ANOTHER fanfic! What's wrong with JillValentine44? Why the heck does she write so many fics? Because she's schitzopherenic and has so many different characters in her head that if she doesn't get them out, she'll go insane. Yup. Hope you like this one!
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Disney, Johnny Depp, or any other genius/godly person involved with Pirates of the Caribbean! Don't sue me!
CHAPTER 1: WHY CAN'T I JUST BE ME?
"I don't want to get married, Victoria!" Myst argued, throwing herself down on her bed. "All these men you've been tossing me at aren't worth anything! They're just a bunch of bloody leeches who only want to get into the family and bridge the gap between England and the Caribbean!"
"Myst!" Victoria scolded.
"And what business is it of yours, Victoria?" Myst cried. "It's not even my mother's business! What I do in my life is my business!"
Hiding outside the room in the garden was a very unwelcome guest. Of course, no one knew of his presence or all would be chaotic. It was a pirate. Captain Jack Sparrow. He was hoping to get into the building and steal something of great value. He didn't realize who was residing in the house at the time, but he knew that once these jabbering women left the room, he would be able to get inside and pilfer something great. Sounded like the younger girl was pretty frustrated…
"You're becoming an old maid!" Victoria yelled. "Your mother got married at sixteen!"
"And look where she and my father are!" Myst argued. "They hardly speak! They only look happy when they make public appearances and that's just because they have to! There's no way I'm throwing my life away like that! They don't love each other! I'm waiting for the right man -- one I'm in love with!"
"Why do you have to be so difficult?" Victoria snapped. "This is why your parents keep you hidden from the public! Hardly anyone knows about you -- hardly anyone cares about you! If you'd just grow up and get married, you'd be able to go back to England and be what you were born to be!"
"You're just a governess, Victoria!" Myst yelled. "It's not your place to tell me what to do!"
"I raised you, Myst!"
"I'm twenty years old!" Myst retorted. "I don't need to be treated like a child! I know what I want and I know what I don't want! And what I don't want is someone telling me what to do!"
Victoria sighed. "Why can't you just give one of these men a chance?"
"Because I'm very picky! You know that." Myst told her.
"You're going to have to get over that, you know." Victoria scolded. "You won't even let one of them take your hand, for goodness sake!"
"I just… don't like being touched, that's all…" Myst said.
"That's going to get in the way of marriage, you realize." Victoria told her with sarcasm in her voice.
"I realize that." Myst replied bitterly. "It has to be the right one. I mean, I'll let the right man into my life, but I don't like being touched by just anyone…"
"Well, regardless of what you really want, Myst, you have to get married." Victoria pressed. "Your parents and I have decided that since you refuse to pick someone, you will marry Alexander Brown."
"Alexander Brown!" Myst exclaimed. "No! He's… he's… pompous and annoying and… honestly, not all that good looking!"
"Well, it's what we've decided for you."
"What you've decided for me!" Myst cried. "What about me!" She sat up and sighed. "I've had enough of this argument. I'm not marrying him. The end. Now, leave me."
Victoria sighed in annoyance. "You have to stop being so spoiled -- you're marrying him."
"Leave me." Myst repeated angrily. Victoria turned and left. After a minute, Myst got up and made her way out into the garden. Jack was hiding behind a bush and was unnoticed by Myst. He could see her now. Through the branches and leaves of the bush, of course, but nonetheless, he could see her. She had long brown hair with natural blond highlights that curled at the ends. She had very good form and long legs. She was clad in a very elaborate and colorful dress. She was extremely pretty and Jack wondered who on earth she was… She went up to a tree and put her hand up to one of the branches. One of the birds on the tree hopped down onto her finger. She smiled.
"Why can't I just be me?" Myst asked the bird. The bird cheeped and flew away. She furrowed her brow. Why had it done that? What scared it? She turned around and gasped in surprise. She stared at the stranger in her garden -- the stranger who had a pistol aimed at her. How did he get in? The brick wall encasing her garden was ten feet high…
"It'd do you best not to scream, darling." he warned her. She stayed silent, frozen in fear. "Now, come 'ere -- I'm not goin' to 'urt you." She stayed motionless. "Really, I'm not goin' to 'urt you." She took a few nervous steps forward and finally made her way over to him, but kept a bit of distance. He grabbed hold of her hand and led her inside. "So, tell me who you are, love -- I'm dyin' to know." She slipped her hand from his grip and sat down uneasily.
"I'm, er… Myst… and I… erm…" she stuttered, eyes on the pistol, "I'm…" she was too afraid to lie… "I'm… the daughter of the King and Queen of England…"
Jack's eyes widened. "I've never 'eard of a Myst in the royal family -- enchantin' name, by the way."
"My parents don't want anyone to, er… know about me, really." she said nervously. "They didn't want anything to happen to me… like getting kidnapped or… having a pistol pointed at me…"
"Understandable, I suppose." he replied. An idea had come to him. "You know, I really hate to do this, but I'm goin' to 'ave to take you hostage."
"What!" she exclaimed.
"Shh! …Look, this is an opportunity for me to make quite a bit of money 'ere." he told her. "So I'm goin' to 'ave to 'old you for ransom. I'm doin' this the nice way, but things can change in an instant, sweetheart." She gulped. "We're goin' to 'ave to get over that wall again… an' you're dressed awfully extravagantly… Why don' you change into somethin' simple?"
What kind of odd captor is this? Someone crazy obviously…
She nodded and went into her closet to change. He looked around the room and spotted a desk. He went to it and searched the drawers, finally pulling out some parchment and a quill and ink. He wrote a ransom note and signed his name arrogantly at the bottom. He placed the note on Myst's bed and waited for her to finish changing.
Her mind buzzed. How could she escape this? She pulled her dress off and quickly put on another, more tame one.
"You almost done, love?" he asked a bit tauntingly, coming up to the door. "Don' make me come in there…"
"I'm almost finished!" she replied quickly, panicking.
She frantically looked around her closet and saw something… a large, sharp hairpin. She supposed it could make a decent weapon… She stuck it in the upper skirt of her dress, just above a seam, so it wouldn't fall out. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
"Alrigh', there you go -- you look like a normal girl." he told her. "Well, let's be off. I left a ransom note over there -- they'll find it an' you'll be back home in no time." She nodded. He ushered her forward with the pistol, out into the garden. They stopped at the wall, next to a tree. "Suppose I'll 'ave to 'elp you climb over the wall…"
"Of course not -- I'll just fly." she said sarcastically.
"Ha ha ha." he stated. "You're a pretty funny girl, you know that? Jus' took you a minute to warm up to me."
"I have no intention of 'warming up to you.'" she told him bitterly.
"We'll see about that." he said with a smirk. A worried expression crossed her face. "Alrigh', jus' step into me 'ands and I'll lift you up. Don' run when you get over the wall, by the way -- I'd 'ate to shoot you." She nodded and stepped into his hands like he said. He lifted her up and she pulled herself up onto the wall. Jack climbed up the tree with relative ease and got up onto the wall as well. "Now, jus' hop down onto those crates." She looked down and nodded. Just then, Victoria hurried out into the garden. Myst looked over.
"Victoria! Help!" Myst cried.
"Now, why'd you go an' do that?" Jack asked, and sighed. "Hurry up and jump down."
"GUARDS!" Victoria screamed, running back into the house. Myst jumped down onto the crates and Jack followed.
"Come on!" Jack ordered, grabbing her hand.
They started running. Myst looked back quite often, but didn't see any guards. It looked like they were going too fast for them to keep up. They ran through the city and finally came to the docks where a huge ship with black sails was stationed. Jack pulled Myst aboard and pulled in the gangplank.
"SET SAIL!" Jack yelled loudly.
Myst wrenched her hand from his grasp and remembered the hairpin… She pulled it out and plunged it into whatever happened to be in her way. It happened to stick into Jack's upper arm. He yelled in surprise and pain. She took a split second to gather her thoughts and headed for the edge of the ship -- she was just going to jump off. At least she'd still be in the town. Just as she reached the ship's railing, Jack caught her arm and pulled her back onto the main part of the deck.
"That was not very nice." he told her. She yelled in frustration and tried to free her arm, but to no avail. "You're causin' me quite a bit o' trouble, darling -- I'm beginning to wonder if any ransom is worth this."
"Jack, what do you expect her to do?" Anamaria asked. She'd come up just in time to overhear him. "You just kidnapped the girl, apparently. I'm sure she's pretty scared." Myst looked wearily out at the city that was only getting farther and farther away. "So who is she?"
"Oh, this is a gem, Anamaria -- we've really 'it the jackpot with this one." he told her. "She's the daughter o' the King an' Queen o' England -- some big family secret, apparently."
Anamaria looked at him skeptically. "You bloody fool! What are you doing believing stories like that?"
"No, it's true." Jack pressed. "She was in the biggest, richest 'ouse in town, she's got the most extravagant wardrobe I've ever seen -- besides, she was terrified when I asked 'er. She didn' lie."
"Well, if you're sure…" Anamaria said. "So, is this a ransom or what? What are you going to do with her?"
"O' course it's a ransom." Jack replied, keeping a firm grip on the ever-struggling Myst's arm. "What else would I do with 'er?" Anamaria raised an eyebrow at him as if to say 'What do you think?' "You know perfectly well I don' do that to innocent women. Anyway, where are your manners, Anamaria? You 'aven' introduced yourself to our guest."
"Neither have you." Myst injected bitterly.
"Ha!" Anamaria exclaimed. "Can't scold me about manners, can you?"
"Oh, righ', I forgot…" Jack said. "Well, we'll get acquainted while I wrap up me arm, then, aye?"
"What happened?" Anamaria asked.
"Princess 'ere stabbed me with a hairpin." he told her flatly.
"A hairpin?" Anamaria asked. "Come on, Jack -- be a man. A hairpin?"
"Well, it went deep!" Jack retorted defensively. "Ouch." he stated. "So, Myst, shall we?"
"Do I have a choice?" she asked, irritated.
"Not really." he replied. He looked at Anamaria. "Set a course for Rosalia. We'll be givin' Myst 'ere back to 'er family there."
"Aye." Anamaria confirmed and went up to the helm. Jack pulled Myst below deck to the cargo hold, where he got some bandages.
"Really got me there, love." he told her. "Started to get on me nerves for a moment."
"Do you think you could let go of me now?" she asked bitterly. "We're too far away from home for me to escape, anyway."
"Promise you won' run?" he asked.
"I'll do my best." she told him and he let go of her. They sat down on crates.
"So," he began, starting to wrap up his arm, "what does a princess like you do in your spare time?"
"Well… I…" she thought for a moment. "Well, I don't really have any friends… so I… spend most of my time in my garden… just… talking to… sparrows, really."
"Oh, good." he said. "So your time won't change much, then."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Captain Jack Sparrow, sweetheart." he told her. "Consider yourself lucky -- not many people get to be kidnapped by such a famous pirate."
Myst shrugged. "I've never heard of you."
He looked at her. "What?"
"Sorry." she replied. "Should I have?"
"I'm jus' goin' to pretend I didn' 'ear that." he said, going back to his bandaging.
"Did you do something special or something?" she asked.
He closed his eyes, taking a blow at that remark. "I don' even know where to start… you've 'eard o' the Black Pearl, though, 'aven' you?"
"What's that?" she asked him.
"WHAT'S THAT!" he cried. "Oh, princess, you are a very deprived human being."
"Would you please stop calling me princess?" she asked. "My name is Myst."
"Jus' a starter for you -- this grand, beautiful ship is the Black Pearl." he told her. He sighed. "I will tell you all about the legend that is me at a later time. Righ' now, I'm still a little curious about you -- I've never met royalty before. So what else do you do besides spend time in the garden?"
"Well, I… practice fencing a lot." she replied.
"Really?" he asked, interested. "Are you any good at it?"
"Well, yes, if I do say so myself." she told him.
"Hmm. It's too bad you're not interested in an adventure." he said. "I could use another swordfighter in me crew. Most o' them can only use guns -- not swords." She eyed the extra bandages, holding her right hand shut. He noticed this. "You alrigh', love?"
"Erm… well… I sort of… gashed my hand open on the brick wall… there was a jagged piece sticking out of it…" she told him, holding up her hand.
"Oh, ouch…" he said, finishing his own bandaging. "Well, come 'ere -- let me take care of it."
"Oh, no, I can do it -- it's alright."
"It's impossible to bandage your own 'and, darling." he told her. She considered this for a moment and decided he was right. She got up and sat down next to him, keeping a bit of a distance between them, and held out her hand. He took it and started to bandage it for her. She didn't seem to mind his touch like she did most men… For a pirate, his hands were… comforting. They weren't soft, but at the same time, they weren't rough… she couldn't really explain it… but they felt nice somehow… "Your 'ands are really soft, love -- suppose tha's because you're royalty an' all…"
"Er, yeah…" she replied a little awkwardly. "So… you're a pirate… what are you… up to besides this ransom?" She seemed a little more trusting now…
"Well, actually… sounds crazy to someone who isn' a pirate, but… we're searchin' for a ship." he said. "Captain Kidd's -- it's a ghost ship."
"That's just a lot of superstitious stories -- ghosts don't exist." Myst dismissed.
"Told you it would sound crazy." he told her. "If you were stayin' with us, you could see it when we find it."
"Hmm…" she mumbled thoughtfully. "Wait a minute… Kidd… I've read about him…"
"Oh, so you've read about him, 'ave you?" Jack asked. She laughed; he smiled. "I knew you'd warm up to me." Her smile faded and she looked away. He finished bandaging her hand and they went up on deck. Anamaria approached them.
"So what are you going to do with her?" Anamaria asked. "You want to lock her in the brig?"
"O' course not -- she's a guest 'ere." Jack replied. "We'll give 'er a nice room. Honestly, where can she escape to?"
"Alright, well, I'll leave that up to you." Anamaria told him. "Welcome aboard, then." she added to Myst. Myst smiled awkwardly and looked out at the sea. She kind of liked it there… A ship… She was far from home… She was somewhat free. She was a prisoner of sorts, but she would be able to eat what she wanted and walk on the ship freely, so it seemed.
"Erm, sir," Myst said to Jack, "I haven't really eaten anything today… could I possibly have something to eat?"
"'aven' eaten today!" Jack asked incredulously. "It's pushin' one o' clock!"
"Yes, I… forget to eat sometimes…" she said timidly.
"Well, sure, let's go down to the galley, then." he told her. "An' me name's not 'sir,' it's Jack."
"Erm, right." she replied.
They headed down to the galley and salvaged something to eat for Myst. They found some leftover roast beef and a green apple. That was enough for her. It wasn't the best quality of food, as she was used to, but it was good nonetheless.
"Royalty." Jack stated as they sat in the galley. He was idly munching on an apple. "It' must be a great life. I mean, you've been rich your whole life, right?"
"Well, yes." she replied.
"You're lucky, then. I've always either been poor or a pirate." he said. "An' even as a pirate, I was poor for a while."
"If I had the choice, I'd share with people," she told him, "but I'm not allowed to…" Awkward silence… Jack just started to notice her features a little more. Her face was beautiful and she had gorgeous blue-green eyes. More blue than green. "Erm, it's really nice to be able to just… eat…"
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well, the people who raised me always wanted me to eat a lot…" she explained. "They would get really, really mad when I didn't finish my food… Then I just felt guilty and paranoid and I'd make myself sick from worry… So I don't like food all that much…" He listened closely. "It was strange, though, because they wanted me to eat a lot, but didn't want me to be overweight…"
"That doesn' make any sense." he told her. "Tha's insane."
"That's my life." she said. "Now my parents are forcing me to get married… Oh, I really, really don't want to… This man they're pushing me towards… he's… not a bad man, but… he's not that great of one, either… I really don't feel anything for him…" she sighed. "My parents don't understand… I mean, their marriage was a marriage of convenience… They don't love each other… I don't want that… I don't know… I just want to fall in love… and be together with whoever I might fall in love with…"
"Understandable." he added reasonably. "Suppose tha's really the way to live… Better than goin' to Rosalia an' gettin' somethin' jus' because you're drunk an' money is fallin' out o' your pocket."
"Oh, that's not good…" Myst said.
"No, it isn'." he said. "So, you swordfight, do you? Where'd you learn?"
"From people at home." she replied. "Everyone learns. We have to. Personally, I liked it a lot. That's really how I've spent most of my time as of late…"
"Well, when you're finished eatin', you can show me 'ow good you are."
"Er, alright…" she agreed awkwardly. She continued eating when something dawned on her. She looked up at Jack who was concentrating on his apple-eating and realized… she'd just poured her heart out to a pirate: the man who'd kidnapped her and held her at gunpoint… Why did she just do that?
After they finished eating, they went back down to the cargo hold and Jack found a sword for Myst to use. They each took a stance, ready to fight. For a few moments, they stood, unmoving, when Jack finally stepped forward and lightly and fairly slowly struck, she very quickly parried it.
"Hey, I'm better than that." Myst reasoned. She sped up the fight and they fenced quickly. After some impressive fencing, she swiftly parried an attack and pressed her sword to his throat. She smiled smugly.
"You really are pretty good." he said incredulously.
"Yes, I am aware of that" she replied arrogantly.
"But you shouldn' let your guard down." he added and quickly dashed her sword away from him. In her moment of confusion, he quickly disarmed her and her sword flew across the room. He held his sword to her throat. "Not bad, sweetheart. A little cocky, but not bad at all." He sheathed his sword. "The trick is to learn to manage your arrogance an' use it to your advantage." he told her, retrieving the other sword. "You know, it's too bad you're goin' back 'ome in jus' a few days." he added. "I could use someone with your skills in my crew." She smiled. "If you change your mind about leavin' -- eh, what am I goin' on about? You're a princess -- you won' want to stay on a pirate ship."
"Hmm…" she mumbled, thinking.
The next few days, Myst actually did start warming up to Jack a little more. He was refreshing. He wasn't a stuffy, rich and royal snob, he was a genuinely nice guy. And what fun was it to be on a ship… The ocean was always a great place to be. And, you know… Jack treated her like a person. The rest of the crew, too. She wasn't being judged, really. Most of them, of course, had never even seen royalty, but got over that pretty fast. She didn't hate being there…
They finally had Rosalia in sight. They would be there soon and Myst could go back home. But she was starting to wonder if she really wanted that… She found Jack at the helm and went to him.
"Jack, I've been thinking." she stated.
"Tha's great, darling -- I'm proud." he joked. She laughed and hit him in the arm.
"You know what I mean!" she laughed. "Look…" she began, more seriously, "I've been thinking about home… and… well, I… I don't want to go back." He looked at her. "One thing, I really don't want to marry Alexander… and as royalty, I never get to go anywhere… I like sailing and… maybe having an adventure."
"Really?" he asked interestedly. "Well, you're welcome 'ere."
"But what about your ransom?" she asked.
"You know, you're really a lot sweeter than the world deserves." he told her. She smiled. "Don' worry about it. Besides, we'll get plenty o' treasure from that ghost ship. Granted we don' get killed in the process. All we got to do is find the darn thing… First we got to find Porthis Isle… There's a man who lives there that knows where the ship sails. It's hauntin' a certain part o' the Caribbean an' we got to find out which one."
"So… just like that you're letting me stay?" she asked.
"Well, aye." he replied. "Why not?"
"I don't know… I mean, you've gone through a bit of trouble to kidnap me and all…" she said. "And you're going to be in a lot of trouble with the navy…"
"Well, if it gets to be too much trouble, I'll jus' toss you back 'ome."
"Hey!"
"I'm jus' kiddin', love!" he told her with a smile. "We'll see 'ow things go. You're welcome to stay as long as you like."
She sighed in relief. This was the escape route of a lifetime. She wouldn't miss royalty. She was tired of it. If she could just get away, for a little while at least, she'll be able to gather her thoughts and get her sanity back!
They sailed right past Rosalia and headed for Porthis Isle. The beginning of an adventure!
I know the princess thing is a bit of a stretch, but work with me here, okay? Thanks. Anyway, I hope you guys like this so far! PLEASE REVIEW! IT GIVES ME INCENTIVE TO CONTINUE!