The rest of the day progressed uneventfully. After tending to her horse, Rae changed into 'proper clothing,' and spent the morning and afternoon tending to Mrs. Mainman's bratty children. She walked home, and briefly watched children rolling hoops in the town square. After entering her house, she realized that she hadn't eaten anything all day. She grabbed a flagon of mead out of her cupboard, as well as a small loaf of barley bread and a piece salted pork. After she had set the table for herself, she grabbed the Canterbury Tales, and read it with her meal. Eating as slowly as possible, Rae savored the silence that reigned. By the end of her meal, it was getting to be dark, so she lit candles for light. She sat down in your regular chair, and opened up her book to read, when she heard the front door open. She got up quickly, and reached for her pistol, when she heard a voice.
"Luv, it's just me." Jack's voice, to be more specific.
"Jack," she whispered, slightly upset that he should give her such a scare, "What in blazes are you doing here?"
"Tisk, tisk, Rae. A lass like you shouldn't be using such language."
"Captain Sparrow, you still haven't answered my question."
"Oh, Captain now, is it? Just a moment ago I was just Jack. . ."
"You caught me off guard, okay?"
"Hmm." He fingered several books on your bookshelf, inspecting the names. "Guess I should catch you off guard more often, eh?"
"Captain, why are you here? I mean, in my house?"
"Oh, yes, that." He put down Paradise Lost, and finally gave her a direct answer. "I actually need a place to stay," he paused, "just for tonight, of course."
"Why?" It was more of a demand than a question.
"I got in a slight brawl with a man at the tavern tonight, and the keeper threw me out. It just so happens that his brother owns the local inn, so I was banned from there as well. Please?" His eyes widened.
She had always had problems saying 'no' to just about everyone.
"Okay, but you must stay in the cellar. There is an extra feather mattress down there, and several blankets. And you have to leave early tomorrow morning so no one thinks. . ."
"That we're together?"
"Exactly," she said, and motioned for Jack to go downstairs. He walked over to the cellar door, opened it, and peeked down.
"I'm going to be so awfully lonely down there, Rae. . ."
"No, Mister Sparrow. Go, now please."
"Alright, luv, but if you get scared you know where to find me," he said with a smirk.
As he shut the door behind him, she smiled in spite of herself. But she wouldn't be smiling tomorrow when she would see the mess Captain Jack Sparrow had caused.
Rae awoke early the next morning. "Perfect," she thought, "I can still get rid of Jack before anyone can see him." She got dressed and went towards the door of the cellar. As she swung it open, she wrinkled her nose. The stench of the room was familiar… alcohol maybe? Braving what she might find downstairs, she grabbed a candle and started down the stairs. Somehow, what she found didn't really surprise her. One Jack Sparrow, sleeping in a chair, with several liquor bottles littered around the room. …She stopped when she suddenly realized where he had gotten the drinks from. They were the ones her father left downstairs as a "house warming" present. And she was just sure that Jack drank every single last one. For some reason though, she wasn't very mad at all. She shook Jack with one hand, and held the candle up with the other. "Jack, wake up," she whispered.
He stirred, opened one eye, said, "Too bright," and promptly blew out the candle. The room was completely dark. Rae stared at her hand dumbfounded, but Jack couldn't see this due to the lack of light.
Rae groaned. "Now I can't see a bloody thing. Jack, are you at least awake now?"
"Yeah." She could hear him getting up and brushing himself off. "Sorry about that, but yeh just can't go waving light about in my face in the morning."
"Oh, pardon me, your highness," Rae sarcastically shot back. "I should have just come tripping down the stairs in the dark looking for you. Any other requests next time?"
He laughed. "You could do with a little more to drink, and a little softer floor."
Now Rae was starting to get a little mad. How could he come in here, use her house to sleep in, drink all of her liquor, and then make a joke about it? "That's it, Sparrow. Get out. Now." Rae blindly made her way to the staircase. "And don't ever come back." Jack silently followed her up the staircase and into the kitchen. The sun had started rising.
"Right then," he licked his dry lips, "We'll just sort this all out later, eh?" He put the hat back on his head, and left out the back door, leaving Rae slightly mad, and ready to go to work.
A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed: Flute Damio, CptAlbertWesker,fairy pwincess, Thousand Faces, Gunpowder McGrady, Spot's Girl, Clueless-Patty, Kaylakoo, DugaDugabowbow, and missjackiesparrow.
Flute Damio: Thank you, and sorry this one took so long...
CptAlbertWesker: Yeah, I was upset a little about Tavern Girl, but I knew a lot of other "you" stories that were really Mary Sue, even if mine wasn't.
fairy pwincess: Hope you like this one!
Thousand Faces: Merci beaucoup!
Gunpowder McGrady, Spot's Girl: (I do hope I typed your name right) Thank you as well!
Clueless-Patty: Here's the next one... hope you like it.
Kaylakoo: Actually, she's not in Port Royal or Tortuga, I wanted to keep my options open for the setting. Plus, I didn't want to pick Tortuga since there are so many fics that already are set there. Oh, could you give me the address for this mediaminer thing?
DugaDugabowbow: Thanks, I try to at least write semi-smoothly!
missjackiesparrow: You don't realize how much this means to me... I have trouble trying Jack to sound and act "Jackish," so it's nice to hear that I'm succeeding at least a little. Every once in a while I think of something witty that he would say... I liked that line too. :)
And sorry this one took so long to get up... I've had it written for quite a while, but last time I tried to put it up the server was down.Once again, thanks for all who reviewed!
Laraelaie Black