"Treasure Can Be Misleading"

"Moon and Sun"

Chapter 9

Later that night, Arcelia emerged from the cabin looking confused and distressed.  Something, or someone, inside must have done something quite 'shocking' to perturb Fearless Arcelia Turner.  Her mind then quickly averted from the present situation, now taking notice of the dancing drunk at the bow of the ship.  She walked over, making damn sure she wasn't noticed.  It was Jack, but it wasn't like she expected it to be anybody else.

"Let's have a dance!" Jack shouted, all of a sudden turning around and grabbing her wrist.

He then began bounding and hopping about like mad man, swinging and yanking her along with him.

         "Unhand me now, Jack!" she yelled, trying to pull herself free from his grasp.

         "But I want a dance, Arcie!" he protested.

         "Don't call me that!"

Before he knew it, Jack was on his back and staring up at a pissed-off Arcelia.

         "Rum?" he grinned, reaching over and holding out a long bottle of dark liquid to her.

She heaved a sigh, putting both hands on her hips.

         "Oh no. You're not getting me drunk, Mr. Sparrow," she growled.

         "Oh come on, luv, don't be a prude. Join me," he said, shaking the bottle a bit.

In her gut she knew what he had planned, but she also knew should could most likely take him if he tried anything funny (even if she were sloshed).

         Reluctantly she took the bottle from him, looking at it for a moment, and then taking a small sip before taking a seat beside him.

         "That wasn't so bad, was it?" he said, patting her on the shoulder and snatching back the bottle to take a drink for himself.

*~*~*~*~*

         "YO HO, YO HO, A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME!" the two now-very-soused pirates sang loudly as the hopped about the deck hand in hand. "WE KIDNAP AND RAVAGE― AND DON'T GIVE A HOOT― DRINK UP… ME HEARTIES― YO HO!" the two once finding themselves back on the floor.

         "I love this song!" she laughed, knocking her heels on the wooden deck to her own rhythm (which, at the present moment, was all in her head).

         "Glad so. That Elizabeth girl taught me," he boasted, lying onto his back and taking another swig from his bottle of rum.

         "Remind me to thank her personally when we get back to Port Roy-AL!" she giggled, taking a drink from her own bottle.

He looked up at her, the same stupid inebriated smile on his face.  But this time, he really did feel like smiling.  This was the first time sine he'd known Arcelia that he noticed just how lovely she looked in the moonlight. In fact, it had also been a great while that he'd seen anything eye pleasing in the moonlight for that matter.

         "Arcelia, luv, there's something―" he began, but was unexpectedly cut off by the new presense of her head on his chest.

         "Talkie, talkie, talkie… no more talkie," she babbled incoherently, her eyes beginning to flutter from drowsiness.

         "I'll talk if I will to," he answered, his hand creeping up and resting on her shoulder and involuntarily bringing her closer against him.

To his further surprise, she made no attempt to move away or stop him.  This only suggested he was in the clear, but this was only a suggestion after all.

Slowly, she drifted off to sleep still curled up against him.  He looked down at her, a new feeling swelling inside him.  But he guessed it was only the effects of the rum, though his mind seemed to be telling him different.  But since when did he ever listen to him mind?

*~*~*~*~*

         Arcelia awoke the next morning, groaning out a yawn as she stretched herself out then returned to her previous curled position.  It was then she noticed she was clinging to the Lieutenant Skylark, immediately leaping back and falling over the side of the bed.

         "Hmmm… mmmm, numm…" he mumbled in his sleep, his hands groping the spot where Arcelia had been. "Mmmm― love you…" he muttered to the invisible Arcelia, subsequently returning to his quiet sleepy breathing.

         "Oh, don't bloody start that rubbish again!" she shouted at the sleeping man, who miraculously remained asleep despite her voice's increase in volume.

She only left when she heard someone from up on deck call for her, then hurried out of the cabin and slammed the door behind her.

         "What is it?" she grumbled irritably at the pygmy pirate.

         "We found these two sneaking up on board," he informed her, pointing behind him.

Her eyes boggled as she took in the sight of Pintel and Ragetti being held by two of the crewmembers.

         "Release them," Jack ordered, beating Arcelia to the punch.

The crew obeyed, walking away to resume their duties.

         "What are you doing here?" she asked, going over to the two scruffy pirates.

         "We escaped," Ragetti said simply, as was his way of explaining things.

*~*~*~*~*

         "… And that's when the chuds came in. But you don't want to hear about that," Pintel ended his explanation.

         "You're right. I don't," she said. "But how'd you find us?" she asked, wanting her question answered without any detours.

         "We just set out from Port Royal and rowed on and on, and here we are," he said.

         "And I suppose you'll want to stay on my ship, is that what you're going to get at?" Jack came in, practically hitting the nail on the head.

         "Well, yes," Pintel said.

         "All right, I guess… but you so much as try anything funny, I'll sick Arcie here on you," Jack threatened, pointing at the now bored-looking Arcelia.

         "Fair enough, Captain," Pintel agreed, reaching over and shaking Jack's hand.

Ragetti followed his friend's lead, only offering his hand to Arcelia.  She took it, shaking it briefly then dropping and walking off.

         "Where're you off to, luv?" Jack called.

         "To wake up my birthday present," she grumbled, slamming the door to her cabin shut behind her.

         "Wake up her present? What exactly is it?" Pintel asked Jack.

         "A play thing, nothing more," the wily Sparrow smiled.

Zoning out on the other two's continuing conversation, Ragetti's eyes remained glued to the cabin door.

         "Anyone at home?" Pintel inquired as he rapped his knuckles on Ragetti's head to jolt him from his stupor.

         "Yeah," Ragetti muttered, stealing one last glance back at the door through which Arcelia had disappeared into.