Hello guys! Fourth chapter here we go! I'm really excited for where this story is going, aren't you? Ok, don't base the chapter off of its title. It was the first word that came to mind, and it really only has to do with the ending. Enjoy! :)
Angelica woke up, squinting in the bright sunlight. She adjusted herself so she could look at a sleeping Jack next to her. When she turned, she saw that Jack wasn't laying there. She became frantic, afraid that Jack had abandoned her again. She viewed the ocean, hoping to see a glimpse of a boat to confirm her suspicion. Instead, much to her relief, Jack was on the shore, tending to his boat. It almost seemed like he was packing his things up.
"Jack!" Angelica cried. She started to go towards him. He saw her approaching and quickly jumped into the boat in an attempt to hide. "Jack!" She walked up to the side and looked down at Jack, who was crouching in the corner. She grabbed his coat and pulled him up. "Don't you dare," she whispered menacingly, her mouth forming into a grimace. "Don't you dare leave me on this island again! I thought I told you this last night." Angelica groaned to herself, dropping Jack back into the boat. "Ugh. I was so stupid. Why did give in? Why did I start to trust you again?"
Jack rolled his eyes. "I wasn't going to leave you, love. I was simply…" Jack looked around his boat, trying to find an excuse to hide what was obvious. "I was just making sure the wood wasn't going to fall apart when we set sail. Yup, ship-shape, she is."
"I can't believe you, Jack. Why? Why do you keep trying to leave me?" Angelica felt alone. Alone, with no one else to love. Every time she made an attempt to refuse Jack, she did the complete opposite. She didn't know why or how, but she just did.
"If I were to tell you the truth, you wouldn't believe me," Jack was desperate to get out of answering her. He was trying so hard not to have to explain to her why he didn't want her around. If he did tell her, he was afraid she would think that he had turned into a caring person. Someone who isn't selfish, greedy, and overall pirate-like.
"Try me," Angelica challenged. Jack sloshed some water around with his boot.
"I get these things, you see. I call them stirrings," He started his answer, but Angelica interrupted him.
"Feelings," she corrected.
"No, no, no. Stirrings. Small little blips of love, anger, hate, and so on. They change quite often in fact. Anyways, these stirrings occur a lot with you. Specifically, the loving stirrings." Angelica blushed, making Jack embarrassed. "Stop doing that. But what I'm trying to say is that these stirrings are very powerful and that's why I leave. They eventually take over, controlling what I do and what I say. I try to get rid of them as soon as they come on. I'm just not ready for commitment yet. Not with you, at least."
Angelica felt flattered, yet confused. "What do you mean 'not with me'? Are you willing to pick up some broad and hook up with her? Why am I so different?"
Jack grunted. "Because you are. You are in a whole separate category from those wenches. You. You're strong. And loyal. And faithful, I guess. I mean, you keep running back to me even after I break your heart, for crying out loud!"
"The only reason I do is because you seduce me, you trick me, and you use me. Time after time again," Angelica was flustered, but she didn't want to start another argument. They did need to start a quest after all.
Jack stepped out of his longboat and stepped close to Angelica. Their noses were touching. She had to try to resist. Even though she could tell that Jack was in no mood to do things, she realized that in order for him to leave-if he truly wanted to find the treasure- he would need the map from her. Which he did not have. Angelica gulped. "Even if you want to leave, you need my map," Angelica raised her eyebrows. Jack stepped back, looking like he was just insulted.
"You mean this map?" He reached into his pocket and plucked out a yellowed piece of paper. Angelica's mouth dropped open and it was Jack's turn to arch an eyebrow and smirk. Angelica's hand immediately went to her blouse and felt around for a folded square of paper.
"But, how? I placed that very tightly in a pocket that I thought you would never get to," Angelica frowned, trying to think of how Jack managed to take it from her.
"You are a very heavy sleeper," Jack inspected his fingernails, pretending to be bored. He couldn't imagine how Angelica thought he wouldn't try and grab it from her. "Even after all these years of my training you, you still can't predict my next move."
"You still need me on your little quest. I was the one who told you about it in the first place. Besides, I can lead you to the other two maps." Angelica was trying to convince him to give in, even though she had no idea where anybody else was.
"Really?" Jack crossed his arms in disbelief. He highly doubted that Angelica knew anything that he didn't. Then again, she was the one to tell him about the treasure. And both she and his father had to tell him about the ritual for the Fountain of Youth. Although he wouldn't shoot her claim down, Jack decided to take it with a grain of salt.
"No," Angelica admitted. She quickly added to her confession, "but you still need a crew at least. One person isn't much, but it's something." Angelica was willing to say anything if it meant that she was able to get off this island.
Jack squinted his eyes and contemplated this offer. "Hmmm. Well, seeing as how you don't seem to trust me anymore, I'm not so sure I feel like it." Jack crossed his arms. He wanted to be as difficult as possible.
Angelica was getting tired of his remarks. "Look. I've spent five days on this island and I've already gone crazy-"
"That was true before I left you, love," Jack interrupted, smiling.
"Anyways," Angelica scowled, ignoring his comment, "I'm pretty sure that you couldn't last longer than I have. There's no water, no food, no civilians. At all."
"Well, didn't that work out perfectly?" Jack asked sarcastically. "You can't die. So you can't starve or become dehydrated."
Angelica started to block out his comments completely. "I'm going to ask one more time before I end up stabbing you. You are going to take me off this island. With you to find the treasure. And no complaining." She pursed her lips, waiting for a response from Jack.
He thought about it for a while. A good side to this was that Angelica wouldn't murder him. A downside is that he would have to split the reward if they found it and Jack wasn't sure he could do that. Having Angelica would be good because he would have someone to talk to, but his stirrings would spiral out of control. Jack had reached his ultimate decision. He looked Angelica dead in the eye, hearing her foot tap impatiently in the sand. "Fine. Get in the boat."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .
Jack's longboat hit the dock and he tied it to a post. Angelica stepped out and observed Tortuga. It seemed only yesterday that she disguised herself as Jack and they shared their first kiss in years. Only this was a different part of Tortuga. This side had bustling streets, horse-drawn carts everywhere, and multiple stores selling various items. "Have you ever been here?" Angelica pointed to the sign that said "The Town at Tortuga".
"Occasionally. Mostly to get rum." Jack observed the streets and sniffed for a rum store.
"You buy rum here?" Angelica looked disgusted at the place and saw that the cobblestone streets were filled with dried blood, drunken sailors were fighting with each other, and most stores were abandoned or in very bad condition.
"Who says I buy it?" Jack winked and walked down the pier towards the town. Angelica followed closely behind Jack. Many men were looking at Angelica as if they hoped she would come to their ship cabin that night. One man grabbed the sleeve of her blouse. Having incredible reflexes, she quickly shoved the man to the side.
"Stay," she said, as if the man was a dog. She inspected the sleeve of her shirt, making sure it wasn't ripped. They walked farther into the town and it was a nicer area. "What are we doing?" Angelica asked.
"I need to get rum. I only have one bottle left. Believe me, love, you don't want to see me when I'm deprived of rum. And I want to see if Barbossa came back here. I want to threaten him into telling us where the other maps are." Jack surveyed the stores and pubs, guessing which one Barbossa would be in. "Aha!" He exclaimed, looking at the most expensive tavern in Tortuga. "That's where he'll be."
"You've got to be kidding," Angelica breathed heavily, "the pub is on the other side of town. And look at how many people are here! It'll take us a- "she was cut short as she noticed Jack walking away. She groaned and followed him reluctantly.
They walked quickly, wasting very little time. Angelica kept complaining about how she didn't feel like getting rum and how Barbossa wouldn't know anything about the other maps. Jack was about to say something to her when he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Do you have any change to spare? Do you have some extra money? Any chance you could lend some food?" A woman was begging people for help. Jack quickly looked at her, not wanting to draw Angelica's attention. He saw that she had a very dirty dress made from old, matted cloth. Her hair was thin, dangling around her face in strings. Through all the grime and dirt, Jack swore he'd seen her before. Something about her struck his curiosity. Her tan skin and strong build definitely reminded Jack of someone he knew. Holding her hand was a boy, about seven. He looked starved and exhausted. Dark circles hung around his eyes. Jack furrowed his eyebrows and stared at him. He had dark hair and eyes to match. He had definitely seen this boy before, yet he had no idea who the kid was. He froze in his spot. Angelica almost ran into him.
"What are you staring at?" Angelica demanded, trying to match Jack's gaze. For a second, she thought he was staring at that lowly woman. But he couldn't be. There was no way that that was one of the "broads" he'd said he always got with.
"Mm, nothing," Jack turned his head forward. The woman had been walking briskly, and she didn't see where she was going. Walking backwards, she bumped into Angelica. Although Angelica stood her ground, the woman almost toppled over.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sor-" Before she could apologize, Angelica immediately grabbed the woman by the shoulders held her firmly by the throat. Although Angelica had no intention of killing her, she wanted to hold the woman hard enough that the woman would start making small choking noises. The little boy's mouth dropped open in fear.
"Mama! Mama!" He yelped, scared to death for the woman. A crowd of people had formed a circle and started chanting. The woman's eyes told the little boy "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" They yelled, encouraging a good battle. Jack was getting annoyed, not paying attention to any of this. He was too busy looking around for the pub. Trying to concentrate, Jack pretended that he was Barbossa and was looking for a good bar to drink the night away. Unable to focus, Jack turned around to look at the scene, frustrated.
'What's all the bloody noise for?" He gasped when he saw Angelica choking the woman. When he saw the confidence in her eyes, Jack suddenly knew who the woman was. There were only two women that could remain strong when threatened. Although Angelica was one of them, Jack recognized this person as the second. "Angelica, don't!" He yelled, yanking her back. The woman stumbled and fell. The little boy dropped to his knees, comforting his mother. Jack bent down and helped the woman up. Feeling a little bit of pity for her, he reached into one of his coat pockets. "Did you say you wanted money? Here take some gold," Jack handed the woman some change and looked up. His eyes widened in when her face had confirmed his thoughts. Jack stood still, taking in what he just witnessed. He squinted, as if the woman was far away. "Elizabeth?"
Well, well, well! A new twist! *maniacal laughter* And I'm going to make you wait for the next chapter! Teehee! Just kidding, partially. It won't be too long a wait, just maybe Monday or Tuesday. I have a karate tournament to prepare for this weekend so I won't have time to write. Please review what you think of this story so far! Thanks for reading!