So as my other Pirates of The Caribbean fanfic is on hiatus for now, I decided to begin with this one.
This is JackxOC so if that displeases you please read no further.
Any reviewers, alerters, favouriters etc. will be mentioned in the chapter immediately following their review/alert/favourite and I will try to reply to as many reviews as possible should I get any in the first place.
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Anyway, enough from me! Hope you enjoy this one! It's no-doubtedly much better planned than the last and with a bit more spice.
Enjoy!
The pendant glittered and glowed in the lamplight, bringing a confident shine to Jack's dark russet irises.
'I see it satisfies you then?' the woman sat in the chair opposite him raised an eyebrow as she spoke, a small grin playing at her lips.
'S'long as it does its job, love.' Jack never took his eyes off the ruby gem. It was the centre of the pendant and around it were intricate designs delicately swirling in gold. 'S'good enough for me.' He thought of his beloved Pearl being able to sail the seas again and grinned at the jewel.
'Excellent.' She stood and extended her hand towards him. 'I therefore assume we have a deal?'
Delicate, pale skin and red-painted nails clashed with a tan and heavy rings as he shook her hand with a smirk.
'Tis an accord.'
~000~000~ Aboard 'The Maiden's Wrath', recently commandeered from Tortuga. ~000~000~
'Captain!' Joshamee Gibb's gruff voice resonated in Demelza's ears and she huffed.
'Aye, Gibbs?' Jack shouted back from his place at the helm. Demelza turned to see him nod behind him for Cotton to take over before making his way down the staircase towards his first mate.
As he strode past Demelza, she did not fail to notice he had added her pendant to his collection of finery that dangled from his dreadlocks .She grimaced at the mistreatment of her precious stone and averted her eyes back to the ocean.
'Cap'n, some o' the men been wondering. What is…?' he trailed off, glancing at Demelza as she tipped her head back to embrace the sea air that swept over her face.
'Her name's Demelza, Gibbs.' Jack supplied and Gibbs brought his eyes back to his Captain.
'Aye, her.' He cleared his throat. 'Some o' the men been wondering…what are her…wantings on this ship?' he glanced again at Demelza with a suspicious eye.
'You mean her intentions, Master Gibbs?' Jack corrected.
'Aye.' He kept his eyes on her. 'She is a woman after all and-'
'Master Gibbs, her intentions are her business I think you'll find, mate.' Jack rocked back on his heels and rested a hand at his belt. 'The only reason there is that I have come to know of said intentions, is because I am her only hope, as it were. If you wish to find those out for yourself, I'm afraid I'm the wrong person to be asking, mate.'
Gibbs nodded. 'I suspected so.' He said with a hint of defeat as his eyes cast downward in annoyance. 'Very well.' He flashed Jack a fake smile and hurried off in the opposite direction to Demelza.
Jack rolled his eyes, checked his compass and quirked an eyebrow before snapping it shut.
Feeling eyes on him, he turned in the direction of the woman and chocolate brown clashed immediately with sapphire blue.
'Demi.' Jack grinned briefly and strode towards her.
'Am I to address you as Captain?' She ignored the nickname and returned her gaze to the water.
This out-of-the-blue question momentarily shocked Jack a little and he frowned. 'Why don't you correct me when I call you Demi, Demelza?' He ignored her question and this time it was his turn to eye her suspiciously.
Her head snapped to look at him again and she locked eyes with him once more, narrowing them and pursing her lips. 'I asked first.'
'I asked second.' Jack shot back with a smirk and something twinkled in his eyes. Demelza sighed and turned her head away from him.
'I've been called many things, including Demi, Captain.' she hissed his title and glared at his profile when he only grinned.
'If you don't mind me asking, what else did they include, love?' Demelza's eyebrows shot up at the new nickname before she glared at him icily. Why would he ask such a question?
Jack's cocky smirk made itself clear on his features and she rolled her eyes.
'Many things.' She repeated.
His trinkets clicked and chimed against each other in the gentle breeze and she winced as her pendant collided gently with a mustard-yellow bead. Demelza let her eyes fall across his other beads. For some odd reason she found herself fascinated with them. She imagined each one having its own reason to be a part of his collection. Its own story.
Demelza was, and always had been, captivated by stories. Naturally.
Jack remained silent for a moment before he turned his head to look at her face and she quickly brought her eyes back to his.
'You may address me however you wish, love.' Jack nodded then frowned when he noticed a grin on her lips. 'Within reason.' He added and cleared his throat before heading back in the direction of the helm.
~000~000~
A harsh rapping at his cabin door brought Jack's eyes off his compass and to Demelza as she stepped inside. She grimaced at the musty smell of rum and wood, her nose wrinkling.
'Ah, Demi.' Jack lifted his feet down off the desk and he welcomed her in with a gold grin, gesturing to a chair opposite him for Demelza to sit down.
She stayed standing.
Jack's face then lost its warmth and dropped into an accusing frown.
'Demi, all of me crew are currently below decks. What are they doing there?' Jack decided to pick up on the thing he noticed when she'd first walked in. He'd brushed it off until she denied his offer of a seat.
'Eating, Captain.'
Jack felt a glowing warmth cover his neck and chest when she addressed him by his title. He resisted the urge to grin smugly and instead deepened his frown.
'Aye. And pray tell why you are not also?' he raised an eyebrow and looked back at his map again.
'Apologies, Captain.' She hissed the word once again and Jack visibly flinched. 'But I could ask you the same question.' She crossed her arms and smirked when his head shot up again.
Jack scoffed and reached for a dark-coloured bottle, swigging from it twice before slamming it back on the table again.
'Look, when are we-'
'What is it,' he cut her off, 'that caused you to deem it necessary to brace me with your, very red, presence?' Jack gestured towards her nails and matching attire with his bejewelled fingers. She noticed he had taken off his coat and was wearing a baggy ghillie shirt without the ties, leaving it open at his chest.
Demelza huffed and looked away from it. 'I came here to ask you how much closer we are to finding him. You must know, since you're Captain and all.' She placed her hands on her hips accusingly.
Jack swigged from the bottled again before standing to approach her.
'If you're questioning my truthfulness when I call myself Captain, then you are very much mistaken, Demi.' Jack stepped dangerously close and his rum-scented breath caused Demelza to glare straight into his dark eyes. 'There's no word of lie in it whatsoever.'
Demelza stepped back and Jack rolled his eyes.
'Look, lass. If I could perform witchcraft…' he paused, frowning in thought. 'I wouldn't go anywhere bloody near it but that's beside the point. What's directly smack-bang on top of the point is that I am trying me best, love. But you haven't exactly made it easy for when the only information you'll give me is that he's a bloody pirate!' He threw his arms in the air. 'Now, I realise you're not familiar with the ocean, love. I can tell from the way you're practically seducing the waves with your eyes whenever you're on top deck. But let us get one thing straight, me and your father aren't the only pirates out there, Demi. There's bloody hundreds. And finding the one who helped your mother make you is not going to be easy, especially when the information you've given me is so limited.' Jack's eyes widened as he spoke, accenting his words and giving Demelza the impression he was less impressed with her request.
'I've told you, that's all I can give you.' She spoke through gritted teeth. 'For now.'
Jack eyebrows raised, disappearing under his red bandana as he tried hard not to let his grin give too much away.
So there was more. He knew it.
Jack stepped closer again.
'What is it you need?' He lifted a hand and gently caressed Demelza's cheek. 'Persuasion?'
She fought against her subconscious reactions and instead caught his wrist firmly and looked him straight in the eye.
'I am a gypsy. A Land Pirate.' She spoke icily. 'The only difference between us is the sea, Sparrow.'
'Actually, I could name a few other differences.' Jack glanced at her chest and she dug her nails into his skin, bringing his eyes back to hers with a hint of anger behind them.
'I am no stranger to the likes of you Sea Pirates and your common desires, Sparrow.' She spat. 'Neither am I like the wenches from where I came from; who have no hesitation in kneeling to your every need.' She gripped him tighter when a flash of amusement shone in his eyes as he recognised her pun. The tighter grip caused him to chuckle and she glared icily before adding, 'Pun intended' and his face dropped in offense.
'So,' he wiggled out of her grasp. 'What can I possibly do for you, Demelza?' He drawled her full name causing an amused glint to flash in her eyes. 'To persuade you to slip out a bit more info, eh?'
He narrowed his eyes in challenge and she made a quick-snap decision.
Holding her palm out flat she raised both eyebrows confidently.
'I want my pendant back.'
Jack's face dropped and he glanced down at the ruby stone and back up to her face again, noticing no change in her determination. She was serious.
'As a safeguard.' She added insistently, lifting her hand higher and twitching her fingers towards her in beckon.
'I'm sensing a lack of trust here, Demi.' Jack hesitated to hand back his only way of freeing his beloved Pearl.
'You've never given me reason to trust you.' She scowled, her palm still outstretched.
'But have I ever given you reason to not?' he attacked back with a lopsided grin.
Demelza rolled her eyes. 'Give.'
Jack groaned audibly and reluctantly plucked the pendant from his hair and placed it on her palm. She immediately closed her hand and smiled. With its familiar weight there, she felt much more comfortable that she wouldn't be tricked out of a deal.
'I don't go back on my promises, Captain.' She locked eyes with him again. 'I will give you more information, as you request, as well as the other element. We will retrieve your ship. The pendant will do its duty, as promised.'
Jack smiled confidently.
'So long as to you keep your word too.' She warned. 'No ship comes out of any bottle until we find my father.' She narrowed her eyes. 'Understood?'
Jack nodded. Demelza thought she saw something else playing in his eyes but she chose not to pay heed towards it.
'Tis an accord.' He held out a decorated hand for her to shake.
'Quite.'
So let me know your thoughts on this so far. It will help me work out whether it's worth continuing or not. Sorry to those who were following me for James and Elmira in my other PoTC story, I will continue with it. I've just left it for a bit to focus on some other things. But I assure it won't be forgotten about.
Thank you for reading! =) Drop me a PM is you have any questions.
~sparrowismyhummingbird~