Chapter 9

Authors Note: Well, back from PA and lemme tell you. it is NOT easy to write in a moving vehicle. Especially when there are so many potholes I swear the pen rebelled at the last. It couldn't take anymore bouncing around. Anyway, thanks for all the wonderful reviews!! Words can't express how completely happy I am that you like the chapter. So here's another one, written as well and fast as I could.

As the sun barely reached the horizon Jack snapped awake. He was instantly assaulted by various stinging and throbbing from the cuts on his chest, arms, hand, and the bruises almost everywhere else. His mind made quick work of it, going through all his injuries with a surgeon's mind. The deeper ones to the most shallow, no vital organs were maimed and although one of his ribs might be sprained the rest could be dealt with.

He sat up against the wall, this time thankful that it was cold to the touch. He was able to train his mind completely on the biting chill rather than his body familiarizing itself with the new position. He closed his eyes and waited for what he knew was coming.

He hadn't eaten in three days, not since the night before the storm. All he had to drink was

a gulp of water and two of rum. As a result he felt his stomach muscles cramp painfully in

reminder. Gritting his teeth he forced his mind to another subject. The small lights

exploding in his mind and behind his eyelids strove to amplify his weakened condition, not something he found particularly appealing.

His gaze fell to where Annamaria lay sleeping. As he looked at her his thoughts calmed

and he was able to relax back to a daydreaming state where nothing and everything made

sense. His Annamaria. Now when had he started thinking of her as his? But the answer

had always been there deep down inside.

She had become part of the crew on a smaller ship. It had paid to be Captain of the Black

Pearl. Pillaging brought him one or two ships on at least five islands on the Caribbean. He

never in his wildest dreams considered a mutiny but just for caution's sake a few were set

aside.

Even though she acted like any other man aboard he'd always known there was something

more to her. While she bought baggy clothes to hide her femininity, it had always been

blatantly obvious to him that she was all woman. He never showed it though he was

smarter than that. In the beginning she'd done everything possible to make sure the rest of

the crew saw her as an equal. Working eighteen-hour days before he'd heard of it she had

gained respect, then admiration, and in the mean time made quite a name for herself. If

Jack had coddled or protected her, the crew would have followed suit. He could well

understand her passion for adventure and the need to strike out on her own.

Usually he scoffed when he heard men say they loved a woman from the moment they

saw her. That was usually said to appease the woman, but in this case it was entirely true.

Half delirious from 'negations' with the East India Trading Company, he nonetheless

escaped from them only to be captured again. Held captive by a woman every bit as

stubborn and spirited as he.

He tried not to think back to those days. Laying on the ground at her feet, looking like something the cat had mauled before dragging in, he hadn't the strength to even ask her for help. She had looked at him with concern not taking her safety into account. He knew she was meant for him.

She must have sensed it too because she knelt on the filthy ground so he wouldn't have to

keep looking up at her. Just by that action his thoughts were justified in his impression of

her. All his life people had wanted to bring him down, but he hadn't given in to it. Ever.

Even now he had an aversion to kneeling in front of people. Every nerve in his body

would freeze and something inside him would snap. He wouldn't, couldn't, force himself

to kneel in submission again.

"Captain?" Her voice interrupted his reverie and now seeing her awake all he could think

of doing was kissing her. To let everything fade away in one moment of perfect bliss.

"Aye," he said instead, he really must be daft to be having thoughts like that.

"You were wool-gathering." She looked down at the floor before meeting his gaze again,

"For lack of better words, are you…?"

"Never better." He reassured her, "what about you."

"Same as yesterday." She would let the topic drop for now, he didn't like admitting to

pain. That habited from a long ago well-taught lesson, she'd only caught bits and pieces of

what his child-hood was like but it was enough for her to know it hadn't been one full of

love and care.

The door slammed, Jack was really starting to hate that door. If he were a lesser man he

might even contemplate burning the damn thing down once they escaped. As it was, he

had matured and- bloody hell, he'd still burn it down given the chance.

"The woman this time." Turak commanded.

"Do you both always travel together? Are you… fond of one another?" he left off with a half-grin.

"No!" Ruyifor snarled, "Take him today, punish him for his arrogance. It's obvious

that he didn't learn his lesson yesterday."

"Learn my lesson? If I'd known I was supposed to retain something from your… lessons, I might have strived harder to oblige you." The look on Jack's face was priceless, he had somehow managed mischief, innocence and disdain.

"You arrogant-!"

"Yes, you've made that clear." Jack sighed, "At least change your vocabulary, mate. It

gets quite monotonous to listen to."

"So you've given up on the woman then?" Turak crossed his arms and looked at

Annamaria lustfully. Jack was smart enough not to joke about that, Turak was smart

enough to call his bluff.

"Take him again. Make it so that he can't speak at all anymore." Ruyifor exclaimed

suddenly.

"Don't you even think it." Annamaria hissed. She had seen Jack's reaction when first

introduced to Cotton. Just the thought of them attempting to that to Jack made her skin

crawl.

"So the whore speaks." Turak boldly looked her up and down.

"If you call me that name one more time…" Annamaria was doing her level best to draw

attention away from Jack.

"Jack will come and rescue her." Jack finished, "because of course the men are too stupid

to do anything about it." The two men looked completely confused, glancing back and

forth between the other. Torn between the prize of the woman and getting revenge on

him, he tipped the scale even further.

"Yeah, took you awhile to process that, aye? Take your time." Jack stared daringly into

Ruyifor's eyes. He knew that would cinch the deal.

"We take the Captain." He decided, "there's always tomorrow."

"No!" Annamaria screamed this time in mortal dread. Jack wouldn't make it back to her

this time, she could feel it in her blood. "Don't! You can't!" No one seemed to hear her

though, Turak glanced at her from cold unfeeling eyes and then pushed Jack harder right

over a particularly deep slash.

Nothing much had been changed, he noticed that his blood had been cleaned from both

floor and table. They bound his wrists again, this time making sure that the harsh rope bit into his skin. He hadn't expected anything less, he would no doubt be made to pay for his comments downstairs. It was only early morning, he wouldn't be able to bear the knife for long.

But then it didn't look as if he'd have to worry about a knife. Ruyifor did have a bit of

imagination on him anyway. Since he was faced to the wall he knew that this time they

would start on his back. He just hoped that they didn't have the wits to go about and

reopen closed cuts.

Ruyifor picked up a small row of spikes, Jack had seen them used once before and had no

desire to live through it this time. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander far from the

room. Annamaria wouldn't be given a second thought today by them, Jack already

discovered that they wouldn't want both of them here in this room, nor would they want

their fun over so quickly.

Yesterday they had asked him questions about where the Pearl was and where she would

be now. Jack knew but he didn't tell them, the more they thought him a dense pirate the

better. The two men were actually starting to believe that he didn't know anything more.

He was safe. His body jerked and shuddered, a natural reaction to enormous levels of pain, at least he would be spared actually feeling it until later. White mist obscured his sight and everything went calm. He heard the drifting of the waves and the rhythm of the currents below him.

Turak knew the instant Jack drifted away. He knew it could be done but had never seen it

first hand. Somehow he had expected it to be more dramatic, not a mere flicker of the

eyelids before the pupils went glassy. Why it almost looked as if he had died. What a

shame he hadn't.

Oh well, like he had told Ruyifor yesterday, everyone had a breaking point. Not even the

infamous Jack Sparrow could hold out forever. Besides if it lasted too long he could

always bring the harlot's death closer to the surface. Right now it had about leveled out, it

had been that way the first time he tried it on some of the peasant women.

They always had been annoying to say the least, batting their eyelashes prettily, begging

him for a penny or sovereign. It had been almost too easy luring them to his richly

furnished house and trying out his concoctions. They had served their purpose for the

short time they lasted.

Annamaria would get her hopes up of it all being just a misguided threat. A day or so later the other side-affects would kick in. Depending on how strong her immunity system was he might get another variation. How exciting, that was the one good thing of having a pirate for a father. There was no end to the interesting trinkets sent back from around the world.

A little experimentation and what had he? Why, clever and precise ways of making the

victim both suffer and despair in spirit. It was just perfect that Jack happened to care for

the wench. It made her demise all the more poetic.