Death to my dreams ♒︎ A. Bridgerton

0.08

A crack in the glass

— ⚓︎ —

The dull sound of her head hitting the wood of her armchair woke Michelle up, the sun was setting and it was her turn to take over her brother's tasks. She rubbed the sore spot that now made its home on the side of her chestnut haired head. Jack would surely like some sleep now. Either that or rum and his stupid compass. Whatever kept his last bit of sanity in place as he let his sister deal with tonight's troubles.

She straightened out her clothes and rolled up the sleeves of her black blouse. The British stowaways were nowhere to be found, and she was sure they'd taken to her room, sparing their energy to make sure they'd survive on the bread and water they were forced to live on.

'Better than the rest of us, they have it, and still they dare to complain.' Michelle thought. She hadn't chewed a good piece of bread in days, let alone anything that'd be a little more nutritious. Her lips that were usually coated in a red lipstick now were chapped and dry and her hair didn't seem to shine as it usually did. This however didn't stop her from putting on a brave face and ushering master Gibbs to take some rest as she took the wheel of the magnificent black ship. Her eyes fell on the maps her brother had left out for her, as the sunset gave her the last bit of sunlight to see where they were currently sailing. In a few minutes the warm orange glow will have gone, and a waxing gibbous moon will change the setting to a more eerie one.

To her surprise, when she lifted the map she'd been staring at, Jack's compass laid under it. She'd resented the thing ever since she stepped aboard the Black Pearl as a member of it's crew, and for some reason it didn't seem to like her either as the compass never tended to work for her. Jack had told her countless times, and even showed her, how it worked. Told her she just had to listen to her heart and that the compass would lead her. Whenever he said this, the siblings got in a massive argument as Michelle thought that Jack knew exactly why he shouldn't say that.

She adjusted their course slightly to starboard as her right hand picked up the compass. Jack wasn't around to anger her some more and trying would never hurt. For the first time in what felt like forever, or rather ever since they'd stopped in the London docks she'd been feeling a little alive again. Her green eyes concentrated on the needle, the inanimate object seemed to doubt every move, not stopping until it came to a conclusion. Michelle didn't dare blink as the needle slowed down, and she focused every intention and feeling on the compass. This time, it really seemed to give her answers as it started to point north, that was until loud, uneven footsteps brought her out of her trance and the needle started spinning uncontrollably again.

"Who in Tia Dalma's good graces dares to disturb me!" She yelled more than asked. With her brows furrowed and her pointer finger out to jab the person behind her, she turned around. Her green eyes met Jacks brown ones, and her foot lifted to stomp on his toes.

He reacted by jabbing his hand into her side which forced her to double over out of instinct. "You absolute piece of shit!" Michelle grunted as jack winced while shaking his foot.

"You started!"

"Its your fault! I finally got that stupid compass of yours to work and then you just show up to ruin it. You're not even supposed to be here!" Michelle was now frustrated to no end, her brother knew exactly how to get on her nerves.

"Stop trying to hope! We've got no time for that, lass." Jack lowered his voice, and in a mere moment his peculiar attitude disappeared and he got a lot more intimidating. He turned into Michelle's mirror image, and these times were the times she saw her brother for who he really was. One of the best pirates in the Caribbean seas, and one doesn't become the best by sparing people. This was the Jack that people feared, not the brother she knew.