard across the face and her world went black.