Tea with the Captain
By Citrus Tea
Chapter Two: We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot!
"Danny!" shouted a burly man from the helm of the Wind's Maiden. An eager looking young man hurried forward from where he had been coiling ropes on deck.
"What is it, Captain?" he inquired.
"Man the crow's nest, son, and tell Bill he's off duty for the night. Keep a careful watch, it's been said that pirates sail these waters. I want no trouble from them with passengers on board."
"Aye, Captain," with a nod Danny left the helm. He climbed up to the crow's nest with speed and skill, and released a scrawny, old man from his duties.
Danny always enjoyed look out duty, it gave him a feeling of peace that no other place on the boat could provide. The night was perfect, warm air and a light breeze, nobody could ask for better. Danny scanned the surrounding waters and everything seemed normal. There were no signs to indicate that any other ship was near, not a light or sound except for his lantern and the splash made by the Wind's Maiden gliding through the water.
Nothing prepared Danny for the sudden, unmistakable blast of a cannon being fired from very close at hand. He heard the flying ball make a mighty splash just off the port side the boat.
Where could the shot have come from? Danny looked franticly around, nothing had been anywhere within that close of range a moment before. His eyes widened as a figure appeared, looming towards the Wind's Maiden. A pirate ship!
The ship was black as night with sails just as dark. It was no wonder it had appeared as if out of thin air. The Jolly Roger could dimly be seen grinning down from above the ragged sails. Raucous shouts could now be heard coming from the mysterious ship.
Recovering from his awe Danny shouted, "Pirates, on the port side, pirates!"
* * *
Bonnie shot up in her bed, startled out of slumber. That noise, could it have been cannon fire? She slipped out from under her blankets and pulled on her robe. Shouts were coming from above deck, and the sound of frenzied movement could be heard all about the ship.
Curiously, with her heart beating wildly, Bonnie moved towards the entrance of her little room. She cracked open the door and peeked into the hallway. Heads of some of the other passengers also appeared to see what was happening.
"What is going on?" a man asked groggily from down the corridor. Bonnie had no chance to ponder the answer to his question because her door was fiercely wretched from her hands, and someone slammed right into her. Both bodies let out shrieks of surprise as they crashed to the floor. When Bonnie had regained some of her composure she realized that it was only Susan.
"Susan!" she gasped, "You gave me such a fright!"
The two women picked themselves up, and Bonnie ushered Susan inside closing the door behind her.
"Sorry to have startled you, Miss!" Susan dusted off her skirt as she spoke, "I was checking to see that all was well here."
"I'm fine," Bonnie replied, touched by Susan's concern, but more interested in the facts, "Do you know what's going on? What is all the noise and commotion about? Are we under attack!?"
"I didn't stop to ask, but I heard bits about pirates—"
"Pirates!" a horrified expression crossed Bonnie's face, but her eyes sparkled at the mention of something so out of the ordinary. She hastily locked the door and armed herself with the first thing she spotted, a lacey parasol that had been leaning on her trunk.
"Good idea, Miss," Susan grabbed the silver serving tray from the desk. The two crouched behind the bed waiting tensely, almost eagerly in Bonnie's case, for something to happen.
"Pirates, Susan!" Bonnie whispered, "I'm terrified, but excited at the same time. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before."
"Me neither. Now hush, Miss, I hear something," Susan held a finger to her lips. Loud, clunking footsteps sounded outside and stopped by the door. Crude shouts could be heard further up the hallway, and in some of the rooms around Bonnie's and Susan's hideout objects were being tossed about. The petrified screech of some lady passenger echoed in their ears.
"Maybe they won't find us here, Miss…" Susan's words halted suddenly when the doorknob rattled. The two ladies clutched their weapons in fright. A grunt was heard outside the room as the person pulled at the knob again, quite violently this time.
"Blast it," the person spoke, and the door stopped rattling. Bonnie was about to release a breath which she hadn't known she was holding when a gunshot rang and a bullet blasted through the door's lock. She was hardly able to contain a scream of surprise that would have given away their hiding position.
The door swung open so slowly that it was almost painful for the two women lying in wait. A dingy boot stepped into the room and was followed by a very wild looking man wearing an equally dingy coat and hat. His hair was matted into dark dreadlocks and was, in places, decorated with colorful beads. He had a moustache, and a goatee that was braided into two thin strings with a few more beads at the ends. In his hand he held a smoking pistol.
The pirate, which he no doubt was, gave a dangerous sway as he scanned the room with his wide, brown eyes. Satisfied that there was not a soul present except for himself he proceeded to rummage through some of the bureau drawers. Susan had packed all of Bonnie's valuables earlier so the pirate found nothing but women's toiletries. He spotted Bonnie's luggage on the other side of the bed and started towards it when he noticed a bit Susan's skirt sticking out from behind the bed.
The man grinned a bit wickedly showing off some golden teeth, and swaggered over until Bonnie and Susan, who were frozen in place by fear, could be seen. He was surprised to find both women crouching there and said, "Well, hello there!"
Susan was the first to regain the power of her limbs, and with a cry she jumped up and hit the pirate hard over the head with her tray. He staggered back a step, and she came back a second time whacking him again.
"Damn it, woman!" said the man when Susan was about to hit him again, "I've had just about enough of this!" He grabbed her. By this time Bonnie came back to her senses and jumped up to help swinging madly at the man with her parasol.
"Let her go!" she cried. The pirate quickly shoved the struggling maid into the closet and latched the doors, while trying to fend off the fancy parasol. Susan banged noisily at the doors, but the pirate ignored her and turned his attention the Bonnie. He easily caught her wrist before she could strike him again.
"That's enough," he said pulling the parasol out of Bonnie's grip. He tossed it over his shoulder. "Now, missy, if you don't mind I'll be leaving with some luggage of yours and that nice piece of jewelry around your neck."
Bonnie had forgotten about her necklace, which she wore night and day since leaving England. It had a very elaborate diamond pendant hung on a delicate gold chain. She had received it as a parting gift from her mother, and wasn't about to give it up.
"You can't just take my belongings, you scoundrel!" she said plucking up some courage.
"Can't I?" the pirate asked leaning close to her face, "You forget who's doing the threatening here." He waved his pistol to reinforce his words.
Now that he was so close Bonnie could clearly tell that the man was very drunk. He smelled strongly of rum, or some such beverage, and his whole manner deceived him. The way he swayed about as though he was being blown in the wind and his wild gestures gave him away.
"Sir, you are drunk," she said disapprovingly, as though it would make him repent his behavior. The man only laughed.
"Clearly," he said, "now are you going to give me that willingly or not?" He gestured toward her necklace with his pistol. Bonnie firmly shook her head, determined not to give in to this despicable pirate, and grasped her pendant tightly. He gave her an exasperated look, then shrugged, grabbed Bonnie around the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. She let out a surprised squeak.
"Unhand me at once!" she yelled indignantly, this was no way to treat a lady, pirate or no! She wriggled in his grasp, but to no avail. His grip was strong. "Who do you think you are?"
"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow!" he gave a pleased grin as he snatched up Bonnie's bag and left the room still carrying her over his shoulder. Susan's angry shouts faded away as Jack made his way up to the deck.
"Let me go," Bonnie beat on Jack's back with her fists, "What good am I to you anyhow? I'll just be in the way. Isn't bad luck to have a woman on board your ship? I'm not worth the trouble!" Her shouts weren't heeded and Jack just continued on his way.
The deck of the Wind's Maiden was in disarray, but nobody seemed to be hurt, just frightened beyond their wits. The passengers and crew were huddled around the main mast, held in place by rowdy group of pirates who were waving muskets and cutlasses threateningly about. The rest of the pirate crew was carrying their swag back onto their ship.
Bonnie stopped pounding on Jack when she caught sight on his ship. She had never been so close to such a large vessel and was in awe. It was magnificent not because of it's size, though, but because it had a presence that demanded fear and respect. The ship seemed itself seemed to be almost alive.
"The Black Pearl," Jack murmured almost affectionately as though he forget anyone was there. His voice brought Bonnie out of her trance, and she started squirming again.
They boarded the dark ship, and Jack shouted at his crew to wrap it up. The pirates took the rest of their loot aboard the ship, and untied the ropes that held them to their victim. Bonnie didn't get to see the Wind's Maiden growing smaller and smaller as they sailed away for Jack had taken her into his quarters and finally set her down.
Bonnie jumped away from him, and he was about to speak when he was cut short by a loud BANG! He swayed for a moment before he finally toppled to the floor. Susan was standing over him, breathing hard with the same silver tray clutched in her shaking hands.
"Miss Trinki, was he indecent to you?"
Bonnie had a crazy desire to laugh, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She ran over to Susan and grabbed her hands, "How did you escape?"
"The closet doors weren't very strong, Miss. Just needed some beating," Susan paused then said, "What are we going to do now?" Bonnie hadn't thought of what was going to happen to them, and she was dismayed to realize that there wasn't much that they could do. They were stranded on a pirate ship with no place else to go.
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I'm not sure about this one… I can't decide whether or not Jack Sparrow was in character. He is really hard for me to write for some reason even though he didn't say much in this chapter. Tell me your opinion in a review. Constructive criticism is loved, anything to make the story more enjoyable.
I also want to thank the three people who reviewed before. It's much appreciated!
~Citrus Tea