Chapter 14
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If the rain-laden clouds hadn't shrouded the sun, it would have been past
its zenith and heading west when Jack finally finished. He dabbed my skin with
a cloth, wiping away small drops of blood and ink.
"There ye go, love," he said proudly, gazing at his handiwork. I lifted my
head to look down at my hip with a bit of trepidation at what I was about to see.
My fears were groundless, however. A beautifully drawn compass rose now
adorned my skin, cardinal directions labeled in flowery script and the center
inhabited by a tiny, flying sparrow. I caught my breath.
"Jack, it's beautiful! Thank you!" He beamed and daubed at my tattoo a
bit more, though it didn't really need any cleaning up.
"Best I've ever done, an' that's saying somethin', if I do say so meself."
"So you can draw after all," I teased.
"Told ye I could, didn't I? I used to draw maps all the time, for where I
stashed me plunder, for currents, friendly ports an' so on. Knew I hadn't lost me
touch." I looked at him quizzically.
"You were a cartographer?" Jack winced.
"Never liked that word, made me sound like I ran over gophers with a
cart. Map-maker extraordinaire, if ye don't mind." I grinned, and then something
about my tattoo caught my eye. Several thin lines ran behind the compass,
looking like random strands of pasta.
"Jack, what're these?" I asked, pointing them out. He winked.
"Look closely, love. It's a map. See?" he said, running a finger over a line
near the top. "This's the coast of Flor de la Terra." I thought for a second, then
made the connection.
"Florida?"
"If that's what they call it these days. Now this 'ere," he pointed at what I
now saw was an island just under the eastern ray of the compass, "is Cuba, with
Tortuga jest above. An' this," he said finally, putting his finger on a tiny X off the
coast of another island, "is where ol' Fishface squirreled away 'is treasure. It's
not a big hoard, maybe ten chests or so, but 'e 'ad this jewel fetish, same as you.
'e collected quite a few good-sized gems over the years." My eyes felt like they
were about to pop out of my head.
"And you're giving it to me?" I asked, slightly hysterically. Jack looked as
close to being ashamed as he possibly could, which is to say vaguely guilty.
"I 'ave others. Lots, actually. This'n's me smallest. I wanted to give ye one,
but I didn't want to part with any of my big hoards. Yer treasure-crazy, I knew
yeh'd understand." I did. I would have done the same in his position: no matter
how much someone loves another, parting with mountains of treasure is just too
much to ask. But from someone as obsessed as Jack, even this 'small' hoard was a
monumental gift. I was absolutely speechless for a few seconds, staring at the
precious diagram needled into my skin. Then I beamed up at Jack, my heart
feeling as if it would burst from excitement.
"Thank you.god, bloody thank you! If I can ever return the favor." An
answering smile lit up Jack's face. He scooted closer to me, one hand slithering
up my back to my bikini straps and the other circling the stinging tattoo on my
hip.
"Well, now that ye mention it." For the second night in a row, neither of
us got much sleep.
A/N: While I was writing this during my art class, I actually drew the tattoo from this story as part of my brainstorming process. If you want to see it, just let me know your email and I'll send it to you. At the moment, I'm planning to update my story either in 3 days or when I get 10 reviews, so if you want the next chappie NOW, you know what to do! ^_~ Oh, and as it looks now, the next chapter (though long) will be the last. *sniff* Thanks everybody for your feedback! I've really enjoyed hearing from my readers. ^_^
If the rain-laden clouds hadn't shrouded the sun, it would have been past
its zenith and heading west when Jack finally finished. He dabbed my skin with
a cloth, wiping away small drops of blood and ink.
"There ye go, love," he said proudly, gazing at his handiwork. I lifted my
head to look down at my hip with a bit of trepidation at what I was about to see.
My fears were groundless, however. A beautifully drawn compass rose now
adorned my skin, cardinal directions labeled in flowery script and the center
inhabited by a tiny, flying sparrow. I caught my breath.
"Jack, it's beautiful! Thank you!" He beamed and daubed at my tattoo a
bit more, though it didn't really need any cleaning up.
"Best I've ever done, an' that's saying somethin', if I do say so meself."
"So you can draw after all," I teased.
"Told ye I could, didn't I? I used to draw maps all the time, for where I
stashed me plunder, for currents, friendly ports an' so on. Knew I hadn't lost me
touch." I looked at him quizzically.
"You were a cartographer?" Jack winced.
"Never liked that word, made me sound like I ran over gophers with a
cart. Map-maker extraordinaire, if ye don't mind." I grinned, and then something
about my tattoo caught my eye. Several thin lines ran behind the compass,
looking like random strands of pasta.
"Jack, what're these?" I asked, pointing them out. He winked.
"Look closely, love. It's a map. See?" he said, running a finger over a line
near the top. "This's the coast of Flor de la Terra." I thought for a second, then
made the connection.
"Florida?"
"If that's what they call it these days. Now this 'ere," he pointed at what I
now saw was an island just under the eastern ray of the compass, "is Cuba, with
Tortuga jest above. An' this," he said finally, putting his finger on a tiny X off the
coast of another island, "is where ol' Fishface squirreled away 'is treasure. It's
not a big hoard, maybe ten chests or so, but 'e 'ad this jewel fetish, same as you.
'e collected quite a few good-sized gems over the years." My eyes felt like they
were about to pop out of my head.
"And you're giving it to me?" I asked, slightly hysterically. Jack looked as
close to being ashamed as he possibly could, which is to say vaguely guilty.
"I 'ave others. Lots, actually. This'n's me smallest. I wanted to give ye one,
but I didn't want to part with any of my big hoards. Yer treasure-crazy, I knew
yeh'd understand." I did. I would have done the same in his position: no matter
how much someone loves another, parting with mountains of treasure is just too
much to ask. But from someone as obsessed as Jack, even this 'small' hoard was a
monumental gift. I was absolutely speechless for a few seconds, staring at the
precious diagram needled into my skin. Then I beamed up at Jack, my heart
feeling as if it would burst from excitement.
"Thank you.god, bloody thank you! If I can ever return the favor." An
answering smile lit up Jack's face. He scooted closer to me, one hand slithering
up my back to my bikini straps and the other circling the stinging tattoo on my
hip.
"Well, now that ye mention it." For the second night in a row, neither of
us got much sleep.
A/N: While I was writing this during my art class, I actually drew the tattoo from this story as part of my brainstorming process. If you want to see it, just let me know your email and I'll send it to you. At the moment, I'm planning to update my story either in 3 days or when I get 10 reviews, so if you want the next chappie NOW, you know what to do! ^_~ Oh, and as it looks now, the next chapter (though long) will be the last. *sniff* Thanks everybody for your feedback! I've really enjoyed hearing from my readers. ^_^