"Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho!" Will sang, jumping up onto the rail of the ship, swinging about on the ropes. "We're devils and black sheep, we're really bad eggs!"
Men cheered and whooped, some cheerfully booing him as he stepped lively down the rail, singing in a sharp, off-key tone, his typical crooked smile plastered onto his face, his eyes glinting with humour.
"Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho! Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!"
Will jumped down from the edge of the ship, his boots hitting the floor beside Luce, and he plucked his hat from his head and thrust it down onto her head, letting the wide brim cover her eyes while the other pirates laughed heartily, raising their rum bottles in salute to the young man.
"You're quite ridiculous, I hope you're aware," Luce teased, tilting her chin up to peer at Will under the brim of the leather hat.
"You look quite ridiculous, my Dear. That hat is far too large for your head!" Will countered childishly, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards into a smile when he winked at her.
When his back was turned, Luce jumped upon him, wrapping her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, and she placed his leather cap back onto his light hair.
The crew had a moment of peace, shovelling handfuls of dried meats and rock-hard bread into their mouths, washing down their meal with rum. Normally, after a tiring day, the crew would eat in silence, collapse to the ground in exhaustion. Will, however, had been the one to rile them up, teasing and jesting, making quite a fool of himself for the entertainment of the crew. Never had Luce seen such playfullness show in a group of rowdy pirates.
Luce slipped from his back, letting him grab her wrist and spin her around, dipping her into a theatrical dip, a parody of a dance, while the rest of the crew laughed and whistled, clapping enthusiastic when Will took a bow.
"Thank you, Gentlemen!"
Collapsing against the deck, Will pulled Luce down with him, drinking quickly from the bottle of rum before handing it to Luce.
"Wherever did you hear such a ridiculous song!" she laughed, shaking her head at his wide grin. Will shrugged.
"My Mother taught it to me when I was a lad."
"Were both your parents pirates?" Luce asked, chewing thoughtfully, watching.
"I guess you could say that..."
"Alrigh', you scabrous dogs!" Jack growled, emerging from his Quarters with a glint in his eye and a drawl in his voice. "Back ta work, all of ya!"
Men scrambled up from their positions, the light-hearted air of the ship quickly evaporating. Will pulled Luce to her feet, smiling wickedly, before hurrying off to his post. Luce began to make her way towards the mast of the ship, when Jack called out from above them.
"Young Lucia! A word, if you will."
The crew fell silent, and Luce ducked her head low, slinking after Jack, ignoring the curious stares of the pirates as she followed Jack into his Quarters. Straightening her back, she put on her most formal posture, trying to look as dignified and fearless as possible.
He studied her.
Several minutes passed, with his dark eyes roaming her, watching her, studying her.
"Is that everything, Captain?" Luce drawled, an irritated tone in her voice.
"Si' down, Lucy."
She obeyed, as she always did, but not before muttering, "It's Luce," under her breath.
Jack cleared his throat, quite formally for a dirty pirate, before continuing. "I hereby relieve you of your duties aboard the Pearl. I'll be droppin' you off a' tha next port, where ya'll take a trade ship back ta yer island. That'll be all."
Silence.
Heart pounding, head throbbing, the only thing Luce could manage to utter was, "I beg your pardon?"
How polite, considering the long string of vile curse words that were running through her mind.
"I sai'-"
"I heard damn well what you said, Jack, and I'm afraid that I'll have to make a formal protest-"
"Uh, no."
She growled, her voice raising in both volume and pitch. "-informal protest-"
"No."
"Damn it, Jack!"
Jack sighed dramatically, like a Father would respond to his misbehaving child, and propped his feet up onto his desk. "No room fer argumen', Lucy. Yer dismissed."
"I refuse!" she cried loudly, her chair scraping against the wooden floorboards with a howl as she rose quickly to her feet. "I dismiss my dismissal."
"Jus' like yer Mother-"
"Don't you dare! I have worked hard, Jack, I've done any chores you ask of me. I'm a good pirate. You have no reason nor excuse behind my dismissal, do you? I'd like a reason, if you're going to do so this suddenly, and I will not take your silly and sudden protectiveness of me as a reasonable excuse!"
"Sorry, Love, Captain's orders." The nerve!
"Fine, then. You may drop me off at whatever port you please. But hear this: wherever you take me, wherever you leave me, I will find another pirate ship, I will join another crew. I'm doing this for my Mother, Jack, and I'm not about to give up now. So, I will either continue to man your ship with the rest of your respectful crew or I will end up God-knows-where with some unknown band of filthy pirates with God-knows-what kind of intentions towards me."
She ran a hand through her ever-growing mane of black hair, huffly with victory. "The decision is yours, Captain."
It took three seconds for her to turn away, to begin to walk towards the door, and another three for Jack to call her back, the corners of his mouth slipping down into a frown.
"Alrigh', Lass, but you will follow my orders, when and where I give them to ya, savvy?"
Luce grinned wickedly, nodding to his demand.
"Agreed."
"One!" he growled. "You will do exactly as I say, as long as yer under my command, and part o' my crew."
She opened her mouth to protest, but snapped it shut at his firm glare. "Fine."
"Two. Whenever and wherever we stop, whether in Tortuga or..." he waved his hands dimissly. "...otherwise, you will not wander from my side. Understood?"
Luce rolled her eyes. "Yes, Sir."
"Three! You will not engage in battle at anytime. Any sign of a fight, and you will retreat to safety."
"Now that's not fair!" she protested stubbornly.
"Lucia-"
"Jack, I'm a damn good fighter, I can shoot a bloody bottle from across the deck of a ship! I can fight, Jack-"
"Yes, of course you can. But you won't. End of discussion."
"Alright," she gritted, clenching her jaw.
"Four. Don't do anything... stu-pid, alrigh', Lass?"
She rolled her eyes, her only agreement a snort and the crossing of her arms.
Jack leaned back, cracking his knuckles and tipping the brim of his leather hat over his eyes.
"Agreed. Now, then, Lass, you best be watchin' out for tha' Turner boy, he looks a deal suspicious."
With an angry huff, Luce stormed from the Captain's Quarters, anger seeping from her pores. He was warning her against young men, now, acting as a protective parent? She would not, never, allow it. He was not her parent. And even if he was, he would never be a good one! For God's sake, she was seventeen, hardly a child! She had killed, raided ships, engaged in battle, and now she was being watched over by a worried parent?
Unfortunately, the door slammed loudly behind her, and the entire crew fell silent, turning their gaze towards her emerging from Jack's Quarters. She slid down the stairs, hiding her flaming cheeks from view. How this must look...
"Where was-"
"What do you think they were doing-"
"-a little young for-"
"Poor Lass-"
"When do ya think-"
"-practically a child!"
"-whore."
Luce fled into the cabins below deck, embarrassment clouding her features. What they must think of her, sliding out of the Captain's Quarters, looking disorderly and guilty.
She had no reason to be guilty, she tried to tell herself, why should she feel guilty? Why? Because, perhaps, she was keeping a secret, a secret from the crew, a secret from Will, yet again. A big secret.
It was not, however, the secret they all thought it was.
~xXx~
"Luce!"
Will clamboured down the stairs, his face shadowed by the single light from the porthole that illuminated the room. She let out a shaky breath, calming her emotions, before kneeling down and heaving a crate of rum bottles into her arms.
"Yes?"
He sighed. "Luce, are you alright?"
"Yes."
Sighing again, Will tucked his finger under her chin, lifting her gaze to his. "I know what they've been saying Luce. The crew. Ignore them, alright? The lot o' them gossip more than a group o' noblewomen.
Luce let out a breathy laugh, shaking her head at his attempts to lift her sullen mood. "Will, I really don't care, really, I don't. The crew is too drunk to stand for half of the day, they may think whatever they like."
Before she could move past him and onto the deck above, he cleared his throat, trying to get her attention. "So, what were you doing in the Captain's Quarters, then?"
Damn.
"Will-"
"I'm not suggestin' anything, Luce. God, the man's old enough to be your Father," she winced. "But I won't lie and say I'm not suspicious. I mean, Jack Sparrow doesn't really take an interest in anyone, unless it's Jack Sparrow. He's a bloody good pirate, a great Captain, but... well... he seems to have taken an interest in you, Luce."
She didn't want to lie. She hated to lie, especially to him, to Will. Lying had almost broken her friendship with him, and she would do anything to ensure that would never happen again. But what could she possibly say? She certainly couldn't tell him the truth, she didn't even like thinking about her Father, let alone alerting the entire crew to her disfunctional, disasterous family. She wanted to pretend it didn't exist!"
"I can't, Will. Nothing is going on, I promise you that much, but..." she sighed. "...but I just can't... I can't!"
Will quickly moved forward, taking the heavy crate from her hands, a small, sympathetic smile on his face. "It's alright, Luce, I trust you. Please, just don't do anything stupid, alright? Watch yourself."
With a kiss to her temple, he was gone, leaving Luce to wonder how on earth she was going to keep something as big as her Father a secret from her closest friend, as well as an army of curious pirates.
Here's a little suprise for you! I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean or any of it's characters!
Do you think if I did, the series would have turned out as spectacular as it did?
*snorts* I think not!
Anyways, thank you for your fantastic reviews, and thanks to anyone who's actually reading this, as well!
-PRG