A Tale That Never Was

The night was bright with thousands of stars glimmering above and a full moon reflecting off the calm waters. Jolly Roger bobbed up and down slightly but not uncomfortably so. A skeleton crew of men were up on the main deck, chatting, sitting about and occasionally checking the knots and lines as the rest of them slept belowdecks. The wind was steady and the ocean was kind so their workload was small and they mostly waited for orders from the helmsman, who was Captain Hook once again.

He stared out at the dark waters with a content grin on his face. This was his life. This was where he called home. He loved Tortug and truly enjoyed being with Wendy but his greatest lover was the sea. He loved everything about sailing his fine ship. He loved the misty spray that would hit him in the face when Jolly Roger cut through a large wave. He even enjoyed the heavy splashing he received when it cut through a massive one. He loved the silence and openness of the wide ocean. He loved the mystery of it and the way he could lose himself in its vastness. He loved it all and closed his eyes for a few moments, listening to the creaking of the ship, the flapping of the wind through the sails, the voices of his men talking and laughing in low voices, the splashing of water against the keel, and unexpected footsteps coming up from below. Opening his eyes and looking down, he spotted Selvina climbing up from belowdecks looking weary.

“Trouble sleeping?” he asked her as she walked up to the quarterdeck and leaned against the bulwark looking out the starboard side.

She yawned loudly. “Yeah…I’m not used to the cramped beds and constant bobbing around. I know it’s nothing you can change. I’m sure I’ll get used to it eventually. I just wanted fresh air.”

“Aye, fresh air will clean your mind and put you at ease, lass. You’ll be yearning for a bed soon enough.”

“Probably…” She glanced back at the captain and raised a sleepy eyebrow. “Don’t you ever sleep?”

“I do but I’ve always liked sailing at night so I take the first shift and Sinbad sails until I wake up. It’s a fine, working system.”

“Don’t you let anyone else guide the ship?”

“Aye, I do when I need to but I only trust it in his hands when I’m not present. I’ve spent many hours on this ship and she’s been more of a home to me than any building on the shore. She is my life.”

“You speak of this boat as if it was a woman…” Selvina remarked with a chuckle.

Captain Hook looked at her as if he had been insulted and it caught her by surprise. “Jolly Roger may just seem like a boat to you but she is far more than that. She is my kingdom and her men are my people. I’ve spent most of my life on her decks and I’ve bled, wept, laughed, and gotten ill on her more times than I can remember. She is much more than just a boat, Selvina.”

Selvina raised her hands in deference. “Ok, ok, I meant no disrespect.”

“None taken. Just don’t you ever call her a boat again.”

“Aye, aye captain.” She gave him a salute and he looked at her with an expression of confusion. “It’s a salute…but probably a bad one…”

Captain Hook just smiled and chuckled as she turned and walked down the steps to the main deck. He noticed a certain young lad approach her and could already tell what was going to happen. “To be young again…” he said to himself.

****

Selvina sat on a crate near the middle of the main deck, swinging her legs off its sides and leaning against her hands which she had propped behind her back. A lantern on the mizzen mast just behind her surrounded her in a circle of light as she looked down at her dirty dress and shook her head sadly. It had been so beautiful and enchanting and now it was hardly more than a rag. She smelt horrible and probably looked even worse but she would have to deal with it as she was quite certain Captain Hook had no showers on his boat.

She noticed someone approaching her and judging by the shock of wild hair on his head she assumed it was the person she had heard referred to as Jack. When he came into the light her suspicious were confirmed and he sat down on a nearby crate, offering her a kind smile.

“I’m Jack,” he said to her, the light reflecting off his eyes. “I don’t think I caught your name.”

She smiled back, feeling warmth gather in her cheeks. Despite the fact that he was in sore need of a good cleaning she found him rather handsome beneath all the dirt and grime. “I’m Selvina.”

“Selvina,” he repeated, as if savouring the sound of her name. “I’ve never heard of anyone called that name before.”

“Well…there’s a reason for that.”

“Yeah, I know, you’re not from around here.”

Selvina furrowed her brow in caution. “How do you know?”

“Cap told the crew when you and Red went to bed. Not everyone is happy about going to the Ocean of Ice Peaks but they trust the captain and if Sinbad is going along with it then the men won’t really object.”

“I don’t want to be a bother…”

“You won’t be! Honestly! We don’t get many women here. Well, there was Bertha but she wasn’t as nice to look at as…well…you.”

Selvina smiled and blushed lightly. Something about him just made her tingle all over and she hated it. She didn’t like feeling things and not knowing why. “Well, I hope I don’t become a distraction.”

Jack winked at her. “You might be.”

Selvina’s smile vanished. “Really? I don’t want to be! Captain Hook and Sinbad will throw me over or something…”

Jack laughed. “You’re adorable, Selvina. They won’t do anything like that. They’re tough as nails and more dangerous than the Kraken itself but if they told you they’d get you somewhere they will. They are both honorable men and I hope one day to be half the men they are.”

Selvina relaxed and looked up at the sparkling stars above. Living in a city, she hadn’t the privilege of observing so many. “I’ve never seen a sky like this…”

“Sailing the world will show you many things you’ve never seen before,” Jack said, looking up at the stars with her. “I never thought it would be for me but once I got the taste of it I was hooked. It’s dangerous and quite scary at times but I wouldn’t give it up for anything. Out here on the sea and under the stars you are completely free.”

Selvina found herself staring at Jack’s smooth face. She got lost in his eyes before he noticed her and she quickly glanced away and cleared her throat. “Well, Jack, what’s your story? How did you end up on this ship with Captain Hook and Sinbad the sailor?”

“I lived on a little farm with my dad,” he said to her, looking down. “We didn’t have much and the horse we used for tilling the fields was getting old and my dad worried he’d die any day so he had me go to town to sell him and see what I could get for him. He thought maybe someone could use his meat or something.”

“Ewww….”

Jack shrugged. “Horse meat isn’t so bad. It doesn’t compare to beef but it’s all right and we needed any amount of money we could get. I…ended up trading the horse for three beans which I was told were magical. I figured with magical beans we could grow them and sell magical beans and be rich for the rest of our lives. My dad was….furious, and threw the beans outside in his rage. When I woke up that morning they had—”

“—grown into a massive beanstalk,” Selvina finished, her eyes wide. “And then you climbed it and found a giant and ended up killing him right?”

Jack’s eyes were wider than hers. “Something like that, yeah. How in a golden egg’s worth did you know that? Am I really that famous?”

“Back where I come from your story is very well known. Pretty much everyone knows how you climbed a beanstalk into the clouds and came upon a huge castle and the giant spotted you and came after you but you climbed down the beanstalk before it could and then you cut it down with your dad’s axe and it fell off and died!”

“Well…that’s not exactly what happened but it is so similar it’s scary… So everyone here is known to you in your world?”

“Well, not everybody. I don’t know all the crewmen but Captain Hook is a pirate in my world and Sinbad has his own stories too but I never read them so I don’t know much about them.”

Jack laughed heartily. “Captain Hook is a pirate? That man hates pirates! It’s the whole reason he’s a pirate hunter! So, my story, what is it called?”

“Jack and the Beanstalk.”

“Well, that’s a boring name.”

“I guess so, but most fairy tales come with plain names.”

“Fairy tales? Actually, never mind. What happens to me after I kill the giant? According to your world’s stories where do I end up?”

“Um, you don’t end up as a crewman on the Jolly Roger; I know that much. I haven’t read your story in a long time but I think you ended up stealing gold from the giant’s castle and living a life of riches and wealth.”

“That’s a pity. There wasn’t any gold when I went up the beanstalk. There was just a giant sleeping on a cloud with a pile of bones around him. He had a golden ring on him and I had tried to take it but that’s how I woke him up. When he died I went to find the ring but it must have slipped off his finger when he fell because I never saw it again. After I killed the giant my dad had a heart attack a few days later and I was left with nothing. I wandered around for a long time, looking for work and places to stay because I wasn’t very good at stealing. I eventually came to Crystal City and met King Stephen and Queen Leah. The city was in mourning because their princess, Aurora I think her name was, had just fallen under a curse and was asleep forever. Captain Hook and Sinbad had come to give their condolences and that’s where I found them. They were looking for a few extra men as their ship had been attacked just before arriving at Crystal City so with a bit of a talk they decided to take me in. That was over a year ago and I think I made the right decision. I don’t know where I’d be had they not taken me.”

Princess Aurora was real, Selvina reflected. Of course she was real. Why wouldn’t she be? As she thought of it further she was reminded of someone else that she had been curious about. “What can you tell me about Peter Pan?”

Jack’s eyes bugled and he put a finger to his lips, shushing her as he glanced across the ship at the captain. Whispering quietly, he said, “Don’t ever say that name out loud. Captain Hook will get furious and unpredictable if he hears you. He never talks about that man but he doesn’t need to. The whole crew knows the story.”

“I don’t…”

“Let’s just say it’s better if you don’t know, at least not yet. It’s not my place to tell you anyway. Only Captain Hook can tell you that story.”

“But you said he’d get angry and unpredictable if I brought it up.”

Jack chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. “He will so it’s better if you just leave it be.”

“But…”

“The Ocean of Ice Peaks is far away, Selvina. I have a feeling he’ll tell you eventually. Either that or we’ll get attacked by Peter Pan and then he’ll have no choice but to bring it up.”

“What do you mean attacked?”

Jack smiled and chuckled. “I’m not saying any more.”

Selvina frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s not fair, Jack! I want to know!”

“And I want a harp that plays by itself but you don’t see any of those around, do you?”

Selvina huffed and eyed the moon shining off the ocean waves for a few moments before looking at Jack once more. “Why do you want a harp?”

“I like the sound they make, why else?”

Selvina rolled her eyes. “Smart ass…”

“Nosey girl.”

“Mop head.”

“Haystack hair!”

“Giant killer!”

“You’re damn right about that one.”

Selvina groaned in frustration and stood up, frowning deeply. “I’m going to bed, you insufferable prick!”

“Try not to wet yourself dreaming about me.”

Selvina’s eyes widened and she gasped in shock. “You….you…Ugh! You’re unbelievable…”

“And you’re gorgeous.”

“Shut up, Jack.”

“Sleep tight, Selvina.”

She turned around and stomped over to the hatch that would take her below to the crew’s quarters. She bent down to pull on it but found it secured tightly. She grunted as she tugged with all her might but found it stuck. She looked up and could barely see Captain Hook. She didn’t want to take him away from the wheel just so he could lift the latch up for her so she tried a few more times but could never succeed. She kicked the latch with her foot but only ended up hurting herself. She whimpered in pain and sat down next to it, holding her injured foot. She removed her slipper and looked at her toes and fortunately they all looked intact. Her big toe hurt to touch but she could still move it.

“Latch is stuck again?” she heard a familiar voice ask.

“Go away, Jack.”

“It looks like you might need my help.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Really? You’ll be able to sleep on the deck? It can get pretty wet sometimes.”

“I don’t want to hear you talking about wet things.”

Jack laughed and sat across from her, the stuck hatch between them. “If you want help you just have to ask.”

“I don’t want to ask anything from you.”

“Ease up, Selvina. I was only kidding around with you. Why do you have to take it so seriously?”

“I just wanted to know what the big deal was about Peter Pan and you had to go and be a total jerk about it.”

“Selvina, don’t say that so loud, and I told you that it’s not my place to tell you about him. Trust me when I say that. That business is with Captain Hook, not me.”

Selvina sighed. “I know…I’m just tired I guess. Your teasing didn’t make things any easier, though…” She grabbed a strand of her hair and brought it before her so she could see it with her eyes. She looked up at Jack with concern. “Does my head really look like a haystack?”

Jack smiled and shook his head. “No. I didn’t mean that.”

“I don’t know if I believe you.”

Jack rolled his eyes and sighed. “Believe what you want, Selvina. You are absolutely beautiful, got it? You’re probably the prettiest girl I’ve ever met.”

“How many girls have you met?”

“Well…not that many but…still.” He looked down at the hatch. “Don’t you want to go to sleep?”

Selvina smiled at him and nodded. “I’d like to, yes. May you please help me?”

Jack smiled back and bowed. “Of course, milady. It shall be my honour.” He then unsheathed a knife he had hidden behind his back and stabbed the blade between the hatch and the hole it stood over. With a sudden push it popped open and he lifted it all the way over. He gestured to the ladder leading belowdecks. “Your portal is open.”

Selvina stood up and gave him a curtsy with her dirty dress. “My hero.” She then began climbing down the ladder and Jack looked down at her through the open hatch hole.

“Goodnight Selvina. This hatch sticks sometimes. I guess Cap forgot to get it fixed when we were in port. You just need to jab something in the crack and give it a push. You know, for next time.”

Selvina looked up at him and offered him another smile. “Thanks, Jack, and goodnight to you too.”

****

Jack waited until she had left his view before closing the hatch again and sitting back with a great grin on his face. He sheathed his knife and stood up, the smile still there.

“Oy, Jack!” Captain Hook called from his position at the wheel.

Jack turned around and stood straight, waiting for an order. “What is it, captain? What do you need?”

Captain Hook pointed a rigid finger at him. “Be careful, lad. We’re taking her back home, remember that. I don’t want any heartbroken fools on my ship when she leaves. Keep those emotions of yours in check.”

“I will, captain.”

“Good, now go tighten up the flying jib. It’s waving around too much.”

“Aye, aye!” Jack hurried across the deck of Jolly Roger toward the bow, the captain’s words of warning already gone from his mind, replaced by an image of lovely Selvina with her disheveled hair of gold and her dirty blue dress. He had never seen anyone so beautiful in all his life. How truly lucky he was to be on a ship with her.

He had indeed made the right decision in joining Captain Hook’s crew.