4. Forgiveness and Permission
Jacqueline stood motionless at the helm, courtesy of her captain's orders. She just gazed idly at the horizon before her.
It had been a few months since that night in Tortuga where she was reunited briefly with her dueling partner. Just thinking about Captain Sparrow made her blood boil. She couldn't wait to be reunited with him so she could beat him at another duel.
"Master Beckwith, ye look lost in yer thoughts there," Pintel said to her. Startled, she glanced over at her fellow crewman.
"You scared me Pintel," she laughed, placing another hand on the wheel.
"That tends to happen a lot with me," he said looking at her.
"Aye, I can imagine," she responded, gazing back out to sea with a grin on her face.
Suddenly, her eyes squint and narrow as she leans forward, trying to see the figure on the horizon.
"Pintel, is that a ship out there?" she asks, pointing out to sea.
"Aye! That be another flag ship!" he exclaimed, "where's the Captain?" he asked.
"I believe he's below deck, Pintel—go get him and tell him there's another flagship within view," she ordered her friend. He nodded and ran down from the helm and down below deck.
Within moments, Barbossa emerged from below deck and ventured up to the helm joining his prize crew member.
"Ah that be Captain Teague's flagship," Barbossa replied, looking through his viewfinder and then closing it.
"Captain Teague?" she asks curiously.
"Aye—keeper of the Pirate Code," he replied.
"The one set up by Morgan and Bartholomew?" she asked excitedly.
"Aye, that one!" he responded with a slight laugh.
Barbossa and Jacqueline watched as the Pearl and Teague's flagship sailed closer to one another. However, as Teague's ship approached closer, Barbossa realized his ship was facing starboard.
His eyes widened as he looked through his viewfinder once again and saw that the canons were facing at the Pearl.
"Hard t' starboard!" Barbossa cried. Jacqueline quickly turned the wheel and the crew flooded the main deck, scurrying to their stations in preparation for battle.
"What's going on?" Jacqueline asked in a panic.
"Pirate battle," Barbossa replied curtly as he left the helm shouting more orders, "Whatever ye do, Master Beckwith—do not leave that helm!" He finally called up to her.
"Aye, captain!" She shouted back deeply. Placing her hand on her sword once again, she felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
The canons below her were loaded and Barbossa ordered to fire upon the vessel pulling up beside the Pearl. The ship shook with each blow, both given and received from Teague's vessel and the Pearl.
"Why would Captain Teague be firing on another pirate vessel?" Jacqueline shouted to Pintel as he ran passed her.
"Because this ain't Captain Teague sailin' it!" he cried as he ran down from the helm, ready to board Teague's ship.
Jacqueline raised a curious eyebrow and then squinted hard at the crew aboard the other ship.
"Sparrow," she said aloud.
"You called?" his voice grumbled from behind her. She turned around and drew her sword.
"We meet again, Captain Sparrow," she greeted him with a sarcastic tilt of her hat an slight bow before we began swinging her sword at him.
"Indeed we do, master Beckwith," he replied as he drew his sword on her. They began fighting, each clang of the swords harsher and more deliberate than the last.
Jacqueline jumped to and from various heights in her attempt to beat Sparrow again, but finally in a joining of their swords, he pinned her up against the wheel.
"Surrender," he said to her in a low voice. Chills went up and down her spine as she felt his body pressed against hers.
"Never," she replied through clenched teeth and then kicked him away from her.
"I don't wish t' fight you, Beckwith," Jack strained as he fought off Jacqueline's harsh blows.
"Well then stop trying to take Captain Barbossa's ship!" She replied back as she heaved another blow at Jack's sword.
"This is not Barbossa's ship!" Jack responded as he returned one of her blows.
"You're lying!" She yelled back as her sword met his again.
He met his sword with hers again and pinned her once more to the wheel.
"I'm not lying—this is me ship—Barbossa took it from me, on more than one occasion," he replied, almost willing to put down his sword and cease the fight. She looked at him curiously. Jack really didn't want to fight her, he just wanted his ship back. Too bad for him, though. She narrowed her eyes angrily and flipped positions with him, pinning him against the wheel.
For some reason, something inside Jack rose with a bit of excitement at being pinned to the wheel by this strong young man. He tilted his head in question at this—was he questioning his own sexuality? He quirked an eyebrow as Jacqueline gazed firmly at Jack but then quickly turned her head away and let him go from her grasp. Jack just grinned at her as he lowered his sword.
Jacqueline pursed her lips and then raised her sword on Jack again in anger.
"I won't give up that easily, Sparrow!" She exclaimed as she clashed swords with him again.
"Then neither shall I," he replied.
"Why don't you just keep Captain Teague's ship?! You stole that one too apparently!" she exclaimed.
"It's me father's ship, lad—not a ship I desire, nor would he desire t' let me have," he replied with a smirk on his face as he kicked her hand and her sword flew from her grasp as she fell to the floor of the helm deck.
"Augh!" she shouted as she hit the floor. Jack instinctively went to bend down to help her, but then backed away as she saw her crawling to get her sword. Jack then ran and kicked her sword out of reach and placed his over head.
"I don't with to kill you, master Beckwith—I only desire to have me ship back. You are more than welcome to join me crew," Jack stated as he put his sword away and helped her up to her feet. Jacqueline merely looked at Jack's hand and then spat viciously into his hand.
"Never," she huffed through clenched teeth as she raised to her own feet.
"Very well then," Jack replied, grabbing hold of her and shoving her down the stairs of the helm and tying her to the mast along with the other crew members.
Soon enough, Barbossa and his crew were all tied up to the main mast of the Pearl as Jack walked around them all, observing who was from his original crew. Gibbs joined Jack in this observation. As he walked past Jacqueline he just smirked and walked passed her.
"Now—who desires from me original crew to sail under me colors again on the Pearl?" Jack asks loudly, "because I'm taking me ship back, Barbossa," Jack said as he turned to his previously mutinous first mate of more than ten years ago.
"Very well Jack—but this won't be the last time ye take yer ship back from me," Barbossa sneered.
"So it is true then?" Jacqueline asked Pintel who was tied up next to her. Overhearing this, Jack moved over to Jacqueline.
"Aye—it is true. I don't lie, Master Beckwith," Jack replied smugly.
"That's a lie right there!" Pintel exclaimed.
"Well, I do lie—just not about things like this," Jack replied with a smirk as he drew his sword on the tied crew members.
"Anyone who refuses to join me crew will be thrown overboard, savvy?" Jack declared as he pointed his sword at everyone tied up. "All those in favor of joining me crew, say AYE!"
"Aye!" the lot of them shouted. Pintel elbowed Jacqueline in ribs and she yelped an "Aye" after it was silent.
"Ah, so you're asking forgiveness then, master Beckwith, for your rude accusations?" Jack asked as he heard her declaration.
"Better to ask forgiveness than permission is what I always say," she replied with a smug grin and then spat on Jack's boot.
"Charming," he replied as he walked away from her.
"Untie them, master Gibbs, and then to your stations!" Jack commanded, still holding his sword high.
Once Jacqueline was untied, she moved to the helm and took hold of the wheel. Jack soon followed after her with another pirate hosting a parrot on his shoulder behind him.
"To the crow's nest, master Beckwith," Jack ordered her.
"My station is here at the wheel," she replied curtly.
"Now your station is the nest," Jack replied firmly.
"You are not my captain," Jacqueline growled at Jack.
Jack moved closer to Jacqueline, close enough so that she could smell his rum staunched breath. He lifted his head upwards and peered down at her through narrow eyes.
"Are we going to have a problem between us, master Beckwith?" Jack asked in a low voice.
"If you create one, then yes," she replied back bitterly, turned from him and left for the nest.
