And here's the next chapter! Lindam2254, as always, thanks for your support and review on the story! And, I want to see what others think: PLEASE REVIEW! I do not own POTC, Jack, Gibbs, etc, I only own Sade, her crew, the Ocean Pearl/Song, and the plot. Also, the songs Linda sings are Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri and How you Remind me by Nickleback.
Chapter Three
Green Tea
"Well, I see our friend Jack got drunk again."
Sade crossed her arms as she leaned on the doorway. "My mom made you some tea. I'm expected to help you to my parent's cabin. How, I have no idea. How am I supposed to carry a grown man?!" She threw her hands up, rolling her eyes.
I smirked. "You could just help me, love. No carrying included."
"And just what does help entail?" the female captain asked, glancing at the rum bottle on the floor and then back at me.
"It's simple enough. Hook your arm through mine, support some of my weight, and lead me to your mother." I was concerned about crushing the slim girl under my weight, but decided against telling her this. She'd probably go on one of her rants that no, she can handle it, and spend the whole trip over grumbling to me about how women are so underestimated.
Sade sighed as she strode to the edge of the bed and did as I had instructed her. "You just had to go and get drunk, didn't you? My parents already have a bad enough opinion of you, you just made it worse, you know that?"
"I didn't know that was possible," I said, pretending to be surprised. She rolled her eyes again and led me out of the room.
We staggered below deck, Sade struggling to hold my weight, and I staggering because of my hangover.
Sade knocked on her parents' door, and it was flung open by her mother.
"Sade." She greeted her daughter icily.
"Here." Sade pushed me forward, trying to make it look like she had done it harshly but really was quite gentle. "Your problem now. And it's Captain Sade, to you. Good luck, he's a handful."
And she closed the door with a bang.
So, it was me and Mrs. River.
She was a beautiful woman. It wasn't hard to tell she and Sade were related. She had long, curly red hair, streaked with just a tinge of gray here and there. She was lean and tall, and had stormy gray eyes, unlike her daughter's hazel ones. She regarded me with distaste, before a bit of softness entered her eyes.
"Have a seat."
She gestured to her table. Mr. River wasn't there- he must have been out torturing Karissa again. Barbossa had her back, I figured. We all had to have each other's backs with Mr. River aboard.
I obeyed her command. She took her tea kettle off the stove she had brought, and poured two mugs of green tea. I smiled a little, remembering Karissa's liking for it. Mrs. River turned to see me smiling, and the corners of her mouth tugged. But that soon went away, and she handed me a mug, took one herself, and sat across from me.
"So. Hangover."
"Yes, milady," I responded.
"I imagine they're quite common among… seafarers."
"You can say it, ma'am. Pirates."
She shuddered at the mention of the word. "Yes… those. Do they happen quite often?"
"Quite, ma'am." I always tried to be as respectful as I could around Mrs. River. She, after all, might make the choice as to who her daughter would marry…
Yeah, like she was going to choose a scoundrel. I pushed the thought away.
"My daughter doesn't drink, does she?"
The question came from Mrs. River's mouth like a cloud from a blue sky- unexpected. I put down my mug and swallowed the tea, then opened my mouth and began to speak.
"Here's my problem, ma'am. You claim you don't care for your daughter anymore. You claim you don't love her, that she could go to hell for all you cared, and I believe Mr. River even said that he disowned her. And yet, you check on her constantly. You want to know if she's drinking- she doesn't touch alcohol, by the way- you want to know what her romantic life is like- she doesn't have one- and you want to know if she'll come back- which she won't. You know what that reminds me of, ma'am? The government."
Mrs. River choked on her tea. "Excuse me, Jack Sparrow?"
"The government doesn't care about the people. They just want to make sure they're obeying the laws," I explained.
Mrs. River was speechless. I sat back and waited for her reaction.
"I really don't care about her. I just want her to know that she has to do something respectful with her life. A housewife, perhaps? Or a sewer?" Mrs. River shrugged.
I stifled a smirk as I pictured Sade hanging up laundry. "Ma'am… you don't know Sade very well, do you?"
"No, why?"
"You've got her personality completely wrong." I stopped trying to stifle the smile and grinned.
Mrs. River smiled slightly at me. I noticed her eyes full of tears.
"Tell me everything, dear lady," I ordered her.
"I remember what Sade was like before she was kidnapped." She began without hesitation, as if she had been holding it in for too long and was happy to confess. "She used to say that something was missing. She would cry every day because something was wrong. I asked her what it was. She told me she wasn't sure.
"Her friend Karissa began to grow closer to her. They were walking home from school when that… that scoundrel kidnapped her." Here, her voice shook with emotion. "I was shocked when I learned that she had escaped, but hadn't come back to us! I remember Mr. River telling the Navy to look for her and Karissa, and I remember Karissa's family, the Normans, crying… it was awful. So my husband and I took the search into our own hands, and here we are."
She bit her lip and toyed with her long hair, just like Sade. I felt something warm inside me.
"Ma'am, Sade belongs here now," I said gently. "I'm sorry, but it's the truth. She's free now, and I doubt she ever belonged where you come from. I'm sorry."
She stood up, breathless. "Very well… Jack Sparrow. Are you feeling better?"
"Quite a bit. Thank you. Good night." I pressed my hands together, gave her a little bow, and left. As I departed, I noticed Mrs. River shaking her head and muttering, "Something else, that lad…"
Smiling to myself, I hurried off to see Sade, Karissa, and any others I might come across.
Sade, Karissa, and Linda were leaning against the ship's rail, laughing and talking. Karissa had an unopened bottle of rum in her hand, and I assumed she had swiped it from one of my crew members to keep them from the drink. Her scheme, however, had not worked, as illustrated by the drunk men (and women!) dancing around by the light of the moon.
I hung back and watched the three girls. Karissa's brown hair and dark eyes shone. Linda's long, dark hair and dark brown eyes seemed to glow with happiness. I couldn't blame her, really. Her good fortune was remarkable; one would think it had been planned beforehand.
Sade glanced up from her companions to survey her ship, and by the doubtful expression in her hazel eyes, I could tell she was not happy with the drunk men. But she rolled her eyes and returned to the other side of her ship, which she took in, pride reflecting in her eyes. Her blonde hair blew in the soft wind.
"Let us have music!" She announced, standing up. "Can anyone sing? Play an instrument?"
"You know I can play the flute, Sade," said Karissa eagerly to her best friend.
"And I can sing, a little," Linda added.
I stepped up, calling the captain's attention to me. "My crew mate Steve can play the drums."
Steve grinned and shot Sade a wink. "At your service, m'lady."
"Well! That works out!" Sade smiled, pleased. "I must say I've never heard flute, drum, and voice before, but it might be quite pleasant, for all I know!"
"Ooh! There can be dancing, too!" called out Indira.
There was a call of agreement to this, and Sade nodded her approval. "Why not? But don't expect me to participate!"
"Wouldn't dream of it, love," I said, smirking suggestively.
She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, carry on!"
Karissa, Linda, and Steve all huddled together, planning what song to do. When they finally decided, Karissa ran off to get her flute, Steve ran off to get his African drum, and Linda took her place at the front of the ship, smiling nervously at the crew. Sade sat beside Linda, letting her leg dangle lazily down off the platform. It was obvious she was planning on remaining there, and anyone who wanted to dance with her could forget about it.
Well, I wasn't going to. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow.
Karissa appeared with her flute and took her place next to Linda, and Steve sat near Sade with his drum.
Karissa began first. Hers was a haunting melody, with a beautiful ring to it. I felt a shiver go down my back, and I noticed Sade close her eyes.
"I should have volunteered to play the Spanish guitar," I whispered to a slightly drunk Gibbs, who had just made his way over to me.
"That does make her go wild, doesn't it, Cap'n?"
"Of course, that wouldn't leave the respectable captain open for dancing," I added, grinning.
"Ah," said Gibbs, grinning as well.
The drums began, and Linda opened her mouth. Her voice sounded like clear crystal, beautiful and flawless.
I know I can't take one more step towards you
'Cause all that's waiting is regret
Don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore
You lost the love I loved the most
I learned to live half alone
And now you want me one more time
From there, she broke into Sade's favorite song. You know, the one about the jar of hearts that's annoyed me half to death? That one. I rolled my eyes. Maybe the next song would be good.
But you had to marvel at Linda's voice. It truly was beautiful, obviously a talent of hers. Sade relaxed against the ship's wooden mast, drawn in by the beauty of the music. I tapped my foot, waiting, waiting, waiting…
Karissa, Linda, and Steve got together again and decided the next one. I knew right away that it would work.
Never made it as a wise man
Couldn't cut it as a poor man stealing
I pushed my way through the crowd of dancers to the front, where Sade was resting against her beloved ship. "May I have this dance?" I asked, bowing and kissing her hand.
Tired of living like a blind man
Sick of sight without a sense of feeling
"I… I suppose," she said hesitantly, biting her lip so hard that a drop of blood appeared.
I led her toward the 'dance floor.'
And this is how you remind me
This is how you remind
Of what I really am
This is how you remind me
Of what I really am
I wrapped my arms around her slim frame. We had hugged before, but never like this. Sade had never danced before, I could tell. She gave me a questioning glance, asking me silently where to place her hands on my body.
"One on my shoulder," I whispered.
She obeyed.
"The other draped loosely across my back," I instructed her.
Her breath caught in her throat as we assumed the correct position.
It's not like you to say sorry
I swung her gently around, letting her see that I was leading. She nodded.
I was working on a different story
This time I'm mistaken
For handing you a heart worth breaking
She smiled at me. "I've… never… you know, done this before."
"I can tell," I said teasingly. She was stumbling over my feet quite a lot. "We need to get you some practice."
"Linda's a good singer, don't you think?" I swung her around again, and this time she almost got the footwork right.
"She's amazing," I agreed.
And I've been wrong, I've been down
Into the bottom of every bottle
These five words in my head
"So what led you to ask me to do this?" Sade gestured to the rest of the ship, which was covered with couples dancing… including Mr. and Mrs. River!
"It seemed like a good night for it," I replied calmly.
"It is," she agreed, smiling out at the full moon. "I've never felt like… this…"
"What do you mean?"
"I feel like I could take on Davy Jones… I feel like I could take on anybody… I feel like I could fly!"
So did I.
Scream are we having fun yet?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no.
"Maybe it's because this thing is too slow," said Sade, suddenly looking at the dance floor with distaste in her eyes.
"I'll teach you a fast dance tomorrow," I promised her. "You'll love it."
"Jack… I think I've got the footwork down."
"Yes. You're doing great, love. Now feel the beat. Feel the beat."
"What's that even supposed to mean?"
Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no.
It's not like you didn't know that
I said I love you and I swear I still do.
And it must have been so bad
Cause living with me must have damn near killed you
And this is how you remind me
Sade bit her lip and smiled happily. "This is fun. Well… more fun than I thought it would be, anyway."
"I told you you'd like it. And you would never listen to me. Who knows, maybe it's the same thing with spin the bottle?" I glanced at her hopefully.
She shook her head firmly. "Sorry, Jackie." She ruffled my coat again.
She only does that when she's amused by me, or proud of me. "C'mon, love. It won't be that bad."
"Jack, I'm not going to kiss you." All amusement had melted from her tone.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, love."
Of what I really am
This is how you remind me
Of what I really am
It's not like you to say sorry
I was working on a different story
And this time I'm mistaken
We didn't talk for the rest of the song. Just Linda's beautiful voice, Karissa's flute, and Steve's drum.
You know, the Caribbean is full of monsters and curses. But that night, holding Sade in my arms, was the most magical experience I've ever had.
