Disclaimer: Let me check…..ahhhh….nope. Still don't own anything. Damn…
A/N: Hello me faithful readers and reviewers! Thanks so much for 147 reviews…..wow. Never thought THAT would happen! Anyways, it's much appreciated. Now, upon popular request, get ready for an entire chapter dedicated to Jack…er, I mean Captain Jack Sparrow. I know you all missed him…to be honest, I went through my own Jack withdrawal symptoms…it included a hang-over, really dark eyeliner, and burning rum….*shudder*. I don't even want to go there…anyways, here's your Jack chappy!
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Winds of Change
Isle de la Viento
"Who's the captain of this vessel? ME! And who are ye going to listen to unless I tell ye otherwise? ME! Now get back into that cabin and get some rest!" Jack bellowed, waving his hands in wild gestures.
"I am not going to be ordered around by some filthy scummy pirate who thinks he knows everything!" Elizabeth shouted back across the ship while she struggled to raise the main mast.
"Just in case ye haven't heard, you're PREGNANT! Now get back in my quarters or I'll carry you there…again…" he muttered in contempt. Women were no good aboard ships…no bloody good at all. He watched her with slight amusement as she lost grip of the rope as the sail of the main mast fluttered desperately in the growing winds, flapping so loud that he was sure it was going to break. Rolling his eyes he left the wheel, wrenched the rope from her hands, and successfully tied it around the rigging to hold it in place. "That help of yourn is wonderful, lass," he muttered as he turned away from her.
"Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm completely useless!" Elizabeth sulked, folding her hands across her chest.
"No, but ye are a woman, which means you are completely useless….aboard a ship, that is," he quickly corrected himself, watching her right hand fold itself nicely into a slapping-position as she approached him.
"You mind your manners, Jack Sparrow," she threatened, now staring at the captain face-to-face. Then, with a sparkle in her eyes, she added, "I know where you and Will hid the rum."
Jack's face slackened and he felt as if his mind was going to explode. "You touch that rum and I'll make you wear a corset." She saw Elizabeth's face turn slightly pink as she narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. Apparently she decided against answering, and abruptly turned from him and walked to the side of the ship, her back towards him, her arms folded. Well, at least she's not heading for the rum…
Turning his attention back to their coordinates, Jack noticed that they didn't have much longer to go. He knew where Barbossa decided to hide the chest of gold again…it was exactly where he had told Barbossa to hide it once they came into possession of it…that, of course, was before Barbossa made him walk the plank…
Deciding that the ship could commandeer itself for a couple of minutes, Jack retreated from the wheel, leaving Elizabeth standing by the starboard side, and went into his cabin. He sat down on the chair and rubbed his eyes with a heavily-ringed hand, mulling over pieces information he knew he had gained.
For one, Elizabeth was pregnant; he knew that as a fact. Not only did she not come under the influence of the curse when the cursed crew physically touched her, but that would explain as to why she had been so sick aboard the ship. But somehow, whether by intuition or instinct, Jack knew that she wasn't only sick because she was pregnant…
It had to be when Barbossa was near. It was too much of a coincidence that she happened to have gotten sick right before that cursed crew made an appearance. Plus, he knew the curse affected them all, no matter what he had told Will…
Of course he had felt bad when he lied to Will about Elizabeth being safe. But what other choice did he have? How could he have told Will that the curse wasn't only angry, but it was the angriest at Elizabeth? How could he have looked Bill Turner's son in the eyes and told him that it would be lucky if any of them made it out alive? How could he have simply let Will know that the curse wanted Elizabeth dead, that it was furious for the offering of her false blood, that her blood was the first to be drawn, that the curse was most familiar with her? He simply couldn't do it.
But then again, Elizabeth's blood wasn't the only blood that the curse knew. It knew all of their blood. Will's blood it knew, Jack's blood it knew. Perhaps that's why the gods want them all dead and done with before it goes on a slaughtering rampage to punish all of those who had come in contact with the tokens…
Jack cleared his throat as he realized all of this thinking called for a glass of rum. Of course he was undead so the rum didn't intoxicate him like it used to, but it was surely a way to keep up his excuse of acting drunk all of the time, in order to avoid the cunning questions of the pregnant lass. He looked through the cupboards for the burgundy liquid, but couldn't find it. Of course, he and Will had decided to hide the rum in the very spot where she would expect to find it: in the cabinets, the most obvious spot. But as minutes of his search passed by fruitless, Jack's heart started to race. Throwing chairs and mugs and glasses aside, he ransacked the entire cabin, but could find none.
His eyes growing wide and mouth opening slightly he burst out of the captain's quarters and shouted wildly, "WOMAN! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY RUM?!" He turned to glare at Elizabeth who was leaning over the side of the ship. He squinted his eyes and felt slightly sheepish for accusing the poor lass of something she didn't do; she was apparently being sick right now, no doubt irritable beyond the fiery depths of hell. He sluggishly approached her and said, "Sorry to accuse ye, but-"
Jack leaned over the side to try to see what she was up to and yelped painfully. He grabbed her hand which was currently holding a bottle of rum, upside down, pouring its contents into the vast sea. She struggled with him as he desperately heaved her onto the deck. They both tumbled and she landed on him, still holding the virtually empty bottle of rum. She pinned his arms down as she sat on top of him, her right hand still holding on to Jack's liquid of life.
"Look here, Jack. Until you recognize that I'm not some damsel in distress, always in need of a pirate to look after me, you can kiss your faithful rum goodbye. I won't have it, you poor excuse for a captain. If you don't think you can trust me, woman and all, to help you rescue Will, then I don't think I can trust you to avoid the bottle for a few weeks while we try to do so. Is that understood?"
"I must say, lass, being pinned under such
a fine woman as yourself is almost as rewarding as the rum herself..."
"JACK! Am I being clear?" Elizabeth shouted again shooting daggers at him with her eyes.
He eyed the bottle, then looked at her, then eyed the empty bottle again and grumbled, "Aye…crystal clear." She let go of him and stood up, dropping the bottle onto the deck. Still lying on the floor he lunged for it and brought it to his lips in hopes of at least a few drops of that godsend of a drink. Unfortunately, it was bone dry. Furious he unsteadily stood up, took out his pistol, and pointed it at Elizabeth's back. He cringed as he realized she was pregnant, and it wasn't her baby's fault she was a complete woman of the devil. He let out a yell of exasperation as he returned the pistol to its holder, only then realizing that he had responded in the exact same way when she had destroyed his rum the first time.
"For me sake, I'm prayin' to the heathen gods that Will comes back!" he shouted dramatically, "because if I be stuck with you the rest of my life, I might as well put drown myself in rum!"
"Well, think of it this way," she responded. "At least you won't be a drunk."
"Drunk is good!" he shouted back. He looked at Elizabeth again, waiting for her sly response, when he noticed she looked slightly more pale than she did before. She unsteadily walked to the side of the boat to steady her stance, and, as Jack ran to help her, she collapsed.
He grabbed her right before she hit the deck. Lowering her gently onto the wooden floor, he checked her over and noticed, to his dismay, that her breathing was shallow. She was sweating, but her body was cold. She was shivering slightly despite the hot sun and her body was completely unresponsive. He shook her gently and realized that she was completely out cold. On a hunch, he stood up and looked at their surroundings. His heart leapt to his throat as he realized that they were only a mile at most from Casa Del Diablo, a group of six islands that formed one big circular cove, known for the highest waves and fiercest winds in the Caribbean.
Jack knew Elizabeth didn't suffer from pregnancy sickness; she suffered from the curse. Cursing under his breath, Jack looked worriedly down at her motionless body, afraid of what she would be like when she awoke to realize that the curse might finally be taking its toll on her.
If she succumbs to the curse, Jack thought to himself, then there will be hell to pay…
Jack knew what the curse was capable to doing to a person it controlled; that was partly the reason why he wanted to drop Elizabeth off in Port Royal first. He knew what its capacity was and was still fearful of how he would find Will…if he was still alive…
Picking up Elizabeth for the third time in three days, he carried her back to his cabin in the usual fashion, placed her on the bed, covered her with four blankets, and shut the door quietly behind him. Out on deck he could feel the winds pick up as they neared Casa Del Diablo and felt the roll of the ship become more violent. How he was going to maneuver around those costal rocks to get into the center of those six islands was going to take skill, and was almost impossible to do successfully all by his lonesome.
Almost impossible.
Narrowing his eyes in concentration Jack took a hold of the wheel, turning it gently to the right, knowing, almost by heart, the place of every rock in Casa Del Diablo. The hard part was the maneuvering; but Jack knew tricks of the trade. From his long years abroad, he knew that in order to victoriously enter Casa Del Diablo, one had to think of something that angered him greatly and concentrate fully on that, ignoring everything else that surrounded him. And Jack had a perfect situation to be furious about…
With winds pinpricking his face and waves tossing the ship every which way, after about an hour of struggling to avoid the rocks, the reefs, and the twenty foot waves, he successfully entered Casa Del Diablo, passing in between two islands into the center, where a calm, lake-sized piece of water lay sparkling in the sunlight. He guided the ship to the smallest island, Isle de la Viento, and set anchor about fifty feet from her shores. He scanned the group of islands carefully and was thrilled to note that there was no sign of another ship that could possible belong to Barbossa.
Gathering his effects together, Jack wondered whether he should leave Elizabeth to sleep by her lonesome while he went to find the chest of tokens. He looked from the empty bottle of rum lying on the deck to the closed doors of his cabin to the white sands of Isle de la Viento, and decided that if, the gods forbid, Barbossa should find the HMS Sea Farer docked, he would take Elizabeth, baby and all, with him. Rolling his eyes and grumbling half-heartedly about women being bad luck, Jack flung open the doors to the captain's quarters, picked Elizabeth up in his arms, and wondered how in bloody hell he was going to swim with an unconscious pregnant woman fifty feet to the shores of Isle de la Viento.
~*~
Alright, hope you liked. I gave you some more clues in here…and yes, I hope I'm not overdoing the rum, but I saw PotC again yesterday and choked on my popcorn for the SECOND TIME when he asked that infamous question, "BUT WHY IS THE RUM GONE??"
Please review….hey, I shouldn't even be asking you that. You guys have been awesome about reviewing, so I'll just thank you for giving me your input. I hope you enjoyed! And this was an entire chapter dedicated to all of you Jack-fiends out there. ^-^