A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. It has been pretty hard to update. My disk that I had the document on totally shut down on me and neither of my two computers could open it. But I finally got it open today and here is chapter five. I hope you enjoy even if it isn't that much. Oh well . . .
Chapter 5: Nothing Like Manual Labor
Kat stood on the top deck watching as the rest of the crew stumble out from the rooms below. Most were either still groggy or just as drunk as the captain for the most part. The first mate, Mr. Gibbs, trudged up the stairs carrying a small pouch in his hand, possibly filed with the vile drink that was all too familiar in Jack's breath most of the time. He looked up at Kat with a smile and bowed his head a little. He said a small greeting and walked over to Jack.
"So the young missy came out from her room, eh?"
"Aye, and possibly wan's to do work if I heard righ'. Take the wheel and we'll fin' Anamaria."
"Aye, cap'n," Mr. Gibbs grabbed the wheel and Kat couldn't help but notice how his round figure was almost the same as the wheel's.
"Ready luv?" Jack walked past her waving a hand in one of his flamboyant gestures.
"Kat, Captain," she reminded him. She doubted that he even paid any heed to the correction as he walked down the stairs and headed toward the far side of the ship.
Kat ran to keep up with him and eventually fell into stride with him. He kept his head up and tried to look dignified as he walked through his crew. He shouted a few orders as he walked, trying to be a good captain. They finally had made it to one of the far sides where another woman was trying to secure a small boat to the side of the ship. Kat had noticed earlier that morning that the boat's rope had snapped and no one wanted to fix it before they went to bed.
"Anamaria," Jack called to her.
She looked behind her after fixing the last line and saw them both behind her, "Aye, cap'n?"
Her look still seemed to spit with hatred when she met Kat's eyes. Kat had nearly forgiven her for slapping her, and she had felt a little guilty about slapping her back, but now . . . now she wasn't sure to feel hostility or comradeship toward this crewmember. Jack noticed the stare down between the two and started to snicker to himself, but stopped abruptly when both women looked at him.
"Anamaria, I need ye to show Kat here the ropes," Jack said patting Kat on the back and pushing her forward, "Jus give 'er some of yer less enjoyable tasks, that any one can do."
"Why did I get stuck with the lady?" she crossed her arms.
"Well, ye both are women," Jack said trying to make sense of his decision, "I must be gettin' back to me duties. Remember Anamaria, she don' know much, so keep 'er to the small tasks."
With that Jack walked away toward the top deck, yelling orders as he went. Both women let out a breath a frustration and looked at each other. Anamaria walked around Kat, looking and scrutinizing her for the second time. After a minute she stopped and rubbed her head.
"Well, ye aren't well built enough for the real ropes yet," she felt Kat's arms and looked up at the ropes displayed above their heads to show what she was referring to, "And ye barley 'ave any muscles. So . . . what to do with ye."
Kat did not like how she was naming her physical downfalls, but at least she didn't know about her past, then it would be even worse. Anamaria thought for a moment, rolling her eyes as she went through her thought process. She suddenly snapped her fingers and turned on her heel.
"Come with me," she said over her shoulder and walked back into the belly of the boat and toward the galley.
Kat followed close behind, not really knowing what to make of the crew. Some were very scraggly looking, while others looked . . . well at least a little better. One man even had a white wig on, like the men wore on land. As she went in through the door to lead down into the galley she saw a parrot sitting upon an older man's shoulder. Both parrot and man looked at her.
The parrot squawked and said, "There be treasure!"
Kat saw Anamaria look back over her shoulder, "Tha' was Mr. Cotton and his parrot. The poor devil had his tongue cut out so the parrot talks for 'em."
"So what was the matter about treasure for?"
"Tha' just means that he likes ye," Anamaria turned forward and laughed a little when she imagined the face that Kat had displayed on her face.
They soon came up to the galley and Anamaria opened the door for her, "Well 'ere's the galley. I wan' ye to clean every spot in this room."
"Every spot?"
"Aye, every spot," she smiled and nudged Kat into the room, "The mop's in the corner."
Kat nodded and Anamaria walked off to attend to her duties on the real ropes. Kat stuck out her chest and took a deep breath, which she later regretted because of the smell that filled the galley. No wonder Anamaria gave her this, she wanted her to suffer.
"Might as well start," she went to the corner to notice the worst mop she had ever seen. The head was filled with something that resembled tar and the bucket was filled with the grimiest water imaginable.
"No wonder this place smells to high heavens, look at their cleaning implements," she looked over to the other side of the room where she was lucky enough to find a sink.
She carried the mop and water to the side and poured out the water from the bucket and started to wash it out. She thought for a moment, 'Just water alone will not wash the smell away from this place . . . I got it!'
She snuck from the galley and into her room where she remembered Dena had her place a small bottle of jasmine in her dress. Hopefully it wasn't broken. She fumbled in the dress's torn fabric, looking for the lost container. Finally she found it and raced back to the galley before anyone would notice. She placed the glass container on the side of the sink and began to clean the bucket so that all the tar-like substance was off and started on the mop.
Even as the daughter of a wealthy nobleman, Kat had at times helped Dena with her chores. The labor began as punishments when she was little, but as time went on, she began to enjoy the maid's company and actually asked to go along with her during her duties. She would clean a little and help with the horses, but nothing too much. Dena would never allow her to do something so hard that she may hurt herself.
After finally cleaning out the horrible container and mop she filled the bucket with what looked like a good type of water. She set the bucket down and dropped a few drops of jasmine in the water. Maybe it would not get rid of the smell completely, but it would surely cover some of it up. She stirred the water in the bucket and began with the floor.
After hours of scrubbing the dirty and horribly drenched floor, she grabbed a torn piece of material and began to wipe down the tables and surfaces. She was right, after a few hours the smell of what only could be the crewmembers decreased, although never really went completely away. She stood at the edge of the room and looked over the work. She had done it. She was covered in the tar substance, dirt and who knows what else, but she had done it. She had cleaned every spot in the dang room and was very proud of herself. She wiped her face with her only clean spot on her arm and put the mop in the now clean corner.
After a sigh of happiness escaped from her she brushed her hands of the chore, grabbed the bottle of jasmine off the counter and opened the door. Just on the other side of it was the crew. They were just about to eat their first meal and had just reached the door when she had finished.
She watched them run in and take a place by a table. Some of them didn't notice the cleaner environment, but others began to smell another scent apart from their food.
"Ey, my smell is gone, and it now . . . it's different."
"I knows tha' smell. A wench I knew wore it."
"The new crew girl put smells on our table . . . how nice," one of the pirates clasped his hands together and the whole table laughed, "Before we know it, she'll be puttin' it in our beds."
"It's not like she's good for much else."
Kat frowned at the crew and was about to say something until Anamaria came in with her own plate of what looked like some good looking meat. She looked at the galley and nodded.
"Not bad, for an islander," she pushed past her and sat down at the smaller table close to the back wall.
"For an islander, eh? I-" she began to step forward until a hand clasped over her shoulder.
"I wouldn't be doin' tha', luv," she looked behind her to see Jack holding a plate for her, "I bet the men would love to see ye fight Anamaria, but ye wouldn't last long."
"So you say, Captain," she looked over at Anamaria again with a snarl, "I have worked all morning on this galley and she only spits at it. Well . . . I spit on her."
"Now, now, I won't be havin' words like that about anyone on this ship," she lowered her head and started to breath, "I was thinkin ye may be hungry after all tha' hard work."
Jack held out the plate for her to see. She grabbed the plate grateful that she would actually be able to eat again. He smiled and turned away, "Unless ye wan' to eat with the crew, I suggest ye find another spot."
"And where do you suggest, Captain?" Kat ran after him with the delicious plate of food in her hands.
"Ye could join me," he said.
Kat raised an eyebrow and looked at him suspiciously, "Why would you want me to join you?"
"Mr. Gibbs wanted a talk with Cotton, so I though' tha' ye could keep me company."
"Thank you for the offer Captain, but I would rather sit on deck and watch the afternoon sun on the waves."
"Suit yer self then," he shrugged his shoulders and walked back toward his cabin. Kat walked over to a crate left out and began to eat all she could off her plate. She stuffed the biscuits into her mouth and savored the juicy meat. Never in all her life was she that hungry.
After her lunch was complete she headed back to the galley where the pirates were finishing up and leaving. The plates were all piled up and much to Kat's disappointment, there were scraps of food everywhere on the floor. One by one the pirates filed out the door and back to their duties. Anamaria was the last one to leave the galley. She sauntered up to Kat with a small smile on her lips.
"Guess who's job all this is?"
Kat had one guess, "I'll get the mop back out."
As she passed Anamaria Kat felt her bump into her hard and gave a small chuckle. After Anamaria stepped into the sunlight with a bounce in her step, Kat began to wipe off all the left over food from the tables onto the floor for later.
"Bloody pirates."
***
After her first day on the so-called 'small jobs', Kat really started to appreciate Dena more than ever. The young woman that served her in her estate was more than the help, she was everything that a strong person is or could ever be. She does so much and never once really asked for anything in return, except for a place to stay and food. Kat smiled as she wiped the last of the sweat beads from her forehead with an extra cloth she had salvaged and cleaned for a type of handkerchief.
Days and soon weeks began to drag by; each new day bringing more labor, but soon after even more food. Kat kept herself busy in the galley or out on the deck, scrubbing away whatever the crew had left behind. Her muscles began to grow by the lifting and the scrubbing underneath the tables and on the floorboards. Anamaria eventually caught sight and tried to move her on to the tougher task of taming the real ropes.
"Now all ye 'ave to do is untangle those ropes," Anamaria pointed to the jumble of lines in the middle portion coming from the mast.
Kat didn't see why she couldn't tame a small job of untangling the lines from the mast. She had read it so many times in the books and seen it even more times by the docks in the safe part of the harbor. On her first try she heard jeers from the pirate men below her. They shouted catcalls and whistles, most not believing she could do it. All they thought of her was that she was a good, pretty thing to look at. Nothing really more then a good sight to see once in a while.
As the ropes around her began to get tighter she began to wonder if she would make it to the tangle. She had never climbed on a ship's rigging and wouldn't really have minded to stay in the galley. As she took another foothold, it collapsed from underneath her and in a split second she was hanging upside down and screaming her head off. She looked down to see the whole crew staring up at her pointing and laughing at her misfortune . . . with Anamaria leading them in their taunting.
Kat couldn't focus much longer as the tears began to overflow her vision. She closed her eyes and tried to grab a hold of another piece of rope to pull herself up. Nothing seemed to be in her reach. Her other leg was nearly no help as it just swung in the wind, hoping that maybe the effortless flailing would catch another rope.
Suddenly the laughing stopped and she tried to see what was happening, but the tears were still in her eyes and the scene below was smeared with every color imaginable. She closed her eyes again, thinking that they may actually be so kind as to help her down, to think of another way, but soon after all she heard was more snickering and whispers from below. But why whispers now, when just a moment ago they were heartily laughing?
She felt the ropes begin to move with the extra weight of someone else climbing up. She began to wave her arm toward the direction she was hoping was filled with rope. If the person coming up to save her made too much of a fuss, the rope around her foot may just untangle and she may fall onto the hard surface of the boat or even worse, in the ocean. As her arms waved through the air she felt someone grab hold of her hand and start to pull her toward them. Through her view, Kat could only see a dark form, but began to swing toward them.
After a few swings Kat was pulled all the way into a safe part of the ropes and grabbed hold of the person around the waist. What she could have guessed was a man, untangled her foot and patted her back.
"Ye all righ' Kat, luv?"
Kat opened her eyes and looked up. The blurry version of Jack Sparrow's face became clear. She let go of him abruptly and looked away. The rest of the crew watched, amused by the rescue attempt on the ship. She only nodded and wiped the only remaining tears from her eyes.
Jack looked at the crew, "Back to work!"
The whole body of the crew shifted gear as the all attended to the rest of their work. Anamaria also tried to occupy herself with another set of ropes and sails.
"Thank you again, Captain," Kat said when reaching her own solid footing on the ropes, "That is the second time that you have saved me from my own misfortune. I believe I shall never get out of the debt that you are creating."
"Don' worry 'bout it, luv," Jack smiled, "Although I really think that you should stick to the galley from now on."
"No," Kat reached for his arm, "Please Captain. I want to have a chance to show the crew that I can be as valuable as any of them. I want to do more then to make a room shine. Please let me do something more."
Jack looked into her eyes and searched for what she was thinking, "Why do ye wan' to do this?"
"As I have just stated, Captain. I want to show the crew I can do something useful," she began to climb the ropes toward the tangle again.
"Wait," Jack grabbed her back down.
"Captain, I need to-"
"If ye need to, ye better be prepared. From the way ye were hangin' I doubt tha' Anamaria showed you the proper way to secure yer self."
"No, she didn't," Kat said in a low voice.
"'Ere," he took a rope and tied it around her waist and showed her the proper knot to make sure she wouldn't be dropping out of the sky on any of the other crew members.
She felt somewhat comfortable with him tying the knot and nearly caressing her waist. It was strange for her to be thinking that way and part of her was yelling for her to step away. She thanked the captain and began to climb once again. What was she thinking? She should have shoved him away . . . but then again . . .
After the day hanging in the ropes, Kat found herself more out on deck and out of the galley. She did nearly everything else the men did and sometimes tried to do it twice more in amount. The catcalls and whistling eventually stopped, much to Anamaria's disappointment. Kat soon realized that the crew may actually start to warm up to her and accept her.
Accept her . . . Now why does that seem so weird. That single though set a flock of new thoughts through her mind. She was never truly accepted in her own home. But now, on a pirate ship of all places she started to feel like she belonged . . . she was accepted. She did the work, and she was allowed to eat and stay. The work started to become harder, but she welcomed it with open arms. The blood that began to appear on her hands was pleasurable to Kat. She knew that if there was blood, she had done the work to her full extent, even if the pain was somewhat unbearable at times.
She soon began to wake with the sun . . . and find Captain Sparrow at the railing waiting for that new horizon. Who knew . . . maybe she too was looking for a new horizon.