Ana: Well, here we are at chapter 4. Major thanks to my sister, Chii-Yamane. Muchas gracias, hermanita! I'm kinda sending chaps in quickly because I have the entire story written in my notebook and I'm trying to get this done in about two weeks.
Hanah: Which isn't gonna happen.
Ana: What ever happened to "be encouragingful"?
Hanah: They're the reviewers, they're supposed to be nice. I'm your editor, I have to tell the truth.
Ana: Speaking of editors, my other one, Ayu-chan, is coming over later. On with the story!
Disclaimer: I own Jeanne only, and all aspects surrounding her story. Still don't own Pirates of the Caribbean. (DAMMIT!)
Chapter 4: "I Can Take Care of Myself"
Jack had now climbed on the boat, totally soaked. Pintel and Ragetti, now on Jack's side, draped his coat over his shoulders, saluting him. "Let's put some distance between us and this island and head out to open sea." Gibbs suggested.
"Yes to the first, yes to the second, but only insofar as we keep to the shallows as much as possible." Jack replied.
Gibbs hesitated for a moment before replying. "That seems a bit contradictory, Captain."
"I have every faith in your reconciliatory navigational skills, Master Gibbs." His eyes scanned the area as he spoke, "Now, where is that monkey? I want to shoot something."
Just then the monkey dropped Ragetti's eye on the deck. Ragetti happily picked it up and gave it a spit shine. "Jack." Will walked over to the pirate in question, Jeanne following behind him. "Elizabeth is in danger." How original.
Jack began walking off in the opposite direction, the other two on his heels. "Have you ever considered keeping a more watchful eye on her? Maybe just lock her up some place?"
Jeanne's eyebrow arched. Jack made it sound like this was the norm. "She is locked up, in a prison." Will argued, "Bound to hang for helping you."
"There comes a time when one must take responsibility for one's mistakes." Jack continued.
"Oh, like you're one to talk." Jeanne said in a smart-aleck tone, placing her hands on her hips.
Will took the sword of a crewman and held it to Jack's throat. "I need that compass of yours, Jack. I must trade it for her freedom."
Jack looked at the sword for a quick moment, then pointed it away from himself and walked over to Gibbs. "Mr. Gibbs."
"Captain?" Gibbs responded.
"We have a need to travel upriver."
Gibbs was quiet for a moment, as if contemplating the outcome of Jack's command. "By need, do you mean a trifling need? Fleeting, as in, say… a passing fancy?"
"No, a resolute and unyielding need." Jack specified. In other words, they were going.
Will was at Jack's side again, Jeanne standing beside him. "What we need to do is make sail for Port Royal with all haste."
"William, I shall trade you the compass if you will help me to find this." Jack told him, handing him the cloth with the drawing of the key on it.
Jeanne looked at it over Will's shoulder as he gave it an analytical glance. "It's a key…" she surmised after tilting her head to the side.
Will looked at Jack. "You want me to find this?"
"No." he answered, "You want you to find this. Because the finding of this finds you incapacitorially finding and or locating in your discovering the detecting of a way to save your dolly belle… ol' what's her face. Savvy?"
Will stared at Jack for a moment, seemingly dizzied by the sling of synonyms that had just assaulted his ears. "This is going to save Elizabeth?" he asked after a pause.
"How much do you know about Davy Jones?" Jack asked in reply.
Jeanne's head practically whipped around to Jack at that question, her eyes narrowing. Will thought about it for a moment. "Not much."
"Yeah. That's going to save Elizabeth." He replied with a grin.
Jeanne stared at Jack, her eyebrow arching once again. Knowing the history behind the name Jack mentioned and knowing him as well as she did, she knew that there was obviously an ulterior motive to his actions. Actions that were likely to get Will, if not all of them, into trouble. Or worse. Again, her stomach growled, reminding her of her ridiculously strong hunger. She turned on her heel and went to satisfy herself. Who could be suspicious on an empty stomach?
The first place she decided to look was the captain's quarters, where she figured the better food might be. She saw a bowl of fruit in the middle of the table and smiled, picking up a banana. Suddenly, she felt something come down on her right shoulder, causing her to flinch with a yelp.
Looking to her right, she saw the monkey sitting there, cutely cocking his head to the side. "Why, hello there." She greeted him happily. He glanced at the banana in her hand, as if asking for it. "You want this?" He made a sort of cooing sound. She unpeeled it for him and gave it to him. "There you go, friend."
The monkey began to eat the banana. Jeanne picked up a bright green apple for herself instead, and then walked back onto the deck. Out there, she saw Jack standing on the other side of the ship. "Sparrow!" she called, taking easy strides over to him.
Jack's head tilted to the side in confusion. He knew that voice. He turned around, but did a slight double take upon seeing the brunette coming towards him. His jaw dropped slightly as he walked towards her to meet her halfway. He could have sworn he was hallucinating, but there was his protégée—well, former protégée, now—standing before him. They stopped when they met, just staring at each other, neither one saying anything, at least not verbally; with their eyes, though, they wrote a book. A corner of Jeanne's mouth lifted into a smile. "It's been a while, Jack."
His bewildered expression remained as he spoke. "Jeanne Marie Monroe, could that possibly be you?"
She had a full-blown grin on now and she posed sassily, as was her habit, he remembered. "The one and only."
He began circling her slowly, his eyes narrowed with disbelief. The last time he had seen Jeanne, she was a sharp-eyed young lady, freckles still dusting across her nose. Her eyes were still the same, as sharp and bright as ever, but as he looked her up and down, he saw that the rest of her had changed quite a bit. "You've gotten taller." He spoke at last. "And your hair's grown." He stopped, looking her up and down again. "And you've taken on a more… womanly shape." He placed a hand on top of her head, looking at the blue bandanna. "And I could have sworn that I gave you a green bandanna before I left I left."
"Well, dear, things change. Especially when you don't see somebody for more than seven years." Jeanne said, pulling the stem out of the apple. "Except you." She looked him up and down, smirking at him, flicking the stem into his forehead. "You still reek of rum and sea salt."
Jack grinned a little at her comment as the stem bounced off of him. "And you still haven't washed the venom from your tongue." Both of them chuckled. "How did you get onto the ship?"
"I was with Will all along, oh observant one. I met him in Port Royal, after I came there in a dinghy looking for you. I saw that we had similar goals and I… persuaded him into working together and we've been that way since." She turned to her new little monkey friend, pointing at Jack. "However, how he's managed to ignore me up until now is beyond me."
The monkey made a little nodding motion as he took another bite of the banana. Jack saw the monkey sitting on her shoulder and pulled out his pistol. "Saved me a walk, you did." he said, cocking the pistol and pointing it at the monkey.
"No!" Jeanne cried protectively as the animal draped his tail over her shoulder like a scarf. "Leave the adorable thing be!"
"He threw my hat overboard." Jeanne raised her brows thoughtfully at that; she knew how he loved his hat. He pushed the gun closer to the monkey's face. "He owes me the pleasure of sending a bullet though his brain."
Jeanne nodded, turning her head in a slow, dangerous fashion. "Speaking of what people owe…" she began in a low tone, using two fingers to point the pistol away from her friend, "How about that present? The one you promised me eight years ago."
Jack got quiet, freezing on the spot. "Er…"
She held her hand out to him. "I'm waiting."
He searched his brain for any sort of tale that could possibly get him out of this one. Fooling Will was one thing; he was naive. Fooling Jeanne, who had known Jack since she was five years old, was not nearly so simple. "Did… did you not see the dog on the beach?" he asked her.
Jeanne looked at Jack for a minute, just nodding her head. Then her fist suddenly shot up and she punched him in the arm. "Ugh!" Another blow was struck. "You forgot!" She threw a few more, speaking between the punches. "I can't! Believe! You forgot! Again!" She huffed, throwing her free hand into the air. "Well, since I don't have a present, you don't have a monkey and all is fair and good." She stuck her tongue out at him and pivoted around, waving at him over her shoulder. "Ta."
The monkey made a chattering noise, very much resembling laughter. Jack glared at him, and then followed after the ill-tempered woman try to reason with her. "It's not that I forgot your present." He said as he fell into step with her.
"Oh, really?" she said, obviously not believing him.
He nodded, hoping that he could sweet-talk his way out of this. "There was just none grand enough to meet your standards."
"I obviously have no standards." She stated, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "I spent most of my life with you, didn't I?"
The footsteps beside her stopped and she grinned, giggling to herself as she kept walking. This had always been her little game with Jack. Most girls played with dolls, but she found Jack's mind to be a much more amusing plaything. She would remind him of debts and past promises, waiting to see how far his excuses would go. Usually they went pretty far and got more ridiculous, much to her amusement.
Jack picked up his pace to catch up with her. "Can we not just bury the hatchet on this gift business?" he asked hopefully.
"No." Jack snapped his fingers in disappointment. "But I will tell you this…" She stopped and turned to face him, jabbing his chest with her index finger and stepping forward. For every step forward from her, Jack took one back. "You still owe me, Jack Sparrow, and I expect a gift by the end of this trip as my payment."
He rolled his eyes and then looked back down at her with a golden grin. "If you feel that strongly," he cooed, stroking her cheek, "You shall get one."
"I had better." She warned him, spinning quickly and purposefully whacking him in the face with her hair before walking off. She stopped a moment and tossed him a smile over her shoulder, winking. "Nice seeing you again, Jack."
And with that, she left. When he was sure she wasn't going to turn around, Jack rubbed the arm she had struck and wrinkled his nose to fight off the itch from her hair. Still, he found himself grinning despite these things as he watched her retreating figure. "She hasn't changed a bit."
[*~*:^:*~*]
Jeanne walked around the ship, trying to find a peaceful place to eat her apple. It was exceedingly difficult to do so when the crewmen were so fascinated by there being a woman amongst them. Eating wasn't so easy with people staring at her every time she looked like she was about to open her mouth.
Over at the starboard bow, she saw Will standing, looking out longingly at the sea. Jeanne looked at him, at the monkey, then back at Will. She walked over and stood next to him, looking out at the water with him for a moment. She cleared her throat. Will looked up, seeing Jeanne now standing next to him. "Hello." he said, returning his gaze to the water.
Jeanne pulled out a knife from her belt, slicing her apple in half. She held one of the halves out to Will. "Here. Food always helps me when I feel sad." Her head tilted to the side. "Actually, food helps me in any situation."
He stared at her, his face alight with confusion. It was not even an hour ago that they were still butting heads over the tiniest things. Now, she was offering him food and making small talk? It was a strange, but—in his eyes—delightful change of pace.
He laughed lightly and took the piece from her. "Thank you."
"No worries." She smiled. "Coming from such a merry place as Tortuga, I just can't stand seeing people unhappy." She thought for a moment, the smile growing. "Well… unless I'm the cause of it. Then, it's perfectly acceptable."
The two shared a laugh at that statement. It died out soon after, though. They stood, their eyes on the horizon beyond the crystalline sea. Will let out a light sigh, taking a small bite out of his apple. His brow was creased and his lips were pressed into a tight line. Jeanne looked at him out of the corner of her eye, letting out a sigh of her own with a roll of her eyes. Love-struck idiot…
"I'm sure she's fine."
Will looked at her, his head tilting a bit. "Who?"
"Elizabeth, of course." She answered matter-of-factly. She returned her gaze to the sea. "I know for a fact, anyone who can talk back to Beckett can definitely handle herself. So there's no need to worry."
His lips twitched a little, lifting into a barely-there smile, his gaze staying on the horizon. "What makes you think I'm worried?"
"It's the face you're making. It graced the face of many a bar patron, so I know it well." He watched as her eyes trailed up to the upper deck, to the dreadlocked pirate standing there. She cleared her throat, turning back to Will. "I'm going to help you get out of this mess, so quit looking so forlorn and whatnot."
Again, Will had to stare at her. When she had first appeared to him, he'd thought of her simply as a nuisance. A selfish, crafty, smooth-talking woman that was only using him as a means to an end. Crafty, she was. A smooth talker, most definitely. Selfish… not so much. If she were selfish, she would not have made an effort to make sure he was alright. And apparently, she knew a thing or two about romance. She was more puzzling than he thought. "I've met my fair share of pirates, and I must say. You're very kind."
Jeanne laughed and took a bite of her half of the apple. "Well, I may not be as bad as most, but I'm most certainly not a saint."
"How long have you been a pirate, anyhow?" He was genuinely curious as to her answer, for she was also the youngest pirate he'd ever met thus far.
"Well, Jack started teaching me things when I was six, but I've been pirating since I was seventeen." She shrugged her shoulders as casually as she talked. "I've gotten quite a lot done in that short time, though."
"Have you now?" Jeanne nodded, then reached into her pocket and pulled out two pieces of yellowed paper. As she handed them to Will, the monkey replaced them with his banana peel and proceeded to play her hair. "What are these?"
"Read them and find out." She grinned, tossing the monkey's banana peel behind her. She giggled as she heard a crewman scream, and then a crash as he started a calamitous chain reaction across the deck.
Will studied one of the papers for a second, his eyes going wide for a moment as he read what it said. WANTED. Jeanette Marie Monroe. Charge: Piracy, Interfering in East India Company Affairs, Hijacking, Sabotage. 500 guineas. Hazel eyes, brown hair and a green bandanna.
He turned to look at her. "Wanted posters?"
"Aye. I seem to have a bit of a problem with people of authority. Or rather, they seem to have a problem with me." She answered casually, leaning back on the rail with a shake of her head. "You steal a couple of ships and they suddenly feel like hanging you. I've never quite understood it."
Will looked at it again. "Green bandanna?"
"Jack gave that to me on my twelfth birthday." She told him as she chucked the apple core into the sea and then pointed at the papers in his hand. "Read the next one."
WANTED. Jeanette Marie Monroe. Charge: Piracy, Interfering in East India Company Affairs, Hijacking, Sabotage, Mild Arson, Vandalism. 1000 guineas. Hazel eyes, brown hair and a red bandanna."Your bandanna isn't red, either," he remarked.
"Now you're catching on!" she exclaimed happily, snapping her fingers. She held up her wrist to him. "My wrist bears no brand because I have never been caught. Apparently, a lot of girls have brown hair and hazel eyes, so my most notable feature is my bandanna. So, I collect my posters, just to make sure I don't repeat myself. And since I never steal from the same place twice, it seems to be working out rather nicely. Other than that," She flipped her hair over her shoulder, smiling. "I use my looks and charm and the name Lucinda Grayson to keep out of harm's way." She added the last part with a laugh and a wide grin.
A smile spread onto Will's face as well. It was impossible not to share in her happiness; in fact, he found it rather contagious. She seemed extremely proud of the life she led, despite the fact that it was a life of lawlessness and danger. However, he knew from personal experience that a life of piracy often meant giving up everything. Including family.
His lips tightened into a line and he looked her over, watching as she cheerfully played with her little companion. She was certainly no spring chicken, but she wasn't that old either. Seventeen… He repeated the number to himself; that's when she began her crusade of injustice. But what could have motivated her to leave her family behind at so young an age?
"You do all of this single-handedly?" he asked after a long pause.
"All by me lonesome." Jeanne looked up from petting the monkey and smiled. "But that doesn't bother me none. Less human companionship means less hassle and fewer chances to be disappointed." She laughed a little and gazed out at the blue water. "Who needs human companionship, really? I have the open sea and therefore I have total freedom. That's all I've ever wanted from life, you know. To be free. And the sea gives me that. " She took a huge breath of the salty air. "I answer to no one but her."
He raised an eyebrow. "No one?"
She shook her head. "No one."
"Not even to your parents?"
When she heard this question, Jeanne's smile dimmed a little, surprising Will. Then, he saw it dissolve from her face completely. He had found another chink in her chain. "I… I would…" She said quietly, looking down at the deck beneath her feet. "That is, if I actually had any parents to answer to."
He was completely overcome with surprise and slight confusion as her fingers went to the golden locket dangling from her neck. It was inscribed with the letters J.M., most likely for her name. She popped it open and showed him what was inside. On one side was a woman with long red-brown hair and bright hazel eyes, strongly resembling Jeanne's. The other side showed a man with short brown hair and dark brown eyes. "What happened to them?" he asked her.
"I never met her." She said, obviously speaking of the woman. "She disappeared when I was a baby so I don't remember anything about her. Her name. Her personality. Her voice…" She looked at the picture. "In fact, if it weren't for this, I wouldn't even know what she looked like. Dad hoped that it would keep me from asking about her. He told me I used to ask about her a lot, but he never liked to talk about her…"
Will nodded. "And your father?"
"He raised me by himself, which wasn't easy for two reasons. One, we lived in Tortuga, so it was very difficult to bring me up as a proper young lady. And two, he was a merchant so he had to leave home on several occasions. When he wasn't there, I was usually with Jack or working at the local tavern as a barmaid. Or being bothered by Jack while I'm trying to work." She rolled her eyes and then looked to the helm, at the man steering it. "I used to stay with Gibbs when I was a child. As I got older and stayed home alone, he would come by my house to ensure that I wasn't lonely."
A brief smile crossed her face as she turned back to Will. "But when Dad was home, we would always spend the time together. We were all each other had, but we were completely content with that because we were all each other needed. I hoped and prayed things would stay that way, and they did… until that day he didn't come home."
She looked down at her father's portrait, the smile leaving again. "He had a debt that he owed to his employer which he was basically given three days to pay off. I offered to help pay for some of it, with my own money, but he wouldn't allow it. The third day came and Dad still didn't have the money he needed. Later that day, his employer told him to come down to the docks at sundown…"
Her eyes were devoid of emotion as she stared at her father's smiling face. She was suddenly taken back to that day, reliving it in her mind.
The sun was getting closer to the horizon. Thomas Monroe was looking out of the window of the small house, watching as his daughter, drenched with the evenings warm hues, pulled the laundry down from the line and placed it into her basket. Clad in nothing but a simple white nightgown and barefoot, Jeanne walked back into the house and slammed the door, setting the basket beside it roughly. Thomas chuckled when he noticed her lip poked out in a small pout. The two walked into the next room, a large bed room. Jeanne practically threw the blankets off and slouched into her pillows, folding her arms across her chest with a huff. Thomas sat on the edge of her bed, smiling. "Why so glum, darling?" he asked her.
"You know very well why." She griped as she pulled her hair into a messy bun, looking at him with pleading eyes, "Dad, I have money—"
"That you stole." He added quickly.
She sat upright. "That's not true! A majority of it is from working at the tavern!"
"Which implies that some of it was stolen."
Her eyes were downcast once again. "You didn't have to buy me that dress…"
That had been the source of his debt. He was usually spoiling Jeanne, bringing her gifts from other countries, but her birthday had just passed. She had been eyeing a satin dress when they were in town and he wanted to get it, but it was too expensive for him at the moment. So he asked his employer for some assistance in purchasing it.
Thomas shook his head, then took her chin in his hand and tilted it up towards him. "I will accept the consequences readily, Jeanne. You have nothing to worry about."
The young brunette threw her hands into the air. "But if something were to happen to you—"
"Shh… That's enough." He silenced her and grabbed her wrists, laying her back down. "I will be here when you wake up, I promise."
Jeanne stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to believe. She held up her thumb and index finger, curving them into a half heart shape. "Cross your heart?"
He grinned and mimicked her action, completing the heart and locking index fingers with her. "And hope to die." He said as he untwisted their fingers and tucked her in. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Good night, darling."
Jeanne's eyes shut slowly. Aside from the fact that she had already been tired, she had just wasted her energy arguing. "Good night." She said through a yawn.
Thomas crept out of the room, stopping in the doorway to look back at his daughter. His eyes saddened a bit. The young woman in the bed was still a little girl in his eyes. After one final look, he put out the oil lantern by her door and went down to the docks.
The next morning, Jeanne awoke with a heavy yawn. She then jumped out of bed and walked around the house, finding no sign of her father. She went into the sitting room, hoping to find him organizing cargo shipments, but his chair was empty. She went to the kitchen, thinking he was cooking her breakfast, but the kitchen was empty as well. A sick feeling of worry was arising in the pit of her stomach. Hoping he was still been asleep, she ran to his room, only to find the bed exactly the way she had made it up the day before. Her eyes widened. "No…"
She threw off her nightgown, replacing it with her work dress and darting out the door. She tied the bow beneath the bosom as she ran all the way to the home base of the company her father worked for, in such a frantic state she didn't even notice she was barefoot. A burly man passed her by as she reached the docks. Jeanne ran to stand in front of him. "Thomas Monroe…" she said between pants, "Is he here?"
"Monroe?" The man smiled slowly, but it was not one that would provoke good thoughts. "Sorry, lass," He leaned down towards her, the smile widening, "From what I hear, that loose end was tied last night."
She shook her head and swiftly closed the locket, trying to recompose herself. It was bad enough that that memory haunted her dreams. Talking about it made her relive every scarring moment of it. The monkey cooed, nuzzling his face against hers as to comfort her. She reached up and scratched his head, sighing. "I had just turned eighteen and I had no siblings. Gibbs was serving in the English Navy then and Jack had left almost a year prior and it was pretty clear he wasn't going to be coming back anytime soon. I was completely alone and had nothing to lose. So, I commandeered a trade sloop and left Tortuga, vowing it would just be me, myself, and I." She folded her arms on the rail, resting her chin on her forearms. Her eyes suddenly hardened and she sucked her teeth, turning away from Will. "And it has been working out wonderfully. I don't have anyone, but I don't need anyone either. I can take care of myself."
Will looked at her as she leaned over the rail, standing in shock. This woman's snappish and sarcastic, yet playful nature was merely a mask for a deep-set pain. However, knowing where she was coming from made it easier for him to understand her a little better. The situation she had just described reminded him a lot of himself. "I know how you must feel."
"You couldn't possibly." She snapped.
"Actually, I do." Jeanne immediately pricked up her ears at that and he leaned on the rail next to her. "I didn't know my father. My mother had been raising me by herself, in England. She died when I was about twelve, a few years younger than you were when your father died. After that, I had left to seek him out, having no luck. I only just recently learned of his death…"
He looked over at her, reaching out to touch her shoulder. She quickly shrugged him off as soon as he felt his touch. He let out a sigh. "I've learned that you just have to take things as they come and use the good experiences, as well as the bad, to make yourself stronger. But you can't close yourself to the world, or you'll find yourself being left behind."
Now, Jeanne was silent. She didn't know that there was anyone who understood how she felt or had gone through a parallel situation, especially not the pansyish-looking pawn she had just picked up. She felt like a small hole had just been filled in her. And it felt pretty good.
"You know, I have absolutely no intention of breaking my vow." She looked at him, smiling a bit. "But, I think, in your case, I think I can have one more person looking after me." She then smiled from ear to ear, giving him a little punch on the shoulder. "You're a kind sort of person, Will, almost like an older brother."
He chuckled, rubbing the spot. Then, he took a moment to really hear her statement. Despite the series of downs they had been having since their meeting, she had grown on him. Almost like the younger sister he'd never had. He shrugged one shoulder. "I could be, if you would like."
Her eyebrow went up. "Pardon?"
"I never had any siblings, and I had always wanted a sister, truth be told." He looked down at her. "Why not satisfy both of us?"
She scoffed. "And what makes you think I actually want a brother?"
"Let's face it." A small grin came across his face. "We both know you could use a better role model than Jack."
"This is true." Jeanne giggled lightly then shrugged. "I guess it would be a change of pace… Alright." She looked up at him. "Let's give it a go, Will."
The monkey suddenly began chattering crazily and hitting Jeanne's head, attracting both her and Will's attention, mostly the former's. "Hey! Ow! Ow!" She flinched under the numerous hits. "What's got you all worked up, mate?"
The monkey grabbed her head and turned it around to show her Jack walking towards them, a cage in hand. "We're there already?" Will asked him, his eyes going to the cage as Jack stopped in front of them. "And why do you have a cage?"
"The cage is for him." Jack said, pointing to the monkey on Jeanne's shoulder. "Hand over the monkey, Jeanne."
Jeanne blinked at him and looked around, seeming rather clueless. "Monkey? What monkey?" she asked innocently, her and the monkey looking at each other and shrugging their shoulders. "Oh! You mean this monkey. Could you… give me a moment?"
She stood for a moment and then took off running as fast as she could. Jack tried to swipe the monkey from her shoulders but she ducked, taking off across the deck. "Get the monkey from the girl!" Jack ordered, following after her.
The rest of the crew was now after her as well. One lunged at her and she simply bent her body to one side, letting him fly past her and hit the deck with a thud. Another two tried to grab her and she responded with a no-handed cartwheel over their heads. Her stride was hardly broken as she landed on the deck and went right back into her run.
"Uh-oh…"
Pintel was running at her from the stern, so she skidded to a halt, but as she turned to go the other way, she saw Ragetti coming from the bow. She bit her lip, trying to figure out what could be done here. Then, she saw a bucket of soapy water between her and Pintel and got an idea. "Hold on tight." She said to the animal on her shoulders, who chattered in response.
She broke into another sprint beaming her way towards Pintel. As she ran, she extended her leg and kicked the bucket over. The water sloshed across the deck and she went down to her knees, paralleling her back with the deck as she slid between Pintel's legs. "Hey!" he shouted as he watched her go. By the time he looked up, Ragetti was right in front of him and they crashed into one another hard.
Will watched the scene in awe, seeing that Jeanne was not only quite the acrobat, but she could give Jack a run for his money in creativity and ingenuity. This was a feat not easily done.
Jeanne jumped and grabbed onto the railing of the upper deck, flipping herself up to it. She stopped short and her face dropped when she saw Jack standing in right in front of her, his face stern. "This is not the time for games, darling." He said to her.
"Oh, you're just surly because I'm winning." She said cutely, batting her eyelashes at him with a grin.
She looked up and saw a rope from rigging hanging over her head and smirked. She waved goodbye to him and then jumped up onto the rail and grabbed it, swinging back to the lower deck. "You want him?" Jeanne challenged the crew. "Come and get him!"
Will chuckled in amusement as he watched the men chase the agile woman below deck. I had a notion that this would be an interesting trip. He thought to himself, hearing much screaming and crashing from below.
Ana: Sweet friggin' nibblets! That chapter was crazy-hard to write! Funny to sad to funny.
Hanah: You're right. Enough about the chapter. Introducing… our editor and best friend… Ayu-chan!
Ayu: Hi people! OMG, that was so sad and funny! Anyways… I like long walks on the beach and—
Ana: Um, hello! Can we focus here? Not a dating service. This has been Ana, Ayu and Hanah. Hasta luego! (motions for the camera guy to cut)
Ayu: Hey! I'm not—(camera turns off)