I'm so pleases that nobody has sent me death threats since I killed Maggie.
I felt so evil, but it had to be done. This time I would like to thank my
helpful proof reader and critic Sarah, who tells me when I've messed up.
Thanks Sarah, and Katrina, who got me through YET ANOTHER bout of writing-
related panic, and Henry, for helping with naming.
***
A Hard Man To Predict
At twelve o'clock, just as Faye is grudgingly putting the final touches to lunch under Susie's watchful eye, she hears raised voices coming from the far away entrance hall. Before Susie can stop her, she downs her knife and hurries to see what's going on. Racing down the passages, with the voices growing clearer with every step, she can recognise them. Miss Elizabeth, the Governor, and Norrington - the funny hat man. She stops at the door that leads from the storerooms and kitchen up to the entrance hall, and listens. She sees nothing bad in this - people must expect to be overheard if they shout that loudly.
'Elizabeth, please, go and rest, recover your strength...'
'Father, I do not need to rest and recover my strength! I want to know how that man got into Port Royal in the first place!'
'Elizabeth, please calm down...have a little propriety...'
'I'm sure the Commodore can appreciate how I'm feeling.'
'Certainly, but please don't worry we have already apprehended the man and have him in the cells at this very moment. Tomorrow morning there will be no more Jack Sparrow to worry about.'
Faye gasps. Jack Sparrow, here in Port Royal! She hears Miss Elizabeth's last aggravated shout of perhaps the Commodore needs to employ some guards at the port who actually know what a pirate looks like, but then decides that she has heard all she needs to. She turns, and heads back to the kitchens to make her excuses to Susie before heading off to the cells.
Susie, unfortunately, is not so easy to talk round. She is cross that Faye simply ran out without finishing lunch and begins to lecture her, but she is not so cross that she is not distracted by the arrival of Stannard, the footman, who has been paying her attentions for some time. Faye graces him with a smile, before sneaking away up to her room.
Once there, she stops briefly to straighten the red scarf on her head, and to pick up 'Legendary Pirates.' There might be two pirates with the same name; she wants to make sure that this is the right one. She slips back down the stairs again, and leaves through the servants' entrance. She scurries down the hill, through the winding streets, and into the centre of Port Royal. Nobody notices the small dark girl, scuttling along, eyes wide, carrying a thick heavy book under her arm. The cells up by the fort prove to be a little more of a problem; there are guards. She considers the situation for a moment. She notices a woman walking down the street, carrying a barrel of apples. She is young and pretty, and the guards are already watching her. Faye sidles closer and closer to the door to the cells, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. At the exact moment the woman passes, and both the guards have their attention firmly elsewhere, Faye ducks behind them, and slips down into the dank dungeon.
Faye smiles to herself as she descends the steps; she hadn't thought it would be this easy. There isn't much light in the prison, but there is enough for Faye to see that of the handful of cells, only two are occupied. One by a large fat man who is snoring quietly, and one by.someone else.
The someone else is the man Faye is looking for. He is standing by the window, looking down onto the harbour. He hasn't noticed that he is being watched. However, as soon as Faye, standing as she is in the shadow of a handy wall, takes out her book and opens it at the page with Jack Sparrow on it, he is alert and scanning the room for the intruder. His eyes pass right over the spot where Faye is standing. She looks at the picture, and at the man, at the picture again, then once more at the man. She decides that the picture doesn't do him justice.
She takes a deep breath, snaps the book shut, and steps out of the shadow. When the man sees that the intruder is just a girl, he smiles, flashing a mouth half full of gold teeth. Faye smiles back, even though she doesn't intend to.
'And what might you be doin' 'ere young miss?' he asks, coming up to the bars.
His voice isn't threatening, just curious and not a little amused. Faye walks forwards until she is just a pace away from him, with the bars in between. She opens the book on the relevant page, and hands it to him carefully, turning it sideways to fit through the gap. Jack takes it over to the window to examine. When he realises that it is himself, he laughs out loud.
'So you wanted to see the pirate, did you?'
Faye nods. Jack comes back over to her and hands her the book through the bars.
'I suppose that's why you've got the...' he tugs at his red bandanna.
Faye nods again. A quizzical look comes over Jack's face.
'It suits you my dear. Do you speak at all?'
'Yes.'
'Do you 'ave a name?'
'Yes. But I'm not going to tell it to you.'
'And why not? You know my name, and it doesn't seem fair that I don't know yours.'
'Unfair is only unfair when it's unfair to me.'
Jack laughs uproariously at this.
'You'll make a fine pirate someday, thinking like that love.' Jack sits down on the floor just behind the bars, so now he is looking up at Faye. 'But tell me, 'ow did you manage to get down 'ere, past the guards?'
Faye feels rather ridiculous standing up, so she sits down as well, even though the floor is foul and dirty. She tells Jack about the woman with the apples, and as she does Jack watches her, and listens to the way she talks and watches the way she gestures. She looks so familiar; he can't think where he's seen her before. When she stops talking, Jack has to admit to himself that he is impressed by her cunning. Faye is simply impressed that Jack Sparrow is listening to her.
A silence falls over them at the end of Faye's explanation, before Jack speaks.
'Where did you spring from, anyway? Won't your mother be worried about you?'
'I live.I'm a maid in a big house. Sort of. My mother died when I was born.'
'That's too bad love. No family at all?'
'My aunt is a maid at the house too.'
'Ah. Not so bad then. Still, don't maids actually 'ave to work and not go slinking about to meet pirates?'
Faye shrugs. 'Being a maid is boring. I wish I could come with you when you get out of here.'
'Why do you think I'll get out of 'ere? They're going to stretch my neck in the morning.'
Faye shrugs again. 'No they won't. You're Captain Jack Sparrow.'
Jack grins again, with the dirty sunlight glinting off his teeth.
'You're absolutely right, love. Your faith in me is..touching.'
Faye gets up. She wants to get back before anyone notices she's gone and she has to lie about where she's been, as she doesn't like lying much even though she has a talent for it.
'I'm going home now. If you ever end up in Port Royal again, I'll come and see you and you can tell me things.'
'What things? And how will you know if I ever come back?'
'Lots of things. Just remember everything that happens between now and then.' She thinks of the Commodore, and adds 'I'm sure I'll find out if you're anywhere around.'
'But what if I never come back 'ere again? I certainly don't intend to.'
'Then we shall have to meet somewhere else. Goodbye Captain.' Faye holds out her hand solemnly. Jack kneels up, takes her hand, and shakes it seriously.
'Pleasure meeting you miss.'
Jack sinks back to the floor, watching her go. He wonders why that girl was so familiar.
Faye hurries back to the Governor's house, hoping against hope that she hasn't been missed. The guards are no trouble this time; they're half asleep with the afternoon heat. Faye feels very satisfied - she has weighed her hero in the balance and, to her mind, he has not been found wanting.
***
Good? Bad? Believable? Unbelievable? Please review! I promise to update soon.
***
A Hard Man To Predict
At twelve o'clock, just as Faye is grudgingly putting the final touches to lunch under Susie's watchful eye, she hears raised voices coming from the far away entrance hall. Before Susie can stop her, she downs her knife and hurries to see what's going on. Racing down the passages, with the voices growing clearer with every step, she can recognise them. Miss Elizabeth, the Governor, and Norrington - the funny hat man. She stops at the door that leads from the storerooms and kitchen up to the entrance hall, and listens. She sees nothing bad in this - people must expect to be overheard if they shout that loudly.
'Elizabeth, please, go and rest, recover your strength...'
'Father, I do not need to rest and recover my strength! I want to know how that man got into Port Royal in the first place!'
'Elizabeth, please calm down...have a little propriety...'
'I'm sure the Commodore can appreciate how I'm feeling.'
'Certainly, but please don't worry we have already apprehended the man and have him in the cells at this very moment. Tomorrow morning there will be no more Jack Sparrow to worry about.'
Faye gasps. Jack Sparrow, here in Port Royal! She hears Miss Elizabeth's last aggravated shout of perhaps the Commodore needs to employ some guards at the port who actually know what a pirate looks like, but then decides that she has heard all she needs to. She turns, and heads back to the kitchens to make her excuses to Susie before heading off to the cells.
Susie, unfortunately, is not so easy to talk round. She is cross that Faye simply ran out without finishing lunch and begins to lecture her, but she is not so cross that she is not distracted by the arrival of Stannard, the footman, who has been paying her attentions for some time. Faye graces him with a smile, before sneaking away up to her room.
Once there, she stops briefly to straighten the red scarf on her head, and to pick up 'Legendary Pirates.' There might be two pirates with the same name; she wants to make sure that this is the right one. She slips back down the stairs again, and leaves through the servants' entrance. She scurries down the hill, through the winding streets, and into the centre of Port Royal. Nobody notices the small dark girl, scuttling along, eyes wide, carrying a thick heavy book under her arm. The cells up by the fort prove to be a little more of a problem; there are guards. She considers the situation for a moment. She notices a woman walking down the street, carrying a barrel of apples. She is young and pretty, and the guards are already watching her. Faye sidles closer and closer to the door to the cells, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. At the exact moment the woman passes, and both the guards have their attention firmly elsewhere, Faye ducks behind them, and slips down into the dank dungeon.
Faye smiles to herself as she descends the steps; she hadn't thought it would be this easy. There isn't much light in the prison, but there is enough for Faye to see that of the handful of cells, only two are occupied. One by a large fat man who is snoring quietly, and one by.someone else.
The someone else is the man Faye is looking for. He is standing by the window, looking down onto the harbour. He hasn't noticed that he is being watched. However, as soon as Faye, standing as she is in the shadow of a handy wall, takes out her book and opens it at the page with Jack Sparrow on it, he is alert and scanning the room for the intruder. His eyes pass right over the spot where Faye is standing. She looks at the picture, and at the man, at the picture again, then once more at the man. She decides that the picture doesn't do him justice.
She takes a deep breath, snaps the book shut, and steps out of the shadow. When the man sees that the intruder is just a girl, he smiles, flashing a mouth half full of gold teeth. Faye smiles back, even though she doesn't intend to.
'And what might you be doin' 'ere young miss?' he asks, coming up to the bars.
His voice isn't threatening, just curious and not a little amused. Faye walks forwards until she is just a pace away from him, with the bars in between. She opens the book on the relevant page, and hands it to him carefully, turning it sideways to fit through the gap. Jack takes it over to the window to examine. When he realises that it is himself, he laughs out loud.
'So you wanted to see the pirate, did you?'
Faye nods. Jack comes back over to her and hands her the book through the bars.
'I suppose that's why you've got the...' he tugs at his red bandanna.
Faye nods again. A quizzical look comes over Jack's face.
'It suits you my dear. Do you speak at all?'
'Yes.'
'Do you 'ave a name?'
'Yes. But I'm not going to tell it to you.'
'And why not? You know my name, and it doesn't seem fair that I don't know yours.'
'Unfair is only unfair when it's unfair to me.'
Jack laughs uproariously at this.
'You'll make a fine pirate someday, thinking like that love.' Jack sits down on the floor just behind the bars, so now he is looking up at Faye. 'But tell me, 'ow did you manage to get down 'ere, past the guards?'
Faye feels rather ridiculous standing up, so she sits down as well, even though the floor is foul and dirty. She tells Jack about the woman with the apples, and as she does Jack watches her, and listens to the way she talks and watches the way she gestures. She looks so familiar; he can't think where he's seen her before. When she stops talking, Jack has to admit to himself that he is impressed by her cunning. Faye is simply impressed that Jack Sparrow is listening to her.
A silence falls over them at the end of Faye's explanation, before Jack speaks.
'Where did you spring from, anyway? Won't your mother be worried about you?'
'I live.I'm a maid in a big house. Sort of. My mother died when I was born.'
'That's too bad love. No family at all?'
'My aunt is a maid at the house too.'
'Ah. Not so bad then. Still, don't maids actually 'ave to work and not go slinking about to meet pirates?'
Faye shrugs. 'Being a maid is boring. I wish I could come with you when you get out of here.'
'Why do you think I'll get out of 'ere? They're going to stretch my neck in the morning.'
Faye shrugs again. 'No they won't. You're Captain Jack Sparrow.'
Jack grins again, with the dirty sunlight glinting off his teeth.
'You're absolutely right, love. Your faith in me is..touching.'
Faye gets up. She wants to get back before anyone notices she's gone and she has to lie about where she's been, as she doesn't like lying much even though she has a talent for it.
'I'm going home now. If you ever end up in Port Royal again, I'll come and see you and you can tell me things.'
'What things? And how will you know if I ever come back?'
'Lots of things. Just remember everything that happens between now and then.' She thinks of the Commodore, and adds 'I'm sure I'll find out if you're anywhere around.'
'But what if I never come back 'ere again? I certainly don't intend to.'
'Then we shall have to meet somewhere else. Goodbye Captain.' Faye holds out her hand solemnly. Jack kneels up, takes her hand, and shakes it seriously.
'Pleasure meeting you miss.'
Jack sinks back to the floor, watching her go. He wonders why that girl was so familiar.
Faye hurries back to the Governor's house, hoping against hope that she hasn't been missed. The guards are no trouble this time; they're half asleep with the afternoon heat. Faye feels very satisfied - she has weighed her hero in the balance and, to her mind, he has not been found wanting.
***
Good? Bad? Believable? Unbelievable? Please review! I promise to update soon.
