Chapter Nine
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait! I actually ran out of internet credit (I use mobile broadband) and I'm poor. My brother also refused to buy me any, meaning I had absolutely no way to buy credit. The change I could save up went towards food. The good news to come of that is that I wrote chapters 9-14 of this story. So I'll be able to update regularly after I've edited them, yay!
Anywho, enjoy :)
{Dreamer}
While the crew anchored Pearl and got a lifeboat ready, Jack got Will ready.
'Is this really necessary?' Will complained.
'I won, William,' Jack told him. 'And stop moving, yer gonna smudge yer Khol.'
'I don't want to do this,' the blacksmith complained, but didn't move. He kept his eyes down, and only lifted them when Jack told him to. Jack used his thumb to gently brush the Kohl around Will's eyes and smirked when he was done.
'I don't care if yeh don't wanna do it, mate,' Jack said brightly. 'I won, you lost; a deal's a deal.'
Will grumbled under his breath and then sighed. 'Well, how do I look?' he asked and spread his arms. Will was wearing his own trousers, a dark pair that were fraying around the cuffs, but still sturdy. A pair of Jack's boots were on his feet, almost the perfect fit, and had silver buckles instead of the usual leather Will was used to.
His shirt was a blood red, open from the collar to about halfway down Will's chest, with baggy sleeves that did-up at his wrists. The tunic he wore over the top was black with gold buckles and only kept closed by a belt-sheath that held Will's cutlass and an axe- the same axe Will had brought aboard Pearl the first time, Jack thought.
'Perfect,' Jack said and before he tossed Will a black coat- also with gold buckles and buttons- and instructed the younger man to put it on. Will rolled his eyes but again did as asked while Jack slipped a pouch of money into the bag Will was taking ashore. He then tossed that to the blacksmith, who slung it over one shoulder.
'For the record, I still hate the braids and beads,' Will announced, his Kohl-rimmed eyes narrowed.
Jack just grinned. Will was a pretty thing, but with braids and beads and Kohl? He was downright fuckable. Jack was actually wondering whether he should make something up so that he could go ashore with the lad. But Anamaria would take care of him, and Will could handle himself.
He reached out to run a finger along the braids on the ride-side of Will's face. There were two, each with a bead or two hanging from the end. Most of his hair was tied back but a few strands, such as the breads, hung free, and framed Will's perfectly tanned face. Honestly, William Turner was the most beautiful creature Jack had ever stumbled upon.
'Uh, Jack?' Will interrupted.
Jack blinked and then smiled as he touched the one braid on the left-side of Will's face. This one contained two red beads, one yellow, and a small silver pendant hanging from the end.
'Take care of yerself, lad,' Jack said. 'And that's an order, from yer Captain and yer friend.'
Will nodded. 'I'll be fine,' he said. Jack just squeezed his shoulder and led him back onto the deck.
The lifeboat was ready and Will, Anamaria, and Gabe were set, Mr Cotton now staying behind. As the boat was lowered, Jack couldn't help repeating himself. He leaned over the railing.
'Watch yerself, Mr Turner.'
'I'll be fine, Captain,' Will chuckled.
'Mm-hmm,' Jack hummed, watching as Will, Anamaria and Gabe slowly sunk lower and lower. 'Maybe get yerself a hat, lad!' were Jack's parting words. 'A real pirate needs a hat!'
'Fuck you!' Will retorted, and it made the pirates in hearing distance hoot with laughter.
Jack grinned. Soon enough, he thought as the lifeboat dropped into the water.
{oOo}
Port Twelves was a lot like Port Royal, only smaller. The Harbour-master was a corrupt man who allowed Will, Anamaria and Gabe to tie up their lifeboat under the name "Jones". They were all Joneses, apparently, and Will and Gabe had a good chuckle as Anamaria bartered with the old man. She threatened him, really, and soon they were walking up into the town proper.
It had been founded around the same time that Port Royal had been re-built after the earthquake that had destroyed a good chunk of the town, so the streets and people felt familiar to Will as they walked through. There were a lot more pirates around, though, and the small garrison of Navy soldiers that patrolled the area could be seen more often than not turning a blind-eye to the more illegal doings.
'Are merchant ships often plundered when they leave this port?' Will asked as he and the other two pirates stopped outside a tavern. Anamaria was eyeing the place like she wanted to slip in and buy some drinks, but Will wanted to hunt around for tools.
'Not really, lad,' Anamaria answered, not looking at him. 'The Navy might be a bit corrupt, but if they didn't do their jobs they'd be keelhauled. Best to do as little as they can, and stopping pirates from raidin' ships is part of it.'
Gabe clapped a hand on Will's shoulder as he said, 'Rest easy, mate. Captain Sparrow knows what he's doing. An old friend apparently told him about this ship, and Jack trusts him, so we do too.'
'Okay,' was what Will settled on saying, and then yelped when he was dragged by the two pirates into the tavern. 'But I want to-'
'We have all day tomorrow, lad,' Anamaria interrupted. 'Merchant vessel ain't sailin' until late afternoon, which means we got practically all day tomorrow teh ourselves. We'll find yeh some tools. I'll even get yeh an anvil meself.'
'You do realise that anvils are expensive, right?' Will said. Gabe pushed him through the crowded tavern, Anamaria leading the way, and soon they were sitting at a table in the corner.
'I'm loaded, mate,' Anamaria winked at him. 'Bettin' on you is the best thing that ever happened teh me. Now all I need is me own ship and I'm set.' She sighed suddenly and slouched back in her seat. 'Gonna miss the crew, I'll admit. But it'll be good teh command me own ship again.'
'Captain'll find you one,' Gabe said as he flagged down one of the servers.
'He's been "findin' me one" for a good eight months now,' Anamaria grumbled, but she let the subject drop while they ordered a rum each. Will dug into his bag for the small pouch of coins he'd brought with him, and frowned when he found a much heavier one. 'What's that?' Anamaria asked.
'I don't know...' Will trailed off when he opened the pouch to find it stuffed with silver. 'Jack,' he sighed and tossed a few coins onto the table.
'Yer his favourite, lad,' Anamaria winked.
'No I'm not,' Will grumbled, but couldn't stop the small smile that pulled at his lips.
'Aww, look at him smiling,' Gabe teased and grabbed his cheek. Will pushed him away.
'He likes bein' the Captain's favourite,' Anamaria laughed.
'Shut up,' Will mumbled, and then breathed a sigh of relief when their drinks were delivered.
'How old are yeh, lad?' Anamaria suddenly asked.
Will frowned over his rum. 'Why does that matter?'
'Just curious, is all,' the woman shrugged. 'Go on, tell us.'
Will took a sip of his drink before saying, 'I'm twenty-one.' Anamaria let out a breath and Gabe whistled. 'What?' Will asked. 'What's wrong with my age?'
'Nothing, lad,' Anamaria smiled. 'Just didn't realise yeh were that young.'
'Thought you were at least twenty-five,' Gabe admitted. 'How old's the Captain?' he then asked Anamaria, who shrugged again.
'Dunno... thirty-five? Forty? Who knows.'
Will looked between the two pirates. 'I'm confused,' he admitted and took another swig of rum.
'Never mind, lad,' Anamaria chuckled. 'Yer age don't matter, I was just wonderin'. Yer young, is all.'
'I was younger the first time we sailed together,' Will pointed out. 'I only just turned twenty-one last month.'
'Ah, Januarius,' Anamaria nodded. At Will and Gabe's looks, she shrugged. 'What? I pay attention teh the time of year, and that's about it. Well, apart from what ships I wanna pillage,' she grinned and downed half of her drink.
They talked about this and that, not staying on one subject for too long before moving onto the next. They drank more and more rum, Will and Anamaria covering for Gabe thanks to Ana's bets and Jack's apparent favouritism of Will.
Anamaria soon secured them lodgings for the night over a tavern down the street, and only caused two minor fights when a few drunk lads tried to feel up her shirt. Gabe just sat back and laughed when the blokes suddenly found a sword to their throat, while Will had to be held back from leaping over the table more than once.
'Steady, mate,' Anamaria scolded as she dragged him back down and her latest admirer ran. 'I can handle meself.'
'I don't care,' Will growled. 'I don't like seeing my friends abused.'
Anamaria cocked an eyebrow. 'Are we friends, young William?'
'Of course we are,' Will said before turning to her and blushing lightly. 'A-Aren't we?'
'Huh,' Anamaria said before grinning brightly, 'yeh, mate, 'course we're friends. It'd do me well to have more friends instead of enemies.'
'Or lovers,' Gabe quipped, earning a swipe from Anamaria's dagger. Gabe just grinned and saluted her with his rum.
'Is it hard, being out at sea for so long?' Will asked as the other two pirates settled back down.
'What do yeh mean, lad?' Anamaria asked.
'Well... everybody that I've met seems to enjoy sex,' Will said slowly, and ignored the snickers from Anamaria and Gabe, 'and being at sea for so long must get in the way of... uh...'
'Finding a shag?' Gabe supplied. Will just nodded. 'Well, there are the blokes who like other blokes, so they're usually set if they can find someone to share their bunk. You don't meet many lady pirates, so I don't know about that.'
'Plenty of men to keep me satisfied, Mr Turner,' Anamaria grinned at him. 'And when I'm in port, I find plenty of women, too.'
Will choked on his rum, and Anamaria and Gabe laughed, the latter slapping him on the back. 'W-Women?' he finally managed to cough.
'Aye, yeh didn' think it were just men who were sodomites, did yeh?' Anamaria asked. ''Course, we're not called sodomites, and it doesn't really get talked about, 'cause God forbid women not want a bloke teh warm their sheets. Yeh'll soon find, William Turner, that most men think they're God's gift teh the fairer sex. Load of bollocks, is what it is.'
'Easy, Ana,' Gabe held a hand out as the woman started to get worked up. 'We agree with you, don't we, Buck?' He nudged Will under the table, and Will nodded hastily.
'Yes, of course I agree,' the blacksmith quickly stated.
'Good,' Anamaria huffed and slammed her mug onto the table.
Will ordered another round, and the three fell into conversation once more. That was, until they were interrupted. Anamaria scowled at the approaching man, but then her eyebrows climbed in surprise when the bloke leaned over the table to speak to Will.
''ello, luv,' he slurred, clearly drunk, and Will blinked at him. ''aven't seen yer pretty face 'round these parts.'
'Uh... n-no, I'm just... passing through,' Will stuttered.
'Aye,' the man nodded and looked Will up and down, grinning lecherously when he re-met Will's eyes. 'Where yeh stayin' t'night, luv?'
'I don't think that's any concern of yours,' Will said.
'Aw, don' be like tha', sweetie,' the man said. He leaned further over the table, and Will wrinkled his nose when the stranger's putrid odour hit him. 'Why don' ya come back teh my place, eh? I'll show yeh a good time.'
'He's not interested,' Anamaria finally spoke up, and the man barely glanced at her. 'So why don't yeh piss off?'
'Ain't no one asked you, whore,' the man snarled.
Before any of them could blink, Will was standing, and in a second he had the man face down on the table, one arm wrenched behind his back. Will had his dagger pressed to the man's throat, and the bloke winced and bucked but couldn't get free.
'I think you should apologise to the lady,' Will said, 'before I slit your throat.'
'Fuck off!' the man growled.
'I said,' Will snarled, pulling back on the man's arm and making him howl, 'apologise.'
'Sorry!' the man grunted out. ''m sorry, jus' lemme go!'
Will let the man up and glared at him, but there wasn't going to be a fight; the drunk scowled at the lot of them before stumbling away, the other patrons barely batting an eye at the almost-fight.
Will sighed and dropped back into his seat, his dagger disappearing into the coat Jack had lent him.
'If yeh weren't taken, William, I'd jump yeh right now,' Anamaria commented.
Will jolted and looked at her with wide eyes. 'W-What?' he gaped. 'I'm not taken!'
'Aren't yeh?' Anamaria asked, and Gabe just shook his head when Will glanced his way.
'Uh... no?' Will tried.
Anamaria smirked and leaned over the table. 'So what do yeh fancy, William Turner?'
'Fancy?' Will echoed, picking up his mug, only to find it empty.
'Men? Women? Both, or neither?' the woman prompted.
'Oh,' Will blinked, 'I, uh...'
'We ain't gonna judge yeh, mate,' Anamaria said and nudged Gabe. 'Are we?'
'Not in the least,' Gabe replied. 'I fancy women myself, but I won't say no to a strapping lad if he wants to keep my bunk warm.'
'R-Really?' Will asked. When they both nodded, the blacksmith cleared his throat. Keeping his eyes on his mug, he said, 'Well, I always thought that I loved Elizabeth. But when I actually got a chance to be with her, I realised that she wasn't what I wanted.'
'Was it just her?' Anamaria asked. 'Or women in general?'
'I, uh...' Will closed his eyes and mumbled, 'women in general.'
'I knew it!' Anamaria howled in triumph. 'Knew yeh were a sodomite, lad. Half the crew owe me a bunch of silver and gold, now!'
'I really wish that you'd stop betting on me,' Will sighed. But he felt lighter, now, knowing that the crew didn't care that he was attracted to men- well, Anamaria and Gabe didn't care, anyway.
'Shut up, lad, it's the best fun I've had in months,' Anamaria said. She tipped the rest of her drink into her mouth before saying, 'I need another, and the next round's on O' Bucket!'
Will sighed but held up a hand to signal a server. 'I'm going to be stuck with that nickname until the day I die, aren't I?'
'Hey, it could be worse,' Anamaria said, kicking him under the table. 'Yeh could be called Moon.'
Anamaria and Gabe roared with laughter, while Will just laughed and shook his head.
{oOo}
'Is that it?' Gabe asked.
Anamaria nodded. She and the blonde were standing on the docks, watching as the crew of the Muddy Waters loaded the ship with cargo. It was a rather large ship, and in good condition, but it still wasn't what Anamaria was looking for. She didn't want to settle for second best.
'Aye, and she looks to be keepin' on schedule,' Anamaria said.
'Bucket should be back in an hour, I left him up near the main shops,' Gabe said. 'I'll go down and bribe the Harbour-master to make sure we've got the schedule right before we head back to the Pearl.'
'Yeh left the lad alone?' Anamaria demanded, rounding on the tall man.
'He can handle himself,' Gabe shrugged.
Anamaria snorted. 'Trouble follows that boy around, Gabie, yeh best get used teh that.'
'Doesn't trouble follow all pirates around?' Gabe asked, and grinned when the woman rolled her eyes.
'I don't want any of yer philosophy this early in the day, yeh bastard,' Anamaria huffed. 'What I'm sayin' is, if William gets inteh trouble, who do yeh reckon the Captain's gonna blame?'
Gabe frowned at that and rubbed a hand over his stubbly face. 'Damn,' he muttered.
'Exactly,' Anamaria said. 'So you'd best be runnin' along teh make sure O' Bucket's kept himself outta danger. 'Cause if one hair on his head is damaged, the Captain'll make us both walk the plank, and he won't be dragging us back up afterwards.'
With that Anamaria stomped away, and Gabe hastily made his way back up into town. He didn't fancy facing Captain Jack's wrath if Will were injured.
{oOo}
'I'm a grown man; I can take care of myself,' Will complained as Gabe followed him out of the shop and back onto the street.
'I'm not saying that you can't,' Gabe said. 'I'm just following Captain's orders.'
Will stopped and rounded on him, forcing the larger man to back up. 'Jack ordered you to keep an eye on me?'
'Well... he ordered Ana to keep an eye on you,' Gabe admitted, 'and then she made a very convincing argument as to why I should keep an eye on you. And here we are.' He spread his arms and Will huffed, turning to continue walking. 'Come on, lad, the Captain'll have my head if I let you get into trouble.'
'I can-'
'Take care of yourself, I know,' Gabe interrupted. 'But I'm still coming with you. You can take it up with Captain Sparrow when we re-board the Pearl.'
Will didn't say anything to that, so the two walked in silence, Will occasionally stopping when something in a shop caught his eye.
'That one would suit you,' Gabe said five minutes after they'd stopped outside a clothing store. It sold everything; shirts, jackets, coats, scarves, and... hats.
'What?' Will shook his head and turned to look at the older man.
'That one,' Gabe said, nodding at one of the hats on display. It was a bit similar to Jack's Captain's hat and had three broad upturned sides that were stiffened but not tacked, giving it a more rounded and less sharp triangular shape. There were two large brass buttons on either side of the front arches, and the one on the left sported two feathers; one white, one brown.
Will didn't make a move to enter the shop, but he didn't try to leave, either, so Gabe rolled his eyes and walked in.
'Gabe!' Will hissed but hurried after him.
The hat was a dark brown colour, almost black, with a lighter brown trimming around the edges. Gabe grinned as he pulled it from the peg it was resting on and dropped it atop Will's head. 'Suits you, mate.'
Will frowned at him but glanced up at the hat. 'Does it?'
Gabe nodded before one of the many scarves on display caught his eye. He chuckled and reached for one the colour of blood with silver threaded through. 'And this,' Gabe declared and waved it at the younger man.
'No,' Will shook his head. 'I'll look like I'm trying to dress like Jack.'
'Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately, lad?' Gabe laughed. 'You're wearing Kohl, a scarf around your waist, and Jack's shirt and coat. You already look like him.'
'That's because I lost a bet,' Will explained.
'Get a different coloured scarf, then,' Gabe shrugged. 'It'll keep the hair out of your face, if you're planning on keeping it that length.
Will sighed in defeat and took the scarf, and Gabe helped him wrap it around his head. When Will plopped the hat back onto his head Gabe grinned widely. 'Now you look like a pirate,' he declared.
'I do?' Will asked hopefully, and the other man nodded. 'And I don't look ridiculous?'
'Not at all,' Gabe shook his head.
'You buyin' that?' a man suddenly came out of nowhere, and Gabe and Will both nodded.
Will paid for the hat and scarf and he and Gabe left the shop. When they met up with Anamaria down on the docks, the woman took one look at Will and grinned. 'Jack'll love that look, Bucket,' she laughed.
Will tugged the hat off, but Gabe held his hand out. 'What's the matter, mate? Don't you wanna impress Jack?'
Biting his lip, Will stared at the hat as he mumbled, 'Everybody knows how I feel about him, don't they?'
Anamaria and Gabe glanced at each other. 'How yeh feel...?' Anamaria hummed, trying to play dumb.
Will rolled his eyes. 'All the jokes, the betting on my sexuality? I'm not blind.'
Anamaria squirmed when the young man looked up at her. 'We didn't mean nothin' by it, lad. Just a bit of harmless fun. We reckon you and Jack'd be good together.'
'Really?' Will asked, a look of disbelief written across his face.
'Yeah,' Gabe quickly nodded. 'We see the way you look at Captain Jack, and the way he looks at you, and you... fit, you know? You two work well together.'
Will's cheeks were steadily turning red, and he mumbled, 'H-How Jack looks at me?'
'I thought yeh weren't blind,' Anamaria laughed. 'Jack looks at yeh like a starvin' man and yer a juicy steak. Never seen him look at another person that way before, and I've known 'im for years.'
'Aye,' Gabe nodded, 'he looks at you like he looks at the Pearl.'
Will gaped at that, but there was no time for him to ask questions; the Muddy Waters was almost fully loaded, and they had to row back to the Pearl.
'We can talk about this later, if yeh want,' Anamaria said, grabbing Will by the arm. 'But we gotta go.'
Will nodded and slipped his hat back on before following her and Gabe back to the raft.
Author's Note: Okay, so I actually did some research, yay! The Gregorian calendar (which is what's mostly used these days, January-December) was adopted by Great Britain in 1752. According to the film's scriptwriters, Pirates of the Caribbean was set anywhere between 1720-1750. Ergo, the Gregorian calendar wasn't adopted at the time that this story takes place. Back then they were using the Julian calendar, and the month of January was called Ianuarius or Januarius. Ergo, Will was born in January. And why? Because that's when Orlando Bloom was born :p
Anywho, I made an age timeline for myself 'cause I was getting confused; Will and Elizabeth first met when they were 12. CotBP takes place eight years later, making Will 20. In the months between Will and Jack meeting again, Will turned 21. I personally see Jack as being about 37 or so. Have I confused you yet? :)
Cheers,
{Dreamer}
