(Note from author: I do not own Jack or pirates of the Caribbean, but I do own Kris Kayte and Mia. The Gryffen is Kris's ship. Enjoy!)
Kris Kayte stood staring at the town in front of her. "Port Royal..." she had said under her breath.
It looked to be the most boring place on earth, and she would quickly find out that it was. All the pubs were the same, every drunken sailor was the same, and every strange look she managed to get due to her appearance was the same.
It's not your fault she told herself for the thousandth time as she sat down at a table in the hazy pub. It`s ridiculous to go around looking like an oversized pastry. Let the men parade around in corsets and petticoats and who knows what else for all she cared.
She took a sip of her rum and sat back in her chair, brooding. Her ship, the gryffen, was gone. Her crew was either dead or crestfallen. She hadn't been on open water in weeks. And there hadn`t even been as much as a whiff of treasure around this bloody little place.
But coincidentally, there was. As luck would have it, though it didn`t seem much like luck, an extremely drunk man came and sat across from Kris.
"I suggest you savour this moment, sir, because that's as close as you're getting." She said before getting up and moving to another table.
She could just hear the conversation that was taking place at the table behind her. Well, she could hear the important parts anyway. The epic events of how one of the men had come into contact with his precious hat didn`t interest her. It was what came after that did.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your, err, story Billy, but I don't have much time. What was it you wanted to see me about?" one of the men asked.
"Uhh………" the other man said drunkenly. "Wait a sec…… let me think……. Oh, right. The map. As you know, I'm getting quite old. I'm not sure I can handle going out on the waters again. But I know you'll be happy to make use of this…"
"What is it? The other man asked.
"A map. Didn't I just tell you that? Supposed to lead to treasure. If you want it…."
"I'll take it. I hope to see you again."
"I'm sure you will."
And then she heard them both get up to leave. Treasure. Her eyes glinted greedily at the mere thought of it. She stood up and, draining her drink, silently followed them out the door.
She stayed in the shadows, and occasionally treaded on people's roofs, but she knew she didn't need to. They were both so drunk they probably wouldn't notice if she went up and walked beside them.
When they finally turned separate ways, Kris paused a moment before deciding to follow the obviously younger man, figuring he was the one with the map. He turned and walked onto a dock, footsteps clunking on the worn wooden planks. He stopped a moment, looked around (but didn't see her) before jumping onto a strip of sand below.
Could he have heard her? Her? THE Kris Kayte? Surely not. But, just to be safe, she silently drew her sword from it's holster before hopping down in front of him.
Before the pirate could react, Kris whipped his sword away from him and flung it over her shoulder, before pressing her own dangerously against his neck. She smiled at the surprised look on his face.
"Wha…." He started, confused.
"Give me the map."
"Huh?"
"The map!" she said angrily, pressing the sword harder against his neck, as he gingerly pulled it out of his pocket. "Give it to me!"
"Don't need to get pushy."
"Just give me the map."
"May I ask who I`m giving this to?" He said carefully, holding the map in his hand.
She paused for a moment, thinking, before she decided to answer. "Kris Kayte. Also known as Captain, the one who is going to be killing you if you don`t hurry up and hand over that map, and"
"Captain Shorty." The pirate finished for her.
"So you have heard of me."
"But…but you`r a…."
"Why thank you ever so much for noticing." She had long ago given up on pretending to be a boy. Her long brownish reddish hair hung down her back, and she didn't bother to hide her face anymore.
"Now if you'll excuse me…" she said, grabbing the map and starting to walk away. "Pleasure doing business with you, uh….."
"Jack."
"well, Jack, it`s been a pleasure. Ta ta." She said, hoisting herself back up onto the dock.
He stood there looking dumbfounded for a moment. "Wait!"
Kris stopped. "What now?"
"If you really are who you say you are, won`t yer be needin a ship? The military ships are guarded heavier than the queen herself, and, if you mind my saying, there's not many other options, Love."
"Other than…" she said impatiently.
"Me."
"What?!"
"My ship. Fastest one you could find."
"And what`s the catch?" she asked, narrowing her eyes and turning around to look at him. It wasn't like a pirate to be that generous, tipsy or not.
"I'm coming with you. I get half the share. I remain captain. You and your crew will be my crew."
He climbed back up onto the dock and looked at her, waiting for an answer. She stared back, before turning around and walking off the dock and back onto the street.
"Where're you going?"
"To inform my crew." She said shortly, before turning into a shabby-looking inn. She turned and walked past an abandoned bar and up a set of stairs. She led him into a large room filled with what was left of her crew. She then grudgingly explained to Amara, Bill, Brett, Zee and Jacob what would be happening. The next day they set sail, and that was that.
* * * *
Or at least that's what Kris could remember as she sat at the virtually spotless window, staring out at the ocean. It had been so long since that day, not to mention since the last time she had been on the sea. How dare he leave her here? How dare he take off without her? How dare he-
"Kris!!" a voice came from downstairs. Her uncle. "KRIS!!"
"What?!" she screamed back down at him.
"Jus' chekin' to see if yer there."
She rolled her eyes and impatiently tapped her fingers against the windowsill. Why was everything here so clean? Hardly a speck of dirt anywhere. It was downright unnatural. Not at all like her ship was….. Well, okay, not her ship. But that was beside the matter. She sighed and returned to staring out at the sea…
* * * *
Jack had pretty much liked her from the start. Ever since she had testily raised her eyebrow when she found out he was indeed Jack Sparrow. She had been genuinely surprised. That was pretty much the biggest sign of emotion he had seen from her so far.
Of course, she was completely oblivious to the fact he could have had an inkling of affection for her. She had gotten the impression that he hit on every female to walk by. Well, he kind of did, but that was beside the point.
The first time he had tried to kiss her, she hit him. And the second and third time, too. And not pansy little slaps, either. It wasn't that she didn`t like him, no, but she had principals to maintain.
Eventually, after getting hit a third time by Kris, Jack had sighed and said that he wouldn`t kiss her again.
"Good." Kris had replied, crossing her arms stubbornly. She had been standing at the stern of the ship, looking out at the wake trailing the ship and thinking. He had just come up and kissed her. It caught her by surprise. She hated being caught by surprise.
He didn`t seem phased by her response. "But one little kiss, Kris. That's all I need. Then I'll know!" he had called after her as she walked away. Kris just rolled her eyes and turned into the cabin she shared with the two other females on the ship. He may have some charm to most women, but when you've heard all the lines, you've really heard them all.
She flopped down on her claimed bed and stared at the ceiling.
"Want an apple?" Amara, her former first mate, asked.
"No."
"Want some bread or something?"
"No." Kris said, turning over to face the wall.
"Want some rum?"
Kris sighed. "Yes."
Amara had then disappeared before returning with a bottle and a couple of glasses.
"What's wrong?" she asked, pouring out some rum.
"He kissed me."
"Again? But you've never reacted like this before."
"It's what he said that I'm reacting to." Kris said.
Amara nodded and took another sip of rum. All was silent for a moment before she spoke up again.
"He really likes you, you know."
Kris snorted. "Yeah, right. Since when do you know that? You only met him a couple of weeks ago."
"I`ve been talking to people. He usually is onto everything that even looks like a female. He hasn`t been in the last little while. He hasn`t even hit on me!"
"So?"
"So?! So he has his heart floating around his head! He`s head over heels! He-"
"I get the point, Amara."
"Well." She said, before getting up to leave, "Just give it a chance, will you? You've been so miserable lately."
Which was true. Kris had to give her that. Who could blame her? Her ship and half her crew were laying at the bottom of the ocean, and her proudly held status of captain had been ripped away from her by a pirate who's compass didn't even point north. Even the thought of treasure lying before them didn`t seem to do the trick. Well, not all the time anyway. At least before she had trying to remember the crew's names to occupy her. Now she knew them so well she thought she would scream if she said Anna-Maria or Gibbs in her head one more time.
Kris had spent the next few days mostly thinking. And scrubbing the deck. She thought about many things; treasure being the main thing, Jack being one of the others. When were they going to get there? Why the heck did he even like her? How much treasure would there be? Did she like him? Were they wasting their time doing this? What did she like about him?
Good question. What did she like about him? Well, his looks, for starters. They certainly weren't astounding or anything, but they were there. The fact that he didn`t seem to care what she did or how she did it. And that he wasn't much taller than her. And he could make her laugh, which was definitely true. Weather he was cracking a joke or trying to fool someone, and even when he got slapped by some woman at a port they had stopped at, he could make her laugh.
And she found herself doing strange things; daydreaming, singing, tying her hair up when it was windy or messy, that sort of thing. She didn't exactly like those changes, but no one else seemed to mind. Actually, (to her relief) no one even noticed.
Then, one day at a small port they had stopped at, Kris was sitting absent-mindedly on a wide, sandy beach when Brett had come up and sat beside her. Brett, and his twin brother Bill, were pretty much like little brothers to her. She was constantly getting them out of trouble, and she couldn`t imagine what it would be like if she hadn`t found them shipwrecked in Bermuda. Neither of them could remember anything other than their names and how to handle a gun and sword, and had gratefully taken up the offer to join them. They had been around for a few years now, and she was entirely used to them asking stupid questions and getting tangled in rope and other things that lay around a ship. But they both were pretty good pirates, she had to admit that.
"What're you doing?" he asked.
"Sitting. Thinking. Getting hungry." She replied.
"Jack said to tell you that we're almost ready to set sail again." He said, chuckling. "He just got slapped again."
"What'd he do this time?"
"Nothing. Some lady just came up and gave it to him."
Kris had laughed pretty hard then. She could just picture the surprised look on his face, then the guilty one that would follow when he remembered exactly what he did. She could even picture the way he would try to explain himself…
As she was laughing, and Brett was staring at her quite strangely, well, Kris realised something important. And soon she wasn't just laughing at Jack, she was laughing at herself. She'd been completely unaware of it. She'd been so wrapped up in treasure and principals and other bilge that she had ignored it. She got up, forcing herself to stop laughing, and gripped Brett's shoulder for balance as she began laughing again, breathless laughs that forced her whole body to shake.
"Back to the ship, lad." She said between breaths.
He nodded, slightly confused, and they went back.
The next morning they set sail again. Just as fate would have it, the one spot Kris hadn't cleaned on the entire ship was beside the wheel. Why it was constantly her job to scrub the deck was beyond her, but she was never one to complain. Much, that is.
"You've scrubbed that spot so many times you're going to put a hole in it." Jack commented absent-mindedly, studying his compass as he steered.
"I wouldn't have to if you'd clean those boots once and a while." Kris retorted.
"With what, ocean water?"
"It wouldn't hurt."
"I'll be the one to decide that." He said, stroking his beard thoughtfully.
Kris kept on scrubbing, but looked up and saw the look on his face.
"What?"
"I was just thinking."
"I was just thinking your hair would look really good brushed."
"And you'd look really good on my arm, but there's not much chance of that, is there?"
"You're impossible." Kris said, still scrubbing.
"And you're implausible."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"As would I."
Kris finished scrubbing and stood up facing Jack.
"Then I guess we're on the same level."
"From my view, you haven't quite reached my level."
Kris whacked him across the face, partly joking and partly because she never let anyone insult her height.
"You know," Jack said, rubbing his cheek, "I'm starting to think all you women just want a chance to touch my face."
Kris laughed. "I guess the view from the top doesn't shed much light on the things around you, does it?"
"I never said it was a bad view."
She leaned against the railing, looking out at the ocean. "Remember what you told me a few days ago?"
"That all you need to survive on a desert island is a keg of rum and some matches?"
"No, the other thing." She said, and pushed him against the wheel and gave him a small peck on the lips.
He stood there, surprised, just staring at Kris smiling. A smile slowly broke across his face once he realised what had just happened. Kris laughed slightly and nodded sarcastically, but was stopped short because he was kissing her back.
"Am I interrupting something?" Anna-Maria said from behind them. She stood with her arms crossed, staring at them expectantly.
"Uh… No?" Jack replied.
"Good. The bilge is leaking again, captain." She said, before turning and promptly walking away.
That was about as much as she could remember. Of course, once they reached the place the treasure had supposedly been, they had found it completely empty. Not one doubloon for miles around. But that hadn't mattered; they were on the ocean. They were free. Unlike Kris was now.