Chapter 2: Inside Jack's Cabin, Lunch With the Turners, Homeward Bound
Author's Note: I realize that I failed to mention my other story, "POTC 2kinda" in my last note. I've been having a bit of writer's block, tons of schoolwork and now that it's getting close to the holidays, I've decided to put it on hold for a little while. I promise to get back to it and post the next chapter ASAP! Hopefully not too many people hate me! Also, my phone lines have been down, so I've had NO INTERNET for quite a while, which is another reason why I haven't been posting here. But all of that is fixed now, so I hope you enjoy this story and "POTC 2kinda" when I update again! I'll put an update on my profile when I do finally update that story again, so check there! Well, that's all for now! On with the story! Depp's Girl
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Rae made her way down to her uncle's cabin upon realizing he wasn't up on deck. She knocked gently on the closed cherry wood French doors and waited.
"It's open!" came the call from within. Rae slowly opened one of the doors and stepped inside the cabin. It spanned the entire width of the ship and was beautifully decorated in scarlet and gold. All of the wood in the room was cherry wood like the doors, and all of the cushions on the chairs and couches were scarlet velvet with gold trim. Jack's king-size four-poster bed was made of cherry wood and had beautiful scarlet velvet curtains with gold trim and his pillows matched the curtains. The blankets and comforter were all scarlet and the bed was nicely made. In front of Rae was the area that was the equivalent of a living room. Chaise lounges and armchairs were arranged in a half-circle with a beautiful cherry wood coffee table in the middle and a wonderful black marble fireplace in the center of the wall. Underfoot was an enormous scarlet and gold Persian rug that covered the entire floor except in the kitchenette. There, the cherry wood floor was left bare. The entire cabin was lit with scented candles that smelled of the sea and with a gorgeous fire crackling in the fireplace. Sitting in the left corner of the room was a cherry wood desk with a high back chair where a silhouette sat and was writing. Rae slowly made her way over to the silhouette. She cleared her throat about a foot away from Jack's shoulder and he turned and met her eyes with his.
"Get everythin'?" he asked.
"Aye, an' I ran into 'Lizabeth an' Sadie in town." Rae replied. "I invited 'em fer lunch at noon."
"Ye know we're leavin' at noon, right?" Jack asked.
"We were leavin' at noon. We're 'avin' lunch at noon with the Turners now." Rae replied. "All three of 'em." Jack considered the situation his young niece had just put him in and realized that it would be bad form to just up and leave at noon when they were expecting guests. He nodded and Rae left him to his work. On her way back to the main deck, Rae stopped in her cabin. She removed her sword-belt and pistol from her waist and set them down on her sandalwood coffee table. Her uncle had bought the beautiful table in India and gave it to Rae as a birthday present two years earlier. Rae ran one hand over the wonderfully scented wood, inhaling its sweet smell as she did. She then walked over to one of her windows and threw it open, allowing the warm, salty sea breeze to enter and circulate throughout her room. Leaving the window open, Rae turned on her boot heel, went to the door and left. She climbed the stairs that were at the end of the corridor and walked up and out onto the main deck of the ship. Jack's crew was hard at work doing chores, so Rae grabbed the nearest bucket filled with soapy water, a hard brush and set off for the bow. She hopped gracefully up onto the bowspar that jutted out over the sea, walked out over the crystal-clear Caribbean Sea a few feet, slid down onto a wooden plank suspended in midair by two ropes forming a swing, and began to clean the Pearl's figurehead.
After the task was complete, Rae dumped the water into the sea below her, climbed up onto the bowspar and walked back over to the main deck. Rae looked at the sundial on the deck and saw that it was 11:55am. She walked quickly over to the starboard railing, lowered one of the longboats, hopped in and rowed toward shore to pick up the Turners.
Five minutes later, Rae could see three figures standing on the dock. She rowed the last few yards and then coasted to the edge of the dock. She tied the boat off quickly and looked up.
"Good afternoon, Rae." Elizabeth said, smiling.
"Afternoon Mrs. Turner." Rae replied, being as respectful as she could and returning the smile. "Mr. Turner. Miss Turner." She smiled to Will and Sadie in turn.
"Shall we?" Rae said. She extended one tanned and calloused hand up to assist the Turners into the longboat. Sadie got in first, followed by Elizabeth, and finally Will. Rae untied the boat, took to the oars, and with deep, powerful strokes, rowed the longboat back to the Black Pearl. When the boat pulled up alongside the massive ship, Rae noticed that the rope ladder she had used earlier had been pulled up.
"AHOY THERE!" Rae called out.
"Ahoy! What ho?" Jack's voice yelled in response somewhere above their heads on deck. (author: meaning Hello. Who's there? )
"It's Rae! Lower us a ladder!" Rae called back. There was the sound of feet moving quickly across the wood of the main deck, then a rope ladder flew down.
"Thank you!" Rae yelled. She held the ladder steady while the Turners ascended and climbed up and over the railing. Once everyone was up and out of sight, Rae climbed the ladder herself. Anamaria was waiting to pull the longboat up and out of the water, so Rae climbed as quickly as she could. She pulled herself up onto the starboard railing by grabbing a nearby ratline for balance. Kaei jogged over to her friend, who jumped down from the railing as she approached.
"Sadie sure is 'appy t' be 'ere." Kaei noted.
"It's 'er first time on a pirate ship." Rae reminded her best friend. Kaei nodded and the two pirates made their way over to the Turners and Jack. The group talked about this and that until Anamaria announced that lunch was being served in Jack's cabin. The three pirates and the Turners followed Anamaria below deck and down the long corridor to the ship's stern and Jack's cabin. When the two French doors were opened, the heavenly aroma of seafood met everyone's nose. Everyone moved inside and around the large cherry wood dining table where a cornucopia of food lay waiting. There was lobster, blue crab, flounder, Caesar salad, corn bread, fried oysters, shrimp scampi, grilled shrimp; a fruit plate that consisted of oranges, pineapple, apples, grapes, kiwi, star fruit, bananas, mangoes, cherries, strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and raspberries, along with three different kinds of wine and two kinds of rum. Everyone stared at the feast in shock. "Oh my god." Jack, Kaei and Rae said together, jaws hitting the floor.
"Ana. How long did this take t' fix?" Rae asked when she found her voice, still in shock.
"Well, when I first found out from Kaei that the Turners were comin' fer lunch, I set t' work immediately an' 'ave been workin' ever since." Anamaria replied casually. The group sat down in silence and then began passing the food around. Throughout the meal, there was no shortage of compliments to Anamaria.
"Ana." Rae said, swallowing a bite of lobster. "This food is incredible." Jack had asked Anamaria to stay and eat with them and she had accepted his invitation.
"Thanks love." Ana replied, blushing. No one had ever complimented her cooking so much. She had gotten a few compliments here and there, but not compliments every twenty seconds. Everyone ate and talked for two whole hours. Then, when everyone was finally done, the Turners said that they had to be getting back to Port Royal.
"Sadie has a piano lesson at 2:30 and it's already 2:00 now." Elizabeth explained as she noted the sun's position in the sky outside of one of the enormous windows in Jack's cabin. Jack offered to row them back to shore and the group made their way out of Jack's cabin and up to the main deck, leaving Ana and Gibbs, who had come down, to clear the dishes from the table and get them back to the galley. Rae and Kaei followed right behind Sadie as they made their way up to the main deck. Once outside, the Turners began to say their good-byes.
"When will I see you guys again?" Sadie asked Rae and Kaei.
"Dunno, lass." Kaei replied. "I honestly dunno." Sadie had really enjoyed being on a real pirate ship with her friends and was heartbroken that they were going to be leaving. They only docked in Port Royal a few times a year when they were returning to Tortuga from one of their adventures at sea. What Sadie loved more than anything when Rae and Kaei visited were the stories that they had to tell about far-off lands and ships they had encountered and mountains of gold and other riches. Sadie had been born and raised in Port Royal and had never left the town in her life. Rae and Kaei always managed to bring each member of the Turner family something from their adventures at sea, but every time they left, there was no guarantee they'd return. The life of a pirate was highly dangerous and Sadie never knew if when her friends left if it would be the last time she saw them. Rae and Kaei both hugged Sadie and watched from the main deck as Jack rowed the family back to Port Royal. Before Sadie had gotten on the boat, Rae gave her a gold bracelet with emeralds and diamonds on it. Sadie clasped it on her wrist and vowed never to take it off. Rae smiled and hugged her once more. Now, the two pirates watched as their friend returned home and began to think about Tortuga, only two days away.
"How d'ye think Twister's doin'?" Kaei asked Rae.
"Oh, I bet he's missin me." Rae replied. Twister was Rae's 4 year-old black Hanoverian gelding who's show name was Nightfall Twister. Jack would sometimes sail up to England and Rae would bring Raven along and they would enter horse shows while they were there, giving Rae a chance to compete. She competed under the name Leslie Romano so no one ever knew she was a pirate. Leslie Romano was actually the name of her neighbor in Tortuga who exercised and took care of Twister when Rae was gone. Since Leslie didn't compete herself, she didn't mind that Rae used her name in competitions.
When Jack finally returned, he went directly to the helm and began barking out orders.
"Weigh anchor! Hoist the sails! We make fer Tortuga!" Jack's crew scrambled into action and rushed about to carry out the orders. Rae climbed into the rigging to help hoist the sails. Because everyone on the Pearl worked as a team, everything got done in half the time it usually took to carry out orders. Rae loved nothing more than to be working alongside her uncle's crew high above the ocean.
When the Pearl began to pull out to sea, Jack's crew that had been in the rigging returned to the deck. Rae, however, climbed higher into the rigging until she was on the Main Royal Yard spar. She sat down on the spar and leaned back against the main mast and looked out to sea.
About ten minutes later, Kaei made her way up to Rae. She moved onto the Main Royal Yard spar on the left side of the main mast while Rae sat on the right. Both girls loved being in the Main Royal Yard and were the only members of Jack's crew, besides Jack himself, who weren't scared to death of the incredible height. With the Main Royal Yard being the highest point on a ship, it always towered over everything else. There was no platform to stand on like the crow's nest, only the spar. Both Rae and Kaei strung up hammocks to the underside of the spar and would nap up there in good weather. Now, both pirates sat with their backs against the main mast and their ankles crossed underneath the spar for balance.
Twenty minutes of silence passed, then Kaei heard someone coming up the ratlines. Kaei turned her head, although she already knew who it was, and came nose-to-nose with Jack.
"Hey Jack." Kaei said.
" 'ello Kaei." Jack replied. Upon hearing her uncle's voice, Rae turned her head and met Jack's eyes with her own.
"Hey Jack." Rae said, smiling. Jack returned the smile and greeting. He then grabbed a rope above Rae's head and stepped up beside Rae onto the spar. Standing with his feet at shoulder width and keeping his left hand holding the rope, Jack stood proud and tall as his eyes swept the Caribbean Sea far below.
"What d'ye see?" Rae asked.
"Calm seas and a fast journey home." Jack replied wisely. Rae smiled. It wasn't the answer she was looking for, but Jack always answered her questions like that. Rae grabbed the rope herself and rose to her feet. She stood an inch shorter than her uncle, who stood at 5'10". Rae put her arm around Jack's waist as her eyes swept the horizon. They would be arriving at home the next day and Rae couldn't wait to see her beautiful horse Twister again. She also couldn't wait to see her neighbor, Leslie. Leslie sailed under Jack whenever she was looking for a good excuse to escape her father. He was usually a good man, but he had a bad habit of getting drunk and then abusing Leslie. If Jack and Rae were home and her father got rough, Leslie would just go over to their house and stay there until her father calmed down and sobered up. But if Jack and Rae were out at sea, she had to deal with her father. The Black Pearl had been gone for a year and Rae hoped that Leslie was alright.
As the sun began to set in the West, Jack, Rae and Kaei made their way down to the deck. Both Rae and Kaei made their way to the galley while Jack returned to the helm. After a quick bite, Rae said good-night to Kaei and retired to her cabin. She went into her bathroom and hopped into the shower, letting the warm water relax her tired body. After a twenty minute shower, she stepped out, dried off, wrapped her towel around her, went into her room, pulled on her mother's sky blue silk nightgown and climbed into her water bed where she promptly fell asleep.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Author's Note: Please R&R! Thanx! -Depp's Girl