Disclaimer: Why beat a dead horse, eh? I'm poor. Disney's rich. Johnny
Depp loves beautiful, French Vanessa and not me. I think I'm getting used
to losing.
Note: Depp made #5 on VH1's Hottest Hotties list...eat that, Brad Pitt (#6!!!) Anyway, I love my reviewers!!! You make me smile! Keep it up! Here we go...
Here's To Freedom (Lucky Chapter 13)
Natalie sighed contentedly, savoring the wonderful feeling of having the man she loved so close to her side. With her head resting against the wall of his chest, she watched it steadily rise and fall with a bemused smile on her face. After the evening they had shared, she was almost positive that the only accurate way to describe her state would be "giddy"!
In such a short period of time the man resting calmly beside her had had weaseled his way into her very heart and soul. More surprising than that was the fact that he had done so without lavish gifts and big words . . . all he ever had to do was be himself. That was enough.
He heard her pleasure-filled whimper and couldn't suppress the grin that crossed his lips or the feeling that invaded his heart. Planting a kiss on her forehead, he held her close and said, "I love you, Natalie, you know that?"
At his words, she turned in the circle of his arms and looked up at him, her beautiful eyes full of questions, sparkling in the pale moonlight that had begun to spill into the room. "How did this happen, Jack? Hum?"
"Whatever do you mean, luv?" he asked, shocked at her question. What now? Did she not want him after all? This couldn't be happening . . .
Leaning on him, she traced one of the dark pink scars that wound its way across his chest, her silky tresses spilling onto his bare skin. With a nonchalant shrug, she lifted her gaze to his and replied, "I don't know. It has just been so fast, don't you think. I mean, I don't know much about you and you know almost nothing about me!"
Quirking his lips into a half smile he leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "Actually, darling, I'm almost positive that I know just about all of you."
Her soft laughter filled the dank, quiet room with warmth and light. "No, you know what I mean, Jack," she said, lying back down beside him, he head in the crook of his arm before continuing. "What were your parents like? Where are you from? How did you get where you are?"
"Well, "Jack began, toying with a few strands of her hair as he pondered her questions. "I'm from a village on Brandy Wine Bay of the island of Tortola."
"You can't be serious," she exclaimed, her voice full with a potent combination of hysterical laughter and disbelief. "Brandy Wine? No wonder why..."
Smiling to himself, he jovially continued. "Yes, I suppose that is a bit perfect, isn't it? Anyway, I lived in a cottage by the sea with me mum while my father sailed as a privateer for the crown under Ben Hornigold." His voice dipped lower then, adopting a more somber tone as the pain of his boyhood resurfaced, "We found out his ship hit a reef just off the coast of Mexico when I was but a lad, so I went to work on the docks to support meself and my mother."
Jack felt her reach out in the dark, resting her own warm, smooth hand atop his with a sympathetic squeeze, but he simply continued on with his tale. "As I got older, I started going out on short voyages. She couldn't bear the thought of me sufferin' an end like me father did, but I went anyway, on merchant ships, of course. After she died, sailing was all I did for years. When I was about nineteen though, the vessel I was working on was sacked by pirates and they killed almost everyone on board, 'cept me and this friend of mine. Took us in, they did, teaching us the ways of a buccaneer. And here I am."
"That's some story, Jack," Natalie said, her throat thick with emotion.
With a sigh, he tried to get a hold of himself and chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, well, I guess I'm just some gent, huh?" Placing a kiss on her forehead, he switched the subject back to her. "Well, what about you? I'm not about to be the only fool bearin' his soul this evening, am I?"
She snuggled deeper into his embrace and smiled. "You already know most of that story, I fear. There isn't much else to tell."
"Luv, I'd be delighted to hear a death sentence from that mouth of yours, so speak away," he said with a grin, brushing his lips briefly over hers, "How 'bout you tell me what was going on before you happened upon me ship here?"
Natalie lay on her side, her eyes trained on the deep tan of Jack's skin as she regaled him with her story. "Elizabeth was hounding me about getting married and finding my soul mate, or some such rubbish, while being completely fawned over by her adoring public and her perfect husband. I-- ."
"Perfect? William?" he asked, his interest piqued by the manner in which she spoke of him. "Would you be wanting him, then?"
Her eyes widened at the personal nature of his question, but she soon remembered that after all they had shared he had a right to ask. "I don't know. I suppose I was just jealous of her, you know? Ever since the whole kidnapped by roguish pirates and rescued by the damn Royal Navy and the love of her life-thing, her stigma is simply inescapable!"
"Do you know that even Charles Eaton fancied her? My fiancée was practically falling all over himself for the affection of my sister!" Her voice lowered to a mere whisper as she added, "I mean, even though I couldn't tolerate him, it hurts knowing that he never even cared. No one really did."
Raising her chin, she moved her gaze up to meet his and smiled. "That is, until now . . . I love you so much, Jack."
"Natalie, I . . ."
A loud rapping at the door to her cabin cut off his words, and from the other side came a raspy old voice. "Cap'in? Are ya through speakin' with the lass, sir. Yer needed on deck, right quick!"
Squeezing his eyes shut, he prayed that the man would go away as though he was nothing more than a figment of his imagination . . .
"CAP'IN!??!"
No such luck.
Judging by the fair amount of moonlight that now flooded the room with an ethereal glow, he had been below deck with the lady far too long. With an exasperated sigh, Jack pulled himself into a sitting position and hollered, "Yes, Casey, I'll be out in a moment.
Turning to face him, she asked, "Must you really go?"
Wriggling free from the tangled covers, he climbed over her lounging form and stooped beside the bed. Nodding, he shot her a grin and gave her a quick kiss, murmuring, "'Fraid so, luv."
She heard him rummaging around in the dark, getting dressed in the shadows before creeping towards the door. Before slipping out into the corridor, he whispered aloud in the quiet room, "I love you, Natalie." Grinning like a fool, she burrowed deep into the bedding, still warm from his presence, and savored the feeling of finally being cherished.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Jack stood in the dank hallway with his first mate and asked, "So, Casey, what is it."
"Cap'in, it's the Dauntless. She's gainin' on us, sir," the older man said, his craggy face full of uncertainty and even a bit of discernable fear.
Natalie's eyes flew open at the man's softly spoken admission and she bolted upright in the bed. This simply couldn't be happening! Not now . . . As tears began to roll down her cheeks, she craned her neck to listen for more information.
Jack could hardly bring himself to believe that the Fates would be this cruel as he listened to his first mate tell him that in less than a half hour, a hundred-gun ship of the fleet would be bombarding the Cara Mia, looking for his blood and his girl. The whole thing was starting to play out like some twisted novella, meant to drive him completely mad!
After his captain's extended silence, he spoke again. "What are your orders, sir?"
He had told her earlier what he needed to do, if ever the situation arose, so she pulled herself from the bed and felt around for the armoire, where the only dress she had brought along with her was hanging. There was no sense in further frightening the people aboard the Dauntless with her scandalous attire.
Slipping the skirts over her head, Natalie heard his reply.
"We make a stand," Jack ground out, his voice full of stubborn determination, almost daring the other man to try and speak a word against it.
"But, sir! Why . . .!" the man began, panic rising into his voice.
Shooting his first mate a scathing look, he said once more, "We make a stand, Mister Casey. Have the men load the cannons and prepare to fight. Dismissed!"
Natalie stood in silence, half dressed, listening as the man ran down the hall and up the steps to the main deck to relay the news. For a moment she heard Jack's boots walking away, when suddenly, the thumping grew closer. "Pay no mind to what you hear, luv, just don't move. Especially not tonight. I'll always love you, Natalie. Good-Bye."
Had he gone completely daft?! They would all be killed for sure if the Cara Mia so much as attempted to put up a front against the Dauntless. There was simply no way she could allow that to happen. "This is my doing, I must correct it."
Buttoning her dress into place, she hurried over to the desk in the corner by the window, withdrawing a single sheet of paper and a quill from the drawer. Scrawling a brief explanation, a farewell, and an "I love you", she folded it in half and crossed the room, leaving it on the bed where he would be sure to find it.
Taking one last look at the cabin, she moved onto the balcony. Not ten miles from the stern, the Dauntless loomed, charging forward in an endless effort to end her happiness. Looking skyward, she hoisted herself up onto the rail, before plunging, head first, into the cool waters of the open sea.
* * * *
By the way all of Jack's pirate info is true to life from this killer website:
I hope you're enjoying it, so far...later kids!
Note: Depp made #5 on VH1's Hottest Hotties list...eat that, Brad Pitt (#6!!!) Anyway, I love my reviewers!!! You make me smile! Keep it up! Here we go...
Here's To Freedom (Lucky Chapter 13)
Natalie sighed contentedly, savoring the wonderful feeling of having the man she loved so close to her side. With her head resting against the wall of his chest, she watched it steadily rise and fall with a bemused smile on her face. After the evening they had shared, she was almost positive that the only accurate way to describe her state would be "giddy"!
In such a short period of time the man resting calmly beside her had had weaseled his way into her very heart and soul. More surprising than that was the fact that he had done so without lavish gifts and big words . . . all he ever had to do was be himself. That was enough.
He heard her pleasure-filled whimper and couldn't suppress the grin that crossed his lips or the feeling that invaded his heart. Planting a kiss on her forehead, he held her close and said, "I love you, Natalie, you know that?"
At his words, she turned in the circle of his arms and looked up at him, her beautiful eyes full of questions, sparkling in the pale moonlight that had begun to spill into the room. "How did this happen, Jack? Hum?"
"Whatever do you mean, luv?" he asked, shocked at her question. What now? Did she not want him after all? This couldn't be happening . . .
Leaning on him, she traced one of the dark pink scars that wound its way across his chest, her silky tresses spilling onto his bare skin. With a nonchalant shrug, she lifted her gaze to his and replied, "I don't know. It has just been so fast, don't you think. I mean, I don't know much about you and you know almost nothing about me!"
Quirking his lips into a half smile he leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "Actually, darling, I'm almost positive that I know just about all of you."
Her soft laughter filled the dank, quiet room with warmth and light. "No, you know what I mean, Jack," she said, lying back down beside him, he head in the crook of his arm before continuing. "What were your parents like? Where are you from? How did you get where you are?"
"Well, "Jack began, toying with a few strands of her hair as he pondered her questions. "I'm from a village on Brandy Wine Bay of the island of Tortola."
"You can't be serious," she exclaimed, her voice full with a potent combination of hysterical laughter and disbelief. "Brandy Wine? No wonder why..."
Smiling to himself, he jovially continued. "Yes, I suppose that is a bit perfect, isn't it? Anyway, I lived in a cottage by the sea with me mum while my father sailed as a privateer for the crown under Ben Hornigold." His voice dipped lower then, adopting a more somber tone as the pain of his boyhood resurfaced, "We found out his ship hit a reef just off the coast of Mexico when I was but a lad, so I went to work on the docks to support meself and my mother."
Jack felt her reach out in the dark, resting her own warm, smooth hand atop his with a sympathetic squeeze, but he simply continued on with his tale. "As I got older, I started going out on short voyages. She couldn't bear the thought of me sufferin' an end like me father did, but I went anyway, on merchant ships, of course. After she died, sailing was all I did for years. When I was about nineteen though, the vessel I was working on was sacked by pirates and they killed almost everyone on board, 'cept me and this friend of mine. Took us in, they did, teaching us the ways of a buccaneer. And here I am."
"That's some story, Jack," Natalie said, her throat thick with emotion.
With a sigh, he tried to get a hold of himself and chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, well, I guess I'm just some gent, huh?" Placing a kiss on her forehead, he switched the subject back to her. "Well, what about you? I'm not about to be the only fool bearin' his soul this evening, am I?"
She snuggled deeper into his embrace and smiled. "You already know most of that story, I fear. There isn't much else to tell."
"Luv, I'd be delighted to hear a death sentence from that mouth of yours, so speak away," he said with a grin, brushing his lips briefly over hers, "How 'bout you tell me what was going on before you happened upon me ship here?"
Natalie lay on her side, her eyes trained on the deep tan of Jack's skin as she regaled him with her story. "Elizabeth was hounding me about getting married and finding my soul mate, or some such rubbish, while being completely fawned over by her adoring public and her perfect husband. I-- ."
"Perfect? William?" he asked, his interest piqued by the manner in which she spoke of him. "Would you be wanting him, then?"
Her eyes widened at the personal nature of his question, but she soon remembered that after all they had shared he had a right to ask. "I don't know. I suppose I was just jealous of her, you know? Ever since the whole kidnapped by roguish pirates and rescued by the damn Royal Navy and the love of her life-thing, her stigma is simply inescapable!"
"Do you know that even Charles Eaton fancied her? My fiancée was practically falling all over himself for the affection of my sister!" Her voice lowered to a mere whisper as she added, "I mean, even though I couldn't tolerate him, it hurts knowing that he never even cared. No one really did."
Raising her chin, she moved her gaze up to meet his and smiled. "That is, until now . . . I love you so much, Jack."
"Natalie, I . . ."
A loud rapping at the door to her cabin cut off his words, and from the other side came a raspy old voice. "Cap'in? Are ya through speakin' with the lass, sir. Yer needed on deck, right quick!"
Squeezing his eyes shut, he prayed that the man would go away as though he was nothing more than a figment of his imagination . . .
"CAP'IN!??!"
No such luck.
Judging by the fair amount of moonlight that now flooded the room with an ethereal glow, he had been below deck with the lady far too long. With an exasperated sigh, Jack pulled himself into a sitting position and hollered, "Yes, Casey, I'll be out in a moment.
Turning to face him, she asked, "Must you really go?"
Wriggling free from the tangled covers, he climbed over her lounging form and stooped beside the bed. Nodding, he shot her a grin and gave her a quick kiss, murmuring, "'Fraid so, luv."
She heard him rummaging around in the dark, getting dressed in the shadows before creeping towards the door. Before slipping out into the corridor, he whispered aloud in the quiet room, "I love you, Natalie." Grinning like a fool, she burrowed deep into the bedding, still warm from his presence, and savored the feeling of finally being cherished.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Jack stood in the dank hallway with his first mate and asked, "So, Casey, what is it."
"Cap'in, it's the Dauntless. She's gainin' on us, sir," the older man said, his craggy face full of uncertainty and even a bit of discernable fear.
Natalie's eyes flew open at the man's softly spoken admission and she bolted upright in the bed. This simply couldn't be happening! Not now . . . As tears began to roll down her cheeks, she craned her neck to listen for more information.
Jack could hardly bring himself to believe that the Fates would be this cruel as he listened to his first mate tell him that in less than a half hour, a hundred-gun ship of the fleet would be bombarding the Cara Mia, looking for his blood and his girl. The whole thing was starting to play out like some twisted novella, meant to drive him completely mad!
After his captain's extended silence, he spoke again. "What are your orders, sir?"
He had told her earlier what he needed to do, if ever the situation arose, so she pulled herself from the bed and felt around for the armoire, where the only dress she had brought along with her was hanging. There was no sense in further frightening the people aboard the Dauntless with her scandalous attire.
Slipping the skirts over her head, Natalie heard his reply.
"We make a stand," Jack ground out, his voice full of stubborn determination, almost daring the other man to try and speak a word against it.
"But, sir! Why . . .!" the man began, panic rising into his voice.
Shooting his first mate a scathing look, he said once more, "We make a stand, Mister Casey. Have the men load the cannons and prepare to fight. Dismissed!"
Natalie stood in silence, half dressed, listening as the man ran down the hall and up the steps to the main deck to relay the news. For a moment she heard Jack's boots walking away, when suddenly, the thumping grew closer. "Pay no mind to what you hear, luv, just don't move. Especially not tonight. I'll always love you, Natalie. Good-Bye."
Had he gone completely daft?! They would all be killed for sure if the Cara Mia so much as attempted to put up a front against the Dauntless. There was simply no way she could allow that to happen. "This is my doing, I must correct it."
Buttoning her dress into place, she hurried over to the desk in the corner by the window, withdrawing a single sheet of paper and a quill from the drawer. Scrawling a brief explanation, a farewell, and an "I love you", she folded it in half and crossed the room, leaving it on the bed where he would be sure to find it.
Taking one last look at the cabin, she moved onto the balcony. Not ten miles from the stern, the Dauntless loomed, charging forward in an endless effort to end her happiness. Looking skyward, she hoisted herself up onto the rail, before plunging, head first, into the cool waters of the open sea.
* * * *
By the way all of Jack's pirate info is true to life from this killer website:
I hope you're enjoying it, so far...later kids!