ProChapter Author's Notes: First off, I'd like to say a big thank you to my first 5 reviewers. Thanks a bunch, you're advice and encouragement is really inspiring! Also, as I've received your request to make the chapters longer, I feel obliged to comment on that. I wish I HAD made them longer, and right now I want to be consistent and not have some chapters shorter and the rest much longer. Instead, I'll try to post more chapters faster. I'm having a hard time with that because of high school getting in the way, but I promise to do my best and post more often. I'll try to get the chappies a bit longer, too, if I can. Oh yeah... if you read the story and have comments, questions, or (heaven forbid!) even PRAISE, don't hesitate to review! I loooooooove reviews! ^_________^ Okay, on with the show! In this chapter, they reach Tortuga and some bad stuff happens to our poor Jack. Thank goodness Will is there to help her, huh? Oh yeah, and this is the chapter that raised the rating from PG-13 to R, and it only gets more R- ish from here. Heh heh heh... ^_^

~Chapter Four~
*"A Strumpet to Play With"*

Jack was the first one up that morning. She stood at the helm of her prized ship, eyes staring unseeingly at the ocean before her. She ran a hand across the railing but stopped in midmotion. Her hand spread out before her, she looked at it again. It was still her's, and yet it wasn't. It was so small and delicate, much like Elizabeth's. Her rings were no longer adorning her fingers, as they were too big now. She sighed and looked back to the sun that had just barely risen, the sky still a beautiful orange.
Will had been watching her much of the time. She had rolled up the sleeves of her white shirt and tied the front in a knot due to its size, showing a small bit of her midsection (and still quite a bit of her cleavage, as well). Her pants were held up by the same tight belt they were the night before, and she had found a way to tie her oversized boots in place. She had abandoned her hat after finding it too big, but still wore her read head wrap. He walked silently up onto the helm and stood beside her, looking out over the ocean. Neither turned their eyes to each other nor spoke. Will inwardly felt odd standing next to the new Jack, now only barely reaching his shoulders. "Beautiful." he commented absently, not intending to be heard.
But Jack did hear. "Aye. It is." she replied. Will was relieved to realize that she thought he had been speaking of the sunrise.
It wasn't long before all the crew had become assembled onboard. Jack never moved off the helm. She didn't want to be seen by them, nor to have to talk to them. She didn't know how they would respond. Would they still respect her? Would they treat her as the captain that she truly was? She didn't know, and she didn't care to feel the humiliation of their eyes again. Will could sense Jack's worry, and never left her side.
The two were undisturbed for a while until Gibbs hesitantly approached the captain. Jack didn't want to turn to face him, so merely regarded him sideways. "Er... Cap'n?" he began. "What are your orders... uh... sir?"
Jack was silent a moment before turning to finally look at the man in the eyes. Will was surprised when he saw the expression on her face. It was Jack's expression, that cocky smirk, one sassy lowered eyebrow, and eyes glowing with determination and the obvious sense of leadership. "Get the anchor up and hoist the sails." she ordered, her voice proud, loud, and strong. "We're headin' fer Tortuga." Will smiled widely to himself at hearing the tone of the 'lady' pirate's voice.
"Aye, Cap'n." Gibbs said with a nod before heading off to help make ready.
Will was still smiling and looking fondly at Jack when the pirate turned back around to face him. "What?" Jack asked. Will suddenly snapped back to reality and shook his head.
"It's nothing, Jack. Nothing at all."
"Glad t'hear it. Now get yer ass t'work, lad." she replied as she took her place behind the wheel. "We've a ship to run."
"What is it you'd have me do, captain?"
"What else is a whelp like you good for?" Jack teased playfully. "Swab the helm, boy."
Will was, for once, more than happy to do the job.

~*~

They arrived in Tortuga that night. Jack had sent her crew through the town on a mission to 1) find out as much about this Badiva's curse as possible and 2) to gather as much rum as they could. It would be both a night of investigation and a night of unwinding.
Will had managed to convince Elizabeth to stay onboard the 'Pearl' with the few crewmembers who had stayed to watch over her. It was not a safe place to be a woman, especially a woman such as Elizabeth. She wanted to help, but finally agreed to stay back.
Jack and Will walked together through the dark, drunk-filled streets. It was just as Will had remembered it. Fights, drinking, and whores on all sides. "Where are we going, exactly?" Will asked his captain.
"To see a man." Jack replied simply. "He was the one who first told me of the gem, so I'm hopin' he can be of further assistance." Will gave a nod of understanding as he followed the pirate.
They stopped outside a small bar, somewhat unoccupied for Tortuga's standards. They stepped in, and halted just a step inside. Jack pointed to a short, chubby man serving drinks behind the counter. "Thass the man." she told Will. "I want ye t'go talk to him, find out EVERYTHING you can and squeeze every last drop of information you can get out of 'im, savvy? Oh, and grab me a rum or two while you're at it."
"Why me?" Will asked.
"Red's not the kind of man who takes kindly to women in 'is bar, nor to take them seriously." Jack explained. "Thass why there ain't many people in this joint. Are ya gonna do it or not, boy?"
Will gave a nod and headed off for the counter. Jack lingered in the doorway, knowing better then to come in and sit down at Red's place. A group of four men began eyeing her and grinning. Jack put a hand on her sword and never let her eye wander off them, which turned out to be a mistake.
A man from behind Jack grabbed her in a bear hug and the four from the table began to laugh. They walked up to the struggling pirate, who was no longer strong enough to simply break free and bash their skulls in.
"Lookie 'ere, boys!" a tall man with short blonde hair addressed the other men with his dark blue eyes on Jack, barely a few inches away from her. "Looks like we got ourselves a little strumpet to play with!" The others laughed and agreed amongst themselves.
"Get yer 'ands off me or I'll TAKE them off." Jack scowled. The men laughed again.
"How do you propose to do that, little lady?" the blonde man said again. He motioned something to the man holding Jack from behind, and he snatched Jack's pistol and sword off her belt and threw them forward onto the tavern floor before releasing her.
Jack immediately turned and took a swing at the man who had been holding her. Her small fist collided with his face and he nearly fell to the ground. Leaning against the wall, the man took note of his bloody nose. "Bitch." he hissed. Jack swore under her breath, knowing that, had she been herself, she could have easily taken him down.
The blonde roughly turned Jack to face him, grinning, and pinned her against the wall. His hands were on each side of her and his chest was nearly touching her's, his face leaned down and so close that she could feel the heat of his breath against her flesh. "Feisty little thing, are we?" he half-whispered sadistically.
Jack made a move to push the man back, but he pressed his body close against her's and she became very hopelessly trapped. "Get lost, you bloody dog." she growled, trying to be intimidating.
"Name-calling? Now that hurts my feelings." the blue-eyed man pretended to be pouty, before pinning Jack by her shoulders and licking along the side of her neck to her ear. Jack attempted to kick at him, panicking, and turned her head as far away from him as possible. She thrashed violently.
A short struggle followed, which ended in Jack pinned again, this time on her back on a table with two men holding her down by her arms. The man with blue eyes, pleased with this, reached down and began rubbing his hands under her shirt along her sides.
Jack tried to struggle again, but couldn't move much under their hold. The blonde made quick work of ripping off her shirt and casting it aside, and began licking just below her neck. His hands moved toward her chest, and Jack finally cried out in rage. The blonde muffled her sound by roughly placing his lips over her's.
Will heard and turned from his conversation. He saw Jack pinned topless on the table, and the blonde man practically on top of her, with his mouth over her's and working his tongue forcefully inside it. Now Will cried out in anger, and quickly dashed toward the men.
"Bastards!" Will yelled, leaping at the blonde man and knocking him to the ground. The other men let go of Jack and she sprang up, now sitting on the table. She spun around and punched the nearest man in the throat, and he made a pained choking sound and fell to the floor with a yelp. She jumped off the table and slid across the floor, grabbing her sword.
Two men drew their swords as well, and Jack and them became engaged in a fight. Their blades clashed forcefully against each other, and Jack was astonished to realize how heavy her weapon now felt to her. Finally content with his work on the blonde man, Will pulled out his sword as well and took one of Jack's opponents.
It wasn't difficult for the duo to overpower the men, and they finally ran off swearing into the night. Jack's wrist and arm was bitterly swore from the swordfight, and she wiped her lips where the man's had been with her free arm.
"Jack! Are you all right?!" Will asked concernedly. His eyes were wide upon being reminded of her naked chest.
"I'm fine." Jack said quickly, not meeting Will's eye. She stiffly took her shirt off the ground and resituated it on her, now showing even more of her skin with the large rip the man had put in it.
"I'm so sorry, Jack. I should've---"
"Will! Stop that. I'm fine." Jack insisted again. She retrieved her pistol and put both her weapons back where they belonged. "Thanks." she mumbled. Will could tell she had taken massive blow to her pride.
The pirate walked out of the tavern, Will trailing behind. Jack was stiff and her face was emotionless. When they where back in the open air, Jack turned to Will. "What did you find out?" she asked.
"About what...?" Will had forgotten for a moment, still shaken by what had happened. "Oh! The gem. He says it's from Satugrett, an island about 3 days journey from here. He says there's a temple to Badiva there, or something of that sort."
Jack gave a quick nod. "Right. Then to Satugrett it is." She turned and began walking, Will unsurely behind her. Suddenly, she stopped.
"What?" Will asked.
"You never did get me that drink, did you?"
"Yes, well something came UP."
Jack looked toward a nearby bar (in Tortuga, there's ALWAYS a nearby bar). "Then you still owe me a rum!" The pirate strode in and up to the counter.

~*~

The drunk Jack hobbled alongside Will, her arm around his shoulders. She was laughing and babbling drunkenly on as the blacksmith led her to her ship. She almost tripped once or twice, but Will caught her. Jack had spent half her time in Tortuga drinking and the other half trying to convince WILL to have a drink. He refused all but a tiny sip of her rum, and he had immediately spat it out, coughing and gagging at the terribly strong burning taste. Jack had laughed like a madman... madWOman.
Will was a bit amazed that Jack seemed so unaffected by the early attempt on her at the bar. She had been shaken after realizing, once again, how much less she was capable of defending herself, but other than that she had recovered quickly and had commented (quite drunkly) something about the blonde being cute.
Jack didn't sober up until late into the night, but Will had grown used to her drunken antics. In fact, he found them rather entertaining. They were alone in Jack's cabin, and the captain had begun to hum the pirate song Elizabeth had taught her on the island. She began to hum louder, and looked to Will with a grin as she did. She jumped up suddenly, snatching Will's hands in her's and pulling him up with her, and began to jump up and down with him as she sang loudly and slurredly.
"We're devils and black sheep and really bad eggs! Drink up, me 'earties! YO HO!"
"Jack!" Will couldn't help but laugh as the pirate swung him around her cabin, and eventually out the door and onto the deck. He didn't see anyone present, so he didn't protest. He knew better than to fight a drunk Jack.
"Yo ho, yo ho! A pirate's life for me!" Jack sang, swinging Will one last time. She lost grip of one of his hands and the two stumbled onto the deck together. Will landed on his back, Jack on top of him. The captain was laughing, but it soon trailed off into silence as the two started deep into each other's eyes. Will slowly brought his face closer to Jack's. Closer... closer...
Before he could make contact, Jack clumsily shot to her feet. Will propped himself up on his elbows and looked up at her. They were quiet, before Jack finally gave a hiccup and a chuckle. She waved her arms in the flamboyant way she always did and resumed her singing.
Will stood and watched Jack with a smile. He wondered what had come over him, the way his heart beat faster and he lost his breath when they laid together on the deck. The way he had brought himself forward toward her, the way she pulled back. He sighed and let himself push back his thoughts, as Jack looked dangerously close to falling overboard as she was dancing around on the rail of the ship. He scurried over to her and pulled her down by her hips. She just laughed, pinched his cheek, and hopped back on. It would be a long night indeed, but Will didn't mind so long as he was alone with Jack.
At least, he THOUGHT he was alone. Elizabeth had been standing in the darkness of the stairwell, watching the two with interest. At first she had found it funny and cute, the way Jack was twirling around drunkenly and the way Will was chasing her around. But when they had fallen together and they had gone silent, and Will had looked at her... she started to wonder about her beloved. ~*~

PostChapter Author's Notes: I'm not really sure what the purpose of this chapter actually was. It was mainly to get them some information on the curse, but kind of wound up with some weird happenings. I had planned out most of this chapter, but none of it turned out how I had arranged it to. That's okay... I find the ending, with Jack swinging Will around and singing, pretty cute. =^.^= I know they found the info on the gem really quick, but that's because I kind of want to get things moving. There's much more to this story than just Jack's curse. Next chapter, they set off for Satugrett and... well, you know the drill! Read, review, and wrench! Wait a minute... 'wrench'? Forget that part, that makes no sense. Just read and review. -_-;