AN (4/15)- I wish I could go on strike from school. I am so tired of the endless assignments and such. Hopefully I can finish this chapter before Saturday-we will see how that goes, yet again.
Chapter 20- Auction
Jack frowned as he watched the procession going on in the center of Nassau, his dark eyes full of disgust and dismay. The whole situation was not fair. Jack had tried to convince Calico Jack to not actually go through this terrible ordeal and to just set the slaves free, but the older man, though agreeing in theory, refused to let such a profit slip through his grasp. Jack had tried to even just free the little girl, but Calico Jack had become very annoyed with Jack, threatening to lock him in the brig as well. Jack had reluctantly given up after this outburst, though he had been secretly formulating a plan. Unfortunately, Calico Jack had anticipated Jack would try something during the horrible auction and had instructed Barbossa to keep an eye on him.
Jack's fingers began tracing patterns into the hilt of his cutlass as the next slave was forcefully pulled onto the cruel auction block, to be sold off as an animal or farm equipment would be. The auctioneer, a tall man with piercing blue eyes and the ability to speak loud enough to be heard across the entire town square while still talking quickly, assessed the condition of the horrified woman. His wispy lips came up in a grin, for the current woman was quite fetching. His loud voice soon opened the bidding at twenty pounds; roughly what the average sustenance farmer earned in four years of hard toil, if he never purchased anything, for the woman was very healthy and shapely. Several yeoman farmers frowned, for that price was nearly half of what they earned in a year. This slave was clearly slated for a wealthy plantation owner's menagerie. This first request was soon met and intense bidding between a large man with several chins and a tall man with barely any chin soon ensued. Both men were anxious to have such a fine specimen.
The large man raised his hand as the auctioneer called out for a bid of fifteen pounds. His large arm jiggled as the inertia moved his fat in rolls back and forth. "I bid fifteen pounds for the slave," he said, marveling at the fine specimen.
The tall man immediately raised his hand, to give a counter bid. His voice was uncharacteristically high-pitched as he loudly said, "I bid twenty pounds!"
Several murmurs of astonishment rippled through the crowd. Normally men did not increase bids that much over a slave. The auctioneer grinned, sensing this woman could earn him a lot of money. He looked over at the girl and grabbed her chin, opening her mouth so the gathered crowd could see the fine condition of her teeth. "We have a bid for twenty pounds! Notice her fine teeth! Will anyone go higher?"
The large man glared over at the tall man. He whispered something to the companion next to him, who nodded. He raised his hand again, sweat of anticipation starting to form across his forehead, gathering in large amounts in his bushy eyebrows. He leered at the woman and hastily proclaimed, "Thirty pounds and a piece of eight!"
A slight gasp spread across the crowd. Slaves did not generally go for this much. Collectively, Jack saw them all turn towards the tall man, save one woman. She seemed to be staring at Jack specifically, struggling to recognize him. Jack shifted uncomfortably, having a slight inkling of how the slaves on auction felt.
The tall man frowned, mentally checking all the assets he had. He was clearly a plantation owner, for he quickly quipped, "Thirty-five pounds!"
The crowd turned their attention to the rotund man on the opposite side. The smile gracing his rosy features was gone, and he was getting more flustered. "Fifty pounds!" he rasped, struggling to win the upper hand. If asked why he wanted one female slave so much, the man would have spouted some nonsensical answer, while deep down he wanted that woman for his own pleasure. It was fairly common for the plantation owner to secretly have his way with the women slaves.
The whole crowd turned again, anxious to see how the tall man would take it. Jack watched in faint amusement as the tall man shook his head, not wanting to bid any higher. There were now two people apparently staring at him-the woman from before and a man in an officer's uniform next to her. Jack frowned, hoping that they were really looking at the selection of slaves behind him.
Jack frowned as the large man finally won the bidding, after the auctioneer declared it so. His dark eyes noted the condition of a slave next to the rotund winner with tattered clothes and the look in his young eyes similar to that of an injured cow-he was seeing the objects around him, but not really seeing anything. That was a look that many of Richard's slaves had, and it made Jack almost physically sick to see the newly sold slave carted off to the man's side. Her dark eyes would probably develop the same look in a short while.
The rest of the auction seemed to blur together, each atrocity soon paling in comparison to the next. Jack glanced over at the dwindling supply of the slaves from the Blackbird, shuddering as he saw the little girl struggling to keep back tears. She sat in the dirt, one of her small hands grasping the metal bars of the cheap cage. The look of terror and despair in her dark eyes was almost too much to bear.
Most ports did not have a cage to hold the slaves in. Slavers were expected to control their cargo themselves. Many ports did not even have an auctioneer-the slaver captain would sell them himself. Calico Jack had been lucky; for he would have been recognized in the town square by someone and would be hung if he had had to auction the cargo himself. Gratefully, a professional auctioneer had been found before any of the pirate crew tried to sell their cargo. Jack and Barbossa were the only ones who had left, for they had both been in disguise before everyone else. Jack had been trying to get on Calico Jack's good side again, after that last argument. Plus, he hoped to initiate some sort of plan. Unfortunately, that plan had been dashed to pieces when Barbossa was assigned to help him. Jack particularly wanted to help the little girl, and had even brought along his own money to purchase her, but Jack was afraid he did not have nearly enough.
Jack stiffened imperceptibly as he recognized the man that kept staring at him. It was the commanding officer from their earlier escapades in Nassau. Jack sighed, hoping that the woman next to the officer would stop making him look this way. It would not be good if he and Barbossa were discovered.
Barbossa grunted rather angrily as the auctioneer called for another slave. He quickly pulled some poor man out of the cage, leaving the door open for Jack to close. Jack did so, glancing over at the officer as several bidders all tried to get the new slave. What Jack saw made his jaw drop, for he finally realized something. No wonder the officer had seemed so familiar. Standing next to him was a woman with shining ebony hair and honey colored eyes. She was staring at Jack as well, trying to place where she had seen him before. She poked the officer next to her, glancing at Jack questioningly once more.
Jack quickly shut the door and tried not to stare at the woman, amazed it had taken him so long to recognize her. He silently cussed as he noticed she was gracefully walking over, as if to examine the few remaining slaves. Jack knew better than this. She was trying to get a closer look at him to place why he looked familiar.
She soon smiled as she reached the front, a slight questioning look on her face. "Sir, which slave do you recommend for someone like me?" She slightly blushed, as Jack looked her over, his dark eyes widening in surprise as he noticed her protruding abdomen. The woman pushed an ebony lock of hair behind her ear and waited anxiously to hear the response, hoping it would help her place where she had seen Jack before.
Jack repressed the urge to frown. Perhaps if he played his part well, she would not be able to place him. However, a sudden thought hit him and he tried to smile, rather than grin. He turned and pointed to the little girl. As the woman inspected the girl, her honey eyes showing signs of agreement, Jack decided to say something. "I believe the girl is yer best bet of all the slaves remaining."
The woman nodded and looked back at Jack, a smile of gratitude gracing her shapely features. "Thank you, sir; I do believe you are right." It was clear she was still trying to work out whom he was.
Much to Jack's relief, the auctioneer called for a new slave, and Barbossa escorted the sobbing girl up to the auction block. The woman smiled again and hastily made her way back to her husband's side, so she could tell him that they were buying that one.
Jack quickly finished the last few drops of rum from his flagon, carefully observing his surroundings. He felt infinitely more comfortable in here than he had outside, grateful that Barbossa had sent him in here to get both of them a drink. It was horribly hot out in the town square, and they were down to the last slave. Jack handed his mug to the barkeep, promising to bring the other back as well. He sighed and stepped back into the town square, quickly making his way back to the middle.
Barbossa glared at him, a surly look on his face as Jack handed him the mug full of whiskey. "Took ye long enough," he muttered, taking a drink of the beverage. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, pointing up at the auction block. "The las' one was sold for fifteen pounds."
Jack nodded, watching as the auctioneer stepped down, holding a large bag full of presumably pounds. The auctioneer smiled and handed the bag to Barbossa. "I've taken my share out. The rest is yours." He slightly bowed and left, wanting a drink of his own.
Barbossa grinned as he looked inside the grubby bag. "Calico Jack will be very pleased t' see 'ow much we earned." He grinned and made quick work of his drink, handing the empty mug back to Jack. "You return tha', an' I'll take this swag back t' the Black Pearl."
Jack nodded somewhat reluctantly. He did not trust Barbossa with all that money, but he did not want to even touch the bag, recoiling in disgust when he considered how they had made the profit. He sighed as Barbossa rushed off in the direction of the docks, slowly heading towards the tavern once more.
Jack was nearly halfway back when he bumped into someone. After muttering a profuse apology, he grinned and started walking again; stuffing the bracelet he had taken off the woman's wrist in the blink of an eye in one of his pockets.
He was nearly a yard away from the woman when she started screaming; finally realizing she'd been robbed. Several redcoats that had been in the area, watching the proceedings of the large crowds, rushed over. Unfortunately, one had seen Jack bump into the woman moments before and they quickly detained him. Now Jack wished his hands had been able to control themselves.
"Sir, we have a few questions for you," one said as the others surrounded him.
Jack smiled somewhat sarcastically. "I'll be more than willing to answer said questions once I return this mug." He held up the empty mug, hoping to distract them as the other hand pushed the bracelet further into his pocket.
One of the soldiers snickered. "I don't think that will be possible, sir."
The one who had spoken before grabbed the mug and handed it to someone else. "Take this back for the man, so he can answer our questions." The man with the mug nodded and disappeared in the direction of the tavern. Icy green eyes stared at Jack as the man started his questioning. "Sir, we have reason to believe you've just stolen Missus Dennis' prized bracelet. Can you please give us your name?"
Jack frowned, glancing over at the nearly hysterical older woman, as if searching for someone. He noticed the young pregnant woman from before trying to calm the older woman and he suppressed a grin. He looked back at the man with icy green eyes. "The name's Smith."
The company of soldiers all let out a few laughs at this comment as the victim; the woman with ebony hair, and the commanding officer came over to face the potential robber.
The woman with ebony hair sighed, glancing at the commanding officer. "Nathaniel, this is the man who helped me at the auction. I highly doubt someone in his profession would pickpocket your mother." She glared at some of the soldiers, trying to not get snappish.
The man called Nathaniel nodded. "Men, this isn't the man we're looking for. A man in his business wouldn't have to resort to common thievery. Now go and find who really did it." He saluted his men as they rushed off in search of another suspect. Nathaniel looked at Jack apologetically. "I'm sorry, sir. My men are just anxious for some action."
Jack nodded, straightening his crooked collar. "Tis alright, sir. I've often been mistaken for someone else." He grinned, glancing around for a way to escape this uncomfortable situation.
Nathaniel smiled, putting his hand on Jack's shoulder. "I'd like to make it up to you." He glanced over at the ebony haired beauty, which smiled and nodded. "My wife, Jodi, and I would like to invite you to dinner. You seem very familiar to both of us, and we'd like to place where we've seen you."
Jack was suddenly panicked. He had not expected an offer such as this. Alarmed, and wanting to get out of the situation, Jack nodded. "Sounds splendid. Wha' time?"
Nathaniel smiled and took his hand off Jack's shoulder. "Dinner will be served at seven. Be at our home about a half hour early." He smiled and quickly told Jack how to get there. "We can't wait, sir," he added as he started walking away, escorting his wife and mother.
Jack nodded, silently cursing his stupidity as his false smile slowly faded. Tonight promised to be interesting, indeed.
This time, anyone who left a review gets an "imaginary" Jack plushie!
DragonHunter2000- Thank you for finding it entertaining enough to leave a review! And welcome to the club of people that I adore! I hope you enjoyed this chapter enough to leave another!
WaNdA- Aye, it is despicable. Hope you enjoyed this new chapter!
Jaxindi- Aye, you can have a cookie. Better yet, you can have a whole box of cookies! Thank you so much for the praise!
Bluekrystall- Well, this chapter is much happier than the one my insane brain wanted me to write-the next one should be much more interesting, as it were.
starwarsfreakford13- Very perceptive, poppet.
Someone- 45 is the number, yes it does, and yes, daisies grow in Chile.
Whitney- Thanks, m'dear. I can't wait to see your story-figure out where it is, already...
iheartorlibloom- Wow! I don't think you've ever left a review! Thank you, oh so much, though!
Geheimnis- Yippee skippy, another new reviewer! It is a long read, isn't it?
meggumscat- We have a ship? And why are you calling me captain? I thought you were in charge. Anyway, have two juicy cookies, though I'm not entirely sure how they can be juicy...
Chaos- Aye, I know that. And yes, it would be interesting. Actually I wondered if anyone else would pick that tidbit up.