Expecting the Unexpected

Chapter Five: The Ruby Amulet

The next morning, after a very refreshing sleep and very good dreams, Hazel changed back into her clothes and walked outside, the bright sun making her blink a few times. She saw Jack, already at the helm, his hat on and his hair blowing in the wind. His eyes were set, watching the horizon, a slight trace of a smirk upon his perfect, bronze face. The girl smiled slightly, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the wooden barrier that stopped her from entering your room. Quiet murmuring made her glance behind her, where crates were stacked. She immediately saw Pintel and recognized Barbossa's scratchy voice. And wherever there's Pintel, there's Ragetti, Hazel thought ironically.

"…heard 'bout the gold. Once we get it on our ship, that's when we make the move…"

"…but what about the girl? Seems completely loyal ter him."

"Leave the girl to me. I'll take care of her."

Hazel shivered, suddenly remembering her dream, and pushed off from the wall. It's just a dream, she reasoned, shaking her head. Barbossa may be creepy, but he's not a mutineer… or at least not that I know of… She walked over to the helm, forgetting slightly about what she just heard once she laid her eyes on Jack once again. "'Mornin' Captain!" she said and gave him her now-usual solute. He grinned, showing off his sparkling gold teeth and tipped his hat to her in a mock-gentlemanly way. "And a good morning to you, luv. Anymore o' those nightmares?"

Hazel grinned. "Not after my pirate prince scared them all away," she replied dramatically and he rolled his eyes but smiled. "Now," she said, changing the subject. "What are my duties today?"

Jack's smiled turned into a grin. "Why, you get to scrub the deck, luv!"

The smile on Hazel's face slipped but she forced it back up and tilted her head in an annoyed manner. He smirked at the young girl's reaction and replied, "The materials' down in the galleys. Talk ter Bootstrap 'bout it; he'll help ya."

Hazel nodded and slowly made her way down to the kitchens. She walked in, finding Bill cooking dinner (to Hazel, that meant lunch). He looked up and smiled when he saw her. He really didn't really get a lot of visitors because everyone was busy. Being alone was cool, but for long periods of time? I'd go crazy, she thought, and returned Bill's smile. "Let me guess," he said, going back to stirring whatever he was cooking. "Assigned to swab the deck?"

Hazel scrunched her forehead to show how much she was looking forward to doing the said task. He chuckled and pointed to a small storage room. "Mop and bucket's in there. Have yourself a jolly old time."

The girl smiled wryly, collected the materials, and headed upstairs. Before she could even fill up the bucket with water, Jack called to her. "Grab yer cutlass, luv, we've got company!" Hazel quickly discarded the items and dashed into her room, grabbing the weapon carefully. Her heart was racing because it was her first battle. She wondered who, exactly, the company was, all she knew was that they weren't friendly. She rushed back up on deck, her cutlass in hand, and she took place between Jack and Bill. Bill glanced down at her, noticed her chest going up and down quite largely, and smiled. "I'm jealous," he murmured quietly. "It's your first brawl."

"Let's hope it's not your last," Jack murmured back.

Hazel shot him a look. "You seem to know the exact things to say to comfort me," she said dryly, causing Bill to chuckle. "You'll do fine. Don't listen to Jack."

The girl grinned and nodded, feeling a slight confidence boost in her. She kept her eyes fixated on the horizon, a semi-large ship with black colors, showing off their status and their nature. Her heart was beating with nervousness, but she was excited at the same time. After what seemed like forever, the two ships were side by side, both crew facing each other. The captain of the opposite ship had a fire-red beard and bright blue eyes. He was Irish, no doubt about that. He was stout, slightly pudgy, but he looked as though he had ambition to boot.

"Ahoy, Clover," Jack called. "And why did you flag me ship down?"

"Need to trade, aye?" was the Irish-accented reply.

Hazel zoned out, keeping her eyes fixed on the crew. Before she knew it, Jack, Barbossa, herself, and Bill were all summoned over. She got many lusty stares from the opposite crew and she scooted slightly closer to Jack. Without warning, the crew turned on the foursome, attacking them. Hazel's heart beat wildly as she defended herself from her first real opponent. Both crews ran on the opposite ship, so a full-on battle ensued. Somehow, she managed to escape from the pirate and run into a room. Jack always told her that if a battle ensued and everyone was preoccupied, to go into vacant rooms and grab things of value. And what she saw in this particular room seemed extremely valuable. It was a ruby necklace. She had no idea why, but as she stared at it with complete lust. It looked undeniably familiar to her, and she had no idea why. She slipped it on, the gem hiding underneath her shirt, and dashed out. She ducked just before a full bottle of rum smashed against the door. She glanced up and saw someone glaring wildly at her. And again, she was in another fight.

"What ye doin' wit' ol' Jackie?" he taunted as his cutlass clanked against hers. Before she could respond, his brown eyes twinkle. "I know why… ye screwin' him, ain't ye? Yer his whore of the week? Well you must be good if he let ye board on his boat."

"It's. A. Ship. You. Bastard." Hazel's breath was short and he had backed her up against the railing of the ship. Before she knew what was happening, he came at her, and without quite realizing what she was doing, she jumped out of the way at the last possible second. He couldn't stop, and toppled off. She watched him hit the water and then shouted, "And I'm not a whore."

The fighting continued for about another hour or so, with Hazel quickly dodging attacks, while managing to stay away from serious injuries. By the time the was sun directly above the ship, the fighting ceased. Those who were not somehow overboard, or killed, were taken over to the Black Pearl and put into the ship's dungeon. The six remaining were the captain, the first mate, and four other crew members, all scowling as Pintel and Ragetti led them down to the bottom of the ship. Jack, Barbossa, Bill and Hazel went over to the opposite ship once again, this time, however, looking for valuables rather than to fight. Immediately, she dashed off into the room where she had found the prized necklace. Maybe there are some matching earrings or shoes, she thought almost greedily. However, her search was all in vain. She found a few paintings that looked as though they held some real value, and a few jewels, but nothing as spectacular as the necklace secretly worn around her neck. Hazel mentally shrugged, and left the room to go grab some help from Jack or Bill or whoever, so she could carry the paintings across. The jewels were in her pocket for now.

The deck was deserted, which probably shouldn't have surprised Hazel, but did nonetheless. Well, she thought. Maybe it's not the emptiness… just the deafening silence. She walked around, and sure enough, it was empty. A chill ran through her spine, unwillingly, and despite it being sunny. Another feeling was running through her. Something bad is going to happen, she thought. Something very bad is going to happen. Too bad I don't know what it is…

"Oy, luv!" a shout cried from behind her, and she whipped around, to see Jack standing with a painting not unlike the ones she had just found. "A little help?"

Hazel grinned and ran over to help him, grabbing an end opposite of his. "I found some paintings like these in another room," she said as she tried hard to walk backwards without tripping over anything.

"Really?" Jack asked, quirking a brow. "Probably the Captain's Quarters then. Watch your step here, luv. There you go." Hazel carefully stepped onto the plank that connected to the two ships, and steadily walked across it. In actuality, she wasn't afraid of heights, but she was afraid of falling into something beneath her that she had no clue about. She took a deep breath, and glanced at Jack, who appeared to be studying her. She blushed slightly.

"What?"

He shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. "It's nothing'."

Hazel's brow rose up further. Captain Jack Sparrow, speechless. Now there's something you don't hear about every day. Heeding Jack's warning, Hazel stepped off onto the Black Pearl and placed the painting carefully into an empty corner of the ship. Jack glanced at his men. "More loot over in the Captain's Quarters. Paintings. We can probably pawn them off at Port Royale, our next stop. So get over there, then!"

Although they grumbled quietly, the crew went over there to collect the treasures. Hazel glanced at Jack, crossing her arms over her chest. "What's Port Royale?"

"Just a port that ol' Bill wants to stop at," Jack said, walking over to the helm of the ship. She quickly followed him, wonder in her eyes.

"Why does he want to stay?" she asked in her rarely-used preppy gossip voice. God, she felt like she was back in high school, asking one of her friends who liked who. Jack rolled his brown eyes at her suggestive tone, but she immediately spotted a trace of a slight smile in the corner of his mouth. She pointed, her face lighting up. "Aha! There's a smile right there! Why does Bill wanna go?"

"You are so trying, luv," Jack said exasperatedly, but the smile was still evident in his face. He continued, after Hazel gave him a look of anticipation. "Bill's wife and son live there. He hopes to see them, after… oh, what's it been now… ever since his lass had his son Will."

"Named after him?" she asked, to which Jack shot her a 'duh' look. She grinned. "That's so romantic," she said wistfully, staring up in the sky, clasping her hands together. "Oh, I'm sooo happy for him."

"You are such a princess, luv," Jack said, rolling his eyes.

"I am not," she protested, shifting her weight. "Just… just a romantic pirate trainee. There's a big difference."

"If you say so," Jack said, suppressing a grin.

Hazel take a seat on the helm next to him, and put her elbows on her knees and her head in her palms. "How much longer till Port Royale?"

Jack grinned down at the young blonde. "About a day and a half."

Hazel nodded, and stared out into the blue sky. She sighed contentedly, a dozed off for a few minutes. When she shifted her weight, she felt an unnatural tightness in her jean pockets. She glanced down. The jewels. She lazily pulled herself up, and got Jack's attention. "Hey Jack," she said, covering up a yawn. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the very tiny, very colorful jewels. "I found these aboard."

"Keep 'em, luv," Jack said. "If you find any small jewels, you can keep them. They don't look that valuable anyways."

Hazel hesitated for a minute. She was unsure if she wanted to tell him about the necklace she was currently wearing. Jack's eyes read hers. "What is it?" he asked, resting his elbow on the wheel. "Somethin' else you want ter tell me?"

Hazel sighed, and nodded. Glancing around and making sure that no one was watching, she pulled out the necklace from her shirt. Jack's eyes sparkled with lust, the same lust that attracted her to it. But something made him stop from reaching out to grasp it in his hands. "Where did you find this… delicacy?" Jack asked, not taking his eyes off the jewel. "On Clover's ship?"

Hazel nodded.

"And no one knows you have it?" he asked, this time locking eyes with her.

She nodded again. Hastily, he quickly shoved the jewel underneath her shirt. "Don't let anyone know you have this. Promise me, luv."

"Okay," she said softly.

"Say it," he demanded gently.

Hazel rose her brow. "I promise. But why, Jack?"

"A tale for another time," Jack murmured. His greed left his eyes as he stared at her shirt. He grinned mischievously. "Anything else hidden in your shirt?"

Hazel rolled her eyes and crossed her arms protectively over her chest. "Not that I know of, no."

"Would you like me to check for you?" Jack asked.

"No, thank you, Jack," she said, a grin tugging at the corner of her lips.

"How many times do I have to tell you, luv," Jack said, annoyed. "It's Captain. Do I have to spell it out?" She grinned as you pictured Jack in a cheerleading outfit with pompoms doing a cheer. "Give me a C, give me an A…" "Now," he said, snapping the girl out of her thoughts. "Go swab the deck."

Author's Notes: Whew, another chapter done. Hm.. Not as many reviews, but that's okay! And I didn't know that you guys loved the polls! I am so sorry to have forgotten to add one last chapter so I'll give you two for this one: what's your favorite character and what's your favorite type of animal and why? Review please! They make me incredibly happy.