Wow, I never expected for this story to be so popular! I honestly didn't think so many people would enjoy it! Thank you all so much for your kind reviews! Here's the next bit, it's a bit short; I was going to include more, but it is already 12:30 AM and I am quite tired, but felt obliged to update. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2
Jack's jaw dropped to the floor, as he stared dumbfounded at the Commodore. Him? King? Surely this was some trick. He was of British nobility, but nowhere even close to becoming King. Or so he thought. He swallowed and said softly, "Are you serious? This isn't some sort o' crazy joke o' yers, is it, Norrington?"
Norrington could see that the man was as shocked as he was about the entire ordeal. It was ironic, in a way; the Navyman had always prided himself on being as respectable as possible, and here he was standing before the new King of England, who was covered in dirt, dressed in raggy clothes, had beads and gold braided into his long, unbrushed hair, and was covered with scars and tattoos. Go figure.
He sighed and responded to the pirate's question. "No, it is the truth, I'm afraid." He handed Jack the letter while saying, "Read it for yourself."
Jack snatched the paper, hoping that the whole thing would be proven false. He dreaded going back to his former way of life; it was more like being in prison. He valued his freedom more than anything, and was not sure he would be willing to leave that behind. However, things could take an interesting twist if he chose to accept the crown. . .
He looked down and read the letter, and realized he did not have much of a choice in the matter.
-----------------
To all Commodores of the King's Royal Navy, stationed in the Caribbean:
It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of our great leader, King Henry IX. He truly was a great king, and all of England and her colonies will long mourn his loss. The late King had no children of his own, and it seems that the next of bloodline is the Sir Francis Johnathan Henry Stanton IV, Duke of Worcester, the grandson of Sir Francis Johnathan Stanton II, King Henry IX's late brother. As Sir Francis II and his son, Sir Francis III, are both deceased, the duty falls to Sir Francis IV. However, we are experiencing difficulty in locating the Duke. His family has not heard from him in over nineteen years, when he abruptly left his home and abandoned his position as Duke at age eighteen. However, it is believed that the Duke is still alive, and has been confirmed by several sources that he is now posing as a pirate under the alias of Captain Jack Sparrow. We realize the sensitivity of the pirate threat in our Caribbean colonies, and wish to keep this matter as quiet as possible. I want you to find Sir Francis IV immediately, and once he is discovered, to report with him to Port Royal immediately. I will be in Port Royal in a month's time to meet with the Duke when he is found. You are officially ordered to take the Duke into custody, and to leave his ship and crew leave freely. I shall meet with him in Port Royal as soon as he is discovered, and will discuss his decision. If he chooses to accept the crown, he will be taken to England as soon as the next ship is made ready. However, if he declines the crown, he must serve punishment for his crimes, and will be hanged for piracy. Please make haste in finding Sir Francis Stanton IV. I will arrive in Port Royal in mid-September, and will be residing at the Governor's mansion until the new King is located. Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Admiral Patrick Aston, King's Royal Navy
-------------------------
Jack looked up from the letter sadly. Some choice he had. Either return back to his former way of life as a noble, which he despised, or get hanged. He'd have to do some major thinking over the next few days.
He finally responded to the Commodore. "Well, isn't that lovely?" he asked in disgust. "You Redcoats sure do know how to mess up my life, y'know?"
Norrington rolled his eyes. He just didn't understand why the man wasn't happy about being made King. He knew that he himself would be delighted to take the job, and so would most other normal people in the world. But Sparrow was far from normal. He retorted, "Well, Mr. Sparrow, I'm sorry to hear that you feel that way-"
Jack cut him off. "I believe it's now 'Your Majesty,'" he said with a mischevious smirk, while Norrington sneered at him.
"All right. . . your majesty," he said in disgust. This just was not right. "Would you please accompany over to the Dauntless, so we can return to Port Royal as soon as possible?"
Finally, Anamaria could no longer hold her tongue. Jack? King of England? This entire situation completely befuddled her, as well as the rest of the crew. There was no way in hell that she would let Norrington take Jack before he would tell them what was going on. "He's not goin' nowhere 'til he tell's us what the bloody hell's goin' on!" she shouted at the Commodore. Turning to Jack, she said, "Now, are ye gonna tell us 'bout all these bleedin' secrets ye've been keepin', or are ye gonna make us die of suspense?"
Norrington raised an eyebrow. He, too, was intensely curious to hear this story. "Yes, Mr. Sparrow, do tell."
Jack looked at Norrington, then stuck his nose in the air and tapped his foot impatiently on the deck. After a few moments, Norrington realized what he wanted. "I mean. . . Your Majesty." Jack grinned. This would be too much fun.
"All right, I'll tell ye. But first, ye've gotta do somethin'. King's orders.
The Commodore rolled his eyes. What ridiculous thing could this fool want him to do now? He had a feeling that this would be a very long couple of weeks. "What?" he asked impatiently.
Jack thought for a moment, then a huge grin spread across his face. "I want ye, Commodore, and yer crew, to dance around an' sing 'Mary Had a Li'l Lamb.'" He managed to stifle a laugh, but his crew was unable to. This would be way too much fun.
Norrington glared at the pirate angrily. "Never. I'll never do such a ridiculous thing. Especially not for you."
"Now Norrington, that ain't a very nice thing to say to yer King, y'know. I could have ye arrested fer that. Now ye dance, or I won't move an inch or say a word. An' plus, ye hafta do what the king tells ye, or else!"
He rolled his eyes again. "Or else what?"
"Or else I put ye in the brig! Now are ye gonna dance, or not? I'm not gettin' any younger."
Norrington glared at the "King" one last time, then turned to his men and nodded. The small group all began to jump up and down, and a few of them even did some fancy dance steps and turns. They started to sing "Mary had a little lamb. . ." But after the first line, none of the Black Pearl crew could hear them over their own laughter. Jack and his mates were laughing hysterically at the sight, and a few were even rolling on the deck. Being a King did have some advantages, Jack supposed.
At the end of the song, all of the navymens' faces were bright red from embarassment. Once again, Norrington stepped forward. Now it was Sparrow's turn to uphold his half of the bargain. "All right, Francis," he said, and took a bit of revengeful pleasure at seeing Jack blush and look at him angrily, "Let's hear your story."
Everyone on deck looked anxiously at Jack. He sighed, and walked over to one of the crates off to the side to take a seat. Everyone gathered around him once again, and he began. "Well, as you all already figured out, my birthname is Francis Johnathan Henry Stanton IV. Bloody awful name. Really, only me parents called me Francis, but me sisters an' me mates all called me Jack, on account o' my middle name. Anyway, me pop was Duke of Devonshire, an' somehow, they made me Duke of Worcester. I dunno why. Anyway, I always bloody hated my life then. Ye always had to act all proper an' fancy, which I never was too good at. . ."
Did you like that? Haha, I about killed myself from laughing when I thought up the Norrington dancing idea! Next chappie will be a bit of a flashback; I'll try and update asap. Don't forget to review!
Chapter 2
Jack's jaw dropped to the floor, as he stared dumbfounded at the Commodore. Him? King? Surely this was some trick. He was of British nobility, but nowhere even close to becoming King. Or so he thought. He swallowed and said softly, "Are you serious? This isn't some sort o' crazy joke o' yers, is it, Norrington?"
Norrington could see that the man was as shocked as he was about the entire ordeal. It was ironic, in a way; the Navyman had always prided himself on being as respectable as possible, and here he was standing before the new King of England, who was covered in dirt, dressed in raggy clothes, had beads and gold braided into his long, unbrushed hair, and was covered with scars and tattoos. Go figure.
He sighed and responded to the pirate's question. "No, it is the truth, I'm afraid." He handed Jack the letter while saying, "Read it for yourself."
Jack snatched the paper, hoping that the whole thing would be proven false. He dreaded going back to his former way of life; it was more like being in prison. He valued his freedom more than anything, and was not sure he would be willing to leave that behind. However, things could take an interesting twist if he chose to accept the crown. . .
He looked down and read the letter, and realized he did not have much of a choice in the matter.
-----------------
To all Commodores of the King's Royal Navy, stationed in the Caribbean:
It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of our great leader, King Henry IX. He truly was a great king, and all of England and her colonies will long mourn his loss. The late King had no children of his own, and it seems that the next of bloodline is the Sir Francis Johnathan Henry Stanton IV, Duke of Worcester, the grandson of Sir Francis Johnathan Stanton II, King Henry IX's late brother. As Sir Francis II and his son, Sir Francis III, are both deceased, the duty falls to Sir Francis IV. However, we are experiencing difficulty in locating the Duke. His family has not heard from him in over nineteen years, when he abruptly left his home and abandoned his position as Duke at age eighteen. However, it is believed that the Duke is still alive, and has been confirmed by several sources that he is now posing as a pirate under the alias of Captain Jack Sparrow. We realize the sensitivity of the pirate threat in our Caribbean colonies, and wish to keep this matter as quiet as possible. I want you to find Sir Francis IV immediately, and once he is discovered, to report with him to Port Royal immediately. I will be in Port Royal in a month's time to meet with the Duke when he is found. You are officially ordered to take the Duke into custody, and to leave his ship and crew leave freely. I shall meet with him in Port Royal as soon as he is discovered, and will discuss his decision. If he chooses to accept the crown, he will be taken to England as soon as the next ship is made ready. However, if he declines the crown, he must serve punishment for his crimes, and will be hanged for piracy. Please make haste in finding Sir Francis Stanton IV. I will arrive in Port Royal in mid-September, and will be residing at the Governor's mansion until the new King is located. Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Admiral Patrick Aston, King's Royal Navy
-------------------------
Jack looked up from the letter sadly. Some choice he had. Either return back to his former way of life as a noble, which he despised, or get hanged. He'd have to do some major thinking over the next few days.
He finally responded to the Commodore. "Well, isn't that lovely?" he asked in disgust. "You Redcoats sure do know how to mess up my life, y'know?"
Norrington rolled his eyes. He just didn't understand why the man wasn't happy about being made King. He knew that he himself would be delighted to take the job, and so would most other normal people in the world. But Sparrow was far from normal. He retorted, "Well, Mr. Sparrow, I'm sorry to hear that you feel that way-"
Jack cut him off. "I believe it's now 'Your Majesty,'" he said with a mischevious smirk, while Norrington sneered at him.
"All right. . . your majesty," he said in disgust. This just was not right. "Would you please accompany over to the Dauntless, so we can return to Port Royal as soon as possible?"
Finally, Anamaria could no longer hold her tongue. Jack? King of England? This entire situation completely befuddled her, as well as the rest of the crew. There was no way in hell that she would let Norrington take Jack before he would tell them what was going on. "He's not goin' nowhere 'til he tell's us what the bloody hell's goin' on!" she shouted at the Commodore. Turning to Jack, she said, "Now, are ye gonna tell us 'bout all these bleedin' secrets ye've been keepin', or are ye gonna make us die of suspense?"
Norrington raised an eyebrow. He, too, was intensely curious to hear this story. "Yes, Mr. Sparrow, do tell."
Jack looked at Norrington, then stuck his nose in the air and tapped his foot impatiently on the deck. After a few moments, Norrington realized what he wanted. "I mean. . . Your Majesty." Jack grinned. This would be too much fun.
"All right, I'll tell ye. But first, ye've gotta do somethin'. King's orders.
The Commodore rolled his eyes. What ridiculous thing could this fool want him to do now? He had a feeling that this would be a very long couple of weeks. "What?" he asked impatiently.
Jack thought for a moment, then a huge grin spread across his face. "I want ye, Commodore, and yer crew, to dance around an' sing 'Mary Had a Li'l Lamb.'" He managed to stifle a laugh, but his crew was unable to. This would be way too much fun.
Norrington glared at the pirate angrily. "Never. I'll never do such a ridiculous thing. Especially not for you."
"Now Norrington, that ain't a very nice thing to say to yer King, y'know. I could have ye arrested fer that. Now ye dance, or I won't move an inch or say a word. An' plus, ye hafta do what the king tells ye, or else!"
He rolled his eyes again. "Or else what?"
"Or else I put ye in the brig! Now are ye gonna dance, or not? I'm not gettin' any younger."
Norrington glared at the "King" one last time, then turned to his men and nodded. The small group all began to jump up and down, and a few of them even did some fancy dance steps and turns. They started to sing "Mary had a little lamb. . ." But after the first line, none of the Black Pearl crew could hear them over their own laughter. Jack and his mates were laughing hysterically at the sight, and a few were even rolling on the deck. Being a King did have some advantages, Jack supposed.
At the end of the song, all of the navymens' faces were bright red from embarassment. Once again, Norrington stepped forward. Now it was Sparrow's turn to uphold his half of the bargain. "All right, Francis," he said, and took a bit of revengeful pleasure at seeing Jack blush and look at him angrily, "Let's hear your story."
Everyone on deck looked anxiously at Jack. He sighed, and walked over to one of the crates off to the side to take a seat. Everyone gathered around him once again, and he began. "Well, as you all already figured out, my birthname is Francis Johnathan Henry Stanton IV. Bloody awful name. Really, only me parents called me Francis, but me sisters an' me mates all called me Jack, on account o' my middle name. Anyway, me pop was Duke of Devonshire, an' somehow, they made me Duke of Worcester. I dunno why. Anyway, I always bloody hated my life then. Ye always had to act all proper an' fancy, which I never was too good at. . ."
Did you like that? Haha, I about killed myself from laughing when I thought up the Norrington dancing idea! Next chappie will be a bit of a flashback; I'll try and update asap. Don't forget to review!