[A/N- oh, I love you people! And I loved writing that chapter, too. SapphireAngel, you're allowed to check that often, I do my best to update at least once a day, but unfortunately, I can only upload what I write so often, and work is a damn good deterrent. And Janni-chan, yes. It was on the quiz. I'm jumping ahead a bit in this chapter, but then, I want to keep things interesting, naturally. Here we go!]
Bangale. The port of kings. Alinnya smiled as the wind buffeted her face in the crow's nest. They'd been in other ports in the past four months, around the horn of Africa and looting the gem trade in the southern cape, but home had never smelled so good. Everywhere the redcoats and their merchant ships were coming and going, headed to Beckenburg, and from there, to India. It was a pirate's town, and a marvelous one. She couldn't stop smiling.
"Land ho," she called down to the deck, shortly before they spotted it, as well. She slid down the rigging with practiced ease, angling to land a few feet away from Captain Sparrow, who was eyeing the port warily.
"Will we be welcome here?" he asked, looking at her with a moderate concern.
"Throw up the French colors," she replied, leaning against the railing. "It's a pirate's town, so long as you don't claim alliance to the British."
"Ah," he laughed. "Hold the helm. We should be there by nightfall." As he left for the hold, to fetch the appropriate flags, his hand caught her waist, lingering as he walked away. She smirked, grabbing the helm and holding it at a steady northeast. True, things had remained easygoing and…. Friendly, between them, but Alinnya still had no idea where they stood on the matter. He had told her to deal with her inner demons, and in a way, she had- she had shoved them to the very back of her mind. That could be counted as dealing with them. She got along with him well enough, yes, he was an excellent lover, but…. She still woke some nights terrified that she was back on board the Hawk. Whether he noticed that or not she wasn't sure, and she wasn't about to bring it up. She handed back the helm as Jack climbed the stairs, her eyes still on the horizon.
"Not far from home, is it, love?" he remembered she was from India, but had never asked exactly where. It wasn't a topic she seemed comfortable with.
"It is home," she sighed. "Was. They killed my little brother in the raid. Never heard about my folks." She snorted at the pity she saw in his eyes. "Too afraid to ask. It doesn't matter anymore."
"We can find 'em," he offered, watching her out of the corner of his eye.
"Nah," she brushed it off lightly. "They don't need to know about me. That might be worse."
He nodded quietly, and they remained in that pose, both watching the port they were sailing into with anxious eyes. A military gunner coasted their way, flags flashing in a request to board.
"Accept," she replied to Jack's questioning glance. "This I can handle."
The French officer stepped stiffly onto the boat, staring directly at Alinnya, and snapped something. She replied in a lilting French drawl, and the two conducted the single most confusing conversation Jack had ever watched. He wasn't sure if they were going to start firing on each other or throw themselves in each other's arms. He stayed put, however, trusting his first mate to get them out of the mess. The officer turned stiffly and marched off to his own ship, and Alinnya turned to look at him, nodding her head in a command to go. He pulled the ship into port, considering the grin that had been on her face. It was somewhere near the most bloodthirsty, and the proudest, he'd seen yet.