I think I've come upon a compromise between my two current stories. Since the chapters for this story are shorter than the ones for my original, then I'll write two chapters for this story, post them, and then work on the next chapter for my original. I'll then post that, and write an additional two chapters for this story, and so on, and so forth. Hm. It's a good compromise, I think, and it should work splendidly -where did that word come from? Oh, and before I forget, PineAppleLint, I beg your forgiveness. Further on in this chapter I use the word 'hellcat', which I believe you used to describe Gallagher in your story. It was the only word that fit, and if you would really rather I not use it, I can go back later and change it. The word just fit so perfectly. gives a pathetic smile
Secrets of the Caribbean
Written By: Riley Barton
[Chapter Eight]
Jack Sparrow leaned back in his seat at his usual haunt in Tortuga, lazily drinking from a flagon of rum. The Black Pearl had docked at Tortuga two hours ago, the first of which being spent locating a doctor that was willingly to help an injured pirate. Jack had stuck around long enough to know where Scarlett was staying (which was in a guest room at the doctor's home) and that Elizabeth would watch over her. He had then left for the tavern he was currently residing in, embellishing himself in rum. The tavern's owner had been thrilled to see Jack again and had quickly shouted at a man behind the bar to bring 'the charming pirate captain' his usual flagon of rum.
It had been only four months since Jack's last visit to Tortuga, but he had missed the God-forsaken port anyway. Drowning away all the problems his life possessed in a flagon of rum had always had an appealing ring to it. Toss in a woman for the night and you had it good. It was a shame that this time around Jack didn't seem to have the heart to enjoy it.
After an hour of sitting on his backside watching other men have fun, Jack stood to his feet, leaving a half-empty flagon of rum on the table, and walked to the door. The owner saw that Jack was leaving, silently noticing the half-empty flagon at the recently vacated table, and hurried to hail the pirate captain down.
"Leavin' so soon, Jack?" the owner asked with a frown. "Ye've left half yer rum."
Jack gave the man a bored look. "I'm just not in the mood tonight," he replied.
"I'm sure I could find a bonny lass to cheer yeh right up." The owner grinned, thinking he had solved the problem to Jack's downtrodden mood.
"Some other time." Jack ushered the man aside and strode out the door, letting the door swing shut behind him. He sighed, adjusting the black hat on his head, and looked about. He could see the Black Pearl moored at the wharf in the distance, but he knew nothing waited for him there. He knew that most of his crew would be out galumphing about Tortuga doing God knew what. All except Mr. Cotton, who had offered (with hand motions and the help of his parrot, mind you) that he would be willing to stay on board and make certain that Anamaria, who was still locked in the brig, didn't try anything foolish. No, going back to the Pearl did not sound appealing. The tavern behind him hadn't been satisfactory either.
With nowhere else to turn, he headed in the direction of the Doctor Lakewood's home on the other side of the city.
The Lakewood house wasn't the grandest on the street, but it was nice nonetheless. It had the splendor of a mansion in a small, two-story building that much resembled a large cottage. Shuttered windows were on either side of the upper story level, and bay windows were placed on the left and right side of the front door. A light was on in the room to the left when Jack stepped onto the doorstep. He hesitated for a brief moment before grasping the knocker and rapping it on the door twice. He stepped back to wait.
The door open a minute later and a young girl with red locks poked her head out. She looked up at Jack and gasped, her eyes growing wide. Before Jack could say anything she quickly closed the door, shouting for her mother. Jack frowned, rolling his eyes; he was not one to have patience with children, and he was not about to wait around while the kid fetched her 'mum'.
Ignoring the proper manners one was expecting to use, Jack pushed open the front door and stepped inside, quietly closing the door with a gentle click. He glanced through an open archway to his left, found no one to be inside, and made his way for the stairs before him. He had only climbed three steps before he felt the cold metal of a pistol at the back of his head.
"Hands in the air, pirate," a voice growled in his ear.
Annoyed with the fact that he had been caught, Jack slowly raised his hands into the air and turned around, fixing the man standing before him with a stare. "Look, mate," he said, but that was as far as he got as the man pressed the pistol further into Jack's face.
"What business do you have sneaking into my home?"
"Clearly you don't recognize me. Allow me to introduce meself. The name's Sparrow." Jack stuck a hand out, making an attempt to ignore the gun in his face. "Captain Jack Sparrow of the Black Pearl, if you please."
The man lowered his pistol, frowning with displeasure at the many beads and the like strung in Jack's hair and beard. "You must be a friend of the lass upstairs." He shook Jack's outstretched hand, looking not at all happy with this fact. "If you are, then please follow me."
Jack waited for the man to go ahead of him before continuing up the staircase to the second floor.
"I would ask you to please knock before entering the next time you stop by," the doctor said to the pirate captain over his shoulder.
"I did, but it seems I frightened that little girl of yours," Jack replied, noticing the little red head with blue eyes looking around the downstairs doorway.
"Yes, that would by Lydia. It isn't every day a rogue pirate stops by for tea," the man replied smartly, casting Jack a sarcastic smile as they reached the landing. "The room you're looking for is the second on the right."
"Thank you," Jack said politely, walking in the direction the man had indicated. He eyed a sterling silver mirror on the wall by the correct door, lingering for a brief moment until he saw the stern look the doctor was giving him. With a smile Jack twisted the brass doorknob and stepped into the room.
"Jack!" Elizabeth stood to her feet from a chair by a roaring fire. "I wondered if that was you making all the raucous down there."
"Yes," Jack muttered dryly, fingering a golden goblet set on a table by the door. "It seems these kind folk aren't accustomed to having pirates in the house, even though they do live in Tortuga." He hefted the goblet in his hand, scrutinizing it with a trained eye. "Very odd, ain't it, that a well-do man and his family live in a place like this?"
"Yes, but I'm thankful all the same," Elizabeth said, glancing in the direction of the bed. "Scarlett's only grown worse with a fever. Seems she has caught a virus of some sort. The doctor said it should go away in a few days, but she'll be in and out until then."
Jack glanced in Scarlett's direction, setting the goblet down upon getting a disapproving glare from Elizabeth. "So then. Where's the young Mr. William Turner? Seems he never leaves yer side these days." He dropped heavily into a comfortable chair, his hat tipping backwards.
"He left a little while ago to find a reasonable inn for us." Elizabeth went to Scarlett's beside, dipped a cloth into a bowl filled with warm water, and set it across Scarlett's feverish brow. "I'm in much need of a bath. Living on a pirate ship does have its disadvantages."
"Don't seem to bother young Will much," Jack replied with a smile. Elizabeth caught the hidden snide remark and cast him a glare.
"And what brings you here so early in the night, Jack?" she asked, returning to her seat by the fire. "I thought you would be at a tavern drinking that disgusting rum of yours with a girl on your lap."
"I grew tired of it." Jack waved his fingers in the air, as if he were writing something.
"I see."
The two grew quite for a time before a knock sounded on the door behind Jack, and Will Turner stepped inside. He didn't see Jack sitting in the chair, which was facing away from him, and went straight to Elizabeth, who had stood upon his arrival. They briefly kissed, both of them seeing to be oblivious to the room's other occupant that was indeed not asleep.
"Ahem." Jack looked at the two with raised eyebrows and a smile. The two jumped apart, Elizabeth's cheeks turning a slightly darker shade of pink.
"Jack, didn't see you there," Will said, gaining his composure much faster than Miss Swann.
"No one ever does, mate."
"Uh, Jack, would you mind staying here for the night?" Elizabeth asked with a hopeful gleam in her eyes. "You know, make sure Scarlett gets the proper attention. All you would really have to do is watch her and if she grows worse get the doctor. His room is the last door in this corridor."
Jack looked to Will, and he knew he couldn't turn the two down. They deserved some time alone, so how could he refuse them? "Yes, go ahead. I can manage here."
Elizabeth broke out in a smile. "Thanks, Jack!" She ducked down to give him a quick peck on the cheek before disappearing out the door.
"Good old Jack," he muttered. "That's me, all right."
Once the two were gone, Jack didn't know what to do with himself. Sitting in a chair by a fire all night was far less appealing than it sounded, and after a few minutes he stood to his feet in agitation. "Some rum would be heavenly," Jack mumbled to himself, looking to the door. "Wonder if this old man's got any?"
After raiding the kitchen without drawing much attention to himself, beside the cat in the corner, he was forced to live with an apple and a glass of champagne, which he had managed to find in a hidden wine rack. Taking his findings back upstairs to the room, he sat down in his chair and chewed his apple, mostly out of boredom. The champagne tasted cheap, but with nothing else to drink Jack managed to swallow the whole of it in a short amount of time. He had just finished his apple when Scarlett moaned from where she lay on the bed.
Jack tossed the apple core into the fire and set the empty champagne glass on the mantel with a loud thunk. He went to the bed and gazed down at Scarlett. The cloth Elizabeth had laid across her brow earlier had fallen off and was leaving a wet spot on the sheet. Uncertainly, Jack picked the cloth up and, following the steps Elizabeth had used, dipped the cloth into the water bowl and laid it across Scarlett's sweaty brow. With that done, he wasn't sure what else to do. Chewing his lip in a nervous state, he glanced around. Other than the bowl of lukewarm water was a glass of water, some pills, and some stick-looking thing he couldn't identify. Taking care of a sick person was apparently not Jack's cup of tea.
Scarlett shifted her position on the bed to where she was lying on her side, again letting the cloth fall onto the bed sheet. Slightly annoyed, Jack picked the cloth up and dropped it into the bowl. If Scarlett was going to be stubborn about it, even in her sleep, that was just fine with him. She had always been a stubborn ass anyway.
The thick layer of clouds that had been blocking the moonlight in the sky beyond parted, letting a moonbeam shine in through the open window and land on Scarlett's sleeping form. Jack halted mid-step, staring at his childhood friend. She looked so peaceful when she was asleep, like an angel; a major contrast to the stubborn hellcat she was in real life. Her long blonde hair, a shimmering golden colour from hours out in the sun, cascaded over her shoulders and across the bed's mattress, a single stubborn strand resting across her cheek. Yes, an angel was the only way to describe her at that moment.
Without fully realizing what he was doing, Jack reached out a ringed finger and brushed the strand of golden blonde hair away from his friend's face. He felt his skin grow hot as his finger made contact with her soft skin; he had forgotten how soft it was.
The chimes from the grandfather clock downstairs rang through the house, letting everyone inside know the time. The chimes seemed to be giving Jack a ring of warning, and he quickly stepped away. Well aware of what he had just been doing, he went to the window, leaning against the wall as he stared out to the ocean beyond. The moon continued to shine down on the port city below, bathing it in a peaceful light.
Not far from Tortuga on a ship cloaked in darkness stood a man with dirty brown hair with a smirk on his chapped lips and an evil glint in his cold black eyes. This man had a date with two certain pirates; it had been that way for over eleven years, but now his time had come. He could feel something in the wind, something that told him his luck was about to change. Something was waiting for him in Tortuga, and he couldn't wait to face it head on.
A/N: Another chapter done, and all in one day. Dang, I'm good! smiles happily Anyway, this chapter had no action in it, sorry! But it did have some other things…hehe. Please leave a friendly review for me! I would love ya for all eternity. To find that I have some reviews when I get home from church tomorrow would be so welcoming, and definitely a cheery way to start another year of school. smile