I'm really getting into this. Rubs hands together enthusiastically "I just get more hooked on this story more and more, and my poor original story has been put upon a shelf for the time being. I just can't seem to get into that one anymore, but I dunno. Anyway, I'm glad all of you guys are still staying tuned in on my story and the life of Scarlett. I honestly didn't think I would get this big of a response. I've never gotten more than thirty reviews on anything before, so this is wild for me. Now to have over 700 reviews like PineAppleLint… that's another story entirely.
I have big plans for the next few chapters, and I'm gonna warn you: there's a big surprise coming up (if you haven't already figured it out!) and some major… um, angst I guess you could call it… Yes, angst, the perfect word actually. I'm not saying anymore though, so I hereby close this author's note before I give everything away. So onward with the chapter then!
Secrets of the CaribbeanWritten By: Riley Barton
[Chapter Fourteen]
The banging of a fist on her cabin door jolted Scarlett awake with a bump as her head made contact with the rough wooden headboard of her bed. Grunting at the throbbing pain, she slowly turned onto her left side and rolled off the bed.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," she grumbled groggily, lazily removing the chair from its position underneath the doorknob. Sighing and running a hand through her limp blonde hair (which hadn't been washed in days), she opened the door and glared at the man standing in the corridor. "What do you want, Will? I was sleeping, if you even care. Why is it Elizabeth can sleep for longer than four hours but I can't?"
"Jack needs you on deck," Will said in a rush. "Immediately!"
Scarlet stared at him blankly for a moment. "Why would Jack want to see me?"
Suddenly Will and Scarlett were thrown from their feet. Whereas Will was thrown halfway down the corridor, Scarlett slammed into the cabin door and then bounced off again only to collide with the bed frame. "What the bloody Hell!" she exclaimed, rubbing her shoulder and then reaching down to massage her bruised hip. "What in the blazes does Jack think he's doing?" The ship rumbled underfoot as if something had gone off nearby. Scarlett frowned, recognizing the loud sounds she had been too grumpy to notice before: cannons.
Her eyes widened and she ran from the cabin, colliding with Will. "Who's firing at us?" Scarlett demanded, glaring at him.
"Not certain, but I think it's safe to assume that it's the man who was chasing you back at Tortuga," he replied.
The ruby! Scarlett jerked, abruptly turning and going back into her cabin. She launched herself across the bed and grabbed the large ruby from off the grungy floor under the bed; the ruby had fallen off sometime recently. She tucked it into her pouch again and tied it more securely around her thin waist.
"Scarlett, you don't have time to sleep!" Will exclaimed in exasperation, coming into the cabin. He stared at her incredulously. "We're under attack and Jack needs you now!"
"I know lad, so just shut up, would ya?" Scarlett shoved past Will and ran for the stairs. She clambered up the many steps to the main deck and sprinted for the stairs across the ship that would take her to the helm. She knew that was where Jack would be.
"About bloody time!" Jack shouted at her as she came into view.
Scarlett staggered into the bulwark as Jack sent the Black Pearl into a turn. "Pardon me!" she shouted back, tucking a strand of water drenched hair behind her ear. Sprays of water and foam were coming up over the sides of the ship and drenching everyone, and Scarlett had been no exception. She was drenched from head to toe and water drops were rolling down her cheeks. "With all this tossing and turning it's kinda hard to get here within a matter of seconds unless you want to be tossed into the ocean!"
The loud bang of a cannon going off sounded followed shortly after by a rough jerk –the attacking ship had struck the Pearl. Scarlett stumbled forward. Instinctively Jack let go of the helm to catch her, and she fall in a very unladylike manner into his waiting arms. He grunted as she ran into him, grinning crazily down at her. "This isn't exactly the time, lass," he said.
Scarlett moved away from him, glaring daggers in his direction. "Piss off!" she exclaimed. Her eyes went to the helm and she lunged for it. It stopped spinning wildly as her hands grasped it. Jack placed his hands over hers, and she quickly backed off. She looked over her shoulder to the attacking ship and studied it. The other ship's structure was almost identical to that of the Pearl, and written on its side was the Cobra. She frowned. That was definitely the ship of Garrett Ansgar. "What is it you need me to do?" she shouted to Jack over the loud barks of various cannons.
"Help Gibbs!" Jack called back. "He could use more help!"
Scarlett turned without another word and fled below deck. "Gibbs, give me something to do," Scarlett said as she came up behind the older man.
The many cannons below deck in the Black Pearl went off, and Gibbs turned to her. "You could help load up the cannons," he said. "The more help we have the better chance we got."
Scarlett hurried forward to help in any possible way she could, loading the cannons, retrieving matches, and any other small thing that could be of help. The fight went on for what seemed like ages until finally, as if by a miracle, a storm rose up from nowhere and lashed at the two warring ships bobbing in the ocean. The storm grew to such a strong velocity that a person walking on deck was walking in what looked like slow motion, pushing against the fierce wind. The rain came down in thick torrents, drenching every person above and below. The crew's of both ships had to squint to see; not even telescopes did any help. The bursting of cannons stopped when neither ship could see the other, and all the weary crewmembers let out sighs of relief. But the worst wasn't over.
The Black Pearl, after having been beaten pretty hard by the Cobra, wasn't faring too well against the raging storm. The canvas sails lashed out savagely in the wind and rain, tearing and shredding at the ends. Rigging came loose and all members of the crew had to gather together as one just to tie them back into place. For six hours the storm raged, slowing for short time intervals, only to grow worse during the next bout.
The Pearl's crew worked their muscles sore from the long, heavy hours of working the rigging and running about the ship. Even Jack standing at the helm was forced to work himself raw just by trying to keep his ship on course. Scarlett came to help him every once and a while, but she would always leave before long to go help someone else. Elizabeth, who had been forced to stay below deck upon Will's insistence, did as much as she could without being in the core of the action.
Just after sunrise the storm abated, growing further away into the distance, and the sun began to shine. The light, though welcomed, was also disgruntled at all the same. The light revealed the very poor appearance and state of the Black Pearl: shredded and torn sails, lost rigging, breaking deck boards, parts of the bulwark missing which left gaping holes in the railing, and seaweed, barnacles, as well as any other form of sea life had been thrown aboard ship leaving it in a bad state of neglect.
Jack looked at his beaten ship in apparent annoyance and dismay. This ship was his life, his love, and it had been beaten to near death. There was no way it would last on the sea for more than a few days. They would have to pull up to the very first port they came upon and mend her and stock up on supplies. The only good thing, it seemed, was that the Cobra and her crew were nowhere in sight.
Scarlett lazily picked up a piece of seaweed and tossed it into the ocean, watching it bob on the small waves before sinking. She sighed and ran a hand across her forehead. Her eyes looked weary and she was leaning against the bulwark, obviously tired from the strenuous work she had done throughout the past hours. She looked up to where Jack stood at the helm and was surprised to find that he was watching her. She let her gaze linger on him for a minute before she turned and walked away.
"We've no choice, Jack!"
Scarlett's angry voice echoed in the unkempt cabin as she faced Jack from across his desk. A map they had somehow found among the mess had been spread out across the desktop and chipped and broken paperweights kept the corners down.
"We can hold out until the next port," Jack replied stubbornly, jabbing his finger at a port a good many leagues from their current location. "The Pearl can handle it."
"That's just it, Jack!" Scarlett threw her hands into the air, shaking her head in disbelief. "The Black Pearl cannot handle it. I know just as well as you do that she can handle most anything, but that storm and Ansgar has almost shredded her down to the very frames. I know we can make it to Port Marcail, but there is no way possible we would be able to make it even halfway to the next port. Jack, you have got to be reasonable here. Look at your ship; look at this cabin, for Pete's sake! Face the facts. If you want to risk the lives of your crew and the Pearl because of the past, then by all means go ahead and sail for Port Muire, but I will not be going with you. If you want to go further, then at least drop me of at Marcail."
Jack looked up at her with raised eyebrows. "I'm not the only one with a past history there, Scarlett," he said, "so why are ye so ready to face it again?"
Scarlett didn't say anything for a moment. "Because I'm not afraid of it anymore," she replied in a voice just above a whisper. "The man I feared is either dead or locked away in a prison cell. I don't have any reason to fear him any longer." But you do, Scarlett, her conscious reminded her. You do still fear him.
Jack shook his head stubbornly. "Either way, the Pearl can make it to Muire."
"She will not!" Scarlett placed her palms flat on the map and stared Jack in the eye. "Muire is too far. Marcail is much closer and the authorities there will not be as quick to contain you. You're well known in Muire and the governor there will jump at the chance to capture you. In Marcail we have connections. Your mother could-"
"I don't care about my mother!" Jack interrupted, jumping to his feet. "She can rot in Hell for all I care!"
"Your mother was a good woman!" Scarlett shouted, her eyes burning with a fierce intensity. "It's amazing that the two of you can be related, and yet be as different as black is to white." She took a deep breath. "Your mother cared about me. She loved me like a daughter, like I was her own. I owe a lot to her, and I will not let you insult her like this. You're her son, Jack. Her son!" She shook her head and laughed in disbelief. "You were born with the world at your fingertips and yet you threw it all away! And for what?" She slowly started backing away to the door. "Think on it. Think about the facts and then decide. Keep in mind about what's at stake here. I seriously doubt you want to be held responsible for the death of Elizabeth Swann and William Turner." And with that said, she turned and walked from the cabin.
Later than morning, when all the crew was on deck going about their duties, Captain Jack Sparrow strode out of his cabin and to the helm of the Black Pearl; all eyes were on him. Scarlett and Anamaria, who stood on the main deck just below where the helm was, watched as he motioned for Will to let him take over the helm. Will stepped aside obligingly, smiling cheerily.
"So where're we going, Jack?" Will asked conversationally.
Jack's eyes went to Scarlett, who stared back at him with a daring look in her eyes. "Port Marcail."
Author's Note: I had nothing better to do tonight and my mind was on the move and so, everyone applaud me because I have made a record of posting two chapters within two days during a school week. Everyone bow. Haha, I'm just kidding.
Thank you to my latest reviewers, AbbieNormal182 and that's-niki-to-you. I got your reviews just over ten minutes ago.
Abbie, I love long reviews so don't even start to think that they bore me. The longer the review the merrier I am! As for what you said about Scarlett getting sick, that wasn't a flame. That was what I like to call constructive criticism. It didn't offend me whatsoever. Quite the opposite, really. I guess I didn't make it clear that it was an infection that made Scarlett sick. The infection/virus entered through the wound and that was what made her sick. Sorry 'bout that. I'll have to go back and made that clearer.
That's-niki-to-you, I would never forget this story! If I do, I promise that all of you could come to my house and hold me hostage until I write another chapter.
Now all of you remember to review because you know how much they make me happy!!!!!! Cheers!
((9-26-03)) Thanks to AbbieNormal182 for pointing out my grammatical errors! I've had them fixed!!!