Disclaimer: The fabulous Captain Jack Sparrow belongs to Disney.
AN: Take-home final exams are evil. They take up too much fiction-writing time! Anyway, here is a new chapter for all of my wonderful readers! Oh, and thanks to everyone who have reviewed. Remember, 100 reviews equals a Jack/Elena "loving" chapter, so keep reviewing!
Chapter 9: Port Royal:
Elena sighed as she stood on the porch of a large, white-trimmed, blue cottage in Port Royal, watching the roses and lilac bushes bob in the warm breeze. It had been three weeks since she had been dropped off by Captain Green, and she was lucky enough to have been recently employed by a wealthy, young newly-wed couple.
It hadn't been easy for her these past few weeks, since she had spent her time trying to find work. After having been forced to buy a new wardrobe of work clothes in order to fit into Port Royal life, and lodging at a local inn while she sought employment, her box of treasure savings had been greatly reduced in that time. She had searched all of the local shops for work, only to be turned away by already fully-staffed businesses. With no other choice, Elena had then begun asking around the upper-class homes, hoping for some temporary work to fill her draining savings box. Finally, after weeks of searching, Elena had been snatched up as a cook and housemaid for a lovely young couple, Will and Elizabeth Turner. They were desperate for a cook, and had employed Elena the moment she appeared at their door and described her skills. That had been three days ago.
Elena smiled as she thought of her new employers. The tall, dark, and handsome Mr. Turner (or Will, as he liked to be called) was a very well- known, well respected blacksmith, and his fair-haired wife, Elizabeth, was lovely, both inside and out. Even better was that the Turners were very relaxed people, insisting that Elena call them by their first names in private. They even included room and board along with the usual pay, something that was rare for most employers. Elena was truly fortunate in this matter, but still longed for the day that she would be able to return to the Black Pearl, its crew, and its extremely dashing Captain.
Smiling at the thought of the pirate captain, Elena returned to her task of sweeping the front porch, trying not to think about Jack's golden smile and chocolate-brown eyes.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jack was angrily pacing around his cabin aboard his ship, practically tearing out his hair in frustration.
The Pearl had stopped nearly three weeks ago for supplies at the nearest island-town, Port Philips, after that storm had put Jack behind in searching for his bonny lass. However, the morning they were about to leave to continue their search, Mr. Gibbs had discovered that there were much needed repairs that the Pearl couldn't wait for. After he had reported the matter, Jack had demanded to know what the Pearl could possibly need that was so important. He was silenced when told that there was a leak half-way up the side of the ship; if it wasn't seen to now, the crew would be dishing out water just to keep the ship afloat. Jack had nearly exploded when he was told how long it would take to fix the problem, and had let out numerous curses that had left the crew speechless. That had been over two weeks ago, and the ship was now fully repaired. Finally, after weeks of waiting and searching, the Pearl would get to Port Royal and find Sally so they could find out about where the Blue Star had taken Elena. However, there was one small problem.
How the hell were they going to get to Port Royal without Commodore Norrington finding out?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Elena stood in the pantry of the Turner home, examining what she had to work with. It was a sad thing that the pantry had been left in a sorry, empty state. For the past three days of employment, Elena had tried working with what was left in the pantry, but now, after three days of straining her creativity, she was out of both ideas and food. Apparently Will and Elizabeth hadn't gone shopping in a while, likely relying on bakeries and cook-shops for their meals. That meant that Elena would have to go out and do the shopping. Sighing, Elena exited the storage room and headed up three steps into the kitchen. She stopped in surprise at the sight of one of her new employers.
"Mrs. Turner," Elena said, stooping into a curtsy. "What can I do for you?"
"Elena, how many times must we ask you to call us 'Will' and 'Elizabeth'?" Elizabeth asked, smiling at their new cook. "We really aren't ones for formality."
Elena blushed. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth," she said, giving a tentative smile. "I was raised to always show propriety to others, so it's a sort of habit."
Elizabeth chuckled. "Don't worry. I was raised the same way, but that didn't stop me from trying to get Will to call me by my first name," she said, grinning.
"What are you saying about me?" asked a male voice from the next room. "I know I heard my name mentioned!"
"Don't worry, love, we're just discussing propriety," Elizabeth called out to her husband. "It's not as though I was revealing your deepest secrets to out new cook!"
"What?!" cried Will. He rushed into the room, skidding to a halt in front of the two women, looking at them in panic before realizing his wife was joking. The two women burst into a fit of giggles at the sight of his alarmed expression.
"Oh, Will," Elizabeth said, still giggling. "You are so funny when you're panicked!" She kissed him on the cheek, obviously trying to heal his wounded pride.
"Thank you, my dear; that does wonders for my bruised ego," Will said, pouting. Elizabeth gave a small chuckle as she kissed him again.
Elena cleared her throat, attracting the Turner's attention. "I hate to break up such a tender moment," she said, smirking at their blushing faces. "But we are sorely in need of food at the present time. The pantry is empty." She saw a look of alarm settle on her employers' faces.
"There's no food?" Elizabeth said, shocked. "How could that have happened? We've been eating well enough the past few days."
Will frowned, rubbing his chin in thought. "Well, we haven't shopped for groceries for a while, and we had been eating from bakeries ever since we dismissed our last cook two weeks ago," he said. "She was a very bad cook; didn't know a thing about the kitchen and we had to fire her after only two days of work."
Elizabeth shuddered. "Yes, she was terrible," she said, still cringing. "I swear that she couldn't boil tea without burning it! She was a pretty young thing, but didn't look like she knew anything about cooking. What was her name again?"
Will shrugged. "I forget," he said, smiling a little. "Besides, it's not like we'll be inviting her back. She couldn't even clean the house correctly." He turned back to Elena. "Anyway, we're off topic. We need food." He reached into his belt pouch before changing his mind and handing her the entire pouch. He put up his hand to stop any protests Elena might make. "No, don't argue. Take the whole thing and buy whatever is needed make another one of your fine meals."
Elizabeth smiled. "I don't suppose you know how to bake?" she asked eagerly. "I'd love some fresh cakes or muffins for tea."
Elena chuckled. "I know how to bake nearly every sweet thing under the Caribbean sun, Elizabeth, don't worry," she said. She turned towards Will. "And don't you worry, either; I'll be sure to bargain the merchants into the dust and try to save as much money as I can."
Elena gave a small curtsy of respect to the Turners before going out the back door, heading towards the bustling marketplace of Port Royal.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Elena spent a good portion of the day running around the marketplace, often using some bargaining techniques that she had learned from Annamaria and Jack when they had to restock the Pearl. Most of the time, Elena argued with the merchants until both parties were threatening that the other was robbing them of their money or goods, but it was mostly for fun and done in good humor. Finally, after the arguments were done and tempers had cooled, Elena was able to buy the goods at a slightly higher price than she wanted, yet pay less than what the merchants wanted her to pay. She was thoroughly pleased with the outcome because she had saved the Turners a great deal of money, and had managed to completely restock their pantry in the process.
After she had made sure that all of the goods were going to be delivered to the Turner home with little or no trouble, Elena decided to take a small walk around the docks and admire the incoming and outgoing ships. As she walked along the harbor, thinking about her pirate friends, Elena realized that she ended up near the somewhat seedier part or Port Royal. Although she was not likely to stand out in her plain maidservant outfit, she knew she didn't exactly fit in, either, and decided to leave before any trouble started. After all, there was no Jack Sparrow here to protect her, and she didn't know how to defend herself from any attackers. Taking an abrupt about-face to head back to the better part of town, she ran into a shabbily dressed woman with a familiar sneer on her face.
"Sally?" Elena gasped in surprise. It couldn't be! Out of all the islands in the Caribbean, the woman who hated her most had to be on this one!
"Well, if it isn't everyone's favorite red-headed cook," Sally said, her sneer still on her face as she crossed her arms. "What are ye doing here in my town?"
Elena blinked before narrowing her eyes slightly. "Your town?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow in disbelief. "I believe that this town is freely open to everyone."
Sally's eyes narrowed in reply. "Don't get smart with me," she growled threateningly. "I booked passage here before ye came. Besides, wasn't Captain Green supposed to take ye somewhere else to scrape out another living?"
Elena was shocked, but kept her face blank. So it had been Sally who'd had Green kidnap her! It should have been obvious, considering how the woman hated her. Now Elena simply smiled mockingly at the blond former prostitute. "Oh, he did," she said, mock-sweetly. "He left me in this wonderful town without a penny to my name, or so he thought. I was quite fortunate to be kidnapped along with the wages Captain Sparrow gave me for my work, so I was able to survive until I found employment as a cook to a wealthy newlywed couple."
Sally stared at her in disbelief. "Employed by a wealthy newlywed couple?" she repeated. "There's only one newlywed couple who needs a cook. Wait, no, ye couldn't have been employed by the Turners!"
"That would be correct," Elena said, smoothing out her dress and apron, trying not to smirk in satisfaction. "They really are wonderful people. I can't believe that they include room and board along with my normal wages! They really are generous people, aren't they?"
Sally, meanwhile, had been turning red with anger. "I worked for them for two days before they kicked me out of their house," she fumed at the red- haired girl in front of her. "What is it about ye that makes people want to hire ye?"
Elena shrugged. "Perhaps it's because, unlike you, I have a talent for cooking and cleaning things correctly?" she said, smirking a bit.
Sally's eyes narrowed before reaching out for Elena's arm, stopping as a troop of red-coats came down the harbor. One of them looked over at them suspiciously, causing both women to give him forced smiles of assurance. However, he didn't seem to buy it, so Sally stepped back from Elena.
"I'll be seeing you later, Red," Sally said to her, hate lying beneath her tone.
"Of course, Sally," Elena said, smiling mockingly at her. "I'm sure you remember where the Turner home is. Do come and visit." She then turned and walked away, fully satisfied with her reply. She knew that Sally wouldn't dare enter the wealthier districts of Port Royal, especially not after being dismissed by the Turners after only two days of work! Besides, if someone as shabbily dressed as Sally were to enter that part of town, the red-coats would promptly remove them, thinking the worst about them. Elena was safe enough in that part of town, and as long as she stayed away from the seedier districts, she would be safe from Sally and anything she might plan.
Shaking her head, she walked up to the Turner home and opened the door, finding a smiling Elizabeth seated on a couch in the parlor. The fair- haired woman smiled and held up several drawings as Elena closed the front door and walked closer to the couch.
"I found these on your bedspread when I went to see if you'd returned early," Elizabeth said. "They are a lovely design. What do you say we bring them to life?" She patted the empty space beside her.
Elena smiled as she took the offered seat. "I'd like that very much," she replied. "I received some lovely cloth from a friend and bought everything I need for it. I just need the time to do it, and an occasion to wear it to."
Elizabeth chuckled. "With my help, you'll have all of the time you need to make it. And a woman should always have an elegant gown to wear, Elena," she chided her friend. "You don't really need one special reason to make and wear one."
'No,' Elena thought, privately. 'I only need one special person.' And secretly, in her heart of hearts, that person was Captain Jack Sparrow.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: Another chapter done! Everyone celebrate! Oh, and finals are coming up, so I'll be really busy with those (damn it), so that means another long wait for another chapter. I promise to update a lot afterwards, though. Promise! Anyway, please review! Thanks!
AN: Take-home final exams are evil. They take up too much fiction-writing time! Anyway, here is a new chapter for all of my wonderful readers! Oh, and thanks to everyone who have reviewed. Remember, 100 reviews equals a Jack/Elena "loving" chapter, so keep reviewing!
Chapter 9: Port Royal:
Elena sighed as she stood on the porch of a large, white-trimmed, blue cottage in Port Royal, watching the roses and lilac bushes bob in the warm breeze. It had been three weeks since she had been dropped off by Captain Green, and she was lucky enough to have been recently employed by a wealthy, young newly-wed couple.
It hadn't been easy for her these past few weeks, since she had spent her time trying to find work. After having been forced to buy a new wardrobe of work clothes in order to fit into Port Royal life, and lodging at a local inn while she sought employment, her box of treasure savings had been greatly reduced in that time. She had searched all of the local shops for work, only to be turned away by already fully-staffed businesses. With no other choice, Elena had then begun asking around the upper-class homes, hoping for some temporary work to fill her draining savings box. Finally, after weeks of searching, Elena had been snatched up as a cook and housemaid for a lovely young couple, Will and Elizabeth Turner. They were desperate for a cook, and had employed Elena the moment she appeared at their door and described her skills. That had been three days ago.
Elena smiled as she thought of her new employers. The tall, dark, and handsome Mr. Turner (or Will, as he liked to be called) was a very well- known, well respected blacksmith, and his fair-haired wife, Elizabeth, was lovely, both inside and out. Even better was that the Turners were very relaxed people, insisting that Elena call them by their first names in private. They even included room and board along with the usual pay, something that was rare for most employers. Elena was truly fortunate in this matter, but still longed for the day that she would be able to return to the Black Pearl, its crew, and its extremely dashing Captain.
Smiling at the thought of the pirate captain, Elena returned to her task of sweeping the front porch, trying not to think about Jack's golden smile and chocolate-brown eyes.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jack was angrily pacing around his cabin aboard his ship, practically tearing out his hair in frustration.
The Pearl had stopped nearly three weeks ago for supplies at the nearest island-town, Port Philips, after that storm had put Jack behind in searching for his bonny lass. However, the morning they were about to leave to continue their search, Mr. Gibbs had discovered that there were much needed repairs that the Pearl couldn't wait for. After he had reported the matter, Jack had demanded to know what the Pearl could possibly need that was so important. He was silenced when told that there was a leak half-way up the side of the ship; if it wasn't seen to now, the crew would be dishing out water just to keep the ship afloat. Jack had nearly exploded when he was told how long it would take to fix the problem, and had let out numerous curses that had left the crew speechless. That had been over two weeks ago, and the ship was now fully repaired. Finally, after weeks of waiting and searching, the Pearl would get to Port Royal and find Sally so they could find out about where the Blue Star had taken Elena. However, there was one small problem.
How the hell were they going to get to Port Royal without Commodore Norrington finding out?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Elena stood in the pantry of the Turner home, examining what she had to work with. It was a sad thing that the pantry had been left in a sorry, empty state. For the past three days of employment, Elena had tried working with what was left in the pantry, but now, after three days of straining her creativity, she was out of both ideas and food. Apparently Will and Elizabeth hadn't gone shopping in a while, likely relying on bakeries and cook-shops for their meals. That meant that Elena would have to go out and do the shopping. Sighing, Elena exited the storage room and headed up three steps into the kitchen. She stopped in surprise at the sight of one of her new employers.
"Mrs. Turner," Elena said, stooping into a curtsy. "What can I do for you?"
"Elena, how many times must we ask you to call us 'Will' and 'Elizabeth'?" Elizabeth asked, smiling at their new cook. "We really aren't ones for formality."
Elena blushed. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth," she said, giving a tentative smile. "I was raised to always show propriety to others, so it's a sort of habit."
Elizabeth chuckled. "Don't worry. I was raised the same way, but that didn't stop me from trying to get Will to call me by my first name," she said, grinning.
"What are you saying about me?" asked a male voice from the next room. "I know I heard my name mentioned!"
"Don't worry, love, we're just discussing propriety," Elizabeth called out to her husband. "It's not as though I was revealing your deepest secrets to out new cook!"
"What?!" cried Will. He rushed into the room, skidding to a halt in front of the two women, looking at them in panic before realizing his wife was joking. The two women burst into a fit of giggles at the sight of his alarmed expression.
"Oh, Will," Elizabeth said, still giggling. "You are so funny when you're panicked!" She kissed him on the cheek, obviously trying to heal his wounded pride.
"Thank you, my dear; that does wonders for my bruised ego," Will said, pouting. Elizabeth gave a small chuckle as she kissed him again.
Elena cleared her throat, attracting the Turner's attention. "I hate to break up such a tender moment," she said, smirking at their blushing faces. "But we are sorely in need of food at the present time. The pantry is empty." She saw a look of alarm settle on her employers' faces.
"There's no food?" Elizabeth said, shocked. "How could that have happened? We've been eating well enough the past few days."
Will frowned, rubbing his chin in thought. "Well, we haven't shopped for groceries for a while, and we had been eating from bakeries ever since we dismissed our last cook two weeks ago," he said. "She was a very bad cook; didn't know a thing about the kitchen and we had to fire her after only two days of work."
Elizabeth shuddered. "Yes, she was terrible," she said, still cringing. "I swear that she couldn't boil tea without burning it! She was a pretty young thing, but didn't look like she knew anything about cooking. What was her name again?"
Will shrugged. "I forget," he said, smiling a little. "Besides, it's not like we'll be inviting her back. She couldn't even clean the house correctly." He turned back to Elena. "Anyway, we're off topic. We need food." He reached into his belt pouch before changing his mind and handing her the entire pouch. He put up his hand to stop any protests Elena might make. "No, don't argue. Take the whole thing and buy whatever is needed make another one of your fine meals."
Elizabeth smiled. "I don't suppose you know how to bake?" she asked eagerly. "I'd love some fresh cakes or muffins for tea."
Elena chuckled. "I know how to bake nearly every sweet thing under the Caribbean sun, Elizabeth, don't worry," she said. She turned towards Will. "And don't you worry, either; I'll be sure to bargain the merchants into the dust and try to save as much money as I can."
Elena gave a small curtsy of respect to the Turners before going out the back door, heading towards the bustling marketplace of Port Royal.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Elena spent a good portion of the day running around the marketplace, often using some bargaining techniques that she had learned from Annamaria and Jack when they had to restock the Pearl. Most of the time, Elena argued with the merchants until both parties were threatening that the other was robbing them of their money or goods, but it was mostly for fun and done in good humor. Finally, after the arguments were done and tempers had cooled, Elena was able to buy the goods at a slightly higher price than she wanted, yet pay less than what the merchants wanted her to pay. She was thoroughly pleased with the outcome because she had saved the Turners a great deal of money, and had managed to completely restock their pantry in the process.
After she had made sure that all of the goods were going to be delivered to the Turner home with little or no trouble, Elena decided to take a small walk around the docks and admire the incoming and outgoing ships. As she walked along the harbor, thinking about her pirate friends, Elena realized that she ended up near the somewhat seedier part or Port Royal. Although she was not likely to stand out in her plain maidservant outfit, she knew she didn't exactly fit in, either, and decided to leave before any trouble started. After all, there was no Jack Sparrow here to protect her, and she didn't know how to defend herself from any attackers. Taking an abrupt about-face to head back to the better part of town, she ran into a shabbily dressed woman with a familiar sneer on her face.
"Sally?" Elena gasped in surprise. It couldn't be! Out of all the islands in the Caribbean, the woman who hated her most had to be on this one!
"Well, if it isn't everyone's favorite red-headed cook," Sally said, her sneer still on her face as she crossed her arms. "What are ye doing here in my town?"
Elena blinked before narrowing her eyes slightly. "Your town?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow in disbelief. "I believe that this town is freely open to everyone."
Sally's eyes narrowed in reply. "Don't get smart with me," she growled threateningly. "I booked passage here before ye came. Besides, wasn't Captain Green supposed to take ye somewhere else to scrape out another living?"
Elena was shocked, but kept her face blank. So it had been Sally who'd had Green kidnap her! It should have been obvious, considering how the woman hated her. Now Elena simply smiled mockingly at the blond former prostitute. "Oh, he did," she said, mock-sweetly. "He left me in this wonderful town without a penny to my name, or so he thought. I was quite fortunate to be kidnapped along with the wages Captain Sparrow gave me for my work, so I was able to survive until I found employment as a cook to a wealthy newlywed couple."
Sally stared at her in disbelief. "Employed by a wealthy newlywed couple?" she repeated. "There's only one newlywed couple who needs a cook. Wait, no, ye couldn't have been employed by the Turners!"
"That would be correct," Elena said, smoothing out her dress and apron, trying not to smirk in satisfaction. "They really are wonderful people. I can't believe that they include room and board along with my normal wages! They really are generous people, aren't they?"
Sally, meanwhile, had been turning red with anger. "I worked for them for two days before they kicked me out of their house," she fumed at the red- haired girl in front of her. "What is it about ye that makes people want to hire ye?"
Elena shrugged. "Perhaps it's because, unlike you, I have a talent for cooking and cleaning things correctly?" she said, smirking a bit.
Sally's eyes narrowed before reaching out for Elena's arm, stopping as a troop of red-coats came down the harbor. One of them looked over at them suspiciously, causing both women to give him forced smiles of assurance. However, he didn't seem to buy it, so Sally stepped back from Elena.
"I'll be seeing you later, Red," Sally said to her, hate lying beneath her tone.
"Of course, Sally," Elena said, smiling mockingly at her. "I'm sure you remember where the Turner home is. Do come and visit." She then turned and walked away, fully satisfied with her reply. She knew that Sally wouldn't dare enter the wealthier districts of Port Royal, especially not after being dismissed by the Turners after only two days of work! Besides, if someone as shabbily dressed as Sally were to enter that part of town, the red-coats would promptly remove them, thinking the worst about them. Elena was safe enough in that part of town, and as long as she stayed away from the seedier districts, she would be safe from Sally and anything she might plan.
Shaking her head, she walked up to the Turner home and opened the door, finding a smiling Elizabeth seated on a couch in the parlor. The fair- haired woman smiled and held up several drawings as Elena closed the front door and walked closer to the couch.
"I found these on your bedspread when I went to see if you'd returned early," Elizabeth said. "They are a lovely design. What do you say we bring them to life?" She patted the empty space beside her.
Elena smiled as she took the offered seat. "I'd like that very much," she replied. "I received some lovely cloth from a friend and bought everything I need for it. I just need the time to do it, and an occasion to wear it to."
Elizabeth chuckled. "With my help, you'll have all of the time you need to make it. And a woman should always have an elegant gown to wear, Elena," she chided her friend. "You don't really need one special reason to make and wear one."
'No,' Elena thought, privately. 'I only need one special person.' And secretly, in her heart of hearts, that person was Captain Jack Sparrow.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: Another chapter done! Everyone celebrate! Oh, and finals are coming up, so I'll be really busy with those (damn it), so that means another long wait for another chapter. I promise to update a lot afterwards, though. Promise! Anyway, please review! Thanks!
