A Study in Maroon by Maureen S. O'Brien DISCLAIMER: Pirates of the Caribbean belongs to Disney. I grovel before the might of the Mouse. This is intended as fair use. Historical information comes entirely from _Under the Black Flag_ by David Cordingly. I cannot recommend it too highly. ---------------------------------------------------------- "So why did they maroon him?" Annamaria glanced at Elizabeth Swann, who was standing beside the wheel. "Barbossa wanted him put out of the way. Thought you knew that." "Not Barbossa -- the crew. I haven't lived in Port Royal all these years for nothing. Don't pirates usually elect their captains, and elect new ones if the old ones do something to displease them?" "True enough." Annamaria frowned. Too many questions. "So why mutiny? And why maroon Captain Sparrow? That's usually done among pirates only as a punishment. For...." Annamaria lowered her voice. "For stealing, concealing booty, or deserting in battle. Yes. Keep your voice down." Elizabeth turned her head to face the prow and spoke in tones only a little louder than the slap of wind against canvas and waves against wood. "I don't believe it." "It's true," Annamaria admitted. "I was there." Her lips twisted. "I was the booty." "But...you must have been only a child!" "I was a slave. The Black Pearl came to the river to take on fresh water, and my parents were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Booty." "But there were black men on the Pearl. Surely...." Annamaria stared at her. "Who but black men sold my people into slavery in the first place? Plenty of white slaves on the plantations," said Annamaria, "thieves and rebels your king's had transported. You don't see the other white folk freeing them, do you? And half the pirates in the Caribbean came into the trade by being pressed on the high seas. Not so different from joining your navy, either, I hear. And if your lad's a blacksmith, he must've been indentured seven years as an apprentice. That's just slavery with a contract and short terms." Elizabeth's brows were knit together. Annamaria looked at her pityingly. She wasn't too bad at thinking, but nobody'd ever made her think about this. "Anyway, the point is that pirates don't just steal gold. We steal everything that we can use or fence. Gold from selling slaves or silk spends just as well as what comes out of stolen treasure chests. Better maybe -- less chance of a curse." Annamaria grinned. "Captain Jack must not have thought so, if he freed you. But why did he take your parents at all?" "How could he override the crew?" She shrugged. "Captain Jack went a-walking down by the river and spotted my footprints. He didn't tell his men, but he pretended to take a walk and tracked me right to the tree where I was hiding, told me to run back to the plantation and give the alarm, and went back to his ship. He didn't free my parents, of course. That would have been suicide. He told me once when he was drunk that he had some idea of buying my parents with his share of the treasure of La Isla del Muerto, but I wasn't drunk enough to believe him. As it was, he did too much. Barbossa saw my footprints too -- and Jack's." She shrugged again. "Barbossa showed other crewmen the footprints, which was how he got them to turn against Jack. Then he persuaded Jack to share the headings -- not just out of kindness, but as blackmail to keep him from telling the crew. Next day, they marooned him for concealing booty worth more than a Spanish dollar. He broke the Code. And if this crew knew about it, they'd likely have refused to sail with him, so keep your mouth shut." She glared at Elizabeth. Elizabeth looked puzzled. "But they're not rules. They're only guidelines." "The ones about money are rules." She spun the wheel, and Elizabeth stepped back. Good. But it was only for a moment. "But you're not a slave anymore. How did you escape?" "There was a sudden absence of a plantation." Her lips curled up a little. Elizabeth waited a moment, as if expecting more story. She didn't get it. Elizabeth didn't take the hint. She just turned back toward Annamaria and tried again. "What happened to your parents? Did you ever find them again?" She spared Elizabeth another glance. The girl was actually worried. Soft-hearted. Probably worried about her pug dog, too. All the same.... Annamaria looked out to the horizon. "I found them." She allowed herself a small smile. "With a little help from Jack." THE END -------------------------------------------------------- Author's Note: Occasionally there were maroonings done because one part of the ship's company wanted to go one way and the other another; sometimes this included the captain (who remained captain of his supporters, unless they grew disenchanted with him). But generally, what's written here is true.