Chapter four: "The silly little boy with his toy sail boat"
Pear was frustrated. Something that came easy to her, yes, but still. She was horrendously pissed at the captain, for making her work on the ship like she was a member of the crew. However, since her performance with the Spanish merchant vessel, she was no longer a distasteful subject on the actual crew's minds. The Mr. Gibbs, who had briefly consoled her at the death of Walter, was by far the nicest of them all. Second came poor Cotton, who could not speak, and therefore was basically no use for Pearl, but she still liked him just the same. And then it was a trickle down of who liked her. An irritable one named Juan always gave her a look of contempt, and made it a habit of walking away whenever she came near. This infuriated Pearl all the more, putting coal on her fire that made her want to leave the ship even more.
However much she hated the crew, and the captain, and the situation, she was still urged by her mind and conscience to stay aboard and make the best out of these torrid times, and finally make her novel worth reading. And for once, the crew was willing to comply.
"Now, if you want a story, you should listen to Gibbs talk about the curse that was once on the ship." The youngest crew member, who was ironically also a duke, said, as he was kneeling besides Pearl where was polishing the railings.
"A curse? On this ship?" So stunned and skeptical was she, that she dropped her rag clean over the side of the ship in question, and within moments it was out of sight in the waves.
"Not exactly on the ship, but on its inhabitants." Paul shrugged, and produced from his bucket a new clean rag. Pearl took it absentmindedly, but didn't continue her work.
"So like all of you crew members as well as the captain were cursed? How?"
"Not us." Paul said horrified. "The old crew. The one that mutinied against the captain. Hold up!" The last statement was directed to Gibbs who had just walked by, heading for the crow's nest. A few short words were said, out of hearing, and instead of Gibbs continuing on to the main mast, he handed the revered spy glass to Paul, and shooed him away.
"So, you want to hear about the curse then?"
"I don't get it. How does the captain still have his ship if there was a mutiny. I thought that most pirates didn't survive a mutiny," Pearl leaned back on her haunches, and rotated her shoulders; a wince on her face.
"Alright," Gibbs sighed, and brokenly sat down, to lean against the bulwark. "It all started about twelve years ago..."
-oo0oo-
"And so then with the help of Will and Elizabeth, Jack escaped from the hanging and swam to the ship. In various places such as Tourtuga and the port towns in Jamaica, he gathered crew. This time hand picking them, and a hell of a lot more careful about who he chose." With a finished sigh, Gibbs placed a hand to his head and scratched it vigorously.
"So...there really was a curse? This isn't some tall pirate tale?" It had taken a moment for Pearl to speak. She had been and apt audience, and Gibbs loved telling her the story. Her eyes were huge with what she had just taken in, in such a short time.
"Yup. Even ask Will and Elizabeth if you get a chance. They're decent folk and wouldn't lie for the sake of an interesting story. Now lass, you should finish your work."
"But there is so much more I wanna know!" Pearl wailed, standing up before Gibbs, and offering him a hand. He took it thankfully, but still shook his head.
"Hows 'bout you finish up with the work Jack wanted you to get done, and meet me in the galley when you're through." Pearl nodded eagerly, and kneeled back down with extra zeal to do her chores.
-oo0oo-
"What do you mean you told her about the ship!" Jack bellowed, pacing his cabin now. The late morning sunshine was pouring in from the large bay windows(thrown open to prevoke a non-existent breeze) and illuminating the wood furniture. Unlike most captain's, Jack had a real bed. He loved this luxury, and it was also safe. In case of a storm, he had the storm ties like on a regular bunk, and the bed itself was mounted securely on the wall. On the same wall as the bed was a large cedar wardrobe, also mounted. On the opposite wall was Jack's large post-office style desk in which the little cubicles sat maps and charts, some unknown to many other sailors. Slid out from his desk the was rolling mahogany chair. There was a small table for eating at with two chairs, stationed just in front of the windows. The room was painted a very pale blue, and seemed to make it more warm. It was almost as if Jack had taken a room from a nice inn and fitted onto the back of his ship.
"She's a writer, Captain," Gibbs appealed, clearly annoyed. "A lot of the crew are still irritated by her. She needs something, otherwise her time here will just be wasted. She was very interested in the whole lot. Who knows, she might make you famous." He said that with a chuckle, but one glance from Jack shut him up.
"Make me famous!" Jack jumped on that sentence. "Make me famous indeed! Make me famous to the navy. Make me famous to other pirates who might have it in for me! Spill all the secrets I have learned over time to be the captain that I am today!" He basically roared out the last few words.
"A loud idiotic one who cant see a joke when it dances around naked wearing your hat?" Gibbs stipulated, raising his eyebrows, and subconsciously licking his bottom lip in a habitual manner.
"Shut up!" Jack snapped, and flung himself on his desk chair, rubbing the pads of his fingertips across his stubbled cheek. "How much did you tell her?" He asked in a calmer voice, preparing for the worst.
"About all. Of course not all the grimy details, and the...emotions. She knows the skeleton of the story, and so I think it would be better for her to come up with something from all that. I left a lot of breathing room."
Jack nodded, relief now flooding him. "I think when we hit Tortuga this time, we'll just leave her off there." Jack had been thinking of this part of his plan for a while now. It didn't help, though, that she had saved him and his crew in one effortless sweep of her eyelashes. Well, he paid her back by allowing the use of his cabin for writing, and she had come and gone a few times. But he still had the sulking feeling that he owed her. It was said the only way to repay the debt of someone saving your life, was to save theirs in return if the need arose. Some superstition suggested that if you saved someone, then you were forever responsible for that life. And Jack was trying to be careful. His back luck streak of ten years was now coming to hopefully its end. The sudden rainbow at the ten year downpour.
After her had gotten his ship back, to him it seemed to reek with bad karma. It took a whole year of menial scrubbing and airing out before it seemed to dissipate. In the lower hold, the smell spoke volumes of sex, liquor, dead rats, and mold. That took a whole week itself before it smelled as a ship should smell(slightly of mildew, and wood polish), with Jack working among his new crew and getting to know more about them. It was a sight to see, with Jack in his rolled up shirtsleeves, and a rag in his hand as well.
Now, he was feeling guilty, but this needed to be done. Pearl was a hindrance in his side, and he couldn't stand her. There was just something about the small writer who had too many big words to fill her head. She thought she was superior to the lowly pirates, and turned her nose at them, even though she had to look up just to see most of their faces. The only person she seemed to get along with, as well as him liking her, was young Paul. An aristocrat who had, like most of high society, gotten bored of his titles and wealth. In a rare moment, Jack found him at the docks, about ready to sign the articles of a scummy pirate ship who's captain beat his crew, starved them, and then always always ended up killing them in the end. Jack rescued Paul, and so that would also be a life he would have eventually saved.
"Leave her in Tortuga?" Gibbs was astonished, as he drove the captain out of his reverie. "That's harsh, even for you. At least drop her off in Port Maria, where she can just walk back to her house."
Jack gave a flip of his hand, clearing dismissing the other man. "And if you see Pearl, tell her to get her arse in here!" Jack called, as the door was closing, with the first mate on the other side.
-oo0oo-
"Yes?" Pearl asked, peeking into the captain's cabin. She was wondering if he noticed her dalliances with Gibbs, and then was startled to realize that he was NOT her captain, and so she shouldn't even worry about it in full.
"Your time is up, Missy. I expect the rest of the money you owe me, and your stop will be in the lovely town called Tourtuga Town, the capitol of the lovely island called Tortuga."
"What!" Pearl cried, stepping into the room and slamming the door behind her. Jack was still sitting in his chair, with his legs kicked up on the desk. "No, I was the one who decided when I would go!"
"Not anymore. We're on my ship now." Jack grinned his token swarthy smile.
"But that was part of the deal. You're going to renege your word? We shook hands. And I clearly stated that I would pay you the other two-thirds after I was satisfied with what work I had. I am nowhere near satisfied. All I have been able to do is work! I'm not even signed on the articles."
"Articles?" Jack pounced on the word, and a sudden brilliant(at least to him) plan had just blossomed in his brain. "Yes, the articles. Why don't you sign them then? That way you can stay on the ship as long as you want."
Pearl was breathing heavy now, her bosom rising and fall quickly, and her cheeks were bright pink with annoyance. She narrowed her eyes at him, sizing him up and staring him down.
"Your just a silly boy with a toy sail boat," She said in a silky voice. "I would rather be dropped off in Tortuga then ever have to sign your articles and be ordered around by you twenty-four-seven."
"Very well," Jack's voice was now cold. That was a blow to his ego, which was already low since being mutinied. He had learned not to stroke the thing until he thought he was infallible and nothing can touch him. That was what he thought ten years ago, and then it all happened right before his eyes. This girl need to be put in her place.
Jack stood up, and with quick steps was close enough to Pearl in order to snake out a hand and slap her smartly across her left cheek. She fell back, her hands clasped over the offended area, and her eyes wide with anger and something like fear.
"Don't you ever speak to me like that again. So you don't sign the articles? So what. I can still order you around. Its sixty three men against you. Hardly anything challenging. And if I wanted, I could throw you into the crew rooms and let them eat you alive. So I suggest you watch your mouth and your step."
Pearl's teeth were slightly bared, her left hand still on her stinging cheek. She was slightly bent over, and so she looked fierce when she slowly met the captain's eyes. Their eyes both were blazing.