Chapter 19:
"We're devils, and black sheep, and really bad eggs, drink up me 'earties, yo ho!" Jack Sparrow loved the pirate's song, the full version taught to him by Elizabeth when they'd been marooned on an island by Barbossa. He had started to teach the crew, but what with most of them being very dimwitted, very few had learnt more than the 'drink up me 'earties' bit. Now, it was a song he, Anamaria, Jamie, and Isabelle sang on occasion, but mostly Jack by himself. When he was drunk.
The current alcohol store had been found by the cabin boy, when he moved too suddenly in his closet, opening a hidden compartment almost the size of a small cabin. Jack had filled it in Tortuga, but had then forgotten about it, only remembering when the cabin boy found it. It had only a few bottles of rum, about a quarter of the storage room, and the rest of the spaces were filled with various bottles of different alcohol.
The rum was Jack's personal store. The other alcohol he didn't care about - except if someone tipped it out, or burnt it on purpose. But good alcohol was hard to find, especially in Tortuga, and the crew knew better than to waste it. The party that occurred as a result of the discovery of the alcohol lasted for days. It was a good thing that no one saw any other ships, or the entire crew of the Pearl would have been too drunk to do anything.
Jack didn't drink quite as much as what the rest of the crew did, but rum is quite a bit stronger than regular ale. Louisa and Isabelle were only rationed one bottle each, but claimed that Jack hadn't said *which* bottle they were to have, and managed to gain a bottle of rum each. Will and Jamie had their own store, but added their share of the crew's alcohol.
Jack stood at the bow of the ship, leaning over the edge, staring blankly at the water. The pirate song drifted through his mind, and half the crew had heard the same lines over and over again. The other half hadn't heard anything, seeing as though they were completely drunk and many had passed out. Will Sr. knew when Jack was in his moods by now, and steered clear of the bow. Jamie and Isabelle, however, knew what was really wrong.
Jamie approached his father, leaning on the bow next to him. Jack continued his song, though by now his voice had dropped so he could barely be heard above the sound of the water. "Ye miss her that much, do ye?" Jamie asked, causing Jack to stop and look at him. He thought about what his son had said for a minute, then asked, "Miss who? Who do I miss? Ye can't expect me t' answer a question like that when ye don't specify who," he finished, gesturing with his hand. He swayed more than he usually did when he stood up, and Jamie sighed, "Ye know very well who I mean, Da. Ma'ma - ye miss her don' ye?"
Jack turned back to the bow, and looked back over the water. "Anamaria... she misses the ocean when she's on land, aye?" Jamie nodded, "Aye, Da, she does, but ye did say that she couldn't go with ye this time, an' she agreed. She was tryin' t' turn Bella into a lady, remember?" Jack nodded, "Aye, I remember - she shouldn't be tryin' t' do that t' Bella. Bella hates dresses, Ana knows that. I hate dresses, always have, since I dressed as a lady for a special occasion!"
Jamie, who'd heard the story on a previous occasion when his father was drunk, sighed, and walked away, leaving Jack to go back to singing the pirate song under his breath. He passed Isabelle on the stairs, and pointed over his shoulder without turning, "Your turn, Bella. He's rambling about the dress incident again." Isabelle tried to stifle a laugh, and Jamie just raised an eyebrow. Isabelle hastily explained, "He's rambled on about the dress thing before, but I ne'er believed it afore ma'ma told me it were true!" Jamie looked bewildered, but continued on his way without saying anything.
Isabelle walked out to the bow, to find her father in the same place that Jamie had left him, still drunk, still singing the same lines of the song in an undertone. He looked up when Isabelle approached him, and offered her the half-filled bottle of rum. "Drink, Bella?" he asked, and Isabelle took the bottle. "Aye, thanks Da, but ye should know better than t' drink at the bow o' the ship - ye do remember what happened when Grady did that, aye?" Jack laughed, but didn't move. "Aye, I remember what happened t' Grady - yer mother pushed him o'er the edge!"
Isabelle laughed, "Aye, I do suppose that's what happened, so p'raps it's a good thing that ma'ma ain't here, or the same would happen t ye, aye?" Jack nodded, and looked around for his bottle. He saw Isabelle holding it, and stood up as straight as he could, whilst drunk. "What ye think yer doing, Bella, with my rum? Ye know ye ain't meant t' be drinkin' on board th' Pearl!" Isabelle laughed and handed over the bottle, not bothering to start an argument by pointing out that he'd given her the bottle in the first place.
Inside the cabin, Jamie and Louisa were debating the possible ways that Isabelle could get her father away from the bow, and back to the helm. "She could drag 'im back - she's pretty strong," started Jamie, only to be met with an affirmitive no, from Louisa. "P'raps she'll get him dancin' an' move 'im like that?" she laughed, and Jamie scowled. "That would be the last option, Cannonfire. She'd be more likely t' push 'im o'erboard like what ma'ma does when she sees men drunk at the bow o' the ship. She can't resist!"
Louisa looked at Jamie, trying to conceal her laughter, but after a minute, she couldn't help herself, and started laughing so hard that there were tears of laugher rolling down her face.
It was at that moment, that Jack walked past in his usual unsteady way, though it was obvious he was *very* drunk, because his land-walk disappeared onboard a ship. Isabelle didn't follow her father, just went straight back to the cabin, passing Jamie and Louisa, who exchanged glances and started laughing. When they calmed down, Louisa looked at Jamie, "How did she do that?" she asked, and Jamie shrugged. "I don' know. She's always been able to get Da away from th' bow o' the ship afore ma'ma has had a chance t' tip him o'er - I dinna know how though - an' Isabelle won' tell ye how, either!"
The two stayed above deck for a while, before the lack of sleep caused them to go back under. Jamie walked Louisa to the cabin door, and pushed it open for her. Inside, Isabelle and Will were looking very guilty, and Jamie made as though to say something before Louisa stepped back on his foot, silencing him. Knowing all too well that Will was going to get an ear-bashing from his friend when they reached the crew's quarters, Louisa said goodnight, and Will hastily followed suit, following Jamie out of the cabin.
Louisa looked at Isabelle, who'd turned back to the mirror. Before she could say anything, though, Isabelle shook her head. "No, I ain't goin' t' tell ye." Louisa smiled, "Tell me what?" Isabelle replaced the last of her earrings, and turned to face her friend. "I ain't goin' t' tell ye how I got Da away from the bow-" she was cut off by Lousia, "I don't want to know how ye got your father from the bow!" Isabelle ignored Louisa and continued, unfazed, "- an' I ain't goin' t' tell ye what Will an' I were jus' talkin' 'bout, savvy?" Lousia sighed theatrically, "Savvy. An' I'm tired, so g'night, savvy?" Isabelle laughed, "Savvy."
"We're devils, and black sheep, and really bad eggs, drink up me 'earties, yo ho!" Jack Sparrow loved the pirate's song, the full version taught to him by Elizabeth when they'd been marooned on an island by Barbossa. He had started to teach the crew, but what with most of them being very dimwitted, very few had learnt more than the 'drink up me 'earties' bit. Now, it was a song he, Anamaria, Jamie, and Isabelle sang on occasion, but mostly Jack by himself. When he was drunk.
The current alcohol store had been found by the cabin boy, when he moved too suddenly in his closet, opening a hidden compartment almost the size of a small cabin. Jack had filled it in Tortuga, but had then forgotten about it, only remembering when the cabin boy found it. It had only a few bottles of rum, about a quarter of the storage room, and the rest of the spaces were filled with various bottles of different alcohol.
The rum was Jack's personal store. The other alcohol he didn't care about - except if someone tipped it out, or burnt it on purpose. But good alcohol was hard to find, especially in Tortuga, and the crew knew better than to waste it. The party that occurred as a result of the discovery of the alcohol lasted for days. It was a good thing that no one saw any other ships, or the entire crew of the Pearl would have been too drunk to do anything.
Jack didn't drink quite as much as what the rest of the crew did, but rum is quite a bit stronger than regular ale. Louisa and Isabelle were only rationed one bottle each, but claimed that Jack hadn't said *which* bottle they were to have, and managed to gain a bottle of rum each. Will and Jamie had their own store, but added their share of the crew's alcohol.
Jack stood at the bow of the ship, leaning over the edge, staring blankly at the water. The pirate song drifted through his mind, and half the crew had heard the same lines over and over again. The other half hadn't heard anything, seeing as though they were completely drunk and many had passed out. Will Sr. knew when Jack was in his moods by now, and steered clear of the bow. Jamie and Isabelle, however, knew what was really wrong.
Jamie approached his father, leaning on the bow next to him. Jack continued his song, though by now his voice had dropped so he could barely be heard above the sound of the water. "Ye miss her that much, do ye?" Jamie asked, causing Jack to stop and look at him. He thought about what his son had said for a minute, then asked, "Miss who? Who do I miss? Ye can't expect me t' answer a question like that when ye don't specify who," he finished, gesturing with his hand. He swayed more than he usually did when he stood up, and Jamie sighed, "Ye know very well who I mean, Da. Ma'ma - ye miss her don' ye?"
Jack turned back to the bow, and looked back over the water. "Anamaria... she misses the ocean when she's on land, aye?" Jamie nodded, "Aye, Da, she does, but ye did say that she couldn't go with ye this time, an' she agreed. She was tryin' t' turn Bella into a lady, remember?" Jack nodded, "Aye, I remember - she shouldn't be tryin' t' do that t' Bella. Bella hates dresses, Ana knows that. I hate dresses, always have, since I dressed as a lady for a special occasion!"
Jamie, who'd heard the story on a previous occasion when his father was drunk, sighed, and walked away, leaving Jack to go back to singing the pirate song under his breath. He passed Isabelle on the stairs, and pointed over his shoulder without turning, "Your turn, Bella. He's rambling about the dress incident again." Isabelle tried to stifle a laugh, and Jamie just raised an eyebrow. Isabelle hastily explained, "He's rambled on about the dress thing before, but I ne'er believed it afore ma'ma told me it were true!" Jamie looked bewildered, but continued on his way without saying anything.
Isabelle walked out to the bow, to find her father in the same place that Jamie had left him, still drunk, still singing the same lines of the song in an undertone. He looked up when Isabelle approached him, and offered her the half-filled bottle of rum. "Drink, Bella?" he asked, and Isabelle took the bottle. "Aye, thanks Da, but ye should know better than t' drink at the bow o' the ship - ye do remember what happened when Grady did that, aye?" Jack laughed, but didn't move. "Aye, I remember what happened t' Grady - yer mother pushed him o'er the edge!"
Isabelle laughed, "Aye, I do suppose that's what happened, so p'raps it's a good thing that ma'ma ain't here, or the same would happen t ye, aye?" Jack nodded, and looked around for his bottle. He saw Isabelle holding it, and stood up as straight as he could, whilst drunk. "What ye think yer doing, Bella, with my rum? Ye know ye ain't meant t' be drinkin' on board th' Pearl!" Isabelle laughed and handed over the bottle, not bothering to start an argument by pointing out that he'd given her the bottle in the first place.
Inside the cabin, Jamie and Louisa were debating the possible ways that Isabelle could get her father away from the bow, and back to the helm. "She could drag 'im back - she's pretty strong," started Jamie, only to be met with an affirmitive no, from Louisa. "P'raps she'll get him dancin' an' move 'im like that?" she laughed, and Jamie scowled. "That would be the last option, Cannonfire. She'd be more likely t' push 'im o'erboard like what ma'ma does when she sees men drunk at the bow o' the ship. She can't resist!"
Louisa looked at Jamie, trying to conceal her laughter, but after a minute, she couldn't help herself, and started laughing so hard that there were tears of laugher rolling down her face.
It was at that moment, that Jack walked past in his usual unsteady way, though it was obvious he was *very* drunk, because his land-walk disappeared onboard a ship. Isabelle didn't follow her father, just went straight back to the cabin, passing Jamie and Louisa, who exchanged glances and started laughing. When they calmed down, Louisa looked at Jamie, "How did she do that?" she asked, and Jamie shrugged. "I don' know. She's always been able to get Da away from th' bow o' the ship afore ma'ma has had a chance t' tip him o'er - I dinna know how though - an' Isabelle won' tell ye how, either!"
The two stayed above deck for a while, before the lack of sleep caused them to go back under. Jamie walked Louisa to the cabin door, and pushed it open for her. Inside, Isabelle and Will were looking very guilty, and Jamie made as though to say something before Louisa stepped back on his foot, silencing him. Knowing all too well that Will was going to get an ear-bashing from his friend when they reached the crew's quarters, Louisa said goodnight, and Will hastily followed suit, following Jamie out of the cabin.
Louisa looked at Isabelle, who'd turned back to the mirror. Before she could say anything, though, Isabelle shook her head. "No, I ain't goin' t' tell ye." Louisa smiled, "Tell me what?" Isabelle replaced the last of her earrings, and turned to face her friend. "I ain't goin' t' tell ye how I got Da away from the bow-" she was cut off by Lousia, "I don't want to know how ye got your father from the bow!" Isabelle ignored Louisa and continued, unfazed, "- an' I ain't goin' t' tell ye what Will an' I were jus' talkin' 'bout, savvy?" Lousia sighed theatrically, "Savvy. An' I'm tired, so g'night, savvy?" Isabelle laughed, "Savvy."
