a

Drabble Challenge: Bootstrap Bill
August 3, 2005

By Honorat
August 3, 2005

~ Betrayal ~

Where are you Bill? In what forsaken valley of the sea do you lie tonight? When I give Barbossa the blood of your only child, will you curse me before the sea crushes you? I promised you once if anything happened to you, I'd look after your boy, but I did not find him until now. And now I'm taking him to your murderer, to finish that murder with his own blood—with your blood. For vengeance. For the Black Pearl. Does it count, Bill, that I'll go with him? That I won't leave him alone with Barbossa? Or have I betrayed you as once I thought you had betrayed me. Will we see each other in that deepest circle of hell?

By Felaine
August 3, 2005

~ Bootstrap ~
From the personal log of Commodore James Norrington, at sea.

They were bargaining for their lives, Pintel and Ragetti, I realize that. I am not a complete fool.

"We can show ye where we dropped Bootstrap; take ye right to him. The ropes must'a rotted; he'd have drifted to the near land. . . "

They babble on--why should I care? William Turner Junior already has my love's desire, why should I lift my hand to bestow on him even more?

Because I can; because, God help me, it is the right thing to do.

A word I had never though to hear myself utter passes my lips.

"Parlez."

By Jenthegypsy
August 6, 2005

~ What's In A Name? ~

“I knew him. Probably one of the few that knew him as William Turner. The others just called him Bootstrap or Bootstrap Bill.”

“Bootstrap?”

“Aye”

“Bootstrap? What kind of name is Bootstrap? What does that even mean?”

“No need to go on about, boy. It is what he was called, that’s all.”

“His name was William Turner.”

“And his name was Bootstrap Bill Turner. His pirate name, because, as I have mentioned to you repeatedly, your father was a pirate, and a good man. Now can we get on to something else? These circles in which you insist on talking are beginning to make my head ache.”

“It is a stupid name. You are making it up, just as you are making it up that he was a pirate.”

“And a good man.”

“Blast it all to bloody hell! Stop saying that!”

“Temper, young Mister Turner, temper. It won’t do to vex me at this tenuous point in our relationship, and you are drawing very near to doing so with your incessant prattle.”

“But I…”

“By the gods, that’s enough! I don’t bloody know what it means, all right? He went by Bootstrap and he would never answer me as to why, so I can’t possibly answer you as to why, now can I? Maybe he didn’t know why! Bill didn’t know. I don’t know. You don’t know. So, there we all are, none of us knowing, and none of us telling and only one us making a bleeding stink about it!”

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

“That about covers it, yes.”

“So we’ve finished with the bloody British Inquisition over your father's name then?”

“For the moment, Jack. We’ve finished for the moment.”

By Eledhwen
August 7, 2005

~ Love Song ~

By Geek Mama
August 9, 2005

~ A Lucky Man ~

~.~

All our authors thrive on feedback. Email the Webmaster to have comments forwarded to the author.

Back to Drabble Menu