Chapter 1:
"I used to sail in the clouds. With the birds and the stars."
I gave the man a quick glance,how poetic of him,considering his….condition. my eyes surveyed the man in amusement at his drunken display.
I made gesture with my right hand, signaling a passing pirate over. "My good man," I said,giving him a genuine smile, "be a gentlemen and get me a whiskey,on the rocks?" His response came with a grimy my hand went to my pocket,tossing him a generous amount of shillings.
"Aye miss." He slurred out,giving my youthful body a quick glance before sauntering away.
"And dey said, AYE-You be seen herr?" A slight laugh came from my mouth, and was quickly disguised as a cough. "yes-yes,15 shillings per bet." I said to my next set of victims who seated themselves at my bar table. I watched their money slide off there fingers and onto the center of the table, a minuscule smile twitching at my mouth.
Ignoring the bitter smell of ale on the man next to me,who was now rambling on about tortoises and back hair, I shuffled the worn cards in my hand. Keeping my eyes focused ahead and my posture a slack,I waited for the card that was most worn out in the stack; an ace,to slide across my fingers.
Making a quick motion with my index finger,the card was quickly flicked beneath the table and between my legs. I continued to shuffle,relishing in the feeling of the cards sliding to and from my hands. The men had situated themselves now, each taking clumsy sips from there glass bottles.
I scrutinized each of the four men carefully, intuitively reasoning who I was up against. The man on my far right seemed to be in a partly drunken stupor. I mused at the very likely possibility that he had half a coherent idea of what exactly was taking place.
The other 3 seemed slighty reasonable,but of course,nothing taboo to the other 40 or so men I've played against that evening.
"alright gentlemen,cards on the table, each 15 shillings game winner takes all loser takin' nothing,keeps to keep, 5 players one winner,you know the rules elbows on the tables-" I ranted off like an auctioneer, flicking the cards gracefully across the table to each of the players.
'5 of hearts,diamonds,2 of spades,queen,8 hearts,…" I mumbled silently to myself,having memorized the order of the cards I shuffle everytime, therefore being able to precisely keep track of who gets what cards.
'Eh,ill give him a queen, ill beat it with my-'I rough hand slapped down on the table, disturbing my thought process. The rotted chips shaking with the impact,some rolling towards the down slanted part of the table.
My head shot up, initially surprised at the distraction. The pirate stared down at me in disdain,eyeing my sitting form. I contrasted his snide expression. "good evening sir,care to join?" I shuffled the cards in my hand in question and clicked my tongue non-chalantly.
He continued to stare downwards,his frown forming deeper lines at the corners of his mouth. My eyes traveled to the ragged wig apon his head,adorned with the same dirt that coated most of his face and body. The wig seemed to match nicely with his equally as disheveled East India uniform. I chortled to myself,wondering if Ive threatened him and his naval officers in the past.
"oh,15 shillings a bet." I added as an after thought. A spew of mumbles came forth beneath his breath,every word being un-intelligible over the boisterous laughter of drunken pirates and pub music. He responded by slamming his bottle down on the table and dropping into the seat across from me. His felicitous manner blended well amongst the other men,in contrast his once haughty outfit.
I licked my lips, continuing to pass forward the cards. "so,have I….threatened you before?" I said,offering another card and a cheeky smile.
His eyes continued to stare ahead at me,not so much as a grunt coming from his throat.
"lets see,erhm…" I began,scratching my left cheek and leaning back. "oh,stolen from you? killed your friend?" I shot forward,pointing at him in revelation. "oh,of course! That was you!"
a stiff eye brow was raised in response,his left nostril beginning to twitch.
"Drunken night in chile? with sha-qui-qui? the dirt teapee?" I snapped my fingers at him feverishly,this had to be the-oh wait….no that guy was chinese.
"nevermind." I sat back again and sighed,reaching for my cards. "or,your not Chinese are you?"I questioned in afterthought.
His fists pounded on the table at that,the 10 cards in his hands drifting through the alcohol saturated air. The chair he was sitting in clanging to the floor as he shot up. A few men throughout the pub offered a glance in our direction.
"jayne. Sparrow." The words came out through cemented teeth,his dirt grimed nails digging crescent shapes into the tables wood.
"ah yes mate!" I clapped dramatically,mused at his statement. "so you've heard of me! I am,a legend in the making of-" my exclamation was cut short by the unsheathing of his gun. The rest of my sentence coming out in a puff of air. I felt my stomach contract slightly. Of all the guns I've had pointed at me,and it never seizes to rise bile in your throat.
At a lose for words,I nervously smiled,raising my hands infront of me. "Now,erhm-"
usually it takes at least 10 minutes for someone to point there gun at me.…I must of shot his friend. "I've waited too long." He said,the words squeezing out of the spaces between his teeth. Slowly I nudged myself out from between the booth and table, taking slow,judicious steps.
I watched chest heave with anger wearily, noticing the man's whole body was as rigged as the metal gun cocked in his hand. Biting my lip,I placed my hands up in surrender. The men that had surrounded the table moments ago now stood a safe distance away,observing with the forming crowd.
"not to cut this….wonderful meeting short…" I began carefully, my eyes quickly glancing down at the table, remembering its unsturdy slant.
"but-" I gave the table a hard push and threw myself to the floor, listening to the sound of a metal bullet whizzing above my head.
As expected, the table collapsed on top of the enraged pirate. I turned my head as a chorus of yells and cuss words began from behind me. A beer bottle lay broken at the feet of a pirate cradling in bleeding hand.
The event sent a wave of anguish through the pub, turning it into its stereotypical state. Swords and guns raising in the air, clashing together like deep rip currents.
My assassin still distraught by the table, I took to my unsteady feet, feeling a familiar sense of alcohol wash over me. Which, reminded me, that a certain pirate never returned with my drink.
"thank's mate." I mumbled grabbing his discarded drink off the floor and pushing my gated legs forward into the crowd. Almost tripping over my feet,I grabbed a pole for support and missed. The air heaved out of my lungs as gravity pushed me into another pirate.
He growled, shoving me off, and swinging his sword viciously. I stumbled away, placing my hands out in front of me as I continued to venture myself through the dastardly crowd.
A succession of gunshots arose from the bustle of the crowd.
Everyone froze,heads turning to a man standing apon a chair in the middle of the pub. "aye,not to disturb you but, feel free to sign up for me crew when your done….clashing swords and...decapitating limbs…"
he said,gesturing his hands in the air dramatically and pointing at the table off to his right.
An awkward couple moments of silence arose in the air, many men blinking in confusion,having forgotten exactly what it was that they were doing. seizing the opportunity,i threw myself behind a chair on the opposite side of the bar,crouching down non-chalantly; earning piqued stares from passing drunks.
I took in deep breathes,letting my heart rate decline to a steady pace along with the now settled bar. Carefully,I looked about the dimly lit faithful bride and sighed in relief. Not seeing the insane man anywhere in sight.
my smirked melted off my face as I saw him now at the table that the man only moments ago was gesturing to. That man, I churned in my head, knowing that he looked familiar. Actually, I hadn't even gotten a good look at him, too pre-occupied with avoiding getting a bullet imbedded in my head.
I crouched up on my knees,peering over at the conversation between the man at the table and sir looney bin. His posture seemed to lean on the table before his hands were thrown up in frustration.
I despertately needed to join a crew, remembering the last ones…. i shook my head,letting that train of thought end,not wanting to reminisce in that area. Looking back over, I leaned forward, squinting at the silleotte of the captain sitting back behind a tree.
Steadying the chair infront of me,I wrapped my hands around its back. With a slight hop, I scooted the chair forward, paying careful attention not to screech it across the wooden floor.
Staying aware of my every move,I continued to slide closer. Ignoring all possibilities that I was not,infact being subtle,crouched behind a chair in the ,middle of a pub.
I cocked my head,there voices becoming clearer.
"commodore?" "not anymore, weren't you listening?" the man sneered. Perplexed, I moved forward again, becoming oblivious to my close proximity.
"of course," he snided at the man "if it weren't for the wonderful-" whipping around, the chair was yanked out from infront of me,being sent flying across the room and splintering to pieces against a wall.
"the delightful sparrow jr" his calloused hand took me by the elbow,a stale breathe coating my ear . A whimper arose from my throat, my heart now pounding heavily in my ears. A foreign sense of dread washing over me.
I gritted my teeth as he twisted my arm further as I tried to struggle away. "and-" his chuckles became hollowed,almost an insane giggle. "the infamous jack sparrow!" he gestured over to the form ducking beneath the tree.
I let out a hoarse cough, pleading for air to push through my concaved lungs. The sounds of the bar faded away with the pulsating waves of pain traveling out of my arm. His words seemed to shoot at me like a barred cannon,knocking me back with a rough blow to the stomach.
My body begged for air,sending me into a fit of coughs to feed its desperate need. No thoughts seemed to form in my mind,the slate being washed clean and discarded like a broken plate.
A hard pain shot through my hands and knees,bringing me out of my revere. Looking up from my kneeling form, a strong sense of déjà vu washed over me as I witnessed what situation I had been in not moments before.
The once commodore now had his gun pointed at my future captain. A part of me yearned to look away,for the well being of my mental state. knowing that it is unhealthy to stare at a man,whose,come to terms with in your mind of being non-existant,despite the few thousand stories of him that are relayed to you in almost every conversation.
his mien whilst he avoided the commodores gun gave me an uncanny familiarity that coated my mouth in salivia,a pit of nasea climbing up my throat. My blank stares followed his form swinging back and forth behind a tree,avoiding the aim of the ex-commodores gun.
Desperately,i tried dispel of the unwanted thoughts.
Those jarring, sharp-edged thoughts that I refused to accept.
to come to terms with,the man who was standing not 10 feet from me.
same man who showed himself out of my life.
who left hot trails of tears down my cheeks as a child at night.
who's glinting eyes i saw in every reflection.
steadying myself to my feet, I payed no attention to the state he was in,but rather, who he was.
My father.
I wish i could've spent more time revising this chapter,but its finals week next week and ive been writing this,instead of my english paper thats do tommorow. *-_-
so,sorta short,and yes,I might have jumped into the stories action a little too quickly. but i really didn't see the need for any filler chapters, there just tedious and as boring to write as they are to read. not as amazing as it could be,it'll have to do for now. At the moment im really just pleased that i was able to write another chapter whilst cramming for all these finals,which are making me want to rip my hair out.
sorry the chapters so short! they will get alot longer,as soon as schools out in a couple weeks,when i can really start focusing more energy into this story like i want to.
reviewww c: