Lost to the Sea

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything you recognize, including, but not limited to, PotC, Johnny Depp, Jack, Elizabeth, the Black Pearl, the island, the sea, yadda yadda. . . I do, however, own Epsilon.

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Epsilon struggled into the waking world when she felt the warm sun on her face. She shifted slightly amongst the rope, sighing softly as her sea-spray-dampened skin came into contact with the sunlight. Rolling slowly from the thick fiber coil, she stood shakily and stretched. It was in the early hours of the morning, and the sun had just peeked above the horizon. Epsilon walked towards a rail of the ship and looked out at the sun on the water. She shuddered slightly from the cold, but even that was fading with the warm light. Her loose pants blew softly in the gentle wind. These she had made by cutting off the bottoms of an old pair of pants that Jack had given her. A wide strip of cloth tied around her chest served as a shirt. Yes, Jack could have given her better, but, quite frankly, she didn’t like clothing.

A soft creak told her that Jack had emerged from his room, and she turned slowly. He blinked in the brightening sunlight, and gave her a small wave. Epsilon only nodded in response and turned again to watch the water. Jack was taking them somewhere. Tortuga, if she remembered correctly. Epsilon did not know what to expect. She was travelling with a pirate, after all.

Epsilon sighed. She had been aboard this floating dome of wood for two days, and she still had not been able to swim. She could not swim in the middle of the ocean. Jack would not let her dive off. But maybe. . .

The young woman spent the rest of the morning wandering about, daydreaming. What does one do on a ship? She wished that she had something to read; something to take her mind off of the fear growing there.

Her bright spot in the day came in the late afternoon, when Jack had spotted what Epsilon assumed to be Tortuga. As the ship drew closer, she knew that this was her chance. And so she took in a deep breath and launched herself over the side. She heard a faint yell from above, but then she split the water.

Epsilon surged forward, racing The Pearl, relishing in the feel of the waves against her. She swam quickly, but still managed to fall behind the ship. She followed in its wake, arriving in a small cove.

Whatever Epsilon could have expected, it would not have come close to the grating harshness that was Tortuga. Perhaps Jack liked this place, but it terrified her. Men walked by, leering at, no, through her wet clothing. If Jack liked this place, then he terrified her even more.

“Now, what was the point of that, luv?” Jack came close behind her, and Epsilon whirled around so fast that she almost lost her balance. Jack only shook his head and sauntered in front of her.

Anamaria stood by her then. “Are ye frightened?”

Epsilon trembled slightly and nodded.

Anamaria gave the girl a soft smile. “Stick close t’ Jack, then.” Anamaria gave Epsilon a little push forward, indicating that she should be walking.

Epsilon didn’t want to tell Anamaria that she was frightened of Jack as well. How could she? Instead, she followed Jack and his crew into a rowdy place that smelled of sweat and alcohol. Epsilon nearly gagged, but managed to follow everyone to a corner of the room. It was evident that she was very uncomfortable, and only one member of the crew noticed this. It most certainly wasn’t Jack.

His name was Ronan. For some reason, he did not scare her as other males did. He had a slightly smaller frame than most of the pirates, and fairly short blonde hair that managed to glow all the time. The strands did not even reach his shoulders, but instead fell softly into his eyes. Those gray eyes were calming, and she was glad that she did not feel the urge to run when he neared her.

“You don’t like it here, do you?” He spoke softly and did not have the accent of the others. Epsilon shook her head cautiously, and he grinned. “I didn’t think so. Come with me.”

Epsilon looked at him for a moment, then wordlessly followed. Jack did not even notice. Ronan led her out of that horrid place and down the street. The sun would not set for a while yet. After not too long of a walk, Ronan turned and entered a small building. As Epsilon entered as well, she noted that the room was faintly musty, but not all that dirty. It was then that she noticed the books lining the shelves. So many books. Everywhere.

Ronan waited patiently while the girl rushed about, wanting to look at everything all at the same time. When she finally chose a book, Ronan noted which one it was and then walked slowly to the vendor in the back.

Epsilon read the thick book for a while. It was about some magical place called Atlantis that was under the sea. Entranced by the tale of mermaids, she did not notice the passage of time until the sun had set and the vendor lit the lamps. Epsilon gasped and put the book back with a flurry of apologies to Ronan, who discreetly pocketed the book as they left.

He did not lead her back to the tavern but instead to the ship. Epsilon followed him aboard, and was presented with her book.

“It’s for you,” Ronan said softly. “I bought it.”

Still murmuring her thanks, Epsilon watched the young man leave. When she could see him no longer, she dashed to her rope bed to read her book. She did not know how long it was until she fell asleep, nor how long it was until she woke up, but she did notice that there was a very unpleasant voice coming from somewhere near her.

It was still dark, but the early morning light was once again on the horizon. She cracked her eyes open, and in the faint brightness she could see Jack and another female make their way hurriedly to the captain’s cabin. She blinked, slightly confused, mind slightly foggy, but then gave up thinking altogether and drifted off once more, lost in her dreams of the sea.

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Yes, well, there’s the sixth chapter. I actually hadn’t planned for Ronan at all, he just kind of wrote himself in there. But I like him well enough, so that’s that. ^_^ Please review! You know you want to. . . ^_~

P.S. - I do apologize, to those of you who don’t like Mary Sues, if Epsilon has turned out to be one. I didn’t really intend for that to happen, but she is what she is. Most of my characters tend to write themselves, and this is just how she turned out. But as far as the name, Epsilon is a letter in the Greek alphabet. (Thought it up in physics. *sigh*) I prefer to give my OCs unusual names. Makes more sense to me, I guess. Anyway, I do appreciate the constructive criticism. I guess I hadn’t really noticed her Mary-Sue-ness before. ^_^