Another chapter! As everyone is biting their nails about the hurricane and bad weather, I managed to sneak a few minutes of internet time to post this! Enjoy!

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That night I slept huddled uncomfortably next to Adriano. Pintel was hogging up the only bed in the room and a lot of banging, screaming, and drunken laughter filtered in from the neighboring rooms. The floorboards kept creaking and since Adriano and I were sleeping on the floor, it became an annoyance.

"What on earth are they doing at this time of night?" I murmured grumpily, trying to find a more comfortable spot where the floorboards didn't shift. Adriano just shushed me and offered his shoulder as a pillow and I, too tired to complain any further, made myself as comfortable as possible. I was able to sleep a little until morning.

"OY! Git yer arses up offa dat floor now or I'll sail off wit'out yeh!" I groaned when Adriano sat up immediately. Pintel kept poking me with his shoe. "Git up, lassie!" As soon as I got up, Pintel was tugging at my hair again as it had fallen out of the ribbon as I slept. Exhausted and with an aching scalp, I let myself be ushered from the room and down the stairs. We were complaining of hunger so Pintel threw a few rolls at us (I would think more out of annoyance than concern for our health) and then led us out the door. We soon found ourselves at the docks and started searching for the ship we were to sail on.

"Er, Pintel," said Adriano "wot's the ship's name?" Pintel stopped in his tracks causing Adriano to run into him. He had a peculiar look upon his face. The corners of his mouth were drawn down and his brow furrowed as he stared ahead of him. After a beat he glared at us.

"Ne'er mind wot th' ship's called! Just hurry up!" He turned on his heel, walking briskly down the dock. We had to jog to keep up. There were so many ships at the docks that it seemed impossible that we would find the right one. We were about to pass yet another ship when something caught my eye. I stopped and turned to gaze up at the vessel and there standing on deck by the gangplank was Barbossa. He was surveying crewmen loading cargo onto the ship and for an instant his gaze fell upon me, his eyes narrowing. My eyes, however, grew to the size of saucers at being scrutinized by the captain and I scrambled to catch up with my uncle and brother.

"We passed the ship! Pintel! Pintel! We passed it!" I yelled running after them. It was then that fate decided for me to trip on an ill-placed coil of rope and I tumbled to the ground face first. There was a collective groan from those who had witnessed my clumsy moment. I was too embarrassed to get up. However, it had finally attracted the attention of my relatives. There was a sound of hurried footsteps as they rushed over.

"Chetta! Are you alright?" asked Adriano, putting a hand on my back. I only whimpered in response. It started to sting where my face had come in contact with the dock. Rough hands seized my shoulders and pulled me up. Pintel laughed as he dusted me off.

"Jest a lil brush wit' the ground, boy, nothing ta fret on--"

"She's bleedin'!" said Adriano, examining the right side of my face. Pintel put his face up close and looked. He winced (and I did the same at the smell of his breath).

"Gots splinters, he has," said Pintel, giving a stern look to Adriano. He turned his gaze back to me. "Now wot's got ye so bothered to have ye fallin' all over yerself, boy?"

"We--" I winced and started to tear up. My face stung when I talked. "We've passed the ship. 'S back there." I pointed towards where Barbossa had stood upon the deck, but he was no longer there. Pintel muttered something as we walked over to the ship. I looked up at the side and saw that the name was rather artfully called the Bejeweled Prestige. Then, to my horror, I saw that the captain had descended the gangplank and was now standing on the dock. His eyes were on me as we approached and I tried to hide behind Adriano, but he was almost as scrawny as me, so it did no good.

"Welcome to the crew, gents," said Barbossa. "Grab a load if you will. We'll be setting sail shortly."

Adriano and Pintel chorused "Aye, Cap'n," and went to help load the cargo. I went to follow, but Barbossa put a hand on my shoulder.

"I trust that the new cabin boy isn't that gauche all the time." I blinked, looking up at him with wide eyes. He laughed. "Means clumsy. To say the least." I blushed and he chuckled again. "Not very talkative, are ye, boy?" I shook my head.

"Chet's still not got his land legs back, Cap'n," said Pintel as he went by carrying a crate. "An' 'e on'y talks to his brudda here. I'm his uncle an' I on'y 'eard him say a scant few words!" Barbossa looked at me amused.

"Shy, then? Well, you'll most likely be openin' up by the end of the voyage," said Barbossa, chuckling and ruffling my hair. Some of it came loose of the ribbon. He then took my chin gently and examined my face. I couldn't help but tremble. "Off you go, lad! To the galley. Cook'll take care of that fer ye. There'll be jobs fer ye once we get out to sea." He gave me a little push and I scurried up the gangplank. I stopped and looked around the deck. Some rugged-looking sailors were bustling about to make the ship ready to sail and paid no heed to me. I saw a stairway going below deck and decided to see if that was the galley. Sure enough, as I descended the stairs, I heard the clanging of pots and pans. The man I assumed was the cook had his back to me as he reached for a pot and started scrubbing at it. He was short, squat and bald. He whistled a tune as he scrubbed, and seemed not to have noticed my entrance.

"Er…sir?" He jumped, dropped the pot with a crash and turned around swiftly to see me standing there.

"Where th' bloody 'ell did you come from?" he demanded, his grey eyes wide. He also had a brown moustache that looked bristled as if it were a startled cat.

"Cap'n said you coul' get my splinters out."

"Splinters?" said the cook, looking confused. "Wot 'choo get splinters for?"

"I…er...tripped and fell on my face on the dock," I said quietly. The man walked up close to me and took up my chin like Barbossa had. He tutted.

"Gon' ter have to pull dose out, laddie," he said, grinning in a way that made me uneasy. "Hold still. This won' 'urt…much." Before I knew it, he seized a rather large splinter between his long grimy fingernails and plucked.

I couldn't help the loud girlish squeal that escaped my mouth.

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"That wasn' awl that bad, now, eh, boy?" chuckled the cook as he wiped my face with a wet rag after freeing all the splinters. I gave a sigh of relief in reply. "Wuss your name, boy?"

"Chet," I said timidly. The man grinned, revealing a few missing teeth in front.

"Well, Chet, I'm Dirk Austen. Ever need a bite ter eat, ye know where to go." Dirk cuffed me on the shoulder, nearly knocking me over.

"Yes, sir!" I said. Dirk laughed.

"It's 'aye,' laddie! Yer gonna be a sailor, act like one!"

"Aye, sir!" I said, leaving Dirk chuckling to himself down in the galley.

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More to come later!