Disclaimer: don't own it, blah blah blah...
Chapter 6: A Friendly Duel
Later that afternoon, Abbi and Faith went to the upper deck to see what other work there was to do. When they realized that all the chores were being taken care of, they started to head back below deck. Suddenly, Abbi stopped, grabbed Faith's arm and asked if she knew how to sword fight.
"Well, I know how to use a dagger. I mean, after all, Will wouldn't just give me a dagger and send me on my merry old way. I don't suppose it can be much different."
"Then the time to learn is now," Abbi said, leading Faith above deck once more.
Abbi could not help but smile as she grabbed two swords out of the armory and tossed one to Faith. Faith caught the sword and unsheathed it almost immediately, admiring the blade. She tossed the case aside as Abbi unsheathed the sword and tossed her case away as well.
"Now," Abbi began. "When you attack, you use the point of the sword, but when you block..."
"You use the blade of the sword," Faith finished.
Abbi smiled upon her favorably. "Good. Will has taught you well." Abbi took her fighting stance and Faith did her best to imitate Abbi. "I'm going to attack, slowly, and you are going to block, okay? Don't worry about attacking back – you can't lose a fight if you never get hit, right?"
Faith nodded, a little nervous about looking like a fool in front of the crew. She had just earned their respect; she did not want to lose it so quickly. Abbi made a move toward Faith and Abbi's young apprentice blocked it instinctively. Abbi moved forward, taking another stab at Faith. With each step Abbi took, Faith took a step backward, blocking with great accuracy.
"Very good," Abbi complimented. Faith looked around to see all of the crew gathered around, apparently interested in all the goings on. "Now try to attack back."
Faith paused a little apprehensive to attack all at once. As if by impulse, she took a stab at Abbi. Abbi, caught off guard by Faith's sudden aggressiveness, hastily blocked the attack. Faith tried again, but to no avail. The clanging of their swords filled the quiet sea air. It went along with the cheers of the crew, most of them for Abbi. As Faith blocked another one of Abbi's jabs, she heard a voice in the crowd shout, "Go get them, Faith!"
Faith whirled around Thomas smiling at her from the upper deck. She smiled back, while his face started to turn a pinkish hue. What Faith forgot was the fact that she was still fighting with Abbi, and before she knew it, Abbi had disarmed her. Faith turned to look at Abbi, scolding herself for being so preoccupied with Thomas and feeling her own face heat.
"Lesson Number One..." Abbi began.
"Never turn your back on your opponent," Faith finished as she did so often.
"Very good. You learn fast, mate." Abbi looked down at Faith's hand, which was now sporting a fair amount of bright red blood. "Did I do that?" Abbi asked.
Faith looked down at her hand, never noticing the pain until now. She grabbed her hand, wincing and trying to control the bleeding. Abbi took her hand and examined it. Abbi tore off a piece of cloth at the hem of her shirt. She wrapped it around Faith's hand tightly. "This is to stop the bleeding. We'll have to clean it later." Abbi stepped back and handed Faith her sword. "So, would you like to take another whack at it? No pun intended," Abbi asked, grinning to lighten the mood.
"Or would you like to take a stab at me? That pun was intentional," a voice called from the crowd. Faith looked around as the crew parted to reveal their Captain sauntering up to Faith. "D'you think you're ready to take me on?"
Faith smiled, the pain in her hand quickly receding. "I'll have to pass, Jack."
"Captain! Captain Jack. Remember, you're a member of the crew now," he said, gesturing overdramatically.
Faith fought the temptation to laugh, not wanting Jack to lose face with his crew, but she didn't try to look contrite. Instead, she merely righted her statement. "Right, Captain Jack, I'll have to pass on your 'generous' offer."
"But I'll take you up on it," Abbi said.
Jack turned and swaggered over to Abbi. "Do you think this wise, love? Crossing blades with Captain Jack Sparrow? If I recall correctly, I've beaten you every time," Jack said, an arrogant grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Abbi walked up to Jack, closing the gap between them. "Pride comes before the fall... Captain." She unsheathed her sword once again and took her fighting stance as Jack did the same. Jack struck first and Abbi blocked it with great ease. Their swords clanged back and forth, each one attacking and blocking with amazing accuracy and agility. The battle raged all over the ship. The crew began placing bets on the winner. Around half were for Jack, and the other half for Abbi.
"I must say, love," Jack began after blocking one of Abbi's attacks, "you do seem to be getting better at this." By the time he finished his statement, they had traveled up the stairs to the helm.
"Why thank ye, Jack!" Abbi said, pinning Jack over the railing of the ship by his own sword. For once, he didn't insist on the title of Captain. "But I do believe you might be... losing your touch?" Abbi said, accenting the last three words. Jack looked at Abbi, slightly confused. "You aren't seriously going to lose to a woman, are you?" Abbi said with a smirk on her face. At this statement, Jack unpinned himself from Abbi and made an attack. Abbi did not block it, but ducked away from it. As a result, Jack's sword caught the shoulder of her shirt, ripping it quite effectively. Her now bare shoulder had a cut on it, but Abbi just shrugged it off. She kept fighting him as their battle traveled back down to main deck.
"You know, losing to you wouldn't be a complete dishonor," Jack said. "You're quite the pirate," he clarified, pinning her against the mast with his statement.
Abbi's body was now sandwiched between Jack's and the mast. "What are you getting at?" she asked suspiciously.
Jack leaned in close to Abbi and whispered in her ear. "Let's just face facts, love: I know you want me."
Faith watched Abbi's face turn to a deep shade of crimson from her new position beside Thomas on the upper deck. She wondered what on earth could have made Abbi turn as red as a rose.
Abbi's mouth dropped open in shock, embarrassment and anger. "That... is... disgusting!" she yelled as she ducked out of Jack's pin and took a fierce stab at him. He turned around just in time to block her angry attack. The fight climbed into the rigging of the ship.
"Come on, love," Jack kept taunting, slightly out of breath. "Just admit it..."
"Jack!" Abbi cut him off. "I swear, if you don't shut up this instant, so help me..." Abbi continued at the top of her voice.
Before she could finish, Jack had disarmed her. Thinking fast, Abbi jumped off the rigging and grabbed onto a stray rope. Jack jumped off the rigging and landed on the deck, smiling triumphantly at the crew. Before he could say something self-righteous, Abbi swung around on the rope around the mast and kicked Jack square in the small of his back, sending the surprised Captain sprawling onto the deck. Abbi let go of the rope, landed on the deck, pulled out her pistol and cocked it all in one swift movement. Jack looked up at Abbi, smiling, but he was met only by Abbi's dark scowl. "You know, love, by the rules of a fair engagement, I've already won," Jack said, only grinning wider.
"You know, Captain, by the rules of the Code, you're already dead," Abbi retorted. Faith watched the exchange sadly, her arms resting on the railing overlooking the main deck. Abbi aimed the gun just beyond Jack's right ear and pulled the trigger, barely missing Jack's head. Faith jumped as the shot left the gun, her eyes showing her disappointment over the whole escapade. The crew had much the same reaction as Faith to the shot. "Just know, Jack Sparrow," Abbi began intensely, returning her pistol to her waist, "the only reason that you're alive right now is because you have a devoted crew who would slaughter me if I killed you." She pulled Jack to his feet by his shirt and pulled him close to her. "Nobody talks to me that way," she said in a dangerous whisper that was barely audible. She pushed him away hard and headed down below deck, leaving behind a stunned Captain and crew.
Faith watched Abbi storm down the stairs, then turned her attention back to Jack. She hated that Jack had been there while they were practicing. If it hadn't been for her ignorance of the pirates' life, this whole situation would never have happened. While the rest of the crew just seemed to be frozen, Faith made a noise that clearly indicated her disgust. Then she pushed away from the railing and made her way to the kitchen to start the dinner.
~*~
Well, what do y'all think? Tell us- PLEASE send reviews! We look forward to reading them! We'll update next Wed. Don't mean to keep all of you waiting that long, but it's out of our hands. Keep reading! We hope you enjoyed this chappy!
Keep Reading (& Writing)!
~Ary & Joey~
Chapter 6: A Friendly Duel
Later that afternoon, Abbi and Faith went to the upper deck to see what other work there was to do. When they realized that all the chores were being taken care of, they started to head back below deck. Suddenly, Abbi stopped, grabbed Faith's arm and asked if she knew how to sword fight.
"Well, I know how to use a dagger. I mean, after all, Will wouldn't just give me a dagger and send me on my merry old way. I don't suppose it can be much different."
"Then the time to learn is now," Abbi said, leading Faith above deck once more.
Abbi could not help but smile as she grabbed two swords out of the armory and tossed one to Faith. Faith caught the sword and unsheathed it almost immediately, admiring the blade. She tossed the case aside as Abbi unsheathed the sword and tossed her case away as well.
"Now," Abbi began. "When you attack, you use the point of the sword, but when you block..."
"You use the blade of the sword," Faith finished.
Abbi smiled upon her favorably. "Good. Will has taught you well." Abbi took her fighting stance and Faith did her best to imitate Abbi. "I'm going to attack, slowly, and you are going to block, okay? Don't worry about attacking back – you can't lose a fight if you never get hit, right?"
Faith nodded, a little nervous about looking like a fool in front of the crew. She had just earned their respect; she did not want to lose it so quickly. Abbi made a move toward Faith and Abbi's young apprentice blocked it instinctively. Abbi moved forward, taking another stab at Faith. With each step Abbi took, Faith took a step backward, blocking with great accuracy.
"Very good," Abbi complimented. Faith looked around to see all of the crew gathered around, apparently interested in all the goings on. "Now try to attack back."
Faith paused a little apprehensive to attack all at once. As if by impulse, she took a stab at Abbi. Abbi, caught off guard by Faith's sudden aggressiveness, hastily blocked the attack. Faith tried again, but to no avail. The clanging of their swords filled the quiet sea air. It went along with the cheers of the crew, most of them for Abbi. As Faith blocked another one of Abbi's jabs, she heard a voice in the crowd shout, "Go get them, Faith!"
Faith whirled around Thomas smiling at her from the upper deck. She smiled back, while his face started to turn a pinkish hue. What Faith forgot was the fact that she was still fighting with Abbi, and before she knew it, Abbi had disarmed her. Faith turned to look at Abbi, scolding herself for being so preoccupied with Thomas and feeling her own face heat.
"Lesson Number One..." Abbi began.
"Never turn your back on your opponent," Faith finished as she did so often.
"Very good. You learn fast, mate." Abbi looked down at Faith's hand, which was now sporting a fair amount of bright red blood. "Did I do that?" Abbi asked.
Faith looked down at her hand, never noticing the pain until now. She grabbed her hand, wincing and trying to control the bleeding. Abbi took her hand and examined it. Abbi tore off a piece of cloth at the hem of her shirt. She wrapped it around Faith's hand tightly. "This is to stop the bleeding. We'll have to clean it later." Abbi stepped back and handed Faith her sword. "So, would you like to take another whack at it? No pun intended," Abbi asked, grinning to lighten the mood.
"Or would you like to take a stab at me? That pun was intentional," a voice called from the crowd. Faith looked around as the crew parted to reveal their Captain sauntering up to Faith. "D'you think you're ready to take me on?"
Faith smiled, the pain in her hand quickly receding. "I'll have to pass, Jack."
"Captain! Captain Jack. Remember, you're a member of the crew now," he said, gesturing overdramatically.
Faith fought the temptation to laugh, not wanting Jack to lose face with his crew, but she didn't try to look contrite. Instead, she merely righted her statement. "Right, Captain Jack, I'll have to pass on your 'generous' offer."
"But I'll take you up on it," Abbi said.
Jack turned and swaggered over to Abbi. "Do you think this wise, love? Crossing blades with Captain Jack Sparrow? If I recall correctly, I've beaten you every time," Jack said, an arrogant grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Abbi walked up to Jack, closing the gap between them. "Pride comes before the fall... Captain." She unsheathed her sword once again and took her fighting stance as Jack did the same. Jack struck first and Abbi blocked it with great ease. Their swords clanged back and forth, each one attacking and blocking with amazing accuracy and agility. The battle raged all over the ship. The crew began placing bets on the winner. Around half were for Jack, and the other half for Abbi.
"I must say, love," Jack began after blocking one of Abbi's attacks, "you do seem to be getting better at this." By the time he finished his statement, they had traveled up the stairs to the helm.
"Why thank ye, Jack!" Abbi said, pinning Jack over the railing of the ship by his own sword. For once, he didn't insist on the title of Captain. "But I do believe you might be... losing your touch?" Abbi said, accenting the last three words. Jack looked at Abbi, slightly confused. "You aren't seriously going to lose to a woman, are you?" Abbi said with a smirk on her face. At this statement, Jack unpinned himself from Abbi and made an attack. Abbi did not block it, but ducked away from it. As a result, Jack's sword caught the shoulder of her shirt, ripping it quite effectively. Her now bare shoulder had a cut on it, but Abbi just shrugged it off. She kept fighting him as their battle traveled back down to main deck.
"You know, losing to you wouldn't be a complete dishonor," Jack said. "You're quite the pirate," he clarified, pinning her against the mast with his statement.
Abbi's body was now sandwiched between Jack's and the mast. "What are you getting at?" she asked suspiciously.
Jack leaned in close to Abbi and whispered in her ear. "Let's just face facts, love: I know you want me."
Faith watched Abbi's face turn to a deep shade of crimson from her new position beside Thomas on the upper deck. She wondered what on earth could have made Abbi turn as red as a rose.
Abbi's mouth dropped open in shock, embarrassment and anger. "That... is... disgusting!" she yelled as she ducked out of Jack's pin and took a fierce stab at him. He turned around just in time to block her angry attack. The fight climbed into the rigging of the ship.
"Come on, love," Jack kept taunting, slightly out of breath. "Just admit it..."
"Jack!" Abbi cut him off. "I swear, if you don't shut up this instant, so help me..." Abbi continued at the top of her voice.
Before she could finish, Jack had disarmed her. Thinking fast, Abbi jumped off the rigging and grabbed onto a stray rope. Jack jumped off the rigging and landed on the deck, smiling triumphantly at the crew. Before he could say something self-righteous, Abbi swung around on the rope around the mast and kicked Jack square in the small of his back, sending the surprised Captain sprawling onto the deck. Abbi let go of the rope, landed on the deck, pulled out her pistol and cocked it all in one swift movement. Jack looked up at Abbi, smiling, but he was met only by Abbi's dark scowl. "You know, love, by the rules of a fair engagement, I've already won," Jack said, only grinning wider.
"You know, Captain, by the rules of the Code, you're already dead," Abbi retorted. Faith watched the exchange sadly, her arms resting on the railing overlooking the main deck. Abbi aimed the gun just beyond Jack's right ear and pulled the trigger, barely missing Jack's head. Faith jumped as the shot left the gun, her eyes showing her disappointment over the whole escapade. The crew had much the same reaction as Faith to the shot. "Just know, Jack Sparrow," Abbi began intensely, returning her pistol to her waist, "the only reason that you're alive right now is because you have a devoted crew who would slaughter me if I killed you." She pulled Jack to his feet by his shirt and pulled him close to her. "Nobody talks to me that way," she said in a dangerous whisper that was barely audible. She pushed him away hard and headed down below deck, leaving behind a stunned Captain and crew.
Faith watched Abbi storm down the stairs, then turned her attention back to Jack. She hated that Jack had been there while they were practicing. If it hadn't been for her ignorance of the pirates' life, this whole situation would never have happened. While the rest of the crew just seemed to be frozen, Faith made a noise that clearly indicated her disgust. Then she pushed away from the railing and made her way to the kitchen to start the dinner.
~*~
Well, what do y'all think? Tell us- PLEASE send reviews! We look forward to reading them! We'll update next Wed. Don't mean to keep all of you waiting that long, but it's out of our hands. Keep reading! We hope you enjoyed this chappy!
Keep Reading (& Writing)!
~Ary & Joey~