WAH! Sorry all! This is Heerosangel2002's official typist and I've been a bit slack in my work recently! Sorry to all who suffered because of this! So to attempt to make up for the inexcusable amount of time it took me to type this, I've posted up 2 chapters at once! I do hope you like, please don't start sending hate mail to Heerosangel2002, t'was my fault entirely! bows in apology Well onwards with the story! We have quite a few nail-biting moments in here!
Sorry, all reviews will be replied to in the next chapter I promise!
Disclaimer: Heerosangel2002 does NOT own POTC or Jack wails of protest in background so there. :P
Trust
Grace slowly helped her brother into a chair and silently cut the ropes round his hands. Five years. She had not seen Tom for five whole years. So many nights she had wondered about him, dreamed of what he might be doing during those long, trudging days she had endured back home. And now, at the time that she had not wanted, had not needed to see him, he was here. As if by magic.
Once he was free, Tom enveloped her in a hug so tight Grace lost her breath. He whispered her name softly. The next moment he had her by the shoulders and asked quickly, "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"
"No Tom, I'm fine." Grace replied calmingly, fearing her brothers temper.
"Oh thank god." he hugged her again, with less desperation than before.
"Oh Grace, I feared they had done something terrible to you." said Tom slowly, relief in his voice and eyes. He brushed her dark hair out of her eyes as he looked at her, taking in every detail of her inherently familiar face. They smiled hesitantly, it had been so long…
Suddenly, Tom's grip on her hair tightened painfully. "The captain, Sparrow, he didn't make you, he didn't force you to.."
Grace rolled her eyes angrily. "No Tom," she spat, storming off to the other side of the room. "I am still just as 'pure' as the day you left."
Tom breathed a sigh and leant back in his chair, eyes closed. Grace eviled Tom, old resentment coursing through her. That was just like him, he always expected her to be the poor helpless, 'subservient' little sister. That was her place and God did he make sure she knew it! She was supposed to sit dutifully at home and work like a dog while he got to go off and 'live'! He didn't know her at all!
It suddenly struck her that 'the captain, Sparrow' knew her better than Tom ever would. From what she had learned of Jack and his prior treatment of her, she was certain that he would never treat her like Tom had, had Jack felt for her half of what Tom was supposed to feel for her. As long as it was a reasonable request and did not interfere with the running of 'the Pearl', he would grant her almost anything.
It was as she was thinking these thoughts that Tom broke in. "So what have you been doing here? I doubt Sparrow would simply let you languish in the brig. And how did you get those clothes? God, did the man have to humiliate you as well?"
Grace looked down at herself incredulously. Just because she was not in a skirt and apron for once did not mean she was humiliated! And as for the former question…
"I was working." she muttered, frowning as she sat in Jack's chair.
"As a slave?" cried Tom in horror. Grace remained silent, brooding that as a 'slave' she had enjoyed herself more than she had ever had.
"Oh my dear, why were you ever so stupid as to go to that cave in the first place? Weren't you supposed to be working?"
The minute those self-important, superior words hit Grace's ears the world exploded in red.
"Yes Tom, I was supposed to be working , like I had for days on end. Doing the same bloody thing day after day, month after month, year after year!" She yelled, hate steaming off of her. "But you wouldn't know about that would you Tom? No, you're free, you've never known drudgery or what it's like to live without hope!" There were tears in her eyes now as she screamed, Tom sat silent, pale and wane.
"So yes, I had a break, I went down to that cave and I got myself kidnapped all right? But you know what? I don't regret it! Not a bit! Because if I had stayed in that Godforsaken place any longer I would have killed myself!" she screeched, on her feet and choking on her tears. She collapsed back into Jack's chair, trembling. Tom gazed at her, never had she shown so much emotion as in that tirade. It was Jack Sparrow's doing, he had made her like this, it was his fault!
"Do not worry Grace, we will talk about this all later, right now we have to focus on escaping from this wreck of a ship and capturing that poor excuse of a captain."
Grace still catching her breath, was confused by this speech (and somewhat annoyed that he was still ignoring her feelings.)
"Tom, exactly how do you plan to capture Jack Sparrow? You are on his ship, surrounded by his crew, and from what I recall of your fighting skills, Jack could beat you with a sword in about 2 minutes flat."
"Ah don't worry about that sister. Mister Sparrow will soon learn that His Majesty's navy are not to be trifled with."
Tom smiled triumphantly. Grace, though she had faith in Jack, was filled with foreboding.
The night passed. Near the end, Jack suddenly woke up to a pounding headache. He blearily looked at the table and the innumerable quantities of empty rum bottles. Jack tried to get up, staggered and sat down again (well more like fell.). Groaning, he tried to remember last night but, no, mind could only recall rum, vast amounts of rum. The truth of it was that after the incident with Grace (Oh yeah, and her brother) Jack had gone on an all night bender and had got so drunk he was almost sober, for him that is. But now the hangover had kicked in. Jack decided to sleep, lots of sleep…
While an inebriated Jack fell back into unconsciousness, a single black shadow slowly crept up on the Black Pearl. Slinking silently alongside the ship, 'The Comorant' made ready to capture its prey. Sneakily, softly he sailors glided onboard and waited for the order to swarm on the sleeping pirates.
"Attack!"
In an instant the enemy had infested the lower decks, shaking the startled crew awake and quickly overpowered them. The door to the Captain's cabin was kicked in, and a suddenly ultra-alert Jack was dragged out and trussed up, not without him knocking out a few men along the way. It was complete chaos. There, in the darkness, the Black Pearl was falling.
"Remember, all prisoners are to be taken alive do you hear? Alive!"
Grace shot up in bed, her ears rang with the screams and the clash of swords around her. She jumped out of her hammock and dashed over to Tom. Her heart was pounding.
"Tom? Tom! Wake up for God's sake!"
Someone beat hard on the door. Oh god they were coming, whoever they were.
"Tom wake up!"
With ragged breath she sent a rapid prayer that the crew, and the captain, were safe. The beats were getting louder.
"Tom, Please!"
CRASH!
The door was down. Grace whipped round in a cold sweat, panic in her eyes. Sailors piled into the room, grave and menacing. Behind her, Tom yawned himself awake and looked up disinterest at the new men.
"Is the ship taken?" he asked carelessly.
"Yes, sir." came the reply.
Grace's head turned around so fast her neck nearly snapped. Her brother's men? But how? He had been here all night long. She stared at him incredulously as he calmly took her hand, his bonds cut by another of his 'men'. He led her up onto the deck, just as the first rays of dawn bathed it in a golden glow. The Pearl had perhaps never seen a sadder dawn than that, its crew silent and huddled together, its beloved captain tied and gagged, on his knees in front of this triumphant newcomer. Thomas strolled up to Jack, smirking as he did so, each step deliberate. Grace threw away his hand and slunk back, eyes fixed upon the showdown. The men did not bother with her; she was not important. They all could taste the tension in the air.
"Well, Jack Sparrow, it would seem we meet again," Tom clipped, feet together in front of him, hands behind his back, "Though in rather more pleasant circumstances."
It was a good thing that Jack had already been gagged or he would have had a smart reply for that particular remark.
"Jack Sparrow, you are charged with breaking practically every law of His majesty's government." continued Tom sternly, his face solemn. "How do you plead?"
Jack tried to reply to this somewhat vital question but being as he was, bound and gagged, it was impossible to understand. Then suddenly the officer's frown vanished to be replaced with a pleasant countenance that was infinitely more frightening.
"May I?" he asked quietly, reaching out and sliding Jack's sword from its sheath. Ignoring the outrage in Jack's eyes, Tom began to examine the blade closely, balancing it on two fingers and throwing it up in the air. He caught it and held it up to the sunlight for inspection.
"Stolen, no doubt."
Jack watched with increasing fury as Tom manhandled his sword. It was not just that Jack did not like other people touching his things (particularly stuck up bastards) but the sword was not stolen at all. Will Turner had forged it for him, as the good naval captain would have guessed, if he had noticed the black enamel sparrow set in the handle.
Tom studied the sword a moment longer, then brought it in a swooping, gleaming arc to within a hair's breadth of Jack's throat. Tom's face was suddenly contorted with hate and revulsion. Tom hated pirates, he loathed them, he could barely sleep at night knowing that they breathed the same air as he did. Most of the time he could keep his disgust under control, but this time, this kidnapping, it reminded Tom all too much of what his father had done to his mother, from which his hatred ultimately stemmed. There was a hint of insanity in the way the sword trembled nearer to Jack's skin.
"Shall I execute you with your own sword?" whispered Tom eagerly, eyes flashing. Grace gazed at the pair in horror. She had had suspicions of Tom's obsession before, when they were younger, but never had she seen it in such force. What could she do? Who knows what Tom would do if she tried to stop him, yet he couldn't, couldn't kill Jack…
"No." said Tom softly, "That would be too cruel." Tom slowly slid the sword back into its sheath. Then in a flash, he had grabbed a gun from one of the nearby men and had it pointed at Jack's head. Jack's eyes went wide. Then, inspiration hit Grace.
"Tom you can't kill him. Its not legal - all pirates have to be hanged otherwise its murder…"
Tom turned and looked at her stunned. How could she be stickling up for this ruffian? He was a pirate and as such he deserved to be dead. What was she doing?
Tom's eyes narrowed. There was something in his sister's eyes he had never seen before, something almost… tender? Tom's jaw went slack. Could it be, she actually cared for this, this filth? Then, suddenly, an idea occurred to him, something that could cure Grace of this unspeakable affection. She had told him late last night about a promise Jack had made her. He had been half-asleep and not really listening, (even though he had been the one that had grilled her in the first place) but now that fact could come in very useful.
Turning (smirking) back to Jack he said clearly, "Before my ship and I were captured by your men Mister Sparrow, we came upon a ship that had been attacked by pirates. It would have had to have been recent and nearby…" Grace's eyebrows furrowed. What was her brother talking about? Jack watched his every move, worry blooming in is heart.
"Of course, I'm being kind to call it a ship. It was a ghost ship. All the treasures and valuables taken and all the crew, every one, hideously slaughtered."
In a moment, Grace had realised it all. She stared in pain at Jack, barely breathing. He had betrayed her. He was just like all the others… He didn't care about her at all. He had been mocking her…. As the tears spilled over her eyelids she turned away. She would not give him the satisfaction. Jack gazed at her in agony, his heart breaking to see her so. He tried to say something but the gag silenced his pleas of innocence. The men stood by this heartfelt scene, they had never seen such a ship, knew that the captain had lied through his teeth but knew better than to question anything. Tom watched Grace weep in triumph, soon that grief would turn to rage, which was right and proper. He cocked the pistol.
"Now if there are no interruptions…" he continued smoothly, aiming the pistol at the centre of Jack's forehead. Jack glared at him, with anger such as he had not felt since Barbossa. A deep murderous wrath was burning within him, not for just the slander on him and his crew, but for the fact that he had just ruined Jack's chances with perhaps the one girl who could ever have meant something to him.
"And so Sparrow, you die."
'And I will haunt you until you do.' Thought Jack grimly.
Tom went to pull the trigger, and Grace, hurt as she was, heard a voice telling her that above all, she could not let Jack die. And Grace felt strangely compelled to obey (her heart would not allow her to do otherwise.).
All of a sudden, things happened very fast. Grace ran and slammed into Tom just as he pulled the trigger. The bullet was shot up into the air and severed the main rope that held the boom in place. Instantly the boom swung low across the deck. Nearly all the experienced sailors i.e. everyone, hit the deck immediately, however, Grace, blinded by tears and not nearly so experienced as the others, stood right in its path. The boom hit her right between the eyes and sent her flying, clean off the ship.
"NO!" Yelled Tom and Jack (Albeit muffled in Jack's case.)
The two of them jumped up. Tom started to bark orders at his men, lowering ropes and boats, anything to save his sister. Jack, on the other hand, did not bother with such things. He snatched a knife from an unsuspecting officer beside him and slit his bonds. Before anyone could grab him he had rushed to the side of the ship, ripping off his jacket, belt and gag as he did so. He promptly jumped up and did his infamous dive off the ship. He dived down, deeper and deeper….
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