DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from this story except Cap'n Corvil. Pretty sad, ain't it? But I actually know Tearlach. 'E's real cool. 'E's in one o' me PotC Yahoo! groups. So I figured I'd add 'im into the story 'cause 'e really is in Jack's crew.
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A/N (4/19/04): I meant to put this in the last chapter but I forgot. If ye can come up with a better title for "You Stole My Hat for want of a better title," I'll put ye in the sequel to this story, "Into the Vortex." Savvy?
A/N (4/19/04): Oh, an' I jes' uploaded a new story to www.FictionPress.com. It's called "Sir Jacob Swift" an' it's by ChaosLightning13. It's about pirates, so y'all might like it. Please read an' review.
A/N (4/19/04): Jes' so's yer not conused, the things in {} are comments Lyn an' Tom are makin' while they're tellin' the story. Savvy?
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Lyn and Tom sat on the dock, watching Tortuga burn to the ground. "The dock" because the other ones were all on fire.
Lyn looked behind her when she heard footsteps on the dock. Gypsy squirmed in her arms, but she held on tight, not wanting the cat to be burnt to a crisp.
"Hello cat," said Jack.
"Hello Jack," said Lyn.
"What's going on, love?" Jack asked.
Lyn shrugged. "We set fire to Tortuga."
"You what?!"
"It was Tom's idea."
"You were the one who burnt down the pirate ship," Tom protested.
"I was bored. An' the cap'n got on me nerves."
"Lyn doesn't like pirates anymore."
"'Ceptin' the ones aboard the Pearl."
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"Jack," Anamaria said, "you're daft."
Tearlach nodded. "Thought we'd gotten rid o' those kids weeks ago."
"Well," Lyn said expansively, "o' course the crew has to vote on whether we're to be allowed on board." She took in Jack's incredulous stare. "Me, I'm honest, an' ye can never predict when an honest girl is goin' to do summat incredibly stupid." She was, at least, wise enough (and dishonest enough) to conceal her true motives: she only wanted to be a pirate for the democracy. "But first, y'all gotta know the whole story. Pros first. We're crazy. The kid's an inventor; 'e can build weapons an' devices an' whatnot. We're both devils o' fighters. We can be used as 'ostages, or to make ships think yer not pirates, savvy? Now fer the cons. We're annoyin' as Hell, an' we don' know the firs' thing 'bout bein' pirates."
A few minutes later, the vote came in: the kids were to be allowed to stay aboard the Pearl. After all, they were crazy, just like the crew.
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"Tom'll 'ave to tell the next part," Lyn said to her friends.
"Yeah," Tom agreed. "Lyn slept through the whole bloody battle. An' it was 'er own fault the battle was fought in the firs' place."
"It's not my fault y'all didn't bother to wake me up," Lyn protested. Tom rolled his eyes.
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Tom was up in the crow's nest, having been driven there by his annoying older sister. {Hey! I'm not annoyin'!} {Yes ye are. Besides, who's tellin' this, me or you?} {Yer tellin' it, but on'y acause I cain't tell it 'cause I was asleep. I'm a better storyteller than ye.} {Shut up.} Anyhoo, up in the crow's nest, Tom spotted an approaching ship. He got out the spyglass he'd borrowed from Lyn (without permission), which she'd stolen from a shop in Tortuga. First all he could see was the bright blue water of the Caribbean. As he slowly moved the spyglass, he found the ship again. The spyglass brought it into sharp focus. He spotted a pirate flag waving in the breeze.
Tom scampered down the rigging and reported to Jack. "Captain, there's a pirate ship approaching."
"Run up the Jolly Roger," Jack ordered.
The other ship continued to approach. When they got within range, they began to fire on the Pearl. Tom knew that wasn't a good sign. The Pearl began to fire back. The Pearl, of course, was the better ship.
When it came to fighting, the Pearl was better as well. Especially because they had Tom on board. {Shut up, Tom. Yer a short little kid an' if ye 'ad to fight an expert ye'd lose in ten seconds.} As Lyn had said, Tom was a devil of a fighter. Soon the pirates on the other ship were subdued.
"What's the meaning of all this?" Jack demanded.
"One o' yer crewmembers burned me ship," the other pirate captain replied, staring defiantly at Jack despite the fact that he was tied up.
{I'll take o'er now, Tom, thank ye very much.} About that time Lyn woke from a deep sleep. She stumbled sleepily onto the deck and saw Cap'n Corvil, all tied up. "Oh, hello there, son. Didn' expect to see ye. Sorry, mates, fergot to mention 'im in the list o' cons."
"What happened?" Tearlach asked.
"Oh, I just burned down 'is ship."
"You what?!"
Lyn srugged. "'E got on me nerves."
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I know it's short, but then I didn't get many reviews. Okay, I only got two. *Huggles lovely reviewers.* Thanks to Fireblade K'Chona and DuelingDestiny fer reviewin'. If y'all review the next chapter'll prolly be longa.
Fireblade K'Chona: Me mum an' dad're goin' to France this summer. Pretty cool that you went there.
DuelingDestiny: Aye, me brother is jes' a bit strange. It was really his idea to burn Tortuga to the ground. But it was me own idea to burn the pirate ship. This story is called "Pirates, Ye Be Warned," after all.