A boat with my name on it - by Cunien

Disclaimer: Jack Sparrow belongs to no man but himself! Anamaria belongs to no man either - not even Jack. And the Jolly Mon belongs to Anamaria. Not Jack.

Warning: here be mild cockney swearing as befits a dodgy geezer like Jack Sparrow.

Thank you so so very wondrously much for your reviews - they are such an encouragement and really make my day - and my days need making at the moment, because everything's a little bit stressful.

It's nice to be reminded that the world isn't really full of people intent on making you feel small and worthless, and there is still kindness out there. I was beginning to think it had gone out of fashion or something.

Chapter 6 - Chivalry

The oars.
The oars were missing the next morning.

Drastic measures were called for.

I spent the whole day in a bush opposite where the Jolly Mon was moored, never tearing my eyes from Anamaria and the boat.

Well, except for a few minutes around midmorning when I popped out for something to drink.

When I got back there was no bleeding centreboard, and my poor dear had been reduced to nothing but a floating hunk of wood.

My anger was at such dizzying heights that I only took one sip of rum and put the bottle away in my coat pocket. I have very large pockets for just such a purpose. Besides, I was intent on stalking Anamaria and making sure she didn't mutilate my boat any further, and needed to be sober for this.
Well, a degree of sobriety anyway.

So I sit there all bleeding day right, bored out of my skull and desperately trying to resist the temptation to have a glug of the bottle of rum in my pocket. I had the sneaking suspicion that Anamaria knew I was watching. She seemed to take extraordinarily long amounts of time to do small tasks on the dock. I think I even saw her do the same thing two or three times, as though wasting time. Twice she left the boat for a second, and me, thinking the cost was clear, nearly lept out of the bushes. But she was always nearby, never letting the Jolly Mon out of her sights.
Maybe she wasn't as careless, or naive, as I'd first thought.

By sunset I had become quite comfortable in my little bush. I spend a lot of time in the undergrowth, I'm sure you've noticed. It was one of those big, rambling shrubs, with large pink flowers and sticky sap everywhere. Inside it was almost hollow, and perfect for skulking. There was only one easy way in and out that I'd found - trying to get in anywhere other than this tiny hidden gap would have half your skin and your eyes out on the sharp twigs.

I made a mental note of the bushes whereabouts and where the concealed entrance was. This place would be handy for any time I had to sleep rough in Tortuga, which was more often than not. I was considering the possibility of constructing a little shack inside the hedge - just some kind of roof, maybe a tarpaulin would do, strung across the inside of the bush for when it rained. I could even clear a little space in the canopy for a chimney, for cold nights and cooking.

I have to admit I got a bit caught up in the possibilities for my little den, and the Jolly Mon left my mind for a while. When I looked back up and paid attention, the sun was going down and Anamaria was nowhere to be seen.

Damn.

What? I have a short attention span, if you must know.

So mindless of my little entrance in and out of the bush, I tear my way through with a shriek of outrage.

Well, partly it was outrage, and partly it was because those twigs are really sharp.

My hair got a bit caught up in the branches for a while. Felt like I left half of it there when I finally ripped myself away.
Luckily for me, when I came stumbling out I could just make out Anamaria, walking away from the dock back up to Courtesan bank.

So naturally, I follow her. And I can tell you that this kind of thing does come naturally to me.

Lucky I did really, though she still won't admit that I came in handy.

I saw the blokes moving up behind her before she even knew they were there.

Now, you might think this thing happens all the time in Tortuga, where there's no law except Pirate's code, and even then no one to enforce it - no one to answer back when someone says Yeah? Why don't you just come over ere and make me.

But you'd be surprised, because there is honour among thieves after all.
Well, sometimes.

The thing is, sights like this are common enough to send almost any Tortugan who might be passing scurrying off and swearing they hadn't seen a thing.

It was getting darker by the minute now as the sun set, and the men were no more than 5 shadows that detached themselves from the trees to the right of the road.

Big shadows. Very big shadows.

Now I've told you about Pirate's odds before, ain't I? They're not at all like Fool's odds. They're always against you, but coming out on top is what separates the cabin boys from Captains.

The shadowy men circled Anamaria before she had a chance to leg it, and there was nothing for me to do but run like hell up the hill towards them.

Here's a pretty one eh? The wind carried the leering voice down the hill towards me.
A pretty hedge whore mate. laughed another.
Yeah, what's the going rate luv, for the full works?

Anamaria spat at the man and he lunged at her angrily as the others laughed. He'd wrestled her to the ground, before one of them signalled, and two men pulled him off her.

Ain't that the one you were looking for? asked someone.

One of the men nodded and spat on the floor like he had something nasty tasting in his mouth.

That's the one. Alright Ana? You've been lying pretty low I hear.
They all chuckled at this.

Lucky for you I ain't been in Tortuga for a while. But now I'm back, and you owe me.

Kennedy - I don't have any money so you can bugger off! she yelled angrily, picking herself up off the floor.

I was still running, but too far away to do anything.

Well then, I'll just have to take back my boat. That was the deal - no money, no boat.

This made me really angry.
His boat? His?!?

My bloody boat!!

I ran faster, and with an roar of outrage I jumped on Kennedy.

Now, looking back, this probably wasn't the wisest thing to do. There were 5 of them, and 1 of me.
And each of them were 2 times the size of me - and if you look at it that way I was actually facing about 10 men.

Pirate's or Fool's odds? To this day I couldn't tell you.

But really, what else could I have done?

So there I am, looking a right fool, hanging on to Kennedy's back and trying to punch him in the face at the same time, which is damn hard I can tell you.
I resorted to fighting like a girl.

Don't tell Anamaria I said that. But it's true.

I pulled his hair and gouged at his eyes. At one point I had my fingers up his nostrils and was pulling as hard as I could.

Of course I wasn't on there long before his henchmen pulled me off and proceeded to beat me to a pulp.

They left Anamaria alone though, so even afterwards when I felt like my face was falling off and my stomach and been kicked right through, I did feel rather proud.

It was probably the only chivalrous thing I've ever done.

TBC..

Sorry to leave it there. Is this a shorter chapter than usual? I don't know, but I wanted to leave something for the next, which I'm informed is the last chapter.

To official ship's Barnacle Jackfan2 - thanks for your lovely reviews! It's so nice that I've been recommended by someone!

Rat- Thankyou for recommending me! Ooh it's almost like I'm famous! As I understand it (though I'm probably wrong), Quartermaster's are in charge of all the supplies and stuff. We all have to be nice to you because you're in charge of doling out the rum. Except me, I don't have to be nice to anyone, because I'm Captain. Hehe. But I will be nice to you, or you might maroon me.

Simply Sara - I'll get a pirate copy as long as the piracy in question is committed by Jack!


Cal - Yes, Jack takes his profession seriously, and you can't be a pirate unless you drink rum and sleep around. But I must point out that he didn't actually get that far with the maid - just a bit of canoodling you know.
It feels quite strange that I know these details

Elderberry - Yes, rum in every chapter!

Storm13/Sophie - french homework? Now Jack had nothing against the French, though their food doesn't agree with him, but unless you yourself are French, he wonders what right they have to be setting you homework eh?

And to anyone else thankye, you've hearts of gold every last one of you and you may lay to that!