AN (2/13): It is Single's Awareness Day tomorrow. Such a silly holiday, really. Invented by companies to make us spend money and feel guilty and alone...
And Johnny didn't win at the BAFTA's. Bah.
One More Day: Chapter 6
"You obviously know more than meetz ze eye," Leroy commented, grunting slightly as I managed to kick him. I was right next to his cabin, backed into a corner because of my own stupidity. I felt like a trapped cat lashing out with any venom left inside me. It wouldn't be long now, until I'd lose. This man was too good. Too good looking...too talented...too superior to me. I felt like a fool for attacking his ship. This man...well, he could actually humble me. Isn't that amazing? What I wouldn't give to have Will's raw talent with the sword...
"Merci, Captain." His name really suited him. Leroy, when translated, means the king. Obviously he was the king of the sea. A compliment I hoped never to give someone again in my mind, if I managed to survive. At least I hadn't said it out loud.
He seemed amused by my French. Why? It didn't dawn on me that I probably sounded like a lot of men he'd killed thus far. I was obviously pretending to know how to speak French to get on his good side. What was it with French people, anyway? And why was that man shipping silks to England? He obviously wasn't a very loyal Frenchman. "Not enough, though. I'm sorry, Captain Sparrow...you'll 'ave to meet your maker tonight."
Bloody cocky captain! That stupid whelp planned on killing me! Didn't I get a say in any of this? Frowning, I lashed out at him with my cutlass. What did I care about good form? All I wanted to was to get away...get out of this corner before some boogeyman swallowed me up to the pits of Hell. There was no way I'd ever make it to what the religious people called Heaven...I swore, drank, lusted after women, and had broken just about every commandment at least five times. I was a doomed soul, for sure.
"Cap'n!" That was definitely Anamaria's voice I could hear above the rushing of the blood in my ears. Great, just great...I was being distracted by her. Fortunately for me, however, Leroy's attack lessened as he paused to investigate the sound of the obviously feminine voice.
"Wha'?" I chanced to look over at her, for a brief instance. She seemed perfectly fine; she'd moved onto the next foe aboard the ship. I turned my attention back to the tall, lithe captain. "Busy!" Obviously. I just wanted to make sure she'd realize why I was ignoring her.
Leroy glanced back at me, an arched eyebrow as he undoubtedly thought about what Ana would look like with her clothes off...blast, this gentleman had a rather naughty mind, didn't he? I'd never...well, recently, at least...pictured Ana without any clothes on at all. She wasn't the type looking for love, after all. Bloody idiot. "Fine specimen of a woman," he commented with a lecherous smile. "I believe I shall get to know 'er better, once you are deed."
"Well, Captain, I 'ave no intention of ever being 'deed', thank you very much." That accent was getting very annoying. I almost wanted to swear at him in French...or prove that I could speak French as well as he could. Unfortunately, my concentration waned as I heard Anamaria again. Leroy managed to slash me across the other cheek. I'd have some interesting scars, if I survived.
"Cap'n!" she shouted again, drawing his attention once more. This time she was pointing towards the bridge as she blocked blows from the bloke trying to bludgeon her with a very dull sword.
I frowned and glanced up to the bridge. It was best to do what she wanted me to do before she got angry. I didn't want to make her angry, because when she was angry, she enjoyed slapping me really hard. Of course, when I saw what she'd been trying to inform me of...goodness, rage filled my whole body. My bonny lass was busy trying to keep a man from raping her, in broad daylight. That bloody fink! How dare he lay a hand on her! "Luv!" I'm sure that my eyes resembled charcoal about to erupt into flames as I glanced back at Leroy. My life didn't matter, anymore. I had to save her.
Leroy cringed as I drove my cutlass into his fine clothes just beneath his rib cage and out the other end. He'd been skewered by my blade...it was amazing what I could do, when I was angry. Good thing I wasn't angry very often, eh? I pulled the blade out of his staggering body before it could hit the decks of his ship and rushed up the stairs to the bridge, ignoring the blood on the sword and deck completely. Apparently I'd just made myself king of the sea, eh?
"Let her go!" I shouted as the man with wiry brown hair and lurpy arms and legs tried forcing her rather short skirts up. How could I have been so selfish that I'd forgotten completely about her? Obviously she didn't quite know how to handle herself yet, with a sword, because I was always subconsciously gentle with her. I didn't want to accidentally scar her beautiful face, after all. Acne had done that enough already. Of course, acne scars were much better than smallpox scars. I'd seen some women with so many scars on their faces that no amount of make up would ever properly hide it...those were the ones I pitied. And the ones Gibbs usually went for.
"Oh...isn' tha' touchin'?" The man replied, a disgusting glaze to his hazel eyes as he kissed her soft cheek forcefully. Thankfully, I had arrived in enough time...he hadn't done the dreadful deed, yet. "The father's 'ere t' protect the girl's virtue!"
"Well, mate, tha's where you're dead wrong," I said, pulling out my pistol and cocking it. "I'm not 'er father." Without so much as a warning, I pulled the trigger. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him fall back and hit the deck moments after flecks of his brain did. Well, I didn't have to worry about him anymore, eh? I rushed to her side and gently touched her hand. "Are you all right?" She looked torn between terror and gratitude. The man had cut her up a bit, with his sword. He'd given her a very deep cut on the side...the blood...oh, goodness, seeing her blood seep out was enough to make me dizzy. I never could handle seeing people I admired and loved in pain.
"I'm...shaken up," she replied honestly. A large grin broke across her divine face. "You rescued me," she said softly, slowly sitting up. Obviously I had been the knight in white armor girls dream about, eh? Disgusting...yet, I don't think I could've forgiven myself if she'd been marred that way. It would have been completely my fault, after all. Why did I think it was a good idea to bring her aboard the Pearl?
"Don' move," I said with a slight frown. "Ye need t' see a surgeon." Well, either that, or I could bandage those nasty gashes. Of course, I was having a hard time seeing anything properly because of her blood on the deck of this stupid flute...I couldn't concentrate long enough to bandage her if I wanted to. My own cuts and gashes and wounds were completely forgotten as I glanced down at her anxiously. Why did she have to be hurt? And...why had I forgotten to keep an eye on her?
"Don't be silly," she chided gently, reaching over to trace the cut on my cheek. Her lower lip was trembling slightly...I couldn't decide if that was because she was getting over her intense fear of being raped or if she was cold or if she was about to cry. Women...well, they're much more complicated than anything else I've ever come across in my lucrative career. Someone needed to write a book or something explaining how to interpret their moods. "You're hurt worse than I am."
I frowned slightly and shook my head. "Tis only a scratch, luv. Now, don' you be all noble on me an' claim you're not in a great deal o' pain...I've been sliced an' nearly killed for many moons now, an' I know how t' handle pain. Whereas you...well, you've probably ne'er been hurt before."
"Well, once I cut my finger with a knife," she replied with a teasing sort of smile. How could she be so calm and so on edge all at the same time? "Of course, Mom had me get stitches. And I had anesthesia, so I couldn't feel a thing. I don't think I'll be so lucky now. Do I have t' get drunk, in order for people to operate on me?"
Well, anesthesia sounded very nice indeed. Why didn't we have such a marvelous invention? Rum...yes, it was used to dull the pain. But it only dulled it. I hated going to the surgeon because it was often more painful for them to fix me up than it was for me to get broken in the first place. Funny how the world works, isn't it? "Well, you can," I replied with a slight grin as I gently picked her up. "But I ne'er do. I usually let meself go unconscious."
She laughed softly and shook her head, wincing. "Doesn' surprise me," she gasped softly. Was I hurting her, in my arms? Why was it suddenly so quiet? Had it always been this quiet? Was I imagining things? I really didn't know. All I wanted to do was get her to safety. The fact that I'd brutally murdered two men hadn't even registered in my mind.
"Cap'n?" Anamaria asked lightly. The fighting was over now that the captain was dead. The rest were just a bunch of cowards. I could almost detect fear in Anamaria's voice. I never reacted so harshly to people. Never ever. I killed people only if I had to. Bloodshed...well, it lead to all sorts of problems later in life, so I generally tried avoiding it.
Sighing, I turned to face the woman. My crew were all staring up at me, as though I had some sort of embarrassing problem. Perhaps my face had turned into stone or something...I really didn't know why they were so fascinated. "Anamaria...I'm goin' t' put you in charge of divvying up the treasure." I glanced down at the lass in my arms. She seemed to be having a hard time staying awake, suddenly. Definitely in shock. "She needs medical attention."
The crew all nodded to themselves. Well, that would explain my rash actions, wouldn't it? Goodness, I had fallen for this angel in my arms, hadn't I? It was disgusting. I was a pirate, a scallywag, and I didn't even want to see what sort of swag was in the hold of this flute? I really needed (but didn't want to) straighten out my priorities.
"I'm finished, Cap'n," Pork said as he stepped out of my cabin. I'd been pacing the length of the Pearl for what seemed like an eternity, after I'd bandaged my cuts myself. Pork wasn't the surgeon's actual name...no, his real name was Paul. I didn't know why we called him Pork, for he was quite tall and lurpy...but Pork was his nickname. Perhaps it was from some sort of childish game...
"She all righ'?" I asked, hoping my worry wasn't too obvious. I didn't want the crew to know how obsessed I was with her well being. That would be...well, not pirate-y. Even though I felt as though my heart would burst if she didn't get better, I knew I couldn't handle another mutiny. Being on that island...well, it was amazing I'd left that island with the little amount of sanity I still have.
"She's fine," Pork replied with a slight smile as he glanced back to my closed cabin door. Not many people had been inside my cabin...I only made exceptions for lovers, surgeons, and Gibbs. Anamaria...well, she could come in, I suppose, if she wanted to, but she never had wanted to because she thought the crew would jump to conclusions about our relationship.
"Are you sure?" I didn't want to sound like I didn't trust him...but I'd just spent an hour or so with visions of the worst possible scenario dancing through my mind. I was prepared to take bad news. Not good news. Surgeons always looked solemn, too, and I thought maybe he was just saying that so that I'd not worry and be completely surprised when I woke up next to a dead body in the morning. Was he lying?
Pork laughed and nodded. Good...he didn't look like those scary surgeons anymore. "I'm absolutely positive, Cap'n Sparrow. The ordeal din' e'en hurt the baby." He smiled slightly and bowed before I had the chance to react to that. "She wants to see you." With that, he left my side to go and tend to other people's wounds. My own...well, they would come last, if I bothered to tell him I was in pain. Usually I didn't bother because it didn't matter.
"Baby?" I repeated numbly, not even really noticing that he'd left. Was that what she'd been trying to tell me about? A baby? Maybe the man was just daft...yes, Pork was just daft. I couldn't be a father! I just couldn't... Not again. It was bad enough to find your offspring when they were a year or two old...but I'd have a pregnant woman aboard the Pearl. That was...very bad. Very bad indeed. She'd already been injured once because of my forgetfulness...what if I forgot she was pregnant a week or so down the road? What if we were attacked by a Naval ship? I couldn't have a pregnant woman aboard the Pearl...no. That was just...just...pregnant? How could she be pregnant? She really was almost a child herself.
I frowned and licked my lips nervously as I walked towards my cabin door. It seemed to be laughing at me. Laughing at me for believing she knew anything about not getting pregnant...or that she'd want to abort the child. Of course, I never would suggest such a thing...abortions were very dangerous. But neither of us were ready to be parents!
sunkist3208: Thank you, Whitney! He is evil. But not really...he would be considered a good guy, in the grand scheme of things, because he used to defeat pirates. He was a bit of a lecherous fool, though. But he's dead now, an' you're not supposed to speak ill of the dead. I didn't intend on reminding people of Tybalt with Leroy...when we did Romeo an' Juliet, our Tybalt was a girl...random factoid, there.
Daisy: You are a lazy bum. :) But a lovable lazy bum. An' I'm excited to read your next fanfic, even if it is dark...this chapter...well, I suppose its so vivid because it was so close to SAD that I wrote the first part.
Poetry an' I don't agree. I'm only going to write more poetry if I have to. However, I am glad you liked it. An'...yay! You made State Choir! I told ya you could do it.
Maybe I should...maybe I should. It'd be evil of me, however, to have it all a dream. I hate it when things end that way.
I think you're just jealous. And it took a lot of persuasion, on Jack's part. I should let ya read it. Or not...you'd get even more jealous. So, therefore, I'm just going to have to leave you in the dark about the whole Jack/Ana thing.
I"m sure Frank would be very proud to know you'd made it, too. It is a pity you can't tell him...
An'...obviously Jack survives, since this story is from his point of view. I had to end it right there because it was getting too long. Thank you for such a long and detailed review!
Jack: Rapscallion is a good word, isn't it? I like using interesting words and phrases...tis great fun. I don't think that his Bonny Lass wears corsets...I dunno. I'll have to ask Jack.
As for the men part...amazing how I can have Jack bash on other men, eh? Odd...if you think about it. Maybe he's just jealous.
And I'm glad you like my lookup...I'm learning CSS in Tech class.
Johnny'shumiliatedgrape: I like the new username. In my Lit class, we write essays and stuff and read and critique each others..our teacher has us write under pseudonyms. I usually pick characters from Johnny's movies...and sometimes I use his pseudonym, Oprah Noodlemantra. Some random info about me, I guess...I'm feeling very random at the moment.
I like bashing the French, like any good American. No...just kidding. I happen to know a few French words, and so I often make characters French because I can kind of fake their accent. And...well, I couldn't kill off Jack. He's my idol. And very attractive. I just like putting him through pain...I've got sadistic tendencies, I suppose. I wish I'd updated when I planned on updating... (Valentine's day) but I had a lot of homework. Stupid school.
Thanks for leaving a review! Since you were first...well, you get a lovely jolly roger!
