Sorry for taking so long, this was a hard chappie. Yes, bobo3, I need
Bramble's past. Vital for upcoming chappie. My email is
welcome2themi@yahoo.com, if you wanna send it to me.
Well, let's get this chappie rolling!
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Most pirates didn't bathe. You were supposed to be dirty and smelly, it was an unwritten part of the Code. But Cari needed to make an exception. With all that was happening, she felt like she needed to scrub it all away. So she borrowed a big tub Lauren used for potatoes and spent an hour filling it up with seawater. Seawater wasn't actually the best thing to bathe in, but there was nothing else. Unless she wanted to take a bath in rum. When she finally had it all ready, she stripped off her clothes and got in the tub. It was cold as ice, and stung a cut she had gotten while getting the water. But it was water, and she could wash all her problems away. Cari picked up a bar of soap she had sitting beside the tub. Her mother had always had at least two or three bars of soap on their ship. Cari kept the soap as a small memory of her. Cari was about to start scrubbing her arms, when there was a knock on the door.
"What?" she called.
"Sorry, Cap'n, but Sparrow's bein' a nuisance and wants ta talk with ye." Sara answered.
Cari shook her head. What were they going to do about him? "Gimme a minute, then send him in." She got out of the tub and threw her coat on, buttoning it up all the way. "Alright, he can come in now."
The door cracked open and Jack poked his head in. His eyes widened at the sight of Cari, but he shook it off. He entered, snapping the door shut behind him.
"What do ye want?" Cari asked, sighing.
"Allen." Jack blurted out.
A chill ran up her spine. "What about 'im?"
"I wanted ta warn ye. I think he's watchin' ye. He wants ye." Jack told her.
"I don think so. He always looks like that." Cari said, trying to sound calm.
"Cari, I know what I'm seein'! I've seen the look he's wearin' on many men's faces, and on me own! He wants to hurt ye!" Jack insisted.
"No." Cari shook her head.
Jack looked rather put off. "If ye don believe me, then don come cryin' when-"
"I believe ye." Cari whispered. "I just wish I didn't."
"Stay away from him. He's dangerous." Jack warned.
"I know, Jack. I know." Cari nodded. "And if something does happen...ye can say 'I told ye so'."
Jack looked at her, a smile playing on his face. "Now why would I do that? I'm too nice."
"Sure." Cari scoffed.
There was a comfortable pause, before Cari asked, "How's yer arm?"
Jack glanced at it. "Better. Sort of."
"Question. How can he do somethin' ta me if he's got broken ribs?" Cari raised her eyebrows.
"One. One broken rib." Jack said with distaste. "And if he's walkin' around, bein' rather annoyin' and tryin' ta tell all of us how ta work, he can do somethin' ta ye."
Silence filled the cabin once more. "If that's all..." Cari wondered.
"Oh. Yeah, I'll just go now." Jack left the cabin, closing the door firmly behind him.
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Night fell, and Allen pulled his gun out from it's hiding spot inside a coil of rope. He didn't plan on using it, but it would be easier if he had it. He kicked off his boots and pulled off his shirt. Slipping his knife into his pant leg, he set off across the deck. He stopped at Sparrow's hammock. The man slept, but he could wake at any time. Allen thought a moment, then crept past the hammock. But then he heard a noise. Sparrow was up. He turned. Jack was sitting up, suspiciously eyeing his surroundings. Allen realized the man had not noticed him yet. Allen ran and whacked Sparrow with the butt of his gun. Jack collapsed. That would keep him from hearing any of tonight's events. Satisfied, Allen resumed his walk across the deck.
It had been a long time since he'd had "pleasurable company". It's hard to buy a dame when you have no money. But on this ship filled with women, he could get all he wanted for free. And he knew just who to start with.
He pressed his ear to the door of the Captain's cabin. She was awake. Perfect. Grinning, Allen opened the door.
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Cari had never gotten to finish her bath after Jack had interrupted. So she was taking it in the middle of the night, when she knew she couldn't be seen. She finished scrubbing herself and sank into the water, sighing in content. It felt good to be clean. She closed her eyes. Then, she heard the door creak. Lazily opening one eye, she looked to see who it was. Her breath stopped. It was Allen.
"Ah...This is even better." He walked in, shutting the door behind him.
"What do ye want?" she sank lower in the tub, hoping all he could see was her head.
"Oh, ye know what I want." Allen told her, coming forward.
Cari was frozen. She couldn't leap out of the tub, then he might tackle her and then...He gun was on the table, she couldn't reach it. She could, however, grab her knife. She slowly moved her arm up and out of the basin. She stretched out-and couldn't reach it. She strained to get it. Allen noticed and kicked the knife away.
"No one can hear ye scream." He whispered, grabbing her wrist, trying to pull her out of the water.
Cari yanked her hand back, "Let go of me, you bastard!"
But he was stronger, and pulled her out of the tub. She fell to the floor, her knife only inches from her hand. But before she could grab it, Allen's hand flew to her throat, and he started to strangle her. Keeping on hand upon her, he removed his pants. Cari struggled and gasped for breath. Allen leaned over her, his face nearly touching hers. "I have a gun and a knife. If ye don do what I want, I can kill ye."
Cari spit in his face. "I'm not doin' nothin' for ye!" she rasped.
Allen tightened his grip on her throat. She clawed at him, trying to breathe. "I'll kill ye, and every one of these girls will be ravished. I'll throw Sparrow overboard."
She froze. He was going to destroy everything. The others would meet the same terrible fate as her. If she fought, all she had worked so hard to create would be gone. The three H's would become two. There would never be hope on this ship if she died and Allen took over. She had a choice. She could give in or die. Cari didn't want either, so she tried to stall him. In a flash, she had her knife and it was going towards his throat. And then-
A searing pain ripped through her. Tears streamed down her face. The knife fell from her hand. Force-he was using it, using it to hurt her. His hand left her throat and slid down her chest to-Oh God. She might as well die now. There was nothing left in this world, now that he was in her.
A scream tore through the air. It bounced off the walls of the cabin, echoing out into the open air of the deck. But it was unheard. And in the middle of the night, the captain of the Dark Storm was broken once more. As the night slipped away and a pale dawn crept over the horizon, something happened that would change her life for the better, and his life for the worse.
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Smalls paced the deck, her eyes continuously glancing towards the Captain's cabin. Something was not right here. It was nearly noon, and Cari still hadn't come out of her cabin. According to the others, she was usually the first to wake.
"I don like this." She thought aloud.
"Yer bein' paranoid!" Roseline told her. "Nothin's wrong!"
"If nothin's wrong, why isn't she out here?!" Smalls asked, her voice raising.
"Stop it!" Sara moved between the two. "There's an explanation for all of this."
"Well, if she's asleep, she's asleep. Sparrow and Allen haven't woken up yet." Robyn gestured towards the two hammocks. Both had deep-sleeping men in them.
"Allen's all bloody." Jesabel announced, but they ignored her.
"I don think either of 'em could sleep so much, unless they were drunk." Caitlin added.
"None o' the rum barrels 'ave been touched. They can't be drunk." Lauren informed them.
A thump sounded from across the deck. The group looked. Jack had fallen out of his hammock. Swaying, he stood up.
"Lovely morning!" he called to no one in particular before swaggering over to the group. "And how are you all today?"
"Are ye feelin' alright?" Smalls asked.
"Fine!" he shouted.
"I think ye need ta lie down..." Smalls trailed off.
"No, I'm good!" Jack nodded.
"He's like that sometimes." Tari whispered. "He's not exactly right in the head."
Jack scanned the deck. "Where's Cari?"
"In her cabin still. I'm getting' worried." Smalls told him.
Jack seemed to snap back to himself. "Not out yet? What time is it anyway?"
"Almost noon." Sara said.
"That's not good..." Jack glanced at the cabin. "Maybe someone should check on her."
"Yer all overreactin'!" Roseline shouted before stomping off.
"She's broken."
Smalls jumped, she hadn't realized Bramble was beside her. "What?"
"She's broken." Bramble repeated, nodding toward the cabin.
Jack stared at her. Broken...Last time he'd heard it like that, Cari had dreamed about the night she was first raped by-
"Allen." he turned to look at the second hammock. The person occupying it was still asleep. But that didn't meant he'd slept all night...
And it all made sense. Jack had a huge headache and a bump on his head. Allen was bloody. Cari had not yet come out of her cabin. Jack ran to the cabin and threw the door open. Smalls came up behind him and gasped.
The captain sat on the floor, her eyes staring out into nothing. She had on her coat, but it was buttoned wrong. A blanket was wrapped around her shoulders. Both sleeves were rolled up, and Jack could see her scar from the first time on her right arm-and an identical cut on her left arm that was still bleeding. Puddles of blood were on the floor around her. The tub was half empty, and inside it soaked several rags that had most likely been used to stop her arm bleeding.
"Oh my god..." Smalls pushed past Jack to get to her friend.
Cari shrank away. "Is he gone?" Her voice was shaky.
"Who? Jack?" Smalls' eyes flicked from the man still in the doorway and the woman before her.
"No...Jack is a good man." Cari buried her face in her hands and began to sob. "I should've listened ta Jack!!"
Smalls wrapped her arms around her. "Cari. What happened?"
"He raped ye, didn't he?"
Cari lifted her head and looked at Jack. Slowly she nodded. Smalls covered her mouth.
"Ye were right. He wanted-"Cari faltered. "He wanted me." She sniffed. "Ye can say 'I told ye so'."
Jack walked over and sat down beside Cari. "I said I wasn't goin' ta do that."
She half-smiled. "Jack Sparrow, ye have proved over and over that ye are truly one of the best people I've ever met."
"Yer arm. Did he do that too?" Smalls asked.
"Yes." Cari traced the scar on her right arm. "He saw it when he was gonna leave-and he said-he said since I had a souvenir from last time..." She grimaced at her other arm. "I wish I didn't have either."
"We-"Smalls began.
"Oh stop it. Yer itchin' ta kill that bastard. Ye can't fool me. Ye always liked violence." Cari grinned. "Go get 'im."
Smalls' eyes gleamed. "Right." She raced out.
"Give him hell!" Jack shouted after her. Then he turned to Cari. "Are ye gonna come out?"
"I'd rather stay here." Cari said.
"Yer crew is worried." Jack prodded.
"But he's out there." Cari protested.
"Cari. Yer bein' stupid. If ye stay in here, he'll think he has control over you and do it again." Jack told her.
Cari thought a moment. "Get out so I can get dressed."
"Aye, Cap'n." Jack smiled before getting up and leaving.
Cari appeared on the deck, dressed, with a ripped up something on her arm. The first thing she saw was Smalls kicking the shit outta Allen, who was on the ground.
It felt so good to laugh.
Well, let's get this chappie rolling!
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Most pirates didn't bathe. You were supposed to be dirty and smelly, it was an unwritten part of the Code. But Cari needed to make an exception. With all that was happening, she felt like she needed to scrub it all away. So she borrowed a big tub Lauren used for potatoes and spent an hour filling it up with seawater. Seawater wasn't actually the best thing to bathe in, but there was nothing else. Unless she wanted to take a bath in rum. When she finally had it all ready, she stripped off her clothes and got in the tub. It was cold as ice, and stung a cut she had gotten while getting the water. But it was water, and she could wash all her problems away. Cari picked up a bar of soap she had sitting beside the tub. Her mother had always had at least two or three bars of soap on their ship. Cari kept the soap as a small memory of her. Cari was about to start scrubbing her arms, when there was a knock on the door.
"What?" she called.
"Sorry, Cap'n, but Sparrow's bein' a nuisance and wants ta talk with ye." Sara answered.
Cari shook her head. What were they going to do about him? "Gimme a minute, then send him in." She got out of the tub and threw her coat on, buttoning it up all the way. "Alright, he can come in now."
The door cracked open and Jack poked his head in. His eyes widened at the sight of Cari, but he shook it off. He entered, snapping the door shut behind him.
"What do ye want?" Cari asked, sighing.
"Allen." Jack blurted out.
A chill ran up her spine. "What about 'im?"
"I wanted ta warn ye. I think he's watchin' ye. He wants ye." Jack told her.
"I don think so. He always looks like that." Cari said, trying to sound calm.
"Cari, I know what I'm seein'! I've seen the look he's wearin' on many men's faces, and on me own! He wants to hurt ye!" Jack insisted.
"No." Cari shook her head.
Jack looked rather put off. "If ye don believe me, then don come cryin' when-"
"I believe ye." Cari whispered. "I just wish I didn't."
"Stay away from him. He's dangerous." Jack warned.
"I know, Jack. I know." Cari nodded. "And if something does happen...ye can say 'I told ye so'."
Jack looked at her, a smile playing on his face. "Now why would I do that? I'm too nice."
"Sure." Cari scoffed.
There was a comfortable pause, before Cari asked, "How's yer arm?"
Jack glanced at it. "Better. Sort of."
"Question. How can he do somethin' ta me if he's got broken ribs?" Cari raised her eyebrows.
"One. One broken rib." Jack said with distaste. "And if he's walkin' around, bein' rather annoyin' and tryin' ta tell all of us how ta work, he can do somethin' ta ye."
Silence filled the cabin once more. "If that's all..." Cari wondered.
"Oh. Yeah, I'll just go now." Jack left the cabin, closing the door firmly behind him.
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Night fell, and Allen pulled his gun out from it's hiding spot inside a coil of rope. He didn't plan on using it, but it would be easier if he had it. He kicked off his boots and pulled off his shirt. Slipping his knife into his pant leg, he set off across the deck. He stopped at Sparrow's hammock. The man slept, but he could wake at any time. Allen thought a moment, then crept past the hammock. But then he heard a noise. Sparrow was up. He turned. Jack was sitting up, suspiciously eyeing his surroundings. Allen realized the man had not noticed him yet. Allen ran and whacked Sparrow with the butt of his gun. Jack collapsed. That would keep him from hearing any of tonight's events. Satisfied, Allen resumed his walk across the deck.
It had been a long time since he'd had "pleasurable company". It's hard to buy a dame when you have no money. But on this ship filled with women, he could get all he wanted for free. And he knew just who to start with.
He pressed his ear to the door of the Captain's cabin. She was awake. Perfect. Grinning, Allen opened the door.
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Cari had never gotten to finish her bath after Jack had interrupted. So she was taking it in the middle of the night, when she knew she couldn't be seen. She finished scrubbing herself and sank into the water, sighing in content. It felt good to be clean. She closed her eyes. Then, she heard the door creak. Lazily opening one eye, she looked to see who it was. Her breath stopped. It was Allen.
"Ah...This is even better." He walked in, shutting the door behind him.
"What do ye want?" she sank lower in the tub, hoping all he could see was her head.
"Oh, ye know what I want." Allen told her, coming forward.
Cari was frozen. She couldn't leap out of the tub, then he might tackle her and then...He gun was on the table, she couldn't reach it. She could, however, grab her knife. She slowly moved her arm up and out of the basin. She stretched out-and couldn't reach it. She strained to get it. Allen noticed and kicked the knife away.
"No one can hear ye scream." He whispered, grabbing her wrist, trying to pull her out of the water.
Cari yanked her hand back, "Let go of me, you bastard!"
But he was stronger, and pulled her out of the tub. She fell to the floor, her knife only inches from her hand. But before she could grab it, Allen's hand flew to her throat, and he started to strangle her. Keeping on hand upon her, he removed his pants. Cari struggled and gasped for breath. Allen leaned over her, his face nearly touching hers. "I have a gun and a knife. If ye don do what I want, I can kill ye."
Cari spit in his face. "I'm not doin' nothin' for ye!" she rasped.
Allen tightened his grip on her throat. She clawed at him, trying to breathe. "I'll kill ye, and every one of these girls will be ravished. I'll throw Sparrow overboard."
She froze. He was going to destroy everything. The others would meet the same terrible fate as her. If she fought, all she had worked so hard to create would be gone. The three H's would become two. There would never be hope on this ship if she died and Allen took over. She had a choice. She could give in or die. Cari didn't want either, so she tried to stall him. In a flash, she had her knife and it was going towards his throat. And then-
A searing pain ripped through her. Tears streamed down her face. The knife fell from her hand. Force-he was using it, using it to hurt her. His hand left her throat and slid down her chest to-Oh God. She might as well die now. There was nothing left in this world, now that he was in her.
A scream tore through the air. It bounced off the walls of the cabin, echoing out into the open air of the deck. But it was unheard. And in the middle of the night, the captain of the Dark Storm was broken once more. As the night slipped away and a pale dawn crept over the horizon, something happened that would change her life for the better, and his life for the worse.
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Smalls paced the deck, her eyes continuously glancing towards the Captain's cabin. Something was not right here. It was nearly noon, and Cari still hadn't come out of her cabin. According to the others, she was usually the first to wake.
"I don like this." She thought aloud.
"Yer bein' paranoid!" Roseline told her. "Nothin's wrong!"
"If nothin's wrong, why isn't she out here?!" Smalls asked, her voice raising.
"Stop it!" Sara moved between the two. "There's an explanation for all of this."
"Well, if she's asleep, she's asleep. Sparrow and Allen haven't woken up yet." Robyn gestured towards the two hammocks. Both had deep-sleeping men in them.
"Allen's all bloody." Jesabel announced, but they ignored her.
"I don think either of 'em could sleep so much, unless they were drunk." Caitlin added.
"None o' the rum barrels 'ave been touched. They can't be drunk." Lauren informed them.
A thump sounded from across the deck. The group looked. Jack had fallen out of his hammock. Swaying, he stood up.
"Lovely morning!" he called to no one in particular before swaggering over to the group. "And how are you all today?"
"Are ye feelin' alright?" Smalls asked.
"Fine!" he shouted.
"I think ye need ta lie down..." Smalls trailed off.
"No, I'm good!" Jack nodded.
"He's like that sometimes." Tari whispered. "He's not exactly right in the head."
Jack scanned the deck. "Where's Cari?"
"In her cabin still. I'm getting' worried." Smalls told him.
Jack seemed to snap back to himself. "Not out yet? What time is it anyway?"
"Almost noon." Sara said.
"That's not good..." Jack glanced at the cabin. "Maybe someone should check on her."
"Yer all overreactin'!" Roseline shouted before stomping off.
"She's broken."
Smalls jumped, she hadn't realized Bramble was beside her. "What?"
"She's broken." Bramble repeated, nodding toward the cabin.
Jack stared at her. Broken...Last time he'd heard it like that, Cari had dreamed about the night she was first raped by-
"Allen." he turned to look at the second hammock. The person occupying it was still asleep. But that didn't meant he'd slept all night...
And it all made sense. Jack had a huge headache and a bump on his head. Allen was bloody. Cari had not yet come out of her cabin. Jack ran to the cabin and threw the door open. Smalls came up behind him and gasped.
The captain sat on the floor, her eyes staring out into nothing. She had on her coat, but it was buttoned wrong. A blanket was wrapped around her shoulders. Both sleeves were rolled up, and Jack could see her scar from the first time on her right arm-and an identical cut on her left arm that was still bleeding. Puddles of blood were on the floor around her. The tub was half empty, and inside it soaked several rags that had most likely been used to stop her arm bleeding.
"Oh my god..." Smalls pushed past Jack to get to her friend.
Cari shrank away. "Is he gone?" Her voice was shaky.
"Who? Jack?" Smalls' eyes flicked from the man still in the doorway and the woman before her.
"No...Jack is a good man." Cari buried her face in her hands and began to sob. "I should've listened ta Jack!!"
Smalls wrapped her arms around her. "Cari. What happened?"
"He raped ye, didn't he?"
Cari lifted her head and looked at Jack. Slowly she nodded. Smalls covered her mouth.
"Ye were right. He wanted-"Cari faltered. "He wanted me." She sniffed. "Ye can say 'I told ye so'."
Jack walked over and sat down beside Cari. "I said I wasn't goin' ta do that."
She half-smiled. "Jack Sparrow, ye have proved over and over that ye are truly one of the best people I've ever met."
"Yer arm. Did he do that too?" Smalls asked.
"Yes." Cari traced the scar on her right arm. "He saw it when he was gonna leave-and he said-he said since I had a souvenir from last time..." She grimaced at her other arm. "I wish I didn't have either."
"We-"Smalls began.
"Oh stop it. Yer itchin' ta kill that bastard. Ye can't fool me. Ye always liked violence." Cari grinned. "Go get 'im."
Smalls' eyes gleamed. "Right." She raced out.
"Give him hell!" Jack shouted after her. Then he turned to Cari. "Are ye gonna come out?"
"I'd rather stay here." Cari said.
"Yer crew is worried." Jack prodded.
"But he's out there." Cari protested.
"Cari. Yer bein' stupid. If ye stay in here, he'll think he has control over you and do it again." Jack told her.
Cari thought a moment. "Get out so I can get dressed."
"Aye, Cap'n." Jack smiled before getting up and leaving.
Cari appeared on the deck, dressed, with a ripped up something on her arm. The first thing she saw was Smalls kicking the shit outta Allen, who was on the ground.
It felt so good to laugh.