A/N: Thank you so much, my lovely reviewers! You guys really inspire me! I got so caught up in some of my other stories that I haven't updated in ages. Don't worry though, I'm still going to work on it. It just might take a little while for each chapter to get posted. There's only so many ideas I can come up with. I made a few corrections in my previous chapters, so you might want to go back and read them.
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Chapter IV: Señor Sparrow
"Jack? Jack!" I was unceremoniously broken out of my reverie by the ear-grating voice of Barbossa. It didn't do well for my reputation to be thought as daft as my name implied. Honestly, who ever thought up that expression? Daft as a sparrow my hat.
"You were saying something, Barbossa?" I said (The 'daft' thing had rather unnerved me). He sat down at his, my, table, and looked at me with beady black eyes.
"That's Captain Barbossa now, Jack. And ye'd do well to listen properly." I chose to ignore the 'Captain' comment. My mind could only focus on one unnerving thing at a time.
"I'm listening."
"You say you know whose blood we need to lift the curse. Might I ask whose?" I smiled. That's where I had him.
"Aye, although, seeing how the last time I saw your ugly face you were in no mood to negotiate, I'm not entirely sure I feel the urge to do so right now. And, also, the last time I told you anything of importance, I would up on a bloody sandbar in the middle of nowhere." Barbossa scowled, but folded his hands in front of him, and suddenly turned business-like.
"Name your terms, Sparrow," he said cordially.
"That's CAPTAIN Sparrow, and I think you know very well which 'terms' I'd like. But since I'm a decent man and feeling in a rather fine mood today, I'll tell you what. I will give you the name of the person whose blood you need… as I drop you off at an uninhabited coast, and you can die knowing that you captured the wrong man. Or, in this case, woman," I said, quite happy with my response.
"So you expect to leave me standing on some beach with nothing but a name and your word it's the one I need and watch you sail away my ship?" I sighed and walked slowly back towards the table.
"No," I corrected. "I expect to leave you standing on some beach with absolutely no name at all, watching me sail away on MY ship and then I'll shout the name back to you. Savvy?"
"But that still leaves us with the problem of me standing on some beach with naught but a name and your word it's the one I need." I thought for a moment, and then the logic in my brain found the correct response to make.
"Of the two of us, I'm the only one who hasn't committed mutiny, therefore my word is the one we'll be trusting," I said, helping myself to a green apple from a bowl on the table. The man had quite an attachment to them, as it were. "Although, I suppose I should be thanking you because, in fact, if you hadn't betrayed me and left me to die, I would have an equal share of that curse same as you." I bit into the apple and savored the juicy taste for a moment. "Funny ol' world, innit?" At that moment, Bo'sun came barging into the cabin. Back when I was Captain, if you didn't knock you'd find yourself with a pistol in your face before you could say 'beejesus.'
"Captain, we're coming up on the Interceptor," Bo'sun said. I hurriedly followed Barbossa out onto the deck. This was not turning out to be a good day. He was looking through his spyglass, and, sure enough, there was the Interceptor of His Majesty's Service. I stepped in front of him, trying to block his view so he couldn't judge their distance.
"I'm having a thought here, Barbossa. What say we run up a flag of truce? I scurry over to the Interceptor and I negotiate the return of your medallion, aye? What say you to that?" He chuckled and gave me one of those You're-so-daft-Jack looks.
"Now you see, Jack , that's exactly the attitude that lost you the Pearl. People are easy to search when they're dead." That's what I had never liked about Barbossa. Always too willing to commit bloodshed. "Take him away." I suddenly felt myself being pulled back down to the brig.
As the cell's door swung closed in my face, I tried to cover my worry by pointing out the excess amount of water that had leaked in. Barbossa had kept my cabin quite neat, but that didn't mean the rest of the ship was. Back when I was Captain, the Pearl was spotless and gleaming. And what was with the black paint they had covered her with? To hide the blood of the less fortunate, I suppose. But anyway, as I looked out of a hole in the side of the ship, I couldn't help remember the last sea battle I was in, although the prime difference was that I wasn't looking out of a shilling-sized hole or locked in the brig. I was standing out on the deck of the newly-obtained Pearl, which was glistening in shades of red and gold under the rising sun, standing at her helm and watching a ship of the Spanish Navy pursue us.
**FLASHBACK**
I tried to remember everything that Captain Emery had ever told me about sailing, and as I gripped the wheel's wood under my hands, I suddenly felt like THIS was where I really belonged. Right here, standing on the quarterdeck, with the wind in my hair and the sunlight reflecting off the clear blue water.
'Don't let them get alongside! I want to see every inch of that canvas!' I shouted. The men started climbing up the masts and unfurling the sails. The flag of the Spanish Navy flapped in the breeze.
'Captain!' shouted a man, coming up onto the quarterdeck. 'This is a sixty-gun ship!'
'Good,' I replied. 'Load them. Search the gunnery for ammunition.' He and a few of the others went down below. Barbossa was yelling at the men climbing the masts, using a great number of threats to try to get them to work faster. Bill was standing behind me at the taffrail, looking back at the Spanish ship. I couldn't worry about whether they were catching up or not. I just had to prepare my crew the best I could and be sure we were ready when the time came to fight.
'Fifty meters!' said Bill. I gripped the wheel harder.
'Men!' I said. 'Grab your weapons. Look for anything that might help us; hand bombs…' Suddenly I heard a bang and felt something whiz past my head. I turned around and saw a Spanish soldier with his musket pointed at me. I ducked down, and my crew did the same. When there was a pause in the Spaniards' shooting, I pulled out my pistol and shot at the ship. I don't know to this day whether I hit anyone or not. I knew they were going very quickly, several knots. It would be hard for them to stop…
'Barbossa!' I shouted suddenly. 'Drop the anchor on the larboard side!'
'What - why?'
'Just do it, mate! Now!' He fumbled for the anchor rope and heaved it over the side of the ship. I prayed for it to catch something. And sure enough, I felt the ship jerk to the left. I let go of the wheel and she whipped around. The Spanish, taken by surprise, went several meters before turning their ship around. I briefly caught a name on the back - La Isabella - before she turned to the side. I saw that her guns were pointed directly at us.
'Fire across the deck!' I ordered. With a loud bang a cannonball flew over the maindeck of the Isabella, causing her crew to run for cover. It was the traditional way for pirates to begin their attack. The Isabella responded by firing back. I ducked beside the wheel as a ball came flying my way. It was too high, and missed the deck by several feet.
I heard the Captain shout something to his crew, his black hair slicked back under a feathered hat. It must have been a boarding order, because I saw the crew return with hooks.
'Pull up the anchor!' I said. My men pulled on the rope, and suddenly the Pearl shot forward, due to the wind that had been filling her sails. We glided past the Isabella without a single shot being fired. I saw the Spanish captain open his mouth to give another order, but suddenly he collapsed as a gun fired. I swung around. Barbossa stood with his pistol out, its barrel smoking.
'What the bloody hell are you doing?!' I shouted.
'We're pirates, aren't we, Jack? So we do as pirates do!' I was furious with him, but too tired to reply. I saw the Isabella pull back as her crew rushed to the Captain's aid. My men were all pleased with themselves for having successfully commandeered a vessel, especially one from the Navy fleet. I looked around the deck of the ship and couldn't help feeling proud. The adrenaline rush, the thrill of excitement, the shock of victory… I could get used to this kind of life. I looked up into the light blue sky, and saw a pelican fly past, its stretched wings haloed by sunlight.
~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter IV: Señor Sparrow
"Jack? Jack!" I was unceremoniously broken out of my reverie by the ear-grating voice of Barbossa. It didn't do well for my reputation to be thought as daft as my name implied. Honestly, who ever thought up that expression? Daft as a sparrow my hat.
"You were saying something, Barbossa?" I said (The 'daft' thing had rather unnerved me). He sat down at his, my, table, and looked at me with beady black eyes.
"That's Captain Barbossa now, Jack. And ye'd do well to listen properly." I chose to ignore the 'Captain' comment. My mind could only focus on one unnerving thing at a time.
"I'm listening."
"You say you know whose blood we need to lift the curse. Might I ask whose?" I smiled. That's where I had him.
"Aye, although, seeing how the last time I saw your ugly face you were in no mood to negotiate, I'm not entirely sure I feel the urge to do so right now. And, also, the last time I told you anything of importance, I would up on a bloody sandbar in the middle of nowhere." Barbossa scowled, but folded his hands in front of him, and suddenly turned business-like.
"Name your terms, Sparrow," he said cordially.
"That's CAPTAIN Sparrow, and I think you know very well which 'terms' I'd like. But since I'm a decent man and feeling in a rather fine mood today, I'll tell you what. I will give you the name of the person whose blood you need… as I drop you off at an uninhabited coast, and you can die knowing that you captured the wrong man. Or, in this case, woman," I said, quite happy with my response.
"So you expect to leave me standing on some beach with nothing but a name and your word it's the one I need and watch you sail away my ship?" I sighed and walked slowly back towards the table.
"No," I corrected. "I expect to leave you standing on some beach with absolutely no name at all, watching me sail away on MY ship and then I'll shout the name back to you. Savvy?"
"But that still leaves us with the problem of me standing on some beach with naught but a name and your word it's the one I need." I thought for a moment, and then the logic in my brain found the correct response to make.
"Of the two of us, I'm the only one who hasn't committed mutiny, therefore my word is the one we'll be trusting," I said, helping myself to a green apple from a bowl on the table. The man had quite an attachment to them, as it were. "Although, I suppose I should be thanking you because, in fact, if you hadn't betrayed me and left me to die, I would have an equal share of that curse same as you." I bit into the apple and savored the juicy taste for a moment. "Funny ol' world, innit?" At that moment, Bo'sun came barging into the cabin. Back when I was Captain, if you didn't knock you'd find yourself with a pistol in your face before you could say 'beejesus.'
"Captain, we're coming up on the Interceptor," Bo'sun said. I hurriedly followed Barbossa out onto the deck. This was not turning out to be a good day. He was looking through his spyglass, and, sure enough, there was the Interceptor of His Majesty's Service. I stepped in front of him, trying to block his view so he couldn't judge their distance.
"I'm having a thought here, Barbossa. What say we run up a flag of truce? I scurry over to the Interceptor and I negotiate the return of your medallion, aye? What say you to that?" He chuckled and gave me one of those You're-so-daft-Jack looks.
"Now you see, Jack , that's exactly the attitude that lost you the Pearl. People are easy to search when they're dead." That's what I had never liked about Barbossa. Always too willing to commit bloodshed. "Take him away." I suddenly felt myself being pulled back down to the brig.
As the cell's door swung closed in my face, I tried to cover my worry by pointing out the excess amount of water that had leaked in. Barbossa had kept my cabin quite neat, but that didn't mean the rest of the ship was. Back when I was Captain, the Pearl was spotless and gleaming. And what was with the black paint they had covered her with? To hide the blood of the less fortunate, I suppose. But anyway, as I looked out of a hole in the side of the ship, I couldn't help remember the last sea battle I was in, although the prime difference was that I wasn't looking out of a shilling-sized hole or locked in the brig. I was standing out on the deck of the newly-obtained Pearl, which was glistening in shades of red and gold under the rising sun, standing at her helm and watching a ship of the Spanish Navy pursue us.
**FLASHBACK**
I tried to remember everything that Captain Emery had ever told me about sailing, and as I gripped the wheel's wood under my hands, I suddenly felt like THIS was where I really belonged. Right here, standing on the quarterdeck, with the wind in my hair and the sunlight reflecting off the clear blue water.
'Don't let them get alongside! I want to see every inch of that canvas!' I shouted. The men started climbing up the masts and unfurling the sails. The flag of the Spanish Navy flapped in the breeze.
'Captain!' shouted a man, coming up onto the quarterdeck. 'This is a sixty-gun ship!'
'Good,' I replied. 'Load them. Search the gunnery for ammunition.' He and a few of the others went down below. Barbossa was yelling at the men climbing the masts, using a great number of threats to try to get them to work faster. Bill was standing behind me at the taffrail, looking back at the Spanish ship. I couldn't worry about whether they were catching up or not. I just had to prepare my crew the best I could and be sure we were ready when the time came to fight.
'Fifty meters!' said Bill. I gripped the wheel harder.
'Men!' I said. 'Grab your weapons. Look for anything that might help us; hand bombs…' Suddenly I heard a bang and felt something whiz past my head. I turned around and saw a Spanish soldier with his musket pointed at me. I ducked down, and my crew did the same. When there was a pause in the Spaniards' shooting, I pulled out my pistol and shot at the ship. I don't know to this day whether I hit anyone or not. I knew they were going very quickly, several knots. It would be hard for them to stop…
'Barbossa!' I shouted suddenly. 'Drop the anchor on the larboard side!'
'What - why?'
'Just do it, mate! Now!' He fumbled for the anchor rope and heaved it over the side of the ship. I prayed for it to catch something. And sure enough, I felt the ship jerk to the left. I let go of the wheel and she whipped around. The Spanish, taken by surprise, went several meters before turning their ship around. I briefly caught a name on the back - La Isabella - before she turned to the side. I saw that her guns were pointed directly at us.
'Fire across the deck!' I ordered. With a loud bang a cannonball flew over the maindeck of the Isabella, causing her crew to run for cover. It was the traditional way for pirates to begin their attack. The Isabella responded by firing back. I ducked beside the wheel as a ball came flying my way. It was too high, and missed the deck by several feet.
I heard the Captain shout something to his crew, his black hair slicked back under a feathered hat. It must have been a boarding order, because I saw the crew return with hooks.
'Pull up the anchor!' I said. My men pulled on the rope, and suddenly the Pearl shot forward, due to the wind that had been filling her sails. We glided past the Isabella without a single shot being fired. I saw the Spanish captain open his mouth to give another order, but suddenly he collapsed as a gun fired. I swung around. Barbossa stood with his pistol out, its barrel smoking.
'What the bloody hell are you doing?!' I shouted.
'We're pirates, aren't we, Jack? So we do as pirates do!' I was furious with him, but too tired to reply. I saw the Isabella pull back as her crew rushed to the Captain's aid. My men were all pleased with themselves for having successfully commandeered a vessel, especially one from the Navy fleet. I looked around the deck of the ship and couldn't help feeling proud. The adrenaline rush, the thrill of excitement, the shock of victory… I could get used to this kind of life. I looked up into the light blue sky, and saw a pelican fly past, its stretched wings haloed by sunlight.