quiet-one 145, Trappedandannoyed, thanks for the reviews :) I sooo need very little encouragement to carry on writing,
I have no life!
But nevertheless reviews are very much loved cuz they make me feel shiny and keeps my poor angsty heart from thinking
I'm hated, hee hee. REVIEW PLZ XXX
*3*
Stark morning sunlight cut through the cabin and met with Elizabeth's shut eyelids, which fluttered into wakefulness after
a moment or so of restless turning to avoid the light. As the initial haze of sleep drifted from her mind she started,
recalling last night and its events. Snapping her eyes fully open she launched herself into a seating position, taking
in her surroundings with a wild gaze. A modestly furbished cabin, holding a desk and chair, the bed she was sleeping in,
and several trunks. A small window was situated opposite from the bed, allowing the hot morning sun that reflected to
an even higher intensity off the sparkling ocean, entrance into the room. Gingerly touching the back of her head,
Elizabeth noted it had been bandaged. The enormity of her situation came crashing down upon her. She had been
kidnapped. AGAIN! And on this occasion she didn't even know who by and to what purpose they kept her! Quelling her
initial feelings of panic, she edged out of the bed and headed towards the door. Maybe if she could hide in the belly
of the ship for a while so that they were looking for her and then creep on deck in the night... Inching the door open,
she squinted her eyes against the sun and slid out of the crack in the door, crouching low into the shadows at the base
of the stairs...
"Whatever it is you're tryin' to do, stop it. It's annoyin'."
Elizabeth turned swiftly and yelped in surprise, almost falling over as she found that she had been virtually standing on
the toes of a woman who was seated by the cabin door on a chair eating an apple. Backing up to place some distance
between herself and the woman, she took her in, and upon closer inspection recalled her as the woman from last night who
had actually kidnapped her. She was tall and languidly elegant, with hot amber eyes that glowed with wit, good humour
and intensity. Elizabeth was sure that in more forgiving situations she would be quite startlingly beautiful, but
appearing attractive seemed to be the last of this woman's concerns. Her skin was tanned by the sun, and dirty from
work, her hands calloused as they lazily peeled the apple she dissected with a large knife. Her clothes also were
filthy and torn, but meticulously sewn wherever they had previously been damaged. A large overcoat that practically
smothered her broad-shouldered but otherwise slim frame, seemed to be comprised almost solely of pockets. The woman
squinted up at Elizabeth now, finishing off her apple and removing her hat to fan her face, warm red hair spilling out
across her face. "Glad to see you're up mate. Feel priveleged, don't often let people comandeer my bed, even if they
are guests." she said, flashing a broad grin before dragging herself out of her chair and heading up the stairs.
Elizabeth stood mute for a moment in shock before scampering up the stairs after her, fuming as the woman casually threw
her apple core over the side. "Guest?! You brought me here whilst I was unconscious under false pretenses..." she
began, eyes flicking round nervously to survey the crew that busily manoeuvered the ship around her. All of them stared
at her either with open hostility or quiet curiosity, and she noted with great surprise that they were all women, some
beautiful, some battle-scarred, some slender, some stockily built. "But isn't it a grand day to be out on the sea?"
said the woman, taking her hat off once more and waving it about dramatically. She took a deep breath and sighed with
satisfaction "Mmmmm God smell that salty air!" Seeing the lack of humour Elizabeth was finding in the situation her
broad grin dropped instead to a slightly less maniacal smile "I'm Captain Jade Quinn. Welcome aboard the Sea Demon."
she said gently, bowing mockingly as she spoke. Elizabeth remained obstinately stiff, despite feeling distinctly
unthreatened by this Captain's attitude, very much aware that she WAS a pirate and HAD captured her. And the swift,
almost brutal dispatch of those pirates that they had encountered last night demonstrated that her seeming good humour
only stretched so far. "You of course are Miss Elizabeth Swann, daughter to the Governor, and betrothed to one William
Turner, son of Bootstrap Bill. You're also a friend of an old friend of mine..." An image of Jack floated through
Elizabeth's head and she mentally cursed him all the way to the gallows. How could this woman not be friends with him?
They were both deranged! "Jack? Is he what this is all about?" Elizabeth managed, the words sticking fast in her
throat.Jade's smile returned, or at least a grotesque bitter resemblance of it, and her eyes darkened. The woman who
had killed those pirates last night could be seen all too clearly as her face twisted into something new. "No mate. He
thinks I'm dead. Which is better off for all of us."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her eyes were so bright and glowing like sharp stars and now they were dying...
Jack jolted upright, the ghost remnants of his dream lifting and disappearing so fast he had no hope of retrieving the
pale image and shape of what had caused his heart to beat so fast. His eyes wearily trailed around the all too familiar
cell, which retained the same dregs of foul water and remains of skeletons as it had possessed on his previous visit. It
was dank, it was depressing, it was cold. Basically, it was just like every other prison he had found himself in on one
occasion or another. Skimming his hat back down over his face and trying to get comfortable on the impossibly narrow
bench that he had delicately kicked a skeleton off, he pondered on the dilemma that was before him. Naturally he had to
go with will after his lass (once the damned whelp managed to get him out of here again), but that woman... The voice
was so familiar, something he couldn't place. Of course he couldn't, he'd known so many women over the years. This
thought brought an errant smirk to his face despite himself. Not that he knew many pirate women, they were few and far
between as it was and most seemed to intensely dislike male pirates. But the way she had changed her voice so swiftly,
one instant, manipulative, soft and seductive, the next sharp and luscious and real... That in itself was familiar, but
why he didn't quite know. Either way, it would be good to catch up with some woman arrogant enough to think she could
knock all the wind out of Captain Jack Sparrow and get away with it! At this moment, the familiar sound of limp bodies
falling down stone steps echoed through the prison. Jack looked round to see Gibbs fixing him with a beamy, dirty toothed
grin.
"Norrington said Will couldn't come anywhere near the prison. He didn't say nothin' about me."
Scampering away in his normal swaying fashion with the puffing, out-of-breath Gibbs not far behind, Jack glanced back at
the jail and dragged Gibbs into the shadows with him beneath a cart from the market. "D'you think..... we were seen...?"
wheezed Gibbs, clutching his chest and turning purple. "Of course not. I have the cunning of a fox and the sneakiness
of a weasel." Jack declared proudly an instant before he threw himself to the ground, a bullet impacting with the cart
above his head.
"Let's move on!!" Darting out from beneath the cart Jack flew down towards the dock, arms flailing before him comically,
only hoping that Gibbs would be able to keep up. Diving cleanly into the water, barely causing a ripple on the surface,
Jack swam as fast as he was readily able, up towards the Pearl which had anchored some distance out. The loud SPLOOSH
he heard behind him indicated that either Gibbs had decided to join him or a Whale had tried to beach itself. As he
reached the Pearl, he entwined one arm around an anchor chain and levered himself out of the water, clambering hand over
hand up until members of the crew grabbed him and pulled him aboard. Soaking wet and freezing, and in desperate need of
Rum for medicinal purposes, he found himself being shaken vigorously by the jacket. "They've got her Jack, they've got
Elizabeth! We have to go after her!" Anamarie calmly detached Will from her Captain's jacket, before turning him around
and slapping him hard in the face. Jack shrugged as Will shook off the sting of it "Now you see what I mean lad, d'you
feel like you deserved that?" and then in more hushed tones to Anamarie "Cheers Anamarie." she nodded in recognition,
her face stern. "He's been saying that ever since he got on the damn ship!" she snorted before turning to help a
spluttering Gibbs be brought aboard. "Don't worry Lad, I know they've got her, I was the one who told you if you may
recall. And we are goin' after her." Jack said, placing a reassuring hand on Will's shoulder. Will eventually looked up
at him, his eyes misty and his face strained "I don't know what I'll do if something's happened to her Jack." he said,
his voice breaking. Jack frowned at the distress on his friend's face before giving him a hard slap on the back, drawing
him under his arm and pulling him towards the Wheel. "Don't you worry Will, we'll get her back for you. You're lucky
you've got the fastest ship in the Carribean after her."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jewels, courtesies, an intense look, a wicked smile. The sound of my own laughter so foreign that it almost made me cry. I
had never had cause to laugh before. Creeping out of that vile bed in the night, holding my breath, heart beating faster
than any drum, hoping, hoping...
"... I SAID what do you intend to do with me?!"
Jade snapped out of her reverie and flicked a distracted glance at the indignant Elizabeth. She waved a languid hand at
the dinner table before them "Might wanna eat something. Our cook, Old Syla, killed her first husband for not
appreciatin' her cooking." Elizabeth's eyes widened and she nervously continued eating. Jade chuckled quietly to herself
and reseated, one of her booted feet automatically weaving its way in between the platters and resting on the table.
"Now, as to what I'm going to do with you, the answer to that is nothing. You simply need to give me directions
somewhere." Elizabeth paused in eating and looked blank. "You're the mariner, not me. Where would I possibly know to
take you?" she said, laughing incredulously. Jade gave a small 'hmmph' of laughter. Despite appearances, she quite
liked Elizabeth. Unlike most of her aristocratic breed she had an independance and toughness that Jade respected.
"You're going to take me to Isla de Muerto. Ah ah ah..." she tutted reproachfully when she saw the look of fear on
Elizabeth's face and the beginnings of a denial, "I know you know where it is."
Elizabeth's brain worked frantically as she stalled for time by taking a long draft of the wine she'd been given. Of
course she knew where Isla de Muerto was, the greatest and most horrific event of her life had occured there. But the
only intent that Jade could have there was a sinister one. "You do realise that Will and Jack will come after me don't
you?" she improvised. Jade, not being an idiot, ignored the attempted diversion "You will not be hurt as long as you are
on this ship. Consider yourself a guest. However, I do, insist, that you aid me in finding Isla de Muerto. I have
some unfinished business with Barbossa." she said smoothly, her tone business-like, cold, efficient. Elizabeth froze and
locked gazes with her, the full meaning of this knotting into an icy fist deep in her stomach. "You knew Barbossa?"
Jade smirked, an ugly, vicious expression, her eyes flashing ashes they seemed so utterly dead. "You could say so."
"But... he's dead."
Jade quirked an eyebrow, as if such a thing didn't matter in the slightest.
I have no life!
But nevertheless reviews are very much loved cuz they make me feel shiny and keeps my poor angsty heart from thinking
I'm hated, hee hee. REVIEW PLZ XXX
*3*
Stark morning sunlight cut through the cabin and met with Elizabeth's shut eyelids, which fluttered into wakefulness after
a moment or so of restless turning to avoid the light. As the initial haze of sleep drifted from her mind she started,
recalling last night and its events. Snapping her eyes fully open she launched herself into a seating position, taking
in her surroundings with a wild gaze. A modestly furbished cabin, holding a desk and chair, the bed she was sleeping in,
and several trunks. A small window was situated opposite from the bed, allowing the hot morning sun that reflected to
an even higher intensity off the sparkling ocean, entrance into the room. Gingerly touching the back of her head,
Elizabeth noted it had been bandaged. The enormity of her situation came crashing down upon her. She had been
kidnapped. AGAIN! And on this occasion she didn't even know who by and to what purpose they kept her! Quelling her
initial feelings of panic, she edged out of the bed and headed towards the door. Maybe if she could hide in the belly
of the ship for a while so that they were looking for her and then creep on deck in the night... Inching the door open,
she squinted her eyes against the sun and slid out of the crack in the door, crouching low into the shadows at the base
of the stairs...
"Whatever it is you're tryin' to do, stop it. It's annoyin'."
Elizabeth turned swiftly and yelped in surprise, almost falling over as she found that she had been virtually standing on
the toes of a woman who was seated by the cabin door on a chair eating an apple. Backing up to place some distance
between herself and the woman, she took her in, and upon closer inspection recalled her as the woman from last night who
had actually kidnapped her. She was tall and languidly elegant, with hot amber eyes that glowed with wit, good humour
and intensity. Elizabeth was sure that in more forgiving situations she would be quite startlingly beautiful, but
appearing attractive seemed to be the last of this woman's concerns. Her skin was tanned by the sun, and dirty from
work, her hands calloused as they lazily peeled the apple she dissected with a large knife. Her clothes also were
filthy and torn, but meticulously sewn wherever they had previously been damaged. A large overcoat that practically
smothered her broad-shouldered but otherwise slim frame, seemed to be comprised almost solely of pockets. The woman
squinted up at Elizabeth now, finishing off her apple and removing her hat to fan her face, warm red hair spilling out
across her face. "Glad to see you're up mate. Feel priveleged, don't often let people comandeer my bed, even if they
are guests." she said, flashing a broad grin before dragging herself out of her chair and heading up the stairs.
Elizabeth stood mute for a moment in shock before scampering up the stairs after her, fuming as the woman casually threw
her apple core over the side. "Guest?! You brought me here whilst I was unconscious under false pretenses..." she
began, eyes flicking round nervously to survey the crew that busily manoeuvered the ship around her. All of them stared
at her either with open hostility or quiet curiosity, and she noted with great surprise that they were all women, some
beautiful, some battle-scarred, some slender, some stockily built. "But isn't it a grand day to be out on the sea?"
said the woman, taking her hat off once more and waving it about dramatically. She took a deep breath and sighed with
satisfaction "Mmmmm God smell that salty air!" Seeing the lack of humour Elizabeth was finding in the situation her
broad grin dropped instead to a slightly less maniacal smile "I'm Captain Jade Quinn. Welcome aboard the Sea Demon."
she said gently, bowing mockingly as she spoke. Elizabeth remained obstinately stiff, despite feeling distinctly
unthreatened by this Captain's attitude, very much aware that she WAS a pirate and HAD captured her. And the swift,
almost brutal dispatch of those pirates that they had encountered last night demonstrated that her seeming good humour
only stretched so far. "You of course are Miss Elizabeth Swann, daughter to the Governor, and betrothed to one William
Turner, son of Bootstrap Bill. You're also a friend of an old friend of mine..." An image of Jack floated through
Elizabeth's head and she mentally cursed him all the way to the gallows. How could this woman not be friends with him?
They were both deranged! "Jack? Is he what this is all about?" Elizabeth managed, the words sticking fast in her
throat.Jade's smile returned, or at least a grotesque bitter resemblance of it, and her eyes darkened. The woman who
had killed those pirates last night could be seen all too clearly as her face twisted into something new. "No mate. He
thinks I'm dead. Which is better off for all of us."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her eyes were so bright and glowing like sharp stars and now they were dying...
Jack jolted upright, the ghost remnants of his dream lifting and disappearing so fast he had no hope of retrieving the
pale image and shape of what had caused his heart to beat so fast. His eyes wearily trailed around the all too familiar
cell, which retained the same dregs of foul water and remains of skeletons as it had possessed on his previous visit. It
was dank, it was depressing, it was cold. Basically, it was just like every other prison he had found himself in on one
occasion or another. Skimming his hat back down over his face and trying to get comfortable on the impossibly narrow
bench that he had delicately kicked a skeleton off, he pondered on the dilemma that was before him. Naturally he had to
go with will after his lass (once the damned whelp managed to get him out of here again), but that woman... The voice
was so familiar, something he couldn't place. Of course he couldn't, he'd known so many women over the years. This
thought brought an errant smirk to his face despite himself. Not that he knew many pirate women, they were few and far
between as it was and most seemed to intensely dislike male pirates. But the way she had changed her voice so swiftly,
one instant, manipulative, soft and seductive, the next sharp and luscious and real... That in itself was familiar, but
why he didn't quite know. Either way, it would be good to catch up with some woman arrogant enough to think she could
knock all the wind out of Captain Jack Sparrow and get away with it! At this moment, the familiar sound of limp bodies
falling down stone steps echoed through the prison. Jack looked round to see Gibbs fixing him with a beamy, dirty toothed
grin.
"Norrington said Will couldn't come anywhere near the prison. He didn't say nothin' about me."
Scampering away in his normal swaying fashion with the puffing, out-of-breath Gibbs not far behind, Jack glanced back at
the jail and dragged Gibbs into the shadows with him beneath a cart from the market. "D'you think..... we were seen...?"
wheezed Gibbs, clutching his chest and turning purple. "Of course not. I have the cunning of a fox and the sneakiness
of a weasel." Jack declared proudly an instant before he threw himself to the ground, a bullet impacting with the cart
above his head.
"Let's move on!!" Darting out from beneath the cart Jack flew down towards the dock, arms flailing before him comically,
only hoping that Gibbs would be able to keep up. Diving cleanly into the water, barely causing a ripple on the surface,
Jack swam as fast as he was readily able, up towards the Pearl which had anchored some distance out. The loud SPLOOSH
he heard behind him indicated that either Gibbs had decided to join him or a Whale had tried to beach itself. As he
reached the Pearl, he entwined one arm around an anchor chain and levered himself out of the water, clambering hand over
hand up until members of the crew grabbed him and pulled him aboard. Soaking wet and freezing, and in desperate need of
Rum for medicinal purposes, he found himself being shaken vigorously by the jacket. "They've got her Jack, they've got
Elizabeth! We have to go after her!" Anamarie calmly detached Will from her Captain's jacket, before turning him around
and slapping him hard in the face. Jack shrugged as Will shook off the sting of it "Now you see what I mean lad, d'you
feel like you deserved that?" and then in more hushed tones to Anamarie "Cheers Anamarie." she nodded in recognition,
her face stern. "He's been saying that ever since he got on the damn ship!" she snorted before turning to help a
spluttering Gibbs be brought aboard. "Don't worry Lad, I know they've got her, I was the one who told you if you may
recall. And we are goin' after her." Jack said, placing a reassuring hand on Will's shoulder. Will eventually looked up
at him, his eyes misty and his face strained "I don't know what I'll do if something's happened to her Jack." he said,
his voice breaking. Jack frowned at the distress on his friend's face before giving him a hard slap on the back, drawing
him under his arm and pulling him towards the Wheel. "Don't you worry Will, we'll get her back for you. You're lucky
you've got the fastest ship in the Carribean after her."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jewels, courtesies, an intense look, a wicked smile. The sound of my own laughter so foreign that it almost made me cry. I
had never had cause to laugh before. Creeping out of that vile bed in the night, holding my breath, heart beating faster
than any drum, hoping, hoping...
"... I SAID what do you intend to do with me?!"
Jade snapped out of her reverie and flicked a distracted glance at the indignant Elizabeth. She waved a languid hand at
the dinner table before them "Might wanna eat something. Our cook, Old Syla, killed her first husband for not
appreciatin' her cooking." Elizabeth's eyes widened and she nervously continued eating. Jade chuckled quietly to herself
and reseated, one of her booted feet automatically weaving its way in between the platters and resting on the table.
"Now, as to what I'm going to do with you, the answer to that is nothing. You simply need to give me directions
somewhere." Elizabeth paused in eating and looked blank. "You're the mariner, not me. Where would I possibly know to
take you?" she said, laughing incredulously. Jade gave a small 'hmmph' of laughter. Despite appearances, she quite
liked Elizabeth. Unlike most of her aristocratic breed she had an independance and toughness that Jade respected.
"You're going to take me to Isla de Muerto. Ah ah ah..." she tutted reproachfully when she saw the look of fear on
Elizabeth's face and the beginnings of a denial, "I know you know where it is."
Elizabeth's brain worked frantically as she stalled for time by taking a long draft of the wine she'd been given. Of
course she knew where Isla de Muerto was, the greatest and most horrific event of her life had occured there. But the
only intent that Jade could have there was a sinister one. "You do realise that Will and Jack will come after me don't
you?" she improvised. Jade, not being an idiot, ignored the attempted diversion "You will not be hurt as long as you are
on this ship. Consider yourself a guest. However, I do, insist, that you aid me in finding Isla de Muerto. I have
some unfinished business with Barbossa." she said smoothly, her tone business-like, cold, efficient. Elizabeth froze and
locked gazes with her, the full meaning of this knotting into an icy fist deep in her stomach. "You knew Barbossa?"
Jade smirked, an ugly, vicious expression, her eyes flashing ashes they seemed so utterly dead. "You could say so."
"But... he's dead."
Jade quirked an eyebrow, as if such a thing didn't matter in the slightest.