One Piece Fanfiction : THE LEGEND OF JACK SPARROW - Chapter Four

On the crew’s third day at sea, a blinding sun shone in the blue sky. The weather had improved the further they got from Todd. This should have been good news, but nothing moved under the heat of the sun: the sea was as flat as glass. There were no fish wrinkles, no movement of the sails. It was very, very hot, and the Revenge was in the middle of the sea, with no land in sight. The crew had only a little drinking water left, which could last another day if they rationed it very carefully.

The crew sat withered and motionless on deck. Fritzwindsor had even finally taken off his fine blue jacket. Not very suitable for a nobleman. Jack, on the other hand, had no problem with modesty and opened his shirt as wide as possible. Fritzwindsor did not bother to hide his disgust at the situation.

It’s been days now,” he said.

– We know that, Fritz,” Anna said with an annoyed look.

She had put her hair up to cool herself, but drops of sweat were still running down her neck.

– I thought you were a sailor,” Anna challenged.

– I know I am,” Jack protested, staring at a strange compass.

Anna and Fritzwindsor just stared at it.

Jack took his eyes off the compass and looked back at them.

– The problem is that the Todd Island we just left was not on the same line as Jaya. That’s why our journey is so perilous, because we’re sailing outside the Grand Line,” he explained.

– Are you sure this city even exists? asked Fritzwindsor, whose heat had long curbed his desire for adventure.

– Ask Anna,” said Jack, giving Anna a dark look.

– And what’s that supposed to mean? Anna snapped. I just told you that I’ve heard rumours that the city is above Jaya. I never claimed to know exactly where the city had landed!

– You seemed very sure of yourself at the cove,” said Jack angrily.

– Oh, hang yourself both! Anna growled in a very undistinguished manner and turned her back on Jack and Fritzwindsor.

Jack sighed. He took off his bandana and wiped his face with it. As a sign of goodwill, he offered it to Fritzwindsor, but the nobleman’s son gave him a look of disgust. Jack shrugged and put the cloth back on, tucking in a lock of hair that the breeze kept blowing away.

Then he stopped suddenly, realizing something: the breeze kept blowing through his hair. A breeze! He licked his finger and lifted it, turning to determine the source of the breeze. Jack’s eyes returned to the compass in his hand, and he scanned it. The needle, which had been pointing nowhere since he left the Grand Line, was now pointing northeast, the direction of the very light wind.

“Fritzy, give me your drink,” demanded Jack.

Too hot and tired to argue, the other boy opened his kit and carefully took out a spyglass, a gift from his father, his most prized possession. It was made of what looked like brass and copper, but might as well have been gold. The lenses had been made by the best craftsmen in East Blue. Jack treated the small telescope with far less gentleness, opening it with a clatter that startled Fritzwindsor. Jack then brought the glass to his eye and looked north.

What is it, Jack? Anna asked, forgetting her anger.

– A wind, at last,” he replied.

– Houzza!” exclaimed Fritzwindsor.

Jack and Anna looked at him doubtfully, Fritzwindsor corrected himself uncomfortably.

– I think I meant, yo, ho, ho! The wind!

In the distance, Jack saw a curtain of grey showers moving quickly. As he lowered the glass, the wind was already picking up around them.

And there’s rain with it.

– Well, that’s great news. We won’t die of thirst, so…,” Fritzwindsor said invigorated.

The first clouds began to darken the sky.

– No, we certainly won’t die of thirst,” Jack replied, biting his lip.

Suddenly strange, high-pitched screams rang out over their heads. Jack looked up to see flocks of gulls, pelicans and other seabirds covering the darkening sky, fleeing the approaching storm. The crew remained silent for a few minutes, watching the sea and sky stir before them. A light drizzle began to fall, dotting the ocean with tiny ripples. The sky gradually darkened, as if a great lamp in the heavens was slowly being extinguished. The raging waves became more violent, carelessly rocking the boat.

– Where is this coming from? Anna murmured. I mean, it seems so strange, the sky, the sea… they were so still a moment ago.

– It doesn’t matter where it came from,” said Jack. It’s where it’s going that should concern us. Especially as it seems to be heading straight for the mighty Revenge.

– Come on, it’s probably nothing more than a light shower,” said Fritzwindsor, squinting to protect himself from the increasing rain. If we can stay afloat, it’ll be over in an hour or two.

As if the heavens were listening, a tremendous thunderclap, louder than any cannon shot the crew had ever heard, shook the ship. Lightning bolts of unimaginable length flashed around them, and a huge wave swept across the deck, drenching the crew.

Help me grab the mooring line,” Jack ordered. Lower the sails immediately.

– Lower the sails? But we’ve got wind at last! Fritzwindsor protested.

Jack walked over to him.

– Of course we have wind. It’s nice and convenient for us. They’ll just catch in the sails and push us on our merry way.

Jack’s voice became more stern.

– ‘Or they’ll rock this boat like a child’s toy. Do you understand?

Fritzwindsor understood and nodded. The two boys lowered the sails and stared at the rigging. Anna battened down the hatches as best she could. Her almost encyclopaedic knowledge of pirates, sea legends and history contained almost nothing about the actual practice of sailing. She acted on instinct, securing ropes and other items on deck, and went below to secure the few personal items lying around in the cabins.

Soon the storm hit them hard. Jack and Fritzwindsor had just tied the lowest sail and secured the boom when the violent storm dealt them a huge blow. The wind howled around the rigging. The rain had become a deluge of water pouring from a black sky. Above, the clouds swirled and swirled, reflecting the waves below. The Revenge pitched wildly as Jack and Fritzwindsor tried to turn the boat to keep up with the storm. But even with Anna’s strength, the wheel spun and the rudder moved away from them. The water poured over the deck in waves so violent that the crew could not keep their footing. The three novice sailors were thrown from one railing to the other, while the Revenge swayed in the storm.

The Revenge is being tossed around like a toy! Fritzwindsor shouted.

– Fritzy, get your axe! Help me cut down the mainmast! shouted Jack in turn.

– You’re crazy!” shouted Fritzwindsor.

– Do as I say. You can tell me I’m wrong later, when we’re not dead,” shouted Jack. I’ll lower it to the other side… Anna…

Jack turned to her.

– I need you to make a sea anchor. Grab anything you can, like a barrel or Fritzy’s bag, anything, something that will give us strength. Tie a rope tightly to it and pull it through the back. Got it?

– Yes, yes,” said Anna and left immediately.

Jack put his knife between his teeth and rushed up the mast like a monkey, holding on tightly as the wind tried to push him away. Taking the knife from his mouth, he struck the rigging with a sharp blow. And without any resistance, the rig dropped, along with the sails, to the deck. At the top, Jack grabbed the last remaining rope and used it to swing down, taking up the slack as he went.

“Now! Fritzy!” he then shouted.

Fritzwindsor did as he was told, cutting the mast as if it were a dry tree. However, unlike Jack, it took him three strokes to bring the mast down. Standing on the pitching deck, Jack leaned on the rope. When the long timber finally began to tip, he released the rope and lowered the mast. Fritzwindsor barely jumped in time.

It’s over, Jack! Anna shouted over the roar of the storm. But why did you have to do that? Aren’t we as good as dead now?

– We had the upper hand,” Jack replied.

The wind was still clinging to the mast. But that danger had passed. Two by two they held the wheel to steady the boat, while the third went down and scooped water with buckets. And the storm continued. After hours of wet misery spent keeping the Revenge afloat, the clouds and rain came. Within minutes, it was as if there had never been a storm. The sun was shining and the fish were jumping out of the water.

Jack’s plan had worked. The Revenge was right side up, even if it had taken a big hit. And then a green and beige line appeared on the blue horizon in front of them.

Land!” shouted Jack, looking through Fritzwindsor’s spyglass. It must be the one the Log Pose was pointing to. We must have been driven here by the wind before we dropped anchor, but we couldn’t see anything through the storm.

– Let’s drop anchor and look for water,” said Fritzwindsor. Not with that,” he added quickly to Anna, who was wringing out her skirts.

– The only barrel we had was used as an anchor and perished,” she grumbled. Otherwise, you are free to drink the rainwater on deck, Master Ronan.

‘Now, comrades,’ interrupted Jack, ‘let’s get that mast back up and raise what sail we can. There’s a fair amount of rope below deck that might secure it, at least for the time being.”

Carried along by a strong current, and aided by their rickety mast and makeshift sails, the Revenge reached the island the next morning.

The island was only a few miles wide. It was clearly uninhabited. The crew dropped anchor, jumped into the water and waded ashore.

There may be a spring or stream on this hill,” Anna pointed to a rise in the distance.

It looked like the scrub was turning into a thick, lush jungle inland – a good indication of water.

– Absolutely! Fritzwindsor affirmed cheerfully.

Anna stepped on Fritzwindsor’s foot as she passed him on the beach and away from the boat. Jack sighed.

But there could be natives or dangerous beasts!

– I can only see one beast around here,” Anna muttered, looking at Fritzwindsor as she pulled up her skirts and walked into the brush.

It was very hot on the island. Weighed down with leather canteens and bags of water, the three adventurers moved slowly forward.

Please, Anna,” Fritzwindsor said when she stumbled. Let me at least take one of those bags from you. You’re too weak to carry all that.

Jack groaned.

– Your mother must be very proud,” Anna growled at Fritzwindsor, handing the young man his bags.

– ‘My mother died when I was nine,’ said Fritzwindsor, a fierce look on his face. I hope she would be proud of the man I have become.

– Oh, I’m so sorry,” Anna apologised sincerely, remembering her own mother. I didn’t know…

Fritzwindsor looked away sadly.

– It was after her death that my father began to consider expanding his holdings on the Grand Line. It was as if he wanted to cut himself off from East Blue and his old life forever.

– Talk as you walk, boys. Let’s get a move on. No time to waste here,” Jack interrupted, ignoring Fritzwindsor’s story and walking into the jungle.

– He immediately married my older sisters, Fritzwindsor continued, to the sons of people he knew who had already moved here to the Grand Line. ‘We’d never met some of them,’ Fritzwindsor told Anna, swiping a bush aside with his sword.

Jack, who was in front of them, rolled his eyes at Fritzwindsor’s story, who had stopped for a moment to move a small tree.

– Dear Anna, my favourite sister, was kidnapped by pirates on the journey to meet her husband, and I have not seen her since…

– Damn it! I know that pain all too well myself. My mother was kidnapped by pirates, too. If you’re like me, you didn’t really have a reason to stick around once you got here,” Anna says gently.

– No, I didn’t,” Fritzwindsor agrees, a hint of harshness in his voice.

– In the name of all that is blessed and cursed,” Jack snapped, “can we please draw the curtain on this dismal drama and focus on the matter at hand?

Anna and Fritzwindsor looked at Jack, more disappointed than angry. Jack stepped back and cleared his throat.

If the sun was warm on the morning they landed, it was nothing compared to noon. The crew had finished what little rainwater they had collected in their canteens and still saw no sign of fresh water on the island. Fritzwindsor had tried to hide it, but he was beginning to cough with thirst. Anna had fallen once, but she claimed to have tripped over a root. Jack looked at his companions with concern. None of them would be able to go on much longer. A stupid and terrible way to end an adventure.

Come on,” Jack told them with a forced smile. It looks like the brush is thinning out ahead of us. It will be cool and shady under these trees, and we can rest there for a while.

As Jack pushed aside the bushes and led his two companions into the clearing, he was delighted, and a little surprised, to see that it was exactly what he had told them it would be, cool, shady, soft grass to relax on. And he was equally surprised to see two boys in the clearing, working on what looked like a makeshift raft.

“Well, hello and welcome! said the first boy. Look what we have here, Vans! New friends… and maybe even a way off this island!”

To Be Continued…