"My name it is Maria, a merchant's daughter fair,
And I have left my parents and three thousand pounds a year,
My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold,
There is nothing can console me but my jolly sailor bold"
-"My Jolly Sailor Bold"
I Disdain All Glittering Gold
Chapter Seven
A/N: Here you go and please enjoy. Remember: I write faster when I get reviews!
"I don't even know I could swim," Marina coughed up a bit of water and dragged herself onto the sand.
She was marooned on an island with a pirate and the love of her brother's life. This would be interesting.
"That's the second time I've had to watch that man sail away with my ship," Jack had slid up next to her and was sighing deeply.
"But you were marooned on this island before, weren't you," an impatient Elizabeth was not lying on the sand, but, in fact, pacing around furiously, "So we can escape in the same way you did."
Marina remained silent. She knew Jack was about as reliable as a sand dollar and, at this point, was starting to doubt everything he'd ever told her. She might as well lie down and wait for death.
"To what point and purpose? The Black Pearl is gone and unless you have a rudder and a lot of sails hidden in that bodice, unlikely- young Mr. Turner will be dead long before you can reach him," Jack said in a defeated tone.
"Which one of us should the other one eat first?" Marina asked softly and Jack chuckled.
"I can't believe you two," Elizabeth spat, "you're Captain Jack Sparrow! You vanished from under the eyes of seven agents of the East India Company. You sacked Nassau Port without even firing a shot. Are you the pirate I've read about or not? And Marina- doesn't it bother you that may never see your brother again?!"
Marina sat up abruptly.
"Don't talk like that," she said through gritted teeth, "I love my brother. But we've been separated before- and that speech about being together in death was real. I'm going to lie in this sand bed, and let the world run its course."
Elizabeth stood with her mouth gaping open. She chose not to respond to the girl's thoughts, and turned back to Jack.
"How did you escape last time?"
"I'll show you".
Jack lead the girls on a short walk to the center of the island where there seemed to be a hidden pantry of some sort in the sand.
"Last time I was here a grand total of three days, all right? Last time the rum runners used this island as a cache. Came by, and I was able to barter a passage off. From the looks of things, they've long been out of business. Probably have your bloody friend Norrington to thank for that."
"So that's it then? That's the secret grand adventure of the infamous Jack Sparrow. You spent three days lying the on the beach, drinking rum?"
"He's a bloody coward, Elizabeth. And a bit of rum doesn't sound too bad to me," Marina admitted.
Jack threw a bottle of rum into Marina's hands, sat down, and announced, "Welcome to the Caribbean, girls!"
Mere hours later, Marina was dancing around a fire, half naked, singing at the top of her voice.
"We're devils and black sheep and really bad eggs. Drink up me 'earties yo ho! Yo ho, yo ho a pirate's life for me"
Elizabeth was dancing around too, behaving quite out of character, which only made Marina giggle more.
She'd been drinking rum since she'd moved to Tortuga, and had a high tolerance for it, but the amount she'd drank in the last few hours was enough to make her forget where she was.
"I love this song! Really bad eggs! Ooh," Jack twirled Marina, and then fell down, bringing Elizabeth with them.
"When I get the Pearl back, we should teach it to the whole crew, and we'll sing it all the time!"
"And you'll be the most fearsome pirate in the Spanish Main," Elizabeth declared.
"Not just the Spanish Main, love. The entire ocean. The entire world. Wherever I want to go, I'll go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails that's what a ship needs but what a ship is, what the Black Pearl really is, is freedom."
"It's horrible being stuck on this island again isn't it?" Elizabeth realized.
Marina remained quiet, she'd become sad, remembering Will.
"Hey, I know a song," she spoke up.
Jack had failed to respond to Elizabeth, and sat up, interested.
"Let's hear it then!" He roared.
"My mother used to sing it to Will and I- it's about a sailor and his girl..."
Upon one summer's morning, I carelessly did stray,
Down by the Walls of Wapping, where I met a sailor gay,
Conversing with a bouncing lass, who seem'd to be in pain,
Saying, William, when you go, I fear you will ne'er return again.
His hair it does in ringlets hang, his eyes as black as sloes,
May happiness attend him wherever he goes,
From Tower Hill, down to Blackwall, I will wander, weep and moan,
All for my jolly sailor bold, until he does return.
My father is a merchant—the truth I now will tell,
And in great London City in opulence doth dwell,
His fortune doth exceed ₤300,000 in gold,
And he frowns upon his daughter, 'cause she loves a sailor bold.
A fig for his riches, his merchandize, and gold,
True love is grafted in my heart; give me my sailor bold:
Should he return in poverty, from o'er the ocean far,
To my tender bosom, I'll fondly press my jolly tar.
My sailor is as smiling as the pleasant month of May,
And oft we have wandered through Ratcliffe Highway,
Where many a pretty blooming girl we happy did behold,
Reclining on the bosom of her jolly sailor bold.
Come all you pretty fair maids, whoever you may be
Who love a jolly sailor bold that ploughs the raging sea,
While up aloft, in storm or gale, from me his absence mourn,
And firmly pray, arrive the day, he home will safe return.
My name it is Maria, a merchant's daughter fair,
And I have left my parents and three thousand pounds a year,
My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold,
There is nothing can console me but my jolly sailor bold.
When she'd finished she gave a sloppy curtsey, while Elizabeth clapped and Jack cried "again, again!"
"Thank you, lady and gentleman," Marina bowed, and collapsed into the sand.
When Marina awoke, she had Jack's arm draped around her. She gingerly removed it and stood up, walking around to discover the source of the smoke she could see and smell.
"What are you doing?" She asked incredulously, as she saw Elizabeth sitting in front of a large fire.
Jack had followed quickly behind her and was screaming.
"WHY IS THE RUM GONE?!" He demanded, distraught.
"Jack- I love rum as much as the next person, but Elizabeth's just trying to help," Marina tried to calm him.
"Yes but why is the rum gone?"
"One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire Royal Navy is out looking for me, do you really think that there is even the slightest chance that they won't see it?"
"But why is the rum gone?" Jack whimpered
"Just wait, you two. You give it one hour, maybe two, keep a weather eye out and then you will see white sails on that horizon."
Marina sighed and fell back into the sand. She wondered what would happen once she encountered Norrington again. Where would her life go from here? She'd been getting used to the wild and unpredictable lifestyle of following a pirate around.
Governor Swan and Norrington were quite surprised to find both Jack and Marina with Elizabeth, but escorted them onto the ship, nonetheless.
"But we've got to save Will," Elizabeth was pleading with her father.
Marina wanted to agree, but she was being watched closely by Norrington, and knew better than to say anything.
"No. You're safe now. We will return to Port Royal immediately, not go gallivanting after pirates!"
Unable to contain herself, Marina muttered, "bit late for that."
Norrington smacked her lightly on the head.
"Norrington!" Elizabeth glared, "she is a friend of mine, and Will's sister. She is cold and upset- show some compassion."
"And if we don't go after Will, then we condemn him to death," she continued.
"The boy's fate is regrettable, but, then, so was his decision to engage in piracy. The girl has been away from her brother for years, she will go back to Tortuga and she will be grateful for the life we've made for her."
"Will did all this to rescue me! To prevent anything from happening to me," Elizabeth was almost shouting.
"If I may be so bold as to inject my professional opinion," Jack piped up, "The Pearl was listing near to scuppers after the battle. It's very unlikely she'll be able to make good time."
"...Think about it. The Black Pearl. The last real pirate threat in the Caribbean, mate. How can you pass that up?" Jack prompted.
"By remembering that I serve others, not only myself," Norrington snapped.
Suddenly Elizabeth's eyes widened, as if an idea had come to her.
"Commodore, I beg you, please do this. For me. As a wedding gift."
Norrington's mouth fell open slightly.
"ELIZABETH, NO!" Marina cried, but Norrington grabbed the girl's hands and tied them back with rope.
"Elizabeth . Are you accepting the Commodore's proposal?" The Governor looked overjoyed.
"I am," Elizabeth tried her best not to look upset.
Marina wanted to kick and scream and bit Norrington like she had with Barbossa, but she knew that if she wanted to win this battle she'd have to try a different, subtler, tactic.
"A wedding! We love weddings, don't we Marina? Drinks all around!" Jack grinned, an attempt at salvaging his case for innocence, but it was no use.
He extended his arms and sighed,
"I know. Clap him in irons, right?"
"Mr. Sparrow, you will accompany these fine men to the helm and provide us with the bearing to Isla de Muerta . You will then spend the rest of the voyage contemplating all possible meanings of the phrase 'silent as the grave'. Do I make myself clear?"
Jack nodded stiffly,"Inescapably".
Norrington turned to Marina and whispered in her ear while Jack was being dragged away and Elizabeth taken by her father to the ship's cabin.
"You're not going to make any trouble like you did last time I saw you, are you?" He hissed.
Marina wanted to spit in his face and tell him that she was trouble and give him directions as to where he should stick his bloody marriage proposal, but instead turned her chin stubbornly to his face.
"Of course, Commodore."
A/N: Wow I didn't get any reviews for last chapter?! Maybe because it was a few days late? For that I apologize, but without reviews, I'm less tempted to update, so please review! Even just to say hi, give me advice, tell what you liked/didn't like- anything!
