I will go ahead and admit it. I have and never will own Pirates...
"Ivy..," Elizabeth started. "You need to tell Jack you love him."
"I do not!" Ivy said, in mock horror. "I simply respect him for his courage and loyalty he has to piracy."
"And because he's gorgeous."
Ivy didn't notice Elizabeth's input and kept talking. "Yes, and because he's gorge... HEY!" Ivy screamed, her face turning red.
Elizabeth laughed and poked her fuming friend in the side. "Oh come on Ivy," she gasped in between laughs. "Admit it. You love him."
Ivy turned to the side and crossed her arms over her chest. "Elizabeth..."
"I'm right, aren't I?" Elizabeth smirked when Ivy didn't answer, her silence being the only answer the clever brunette needed.
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A crack of lightning flashed across the night sky, sending the waves into chaos. The Dilapidated Mermaid was being thrown around as if it was a cork. Jack expertly spun the wheel of the ship, counteracting the waves. The rest of the crew ran around furiously trying to tie down the sails. Jack's dark eyes scanned the crew and counted everyone. 'Will. Check. Elizabeth. Check. Barbossa. Bugger, check. Pintel and Ragetti. Check. Ivy...' Jack called over the sound of the crashing waves to Elizabeth, as she ran across the deck. "Elizabeth, where be Ivy?"
Elizabeth pointed to the cabin that they both shared. "She's in there and refuses to come out," she shouted.
"Will, take the helm," he shouted. Jack sauntered over to the cabin and opened the door. Ivy sat curled up in a ball on her bed, her blonde hair unbound from her usual braid, spilling over the sides of the small bed. He walked over to the angel and placed his hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong love?"
Ivy jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. "N...Nothing," she said, her voice giving away her fear.
"Don't lie to your Captain," he rebuked. "You're scared of storms aren't you?"
Ivy slowly nodded, sending her unbound hair over her shoulder. "I've never been in one before. It's quite frightening. It's easier to deal with when you're the one causing it in the first place." Another crack of lighting sent a bluish purple bolt across the sky and Ivy jumped again when the sound shattered the silence.
Jack pulled the scared girl into his arms. He realized that storms at sea are even worse than the ones on land. "Come on, love," he soothed. "You're coming with me." He stood up, still holding her trembling form in his arms, and led her out to the deck of the ship. Ivy was so terrified, she felt like she was being lead to her death. Jack occasionally stroked her arm and that helped a little, but she was still afraid.
Jack took control of the ship from Will and, with one arm clutching Ivy to his chest, he gracefully steered the ship with one hand.
Ivy gratefully clung to Jack as he helped her through her fear. After a while, she began to see the beauty behind her past terror. She glanced up into the eyes of the daring Captain and saw the lightning reflected in his eyes. Jack caught her gaze. "Like what you see love?" he asked grinning. Ivy averted her eyes and turned pink.
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The next morning, the tired crew of the Mermaid, awoke to see the most beautiful sunrise. A pale pink haze streaked across the sky, trailing the horizon. Ivy sat at the base of the stairs to the upper deck, a sketchbook in hand. She made Will go get one for her when they were in Tortuga. Will had resisted to her pleas at first, but Elizabeth pouted and the young man melted in his shoes. Ivy giggled as she remembered Will's facial expressions as Elizabeth stuck out her bottom lip and tilted her hips suggestively. Ivy's charcoal pencil quickly skimmed across the surface of the textured paper, sketching a rough outline of the beautiful scenery before her. She traded her charcoal pencil for a colored one and added the warmth of the morning into her drawing. As she became engrossed in her drawing, she became aware of someone's presence above her. Will Turner stood behind her, impressed with her eye for details.
"Ivy," he breathed. "That's gorgeous. It actually looks like you can touch the water."
Ivy smiled up at the blacksmith and laid her pencil on the floor beside her. "Thank Will," she said. "I've always loved sunrises; they remind me that every day is different from the last."
"Now, that is deep." The two looked up to see Captain Jack Sparrow, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, while holding a bottle of rum. He mumbled something incoherently about deep thoughts make his head hurt and strolled off, humming a sea shanty of his own creation. Will rolled his eyes.
"We need to get him off that addiction of his," he groaned.
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Later that day, Jack frantically ran around the entire ship. "WHERE IS ME BLOODY RUM!" he screamed. "Heads are going to roll if I can't get me rum back!"
"Stop yelling!" Barbossa moaned, covering his ears. "I think Ivy had it last, what she was doing with it, I don't know."
Jack stomped over to Ivy's perch on the figure head where she was drawing in her beloved sketchbook. "Ivy! Where is me rum?"
Ivy managed to turn half-way around and smirked. "I hid it."
Jack's jaw dropped. "You...Hide...It!" he gasped, climbing right behind her. In one swift movement, he snatched her sketchbook away from her and dangled it over the water. "Where is it?"
Ivy's eyes grew wide as the beloved sketchbook was dangerously close to being destroyed. "It's in the mermaid's hands!" she whimpered. "Give me my sketchbook!"
Jack handed her the sketchbook, picked her up and set her down behind him. Ivy clutched the sketchbook to her chest and watched as Jack climbed to her perch, and leaning over, pulled the bottle of rum out of the mermaid's hands. He glared at her for a split second, and stalked off. Ivy let out a sigh of relief as he left the upper deck. "Well, that didn't work as well as I hoped."
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(Authoress' notes: I love Ivy. She's pretty much is me. I have a strong obsession to my sketchbook. I cry every time someone takes it. It's kinda pathetic, but oh well. I love giving my characters parts of my personality. Ivy a little bit more quiet than I am, but we both are easily confused and are hardly ever seen without a sketchbook. Remember to review, and Ivy will be very happy. And the 40th reviewer gets a spoiler...which I still need to write... Oh! And the name of the ship came from a dear friend of mine has a car with a strange teal color she fondly named "The Dilapidated Mermaid Princess". Keeton, if you're reading this...you rock my pirate boots.)