Disclaimer: Captain Jack Sparrow, the Black Pearl and her crew, none of them are mine. Much as I might like for the captain to be mine, he's not, and I'll return him to those who do own him in much the same shape I borrowed him in.
Author's Note: Isabella Raven, the Nevermore, her crew, and the other members of the Raven family are mine. So is the song 'Captain of the Nevermore' that Isabella sings, and the verses of poetry that begin each chapter. Oh, and please send reviews to my e-mail: captainisabellaraven@yahoo.com. Thanks!
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To Find a Dying Soul (con't)
Under the hellfire skies of red
Or the darkling deadly storms
Is a soul shining bright
Hidden by icy cold walls
And brave faces of mockery
Lies a dormant soul
~~~
Jack was in a foul mood as the Pearl docked in Tortuga in the thick fog that had followed since that first night, when they'd lost the Nevermore in the blindness of a moonless, foggy night. I'll find that bloody woman and that blasted ship, and damn her, she'll give me back my effects! Bloody, blasted, bedamned woman. His thoughts continued to travel in the same circles they had since he'd lost sight of the Nevermore, and his boots hanging off the stern.
"Cap'n, how long will we be in Tortuga this time?" Gibbs seemed to be the spokesman for the eager crew. Jack could see them all itching to get into port, where they could get drunk, and get a wench...
"I'll find you all when I want to leave, as usual, Gibbs." He stalked off the ship, looking only slightly better than he had when he'd been tossed off the Nevermore, with a pair of boots on his feet, and a belt holding a single, measly knife around his waist. He prowled the docks, peering at each ship to see if he could discover a familiar figurehead...
"Yer verra persistent, I'll give ye tha', Sparrow." Jack whirled to see Isabella leaning against a mooring post, a familiar blade resting on her right hip. It looked quite out of place unless one knew she fought left-handed. "Pr'aps ter persistent. Ye donnae ken what could happen ter ye iffen ye follow a ghost ship."
"It's Captain Sparrow, luv." He smiled grimly. "I want my effects back."
Isabella raised an eyebrow, a slight, sardonic smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "Is tha' all, Sparrow? Ye do ken I took them in payment fer thae havoc ye caused. I tain't givin' them back ter ye."
Jack's eyes darkened, and he took a step towards the pirate woman, and a blade touched the side of his neck, held steady in Isabella's hand.
"Tak' a step closer, an' ye'll be breathin' blood, Sparrow." Her voice was flat, her expression blank except for her eyes, which glittered with a strange combination of emotions Jack couldn't read. He regarded the blade a moment, then shrugged.
"It's my blade, luv. I'd rather not clean it off of my own blood, if you don't mind." He grinned, trying to encourage her to lower the sword so he could regain some control of the situation.
~~~
Isabella let the corner of her mouth lift in a knowing smirk. "Ye tain't be needin' ter do tha', e'en iffen ye do step closer ter me. I be thae one who ha' thae honer o' cleanin' it now, unless ye wish ter become me cabin boy?" She chuckled softly at the expression on his face, one of mingled disgust and amazement that she would suggest such a thing. "I see ye donnae like thae idea. An' ter be honest, it merely be an amusin' idea ter me. Ter see a full-grown man runnin' errands a boy o' twelve be thae one suited fer."
"I don't find it amusing, Captain Raven."
Isabella frowned. "Ye didnae stand on formalities befer. What would make thae infamous Cap'n Sparrow do such a thin'?"
His brown eyes met hers with an unreadable expression. "What game are you playing, Captain Raven? You play by a very odd set of rules, and I am playing blind."
Isabella sighed, suddenly weary, sheathing the sword, though she held up a hand when he took a step closer. "Ye want to ken all? I told ye what ha' happened ter me an' me ship. What I be now, an' why ye cannae find me under thae sun or moon. What mer d'ye want? I cannae tell ye any mer, because there nae be anymer ter tell!" She sighed, shoving past him towards her ship. "Long life ter ye, Cap'n Sparrow. I be hopin' ye ha' better luck than e'er I did."
"You haven't told me everything. You haven't told me all the rules of the game." His voice was low, and Isabella whirled.
"I be not playin' a game, ye bloody fool! I be only tryin' ter find a way out o' thae half-life I be doomed ter fer thae rest o' time. Cannae ye leave me be?" Her eyes blazed with anger, though what lay behind it wasn't something she'd ever admit to. He be nothin' ter me. Nae but some idiot fool o' a man.
~~~
Jack watched Isabella's expression as she spoke, noting the fire in her eyes, not the hell red that they were when she wasn't feeling anything real, but the spitting black that he had seen a few times before. The duel, and on the cliff, when she was threatening the devil himself. Anger, and something more, a spark of interest. He grinned, and Isabella drew back, a frown of confusion on her face.
"What ye be grinnin' at, ye blasted fool?"
"Care for a drink, Isabella?" He offered his arm, and she gave him a suspicious look, taking a step back.
"What ye doin'?"
Jack raised his eyebrows, his eyes widening in a display of mock innocence. "I'm just offering to buy you a drink, luv. No harm in a drink, is there?"
She shook her head, and warily walked with him into Tortuga itself, in search of a relatively decent inn to buy a drink from.
And a room for the night, Jack thought, with a certain amount of glee to it. Finding a place that suited the purpose he had in mind, he swept Isabella into the common room in front of him, and snagged two tankards of rum from a bar wench as he found a newly empty table, and sat the two of them at it.
"Yer up ter sommat, Cap'n Sparrow..."
"Call me Jack."
Isabella eyed him oddly, but she nodded. "Yer up ter sommat, Jack, an' I be wantin' ter know what. An' iffen ye be thinkin' ter seduce me, it takes a lot mer than gettin' me drunk ter do tha'."
Jack merely smiled, taking a healthy swig of his tankard, which he found was full of rum. Whenever it was empty, or Isabella's was, he'd beckon the bar wench over to bring more, until he thought to go over, and ask for a room for the night. He grinned when the owner rolled his eyes, handing him a key.
He stumbled back to Isabella, who had a bit of a grin on her face, and was swaying a bit in her chair as he held out his hand. She smiled, a slight, drunken giggle emerging from her as she took it, pulling herself into a fairly upright position. Jack caught her as she nearly toppled against him, and she looked up at him a moment from where he held her against his chest, sudden horror blooming in her eyes.
She struggled out of his grip, much to Jack's surprise, and backed away from him, suddenly very much sobered. "Nae. Ye dinnae e'er ha' thae sense ter run." Her voice was soft, her expression suddenly very much afraid, as she took the sword off her belt. "Take yer sword, an' donnae follow me nae mer." She spun, and ran, leaving Jack staring after her, his saber held in loose fingers as he tried to figure out what the hell had just happened.
