Jack wouldn't come out of his quarters. Stella brought him food
but he seemed content to live on rum. He'd turned the ship over to Will,
who could now be found standing at the helm instead of in the crow's nest.
The sun was beginning to set and Stella (abandoning her work of mending a
sail), came up to the deck to watch Will playing Captain.
"Here Stella, take the helm for a bit." Will called to her. Stella walked over and joined him. She had left her hair ribbon down below and her hair was blowing in the smooth breeze.
"Where do I put my hands?" Stella asked looking back at Will. He took her hands in his own and placed them on the helm, turning it a bit east. He rested his head on her shoulders and slowly intertwined his fingers in hers, helping her steer. The two enjoyed a quiet moment watching the sun set. Will lifted his head from her shoulder and put it against her cheek, brushing against her skin. Stella's heart was racing. She couldn't imagine this. How could she go from being the beaten daughter of a drunkard to being held close to someone like Will, while sailing out into the sunset to have an adventure. It was too perfect.
"Will?" Stella asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice. Will let go of her fingers and put his own on her waist, turning her around. The distance between them was so little. He looked into her eyes for at least a minute before their lips met. It was soft at first, just Will quietly brushing his lips on hers, but then hers parted, and it became for passionate. It lasted a moment longer before they broke away. Stella turned back to the helm, slightly pressing into Will. She was glad he wasn't facing her to see the immense grin stretched across her face.
At dinner that night, they sat at their normal places; Jack at the head (though every once in awhile he ducked under the table to take a deep swig, and came up looking even more lost than before), the crew sat at the sides and Will sat across the table and down a bit from Stella. They occasionally glanced at each other, smiling to themselves, sharing their secret with no one. The next days were perfect. While the crew was around they behaved as they normally would, just talking casually, laughing a bit. But when the crew left they were closer, more intimate. Stella was relieved at their slow pace. She'd never known this kind of happiness before. For the moment she was content with resting against him, watching the sun set.
*
The search for Hidalgo's treasure had begun. The map had been analyzed over and over again and a course was set. The treasure was buried on an island, which was miles away from any other pieces of land. It was lucky the ship was equipped with other compasses, though jack wouldn't use them. Anamaria had taken over control of the map after Jack almost threw it away in a bottle of rum. She could be seen in the galley most of the time, hunched over Jack's various maps and using tools Stella had only dreamed of. Stella visited her to make sure she didn't need any assistance, but Anamaria only mumbled and continued her studies.
Stella was quickly overcome with a strong case of the flu, which was accompanied with a bout of depression. Both illnesses occurred at the same time, which happened to be when the Pearl entered a huge mass of fog. It was so thick you couldn't see from one end of the deck to the other, and if you opened the porthole for some fresh air inside the stale cabins, the mist filtered in and filled up the room. It was a strange fog. It lasted all day and night and seemed to cling to the ship. The crow's nest was useless in the mists so Will volunteered to look after Stella. He sat in her cabin all day, telling her pirate tales Jack had once told him.
"Stella?" Will asked one day as they sat in silence in her room, his hand stroking her head.
"Yes?" Stella said weakly. The illness had taken all of her strength and she was unable to move herself.
"Do you know why you're so depressed? I mean, I'm certainly not fond of this fog but I'm not as blue as you are."
"I'm not sure. All I can think of is the day my mother died. I woke up before everyone else, and checked to make sure my mother was alright. I went and sat out on the porch, quietly rocking. It was the first time I'd been by myself in so long. There was fog that morning, it was so odd. Fog usually stands on low ground but our house was on a hill and the fog still came. It was so strange... the day before had been so warm and sunny, and the day after was as well, but the fog came down on us that day. It was then that I went back inside the house to find my mother holding on to life as best she could. She died and hour later. The fog left the minute she died. I know this because I could not stand to see her face so lifeless, so I looked out the window to see the fog diminishing." Will had stopped stroking her head to pull her closer to him was tears began to fall from her eyes.
"Will, I can't help but think that the last time there was fog like this I lost someone I cared about greatly. I don't want it to happen again. Will I don't want to lose you!"
"Stella!" Will said, firmly turning her to face him. "ou are not going to lose me! We are here safe, sitting below deck. This fog is unnatural I admit but I've seen and been through worse than this. The ship is moving slowly and we're taking our time to get to the island. We are not going to lose this!" Stella smiled meakly and rested her ehad on Will's chest. The two drifted off to sleep as the ship eased its way through the mists.
"Here Stella, take the helm for a bit." Will called to her. Stella walked over and joined him. She had left her hair ribbon down below and her hair was blowing in the smooth breeze.
"Where do I put my hands?" Stella asked looking back at Will. He took her hands in his own and placed them on the helm, turning it a bit east. He rested his head on her shoulders and slowly intertwined his fingers in hers, helping her steer. The two enjoyed a quiet moment watching the sun set. Will lifted his head from her shoulder and put it against her cheek, brushing against her skin. Stella's heart was racing. She couldn't imagine this. How could she go from being the beaten daughter of a drunkard to being held close to someone like Will, while sailing out into the sunset to have an adventure. It was too perfect.
"Will?" Stella asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice. Will let go of her fingers and put his own on her waist, turning her around. The distance between them was so little. He looked into her eyes for at least a minute before their lips met. It was soft at first, just Will quietly brushing his lips on hers, but then hers parted, and it became for passionate. It lasted a moment longer before they broke away. Stella turned back to the helm, slightly pressing into Will. She was glad he wasn't facing her to see the immense grin stretched across her face.
At dinner that night, they sat at their normal places; Jack at the head (though every once in awhile he ducked under the table to take a deep swig, and came up looking even more lost than before), the crew sat at the sides and Will sat across the table and down a bit from Stella. They occasionally glanced at each other, smiling to themselves, sharing their secret with no one. The next days were perfect. While the crew was around they behaved as they normally would, just talking casually, laughing a bit. But when the crew left they were closer, more intimate. Stella was relieved at their slow pace. She'd never known this kind of happiness before. For the moment she was content with resting against him, watching the sun set.
*
The search for Hidalgo's treasure had begun. The map had been analyzed over and over again and a course was set. The treasure was buried on an island, which was miles away from any other pieces of land. It was lucky the ship was equipped with other compasses, though jack wouldn't use them. Anamaria had taken over control of the map after Jack almost threw it away in a bottle of rum. She could be seen in the galley most of the time, hunched over Jack's various maps and using tools Stella had only dreamed of. Stella visited her to make sure she didn't need any assistance, but Anamaria only mumbled and continued her studies.
Stella was quickly overcome with a strong case of the flu, which was accompanied with a bout of depression. Both illnesses occurred at the same time, which happened to be when the Pearl entered a huge mass of fog. It was so thick you couldn't see from one end of the deck to the other, and if you opened the porthole for some fresh air inside the stale cabins, the mist filtered in and filled up the room. It was a strange fog. It lasted all day and night and seemed to cling to the ship. The crow's nest was useless in the mists so Will volunteered to look after Stella. He sat in her cabin all day, telling her pirate tales Jack had once told him.
"Stella?" Will asked one day as they sat in silence in her room, his hand stroking her head.
"Yes?" Stella said weakly. The illness had taken all of her strength and she was unable to move herself.
"Do you know why you're so depressed? I mean, I'm certainly not fond of this fog but I'm not as blue as you are."
"I'm not sure. All I can think of is the day my mother died. I woke up before everyone else, and checked to make sure my mother was alright. I went and sat out on the porch, quietly rocking. It was the first time I'd been by myself in so long. There was fog that morning, it was so odd. Fog usually stands on low ground but our house was on a hill and the fog still came. It was so strange... the day before had been so warm and sunny, and the day after was as well, but the fog came down on us that day. It was then that I went back inside the house to find my mother holding on to life as best she could. She died and hour later. The fog left the minute she died. I know this because I could not stand to see her face so lifeless, so I looked out the window to see the fog diminishing." Will had stopped stroking her head to pull her closer to him was tears began to fall from her eyes.
"Will, I can't help but think that the last time there was fog like this I lost someone I cared about greatly. I don't want it to happen again. Will I don't want to lose you!"
"Stella!" Will said, firmly turning her to face him. "ou are not going to lose me! We are here safe, sitting below deck. This fog is unnatural I admit but I've seen and been through worse than this. The ship is moving slowly and we're taking our time to get to the island. We are not going to lose this!" Stella smiled meakly and rested her ehad on Will's chest. The two drifted off to sleep as the ship eased its way through the mists.