I only own Jocelyn and all the other new peeps. Jack Sparrow, sadly, won't let me buy him.

Chapter 3: All Tied Up

An icy pail of water might not be the nicest way to rouse someone from an unconscious stupor, but it sure is the fastest. The shock of the first douse was enough to jerk me up out of whatever fog my mind had been wandering in, but the second one was just for the amusement of the guffawing men standing around.

While my mind was indeed functioning on a higher level once more, the jumbled images and thoughts running through it were hardly coherent. My eyes were hazy from the water and it wasn't until I tried to reach up and rub them that I realized my hands were bound behind me and that in fact my whole body was securely tied to a hard wooden chair.

The men continued to laugh harder as I struggled against my bounds and my mind shrieked in fear. Dimly I could hear their jibes and hooted comments, but for the life of me I couldn't fully make out what they said. My ears were filled with the dull thud of my heart and the rush of blood flowing throughout my body. Finally I took a deep breath to calm myself and sat limply, trying to think rationally. Ok Jocelyn, this is bad, but it could be worse. Looking around at the men surrounding me, all grinning ferociously, bringing to mind hungry cats toying with a frightened mouse, I added, Although I'm not sure how!

As the cold water continued to trickle down my face and my eyes cleared I took in more of the environment. The room I was in was completely wooden, weakly lit with just two lanterns hung in opposing corners. I couldn't see if there were any other furnishings in the room due to the wall of grinning jackals obstructing my view. The men themselves were a rough looking crew, short beards, sun darkened skin, unwashed bodies and clothes, and all bore some form of visible weaponry. Pirates, my mind told me unnecessarily. Obviously my erstwhile guide had betrayed me and had allowed me to be taken captive by this band of miscreants.

It seemed an ill omen that my grand adventure had started with me being captured by the very group of people I had sought to join. Perhaps there was still a way to salvage this situation though. I cleared my throat, hoping to garner the attention of the men and succeeded a little too well. "Excuse me gentlemen," I said loudly to the now hushed room. "I seem to have been bound to this chair while asleep. Perhaps one of you would be so kind and undo the ropes for me?"

I had never heard such evil and highly amused laughter before. Some even seemed to have tears running down their cheeks, while others had to make use of their fellows to keep from tipping over. I tried once more to appeal to their better judgment and shouted over their sounds of mirth, "Perhaps one of you could just slip me a knife then and I'll work myself free…"

The one who appeared to be their leader, or at least the tallest and meanest looking of the lot, sobered up long enough to fix me with a menacing leer. "Ya sure do have a right smart mouth on ye lass, no wonder the cap'n has taken such a fancy ta ya."

I fixed him with a pointed stare, strong enough to peel paint I was sure, and told him imperiously, "If your captain is the one responsible for holding me here, then I suggest that you go and bring him here. While I might be willing to join his crew, I must say his methods for recruiting are seriously lacking."

A stunned silence met my demand for a few moments before they were all once again laughing uproariously. Far from being scared, I was now incensed at their behavior. "I insist you bring your captain to me right now!" I yelled at the men, who instantly quieted down.

"That sounded like an order lads," he said to me, the smile abruptly falling from his face and a fierce scowl taking its place. "Maybe its time we taught tha lil miss here that it ain't so wise ta order us around."

His cronies smirked at his comments and as one they took a step closer to me. I drew back, or as much as I could tied to the chair, and opened my mouth preparing to scream. "You wouldn't be about to mess with my new toy, would you now lads?" A deep and masculine voice broke out over the men's shuffling steps. His tone was pleasant enough, but there was a dangerous undertone laced within it, demanding obedience and promising death to any that disobeyed.

Respectfully the men jumped back and parted for the newcomer, giving me my first view of him and the room. A half remembered vision from before, when I had passed out in the shop swam before my mind and I gaped at the man who had spoken so amused and had caused me to fall. He stood tall, approaching six feet at least I would think. A red coat was draped over his form and he wore it well, his mark of high status in the underbelly of society. Long unkempt hair framed his face, braided decoratively with small gold crosses and other trinkets along with a matching beard. His face was weather beaten and aged, showing clearly that he was a man of advancing years, but he moved with the grace and strength of a much younger man. His eyes were dark and pierced me harshly, as if he was angered at me for some reason. What could I have possibly done though to call down his wrath?

A few moments flew by as we studied each other and I was slightly startled when he broke the silence with his low growl. "Leave us," he told his men and they jumped to do his bidding. As they fled the room my eyes took in some of the surroundings and I tried to figure out where we were.

By the crude tables and chairs and the rough, unfinished look to the place, I assumed we were in some sort of low class inn or tap house. I didn't hear the far off sounds that might distinguish such a place though, so I was either mistaken, or I had slept a lot longer than I thought possible and it had already closed.

Once alone, the captain strode towards me, placing each booted foot down firmly. He continued to glare silently, with his arms crossed over his chest, and I felt a shiver of trepidation race up my back. If he thought to intimidate me with his very presence, he was succeeding, but I was smart, or possibly idiotic, enough to not show it.

"I don't know who you are, or who you think I am, but I assure you that your treatment of me thus far had been highly unappreciative," I told him curtly, my eyes returning his glare with one of my own.

His scowl finally broke for a moment and his eyebrow lifted sharply. "You're just as arrogant as your father," he whispered to himself. My eyes immediately widened in disbelief and his scowl returned with a vengeance. "For a lass caught in such a sticky situation, you sure don't know when to keep your mouth closed." He came closer to me as my mouth continued to hand open. My father, I thought, this apparent pirate captain knows my father?

While I had been lost in my shocked wonderings, he had gotten close enough to reach out and touch my face. He lifted my chin and turned it slightly, gazing down hard on me. "You had this bruise in the shop," he declared gruffly, tracing a tender spot on my cheek, "Where did you get it from? Did that bastard Bill do this to you?" He asked angrily, dark eyes blazing in suppressed fury.

With a quick jerk I had pulled my face away and hung my head down low. I hadn't thought much about what my father had done to me several hours ago and I had no wish now to discuss it with a stranger. "A simple accident, nothing more." My head snapped back up to level him with an angry look and I said to him, "These ropes are cutting into my hands though, so if you're feeling the need to be concerned for my welfare, perhaps you could start there."

His hand had dropped and he backed up a pace, studying me closely. "I'm afraid you'll have to stay that way for a mite longer lass, at least until we get a few things straight." Grabbing another chair he spun it around to face me and sat down.

"Fine then," I said between gritted teeth, slowly feeling my courage returning as he didn't seem to pose any immediate threat. "You could start by telling me who the devil you are and why I'm tied to this bloody chair!"

A chuckle escaped his lips as he leaned back some and crossed his arms over his chest. "I guess introductions would be in order lass, especially if we're going to be here awhile." His eyes glinted strangely as he told me his name, as if he waited for some spark of recognition to flash over my face. "The name's Edward Teague, Captain of the Misty Lady. You are Lady Jocelyn Alderscoft and are tied to the chair because it makes it easier to interrogate someone while they are incapacitated."

While his name meant nothing to me, it shocked me down to my core that he knew who I was. "How-how do you know who I am?"

"You have the look of your father about you," he told me quietly, "but I can also see a great deal of your mother." His voice was low, almost nostalgic sounding. I continued to gape at him, unable to believe that he had ever met my father or mother. "Your father also gave a fairly good description of you," he added offhandedly, "although he said your hair was much longer."

"I cut if off," I told him blandly, not really concerned about it. "Why would my father give you my description?"

He met my confused stare with another piercing glare. "Did you really think that you would be able to run off with out your father looking for you?" I didn't have anything to say to that, since I had of course realized he would search for me as soon as they knew I had gone. But the fact that he had sent a pirate captain after me was what I found so extremely baffling.

"Why did he send you after me?" I asked imperiously. "And how is it you know my father?"

"He thought you might run off to the waterfront and told me to keep an eye out for you," he told me simply. His eyes were hooded though as he added, "As for how I know him, well lass, that's a story best left for another day."

It irked me that he wouldn't answer that question, but since I wasn't really in the position to demand anything I thought it best to move on. "How did you find me?" I asked suspiciously.

With another chuckle he said, "I didn't lass! If you recall you walked right into my lap." A grin appeared on his face as he added, "I hadn't really thought about searching for you, especially considering that I don't owe your father squat. But since you came to me so willingly, I'm forced to think long and hard about what to do with you."

"You can't send me back," I told him firmly, not letting my fear or anxiety show. "Just release me and I will be on my way; my father will never even have to know that you saw me."

"Well it ain't that easy lass," he told me, loosing some of his cheer and becoming serious. "I was offered quite a reward to see you brought back and my lads would be mighty annoyed with me if I refused such a sum to see a twit go free."

My stomach clenched and my heart lurched at his words. He wouldn't really force me to go back there would he? "Please Captain Teague, perhaps we could come to some other sort of arrangement? I-I have money as well." The lie was heavy on my lips and I found I had to force it out. Something told me that though the man before me was a pirate, to deal less than honorably with him was to sign my own death certificate.

"If you're talking about your little sack of trinkets lass, I'm afraid that was already given to another cause." I stared at him blankly, not sure what to make of what he had just said. With a sigh he explained further, "Your two friends Bill and Todd were upset when I told them you would be leaving with me. Although both served under me flag at one point, they are free men now. While I could have persuaded them by other means, it was easier to just let them have your trinkets to ensure their silence."

I stared at him now in mute horror, not wanting to believe what he had said. "You left them all of it?" I whispered. "But… What will I do now?" My mind buzzed with the implications of what he said. Even if, by some miracle, he chose not to send me back to my father, I now had no money, or the gold and jewels that were to see me safely away from here.

"That's what I've been trying to say lass; I must decide what to do with you now." He tapped a finger against his chin for a moment thoughtfully, looking me over. "I could just hand you over to your father and collect the reward. Then again though, he might be willing to pay more by way of a ransom."

My mind snapped out of itself at his words and I looked at him aghast, while my mouth opened before I could stop it. "How dare you! Here I was all set to join your crew and you have the gall to hold me for ransom! Well I changed my mind! I wouldn't join your crew now if you were the only pirates in the whole world."

"My crew?" He asked in amazement. "You were going to join my crew?" Just as his pack of brutes had earlier his head tipped back and he let loose with a loud bark of a laugh. "That was your grand plan lass?" He asked me when he had finished with his burst of amusement. "You, a pampered lord's daughter, was going to become a pirate?"

At that moment I wasn't sure what saddened me more, the prospect of being returned to my father's clutches or this ornament bedecked captain mocking my one and only dream. My eyes filled with moisture and I bit my lip, telling myself that no matter what, I would not cry. I bowed my head a little and filled my head with the vision of every last one of the men tonight that had tried to stomp me down. My father, my supposedly helpful guide and his oh so charming friend, the captain's crew, and now the captain himself, who was still snorting in glee at my presumption. I felt my tears fade as black rage filled me, giving me back my courage and spunk. My head came up and I hissed at the pirate captain, "I will be a pirate, whether it's on your crew, someone else's, or my own! Send me back to my father if you want, I'll just rob the bastard blind before I leave again!"

The captain had paused at the vehemence in my voice and though he still had a large grin on his face there was a small flicker of something akin to respect in his dark brown eyes. With a sudden motion he stood up and came around behind me. There was a quick hiss from the dagger on his belt as he withdrew it and just a moment later there was a hard tug on my bounds before they fell to the floor. I flexed my hands in astonishment, wincing as the blood flow was restored and they tingled. In just a moment he had the rest of the ropes cut from me, all with out saying a word.

Finally his task was complete and he came back around to stand before me. He took the time to sheath his dagger before glancing up at me. "Welcome to my crew, Jocelyn." Without another word he turned around and exited the room, leaving me to stand there like an idiot, my mouth somewhere in the vicinity of my knees.


Shame on all of you that thought it was Jack! Would I really bring him in so soon? I'm not that nice. :)

That bright shinny penny goes to Kiku though for figuring it was the great and wonderful Captain Teague! Just so you know, all his info I'm either getting from wikipedia (my new best friend!) or I'll make up. So if there's some big glaring error, well, let's pretend like there's not. :) Speaking of the good captain, I'm kinda having to make up his character. We didn't get a lot of face time with him, so it's hard to say what he's really like. My guess is total badass, but with a heart of gold. He's Jackie's father after all!

Anyways, here's to chapter 3. Hope it was enjoyable to you guys and I hope you're enjoying Jocelyn's character. She's my first main character OC and I hope I'm staying away from all the Mary Sueisms. Any feedback you guys want to pass my way about her would be awesome. :)

Speaking of feedback, thank you so much to my wonderful reviewers! I've been so bad about replying to people, sorry! I'll try to do better...

Hope y'all are having a great weekend and you like how things are going. :) Don't forget to review on your way out if you would be so kind!