Fic: 'Hero' (2/6)
Many thanks to all of you who commented on the first chapter of Hero. Here's the second...
Chapter Two: Pirate Princeling
It was a fortnight's sail in good weather to Providence Bay, and Jamie was happy as a lark the whole time, even though his Uncle Jack worked him "nigh to death."
His uncle laughed at his dramatickal air, but also said, "Belay that, ye lazy brat. You're plenty old enough to start learning your trade - and haven't you been beggin' to do just that these many months?"
So every morning Jamie performed the duties of a cabin boy, learning to clean and straighten the cabins, helping Cook in the galley, and generally making himself as useful as possible doing odds and ends all around the ship. Ragetti showed him the routine during the first couple of days out, and the thin pirate with the glass eye proved both adept and meticulous, and made very sure Jamie followed suit.
About mid-morning, Jamie would be called in to a late breakfast with the Pearl's captain, a privilege certainly not accorded ordinary cabin boys. "Nothin' ordinary about you, though, is there?" said Uncle Jack, with a twinkle of kohl-rimmed eyes. "And it don't hurt to have something sweet to ease the bitter." The bitter being Jamie's nemesis, the dreaded Mathematics, which invariably followed the meal's delicious camaraderie.
However, as much as he professed to dislike the subject, Jamie found that the boredom he'd experienced with Dr. Barry's instruction was a thing of the past. His uncle's lessons moved along at a fair clip - almost too fair -- and featured elements of both navigation and cartography, which certainly increased their interest. Moreover, Uncle Jack had "no patience for balking schoolboys", as he put it. "I know precisely how bright you are, so the tricks ye've been using with Barry won't do. You'll cease the whining and apply yourself, or you'll be scrubbing the heads this afternoon instead of havin' that lesson at swordplay." He was as good as his word, as Jamie found on their third day at sea - "Mr. Gibbs, I wash me hands of this young sluggard. He's yours 'til the morrow, and I wish you the joy of 'im." Gibbs had proven surprisingly demanding, and yes, cleaning the heads was the vilest work imaginable. From that day forward, Captain Sparrow's apprentice was careful to keep a curb on his tongue and his mind on the task at hand.
For, having given satisfaction in academic pursuits, afternoons on the Pearl were devoted to instruction in the use of weaponry, from firearms of all sorts and sizes to a plethora of potentially lethal hardware, both blunt and bladed. For the first time in his life, Jamie was allowed to wield a shortsword, and fencing practice quickly became his favorite pastime. "God's Teeth! You're a natural, just like your pa, an' his before him!" Uncle Jack exclaimed at the end of the first week, an exaggeration, maybe, but highly gratifying nonetheless.
During the first day's practice, Uncle Jack had paused, cleared his throat, and said very offhand, "No need to tell your mother about this when we get back, savvy?" Jamie had hastened to reassure, almost hurt that his uncle thought he could be so foolish. It wasn't only that his mother thought him too young for such pursuits. Mother was a true pirate, and ruthless when the need arose, but though she handled a sword better than many men, diplomacy was her weapon of choice and she'd made it clear she wanted it to be Jamie's first choice as well.
Uncle Jack shook his head. "She's deadly as they come, all on her onesies: a wicked wit and beauty to match. But she's a woman, and that's a weapon in itself, whether she'll admit it or no. A right sharp-edged one, too. You'll never have that advantage. Best learn the sword, and master it, to give your words teeth."
Jamie frowned, misliking something in his uncle's tone. "I will. But… you love mother. Don't you?"
"Oh, aye. Never could help that, really, from the day I met her, and it's just gotten worse over the years."
"Worse?"
"Aye. You'll learn about that in good time. For now, en garde, petit chien!"
*
In the late afternoon it was ropes and rigging and the many parts of the ship. Mr. Gibbs took Jamie in hand for this and put him through his paces, but much of it was review for a lad who'd been sailing since before he could walk. As the sun sank toward the horizon, Gibbs let him go, sending him off to help Cook in the galley again.
Dinner was eaten with the crew while Jamie's uncle took the helm during the hours of the dogwatch. After his meal, Jamie would come stand beside Jack, or even between him and the Pearl's wheel, and together they'd watch the sun set in a blaze of glory fit to make the angels sing.
"Put your hands on 'er, lad, and see how she feels," Jack would tell him, and Jamie would obey, grasping the Pearl's spokes, marveling at her.
"She's alive!" he said, once, tightening his hands, feeling the tremble of her breath in his arms and shoulders.
His uncle smiled. "She is that. She likes you, lad."
"I know," Jamie agreed, for that had been a truth for as long as he could remember.
*
On this voyage, and also for the first time, Uncle Jack let Jamie stay up as late as he wanted each night, to listen to the talk and music of the crew as the stars came out and the moon rose, butter gold in the east. Wild stories of the sea, bawdy portside tales, songs that ranged from hilarious to heartbreaking. Jamie couldn't get enough of this happy epilogue, and he'd fight long and hard against slumber, but always to no avail.
"Come, Jamie, time for bed, lad."
Hands gentle but firm helped him up and guided him, stumbling, to the Great Cabin where lay his cot, as it always had. No ordinary cabin boy, indeed. The captain of the Pearl himself valeted him, and tucked him up, and heard his mumbled prayers. By day, Jamie was at pains to insist he was no longer a babe, but some nights, as he drifted off, a light hand was placed upon his brow and soft words came to his ears - Good night, sweet boy! - and that, coupled with the Pearl's own lullaby, was a comfort not to be scorned, sending him to peaceful sleep, and dreams worthy of a Pirate Princeling.
TBC