Shadows Over the Sea
By Illoria
A/N: Mucho thanks to snowbird3 for the idea for some of the pub scene. ;)
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Chapter Four
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The remaining members of the Voyager's crew were still awake when the sun rose. Jack had gotten out of his bed a little while ago, and had gone to the window. He hated the fact that he couldn't see the ocean from there. He quickly realized how trapped he felt when the sea wasn't in his sight, and turned his back to the window.
A knock came on his door, and he opened it to William. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
"Haven't really had a chance to talk," William said softly, mumbling a bit.
William sat down at a desk in the corner of the room, and Jack sat on his bed. Neither of them spoke for a little while, and William was staring out the window.
"Can't even see her from here," he mumbled as he too realized that the inn didn't offer an ocean view.
Jack nodded. "I noticed," he said.
Another silence, then William spoke.
"She was a beauty."
Images of the Voyager flashed through Jack's mind.
Jack looked up. "She was."
A pause. Then, "Damn it, I hate this place," William said suddenly, getting up abruptly from his chair. "Let's go to the docks, eh?"
So Jack followed William out of the inn, down the streets of the small town. When Jack was able to see the ocean again, he felt relief wash over him. He'd felt uneasy back at the inn – sort of the worry that someone who'd never been on a ship before felt when no land was in sight, just the open ocean. Except, Jack was just the opposite. He felt uneasy when the ocean wasn't in sight; after all, he hadn't gone a single day without her in his sight for the past four years.
William and Jack sat on one of the docks, feet dangling over the edge. Jack watched the movement of the sea and immediately, his uneasiness was gone. The motion of the sea was more natural to him than anything else.
William was also staring down into the water. "She's gone, but the sea will take care of her," he said.
"What about them?" Jack said, meaning the lost crew members. And the Captain.
William sighed heavily, but said nothing.
The odd-looking pair sat at the docks for a long time. Jack wasn't sure how long it was – he just remembered letting the gently moving water below mesmerize him. He remembered the persistent images of white sails, he remembered the complete sadness enveloping him; but he remembered letting the sea take it all away…
Jack suddenly remembered something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gold coin. It was part of a small treasure that the crew had 'acquired' a few months ago. Really, it was the last thing left of the Voyager.
He held the coin in his palm and showed it to William. "Remember? Take it. I shouldn't have the last part of her treasure…"
William shook his head and smiled faintly. "No, Jack. It's yours."
Jack smiled back, and turned the coin over and over in his hands. He had an idea, and threaded it into his hair.
**
What must've been late afternoon, Thomas came to the docks. "I've been looking for ya," he said to William. Thomas sat down next to William and continued, "The Lady Rose's agreed to give us passage to the next city they dock in."
"Where's that?" William asked.
"They're not sure," Thomas admitted. "But we'll be needin' to get out of here."
Jack thought the same, and he knew that William did too.
"Alright," William said. "When do we set sail?"
"First thing tomorrow morning."
William nodded. "Alrigh'," he said again.
"Are you comin' into town?" Thomas asked.
William shook his head. "Not now," he said.
Thomas nodded, understanding that William needed time alone with the sea, and turned to leave the docks. He motioned for Jack to follow, and he obliged. Walking back into town, Jack yearned for the sway of the ship beneath his feet. Being on land felt unnatural to him now, and he noticed himself starting to sway just a little.
"Been drinking?" Thomas asked somewhat incredulously, looking down at the boy.
"No," Jack cut him off, steadying himself a bit. "I just…"
"…Miss being on board?" Thomas finished for him. "Understandable, seein' as I've never seen anyone so… natural on a ship as y'are. Other than Bootstrap, that is."
They arrived at the tavern from last night and ordered some food and drinks. After a little while, William came in. He sat down next to Jack and ordered rum.
Surprisingly though, when William's drink came, he slid it in front of Jack. "Come on, you're as much of a pirate as the rest of us," he said in response to Jack's perplexed look. "Might as well drink like one."
Jack smirked, picked up the mug, and brought it to his lips. He took a sip of the rum. It was surprisingly warm, and he coughed on the drink but swallowed anyway, feeling the warmth travel down his throat. He put the mug back down on the table and said, "Pretty good."
**
By midnight Jack was out cold. He woke up in the morning with a huge headache. The sunlight streaming through his window felt more like a knife searing through his brain, and he felt considerably nauseous from sitting up too quickly. He groaned and slowly got up out of bed.
The night before slowly came back to him. He'd downed the large mug of rum that William had given to him, not to mention the half of a mug that Davies had let him have. He remembered William and Davies having to support him as he staggered down the street ("You're the one who gave him rum," Harris had said, rolling his eyes) and back to the inn, then promptly passing out in the lobby. He didn't know how he'd gotten back in his room, and blanched at the thought of one of the other pirates having to carry him up there. He would never live that down... He prompty decided never to bring it up.
The rest of the pirates, however, had other plans. Thomas was the first one Jack saw, and he said mockingly, "'Mornin, Jack. We didn't think you'd be up at all after last night."
Jack grumbled something moderately vulgar under his breath as he walked past Thomas, who only laughed. Pretty much the same came from Davies, Val, and Harris as soon as they saw Jack. William only winked at him and chuckled, and was thus spared the string of mumbled obscenities that Jack and his hangover were freely handing out to the others.
**
Eventually, the shipwrecked crew all went to the docks as they'd planned.
A man, by looks most definitely not a pirate, walked toward the strange gathering and said, "We're almost ready to set sail, anyway." He motioned for them to follow him, leading the way to a medium-sized ship with the words "Lady Rose" in script on the bow.
"Thank you, sir," William said, showing his best manners to the man, who must've been a merchant sailor. The crew boarded the Lady Rose, and the sailor showed them around.
"We've decided where we're docking next," the sailor told them. "Port Royal, Jamaica. We should be there in three days. Come, I'll show you to where you'll be spending the nights." He led them to the bunks. "The crew should be back very soon, and then we'll be setting off." He looked at the group, waiting for a response.
"Aye," Davies said. That was enough, apparently; the sailor turned and made his way back up to the deck.
**
Jack was very glad to be back on a ship, any ship. The Lady Rose paled in comparison to his Voyager, but he felt like he belonged where he could feel the sea's motion beneath his feet, instead of feeling the land frozen-in-place beneath him.
He'd gone up to the deck and was leaning over the railing. He heard footsteps and turned around to see a young girl walking toward him.
"What's your name?" the girl asked loudly.
The sound did no good for Jack's hangover-headache. He cringed slightly as he turned around (slowly). He looked the girl over quickly; he'd learned to be suspicious of every stranger. She was wearing a dress that just screamed that she didn't belong on a ship; rather, she looked ready for a dinner party. No threat there, Jack decided.
"Jack," he said cautiously.
"I'm Reggie," the girl said, extending a hand. The sound merited another cringe from Jack, who made no move to shake Reggie's outstretched hand. She awkwardly withdrew the gesture.
Thinking the girl would leave, Jack turned back to the ocean. However, Reggie was soon standing next to him. Jack felt her eyes scanning him over. Aggravated, he spun around. "What?!" he snapped.
"You don't have to be so…"
"Impolite? 'Ill-mannered'?" Jack filled in. "Believe me, I've heard it all several times over."
Reggie leaned over the rail, looking not at Jack but at the horizon. "It must be really great," Reggie said.
Jack debated whether or not to answer, then sighed and said, "What?"
"Your life," Reggie said.
Jack could've just burst out laughing at that. However, he didn't. His expression turned stolid and he said, "You don't know anything about my life."
"You don't have to be chained to anything," Reggie said. "You're… free," she finished breathily.
Jack said nothing. He was staring at the horizon too, but the look in his eyes was very different than the wistful one in Reggie's. Reggie looked at Jack again. "You really love this, don't you?" she asked. "The sea."
Jack nodded.
"I wish I could be-"
Reggie was cut off by footsteps behind them. It was the sailor who had shown Jack and the crew around the ship before.
"Hello, father," Reggie said, her wistful tone gone, replaced by formality. "I was just talking to Jack, here."
The sailor nodded. "Well, it's time for dinner," he said. "Come, Regina."
Reggie looked over at Jack again before leaving, then let herself be dragged away.
Apparently, Jack and the pirates wouldn't be dining with the sailors. A little while after Reggie and her father had left, the motley crew of pirates came up around Jack and all stood against the railing. Davies handed Jack a piece of bread, and he ate it still looking out to sea.
"So, what's this Port Royal place we're going to?" he asked.
"I hear it's crawling with the royal navy," Harris said, a sarcastic tone on the last words.
"Wonderful," another crew member groaned.
"So we'll have to keep a low profile," Harris said.
"We won't stay for long," William said. "Make way for Tortuga."
Jack hadn't wondered why they hadn't waited on the island for a ship to take them to Tortuga. He knew that the rest of the crew had wanted to get out of that place as much as he had.
**
Jack woke up the next morning, sleepily thinking he was still aboard the Voyager. Then he remembered they were aboard the Lady Rose, a merchant sailor's ship making for Port Royal.
He got up, realizing he was the first of the pirate crew to be awake. He made his way up to the deck, soon to realize the only other ones who were awake were the sailor from before (he was the Captain, Jack had figured out by now), and the annoying girl from the day before, Reggie.
Jack was about to turn around and go straight back to the bunks, but he was caught. He rolled his eyes as Reggie came toward him.
"'Morning," she said.
"'Morning'," Jack repeated sarcastically.
He was starting to go back down to the bunks again, but she was relentless.
"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"
Jack sighed.
"Listen, Jack," she said. Good, she's finally getting to the point, Jack thought. "I want to talk to you."
Jack groaned slightly, and turned around to face her. There's no avoiding it, he thought. "Fine," he said. "What is it?"
Reggie smiled. "Come on," she said, and led him to the stern.
He waited for her to bring something up, which she did in a little while.
"What's it really like? Being a… pirate?" She said the last word with a certain eagerness in her voice, or even longing.
"Why do you want to know?" Jack said, casting a glance at her frilly dress and overall prissy appearance.
"Because," Reggie said. "I wish I could be one. No rules, no people constantly expecting you to be…"
"Tell me about yourself," Jack interrupted her, just to get her off talking about him.
"Well," Reggie said. "My name's Regina Katherine Wellington. I'm twelve years old, but almost thirteen. How old are you, anyway?" She looked at him curiously.
"Fourteen," Jack said. "Almost fifteen."
"You seem older," Reggie noted. "Anyway-" Jack was glad she wasn't pressing the issue- "-I'm from there." She pointed back to the island they'd set sail from, which was shrinking in the distance. "This is the first time my father – you met him – took me on his ship."
"Why?" Jack asked.
"Well, my mother died a month ago," Reggie said, casting her eyes down.
Her words screeched through him. He hadn't been bargaining for that. Just "Oh-my-name-is-so-and-so-and-I'm-so-and-so-years-old", stuff like that. Now what was he supposed to do?
"Sorry," he mumbled with not a trace of the sarcastic tone he'd given to Reggie before.
"Not like it's your fault," Reggie said, looking back up at Jack, who was looking at her in turn. "She was sick for a long time. We sort of saw it coming anyway. Not like it was a surprise…"
Jack saw Reggie's eyes water, and he felt kind of guilty, though he didn't have anything to do with the reason she was crying. Jack had a fleeting thought of telling the girl about what happened when he was six, but it was quickly gone.
Jack sighed. He shouldn't have agreed to talk to the girl. Now she was crying and making him feel bad. He had to get her off of the subject.
"So, you want to know what it's like being a pirate?" he ventured.
Reggie nodded, her eyes lighting up again. "Have you ever found, like, buried treasure or anything?"
"I guess you don't know much about pirates…" Jack mumbled.
"But you've found treasure, right?" Reggie kept at it.
"Sure. We've 'found' treasure." Jack didn't want to recount all of the Voyager's crew's methods of "finding" treasure – after all, this girl could just tell her daddy, who could just report the lot of them to the royal navy once they arrived in Port Royal…
"But what's it like?" Reggie persisted. "The freedom? Living on the sea? Everything!"
How could Jack possibly explain to the girl what the freedom of the ocean was? How could he explain being at the bow and looking out at the horizon, feeling like you could just reach out and touch it, and wanting to. How could he explain looking at the horizon and realizing how endless the ocean is, just… belonging with her, the sea, the ship. He started to say something, but felt like he was violating something, like his relationship with the sea was too intimate a thing to just blurt out to someone he didn't even know.
"I can't explain," he said finally. "It's just... freedom..."
Reggie looked him straight in the eyes. The eye contact was making Jack uncomfortable, so he turned back to the sea.
"I wish…" she sighed. And in that instant Jack suddenly knew how she felt. He knew what it was like to be trapped, after all.
"Mostly everyone spends their whole lives wishing," he said. "But some do something about it." He paused, then turned back to Reggie, looked her straight in the eyes and added, "Savvy?"
Reggie smiled slightly, but her expression was kind of sad. "Thanks. For telling me what it's like," she said quickly, before turning and walking away.
**
Jack milled about the ship with the rest of the crew during the day. They had no jobs to do, which felt odd considering they'd never been on a ship without multiple jobs to do. The merchant sailors didn't talk to them unless they absolutely had to, and even then the sailors made sure it was quick.
Jack was thinking about what he'd said to Reggie that morning. He didn't know why he'd said it. It didn't seem like something Jack was likely to say, and especially not to someone he'd just met. But somehow it'd just... come out when he'd seen the longing in the girl's eyes. By her fancy outfits, her neatly done-up hair, and her overall small appearance and delicate features, Reggie was the farthest thing from a pirate. But by her eyes…
Jack sighed. It wasn't his business, Reggie and her well-off life. She'd grow up, forget about pirates and forget about the sea, marry some rich guy and bring up her kids to be just like their parents. No, the girl really wasn't of Jack's concern.
**
The next day was pretty much the same, but Jack was just enjoying being aboard the ship. That was all he needed, he knew it: the ocean waves rocking the ship, the boundless sea, the horizon. He wished he could steer the ship, navigate them to a new place. He knew how to steer and how to navigate, but he'd never done it. It was just a job for the Captain, or the first-mate.
Reggie didn't talk to Jack for the whole day. She mostly just stayed at the stern, watching as her home shrunk out of view for the first time. But if she happened to pass Jack, she smiled at him quickly, but it was gone almost before it'd come.
Jack was relieved that Reggie didn't seem to want to talk to him anymore. He wouldn't know what to say if she brought up her mother again; he wanted to avoid it. Also he wasn't comfortable with her prodding him for information about piracy. He'd realized the night before that she could've just been trying to get information for her father or something; it could have all been a scam, a search for a reason to turn them into the royal navy in Port Royal.
But for some reason, Jack doubted it. Which was why, by afternoon the third and final day that Jack and the other crew members would spend on board the Lady Rose, he let Reggie walk up to him when he was standing at the bow. He expected she'd start talking again, but she didn't. She just stood next to him as both of them watched Port Royal come closer.
Jack didn't feel the need to say anything, and apparently neither did Reggie. It was kind of intimate, the both of them standing there at the bow of the Lady Rose, a pirate boy and a high-society girl both thinking the same thoughts of freedom, except Jack had the freedom he'd always longed for, and Reggie didn't. But Jack understood, though he'd never admit relating to the girl. In the few days after the sinking of the Voyager, he'd felt like his freedom had been taken away. Though, he knew that he wouldn't be trapped forever. Reggie, on the other hand...
But whatever the future would be, Reggie was still a girl then, a girl who hadn't completely given in to society and its expectations for her. And Jack could just let her be and let her dream while she still could, because soon enough she'd be getting laced into a corset and being told to act like a lady. Jack Sparrow didn't have to be the one who shattered the girl's dreams, after all.
And, there was a certain trust between the two of them. Jack didn't know why, but he trusted that Reggie wouldn't tell her father about the illegal deeds that Jack had participated in. And Reggie must've trusted Jack
Evening came, and the Lady Rose docked at Port Royal. The pirates were making to disembark, and Thomas motioned to Jack. He nodded to Reggie and made to leave.
"Wait," Reggie said. She outstretched her hand and placed something in Jack's. He looked down, noticing that it was a red bead from the center of Reggie's necklace. He looked back up at Reggie.
"We both know, it'll very well be that the only time I'll ever see you again is if you try to rob me or something when I'm older," Reggie said. "But I'll never forget the pirate who told me about freedom."
Jack smirked slightly. "And I won't forget the annoying girl who wouldn't leave me alone," he said. But, near the coin from the Voyager, he wove the bead into his hair.
Reggie was smiling. Her hand brushed Jack's slightly, and she blushed. Jack spun around and left the Lady Rose without looking back.
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A/N: Thank you again to the reviewers! :D A thank you to Krillball6, who wrote "I think in the next chapter or maybe sometime later Jack should tell someone what happened to him and maybe someone else had the same thing happen to them. Then he's not alone." That gave me the idea for Jack and Reggie's conversation. :) And just in case you're wondering, I don't think I'll make Reggie into Jack's love interest or anything later on in the story. But who knows... if I can come up with something original enough... *wink wink* :}
P.S.... Review? ;)
By Illoria
A/N: Mucho thanks to snowbird3 for the idea for some of the pub scene. ;)
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Chapter Four
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The remaining members of the Voyager's crew were still awake when the sun rose. Jack had gotten out of his bed a little while ago, and had gone to the window. He hated the fact that he couldn't see the ocean from there. He quickly realized how trapped he felt when the sea wasn't in his sight, and turned his back to the window.
A knock came on his door, and he opened it to William. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
"Haven't really had a chance to talk," William said softly, mumbling a bit.
William sat down at a desk in the corner of the room, and Jack sat on his bed. Neither of them spoke for a little while, and William was staring out the window.
"Can't even see her from here," he mumbled as he too realized that the inn didn't offer an ocean view.
Jack nodded. "I noticed," he said.
Another silence, then William spoke.
"She was a beauty."
Images of the Voyager flashed through Jack's mind.
Jack looked up. "She was."
A pause. Then, "Damn it, I hate this place," William said suddenly, getting up abruptly from his chair. "Let's go to the docks, eh?"
So Jack followed William out of the inn, down the streets of the small town. When Jack was able to see the ocean again, he felt relief wash over him. He'd felt uneasy back at the inn – sort of the worry that someone who'd never been on a ship before felt when no land was in sight, just the open ocean. Except, Jack was just the opposite. He felt uneasy when the ocean wasn't in sight; after all, he hadn't gone a single day without her in his sight for the past four years.
William and Jack sat on one of the docks, feet dangling over the edge. Jack watched the movement of the sea and immediately, his uneasiness was gone. The motion of the sea was more natural to him than anything else.
William was also staring down into the water. "She's gone, but the sea will take care of her," he said.
"What about them?" Jack said, meaning the lost crew members. And the Captain.
William sighed heavily, but said nothing.
The odd-looking pair sat at the docks for a long time. Jack wasn't sure how long it was – he just remembered letting the gently moving water below mesmerize him. He remembered the persistent images of white sails, he remembered the complete sadness enveloping him; but he remembered letting the sea take it all away…
Jack suddenly remembered something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gold coin. It was part of a small treasure that the crew had 'acquired' a few months ago. Really, it was the last thing left of the Voyager.
He held the coin in his palm and showed it to William. "Remember? Take it. I shouldn't have the last part of her treasure…"
William shook his head and smiled faintly. "No, Jack. It's yours."
Jack smiled back, and turned the coin over and over in his hands. He had an idea, and threaded it into his hair.
**
What must've been late afternoon, Thomas came to the docks. "I've been looking for ya," he said to William. Thomas sat down next to William and continued, "The Lady Rose's agreed to give us passage to the next city they dock in."
"Where's that?" William asked.
"They're not sure," Thomas admitted. "But we'll be needin' to get out of here."
Jack thought the same, and he knew that William did too.
"Alright," William said. "When do we set sail?"
"First thing tomorrow morning."
William nodded. "Alrigh'," he said again.
"Are you comin' into town?" Thomas asked.
William shook his head. "Not now," he said.
Thomas nodded, understanding that William needed time alone with the sea, and turned to leave the docks. He motioned for Jack to follow, and he obliged. Walking back into town, Jack yearned for the sway of the ship beneath his feet. Being on land felt unnatural to him now, and he noticed himself starting to sway just a little.
"Been drinking?" Thomas asked somewhat incredulously, looking down at the boy.
"No," Jack cut him off, steadying himself a bit. "I just…"
"…Miss being on board?" Thomas finished for him. "Understandable, seein' as I've never seen anyone so… natural on a ship as y'are. Other than Bootstrap, that is."
They arrived at the tavern from last night and ordered some food and drinks. After a little while, William came in. He sat down next to Jack and ordered rum.
Surprisingly though, when William's drink came, he slid it in front of Jack. "Come on, you're as much of a pirate as the rest of us," he said in response to Jack's perplexed look. "Might as well drink like one."
Jack smirked, picked up the mug, and brought it to his lips. He took a sip of the rum. It was surprisingly warm, and he coughed on the drink but swallowed anyway, feeling the warmth travel down his throat. He put the mug back down on the table and said, "Pretty good."
**
By midnight Jack was out cold. He woke up in the morning with a huge headache. The sunlight streaming through his window felt more like a knife searing through his brain, and he felt considerably nauseous from sitting up too quickly. He groaned and slowly got up out of bed.
The night before slowly came back to him. He'd downed the large mug of rum that William had given to him, not to mention the half of a mug that Davies had let him have. He remembered William and Davies having to support him as he staggered down the street ("You're the one who gave him rum," Harris had said, rolling his eyes) and back to the inn, then promptly passing out in the lobby. He didn't know how he'd gotten back in his room, and blanched at the thought of one of the other pirates having to carry him up there. He would never live that down... He prompty decided never to bring it up.
The rest of the pirates, however, had other plans. Thomas was the first one Jack saw, and he said mockingly, "'Mornin, Jack. We didn't think you'd be up at all after last night."
Jack grumbled something moderately vulgar under his breath as he walked past Thomas, who only laughed. Pretty much the same came from Davies, Val, and Harris as soon as they saw Jack. William only winked at him and chuckled, and was thus spared the string of mumbled obscenities that Jack and his hangover were freely handing out to the others.
**
Eventually, the shipwrecked crew all went to the docks as they'd planned.
A man, by looks most definitely not a pirate, walked toward the strange gathering and said, "We're almost ready to set sail, anyway." He motioned for them to follow him, leading the way to a medium-sized ship with the words "Lady Rose" in script on the bow.
"Thank you, sir," William said, showing his best manners to the man, who must've been a merchant sailor. The crew boarded the Lady Rose, and the sailor showed them around.
"We've decided where we're docking next," the sailor told them. "Port Royal, Jamaica. We should be there in three days. Come, I'll show you to where you'll be spending the nights." He led them to the bunks. "The crew should be back very soon, and then we'll be setting off." He looked at the group, waiting for a response.
"Aye," Davies said. That was enough, apparently; the sailor turned and made his way back up to the deck.
**
Jack was very glad to be back on a ship, any ship. The Lady Rose paled in comparison to his Voyager, but he felt like he belonged where he could feel the sea's motion beneath his feet, instead of feeling the land frozen-in-place beneath him.
He'd gone up to the deck and was leaning over the railing. He heard footsteps and turned around to see a young girl walking toward him.
"What's your name?" the girl asked loudly.
The sound did no good for Jack's hangover-headache. He cringed slightly as he turned around (slowly). He looked the girl over quickly; he'd learned to be suspicious of every stranger. She was wearing a dress that just screamed that she didn't belong on a ship; rather, she looked ready for a dinner party. No threat there, Jack decided.
"Jack," he said cautiously.
"I'm Reggie," the girl said, extending a hand. The sound merited another cringe from Jack, who made no move to shake Reggie's outstretched hand. She awkwardly withdrew the gesture.
Thinking the girl would leave, Jack turned back to the ocean. However, Reggie was soon standing next to him. Jack felt her eyes scanning him over. Aggravated, he spun around. "What?!" he snapped.
"You don't have to be so…"
"Impolite? 'Ill-mannered'?" Jack filled in. "Believe me, I've heard it all several times over."
Reggie leaned over the rail, looking not at Jack but at the horizon. "It must be really great," Reggie said.
Jack debated whether or not to answer, then sighed and said, "What?"
"Your life," Reggie said.
Jack could've just burst out laughing at that. However, he didn't. His expression turned stolid and he said, "You don't know anything about my life."
"You don't have to be chained to anything," Reggie said. "You're… free," she finished breathily.
Jack said nothing. He was staring at the horizon too, but the look in his eyes was very different than the wistful one in Reggie's. Reggie looked at Jack again. "You really love this, don't you?" she asked. "The sea."
Jack nodded.
"I wish I could be-"
Reggie was cut off by footsteps behind them. It was the sailor who had shown Jack and the crew around the ship before.
"Hello, father," Reggie said, her wistful tone gone, replaced by formality. "I was just talking to Jack, here."
The sailor nodded. "Well, it's time for dinner," he said. "Come, Regina."
Reggie looked over at Jack again before leaving, then let herself be dragged away.
Apparently, Jack and the pirates wouldn't be dining with the sailors. A little while after Reggie and her father had left, the motley crew of pirates came up around Jack and all stood against the railing. Davies handed Jack a piece of bread, and he ate it still looking out to sea.
"So, what's this Port Royal place we're going to?" he asked.
"I hear it's crawling with the royal navy," Harris said, a sarcastic tone on the last words.
"Wonderful," another crew member groaned.
"So we'll have to keep a low profile," Harris said.
"We won't stay for long," William said. "Make way for Tortuga."
Jack hadn't wondered why they hadn't waited on the island for a ship to take them to Tortuga. He knew that the rest of the crew had wanted to get out of that place as much as he had.
**
Jack woke up the next morning, sleepily thinking he was still aboard the Voyager. Then he remembered they were aboard the Lady Rose, a merchant sailor's ship making for Port Royal.
He got up, realizing he was the first of the pirate crew to be awake. He made his way up to the deck, soon to realize the only other ones who were awake were the sailor from before (he was the Captain, Jack had figured out by now), and the annoying girl from the day before, Reggie.
Jack was about to turn around and go straight back to the bunks, but he was caught. He rolled his eyes as Reggie came toward him.
"'Morning," she said.
"'Morning'," Jack repeated sarcastically.
He was starting to go back down to the bunks again, but she was relentless.
"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"
Jack sighed.
"Listen, Jack," she said. Good, she's finally getting to the point, Jack thought. "I want to talk to you."
Jack groaned slightly, and turned around to face her. There's no avoiding it, he thought. "Fine," he said. "What is it?"
Reggie smiled. "Come on," she said, and led him to the stern.
He waited for her to bring something up, which she did in a little while.
"What's it really like? Being a… pirate?" She said the last word with a certain eagerness in her voice, or even longing.
"Why do you want to know?" Jack said, casting a glance at her frilly dress and overall prissy appearance.
"Because," Reggie said. "I wish I could be one. No rules, no people constantly expecting you to be…"
"Tell me about yourself," Jack interrupted her, just to get her off talking about him.
"Well," Reggie said. "My name's Regina Katherine Wellington. I'm twelve years old, but almost thirteen. How old are you, anyway?" She looked at him curiously.
"Fourteen," Jack said. "Almost fifteen."
"You seem older," Reggie noted. "Anyway-" Jack was glad she wasn't pressing the issue- "-I'm from there." She pointed back to the island they'd set sail from, which was shrinking in the distance. "This is the first time my father – you met him – took me on his ship."
"Why?" Jack asked.
"Well, my mother died a month ago," Reggie said, casting her eyes down.
Her words screeched through him. He hadn't been bargaining for that. Just "Oh-my-name-is-so-and-so-and-I'm-so-and-so-years-old", stuff like that. Now what was he supposed to do?
"Sorry," he mumbled with not a trace of the sarcastic tone he'd given to Reggie before.
"Not like it's your fault," Reggie said, looking back up at Jack, who was looking at her in turn. "She was sick for a long time. We sort of saw it coming anyway. Not like it was a surprise…"
Jack saw Reggie's eyes water, and he felt kind of guilty, though he didn't have anything to do with the reason she was crying. Jack had a fleeting thought of telling the girl about what happened when he was six, but it was quickly gone.
Jack sighed. He shouldn't have agreed to talk to the girl. Now she was crying and making him feel bad. He had to get her off of the subject.
"So, you want to know what it's like being a pirate?" he ventured.
Reggie nodded, her eyes lighting up again. "Have you ever found, like, buried treasure or anything?"
"I guess you don't know much about pirates…" Jack mumbled.
"But you've found treasure, right?" Reggie kept at it.
"Sure. We've 'found' treasure." Jack didn't want to recount all of the Voyager's crew's methods of "finding" treasure – after all, this girl could just tell her daddy, who could just report the lot of them to the royal navy once they arrived in Port Royal…
"But what's it like?" Reggie persisted. "The freedom? Living on the sea? Everything!"
How could Jack possibly explain to the girl what the freedom of the ocean was? How could he explain being at the bow and looking out at the horizon, feeling like you could just reach out and touch it, and wanting to. How could he explain looking at the horizon and realizing how endless the ocean is, just… belonging with her, the sea, the ship. He started to say something, but felt like he was violating something, like his relationship with the sea was too intimate a thing to just blurt out to someone he didn't even know.
"I can't explain," he said finally. "It's just... freedom..."
Reggie looked him straight in the eyes. The eye contact was making Jack uncomfortable, so he turned back to the sea.
"I wish…" she sighed. And in that instant Jack suddenly knew how she felt. He knew what it was like to be trapped, after all.
"Mostly everyone spends their whole lives wishing," he said. "But some do something about it." He paused, then turned back to Reggie, looked her straight in the eyes and added, "Savvy?"
Reggie smiled slightly, but her expression was kind of sad. "Thanks. For telling me what it's like," she said quickly, before turning and walking away.
**
Jack milled about the ship with the rest of the crew during the day. They had no jobs to do, which felt odd considering they'd never been on a ship without multiple jobs to do. The merchant sailors didn't talk to them unless they absolutely had to, and even then the sailors made sure it was quick.
Jack was thinking about what he'd said to Reggie that morning. He didn't know why he'd said it. It didn't seem like something Jack was likely to say, and especially not to someone he'd just met. But somehow it'd just... come out when he'd seen the longing in the girl's eyes. By her fancy outfits, her neatly done-up hair, and her overall small appearance and delicate features, Reggie was the farthest thing from a pirate. But by her eyes…
Jack sighed. It wasn't his business, Reggie and her well-off life. She'd grow up, forget about pirates and forget about the sea, marry some rich guy and bring up her kids to be just like their parents. No, the girl really wasn't of Jack's concern.
**
The next day was pretty much the same, but Jack was just enjoying being aboard the ship. That was all he needed, he knew it: the ocean waves rocking the ship, the boundless sea, the horizon. He wished he could steer the ship, navigate them to a new place. He knew how to steer and how to navigate, but he'd never done it. It was just a job for the Captain, or the first-mate.
Reggie didn't talk to Jack for the whole day. She mostly just stayed at the stern, watching as her home shrunk out of view for the first time. But if she happened to pass Jack, she smiled at him quickly, but it was gone almost before it'd come.
Jack was relieved that Reggie didn't seem to want to talk to him anymore. He wouldn't know what to say if she brought up her mother again; he wanted to avoid it. Also he wasn't comfortable with her prodding him for information about piracy. He'd realized the night before that she could've just been trying to get information for her father or something; it could have all been a scam, a search for a reason to turn them into the royal navy in Port Royal.
But for some reason, Jack doubted it. Which was why, by afternoon the third and final day that Jack and the other crew members would spend on board the Lady Rose, he let Reggie walk up to him when he was standing at the bow. He expected she'd start talking again, but she didn't. She just stood next to him as both of them watched Port Royal come closer.
Jack didn't feel the need to say anything, and apparently neither did Reggie. It was kind of intimate, the both of them standing there at the bow of the Lady Rose, a pirate boy and a high-society girl both thinking the same thoughts of freedom, except Jack had the freedom he'd always longed for, and Reggie didn't. But Jack understood, though he'd never admit relating to the girl. In the few days after the sinking of the Voyager, he'd felt like his freedom had been taken away. Though, he knew that he wouldn't be trapped forever. Reggie, on the other hand...
But whatever the future would be, Reggie was still a girl then, a girl who hadn't completely given in to society and its expectations for her. And Jack could just let her be and let her dream while she still could, because soon enough she'd be getting laced into a corset and being told to act like a lady. Jack Sparrow didn't have to be the one who shattered the girl's dreams, after all.
And, there was a certain trust between the two of them. Jack didn't know why, but he trusted that Reggie wouldn't tell her father about the illegal deeds that Jack had participated in. And Reggie must've trusted Jack
Evening came, and the Lady Rose docked at Port Royal. The pirates were making to disembark, and Thomas motioned to Jack. He nodded to Reggie and made to leave.
"Wait," Reggie said. She outstretched her hand and placed something in Jack's. He looked down, noticing that it was a red bead from the center of Reggie's necklace. He looked back up at Reggie.
"We both know, it'll very well be that the only time I'll ever see you again is if you try to rob me or something when I'm older," Reggie said. "But I'll never forget the pirate who told me about freedom."
Jack smirked slightly. "And I won't forget the annoying girl who wouldn't leave me alone," he said. But, near the coin from the Voyager, he wove the bead into his hair.
Reggie was smiling. Her hand brushed Jack's slightly, and she blushed. Jack spun around and left the Lady Rose without looking back.
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A/N: Thank you again to the reviewers! :D A thank you to Krillball6, who wrote "I think in the next chapter or maybe sometime later Jack should tell someone what happened to him and maybe someone else had the same thing happen to them. Then he's not alone." That gave me the idea for Jack and Reggie's conversation. :) And just in case you're wondering, I don't think I'll make Reggie into Jack's love interest or anything later on in the story. But who knows... if I can come up with something original enough... *wink wink* :}
P.S.... Review? ;)