Sorry this chapter took so much longer, but I've got to work on my original story, too, which has been updated in some time, so these chapters will be coming out a bit slower than they were, but that does not been this story is discontinued…no, far from it. I'm having too much fun writing it. Well, on with the chapter, I guess!
Secrets of the Caribbean
Written By: Riley Barton
[Chapter Five]
"Er, Scarlett, lass, I really don't think ye should be doin' this."
Scarlett raised her eyebrows at Gibbs sarcastically and smirked. "If Captain Jack Sparrow has a problem with it, then he shall just have to live with it."
"He'll 'ave yer head fer this," Gibbs said, trying once again to persuade her to go against what she was about to do.
She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Mr. Gibbs, I'm afraid that if we stay here any longer Commodore Norrington will be after us before you can say 'pirate'. Frankly, I'm surprised he hasn't done so all ready. So," she added, adjusting the hat (which was actually Jack's) on her head, "we set sail, and if the Cap'n ain't awake when we do so, then maybe next time he'll think twice before getting drunk beyond comprehension."
"Have ye spoken wit' Will and Miss Swann about this?"
"Yes," Scarlett replied absently, remembering the conversation she and Will had had much earlier that morning. She had been trying to convince him to take Elizabeth back into Port Royal and stay there until the Black Pearl's return, but Will had been far too stubborn and insisted that he stay. After a heated discussion over that, she had consented; that is until Elizabeth came onto the main deck and demanded that she be allowed to stay with Will. It had taken all off Scarlett's self control not to blow her top.
"And what did they say?"
Scarlett blinked, coming back to the present. "They said that they are coming along, and that not even God himself could budge them from the deck," she said dryly.
Gibbs sighed, reaching up to scratch his head. "Okay then, we'll follow ye, but when Jack comes out shouting bloody Mary ye are takin' th' blame."
Scarlett waved her hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, that's fine," she grumbled, and then added under her breath, "It's not as if I haven't dealt with him before."
As Gibbs explained what was going on to the rest of the crew, Scarlett went to the helm of the ship and ran her fingers across it lightly. A smile came to her lips and she chuckled, reveling in her thoughts. Even if Gibbs wasn't looking forward to when Jack came out of his cabin and saw what she was doing, she certainly was. She wanted to make Jack angry, ruin his day, or maybe go even further as to ruin his life, thought that would be much harder than it sounded.
"You seem very happy," a voice said from her right, jolting her away from her reverie.
"I am, actually," she replied, looking up at Will. "It's been some time since I've last been at the helm of a ship. Almost twelve years, in fact. Damn, has it been that long?"
"Are you certain you still remember how?" Will asked curiously, glancing from the helm to her.
She scowled at him. "Of course I still remember," she snapped. "I may be older than you by a few years, but that does not mean that my memory has gone."
"I wasn't trying to suggest that," he said, holding up his hands in feign surrender. His eyes traveled up to the hat perched on her head; he frowned. "Isn't that Jack's hat?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I forgot to take it off last night while we were helping Jack to his cabin." She frowned, quirking an eyebrow. "What is it you came here for anyway?" She placed a hand on her hip. "You can't honestly say you came here to ask me why I was wearing Jack's hat?"
"No, I was wanting to know where it is that we're going?"
"I'm not quite sure, really," she replied with a smile. "I guess we'll sail to Tortuga and plan where to go from there." She shrugged. "Unless, of course, Tortuga is much too violent for Elizabeth."
"Elizabeth will do just fine," Will said, glancing away to watch as the crew hurried about getting the ship ready to sail. "If she handled Barbossa and his crew she can handle Tortuga."
"Barbossa?" Scarlett echoed, frowning darkly. "What do you mean by that?"
Will looked at her in surprise. "You don't know?"
"I wouldn't be asking otherwise, now would I?"
"Right. Well, it's a long story," he said.
"And I've got all day."
"That bloody bastard!"
Scarlett's angry yell startled everyone nearby, causing many pairs of eyes to turn in her direction, only to quickly look away from the burning anger and hate they found in the woman's green eyes. Her hands were clenching the helm tightly, her knuckles turning white. Her lips were twisted into a fierce scowl and her eyes were fixed in a steady glare, which, unfortunately, were fixed on Will.
"I can't believe he would do that! The little…" Scarlett closed her eyes and took three deep, calming breaths. "You swear on Elizabeth's life that everything you just said is the bloody truth?"
Will nodded, somehow not being fazed by Scarlett's righteous anger. "Every word of it."
Mechanically Scarlett loosened her grip on the helm, touching the wood almost hesitantly. "I always knew there was something not right about Barbossa. He was always watching mine and Jack's every move, whispering behind our backs." She felt as if she wanted to kick something. True, Jack had probably deserved everything Barbossa had done to him, stealing the Black Pearl most of all, so it wasn't entirely because of Jack that she was angry with Barbossa. No, she was fuming at him because of what he had done to Bootstrap, the one man that had stuck with her even when Jack had turned his back toward her. Barbossa had killed Bootstrap, sending him all the way down to Davy Jones locker, and that act was unforgivable.
"It's over and done with now," Will said. "No need to get so angry about it. Jack got the Black Pearl back, and that's all he cares about."
Scarlett had been about to say that she didn't care about Jack's well-being, but she quickly caught herself. She was supposed to be a friend of Jack's, not someone out to get revenge. "Yeah," she mumbled, "right."
Suddenly the sound of a door banging open followed by the hard, unsteady gait of Captain Jack Sparrow met the ears of every person on board. Will glanced at Scarlett and was curious about the satisfied expression that had come over her face.
"What th' bloody hell is goin' on! Who's steerin' me ship!?"
Scarlett smirked, glancing around at the ocean that surrounded the Black Pearl. Not a single strip of land was in sight. Holding back a gleeful chuckle, she stood her ground and gripped the helm like a true captain, briefly reaching up to set Jack's pirate hat cockily over her left eye.
"You're in for it," Will whispered, the corners of his lips twitching; he was trying desperately not to smile. "I wish you luck, Scarlett."
"I don't need luck, Will," she replied as Jack's fiery gaze met hers. "I've got my own good luck charm."
Jack stormed over to the helm, rather roughly brushing Will aside, as Will was standing in his way. "What the hell," Jack said in a low growl, which only caused the smile Scarlett was trying to hide appear, "do ye think yer doin'?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Are you really that blind, Jack?" she replied sarcastically. "What does it look like I'm doing?" She didn't think she had ever seen him so mad. Yes, there had been the time when he had found she and Bootstrap guzzling rum one night while she was supposed to be keeping the ship on course, but that was a few smidges less than the anger he was currently showing. And to be honest, she couldn't have cared less.
Jack stared at her, his dark eyes burning with a deep intensity. He didn't know how to react, which surprised him more than he wanted to admit. Scarlett looked so pleased with herself, a smirk on her full lips, a gleam in her beautiful green eyes, and a hat- his hat –teasingly draped over her left eye. He wanted to wipe that smirk off her face, but how was completely eluding him, making him all the more angry.
"Cat got your tongue?" she asked teasingly.
He shook his head disbelievingly. "You…" He swayed for a moment, racking his brain for a witty remark, but nothing came to mind. Damn that smile of hers! "You stole me ship."
Scarlett snorted, staring at him in disbelief. "Thank you for stating the obvious, Captain." She so wanted to laugh out loud at that moment. "But, really, I didn't steal it: I borrowed it, although you can't really call this borrowing seeing as you are on board, so really I've just taken control of the ship even though you're here." All of that came out fast, and the stumped look on Jack's face was priceless.
"I didn' give ye permission to set sail," he sputtered, knowing how utterly stupid he sounded for stating the obvious again. He glared at her. "Where's Gibbs?" he shouted, looking around; he needed an excuse to look away from her.
"Right here, Jack," Gibbs said, stepping forward. He smiled apologetically. "I tried to stop her, but she insisted."
Jack's eyebrows rose. "And I s'pose ye couldn't resist her charm's, eh?"
Gibbs faltered, shaking his head. "No, she was just very adamant about it." He glanced to Scarlett, his look telling her to speak up; she had, after all, said that she would take all the blame.
Rolling her eyes, Scarlett motioned for Will to take the helm and she stepped forward to Gibbs' rescue. Making an effort not to scowl, she placed a hand on Jack's arm, bringing his attention away from Gibbs. "Don't yell at Mr. Gibbs for something he had no choice in," she said, managing to sound condescending and soothing at the same time. "It was all me, I swear. Gibbs and the crew honestly had no choice. To be completely frank, they saved your life. Had we stayed in that same spot by Port Royal any longer, Commodore Norrington and his men would have been on you like flies. I would have past the plan onto you but you were asleep in bed suffering from a severe hangover."
Jack glanced down at her hand, which remained on his arm, and she quickly dropped it, a flicker of warning passing through her green eyes.
When Jack didn't say anything to neither her nor Gibbs, she forced a cheery smile and tilted her head to the side- during which the hat she still wore slipped lower over her eye -, making her look all the more irresistible. "Since we've got this settled then, how 'bout lunch?"
A/N: No, school starts this upcoming Monday. NO!! Summer can't be gone, no! sigh Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter (even though I think Jack was WAY out of character), and please review! They would make me feel so much better and make me forget about school!