"What are ye up to up there?" Jack Sparrow's voice called, stopping Mariah
and Jake's laugher.
"Nothin' dad! Jus' Mr. Turner up here crashed into me door when I opened it." Mariah called, grinning evilly at Jake. He blushed and glared at her. The sound of Jack laughing floated up the stairs.
"Well git yerselfs down here or ye'll miss supper!" Jack called. Mariah ignored him and turned to Jake.
She bowed low and held out a hand pointing toward the stairs. "After you me lord." She said sarcastically and, being the gentleman he was, he had to refuse.
"No, Miss Sparrow, I insist that you go ahead of me." He said, equally as sarcastic as Mariah.
"Fine." She said, grinning and walked towards the stairs. At the last moment she leapt onto the railing, sliding down half way before throwing her legs over the other side and jumping down. Horrified, Jake ran over to the railing, looking down at her. She continued walking towards the dining room without looking back and disappeared through the door.
"Pirates." He muttered and made his way down the steps.
After a pleasant but quiet dinner on Jake's part, they all adjourned to the sitting room, where Will and Elizabeth sat on the love seat and Jack sat in a chair. To Jake's disappointment, the only seat left was the small couch, of which Mariah already occupied half of. He sat, scooting over as close as he could to the arm of the chair and as far as he could away from Mariah. He looked at his parents, high class, sophisticated, and then looked at Jack, a dirty, thieving pirate. To his horror Jack returned his gaze and started to speak.
"So young Mr. Turner, you be seventeen?" He asked in his gruff, slightly slurred voice. Jake diverted his eyes and took a deep breath before replying.
"Yes sir." He replied simply.
"You be the same age as me daughter here." Jack said, beaming at his daughter who was picking at her fingernails. At the sudden attention Mariah stopped, and looked up, hiding her hands in the folds of her skirt.
'Just what you were wishing for' a voice in Jake's head said sarcastically. The image of the beautiful blonde daughter came to mind only to be replaced by an image of Mariah when she attacked him in the alley. Jake only gave a small, one-sided smile, and looked back down. "So Jack, what have you been doing? It's been seventeen years, and you have a daughter!" Elizabeth said.
"Yeah, after I left you two that day me an the crew and the Black Pearl sailed off into the sunset, you know the tail. We went back to Tortuga for a while. That's where I met Saundra, Mariah's mother." Jack stopped, looking at his daughter who retuned his gaze and then looked at Jake who had found himself staring at her. He quickly looked away.
"When she died, I was left with little Mariah. While I captained the Black Pearl, Ana Maria took care of her until she was old enough to take on duties of her own. Then, before I knew it, she was this beautiful creature she is now, a heartbreaker for sure, but if I taught her anything it was how to defend herself." Jack laughed, and when Jake looked at Mariah, she, to his utter shock, was actually blushing.
"Da-ad." She said, obviously enjoying her father's attention. Will and Elizabeth laughed as did Jack.
"Sorry me dear, I just can't help but gushing." Jack said.
As Jake's parents slipped into talk about other things, Jake got bored and went out of the double, French doors. The night air was cool and full of the scent of the flowers that were in the garden. He looked up at the sky, the stars were visible and the moon was full, casting light everywhere. He heard the door open and close behind him and the smell of fruit and spices met his nose. He knew who it was before she spoke.
"Can we not be so cold to each other?" Mariah said, coming to a halt beside Jake. She had let her hair down out of the headband and to his surprise her hair was not in dreadlocks as he had though before, they were just tight curls. Not knowing what to say, Jake just sighed and looked back out over the cliffs, out to the ocean. "I wouldn't have robbed you if I had known who you were." She said, turning to look at him. Still not having any words Jake turned to face her. She was a beautiful girl, no doubt about that, but Jake couldn't get past her...pirate-ness. "I guess I wasn't what you were expecting as friends of your parents huh?" She said, bringing a hand up to play with a gold chain she wore around her neck.
"No you certainly aren't." Jake started. "But that is no reason why we can't be civil to each other." Mariah looked up, meeting his green eyes with her blue ones.
"Well then lets start over." She said, stretching out a now clean hand. "Come on, shake it like a man." She taunted, giving him a smile that exposed, white, straight teeth, which Jake thought rare in a pirate.
He took her hand, surprised by the firmness with which she held his hand. The shook and she pulled away first, sweeping a few loose curls behind her ear, a habit that Jake would soon come to love.
"It's beautiful here." Mariah said, turning to the ocean once again.
"Yeah." Jake said, sighing. "If you don't mind me asking, what's it like, I mean being a pirate and all?"
"Why? You wish to turn pirate yourself now?" Mariah said sarcastically. "Just joking. Well now, being a pirate, to tell you the truth, is the best thing in the world. You get to do what you want, where you want, and there ain't anyone to tell you what to do. Well except my father but I don't mind when he orders me around. What's it like to be a land-lubber?"
"Well I don't know, boring I guess, no high sea battles, just same old people, every day. But, I love it here, it may be a seedy town but its home." Jake replied. He felt Mariah's piercing eyes on him but when he turned to look she was picking at her fingernails again.
"Jake? Mariah? Come inside now, its time for desert!" Elizabeth called from the living room. Without saying a word the two walked back inside, but they were both left with a sense of peace about each other that wasn't there before.
"Nothin' dad! Jus' Mr. Turner up here crashed into me door when I opened it." Mariah called, grinning evilly at Jake. He blushed and glared at her. The sound of Jack laughing floated up the stairs.
"Well git yerselfs down here or ye'll miss supper!" Jack called. Mariah ignored him and turned to Jake.
She bowed low and held out a hand pointing toward the stairs. "After you me lord." She said sarcastically and, being the gentleman he was, he had to refuse.
"No, Miss Sparrow, I insist that you go ahead of me." He said, equally as sarcastic as Mariah.
"Fine." She said, grinning and walked towards the stairs. At the last moment she leapt onto the railing, sliding down half way before throwing her legs over the other side and jumping down. Horrified, Jake ran over to the railing, looking down at her. She continued walking towards the dining room without looking back and disappeared through the door.
"Pirates." He muttered and made his way down the steps.
After a pleasant but quiet dinner on Jake's part, they all adjourned to the sitting room, where Will and Elizabeth sat on the love seat and Jack sat in a chair. To Jake's disappointment, the only seat left was the small couch, of which Mariah already occupied half of. He sat, scooting over as close as he could to the arm of the chair and as far as he could away from Mariah. He looked at his parents, high class, sophisticated, and then looked at Jack, a dirty, thieving pirate. To his horror Jack returned his gaze and started to speak.
"So young Mr. Turner, you be seventeen?" He asked in his gruff, slightly slurred voice. Jake diverted his eyes and took a deep breath before replying.
"Yes sir." He replied simply.
"You be the same age as me daughter here." Jack said, beaming at his daughter who was picking at her fingernails. At the sudden attention Mariah stopped, and looked up, hiding her hands in the folds of her skirt.
'Just what you were wishing for' a voice in Jake's head said sarcastically. The image of the beautiful blonde daughter came to mind only to be replaced by an image of Mariah when she attacked him in the alley. Jake only gave a small, one-sided smile, and looked back down. "So Jack, what have you been doing? It's been seventeen years, and you have a daughter!" Elizabeth said.
"Yeah, after I left you two that day me an the crew and the Black Pearl sailed off into the sunset, you know the tail. We went back to Tortuga for a while. That's where I met Saundra, Mariah's mother." Jack stopped, looking at his daughter who retuned his gaze and then looked at Jake who had found himself staring at her. He quickly looked away.
"When she died, I was left with little Mariah. While I captained the Black Pearl, Ana Maria took care of her until she was old enough to take on duties of her own. Then, before I knew it, she was this beautiful creature she is now, a heartbreaker for sure, but if I taught her anything it was how to defend herself." Jack laughed, and when Jake looked at Mariah, she, to his utter shock, was actually blushing.
"Da-ad." She said, obviously enjoying her father's attention. Will and Elizabeth laughed as did Jack.
"Sorry me dear, I just can't help but gushing." Jack said.
As Jake's parents slipped into talk about other things, Jake got bored and went out of the double, French doors. The night air was cool and full of the scent of the flowers that were in the garden. He looked up at the sky, the stars were visible and the moon was full, casting light everywhere. He heard the door open and close behind him and the smell of fruit and spices met his nose. He knew who it was before she spoke.
"Can we not be so cold to each other?" Mariah said, coming to a halt beside Jake. She had let her hair down out of the headband and to his surprise her hair was not in dreadlocks as he had though before, they were just tight curls. Not knowing what to say, Jake just sighed and looked back out over the cliffs, out to the ocean. "I wouldn't have robbed you if I had known who you were." She said, turning to look at him. Still not having any words Jake turned to face her. She was a beautiful girl, no doubt about that, but Jake couldn't get past her...pirate-ness. "I guess I wasn't what you were expecting as friends of your parents huh?" She said, bringing a hand up to play with a gold chain she wore around her neck.
"No you certainly aren't." Jake started. "But that is no reason why we can't be civil to each other." Mariah looked up, meeting his green eyes with her blue ones.
"Well then lets start over." She said, stretching out a now clean hand. "Come on, shake it like a man." She taunted, giving him a smile that exposed, white, straight teeth, which Jake thought rare in a pirate.
He took her hand, surprised by the firmness with which she held his hand. The shook and she pulled away first, sweeping a few loose curls behind her ear, a habit that Jake would soon come to love.
"It's beautiful here." Mariah said, turning to the ocean once again.
"Yeah." Jake said, sighing. "If you don't mind me asking, what's it like, I mean being a pirate and all?"
"Why? You wish to turn pirate yourself now?" Mariah said sarcastically. "Just joking. Well now, being a pirate, to tell you the truth, is the best thing in the world. You get to do what you want, where you want, and there ain't anyone to tell you what to do. Well except my father but I don't mind when he orders me around. What's it like to be a land-lubber?"
"Well I don't know, boring I guess, no high sea battles, just same old people, every day. But, I love it here, it may be a seedy town but its home." Jake replied. He felt Mariah's piercing eyes on him but when he turned to look she was picking at her fingernails again.
"Jake? Mariah? Come inside now, its time for desert!" Elizabeth called from the living room. Without saying a word the two walked back inside, but they were both left with a sense of peace about each other that wasn't there before.