Hello! More fic-age! Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!
Chapter 8: Onward to Isla de Sangre!
The next evening, the sun was setting and Celeste and Jack stood out at the end of the ship talking. The whole day had been devoted to getting ready to leave for Isla de Sangre. Celeste's leg was feeling better and healing pretty fast. She felt guilty because even though her leg was getting better, she still couldn't really help with anything.
Sunbeams fell from the red, orange, and yellow sky and bounced off the water in all directions, making the Caribbean sparkle with a silver glimmer. Celeste and Jack told each other about their lives (for lack of anything better to do). Celeste told him many of her past experiences and much of what had happened in her life, and Jack told her a little about his, he didn't typically tell many people about his past, so this was considered quite a bit. She told him about how her mother had left the family (and the country) for petty reasons. She also told him about her evil stepmother who was always so mean and rude to her for no reason and had been trying for years to get Celeste out of the house and replace her in her father's will.
"...so I'm lucky to be where I am now." she told him. "A pirate's life for me." she slapped the railing of the ship. "Better here than with that evil woman." She paused. "So, what about your parents, Jack?" she asked curiously.
"Dead. Both of them. But I'd rather not talk about that far into me past." he said.
"Oh, I-I'm sorry..." Celeste hesitated, thinking she'd said something wrong. She began fidgeting and got a very guilty look on her face. Jack looked at her.
"Oh, it's quite alright, darling, it's not your fault!" he said and patted her back in an attempt to comfort her a little. The sun brightly and beautifully shone, illuminating their eyes.
"So... off to Isla de Sangre tomorrow, eh?" Celeste asked, gazing out at the mesmerizing horizon.
"Aye." Jack replied.
"Yes, well," Celeste started, turning around to walk away, "drink up, me hearties, yo--"
THUD. She'd forgotten about her leg. She fell flat on her face.
"Ouch! Ouch!"
Jack laughed and helped her up. "Don't be 'asty, darling." Jack added, still laughing.
"Well, I'll be okay soon, so I can kill Santara when I need to." she asurred, leaning on the ship's railing again. "He is so going to die." she stated, her voice shaking with anger. Jack looked at her and noticed the anger in her eyes and that she'd actually started shaking from it.
"Wow." Jack said. "What did that man do?"
"Besides stealing from me?" Celeste asked angrily. "Well, do you remember just before he and I started fighting, how I said that he'd taken something from me of which
he could never repay?" Jack nodded. "Well... he killed my friend. One of my best friends ever." Jack's expression faltered, being a little shocked at this, sympathy for her growing in him. She stared out at the ocean. "Her name was Gabrielle. She was just trying to protect her little sister... Santara and his minions had raided the town. Gabrielle didn't want her sister to get raped by those disgusting men. Because of that... he killed her... I saw him... My father had dragged me onto a ship, so I couldn't get to her. I saw her run outside of her house, which had been set on fire, and I wanted to yell to her, but I was crying too much... Even if I had yelled... she wouldn't have heard me... She had nothing to defend herself with, but she tried to attack Santara anyway... He'd taken her sister... He attempted to take her along too, no doubt to do disgusting things to her, but she wouldn't have it. She struggled, scratching and clawing... giving her sister just enough time to get away. Her sister must've been scared out of her mind... She ran... forward... where ever that may have been... and another pirate attempted to grab her... She ran... lost her footing... and fell off the docks... There was no way she could've gotten back up... I was going to jump in to save her, but my stupid father held me back... So... she drowned...
"Well, Santara wasn't about to be cheated of a good time, so he struggled even more to keep Gavrielle. I suppose he figured that she was too much trouble... and so... he pulled out his pistol... and shot her... right in the heart." Celeste paused. She looked up at Jack. "I had to see that... Watch one of my best friends die right in front of me and I could do nothing!" She moved her eyes from Jack and began to cry.
He attempted to turn Celeste's face towards him, but she snapped her head in the opposite direction to avoid eye contact. She was struggling to stop crying, but didn't really succeed.
Cryin's good for the soul, love." Don't be ashamed." he told her. Memories of Gabrielle's horrible death flooded back into Celeste's mind and she broke down, unable to bear the weight of the pain any longer. She began loudly sobbing. Jack opened his arms to her and she leaned up against his chest, sobbing. He looked down at her with both care and sympathy in his eyes.
"It's not fair, Jack!" she sobbed. "It's just not fair!"
"I know, love." he replied softly. "Life itself is not fair. But it's 'ow we deal with the obstacles we com up against that judges 'ow strong a person we are. Like your friend. She fought for what she believed, what she wanted, up until the end; an' it showed that she was a good, strong person. An' you 'ave to think: if life was fair, it might even be boring. It would be too easy to reach goals an' get what you want. These obstacles that we must face test us an' decide where our life is goin'. Try lookin' at it like that." She looked up at him. She had no idea he could even comprehend something so wise, being a pirate and all, much less actually say it. He reached up and gently wiped a tear from her face with his thumb.
"I mean," he started, "if you want to take advice from a pirate."
"A pirate and a very good man." she said. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, and then leaned in closer. When there got to be only that pesky inch between their faces, suddenly:
"Celeste!" Audra called. "Celeste!" Celeste stared into Jack's gorgeous dark brown eyes for a moment and then turned to see where Audra was. Audra burst through the stairwell door and scanned the deck for Celeste. Upon noticing that Audra had spotted her, she quickly pulled away from Jack and frantically dried her face and eyes with her sleeve. She cleared her throat and sniffled a little.
"Yes, Audra, what is it?" Celeste asked wearily and quieter than her usual cheery tone.
"Oh, you must come!" Audra exclaimed happily. "I must tell you something!" Audra helped Celeste limp off towards the stairs. Celeste looked back at Jack, who was watching her, and then she painfully turned away. Jack mumbled something about missing 'the opportune moment.'
Audra led Celeste down into a large dining hall where nearly all of the crew was. Some were chatting, some were eating, and some were just leaving the galley with plates full of food. At one end of a long table, sat Mr. Cotton, Anamaria, and Angelina. Audra pulled Celeste over and sat her down on the end of the bench at the end of the long table, and sat down beside her.
"Celeste, Mr. Cotton has shown me the light!" Audra exclaimed. "He has given me a life's philosophy that I shall forever hold dear! Tell her, Mr. Cotton."
"Shiver me timbers, me bucko. Dead men tell no tales. Any port in the storm. Drink up, me hearties." Mr. Cotton's Parrot squawked. Audra stared wide-eyed at Mr. Cotton while Celeste listened intently and Angelina was thoroughly confused.
"I don' get it." Angelina stated in confusion. "'ow c'n ya understand 'im?" Audra looked disgusted at what Angelina had just said.
"How can you say that?! Aren't you listening?!" Audra asked angrily.
"I am... but 'e's jus' squawkin'..." Angelina said. Audra gasped.
"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?!" Audra yelled. "Isn't that your new philosophy, Celeste?" she asked, a rather snooty tone to her voice.
Celeste smiled. "Well, that was very wise, Mr. Cotton," Celeste said sincerely, "and thank you... but I already have my own philosophy."
* * *
The next morning, they all assembled on deck.
"Okay, onward to Isla de Sangre!" Jack yelled to all the crew. "Now... to work! All of you!"
"We'd like to help, Jack!" Audra told him cheerfully as the crew began to work.
"We would?" Angelina asked, panicking a little.
"Yes, we would." Audra confirmed.
"Ah, wonderful!" Jack said. "You can both tighten the sails! No one else wants to do it... Off with you!" Angelina sulked behind a cheerful Audra as they made their way to the sails Celeste stood, leaning up against the mast, dressed in a pretty, pink, fairly low-cut dress. Her leg was feeling much better, but she still had to take it easy.
"Can I help, Jack?" she asked guiltily, knowing that she couldn't really do anything in her current state.
"Well, er..." Jack thought for a moment and then, "You can... you can 'elp me."
"Oh?" she squeaked excitedly. He smiled. He knew that helping in some way would make her happy. "What am I to do?"
"Come. I shall show you." Jack replied. He helped her up the stairs and to her helm, his usual spot. "Just a moment." he said to her. "Pull up the anchor!" he commanded the crew. She heard the anchor being pulled up. "Sails!" and the sails opened grandly and they began to slowly move. "Okay then," he started in his usual tone, "you can 'elp me 'ere at the 'elm."
"The helm?!" Celeste exclaimed and could hardly believe it. "The helm sounds so important! Can I really?!"
"O' course!" Jack replied. "It gets lonely steerin' the ship up 'ere all by me onesies."
"Wow! Ooh! What do I do?" she asked, straightening up and eyeing the helm she stood in front of.
"Well, first, you should grasp the wheel." he said instructively. He stepped behind her, grabbed her wrists, and placed her hands on the wheel.
"Wow! The helm! I feel important!" she said happily; Jack smiled at her amusement.
"Okay, so about twenty five degrees west." he instructed.
"Er..." Celeste hesitated. Jack smiled. He put his hands on top of hers and turned the wheel a little to the left.
"See? Easy." Jack stated simply.
"Wow!" Celeste exclaimed happily. Jack smiled again at her amusement.
"With luck, the weather will be good to us an' we can make a straight trip." Jack told her, still helping her adjust the wheel a little. "Alrigh', love, just keep it like this 'till I tell you different."
"Aye, aye, Captain!" she replied cheerfully. He walked over to the stairs, stopped and looked back at her.
"By the way, maybe to keep the weather bein' good to us, you can use some of your lovely charm on the skies, savvy?" Jack told her. "It's said that the ocean and the skies listen to beautiful girls." He turned away and sauntered down the stairs and to the deck, going about his captaining. Celeste blushed. No one (except her family years ago, who were rather obligated) had called her beautiful before.
The ocean was a glowing, gorgeous, bright blue with hardly any large waves. The sun shone cheerfully down on the Black Pearl and warmed the heads and hats of the crew. The weather was very nice that day and the skies were clear. Jack was down on the main deck, monitoring the crew's duties and helping a little himself.
After about ten minutes of Celeste feeling important, Jack returned to her and the helm.
"Doin' a great job, love." Jack encouraged. He still felt fairly sorry for her after hearing that story about Gabrielle, so he tried to be a little nicer. "I'd better watch out or you'll be stealin' me job as Captain." he half smiled.
"Jack..." she sighed. "If you're feeling sorry for me because of what I told you yesterday... don't. It doesn't solve anything."
"What? I was--"
"It's alright. It's sweet of you to try and cheer me up." Celeste told him with a smile. "It's okay, don't worry about me. I'm fine." There was a short moment of silence.
"A little to the left." Jack said to her, nodding at the helm. He stepped behind her like before, put his arms around her, and put his hands on hers. He then directed the wheel to the left a little. "We'll both steer for a while, savvy?"
"Mhm." Celeste agreed, staring out at the mesmerizing Caribbean.
"Ohh!" Audra exclaimed, looking up at Celeste and Jack from across the ship. "That's too cute!"
"Huh? Oh, yes, them, sure." Angelina replied, not really paying attention, pulling on ropes.
"Aww!"
"Yep."
"They're actually really cute together, you know. Except, it's not official yet. Jack hasn't asked her if her if he can court her yet, so... I suppose we'll just see."
"Where did you learn how to do this, Jack?" Celeste asked him, referring to the steering of the ship.
"Me gran'father taught me." Jack explained, gazing out at the sea. "An' after 'e died, me dad took over teachin' me."
"Were they pirates?" Celeste asked.
"No..." Jack said almost regretfully. "They were good men."
"But, you can be a pirate and--"
"I know." Jack interrupted. "Believe me, of all people, I know. But they were 'ard workin', 'onest men. Got 'em nowhere, though. We were lucky if we got dinner on the table each night."
"So you decided to become a pirate," Celeste concluded, "because you didn't want that to happen to you?"
"Aye." Jack replied thoughtfully.
"Well, I just want revenge." Celeste stated. "And that bounty. And maybe some treasure. And adventure. And--"
"My, darling, you do want a lot."
"Yes. And I'll get it all, too." she stated.
"Confidence is good." Jack said.
"I know." Celeste replied. She glanced up at Jack, whose head was hovering over her shoulder. She could tell that he was not looking at the ocean (that pig). Celeste got an annoyed look on her face. She quickly jerked her shoulder up and hit Jack in the chin, knocking his head upwards. "Keep it there." she ordered. "And your eyes on the sea." He half smiled at this, showing a few gold teeth. "Pirates..." she mumbled.
Ha ha! That last part never ceases to make me laugh! Hahaha! Hope you enjoyed it! Now, onward to CHAPTER NINE!!!!! WA!
Chapter 8: Onward to Isla de Sangre!
The next evening, the sun was setting and Celeste and Jack stood out at the end of the ship talking. The whole day had been devoted to getting ready to leave for Isla de Sangre. Celeste's leg was feeling better and healing pretty fast. She felt guilty because even though her leg was getting better, she still couldn't really help with anything.
Sunbeams fell from the red, orange, and yellow sky and bounced off the water in all directions, making the Caribbean sparkle with a silver glimmer. Celeste and Jack told each other about their lives (for lack of anything better to do). Celeste told him many of her past experiences and much of what had happened in her life, and Jack told her a little about his, he didn't typically tell many people about his past, so this was considered quite a bit. She told him about how her mother had left the family (and the country) for petty reasons. She also told him about her evil stepmother who was always so mean and rude to her for no reason and had been trying for years to get Celeste out of the house and replace her in her father's will.
"...so I'm lucky to be where I am now." she told him. "A pirate's life for me." she slapped the railing of the ship. "Better here than with that evil woman." She paused. "So, what about your parents, Jack?" she asked curiously.
"Dead. Both of them. But I'd rather not talk about that far into me past." he said.
"Oh, I-I'm sorry..." Celeste hesitated, thinking she'd said something wrong. She began fidgeting and got a very guilty look on her face. Jack looked at her.
"Oh, it's quite alright, darling, it's not your fault!" he said and patted her back in an attempt to comfort her a little. The sun brightly and beautifully shone, illuminating their eyes.
"So... off to Isla de Sangre tomorrow, eh?" Celeste asked, gazing out at the mesmerizing horizon.
"Aye." Jack replied.
"Yes, well," Celeste started, turning around to walk away, "drink up, me hearties, yo--"
THUD. She'd forgotten about her leg. She fell flat on her face.
"Ouch! Ouch!"
Jack laughed and helped her up. "Don't be 'asty, darling." Jack added, still laughing.
"Well, I'll be okay soon, so I can kill Santara when I need to." she asurred, leaning on the ship's railing again. "He is so going to die." she stated, her voice shaking with anger. Jack looked at her and noticed the anger in her eyes and that she'd actually started shaking from it.
"Wow." Jack said. "What did that man do?"
"Besides stealing from me?" Celeste asked angrily. "Well, do you remember just before he and I started fighting, how I said that he'd taken something from me of which
he could never repay?" Jack nodded. "Well... he killed my friend. One of my best friends ever." Jack's expression faltered, being a little shocked at this, sympathy for her growing in him. She stared out at the ocean. "Her name was Gabrielle. She was just trying to protect her little sister... Santara and his minions had raided the town. Gabrielle didn't want her sister to get raped by those disgusting men. Because of that... he killed her... I saw him... My father had dragged me onto a ship, so I couldn't get to her. I saw her run outside of her house, which had been set on fire, and I wanted to yell to her, but I was crying too much... Even if I had yelled... she wouldn't have heard me... She had nothing to defend herself with, but she tried to attack Santara anyway... He'd taken her sister... He attempted to take her along too, no doubt to do disgusting things to her, but she wouldn't have it. She struggled, scratching and clawing... giving her sister just enough time to get away. Her sister must've been scared out of her mind... She ran... forward... where ever that may have been... and another pirate attempted to grab her... She ran... lost her footing... and fell off the docks... There was no way she could've gotten back up... I was going to jump in to save her, but my stupid father held me back... So... she drowned...
"Well, Santara wasn't about to be cheated of a good time, so he struggled even more to keep Gavrielle. I suppose he figured that she was too much trouble... and so... he pulled out his pistol... and shot her... right in the heart." Celeste paused. She looked up at Jack. "I had to see that... Watch one of my best friends die right in front of me and I could do nothing!" She moved her eyes from Jack and began to cry.
He attempted to turn Celeste's face towards him, but she snapped her head in the opposite direction to avoid eye contact. She was struggling to stop crying, but didn't really succeed.
Cryin's good for the soul, love." Don't be ashamed." he told her. Memories of Gabrielle's horrible death flooded back into Celeste's mind and she broke down, unable to bear the weight of the pain any longer. She began loudly sobbing. Jack opened his arms to her and she leaned up against his chest, sobbing. He looked down at her with both care and sympathy in his eyes.
"It's not fair, Jack!" she sobbed. "It's just not fair!"
"I know, love." he replied softly. "Life itself is not fair. But it's 'ow we deal with the obstacles we com up against that judges 'ow strong a person we are. Like your friend. She fought for what she believed, what she wanted, up until the end; an' it showed that she was a good, strong person. An' you 'ave to think: if life was fair, it might even be boring. It would be too easy to reach goals an' get what you want. These obstacles that we must face test us an' decide where our life is goin'. Try lookin' at it like that." She looked up at him. She had no idea he could even comprehend something so wise, being a pirate and all, much less actually say it. He reached up and gently wiped a tear from her face with his thumb.
"I mean," he started, "if you want to take advice from a pirate."
"A pirate and a very good man." she said. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, and then leaned in closer. When there got to be only that pesky inch between their faces, suddenly:
"Celeste!" Audra called. "Celeste!" Celeste stared into Jack's gorgeous dark brown eyes for a moment and then turned to see where Audra was. Audra burst through the stairwell door and scanned the deck for Celeste. Upon noticing that Audra had spotted her, she quickly pulled away from Jack and frantically dried her face and eyes with her sleeve. She cleared her throat and sniffled a little.
"Yes, Audra, what is it?" Celeste asked wearily and quieter than her usual cheery tone.
"Oh, you must come!" Audra exclaimed happily. "I must tell you something!" Audra helped Celeste limp off towards the stairs. Celeste looked back at Jack, who was watching her, and then she painfully turned away. Jack mumbled something about missing 'the opportune moment.'
Audra led Celeste down into a large dining hall where nearly all of the crew was. Some were chatting, some were eating, and some were just leaving the galley with plates full of food. At one end of a long table, sat Mr. Cotton, Anamaria, and Angelina. Audra pulled Celeste over and sat her down on the end of the bench at the end of the long table, and sat down beside her.
"Celeste, Mr. Cotton has shown me the light!" Audra exclaimed. "He has given me a life's philosophy that I shall forever hold dear! Tell her, Mr. Cotton."
"Shiver me timbers, me bucko. Dead men tell no tales. Any port in the storm. Drink up, me hearties." Mr. Cotton's Parrot squawked. Audra stared wide-eyed at Mr. Cotton while Celeste listened intently and Angelina was thoroughly confused.
"I don' get it." Angelina stated in confusion. "'ow c'n ya understand 'im?" Audra looked disgusted at what Angelina had just said.
"How can you say that?! Aren't you listening?!" Audra asked angrily.
"I am... but 'e's jus' squawkin'..." Angelina said. Audra gasped.
"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?!" Audra yelled. "Isn't that your new philosophy, Celeste?" she asked, a rather snooty tone to her voice.
Celeste smiled. "Well, that was very wise, Mr. Cotton," Celeste said sincerely, "and thank you... but I already have my own philosophy."
* * *
The next morning, they all assembled on deck.
"Okay, onward to Isla de Sangre!" Jack yelled to all the crew. "Now... to work! All of you!"
"We'd like to help, Jack!" Audra told him cheerfully as the crew began to work.
"We would?" Angelina asked, panicking a little.
"Yes, we would." Audra confirmed.
"Ah, wonderful!" Jack said. "You can both tighten the sails! No one else wants to do it... Off with you!" Angelina sulked behind a cheerful Audra as they made their way to the sails Celeste stood, leaning up against the mast, dressed in a pretty, pink, fairly low-cut dress. Her leg was feeling much better, but she still had to take it easy.
"Can I help, Jack?" she asked guiltily, knowing that she couldn't really do anything in her current state.
"Well, er..." Jack thought for a moment and then, "You can... you can 'elp me."
"Oh?" she squeaked excitedly. He smiled. He knew that helping in some way would make her happy. "What am I to do?"
"Come. I shall show you." Jack replied. He helped her up the stairs and to her helm, his usual spot. "Just a moment." he said to her. "Pull up the anchor!" he commanded the crew. She heard the anchor being pulled up. "Sails!" and the sails opened grandly and they began to slowly move. "Okay then," he started in his usual tone, "you can 'elp me 'ere at the 'elm."
"The helm?!" Celeste exclaimed and could hardly believe it. "The helm sounds so important! Can I really?!"
"O' course!" Jack replied. "It gets lonely steerin' the ship up 'ere all by me onesies."
"Wow! Ooh! What do I do?" she asked, straightening up and eyeing the helm she stood in front of.
"Well, first, you should grasp the wheel." he said instructively. He stepped behind her, grabbed her wrists, and placed her hands on the wheel.
"Wow! The helm! I feel important!" she said happily; Jack smiled at her amusement.
"Okay, so about twenty five degrees west." he instructed.
"Er..." Celeste hesitated. Jack smiled. He put his hands on top of hers and turned the wheel a little to the left.
"See? Easy." Jack stated simply.
"Wow!" Celeste exclaimed happily. Jack smiled again at her amusement.
"With luck, the weather will be good to us an' we can make a straight trip." Jack told her, still helping her adjust the wheel a little. "Alrigh', love, just keep it like this 'till I tell you different."
"Aye, aye, Captain!" she replied cheerfully. He walked over to the stairs, stopped and looked back at her.
"By the way, maybe to keep the weather bein' good to us, you can use some of your lovely charm on the skies, savvy?" Jack told her. "It's said that the ocean and the skies listen to beautiful girls." He turned away and sauntered down the stairs and to the deck, going about his captaining. Celeste blushed. No one (except her family years ago, who were rather obligated) had called her beautiful before.
The ocean was a glowing, gorgeous, bright blue with hardly any large waves. The sun shone cheerfully down on the Black Pearl and warmed the heads and hats of the crew. The weather was very nice that day and the skies were clear. Jack was down on the main deck, monitoring the crew's duties and helping a little himself.
After about ten minutes of Celeste feeling important, Jack returned to her and the helm.
"Doin' a great job, love." Jack encouraged. He still felt fairly sorry for her after hearing that story about Gabrielle, so he tried to be a little nicer. "I'd better watch out or you'll be stealin' me job as Captain." he half smiled.
"Jack..." she sighed. "If you're feeling sorry for me because of what I told you yesterday... don't. It doesn't solve anything."
"What? I was--"
"It's alright. It's sweet of you to try and cheer me up." Celeste told him with a smile. "It's okay, don't worry about me. I'm fine." There was a short moment of silence.
"A little to the left." Jack said to her, nodding at the helm. He stepped behind her like before, put his arms around her, and put his hands on hers. He then directed the wheel to the left a little. "We'll both steer for a while, savvy?"
"Mhm." Celeste agreed, staring out at the mesmerizing Caribbean.
"Ohh!" Audra exclaimed, looking up at Celeste and Jack from across the ship. "That's too cute!"
"Huh? Oh, yes, them, sure." Angelina replied, not really paying attention, pulling on ropes.
"Aww!"
"Yep."
"They're actually really cute together, you know. Except, it's not official yet. Jack hasn't asked her if her if he can court her yet, so... I suppose we'll just see."
"Where did you learn how to do this, Jack?" Celeste asked him, referring to the steering of the ship.
"Me gran'father taught me." Jack explained, gazing out at the sea. "An' after 'e died, me dad took over teachin' me."
"Were they pirates?" Celeste asked.
"No..." Jack said almost regretfully. "They were good men."
"But, you can be a pirate and--"
"I know." Jack interrupted. "Believe me, of all people, I know. But they were 'ard workin', 'onest men. Got 'em nowhere, though. We were lucky if we got dinner on the table each night."
"So you decided to become a pirate," Celeste concluded, "because you didn't want that to happen to you?"
"Aye." Jack replied thoughtfully.
"Well, I just want revenge." Celeste stated. "And that bounty. And maybe some treasure. And adventure. And--"
"My, darling, you do want a lot."
"Yes. And I'll get it all, too." she stated.
"Confidence is good." Jack said.
"I know." Celeste replied. She glanced up at Jack, whose head was hovering over her shoulder. She could tell that he was not looking at the ocean (that pig). Celeste got an annoyed look on her face. She quickly jerked her shoulder up and hit Jack in the chin, knocking his head upwards. "Keep it there." she ordered. "And your eyes on the sea." He half smiled at this, showing a few gold teeth. "Pirates..." she mumbled.
Ha ha! That last part never ceases to make me laugh! Hahaha! Hope you enjoyed it! Now, onward to CHAPTER NINE!!!!! WA!