High Flier

Chapter 8 - The Lucky Chicken

~Pirate Rhi

Song for this chapter: Here Without You ~ Three Doors Down (one of my all-time fave songs)

At school today, the teachers at my school dressed up as famous characters from books and movies and one of the teachers dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow. As the official photographer for the event, I made sure that I took a lot of pictures of him, as he looked very authentic. Even had the hair and all. I got a picture of him holding me hostage. Pics will be posted on my website if you guys wanna see them. The link's on my bio page.

Wow, 14 reviews for this chapter. Thanks so much, guys.

Lykosdracos - thanks for your vote of confidence.

Queen of the Caribbean - Ah, I remember when my dog was a puppy. Almost as bad as a newborn baby, I'd say. Try giving your puppy a hot water bottle and a clock (I know this sounds stupid but it works). The hot water bottle is like the mother's body heat and the clock is like the mother's heartbeat.

ChaosLightning13 - Thanks. Jack is a VERY hard character to write as I'm sure anyone who's ever written Jack would know. I try my best to keep him in character and I'm glad you think it's very Jack-like.

Padfoots-Pirate - Ah, a lemon lover, I see. I completely know how you feel…heh heh.

Okay, final decision on the lemon thing…I think that I'll write two chapters, one with the lemon and one without. I'll put the censored one first, and then the lemon one. Both of them will be the same except for the lemon scene. They will be clearly labeled to save confusion and unnecessary yelling at the author. It will most likely be in either chapter 10 or 11, depending on how much I write in chapter 10.

Okay, I think that's me done now…I'll leave you to read the chapter.

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As the crew of the Black Pearl prepared to go ashore into Tortuga, Alex stood nervously to the side of the ship, clutching her meagre belongings in one hand.

Elizabeth was the only person who knew about her leaving the Pearl, and she had asked her to be the one to tell Jack. Elizabeth had protested at this, saying it wasn't right, but had given in to her request in the end and had agreed to do it.

"Right, you scalawags. Be back here at dawn tomorrow. If you're late, we leave without you." Jack informed the crew as they were loading themselves into the dinghies, preparing to row to shore.

Alex found herself loaded into the same dinghy as Elizabeth, Will and Jack. She couldn't help but wonder if this would be the last time she'd look at the three people that had made a huge difference to her life.

They docked and climbed out of the boat and Jack sauntered down the dock proudly. "Ah, Tortuga. I missed your proliferous bouquet. Come on Will, mate. Let's get us a drink." He looked over his shoulder and winked at the two girls as he led Will off to his favourite bar to get a mug of rum.

When they were out of earshot, Elizabeth turned to Alex. "Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?" she asked again.

Alex nodded. "There's no turning back now. I've made my bed and now I have to lie in it, so they say."

"Yes. But it is also said that once you've dug yourself into a hole, you should stop digging while you're still able to get out." Elizabeth said, desperately trying to get Alex to change her mind.

"I'm not going back, Liz. I'd rather live my life lonely and loveless, than to go through it all over again." Alex said.

"I'll miss you." Elizabeth said, embracing Alex tightly. She released her and pressed a small bag of gold coins into her hand. "Just until you can find yourself a respectable job." She said, emphasising 'respectable'. "And this is for your protection." She said, handing Alex the sword she had been using when practising with Will. "Don't think I don't know about your lessons with Will." She gave Alex a sad smile. "Take care."

"Thanks Liz. This means a lot to me." Alex said, giving her a watery smile. Then she turned and strode up the street before Elizabeth could see the tears building in her eyes.

* * * * * *

Elizabeth didn't move as she watched Alex walk out of sight. She had seen the girl change drastically over the short time she had known her.

When Jack first brought her on the ship, just a mere couple of weeks ago, she never spoke unless she had to, and she was incredibly sad all the time. Although she was far from healed, Alex was a lot happier than what she used to be, and she smiled a lot more. And she definitely had a lot more confidence.

She had even managed to catch and hold the attention of the supposed most uncommitted person to walk the earth. Elizabeth had also seen a change in Jack since Alex had been on board. It was good for him, but she didn't know how he would react when he found out that Alex wasn't coming back.

Instead of making her way to the tavern that Will and Jack had gone into, Elizabeth went to the inn that she and Will always stayed at, and ordered a room, not wishing to drink, or be around the men, who would ask questions.

* * * * * *

Alex wandered aimlessly up the streets of Tortuga. She had no idea which places were respectable and which weren't. She was counting on her gut instinct to tell her what to do. Only at the moment, her gut was confused.

Winding her way through drunken men lining the streets and whores dressed in bright clothes, trying to sell their trade, Alex managed to find a tavern that looked more respectable than the rest of the places. The paint outside was fresh and it was brightly lit, unlike most of the other places here. Its name was painted on the outside in big bold letters: The Lucky Chicken.

Alex liked the look of this place immediately, and she entered the tavern and strode up to the counter, where a woman was serving drinks. The woman looked about 10 years older than Alex, and she looked tough, like she could hold her own and didn't take any crap. Her long, dark hair was pulled back into a bun, and she had dark brown eyes. For a moment, Alex was struck by the similarity between this woman and Jack, but she quickly passed it off as her mind still being on the pirate captain.

"Can I help you?" she asked Alex, when she approached the counter, giving her a strange look, seeing as she was still wearing Jack's clothes.

"Yes. Actually you can. I was hoping I could get a job here." Alex said.

"Have you had any experience?" the woman asked.

"Well…actually, no. But I'm a quick learner and a good worker. You'd be good to have me."

The woman chuckled. "I like that. You've got spunk." She said. "You're hired Miss…"

"Alex…andra. My name's Alexandra." Alex said, for some reason, she didn't want people, other than the crew of the Pearl, using the name that Jack had given her. She extended her hand for the woman to shake.

"You can call me Mara." The woman said. "You can start now if you like. Stash your things behind the bar here."

Alex did as she was told and Mara started explaining how the shop was run, prices and drinks and how to handle the occasional bad customer.

* * * * * *

By the end of the night, Alex was well and truly tired. The tavern didn't close until long after midnight by the time they got all the drunken customers out and things tidied up. And she still had to find herself a place to stay.

"You look new in town. Do you have somewhere to stay?" Mara asked, as if reading Alex's thoughts.

"Actually, no, I don't." Alex answered.

"Well, why don't you stay here, then. I've got a spare room for my employees and you can stay here, free of charge, so long as you're working for me." Mara offered.

"Sounds good." Alex said.

"Right then, follow me." Mara said, leading Alex upstairs and showing her the spare bedroom. It was small, but inviting, and it had a proper bed, instead of a hammock.

"Thanks, it's great." Alex said, placing her belongings on the bed.

"Right, well I'll leave you to it. Good night." Mara said, exiting the room, pulling the door closed after her.

Alex lay on the bed, after stashing her possessions in the drawer and leaning the sword up against the wall. She found herself thinking about the Pearl and wondered how she was ever going to live without the pirate life she had become so accustomed to. She fingered the scar on her right arm from the knife wound a while back as she thought.

Her thoughts turned from the Pearl to its dashing captain. How she wished that she wouldn't think of him all the time. She was trying to get him out of her mind, but he just wouldn't leave. And she missed Will and Elizabeth. It hadn't even been a day yet, and she still found herself missing them. She found herself itching to leap out of the bed and race back to the Pearl as fast as she could and not look back. But she couldn't.

She sighed and turned over, falling asleep almost instantly after her hard night's work.

* * * * * *

Jack waited on the Pearl for the last of his crew to board. The sun was only just peeking over the horizon, giving the rest of them time yet to arrive.

Finally, all but one had arrived on the ship. He looked out across the harbour to the docks, to see if he could see Alex's slight figure walking up the dock, to the last dinghy that had been left for her. But there was nothing.

The sun had fully risen into the sky by that time. He was hesitating, delaying leaving in case she should turn up, but he somehow knew that she wouldn't come.

Elizabeth saw Jack gazing hopefully over to the docks and felt a pang of sympathy for him. She walked over to him.

"She's not coming back, is she?" Jack said when Elizabeth reached him, not looking away from the docks.

"No." Elizabeth said, confirming Jack's guess.

Jack didn't say anything else, he just stood there for a moment or two, then turned, barking orders to the crew. "Ready the ship, you scabberous dogs, we're settin' sail!"

Elizabeth watched as Jack manned the helm, expertly steering the ship out of the harbour. He was trying to pretend like he didn't care, but she knew that he did. She could tell that Jack wanted to go back and look for her, but his pride and the so-called Pirate's Code prevented him from doing so.

"Silly man." Elizabeth muttered under her breath as she turned and walked off.

* * * * * *

Alex awoke late the next morning. The sun was already high in the sky, shining through the window. She momentarily wondered where she was, then remembered that she was in Mara's spare bedroom at the Lucky Chicken.

She felt a pang of sadness when she realised that the Black Pearl would've left by now, and she wondered whether she'd done the right thing.

"Of course I've done the right thing." Alex said out loud, as if trying to make herself believe it was true. "I can't let it happen again." She paused and looked down, suddenly ashamed of her actions. "I am so selfish." She said quietly. "I just lost the only man I've ever been able to trust."

Alex slipped from the bed and dressed in the clothes she had got from Jack. They still smelled faintly of him and the sea, and she breathed in the scent deeply. She strapped her sword belt around her waist and her dagger around her leg. Tortuga didn't seem like a very respectable place and until she got to know the place and people better, she thought it'd be a very good idea to have some sort of protection on her. She was quite good with a sword now, Will had proved to be an excellent teacher, but she still wasn't good enough to go up against anyone with a lot of experience. She was more counting on the intimidation factor and her sharp tongue to ward off possible attackers.

Quietly slipping out the back door of the house, Alex aimlessly walked the streets of Tortuga, getting to know the small town. Drunken men were still lying unconscious on the streets and whores were leaving the hotels after a long night of selling their trade.

The place didn't look much better in the morning than it did at night. Filth lined the streets, animal - and quite possibly human - dung, vomit, broken glass and other disgusting sludge that Alex wasn't in a great hurry to identify.

Daytime vendors were opening for business, some selling fresh fruit and vegetables, others bakery items and others clothes and trinkets, but the money in Tortuga was definitely in the night trade.

Alex unknowingly made her way down to the docks and felt a pang of loneliness when she didn't see the familiar black sails of the Black Pearl. Whatever small hope she had left in her was brutally dashed.

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There you go, the end of chapter 8.

I have nothing else to say.

So I'm gonna go now.

Bye.

~Rhi

=)