"Treasure Can Be Misleading"

"Dance of Distractions"

Chapter 8

Lieutenant Skylark placed a hand on Arcelia's waist and taking her hand in the other.  She placed her free hand on his shoulder and then proceeded to, entirely, follow his lead in dance.

"Mind you keep your hands from wandering anywhere other than the designated places, Lieutenant," she warned.

"No need to worry… being as I'm queer as the birds," he said calmly, Arcelia's immediately whipping her gaze up to meet his. "Got you," he smiled, quite pleased with his success.

"You're the joking type are you?" she smirked, a little amused with herself that she'd fallen for such an obvious prank.

"I do my best to uphold that," he said as he spun her out then rolled her back in along his arm and close to him once more. "The red is a lovely match against your eyes," he complimented her on her dress, continuing on with their dance.

"That's a bit bold, don't you think, since we've only just met after all," Arcelia mentioned in effort to dispirit him, despite her inner liking of the attempt at flattery.

"Could not help myself, Miss Turner. It was a truth that had to be told," The Lieutenant replied, spinning her out once more.

*~*~*~*~*

         While the two danced amongst the other couples on the floor, Elizabeth and Will looked on with great amusement.

         "They look nice together, don't you think?" Elizabeth said, intently following the pair as they moved about the dance floor.

         "Yes, they do," Will concurred, happy that his sister didn't seem to be bored. "But that doesn't mean she likes him," he added.

*~*~*~*~*

         As the song came to an end, The Lieutenant and Arcelia stopped their dance and meandered casually on onto the balcony.

         "That was as fine experience, it being my first," Arcelia mused aloud, staring out at the ocean below.

         "Come now. That couldn't have been your first time dancing," he said, half-laughing at the apparently absurd statement. "You were like a natural!"

         "Of course I was," she replied mockingly.

He smiled over at her, now taking the moment to further study her features.  As he looked at her, he began to notice that just how out of the ordinary this particular woman was.  For one thing, she wore hardly any make-up compared to the other women he'd been acquainted with.  Arcelia also had a much stronger face than other women of her suspected age, suggesting she had a very active and rigorous lifestyle.

         "Is there something on me face?" she asked, her voice breaking his train of thought.

He chuckled nervously and shook his head, a little embarrassed that he'd been caught gawking at her.

         "Here you are!" a male voice from behind them called to Arcelia.

The two turned around to find Jack Sparrow standing in the doorway.

         "Here I am," she said, seeming a little annoyed with Jack for disturbing her, then returning her eyes to Lieutenant Skylark. "I've got to go now.  Goodnight, Mr. Skylark, and thank you for the dance."

With a polite-but-reluctant curtsy, she turned to follow Jack and they began navigating through the crowd to leave.

"You fancy him," Jack smirked, glancing back at her as they made their way towards the exit.

"Piss off," she muttered, quickening her steps and pushing him forward.

They then passed by Will and Elizabeth.

         "I'm very sorry, but we must go.  I'll send a wedding present and return the dress later on, if that's all right," Arcelia apologized more directly to Elizabeth, who assured her it was perfectly fine and invited that she could come back anytime for a visit.

Jack, meanwhile, leaned in and asked Will something before Arcelia pulled Jack away and they departed.

         "By the way… an early happy birthday to you, luv," he grinned.

She'd completely forgotten, up until now, that indeed the following day was her birthday.  She would be twenty-two.  Though she didn't appear much different of course, she did however feel older— another year wiser, but it was another year closer to death.  She felt very stupid for feeling this way, but those years were just sitting there in wait for the attack.

*~*~*~*~*

         Jack walked with Arcelia back to the ship, but said he had to run off again.  He said it was urgent business, quickly calling two members of the crew down, and the three were off into the night without another word.  Not thinking much of Jack strange behavior, as this was normal, she didn't bother to press the matter by following him to wherever it was he was going.  As she stepped up onto the deck, she got a couple catcalls, to which she replied with a glare and a growl to which the jeering quickly ceased.

         "Did you have a good time?" Ana Maria asked, obviously trying to keep from laughing at the sight of the extremely feminine Arcelia.

         "Peachy," she hissed under her breath, stalking off to 'her' cabin.  It actually belonged to Jack, but she'd 'persuaded' him to allow her whole use of it.

Once inside, she began the arduous task of removing the series of garments and changing back into her normal and much more comfortable masculine clothes.

         Now able to breath again, she threw herself onto the bed and sighed happily as she slowly drifted asleep.  She hadn't realized that the mere sport of dancing could be just as exhausting as a sword bout.

During the night, as a majority of the crew slept, Jack and the two other members he'd taken with on his 'escapade' were pulling out of the harbor and back out to see.  But in addition to the traditional cunningly plundered goods, The Pearl was caring an extra bit of treasure that would be intended as Arcelia's birthday present.

*~*~*~*~*

         When Arcelia awoke, she burst from the cabin and inhaled deeply the comfortingly familiar scent of the crisp ocean air.  It was good to be out at sea and not in a stuffy room with the equally stuffy aristocrats of Port Royal.

         "Mornin', Ms. Turner, and a happy day to you," Mr. Gibbs greeted her, a cheerful smile on his old face.

Ana Maria wished her a happy birthday as well, and that was about it for the others were still a bit wary of her from last night.  After making the necessary appearances, she retreated back to the cabin and sat back down on the bed.  Only when she heard the sound of someone breathing did she at last look to the other side of the bed.

         Bound, gagged, and half-unconscious, lay a man.  But to be overly specific, there lay The Lieutenant Wesley Skylark.

         "What the hell?" she began repeating over and over, standing up and pacing back and forth at the foot of the bed.

As if on cue, the door opened and in swaggered Captain Jack.

         "Mornin', darling," he grinned mischievously, "Have a good sleep did we?" he asked.

Arcelia then understood everything.

         "Jack, what did you do to him?" she demanded.

         "Whatever do you mean, luv?"

         "Don't fuck around, Sparrow! I mean HIM!" she shouted, pointing at The Lieutenant.

         "Oh! You meant him, did you?"

Arcelia crossed both arms over her chest and stared with a look that could have burned through the hull of the ship.

         "He's your birthday present!" he stated proudly, looking like a dog that had just brought their master a dead bird out of respect.

         "My WHAT?!" her eyes nearly fell out of her head.

         "Your. Birthday. Present," he repeated, enunciating each word more slowly. "Me and the lads were out late and decided to drop by and pay Ol' Skylark a visit," he began.

         "You kidnapped him!" she yelled.

         "Shhh, not so loud, or you'll wake the man up," Jack hushed her.

She couldn't believe this was happening.  It hadn't even been a year and already Jack was planning to drive her insane.

         "What are you so worked up about?"

         "Can't you even begin to comprehend the consequences to kidnapping one of the most prominent lieutenants in Europe?" she said, practically quivering with anger.

         "What ever happened to the little hell raiser that was Arcelia Turner, the monster that had us up in arms all those years?" he asked, also crossing his arms and giving her a mocking angry stare.

         "I just know I'd rather stay out of prison and avoid the noose!"

The two remained like statues, locked in a sort-of 'glaring contest' with neither showing signs of giving into the other.

Then, after what seemed like hours, Lieutenant Skylark managed to sit himself up on the bed and face the two pirates.  He mumbled something, but of course couldn't be heard on account of the gag in his mouth.  Arcelia went over and untied it, Skylark smacking his lips to try and get the taste of the cloth out of his mouth.

"I'll give you anything you want!" he pleaded immediately, his eyes shut at the moment.

"Calm down, Lieutenant. We're not going to hurt you," she said, eyeing Jack with a silent warning.

The Lieutenant opened his eyes and then nearly grew wider than charger plates.

         "Miss Turner? But– but how?" he stammered, obviously still not recognizing her from their street encounter.

         "I assume my dear brother failed to mention my profession, Mr. Wesley," she sighed, mentally cursing herself for being in this situation on the first place.

         "You shall address me as 'Lieutenant Skylark'," he corrected her with a very prominent air of arrogance.

         "I will call whatever I damn well please!" she retorted, her harsh tone of voice forcing him into silence for the moment.

She then turned to face Jack.

         "How far away are we from Port Royal?" she asked.

         "Oh, I couldn't say offhand," he said, dancing around the question in order to avoid giving a straight serious answer.

She then took him by his shirt collar and pulled him within five inches of her own face.

         "How far?" she asked again, tightening her grip threateningly.

         "Oh, is that what you said? Must've had some sand in my ears," he chuckled nervously. "About… 3 days worth?" he offered. "The winds were quite favorable last night and we made record time, so—" he began to add.

         "Just get to the helm," she rolled her eyes with pique, throwing him back towards the door and watched him stumbled out it.

         "Don't get too comfortable, Mr. Wesley, we're going to be taking you back right now," she assured him.

He looked at her, squinting his eyes as if she were miles away.

         "You!" he shouted, falling over as he came to realize he had indeed seen her prior to their meeting at The Ball. "You were that no good pirate!" he looked at her with a disgusted expression on his face.

         "You are the clever shavetail, aren't you?" she put to him sarcastically. "So I'll put this in terms someone of your 'superior' intellect can comprehend," she then knelt on the bed so she was in front of him, then her arms shot out and her hand seized a tight grip on his throat. "I've been trained by the toughest pirates on The Caribbean, so you cross me once more and you'll wish you'd been tossed overboard as shark bait!"

With that said, she released him then stormed out of the cabin and slammed the door shut behind her.

         What has that Sparrow gotten me into? she thought, overwhelmed with disbelief.

Back inside, Wesley was in the process of recuperating from having his windpipe nearly pinched shut.

         What have I been gotten into? he wondered.

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Author's Note ::  What exactly has that wily Jack Sparrow gotten these two into?  You'll all just have to read on to find out! AH-HA! XD I've got you know, my pretties! And you little dog too! HA-HA-HA! … oops, wrong movie… ^-^  *Tee-Hee!*

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