Chapter Two
An Unfortunate Normalcy and A Strange Journey
The Caribbean sun dawned hot and bright, burning away most of the remnants of the previous day's storm before mid-morning. Light pierced the small hut, prying between the lids of a man, refusing to be ignored, so Captain Jack Sparrow groaned as he unwillingly woke, sitting up from his slouched position. His back protested the movement as it popped loudly, spreading down his from his shoulders to the small of it.
He glanced blearily about the small cabin, searching for Jenny and was not terribly surprised to find her absent; she had often been awake before the rest of the crew, himself included, when they'd been shipmates.
The pirate remained seated, resigned to wait for the young woman, when she came rushing through the door, slightly out of breath, and slammed it behind her. Shouting could be heard from the other side, and she ducked as a knife imbedded itself in the door, piercing it just where her head had been. Jack shot up, hand going for his cutlass as he snarled at the unknown force beyond the door, fully intending to run the bastard through when Jenny pulled him down.
A hole blasted through the door near the knife and she shushed him, keeping a hand on his back to keep him down. The shouts eventually faded and she got up, helping him up and brushing dust off both of them.
"What was that about, Jenny?" Jack asked worriedly, checking her over for injuries.
She turned away quickly, avoiding his gaze. "Nothing, Jack."
He frowned at her, grasping her shoulders and turning her to face him. "Shooting at you and throwing knives 'ain't 'nothing' love," he said forcefully, shaking her a bit.
The sorceress wriggled out of his grasp, replying, "They're men from the village who fear me for being a magic user, nothing more." Her tone booked no room for retaliation; this was how it was, and he would leave it at that. Period. He scowled, but let it drop, choosing to broach the subject from the previous evening.
"'ave you decided whether to be me first mate, yet?"
She sighed, placing the basket of herbs she collected on the table. "I will come with you," the woman said slowly, "but are you sure that it's a good idea for me to be first mate?"
He gently grasped the woman's shoulders, turning her to face him. "I told ye before, luv; there ain't another soul I would rather 'ave watchin' me back then you."
A light blush painted her cheeks and she turned away to begin making breakfast.
Two hours later found the two pirates readying the 'ship' for departure; due to the state of the thing, this mainly consisted of draining it and re-tarring the hull to fill the numerous holes that littered the wood.
"Dare I ask who you purloined this masterpiece from, Captain?" Jenny asked, smirking as she wiped sweat and stray hair from her eyes after several hours of tarring.
He grinned almost sheepishly, and responded, "An old friend graciously donated it to me cause."
"Forget I asked…"
Eventually, they had repaired the boat to a point where it wouldn't sink the moment they stepped into it and set off north towards Tortouga. They spent hours talking, catching up on old times and conversing in a mixture of broken Italian (broken on Jack's part, Italian on Jenny's), English, and the strange native language of the island people who had made Jack their chief.
Soon enough, night fell and the silent question arose; who would take first watch.
"I'll take first watch," the sorceress offered, taking note of the darkness under Jack's eyes. The pirate made a motion to protest, but she cut him off. "Captain," she said, stressing the word, "I am perfectly capable of navigating this ship, or any other, for that matter, and you are quite obviously in need of a rest. Before last night, when was the last time you had any decent sleep?" Jenny asked accusingly.
Jack looked slightly sheepish for a moment before grumbling something that sounded suspiciously like 'four months ago.'
Jenny's eyes narrowed. "Precisely. Now, lay down and I'll keep watch. I'll wake you in a few hours to rotate."
The pirate showed serious signs of arguing the point until a yawn overtook him and he was forced to concede, reluctantly curling up on the small mound of sail scraps left from their mending. His hat was tilted over his eyes and within minutes soft snores drifted from beneath the rim.
Jenny sat still for a long time, simply watching him, before eventually muttering a few foreign words; a gentle breeze picked up in response to the prayer. To Jack, she sent a small spell to ease sleep.
"You're not alone, anymore. You do not have to spend your days watching the shadows and your nights with one eye open; I will aid you as best I can, my Captain, and I will protect you no matter the cost, my Jack."
Beneath his tri-corn, Jack Sparrow felt his heart swell in ways that it hadn't in the better part of a decade and tried to ignore the small tendril of worry that crept up his spine as sleep embraced him.
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The two pirates settled into a four shift rotation, only interrupted when one took the other's shift, (as they both did, not wanting to wake their companion) and three days later found both pirates awake and bailing the dingy out for the umpteenth time.
"Perhaps we should have spent more time tarring the hull, Captain," Jenny offered, her arms beginning to burn from the constant motion.
He gave a somewhat bashful grin, grunting, " Aye, yer probably right, love," as he dumped another bucket of water overboard.
"Shall I check for land, Jack? We're still days from Tortuga and I seriously doubt that this boat will survive that long." Jack nodded his assent and Jen grabbed the eye glass, swiftly climbing the rigging to look out over the blue.
"Land ho. It looks like we're heading to Jamaica; Port Royal is straight ahead," Jenny called down, taking the glass from her eye.
"How far out are we, Jen?" Jack asked, squinting at the small green smudge on the horizon.
"Far enough to do this without worry." She tucked the glass in her belt and began to chant, bringing her hands together in front of her chest. Jack recognised the gesture and brought a hand to his hat, holding in firmly in place and holding onto the mast as the wind picked up. The sails filled rapidly and soon they were speeding along, the smudge growing and becoming more defined.
A good while later, a sheer cliff towered over them and the winds slowed to the usual ocean breeze. After muttering the release, Jen descended shakily from the mast, slipping the last few feet into Jack's outstretched arms.
"Easy, Jenny. Jus' take a little rest an' let me do th' bailin' fer a bit," the pirate said, easing her down onto the driest of the benches. She made no move to protest, only inhaling deeply and closing her eyes as she caught her breath.
The captain continued to bail, keeping an eye on his first mate to ensure she was recovering. He paused only to take off his hat to a group of skeletons dangling from a stone arch, a sign baring the legend "Pirates Beware" gaming from the middle one. By this point, Jen had regained her strength to the point where she could stand fairly steady in the small boat and gazed at the boney figures.
"Well, that's new..." she muttered, snatching a bucket and dumping more water out of the boat.
Jack cocked a brow at her. "Ye've been 'ere before?" he asked, curiosity tinting his voice.
She nodded. "About eight years ago I was the governess of a noble's daughter. I stayed with the family for a few years before mysteriously vanishing one night on the beach." She sent the pirate a smirk at the last bit; he had been the one to show up on that moonlit night five {may be subject to change} years previous, finding her on the beach and convincing her to come away for another of his crazy adventures.
He smirked thoughtfully, "So this is th'island I found ye on last go'round..."
Jen resisted the urge to roll her eyes; Jack had to be the luckiest pirate on the bloody seas at times.
"Shall we focus on the task at hand, Captain?" she asked, dumping another bucket.
"An' wot would that be, Jen?"
"Getting to land without arousing suspicion."
He pondered for a moment before swiping the sorceress' hat and plopping his own on her head, smudging her face with dirt. Her hat promptly fell apart in his grasp.
She glanced up at the tri-corn and gave him an odd look; he never relinquished his hat to anyone willingly.
"Tuck yer 'air int'that. With yer baggy clothes, ye won' get a second glance."
She sent him a smirk. "And what, prey tell, shall we be?" she asked; the docks were approaching.
"Jus' a couple 'a blokes. Now, up the mast, luv." Bailing had become futile by this point as more water rushed in then they could dump it out and the pirates quickly ascended the rigging, balancing on the beams.
They reached the dock just as their perch sank to it's level and Jack elegantly stepped off the mast, turning to check on his first mate. Jenny, falling into the part of ship-hand, clumsily jumped, stumbling to a halt on the planks.
They started towards shore, Jen grabbing a barrel and hefting it on her shoulder to blend in as the quartermaster approached.
"You, boy, take that to the Dauntless," he ordered the sorceress, barely looking at her. She grunted her acknowledgement and set off towards the largest boat moored.
Behind her, she heard Jack being stopped for payment and his small bribe, followed by his thieving. Jen shot a look over her shoulder as she lowered the barrel to the dock before walking towards town, silently beckoning Jack to follow her.
They fell into step with each-other and disappeared into the midday crowd. Once they were well into the market at the town centre, Jen turned into an ally and Jack followed, checking to be sure they were unobserved.
"I still have a few old strings I can pull here. I'll try to procure us lodging and supplies." She shot Jack a warning look. "Stay here and don't get into trouble."
The pirate feigned hurt, sending a wounded look at the sorceress. "When 'ave I not stayed out'o trouble, Jen?"
She snorted indelicately. "Do you want the first volume or the second? I believe I've written most of them down."
Jack laughed, sending a warm tingle down her spine, and gave his solemn oath to avoid trouble when he could. "I can make n'promises when trouble seeks me, 'owever," he added cheekily and danced away before she could draw her sword to whack him over the head with.
A reluctant chuckle escaped Jen's lips and she walked off towards the market, shaking her head as she went.
She spent a few minutes skirting the edges of the square, looking for a proper target before spotting a stuffy man with a powdered wing and a fat purse. The pirate smiled, swiftly approaching him from behind.
A small, sharp blade slipped into her palm, primed for use. At the precise moment, she stumbled into the man, cutting his purse string and muttering fervent apologies as she tipped her hat.
"Terribly sorry, guv'na," she offered gruffly, slipping the bag into the back of her sash with on hand as the other gripped the front of Jack's hat, tipping it subserviently.
"You'd better be, peasant," the man sneered, haughtily brushing nonexistent dirt off the shoulder she had hit.
The sorceress forced down a scowl and quickly made her exit, slipping into a group of dockhands moving away from the man.
She was a good ways away before she heard the angry shouts of her victim cursing the man foolish enough to rob him. And the pirate smiled.
