Chapter Three- An Inescapable Tune
The streets were frighteningly quiet. Even with the sun beginning to rise and the people walking by, they did not say a word and did not glance at Mackenzie as she stayed out of their way and to the shadows. The wool cloak over her shoulders kept her sheltered from the early morning breeze and its hood kept her disguised from prying eyes. She looked down at the soiled hem of her powder blue dress and her scuffed brown boots; where was she to go from here?
Then, as she turned to slink back into the alley, something made her freeze in her cautious movements. There stood Jack Sparrow, leaning confidently back against the wall and watching her with a knowing, wry smile. "You really shouldn't be wandering off all by your onesies, darling," he said to her.
Mackenzie frowned. "If I had not, I would be locked up in the prison at the moment."
"Course not, darling," he promised. "Gibbs and AnaMaria were there with you."
She scoffed, certainly displeased by this statement. "Yes, and what good they did."
Why had he asked them to come to the inn, to watch over her while he was away? They did not even lift a finger against those redcoats that were obviously hunting her. If she had not threatened AnaMaria with her pistol or climbed through that window in time, she would probably have her head in a noose right now. The thought alone gave Mackenzie chills.
"It will not do you good to be insulting me crew, love," Jack told her with a calm, steady voice.
His cool exterior and cocky grinning was really starting to get on her nerves; she couldn't understand how he could be so calm and act so jokingly when she could barely keep herself from falling to his feet, weeping for release from it all. She was not sure how long she could last before breaking; it had been far too long since she had remembered a thing, and she was a very impatient person, to say the least. But who could blame her?
She ignored his comment. "Where did you go?"
"Had to pay a visit to a friend," the pirate told her.
"You mean Kail," Mackenzie replied, not missing a beat.
Jack was somewhat surprised at her wit and strong-willed acquirements at this point, although he couldn't remember her ever being any different. Which is exactly why it surprised him; little things she said to him or the tone she used in her alto voice made him look twice in her direction every so often. At moments, it was easy to forget that she wasn't the same person.
He nodded. "Aye."
"But you and Kail are not very friendly," she reminded him.
And then again, sometimes her innocent questions or accusations reminded him of the sudden absence in her own body more than he would like to admit. Nonetheless, the most naive sound in her voice made him smile like the devilish creature he believes himself to be.
"Just checking up on things," Jack said. He reached out in order to press his palm to the small of her back and began leading her back down the alley she had just come from. "Now, love, we best be on our way."
Her brow creased. "On our way where?"
"To the Pearl, of course!"
Mackenzie dug her heels into the ground in order for the both of them to come to a complete stop. Jack turned to glance at her curiously, wondering what the problem was. "I'm not leaving on the Black Pearl with you, Jack," she told him firmly.
"'Course you are!" he pressed. "What is left for you here, pet? Nothing but the gallows!"
She shook her head. "Everything is here. Kail told me I was here in this town for a reason, and I refuse to step foot off this land until I find what that reason is."
Jack's hand was animated as he spoke, flailing this way and that in the crisp, smoky air. "He also mentioned that you'd be dead before you realized what that reason was," he reminded her, his breath visible in the chilly air.
This response made Mackenzie stiffen, on account there is no way Jack could know this information. Not unless...
"You were spying on me!" she spat.
The pirate smiled. "Only a little."
She spun on her heel and began walking the opposite way. He was spying on her? What sort of a man was he, anyway?
"Where are you running off to?" he questioned, quickening his pace to a quick, smooth jog until they were walking side by side.
"You are a wretch of a man, Jack Sparrow," she accused.
Said wretch wrapped an arm about her waist and quickly turned her so she was suddenly pressed up against the wall of the building, his hands pressed to the stone at either side of her head and his face close to hers.
"Aye," he breathed, that sly, side-ward smile lifting his lips as those dark eyes scanned very slowly from her boots to her lips. "I'm a filthy, dangerous and utterly infuriating wretch. And that's exactly what you like about me."
The feel of his chest [warm and toned as far as she could tell], pressed against hers was causing a bit of a distraction. And in that moment, Mackenzie couldn't decide if said distraction was good or bad. "That's not true," she was able to say.
His chocolate eyes were tracing along the delectable, soft, fair skin at the base of Mackenzie's throat. He had her just where he wanted her now, pressed up against him and curiosity sparkling dangerously in her almond eyes. And much to his surprise, she was not even struggling against him. Not that it would matter much if she did. One kiss and she would be a goner, he knew. It had worked the first time, hadn't it?
Jack can remember gazing along the exposed golden skin, the frustration in her eyes and the curl to her wet, dark hair. He can remember the way her golden skin felt beneath his hands as he traced two calloused fingertips down her slender neck, her breath hitching in her throat and the quickening of her heartbeat. She tasted like salt water, and it dripped off her clothing and ran down her curls into small puddles on the deck of his ship.
He briefly wondered if she still tasted the same, even after all this time… Of course she did, he reprimanded himself right away, and she was still his girl after all. Just a little… confused.
"It's very true," Jack told her, snapping out of his reverie.
Mackenzie swallowed, fighting against the need to close her eyes at the feel of his breath against her nape. The heat of his skin pressed to hers was making her dizzy, and she could feel a blush spreading to her cheeks. "Why do you think that?"
He grinned. "You told me."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "I did not tell you such a thing."
"Ah, but of course you did, love," Jack Sparrow began, trailing the two pads of his middle and index fingers down her throat, his dark eyes concentrated on the goose bumps he was causing to rise on her skin. "You just don't remember."
She didn't know, but Jack was holding himself back to his fullest extent. Never had he had to restrict himself this much, had to hold himself back from pressing against her, or any woman for that matter, to that wall behind her and taking her as he pleased. He never had to worry about losing her trust or frightening her in any way. After that first kiss and the first night he made love to her, he hadn't worried about doing something she would regret. But now... now she was different. She didn't remember him. She didn't remember stolen kisses or mornings in the rain. She didn't remember humid nights on the Pearl with Jack inside of her, the windows open and covers pulled back as he made love to her.
Mackenzie didn't remember sweat slicked bodies or a man's touch. She didn't remember any of it.
"Darling," Jack said, closing his eyes in thought. "You have no idea what you're doing to me."
There was a feeling in her stomach which she did not understand. But the moment his hand moved from her waist to her hip, his fingers gently moving back in forth in a simple relaxing caress, she realized what that tense sensation was. She wanted more. More to remember, more to taste, more to touch with her hands. She wanted to know more of him, plain and simple. He seemed to know her well enough. It was sexual tension.
She swallowed. "Jack?"
Jack's eyes opened instantly. He recognized that sound in her voice, the husky caress to his ears causing his hands to tighten on her waist and hip. God, he wanted her. And he would take her right then, right there, if things were different. He would kiss her again and again and press her back with his hips, gathering her skirts up with his hands so he could slip beneath them. He would- stop. He had to stop. If he continued to think about such things, he wouldn't be able to control himself any longer.
"We should get a move on," he told her, turning away.
"To where?" she asked, slightly disappointed but relieved at the same time. Mackenzie's dark shapely eyebrows were raised, the look on her face slightly wounded. Had she done something wrong? She mentally slapped herself; there was no reason to be feeling such a way.
He began making his way down the crowded street again, being sure she was at his side. "Somewhere safe; I know of shelter right outside town. Might find some good there for you too."
"Do I know this someone who provides said shelter?" Mackenzie pressed further.
Jack glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Well, not at the moment."
His pirate lass rolled her eyes. "Did I?"
"Aye, that you did."
She was hesitating, biting gently at her bottom lip and looking back towards the center of town nervously. Should she follow him? He hadn't done anything to prove her wrong so far, only knew facts about her that she didn't even know. Then again, so did Kail.
Jack reached out towards her and extended a dirtied, scratched palm. "Trust me, love."
The look in his coal-rimmed eyes was so pleading and intense that Mackenzie almost felt hypnotized by it. "Well," she said, not taking his hand but walking past him, swinging her hips. "Who are they? More pirates?"
Jack went still. "Pirates? What makes you say that?"
He had not mentioned anything to her about pirates. He had, of course, told her that he was the captain of the Black Pearl, but he did not think she had enough memories surfaced that she would put the two together. He was not trying to deceive her, but rather trying not to scare her away. The first time he spoke with her in that alley she was shaken. She was unstable and nervous. Therefore, he was most careful with his words.
"Kail," Mackenzie replied. "He called you a pirate. Was he right?"
Jack nodded. For a moment there, he had gotten his hopes up. He was still holding on to every bit of hope that she would remember. He exhaled, suddenly noticing he had been holding his breath. "Aye," he said.
She raised an eyebrow. "Aren't pirates supposed to be terrifying?"
"Rascals, scoundrels, villains and knaves," Jack said in a sing-song tone, laughter in his voice at her question.
"Drink up me 'earties, yo ho," she whispered quietly to herself as she continued the song, not even realizing the words had left her lips.
Once again, Jack froze, gazing at her with wide, surprised eyes. "What did you just say?"
Mackenzie opened her mouth, about to reply, when suddenly she realized what she had said. Where had it come from? And why was a tune suddenly in her head? She pressed her lips together, a look of utter confusion written across her fair features.
Jack smiled. "We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot..."
"...We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot," she continued, her bright eyes growing just as wide as his. The words were careless as they fell thoughtlessly from her lips. A memory. "Drink up me 'earties, yo ho."
Jack grabbed her up into his arms and swung her around in excitement, her skirts twirling with the movement. When he realized his actions, he put her down right away, but still couldn't hide the smile on his face, his gold teeth bared.
Mackenzie confessed with a laugh, "The melody is so clear in my head!"
"My favorite song!" he explained to her. "I sing it all the time on the Pearl. You've probably heard it as many times as I've called you love, love."
She could tell by his bright eyes that his excitement was genuine. If he wasn't really who he was saying he was, Jack was a fantastic actor, Mackenzie decided. He knew so many things about her, so many details that she imagined would be hard to pretend. And now he's triggering bits of memories?
"Did I live with you on your ship, Captain?" she asked him, trying not to hum as they walked close to the buildings, staying close to the shadows.
Jack grinned, placing his dirtied palm on her back and leading her. "Aye, that you did."
She pushed a wind-blown lock of auburn hair out of her face so she could see him better. "I was a pirate as well, then."
"That you were."
"Was I a pirate before you met me, or did I follow in your footsteps?" Mackenzie asked, having a million questions to ask him. She wanted to know everything. She was desperate to remember again; perhaps something else he said would spark a memory.
With a flash of gold teeth, the look on Jack's face was nostalgic and pleasant as he responded to her inquiry. "You were a pirate the day I met you, love. Quite a good one at that. Instead of following in my footsteps, you followed in your brother's," he explained to her. "He raised you for the most part."
She remembered something he had said earlier and interjected, "Because my father was a drunk?"
He nodded, and a pang of empathy sprung in his chest for Isaiah. It would kill him if he knew what was going on with her, and as a matter of fact, he would probably kill Jack for not stopping it when it happened. He was extremely protective over her.
"What is his name?"
Jack reached out and grabbed Mackenzie's arm as he observed how she almost tripped over a loose cobblestone, and lead her between two buildings to a large wooden area. She was always adorably clumsy and yet so simultaneously graceful.
"Isaiah," the pirate responded. "We were supposed to meet him in Tortuga a few weeks from now."
"Are we not any longer?"
He lead her down a small grassy slope and into the patching of woods, turning around to make sure that they weren't being followed for about the hundredth time. "'Kenzie, you don't even recognize your own name, love. And the last time your brother and I talked the talk, I promised to take care of you and all that. Obviously, I'm not very good at taking care of things. After all, half the time I'm too drunk to even take care of meself."
Mackenzie laughed and something in Jack's stomach sank. It was wonderful to hear that noise again; the sound of her laughter always sounded so sweet and pleasant, like bells. It felt like a good release for her, too. "I'm sure you're not that bad, Jack. We'll get you a fish to put in a bowl or something."
Jack reached out and lifted a loose branch out of their way so she could walk under it and continue along their path smoothly. "You used to have a fish bowl on the Pearl," he told her with a chuckle. "Had two fish. One ate the other, and you were quite upset 'bout it all. I found it all very amusing. You hit surprisingly hard for a girl, by the way."
There it was again, that laugh. Jack closed his eyes for a brief moment to savor the sound. "I obviously didn't appreciate your humor of the situation, Captain," Mackenzie said, glancing back at him quickly with bright and playful eyes. "I must have cared for the one that became the meal."
"You didn't care about the fish, love. You were angry because I told you they would eat each other, and you just didn't want to admit I was right."
She raised a dark, shapely eyebrow. "So I was prideful, then. Must have gotten that from you."
"Me?" Jack denied. "I am not prideful."
Mackenzie stopped walking and gave him a look that told him she was not fooled whatsoever. "I have known you for… well, as far as I can recall, just a few hours, and I can already tell you are a very prideful man."
"Am not!" he corrected her.
With a smug smile on her face, she began her pace once more. "Whatever you say, Jack."
The frown on his handsome face was comical, but she refrained the urge to look at him so she didn't laugh at his reaction. "You're still just as infuriating as you were before, 'Kenzie. I'm impressed. Only you can have your memory swiped, and still know how to taunt me. It's like you do it to punish me."
As he says this, a certain feeling of nostalgia washes over her body in waves. A memory.
Suddenly she has these moving images in her head of tripping on a fallen chair and her own feet in a large room with large windows. She would have had a nasty spill onto the floor boards if Jack wouldn't have caught her with cat-like reflexes just a moment before she would have crashed. His lips were mere inches away from hers.
"My compass, love," he said, extending an open palm.
She had a very playful expression in her eyes, but her face was serious. "Not even if you married me."
Jack looked incredibly shocked by this statement, but after a moment his expression became incredibly suspicious. He replied with a raised eyebrow, "'Kenzie, you despise the idea of marriage."
She burst out into laughter. "I know, but you should have seen the look on your face!"
He shook his beaded head at her, lifting her back to steady feet. "Why are you punishing me this time?"
"I'm not," she defended herself, but by the look on Jack's face and his knowing eyes, he was not fooled.
He lifted her up with strong hands and sat her on the edge of the table so her feet were dangling, and stood between her legs, palms flat against the wood on either side of her hips as he leaned in close to her. "Spill, love."
She sighed, defeated. "I hate Tortuga."
"How can any pirate hate Tortuga?"
Mackenzie laid back on the table so she could stare at the ceiling and not into Jack's face. "It's not easy when every woman on the island is following you around like a lost puppy, Jack. One man looks at me wrong and you're ready to put a bullet in his chest, so throw me a bone here."
''Am not like that," Jack snapped back.
She rolled her eyes and sat up again so she could see his expression. "Kail McGrath?"
"That's different, love," the pirate said, dragging his hands across the table so his fingers now danced along her thighs.
"How?"
"I don't like the things I've heard about that bastard. And I don't like the way he looks at you, either."
Mackenzie's hands were animated with annoyance. "That's what you said at the last port when that man on the dock kept gawking at me."
Jack raised a ringed finger and pointed it at her accusingly. "No, that man looked at you like he wanted to bend you over the crates he was unloading! And you, my darling, should not be looked at like you're something to eat! Unless, of course, I am the one doing the looking! McGrath is a dangerous, man, 'Kenzie, and I want you no place near him."
She mumbled something under her breath that made his eyes narrow closely at her. Jack raised an eyebrow and gave her that 'don't talk back to me' look, which made her want to talk back to him all the more. "I'm a big girl, Sparrow. And you don't own me."
He took a step back, and immediately she missed the warmth his hands had left on her things. "Fine, fine," Jack replied, hands up and out in surrender. "Do what you want, love. And I'll do what I want. In Tortuga, when we dock there in a few hours."
Jealousy was a green-eyed monster that Jack and Mackenzie both struggled with. Jack was very protective, as men often are, but he never admitted of his jealous habits, only made excuses. Mackenzie tried to ignore they were there until she would finally blurt her opinion out in such an awkward girlish way that made Jack laugh. He would never tell her, but it was sort of adorable.
She reached out and grabbed fistfuls of his blue coat and pulled him back, wrapping her legs around his waist and laying back on the table, urging him to follow. As she wished, Jack crawled up on the table with her, hovering over her body, his long dreadlocks falling down across her chest and beside her face to drape with her own hair.
"Why do you always have to win?"
Jack gave her that famous, gold-toothed grin. "Because, love, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow!"
Mackenzie snapped out of her reverie as she tripped over a thick root sticking three or four inches out of the ground, expecting to topple down the dirt covered slope. However, Jack caught her just as he did in her sudden memory, and when she opened her eyes, they were automatically drawn to his lips, hovering a mere inch above hers.
He had such an urge to kiss her, then [Her kiss was the only one that had ever meant anything]. His eyes concentrated gently on the soft curves of her lips, the warm pink color that beckoned him in. He could remember her kiss, the taste of her mouth, the way she would bite his lower lip just right, always growing excited by the growl that erupted from his chest…
"Jack?"
The pirate cleared his throat loudly. "Aye?"
She seemed breathless. "I think I just remembered something."
