WAHOO FOR A NEW CHAPTER! I've been really busy lately. School is really stressful. I have to finish a lot of stuff. Funny thing is - it's all for film class and drama. Not the required subjects. I'm ignoring my important subject homework for film and drama... Ah, well. Story o' me life. So if I don't update again for a while, you know why! But I'll do me best!
Thanks to: Johnny'shumiliatedgrape and iliveinmiddleearth! YOU GUYS KEEP ME GOING! I LOVE YOU!
Chapter 3: A Bargain, but Not an Even Trade
The next day, Jack woke up early and checked on Jocelyn. She was awake and obviously restless. She reached out to him and whimpered to be picked up. He picked her up and went up on deck. The sun had just come up and no one was on deck yet. Jack sat down and leaned up against the mast, holding Jocelyn on his lap.
"You still trust me, don' you, sweetheart?" Jack asked Jocelyn wearily. Jocelyn just looked up at him with big, innocent eyes. He sighed. "I love you, Princess." He patted her on the head. "An' I love your Mummy so much… It kills me the way she looks at me now… Like she expects me to jus'… change into Barbossa or somethin'… I know she doesn' blame me, but… she still doesn't fully trust me like she used to… I can't blame 'er for that, but… it 'urts a lot. I don' want to keep lookin' at 'er an' see that she's uneasy around me… All I've ever wanted was for 'er to be 'appy…" He sighed. "Jocelyn, do you ever think she'll look at me the same way again?" he asked, looking out at the horizon.
"I think so."
"Do you really" he stopped and looked down at Jocelyn confusedly. Celeste walked out from behind the mast and sat down next to him. He looked at her. "Oh! It was you who said that! I was goin' to be really shocked for a moment there."
She smiled. "You know, you should've told me what was on your mind." she said. "I would've listened."
"I know, darling… I wanted to, but it's not that easy to say…" he replied. She kissed his cheek and he put an arm around her. She leaned back against the mast with him and Jocelyn.
"I'm sorry I've been acting the way I have…" she told him.
"No, no, love, it's alrigh'." he said. "I understand you don' 'ave to apologize." She smiled and leaned up against him.
They waited up on deck for a little while until Jocelyn wanted to go back inside and lie down again. They waited a little longer until breakfast was ready to leave their room. They ate a bit of breakfast their appetite being mostly gone, and set sail again. They were to arrive today at Barbossa's bearings… After a few hours of sailing, they finally caught up with the ship. Celeste and Jack and Commodore Valentine went out to speak with Barbossa and get Christopher back.
"Greetings, Sparrows and… whoever ye are!" Barbossa called. He had pulled Christopher out on deck, holding a pistol to his head. "Before any of ye can speak, I want to say somethin'! The only way yer gettin' the whelp back is by goin' to Tortuga an' gettin' me a Simul Stone from the witchdoctor there!"
"An' if we refuse…?" Jack asked.
"Well, ye don't have much of a choice, do ye?" Barbossa replied, keeping the gun to Christopher's head.
"Mummy! Daddy!" Christopher yelled.
"Don't worry, Christopher!" Celeste screamed. "Barbossa, just let him go! Have you no mercy!"
"…No." he replied simply.
"Fine then, take me instead!" she yelled. Jack looked at her in surprise.
"Ooh… That's really somethin' to think about…" Barbossa said. "Mrs. Sparrow in my possession, huh?"
"Darling…" Jack began, looking caringly at her. "You can't…"
"What else is there to do?" she asked. "We have to save our son I don't care what it takes." Jack's mind was buzzing he had to think of something else… but he couldn't…
"Mrs. Sparrow, this is an unreasonable choice." Valentine warned. "Who knows what he'll do to you? I would suggest making some kind of bargain."
"No 'e doesn' work that way." Jack said. "I know 'im. 'e wants us to get that stone for 'im. 'e doesn' compromise if 'e wants somethin', 'e's goin' to make us get it…"
"Well!" Celeste yelled.
"Wait a minute, that's really somethin' to think on!" Barbossa replied "Well, I mean, I could make Mrs. Sparrow do anythin' and everythin' I want her to do and I could rape her as much as I want!"
"Shut your mouth! We don't need to know the details!" she yelled, disgusted.
"Sweetheart, there has to be another way." Jack pressed.
"There isn't." she stated.
"I suppose I could use Mrs. Sparrow for somethin'! 'Course… I already used Mrs. Sparrow just a few days ago, didn't I?" Barbossa taunted.
"Oh, 'e's goin' to pay for that one!" Jack exclaimed angrily, starting to get out his pistol.
"Jack, don't." Celeste ordered. "He's got the upper hand here, remember?" She looked at Barbossa. "Well!"
"Hmm… No, I don't think so!" Barbossa replied. "I really have the advantage keepin' the whelp here!"
Celeste panicked. "Then take me also!"
Jack's eyes widened. "No, darling, this won' work!"
"I need to be with Christopher!" Celeste pressed. "We can't leave him alone on some strange ship like before!"
Jack thought for a moment and could think of no other alternative.
"Mrs. Sparrow, this is an extremely unwise decision." Valentine injected. "He will have the complete upper hand. I would not recommend this."
"Commodore, my son is on that ship alone and probably terrified." she stated. "I will go through anything to help him. Anything. I don't care what Barbossa does to me as long as my son is alright." Valentine sighed, defeated.
"You have yourself a deal, Sparrows!" Barbossa yelled. "You're fit, Mrs. Sparrow, you can use a rope to swing across, can't you?"
"Yes, I can!" Celeste yelled bitterly.
"I'll be back as soon as I possibly can." Jack told her.
"I know." Celeste replied and he kissed her. "I love you."
"I love you, too." Jack said sadly.
She grabbed a rope from the sails and swung across to Barbossa's ship. She started to run to Christopher, but Barbossa stopped her.
"Ye'd do best not to move until I say so." Barbossa warned coldly.
"Remember, Jack, a Simul Stone!" Barbossa yelled to Jack.
"Aye!" Jack replied doggedly.
"Alright, now off you go!" Barbossa yelled. Jack gave some orders and the Pearl started to move forward.
"Hurry!" Celeste mouthed to Jack. He nodded, worry in his eyes.
After the Pearl left the vicinity of Barbossa's ship, he let Christopher go. Christopher ran to Celeste, who embraced him. "Stand up, missy." he ordered. Celeste, holding Christopher in her arms, stood up. "Put that down." Celeste scowled at him, but obeyed. "Are ye armed?"
"No." she replied.
"Are ye tellin' the truth?" he asked. "I'm goin' to make sure either way."
She scowled at him again and lifted up the skirt of her dress to reveal both her swords strapped to her legs. She unsheathed them and dropped them on the deck. She then pulled out the pistol that was strapped to her lower leg and dropped that as well.
"Is that all?" he asked. She nodded. "Are ye sure?"
She sighed, annoyed, and pulled out a knife from the ruffles of the back of her dress and dropped it on the deck.
"Now, that has to be all." Barbossa stated. She nodded. "Can't be too sure, though." He walked over to her and groped most of her dress and, to finish, gave her chest an unnecessary squeeze. She backed away and knelt next to Christopher, taking him in her arms. "Oh, ye didn't think I was finished with ye." She didn't even look up at him. He marched over and grabbed her arm, trying to pull her up.
"Let go!" she yelled and let go of Christopher for his safety.
"No, ye see, ye have to suffer for Jack to suffer, don't ye?" he asked. He slammed her up against the mast and hit her in the stomach. "Yer husband killed me, ye realize that's not easily forgivable." He backhanded her in the face; she tried to escape, but he kicked her in the back and she fell over.
"Stop it!" Christopher cried, running over to Barbossa and hitting him in the leg (being all he could really reach). Barbossa shoved Christopher away and he fell over, hitting his head on the railing of the ship.
"Christopher!" she screamed, and ran to him. She picked him up and backed into a corner. She looked up at Barbossa with fury in her eyes. "Leave him out of this. You will not hurt him again or I will rip your throat out with my bare hands, I swear it." Celeste warned venomously.
"I am terrified." Barbossa stated sarcastically. "Now, I'm not finished, get back here."
"Stay here, Christopher." Celeste said, setting him down.
"Mummy…" Christopher whimpered.
"I'll be fine." she assured and walked up to Barbossa. He threw a punch at her, but she ducked. Just then, she gathered all the strength she could muster and elbowed him right in the groin. He yelled in pain and staggered back. She turned her nose up at him and went back to Christopher.
"Are you alright?" she asked. "Did they hurt you?"
Christopher shook his head. "I was with Pintel and Ragetti most of the time and they were actually nice when Barbossa wasn't around. …My head hurts, though."
Celeste hugged him and kissed his head. "Don't you worry, sweetheart, we can escape this. Daddy will be back in a few days and he will rescue us."
"That, Mrs. Sparrow," Barbossa began, recovering, "was not a fair shot."
"Pirates don't play fair, Barbossa." she replied bitterly.
"Ye wait until later, then, ye'll see what isn't fair." he told her. "Pintel, Ragetti, take them below."
Pintel and Ragetti went to them. Ragetti took Christopher from Celeste, much to Celeste's outrage. Pintel grabbed Celeste by the arms as she struggled for freedom. They took them below to where Christopher had been staying.
"Sorry about that, poppet." Pintel said to Celeste, releasing her, as Ragetti put Christopher down.
"Mr. Pintel, I will make you a deal." Celeste said. "…Barbossa… well, I'm sure you realize what he's planning to do to me, so… could you possibly create some kind of distraction or something that could hold him off for a while? I will pay you fifty gold coins if you do this." Pintel considered this. "Please have some mercy… Haven't you ever had someone you cared to protect?"
"…Yeah, I was in love once." Pintel said. "She was killed while I was at sea…"
"Prevent something like that from happening again, then." she pressed. "And Mr. Ragetti, if you help him, I will pay you fifty gold coins as well."
"Fifty?" Ragetti asked. "Well, sure, I'll help."
"Alright, it's a deal." Pintel stated.
"Good." Celeste sighed in relief. "Basically, I'll scream when I need the distraction, alright?"
They nodded in agreement. She had an alliance a loophole. Thank goodness…
That night, Barbossa had taken Celeste to his room, when Christopher started yelling for Celeste and Jack.
"He's having a nightmare…" Celeste said. "Please let me go to him. Please."
"Well… if he's goin' to keep screamin' like that, then fine, but I'm not lettin' ye out of my sight." Barbossa told her. "I don't trust ye as far as I can throw ye."
"Fine." Celeste agreed. Barbossa unlocked the door and she ran out, to Christopher's room. She went to his side.
"Mummy!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around her neck. She hugged him.
"It's alright." she comforted, patting his back. "Did you have a nightmare?" He nodded. "Tell me about it you'll feel better."
"Well… Daddy never came back for us…" Christopher told her. "And we had to stay here forever…"
"That's not going to happen, sweetheart." she assured. "It takes some time to get from here to Tortuga, and he's going as fast as he can." Barbossa watched this sight, leaning up against the door frame. How much they cared about this kid… he had the perfect hostage. "Now, you go back to sleep, alright? Everything is going to be fine." She tucked Christopher in and kissed his forehead. To help him sleep, she sang an old melody she had heard long ago. It had no words, just a soothing tune. After she was sure he was asleep, she got up and left the room quietly. Barbossa followed.
"Ye have a beautiful voice, Mrs. Sparrow, perhaps I'll have ye sing for me sometime." he said. She didn't reply. They returned to Barbossa's room. "I seem to have forgotten yer name, missy, what was it again? I feel awfully formal callin' ye
Mrs. Sparrow."
"Mrs. Sparrow is fine." she replied bitterly. "It's like a constant reminder to you that whatever you do to me, my husband will kill you slowly and painfully."
"I'll keep that in mind." he replied offhandedly as he took some rope from a drawer in the corner of the room. He went back to Celeste. "Now, ye realize that yer goin' to have to cooperate with me if ye want yer safety guaranteed to ye."
"Guaranteed." she snorted. "Please. The moment I feel safe on this ship is the moment you become even remotely tolerable. So, never."
"Such an attitude." he said incredulously. "So cheeky. Well, I can change that."
"Oh, can you?" she asked patronizingly.
"Let's put it this way, ye want the whelp to be safe, don't ye?"
"Don't call him that he has a name, you know." she snapped.
"I could call him worse things than whelp." he stated. "Like I could call ye worse things than Mrs. Sparrow, bitch." She scowled at him. "Anyway, as I was sayin' before I was so rudely interrupted… if ye want the whelp's safety, yer really goin' to have to be a little nicer and a lot more cooperative."
"The nice part is quite a long shot." she said sarcastically. "I can't guarantee that one."
"All I want from ye is a good time ye know that." he told her. "It's just that simple. I get what I want, the whelp stays safe… savvy?" he asked, mocking Jack. Suddenly, Celeste slapped him hard in the face. He rubbed his jaw and looked at her with anger. "Ye know," he said in a calm voice, hiding his anger, "I'd like to say that I have a fair government on my ship: an eye for an eye. But unfortunately, I can't. It's an eye for two eyes here." He backhanded her twice in the face. "Cooperation is all I ask for." He shoved her over backwards onto his bed and sat on top of her. "Lesson one: give me yer hands." She looked at him with contempt, but held her hands up. "Good. Was that so hard?" She didn't reply. He used the rope to bind her hands together. He then tied her hands to the headboard which was several large wooden slabs. "Lesson two: keep quiet." He waited for a moment, staring at her. "There. Simple. See? No struggle, no pain. Easy."
"You're going to die." she stated angrily.
"Someday we all are, missy." he replied.
"But we're not all going to burn in hell, now, are we?"
"Ye see, there's that cheekiness again." he said. "Ye got to stop that."
"I'll stop when I decide to, thank you very much."
"Ye might be pretty sorry for that. …So, honestly, what shall I call ye? I grow weary of callin' ye Mrs. Sparrow."
"I said Mrs. Sparrow is fine." she said through gritted teeth.
"Hey, I'm just tryin' to help ye stall here." he told her. "Ye are stallin', ye realize."
"I'm not stalling." she stated indifferently, refusing to look him in the eye.
"Of course ye are unless ye want me to do what I'm goin' to do." he said. "Though, I can understand. Jack didn't seem like he was doin' much satisfyin'."
"That is none of your business." she stated.
"Don't ye hate it when I'm right?" he replied pompously.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." she quipped. She was stalling. She had to buy more time. "Besides, from what I experienced when you possessed Jack…" she laughed. "It was over in ten minutes. Please. The worst experience I've had with Jack lasted as short as two and a half hours."
"Oh, and ye were the best in show I don't think so."
"Because I knew it wasn't him." she told him. "If you could hear some of the sounds he makes, I'd have to say I must be pretty good. And we all know Jack has had his… experiences countless experiences. He's really done quite a lot… But I've got to say, I must be doing a fairly good job. And honestly, I knew it wasn't him the other night. He isn't that bad at it."
He smirked at her. "And again, the attitude. That'll stop." He kissed her, but she kept her mouth clamped shut. He backhanded her in the face. "Do ye know what 'cooperate' means?"
"Hmm, not that I can recall." she replied sharply.
"This attitude does not go unpunished." he said, irritated, and backhanded her in the face again. Just as she yelled in pain, he kissed her again. She struggled to get free, but he held her head in place. Finally, after what felt like eternal hell, it ended.
"Blech! Ptoo! Bleh!" Celeste spat, spitting the Barbossa-taste out of her mouth. "Pleh! Blarg! Uck!"
"Ye really have to cut the attitude." he said.
"No, that one wasn't attitude, it was true expression of the senses." she told him.
"Now, that was attitude."
"Well, aren't we brilliant?" Celeste replied sarcastically and he backhanded her again.
"Yer goin' to shut up for good now or else I'll gag ye yer choice." he told her. She shut her mouth. She couldn't be gagged she was going to have to yell in a few minutes. The longer she stalled, the less likely it was that he would just come back after taking care of the distraction and continue what he was doing. "So? Ye goin' to shut up?" She nodded. "Good." He slipped a hand under the skirt of her dress and ran a hand up her leg. She wanted to yell so badly, but now was not the time. Just a few more moments… Finally, he squeezed her chest and she couldn't take it anymore. She was going to yell now no matter what.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
"What on earth did ye do that for?" he asked. "I thought ye were goin' to be quiet." She didn't make a sound. "Ye really are odd, ye know that?"
A few minutes later, after he'd almost gotten her dress off, Pintel burst into the room.
"Go away, go away, go away." Barbossa ordered, not even looking up.
"Captain, half the galley's on fire!" Pintel exclaimed.
"WHAT!" Barbossa cried, looking up. "WELL, PUT IT OUT, YE IDIOT!"
"We can't put it out ourselves! We need help!" Pintel yelled urgently.
"Damn it!" Barbossa exclaimed, jumping up. He and Pintel dashed out of the room.
After she was sure they were gone, she decided to get out of this bind. She couldn't escape the ropes on her hands, unfortunately, and was running out of ideas, when one hit her.
"CHRISTOPHER!" she screamed, and a few moments later, Christopher came running in. Luckily Barbossa had left the door open, otherwise, he might not have found her for a while so many doors! "Christopher, come here please, help Mummy." He went to her, climbed up onto the bed and tried to untie the knot.
"Mummy, I can't do it it's too tight." he said, starting to panic.
"Don't worry, sweetheart, it'll be fine." she assured. "He left his knife on the dresser over there. Get that and cut the rope." He nodded and obeyed. He did his best to hack through the rope and finally did. She threw the rope remnants aside and fixed her dress (being messed up by Barbossa). "Thank you, Christopher."
"You're welcome, Mummy." he replied. "Did Barbossa do this?"
"Yes, but don't you worry when Daddy gets back, he's going to kill Barbossa." Celeste assured. "Come on, let's go to your room I don't want to be here when Barbossa returns." Christopher nodded and they went to his room. They sat down on the bed.
Christopher looked up at Celeste. "I don't like it here, Mummy, I want to go home." he told her sadly.
"So do I, baby." she replied. "Daddy will be back in a few days and we can go home." She sighed and lied down. Christopher cuddled next to her and she put her arms around him. "You know we've been searching hard for you, Christopher… we tried our hardest to find you… I just want you to know that we never wanted any of this to happen… Daddy and I would both give our lives for you. We love you so much."
"I know, Mummy." he replied. "I love you, too."
She smiled, fighting off tears. "Let's get some sleep that's about the best thing we can do here." Christopher nodded and they drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Celeste and Christopher woke up to Barbossa's harsh voice.
"Up, Sparrows; breakfast." he ordered. "I'm in a foul mood do not give me cause to get angry." He left the room. Celeste and Christopher got up and stretched tiredly. She yawned.
"Well, come on, sweetheart, let's get breakfast, then." she said, taking his hand. He nodded and they went down to the dining hall.
They sat down at the end of a table where food had been put out for them. Celeste pushed her plate aside and pulled Christopher's in front of her. She picked up a knife and started cutting his food for him, just as she had at home.
"Here, darling." she said and replaced his plate in front of him. She didn't feel too hungry her nerves were still bothering her. She placed a piece of ham in her mouth and chewed it up slowly. She was having trouble eating, though… she felt strange. She looked up at the crew and they were all staring at her. That's what it was. She couldn't eat when people stared at her. She looked back down at her food and tried to ignore them, but it didn't work. She took a drink of water and looked at the staring crew again. She began to grow irritated. "What?" she asked bitterly. The crew didn't respond. Some looked away or back to their food, but soon resolved to staring at her again. "Would you mind?" she asked, irritated, and tried to ignore them again. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. "WOULD YOU QUIT STARING AT ME!" she yelled.
"Behave, Mrs. Sparrow." Barbossa ordered.
"I will if they do." Celeste replied, annoyed. She couldn't eat. Not with people staring at her like that. She poked at her food and drank her water until Christopher finished eating. "You finished?" she asked inquiringly. He nodded. "Alright, let's go, then." She didn't want to stay in that horrible room any longer than she had to, so she picked Christopher up and hurried out.
A few hours later, Barbossa entered Christopher's room where Celeste was residing. She was holding Christopher in her lap and telling him a story.
"Oh, Mrs. Sparrow." he called mockingly in a singsong voice.
"Wait." Celeste ordered Barbossa, not even looking up. She continued her story to Christopher. "And he said he'd made a raft using sea turtles to get off the island." Celeste told Christopher.
"Sea turtles?" Christopher asked. "But… that doesn't make any sense…"
"Exactly." she said. "Which is why you should never lie about anything who believes a story like that? Can you see Daddy sailing across the ocean on a bunch of sea turtles?" They laughed. She hugged him.
"Every word that comes out of Jack's mouth is a lie." Barbossa stated.
"That's not true!" Celeste objected. "He just made up a story like that because he wanted to seem more amazing than he was. Even without the sea turtles, he's still amazing."
"I'll bet." Barbossa said sarcastically.
She looked up at him and sighed in annoyance. "Don't you have better things to do than to bother us?"
"No, you see, that's my problem I've got no one at all to do." he replied with a smirk. She scoffed at him.
"Mummy," Christopher said, tugging on her dress to get her attention she looked down at him inquiringly, "will you tell me the story about how Daddy became a chief?"
"She can't." Barbossa injected. "She's comin' me with I'm gettin' rather bored."
"Well, why don't you read a nice book, then?" Celeste suggested patronizingly. "Maybe then you'd gain a little more intelligence right along with that entertainment."
He curled his lip at her in annoyance. "Come on, Mrs. Sparrow, come with me."
Christopher looked up at Celeste. "Why do you have to go, Mummy?" he asked sadly.
Barbossa moved closer to them. "Because," he explained in a fake-patient voice, "yer Mummy is a"
"Shut your mouth, Barbossa." Celeste ordered venomously. He laughed. She looked down at Christopher. "Because Barbossa is a mean, terrible, old man who delights in annoying people. Don't worry about me." Barbossa just laughed at this accusation. "And I'll tell you that story about Daddy later." Celeste kissed Christopher's head and stood up.
"Bye, Mummy." Christopher bid.
She smiled. "Bye, baby." She followed Barbossa out into the hall.
"Ye know, as much as I'd like some entertainment right now, Mrs. Sparrow, I've got bigger fish to fry, unfortunately." he told her. "Follow me." They went down to the galley. "Now, I have decided that to keep ye busy and doin' somethin' productive, ye should cook dinner for us."
"What!" she exclaimed.
"Ye cook for the brat, don't ye?" he asked.
"Don't call him that." Celeste ordered.
"Ye know, if I really cared at all, I might say 'pardon me,' but alas, I really don't." he said sarcastically. "Now, it's not that hard, is it?"
"Yes! I've never cooked for this many people before!" she persisted.
"And if ye fail to make the food absolutely delicious, ye'll be punished."
"You crazy old coot!" Celeste cried.
"I'm not that old, Mrs. Sparrow."
"Could've fooled me." she said flatly. "But… look, I can't possibly"
"The galley is sort of half burned thanks to someone I have yet to discover," Barbossa told her, ignoring her completely, "but ye should do fine."
"No no, I should not do fine!" she exclaimed. "It will take me all day to fix this much food!" She stopped. Why did she say that? Now he would make her do it for sure.
"As long as it gets done."
"Well, it won't be my fault if it turns out as rotten as your heart." she said.
"Why must ye be so rude, Mrs. Sparrow?"
"Just returning the favor, Captain Barbossa." she replied, faking a sweet tone. She sighed in annoyance. "Come on, don't make me do this you'll only be sorry for it."
"Oh, I really don't think so." he said and paced over to a counter. He picked up a chef's knife and went back to Celeste. "Make this good or ye'll regret not doin' so." He pulled down the neck of her dress, revealing her shoulder, and pressed the knife blade to her skin. "Ye don't want to see my anger, do ye?" She just glared at him. He ran the blade across her skin and cut her shoulder. She flinched, but tried not to show much pain. "Now, get to it." He turned his back to her. "Pintel, Ragetti!" he called, and tossed the knife back onto the counter. Shortly after, Pintel and Ragetti arrived.
"Yes, Cap'n?" Pintel asked.
"Pintel, watch Mrs. Sparrow here." Barbossa ordered. "Make sure she doesn't do anythin' stupid. Difficult task, I know." Celeste curled her lip at him in annoyance. He turned to Ragetti. "Ragetti, go watch the whelp." Ragetti nodded and left, Barbossa left as well.
"How can you stand that monster?" Celeste asked Pintel, grabbing a cloth and placing it on her wound.
He shrugged. "He pays us." She sighed. "Er, by the way…" he glanced around to make sure no one was around, "this morning at breakfast…"
"Yes, might I ask you why on earth everyone was staring at me?" she asked, finishing with her wound and starting to get out food and kitchen utensils.
"Well, I'm really going to have to make a distraction to get you out of this one." he said.
She looked at him confusedly. "What do you mean?"
"Well, it'll take Jack four days to get to Tortuga and back." he explained. "Well, it's been one day. You have two more nights to spend here. Er… well, Barbossa has been looking for Jack for quite a long time most of the crew hasn't had much of a chance to go into town and… find any pleasurable company…"
"Oh, no…" Celeste groaned.
"I heard that on your last night here, Barbossa was just going to… give you to the crew, basically."
"Oh, my goodness, you have to make sure that doesn't go through." Celeste pressed desperately. "That's absolutely disgusting."
"I'll do what I can…" Pintel said doubtfully.
Celeste spent most of the day preparing Barbossa's stupid dinner, which, luckily, they were satisfied with. That night, another distraction was made and Celeste escaped once more. Just one more night to go…
The next day, Celeste got incredibly angry at Barbossa and challenged him to a duel. He laughed at her, but accepted. He returned her swords to her and they went up on deck to fight.
"Don't cry when I beat ye." Barbossa said mockingly.
"I could say the same to you." Celeste replied. She swiped at him with one of her swords, but he dodged. Just then, Christopher had come up on deck and was alarmed at this sight.
"Mummy!" Christohper yelled, starting towards her.
"Stay where you are, Christopher!" she ordered, her concentration on the fight.
"But"
"Will someone shut the whelp up?" Barbossa asked, annoyed, still fencing with Celeste. "Afterall, we have ye, Mrs. Sparrow. That's enough for Jack to care about. We could do away with the whelp altogether."
Big mistake.
Celeste scowled, a fire igniting in her eyes and increased the speed of her sword strikes. He almost started to panic she was really quick. Finally, she forced him to back into the mast by fencing him over, and she disarmed him. She held one of her swords to his throat. "You so much as touch my son and you will regret it. Your fate will be much worse than just being a eunuch."
"And so why don't ye just kill me now?" Barbossa asked, hiding his shock of defeat.
"Because I don't trust your crew any more than I trust you." Celeste replied. "But at least you have reason to keep us alive and give us back to Jack bargaining tools or not. Someday, when you're not such a coward, and don't have the upper hand in the situation, I'll fight you again, and perhaps I'll really kill you next time. Though, I already promised Jack the honor."
"Ye think it's so easy, Mrs. Sparrow." Barbossa said. "But ye don't know what ye'll be goin' up against. Neither ye nor Jack will be able to beat me the next time ye face me. And next time, I will kill yer beloved husband and come after ye. Of course, I have far too much use for ye, so ye'll be stayin' alive. But I'll kill all of yer friends on the Black Pearl and ye can bet yer life I'll kill both of yer children."
"Just for saying that, you're getting no mercy from me or Jack whoever gets the treat of slaughtering you brutally."
Barbossa scoffed, wondering when Celeste was going to move the sword away from his throat. "Jack's never killed anythin' in his life, the coward."
"That's not true." Celeste stated. "I know for a fact that even before he met me, he'd done his share of killing."
"Not much. Only when they attacked. He had too much mercy to be a pirate I call it cowardice."
"And I call you stupid." Celeste quipped. "And, he has killed before. Countless evil minions of Bartholomeu Santara and Thomas Black. He also helped kill Santara. He did kill Black. You wouldn't like the way he killed Black you certainly wouldn't want it done to you."
"Oh?" Barbossa asked inquiringly. "And how did he kill him? By drowning him with rum?"
"No." Celeste replied, annoyed. "Besides, Jack doesn't drink anymore. Anyway, no. He punctured Black's jugular vein. But it wasn't quick. It took Black a solid few minutes to bleed to death."
"That's absolutely wonderful." he said. "Congratulate Jack for me. What do ye mean he doesn't drink anymore? He's the best drinker in the Caribbean can hold more liquor than any other man around."
"He discovered that drinking will only ultimately kill him."
"If I don't get to him first."
Celeste made a shallow cut on Barbossa's throat. "That will be a lot worse next time."
Barbossa merely laughed at her. "Ye'll pay later, wench, believe me. And leave those swords here, by the way."
She scowled at him and dropped her swords on the deck. She walked over to Christopher and picked him up. "Sorry you had to see that, sweetheart."
That night, Celeste regretted what was coming. Barbossa had locked her in his room with Pintel to guard her.
"Bad news, Mrs. Sparrow." Pintel said regretfully. "I couldn't muster a distraction tonight…"
"No!" Celeste cried. "No! No, you have to think of something! This is a terrible situation! You can't let them do this!"
"There's nothing I can do…"
"Would you let this happen to your mother?" Celeste asked. "Honestly?"
"Well… no… but…"
"Please… you have to do something." Celeste pressed desperately.
"…I'm sorry, it's beyond me now. Besides, Barbossa suspects something. If he discovers that I was the one who caused those disasters… he'd kill me for sure."
Celeste worriedly paced to the side of the room, looking out the window. She racked her brain for an idea of a diversion, but could think of nothing. Shortly after this, Barbossa and much of the crew entered the room.
"Well, Mrs. Sparrow, I must say that I regret not bein' able to get a piece of ye, but… after I kill Jack, ye'll be mine to do with whatever I want." Barbossa said. "So tonight, I give ye to my faithful crew. Now, don't struggle like before, there's no escape this time."
'Oh, please don't let this happen…' Celeste prayed.
Barbossa grabbed Celeste by the arm and threw her onto the bed.
"You will all be terribly sorry for this." Celeste warned. The crew all laughed at her and one of them climbed on top of her. "AHHHHH!" she screamed, thrashing about, trying to escape. The crewmember started to unlace the front of her dress as the others moved in for a chance to get in on the groping. Just then, a cannonball broke through the window and hit the evil crewmember, sending him flying across the room. The others halted, shocked.
"Jack." Celeste sighed, smiling, and looking out the window. "Oh, thank you, God…"
Barbossa, who had taken a seat in the corner of the room, jumped up in surprise. "Damn it!" he yelled. "Get up on deck, ye bloomin' cockroaches! Don't let them fire anymore! Tell Jack his wench and whelp will be up in a minute! Off with ye!" The crew wasted no time and belted out of the room and up on deck. Celeste jumped up and started to run as well, but Barbossa blocked her way. "This isn't the end, Mrs. Sparrow. I will kill yer husband and yer friends and yer children, and ye'll be mine for the rest of yer days."
"Only in hell, Captain Barbossa." Celeste snarled. Barbossa glared at her, turned, and left.
"Get the whelp and hurry up!" he called to her.
She got her swords, pistol, and knife that had been confiscated earlier and were being kept in Barbossa's room, and put them back where they belonged. She ran out to Christopher's room.
"Mummy, what was that loud sound?" Christopher asked curiously.
"Christopher, darling, Daddy's back already!" she exclaimed happily. "Come on, let's hurry to meet him!" Christopher's eyes lit up and he ran to Celeste who picked him up and carried him up on deck.
"I got your trash, Barbossa!" Jack yelled angrily. He sounded stressed and tired.
"Good Sparrow! Good boy!" Barbossa replied mockingly. "Give me my stone and I'll give ye yer family!"
"I don' trust you! Let Celeste and Christopher come aboard first!" Jack yelled. They'd set the gangplank so that it connected the two ships' railings and Celeste and Christopher could walk across.
"I don't trust ye either, Jack!" Barbossa yelled back. "I don't want yer wench or yer whelp I want the stone! I've got better things to take care of than them! Throw me the stone and I'll let them go!"
Jack sighed. He decided that was what had to be done. "Fine!"
"Wait!" Barbossa halted. "Let me say my goodbyes first!" Jack glared at him. Barbossa paced over to Celeste. "Put that down when will ye learn?" Celeste scowled, but set Christopher down he held onto her leg timidly. "Remember my promise. I'll kill them."
"You'd be surprised what the future brings, Barbossa." Celeste replied bitterly.
Barbossa laughed. "I'll be seeing you again, Mrs. Sparrow." he said, and ran his tongue over her ear. She grimaced and cleaned her ear off with her sleeve. "But I must give a parting gift. After I get my stone." He looked at Jack. "Now, Jack!" Jack tossed him the stone and he caught it. He examined it and smiled. "It's the right thing, alright. Give yer husband my regards. I also want ye to tell him that if he wants to stop my planI realize ye know nothin' of it he's goin' to have to come to Isla de Ensayas to stop me. I hear ye all fight against the bad pirates now, aye? Well, I'll give ye a fair chance. Tell him that. Oh, my gift, right." He pulled out his sword, shoved Celeste forward (she flew and fell on her face; Christopher had to let go of her), and cut a deep, gash several inches long on the back of Christopher's shoulder. Christopher screamed in pain and Celeste jumped up.
"YOU BASTARD!" Celeste screamed. "Don't ever say that word, Christopher." she added quickly to Christopher. "Barbossa, you will pay for that!" She lunged forward and wrapped her hands around his neck, trying to choke him. Several crewmembers started over, but Barbossa gestured for them to stop he knew how this situation would end.
"Mummy!" Christopher screamed, crying in pain. Jack couldn't really see what was happening and Barbossa's crew was blocking his passage across the gangplank. Celeste bit her lip, wanting so badly to kill Barbossa then and there, but Christopher needed her… She let go of Barbossa's neck and ran to Christopher.
"We are going to kill you, Barbossa!" Celeste screamed, picking Christopher up. "You've just sealed your fate!"
"I'm just terrified." Barbossa stated sarcastically.
Celeste hurried carefully across the gangplank and ran to Jack.
"What 'appened?" Jack asked.
"This!" Celeste cried, showing Jack Christopher's wounds.
"Oh, I'm going over there to kill 'im!" Jack roared, starting to run, but Celeste stopped him.
"Jack, no! We need to address this wound!" she exclaimed. Jack saw her reasoning and they hurried downstairs. Celeste went to her and Jack's room while Jack went to the cargo hold to get bandages and other things they might need.
Celeste held a crying Christopher in her lap, trying to comfort him, sitting on the bed. She was fuming with anger, thinking about Barbossa and the pain he was causing her son. Jack returned and removed Christopher's shirt to address the wound. Christopher continued crying in pain. Jack looked very worried.
"What?" Celeste mouthed to him.
"We might need to stitch it up." Jack mouthed back. Celeste sighed and bit her lip in worry. As Jack cleaned the wound, he realized that that was what had to be done. He looked up at Celeste and nodded sadly. Her heart sunk and she looked devastated. She cleared her expression and looked at Christopher.
"Christopher, sweetheart," Celeste started softly and comfortingly, "you've got a really deep cut… and we can't just leave it like it is… We have to… sew it up…"
"Wh-what?" Christopher asked, sniffling.
Jack looked up at him. "Son, the cut is so deep that if we don' sew it up, you're goin' to lose a lot of blood an' tha's bad…"
"Will it hurt?" Christopher asked, crying. Jack and Celeste exchanged worried glances. They had to tell him the truth they couldn't lie to their child. Jack nodded sadly and Christopher cried more, throwing his arms around Celeste's neck.
"Oh, darling, it has to be done." Celeste reasoned, hugging him. "It happened to both Mummy and Daddy once… If it hadn't been taken care of, we probably wouldn't even be here now…" Jack readied a needle and thread, incredibly angry at Barbossa. Celeste still held Christopher, patting the back of his head comfortingly. "It's alright, sweetheart, Daddy knows what he's doing."
They tried to get him to lie down so Jack could sew it up easier, but trying to get an injured child away from their mother is like trying to get a pirate away from rum; it was possible, but difficult and unlikely. So, they decided that he could just sit on Celeste's lap and Jack would have to sit on his knees in front of them to stitch up the wound.
Jack started to sew up the wound and Christopher screamed in pain. Tears were rolling down Celeste's cheeks and Jack's eyes were stinging from holding tears back. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Jack finished the stitches and pressed a cloth to the wound.
"Finished." Jack said. "Good job, son. You did great. You alrigh'?" Christopher sniffled and nodded. "That's my boy." He stood up and kissed Christopher's head.
"You were so brave, darling." Celeste told him, hugging him. "Just as brave as Daddy."
"Well, I'd like to say I'm that brave, but now I got some competition." Jack said, trying to cheer Christopher up a little. He bandaged Christopher's shoulder and sat down on the bed, next to them. Celeste held Christopher until he overcame his immediate pain, for the most part. Jack pulled Christopher into his lap and hugged him. "I missed you a lot, mate." Jack said. Celeste knew Jack like the back of her hand; his voice sounded just like it did whenever he struggled to hold back tears.
"I missed you, too, Daddy." Christopher replied, hugging Jack back. Jack asked Christopher all the same things Celeste did when she reunited with Christopher and Christopher said the same things he said to Celeste, becoming as bored of answering the same questions as any child being interrogated by a worried parent.
After a rather touching reunion, Celeste and Jack put Christopher to bed and went back to their room.
"Well, er, in all the commotion, I didn't get the chance to say hello to you." Celeste told Jack. "So, er, he" He didn't give her the chance to finish, he kissed her passionately.
"Do you have any idea 'ow worried I was about you an' Christopher?" Jack asked, holding her tightly. "I could 'ardly sleep at all."
"You do look tired, sweetheart." Celeste said. "But we're back now, so you can relax."
Jack sighed. "For tonight, anyway." He knew it wasn't over. He knew Barbossa was planning something big and they had to stop it. Celeste told him about Barobssa's instructions to go to Isla de Ensayas. Suddenly, Celeste gasped and broke away from Jack's grasp. She ran over to Jocelyn's crib and picked her up.
"Ohh, Jocelyn, my little girl, I missed you so much!" Celeste exclaimed. Jocelyn looked up at Celeste and realized it was her.
"Mahh!" Jocelyn cried happily. Jack stood at Celeste's side and looked at Jocelyn.
"She missed you a lot, Celeste." Jack told her. "The first nigh' you were gone, it took me hours to get her to stop cryin' for you."
"Ohh, I missed you, too, my darling." Celeste said, rocking Jocelyn in her arms. After a little while, Celeste put Jocelyn to bed and got ready for bed herself; she wore her blue, sleeveless nightgown. She climbed into bed with Jack and he put his arms around her.
She sighed. "Oh, Jack, how did you manage to have the perfect timing?"
"Glad I did, Princess." he replied. Suddenly, his brow furrowed he noticed the cut on her arm that Barbossa had given her the day before. "Did 'e do this to you?" She nodded. "I'm sure this is the least of what 'e did… What else did 'e do?"
Celeste explained all about everything Barbossa had done. From the constant hitting to the attempted rape and everything else he did.
"I'm goin' to kill 'im, Celeste, I promise you." Jack growled.
"What he did to me doesn't matter." Celeste said. "The fact that he kidnapped Christopher he must've been scared to death, our poor baby and then slashed his shoulder open… A three year old! Of any material thing I've ever wanted… what I want most right now… is Barbossa's head."
"Your wish is my command, baby." he replied, and kissed her. "Tomorrow, I'll tell the crew to set a course for Isla de Ensayas."
"Thank you." she said, and snuggled up to him. "I missed you a lot… And I'm still sorry for acting so distantly and distrusting to you before I left…"
"Oh, sweetheart, it's alrigh'." he told her. "I don' blame you at all." She hugged him tightly and pulled him on top of her.
She sighed. "Jack, there were moments when I honestly thought I wasn't going to survive… So many times, it seemed like Barbossa was just going to kill me… I was so afraid that I wasn't going to see you again… or hear you again or feel you again…"
"Oh, Princess…"
"I love you so much, Jack." she told him. "I can't say it enough… I couldn't possibly say it enough to convey what I feel…" He looked at her caringly. He didn't even have to say anything she knew what he was thinking. "And when I thought about not surviving… I would think about you and feel so much better. Just… everything… Your gentle touch… the sound of your voice… the way my lips feel on your skin… Just everything…" He kissed her. She sighed and ran her fingers across his lips. "And your lips are so soft and warm…" She smiled. "I'm so completely addicted to you, Jack… But it's a good addiction."
Jack smiled. "Sweetheart, I've been addicted to you since the moment I saw you. An' I never stop bein' thrilled by every moment I spend with you…" He kissed her neck. "You never cease to enchant me." Celeste smiled and he kissed her, placing his hands in hers. He kissed her neck again several times and kissed her, the moment deepening with every sweet second that passed.
Yay for a nice romantic scene! Doesn't it just make you le sigh Yay! Anyway, I realize that chapter was long, but thanks for sticking with me! All of you whose fanfics I haven't read yet, (you know who you are) I WILL read them and review each chappy! I promise! I just don't have time cuz of school right now! I'll find time, tho! I promise! Got to graduate this year, you know! Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter!
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