ROPE-WALKER

Written By Jashi

N O T E: Oh, if PotC were mine…and mine alone…updates will be farther and fewer in-between now that school has started…sorry. I'd write all day if I could.

CHAPTER SIX

Tades walked across the pole, a black sail crumpled in her arms. Carefully, she lowered herself down onto her knees. The few sleeping people on deck were small blots below. She began to tie the sail down, and a sweet breeze wafted through. The sun was warm, not shining high and burning, in the morning hours. There were the sounds of a waking city in the air.

Jack Sparrow woke up on the side of the road, a chicken pecking at his leg. He kicked at it, and with a loud squawk it wobbled away. He sat up, and rubbed his pounding head. Strong arms behind him grasped the pirate and pulled him up in one swift movement.

"Jack's a hung-over pirate this morning, I see." Romulus' deep, sonorous voice was familiar, indeed.

The other man's response was a cross between a groan and a mutter.

"Oh…hello…Romulus." The pirate captain grabbed the wall for support. Romulus laughed, albeit quietly.

"Good morning, sir." he chuckled.

Jack glared. He began staggering in the direction he thought was the Black Pearl. Romulus grasped the drunken pirate's shoulder and turned him around, facing the opposite direction.

"No, Jack," the bartender had a smile in his voice, "it's this way…"

Tades was tying the last knot in the left sail. She grinned as she finished, just a little bit proud of herself. She quickly walked across the pole to the crow's nest, sliding down a rope to the deck as she saw Jack and Romulus board in her peripheral vision.

" 'Mornin, brother." she said nonchalantly as she searched for the second black sail. Will came up from below deck, yawning and blinking in the warm sunlight.

"Good morning, sister. And Will." he added as an afterthought. Jack came up behind him and sat on a barrel, massaging his temples. Will's brow furrowed.

What's wrong with him? he mouthed to Tades as he met her eyes. She smiled.

Hangover, she mouthed back. Jack grumbled an unidentifiable yet probably extremely explicit oath, walked across the deck and went into his office; he closed the door with a mighty BANG.

The pirate lady laughed and started up the rigging again, the sail in one arm. Romulus casually stepped forward to the tangles of ropes, and began to climb up after his half-sister.

"Yer gonna need my help." he said, climbing much slower than she had.

Tades snorted. "When I fall, you can go down on the deck and be a nice, soft cushion for me to land on, eh?"

She began tying down the sail, the crumpled black linen waving in the sunlight. Romulus snorted in return to her comment. He stepped up into the crow's nest, and sat back, watching her work.

"Lookee us now, sister." he mused.

"Yer in the crow's nest and I'm about to fall off this pole. What'm I lookin' at again?"

Romulus laughed, a deep, booming sound. "Th' adventures! Aye, sister, I don' ever recall ye having dreams of being a pirate. And more, a lady pirate."

She scoffed and tied another knot. "I'm the only one goin' on the adventures here, good bartender."

"Aye, but did I ever have dreams of owning a tavern?"

"Nay. As I recall, ye wanted ta be a soldier."

"Not in Spain." he protested.

"No…" said Tades, stopping for a moment and thinking, "never in Spain did we dream, I s'pose…"

"Of course," Romulus interrupted her thoughts, "I s'pose we did learn more there then we'd ever have learned in our entire lives."

"Aye, aye to that one, sir!" said Tades sarcastically, "I enjoyed being in a pandilla, sneaking into houses and stealing things every night. Risking my life for a bunch o' lads and lasses who could cull me at any moment was great fun, oh yes indeed."

Turning away she called down to Will. "Bring me up some more rope, will ye? This one's runnin' out."

Will nodded and looked around for a coil.

He grabbed one and slung it over his shoulder, beginning to climb up the rigging.

"What's a…a…diya-whatever-you-called-it?" he said as he climbed. Tades laughed.

"Pandilla is Spanish for gang. I was in one when I lived in Espana."

Will blinked.

"Spain." Romulus translated, " Lived there for almost seven years an' she still can't speak their language."

"El silencio por favor." Tades glared. Silence, please.

"Muy bajo tu, cuñada." Romulus returned easily. Shut up yourself, sister.

"Trasero majo." she replied with a grin. Romulus stuck his tongue out. Smartass.

Will had gotten to the crow's nest by then. He threw the coil of rope to Tades and sat down next to Romulus.

"Thankee, lad." She proceeded to tie the rest of the sail down.

She was just tying the last knot when an unpleasant surprise came along.

"JACK SPAAAAAAROW!" a familiar woman's screech echoed across the ship. Tades nearly fell off the pole she was so surprised, catching herself as her legs dangled in the air. Will immediately leapt up to see who was screaming for the pirate captain.

"Bloody hell," muttered Tades, struggling to pull herself up, "it's Giselle."

"Such poetry, sister." Romulus quipped as Tades got to her feet on the pole, quickly running back to the crow's nest and leaned over the rail.

"Gidday, Giselle. Can I help ye with somethin'?" she called down cordially.

"Where is that bloody captain of yours? I've a word to take with that scoundrel…several words in fact." the prostitute was red with anger. Tades sighed.

"Cap'n Jack Sparrow is dead, ma'am. We mutinied against him on our way to Port Royale. The ole man's takin' his meals in Davy Jones' locker now." the pirate lady said with the epitome of seriousness.

Giselle looked a bit saddened, but still quite spiteful. "Is that so?"

Tades shook her head sadly. "Aye. Will's our cap'n now." she gestured to the very confused looking lad.

The prostitute snorted. "He'll need more on 'im than that to be cap'n of the Black Pearl…or any ship."

"That's what I said, too." agreed Tades. Giselle looked ruefully at the black sails, freshly pulled to the poles and the mast.

"Sorry ta bother ye. G'bye, then." she turned on her heel and walked away, skimpy dress fluttering in the wind.

As soon as she was out of sight, the office door opened. Jack's dark-haired head stuck out. He glanced around.

"Thank ye." he said somewhat appreciatively. BANG. The door shut again.

Tades shook her head lividly. "I can't believe that man."

"Aye, but you've known 'im long enough that ye should." Romulus stated, leaning back and propping his feet up on the rail.

Will sat back as well, his knees up to his chest. "How long would that be?"

"Since I was sixteen." she replied as she walked back across the pole to where she had left off.

"By God, sister. How long ago was that?" quipped the Longhshanks bartender.

"Watch it, Romulus…" Tades growled. "Seventeen years." she said, almost mumbling.

"SEVENTEEN YEARS?!" Romulus' voice was high with mock-surprise.

"Rom…u…LUUUUS!" his sister snarled furiously. The very tall man looked mildly afraid.

Tades spoke not another word until she was finished with the sail. She walked back across the pole, cuffed Romulus sharply on the temple, and sat down beside her brother. Romulus winced and rubbed his head.

"Yes, Turner," she said, "I've known Jack Sparrow for a very long time. Too long, really."

"We KNOW yer old, sister, now get on with the story!"

THWACK.

"OW!"

Will cleared his throat as more men began to board the Black Pearl and begin their chores.

"Anyway, he, Gibbs, me, and yer father were on th' original crew o' the Black Pearl…when she was freshly built, and under the command of Cap'n Follighaer." said the pirate lady reminiscently.

"And you were not you." sniggered Romulus.

"My father? And what do you mean?" Will questioned with a start.

"It means," Romulus drawled, "that Tades was not quite a woman back then."
THWACK.

"I did NOT deserve that!"

"Yes ye did!"

Will again looked confused.

"Are you saying she was a man?"

"TURNER!"

"Not exactly…"

Will's eyes widened. "Are you saying...she IS one?"

"Now, that ain't very nice, is it?" Jack's voice came from the deck. "O'course, when yer talkin' about Tades, its easy to mix up things like that…"

Tades' eyes were small flames meant to burn the souls of men like the eternally damning fires o' hell. Romulus shrunk away jokingly.

"Jack, I told you not to employ my sister AGAIN!"

"There was a 'before'? Last time I hired someone named Tades, it was a lad, not a lass." the pirate captain called up as he also began to climb the rigging.

"Watch it, Jack." Tades said through gritted teeth.
"Ah ah ah…" the dark-haired rogue corrected, "its CAPTAIN Jack."

Tades grumbled something explicit. Romulus casually looked about on deck.

"Jack…" he said, his voice edged with awe, "you never told me you had more than one lovely lady on board."

His sister's mouth fell open in surprise. "Are ye actually saying I'm lovely?"

Romulus was pulled back to reality for a moment. "Right. Jack, ye never told me ye had a lovely lady on board!"

Tades rolled her eyes heavenwards. Jack's eyebrow rose suspiciously. Will chuckled.

"Aye, the boy is lovesick. Already." Tades stood up and leaned over the rail. "Hey, ANA!"

The black-skinned lady looked up from where she was going over chains for broken links.

"'Mornin, Tades."

"Gidday, Ana. Have ye the chain ready, yet?"

"Almost."

Tades leaned back. Romulus gave her the glare that she had used on him only moments ago.

"God, Romulus, just ask the lass out fer a drink." Jack offered.

"Oh…I…c-c-c-couldn't do that."

"Romulus." said Tades very seriously, "you own the bloody bar."

"I know, dammit." he said, frustrated.

Will chuckled again. Romulus glared. "Jus' because you gotta girl don' mean anything!" the bartender mused indignantly.

"Oh NO, brother…" sniggered Tades, "he's well on his way ta bein' a father."

"WHAT?"

"Sorry, Romulus," the pirate lady patted her brother on the shoulder, "there's just no hope for ye."

She leaned over and saw Ana was done with the chain. There had been a huge mess of it, and Ana had been coiling it all up. Now it had to go down under deck. . She slid down a rope from the next and down to the deck. She walked over to Ana and was going to help her lift the chain. Ana was a strong woman on her own and had gotten it all into a barrel. Tades was suddenly sprung with an idea.

"Romy-dearest…" she quickly walked back to the mast and called down, "come down here for a moment."

Romulus climbed down begrudgingly. Tades scurried in Anamaria's direction. Ana lifted up the barrel. Or more, she tried. After she got it up, she stepped back and tripped over something.

Romulus reached forward and caught the black lass in his strong arms, barrel and all. Tades grinned.

"Er…lemme help ye with that…" said Romulus blushingly as he set Anamaria back on her feet. He took the barrel form her and began to walk under the deck, Ana following.

"Now where do ye want this?" she heard him say.

Will was laughing up in the crow's nest, Jack was as well. Their whoops of mirth filled in the air.

Tades grinned. She gave a firm salute to the captain.

"I think Romulus' gonna find a girl real soon…" drawled Will.

"Hope she don't trip over my feet no more, though." Tades winked.