~*~*~
After a few barked orders from Jack, we finally set sail for Tortuga. The wind was with us, and it made me appreciate the great speed of the Interceptor. And if what Jack says about the Black Pearl is true, if it is faster than this ship, there is no hope of us catching up with Barbossa and his crew in time to save Elizabeth. Will doesn't seem to have realized this yet, and as much as I dislike him, I don't want to squash the lad's hope. I shudder at the thought of a moping Will.
Once we were out of the safety of the cove of Tortuga, there wasn't much to do. The wind was blowing us in the right course, and we had no need to steer. This left me feeling quite useless, so I decided to go below and see what the sleeping arrangements were.
"I get that hammock or I'll cut out somethin' worse than your tongue!" I heard an enraged and clearly agitated Anamaria yell. I hurried down the stairs, and the scene that greeted my eyes made me smile. It appeared as if Cotton and Anamaria wanted the same bed.
Cotton shot me a helpless look, which I returned with a smirk and a wink. He sighed and moved his bedroll to another one of the hanging hammocks. Anamaria turned to speak to me.
"They'll learn sooner or later that I always get my way," she said, giving me a thin smile.
"Aye. Apparently Jack hasn't figured that out yet," I replied with a grin of my own.
At the mention of Jack's name, her smile faded. "No, he clearly hasn't," she said softly. I obviously had breeched a sensitive subject.
"For what it's worth, Jack gets on my nerves too," I offered. She looked nonplused. "Though, Will *grates* on them," I added.
She smiled at that. "I didn't meet Will."
"Trust me. You don't want to." I sat down on an empty hammock. "He's the reason for this whole mission." 'Well, almost the whole reason, besides Jack's personal gain,' I thought bitterly.
"He can't be that bad, can he?" Anamaria asked, raising an eyebrow in question.
I simply smirked.
She looked disbelieving. "Nobody is worse than Jack Sparrow."
"That would be Captain Jack Sparrow, love." We both whirled around to see Jack standing beside us. I hadn't heard him walk up.
"Aye, *Captain*," Anamaria growled, looking as if she wanted to hurt him.
I simply glared at him.
"I sense a bit of tension between us," Jack remarked, studying his fingers arrogantly. When he didn't say anything else, I let out a huff. He grinned at me. "Was there something you wanted to say, darlin'?" he asked innocently. "Or should I say, Captain?"
I stared at him. 'That is so not fair.' Anamaria gave me a questioning look, and Jack simply tipped his hat at me. "Well, since the two of you do not have much to say, I'll just be on my merry way. Ta!" And he strolled out of the room, leaving a very confused Anamaria and a very upset *Captain* Rachel Harris gaping at his retreating back.
"I'm going to murder him," I growled, after an uncomfortable silence.
"What exactly did he mean by Captain?" Anamaria inquired.
I knew I shouldn't tell her, at least not then anyway. She would probably find out in due time. I couldn't trust her, as much as I wanted. I had only known she existed for a few hours. 'Pirates indeed live a sad life,' I thought bitterly. It was true. There was no one for me to trust, and as a pirate I was on my own. I had to take care of myself to survive. That was how it always had been, and it wasn't going to change.
I shrugged.
Anamaria just gave me a knowing look. "I'll help ye get back at him. We'll put him through hell and he'll regret everything he ever did to us by the time we get through with him," she stated. "What say you?"
I didn't even need to think about how I was going to answer that. "Aye!" We exchanged malicious grins. "And now, I do believe Mr. Sparrow is waiting for us."
We climbed the stairs up to the main deck, plotting our revenge quietly.
~*~*~
"There are several possible things we could do," I began. Jack had assigned Anamaria, Will, and I the job of swabbing the deck. Swabbing is the worst job you can give someone. It's extremely monotonous and not to mention tedious and back-breaking. I scrubbed at a particularly stubborn stain. "Most of them requiring rum."
Will blanched at my last statement, and Anamaria looked questioning. "Rum?" she asked.
"Aye, rum. But I only have a bottle that I managed to smuggle out of the bar," I said. I looked at Will. "And I wouldn't expect you to have any," I said to him. I looked up towards the helm, where Jack was standing, proudly steering the ship. I lowered my voice to a whisper. "There's no telling how much rum he has to consume before he becomes drunk."
Anamaria nodded. "I've about two bottles I brought with me, but I'm not sure I want to waste it on Jack."
"It won't be wasted if the plan works."
"What is this plan exactly?" asked Will. I shot him a look. "What? I'm in on this too you know."
I nodded. "Aye, the more the merrier." I smirked at Jack's back.
"There's bound to be more rum in the captain's quarters, and knowing Jack he probably has some of his own there," Anamaria added.
"Maybe. If there is, are you two in on it? I can't do it alone."
"Sure."
"Aye."
"Good," I acknowledged, and leaned in to tell them my plan.
~*~*~
"Where'd you find all this?" Jack asked, making a sweeping motion towards the stash of rum we had collected.
"Oh, here and there," I replied with a fake smile. He nodded.
"Well, what are ya waiting for? Drink up!" Anamaria ordered, and the two of us gave him expectant looks. Will had decided to remain out of sight for this part of the plan.
Jack gave us a suspicious look. "Ye didn't poison it, did ya?" he asked, glancing dubiously at the rum.
I rolled my eyes. "No, we didn't poison it. Why would we do a thing like that?" I asked. Anamaria struggled to keep her expression neutral, and I was trying hard not to laugh.
Jack uncorked one of the bottles, and sniffed it. Satisfied that it didn't smell suspicious, he took a swig.
"Well?" Anamaria asked.
Jack savored the taste for a minute, then nodded. "Aye, that'll about do it. Thankies ladies." And he tipped his hat to us.
Anamaria and I stood there for a minute looking unsure of ourselves. Anamaria coughed and cleared her throat. Jack sighed and gave us an annoyed look. "What?" he asked. Anamaria and I exchanged a look. Jack sighed again. "Fine, you can have some too, seeing as how ya found it."
And so we drank. Actually, Jack drinken, we just pretended to. It was steadily growing dark outside, and Gibbs was on deck holding the ship steady on its course. Pretty soon, the sun had disappeared completely, and the stars had come out. The moon was full and so there was no need to light any of the torches.
After Jack had consumed a bottle and a half of the rum, he finally began to show signs of tipsy-ness. After two and a half, he was ranting on about what he was going to do to Barbossa once he found him. Anamaria and I just played along with him.
"Is he ever going to pass out?" Anamaria hissed in my ear. I shrugged and took another small sip of my rum.
By the time Will came down to see our progress, Jack had drank about five bottles and was very near passing out.
"Ah, Wi-Will, care too have some of this, this..." Jack squinted at the bottle looking at a loss of words. "Ruuuuuum!" he slurred triumphantly. I suppressed a giggle.
Will raised an eyebrow at Jack, who was humming to himself and hugging the rum bottle protectively. "I say we have a toast!" I exclaimed desperately, because Jack wasn't drinking any more rum.
"Yes, a toast!" Anamaria agreed. We both looked at Will, who grudgingly agreed. I tossed him a bottle, and we raised them.
"To rum!" Jack exclaimed.
"To rum!" Will, Anamaria, and I repeated. And we all took a long draw. The rum burned my throat, but left me feeling quite good. 'Uh oh. Not good. Can't be getting drunk now,' I thought. I set the bottle on the table, and looked up to see Jack still eagerly gulping down the rum. Once his bottle was drained, he grinned at us. "He still hasn't passed out!" Anamaria exclaimed. Jack gave her a confused look, and then fell out of his chair. I rushed over to him to see that he had, in fact, passed out.
"Finally," I muttered and then turned to look at Anamaria and Will. "Ana, get the rope. Will, help me get him above deck." Anamaria nodded and hurried down to the hold of the ship. "Alright, help me lift him," I said to Will. I grabbed Jack's ankles, and Will grabbed his arms, and we lifted him off the floor and hauled him up to the deck.
"He's heavy," Will complained once we set him down.
"He's lighter than you," I told him, trying to keep a straight face. At Will' affronted look, I burst out laughing. Will simply scowled. Anamaria appeared with the rope.
"Here," she said. "I hope we have enough."
"We should," I responded, and we set to work.
I looped a rope over my shoulder, and climbed up the rigging, where Will threw a rope up to me, which I passed through one of the holes in the rigging, and dropped back down to them. Anamaria then tied one end of the rope around Jack's waist. Once she had finished, Will hauled on the other end of the rope, causing Jack to lift up into the air. Once he got to where I was, I quickly bound his wrists and ankles to the rigging with the rope that I had looped around my shoulder. Giving, Will and Anamaria a wave, I scurried back down, leaving Jack tied up in the rigging.(A/N: If you understood anything of what was just written, you get a cookie. A really *big* cookie. ^_^)
Once I had my feet firmly on the wooden deck, Anamaria said, "I hope he falls."
I snorted. "If he falls, then who would we have to harass?" I asked.
"Him," Anamaria laughed, pointing at Will.
"I resent that," Will muttered.
I then noticed that the crew on night shift had assembled around us and were staring up at their captain stranded up in the rigging.
I shot Anamaria a smirk, and then turned to he rest of the crew. "What're ye looking at ye mangy dogs!" I shouted at them. "I'm in charge for the time being, seeing as how the captain is currently...indisposed. Back to work!" Some grumbled, and some just looked amused.
"We are going to be in so much trouble when he wakes up," Will said finally.
I just smiled coyly at him, and strode off towards the helm. "Step aside Mr. Gibbs," I said. "It's my turn to steer."
"Thanks. I was getting stiff standing there," and he wandered off, probably to get some sleep.
I stood serenely at the wheel, the wind blowing and cooling my face. It had been a long time since I had last held the power of a ship in my hand. I stroked the worn wood lovingly. The Interceptor reminded me so much of La Estrella. It was then that I vowed to get my ship back, whether it cost me my life or not.
~*~*~
"BLOODY HELL!!!"
I winced. Jack had obviously just awoken. "RACHEL! ANAMARIA! I KNOW IT WAS YOU! GET ME DOWN!" I snickered quietly, and turned around to wave at a very furious looking Captain Jack Sparrow.
"Good morning, Cap'n!" I shouted sunnily back at him. "Lovely morning isn't it?"
"RACHEL! GET THE HELL OVER HERE!"
"Now Jack, that's not very nice language."
"IT'S CAPTAIN JACK TO YOU MISSY!"
Sighing in mock exasperation, I handed the wheel to Gibbs, and walked over to cut Jack down from the rigging. "Where's Ana?" I asked Will, who was watching the whole scenario with extreme amusement. He shrugged.
"I'm right here," Anamaria announced, coming up on deck. "I heard the captain was awake." Jack glared furiously at us.
"Shall I cut him down?" I asked her. She pretended to think my question over.
"I guess you should. It would be a shame to lose one like him due to extreme wind burn and sun burn."
"Or, we could leave him up there a while to think over his treatment of us."
Anamaria looked up at Jack, who did not look amused by our little conversation. "How does it feel, Captain?" she asked. "Not very much fun is it?"
"Alright, alright. You win. No more deck swabbin' for the two of ya," Jack replied, looking extremely desperate to get down.
"What about me?" Will demanded indignantly.
"You don't count," I answered, giving him my most charming smile.
"I helped with this just as much as you did!" Will exclaimed, drawing his sword.
"Put it away, son. I was only kidding," I said, not really in the mood to beat Will in a sword fight. Will sheathed his sword, albeit reluctantly. Satisfied that he wasn't going to do anything stupid, I climbed up the rigging to untie Jack.
When I reached him, he seemed to be in a somewhat better mood. "Well, ya beat me," he admitted. "But it's not going to happen again, I can assure you."
I pulled my dagger out of my boot, and began to saw at the ropes. "I think we're tied now, one to one," I replied evenly. I looked up at him, and our eyes met.
"Not for long," Jack said, a mischievous glint to his.
I finished my work in silence, and we climbed down, Jack going first. He rubbed his wrists where the rope had cut him.
"Need any salve for that?" I asked, trying to be somewhat helpful.
"Nay, I'm fine. Well, as fine as I can be to wake up in the rigging with a hangover only to see a woman steering my ship."
"I thought we agreed it was *my* ship," I responded.
Jack opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by Anamaria. "Actually, it's my ship," she stated, giving us both a challenging look, her fingers playing with the hilt of her cutlass.
"Right, love, your ship," Jack agreed hurriedly. I nodded. I definitely didn't want to get on Anamaria's bad side. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a ship to captain," Jack said, and headed back to the helm.
~*~*~
Later that night, dark storm clouds came up out of nowhere. The ship bucked and thrashed, and the waves poured over the sides, trying to throw us overboard. We had all been told to hold the sails down; Jack was convinced that the ship would hold. He'd also told me to watch Will and make sure that he didn't drown. I reluctantly agreed and made it clear that he owed me big time after this.
Another wave came crashing down on us, and I slipped on the slick wood. Staggering to my feet, I heard Will ask, "How can we sail to an island that nobody can find with a compass that doesn't work?"
I could barely hear him over the roar of the wind and the breaking of the waves. As loudly as I could, I yelled back, "Isn't it obvious? We're not trying to find north!"
"Oh," Will shouted back.
'He is *such* an idiot,' I thought, and rolled my eyes.
"Jack! We can't hold much longer!" I called up to the egotistical captain.
He couldn't turn around to answer, the wheel was fighting him too hard. "She can hold a bit longer!" he called over his back.
My arms were burning from the exertion. "Why can't we drop canvas?! My arms can't take much more of this!" I told him, the screeching of the wind trying to drown out my voice.
He turned his head to look at me, his hair whipping in the wind and a fanatical gleam in his eye. "We're catching up."
His words gave me some encouragement, and the burning seemed to diminish. "This better be worth it," I growled under my breath, and wrestled with a piece of rope that had blown loose.
TBC
~*~*~
A/N: I'm sooo forking sorry for the delay peeps! But it was a nice *long* chapter to make up for it! About 2,800 words not counting my disclaimer or A/N. *looks proud* And I wanted to thank those of you who wished me luck in my volleyball tournament. We got second out of 7! WOOT! Alrighty, now 'tis time for review responses!
San San As Herself- Thanks for the review!
pirate- Aww, thanks for the review! I'm so glad you like this! Jack and Rachel and Will are glad too!
Rachel: Ye were talking 'bout me! What'd ye say?
Me: Shuddup and go back to the story.
Rachel: *looks offended but leaves anyway*
Bianca- Sorry ya can't read my other story, but this one is just as good! If not better!
Jessi Lupin- You are insane. *nods* And you'd better continue your HP fics!
chibichibi386 Thankies for the review luv! And thanks for wishing me luck in the tournament. We needed it. ^_^
katesparrow- Thanks for all of your wonderful reviews! They made me happy! Although, my story doesn't even begin to compare to yours. Hehe. ^_^ Rachel should meet Kate sometime.
Rachel: Who the hell is Kate? And why do you keep talking about me?!
Me: Go back to the story Rachel!!!
Rachel: *glares* You can't make me!
Me: Oh yes I can. I created you! *lightning flashes in the background* Mwhahahahaha!
Rachel: O.o Meep! *runs back to the story*
Me: Anywho, my goal is still to watch Once Upon A Time In Mexico, but Movie Gallery refuses to let me. Maybe I should go to Hollywood Video. ^_^
CaptainJacklova4eva- Thanks for the criticism. I definitely need it!*nods* I think I did a better job in not following the movie so closely
Rachel and Jack: She deserves all of the criticism. She tortures us!
Will: No. She tortures me!
Rachel: Actually, *I* torture you, not her.
Will: Oh.
Rachel and Jack: *roll eyes* Retard.
I lOvE cHeRrIeS yUm- Thanks!
Lauren- Aww, shucks. You're so nice! And I'm very glad I'm writing Jack well. He's a tough one to write.
And last but not least(because she's my beta!) emeraldmedallion- Yes, you're beta! and thanks for the review!
Well, folks, that's all! And I have 9 different reviewers for the last chapter! 2 of them are new, and katesparrow reviewed multiple times! Thankies kate! Which reminds me. All of my readers need to go read her story, Pandora's Box. It is the greatest! It makes mine look like a piece of crap. *nods* Oh, and review for it too. That's all for now! Oh fork, I forgot something else. Check out my new PotC story, POTC:Curse of the Tourist Trap! aka Orlando, FL. I think it's pretty good. But I won't know 'til y'all review! Ta for now!
Until next time,
~TheSiriusSparrow~
Review on your way out!
