Jess leaned out over the railing of the Pearl, watching the sun drown
itself in the sea, casting its last rays of red and gold over the water.
Down on the main deck, the party was in full swing as the crews of the
Pearl and the Bluefang traded trinkets, fought, drank, sang, diced, and
generally made a racket as only good pirates can. She heard Jack Sparrow's
distinctive footsteps coming up the steps behind her, but she did not move.
His walk these days was something of a nonlinear, off-beat stroll at the
best of times, now it was a nonlinear, off-beat stagger. "Been into the
rum, Birdie?" she called over her shoulder.
The footsteps stopped. "Jus' a bit. An' I wish ye'd stop callin' me that, savvy?"
She snorted. "Anytime you care to make me, I'd be glad to."
He stumbled against the railing beside her and gazed unsteadily out to sea. "What be you lookin' at, Jess?"
She gestured expansively. "Freedom, Jack. Freedom and joy and sorrow and adventure, and all the things that make life worth living."
Jack nodded, adding his own list, "Aye, and fat merchant ships, stretches of undefended coast, and even the occasional woman who hasn't been warned about me."
"That must be getting hard. People have even been warning me, though most of them seem to think I'm your sister, which thankfully I am not. Remember when we used to sail together, though? Inseparable and undefeatable!" She smiled reminiscently. "But then... well, I don't remember what we argued about, but when you left Tortuga, I stayed behind. How I wish, now, that I had gone with you on the Pearl. You became her captain before the week was out, I heard."
Jack raised his eyebrows. "It seems t' me ye've done alright fer yourself, love. What's to regret?"
She deliberately turned her head to look him directly in the eye. "Signing on, after a string of dead end jobs over the course of a few years, with Captain Barbossa, once first mate, then captain of the Black Pearl."
Jack looked as though something heavy had just hit him full in the face. "You... but... He sailed with a full crew, and they couldn't die because of the curse. Why hire you on?"
"They had the full crew, aye, with nearly a whole brain between them." She rolled her eyes. "No, Barbossa hired me to help him hunt for the missing gold pieces. I was to be a kind of undercover agent, a scout, and a spy. Someone," she added, smiling crookedly, "who wouldn't go all bony and rot in the moonlight, and who furthermore wouldn't be bothered if everyone around her did. So I signed on, and sailed out of Tortuga aboard the Pearl, but... things were quite different from what I'd been told."
Jack blinked. "You must have hated me, then. Surely they told you what they had done to me. You knew about the single shot when we met this morning."
She shrugged. "That was one of the surprises I had aboard ship. When he hired me, Barbossa said he was under your orders. He fooled me because the bartender had told me you'd been in and out of Tortuga a bit during the previous few months. By the same token, that also told me they were lying when they told me you were dead, murdered by Barbossa. You had been in Tortuga, but not with the Pearl, that was all. At least, that's what I told myself to keep from going mad. "
All trace of drunkenness had long ago vanished from Jack's demeanor. He narrowed his eyes. "What did he really want you for, then?"
Her shoulders hunched fractionally. "Partly for what he said, an agent who wouldn't be given away by moonlight, but also..." She shivered convulsively. "Also for his own reasons."
Jack's eyes widened, then narrowed, and his hands clenched into fists. "I hope you gave him hell for his presumption."
She nodded shakily. "I managed to steal a rusty old saber fairly early on, and from then on, well... He'd come, but I'd always fight him to a standstill with that rusty old blade, over and over 'til he was too exhausted to make another move. He never had the advantage with me, as he did with all his other opponents. Fear, you see. Fear of what is hideous, that cannot be killed. I was never afraid, and he wasn't good enough to beat me at even odds."
Jack nodded slowly, and his fists unclenched. "It must have been terrible for you, love. How long were you aboard ship?"
Jess shuddered. "Nearly six miserable months, during which I helped recover five medallions out of the final six. At last, my contract was ended, and I fled. I hired on with the aging captain of the Bluefang as first mate, and became captain when he died. I've been chasing the Pearl ever since, and now here I am."
"Here you are," he echoed. Carefully, he slid an arm around her shoulders. She was still shaking slightly, but offered no resistance. "C'mon to my cabin, love. I'll make ye a cup of tea, an' ye can hear my half o' the story."
She stared at him. "A cup of TEA? You?!"
He held out his forearm for inspection, rolling back his sleeve. "Jess love, I properly earned my East India brand, savvy?"
She was still laughing as she followed him down the stairs.
The footsteps stopped. "Jus' a bit. An' I wish ye'd stop callin' me that, savvy?"
She snorted. "Anytime you care to make me, I'd be glad to."
He stumbled against the railing beside her and gazed unsteadily out to sea. "What be you lookin' at, Jess?"
She gestured expansively. "Freedom, Jack. Freedom and joy and sorrow and adventure, and all the things that make life worth living."
Jack nodded, adding his own list, "Aye, and fat merchant ships, stretches of undefended coast, and even the occasional woman who hasn't been warned about me."
"That must be getting hard. People have even been warning me, though most of them seem to think I'm your sister, which thankfully I am not. Remember when we used to sail together, though? Inseparable and undefeatable!" She smiled reminiscently. "But then... well, I don't remember what we argued about, but when you left Tortuga, I stayed behind. How I wish, now, that I had gone with you on the Pearl. You became her captain before the week was out, I heard."
Jack raised his eyebrows. "It seems t' me ye've done alright fer yourself, love. What's to regret?"
She deliberately turned her head to look him directly in the eye. "Signing on, after a string of dead end jobs over the course of a few years, with Captain Barbossa, once first mate, then captain of the Black Pearl."
Jack looked as though something heavy had just hit him full in the face. "You... but... He sailed with a full crew, and they couldn't die because of the curse. Why hire you on?"
"They had the full crew, aye, with nearly a whole brain between them." She rolled her eyes. "No, Barbossa hired me to help him hunt for the missing gold pieces. I was to be a kind of undercover agent, a scout, and a spy. Someone," she added, smiling crookedly, "who wouldn't go all bony and rot in the moonlight, and who furthermore wouldn't be bothered if everyone around her did. So I signed on, and sailed out of Tortuga aboard the Pearl, but... things were quite different from what I'd been told."
Jack blinked. "You must have hated me, then. Surely they told you what they had done to me. You knew about the single shot when we met this morning."
She shrugged. "That was one of the surprises I had aboard ship. When he hired me, Barbossa said he was under your orders. He fooled me because the bartender had told me you'd been in and out of Tortuga a bit during the previous few months. By the same token, that also told me they were lying when they told me you were dead, murdered by Barbossa. You had been in Tortuga, but not with the Pearl, that was all. At least, that's what I told myself to keep from going mad. "
All trace of drunkenness had long ago vanished from Jack's demeanor. He narrowed his eyes. "What did he really want you for, then?"
Her shoulders hunched fractionally. "Partly for what he said, an agent who wouldn't be given away by moonlight, but also..." She shivered convulsively. "Also for his own reasons."
Jack's eyes widened, then narrowed, and his hands clenched into fists. "I hope you gave him hell for his presumption."
She nodded shakily. "I managed to steal a rusty old saber fairly early on, and from then on, well... He'd come, but I'd always fight him to a standstill with that rusty old blade, over and over 'til he was too exhausted to make another move. He never had the advantage with me, as he did with all his other opponents. Fear, you see. Fear of what is hideous, that cannot be killed. I was never afraid, and he wasn't good enough to beat me at even odds."
Jack nodded slowly, and his fists unclenched. "It must have been terrible for you, love. How long were you aboard ship?"
Jess shuddered. "Nearly six miserable months, during which I helped recover five medallions out of the final six. At last, my contract was ended, and I fled. I hired on with the aging captain of the Bluefang as first mate, and became captain when he died. I've been chasing the Pearl ever since, and now here I am."
"Here you are," he echoed. Carefully, he slid an arm around her shoulders. She was still shaking slightly, but offered no resistance. "C'mon to my cabin, love. I'll make ye a cup of tea, an' ye can hear my half o' the story."
She stared at him. "A cup of TEA? You?!"
He held out his forearm for inspection, rolling back his sleeve. "Jess love, I properly earned my East India brand, savvy?"
She was still laughing as she followed him down the stairs.