here's chapter 8!

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Ladyship Chapter 8

Ronni's POV

I run over to Anamaria and Gibbs.
"What's happening?" Elizabeth yells.
"The Black Pearl! She's gaining on us!"
"This is the fastest ship in the Caribbean!" I exclaim, frantically looking around to find Cordie.
"You can tell them that after they've caught us."
"We're shallower on the draft, right?" Elizabeth asks, a wild look in her eye.
"Aye?"
"Well, can't we lose them amongst those shoals?"
I whip around and look at the shoals and then back at Anamaria with a grin on my face, and I'm sure it's not a pleasant grin but more of a wild one.
"We don't have to outrun them long, just long enough!"
"Lighten the ship! Stem to stern!"
"Anything we can afford to lose, see that it's lost!"
I run back down onto the deck and frantically look around.
"Cordie! Cordie, where are you?!"
She comes running up to me and wraps herself around me.
"Where were you, Veronica? There's so much mayhem going on that I don't know left from right!"
"It's going to be ok, Cordie. You just have to do whatever I say, and it will be alright. Do you understand me?"
She nods with very big eyes and I grab her wrist and drag her along with me.

Elizabeth runs up to me, wild eyed.
"We are going to fight."
"We can't outrun them?" Cordie asks, panicked.
"Running doesn't always work, Cordie." I say.
"But I've never handled a gun! Nor a sword!"
"Don't worry about it, Cordie. You can help me."
"How?"
"Staying very close to me when I'm shooting and hiding when I'm not."

Damn. We failed. Even after clubhauling' the ship. As fun as it was, my stomach is still unsettled and Cordie said that if she had a choice, she would never get on a ship again. Well, at least ones where the helm listens to Elizabeth. Pintel is walking in front of us, telling us to not even think about requesting parley. Cordie is hanging onto me for dear life with very big eyes. I can see Jack. Thank God he's alright. I would have killed Will if Jack had been hurt. Cordie keeps looking at Jack with concern written on her face. Both of us are standing next to Elizabeth before she escapes her captors.
"Elizabeth, no!" I shout, trying to keep her from getting away.
"You've got to stop! Stop it!" she screams, smacking Barbossa.
"Welcome back, Miss. You took advantage of our hospitality last time. Now it holds fair that you return the favor." He smiles as he shoves her toward his crew. I scream and run over, punching anyone who touches her. They grab me by my short hair and hold a cutlass to my throat. I can hear Cordie squeak, but glares from Barbossa's crew keep her quiet. When I don't struggle and when Mr. William Turner jumps up, they remove the cutlass from my throat. They are all so distracted by him, I remove myself from their grasp and Cordie slinks over to me.
"I thought they were going to kill you!" she whispers.
"Nah. They were just roughing me up a bit," I say, rubbing my neck, "as you can see, I'm fine. And so is dear William, which is nice."
"You don't sound too happy about it." She states, glaring at him.
"Whatever gave you that idea?"
"Name your terms, Mr. Turner."
"Elizabeth goes free!"
"Yes, we know that one. Anything else?"
He frantically looks around and finishes, "The crew is not to be harmed. And those women," he points at us, "are to go free as well!"
"Agreed."
I can hear poor Jack groan. Will has ruined his plans yet again.

After they forced Elizabeth out of her dress and off the plank, they shove Cordie onto it. Will looks at us with sad eyes and continues to fight against the gag in his mouth. She is visibly shaking and slowly edges further and further out. She looks at me and I shrug and give her a sad smile. Her eyes grow big and I nod. She has to jump. She will be alright, she knows how to swim. She finally reaches the end and after some yelling from Barbossa's crew, she leaps off. I can hear her surfacing and sputtering up sea water. That just leaves me. I'm shoved onto the plank and I stroll to the end it. I hate heights, but I can't let them know that. They already won with Elizabeth, Cordie, and Will and possibly Jack. I won't let them win against me. I turn around, mock salute to Barbossa and turn back around. I plug my nose and jump in, trying to ignore the feeling in my stomach as I fall 15 feet or more.

We all end up on an island and are out of breath when we get there. Jack unties his effects and looks at his ship sail away.
"That's the second time I've had to watch that man sail away with my ship."
I rest my hand on his shoulder and give is a squeeze. He looks at me and starts walking off. With nothing better to do, I follow him with Cordie in tow. Elizabeth starts stomping after him, determined to get off this island.
"But you were marooned on this island before, weren't you? So we can escape the same way you did then!"
"To what point and purpose, young missy? The Black Pearl is gone, and unless you have a rudder and a lot of sails in that bodice…unlikely…Young Mr. Turner will be dead long before you can reach him."
It's not very often that I see Jack as annoyed and upset as this, so I keep my smart comments to myself. Cordie keeps quiet and just watches with interest.
"But you're Captain Jack Sparrow! You vanished under the eyes of seven agents of the East India Trading Company. You sacked Nassau Port without even firing a shot! Are you the pirate I've read about or not?"
Cordie's eyes are big by now. She didn't realize that Jack was legendary. I just continued to look on. I knew the stories. I knew how they ended. The endings aren't as happy as the books say. His scars are more legend than his fables.
"How did you escape last time?"
He looks ashamed and is fighting with himself to tell the truth. He finally spits out, "Last time, I was here a grand total of three days, alright? Last time, the rumrunners used this island as a cache. Came by and I was able to barter passage off. From the looks of things, they've long been out of business. Probably have your bloody friend Norrington to thank for that."
He steps out of the cellar and hands me a rum bottle. I nod my thanks and he offers one to Cordie. She slowly takes it from him.
"So, that's it then? That's the secret grand adventure of the infamous Jack Sparrow. You spent three days lying on a beach drinking rum?!"
"Welcome to the Caribbean, love." He shoves a bottle into her hands and walks away. I look at her and I can see a plan forming in her mind. I know exactly what she's going to do. She grins down at her bottle and then back up at us. She follows him down to the water's edge and plops down next to him and pretends to take a big swig of her rum. I roll my eyes and begin building a fire.

Cordie's POV

Ronni starts picking up large pieces of driftwood. She must be building a fire. I look over to my right and see Jack and Elizabeth sitting on the beach drinking rum. Elizabeth looks so satisfied with her situation that I have to force myself to not scream out in annoyance. I have only been able to enjoy the company of my cousin for a few uninterrupted minutes and already her presence is raking on my nerves. I liked her better when she was a hostage, and far away from me.
I immediately shake my head in an attempt to rid myself of these thoughts and make my way over to where my sister is working. "The SAND!" I shout painfully as I feel fire shoot through my feet all the way up my legs and into the rest of my body. It was white hot and as quickly as I was onshore, I was back in the ocean with the water up to my knees cooling off my aching feet.
"Cordie its sand, meaning it'll be hot. It takes some time getting used to," Ronni grins at me suppressing a laugh. "Where are your boots anyway?" at that moment I realize I don't have shoes. I turn around to face the ocean and realize that they must have slipped off while I was swimming. That's the last time I buy clothes with Jack. The damn boots didn't fit. I turn back to face my sister with my hands on my hips.
"Well, I'm sorry that I don't have calloused feet! Unlike some people, I don't run around shoeless."
"Come out of the water Cordie," Ronni laughs dropping an armful of wood onto her growing pile. "I could use your help," she says, "Since some people are too damn lazy to lift a finger." My sister adds under her breath but purposely loud enough for everyone to hear. Elizabeth looks at her with worried eyes but quickly returns to her rum. I relish her fear of my sister with a smile; I join Ronni in gathering the wood, ignoring the fire beneath my feet.
"Look at her! I cannot believe what she is doing!" I cannot stop myself from saying this as I sit next to my sister on the now cool beach. I watch as my cousin dances around the bonfire with Jack. I look over to see Ronni nodding at my comment as she whittles another piece of wood into something that appears to have tentacles. "What are you making?" I ask only half interested as I continue to watch Elizabeth sing and shout like one of the drunken wenches we encountered on Tortuga.
"Nothing in particular," I can hear the lie lacing through her words but pretend not to notice.
"It's nice, you're good at that. Where did you learn?"
"Father taught me," she whispers, slicing off another thin strip of wood. It curls and lands atop the other pieces. My heart sinks as I think of father.
"I miss him."
"So do I," Ronni puts down her half finished creation and plays with the end of her knife before placing it beside her. An awkward silence rests between us as we watch Jack and Elizabeth make fools of themselves. "I'll teach you to swordfight Cordie."
"Really?" I think back to earlier, how scared I was on the ship. It would come in handy to learn. "Thank you," Ronni shrugs her shoulders. She follows my gaze and, out of the corner of my eye, I can see her smile.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing," I blush badly and in the light of the fire I know she can see me. "Just how stupid Elizabeth is."
"Oh I'm sure…would you care for some rum?" she asks holding up an old, weathered bottle. I have never tasted it before and, out of curiosity take it from her and drink some. The liquid races down my throat and hit my stomach like a rock. It stings leaving an awful taste in my mouth.
"It's disgusting," I choke. She laughs as I take another swig.
"Don't get sick," she reminds me in her rare motherly tone as I finish off the bottle. Slowly, the rum is beginning to take effect. The fire is glowing brighter and my body is feeling lighter. I crawl over to another bottle that is nearest us and drink it down. "Cordie, why don't you go dance?" Ronni mumbles. I look at her and see her grinning.
"No!" I shake my head until I become dizzy and take another drink of rum. "Well, maybe. Only if you do it!"
"I don't dance Cordie, you know that."
"If you don't, I won't!" Ronni rolls her eyes and picks herself up from the sand. I clap my hands together in joy and spring to my feet. Everything is spinning, and I have to hold onto her shoulder so I don't topple over.
"How are you already drunk? My God, you weren't lying when you said you never had alcohol."
"I am not drunk," I am almost certain my words come out in slurs by the look Ronni gives me as we make our way over to Elizabeth and Jack. Upon seeing them, I finish my second bottle of rum and throw it onto the sand.

Author's Note:

reviews would be appreciated

-The Brunette Half