A/N: Terribly sorry for keeping you waiting. I had strep throat and Mother dearest was convinced that it was because of me spending so much time in front of the computer. TWO hours a day is a lot to her. So, now that my throat doesn't feel like a knife coated in poison isn't cutting through it, I can write again without dying of throat pain! ^_^
Victoria stomped angrily down the dusty road, hoping that she didn't look as frightened as she truly was. She passed the Faithful Bride again, walking rapidly past it, for fear of the men that lingered there. Finally, she reached the docks, where two ships were anchored. For a while, Victoria stood there, her heart aching for her parents- even for Thomas. Finally, she made her resolution. Pulling a loose rope that was hanging on the side of one of the ships, she heaved herself up into the ship, flopping onto the deck. Panting heavily, she nearly fell asleep, when suddenly; a shadow darker than the sky covered her face. Victoria nervously looked up to see a man, wearing a bandana over his messed up hair. A cigar was resting in his mouth.
"Why hello, young lad. Stowaway, I see. Well, if you're intending to ride on my ship without doing any work, that's where you're wrong, boy. Get up," he snarled, pulling Victoria's ear. She got to her feet.
"I'm terribly sorry sir, but I just wanted to rest. I'll get off," she said quietly, regretting it immediately.
"You're a bit young, boy. Voice ain't even sprouted, eh?" he chuckled heartily, making ashes from the cigar fall. Victoria smiled and nodded nervously.
"Yes, that's exactly it, sir," she said, backing away from him. "And I think my mum would want me to go home to her now. She must be awfully worried 'bout me." He shook his head.
"Boy, your mother lives here? In Tortuga? I bet you don't know who yer father is, eh?" he nudged her, laughing. "Same with me. My mother was a stupid wench who left me home alone every night. She had a pirate fetish. 'Course, when I took off and left to become a sailor, she didn't notice. Too busy engrossed in her daily dose of men." He took out a cutlass from his belt and started sharpening it, taking no heed of Victoria's horrified face.
"So…this isn't a pirate ship?" she stuttered. He took one look at her and started laughing.
"'Course it is! And all this, thanks to my strumpet of a mother!" he bowed as a gesture of welcome. "Welcome to the Storm Cloud, lad!" he growled, lighting another cigar and giving one to Victoria. She smiled nervously, taking the cigar and staring at it.
"Eh…what do I do with this?" she said, grimacing at it. He roared with laughter.
"Boy, have you never tried one of these?" he grumbled, snatching it and lighting it for her. She grinned at him uncertainly, taking it from him. After a few moments' hesitation, she stuck it into her mouth, sucking on it like a lollipop. Smoke filled her throat and lungs. Victoria gagged, trying to clear her airways. She dropped the cigar on the ground, nearly hacking up her lungs. The pirate advanced towards her, looking concerned. He cuffed her on the back as she coughed up a few ashes, laughing ferociously.
"Yes, I can tell you have never done that before," he said, trying to stifle his bursts of laughter. Victoria scowled at him, her throat burning and itching.
"Don't worry 'bout it, son. You'll get the hang of it," he said, with a trace of a smile in his face. He pressed another cigar into her hand.
"Uh…that's okay. I'll just take the rum," Victoria said, her throat still burning.
"If you don't want to sleep on the deck, you can sleep in the cook's sleeping quarters. We currently don't have a cook just yet," he said, going below deck. Victoria stood there for a moment, still clutching the cigar in her hand. Deciding that she could wait before seeing her father and Thomas again, she grabbed the rope and slid down, wincing slightly at the rope burn on her hands. Brushing the ashes off of Jack's shirt, she strolled back down the streets of Tortuga, grunting audibly to the men that walked there. None came near her. As she neared The Faithful Bride, a rough hand touched her shoulder. Victoria spun around, her fists meeting a face…Jack's.
"Bloody 'ell, woman! I didn't deserve that!" he grumbled, rubbing his nose. She stared at him angrily.
"So you're back here, at the wench house. Want me to help you find Crystal?" she retorted.
"No," Jack said, trying to keep his temper, "I came looking for you, love."
"Well, I thought I told you that I didn't need your help. Or anyone else's for that matter," she snapped, attempting to walk past him. He reacted quickly, catching her in his arms and pulling her until she was against his chest.
"I can't let you leave until I know for a fact that you know how to defend yourself," he whispered into her ear. She glowered at him as he tried to grab her hands. He noticed the cigar.
"What the bloody h-" he began, but he was cut off by a gruff voice. It was the sailor on whose boat Victoria snuck. He was running towards them, shaking his fist.
"Hey! That's my apprentice sailor you're trying to kidnap!" he shouted. Jack stared blankly.
"This?" he said, holding up Victoria, who was still hanging in his arms. The sailor nodded curtly. Jack shook his head.
"No. You got it wrong, then. This girl loathes pirates. She wouldn't be your apprentice sailor."
"Girl?" he said, shocked. "That's no girl, that's the lad who snuck onto my ship!"
"You snuck onto a ship?" Jack said to the drooping figure in his arms. She nodded uncomfortably.
"That's no girl!" the sailor said, refusing to believe it. Jack rolled his eyes, lifting Victoria to her feet.
"Does this look like a whelp to you?" Jack said, pulling Victoria's shirt so that it was tight around her torso. The sailor stared at her, wide-eyed in amazement.
"That definitely ain't nothing a lad would have," he said, still staring at Victoria chest.
"JACK!" she screamed, as he grinned mischievously. As soon as the sailor walked away, still in wide-eyed amusement, she tore herself out of Jack's grip, crossing her arms over her chest.
"What was that for!" she shouted at him, who was still smiling.
"Dahling, you need to stay with me a bit longer, savvy?" He didn't wait for an answer as he picked her off her feet, walking back to the inn.
"And what is it exactly that you're going to teach me?" she said.
"Why, fencing, of course, love."
A/N: Reviews please!