ROPE-WALKER

Written By Jashi

N O T E: *listens to PotC soundtrack* Mwehehehe….I could gaze at the pictures in the CD booklet for hours…^_~ I don't own PotC. If I did…well….let's not get into that. Read and reply, please. Use the purple review box of happiness! *listens to the Black Pearl track of the CD* *starts dancing around* Prepare for more Will/Elizabeth fluff this chapter…not much, actually. Okay, Anamarie is now going to be spelled ANAMARIA, because Jashi happens to be half blind…

CHAPTER FOUR:

It was now a quarter till nine. Elizabeth and Will Turner were waiting in the alleyway next to the Singing Swan. They were silent and awkward, standing closely next to each other. Will reached over and squeezed his wife's hand. She turned her head, hazel eyes boring into his own…the only one who could see the depths of his own soul as well as he could. Even better, sometimes. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, the pack he had been carrying sliding off his shoulder and hitting the ground with a soft thump.

They became lost in each other for a few moments, sharing their last kiss as man and wife for a very long time…

…because then Tades came down from the roof, making a special effort to be quiet as she landed on the ground. She

looked about for a moment, then saw Elizabeth and Will. She grinned, and muttered something that sounded a bit like "Again?". She leaned against the wall, and let them go on for a few moments more, trying . Then she coughed and cleared her throat. Elizabeth and her husband jumped about six feet into the air, and Will swore.

"What the hell--? Oh, it's just you." Will sputtered.

Elizabeth's eyes widened slightly. "How long have you been standing there?"

Tades winked unashamedly. "Long enough, miss."

Elizabeth blushed a little and looked down at the ground.

"Alright, Will. Time to take yer leave." Tades said and turned…then jumped back and pressed herself hard against the wall.

"I saw her! She ran up this way!" a shout came from the street and there was the sound of many feet clattering over cobblestones.

Tades sighed. "We picked a perfect day to go, y'know. It's the Grand Procession day. All these soldiers walking up and down the streets…such terrible timing…" she shook her head ruefully. "Come now, Will. Say yer goodbye, and then we be off."

Will stooped down and picked up his pack from the ground, slinging it over his shoulder. His gun and sword were on his belt, and they clinked a bit when he moved. He reached out and embraced his wife.

"Take the back way home," he whispered, " don't let them see you or think you were involved with this. I love you, Elizabeth."

"Be careful, Will. Come home soon."

He released her and turned to Tades, who was grinning.

"Alrighty, mate. Let's take our leave. Don't let 'em see yer face." Tades stuck her head out to the street, and listened.

"All clear. Let's fly." she ran out into the street and began to speed down it, towards the cove. Will followed, and suddenly he heard a cry behind him:

"There she is!"

"Keep up, boy! I don't fancy goin' back t'jail!" Tades called back, and increased her speed, barreling down the street as fast as she could, Will not so far behind anymore.

Redcoats coming up fast, she heard a few gunshots. Bloody bastards! she cursed, shooting out on a street like this?

The pirate maneuvered over to the side of the street, and grabbed the edge of a roof. Wasting a few precious seconds, almost getting shot in the arm, she climbed on and began running again, this time laughing and yelling taunts at the redcoats behind them. They attempted to shoot at her, but they hit chimneys and houses instead. She was high and going fast, a bit harder to aim at now.

"Aye, ye scurvy bastards, can ye catch me now?!" she cat-called down, and jumped to the next roof. Will wasn't concerned about them catching her, he was more worried about them catching him.

Quite a few roofs later, they were at the edge of the town, were the cobblestone road became dirt. Some of the redcoats had wised up and mounted on horses. Now Will was worried. But Tades was still grinning, and at the last roof, she jumped off it, and landed smartly next to Will.

"Having as much fun as I am, Turner?"

"Depends on your idea of fun." panted Will as she led him off the path. Soon they came to some sand, and a boat.

"C'mon, lad, let's not waste the time we have." she pushed out the boat, jumped in and began rowing, and he waded several feet into the water before he could catch up and jump in with her. They moved speedily through the water,

Will rowing as well.

As they reached the Black Pearl, Tades called out to the ship.

"Ahoy, the Black Pearl!" she cried, and several people stuck their heads out over the railing, saw Will, and their mouths dropped open.

Tades rolled her eyes. As he got older, Will Turner looked like his famous father more than ever.

"You hell-raisin' scallywags can gawk at Turner's lovely looks later!" Tades yelled up at them, "We got the Navy following us!"

"Ye heard the lass, hoist 'em up, and be quick about it!" Jack's voice came from beyond Will's view.

"Aye, aye cap'n!" several shouts went up, ropes were lowered, and before Will knew it, he was on the deck of the Black Pearl. Men, Anamaria and Tades were rushing to positions. He didn't quite know what to do. Finally, he ran over to Mr. Gibbs, who was working at the cannons, and helped load them. Jack barked orders and stood at the helm, and as the wind picked up, the anchor was raised and they began to move.

Will thought they might actually get out quietly. Perhaps the cannons would be loaded in vain. Tades was at the top of the mast, standing on the ledge of the crows nest.

"Oh, c'mon, give us a break…" she muttered, her eyes scanning the waters. But she spotted the Commodore's ship, the one Jack had talked about.

"Captain, we've got company!" she called down, and many of the men cheered. She pulled out her already loaded gun, but did not raise it up to aim just quite yet.

Will spotted the ship in the clear morning light. He ducked down beside the cannon. Better they not see him, because the Commodore Norrington was still not married, and Will believed he was still in love with Elizabeth. Better to not make things more complicated for her than they already were. Tades saw him do it and smiled. He's not half as ignorant as I thought he would be…oh, bloody hell, now he'll do something stupid…

Jack steered the ship out of the cove and came within a hundred feet of the Atlanticus, the Commodore's ship.

"Ahoy there, Mr. Commodore!" he yelled across.

"Hello, Jack Sparrow." came the clipped and cold reply.

"How many times have I got ta tell ye? It's CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW!" he bellowed.

"You're under arrest for at least two dozen criminal offenses, Jack!"

"What about me day's head start!?"

"It's been two years!"

"Really? How time flies…it was only yesterday when I was escaping yer noose fer the second time, was it, Commodore?"

"Do you surrender?!" Norrington cried across.

Jack's brow furrowed. "What did ye say?"

"Do You Surrender?!" came the cry again, only louder

"I'm deaf in one ear. Say it again?"

"DO YOU SURRENDER, JACK SPARROW!?!"

"Hmmm…since you put it that way…" the captain began to walk towards the front of the ship, and turned around suddenly to face his crew.

"What'd ye say, mates? We gonna lie down and let 'em take us to the jails? The noose? Davey Jones' locker?"

A cry went up along the pirates. They shouted terrible curses on the Commodore and the crew of the Atlanticus. There were several cries of "No!", "Go to hell, Mr. Commodore!", "We won't go without a fight!" and, "Go lie with a bilge-rat, you bloody bastards!"

The last one was Tades' own loudly voiced comment from the top of the mast.

Jack smiled devilishly at the Royal Navy's ship and crew.

"There's yer answer, Norrington. And it's CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW!" he bellowed again. Then came the earsplitting sound of a cannon being fired, and the battle commenced.

It was a battle full of thundering fire, the air thickening with smoke. Will's face became dark with the gunpowder of the cannons. He worked with Gibbs at the cannon, and stayed there for the entire battle. But his hands became slippery with sweat and the black dust until he could barely hold on to the next shot.

Tades was having her own troubles up on the mast. At the beginning, it had been an excellent idea to take down enemies from the crows nest, but now some of the soldiers had begun to figure out that someone was shooting them from up high. Some rifle-shots were now being aimed at the top, which was all in good fun for Tades, but now they were aiming at the mast and missing. Great, thick black cannonballs were going through the sails, sometimes coming very near the mast and failing in their attempts. Tades decided that she should probably get down for her own personal safety, and reached for the rope that lead down to the deck. She heard a tremendous buzz by her ear and a flash of black. Her hands immediately went up to cover her head, and she heard a steady ripping noise behind her. She removed her hands and stared at the rip in the sail, panting. Tades had almost gotten squared in the head by a cannonball.

"Alright…must get down…must get down…" she muttered, "Rope, rope, rope, rope…oh bloody hell…" her voice dropped. Where in God's name were her ropes? She usually had one hanging around just from the crows nest to the deck, not to mention other ropes for the sails and ropes for a harness used for mending them. But the sails were getting shredded, and that was that. Too many ropes had come untied. She did see a possible method of getting down, several ways after she observed the scene. She could sense the battle was beginning its end. Tades saw several ropes flying free with the sails, attached to poles that extended from the mast for the main sails. One of the sails had halfway fallen off its pole, and a few ropes had come free.

"C'mon, you git," she murmured to herself, and reached her hands up to the top of the mast. Again wasting precious seconds to climb up something, she got to the top of the mast and almost fell off.

"Dammit…" she gritted her teeth and reached out to the pole on her knees, "Bloody…hell…bloody…hell…"

Tades crawled forwards until she was all the way on the pole, feet and hands and all. She took a deep breath in…and ran across the pole at a crouch. Her hands reached down at the end of the pole and grasped the rope, and she slipped down quickly.

The Black Pearl was beginning to pull away, away from the Atlanticus and Port Royal. A loud, raucous cry went up about the pirates in victory. Tades grasped the railing of the ship, and looked about her. The damage was done, but not terrible. The main sails were dead. She shook her head sadly. Guess who'd be putting the new ones up?

"That was a mighty great fight m'crew. Good job. Now get back ter work!" Jack yelled, and many of the pirates groaned and began clearing away debris. The pirate captain made his way to the mast.

"So, love, how'd the sails fare?" he asked her.

"Ye can see fer yerself, cap'n." she glared at him.

Jack sighed. "Mend 'em fer now, and when we stop by Tortuga we'll get some new ones. Go on, scat." he shooed her away, and it was her turn to sigh.

"Anamaria!" she called, and her dark-skinned friend appeared.

"Aye, Tades?"

"I need a thread and a needle."

"Sail mending?"

"Aye."

Anamarie turned on her heel to fetch it. Tades stared at the crows nest, judging how much rope she'd have to use to get the big slashes in the sails.

Will was attempting to wash off his face, which had turned very dark with soot.

"Not bad, Will." Jack's voice came from behind him.

"Where are we heading?" Will's voice was muffled by a towel.

"Tortuga, lad."

(to be continued…mwahaha.)