huggles all OH I'M SO SORRY MY LOVIES!!! I have been through Hell and back for the past two months but it's no excuse for not writing!!! slaps her hand BAD ME!!! I even had an idea to write an intermission and everything to apologize but I was so swamped with school and choir that I couldn't even do that!!! So to make up for it I am not only continuing my story post hast, I am also including the original intermission that I had in mind. . It was too cute and nifty to leave in the dust. Basically this is a mini story in itself but it is pertinent!!! The run-down of the intermission is this: it's a flashback to 11 years before where we are in my story, right after Jack loses the Black Pearl to Barbossa and escapes the island. Though this may be a little OOC, Jack goes to Tortuga and gets plastered in his depression; however, while he's there he meets a young lost Sky. Cuteness eh? ; I just hope it doesn't suck. I may be a little rusty but here it goes!!! WHEW!!! begins furiously typing
Chocolate Covered Jack Sparrow Forever, FloatingFeathers
Disclaimer: Gosh leave me alone already!!! I own nothing OK?! sobs and runs away
Note to reviewers: In order to catch up with what I want for my story I won't be answering your reviews in this chapter nor in others until further notice. sad face I'm sorry guys!!! huggles I still love you!!! gives ten pans of brownies to everyone
Fortune's Pilot
"Shit!" I immediately slap my hands over my mouth after I say the word. Papa always said that that was a bad word and I should not say it even if I did hear it from Adonis. I never have liked Adonis much but even Michaelis said that it is a good word to use when you are "in a fix". As I take in my current surroundings, I am beginning to understand what the phrase "in a fix" means. "Bob-dammit!" That's also a bad thing to say but I never understood why. Who's Bob? (1)
Filth and squalor close in around me like a suffocating vice ready to choke me with a sour, acidic smell along with the scent of drink in the smokey air as shotguns ring out from half-drunken men. In their arms are sometimes more bottles but in many cases I see pasty, cackling women that resemble horrible fairy tale witches with warts and scratchy voices. With another curse, I cover my ears but that does not prevent the sounds of chaos from invading my hearing. Faded, soiled colors loom over me as a tidal wave before a boat, ready to crush the lost and damn them to the deep.
Oh this is not helping me back to Papa's ship. I stowed away in order to get away from home but now I am starting to regret it. Stupid Lorenzo! Always making fun of me because I'm a girl and I'm no good at men's work! Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean that I can't become a swordfighter or be a pirate like Papa! Maybe Lorenzo's just jealous because I can beat him up in a fight, stupid pig-headed bass-turd! That mangy...
OOF! My furious walking halts when I slam into something tall and slightly smelly. "EEK!" Time slows down as I stumble backwards, tripping over my feet and into the mud. The shapes and colors spin rapidly across my vision, however, I still hear a slurring, drunken voice above me that fills me with a fear that I cannot place even within my deepest nightmares.
"Well well look what we 'ave 'ere mate, a little lost chick all alone in the middle of the night." Laughter floods the air as I finally focus on two filthy men, both dressed in rags and both carrying bottles of a brown liquid. A smeared yellow cap dons the head of the one that laughed while rotten teeth practically dangle within the mouth of the smelly man that I ran into. I have two choices: I could try to run but, even considering the state of the drunks, I would not be able to flee on my short, childish legs or I could make a stand, something Papa sometimes chastises me for. I opt for the latter with a determined but frightened mental nod.
"Excuse me sir but I believe that it would behoove you to find a better way to brush your teeth or at least don't drink so much. It's very bad for you," I puff out my chest, feeling proud of myself as I conquered my terror, insulted the man, and even used the word that Papa taught me.
My victory does not last, however, as the sinister man leans over me with his fists clenched and replies, "What did ye just say ye miserable lil' brat?!" Suddenly the laughing man hoists me into the air by shirt at the whim of the other, the angry man's hand raised to strike me. Papa always said to be brave no matter what so I take a deep breath and await the blow, my heart pounding the entire time as the few seconds drag on into hours, days, years. I hear the sound of his fist swing through the air and tense for the pain... but it never comes.
Tentatively I open one of my eyes to see a third man gripping the angry man's arm. His chocolate eyes seem to darken with an unspoken wrath but from his mouth come the words, "Now that's not very sporting beating up on little gels mate. I'm afraid that I'll have to take her with me since ye can't seem to take verbal abuse from a little bit such as her." Out of curiosity and gratefulness I examine my savior while still within the grip of the laughing man.
His posture and mannerisms remind me of Papa with his Mediterranean quirks and way of speaking while his face resembles what Xandra (2) describes as a devilish man. With dredlocks, braids, and trinkets in his dark locks along with a mustache and a hint of hair on his chin, he appears to be a "devilish man" but I do not put much stock into that sort of thing so rather he is an outlaw, a swarthy foreign man with a wicked way about him, much like those adventurous men I read about in the novels that Michaelis owns. Inwardly I glow at the prospect of getting to know such a man.
My thoughts are interrupted abruptly as the laughing man drops me into the dirt. "Oh shit!" OOF! Now I've gotten a smart bottom to boot! Once I hear what the man has to say, however, I ignore my poor backside and listen with interest, "It's Jack Sparrow! Ye're on yer own Ross, I'm out of 'ere!" With that the now terrified man flees toward the nearest bar, leaving "Jack Sparrow" smirking and me giggling with glee. "Jack" winks in my direction and briefly appears amused before setting his face for "Ross".
"Well... Ross... it appears that ye're alone and ye're outnumbered mate," indicating me with a languid hand and giving me cause to puff out my chest once more from the inky mud. "So what do ye say to that?" With a scowl followed by a low growl, "Ross" rips his arm out of "Jack's" grip before stalking off in the same direction as the laughing man, muttering something about wanting to pummel B.S. for leaving him to Sparrow.
Above "Jack" lets out a sigh before wobbling and loudly saying, "Bloody scallywag, thinks he..." The rest of his words are cut off as he guzzles a great portion of the bottle of brown liquid from his left hand as his other hand lays lax at his side.
Timidly I stand and tug on his jacket, "Umm... excuse me Mr. Sparrow but you shouldn't drink so much."
At my words he stops drinking, flashing me a raised eyebrow before wavering and replying, "And why's that luv?" With a tight yet gentle grip, he grasps my right shoulder with his left arm while still holding the bottle and continues, "I happen to love rum." He wobbles some more. "And if it were up to me..." More wobbling. "Whoa... the streets and the oceans and the bars and the horses and the trees and the flowers would be full of the stuff so that the whole world would be one... giantrumbottleareyegettingmepointluv?"
Despite his slurred words and funny sayings, I still nod and solemnly reply, "Yes I do Mr. Sparrow but..."
"Jack" gazes at me as though I have grown an extra head before dropping the bottle, "What did ye call me?! MR. Sparrow?! Oh goodness luv, ye can't be serious!"
At his indignant tone I giggle up into his downturned and shocked face, "Well then what shall I call you? Mr. Birdie?" My own ridiculous suggestion sends me into another fit of giggles as "Jack" continues to look at me with a horrified expression on his face.
"MR. WHAT?! No no no luv! Allow me to set ye straight," his own chest puffs out as he announces, "I am known as Captain Jack Sparrow. Not Mr. Sparrow or Mr... Birdie but CAPTAIN Jack SPARROW, the most feared pirate in the entire Spanish Main, no wait, the entire world! Savvy?" Jack then gives me the look of a tutor glancing at his pupil to ensure that she has learned the lesson of the day.
I offer Jack a nod but before I can say anything he quirks an eyebrow at me once more, still lightly holding my shoulder as he raises a finger and swings it around drunkenly as he talks, "Now luv, may I be so bold as to ask where ye learned to swear like that? NotthatIdisapprovenoit'sjust," he pauses his slurred words before continuing, "A young gel such as yerself usually wouldn't pick up said habit, savvy?"
At hearing this, my face flushes red as the corners of my mouth turn upward into a sheepish grin, "Well Papa said that I should not use that word but Michaelis said that it is proper to use such a word only when you are in dire straights and, seeing as I was in danger of falling and before that I was lost, I thought it an appropriate time to say it," more self-assured, I nod, crossing my arms over my chest.
Suddenly laughter fills the air once more only this time it is the musical and honest guffaw of Jack to my surprise and dismay. Did my words sound that ridiculous? I thought they seemed logical enough and even Papa said I am a very logical and bright girl for my age so why is he laughing? A pat on my shoulder interrupts my deep pout as Jack looks at me with a suddenly serious expression on his face even as his dark eyes still dance in their chocolate stagelight. Once again he waves his hand and points in my general direction as he says, "Ye need to not take things so seriously all the time luv." Silence. "And did I mention that ye shouldn't daydream so much?"
Our eyes meet, light blue for solid brown, as our faces remain solemn while staring down one another. We stand like this for a few more moments, time dragging on. Suddenly we both burst out laughing at the same time and, at this shock of joy, Jack's already wobbly legs give way. His hand then proceeds to take me back down into the mud with him but this only serves to heighten our roaring laughter. My sides ache and my belly tingles but I continue giggling nonetheless, my olive-skinned face bright and red with my merriment. I don't think I have ever laughed and giggled and snorted this much with Michaelis!
"SKY!" From a distance I hear my name, beckoning me back to the reality of the streets of Tortuga instead of deep in laughter with Jack. Reluctantly, I open my nearly tearing eyes only to be face to face with Papu! His simultaneously surprised, angry, and somewhat relieved face fills me with both gladness and regret. I thought about Lorenzo's taunting laughter and, for a moment, I didn't want to go home.
"How... where?! Why are you here my child?" Jack had long stopped laughing, listening with interest and then wide eyes as Papu chastised me in Greek. While Jack doesn't understand, I do with my head bowed and tears slowly nagging at the rims of my eyes. I am not sure how Papa will react but it will probably be the same reaction as Papu with both anger and disappointment laden in his tone.
Papu then briefly regards Jack with his sharp, dark eyes and tersely speaks to him, his mood meant more for me than for Jack since any other time Papu would have been more than grateful to him, "Thank you for watching over Sky, young man." Papu then turns back to me, lifting me by the hand from the mud before gesturing toward Jack, "Say goodbye to your friend and then we are going to see your father about this."
I wince at his words before gazing back at Jack, a mournful expression certainly on my face. Even Jack seems almost regretful but he hides it with a lop-sided grin and an outstretched hand which I grasp in my strongest handshake, "Well luv it's been a pleasure to meet such a... colorful," at this a small grin forms on my face, "young gel such as yerself but I guess this means goodbye for us..."
Surprising even myself I interrupt him, "But it's only goodbye if you never intend see
the person again and you don't care to," once again he raises an eyebrow at me, "So I propose that, instead of saying goodbye, we say hello, thereby expressing our intent to meet again in the future so," I give him one more handshake and a nod, "Hello Captain Jack Sparrow."
With the same energy, Jack returns my handshake and nod only adding a devilish smile to meet my more serious expression, "Hello me bonnie little Sky." Once again reluctant, I release his hand and allow Papu to lead me away from Jack as one solitary tear slides down my face. Before we are out of hearing, however, Jack shouts to me, "Remember what I told ye about daydreaming luv!"
Without warning another small bout of giggles sends my stomach quivering again as I turn back to Jack for one last smile and one last laugh. He still lays in the mud, supporting himself on both arms, a wicked and wolfish grin upon his face. Though the dirt and grime have rendered his clothes filthy and dark with earth, Captain Jack Sparrow may as well be wearing garments of gold and spun silk for all I see because, on this
street in Tortuga yes on this night, I have met a good man and a great friend, one that I know I will meet again someday.
1) hehehe I took that from Rugrats . You know how Tommy always says, "As Bob as my witness" instead of "As God as my witness"? That was my inspiration for "Bob-dammit". Also, if you wanted to explore Sky's personality a little deeper, there is some significance to that comment (the fact that she wondered "Who's Bob?") and the whole thing about not putting much stock into the concept of the "devilish man".
2) remember the sweet old Greek lady in my previous chapters? I decided on Xandra for her name. . you know short for Alexandra? and yes I do watch Buffy... ;
The Author's Two Cents: Aww... cuteness eh? . You gotta love little Sky, she's SO ADORABLE!!! huggles So... am I forgiven? Have I repented my sin of not writing with this sweet bit of fluff? big puppy eyes Have I? Do tell? Please? realizes she's begging, coughs Anywho I'll try and write Chapter 12 as soon as I can, katalaba? . Great!!! I love you guys SO much!!! blows kisses
Chocolate Covered Jack Sparrow Forever, FloatingFeathers
