Mwa ha! Missie is gonna set a record for the fastest creation of a new chapter ever in her writing history! *happy dance*
In other words, folks, here comes chapter seven, a whole....I dunno, lots of time before schedule.
This is all Christine's fault, of course. She told me that she thought I should be able to write at least eight new chapters when I had three days off of school. (I love weekends!) I told her she was smoking green bananas.
However.....
This story is for her, so I decided to try my darndest, and write at least a couple chapters. So here's chapter seven. *sighs*
And I still don't own any pirates. Darn.
***
That night was, suffice to say, not the best one in my life. If I recall correctly, I lay there sobbing on the street for what seemed like hours but was, in reality, probably only about 10 minutes before a nice townsman found me and cut me free. Now, freed from the stupid twisted metal gate, my fist intent was, obviously, to find Christine. But I wasn't stupid, and I did know what was going on, and I knew, better than anyone else, that the lack of cannon fire meant that the Black Pearl was leaving and that there was no way I was going to be able to get to them.
Well, lovely.
Let's see...what would the next course of action be? Find Jack/Will/Norrington/some other angsty man going after Elizabeth and follow. Okay.....
That was somewhat easier said than done.
First: Jack was still in prison, and until Will springs him sometime tomorrow, there wasn't any way of getting to him.
Second: Will was currently laying on the street, unconscious. I should know. I was, at that very moment, sitting on the cobblestones beside his still body. He's quite attractive when he's comatose, y'know. So it wasn't even like I could ask him to spring Jack out early.
Third: Norrington was currently attempting to protect his fort. He'd be planning to rescue Elizabeth in a couple hours, and there is no way he'd want to take a hysterical teenager along.
Fourth: Well....I was a stranger here. Nobody's going to take me along just on my word, and certainly not while I'm running around in a nightgown and a ripped and otherwise mutilated housecoat. I'd have to be creative.
In the darkness of the night, despite everything that had/was happening, despite Will unwillingly sleeping beside me, despite my tattered clothes, despite the burning and ravaged town, despite the soot that streaked my face, I grinned.
I could be creative.
***
You know what? I had kept reading these fanfics where a teenaged girl much like myself gets herself somehow sent into the movie, much like the circumstance Christine and I had found ourselves in. However, in many of these stories, the characters had to fend for themselves when it came to clothing and the like, and they always managed to get their corsets on all by themselves.
And you know what?
It's bloody impossible!
Ever wondered why all those old pictures had one woman holding onto the bedpost while a servant or her sister or mother or someone pulled on the strings to make it tight? That's because that's practically the only way to get those things tight enough. And as I had found myself alone in the Governor's house, the pirates gone and the maids fled to the fort, this was going to be rather difficult.
And that was why I was standing in the middle of Elizabeth's bedroom, a corset around my waist, the strings on the back tied to the bedpost. I leaned forward, trying to pull the strings tight. This would be a rather embarrassing situation to be in, should anyone have walked into the room.
It took me a good deal longer to get the corset tightened this way than it ever would have had I had help, and it certainly wasn't as tight as it had been earlier. But beggars can't be choosers, and so I struggled to get that blue dress back on myself. I had to do some sucking in to get the dress all the way buttoned up, but it was on. Pulling on a pair of Elizabeth's walking slippers, I headed for her dressing table.
Tackling my hair with Elizabeth's brush, my mind was free to wander. It had seemed like a good idea when I first came up with it - dressing up like a proper 18th century young lady, and sweet-talking my way onto the Interceptor. But now that I thought of it, it seemed rather....ridiculous. Really, how was I going to be able to pull that off? It was just hopeless.
I slammed the brush down on the table, with enough force to send one of the bottles of perfume adorning it toppling over the edge. It shattered on the wooden floor, releasing clouds of sweet smelling fragrance. I stood, hands resting heavily on the table, my fists shaking. I couldn't give up. I couldn't! Christine needed me! She had no idea what was going on, and now there wasn't even a chance that I could explain anything to her!
I shook my head fiercely, then slowly sat back down. "You can do this," I murmured to myself, trying to calm down. "You've done stupid things before. You'll get this figured out. Christine needs you." My fingers strayed up to the medallion still hanging around my neck. And besides all that, I still needed to find out what was going on with this medallion.
Smiling grimly, I nodded to myself. I can do this.
Man, that perfume reeked.
***
It wasn't particularly easy, sneaking around town in a dress with more underskirts than any person in their sane ming should be wearing, a corset, and rigid, buckle-up shoes. In fact, it was downright difficult, and had I not left the mansion before sunrise, I never would have found the prison before Will and the Commodore had their spat and Will ran to release the pirate captain.
The prison was rather dark and disturbing. Had I not seen the movie and visited that old keep back home, I would have been shocked enough to....I don't know, but definitely not just march down the stairs, ignoring the fact that there were no guards at the moment and acting as though I was supposed to be there. And so I strode down the stairs as well I could, holding my skirts up (but not showing more than my ankles - I knew what kind of rumors would start spreading about me here if I didn't) and my head high.
As I entered the main body of the prison, there were three things that immediately caught my eye. One was the large hole in the wall of one cell, and the sunlight streaming in through it. Second was the splintered bone that stuck out of the keyhole on the cell beside it. Third was the pirate laying on the floor of said cell, hat over his eyes.
"Jack Sparrow." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
No answer.
"Jack Sparrow." I repeated.
There came a grunt from the - apparently - sleeping pirate, and his mouth moved enough to say, "Captain."
I sighed. I really didn't have time for games. Much as I would have loved to trade banter with the absolutely most sexies-uh, that is, the pirate, I really didn't have that kind of leisure time. "Captain Jack Sparrow."
Finally, he moved, reaching a hand up to lift the hat just off his face, and he opened one eye. "Ah yes. The clumsy maid on the street."
I flushed, and tried to hide it. "Captain."
"Your smithy suggestion got me arrested, you realize." he said, dropping the hat back over his eyes and putting his hand back behind his head.
"I know." I said shortly, trying to get his attention again. "Look, I need your help. My friend has been....kidnapped. By the Black Pearl."
He let out a grunt, pretending to ignore me, but I was pretty sure I'd gotten his attention.
"I know you know where they berth," I said, his inattention starting to get on my nerves. Now I knew how Will felt. "I need your help."
"And why should I-"
Whatever Jack had been about to say was cut off by the sound of someone thundering down the stone stairs. A moment later, Will burst into the prison, and stopped dead when he saw me.
"Good morning," I said, attempting to be polite.
"You're the ship-wrecked girl." he said, matter-of-factly. Jack, I noticed, pleased, lifted his hat up enough to look at me again, though I don't think Will noticed that.
"Yes. Now. Can you please talk some sense into him?" I asked, waving a hand at the - now 'sleeping' again - pirate.
Will glanced over at Jack, then nodded once. "You, Sparrow!"
Jack didn't look up. "Aye."
"You are familiar with that ship, the Black Pearl?"
Jack shrugged. "I've heard of it."
Will scowled. "Where does it make berth?"
The pirate laughed lightly. "Two in one morning what are the chances?" Then he reached up to lift the hat a little. "Where does it make berth? Have you not heard the stories? Captain Barbossa and his crew of miscreants sailed from the dreaded Isla de Muerta. It's an island that cannot be found except by those who already know where it is."
Will leaned forward on the bars. "The ship's real enough. Therefore its anchorage must be a real place. Where is it?"
Jack shrugged, studying his nails. "Why ask me?"
"Because you're a pirate," I shot at him, startling Will, who I think had forgotten that I was there.
A smirk played across Jack's face as he studied me for a moment, then turned to look at Will as though he'd made the comment. My reaction to the release of his attention was something along the lines of 'Excuse me while I melt into a puddle of drool.' "And you want to turn pirate yourself, is that it?"
Will looked properly scandalized. "Never! They took Miss Swann!"
Jack's eyes flitted towards me for a moment, and I'm sure he was remembering what I'd said about my friend being kidnaped by the Black Pearl. "Oh, so it is that you've found a girl!" He shrugged, and dropped the hat back over his eyes. "Well, if you're intending to brave all, hasten to her rescue and so win fair lady's heart you'll have to do it alone, mate. I see no profit in it for me."
Will looked like he was fighting an internal battle with himself. "I can get you out of here." he blurted out finally.
The hat rose, and with it, Jack's eyebrows. "How's that? The key's run off."
I stepped back as Will went into Blacksmith mode "I helped build these cells. These are half pin-barrel hinges." He turned, grabbed the bench by the wall, and slid it into the space in the bars. "With the right leverage and a proper application of strength, the door will lift free."
Jack pushed himself up into a seated position. "What's your name?"
"Will Turner."
Jack mused that for a moment. "That will be short for William, I imagine. Good, strong name. No doubt named for your father, aye?"
Will looked slightly confused. "Yes."
"Aha." Jack nodded, and pushed himself to his feet. "Well, Mr. Turner, I've changed me mind. If you spring me from this cell, I swear, on pain of death, that I shall take you to the Black Pearl and your bonny lass. Do we have an accord?"
Will leaned forward, pushing his hands through the bars to shake his hand. "Agreed."
"Agreed." Jack didn't waste time. "Get me out."
Will pushed down, and lifted the door free, swinging it off. I only jumped aside, just in time. "Hurry, someone will have heard that."
"Not without my effects." Jack immediately strode for the corner where they'd hung his things.
"Good, now we can go get them back!" I said, and I couldn't help the grin that had spread over my face.
"Now, hold on 'ere," Jack said, holding a hand up. "'We'?"
"Yeah," I looked at him, frowning a little. "You, me, and Will-"
"Oh, no. No, no." Jack shook his head. "You're not comin' along, luv."
"Why not?!" I demanded, hands on my hips, ignoring Will, who was clearing his throat, trying to get us to move. "They're my friends, kidnapped!"
Jack threw up his hands. "Luv, you can't come! It...it's bad luck to take a woman on board a ship!"
"Well, I never-" although I had to admit, I was pretty impressed that he thought of me as a 'woman'.
"Look," Will interrupted. "You can't come. The Governor would never forgive us. You'll have to stay behind. I'm sorry," he added, when I turned to glaring at him. "But you can't come."
"You see? The blacksmith won't let you come." Jack grinned, glad to be off the hook. "Now, if you'll excuse me, luv, we really must be going." He grabbed my hand off my hip, kissed it, then he and Will dashed up the stairs, and were gone.
I scowled. Now I was ticked off, and not even a Jack-kiss on my hand was making it any better. Stalking up the stairs, I immediately headed straight for the docks - and the Interceptor.
"Two can play at that game."