Angel At Sea

Tortuga

Chapter Five: Tortuga

~~ I sat in my cell along with the other men and inspected the small casket, nothing seemed out of place on it, and, when I told the men of what happened above they highly encouraged me to do as the Captain instructed me to; to press the star on the top. I placed the casket beside me, where we could all see it, and I pressed the star; the star slowly rose until it stood vertically atop of it. Then there were several small clicks and the two sides, beside the star on the casket, stood out and then fell to the casket's side; unveiling a small pirate ship sailing upon the water on the right side, and, on the left side a man and woman danced together to the music of a harpsichord! And, the woman, she looked like me! And, the man, he looked like the Captain!

The star spun slowly, as did the couple and the boat floated over the waves in time with the couple, star, and music. A few moments later and the song ended, the couple and boat retreated into the casket and were replaced by a small platform, and, on the platform sat a ruby red rose. I gave a smile and hesitantly lifted it off of the platform; as soon as I did, the platform retracted and a little figurine appeared; it was a miniature Captain! He was sat before an organ, playing it; the figurine actually swayed with the organ's notes! When this little show ended, I clapped and the casket put itself back together again, leaving me to hold the rose.

~~ For a few days time I heard nothing from the Captain and spoke solely with my cell mates, that was, until our boat stopped and I heard commotion coming from outside, laughter, people were laughing, and, not just people, women! Women's laughter, church bells ringing, birds screaming, and men laughing heartily; we were at a port! I stood quickly, clutching the casket close to my chest when the door to the prison was opened and in walked a crewmate, he came straight to my cell and stopped before it. "The Cap'n wan'ed me to tell 'ya that 've ported at Tortuga" said the crew member, I paused and blurted out:

"What's a Tortuga?" And all my male friends began laughing until their faces turned blue! The man to my left, who's nickname was Willy, explained to me what a Tortuga was.

"It's a port madam! A buck wild port filled with drunk pirates and thirsty prostitutes" Willy explained; my brows furrowed.

"If they're thirsty why don't they just get some water?" I asked and their laughter began anew, this time, tears streamed down their cheeks. Before Willy could explain the same authoritive footsteps resonated about the prison cells and within seconds the Captain was fully visible coming down the stairs. His presence was so awesome and regal it caused all of us to pause and watch in awe; he stepped before my cell and a smile festered upon his face. He no longer adorned his white mask and his face was fully visible, however, in the darkness of the prison room, I could only see his fiery yellow eyes.

"The thirsty they're speaking of is not the thirsty you know. Let the matter drop, a bottle of rum awaits me" said the Captain, pushing his crewman before him; I bit my lip.

"Captain!" I yelled quickly, hoping that his ears caught my weak voice. I saw his silhouette turn and his eyes were once again laying upon me. "Thank you" I said, holding the bars of my prison; he grunted and turned away again, leaving as fast as he came. For some reason, when I knew he was coming, I felt warm inside and now that he was gone, I was cold again and I sat down upon the bench.

"Aw, honey, what's wrong? We didn't mean to laugh at 'ya" Willy said, I smiled; Willy could've been my father for how caring he was!

"It's not that...well...I'm not entirely sure what it is I just...I feel cold inside" said I, glancing down to the rose and giving a weak smile. "I don't know" I added with a sigh. I looked back up to Willy to see a smile enveloping his face. "What?" I asked, he turned to the other men trapped in cells and they were smiling like he too!