The Rosewood Cove :: Part 3
SilvanCleo
(PG13)
Disclaimer: This is based on Pirates of the Caribbean promos I've seen only, so some things would be different from the movie obviously. I don't own Captain Jack Sparrow or Will Turner but the rest of the characters are mine.
~~~~~~~~~
Thick fingers pushed back the silver strands of hair that flopped limply onto Christoph's tanned forehead. Many years of sun reflected off of the turbulent waves had scoured away his once youthful features, leaving harsh lines across his furrowed brow and around his small mouth, though his blue eyes were still sharp.
"No, no, no boy. Not like 'at. Get back 'ere!" the man called out to Philip who was three decades his junior. Philip jumped when the older man barked and tried to refold the impossibly heavy fabric that was usually rigged as one of the main masts.
"You'd think you'd figured out by now 'ow to store one of these 'ere things, my lad," Christoph said, taking the thick folds of fabric into his massive arms. He winked at Philip as he pushed past him to stow away the mast.
The young man dressed in a once red now faded to light brown shirt and dark pants with a hole worn at the knee had heard the tone in Christoph's voice soften. It was Christoph's way of apologizing but he was not yet willing to accept it. He lowered his eyebrows, the same shade as his light blonde hair, and folded his arms across his chest showing visually he was not so quickly appeased as Christoph should like.
Oblivious to Philip's physical cue, the silver haired man returned to his side and began pulling a thick rope, hand over hand, out of the water. Just as he was about to bark again, he looked out of the corner of his eye and saw the folded arms. His 6'3" frame straightened itself as he held the rope firmly in place against the edge of the ship.
"What is it my boy?" Christoph asked trying not to sigh.
Leaning against the edge, facing to the interior of the boat, Philip nodded starboard. "Looks like we're changin' directions," he noted flatly, seeing Will on the next level up engrossed and hovering over the table filled with maps and charts. Jack Sparrow paced back and forth behind his friend, waiting for Will's judgment call.
"Wait a moment, what's all this then?" Christoph hissed to the man near him. Both stood in silent shock watching what appeared to be a dress floating across the deck with a woman inside of it. "Since when are we takin' on passengers?"
"We're not," answered the boy turning around to tug on the wet rope, but Christoph's attention was elsewhere and did not help. Philip sighed loudly and looked up. "She's Will's." He paused, seeing his statement had made no effect. "Didn't you 'ear 'er screaming 'is name this morning?"
"No." He watched silently as she ascended the stairs and came to stand next to Will near the table. Jack put his arms around Will and Beth and popped his head between them playfully. Her voice rose into distant laughter. The Captain bowed graciously, taking her hand to kiss it.
Jack began back down the stairs, and shot a dark glance to the two men standing idly near the side. Both pretended to work until he disappeared onto the next lower level. Returning their attention to the two above, Philip and Christoph watched the silent show marked quite obviously by Will's own indifference to anything besides his work.
"What'd she say?" Philip whispered, squinting, hoping to recognize the words falling off of her lips.
"Not rightly sure."
She said something to him again, looking most serious, so finally the lanky man put down his papers. In a smooth motion he slipped one hand behind her neck, into her dark hair. Her fingertips stroked over his cheek drawing him closer. As she closed her eyes, he leaned in a little and brushed his lips over hers but then in a surprising move, released her and backed up. He said something to her to make her fingers run nervously through her hair until she collected it all, letting the long dark strands fall over one shoulder.
She nodded, looked down, even though he stepped towards her again with an outstretched hand, she still backed away from him and headed down the stairs.
Christoph looked from Will, to the girl and then to Philip who was still watching the scene intently. "Mark me words, that'll be mine."
The blonde shook his head and went back to the rope. "Don't do nothing hasty now."
"No, not 'asty," he answered pulling the solidly coiled thread up from the water with little effort. "I had me eyes out for a situation like 'is one fur quite some time."
***********
With her arms out to the sides for balance, Beth stepped carefully down the ramp onto the long wooden platform where their ship had finally docked. She weaved in her heels, not used to being so motionless.
"Looks like you'll need to be tradin' in your sea legs for some land farin' ones," Jack called down as he bounded down the plank towards her.
"I think you could be right," she agreed putting her hands out again and planting her feet more than a shoulder width apart to steady herself.
"And I'd just bet that a soft bed sounds good to ya," he smiled flashing several gold teeth.
"It does."
"And maybe a bath...?" he grinned even wider.
"A bath?" she cooed.
"Now now," he said taking her hand and looping her arm around his, "don't get all teary-eyed on me. You'll be neck deep in bubbles soon enough love."
With that, they began down the narrow streets of Covington which were packed with their own sorts of waves of merchants and buyers.
"Oh my goodness, look at all of the people," she said with wide eyes unable to take in all of the colors and movement and the thick smell of people mixed with sea air and fish, because he continued to hold onto her arm and push through the crowd.
Jack Sparrow took pause when she became simply too interested in all that was going on to make any kind of forward motion at all, instead trying to pull him in the other direction. "Beth," he said coming close so she could hear him above prices being bartered and women calling out to their children. "Look like you've done this before."
"What?" she finally asked turning to look at him.
"Try to make it look like you've done this before, savvy?"
"But I... haven't," she answered, mesmerized by a huge woman carrying two baskets, one under each arm, and another on her head filled with tiny biscuits.
He couldn't help but smile. "I know you haven't... Oy watch it there mate!" Jack shouted when another man bumped into him trying to move a table. "Anyway, Beth, this ain't exactly any place you want to be recognized as a tourist. Pretend you know what you're doin'."
She looked at him cautiously for a moment but then her expression lifted into a smile seeing he wasn't reprimanding her. "All right, so where are we headed?"
"The Rusty Pebble. Isn't too much farther ahead," he answered pushing on.
"Rusty... Pebble? But that doesn't make any sense at all."
"I don't make the rules lass... hell I don't even enforce em'."
"Fair enough," she shouted in reply as she allowed herself to be dragged deeper into the city.
*********
Elizabeth Swann pulled the hood of the dark blue cloak clasped at the nape of her slender neck over her head, concealing waves of light brown hair that fell about her shoulders. Blazing torches lit the narrow city streets, and the governor's daughter wished to move unrecognized and unhindered through the night.
As soon as she'd received word Will Turner had been spotted in Covington earlier that day, she immediately boarded one of her father's smaller ships used to travel over short distances and now stood on the dock where Jack Sparrow's crew had landed twelve hours previous.
Tall shoes that laced half way up her calf clicked over the stone walkway leading her past the walls of darkened shops to her right and left. She was to remember The Rusty Pebble so she searched every hanging sign in the windows as she glided quickly past them. Fortunately, she thought to herself, the taverns were still open. She knew once the drunken patrons emerged to find some place to sleep for the night, no one was safe on the street, especially those who found themselves alone.
Finally she came upon a large swinging sign painted green with large yellow letters painted on it, and pushed the heavy wooden door open.
***
"You're gunna wanna put down those two love," Jack said sitting behind Beth. She pulled the five of hearts and three of clubs from her hand and tossed them down onto the marred table which had seen too many angry knives jabbed by losers' hands.
She squinted sternly at the unfriendly looking character across the table. The grimy man who had a window for a front tooth dealt her two more cards which she slapped her hand onto to collect.
Jack drug his fingers over the back of her neck, collecting her dark mane so he could look over her shoulder at the cards she now held in her hand.
"Twenty and call," he whispered into her ear before he sat back casually in his chair.
Despite all the movement around the room and the roar of ale induced laughter, the Captain's attention was immediately drawn to the door where the tall figure in a dark blue cloak stood. Recognizing the golden shimmer of her hair as she pushed back her hood, Jack's dark eyes widened. How did she know they'd arrived, and so soon?
"Jack, look! I won!" Beth cried tapping his knee.
"You wouldn't have, had we been playing for real," growled the broad man who hunched over the table.
"Yes, excellent love. Your turn to deal," Jack answered her, sounding distracted. His attention was entirely focused on the door.
Beth collected the cards on the table and began shuffling.
The blonde was looking around the lower level of the tavern for someone. Elizabeth was obviously searching for Will, though the pirate supposed she would have settled for talking to Jack instead. Running rough fingers over the brim of his black hat, he pulled it down a bit and sat forward, turning his shoulder so that he might appear a bit less conspicuous. Glancing up slowly, Jack saw his lanky friend Will descending the staircase from their rooms on the floor above.
Will ran his hand over the front of his half buttoned jacket and rolled his shoulders back, jutting his chin out a bit as he stood up straight to meet Elizabeth at the bottom of the stairs. She held a hand out to him, which he momentarily glanced down at, but his cool gaze found it's way back to her own. Her arm dropped to her side and it appeared she shot several harsh words back at him. Jack squinted his dark eyes trying to make out what the two were saying, but they were too far across the crowded, smoky room.
Jack already had a pretty good guess as to what they were discussing though, because the last time they were all together, the Captain had accidentally found himself in the closet where he just to happened to hear their conversation. It was an ugly thing really that had separated the two for the several months Will decided to spend at sea. So ugly in fact, that Jack had almost felt guilty for several moments after hearing of it.
All of a sudden, Will stroked her arm, took up her slender fingers and kissed them. Jack used one finger to push the front of his hat back a bit. They certainly had an intense relationship, he thought to himself, watching the young man with his hair pulled back into a ponytail slip a hand inside her cloak. As Will pulled her close, she tilted her hips into his and moving a hand between them, pressed her fingers into his chest, stroking down to his abs.
Will caressed her cheek with his fingertips and then lifted her chin, making her head fall back so he could stroke his lips over hers. Obviously accepting of his gesture, she took his head in both hands and slipped her tongue into his open mouth, making him collect more of her cloak, drawing her closer.
The dark haired girl sitting at the table in front of him tapped Jack on the knee again so he closed his mouth and tried to focus again on the game in play.
"These three, right?" Beth whispered pointing out which cards she thought should be discarded.
"Righto, lass," he agreed but could not help but look back to the door again just in time to see both Will and Elisabeth head back upstairs. "Actually, how about a walk," he blurted.
"But, the game," she said turning to him, running her fingernail over the decent set of cards she now held in one hand.
"Hang the game! The moon'll be out soon. Wouldn't you like to see it?"
She arched an eyebrow, pausing a long moment before returning her attention to the table
"Ah yes, but this, this one is special."
"How so?"
He thought quickly. "It'll be full," he finished, squinting his dark eyes and flashing his teeth, which seemed almost like a mock smile. "A full moon. Big, bright, beautiful."
"Who needs a thesaurus for Christmas?"
He hung onto the back of her chair and wagged a finger at her. "Very funny. Very funny indeed young lady."
She could hear the sarcasm in in his voice, matching her own, and could not help but smile. "A full moon."
"Yes yes, on the water, with the brightness and the sky and..."
"All right, we'll go see your bloody moon," she answered finally slapping down her cards, seeing she was defeated. "Let me just go up to my room and get something warmer to wear." She slid back in her chair a little and stood up. When she moved towards the steps, he quickly hopped up and stood in front of her.
"Oh no no, no need, here." Slipping the knee length black jacket off his shoulders, he slapped the back of it with his palm in a show of effort to dust it off. She shook her head, knowing it would do little good, but still stepped into it when he held it out to her.
They meandered through the ill designed space and came to the stairs before she touched his arm, making him pause. "Maybe Will would be interested in seeing this big, bright, and very special moon of yours?"
He sucked in a sharp breath and closed two fingers and a thumb around her wrist. "He won't know what he's missin'... I suggest we look at a lot and brags even more about it later. No no, Will can get his own moon, aye? "
Her wide eyes twinkled at him and she blushed even upon hearing his name, making it plain as the sun in the sky that she still had feelings for the blacksmith's apprentice.
The boy had guts, Jack had to give him that much, for being able to tell Beth after the fact that he should never have pranced his pony into her stable; his heart always had and always would belong to the golden haired mare that had just led him upstairs.
Watching her anticipatory stance and questioning green eyes now though made Jack's whole expression drop. She really was a sweet girl.
"All right..." she finally agreed, if hesitantly.
"Excellent!" his features lifted again when he smiled and threw an arm around her shoulders, leading her outside. "Now you know, you really can't do this by yourself love. Right now you've got Captain Jack Sparrow at your side, so ain't nothin nor nobody goin' to bother ya."
"That's fine," she said, nodding as if she were completely paying attention. She snuggled down into his thick black coat to block the stiff cold from the storm coming in this direction. The coat that smelled a combination of salty sea air and the salt on his own body, but she didn't mind so much because it was warm. The extra sun of late had burned her shoulders, making her prone to cold at night just that much more exclusively.
Once they made their way through the relatively quiet streets, they came to the dock where they had landed and looked out over the water. "That's the Dauntless over there, isn't it?" she asked, though looking straight ahead. "Sort of odd that it's here, don't you think?"
"I don't make the rules lass... I don't even enforce 'em."
"Oh," was all she replied, though it was evident her mind was racing.
"Look out over all that water, the light reflecting off of the roving waves. Rather lovely, don't ya think, lass?"
"Yes, I think so," she answered absentmindedly. Then without warning, she turned and pressed her forehead against his shoulder.
"There, there now, you've nothing to worry for." He patted her sides uneasily, not having expected her coming to him like this so quickly. He acclimatized rapidly though, wrapping his arms around her. "Eh you'll be all right."
His words doused her already barely flickering spirit, making her back away. "You're right."
"That was, perhaps, a bit too..."
"Forward?"
"Yes?"
"No."
Putting a light arm around her again as they looked out over the water, he could feel her shaking. And he could not help but wonder if that was out of cold, sadness, or anger. He suspected at least the last, if not all three.