"Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate."
Chapter 2:
Mr. Gibbs: Aye, Lieutenant. It's bad luck to have a woman on board, too, even a miniature one.
Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! Wow…people actually like this… amazing… *scratches her head in confusion* Anyhoo, wow! Six reviews…for one chapter.
Thank you: Blackwiddow, Ariandir (glad you like both my ranges of stuff…) BeBe (thanks for the compliments!), lemonade (prologues rock! Yeah!), thanks Aelimir (and here's an update for you!), and last but not least…that weirdo from the 1100 side of the hall…(*narrows eyes and then smirks* Care to help get rid of more writer's block? I really, really like the massages…*evil grin*)
Disclaimer: Still no own PotC…*sigh* Poor lonely actors…I would keep them company! *sniffle*
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Captain Jack Sparrow of the Black Pearl felt himself particularly fortunate. Well, after the whole Aztec gold fiasco. Plundering had been going quite well, and their pockets continued to fill. The merchant ships just kept coming, seemingly as endless as the drops of water in the ocean.
Just that morning, Sparrow and his crew had chanced upon a particularly slow frigate. And being pirates, they took every opportune moment there was. It was hardly a struggle at all, and the crew was subdued with ease. No women aboard, much to Sparrow's dismay and Gibbs' joy, but the glittering treasures were everywhere! A few of the men had opened a chest or two, just to get a glimpse at the contents, but there was no reason to be careless and stay in one place for so long. The rest of the booty was hauled to the Pearl, leaving the frigate empty of it's cargo, but still intact.
Sparrow went down to the hold, the helm being handled by Anamaria. Now I can look over all the treasure… His grin was enormous, perhaps a bit mischievous, and along with Gibbs, they began to tally their catch for the day. The counting took some time, and this fact pleased both men greatly. The longer it took to count the gold, the more money each man would get in their share.
"What say you to this chest, Mr. Gibbs?" Sparrow pointed to the last unopened chest, one of a medium size. "More rubies? Or doubloons?"
Mr. Gibbs laughed to himself. "I think it will be clothes. Was quite light, I remember the boys said."
"I'll see your clothes and add a couple bottles of rum," Sparrow smirked to himself and jammed a knife in the lock, twisting it a bit. With a rough snap, the lock opened and Sparrow put his knife away, opening the lid.
Only to pause halfway and stare wide-eyed.
Inside the chest was something he had least expected. A young girl…but dressed very strangely. Strange blue material for her pants…and they conformed to her leg quite tightly. Her boots were white…and had colorful bits of some kind of unknown material. Odd. Her shirt was a semi-long-sleeved light brown color shirt, with blue, white and dark brown waves similar to the ocean across it, with sleeves that looked like they had seen better days. Underneath that appeared to be a black piece of cloth covering where cleavage would have been seen. Her light brown hair was not very long…up in a ponytail that reached a little below her shoulders. She appeared to be a in a deep sleep, and was curled up tightly. And she had some strap across her shoulder…
He reached down and prepared to grab it.
Gibbs spoke up first. "Don't do it Captain!" He hushed to a whisper as Sparrow tensed and scowled back at him. "Could be a curse! What if she's a witch…or…"
"What is it now, Mr. Gibbs? Are you going to remind me that having a woman aboard is bad luck? Does the girl look like a witch to you?"
Gibbs took a hesitant step or two forward, looking a little closer at the girl. "I suppose not Captain…"
With a nod, Sparrow lightly took a hold of the strap and found that she was lying on whatever it was attached to it. Curses, he wasn't sure he wanted to wake her up, but to do anything else, such an action was necessary.
So he put a hand on her shoulder and shook softly.
A mumble came out, and she blinked lethargically, looking down at the chest, then up at Sparrow. He smiled and her eyes widened, simultaneous with her gasp.
"'Ello love, have a good nap?"
"W-who are you? Where am I? W-what's going on?" she stuttered.
Sparrow put out a hand to her. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, and you're aboard the Black Pearl. I was hoping you could answer the last question, as Mr. Gibbs and myself just finished bringing the loot from a frigate and you were what we found inside this chest."
She sat up slowly and took his hand, allowing him to help her out of the chest and onto her feet. She let go of Sparrow's hand, and cringed as she momentarily stretched. Chests aren't traditionally the luxurious way to travel.
"Well…I'm not sure I know the answer." She glanced at her surroundings, still bewildered by the whole situation.
Who wouldn't be?
She continued. "Well, I guess I should return the favor and introduce myself. I'm Amy…and…well…I don't know exactly how I came to be here." Her stomach unrepentantly growled and her brown eyes widened again. She smiled weakly. "Oh…it appears that I'm hungry."
"That it does, lass." Sparrow continued to look her over curiously, and Gibbs watched from more of a distance, anxious about having another woman aboard, especially one coming on in such strange circumstances.
Finally noting how she was being examined, Amy fiddled with her sleeves and basically stood there uncomfortably. Sparrow must have finished his examination, as he took a step to the side, and gestured to the stairwell to his right.
"Right this way, Amy. I'm sure we can find you something in the galley."
"Thank you," she smiled and started to walk unsteadily towards the stairs. Sparrow considered helping her walk, but as soon as he made up his mind to, she seemed to have regained her footing and was walking normally. Amy continued to glance back every once in a while, hoping this strange dream would end soon.
Heading up the stairs, her hopes of reality coming back were rushed away as she felt a rush of warm sea air. She breathed in deeply and hesitantly continued up. Reaching the deck now, Amy paused and took in her surroundings. Pirates were all around… working, lounging, and now they were staring at her. Sparrow came up close behind her.
"What's the matter, lass?" Sparrow grinned and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll keep you safe from these scallywags."
Her response was unexpected. She continued to stare blankly ahead of her, in the direction of the seemingly endless ocean, and then clung desperately to his arm, her breathing getting raspy…and she started to tremble.
The men all looked in confusion, some grinning at the sight of an oddly dressed girl standing on their deck.
"Where'd ye get the little lady, Cap'n?"
"Look what the Cap'n brought up…"
Amy clung tighter and Sparrow tensed a bit, not sure quite how to take this. "I don't think I can do this…" she mumbled, shaking more.
"Calm down, love, there's nothing to be worried about…" she only clung tighter. He scowled to himself. "Amy, love," Sparrow put his free hand under her chin and turned her face to his. "Now tell me, what's the matter, lass? You can tell Cap'n Sparrow, now can't you?"
His coaxing continued a moment longer, his eyes softening to her, in hopes that she would calm down even the least bit more.
"I…I…" she glanced around and lowered her voice. "I get sea sick."
Sparrow blinked for a moment. "Is that all?"
Amy looked down at her feet. "Yeah…and I know this isn't some strange dream either…I would've woken up by now otherwise."
The grin reappeared on his face. He lifted her chin and looked into her face. "Well, lass, high time we cured that little ailment of yours, don't you think?"
Her eyes widened once again, with a gulp, she shook her head. "I-I don't think that will work. People can't just get over sea sickness…"
Despite her words, Sparrow had taken advantage of her clinging hands and put his other hand to work at his usual gesticulations, starting for the railing. "Now, love, this won't be a pleasant business, but we might as well get started right away, as we'll be at sea for some time to come."
"Sparrow…I…" she stumbled alongside him.
"That's Captain Sparrow, love," he interjected.
"I…I can't…I'll be…" she blushed and clung tighter. "You can't do this…it's…"
He looked back, but proceeded towards the railing, an eyebrow cocked. "What is it, love?"
She bit her lip. "I don't want to puke…."
He grinned. "Nor do any of us, love, but it's the only solution I see for this ailment of yours."
Amy nervously looked at the ocean and began to feel her stomach roiling…let alone herself getting lightheaded and overall…nauseous. After staring at the ocean for a grand total of twenty seconds, she clamped a hand to her mouth and looked most unhappy.
Sparrow glanced over and resisted laughing at the sight of Amy looking most uncomfortable and clamping a hand over her mouth, clinging to him with her other hand following him to the railing.
They finally reached it and Sparrow gestured to the ocean. "There it is, love. Feel free to let loose."
"But…" she kept the hand closely connected to her mouth. "I can't just…"
Sparrow pulled his arm loose and patted her shoulder. "No need to be embarrassed, lass. Go ahead."
She narrowed her eyes. "At least do me the decency of turning away."
He raised both eyebrows for a moment, then turned his back to her. Amy then leaned against the railing and hesitantly took the hand off her mouth…soon proceeding to cough and hack…but nothing came out.
I'm hungry. The thought returned to her. I don't even have anything in my stomach. Of course I'm not going to be able to get anything up.
After a few minutes of this awful procedure…she breathed deeply, began to ignore the disorientation and nausea and turned slightly, seeing Sparrow still standing there with his back turned.
He glanced back and smiled at seeing her face. "How did it go, love? Feeling better now?"
She started to shake her head, then closed her eyes as such movements made her only feel worse. "No…I don't have anything in my system. There's nothing to puke."
"Still feeling up to a bite to eat?"
Amy opened her eyes slowly. "Not really. I'm quite sure it'll go in my mouth, and then come out it shortly afterwards. No reason to waste it. And I'm really not too fond of the taste of it either…" she swallowed hard, cringing. "Eww…"
"It will take time, love, but I'm sure you'll get over it soon." He flashed her a grin and she found herself momentarily distracted by the shining gold in his teeth. "Time to introduce you to my crew." He put a hand on her shoulder and gently led her forward again.
She was tempted to cling to his arm again, but resisted. If I act weak and helpless here…then I'll never get any respect. And who knows how safe I'll be here anyway…a pirate ship? Sure…it's just like the movie…but…still…
Sparrow now began to loudly yell to his crew. "Now you scurvy dogs, Mr. Gibbs and myself found a little surprise in one of the chests…" he pulled Amy to his side, grinning. "This is Amy, and she'll be our guest for the time being. I'll expect that she's treated with respect. Is that understood?"
"Aye!" a yell went out.
Amy scanned the crew, recognizing all of the faces from the movie…and a few others. This is so bizarre. It's like I…I went into the post movie because I climbed inside the chest…What's next?
