Expect the Unexpected
Chapter Nine: The Difference Between Legends and Myths
The usually-eccentric captain nearly collapsed when his booted feet managed to reach the wet sand. Everything ached, and the girl in his arms wasn't making anything easier on him. Once he managed to push himself under a tall coconut tree, he gently put down Hazel, and tiredly plopped down beside her. Glancing around, thoughts flooded his mind. Should he explore their surroundings? Should he stay with Hazel? He took a sweep at her with his eyes, and he decided to keep a watchful eyes on her. Something protective, almost territorial, came out in him when he was around Hazel. He wasn't sure if it was because he viewed Hazel as a younger sister, as a daughter, or maybe even something else. He couldn't leave her. Not when she was in this battered state.
He studied the sixteen year old with his deep, chocolate eyes. Her untamable dirty-blonde hair was tangled and matted with blood. Her usual-smooth skin had cuts, bruises and even possible scars. Freckles blended in with her newly acquired dark tan. Her nose was small and upturned, and her cheekbones were high and defined. A small mole rested underneath her lips, and her chin jutted out. Her curvy body was hidden under loose clothing, but Jack, although a fan of woman in dresses or nothing at all, thought that the piratess-look suited her, so he didn't quite mind the boyish look. Her face made up for it, he told himself. Her green-hazel eyes were hidden behind calm lids. She almost looked as though she was sleeping…
Without realizing what he was doing, Jack gently brushed a calloused fingertip over her face, brushing a thin, curly lock of golden hair out of her face. Quirking a brow, he decided to inspect any head damage she acquired during the mutiny of his beloved Pearl. He placed two palms on the soft cheeks of the unconscious girl and lifted her head, his eyes quickly yet thoroughly scanning for any cuts deeper and more serious than others. Finding nothing incredibly serious, he placed two fingers on Hazel's neck to check her pulse. Beating, but barely.
And now what to do? He couldn't- wouldn't leave her. So, he did the only thing that he could think of doing at that time. He crawled up so that his body mirrored the girl before him, relaxed his body on the hot sand, closed his eyes, and took a very long, soothing nap.
The first thing Hazel noticed about her new surroundings was that it was steady. Waves may crash into where she was, but the waves did not affect the sand like it did a ship. Her head was pulsing, her muscles sore, and her eyes still closed. I want to be sedated! she thought, finally blinking rapidly and opening her eyes to the bright sunlight. Where the hell am I…? She forced her aching body up, and realized she was on an island. And not on the ship that she had once called her home.
With that realization, everything flooded back to her. Barbossa's mutiny, Bootstrap's death… And she was alive? But where was-
"Don't push yerself, luv," a slurred voice said from beside her. Hazel forced her body to turn slightly, and she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief to see that Jack, too, was still alive, breathing and with her. She gave him a grin, and he seemed to effortlessly return it.
"How are you, Jack?" Hazel asked sincerely.
Jack shrugged and pushed his body up as well, so that the pair were both sitting up, elbows resting on their knees, facing each other. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. I'm always alrigh'." He gave her a sideways glance. "An' what about you, luv? I'm more concerned about you than about myself."
Hazel furrowed her brow, and took a moment to evaluate how she felt. The sand stung her opened wounds, her head was pounding, her muscles were so sore she did not know how she was sitting up. The sun would most likely give her a red sunburn that wouldn't quite be flattering, and she had no idea how the hell she was going to survive, let alone get off this damn, deserted island. But she shrugged. "I'm fine."
The glint of gold from Jack's tooth mirrored the mischievousness in his eyes. "You're becomin' a pirate yet, luv."
Hazel smiled, taking it as a compliment. "And why would you say that, Jack? When did you know that you were a pirate… or that you wanted to be a pirate… or whatnot?" Great, she was babbling…
Jack grinned delightfully. He always loved telling stories of himself and of his infamous adventures. Better the girl hear it from him than anyone else. Who knew how much they'd mix up truth with legend? "Let's see, luv," Jack said, his brow raising and his body leaning towards Hazel dramatically. "I believe it started when I was a mere lad of fifteen or sixteen. Not yet a Captain, but that would change within three days. Hm… it all started when some bloody scallywag stole my sack on Tortuga.
"I looked everywhere for that blasted sack," Jack said with a frown. "It held my life in it. I looked everywhere on the island. Finally, I managed to walk my way into the Faithful Bride, a pub, a pirate's haven."
"Ah yes," Hazel said, her brow high. "I remember."
Jack pointed at her and nodded. "One can never forget." He coughed. "Now, onto the story. It was raining tha' fateful night, pretty hard as a matter o' fact. I was just a boy, looking' for my sack. I walked into the Faithful Bride, the last place I had not searched on Tortuga. My eyes scanned everywhere, I have incredibly good eyes for seein', luv," Jack explained, wiggling his brow and letting his eyes drop down to Hazel's chest.
Hazel rolled her eyes and managed to cross her arms over her as the captain continued. "An' what do my eyes find? My sack. It be underneath the chair some big, burly pirate… Oh, I forget his name now, but he was dangerous for some reason…" Jack blinked a couple of times. "Anyways, long story short- after an attempt to win my sack back, a brawl breaks out and the man you see before you is left untouched." His brow furrowed and he placed a long index finger underneath his chin, deep in thought. "Until, however, a barmaid takes me outside and throws me against the wall."
Hazel quirked a brow but Jack seemed in his own world, recalling memories. "Bell, I used ter call her. She worked at the Bride; her father owned the place. Wonder if he still does… Anyways, she basically gave me this long lecture about messin' with the wrong pirate at the wrong time, blah, blah, blah…" Jack rolled his coal-rimmed eyes towards the heavens, then placed them back on the listening girl. "Basically, it all boiled down to was the said beastie pirate was going to be after me and other nonsense.
"Well, turned out the girl was right," Jack said, shrugging. "And it turns out the said sack wasn't even mine to begin with. But the contents of that sack, truly, led to my first memorable adventure: The search for the Sword of Cortes."
"Why would you want the Sword of Cortes?" Hazel asked.
"Because, luv, with the sword, along with the scabbard that went with it, you could rule yer own little nation, to be incredibly powerful, to be king!" Jack's eyes sparkled with desire. "And in the said sack was a scabbard that went along with sword.
"Now, once me and Bell realized this, we both decided that I should lay low fer a few days, and after three days' time, we would leave Tortuga in search of the sword," Jack continued. "Three days were up rather quickly, but instead of takin' her directions to the boat she managed to find, I made my own way. Turns out, I misplaced the map and some wealthy brat we called… Fitz, I believe, found it and invited himself to sail with us.
"Three days onboard when we faced a terrible storm," Jack said. "Hurricane, I believe, but my sailing savvy managed to help us through it, and we landed on a deserted island where we met two other lads a little younger than us, Jean and Tumen, and a cat who was Jean's sister named…" He thought for a moment. "Errr… well, I forget her name, but I believe it started with a C. She was cursed, luv, before ye ask, by Tia Dalma- I'll tell ye about 'er later," Jack said at her quizzical look.
"Well then, we seemed to 'ave stumbled upon an Aztec palace," Jack said, waving his hands around to emphasize how grand the adventure must have been. "Bones littered the deserted city, people animals, and other various types of bones one might find in a city of dead. We walked into the palace, looking for the body of Captain Stone-Eyed Sam."
"I thought you guys were looking for the Sword of Cortes," Hazel said, raising an eyebrow.
"The sword is legend to 'ave been kept always in his left-hand, luv," Jack explained. "So, if we find his body, we find the sword.
"Well, we, indeed, found his body, but his left arm seemed ter 'ave been ripped right out of its bloody socket!" Jack exclaimed. "But that didn't matter. I took the captain's lovely tricorn and being the lucky chap I am, stumbled upon a room full of treasures and gold! It was beautiful… But beauty, as always, faded soon because another pirate, cursed by both the heathen gods and Davy Jones managed ter catch up with us. Ye see, the storm we had encountered seemed ter be following us… and he, himself, explained that the gods cursed him with rain wherever he went and whatnot," Jack explained, nonchalantly.
"Well, he was not after our newly acquired treasure, but, in fact, the scabbard that went along with the sword," Jack said, his eyes sparkling. "It appeared that he made a deal with Davy Jones; either serve a year of servitude with Jones or find both the sword and the scabbard, and return them to Jones." Jack squinted his eyes at Hazel. "Does that make sense, luv?"
Hazel nodded, listening to the captain intently.
"Well, now the pirate, Torrents was his name, chased after us," Jack continued. "Luckily, after a very important conversation with a boy named Benny a few years back- I had told him lightening and water is a bad mixture. I told him to prove it with a kite… But tha's beside the point. Since Torrents had rain following him, and our ship was docked on the water, I figured that I would get 'im on the water when lightening strikes. And it worked, so we managed to escape Torrents and sail the seven seas, searching for the Sword of Cortes." Jack finished, leaving the ever-anxious Hazel for more.
"Did you ever find the sword?" Hazel asked curiously.
Jack grinned mischievously. "A tale for another time, luv."
"And that's all true," Hazel said, making sure. Curses, deals with a man who is neither dead nor alive didn't seem real top her. Nothing like that ever happened in her time… "Does this sword have anything to do with the treasure you just acquired?" Hazel mocked, a small grin on her face. "Both are cursed, right? Both are supposed to bring fortune, security, and other things."
Jack shrugged but did not open his mouth to confirm or deny Hazel's suspicions. The girl was smart, he figured. And he realized how lucky he was to have her on his side, by his side in fact. She could be, would be an incredible asset to him in the future, he knew. He still did not know how the girl ended up landing on his ship. She said something about being from the future, and knowing the way his life worked and from what he usually encountered, she was probably telling the truth. Even so, he still did not know how she could learn to trust him so quickly. What was it about himself that made him so endearing to other people. Must be my charming charisma and rugged good looks, he figured, but whatever it was that captured her attention… Well, he was glad he had it, whatever it may be.
"Well, that was quite an adventure, Jack," Hazel said, rubbing her temples as her migraine suddenly made its presence known once again. "I guess being a pirate has been in your blood since you were young."
"Actually, luv," Jack said, extending his fingers toward the sky. "That be incorrect. To be a truly magnificent pirate, to be a legend that mothers tell their children before the wee ones fall asleep, to be famous and feared, ye have to be born with it. You can't just develop it over time. And me, well, I, of course, was born with it. You…" he stared at the girl hardly. "Well, I'm not sure yet. But! But, I can promise you that ye'll find out soon enough. And, with this little tidbit of information that I 'ave just told you, you'll be able to tell pick out the legends from the myths."
Hazel furrowed her brow in confusion. "Aren't they the same thing? Legends and myths?"
"O'course not, luv!" Jack said. "Myths are phonies, they're not true; they're just stories people make up ter pass the time, ter explain things that to them are unexplainable. Legends, on the other hand, are factual. They really exist. Legends are so great, ye can't possibly make up what happens with a legend." Again, Jack asked, "Does that make sense, luv?"
"Yes Jack," Hazel said, rolling her eyes. "So, you're a legend?"
"I'm on my way to being a legend," Jack said, grinning. "But I'm always Captain Jack Sparrow."
Author's Notes: Just so everybody knows, the story that Jack tells Hazel is real (in the case of Pirates of the Caribbean). It's actually the first story of a Young Jack Sparrow series by Rob Kidd. I highly, highly recommend them because they explain a lot of things such as where he got his beloved hat, how he'll come to the Pearl, and so on. They're short, so they're easy summer reads! As always, thanks for reading and please review!