Continued from Part 1
When Cap’n Shaw be climbin’ out o' the water, he be seein’ that what he thought were trees growin' on the island were pointed rocks juttin' out o' the earth like teeth. He be suppressin’ a shudder and be emptin’ the water from his boots.
“I ain't no lily livered land lubber,” he said aloud.
He started walkn’ inland toward the rocks, and just as he be taken’ a step around one of the boulders a high pitched cacklin' filled his ears. He be jumpin’ and pullin’ out his sword.
“Who dares disturb my domain?” A woman’s voice cackled.
Cap'n Shaw be whirlin’ ‘round, but he be seein’ no one.
“Who dares approach my lair?” The voice echoed off the pointed rocks.
“Show yerself!”
The cacklin' came again. “You already see me! I am the very island you stand on! I am the dirt beneath your feet and the rocks that look down on you.”
Cap'n Shaw frowned. “Are ye cursed too?”
There was silence.
Cap'n Shaw be raisin’ his voice, “I said, are ye cursed? If ye are bein' a whole island, that smells o' cursin' to me.”
“Who are you?” This time the voice didn't fill the air but was quiet and came from behind Cap'n Shaw. He whirled 'round and pointed the sword at an old lady’s chest.
She was hunched o'er with age, her face saggin' with wrinkles. Her hair was green and long. Cap'n Shaw couldn’t tell if it had algae in it or if it was perhaps seaweed growin' from her head. Her clothes were muddy and loose. She looked more skeleton than human.
“Are ye that bilge sea witch that be cursin' the fairest lass in all the world?”
The old woman be frownin’. “Answer my question first. Who are you?”
“I be Cap'n Shaw, the Cap'n o’ the Blithe Drifter, the most swashbucklin’ pirate o’ the seven seas!”
The sea witch, if that was who she was, squinted. “I’ve never heard of you.”
Cap'n Shaw’s face fell. “Ye not be hearin' o' how I plunder every ship that dares to cross my path?”
“Nope! How do you know the lass that I sentenced to be a mermaid?” The witch asked.
“So ye are the one what be cursing her!” Cap’n Shaw said, advancin’. “Then I be here to finish ye off and break the curse!”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible. My death will only make the curse permanent.”
“Ye be lyin', ye twisted hag!”
“Far from it,” she said. “I have died many times already, and I am sure I will die many more. I am interested in something from you though. What do you say to striking a deal?”
“What sort o’ deal ye be thinkin' o'?”
“I am in need of something. Fetch it for me before the sun rises, and I will release the lass from her curse. Fail, and you will join her as a merman.”
Cap'n Shaw narrowed his eyes. “What ye be needin' that ye can’t get fer yerself?”
“A camel,” the witch said.
“What ye be needin' a plain ol’ camel fer?”
“That is my business. But this can’t be any camel. It must be the finest camel in all the world.”
“How should I be knowin' which camel is the finest?”
The sea witch smiled showin’ broken teeth. “I think you’ll find that your mer-lass will have some useful insight. Have the lass bring me the camel before sunup, and she is free. Do we have a deal?” She extended a hand with claw-like fingernails.
Cap'n Shaw didn’t take it.
“Are you worried ye won’t be able to acquire it?” The sea witch asked. “Is it perhaps too much to ask of such a lowly pirate?”
Cap'n Shaw puffed out his chest. “I can be lootin' the finest treasure in the world when I wants to be!”
“Then one camel shouldn’t be too difficult.” The witch stepped toward him, hand still outstretched.
Cap'n Shaw hesitated. Then he sheathed his cutlass, reached out and shook the old witch’s hand.
“Excellent!” the witch said.
There was burst o' lightenin' and a crack o' thunder. The witch vanished as rain dumped from the sky.
When Cap’n Shaw be returnin’ to the shore, the lass was waitin' fer him, her eyes peekin' out above the water, her hair floatin' 'round her. The rain didn’t seem to be botherin’ her. Cap'n Shaw was shiverin' somethin' mighty though. When she saw him, she popped her head out o' the water.
“What happened? I was afraid you weren’t going to come back, especially after that lightening hit the island. I thought it might have struck you!”
Cap'n Shaw waded into the cold water. He be thinkin’ he was already drenched, but as the water filled his boots he be realizin’ he was wrong.
He said, “That barnacle o' a sea witch be askin' fer a camel!”
“A camel?”
“Aye. The finest camel in all the world.”
“My father is a camel merchant.”
Cap'n Shaw nodded. “And she be askin’ fer ye to be the one what brings it to her. It don’t be sittin' well with me.”
“If we bring her a camel, she’ll break the curse?”
“If she be an honest witch, the kind that be keepin' her word.”
The lass shrugged. “I’m putting my faith in a pirate right now.”
Cap'n Shaw bristled. “A respectable gentleman o’ fortune, lass!”
She laughed. “You’d best get back to your ship. My father - Angus Chatwin is his name - he loaded his merchandise and set sail this evening. He’s off to the East Indies to trade camels for spices and such.”
“He be a’sailin'?”
The lass nodded.
Cap'n Shaw straightened his hat, which dumped water into his face. He spluttered, makin' the lass laugh again. Finally, he took the hat off and stood there, waist deep in the water, his wet hair drippin' into his eyes and said, “I be the finest Cap'n in the seven seas. We be findin' that merchant ship and takin' the finest camel aboard! We be savin' ye, fair lass!”
She smiled. “I thank you, kind sir.”
Cap'n Shaw stuffed his hat back on his head and dove into the water, strikin' out fer his anchored ship. Once he be climbin’ aboard, he be twistin’ the sails 'round to head back to the dock and collect his crew.
“One moment,” Aerwyna be callin’ out. “Could I borrow a spare piece of clothing perhaps? This dress is awful heavy in the water.”
“O’ course, me lass!” Cap'n Shaw be takin’ off his jacket and then whippin’ his own shirt off. “Will this here shirt do?”
The lass blushed. “I suppose.”
He flung it o’erboard and watched as she snatched it and then disappeared beneath the waves. Pullin' his soakin' jacket on o'er his bare shoulders, he turned the ship 'round.
When the crew had all come up the gang plank, Black Boot asked, “Cap'n, did the sea witch be wantin’ yer shirt?”
A few o' the men sniggered.
“Shut yer trappers!” Cap'n Shaw said. “We be settin’ sail fer a merchant ship.”
A few men whooped and hollered. “What it be carryin'? Gold? Jewels?”
“Camels,” said Cap'n Shaw.
Black Boot be puttin’ a finger in his ear to clean it out. “Ye be sayin' camels, Cap’n?”
“The sea witch be needin' the finest camel in the world to be breakin' the poor lass’s mer-curse.”
“Where be the mer-lass?” Black Boot asked, lookin’ o’er the side of the ship.
Just then Aerwyna reemerged from the water, Cap'n Shaw’s shirt on, and the pearl necklace he’d given her sparklin’ around her neck.
Black Boot whistled. “I see where yer shirt be goin', Cap’n.”
Cap'n Shaw smacked the back o' his head. “Look lively, men! We have a ship to be catchin'!”
As the men scrambled to their posts, tyin' and untyin' ropes, they began to sing. “Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest! Yo-ho-ho and a bottle o' rum!”
The lass swam along the side o' the Blithe Drifter like a dolphin, leapin' out o' the water and grinnin' back at Cap'n Shaw as he steered the ship.
The Blithe Drifter was made fer speed and within an hour they be seein’ the outline o’ the merchant ship on the dark horizon.
“Raise the Jolly Roger!” someone called.
The skull and crossbones was hoisted up the flagpole.
“Man the cannons!”
The black noses o' heavy cannons poked through the openin's in the side o' the ship.
The men aboard the merchant ship saw the pirates approachin' and tried to put on speed, but they were no match fer the Blithe Drifter. A'fore they could get their cannons into place, the pirate ship pulled up alongside ‘em and the pirates began swingin' aboard.
Cap'n Shaw himself grabbed a rope and jumped o'er the side o' the ship, sailin' o'er the sea below and lettin' go as he cleared the side o' the merchant ship. He landed on his feet and drew his cutlass.
“We be seekin' the finest camel in the world,” he said. “Hand it o’er and we be lettin' ye live!”
The cap'n o' the merchant ship came forward. “What is the meaning of this? I’ve never had pirates so bold as to attack my ship!”
“Then ye ne'er be meetin' me a’fore! I be Cap'n Shaw, the fiercest pirate in all the seven seas! And I be seekin' yer finest camel!”
“Get off my ship this instant!” The merchant cap'n roared. He advanced on Cap'n Shaw, but then his eye caught on somethin' in the water. The lass be watchin' the exchange with wide eyes.
The merchant cap'ain blinked in disbelief. “Daughter! What are you doing here?”
“Ye be this fair lass’s father, Angus Chatwin?” Cap'n Shaw grabbed the man by the front o' his shirt. “Ye be the man what’s causin' so much trouble to her? Ye be the one what’s puttin' a curse on her? Ye be the one makin’ us loot yer own ship fer a camel to break her curse? I’ll skewer yer gizzard, ye salty sea bass! What have ye to say fer yerself?”
The bewildered merchant looked back and forth between the pirate and his daughter.
“Daughter, what are you doing with the likes of this pirate? Has he kidnapped you?”
Cap'n Shaw be shovin’ the merchant away in disgust. “I be no kidnapper. Ye be the one what’s makin' her walk the plank! Hand o'er the camel if ye be wantin' to live!”
The merchant drew his sword and charged Cap'n Shaw. “I’ll never let ye have my daughter!”
Their swords struck, the metal ringin' out.
Aerwyna gasped, and the pirate crew cheered.
“Avast!” Cap'n Shaw said, parryin' each thrust o' the merchant’s sword. “I be the best swordsman in all the seven seas! Ye not be wantin' to duel with the likes o' me!”
The merchant only attacked more fiercely, but Cap'n Shaw sidestepped and blocked each lunge without trouble.
“Be gettin’ the fine camel, me hearties!” he called.
“Our finest camel isn’t even aboard!” the merchant called. “He went missing this evening! We had to set sail without him.”
“Ye be lyin'!” Cap'n Shaw said, dodgin' the merchant as he swung out wildly. But then he be rememberin’ the camel he tried to steal that very evenin'.
“Take a camel if you’re so determined,” the merchant said. “But the sea witch will never accept it. She knows when something is from good stock, and when it’s nothing more than an imposter!” He spit in Cap'n Shaw’s face and shoved him backward.
Cap'n Shaw, thinkin' about the camel he had lost, was taken off guard. The merchant thrust his sword forward and the Cap'n was too slow to block it. The sword sank into Cap'n Shaw’s shoulder.
“No!” The lass screamed from the water.
Cap'n Shaw be stumbling’ backward, trippin’ o'er a barrel and landin’ on his back.
The merchant raised his sword again, but Cap’n Shaw rolled to the side, bringing his leg up and catchin’ the merchant in the side, and tossin’ him o’erboard.
The pirate crew be cheerin’ and drawin’ their swords.
“AVAST!” Cap’n Shaw bellowed.
His crew halted.
Cap'n Shaw grasped his wounded shoulder and got to his feet. “There be no loot fer us here. Away!”
The pirate crew groaned, but dove o'erboard or swung back o'er to the pirate ship.
Cap'n Shaw grabbed a rope with his good arm but one o' the merchant’s men grabbed the back o' his jacket. “Not so fast there, pirate!”
Cap'n Shaw felt a pistol put to his back.
“There’s a nice reward for catching the likes of you. Dead or alive, it says. I think we deserve a little reward for all the trouble you’ve caused us.”
Cap'n Shaw turned, intendin' to fight the man fer the pistol, but a'fore he could touch him the man gave a startled cry and fell to the ground. Lookin' down, Cap'n Shaw saw the lass floppin' on the deck, her tail havin' knocked the man o'er.
“I climbed the rigging on the side of the boat,” she said, smilin’.
The man twisted 'round and aimed the pistol at the lass. Cap'n Shaw kicked the pistol out o’ his hand. Then he bent down, scooped the lass up into his arms, and jumped o’erboard.
The Bilthe Drifter was already sailin' away, and Cap'n Shaw be grabbin’ a rope danglin' from it, lettin' it tow them away.
“Ye have quite the father there, lass!”
Aerwyna frowned. “Indeed.”
“Where be yer mother?”
“I’ve never known her. My father forbids me to speak of her.”
“I be sorry to hear that,” Cap’n Shaw said. “She must o’ been a fine woman, with a daughter like ye.”
Aerwyna be watchin’ her father’s merchant ship growin’ smaller as they sailed away. “I’ll never know.”
“Why’d ye go and risk yerself to save me?” Cap'n Shaw aked. “Ye should have stayed in the water where ye was bein' safe!”
“I didn’t want to lose you!” she said. “You’re the only man I’ve ever met who’s looked out for me before. You’re the only one who’s ever tried to help me.” Duckin’ her head, she said, “I like that about you. I like it a lot.”
Cap'n Shaw smiled. “I’d be marryin' ye right now, fish tail and all, if ye be agreein' to it!”
She laughed. “A pirate and a mermaid?”
“It’s a fair bit better than a landlubber and a mermaid.”
“I think I’d like that,” she said. “I never wanted to marry before because all the men I met were so cruel! Thinking of being locked inside all day cooking and cleaning for a husband who treats me like a slave! I would never be allowed to have adventures! I would never be free. But with you, everything is an adventure! It’s strange that you with, I’ve been in the most danger of my life, and yet I’ve felt the safest. ”
“I swear on me ship the Blithe Drifter that I’ll ne'er be makin' ye cook fer me and me crew. Unless ye get tired o' the grub.”
Aerwyna grinned. “Yo-ho-ho!” She be takin' off Cap'n Shaw’s hat and puttin' it on her own head. “A pirate’s life for me!”
“Will ye marry me then?” he asked.
“Yes!” she said. “Of course I’ll marry you!”
A flash o' bright light lit the water, lookin' like lightenin' had struck. When Cap'n Shaw had blinked away the effects o' the light, he saw that the lass clingin' to his neck was no longer half fish, but that she had two long human legs.
“Shiver me timbers!” he said. “The curse! It be broken!”
Aerwyna stuck her toes out of the water.
“How this be happenin'?” Cap'n Shaw asked.
“I suppose it was different that we realized,” she said. “I wasn’t cursed until I chose to marry someone my father wanted me to. I was just cursed until I agreed to marry at all!”
“That be a mighty strange curse,” Cap'n Shaw said. “Ye shouldn’t have to be cursed into marryin' a bloke!”
“At least now you won’t have a mermaid for a wife!”
Cap’n Shaw wrapped his jacket around Aerwyna’s legs and then, with Aerwyna clinging tight to his chest, Cap’n Shaw pulled them both up the rope and back onto the ship. Cheers from the crew rang out at the sight o’ their Cap’n, then turned to whistles at the sight o’ the lovely lass in his arms.
“Ye be breakin’ the curse!” said Black Boot.
“Ye be breakin’ the curse!” said Black Boot.
“Indeed!” said Cap’n Shaw. “And we be needin’ yer trousers. We’ve a weddin’ to celebrate!”
As a disgruntled Black Boot handed o’er his pants, standin’ in front o’ Aerwyna in an old pair o’ trousers with a hole in the backside, he saw Aerwyna adjust her strand o’ pearls.
“Did the Cap’n be givin’ ye that there necklace?” Black Boot asked.
Aerwyna be noddin’. “I told him it was fitting for a mer-maiden.”
Black Boot whistled. “Our Cap’n be collectin’ pearls all the live long day. He be diving for oysters and be stringin’ ‘em together himself.”
Aerwyna’s hand tightened around the gift. “He made it himself? He didn’t tell me that.”
Black Boot chuckled. “He be swearin’ that he would be giftin’ it to a bride one day.”
Aerwyna smiled. “I guess he was right.” She studied the pearls in the candlelight. “And he told me the truth. He did get the necklace honorably.”
Black Boot slapped her on the back. “Our Cap’n be the most honorable pirate to e’er sail the seven seas! Some o’ the crew be a bit disgruntled about that, but he be a good Cap’n to us. Always gives us our share o’ the booty.” He smiled.
After Aerwyna had changed, Cap’n Shaw called out. “Where be me wife?”
Aerwyna hurried o’er to him. “I’m not your wife yet!”
“Then we’d best be gettin’ on with this here ceremony!” said the Cap’n.
They be holdin’ the marriage ceremony right then and there aboard the Blithe Drifter, the lass still wearin' Cap'n Shaw’s hat and shirt.
As Cap’n Shaw began his vows, the sun lit over the horizon, turnin’ everything orange. Cap’n Shaw wobbled, then toppled over. The crew laughed.
“Feelin’ a bit squiffy there Cap’n?”
“Want a lil’ more grog?”
But Aerwyena cried out and pointed. Where Cap’n Shaw’s legs had been was a black fish’s tail.
Listen to the narration and see the artwork come to life on YouTube: Art In Chancing
Art by Rachel Murphy
Art by Rachel Murphy
Her Website: www.artinchancing.com
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