Yeah!!! Everybody seemed to like my last chapter so I'm pretty excited about this one, however, there probably won't be much description once again. Sorry to disappoint you but there will be more digressing if it makes you happy!!! ^_^; hehehe so how many storylines do I have going after this chapter? About 5 billion? hmm... let's see there's the quest itself, a little snugglyness (word? ^_^) between Jack and Sky, Sky's past, Sky and Jack vs. the BAD Guys, and now Sky vs. Lobsterbacks and Villagers. o_O; boy oh boy nobody is on her side today unless you count her waking up next to our favorite captain each morning. ~.^ ^.^ hehehe... *realizes she's babbling and clears her throat* Right!!! Now on with the story!!! ~Chocolate Covered Jack Sparrow Forever, FloatingFeathers
I had no new reviewers this time (*teardrop*), but my amazingly amazing old timers came through for me once again!!! ^.^ 3 pans of brownies for all of you!!!: Dawnie-7, Sammamaria, Lady Light, PED-sarah, PepaMynt, lil-teddy-bear, DaydreamBeliever14, Lelena the Loopy, and ping*pong5!!!
Dawnie-7: *huggles you and beams* Thank you for the encouragement. ^.^ I have been a little depressed lately but you made the day seem a little brighter. You're right, just about everybody that has reviewed has been with the story since the beginning and I like that. Sort of a following among people who have this fanfic in common and that's very comforting. Did my last chapter really touch you? If it did thank you. I tried to use my gloomy, chaotic days in a constructive manner so that I could not only write a good chapter but so that I could exorcise some of those same ghosts. *huggles again* Thank you again my friend. I hope your days bring you good humor and lots of cheer. ^.^
Sammamaria: Really? You don't think the "clues in the book" is too campy of an idea? ^.^ Ok that makes me feel better. If you have faith in me then I shall do my best!!! Plus I have kind of a cool idea for a twist as far as the book goes. ~.^ ^.^ Hmm... I actually hadn't decided whether Michaelis would travel with them or not but now I have!!! Thank you!!! *huggles* But I can't tell you what I have decided, it would ruin chapter 13!!! Sorry but still thank you for the inspirational idear. ~.^ ^.^ *blushes* You really liked my last chapter that much? Ahh shucks... thank you!!! *huggles* Misa happy now!!! So sleep tight and let Angel Boy bite. hehehe and I'll be sure to let Sparrow out of the cage, he won't be lonely. ~.^ ^.^
PED-sarah: hey mum's the word!!! I won't tell if you won't tell!!! ^.^ Anyway run for your bus!!! Don't be late and thanks for leaving a review even though you are in a hurry!!! *huggles* Have fun!!! ^.^
PepaMynt: "strangest" and "funnest"? lol Well I'm glad they made your life a little stranger and funner (?) than usual!!! I aim to please and to please aimst I. ^.^ I'll try and keep up that tension though I don't know if there is too much of that in this chapter. So I'll see what I can do for future chapters ok?! ^.^ and it's ok on the Greek, at least the Greeks are sticking together right?! Right! Greeks of the world UNITE!!! ^.^ heh dramatic no? And I also aim to feed ppl, you should know that as a Greek!!! ~.^ ^.^ Shame on you!!! ^.^
lil-teddy-bear: *teardrop* THERE IS SO MUCH LOVE IN THIS ROOM!!! *glomps and huggles then grabs Jack* hehehe there we go, three things that you love: this story, Jack, and me!!! Yeah!!! Once again I aim to please. ^.^
Lelena the Loopy: I'll have to answer you in an e-mail, I only have 11 minutes before I have to run!!! o_O; Sorry but hey this will give you an incentive to e-mail me back right?! ^.^ Right! *huggles* luv ya!!! ^.^ Sweet dreams!!!
ping*pong5: I'll also have to e-mail you too but hey this means we can chat outside of reviewland!!! ^.^ Hurray!!! Oh and before I forget... *magically changes the 3 pans of brownies into 3 boxes of Kudos* Granola and chocolate... what could be greater?! It's healthy AND fattening all at once! MWA HA HA HA!!! ^.^ Enjoy!!!
Disclaimer: See previous chapters, I own nothing!!!
Fortune's Pilot
I glance over at Michaelis from Jack's lap, certain that expressions of deep questioning and of "are you daft?" are flashing vividly across my face. "Me?! Calm the villagers after I have been absent for 6 months?! Somehow I do not believe that will please them all too much, Michaelis."
Michaelis talks with his hands, as he does when he is usually at a loss, before responding, "Sky you're the only one who can stop the fight outside. Right now it is only between Adonis and Lorenzo, however, if the argument continues their whole families will start killing each other and then the entire island. I don't have enough voice to stop my cousin and the dego (1) but you do." His handsome face pleads with me, his dark eyes questing for an affirmative reply so that I stop the fracas from becoming a bloody jumble of angry villagers.
Swiftly I nod, nudging at Jack to let me up and to my surprise he does but I cannot see his emotions as he does. Though still slightly dizzy I manage to remain standing on my feet as I quicken my pace past Michaelis, certain that both he and Jack would follow close behind.
Somehow my subconscious carries me from the guest bedroom into the main hall and from there into the balmy, late afternoon air. Once again the piping hot sand scorches my dry feet but I pay no heed to the discomfort as I dash down the dune, practically pitching myself forward as my feet slide on the crumbling sand. Soon I hear the sounds of the fray as I continue down toward the beach, the roars of cheering and the grunts of anger growing louder as I draw closer. Finally I part a set of palms before I actually see the fight itself.
At the moment, only two young men are fighting, however, it appears that at any given time their friends and even some random villagers will join in as the crowd watching the fracas grows larger and larger. Vaguely as I push through the people and into the fray, I wonder how badly I will be pummeled stepping into the middle of an argument of flying fists and fiery tempers. I decide that I don't care: I am tired, I am dizzy, I am slightly miffed, and, to add insult to injury, I am hungry. I shove past the last few crowd members and into the fighters' circle.
A fist nearly catches me in the jaw as the young man to my left takes a swing at his opponent. Before that fist is returned, however, I dive inbetween the two and move quickly to press my palms onto each naked male chest, preventing anymore fist-flying. Each man simply gazes at me in surprise before Mr. Punch-Happy on the left grips my wrist and attempts to remove it. "Woman this is none of your concern," he shouts at me angrily in Greek, telling me that this man is Michaelis' cousin, "Move out of the way now!"
Fine. If he wants to have a shouting match, then I can shout right back at him, "I do not believe you would be saying that," I roughly shove my palms into each squirming, defiant chest, "if you knew that you would be insulting the owner of this island!" My words immediately stun the two men, as well as the entire crowd, into silence.
After a few moments of this unsettling calm, Mr. Punch-Happy at my left growls, grabbing my sleeve in a harsh grip, "Who the Hell are you? Sky Annis is dead! She went down with the Artemis six months ago."
With my own hand I tightly grasp his arm, my emotions growing increasingly violent on the inside even as my voice struggles to remain calm, "Wrong. She is not dead although she did go down with the Artemis," I allow this to sink in as murmurs run through the crowd, "I am Sky Annis and I am far from dead." Gasps fill the air as Michaelis' cousin glances over me, recognition suddenly widening his eyes. With this look I slowly lower my hands from the chests of the two men.
The shock does not last as I hear sarcastic chuckles coming from my right, over where the Italian mocks me in heavily accented English. "And a fine job you have done maintaining the island that you lord over," he crosses his arms over his chest, flipping his long, black locks back over his shoulders, before crushing me with those hard, dark eyes once again, "You have been gone for six months with no word, no sign that you were alive. You simply vanished and now you decide to reappear. How convenient."
Michaelis' cousin, Adonis, also joins in on tearing me down, heating my wrath into a fine boil as he shouts with an anger-filled voice, "You left the village to die without a single thought! Have you any idea how much we benefited from your father's piracy?! That was our life's blood! Now we grub in the dirt like animals just to survive because of the damned redcoats breathing down our necks and because you never returned! I say that you have no power over us!"
Outraged murmurs and shouts swiftly move to agree with Adonis and Lorenzo, each one weighing upon me with new guilt, new frustration, new anger. Rage wells up within me as a hot pool of lava waiting to spill onto an unsuspecting populace. My fists slowly clench as I grind my teeth, a last feeble attempt to prevent my outburst but no more. Now I am angry. My ugly temper smirks as words of spiced heat thunder from my mouth. "YOU SELFISH POMPOUS BASTARDS!" Another hush falls over the crowd as a few men and women cross themselves in the face of my unleashed wrath.
"I came back here to rescue this village, not only from the lobsterbacks but from economic failure AND THIS IS HOW YOU TREAT ME?! IS THIS HOW YOU TREATED MY FATHER TOO?!" I pause briefly but not long enough to register their reactions, "Is this how you treated him when he did not deliver immediate results? The man who gave all of you a home outside of the complete control of the British? The man who not only allowed Greeks to reside on the island he worked for with his sweat and blood but other lost immigrants as well? He DIED for you!" Another pause as my hateful words fall from my lips onto the hissing ears of the villagers, "He died so that all of you might live and he wished for me to carry on his work. What do you think I have been planning while I have been away?" Murmurs of questions breathe through the crowd and even some murmurs of guilt. "Tomorrow I set out on a venture that will restore this village to its former glory. Tomorrow I go forth to commit one last act of piracy on behalf of this island."
A man in the crowd shouts in Irish-accented English, "But what about the Navy?! Surely you will be caught!" Other villagers quickly agree in loud murmurs, glancing back and forth at one another for confirmation of this agreement.
"Our venture will be safe as long as you maintain your usual activities on the island. I will leave someone in charge in my absence," a calm washes over my once biting tone as I feel an air of authority breeze into my mind, "Any questions?"
"How does a woman expect to go forth on such a quest? Shouldn't you be staying at home with the other girls?" A sarcastic comment pours from a sarcastic mouth to my right as I turn to glare at Lorenzo, the chauvinist pig.
"Surely you would not be qualified for the venture either Lorenzo seeing as certain parts of your anatomy are sadly underdeveloped judging from size of your breeches," a smirk curls the corners of my lips as I cross my own arms over my chest and toss my own locks over my shoulder. From the crowd I hear shocked gasps, low chuckles of men, and braying laughter from Adonis. I allow the merriment to continue, struggling not to reveal my own, for a few more minutes before clearing my throat and speaking once again, "Please spread the word to your families and to your friends," I quickly take a polite bow as I exit the circle, easily walking through as the crowd parts at my presence. From behind me, my ears tune in on Lorenzo's angry curses in Italian and once again I struggle to resist the laughter threatening to spill from my nearly grinning mouth.
Once I reach the outside of the circle, the sight of an amused but mostly concerned Michaelis and a completely amused Jack Sparrow greet me, each with their own strikingly handsome presence. Michaelis motions to speak, however, Jack's voice stomps through first, his face animated with amusement and a hint of something else. "That was a wonderful performance luv. I must tell ye that I was moved by yer anger same as everyone else," the dark-eyed pirate then gestures toward Michaelis, "Of course the boy here was ready to hasten to yer rescue, obviously caught up in that volatile display of anger but ye didn't fool me for one moment luv."
I merely raise my eyebrow, placing my curled up hands upon my hips, "Who said I was acting Jack? Dizzyness and hunger do strange things to your moods," I bear my gaze into his before I quirk both of my eyebrows, "In fact I'm still dizzy and hungry so you best feed me, NOW."
Before Jack replies, the older woman that I stumbled upon earlier that day shuffles toward me, touching my face lovingly as her soothing, cooing voice asks, "Child when was the last time you have eaten?" Then her _expression turns sheepish before she continues, "I could not help but overhear that you were hungry and oh you do look so thin. How about if I gather up a few of our ladies and you, your friends, and (2) Dionysis come to supper?" As I attempt to decline, she adds, "I won't take no for an answer and that's final," her posture takes on a stern appearance even as her eyes dance with affection.
I cannot help but smile and embrace her all at once. "Alright my dear friend," I tighten my hug before I pull back to look upon her beaming face, "but nothing extravagant. I don't want you to go to too much trouble if you insist on cooking for us."
Her bright smile broadens my own into a large grin as she claps her hands together, "Wonderful! You just head for home and come back to the village in two hours," she places a kiss on each of my cheeks with swift tenderness, "and by then we should be ready for you! I will see you soon my Sky!"
With the love of a granddaughter, I return the kisses to her cheeks, "Farewell my dear heart." My nameless but not loveless friend then shifts away into the arriving darkness but, even as she disappears from my sight, I can hear her voice calling to the other village women in both Greek and English. I must ask Papu about her name when I arrive back at home. Ahh... home. I smile to myself as I hug my arms. This is going to be a night to remember always. I am home.
(1): This is a not-so-nice term used for Italians in case anybody didn't know and for the Italians out there I was not aiming to offend!!! *huggles all of you* I was just trying to be realistic as far as the village scene goes. If you mix together all different immigrants on one island you're bound to have some problems. Gathering what you know about Michaelis' cousin Adonis, you can probably guess that his family does not care for Italians and that would rub off on our sweet, adorable Michaelis as well. Just to let you know why I chose to do that.
(2) I know that was weird but Papu's real name is Dionysis. ^_^; I couldn't very well have Sky's elderly friend call this guy her Papu so that's why I threw the name in. Sorry about the randomness of that!!!
The Author's Two Cents: Did that seem really short? If it did I'm sorry but I was determined to make it up to all of you by putting out another chapter during my spring break and here it is!!! ^.^ The Immigrants: Angry Sky Strikes Back! lol umm... yeah more digressing in the next chapter but maybe some snuggly moments between Jack and Sky just to appease you. ^.^ How does that grab you? After the next chapter I am pretty sure that I am going to get back on track with the quest though you guys love it when I digress don't you? ~.^ ^_^; Of COURSE you do... hehehe anywho I must be off!!! I have to get up early for a NHS volunteering gig tomorrow (I have to be there by 6:30 o_O;) so I must leave you, however, I hope to hear from you soon!!! Nitey nite!!! Sweet dreams!!!
~Chocolate Covered Jack Sparrow Forever, FloatingFeathers