AN: This story takes place about a year or so after the movie, sorry about not mentioning that earlier. And no, Elena doesn't know how to fight or anything; she is a very properly raised merchant's daughter. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 3: Life at Sea:
After shopping around for an hour, the two women managed to find a shop that sold cookery at decent prices. Elena picked out a bit of everything, and after she had handed over the money, the store helpers set out to deliver the utensils to the Pearl. Elena then dragged Annamaria to buy herbs, spices, and a few special foods for the galley.
Finally, after their three hour time-limit had passed, and the two of them had finished purchasing all of the goods Elena needed, they headed back towards the Black Pearl. Elena was still in a bit of a shock over what Annamaria had said earlier, about Jack being 'fond' of her, but she managed to push the thought aside. After all, hadn't Tommy said that Jack was fond of women and rum? That pretty much described most of the pirates, thieves, and other cutthroats of the sea. Jack Sparrow was a pirate, and Elena had no intention of letting herself fall for the scruffy-yet-handsome captain. She did admit that she felt a sort of attraction to him, but then Tommy had said that many women beforehand had done so as well. Elena, however, had been warned of such things, and had no intention of letting her emotions go any further.
Elena had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't realize that they had returned to the Pearl. Annamaria had to nudge her in the side before she snapped out of it. She then shook her head to clear it and walked up the gangplank and across the deck, heading for the galley. She then took an inventory, checking to see if everything had arrived from the store. As she was finishing up, a hand gripped her shoulder, causing her to let out a small yelp as she turned around. She managed to catch her breath when she saw that it was just the captain.
"Captain Sparrow, don't ever sneak up on me like that again!" she scolded, trying to calm down her heart, which was racing from either the scare or the captain's closeness; she couldn't tell.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Sorry about that, luv," he said, quickly scanning her up and down, checking to make sure that she was alright. "And do ye have a problem with calling me by my first name? I've told ye to call me Jack; only the crew calls me Captain." He gave her an extremely charming smile.
Elena suddenly felt uncomfortable, remembering Tommy's advice. "Technically, I am a member of the crew, so it would make sense for me to call you 'captain,'" she said, shifting on her feet and crossing her arms.
"That's true," Jack said, waving his hands around dramatically, like he had at the tavern. "But ye are a temporary member, and ye are also special, especially since ye can cook better than anyone I've ever met."
Elena blushed at the compliment. "Still, I'd prefer to call you by your title, Captain."
Jack rolled her eyes before smiling at her. "Well then, as yer captain, I order ye to call me Jack."
Elena gave a small giggle. "As you wish, Jack," she said, giving him a mock curtsey.
Jack laughed. "Thank ye," he said, smirking as he have her a mock bow in return to her curtsey. "Now, what are ye going to be cooking for us today?"
Elena smiled. "I haven't really decided yet," she said. "What would you like?"
The pirate captain smiled and leaned against the counter. "Well, what goes with rum? It's my favorite drink, ye understand."
Elena frowned in thought, resting her chin in her hand. "I think we've got some fresh fish," she said, tapping her chin with her finger. "Would a fish stew be alright?" Jack nodded. "Wonderful! Would you mind sending someone down to help me? Cooking for an entire crew is rather difficult."
"Aye," Jack said, smiling. "I'll send ye Annamaria, she rather likes ye."
Elena raised her eyebrow in skepticism. "How can you tell?"
"She hasn't killed ye yet, has she?" Jack asked. "Since ye both went into town together, and ye came back in once piece, she must like ye." He wiggled his eyebrows. "Not as much as I like ye, though." He turned and left the galley, leaving a speechless Elena staring after him.
That day was one of the most amusing days of Elena's life. She hadn't thought that cooking a stew in a pirate ship galley could be so much fun! Going against Elena's skepticism on Annamaria's fondness of her, the two of them had a wonderful time together. Elena listened as the pirate woman told of how Captain Sparrow had stolen her boat several years ago, and of the grand adventure that the crew had experienced to rescue a noblewoman and get the Black Pearl back from a band of undead pirates. Elena listened with fascination, though she somewhat doubted the whole tale. But then, she had heard of stranger things happening to other people, so Elena tried to keep an open mind. Either way, the two women had an amazing time, and it seemed like barely any time had passed between the time they started dinner and the time to serve it.
After the stew was ready, Elena rang a bell to signal the start of dinner. The crew stampeded downstairs and took their places at a long table. Elena was shocked to see Jack join them; she had thought to take a separate platter to his private cabin. Mentally shrugging, she took up the bowl she had already prepared for Jack and signaled for Annamaria to take the large pot of stew to the crew.
The entire crew cheered at the sight of the food before going quiet, inhaling the delicious smell of the stew. They patiently waited as Annamaria dished out steaming bowls of the stuff, watching large chunks of fish and vegetables falling into their bowls. After everyone was served, they all turned to look at Jack, waiting for him to take the first bite and to see his reaction (the reason for this was if the captain didn't like the food, the crew probably wouldn't like it either). They watched as Elena placed a steaming bowl in front of the captain. A moment later, Jack took a bit of fish and vegetables into his spoon and ate it, chewing slowly. After several agonizing moments (for the crew and Elena, who stood at Jack's elbow, watching his reaction), Jack swallowed and smiled.
"Lass, if all of yer food is this good, we'll have to chain ye to the galley!" he exclaimed, enthusiastically digging into the rest of his stew.
The rest of the crew cheered again before digging in. Elena sighed before turning to leave. She was stopped by a hand gripping her elbow. She turned to see Jack smiling up at her from his seat.
"Aren't ye joining us, luv?" he asked. "Ye wouldn't want to be missing out on such wonderful food, now, would ye?"
She smiled down at him. "I've got my own bowl in the galley, Captain, don't worry," she said, patting his hand before removing it and heading into the galley, not noticing Jack smiling after her before returning his attention to the stewpot to get another helping of the delicious concoction.
That night, after the crew was stuffed full of good, tasty food, Jack was surprised to see a number of volunteers wanting to wash the dishes and clean up the galley (what he didn't know was that many were hoping to get on good terms with the cook, thereby influencing the future menus of the Pearl). Jack chuckled as he let the volunteers argue over who was going to be helping the cook and who was going to be left scrubbing the floors of the eating room.
After everything had been cleaned and organized, and the crew was either going on night watch or gambling in their sleeping quarters, Elena went below deck with Annamaria to their shared sleeping quarters. Elena changed into some extra sleeping clothes from the stores below deck, and fell into a spare cot brought up from below. The redhead soon fell into a deep and peaceful slumber.
The next morning, the crew of the Black Pearl woke to the most wonderful smells coming from the galley. After they had all dressed, the crew raced down below to find piles of eggs, bacon, and pots of coffee laid out for them. They quickly dug in, and in less than half an hour all the plates were empty of their contents. Elena was then left with a pile of dirty dishes. Fortunately, Mr. Cotton, a mute man with a bird on his shoulder to speak for him, offered to help with the dishes, provided that he get a bit of extra food for him and his bird to nibble on (though it took Elena ten minutes to figure out just what in the world the bird and Mr. Cotton were asking for in return for their help).
As she was stacking dishes, Elena realized that Jack hadn't been down for breakfast. Shaking her head at the thought, Elena went back down to the galley and gathered some of the food she had left behind, in case a crewmember or two had missed breakfast. She warmed up the eggs, bacon, and coffee, placed it on a tray, and headed for Jack's cabin. Balancing the tray on one arm, Elena knocked on the door. At an incomprehensible answer, she opened the door to see a filthy cabin.
Bottles, both empty and full, littered the floor, and clothes and boots were everywhere. Cutlasses were hung on the walls, and knives and daggers, still in their hilts and on belts, were hanging on the edges of chairs. Elena sniffed the air experimentally and smelled rum and dust; the place seriously needed to be aired out and dusted. Hearing a groan coming from the bed, she realized why it smelled of rum; Jack had probably drunk himself into a rut last night and was now paying the price.
"Uh, Captain?" she timidly asked. She didn't want to get a knife in the gut because she had disturbed him. Jack opened a chocolate brown eye to meet her two dusty, light-brown ones. "Will you be wanting breakfast?" She held up the tray, displaying the steaming food.
Jack abruptly sat up, suddenly wide awake, though still smelling strongly of rum. "Aye, lass, that'd be wonderful!" he said, reaching for the tray. "I'm so hungry I could eat an island!" He smirked when Elena chuckled at him. "Ye have a really pretty laugh, darling," he commented. "Ye should do it more often." He smirked even wider as she blushed at him. "And ye look even prettier when ye blush; ye start to match that hair of yours." He munched on his bacon as Elena blushed even more and headed for the door.
"Uh, I'll come back for your platter when you're done, Captain, or, uh, Jack," she corrected herself after he raised an eyebrow at her. "Until later, then," she said, backing out the door before closing it after her.
Jack grinned widely as she left. That woman really was something. She didn't even call him by his first name, even after he'd ordered her to! She was too much like that stiff-necked girl, Elizabeth Swann. He'd have to work harder to break her of that habit, and he'd enjoy every minute of it, too! Still grinning, Jack returned to his breakfast.
Elena was still blushing half an hour later as she stacked and sorted the dried dishes. She'd never felt so uncomfortable in her life. Even though she was of a higher class in society, Elena had never been comfortable with males; she was more of a reader and a scholar. To counter her seclusion, her father had often taken her to balls, but she hadn't really danced with the young men there. She was always comfortable with the older men, primarily because they reminded her of her loving father and grandfather, but the younger, more handsome men always made her feel uncomfortable whenever they tried to dance or flirt with her. Elena was lucky that most of the men on the ship would leave her alone, her being the cook and all, but that Captain Jack Sparrow would be a problem for her. He was everything that embarrassed her; he was handsome, charming, and very flirty. Elena was sure that she'd have to practically lock herself up in the galley or in her shared room with Annamaria to keep herself from falling for the pirate captain.
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't hear the mentioned captain come up behind her. Suddenly, a jeweled hand clamped down on her shoulder, causing her to give a small shriek.
"Really, lass, ye need to calm down," Jack said, smiling at her. "Yer too stiff."
Elena let out a huge breath. "Must you always scare me like that?" she asked indignantly. "You could make some noise when you walk!"
Jack simply smirked at her as he placed his tray of dirty dishes on the counter next to her. "And where would the fun in that be?" he asked, patting her hand before winking at her and heading upstairs, towards the deck and the helm.
Elena just shook her head before gathering the dirty dishes and heading towards the sink. He really was an annoying man, but he was a handsome one. Hopefully she'd make it through the next year without falling for him. It would be difficult, but she would do it. She had to; she didn't think she could stand having her heart broken by the charming pirate captain.
AN: Sorry about the slow wait with the updates and plot movement. I've barely got enough time to eat and sleep, much less write (stupid college homework)! Anyway, I hope that you've enjoyed the story so far. I'll try and update soon. Love to all my reviewers!
