*Disclaimer*: I don't own Jack. I own every single little tiny thing other than Jack though. Don't steal my people and don't steal my names. Don't steal my ships either, or I'll have your head. On a spear. Covered in honey. In a bear den. Muah.
^Lil Note^: I. Have. WRITER'S BLOCK! And it's EVIL! UGH! I know exactly what's supposed to happen in this chapter but I don't know/want to write it. I just feel like blah again. Like blah blah blah, I don't feel like doing this, but I almost want to, but I almost don't… Blah. So, if this chapter sucks or seems watery (pardon the pun you will recognize later), forgive me.
The water was cold and Lee almost sucked it in at the shock of the temperature. As she surfaced she gasped and stared past the swelling blackness looking for Jack. She felt a hand grasp her own and turned to see his face obscured by his wet hair. Her legs kicked furiously to keep her afloat, but she knew she should be as quiet as possible. Even in darkness things can be seen, especially if you hear them first. Once she had adjusted to the water she began stroking her arms and kicking her legs, moving along swiftly and smoothly. As the Imbrium passed the crew ducked behind various tossed crates and barrels, just incase they might be seen.
Albert peered over the ship into the dark water beneath. Pieces of a broken crate were slapped against the ship's hull as the water splashed up as well. A fish snapped at a soggy biscuit.
"She's lightening the ship." He chuckled, and the noise would have made anyone uneasy. "Stupid wench."
Albert felt powerful. He stood at the bow of one of the fastest ships in the Atlantic. Orientale was only a few hundred yards away. She didn't stand a chance.
"/You/ don't stand a chance." Albert hissed.
Mare Imbrium drifted smoothly beside Mare Orientale, and the anchor was dropped as the men held their ropes tightly. They swung onto the ship and scattered about the deck, turning their heads swiftly in all directions, swords drawn and pistols cocked. A few men ventured cautiously below deck, kicking open the cabin doors and peering into every room. They came back on deck with their swords dragging behind.
It was empty. The ship was completely… empty.
A biscuit sailed through the night and collided with Albert's ear, sending crumbs flying in all directions. It plopped on the floor and Albert stomped it with one foot, then looked up as he swiped at the crumbs in his ear. Booker stood from his position on the only remaining crate, and laughed inwardly at the fact that they hadn't even noticed him there. Granted he was in a dark corner, but what kind of guards /were/ these? Certainly different from him. He propped one leg up on the crate and rested an elbow on his knee, biting into an apple casually.
"Ya just wasted a perfectly good biscuit, mate. Better expect to pay for it."
Albert's lips tightened and twisted in the most comical way. Poor man was so angry. So angry he could just throw his baby spoon on the floor. A man standing beside Albert growled and lunged at Booker with his sword.
And so the game begins.
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It had been hours. Hours of kicking and stroking and choking. Lee could hardly breath and she felt like every time she exhaled her ribs could just collapse. Finally she let her arms and legs go limp. Jack stopped and tried to pull her forward, urging her to keep going.
"Ah, come on, luv. Ya can't be tired already!" Jack said in puffs of voice. He was tired as well, but he wouldn't let her know that.
Lee winced and shook her head. "Ja--" She spat out the water that had so pleasantly decided to splash into her mouth. "I…" She coughed. "I can't, Jack."
"Yes ya can, luv, now come on." Jack put his arm around her and tried to swim for them both. "Yer dead weight, ya gotta help me out here."
Lee moaned and tried kicking her legs a bit, but they were sore and it hurt to move them. Her arms felt heavy and useless, but she tried her best to keep stroking. Jack watched her carefully and she seemed to be alright now.
"Ya got it?"
"Yeah" She huffed. Jack let go.
"No!" Lee squeaked as she sunk below the water. Jack dove a hand down and grabbed her shirt, pulling until he could get an arm around her waist. Lee jerked her head out of the water and coughed, squeezing her eyes shut as the salt burned them horribly. It hurt to open them, and all there was to see was darkness so she kept them shut. She relied on Jack to guide her. She could feel him try to propel them forward, but they would just drift back again. It was her fault. It wasn't just her arms that were heavy and useless, it was her.
/That's enough Lee./ She told herself. /Get yer damn self together. Get yerself together ya lazy wench and MOVE./
With a furious burst of energy Lee pushed away from Jack (who stared at her with a quite perplexed expression) and began forcing herself through the water. The rush didn't last long, and eventually Jack was dragging her along again. Don't you hate it when you want to do something, but your body won't/can't let you? So does Lee.
Finally the crew felt the sand swirling around their feet as they scrambled to find their footing. They crept from the water like zombies, their clothes heavy and dripping. Lee couldn't stand, she tried and tripped over herself and went face first into the water. Jack pulled her up and she crawled onto the shore on her hands and knees. Jack pulled her up on the sand until she was completely out of the water, and she rolled over on her back and sighed deeply. Jack coughed the salt water from his throat and rested an elbow on his propped up knee. Lana put her arms behind her, stretching her legs out and leaning her head back as if she was basking in the sun. The rest of the crew was sprawled out in various positions like they'd been shot. They were all breathing hard, some coughing and hacking up the salt that burned their throats. No one spoke, or moved for that matter, and Lee didn't like it. Her fingers dug into the muddy turf and scraped a handful of squishy sand into her palm. She brought the mud to her forehead and slapped it on, giving a relieved sigh. The complete oddness and randomness of this act sent the crew into a delightful laughter. That was better.
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The crew found their way to the nearest Inn, after trying to wash themselves of the mud caked onto their clothes as best they could. They were still sopping wet, which got them weird glances from the Innkeeper, but rooms to sleep in nonetheless. The first thing Lee did was shut herself in the privy with a basin of warm water and a sponge. She was salty, she was muddy, and she was cold. Nothing a nice sponge bath wouldn't cure.
The water sent a warm sensation through Lee's body as it drizzled over her skin, and she could see the dried drops of mud dissolve and slide away. She took great care making sure her body was completely clean. For some reason she couldn't stand the thought of having dirt on right now, although usually it never bothered her. Once she made sure not one grain of sand marred her tanned skin, she rinsed the salt from her hair and squeezed the excess water out.
Clean.
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Lee sat on the edge of the bed looking down at her bare feet. Her shoes had been kicked off in the long swim, but she hadn't noticed until she got to the shore. She'd have to buy new shoes.
/But I liked my old shoes…/
Jack came beside her and swept her feet off the floor and swung her around so she was laying on the bed. He leaned over her and kissed her gently. She looked up at him and smiled slightly, and tilted her head up to his next kiss. Jack hopped over her legs and laid on the bed, supported his head with one hand. Lee turned so her back was facing him and he draped the other arm over her waist. She sighed and used one finger to draw an imaginary picture in the sheets. Jack watched the movement of her hand and concluded that she was drawing a ship.
"He'll be alright, luv."
She stopped. "I know." Her mouth moved as if she would say something else, but instead she shut it tightly. Jack brought his hand up and caressed her cheek softly.
"That was too close, Jack."
Jack didn't say anything, he just listened and tried his best to calm her. A bit of rum would make her right happy, but he decided that wasn't the best solution right now.
"I hate my father. I always have. He couldn't ever say one thing good about me. I always needed improvement, and nothin' I did was ever good enough. He had everythin' planned for me, and when I strayed from that plan even in the slightest degree he would slap me back on track. Quite literally."
Jack's forehead wrinkled. "He beat ya?" He said in a monotone voice. Lee laughed slightly.
"Hardly. But he wouldn't hesitate to slap my cheek when he was angry with me. Which was often, but mostly when we had guests over , and he wouldn't ever touch me when people could see."
Jack nodded and his lips tightened as if he was angry or in deep thought.
"Lana was my chambermaid's daughter. I had heard my maid talkin' of her daughter one day, but I never saw her because she wasn't allowed outside the kitchen." Lee gave Jack a sideways glance. "My father didn't want me associatin' with the 'raggedy girl'. I ventured to the kitchen one day, though, and met her for the first time. She was the first real friend I had, and I didn't give a dead rat's left foot about her being 'lower' than me."
Jack laughed slightly and moved closer to Lee, resting his head on her shoulder.
"And then Booker…" Lee blinked slowly and smiled. "He was the guard captain. I remember, hell, I musta been not but five years old when I went skippin' round the courtyard and saw him standin' there like a statue. I skittered right up to him and bounced up in his face, waving my hand trying to get some kinda movement out of him."
"So ya've always been as irritatin' as ya are now?" Jack said jokingly. Lee flung a hand blindly behind her shoulder, attempting to slap Jack playfully.
"Well, apparently I was irritatin' enough. I saw his eyes shift down to me and I froze. I remember feeling scared right then, because I realized just how big he was. He must've seen my face go white as a ghost because he smiled at me."
"Well the smile would've scared me off right then." Jack said, remembering how odd Booker had looked last time Jack saw him smile. Lee laughed and nodded.
"Yeah, but after a while I started followin' him around the estate. He would tell me stories of pirates he had fought and places he had been when he was stationed on a navy ship. He taught me how to defend myself, although he wouldn't let me handle a real weapon. I had a favorite stick I would practice with." Lee giggled at her own statement and Jack chuckled.
"It just made me feel good, I felt happy for once. Like I wasn't obligated be someone I just… wasn't."
Lee paused, and turned to face Jack. "I felt like I actually had someone that cared about me, and not what others thought of me. Honestly… I felt like I had a father."
A wave of sadness flooded over Lee and she close her eyes and breathed deep. Jack continued to caress her arm soothingly as he kissed her cheek. "It'll be alright."
Lee nodded and opened her eyes, and they glistened with unwept tears. "He helped me escape. He had been fired, supposedly for corruptin' me with his pirate stories and stick-fightin'.
Jack laughed. "Well we all know how dangerous stick-fightin' is, luv. And those pirates, they aren't ones to be tampered with, I'll tell ya that."
The joke brought a little happiness to Lee and she smiled, but it quickly faded. "The last thing my father wanted was for me to turn into more of a rogue than I already was. I was sentenced to being locked in my room most of the day. My chambermaid was fired as well, and she and Lana were banished from the estate. My home of nearly fifteen years had suddenly become a prison. I was being suffocated by my own walls and treated like a criminal. I was so frustrated I could barely breath."
Jack wrinkled his forehead and nodded. "Sounds like a prison alright. Bein' shoved in there when yer completely innocent."
"It didn't last long." Lee said coldly.
"Oh?"
"Booker would never leave me locked away. He risked his life for me when he broke into the mansion and picked the lock on my door. I followed him to the docks where we met up with Lana. That was when I first saw her."
Jack quirked and eyebrow. "Lana?"
"No. The Mare Imbrium. I had heard my father brag of his great ship. 'Fastest in the Atlantic!' she was. I would have given my right eye to be able to take that ship."
"Then why didn't ya, luv?"
"Ya insane? She was guarded at every angle you could possibly imagine. No, we didn't get to take her. Instead we settled on Orientale. She wasn't as big or as fast, but she was faithful. There wasn't a storm that ship couldn't pass through. I know we've braved quite a few with her."
Jack nodded "Aye, she was a good ship."
"She was. Never thought she'd end up as a pirate's ship, though." Lee chuckled. "But after I heard the stories of pirates, especially a particular character called Jack Sparrow, who most couldn't decide if he was the best or worst pirate they ever saw, I couldn't resist the temptation."
"And so ya became a pirate."
Lee nodded. "And I lived happily ever after. Until my original inspiration fell back into my life and threatened to ruin it all."
"Hope yer not talkin' 'bout me, luv."
"Oh no, of course not." Lee shifted her eyes sideways and jack kissed her cheek. "Well, enough of my sob story. I'd appreciate it if ya wouldn't tell anyone."
"Promise." Jack said with a sarcastically serious expression.
"Good. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get to sleep sometime tonight."
Jack laughed slightly and pulled the blanket over Lee's shoulders, resting his head beside hers. Lee somehow felt relieved now that she'd told Jack her story. But she was still worried for Booker, and what the future held for all of them.
^Note^: Ugh, okay this chapter has been a MAJOR bitch. First of all, it's taken me probably 5 freakin days to write this and YESTERDAY I added a bunch to it and guess what? The power goes out. Yeah, I lost all that good stuff I had written. But it all sucked and I like this version better anyway. I just… ERG I hate this chapter. See, this part in my mind was sort of a gray area. It was originally a bunch of flashes of scenes and things. I don't like that she just confessed her whole story because it seems like a classic "runaway, oh feel sorry for me" thing. Jack is falling hopelessly out of character and things are just crumbling. I THINK the next chapter will be somewhat better because I know what's actually supposed to happen, but then there's a hole. A small hole, but a hole. And then we have a little something and then a BIG hole. I mean huge, giant, monstrosity of a hole. After that we have a huge burst of drama. But this chapter sucks, I'm sorry, at least it explains her past, blah blah. Feel free to hate it and throw it at my face.
