Chapter 4
"Tortuga & Sword Fighting"
You slowly wake-up the next morning, light barely streaming in from the small windows. Your head aches terribly, but you push it off. You at first are started to find yourself in a strange bed, but relax when you remember that you were on the Pearl. You try to sit up, but can't. Something is weighing you down. You look down and see an arm slinged around your waist. You follow the arm to the shoulder and to the owner's face. You gasp as you realize it is Jack. Did he know that he does things like that in his sleep?
"Oh my God! Jack! Jack! Wake up!" you hiss.
Jack murmurs.
"I don't want to go to jail, Commodore," he says.
You remove his arm and crawl out of bed. He was talking in his sleep, singing a few verses from the pirate song. You smile at this and put on your hat and boots and head down to the kitchen. AnaMaria is already there, fixing oatmeal.
"Morning, Luke," she says with a smile.
"Morning, AnaMaria," you say in a raspy voice.
"Slept well?" she asks.
"Yeah," you reply.
"Aye, feel sorry for ya. Either ya sleep with the crew or slumber with Sparrow. Either way, I'd hate to be in your shoes. At least ya not a woman. They make ya feel uncomfortable, so I practically had to threaten Sparrow to give me my own room," she says.
A few men scramble in and eat quickly. Everyone seems to be in a hurry.
"Why is everyone in such a rush?" you ask as you was dishes.
"Tortuga," says AnaMaria.
"Excuse me?" you say.
"Tortuga, an entire village of pirates, thieves, criminals, fugitives, whores, and more. Men get excited every time we near it. Fights all day, drinks all night," says AnaMaria.
Jack shuffles in and grabs a cup of coffee. He's wearing his usual clothes.
"Mornin' everyone," he says as he takes a long sip from his coffee.
He seems to not have any effect from the rum of last night. How could that man do it?
"Mornin' Captain," says AnaMaria.
You stare at Jack. He looks at you.
"Mornin' Luke. Hope I didn't snore too loudly," he says.
You blush, and try to hide it.
"Mornin' Jack," you say. "I didn't hear you snore at all."
Jack smiles.
"Land ho!" a voice from the crow's nest cries. You, AnaMaria, and Jack race up to the deck. You see a small island in view. All the men around you are hooting and hollering.
"Aye! Tortuga!" cries Jack as he slaps his hands together and grins.
The Pearl docks and you have trouble getting down the rope ladder. As soon as your feet make contact with the wooden planks of the dock, Jack calls for you.
"Luke! Luke, me lad! Come and let Ol' Jack show ya around. I'll show ya how we pirates really live."
You follow him and the crew into Tortuga. AnaMaria reluctantly goes with you. Jack smiles as soon as you enter the heart of Tortuga. Run-down buildings line the muddy streets. Dirty men are everywhere as well as women you suspect are whores. You hear a lot of gunshots and see a lot of fights. You see a few men pickpocket another pickpocket.
A woman with a yellow dress walks up to Jack. She had wild red hair and loads of dark make-up on.
"Aye! Annabelle!" Jack says.
Annabelle slaps him.
Jack touches his jaw.
"I didn't deserve that," he says to you.
Another woman with thick blonde hair and a black dress walks up to Jack.
"Regina, lass!" says Jack.
"Who was she?" asks Regina.
"I.uh.."
Regina slaps Jack and walks off.
"I didn't deserve that either," he says
He leads you a dirty pub. You grimace at the putrid smell of stale dirt and rum. Men litter the inside, all either drinking, arguing, talking, or passed out. Jack leads you to a corner table.
"A few pints of your best rum," Jack says to a waitress.
The waitress disappears for a moment and returns with mugs of rum. Jack immediately chugs it down and orders another. You sip yours and watch the activity in the place.
"Can't find a better, finer place than Tortuga," says Jack.
"It seems like any other place except for all the pirates," you say.
Jack looks at you as if you were mad.
"Are you mad? This be the best place for any pirate. Come, I'll show ya around. Ya need what every pirate needs," he says.
You give him a quizzical look.
"What would that be?" you ask, hoping it has nothing to do with the horrible women you see there.
"A sword," he says.
You let out a sigh of relief. You twitch your mustache and get up, enjoying a quick glance at a fight taking place. Jack leads you to a shop and hands you several swords. You stand there, holding at least three in each hand, staring at them. Jack looks at you.
"Well?" he asks.
"Well what?" you ask.
"Try 'em out," he says.
You place all but one sword down. You hold the golden handle and stare at the blade. You look up at Jack with a puzzled look. He smiles.
"Don't tell me you don't know how to use a sword?" he says.
You smile weakly.
"No," you say.
Jack laughs. He removes his own sword.
"Now Luke, me boy, do what I do," he says.
He swishes it around. You do the same. He twirls it with his hand. You do the same.
"Good," he says.
He raises his blade and carefully tells you to meet it.
"I'll go slowly and you try to block me with only your blade," he says.
He lunges slowly and you block him several times, pushing him back.
"Excellent, me boy, excellent," he says. "Now, let's speed it up a bit"
He lunges quickly at you. You meet his blade and push him back. You lunge at him but he jumps back. You drop your sword and fall on your stomach. You flip onto your back and see that jack has his blade pointing at you.
"You're a quick learner, but still need practice," he says.
He puts away his sword and extends his hand to help you up. You smile slyly, grab it and fling him down. You jump up and put your boot on his chest. Jack looks at his own sword pointing at his neck.
"Where'd ya learn that at?" he asks you.
You smile and allow him to get up. You hand him his sword.
"When you have a sister, I mean brother and you fight all the time, you learn a few ways of fighting on your own," you say.
Jack pays for the sword you fought him with and a holster. You meet up with AnaMaria while Jack collects the crew.
"Where exactly are we heading to?" you ask AnaMaria.
"We be going after treasure on Arlis Island," she says.
"Treasure? Wow! A treasure hunt!" you think as you climbed back onto the ship.
"It be dangerous though. We are trying to get it before anyone else does," says AnaMaria.
"How do you know there's treasure on that island?" you ask.
"Sparrow and Gibbs found a map of the island on the Pearl. Must have been Barbosa's when he had stolen the Pearl. We found a few other maps and they proved successful. This one island is supposed to be loaded with gold and jewels," says AnaMaria.
The Pearl begins to sail away. You watch as Tortuga's lights dim and fade. You hoped that your little trick of making your parents think you were with Norrington worked.
"Tortuga & Sword Fighting"
You slowly wake-up the next morning, light barely streaming in from the small windows. Your head aches terribly, but you push it off. You at first are started to find yourself in a strange bed, but relax when you remember that you were on the Pearl. You try to sit up, but can't. Something is weighing you down. You look down and see an arm slinged around your waist. You follow the arm to the shoulder and to the owner's face. You gasp as you realize it is Jack. Did he know that he does things like that in his sleep?
"Oh my God! Jack! Jack! Wake up!" you hiss.
Jack murmurs.
"I don't want to go to jail, Commodore," he says.
You remove his arm and crawl out of bed. He was talking in his sleep, singing a few verses from the pirate song. You smile at this and put on your hat and boots and head down to the kitchen. AnaMaria is already there, fixing oatmeal.
"Morning, Luke," she says with a smile.
"Morning, AnaMaria," you say in a raspy voice.
"Slept well?" she asks.
"Yeah," you reply.
"Aye, feel sorry for ya. Either ya sleep with the crew or slumber with Sparrow. Either way, I'd hate to be in your shoes. At least ya not a woman. They make ya feel uncomfortable, so I practically had to threaten Sparrow to give me my own room," she says.
A few men scramble in and eat quickly. Everyone seems to be in a hurry.
"Why is everyone in such a rush?" you ask as you was dishes.
"Tortuga," says AnaMaria.
"Excuse me?" you say.
"Tortuga, an entire village of pirates, thieves, criminals, fugitives, whores, and more. Men get excited every time we near it. Fights all day, drinks all night," says AnaMaria.
Jack shuffles in and grabs a cup of coffee. He's wearing his usual clothes.
"Mornin' everyone," he says as he takes a long sip from his coffee.
He seems to not have any effect from the rum of last night. How could that man do it?
"Mornin' Captain," says AnaMaria.
You stare at Jack. He looks at you.
"Mornin' Luke. Hope I didn't snore too loudly," he says.
You blush, and try to hide it.
"Mornin' Jack," you say. "I didn't hear you snore at all."
Jack smiles.
"Land ho!" a voice from the crow's nest cries. You, AnaMaria, and Jack race up to the deck. You see a small island in view. All the men around you are hooting and hollering.
"Aye! Tortuga!" cries Jack as he slaps his hands together and grins.
The Pearl docks and you have trouble getting down the rope ladder. As soon as your feet make contact with the wooden planks of the dock, Jack calls for you.
"Luke! Luke, me lad! Come and let Ol' Jack show ya around. I'll show ya how we pirates really live."
You follow him and the crew into Tortuga. AnaMaria reluctantly goes with you. Jack smiles as soon as you enter the heart of Tortuga. Run-down buildings line the muddy streets. Dirty men are everywhere as well as women you suspect are whores. You hear a lot of gunshots and see a lot of fights. You see a few men pickpocket another pickpocket.
A woman with a yellow dress walks up to Jack. She had wild red hair and loads of dark make-up on.
"Aye! Annabelle!" Jack says.
Annabelle slaps him.
Jack touches his jaw.
"I didn't deserve that," he says to you.
Another woman with thick blonde hair and a black dress walks up to Jack.
"Regina, lass!" says Jack.
"Who was she?" asks Regina.
"I.uh.."
Regina slaps Jack and walks off.
"I didn't deserve that either," he says
He leads you a dirty pub. You grimace at the putrid smell of stale dirt and rum. Men litter the inside, all either drinking, arguing, talking, or passed out. Jack leads you to a corner table.
"A few pints of your best rum," Jack says to a waitress.
The waitress disappears for a moment and returns with mugs of rum. Jack immediately chugs it down and orders another. You sip yours and watch the activity in the place.
"Can't find a better, finer place than Tortuga," says Jack.
"It seems like any other place except for all the pirates," you say.
Jack looks at you as if you were mad.
"Are you mad? This be the best place for any pirate. Come, I'll show ya around. Ya need what every pirate needs," he says.
You give him a quizzical look.
"What would that be?" you ask, hoping it has nothing to do with the horrible women you see there.
"A sword," he says.
You let out a sigh of relief. You twitch your mustache and get up, enjoying a quick glance at a fight taking place. Jack leads you to a shop and hands you several swords. You stand there, holding at least three in each hand, staring at them. Jack looks at you.
"Well?" he asks.
"Well what?" you ask.
"Try 'em out," he says.
You place all but one sword down. You hold the golden handle and stare at the blade. You look up at Jack with a puzzled look. He smiles.
"Don't tell me you don't know how to use a sword?" he says.
You smile weakly.
"No," you say.
Jack laughs. He removes his own sword.
"Now Luke, me boy, do what I do," he says.
He swishes it around. You do the same. He twirls it with his hand. You do the same.
"Good," he says.
He raises his blade and carefully tells you to meet it.
"I'll go slowly and you try to block me with only your blade," he says.
He lunges slowly and you block him several times, pushing him back.
"Excellent, me boy, excellent," he says. "Now, let's speed it up a bit"
He lunges quickly at you. You meet his blade and push him back. You lunge at him but he jumps back. You drop your sword and fall on your stomach. You flip onto your back and see that jack has his blade pointing at you.
"You're a quick learner, but still need practice," he says.
He puts away his sword and extends his hand to help you up. You smile slyly, grab it and fling him down. You jump up and put your boot on his chest. Jack looks at his own sword pointing at his neck.
"Where'd ya learn that at?" he asks you.
You smile and allow him to get up. You hand him his sword.
"When you have a sister, I mean brother and you fight all the time, you learn a few ways of fighting on your own," you say.
Jack pays for the sword you fought him with and a holster. You meet up with AnaMaria while Jack collects the crew.
"Where exactly are we heading to?" you ask AnaMaria.
"We be going after treasure on Arlis Island," she says.
"Treasure? Wow! A treasure hunt!" you think as you climbed back onto the ship.
"It be dangerous though. We are trying to get it before anyone else does," says AnaMaria.
"How do you know there's treasure on that island?" you ask.
"Sparrow and Gibbs found a map of the island on the Pearl. Must have been Barbosa's when he had stolen the Pearl. We found a few other maps and they proved successful. This one island is supposed to be loaded with gold and jewels," says AnaMaria.
The Pearl begins to sail away. You watch as Tortuga's lights dim and fade. You hoped that your little trick of making your parents think you were with Norrington worked.
