Author's note: Craptacular chapter, I know. I'm just setting up for the more exciting parts… sorry excuse, I know…
Jeyke: Thanks for all the wonderful comments! And yes, you're right about the execution bit… believe me, I'm not the least bit mad! Actually, I kinda laughed when I realised what I stupid mistake that was! And yes, Mia is evil…
Jessica Sarrow and InsertRandomInsanityHere: Glad you guys like it!!
Roz: Wheee you're in this!! Lol yes…I love the review part too… A lot of threads, but it'll all come together soon! I promise!! Too much like you… hehe… hey I'd be dancing with the musicians too! But I'd probably fall off the table… lol! No prob bout putting you in… its not a book without roz, right? (ok ok I'm a little strange… O.o) well thanks peoples for all the reviews!
Lol yes… I'll be quiet now and let you read the chapter…. Better ones coming…
Chapter 9
Kris groaned as she awoke, turning over in the afternoon sunlight and promptly falling off of the bed, landing with a painful thump on the hard wooden planks of the floor. God dammit… and good morning to you too, fate…
She struggled to her feet and made to get dressed, before realising she had fallen asleep in her clothes. She shrugged that little tidbit of information off and tiredly strode out onto the deck, only to see something so surprising it immediately shook her from her tired sate.
"No, no, Mia, never take your eyes off of your opponent!" Will said as he knocked the blade out of Mia's hand.
"Ok, ok!" Mia replied, picking her sword up off of the floor. She shifted her weight from foot to foot as she pointed her sword at Will.
"Alright, good." Will said, and with an effortless flick of the wrist, he crossed his blade with Mia's and began to circle her, but quite slowly, mind you. "Now, always be sure to follow your opponent's footing…"
"Good morning." Kris said unenthusiastically as she walked towards them.
"Look who finally woke up." Mia said, giving Kris the first genuine smile she had seen from her in a long time. "Have a late night, did you? You look like you have a killer hangover. From what you said yesterday, we should have been miles away from port hours ago…"
Brett came skidding up beside them, apparently out of breath. God, could this morning get any more hectic? Kris though miserably. I should just go back to bed…
"Kris, there's someone down at the dock who'd like to see you." He said. "Seems to want to buy a passage to the nearest island on our boat…"
"Tell them we're not a common ferry and we won't be accepting passengers." Kris replied, rubbing her temples. What a headache…
"I think this is someone you'd be interested in, Kris." Brett said. "The least you could do is go down and see her before you make your decision."
Kris shook her head miserably and walked over to the rail, peering down over the side to see whoever was waiting for her on the dock. She tiredly looked around for a moment before spotting a slightly familiar head of long, chestnut hair.
"Katrina!" she yelled, squinting to try and see if it really was her. "Is that you?"
The woman standing on the dock looked around to see who had called her name. She looked up to face Kris, and she saw it was indeed the violinist from the night before.
"Hello Scarlet!" Katrina said cheerfully. "What are you doing here?"
Kris climbed down the rope ladder leading down from the ship and landed with a heavy thud on the dock. "Actually, I'm not Scarlet."
Katrina's eyes narrowed in confusion. "But… You have to be, I just saw you last night…"
Kris couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, you did see me last night, but I'm not Scarlet." She held out her hand for Katrina. "The name's Kris, Captain Kris. So what's this I hear about you wanting a passage on me ship?"
Katrina's smile vanished and she looked nervously over her shoulder. "Well, um, Kris, it's not that I want a passage, it's just that I need one."
"And what might the circumstances for your needing a passage be?"
"I'm afraid I won't be able to say."
"Ah, 'tis one of those situations." Kris replied, smirking. "So you expect me to let you onto my ship without you even telling me why?"
Katrina nodded.
"And you're aware of… uh…" Kris searched for the right way to word what she was trying to say. "Our line of business?"
Katrina stared at Kris for a moment, confused. Then, as if seeing everything for the first time, she realised what Kris was talking about. Her strange clothes and unorthodox manner, the crew's sketchiness, the ship's black sails…
"I do now." She said. "You're… you're pirates."
"Aye." Kris grinned. "But kindly don't go spreading it around, if this place is anything like the rest of the world, the people won't take kindly to knowing that. And now that you know, Katrina, I'm guessing I'll have to take you along."
Katrina didn't seem to know how to answer. Finally, she slung the worn rucksack off her shoulder and reached inside, producing a small yet lumpy pouch.
"Of course, I can pay you." She said, opening the pouch to reveal a very fine amount of gold coins. Too fine, in fact, for a passage on a simple pirate's ship, or even a passage on a grander one. But as said before, Kristalle Maria Kayte was never one to complain much, so the unusual amount of said coins went unmentioned.
"It is enough, isn't it?" Katrina said, suddenly looking worried. If she couldn't get out of this town quickly enough, she had no idea what she would do…
"Of course." Kris said with a smile, before stepping aside and motioning towards the worn rope ladder leading up towards the ship. "You, Katrina, are most welcome upon the decks of the Black Pearl."
* * *
(One week later)
Jack had been pacing the length of the cell for the past hour. He had learned from experience not to let yourself get too out of shape while imprisoned, for one might miss the opportune moment of escape. And besides, it gave him something to do other than reminisce and think up unsuccessful escape plans.
Everything he had thought up of hadn't even come close to working. His current scheme, a hunger strike, somehow didn't seem to hold much of a future for escape, not only because the single guard placed outside of his cell was constantly sleeping and wouldn't notice, but because he knew his brother wouldn't care if he keeled over from lack of food. But still, it was worth a try, wasn't it?
As Jack absent-mindedly continued to pace the length of his cell, he had no idea of the ship that had sided up against the Ebony Rose the week before or the current commotion on the deck above them. That is, he had no idea until two men burst into the bilge, awakening the guard and towing a struggling woman between them. Though she certainly wasn't a very big thing, she was kicking and thrashing so violently that the two men were obviously having a difficult time keeping her within their grasp.
"Let-me-GO!!!" she screamed, giving a kick so hard it sent the formerly sleeping guard jumping back a few feet. Her long blonde hair flew wildly around her pale face, and what had obviously once been a ravishing deep violet gown was now torn from the amount of her struggling. "Let me go you cheap excuses for navy officers! Do you have any bloody idea who I am?! I'll have you know that I'm-"
"Oh, we know who you are, Missy." One of the men said, trying to sound cocky despite the obvious hell-cat he was holding onto. The guard unlocked the cell and with an amount of effort, the two men roughly threw the woman into the cell.
"You're Lady Delia Defaulo." The man continued, standing up straight and nursing an injured arm as the guard locked the cell once again (due to the commotion, Jack hadn't taken up that particular chance of escape. Besides, all he'd escape to were three navy officers).
"And a bloody stinkin' double crosser." The other guard added, straightening his jacket. "Now if you'll excuse us, Lady Delia, we have business to attend to up on the deck. Enjoy your stay."
The woman scowled at them as they stomped back up the steps and out of the bilge. The guard promptly seated himself back in his chair and leaned his head back, no doubt with the intentions of falling back asleep.
Jack studied his new cell-mate with great interest. Besides the murderous expression on her face, she really was pretty. Her pale blonde hair perfectly framed her delicate looking face, which was adorned with emerald eyes and soft looking lips the color of coral. He had been right to guess that her dress was grand, as up close it appeared to be made out of silk with delicate looking layers of black lace. And, he couldn't help noting, suited her slender body and curves perfectly.
"Bloody no good navy pawns." She grumbled.
"Aye, they get in the way of everything, don't they?" Jack said finally. The woman looked up, startled, as she noticed Jack for the first time. "The name's Jack Sparrow, Captain if you please. And I'm guessing you're Delia?"
The woman nodded and flashed a dazzling smile. "Yes, I'm Delia Defaulo. Pleased to meet you, Captain Sparrow."
Though she obviously hadn't heard of him, Jack's ego was slightly inflated by the way she had emphasised 'captain'. "And what's a pretty little lass like you doing in a jail cell, hmm?"
Delia's smile immediately faded at Jack's rather forward comment. "I could ask the same of you, Captain, though I wouldn't exactly call you pretty."
Touchy. Jack thought. "No reason in particular, Luv, other than me being on the Account and the captain of this little rowboat having it out to get me."
"Interesting." Delia replied. Her expression was far from readable, nor was her tone.
"And you?" Jack pushed.
"Well, if you really must know…" Delia said, cockily jutting out her hip and placing her hand on her waist, "I was thrown in here for trying to kill someone. I was engaged to Jeremy Smith, and-"
"He's engaged?!" Jack exclaimed. "And he didn't tell me! So let me guess, Luv, you tired of him and decided to slit his throat in his sleep?"
Delia looked both surprised and cross at Jack's unusual outburst. "I'm afraid not, I still haven't tired of Jeremy. It was a woman's throat I tried to slit, the only real passenger on this ship, for sleeping with him."
Jack grinned. Guess fatal attraction runs in the blood. "So you say you're still engaged to him?"
"Yes."
"But I'm sure you don't love him for locking you up in this cell, Luv, am I right?" he said suggestively.
Delia frowned. She looked cute when she frowned. "Yes, sir, I still love him! He's only doing what's right by law, and I highly doubt that he'll have me executed along with the likes of you. And if it's reasonable expectations on your mind, captain, I suggest you look elsewhere."
It was Jack's turn to frown. Not only was she touchy, but she was nasty, too. And that was the exact moment he had given up on any 'reasonable expectations' that had been on his mind, at least for the time being. After all, he didn't want to die before he reached the noose, especially not to the likes of Delia.
* * *
Kris had quickly found someone other than Mia to listen to her stories. Katrina turned out to be a self-proclaimed lover of literature, and since there were hardly any books on the ship (other than a cook-book and weaponry book, there really was no need for them as most of the crew couldn't read and didn't plan on learning) she had readily listened to all of Kris's stories, true or not. She told her about fighting Captain Hubbs and stowing away on her first pirate ship, she told of how her uncle had taught her how to steal properly and fight 'the real way' (his motto being 'a fair fight is one where you win without killing yourself') and in turn, Katrina would describe all the manors she had played in and all the places she had travelled. And, eventually, Kris came to the time on her great story timeline where she met Jack.
She was absent-mindedly steering the Pearl into the horizon, heading towards Cementerio Del Angel ('the angel's graveyard', a small island) while talking to Katrina.
"And after me ship sank, well, that's when I came into contact with this one, about four years ago." Kris said, never taking her eyes off the water ahead of them.
"And how'd you manage that?" Katrina asked.
"Well, it's not actually me ship." Kris explained. "The owner, he, well… He ran off about a month ago. Just woke up one morning and he was gone."
Katrina was quiet for a moment, having noted the undertone of sadness well disguised in Kris's voice. "And you… knew him well?"
"Aye. Very well."
"What was his name?"
Kris sighed. "Jack, Jack Sparrow. Finest captain the Caribbean's ever seen."
Katrina narrowed her eyes and grinned. "Finer than the Captain Kris?"
Kris laughed. "If you can believe it, yes. Amazing man, he was. Though he seemed to think every other person was a eunuch."
"You speak as if you were very fond of him, Captain." Katrina said coyly. "Why, one would almost think that you loved him."
"You seem awfully sure of yourself for only knowing me for a week, Miss Katrina."
Katrina laughed at Kris's formalness. "You love him, don't you? Usually when a woman starts to drool when talking about a man that means they're in love!"
Kris couldn't help but laugh. Usually talking about Jack made her miserable, but it was nearly impossible to be miserable around someone as cheery as Katrina. Actually, she found that talking to certain people about Jack made her almost feel better.
"Captain!" Will said, walking up behind them. "May I talk to you for a moment?"
"Certainly." Kris said. "Katrina, have you ever steered a ship before?"
"No." Katrina said truthfully.
"Well here's your chance. Just keep her going straight, and be sure not to crash into a whale or anything, though I doubt there's any land around here."
Katrina nodded and placed herself at the wheel as Kris led Will to the rail overlooking the ocean. She said nothing, but instead peered out at the water wistfully.
Will studied her for a moment, watching her eyes study the waves and move over towards the gulls reeling overhead. The breeze ruffled her hair slightly, and in that moment he caught a glimpse of what Jack must have seen in her. She was far from perfect, but he had to admit she wasn't hard on the eyes. Her small frame gave her an almost delicate look, but he still she could kill you if she wanted. Her light blue eyes were set into a pretty face, tanned from working so long in the sun and adorned with a few slight freckles that seemed to blend in with her skin, so you had to look closely to see them. Her thick reddish brown hair, auburn was probably the proper word for it; fell down her back in long waves. But as he studied her expression, Will could've sworn he saw something familiar in there, something that reminded him of himself. It took him a moment to realise that it was loneliness; the missing of a person you couldn't live without, as if a part of you was gone…
"What is it you wanted to talk to me about, Turner?" Kris said finally, tearing her eyes away from the horizon and looking up at him.
"I just wanted to know more about where we're going." Will admitted. "You haven't said much about it."
"I see." Kris replied. "Well, what to say? It should take a couple weeks at the most to reach Cementerio Del Angel, and supposedly there's treasure, lots of it. We'll drop Katrina off before we reach the island, most probably in Cuba."
Will nodded. He could hear Mia yelling from somewhere on the deck behind them, locked in a duel with Brett. Ever since Will had offered to help her improve her skills, she'd taken to challenging anyone who wasn't busy on the ship to a duel. She really wasn't all that bad, once you got to know her. Really, underneath the sarcastic, cocky appearance, she was just a lonely little kid.
"Well, Turner, I'd expect you to get back to work now that your thirst for knowledge has been quenched." Kris said, before walking back to her place at the wheel. And Will noted, finally, that underneath the mask of a pirate woman with a three million shilling reward on her head, she was really just a lonely little kid too.
Funny how things run in the family.
* * *
Back in the brig of the Ebony Rose, Delia had impatiently taken Jack's place of pacing the length of the cell. Jack laid leaning against the wall, casually scuffing his boot against the floor. Suddenly, he jumped up and grabbed an unsuspecting Delia by the shoulders, roughly holding her arms behind her back.
"What are you-" Delia started, but Jack's whipping out a knife and holding it to her throat silenced her for a split second. True fear crept into her emerald eyes, before she opened her mouth and-
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" She screamed, as loud as she possibly could. The scream echoed throughout the leaky bilge, waking up the sleeping guard and summoning three more from above deck.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Delia screamed, kicking and thrashing violently. "LET ME GO YOU FILTHY EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING!!!!"
"Oy!!" the guard yelled, jumping up from his seat. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Let us out!" Jack commanded, struggling to keep the knife level with Delia's throat as she struggled. "Or the lady here gets it!"
As the guard struggled with the keys and the navy officers readied their guns to be shot, Smith came sauntering in.
"What's all the commotion here?" he commanded.
"It's Sparrow, captain!" the guard said. "He's going to kill Lady Defaulo!"
"KILL me?!" Delia screamed. "No, he won't-" she kicked him hard in the shins, "be-" she managed to elbow him in the ribs- "KILLING ME!"
"Calm down, everyone." Smith said smoothly, walking up to the bars. "You can let go now, Sparrow, your act is over."
"It's not a bloody act!" Jack said menacingly, moving the knife closer to her throat. "Now I swear to god she'll get it if you don't let us out!!"
"No you won't." Smith stated shortly.
Jack, who had everything about this particular plan thought out, was definitely not expecting that. He would have expected a reply like that to come from a small child, or an extremely stubborn and opinionated woman (three of which came to mind). Actually, Smith's reply caught him so off guard that he nearly let go of the still thrashing Delia. And apparently, Jack wasn't the only one who was surprised by Smith's unusual comment. His men, though they still had their guns pointed towards Jack, occasionally sent a confused look in their captain's direction, and even Delia had let out an angry little gasp.
"Excuse me?" Jack said finally. Delia gave up struggling so violently and stood stock still, occasionally giving vain little attempts to escape.
"You heard me Jack." Smith said, sneering. "If you're really going to kill her, than do it. Go ahead."
Delia's mouth hung open almost as wide as Jack's did. Had he just said what they thought he did? Did he just tell Jack to kill his fiancé?
Jack looked like he wanted to. He really did. The knife was so close to her throat, freedom was just within his grasp…
Jack looked indecisive, looking from Delia to Smith to the knife in his hand, and let out an exasperated sigh, which, though rather loud and dramatic, was the first real thing to come out of his mouth all night. "I can't do it."
"What's that you say, captain Sparrow?" Smith jeered.
"You bloody well know what I said." Jack said, pushing Delia away from him, the latter who immediately started to straighten herself up a bit. She looked absolutely miserable, but strangely didn't seem the least bit wary of the man who had just held her at knife-point. The numerous navy officers who had been drawn to the commotion stared at either Jack or Smith, trying to see what kind of reaction they would get. Surely their captain wouldn't let some pirate talk to them like that…
"I can't do it." Jack continued. "Although I'm sure, since you have just readily handed your fiancé over to me to kill, you'll have fun doing the honours, aye?"
Smith frowned. "The only reason I said that, Sparrow, was because I knew you would never do such a thing. Really, you're utterly predictable. Now, kindly hand over that knife."
When Jack made no effort to give him the knife, Delia huffily grabbed it from him and thrust her hand through the bars, the knife mere inches away from Smith's face.
"Ah, well, thank you dear." He said. "And may I ask how you got it in there in the first place?"
This time Delia made no effort to explain.
"She smuggled it in inside her corset." Jack said, pointing towards Delia, who smirked triumphantly.
Smith nodded slightly. "Ah, yes, that would make sense. So, now that you two have proved that you can act worth your salt, and believe me, I know it was all an act, I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay without food for the next three days?"
Jack looked over at Delia, who was staring at Smith with a mixture of hate, defiance and… admiration, was it? No, it couldn't be. Smith was nothing but a cold, guiltless, shameless heartless sneak… He didn't deserve anything from her…
Smith ordered his crew out, surprisingly, including the single guard that had been keeping watch over the two prisoners. He followed his crew out halfway, and although he was still visibly in earshot, Delia let out a loud sigh.
"I can't believe it!" she exclaimed, angrily throwing her hands up into the air. "It didn't work!! How could it not have worked! God, Jack, you and your stupid plans… I should have known…"
"I can't help that it didn't work, Luv!" Jack exclaimed. "Really, it was a good plan… practically foolproof…"
"Your opinion of foolproof isn't quite understandable, Sparrow." Delia shot back.
"Notice how I didn't physically hurt you while I was threatening to kill you." Jack said, rubbing his side. A bruise was the best case scenario for that one…
Delia smirked. "What can I say? I'm an actress."
Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the cell as Smith returned. He completely ignored Jack, but instead slowly approached the place Delia was leaned against the bars, miserably trying to straighten out her long, golden hair.
"Delia?" his voice sounded timid for once, almost pleading. "Are you…. Alright?"
Delia turned around, acting as if just looking at him was a painful waste of her precious energy. But there was something in her eyes, something Jack recognised…
"I'm fine." She said, finally facing him. "About as fine as someone locked in the brig of a merchant ship could be."
Although Delia was blocking most of Smith from Jack's view, he could still see the guilty look on his brother's face. Serves him right…
"You know I have no choice, Lia." He said, reaching through the bars and stroking her face lightly. "The law states that I have to do this…"
"And what do you state, Jeremy?" Delia replied, brushing his hand away. "What do you have to say about all of this?"
Smith stared down at her, his face full of… what? Jack had never seen him looking like that. Rather like a small child, or a puppy dog…
Smith then bent down, and, as well as he could, kissed Delia slightly on the lips. Before long, the sweet kiss had turned into an all-out make out session, Delia readily kissing him back, their hands intertwined through the bars…
Jack was nearly disgusted as he watched this. Honestly, you think they could wait until she was out of the goddamn cell… He would have never felt the need for that…
He quickly pushed that thought out of his head, for not only was that a lie (and a big one, too), but he had no time for daydreaming at the moment.
Delia and Smith went on kissing and didn't stop until Jack had plopped huffily down onto the floor. "Don't mind me here, I can watch." He said, half bitterly and half playfully so the obviously love-sick couple immediately broke away from each other, Smith grimacing slightly and Delia shooting a disgusted look in Jack's direction.
Jack paid no attention to them as they said their goodbyes, I love you's and Smith promising to let her out as soon as they hit land. In short, Smith left, Delia stared after him for a moment before turning to face Jack, the disgusted look once again adorning her hopelessly beautiful face.
"You, Jack, are a kinky, disgusting, perverted excuse for a pirate." She said haughtily, before sitting down and leaning against the opposite wall.
Jack couldn't help but grinning. Call him bitter; but he loved to see couples disgusted by the thought of someone watching them, well, coupling. There was a sweet irony in the thought, that now that Smith had locked Jack away, he couldn't be alone with his fiancé without breaking some precious laws.
If he was alone, his brother might as well be alone too.