A/N: Well! Here's chapter 3! Whoo hoo! I told my friend that I would have another chapter out before she left for camp, so HERE'S YOUR CHAPPY, SAM!!!!! Also, under orders from Cap'n Elf-Pilot, I worked extra hard, and managed to fend of the horrible demon, Writer's Block!! [insert dramatic music here] Yay for me! Now, a happy thank you for my wonderful reviewers!
Saxgirl-15: Don't worry, as I stated in the FIRST CHAPTER (if you were paying attention), I like Will and Elizabeth too much to split them up. Therefore, this is a Jack ficcy. Will is just going to be in it a lot.Gilimirin: Arigato mas!
Mrs. Sparrow: Thank ye kindly!
Saiyan-girl-cheetah: I'm glad you like my story! Thanx!
Zanna Avons: Thanks so much!
PearlyGirl: Arigato gozimasu!
ChelseaBloom: I'm glad my writing's not dying slowly… -.-;; thanks a bundle!
Moonlight1313: Fank ewe vewy muck! ^.^
Scurvy Curr: You're too kind! Too kind! (sniff)
Senshi-destruction: Someone's psychic! Yes, I unconsciously kinda ripped that off… I didn't mean to! I guess I'm just kinda using stuff from those books, because I need to know what it's like to disguise yourself as a boy (no I don't do that enough to get the feel…) So don't be alarmed (or angry) if you find more similarities in my story… ^.^;; I'm cheap, I know…
Rogue Sparrow (who is exceedingly lazy): I like your name! You don't like it….(sniff)…. YOU LURVE IT!!! (tears of joy) Thank ye kindly, luv. Yer too kind…
Lady of Light(1): See, there's a trend. I crank you 2 or 3 chapters of each story, but then I hit a deadzone and they all die. I'm working on the others tho. The final chappie of WW is coming soon, so be on the lookout! Lylas!
(Captain)ElfPilot: Here y'ar, Cap'n ma'am! A nice, long, fairly quickly updated, chap, jist as y'ordered! The only Japanese I've picked up is from watching WAAAAAAAy too many Japanese shows. You pick up words pretty fast like that… ^.^
Now, enjoy chapter 3!!!!!
As she strode along behind Captain Sparrow, Carmina couldn't restrain the gleeful grin spreading across her face. He believes me! She had lowered her voice (already slightly low for a girl), altered her stride, and added a strange accent to her speech. No one would realize that Nicholas Sharpe, a baker's apprentice, was in actuality, Carmina Ramirez, a barmaid and dancing girl.
Soon, Captain Sparrow's long strides took them down to the harbor. He brought Carmina to a small dock at the end of the pier, where an even smaller rowboat was moored. "Well, there she is lad!"
Confused, Carmina looked at the dingy. "What? That's not yer ship! Is it?" she asked, momentarily forgetting all the stories she had heard of Captain Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl.
Captain Sparrow laughed. "No. That's me ship!" he pointed to a magnificent brig anchored offshore.
"The Black Pearl…" Carmina breathed, reverently, as they boarded the dingy. "Is she really the fastest ship on the sea?"
Captain Sparrow nodded as he began to row, a peculiar grin twitching at his mouth. "She is that," he said. "She can outdistance every ship in Her Majesty's Royal Navy. There was one that tried ta catch her, the Interceptor, but the Pearl ran her down and blew her to kindling." He laughed. "The Pearl is the last real Pirate threat in the Caribbean, thanks to dear 'ole Norrington." For a moment he was broodingly silent, and the only noise was the splashing of the oars in the water. "I'm takin' a chance here, Nick. I'm gonna tell you some 'a what our next little 'quest' is about."
Carmina nodded, trying not to show her excitement.
Captain Sparrow sighed. "Y'see, ever since I got the Pearl back, I've straightened out summat. I mean, I ain't a crowbar, but I ain't a corkscrew neither." He paused. "More like… more like a stretched out corkscrew. Yeah. Anyways, what I'm tryin' ta say, is that I ain't been raidin' settlements, rapin' the women, cripplin' the men, and kidnappin' the children. 'Course I ain't been givin' away me treasure by the boatload neither, but who would really do that anyways?" He coughed slightly. "Sorry. I get off track easily. What I'm tryin' ta say is that I ain't as 'orribly bad as I was before Barbossa marooned me on that godforsaken island. But it seems that someone's goin' around blowin' up innocent settlements and stealin' treasure from honest people, under th' name a 'Captain Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl.' Now, I knows it wasn't me, and the crew knows too, 'cause we weren't never near those places that got blown up. So it seems someone's runnin' around terrorizin' everyone and sayin' it was me!"
They had reached the ship by now, so Captain Sparrow was forced to halt his tale. "Ahoy ship!" he yelled.
"Who goes there?" questioned a voice from above them.
"It's Blackbeard hisself, come ta steal yer souls!" Captain Sparrow yelled back, rolling his eyes at Carmina.
"Jack? That you?" queried a different voice.
"A course it is, ye bloody mongrels! Throw me down the ladder, afore our new crewmember gets smart and runs off!"
A rope ladder was quickly thrown over the side, and Captain Sparrow and Carmina climbed up it.
Once safely on deck, Carmina surveyed her surroundings. The ship was large and somewhat spacious, but she had her sails reefed, so Carmina assumed it would be more crowded when on the open sea.
The crew was in a group in front of the poop deck, all of them eyeing Carmina.
"Lads!" called Captain Sparrow. "This is Nicholas Sharpe, newly signed on. He'll be our boy-of-all-work!" he cackled. "No really. He'll fill in as cabin boy, and my personal aide, until he learns enough about the ship to be on his own." He grinned sadistically. "Oh, and I fergot ta add the best part." He paused dramatically, raising his arms. "He can cook!"
At this, the crew burst in to cheers, and Jack laughed. "Ye'll fit right in, lad. No worries!" He held up his hands for silence, and to Carmina's surprise, got it. "Now, since Nick here don't know how we runs this ship, who'll take the lad under yer wing?"
There was an awkward silence as the crew looked at each other, trying to decide who should take Nick.
"I will." Said a voice.
Jack whipped around, looking frantically for the speaker. "I know that voice…'' he muttered. "Come out, ye scallywag!"
The crew parted, and a tall man stepped out of the Captain's cabin. He grinned at Jack. "Boo."
"Will!" cried Jack, striding across the deck. "You blood-rotting, black-hearted, thick-skulled, idiot!" As all the crew stared at him, shocked, he pounded Will on the back. "How are you?"
Will Turner laughed. "Not bad, Your Most Royal Pain in the Arse. And you?"
Jack guffawed merrily. "Good, good. Now, what brings you to my most humble abode?"
Will grinned a little too wide. "Well, I was in the neighborhood, and I noticed that the Pearl was here, and I thought, 'Hey! Let's go drop in and visit old Jack!' So I did."
Jack sent his friend a look, and Will sighed. "Alright, fine. I need a lift back to Port Royale. Savvy?" He paused. "And it that a new thing you've done with your hair? Because I really do like it!"
Jack sighed, absentmindedly fingering a braid. "Alright, Will. Just this once. But don't you be thinkin' I'll do this whenever you ask. This is jist fer old time's sake."
Will smiled. "Of course. Old time's sake. I've already stowed my things on board, so you don't need to worry about that." He looked at the young man, standing behind Jack. "And I really will look after the boy."
Jack nodded. "Right then. Will, get Nick situated in the berth an' find him an extry set a clothes, then show 'im around the Pearl. Don't want 'im getting lost!" he cackled, then sobered and glared at the crew. "Do I pay ye ta stand there and gawk, like a bunch a yokels? Weigh anchor, ye scurvy dogs! Hoist the sails! Hop to it, ye scallywags!"
The man named Will, led Carmina down into the belly of the ship, were a forest of hammocks were crammed into every available space. "This is where the crew sleeps." He said. "Here's yer hammock," he pointed to one high above the others. "No one else has dared sleep there, as most a the crew was too heavy, and feared they'd break it. But you'll be fine. I sleep there, and Gibbs – he's the first mate – sleeps there. And by the way," he paused. "I'm Will Turner." He held out his hand to Carmina, who shook it firmly. "Nick Sharpe."
Will grinned. "Now, then. Let's get you another set a clothes." He led Carmina over to a large trunk, which was shoved into a corner. "There should be something in your size in here somewhere…" Shoving back the lid, he began to dig through the pile of clothes inside. "No…no…nope…too big…waaay too big…no…no….no again…" with each exclamation, he tossed the offending garments to Carmina. Soon she was almost completely buried under a teetering mountain of clothes.
"No, no, and no… No… n-hey! This might do! Whadda ya think, Nick?…Nick?" he turned around, just in time to see Carmina buckle under the pile of clothes. "Whoops. Sorry 'bout that…" He dug her out from under the heap of clothes, and pulled her quite forcefully to her feet. "Sorry. I'm a blacksmith. Don't know my own strength."
Carmina ducked her head to hide a blush. She had only been a few minutes on the ship, and already this handsome man was stealing her breath away. "It's okay," she said, just remembering to lower her voice. "No harm done."
She looked up at her new bunk. Once she was laying in it, she would have about a foot between her nose and the ceiling. "How do I get up there?" she questioned.
Will pointed to a stack of barrels and crates clustered around a post nearby. "Climb up those, and if you're standing on the very top one, you should be able to climb in."
With a sigh, Carmina clambered up the pile, and just barely managed to swing herself into the small hammock. As she stowed her new set of clothes, a thought struck her. "Mr. Turner?" she questioned.
Will sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. "God that makes me feel old. Call me Will please."
Carmina had to hide her blush quickly. "Um… Will? Pardon my askin', but if'n you're a blacksmith, what're ya doin' on Cap'n Sparrow's ship?"
Will sat down on a barrel. "Well, I'm sure you know the story a The Black Pearl, right? Well, Jack and I got caught up huntin' for Barbossa, and became friends. After we got the Pearl back, we stayed friends. Jack's the godfather for both of my kids, actually. And he was the best man at my wedding. Funny isn't it?"
Carmina's stomach sank. "You're…married?"
Completely oblivious, Will grinned. "I am that. A lowly blacksmith married the governor's daughter with a pirate for his best man." He shook his head. "But seriously. Elizabeth is the most wonderful woman in the world. We'll have to find you someone like that, eh Nick?"
"Tell me about your kids!" interjected Carmina, anxious to change the subject to a less disturbing one.
The misty smile on Will's face told her that he wouldn't ask too many awkward questions for a while. "Well, William is three this winter, and Cecily just turned one. They're such a big part of my life. I want them to grow up always knowing that they can depend on their family. Elizabeth and I swore that whatever our children decided to do, we would always stand behind them. I mean, when you've got a pirate for a godfather, your career choices kind of 'expand'…" He continued on the track for a while, completely forgetting about Carmina, which was fine with her. She was busy trying to keep the tears welling in the back of her eyes from spilling over. Yeah. Little Will and Cecily are going to have a loving and supportive family. Well aren't they lucky. She was immediately ashamed of herself for thinking that. It's not their fault that they got a perfect family and you didn't…But even her conscience sounded bitter.
"Nick? Hey Nick, you alright?" Will was looking at her, a worried frown on his face. "Is something wrong? You look sick. Oh no! Are you seasick?"
Carmina laughed weakly. "Nah. I don't much get seasick. I think it was that ale I had with Cap'n Sparrow in the 'Fox and Hound'. Just got me feeling a little funny. I'll be fine in a bit."
Will nodded. "I'll give you a little privacy." He stood with a groan, cracking his neck. "Take a moment 'er two, then come find me up on deck. I've still got to show you around the ship!" he smiled worriedly at her, and vanished up the stairs.
A/N: Well? Like it? Hate it? TELL ME!!!! Savvy?
Luv and kisses,
Fallenangel(26)
