Just My Luck
Oneshot, alternate as to how Marana meets Jack, please read and review blah blah blah the usual. Marana's a pirate before she meets Jack.
- - - - - - -
The wind blows in my face as I adjust the hat on my head and the rope at my feet. I tie the rope into a secure figure-eight knot and shout,
"All hands to stations!"
Immediately, my crew is aroused, and they take about their daily duties. I lean against the railing and sigh. Sometimes it's a hard life, being a pirate and all. Sometimes I just want to throw myself overboard and let the ocean take me. The days go by with nothing but rum, fighting, and crime. It may seem like an exciting way to live, but to me, it gets pretty dull.
According to my brother Conrad, pirates never fall in love. He says they cannot be loved after all of the crimes they commit. That was before I had thrown out my dresses and corsets, bought a ship, established a crew, and sailed off in fresh sailors' clothes, bound for the ends of the horizon.
Oh, how I was about to prove him wrong…
- - - - - - -
One day, I crossed paths with Jack Sparrow.
My ship, the Lady Luck, is making good progress. I am standing at the wheel, my dark brown wavy hair blowing around my face. My face is slightly sunburned from my days of trekking the Caribbean, my days of being a pirate. I stare out at the sea, wishing that there was some way that I could take back my crimes but still be free from dresses and corsets. As I'm about to give up hope, my first mate Maria comes up to me.
"Captain, ma'am, the Black Pearl's approaching."
I quickly tie my hair into a ponytail and look behind us. Sure enough, there's a ship coming up. It's large and black, with tattered black sails.
"Hard to starboard, you filthy dogs! Let's show these scum who we are!" I shout.
As the ship is turning, I see someone at the wheel of the Pearl. I can't make out his features, but there's a strange feeling in my heart. It's almost pulling me towards him, like he's some long-lost friend or something stupid like that.
The ships become aligned. There's commotion and shouting among the decks of the Pearl. A group of men boards the Lady. I draw my sword and adjust my brown jacket. If it comes to a duel, then so be it. A man lands right in front of me. He's tall, handsome, and smiling. I scowl.
"Who among you do you name as Captain?" he asks. I give him a blank look and reply,
"You're looking at her, stupid."
He laughs. "Right…I doubt it. Really, who's your captain?"
Angrily, I swing at him. We battle back and forth across the decks. Every time our eyes meet, which is pretty much the whole time, he's grinning. All I can do to prevent myself from getting distracted is imagine this man being hanged. That calms me down a little.
He shouts at me,
"Are you really captain of this ship?"
"See for yourself!"
I held his sword arm still while I pulled up my sleeve to reveal my tattoo. It's red, and it shows a lark holding a rose in its beak. He stops dead in his tracks and drops his sword. Now I have my chance. I pull out my pistol and point it at his head. I can't help but smile. He smiles back. I scowl quickly, realizing my mistake.
"What business do you have on my ship?" I ask, holding my pistol steady.
"I was trying to find you." he replies.
In a little shock, I blurt out, "Who are you?"
He smiles again. "Captain Jack Sparrow, at your service, love."
I shout out, "Don't you dare call me that!" He steps back a little.
"I just never thought I would find you."
Now I'm really angry. "What in the name of hell do I have to do with you!?"
He steps closer. "If you'll take that pistol away from me and come aboard my ship, I'll tell you everything."
- - - - - - -
"Welcome aboard." Jack smiles as I climb onto his ship. He leads me into his cabin.
As soon as the door shuts, I start yelling. "I want to know right now why I'm here or, I swear, you'll never see another day!"
He tries to calm me down. He touches my hand, saying, "Love, over five years ago, I was told by a voodoo priestess that I was destined to be with you. From then till now, I was searching all over the world to find you. I needed to tell you."
"Tell me what?" I'm still unsure.
"That…oh, God, this is really hard to say."
I decide to pound some sense into him. "Jack…Captain Sparrow…there is absolutely no way that you and I are destined for each other. I just live through the days, hoping and praying that I can change my ways and keep from dying." I don't know why, but I just kept blurting stuff out. "I don't want to be a pirate. I don't even know if my life is worth living." By then, I'm almost crying. This is the last thing I want: crying in front of the man who just barged onto my ship.
He gently takes my shoulders. "Marana…Captain Lark…maybe I can help you get through that."
"How!? How can you help me?" I'm really crying now. His expression is full of sympathy.
"Marana, all I know is that my heart is being pulled towards yours, that you are destined to be with me and that…well…that you're beautiful."
I jerk away and calm down a little. "Jack, how in the world can that be possible?"
"Anything is possible, love."
All I can do is stare at him. True, he is handsome, but he's just another pirate who thinks he's all that. I refuse to fall into this trap. I say bitterly, "Jack, my life is already a spinning hellhole. I don't need you adding to it." He slowly removes my hat. He's muttering something.
"Five years…five years of searching and searching…and everything lies right here. My troubles and toil end right here…right where you stand, Marana." His hands rest on my shoulders. They move up to my face. He's going to do it. I know he is. I step back a little.
"Jack, what are you doing?"
He smiles a little. "Love, our destiny is about to be entwined." Without another word, he pulls me to him and presses his lips to mine. For a while, I just stand there, and let myself be kissed. I may even be kissing him back. All I know is that a few seconds later, I step back and stare at him. He looks shaken, like he's regretting what he just did to me. I'm too shocked to speak or lash out or scream or do anything at all. As soon as I find myself again, I run from the cabin, grab a rope, and swing back onto the Lady.
"Load the guns!" I walk to the mast and raise our colors: a jet-black flag depicting a skull, with a rose and a sword instead of crossbones. The cannons are loaded.
"FIRE ALL!" I scream over the whipping wind.
Loud bangs fill the air. I climb into the rigging and stare out at the Pearl getting full of holes. Jack comes out on deck and looks out at me. I draw my sword and glare at him. There's too much noise and smoke for me to notice the other ship coming up next to mine. As soon as I hear "Sail ho!" I turn around and gape at the Navy vessel.
When I turn back around, Jack is standing next to me. I immediately point my sword at him. We turn back around to see a bunch of soldiers standing on the deck of the ship and aiming at us with rifles. There's a gunshot. Jack pulls me down. The shots hit the railing. I turn over and watch multiple Navy soldiers land in front of me. Jack pulls me up and starts fighting with them. Among the guns and swords, I see my brother. I walk up to him. He's utterly shocked to see me.
"Marana, what in the world has happened to you?" he says in surprise.
I reply angrily, "Absolutely nothing I didn't deserve!"
He stares blankly at me. "Marana, you do know that you're due for the gallows, don't you? I can't sympathize with you after all the crimes you've committed." Suddenly, every bad thing that has ever happened between Conrad and me crashes down on me, and I start dueling with him. My hair flies into my face, blocking my view slightly. There's no way, absolutely no way, that Conrad Lark is going to send me to the gallows. He's as angry as I am. He pulls his sword away, and then he slashes me across my shoulder. I barely notice anything, but blood starts dripping down my chest.
A pair of arms wraps around my waist and chest and pulls me back. One of the arms holds a pistol to my brother. Conrad is startled. I relax and lean back against Jack, relieved to be in his arms. Jack scolds him, "That's no way to treat my girl, mate." He's angry. I'm happy. Jack tightens his grip on me, which relaxes me even more. "If you have something to say, then you can take it out on me, not her." He cocks his pistol. His grip on me relaxes a bit. He starts whispering to me, "I'll take care of everything, love. Just trust in me." Conrad sees his lips brush up to my face. He shouts,
"Enough!" He shouts angrily. Jack shoves me away and starts dueling with him. Everyone around us starts fighting as well.
I take the time to think, about Jack and Conrad. I barely knew Jack, but already, I felt drawn to him. I feel like what he said was true. I feel destined to him. Eventually, the fight is over, and Jack and I are in shackles.
Two minutes later, we sit in the same cell in the brig of the Navy ship, which is called the Interceptor. I lean against the bars, wondering how I would escape with my life…and Jack's life as well.
While I'm thinking that, I don't feel Jack take my hand. He's sitting next to me. I'm having mixed feelings. I don't know why, but I mutter,
"Jack, hold me like you just did a few minutes ago."
He coiled his arm around e again. I closed my eyes and inhaled the mixture of rum and gunpowder. I bury my face in his shoulder. I really don't care that I don't even know this person. This is the man who's going to help me turn my life around. And while I'm, leaning on him, his voice reaches my ears,
"Marana, what does it matter that we're in the brig?"
I sigh dreamily. "I know, Jack. Nothing matters now. We're together."
He pulls back and smiles at me. "I told you, we're destined to be with each other. And nothing can cheat destiny…or love. And I love you, Marana."
I pull back and look into his eyes. "Let's not go that way quite yet, Jack. Let's just focus on what's happening now." I lean back into him. He coils his arms around me again.
Soon after that, we hear footsteps. We stand up and see Conrad coming down into the brig.
"Marana," he says. "I have been thinking. I never took you seriously when you told me how awful your life was. I never thought you would actually do this…"
"Cut to the chase!" I snap.
"Marana, what I'm saying is that I'd like to give you another chance. I'm going to let you out of here."
I take Jack's hand. "Conrad, I'm not leaving unless you plan on freeing Jack as well."
Conrad shook his head. "I can't do that."
"Then I'm not leaving."
"Marana, would you really choose this pirate over a fresh start? Would you give up your one chance for a new life for a man you hardly know?"
Jack comes up next to me and coils his arm around my waist. I feel a surge of bravery. "Yes, I would. I'm sorry, Conrad." I step back. Then he unlocks the door. He motions for me to come out. When he noticed Jack staying behind, he said blankly,
"Jack can come, too." Joyfully, I hold out my hand to him. He takes it and steps out of the cell. Conrad brings us out on deck. He addresses both of us. "We will return to Port Royal. Marana, the charges against you will be dropped, as long as you promise to settle down. And Mr. Sparrow, you will have to promise to take care of her. She can be rebellious at times." Jack held my hand.
"I will, sir." Conrad continues.
"But…in exchange for the charges being dropped from you, Mr. Sparrow, you will have to agree to take up service in the employ of England."
Jack nodded, and Conrad left us there. I stood there for a moment, letting the sun and the wind caress my face. I turn to Jack. "Jack, would you really do this for me? Would you give up your pirate ways for me?"
He smiles. "Love, if I'm destined to be with you, then I'll do whatever is necessary to stay with you."
With the wind on my face, and Jack's hand in mine, I looked out at the sea and envisioned great adventures with Captain Jack Sparrow.