Chapter 4: morning after

Diego woke up feeling cold and shivery, he ached all over from sleeping on the hard wooden floor and he had a spitting headache. After sitting up stretching and rubbing his eyes he promptly vomited all over his legs. Looking down he saw that the vomit had a worrying purple glow about it, another thing he realised was that he was completely naked...well apart from his trousers wrapped around his ankles, and two glass shards piercing the skin of his chest,

"What happened last night!?" he groaned looking around him, expecting to see a beautiful wench, instead he saw through blurry eyes...Jack, lying just meters away.

Diego's face turned white as the humiliation settled in, he gripped and pulled desperately at his trousers trying to undo the very tight knot, he struggled onwards, jumping up and down and constantly wobbling and then the inevitable happened. Whatever Jack had been expecting to wake up to that morning, it hadn't been that; Diego, his trousers around his ankles, stumbling onto him. The boys screamed and leapt apart, Diego finally managed to cover himself. Jack looked away, horribly scarred, what he saw next was even worse, the wreckage of what had once the best rum cellar in shipwreck cove was now coated in broken glass and ever so slightly soggy...The pride of his family...ruined!

"Jack?" Jack turned to Diego, thankfully, now fully clothed,

"Yes." He replied,

"Let's never speak of this."

"Agreed." As if matters couldn't get any worse Valerie called through the door,

"You boys decent!"

"Yes." Jack gritted his teeth, his head burst as he turned to give her the evil eyes as she walked through the door,

"Ya head hurt Jack? So will your hide when Teague finds out! Oi drink up! You're a quarter of an hour late for your second meeting!" The green liquid in the tankard didn't look at all appetising, but Jack was too tired to protest, he drank it all up.

"Good boy!" Valerie patronisingly patted his head, Jack growled, her words finally hit his groggy mind.

"Wait what? Meeting?"

"Of the pirate lords." She spelt out, "You realised you were meant to greet them yesterday whilst you were partying! Right run before your any later!" Jack clambered to his feet, his head spinning, then stumbled out of the room and into the chamber of the brethren.

"I call upon Teague, Keeper of the pirate code!" Seo feng shouted, Jack strode in purposefully, a long coat dangling past his knees and a tricorn had pushed forwards slightly so it hid his face, a large black beast of a dog strode alongside him carrying a bunch of keys.

"Now that yer finally here, business can be- Jack? What are you doing here! WHERES YOUR FATHER!" Seo feng bellowed, Jack tried to remember why he was here afterall.

"Teague is dead!" He quickly made up, "I am Keeper of the code now!"

"We are all doomed!" Sumbhajee chirped.

"All in favour!" Seo feng called, the rest of the pirate Lords agreed unanimously, Jack ignored them and settled down at his place at the table.

"Tragically my father died of umm..." He paused considering, then chose the thing most prevelant in his mind at present, "Alcohol poisoning."

"I don't believe it!" Cried Don Raphael, "Not Teague!"

"You calling me a liar?" Jack said raising one eyebrow angrily.

"No." Rapheal sunk in his seat, thinking that Jack may have inherited some of Teague's anger issues.

"Good. Then lets commence this meeting!" he said feeling ultimately powerful, he looked down at the piece of parchment in front of him, "First item on the agenda," He squinted, "to settle the dispute between Mistress Ching and Seo Feng over the pacific. So...sight your claims."

"I was born next to the ocean! I have sailed it since I was a boy...It is mine!" He demanded acting like a spoilt child, but this gave Jack a brilliant idea.

"Sumbhajee." He mused, "Your pirate lord of the Indian ocean, where were you born."

"India." One of Sumbhajee's speakers said,

"mmm...Because I was born actually on the Indian ocean, therefore really it's my birthright!" he mused, quickly spotting the cannonballs, he shouted, "THE INDIAN OCEAN BELONGS TO JACK!" For a moment the other nine pirate lords were silent and then there was a clamour, suddenly a row broke out.

"Calm down! Calm down! If you had any complaints you should of told me before I banged and that sounds wrong." Jack giggled immaturely, but this hurt his head, when he looked up however, he noticed, with some alarm, that Seo Feng's pistol was trained to his head.

"ah. Well umm..I swear weapons are meant to be left at the door, is that a rule? I think it should be a rule, it's a rule!" he banged the cannonball against the table and then dived underneath the table as a round of shots were fired at him, emerging from the table he held the code in front of him as a shield.

"Now, now! No need to be violent!"

"Sumbhajee believes the right to remain silent is abolished when his birthright has been stolen from him!" one of the speakers said.

"I'm sorry, it's not what I want! But alas, it is my birthright too! I'm sorry! Perhaps you could be an advisor?" Sumbhajee growled, "Now back to the matters at hand..." Jack said ignoring the disturbing sound. "Who shall be pirate lord of the Pacific?" an idea suddenly popped into Jacks head, "VALERIE!" he bellowed, "I believe this should be settled in a shooting contest!"

"I thought you said all weapons were to be left at the door!" someone shouted,

"I did. But did any of you? No!"

"What!" Valerie walked in moodily,

"Congratulations! You will hold the target!" he looked to the bowl of fruit placed on the table, "I think an apple...on your head!" he smiled and placed one dead centre.

Soon the shooting range was set up, a shaky Valerie at one end and the blind pirate lord at the other.

"Please no!" Valerie begged, somewhere deep down inside Jack remembered that Valerie was...a devil!

"SHOOT!" mistress Ching, waved the gun around madly.

"Please Jack! Please!" Valerie begged, hearing her voice mistress ching aimed at Valerie's nose, BANG! A gun went off.

Mistress Ching felt confused as she thought she hadn't pulled the trigger.

"DEAD CENTRE!" Jack said, impressed with his own skill, "The ocean goes to Mistress Ching!" Valerie smiled gratefully at him!

"YOU SHOT THAT!" Seo feng shouted,

"You're right!" a new idea occurring, "in that case!" Jack dropped the cannonball quickly, "I'M PIRATE KING OF THE WORLD!" he bellowed "bow before me!" Pistols shot around him as he fled from the door, "meeting dismissed he called!"