Final Round - Part 1
AN- First of all, I must wonder how many of you bother to read the author's notes, considering some of the stuff in the review section would have been answered in them... Anyway, so, I have finally come to the final round of this humorous piece! Really, the intense response to such a minor piece has truly left me stunned. A big thank you is in order for all those who reviewed and supported me, THANKS!
AN2- As for the content in the previous chapter, I apologize to all who found it disturbing. No, despite what they did, it isn't slash, *grins at the reviewer who had to keep reminding herself that*. Will, in this story anyway, is quite devoted to Elizabeth, and it is due to that that he kissed Jack. I just kept Jack to his carefree manner and not be disturbed, that's all. Keeping that in mind, I hope no one will be disturbed by the contents of this last chapter. If you are, I apologize now. That done... on with the final round!
And as a sudden decision that this final round was too long for it to be one chapter, I have decided to make it two... I know they would be slightly shorter than normal chapters, but the two added together would be much longer than a normal one! Either way, hope you like it!
~*~*~*~*~
The silence that followed Jack's words was deafening. For more than several seconds, it lingered until Jack finally shifted uncomfortably in his overly stuffed chair and raised a hand before him. Waggling his fingers as if that would inspire someone to speak, the captain finally broke the awkward pause through a phrase of his own. "It's your turn," he spurred Elizabeth.
Still looking quite disgusted at the questionable character of the pirate captain sitting across from her, Elizabeth decided to turn her eyes to the blacksmith. "Truth or dare, Will?"
Jack, clearly the least affected one, smiled as he turned his eyes onto the boy as well... "...Truth." ...and frowned.
"Lad, this be the fifth time you chose truth!" Raising his hands in a sign of exasperation, Jack promptly threw his hands back down. He was hoping Will would come about on his own, but it would seem that won't happen without some prodding from Captain Jack Sparrow. "It's a game for pirates! You need to do something..." Jack waved an arm extravagantly, "challenging!"
"As a pirate should?"
Encouraged by the slight sign of interest in the lad, Jack's fierce grin returned. "Aye, pirates cannot plunder and loot by being a coward, savvy?"
Will lifted an eyebrow and was in the process of wondering if that was a veiled insult when Elizabeth replied for him instead. "That's no incentive for him to choose dare, Mr. Sparrow."
Jack's gaze flickered to Elizabeth but another thought crossed his mind instead. Murmuring more to himself, he said in a voice barely loud enough for them to hear, "Even your bonnie lass has more courage than you."
And seeing there was no way out of this, Will sighed. "Fine, dare."
Jack caught the lass shooting him a dark glare before she had turned her attention to Will. That girl was too uptight for her own good, calling him Mister Sparrow this, Mister Sparrow that. Of course, the captain neglected to recall it was he who had provoked her during most of those cases.
"Will, you don't have to if you don't want to," Elizabeth was saying in an attempt to ease the lad. No doubt she was trying to go against the lad's turn towards piracy. Jack could almost feel proud for Bootstrap's son, and for his old friend's pirating honor, he won't let the young Mr. Turner be dissuaded against his heritage. It became a matter of loyalty to a friend, not to mention and retribution against the woman who dumped his rum.
"Sure he wants to!" He held up his empty bottle, momentarily forgetting it was empty, and offered it to Will. "Will, have a drink! It will steady you!" The pirate gave the pair dispensing strange gazes towards him a dismayed look when the memory of the bottle being empty returned. Grimacing, he sat back in his chair and waved them into continuing. "I know... pay him no mind, right?" He made a flourish gesture when he referred to himself.
Like the pirate suggested, the blacksmith and the lass returned their attention upon each other prior to Jack's preposterous interruption. "You don't have to choose dare if you don't want to," Elizabeth was saying again. If Jack wasn't certain he would be ignored, he would have raised another protest. He only hoped that Bill won't blame him for how his son ended up. He wouldn't want to deal with the vengeful ghost of a friend so soon after his fun with the undead skeletons of his mutinous crew.
"No, I am sure."
Jack frowned again. Will and Elizabeth must be the only ones who could make truth or dare sound like a sappy romantic story, the ones the lass no doubt secretly reads. This, Jack promises himself, will be the last time he plays truth or dare with non pirates, or even half pirates. At least he won't end up kissing Gibbs if he dared Anamaria to a little close encounter. The thought caused the captain's cheek to twitch. No, he thought upon further reflection, he would end up getting slapped instead.
Elizabeth took several seconds before continuing, as if she needed the time to choose a dare for Will. Finally, with the beginning of a smile curving the edge of her lips, she spoke, "Will, I dare you to teach me swordplay."
"Right now?" Will had the look of a merman out of his water.
"Darling, if you had wanted to learn, all ye had to do was ask!" Smiling like a merman in his water, Jack gesticulated at himself. "I would have gladly taught you."
Elizabeth shot the captain a disgusted look. It would seem that his attempt to grant the lass' wish to kiss the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow had made her play hard to get once again. Or maybe she was just upset that her rare chance was ruined by an eunuch. Jack decided to contemplate that one later.
"Will, you can teach me later. For now, just promise to complete the dare."
Will smiled winsomely and held up a hand. "I promise."
"Well, now that we have the sappy bit over, let's continue with the game." Mirroring the lad's smile but with a few more gold teeth, Jack placed his hands together in glee before they returned to their languid gestures. "Will, ask me the question."
The blacksmith had to smile at his friend's unusual antics. "Truth or dare, Jack?"
"Truth..." Jack glanced to both Elizabeth and Will, who were returning his gaze with arched brows and inquiries in their eyes. Not liking what those questions entitled, Jack smiled reluctantly. "I changed me mind, dare." He weaved his hand through the air in the silent rhythm of his own words. "It's the pirate's choice." He sounded like he was convincing himself.
"Jack, I dare you to..." Will stalled and turned to Elizabeth for help, giving Jack an excuse to look amused. It would seem that the lad was running out of ideas for their little game. If Jack wasn't on the receiving end at the moment, he would be tempted to advise the lad to let his imagination sail, there was no boundaries to that horizon... perhaps only stupidity. No, Will having a free reign on what absurd dares he could think of doing could not be good.
"... to wear a corset."
In a moment of surprise, Jack allowed his jaw to go slack and turned to the woman who would even suggest such a thing.
"Yes, wear a corset!"
Then spun to gape at the man who would actually agree to it. Just when he thought Will couldn't make a more foolish dare... "I dare you to wear a corset, complete with a dress as well." ...he had to be proven wrong. Jack winced as if he was slapped.
"But..." the captain trailed off. A glance told the pirate that he couldn't get out of the first part, Will and Elizabeth weren't even making a token effort to hide their wide grins, but perhaps he could still worm his way out of the second. "Will, me lad, respectable pirates don't wear dresses."
As expected, Elizabeth had to question his words, "Pirates are respectable?"
Fingers floundering the air in front of him, Jack struggled to pull together a dignifying story. And when he failed to come up with one, he made a dismissive gesture instead. "Respectable amongst ourselves. But the point is, pirates don't wear dresses. The lass doesn't have any to spare either, aye?"
"No." Jack turned to look at Elizabeth to have his hopes crushed. "I am sure I can find you a dress." Smiling in a disgustingly sweet manner, Elizabeth got up. "Men, I will be right back." Without another word, she left the room, still smiling too sickly happy for Jack's comfort.
Alone in the room with Will now, Jack shot the man a look crossed between annoyance and curiosity. "Dresses? Are you sure you're not eunuch?"
AN- First of all, I must wonder how many of you bother to read the author's notes, considering some of the stuff in the review section would have been answered in them... Anyway, so, I have finally come to the final round of this humorous piece! Really, the intense response to such a minor piece has truly left me stunned. A big thank you is in order for all those who reviewed and supported me, THANKS!
AN2- As for the content in the previous chapter, I apologize to all who found it disturbing. No, despite what they did, it isn't slash, *grins at the reviewer who had to keep reminding herself that*. Will, in this story anyway, is quite devoted to Elizabeth, and it is due to that that he kissed Jack. I just kept Jack to his carefree manner and not be disturbed, that's all. Keeping that in mind, I hope no one will be disturbed by the contents of this last chapter. If you are, I apologize now. That done... on with the final round!
And as a sudden decision that this final round was too long for it to be one chapter, I have decided to make it two... I know they would be slightly shorter than normal chapters, but the two added together would be much longer than a normal one! Either way, hope you like it!
~*~*~*~*~
The silence that followed Jack's words was deafening. For more than several seconds, it lingered until Jack finally shifted uncomfortably in his overly stuffed chair and raised a hand before him. Waggling his fingers as if that would inspire someone to speak, the captain finally broke the awkward pause through a phrase of his own. "It's your turn," he spurred Elizabeth.
Still looking quite disgusted at the questionable character of the pirate captain sitting across from her, Elizabeth decided to turn her eyes to the blacksmith. "Truth or dare, Will?"
Jack, clearly the least affected one, smiled as he turned his eyes onto the boy as well... "...Truth." ...and frowned.
"Lad, this be the fifth time you chose truth!" Raising his hands in a sign of exasperation, Jack promptly threw his hands back down. He was hoping Will would come about on his own, but it would seem that won't happen without some prodding from Captain Jack Sparrow. "It's a game for pirates! You need to do something..." Jack waved an arm extravagantly, "challenging!"
"As a pirate should?"
Encouraged by the slight sign of interest in the lad, Jack's fierce grin returned. "Aye, pirates cannot plunder and loot by being a coward, savvy?"
Will lifted an eyebrow and was in the process of wondering if that was a veiled insult when Elizabeth replied for him instead. "That's no incentive for him to choose dare, Mr. Sparrow."
Jack's gaze flickered to Elizabeth but another thought crossed his mind instead. Murmuring more to himself, he said in a voice barely loud enough for them to hear, "Even your bonnie lass has more courage than you."
And seeing there was no way out of this, Will sighed. "Fine, dare."
Jack caught the lass shooting him a dark glare before she had turned her attention to Will. That girl was too uptight for her own good, calling him Mister Sparrow this, Mister Sparrow that. Of course, the captain neglected to recall it was he who had provoked her during most of those cases.
"Will, you don't have to if you don't want to," Elizabeth was saying in an attempt to ease the lad. No doubt she was trying to go against the lad's turn towards piracy. Jack could almost feel proud for Bootstrap's son, and for his old friend's pirating honor, he won't let the young Mr. Turner be dissuaded against his heritage. It became a matter of loyalty to a friend, not to mention and retribution against the woman who dumped his rum.
"Sure he wants to!" He held up his empty bottle, momentarily forgetting it was empty, and offered it to Will. "Will, have a drink! It will steady you!" The pirate gave the pair dispensing strange gazes towards him a dismayed look when the memory of the bottle being empty returned. Grimacing, he sat back in his chair and waved them into continuing. "I know... pay him no mind, right?" He made a flourish gesture when he referred to himself.
Like the pirate suggested, the blacksmith and the lass returned their attention upon each other prior to Jack's preposterous interruption. "You don't have to choose dare if you don't want to," Elizabeth was saying again. If Jack wasn't certain he would be ignored, he would have raised another protest. He only hoped that Bill won't blame him for how his son ended up. He wouldn't want to deal with the vengeful ghost of a friend so soon after his fun with the undead skeletons of his mutinous crew.
"No, I am sure."
Jack frowned again. Will and Elizabeth must be the only ones who could make truth or dare sound like a sappy romantic story, the ones the lass no doubt secretly reads. This, Jack promises himself, will be the last time he plays truth or dare with non pirates, or even half pirates. At least he won't end up kissing Gibbs if he dared Anamaria to a little close encounter. The thought caused the captain's cheek to twitch. No, he thought upon further reflection, he would end up getting slapped instead.
Elizabeth took several seconds before continuing, as if she needed the time to choose a dare for Will. Finally, with the beginning of a smile curving the edge of her lips, she spoke, "Will, I dare you to teach me swordplay."
"Right now?" Will had the look of a merman out of his water.
"Darling, if you had wanted to learn, all ye had to do was ask!" Smiling like a merman in his water, Jack gesticulated at himself. "I would have gladly taught you."
Elizabeth shot the captain a disgusted look. It would seem that his attempt to grant the lass' wish to kiss the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow had made her play hard to get once again. Or maybe she was just upset that her rare chance was ruined by an eunuch. Jack decided to contemplate that one later.
"Will, you can teach me later. For now, just promise to complete the dare."
Will smiled winsomely and held up a hand. "I promise."
"Well, now that we have the sappy bit over, let's continue with the game." Mirroring the lad's smile but with a few more gold teeth, Jack placed his hands together in glee before they returned to their languid gestures. "Will, ask me the question."
The blacksmith had to smile at his friend's unusual antics. "Truth or dare, Jack?"
"Truth..." Jack glanced to both Elizabeth and Will, who were returning his gaze with arched brows and inquiries in their eyes. Not liking what those questions entitled, Jack smiled reluctantly. "I changed me mind, dare." He weaved his hand through the air in the silent rhythm of his own words. "It's the pirate's choice." He sounded like he was convincing himself.
"Jack, I dare you to..." Will stalled and turned to Elizabeth for help, giving Jack an excuse to look amused. It would seem that the lad was running out of ideas for their little game. If Jack wasn't on the receiving end at the moment, he would be tempted to advise the lad to let his imagination sail, there was no boundaries to that horizon... perhaps only stupidity. No, Will having a free reign on what absurd dares he could think of doing could not be good.
"... to wear a corset."
In a moment of surprise, Jack allowed his jaw to go slack and turned to the woman who would even suggest such a thing.
"Yes, wear a corset!"
Then spun to gape at the man who would actually agree to it. Just when he thought Will couldn't make a more foolish dare... "I dare you to wear a corset, complete with a dress as well." ...he had to be proven wrong. Jack winced as if he was slapped.
"But..." the captain trailed off. A glance told the pirate that he couldn't get out of the first part, Will and Elizabeth weren't even making a token effort to hide their wide grins, but perhaps he could still worm his way out of the second. "Will, me lad, respectable pirates don't wear dresses."
As expected, Elizabeth had to question his words, "Pirates are respectable?"
Fingers floundering the air in front of him, Jack struggled to pull together a dignifying story. And when he failed to come up with one, he made a dismissive gesture instead. "Respectable amongst ourselves. But the point is, pirates don't wear dresses. The lass doesn't have any to spare either, aye?"
"No." Jack turned to look at Elizabeth to have his hopes crushed. "I am sure I can find you a dress." Smiling in a disgustingly sweet manner, Elizabeth got up. "Men, I will be right back." Without another word, she left the room, still smiling too sickly happy for Jack's comfort.
Alone in the room with Will now, Jack shot the man a look crossed between annoyance and curiosity. "Dresses? Are you sure you're not eunuch?"