A/N: Okay, I'm finally back! It has been a messy three weeks, and my days off and sleep schedule have all been messed up. Argh! But I think things are getting back to normal . . . maybe! Oh well, this is a transistional chapter, that caused more trouble than it should have. The next chapter, I hope, will be easier to write. It will be mostly dialogue, but I hope it will be fun for you Jack lovers!!
Interesting little side note fore you, while I typed this out, I was playing the new Edguy CD, and there is a song on it called "Rise of the Morning Glory". Gee, I knew I got the name of the ship from somewhere!! And other musical reference, I have in mind of the song by Chris DeBugh "Ship to Shore" for the title. Diverse musical interest, mind you.
Anyway, text note for you, although I feel that Will and Elizabeth will make a lovely couple and will get married, Pintel and Ragetti don't know that. As far as they know, Elizabeth and the Commodore are a pair.
And lastly, thanks to all my lovely readers, who are still hanging in there with me, PeiPei, Blacklabel, Catgirluh, Piratedragon, and Ashlyns. You all have made this story reach its goal number review and kept it very much alive. Thank you!
Chapter 23: Shore to Ship to Ship . . .
Being the experts in the way of such matters, Pintel and Ragetti made good their escape from the outstanding soldiers of the Royal Navy. After all, the two pirates had spent a vast amounts of time in running away from the law, irate victims of their pick pocketing, fellow crewmates, each other, and irate women. Well, the latter applied mostly to the elder pirate, since after 10 years plus of waiting, Mrs. Pintel was most likely going to introduce the more experienced man to asundrious kitchen utensils in their improper use, if he ever managed to get back home. Mullroy and Murtogg never had any of these kinds of experiences with women, although they equaled, if not bettered their counterparts, in being a pair of dunder heads.
The two delinquent pirates managed to separate and find each other again at a conveniently unguarded shipment of sugar. Such activities said that they thought too much alike, and they each needed to settle down with their proper woman for awhile. The captain of the Morning Glory, a stout grizzly little man of many years experience (and possibly too many of them spent at sea) was having a little discussion with the owner of the sugar shipment, who was a man tall and broad with darkened skin from his own work in the fields with his workers, which was quite uncommon for a man of his status. Well, the word discussion might have been too mild of a word for it, it was more of a heated argument, that promised the possibility of some blood shed and one less sully sea captain. The smaller man blustered and used some of the most colorful language, that did not quite add to Pintel's vocabulary of such things.
The sailors of the Morning Glory knew their captain all too well, and they knew he was on a roll. It was likely to be a good many hours before things were settled, since the Captain's face had only worked its way up to red instead of purple, and he was still fully clothed and jumping up and down. So, the sailors decided to nip off for some lunch and a couple of pints, and some might even book a room for the night.
No one, therefore, was about to notice two haggard looking ladies approaching the cart of sugar, nor did anyone notice that one of them, with an amazingly revealing rip crawling up the back, whipped out a knife from under the skirts and significantly sweetened the dock with two full bags of sugar. The merchant and the captain noticed nothing, as the captain began describing some interesting ancestry for the other. The merchant only stood by with his massive arms crossed and had thoughts of dismemberment for the man before him. The two pirates wiggled into a now empty bag each and waited. They had been in tighter spots and certainly more compromising positions before. Given the heat of the argument and the nature of the fine captain, the pirates felt at home and soon fell asleep by the time the shipment was moved. It was put in the hold of the moderate size ship called the Morning Glory with other interesting food goods and drink goods and other goodie goods. Neither Pintel nor Ragetti knew where the ship was headed, but since when did they ever know where they were going?
When the two fugitives were certain that all shipping and handling was done and finally woke up, they crawled out of their respective sacks. Ragetti shook his head to free up all the lingering sugar in his hair, and therefore covering Pintel with most of the excess. The older man frowned at him and gave him a fierce glare, that would have done Marita proud. The younger man produced a nervous grin and brushed his partner down. He paused with the clinging sugar on his hand. Having the sweet tooth that he did have, he couldn't resist licking the sugar from his fingers.
"You're sweet, 'Enry," he remarked happily.
Pintel turned on him and smacked him hard up side the head with his purse. Lucky for the one-eyed man, the bakery mistress had done an excellent job on the repair of that false eye, and it stayed put during the rattling of the loose nuts and bolts that Ragetti had upstairs. Unfortunately, though for Pintel, his reprimand was cut short because of that terrible habit called breathing and the constricting confines of that corset. So, he had to stop and take in a deep body breath, that popped the last straps of said corset.
Ragetti happily stripped down in a more conventional way to his manly clothes. Then he collected the tattered remains of the two dresses. The older pirate turned to him with another one of those disgusted looks and shook his head in disbelief. Nevermind, he kept a corset in the closet at the bakery.
"Whatcha doin' that fer?" he growled, "They ain't worth nuttin' of value." he suddenly straightened up and squinted his right eye at his taller partner, as a terrible thought struck him,
"Ye ain't plannin' to be a lady 'gain? Ye ain't enjoyin' this bit, are ye?"
The younger man paused in his work and looked at his surly friend. His face flushed a deep red. "I be wantin' to pay Mrs. Marita back fer all 'er trouble with us when we get back to Port Royal."
"When?!" the other exclaimed exasperated, "When! Boy, whatcha talkin' 'bout! We be wanted men there, and that Commodore feller, he be knowin' us and all now 'cause of that littl' shoot out, and he be slinkin' 'bouts all eager and the like to be 'angin' 'imself a pair of scallywags that took off with 'is girl!"
"We'll be back," Ragetti remarked with that big goofy grin of his, as he returned to stuffing the dresses in the sack.
Pintel grabbed his friends wrist to halt his progress. "Tony, me boy, ye be forgettin' that big rule of piracy. Ye take stuff, ye keep the stuff, and ye don't return nuttin' fer it. If ye pay fer it, then ye ain't be stealin' it!"
"Aye, I ain't that daft! I just don't be thinkin' that stealin' from Mrs. Marita be the proper way to be winnin' 'er 'eart. So, I be meanin' to be payin' 'er back some'ow."
"And lose yer bloody 'ead to St. Peter in the process!" the older man added dramatically making a shot of a gun to the head with his hand.
Ragetti only shrugged. The other man tried to bore holes in him with the vicious glare of his eyes, but he was quite effectively ignored, as the man finished his task and took in their surroundings. Having a mind, that focused on very few things in life and, having his priorities straight, it did not take long for the pirate to find several barrels of ale in the cargo. It took even less time for him and his partner to happily tap into one these inviting barrels and promptly drain it. Within a few hours, the two stowaways found themselves in a drunken slumber. Oh well, being unconscious was one their best known states, and it kept most people out of trouble. Pintel and Ragetti were not most people, and trouble was attracted to them almost as well as the fleas.
Unfortunately, the dynamic duo were not known for staying out of compromising situations, and they were quite capable of finding trouble in their sleep. So, when they woke from their little nap, aside from not having the proper hangover that came with the stronger beverages that they usually drank, they had an aching feeling that not all things were right on the great blue sea. Ragetti was the first to notice the change, because Pintel's sack, the ornery pirate included, was unceremoniously thrown on top of the taller thinner pirate's sack. The older man was no laugh to be under. Not only was the stout little man a bit of a weight to carry, but he had some of the most lecherous tendencies while he slept. With a wiggle and a squirm, the younger man released himself from the crushing clutching experience and getting a sizeable booted foot in the mouth in the process.
The one eyed pirate stood up and scratched his head. The newly residential fleas fled in terror. Something was just not right. Nevermind the fact that things were a bit rearranged, there was more of it, and the ship's decor was radically different.
"'Enry," he said as he braved the approach of those grasping claws again. The elder giggled and muttered a name that sounded like Candy, or maybe it was Mandy. The taller man took a hold of his friend's shoulder, and he received a rather overly passionate kiss for his effort. Pintel woke up wide eyed, and the two pulled away sputtering and spewing.
"What do ye think yer at, boy!!" he cried out, as he spat.
"'Enry," he answered, as he tried to wipe the harrowing experience from his mind and his mouth,
"I think we be on a different ship, but it seems kind of familiar." "Bah!" complained the other,
"'Course, it be familiar. It be the same bloody ship we boarded. 'Ow ye think we got on 'nother ship in our sleep? Twinkle yer toes and 'ere we are? Ye ain't no witch! Ye ain't got no black cat nor warts!"
"I don't know! It just ain't the Morning Glory no more. It moves differently," the blonde complained.
"Boy! Ye ain't been on the same ship as me fer quite some time now!"
"'Enry, not like that! Something 'as 'appened!"
Pintel stood up straight and crossed his arms."And, pray tell, where are we, ole Great Wise Master?"
Ragetti shrugged as he looked over the vast collection of scattered supplies, that was now thrown about in a haphazard sort of way throughout the hold. Amongst the crates of food was scattered treasure, and the two pirates followed their natural instinct and stuffed as much gold and jewels down their pants. Comfort was not an issue when gold was involved, and besides, they had just spent several hours in corsets, so they were used to discomfort. Not only was there gold, but there were other fine beverages other than the weak ale, that the men previously tapped into. Pintel was quick to find several barrels of the finest and most potent rum that the Caribbean could offer. Being a pair, who were of the firm belief of drink when in doubt and whenever possible, they were not about to pass up this special opportunity. Oh well, they had a lot of partying to make up for.
Being ones not to take anything in moderation, not to mention not knowing the meaning of such big words, the pair soon drained another barrel of a more mind numbing alcoholic beverage and soon found themselves in that blissful state of unconsciousness yet again. Being sprawled out in a drunken stupor on a ship of unknown origins, where one was not exactly invited was not the brightest of ideas, but, then again, Pintel and Ragetti were not noted for their brightness.
So, when the sailors of this particular vessel came down to the newly acquired swag, they found a pair of drunken surprises with heavy britches in each other's loving embrace. Pintel and Ragetti not only needed separate sleeping quarters, but they really needed to get back to their respective women! Of course, being awakened with kicks, curses, slaps, and threats to their manhoods, then being dragged across the hold and up the steps in a not very nice way to see the captain of the esteemed vessel was normal procedure for the pair of miscreants. Neither of the stowaways could shake the feeling that the ship seemed all too familiar. The ominous creak of the black timber and the rocking of the ship on the ocean created such a feeling of deja vu, that even Pintel was getting that feeling that he might know this ship, despite the fact that his French really sucked, and he thought that deja vu was an odd color of blue. The message he was receiving in his liquor soaked brain was none too positive.
When the pirates were pulled up and thrown on deck of the black ship with the terribly familiar (but in one hell of a lot better condition and repair) black sails, Ragetti felt a nasty knot in his stomach, and Pintel felt the sharks nibbling at his bones. The taller pirate forced a crooked smile, as the image of a small dark man in a long dirty coat and a tri-cornered hat stood at the wheel with a dark skinned woman. The sunlight glinted off of his golden teeth and the odd assortment of things tied in his hair. The shrill voice of the woman called him something quite uncomplimentary, that should never be uttered by a woman, and a loud crack of a hand to flesh was heard. The man soon found himself tumbling down the steps to the main deck. He would have more than happily continued his little spat, but a crewman brought the captain's attention to the two captives. He pulled himself up, made several interesting, if not downright crude gestures to the woman at the wheel. She only smirked at the promise and threat made therein. He, then, brushed himself down, threw out his dreadlocks, and with a huff he turned around to approach the stowaways. Ragetti pulled his legs in tight as his bladder made a complaint.
"Uh!" he commented, "Hi, Jack!" he cried out brightly.
"It's Captain Sparrow!" he corrected. The stern look he gave could melt an iceberg, but then again due to their recent woman experience, Pintel and Ragetti found this nothing in comparison. Murder and revenge were written in the captain's dark eyes, but Pintel was blissfully still illiterate, and Ragetti wasn't that far advance in his reading.
The older man held up his hands and announced with a rotten tooth grin, "Parley!"
A/N: Oh my! What a mess this new system is on FF! This file did not transfer exactly right, and I hope that I have divided out all the paragraphs correctly. Sorry, if I missed one.