A/N: Hello, there, readers! So many positive reviews, ::happy, happy, happy:: Jack salutes you, but says I am very mean to him in this chapter. Oh, well. I'm always mean to characters I like. Please review, and my muse says to pity him.
Chapter Two: Are you trying to kill me?
Jack Sparrow had hit the rum that night and was just now waking up, safe in his own bunk, with the doors bolted, and was in a considerably better mood. After all, they were only four days away from Port Royal. He could make it four days, right? Rum always made him feel better. Rum also always made him feel sleepier, too.
There was a loud knocking on the door, and Anna-Maria said,
"Jack? Jack, wake up, you drunken pirate!"
Then again …
Jack disentangled himself from the mass of bed linins that he was wrapped up in, and swaggered over to the door, shaking loose bits of cloth from his person as he went. Undoing a few locks, he opened the door, and squinted into the bright sunlight. There was also an extremely annoying pillow case still stuck to him (tangled in the braids, damn it all), so, rather distracted, he merely grunted something close to a greeting and started working on the sadistic piece of cloth.
"Jack, pay attention." Anna-Maria had this annoying habit of being able to tell exactly what he was thinking at any given moment. It really was obnoxious. Jack liked to be construed as mysterious and aloof.
"'m payin' 'tention," Jack slurred, still not quite awake, and returned to his previous train of thought.
While Jack was contemplating ways to get Anna-Maria to a, stop reading his thoughts, and b, get this damned pillowcase out of his hair, Anna-Maria decided he still wasn't paying quite enough attention to her to suit her. So, she cast around for something to wake him up. Picking up Ellie, she lifted the little girl right under Jack's nose.
Jack didn't notice her for a minute; he was too absorbed in the pillow case (literally and figuratively). In the last few seconds, in his sleepy stupor he had managed to wrap the pillow case around his eyes. He yanked it off, opened his eyes, and saw two pretty, rather large blue eyes staring right back at him.
"AUGHH!" Jack screamed. This served only to amuse Ellie, who laughed. This upset Jack further, who stumbled backwards over a discarded blanket. He barely managed to keep it feet, and yelled,
"BLOODY HELL, ANNA, ARE YOU TRYIN' TO KILL ME?"
Anna-Maria gave him a disparaging look.
"Jack, I am not trying to kill you. All I did was wake you up. Otherwise you would have wandered around the ship in a sleepy - or drunken; I'm not sure which -- stupor, all day, and would have been no help at all."
Jack drew himself up, insulted, and said,
"And just why did you need to wake me up with that thing?"
Ellie frowned up at him, and said, tersely,
"I'm not a thing!"
Jack jumped.
"It talked!" he said, astonished.
"Well, of course she talks!" said Anna-Maria.
"I talk!" said Ellie, angrily. "Just not to you, because you're mean!"
"Now, see here, you little …" Jack restrained himself from calling it something that most certainly would have earned him a slap from Anna-Maria, and barked, "I am not mean!" He froze. "No, of course I'm mean! I'm a pirate!"
"Anna-Maria's and pirate. An' she's not mean!" Ellie said, stubbornly. "You're mean. You call me an 'it'. You wanted to throw me overboard."
"Well, you threw me overboard!"
"It was an accident!"
Anna-Maria had had enough, and she intervened.
"Jack, exactly who is the five-year-old here?"
Jack pointed at Ellie with one bejeweled hand and opened his mouth to say more, but Anna-Maria cut him off.
"Jack, I need you to look after Ellie."
"NO!" Jack's response was immediate. "You brought her onboard, you look after her!"
Anna-Maria sighed and said,
"Jack, only for a few minutes. Most of the crew is still asleep, and there's a problem with the rigging that I need to deal with."
"Well, wake Gibbs up!"
"He's drunk, Jack. Not everyone has the high tolerance from excessive use that you do."
Jack frowned deeply, trying to look ferocious. Anna-Maria regarded him coolly, and said,
"It'll only be for an hour or so, Jack."
"You are trying to kill me, aren't you?" said Jack, weakening.
Anna-Maria rolled her eyes, and knelt down to speak to Ellie.
"Ellie, I want you to stay here with Jack. I've got something I have to do, but I'll be back in an hour or so."
"But he's mean!" wailed Ellie. Jack tried to look proud and frown ferociously at once, and he came off looking sick, instead.
"I know, but he won't be mean to you today, I promise." Anna-Maria said this last bit with special emphasis and gave Jack a "if-you-know-what's-best-for-you" look. Ellie sighed and relented, and Anna-Maria stood up and left the cabin without another word.
Jack stared down wordlessly at the little girl in front of him. Ellie had her hands on her hips and was looking sullen.
"How is it," he asked, slowly, "that I do you this wonderful favor by taking you on my ship, yet you still do your absolute best to annoy the hell out of me?"
"Anna-Maria took me on her boat, not you!"
Jack's eyes bulged a little.
"HER SHIP?" he roared. "The Pearl IS MINE, YOU UNDERSTAND, you little sea urchin!"
Ellie was unfazed by this outburst.
"I'm going outside," she said, and turned to leave. Jack made a lunge for her --
"Oh, no you don't!" he said. "I've got to take care of you!" He picked her up under one arm with extreme distaste and headed below decks.
Chapter Two: Are you trying to kill me?
Jack Sparrow had hit the rum that night and was just now waking up, safe in his own bunk, with the doors bolted, and was in a considerably better mood. After all, they were only four days away from Port Royal. He could make it four days, right? Rum always made him feel better. Rum also always made him feel sleepier, too.
There was a loud knocking on the door, and Anna-Maria said,
"Jack? Jack, wake up, you drunken pirate!"
Then again …
Jack disentangled himself from the mass of bed linins that he was wrapped up in, and swaggered over to the door, shaking loose bits of cloth from his person as he went. Undoing a few locks, he opened the door, and squinted into the bright sunlight. There was also an extremely annoying pillow case still stuck to him (tangled in the braids, damn it all), so, rather distracted, he merely grunted something close to a greeting and started working on the sadistic piece of cloth.
"Jack, pay attention." Anna-Maria had this annoying habit of being able to tell exactly what he was thinking at any given moment. It really was obnoxious. Jack liked to be construed as mysterious and aloof.
"'m payin' 'tention," Jack slurred, still not quite awake, and returned to his previous train of thought.
While Jack was contemplating ways to get Anna-Maria to a, stop reading his thoughts, and b, get this damned pillowcase out of his hair, Anna-Maria decided he still wasn't paying quite enough attention to her to suit her. So, she cast around for something to wake him up. Picking up Ellie, she lifted the little girl right under Jack's nose.
Jack didn't notice her for a minute; he was too absorbed in the pillow case (literally and figuratively). In the last few seconds, in his sleepy stupor he had managed to wrap the pillow case around his eyes. He yanked it off, opened his eyes, and saw two pretty, rather large blue eyes staring right back at him.
"AUGHH!" Jack screamed. This served only to amuse Ellie, who laughed. This upset Jack further, who stumbled backwards over a discarded blanket. He barely managed to keep it feet, and yelled,
"BLOODY HELL, ANNA, ARE YOU TRYIN' TO KILL ME?"
Anna-Maria gave him a disparaging look.
"Jack, I am not trying to kill you. All I did was wake you up. Otherwise you would have wandered around the ship in a sleepy - or drunken; I'm not sure which -- stupor, all day, and would have been no help at all."
Jack drew himself up, insulted, and said,
"And just why did you need to wake me up with that thing?"
Ellie frowned up at him, and said, tersely,
"I'm not a thing!"
Jack jumped.
"It talked!" he said, astonished.
"Well, of course she talks!" said Anna-Maria.
"I talk!" said Ellie, angrily. "Just not to you, because you're mean!"
"Now, see here, you little …" Jack restrained himself from calling it something that most certainly would have earned him a slap from Anna-Maria, and barked, "I am not mean!" He froze. "No, of course I'm mean! I'm a pirate!"
"Anna-Maria's and pirate. An' she's not mean!" Ellie said, stubbornly. "You're mean. You call me an 'it'. You wanted to throw me overboard."
"Well, you threw me overboard!"
"It was an accident!"
Anna-Maria had had enough, and she intervened.
"Jack, exactly who is the five-year-old here?"
Jack pointed at Ellie with one bejeweled hand and opened his mouth to say more, but Anna-Maria cut him off.
"Jack, I need you to look after Ellie."
"NO!" Jack's response was immediate. "You brought her onboard, you look after her!"
Anna-Maria sighed and said,
"Jack, only for a few minutes. Most of the crew is still asleep, and there's a problem with the rigging that I need to deal with."
"Well, wake Gibbs up!"
"He's drunk, Jack. Not everyone has the high tolerance from excessive use that you do."
Jack frowned deeply, trying to look ferocious. Anna-Maria regarded him coolly, and said,
"It'll only be for an hour or so, Jack."
"You are trying to kill me, aren't you?" said Jack, weakening.
Anna-Maria rolled her eyes, and knelt down to speak to Ellie.
"Ellie, I want you to stay here with Jack. I've got something I have to do, but I'll be back in an hour or so."
"But he's mean!" wailed Ellie. Jack tried to look proud and frown ferociously at once, and he came off looking sick, instead.
"I know, but he won't be mean to you today, I promise." Anna-Maria said this last bit with special emphasis and gave Jack a "if-you-know-what's-best-for-you" look. Ellie sighed and relented, and Anna-Maria stood up and left the cabin without another word.
Jack stared down wordlessly at the little girl in front of him. Ellie had her hands on her hips and was looking sullen.
"How is it," he asked, slowly, "that I do you this wonderful favor by taking you on my ship, yet you still do your absolute best to annoy the hell out of me?"
"Anna-Maria took me on her boat, not you!"
Jack's eyes bulged a little.
"HER SHIP?" he roared. "The Pearl IS MINE, YOU UNDERSTAND, you little sea urchin!"
Ellie was unfazed by this outburst.
"I'm going outside," she said, and turned to leave. Jack made a lunge for her --
"Oh, no you don't!" he said. "I've got to take care of you!" He picked her up under one arm with extreme distaste and headed below decks.