AN: The cool sea chanty at the beginning of the chapter... yea, not mine. I'll admit it. Go here if
you want to see it, not in my story. It's here...
http://www.puzzlepirates.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=264 at the Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates
website. Thank you Ramirez for letting me use it! You rock!
Disclaimer: same as every other chapter. Not mine, I'm not that lucky... maybe I'll be able to get
something this awesome someday, not right now though.
Warning: PG-13.. Language.. And whatnot... not for the kiddies, unless they're the parents/them
are okay w/ that. Besides... I don't even know if I actually use any bad language... this is just
extra precautions and whatnot... some violence, some language... As a pirate would say, "Deal w/
it...arrgh!"
On with the chapter...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Story: Where is Elizabeth?!
Chapter 5: Drink Up Me Hearties!
Though it was very early in the morning, Jack was well on his way to getting completely
pissed. Most of the drunks passed out in the tavern were beginning to come around, and made
it a point to glare daggers at his jolly singing form.
Jack lifted his cup to his mouth, took a long swig, gulped it down, and quickly moved to start his
next song.
"This next song," he slurred to the half passed out, half asleep, crowd, "is a chanty called,
'That's Why We Have Rum!'" Jack quickly took another drink. He swung his arm with the cup in
it, in reference to the crowd, "You can sing along... if you know the words..." he spilled some
rum on a nearby sleeping form, "...and even if you don't." He shrugged, a crooked smile dancing
on his face, "cause who'll be payin' attention?"
He lifted his arms, and began the new song "Life at sea is mighty tough," he furrowed his
brow as if to emphasize the hardship. "The sun, it burns, the seas are rough, A sailor might cry,
'Arr! Enough!'" With that he jumped from his seat, finished off his cup, slammed it onto the bar,
and turned to the half empty tavern. He gestured wildly with his arms, as if to implore the
unwashed massed to join in on the last line of the verse, "And that's why we have rum!"
He sat back down in his chair, "All day long, ye swab the deck, After yer done ye feel a
wreck!" he slumped down in the chair, with a look of distress for added emphasis. "How do we
keep the pain in check? That's why we have rum!"
As he neared the chorus, he handed the barkeep his cup. He gave Jack a look that said,
"Hey mate, you've had enough," but Jack only replaced his happy-go-lucky smile with an evil
smirk, his eyes danced wildly, "Mate," he stated, almost clearly through clenched teeth, "I got
two words for you...Rum. Now." The barkeep sighed, and filled his cup back up to the brim.
All traces of the madness gone, Jack broke back heartily into song.
"Rum! Rum! A sailor's friend, it never fails! Rum! Rum! So quit your whining and trim
the sails!" He laughed at the lyrics. As he neared the next verse, he jumped to his feet and moved
to take off his hat, and quickly remembered he didn't have one on, so he simply covered his chest
with his right fist, which also contained his cup of rum. Of course, as drunk as he was, he didn't
notice the rum spilling out of his glass all over him, nor did he care. "The captain is a heartless
fiend," he smiled proudly, "And never once has the mate intervened, when Cap'n demands that
his knickers be cleaned? We're all glad we have rum!"
Jack quickly took a huge swig of what was left in his cup from his exuberance and
continued on with the chorus, "Rum! Rum! A sailor's friend, it never fails! Rum! Rum! So quit
your whining and trim the sails!"
"Our work is done, we reach the shore, Our loneliness we have oft deplored," he leaned
back, ogled a whore making her way through the bar from the upstairs inn. She noticed him
checking her out, and smiled wickedly, winking at him. He swayed up to her, giving her a golden
smile, and she flashed him a smile of gaping holes and greyed teeth. He reeled back in disgust
and continued on in song, "But the girls aren't as cute as we dreamed of aboard..." She gasped,
and slapped him hard across the face, stalking out. He took a minute to collect himself, took a
deep chug and continued on, smiling broadly, "I guess it's time for rum!"
He climbed up onto a table, "Once more, with feeling, mates!" He stomped out the beat
with his foot as he continued his onslaught of the song, "Rum! Rum! A sailor's friend, it never
fails! Rum! Rum! So quit your whining and trim the sails!" He chugged the last of what was in
his glass as he ended the song and jumped down off the table. Turning towards the barkeep,
looking to get topped off again, he found a pistol in his face, at the ready.
Jacks eyes widened, and he sheepishly backed up slowly. "I can cover the costs, mate. I
swear it."
The barkeep just glared at him, "It ain't that, Jack. It's just time for you to go. I don't want
no trouble, so I pretty much figure, this be the way to handle the situation. You understand the
direct approach the best," he started advancing, forcing Jack to stumble backwards towards the
door, "so here be the direct order. Leave. Go home, or wherever, you just can't stay here. You
can pay me later. Sleep it off. No wench is worth the amount of trouble you place upon yourself
when you drank tonight..."
"It weren't for no wen..." and with that, Jack stumbled out the tavern door, arms flailing,
landing on his backside. He quickly scrambled to his feet, *That be the second, and LAST time
that happens today, savvy?* he growled to himself, though it came out less convincing since
even his thoughts were slurred. Yet again there were people passing by who took the chance to
snicker at his misfortune. Jack pulled out his pistol and they quickly made on their way.
*That's wha' I thought,* he chuckled to himself really feeling the effects of the rum.
He started on his way towards the docks, *Perhaps Anamaria came into port last night
looking for me while I was out,* he thought hopefully. He sat down at the end of the dock, "No
Anamaria," he said softly, "don't know if that's a good sign or not... but at least that bloody idiot
Bradford isn't 'ere."
Just then, he caught a bit of a conversation between two men coming off of a merchant
vessel.
"Poor lass," said the first.
"Aye, she was a might pretty one too, governor's daughter and all..." the second one
chimed in.
Jack pulled himself up, and hurried after the two men, trying not to stumble too much
along the way.
"Excuse me, gentleman."
They turned, taken aback by Jack's appearance. He looked down, *Do I really look that
bad?* he asked himself silently, he shook his head, *Doesn't matter.*
"Did I hear," Jack continued trying his best to control the slur. "Talk of a... governor's
daughter?"
"Yes, friend," the first gentleman started, "Governor Weatherby Swann's daughter," At
hearing Elizabeth's last name, his ears perked up. "She's been kidnapped, supposedly by the
fiercest of pirates, Captain Bartholomew Roberts."
Jack's eyes flinched as though someone had smacked him. *What has the lass gotten
herself into this time?* he thought seriously. He could remember the time when he had saved
this, yet to be known to him, girl from drowning, and then again from being shot by Captain
Barbossa,* he laughed to himself maliciously at the thought of the look on Barbossa's face when
he realized the shot from Jack's pistol was embedded in his rib cage after the curse was lifted,
*Prat got what he deserved.*
He then notices the second sailor had continued, "...Will Turner, supposedly they
were to be married within a weeks time. According to my sources, he's the reason why she got
captured." The sailor leaned in close, "distracted the armed guard, to get the girl alone with 'im."
He leaned back, "Such a fine young lady, hard tellin' what a man like Captain Roberts'll do to
her. I've heard stories." He lowered his voice a tad and motioned for Jack and the other
gentleman to lean in, "He's been searching for a woman to share his life with: a wife. Word is,
he's gone through six women, and seven is the most unlucky number a person can be."
"Obviously one through six weren't too lucky either, mate." Jack responded before he
could stop himself. He stifled all but a short breathy sound of laugh, and was entirely unable to
suppress the smirk that brightened his drunken face.
"Good day, sir," the first man answered, while the other one glared, and with that they
turned and continued up the docks.
Jack shrugged, *Could be worse, at least they didn't shoot me.* He hurried up the dock
before they got any ideas about the situation. *Too bad 'bout Elizabeth.*
He stumbled to a palm tree and leaned against it, bending his knees as he crumpled into a
sitting position. Jack then felt something almost entirely foreign to him: pain, regret, and even
sorrow for the girl. He looked out into the ocean. His eyes widened slowly, realization painted in
his deep kohl-rimmed, coal-colored eyes. He had not felt like this since his mother had passed.
He lowered his head, remembering the last thing she had said to him.
*Live your life, son.* his mother had said to her nineteen year old son. *Don't be a
fool, like me, and stay on this godforsaken island. England is no place for a handsome young
man. Move to America or somewhere else gorgeous. Do me this one, promise me...,* tears stung
his eyes in remembrance of the gasp she took between words, *Promise me... that you'll be
happy... in whatever you do. I'd like to know that you've found a good woman, children or no,
that's your preference, too... but I'll settle for you living a long, happy life...* and with those last
words, she had let go of life.
Jack felt weighed down by all the depressing thoughts. *At least I am leading the life I
want. Tied down by a woman is not the way to live. He decided he needed to sleep. *I'm gonna
have one hell of a headache when I wake up.*
He ambled off to the closest inn and paid for a room for a few hours. Anything to get his
mind off of his troubles. He found his room, and clumsily climbed into the bed. Within minutes
he was asleep, though it was not a peaceful one.
He tossed and turned in his sleep as the haunting images floated through his mind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Elizabeth tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to spew forth with the fear she
was feeling. Her throat had gone completely dry. The vile pirate had her left arm tightly gripped
from behind, her bound wrists venturing up, inadvertently trying to escape his vise grip. He
responded by grabbing her more tightly, bringing his other hand to encompass her arm.
She looked up at his face, and realized he looked almost as frightened as her. He quickly
masking his emotion with a rough jolt, which frightened her into snapping her neck back toward
the front. She didn't chance another look. She instead looked straight ahead, trying to quell the
fear within her that was rising, making her feel nauseous.
Finally, they reached a huge set of double doors. She wasn't sure whether to be relieved
or more frightened.
Rooster took a deep breath and knocked roughly on the wooden frame. Elizabeth felt the
lump in her throat begin to swell. They didn't have long of a wait, because the double doors
were opened by a rather large looking pirate. He didn't look incredibly interesting, *Just another
dirty wretched pirate,* Elizabeth thought, a hint of anger replacing her fear momentarily.
"Bring her in!" a deep voice bellowed from deep into the cabin.
Fear again jumped into Elizabeth's mind. Rooster shoved her violently, letting roughly go
of her arm. She fell forward, tripping over her already filthy dress. A metallic taste entered her
mouth. She brought her bound hands up to her mouth and realized she had bit her lip and was
bleeding.
*Not the only thing bleeding,* she though looking down at her hand. Her palm had been
scraped too on the rough uneven surface of the wood. Several splinters littered her quickly
bruising hand.
"Hurry, Get up!" Elizabeth looked up at the pirate, Striker. He had a almost sad look in
his eye, but it was quickly replaced with fear, and then all his emotions were masked. Elizabeth
turned back toward the figure half standing in a shadow, the candlelight from the huge oak desk
not quite reaching the tall pirate.
"Here she is, Captain. Miss Elizabeth Swann." Rooster looked very pleased with himself.
He turned, and Elizabeth gasped. His youthful features shocked her. *He cannot be any
older than I.* She studied his features curiously. His tan skin was remarkably near-flawless.
Blonde hair flowed down to his shoulders. His eyes were a shockingly bright blue. *He's no
where near as scary as all the books make him out to be...,* she thought matter-of-factly. He
looked down at the map stretched on his desk. As he leaned over, the candlelight glimmered off
of something on his belt and the light stung Elizabeth's eyes. She blinked several times, and then
leaned slightly to her right, to further examine what had been shining in her eye. She eyed his
holsters. They looped around his arms and kriss-crossed over his chest. The two shiny pistols
gleamed in the candlelight.
Without looking up, he said in a demanding tone, "Leave us."
The filthy men behind Elizabeth seemed to understand exactly who he had been addressing
and left without a word. The pirate standing next to the captain's desk was the only other person
in the room, save for the two of them.
She glanced at him, and he seemed to not even acknowledge her presence in the room, his
eyes carefully watching the captain.
The young man turned to the pirate, bid him closer, and pointed to a specific point on the
map. *Must be his first mate, or whatever,* Elizabeth though. Elizabeth leaned forward slightly,
curious what the captain was pointing at, but he quickly grabbed a rather large book and
slammed it onto the desk, causing Elizabeth to jump with shock. It rested where his hand had
previously been occupied, barely missing the other pirates own outstretched hand.
"This is none of your concern, Miss Elizabeth, and I rather hope you remember that, and,"
he continued pointedly, "that it is not polite to be nosey. Need I remind you to be mindful of your
manners?" The captain looked over to the pirate. "That'll be all, Blake. Send Walker up with
some refreshments..." He looked at Elizabeth, gave her a once-over and decided to add, "..and
bring up another dress." He waved the pirate to leave.
"You're too kind," Elizabeth found herself sarcastically adding, her face betraying all the
hatred she felt for the man standing before her, before she could stop herself.
He circled the desk quickly. Before she could move, he had already struck her across her
cheek. She fell forward off the chair, her still bound arms slamming onto the edge of the desk.
She held back the tears and gasp that threatened to emit from her throat. He returned to his chair,
and sat down, propping his feet onto the far corner, waiting for her to react. Pulling every bit of
strength she had within her, Elizabeth, while staring at her wrists, pulled herself up and back into
the chair. Still looking down, she let out another silent prayer to be rescued. At this point, she
understood that she had to stay strong. Elizabeth looked up, noticing the pirate staring at her.
"Are you quite finished acting like an uncivilized wench?" His words striking her pride.
"How am I supposed to show you ANY respect, when I myself have not received any
since the moment I was taken from Port Royal?"
He took no time in responding, "I am the captain of this vessel, and if you plan to
remaining alive, you shall respect me."
Elizabeth then added unwilling to take the pirates word that this was Bartholomew
Roberts. "Well, Captain," she stressed the last word, caring not that it would anger him, "since
you know so much about me, would you at least have the decency to tell me your name?"
He looked slightly taken aback, "Has the crew not informed you?" at this he scoffed,
"Idiots... oh well, my name is Captain Roberts."
She smirked at this, "Captain Roberts? Bartholomew Roberts? Don't even bother telling
me such lies, as you yourself pointed out, I am well read. I know all about the pirate
Bartholomew Roberts nicknamed Black Bart... and you sir, are not him." She eyed him defiantly,
daring him to deny her allegations.
He stood up. Elizabeth jerked involuntarily, silently cursing herself for her jumpiness,
*Get a hold of yourself!* she ordered, *He obviously wants something from me or else I'd
probably be dead already.* This thought did not make her feel any better, but she didn't have
time to ponder anymore because he started speaking again.
"No miss, you have me wrong. I am not Bartholomew Roberts. I'm John Roberts. I'm
Bartholomew's son." He stopped, deciding not to divulge any further information.
She scowled, not satisfied. "Bartholomew Roberts has no children, at least not any he took
responsibility for... legitimate offspring and whatnot..."
He drew one of his pistols and Elizabeth immediately stopped talking. He pulled back the
cock and pointed it at her.
"I... am...," he started, his eyebrows arching with every word, "... John Roberts." His eyes
took on an insane gleam. "Anything pertaining to me, and mine, is none of your business,
wench." He turned, not waiting for a response, to face the wall opposite the door, with his back
to Elizabeth.
At that moment, someone knocked and entered the room. Elizabeth turned to see a pirate
she had not yet met, carrying a tray. John turned and shot the man who had entered. The goblets
of alcohol bounced off of the wooden floor, as did the pirate himself. Elizabeth gasped and
closed her eyes quickly. The image did not go away so she just opened them back up. She had
seen many people killed, but she had not been this close to the person killed before. His right arm
lay almost touching Elizabeth's ankle. She jerked her legs around to where she was sitting on the
edge of the chair. Little blood rivers were forming under the pirates unmoving form, heading in
several directions, with the movement of the ship.
Turning completely forward, she looked up to see his barrel still smoking.
"Do not press your luck with me, Missy. I'm not what you would call, 'tolerant.' This man has
taken your place, perhaps you will not be quite as lucky next time."
Two passing pirates ran to the door. They quickly looked down at the dead pirate, and
then up at their captain.
"Get this garbage out of my office, and escort Miss Turner back to her cell," he looked
up at the two pirates, "you may want to gag her." Without another word, he walked to the far
corner of the room grabbed at a doorknob that Elizabeth had not noticed in the dark, and
continued through to an adjoining room. Leaving her to be speechlessly hauled back to the brig.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The crew of the Black Pearl ran around dutifully. Anamaria stood behind the wheel
yelling out orders.
"Mr. Gibbs! Get it down!" She pointed up.
"Aye, Miss Ana!" He grinned, *They'll never know what hit them.*
A crew member ran up and put down the trunk next to Anamaria. "Got the trunk, Miss
Ana."
She smiled at the pirate, "Good... good... now start distributing them."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Captain Bradford looked through his eyepiece curiously. He tossed it to his first mate,
"What on Earth are they doing?" he turned back to the Pearl.
"Whatever they're doing, we aren't going to let them get away," Bradford said sternly,
"Ready the cannons again, and tell the crew to let out the sails completely. The hurricane threat is
gone, for now, and I have better things to do than chase this Jack Sparrow all day. I am done
picking this ship apart piece by piece... I want it destroyed now. My daughters' virtue will be
avenged."
"Are you entirely sure that he did not jump ship back when we were close to 'Isle de
Tortue'? I could've swore it was Sparrow who jumped off..." the first mate stated slowly.
"I'm not so easily tricked as you would be, Robbins." He said condescendingly, "It was an
obvious distraction, and we were good enough not to take the bait."
The first mate sighed, and continued, "So, we are to take them now?"
Bradford smiled, "The Black Pearl is ours... as is Sparrow."
Robins walked aft and something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. "Sir!
Ship ahoy!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Anamaria climbed back on deck, pulling her hair up into a bun.
Joshamee looked at Anamaria. "It looks nice on ya, Miss Ana."
Anamaria looked down at the dress she now wore. It was a light pink dress. She smiled,
"I'd say it was a bit, 'fluffy' for me, but thank you. You don't look half bad yourself."
He looked down at the suit and looked a bit sheepish, "Bit stuffy for my taste."
Her gaze turned serious, "You must look completely comfortable or else this won't work.
They must believe that this is a respectable ship. You must convey complete superiority and I'm
your servant, or else they'll come after us as well."
He softened, "Of course it'll work. It's extremely daft." He smiled goofily at her almost
angry look. "Ya know it's a compliment, don't even give me that look..."
She rolled her eyes and turned around to oversee the crew's progress. The ship was ready,
hopefully they were as well.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Will opened his eyes, to find he was lying down inside of an enclosure. He quickly
surveyed his surroundings. It was some sort of circular building, but it had been built out of palm
trees. He grabbed for his sword, not knowing what he is up against didn't want to take any
chances, when he realized whoever had him captive, had also taken his sword.
Will crept closer to the makeshift door, which was basically an animal hide. Though,
what animal, he could not be certain. *Awfully big...* he mused, but then cheered up slightly, *at
least it's not human.*
That was one group Will did not want to run into, cannibals. He was not certain whether
or not he was still in Jamaica or not. He decided to venture out. Lifting up a tiny corner of the
hide covering the door, he peered out. He was shocked to find to icy blue eyes staring at him, her
hand outstretched to grab the same bit of hide he was now holding. Her eyes became large with
shock. He looked around quickly, *No one else around.* Will quickly grabbed the fair-haired
creature, covered her mouth, and dragged her into his hut. A small cry escaped her mouth, but
ventured no farther than his hand. He quickly turned her around to face him, while moving them
both into a kneeling position. A silent tear escaped, while still others threatened to spill out of her
eyes.
"Listen, I'm not going to hurt you. Please trust me," he pleaded, unable to hide the
desperation in his voice. "I can't speak to you, if you're screaming or crying. I need your help.
Can you understand me? Do you speak any English?"
"She does, and you have succeeded in frightening her." The voice startled both Will and
the young woman.
Will jumped to his feet, carrying the young woman with him. He held her tightly to his
chest, still covering her mouth. "Who are you?" he asked, fear etched in his voice, but with the
woman in his arms, he felt more in a position to barter his freedom.
"I am Reverend Ahren. I am high priest of this community. We mean you no harm. In
fact, quite the opposite, as you see we have bandaged and given care to your wound."
Will gave him a look of uncertainty. Ahren sensed this and continued.
"If we had wanted to hurt you, we could've done as much when you were sleeping. Two of our
gatherers found you on the edge of the wooded land. You were mumbling about a woman," the
priest furrowed his brow in thought, "and... oh yes, pirates." He looked down at Will's belt, where
his sword had been previously.
Will took the priests' words to heart, realizing how it must have looked, and now he had a
villager hostage.
"If you promise not to hurt me, I will release her. I do not want to hurt her, but if I
must...," he let the rest of the sentence hang in the air. The priest smiled. "That is Atnelia. She is
my granddaughter. She speaks very little of your language. I'm teaching the whole tribe." He
took his right arm, extended it, and pulled back the hide. Doing this revealed a huge crowd, all
sitting on the ground, legs crossed in front of them, knees out.
Chief Ahren spoke to the tribe in a language unknown to Will. Then, practically in
unison, the whole crowd said, "Hello, sir."
This startled Will, who was still at this point, not sure what to believe. He could see black
dots dancing in front of his face. "Not goo-," was all he was able to mutter before his world went
dark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Man... 10 pages already? Yea, it was getting a bit long, so I figured I'd leave it with a little Will
cliffy... hehe. Well, they're all a bit cliffy aren't they? Good grief! Do I have an affinity for
cliffy's or what? It's just the evil within me, muwahahahahahaha....
Hey, Nat. Put something in there for u.. see if you can find it, hehe.
See anything, same as always.. E-mail me... that simple. Xfvixenffemail@yahoo.com... Yahoo's
kinda crap ain't it? I'd switch to hotmail, but bloody hotmail hates me.. Oh well. Review, please.
It's only beneficial if you review. Where do you think the story should go from here? I know, but
It doesn't hurt to hear what others have to say.
Ta... XFVixen :)
you want to see it, not in my story. It's here...
http://www.puzzlepirates.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=264 at the Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates
website. Thank you Ramirez for letting me use it! You rock!
Disclaimer: same as every other chapter. Not mine, I'm not that lucky... maybe I'll be able to get
something this awesome someday, not right now though.
Warning: PG-13.. Language.. And whatnot... not for the kiddies, unless they're the parents/them
are okay w/ that. Besides... I don't even know if I actually use any bad language... this is just
extra precautions and whatnot... some violence, some language... As a pirate would say, "Deal w/
it...arrgh!"
On with the chapter...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Story: Where is Elizabeth?!
Chapter 5: Drink Up Me Hearties!
Though it was very early in the morning, Jack was well on his way to getting completely
pissed. Most of the drunks passed out in the tavern were beginning to come around, and made
it a point to glare daggers at his jolly singing form.
Jack lifted his cup to his mouth, took a long swig, gulped it down, and quickly moved to start his
next song.
"This next song," he slurred to the half passed out, half asleep, crowd, "is a chanty called,
'That's Why We Have Rum!'" Jack quickly took another drink. He swung his arm with the cup in
it, in reference to the crowd, "You can sing along... if you know the words..." he spilled some
rum on a nearby sleeping form, "...and even if you don't." He shrugged, a crooked smile dancing
on his face, "cause who'll be payin' attention?"
He lifted his arms, and began the new song "Life at sea is mighty tough," he furrowed his
brow as if to emphasize the hardship. "The sun, it burns, the seas are rough, A sailor might cry,
'Arr! Enough!'" With that he jumped from his seat, finished off his cup, slammed it onto the bar,
and turned to the half empty tavern. He gestured wildly with his arms, as if to implore the
unwashed massed to join in on the last line of the verse, "And that's why we have rum!"
He sat back down in his chair, "All day long, ye swab the deck, After yer done ye feel a
wreck!" he slumped down in the chair, with a look of distress for added emphasis. "How do we
keep the pain in check? That's why we have rum!"
As he neared the chorus, he handed the barkeep his cup. He gave Jack a look that said,
"Hey mate, you've had enough," but Jack only replaced his happy-go-lucky smile with an evil
smirk, his eyes danced wildly, "Mate," he stated, almost clearly through clenched teeth, "I got
two words for you...Rum. Now." The barkeep sighed, and filled his cup back up to the brim.
All traces of the madness gone, Jack broke back heartily into song.
"Rum! Rum! A sailor's friend, it never fails! Rum! Rum! So quit your whining and trim
the sails!" He laughed at the lyrics. As he neared the next verse, he jumped to his feet and moved
to take off his hat, and quickly remembered he didn't have one on, so he simply covered his chest
with his right fist, which also contained his cup of rum. Of course, as drunk as he was, he didn't
notice the rum spilling out of his glass all over him, nor did he care. "The captain is a heartless
fiend," he smiled proudly, "And never once has the mate intervened, when Cap'n demands that
his knickers be cleaned? We're all glad we have rum!"
Jack quickly took a huge swig of what was left in his cup from his exuberance and
continued on with the chorus, "Rum! Rum! A sailor's friend, it never fails! Rum! Rum! So quit
your whining and trim the sails!"
"Our work is done, we reach the shore, Our loneliness we have oft deplored," he leaned
back, ogled a whore making her way through the bar from the upstairs inn. She noticed him
checking her out, and smiled wickedly, winking at him. He swayed up to her, giving her a golden
smile, and she flashed him a smile of gaping holes and greyed teeth. He reeled back in disgust
and continued on in song, "But the girls aren't as cute as we dreamed of aboard..." She gasped,
and slapped him hard across the face, stalking out. He took a minute to collect himself, took a
deep chug and continued on, smiling broadly, "I guess it's time for rum!"
He climbed up onto a table, "Once more, with feeling, mates!" He stomped out the beat
with his foot as he continued his onslaught of the song, "Rum! Rum! A sailor's friend, it never
fails! Rum! Rum! So quit your whining and trim the sails!" He chugged the last of what was in
his glass as he ended the song and jumped down off the table. Turning towards the barkeep,
looking to get topped off again, he found a pistol in his face, at the ready.
Jacks eyes widened, and he sheepishly backed up slowly. "I can cover the costs, mate. I
swear it."
The barkeep just glared at him, "It ain't that, Jack. It's just time for you to go. I don't want
no trouble, so I pretty much figure, this be the way to handle the situation. You understand the
direct approach the best," he started advancing, forcing Jack to stumble backwards towards the
door, "so here be the direct order. Leave. Go home, or wherever, you just can't stay here. You
can pay me later. Sleep it off. No wench is worth the amount of trouble you place upon yourself
when you drank tonight..."
"It weren't for no wen..." and with that, Jack stumbled out the tavern door, arms flailing,
landing on his backside. He quickly scrambled to his feet, *That be the second, and LAST time
that happens today, savvy?* he growled to himself, though it came out less convincing since
even his thoughts were slurred. Yet again there were people passing by who took the chance to
snicker at his misfortune. Jack pulled out his pistol and they quickly made on their way.
*That's wha' I thought,* he chuckled to himself really feeling the effects of the rum.
He started on his way towards the docks, *Perhaps Anamaria came into port last night
looking for me while I was out,* he thought hopefully. He sat down at the end of the dock, "No
Anamaria," he said softly, "don't know if that's a good sign or not... but at least that bloody idiot
Bradford isn't 'ere."
Just then, he caught a bit of a conversation between two men coming off of a merchant
vessel.
"Poor lass," said the first.
"Aye, she was a might pretty one too, governor's daughter and all..." the second one
chimed in.
Jack pulled himself up, and hurried after the two men, trying not to stumble too much
along the way.
"Excuse me, gentleman."
They turned, taken aback by Jack's appearance. He looked down, *Do I really look that
bad?* he asked himself silently, he shook his head, *Doesn't matter.*
"Did I hear," Jack continued trying his best to control the slur. "Talk of a... governor's
daughter?"
"Yes, friend," the first gentleman started, "Governor Weatherby Swann's daughter," At
hearing Elizabeth's last name, his ears perked up. "She's been kidnapped, supposedly by the
fiercest of pirates, Captain Bartholomew Roberts."
Jack's eyes flinched as though someone had smacked him. *What has the lass gotten
herself into this time?* he thought seriously. He could remember the time when he had saved
this, yet to be known to him, girl from drowning, and then again from being shot by Captain
Barbossa,* he laughed to himself maliciously at the thought of the look on Barbossa's face when
he realized the shot from Jack's pistol was embedded in his rib cage after the curse was lifted,
*Prat got what he deserved.*
He then notices the second sailor had continued, "...Will Turner, supposedly they
were to be married within a weeks time. According to my sources, he's the reason why she got
captured." The sailor leaned in close, "distracted the armed guard, to get the girl alone with 'im."
He leaned back, "Such a fine young lady, hard tellin' what a man like Captain Roberts'll do to
her. I've heard stories." He lowered his voice a tad and motioned for Jack and the other
gentleman to lean in, "He's been searching for a woman to share his life with: a wife. Word is,
he's gone through six women, and seven is the most unlucky number a person can be."
"Obviously one through six weren't too lucky either, mate." Jack responded before he
could stop himself. He stifled all but a short breathy sound of laugh, and was entirely unable to
suppress the smirk that brightened his drunken face.
"Good day, sir," the first man answered, while the other one glared, and with that they
turned and continued up the docks.
Jack shrugged, *Could be worse, at least they didn't shoot me.* He hurried up the dock
before they got any ideas about the situation. *Too bad 'bout Elizabeth.*
He stumbled to a palm tree and leaned against it, bending his knees as he crumpled into a
sitting position. Jack then felt something almost entirely foreign to him: pain, regret, and even
sorrow for the girl. He looked out into the ocean. His eyes widened slowly, realization painted in
his deep kohl-rimmed, coal-colored eyes. He had not felt like this since his mother had passed.
He lowered his head, remembering the last thing she had said to him.
*Live your life, son.* his mother had said to her nineteen year old son. *Don't be a
fool, like me, and stay on this godforsaken island. England is no place for a handsome young
man. Move to America or somewhere else gorgeous. Do me this one, promise me...,* tears stung
his eyes in remembrance of the gasp she took between words, *Promise me... that you'll be
happy... in whatever you do. I'd like to know that you've found a good woman, children or no,
that's your preference, too... but I'll settle for you living a long, happy life...* and with those last
words, she had let go of life.
Jack felt weighed down by all the depressing thoughts. *At least I am leading the life I
want. Tied down by a woman is not the way to live. He decided he needed to sleep. *I'm gonna
have one hell of a headache when I wake up.*
He ambled off to the closest inn and paid for a room for a few hours. Anything to get his
mind off of his troubles. He found his room, and clumsily climbed into the bed. Within minutes
he was asleep, though it was not a peaceful one.
He tossed and turned in his sleep as the haunting images floated through his mind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Elizabeth tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to spew forth with the fear she
was feeling. Her throat had gone completely dry. The vile pirate had her left arm tightly gripped
from behind, her bound wrists venturing up, inadvertently trying to escape his vise grip. He
responded by grabbing her more tightly, bringing his other hand to encompass her arm.
She looked up at his face, and realized he looked almost as frightened as her. He quickly
masking his emotion with a rough jolt, which frightened her into snapping her neck back toward
the front. She didn't chance another look. She instead looked straight ahead, trying to quell the
fear within her that was rising, making her feel nauseous.
Finally, they reached a huge set of double doors. She wasn't sure whether to be relieved
or more frightened.
Rooster took a deep breath and knocked roughly on the wooden frame. Elizabeth felt the
lump in her throat begin to swell. They didn't have long of a wait, because the double doors
were opened by a rather large looking pirate. He didn't look incredibly interesting, *Just another
dirty wretched pirate,* Elizabeth thought, a hint of anger replacing her fear momentarily.
"Bring her in!" a deep voice bellowed from deep into the cabin.
Fear again jumped into Elizabeth's mind. Rooster shoved her violently, letting roughly go
of her arm. She fell forward, tripping over her already filthy dress. A metallic taste entered her
mouth. She brought her bound hands up to her mouth and realized she had bit her lip and was
bleeding.
*Not the only thing bleeding,* she though looking down at her hand. Her palm had been
scraped too on the rough uneven surface of the wood. Several splinters littered her quickly
bruising hand.
"Hurry, Get up!" Elizabeth looked up at the pirate, Striker. He had a almost sad look in
his eye, but it was quickly replaced with fear, and then all his emotions were masked. Elizabeth
turned back toward the figure half standing in a shadow, the candlelight from the huge oak desk
not quite reaching the tall pirate.
"Here she is, Captain. Miss Elizabeth Swann." Rooster looked very pleased with himself.
He turned, and Elizabeth gasped. His youthful features shocked her. *He cannot be any
older than I.* She studied his features curiously. His tan skin was remarkably near-flawless.
Blonde hair flowed down to his shoulders. His eyes were a shockingly bright blue. *He's no
where near as scary as all the books make him out to be...,* she thought matter-of-factly. He
looked down at the map stretched on his desk. As he leaned over, the candlelight glimmered off
of something on his belt and the light stung Elizabeth's eyes. She blinked several times, and then
leaned slightly to her right, to further examine what had been shining in her eye. She eyed his
holsters. They looped around his arms and kriss-crossed over his chest. The two shiny pistols
gleamed in the candlelight.
Without looking up, he said in a demanding tone, "Leave us."
The filthy men behind Elizabeth seemed to understand exactly who he had been addressing
and left without a word. The pirate standing next to the captain's desk was the only other person
in the room, save for the two of them.
She glanced at him, and he seemed to not even acknowledge her presence in the room, his
eyes carefully watching the captain.
The young man turned to the pirate, bid him closer, and pointed to a specific point on the
map. *Must be his first mate, or whatever,* Elizabeth though. Elizabeth leaned forward slightly,
curious what the captain was pointing at, but he quickly grabbed a rather large book and
slammed it onto the desk, causing Elizabeth to jump with shock. It rested where his hand had
previously been occupied, barely missing the other pirates own outstretched hand.
"This is none of your concern, Miss Elizabeth, and I rather hope you remember that, and,"
he continued pointedly, "that it is not polite to be nosey. Need I remind you to be mindful of your
manners?" The captain looked over to the pirate. "That'll be all, Blake. Send Walker up with
some refreshments..." He looked at Elizabeth, gave her a once-over and decided to add, "..and
bring up another dress." He waved the pirate to leave.
"You're too kind," Elizabeth found herself sarcastically adding, her face betraying all the
hatred she felt for the man standing before her, before she could stop herself.
He circled the desk quickly. Before she could move, he had already struck her across her
cheek. She fell forward off the chair, her still bound arms slamming onto the edge of the desk.
She held back the tears and gasp that threatened to emit from her throat. He returned to his chair,
and sat down, propping his feet onto the far corner, waiting for her to react. Pulling every bit of
strength she had within her, Elizabeth, while staring at her wrists, pulled herself up and back into
the chair. Still looking down, she let out another silent prayer to be rescued. At this point, she
understood that she had to stay strong. Elizabeth looked up, noticing the pirate staring at her.
"Are you quite finished acting like an uncivilized wench?" His words striking her pride.
"How am I supposed to show you ANY respect, when I myself have not received any
since the moment I was taken from Port Royal?"
He took no time in responding, "I am the captain of this vessel, and if you plan to
remaining alive, you shall respect me."
Elizabeth then added unwilling to take the pirates word that this was Bartholomew
Roberts. "Well, Captain," she stressed the last word, caring not that it would anger him, "since
you know so much about me, would you at least have the decency to tell me your name?"
He looked slightly taken aback, "Has the crew not informed you?" at this he scoffed,
"Idiots... oh well, my name is Captain Roberts."
She smirked at this, "Captain Roberts? Bartholomew Roberts? Don't even bother telling
me such lies, as you yourself pointed out, I am well read. I know all about the pirate
Bartholomew Roberts nicknamed Black Bart... and you sir, are not him." She eyed him defiantly,
daring him to deny her allegations.
He stood up. Elizabeth jerked involuntarily, silently cursing herself for her jumpiness,
*Get a hold of yourself!* she ordered, *He obviously wants something from me or else I'd
probably be dead already.* This thought did not make her feel any better, but she didn't have
time to ponder anymore because he started speaking again.
"No miss, you have me wrong. I am not Bartholomew Roberts. I'm John Roberts. I'm
Bartholomew's son." He stopped, deciding not to divulge any further information.
She scowled, not satisfied. "Bartholomew Roberts has no children, at least not any he took
responsibility for... legitimate offspring and whatnot..."
He drew one of his pistols and Elizabeth immediately stopped talking. He pulled back the
cock and pointed it at her.
"I... am...," he started, his eyebrows arching with every word, "... John Roberts." His eyes
took on an insane gleam. "Anything pertaining to me, and mine, is none of your business,
wench." He turned, not waiting for a response, to face the wall opposite the door, with his back
to Elizabeth.
At that moment, someone knocked and entered the room. Elizabeth turned to see a pirate
she had not yet met, carrying a tray. John turned and shot the man who had entered. The goblets
of alcohol bounced off of the wooden floor, as did the pirate himself. Elizabeth gasped and
closed her eyes quickly. The image did not go away so she just opened them back up. She had
seen many people killed, but she had not been this close to the person killed before. His right arm
lay almost touching Elizabeth's ankle. She jerked her legs around to where she was sitting on the
edge of the chair. Little blood rivers were forming under the pirates unmoving form, heading in
several directions, with the movement of the ship.
Turning completely forward, she looked up to see his barrel still smoking.
"Do not press your luck with me, Missy. I'm not what you would call, 'tolerant.' This man has
taken your place, perhaps you will not be quite as lucky next time."
Two passing pirates ran to the door. They quickly looked down at the dead pirate, and
then up at their captain.
"Get this garbage out of my office, and escort Miss Turner back to her cell," he looked
up at the two pirates, "you may want to gag her." Without another word, he walked to the far
corner of the room grabbed at a doorknob that Elizabeth had not noticed in the dark, and
continued through to an adjoining room. Leaving her to be speechlessly hauled back to the brig.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The crew of the Black Pearl ran around dutifully. Anamaria stood behind the wheel
yelling out orders.
"Mr. Gibbs! Get it down!" She pointed up.
"Aye, Miss Ana!" He grinned, *They'll never know what hit them.*
A crew member ran up and put down the trunk next to Anamaria. "Got the trunk, Miss
Ana."
She smiled at the pirate, "Good... good... now start distributing them."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Captain Bradford looked through his eyepiece curiously. He tossed it to his first mate,
"What on Earth are they doing?" he turned back to the Pearl.
"Whatever they're doing, we aren't going to let them get away," Bradford said sternly,
"Ready the cannons again, and tell the crew to let out the sails completely. The hurricane threat is
gone, for now, and I have better things to do than chase this Jack Sparrow all day. I am done
picking this ship apart piece by piece... I want it destroyed now. My daughters' virtue will be
avenged."
"Are you entirely sure that he did not jump ship back when we were close to 'Isle de
Tortue'? I could've swore it was Sparrow who jumped off..." the first mate stated slowly.
"I'm not so easily tricked as you would be, Robbins." He said condescendingly, "It was an
obvious distraction, and we were good enough not to take the bait."
The first mate sighed, and continued, "So, we are to take them now?"
Bradford smiled, "The Black Pearl is ours... as is Sparrow."
Robins walked aft and something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. "Sir!
Ship ahoy!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Anamaria climbed back on deck, pulling her hair up into a bun.
Joshamee looked at Anamaria. "It looks nice on ya, Miss Ana."
Anamaria looked down at the dress she now wore. It was a light pink dress. She smiled,
"I'd say it was a bit, 'fluffy' for me, but thank you. You don't look half bad yourself."
He looked down at the suit and looked a bit sheepish, "Bit stuffy for my taste."
Her gaze turned serious, "You must look completely comfortable or else this won't work.
They must believe that this is a respectable ship. You must convey complete superiority and I'm
your servant, or else they'll come after us as well."
He softened, "Of course it'll work. It's extremely daft." He smiled goofily at her almost
angry look. "Ya know it's a compliment, don't even give me that look..."
She rolled her eyes and turned around to oversee the crew's progress. The ship was ready,
hopefully they were as well.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Will opened his eyes, to find he was lying down inside of an enclosure. He quickly
surveyed his surroundings. It was some sort of circular building, but it had been built out of palm
trees. He grabbed for his sword, not knowing what he is up against didn't want to take any
chances, when he realized whoever had him captive, had also taken his sword.
Will crept closer to the makeshift door, which was basically an animal hide. Though,
what animal, he could not be certain. *Awfully big...* he mused, but then cheered up slightly, *at
least it's not human.*
That was one group Will did not want to run into, cannibals. He was not certain whether
or not he was still in Jamaica or not. He decided to venture out. Lifting up a tiny corner of the
hide covering the door, he peered out. He was shocked to find to icy blue eyes staring at him, her
hand outstretched to grab the same bit of hide he was now holding. Her eyes became large with
shock. He looked around quickly, *No one else around.* Will quickly grabbed the fair-haired
creature, covered her mouth, and dragged her into his hut. A small cry escaped her mouth, but
ventured no farther than his hand. He quickly turned her around to face him, while moving them
both into a kneeling position. A silent tear escaped, while still others threatened to spill out of her
eyes.
"Listen, I'm not going to hurt you. Please trust me," he pleaded, unable to hide the
desperation in his voice. "I can't speak to you, if you're screaming or crying. I need your help.
Can you understand me? Do you speak any English?"
"She does, and you have succeeded in frightening her." The voice startled both Will and
the young woman.
Will jumped to his feet, carrying the young woman with him. He held her tightly to his
chest, still covering her mouth. "Who are you?" he asked, fear etched in his voice, but with the
woman in his arms, he felt more in a position to barter his freedom.
"I am Reverend Ahren. I am high priest of this community. We mean you no harm. In
fact, quite the opposite, as you see we have bandaged and given care to your wound."
Will gave him a look of uncertainty. Ahren sensed this and continued.
"If we had wanted to hurt you, we could've done as much when you were sleeping. Two of our
gatherers found you on the edge of the wooded land. You were mumbling about a woman," the
priest furrowed his brow in thought, "and... oh yes, pirates." He looked down at Will's belt, where
his sword had been previously.
Will took the priests' words to heart, realizing how it must have looked, and now he had a
villager hostage.
"If you promise not to hurt me, I will release her. I do not want to hurt her, but if I
must...," he let the rest of the sentence hang in the air. The priest smiled. "That is Atnelia. She is
my granddaughter. She speaks very little of your language. I'm teaching the whole tribe." He
took his right arm, extended it, and pulled back the hide. Doing this revealed a huge crowd, all
sitting on the ground, legs crossed in front of them, knees out.
Chief Ahren spoke to the tribe in a language unknown to Will. Then, practically in
unison, the whole crowd said, "Hello, sir."
This startled Will, who was still at this point, not sure what to believe. He could see black
dots dancing in front of his face. "Not goo-," was all he was able to mutter before his world went
dark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Man... 10 pages already? Yea, it was getting a bit long, so I figured I'd leave it with a little Will
cliffy... hehe. Well, they're all a bit cliffy aren't they? Good grief! Do I have an affinity for
cliffy's or what? It's just the evil within me, muwahahahahahaha....
Hey, Nat. Put something in there for u.. see if you can find it, hehe.
See anything, same as always.. E-mail me... that simple. Xfvixenffemail@yahoo.com... Yahoo's
kinda crap ain't it? I'd switch to hotmail, but bloody hotmail hates me.. Oh well. Review, please.
It's only beneficial if you review. Where do you think the story should go from here? I know, but
It doesn't hurt to hear what others have to say.
Ta... XFVixen :)