Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean, no matter how many stars I wish upon, I just don't. But I do own June and Ana. And the lucky winners from the Character Contest own their characters. Let's move on, shall we?
Author's Notes: There were so many reader responses, I was overjoyed! Let me tell you, there were dozens of wonderful characters, and I had the hardest time trying to pick two out that went with the story the best. That's right…two! Now for those who didn't have their character chosen…let's just say there's going to be other opportunities in the future of this story to flex those imaginative muscles of yours (wink) so don't give up hope. I love seeing what you guys come up with. You are so darn creative.
So, why don't we continue on? Special 'thank yous' at the end of the chappie. Enjoy Chapter ten, mates!
PineAppleLint
* * *
A very disgruntled Ana pulled herself into her cot, feeling rather fatigued from the long night of "Will-sitting." The squeaking sound of the mattress accompanying Ana's movements jerked June awake rather suddenly, forcing her to go plummeting off of the side of her own cot.
"Damn parrots from HELL!" she murmured angrily, half-asleep. She shook her head to regain some sort of consciousness and looked up at her tired friend with bloodshot eyes. "Where 'ave you been? Necking with Mr. Turner, no doubt?"
"No necking. Bugger it, June, don't you have any decency in you left? What happened to the sweet, polite June I knew as a girl?"
"She's long gone, dearie, sorry to burst your bubble. I was just asking a rather intr…inted..interestin' question."
"Your intoxicated, aren't you?" Ana sighed. When June grinned in response, she added, "That's it. I'm going to bed." As she nestled into the ratty covers, she heard June grunt in annoyance.
"So ye won't be telling me where you were?"
"If you must know," Ana said sharply, not even turning to face her, "I was tucking in Will, who was drunk as well."
"Good girl! Getting him drunk is getting somewhere." Ana glared in June's direction, who was swaying in her cot, tapping her chin in thought, "And ye 'tucked him in'? Damn, is that what ye children are callin' it nowadays?"
"Go to sleep, June."
"Yes, mum," June retorted in a high pitched accent, mocking the daylights out of her, until she fell back into her cot once more. Ana leaned over and studied June's still form. Yup. As unconscious as a brick.
Finally, she would get some peace and quiet…
But tomorrow was a brand new day.
* * *
Jack groaned as sunlight hit his eyes rather harshly. His head was dully throbbing, and he rubbed it through his thick mass of dreads.
The hangover wasn't as bad as I wanted it to be…
He winced and stretched in his blankets like a large cat, and commenced in finding his pillow through sleep-blurred eyes. Instead, he touched rough wood.
What the hell?
Jack forced his eyes open and realized that instead of lying in his comfy king-sized bed, he was lying outside…in the middle of the deck. He was naked, of course, but wrapped in his sheets.
He sat up rigidly, his mouth hanging open, trying to figure out if he had forgotten what happened last night…no, nothing rang a bell as to why he'd be in the nude out on display for everyone to see. He had gone to bed, like always, and remembered himself sinking back in those fluffy white pillows before he blacked out.
His crew was whistling, going on with their daily chores as usual around him, not even paying attention to their shocked Captain.
Of course, then his answer to everything sauntered up to him with a smug look on her tanned face.
"Good mornin', Captain," June greeted with a wave. She stopped about a foot away, towering over his body, blocking the sun from his eyes, "I trust ye slept well?"
Before he got a chance to answer, she continued: "It's a pity ye missed breakfast. Thankfully I saved ye some."
He didn't see it coming. She pulled a tiny pot of who knows what from behind her back and, without warning, dumped it onto his head.
Luke warm grits slowly slid down his hair, face, and chest.
"Mmm, mmm, I heard they were you're favorite," June said pleasantly, "Enjoy!" He gritted his teeth and wildly looked around him, daring any member of his crew to utter one damn word.
She crouched down next to him and smiled at the flustered look on his face. There was steam coming out of his ears. Or, at least there would have been if they hadn't been full of grits.
"Payback for last night. Ever pull somethin' like that again and I'll kill ye, you understand? And I don't give a fuck whether you're Captain Jack Sparrow o' the cabin boy. No one, absolutely no one messes with me like that and gets away with it, understand?"
He clenched his teeth and glared at her. "We'll deal with this later," he warned.
"O' course, me darling. You just enjoy your breakfast for now."
Jack was about to curse at her when she leaned in and kissed him.
He was so shocked, he didn't even respond. Her warm lips rubbed seductively against his and she broke away ever so softly, licking the grits from her mouth. "Yum. Me compliments to the cook." With one final wink, she added, "Get ready…we're goin' window shoppin', savvy?", and left him to gape at her, then storm off into his cabin, his sheets wrapped around him like an out-of-fashion skirt.
* * *
A half hour later, Will was escorting Ana down the road politely by offering her his arm, which she took good-naturedly after his heartfelt apology about the night before.
"I don't remember much," he had said with a grimace, "But what I do remember, I know I acted like a blooming idiot." He had dark circles under his beautiful brown eyes and his gaze was weary.
Probably feeling the affects of his late night escapade, she thought with an amused little smirk, Serves him right, too.
Jack, on the other hand, was trailing behind June quite a ways, who was leading the foursome God-knows-where. She looked a bit lost, which was making Jack crosser. But he simply kept his mouth shut and quietly eyed her, staring like he thought she had a disease or he wanted to strangle her. William Turner concluded it was probably a mixture of the two.
"Where are we going?" Ana asked, impatience edging her tone. Will smiled reassuringly down at her.
"Will and I had a talk this mornin' about getting ye some effects, me dear," June called over her shoulder, "And currently, I'm tryin' to find a half-decent shop where we can get ye some."
"And out o' whose pocket is that comin' from?" Jack muttered.
June smiled secretly to herself before waving a small pouch over her shoulder, jingling the contents inside menacingly.
Jack frowned. That bloody looks familiar… Hell, it was his! She had fucking pick-pocketed his coin pouch right out from underneath his nose!
"Why ye little…" he swore but she held up a finger.
"Not in front o' the lady, Sparrow," she tsked. June paused, thoughtfully stopping in front of an old grey brick building, adorned with a creaky wooden door and a small sign with an inscription carved into its center.
Jack grabbed June by the wrist and forced his pouch out of her hand by squeezing mercilessly.
"Ow, ow…all right, I got it, ye oaf!" she yelled, tearing her arm away from him and massaging her wrist, all the while shooting him a look that read: "Drop dead."
He mockingly blew her a kiss in return, then straightened his lopsided tricorne hat back on his head.
June scrunched up her nose as she struggled to read the fancy script…
You don't plan to buy, don't plan to leave alive.
"Hell!" June whistled, "This is my kind o' place!" She pushed open the door without so much as a knock and walked cockily inside. Jack, Will, and Anastasia had no choice but to follow.
* * *
Jack Sparrow took one glance around the shop, and he instantly felt at home. Ana felt nervous, being surrounded by so many interesting weapons, and Will was in awe. The swords were handcrafted and done with such detail, he, as a blacksmith, was thoroughly impressed.
A window in the ceiling was the only source of light, and the sunbeams drifted down off the rafters, where a lonely pigeon hid in the corner, and fell onto the shelves and shelves of antiqued weaponry. One corner held pistols of every shape and size, another wall hung swords of every distinction. Daggers rested on crimson velvet in a glass case near the owner's desk.
There's a treasure in e'ry overlooked corner, June thought with a wicked smile, Just like this treasure o' a shop is hidden in an overlooked corner o' Tortuga.
"This is marvelous!" Ana breathed. She let out a squeal when something nudged her foot. Casting her gaze towards the old wooden floor, a small French bulldog sniffed at her feet appraisingly. Its white coat stood out amongst the dark textures of the room.
"And who the hell is this?" Jack asked, peering down at the curious dog.
"That, mate, is Bullet…and who might you be?" Jack lifted his head, his trinkets jingling in the process, and studied the woman who appeared from the back room. She had raven hair that brushed her shoulders, with each tress braided and tied with a leather band. Her dark blue eyes were scanning over him disapprovingly, as if she wasn't sure what to make of him. She seemed fit from hard labor, at least, what Sparrow could tell from how her feminine body filled out those black breeches and black shirt. Sparrow was used to studying tons of women, and this one looked like a genuine hellcat. With a capital H.
"Bullet, go." The bulldog scampered into the back room at her command. The woman crossed her arms in front of her chest, across her bosom and tight black leather vest. "I'm still waitin' for an answer," she replied in a slightly weathered, rich voice. She tilted her head to the side, and Sparrow got a view of a dark tattoo on the side of her neck, just below her nape. Kinky.
"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, at yer service, luv," he answered with an arrogant smile, taking off his hat to indulge in a sweeping bow, "And I might be askin' ye the same question."
"The name's Devon. Devon Duville. And don't ye forget it."
"Already burned into me brain, Devon," Jack said with a wink, tapping his temple.
"That's MISS Duville to ye," she frowned, clearly not impressed with his obvious struggles to flirt with her.
"Miss Duville," Will piped up from the background, "We are here looking for some weaponry…"
"Thank ye for pointin' that out, Cap'n Obvious. We are clearly in a shop specializing in weaponry," Devon smirked, sarcastically saying, "And all this time I thought ye were lookin' for a corset. Maybe a pair o' fancy shoes."
"Are you the owner of this shop?" Anastasia questioned anxiously.
Devon leaned against the wall and with a flick of her hand, informed, "Nah. Me good friend is. I'm just visitin' for a day o' two."
June had picked up a pistol from the shelf, a mighty expensive looking one with dragons carved into the handle, and carelessly started tossing it into the air to check how heavy it was as she said, "Well, not tryin' to be rude, but we don't want to wait around all day for yer friend to get here, so ye should maybe go get her and tell her to hurry her bloody arse along so…"
She was interrupted when a blade was held to her throat. June swallowed hard and turned to face what she assumed was the owner. The woman had her hair tied back, a few loose brown tendrils sweeping over her dirt smudged face. She had a plain, freckled face, with hazel eyes that were shooting daggers at her, much like the sharp one being held rather close to the tender flesh of June's neck. Her clothes were wrinkled and dirty, the brown breeches frayed, the white shirt now a sort of cream color from overuse.
"Ye break it, ye get cut, simple as that," she said in a low, threatening voice, eyeing the pistol hanging loosely in June's grasp, "That's the policy around here. Now stop messin' the fuck around o' get out o' me shop."
Wonderful, Jack thought sarcastically, Three homicidal bitches to deal with in one day! Can this get any bloody worse?
"And what's your name?" June questioned, eyeing the woman with distaste as soon as she withdrew the dagger from her throat, "Miss I-got-me-knickers-in-a-bunch?"
"Regan McDowelle."
"Obviously, ye need to work on your people skills, Regan," June muttered, massaging her throat a bit, "That's not a nice way to greet customers."
"Oleander," Jack hissed, "Isn't it about time ye kept ye're mouth shut, for once?"
Regan grinned at June, raising her eyebrows at her as if she thought June was naught but a child. "Yes, I'd listen to your Captain if I were you, girl."
Devon perked up from where she was slowly munching on a red apple against the far wall, and after wiping some of the juice off of her chin, and said, "Captain Jack Sparrow is thinking about buyin' some o' our goods, Regan. It matters if he says pretty please o' not."
"It matters what kind o' goods you're plannin' on showin' me," Jack said impishly, letting his gaze tell all as it raked suggestively over Regan's pleasing figure.
"Your reputation precedes ye, Jack Sparrow," Regan replied, the undertone of her voice saying cut out the bullshit.
"What reputation's more like it," Devon said slyly, causing Jack to cast a narrow-eyed glare her way.
"I am a man o' many reputations, me darling McDowelle, but it just matters as to which one pleases ye the most."
McDowelle's gaze cut to June, who was staring back and forth at the three of them: Jack, Regan and Devon, in disgust. Anastasia just felt like playing the spectator as she kept close to Will.
"Well, Captain Sparrow, make one more snide remark and I will not hesitate to let Devon here blow yer brains out. She's a very good shot."
Jack grinned as he watched Devon slide a finger down the barrel of the pistol stuck in her belt, warning him without words.
Jack shook his head sympathetically, saying, "A woman like ye, McDowelle, seems like she doesn't get out much."
"Blow it out ye're hole, Captain, for I don't give a damn what ye think. After all, your reputation suggests you take woman as they come to you…you study the cover, but not the whole book, ye get what I'm sayin'? And its men like ye who make me sick. Ye don't even know me, for fuck's sake."
"Apologies," Jack replied, holding his palms together and bowing a bit, "I don't know what came over me."
"A batch o' horniness, that's what," June muttered, rolling her eyes, "Can we just buy the damn weapons already and get out o' here?"
"Someone's in a foul mood this morning," Devon said, curling a loose braid back behind her ears.
"Jack, she's baitin' me…" June seethed.
"Well ye deserve it, ye bloody nuisance," he shot back in irritation. The two pirates glared at each other for a moment before breaking the heated stare. Devon lifted an eyebrow in quiet speculation. One look between Jack and June and that's all it took.
Devon had a theory. After all, she had always been good about reading other people's emotions and what caused them. Bickering as such could be a result of two emotions, hate and love, both of which Devon was very familiar with.
After all, just ask her dead fiancée.
* * *
That was just a little taste of the new characters. More to come in the next chapter, as well as…dare I say it…a developing plotline?
Thanks to…
Leanan Sidhe- Your character description has to be one of the best I've gotten. I love receiving your reviews, because each one is a new adventure! I hope Regan lived up to your expectations. She is certainly one hell of a character to write. : ) And I'm expecting a certain From Hell story to be updated in the near future…
The Dutchess of Doom- Your review was so creative! Very different from others I've received. And thank you so much for all the feedback on my stories…its people like you who I strive to update for. Devon kicks arse…and maybe that phrase will become literal in the next chappie…you never know…
Certain replies I have to add…
Plateado- Hey bud! I just wanted to say, wow, thanks for the review. Scarlett is such an awesome character, but after your story, I can't see her with anyone other than Jack. LoL I know, life is cruel like that, but you've created such a strong relationship in your fiction, to me it would feel like a crime to mess with that. Good luck with your future writing!
Elf's Bonny Lass- Woot! Thanks for the response! Did you see how Will called himself a blooming idiot in this chappie? (wink) Dedicated to you, my dear!
To all the wonderful, fantabulous reviewers, I THANK YOU! From the bottom of my heart. You guys rock my socks.