Annie flounced down into the cabin she and Anna Maria shared and exhaled loudly. She wasn't sure what she was going to do about this Jack Sparrow character. He infuriated her at almost every turn yet there was something magnetic about him that she didn't quite comprehend. Forcing herself to remember what a scoundrel he was, she took deep breaths and tried to calm down.
Jouncing Gwen up and down on her hip, she managed to settle her down and paced the small room. She hated being stuck on a ship, there was nowhere to go and although it had only been a day or two, she longed to walk on dry land. Annie narrowed her eyes as she thought of the task ahead of the pirate crew. They needed to enter Port Royal unnoticed and meet up with these 'friends' of Jack's.
Annie snorted and shook her head, strands of her hair falling into her face. Laying Gwen down onto the pallet, she looked around. Anna Maria was by no means a neat person. Clothes, guns, and other various objects were strewn haphazardly around the room. There was no way Annie was going to let the children roam free with Anna Maria's collection of weapons lying about.
It was some time later when she heard an amused chuckle and a cough that she looked over her shoulder from where she was scrubbing the floor. Magoo had given her a bucket with water and found her a scrub brush while looking at her like she was deranged the whole while. She had ignored him and taken her things back to the room to restore some semblance of order.
Jack was standing in the doorway, his arms crossed, a smile lighting up his tanned face. The woman in front of him was on her hands and knees attacking the floor with a vengeance as if her work today would affect the year's worth of dirt and grime on the floorboards. He admired her arse for a moment before making his presence known.
Annie's face was flushed and her hair was dark with sweat at the temples as she looked up at him. All in all it was a lovely face indeed but it reminded him of her sister and he swallowed before telling himself that there was no way in Hell he was going to try to woo this woman. The apple did not fall far from the tree, and he had no desire to deal with another clingy woman.
Annie glowered up at the man standing behind her before sullenly dropping the brush into the bucket of dirty water with a dull 'plop'. Turning around she sat on the floor, her legs crossed in front of her, looking up at him expectantly. He raised a dark eyebrow at her before entering the room all the way and perching on a rickety chair Anna Maria had placed near the door.
"I should apologize for my behavior," he said in his gruff voice. Annie's eyes popped open and she peered at him startled.
"Are you drunk?" Jack snorted and shook his head, another smile making the braids in his goatee bounce. Annie narrowed her green eyes and waited for the other shoe to drop. But strangely Jack's eyes were apologetic and he looked rather ashamed as he scrubbed a hand against the back of his neck and gave her a sheepish look.
"Listen love, if we're going to be stuck on this ship and bound together by my promise to Sally, then we might as well get along. No more improper advances upon your…self and you have to stop looking like you want to gut me with a rusty saber. Deal?" Annie put a finger to her chin and cocked her head thoughtfully. After a few agonizing moments and Jack trying to make his smile look as winsome as possible, she nodded shortly.
"It's a deal," she said sticking her hand out. He shook hers pumping it up and down enthusiastically, his partially cloth-wrapped hands scratching her palms. His broad grin coaxed an answering one out of her and he winked at her while searching his sash wrapped around his waist for something.
"See? I'm not all that evil. Just a knave," he joked as he pulled a small wooden pipe and a leather pouch out of his sash and with a thumb and forefinger pinched a healthy twist out and stuffed it into the pipe. Muttering something about finding a fire in the kitchen to light it with, he once more cocked an eyebrow and with a swoop of his hand looked at her curiously.
"Why are you cleaning up Anna Maria's cabin?"
"While the children and I are here, I won't have them living in filth." Jack grinned again.
"I don't know if Anna Maria would much appreciate you saying she lives in filth." Annie put her hands on her hips and shot him a look.
"Well she won't find out I said it unless you tell her." Jack stuck the stem of the pipe in between his teeth and gave her a cheeky smirk.
"I'll have to save that one for payback. Should I ever need to use it of course." And with that, he swirled about and swaggered out of the room and down the corridor. Annie gave an exasperated snort and gathering her skirts about her knees went back to what she was doing.
Out in the galley, Jack stood puffing his pipe contentedly. He had wanted to end this silly whatever it was between him and Laoghaire's sister. He didn't find it fair that she should hold his sister's happiness over his head when she had long since moved on with another man and to another continent for Christ's sakes.
'Besides', he thought with a rueful smile, 'she's going to want to kill me when I dump her with Will and Elizabeth. Hmmm…Come to think of it THEY'LL want to kill me too. Luckily for me I'll be far away looking for some stupid merchant to plunder.' It seemed like the perfect solution to him, Will was a good man and his wife just as naïve. Both would try to help Annie to the best of their abilities, cursing him the whole time. Sometimes he hated that he was so irresponsible, but that was what being a pirate was all about. He knew that if Sally were in Heaven by now that she would be laughing down at him the whole time. She had faith in him when no one else did and knew that deep down inside of him there was a good man that shone through from time to time.
Thinking about Sally actually made him start to tear up. Glancing around quickly to make sure no one was watching, he wiped his nose on his sleeve and made a loud honking sound as he blew into a stray handkerchief. A muffled snort brought his head whipping around to his left where Anna Maria stood nonchalantly leaning against the doorjamb of the entryway to the galley.
"Don't worry Captain, I didn't see anything." Jack glowered at her, but she apparently had more pressing matters to discuss with him for she held up a hand and shook her head, her ebony tresses falling alongside her face. Jack sighed and waited. Whatever it was she wouldn't waste time cutting any corners.
"We need to talk about Miss Lindsay, there's something I think you need to know."
"Yes?" Anna Maria frowned and rolled her dark eyes.
"We need to talk PRIVATELY." Jack bowed and begged her forgiveness before leading the way to his cabin. Once there, he sat down in a plush covered chair and slammed his booted feet down onto the surface of his table. Anna Maria perched on a window seat nearby, settling herself with a sigh. She hadn't sat down since tying knots with Gibbs and wee Ethan earlier that morning and she was tired. Jack puffed on his pipe and waited once more.
"Annie is wearing a very significant looking ring around her neck if you haven't noticed. The night you caught us talking in the galley after you left she mentioned an old fiancé of hers a one Conner Riley of 'The Courage'. I'm assuming he gave it to her, and if he did…." Jack let his feet fall to the floor with a thump. Eyes wide he stared at Anna Maria as if she had sprung another head.
"Conner Riley? CONNER RILEY?!" Annie would have giggled if she didn't know already that Jack had every right to be infuriated. Conner Riley had stolen a ring from him shortly after the whole Captain Barbossa escapade that would unlock an un-cursed treasure on an island far out in the waters of the Caribbean. He had been drunk and his mouth always did get him in trouble when he was drunk. The other pirate captain had wasted no time in taking the ring and secreting it away before disappearing.
Jack had fallen into a sullen silence and Anna Maria was slightly worried that he was going to do something to Annie. But although the crafty pirate's eyes were half-open he was obviously deep in thought. When he let out a sigh, and shrugged, Anna Maria waited.
"It's too bad that we're almost to Port Royal. Fire Island is a week's sail at the most from here and I'd have to figure out a way to get that damn necklace from her. I'm not sure how to go about it but I'll find a way." His eyes took on a greedy shine and Anna Maria began to feel excited as Jack rubbed his hand's together gleefully.
"Treasure, glorious, wondrous treasure. All for the taking if we can get that necklace and leave her and the children in Port Royal." Anna Maria frowned, and cocked her head. There was no way after hearing Annie talk about Conner, that she would let Jack get away with stealing something that she cherished. Her frown deepened as she wondered how exactly Jack was going to GET the ring from Annie.
Steepling his fingers he looked over his hands at Anna Maria and gave her a quirky half-smile.
"I think I have a plan…"
Shout Outs
Reese Sparrow – Yes finger painting is very fun! Thanks for the review :D
Et-spiritus-sancti – Hehehe…I'm glad you think my story is funny, sometimes I wonder if it's got any actual humor to it. I'm also glad to hear that I have captured Jack's character, it's a very unusual one to say the least. Here's another update so you won't think I left this story for my Newsie one. Thanks for the review!
Just Duck – I love Irish music and I love, love, love Flogging Molly AND the Dropkick Murphy's. Of course I like the old Dropkick Murphy's much better with Mike McColgan. I like his new band the Street Dogs, I saw them play they rock.
Jack: Ahem Duckie, love, *points to self* Pirate. *expectant look* I 'am' a scallywag but the fact that I'm a pirate should be enough explanation. *clasps hands together and bows*
Oh Lord. Here we go.
Nada Zimri – I'm glad you guys like my writing so much, it's definitely great to hear. I haven't been in a writing mood at all but then I saw POTC for the bajillionth time at my friend's house and it kind of jump started me. Sorry I slack in updating my stories. 'Complicated' is next.
Bobo3 – No worries, you can review when you like. Nice to see your name again! Yes perhaps it's cliché that I've made Annie have to deal with the problems of being feminine but it doesn't say romance for nothing. ;x I liked Kendra's character a lot she brought much to the table without being one of your run-of-the-mill character's in a lot of the stories I read. Thanks for the review! :D