Chapter Six: Some Conditions
"I hate me life," Maren declared vehemently before lurching unsteadily up, dusting off her dress.
"Maren, there's somethin' we needs to talk 'bout," unusually serious, Kristy absentmindedly fidgeted her ghost fingers through the iron bars.
'Oh I do'n know if I can be sparin' the time me dear,' Maren retorted playfully, trying to lighten the mood 'Me social calendar is just teamin' with prior engagements.'
"Be serious now," but Kristy still smiled, "this is bloomin' important."
'Well out with it.'
"That pirate spook Jack kill'd," suddenly the room chilled, the same topic had been aggravating Maren, "He was…different, was'n he?"
Maren conceded a nod and spoke quietly, 'Aye, he was. Can't be puttin' me finger precisely on it, but it be like he experience'd maybe.' Shaking her head lightly to organize her thoughts, 'Yet, I'm positive he's littl' more than two years dead, tops. Do'n make no sense for Barbossa to be so aware for a ghost just off the choppin' block.'
"That's the wanker's name then, Barbossa?"
Another distracted nod, 'The first impression I got was Cap'n Barbossa, however he seemed awfully deceptive 'bout the title, 'twas some kind o' lie, sure o' it.' The dead always eagerly supplied their names to Maren, desperate for confirmation on their existence.
"He…saw me," Kristy hesitated.
'No haunt's ever seen ye,' stubbornly Maren pointed out.
"Well Barbossa did, look'd right at me, I swears it!" shuddering, Kristy wrapped two phantom arms around herself, "Appear'd to be somewhat confus'd at first, not knowin' what to make o' me. I think it dawn'd on him soon 'nough though, 'cause he smil'd at me, bugger tipp'd his hat and everythin'!"
The brig door bursting open ended the conversation, "Rise 'n shine me precious barmaid!" Jack greeted, radiant and charming as ever, "Brought ye a late breakfast, sorry for me tardiness, ship to run and all." A skinny boy of around thirteen followed, bearing a tray of gruel, sausages, and water. At Jack's wink, he nervously approached Maren's cell and slid the tray under the door.
"Ye…um..er breakfast, madam," the boys prominent ears colored redder than his hair and his freckles disappeared.
"Miss," Jack paternally corrected.
The panic blushed the boy purple, and he explained desperately, "I means miss, yer breakfast miss."
Maren stared at Jack's smugness, the modest meal on the floor, and the boy so anxiously twitching it might have been a serious health condition. Indulging in some charitable pity, Maren gingerly picked up the tray, oblivious to the fact both Jack and the pirate boy cocked their heads to angle their eyes down her bodice. She glanced uncertainly about, deducing the broken cot to be the only sitting place. Carefully she sat atop the side where the legs still stood, mindful of any sign of it braking. Satisfied her seat was adequate, Maren laid the tray upon her lap. A polite smile bloomed her attractive features into loveliness, "Thank ye kindly me lad, it be a fine breakfast."
"Welcome! Yer very, very welcome!" he bowed clumsily, but with rapture lighting his face.
"All right, to the mess with ye now," Jack ruffled his red hair.
"Aye Cap'n Sparrow!" the youth sprang away, keeping his eager eyes on Maren as long as possible.
The instant he vanished from sight, Maren disregarded the tray and stood defiantly, glaring straight at Jack. "Aye Nathan's a good boy," Jack still gazed at the door, "How long he see ye, eh? Ten seconds? Fifteen tops, yet the whelp hasn't stopp'd gabbin' 'bout ye since last night. Drivin' the men crazy, 'Miss Attle lonely, ye reckon? How old ye figure Miss Attle be? Miss Attle mention a fellow back in Tortuga?' on and on! Ten pounds says that boy be havin' a dream or two 'bout ye tonight."
"I think he's sweet!" sharply, Maren jumped to the boy's defense.
"Aye a good boy, almost piss'd hiself when I told him to fetch ye grub. Figur'd he could use a treat," Jack flashed his kohl-lined eyes to Maren, and said mock-secretly, "Do'n let on like ye know, but our littl' Nathan fancies ye a wee bit," Jack slurred, propping his elbow on the bars and leaning languidly, "Truth be told, he's not the only one." Pointedly, he raked his brown eyes appreciatively over Maren's form.
Suffocating, the blush that threatened to spill forth, Maren erupted in desperation, "Cap'n Sparrow please!" her small hands grasped the lapels of his jacket through the bars, "Please let me go! I'm beggin' ye to do the right thing."
Amused Jack pried her fingers off his person, keeping those graceful hands in his calloused ones, "Never do the right thing lass, never do the wrong thing either. I only do me own thing, less confusin' that way, none o' me things gettin' mix'd up with anybody else's things. Keep things simple!" Maren blinked, replaying his quote again, seeing if it made more sense the second time around, it didn't. Vehemently, she tore her hands away from his caress, hating the warm tingle that the purest contact had made. "Ye pretty when ye beggin'," Jack stated plainly.
"Told ye mum the same thing last night," Kristy interjected.
Maren laughed, earning a curious quipped eyebrow from Jack. Biting her tongue, Maren suppressed her smile poorly, "It be Kristy, she…occasionally puts in her two pence."
"She always 'round?" his eyes spanned the room.
"Usually," Maren answered evasively.
"Usually," he repeated slowly. "Maren, I thinks we be needin' to have a us a conversation and comes to some sort o' agreement," removing the cell keys from his pocket, Jack jingled them suggestively, "less ye be preferin' the brig."
He was letting her out? Maren's heart hammered in her chest, hope soaring higher than Jack's ego. If she could walk freely aboard the Black Pearl, she might succeed in escape. Perhaps signaling a passing ship or swimming for land, as soon as it was sighted that is. At the very least, she might negotiate a bed that wasn't busted. "I'm listening," Maren kept her eyes half-lidded, praying she appeared timid and demure. To Jack's wanton libido, she looked flirtatious and sexy. He dared to wish that Maren would attempt to seduce him, putting those generous curves of hers to proper use, namely Jack's use.
"I suppose I should begins with an apology-,"
"Damn straight!"
"Damn straight!" Maren and Kristy affirmed in unison.
Jack's cheery grin evaporated and he blankly stared at Maren until he was sure she had resigned herself to silence. It wasn't the apology that bothered Jack, 'sorry's were meaningless to him and often proclaimed if it furthered his own objectives. It was the interruption that upset him, having to put up with Anamaria's snide comments was difficult enough, but not Maren's too. He was a captain and no one should interrupt him plain and simple! 'Women,' Jack reflected, 'not happy unless they puttin' a man in his place, which be below them!'
To Maren he continued, "Apologizin' for not affordin' ye more time that is. Aye, I would have liked to have givin' ye me proposal, then grant'd ye the liberty o' a few days to debate yerself. To analyze yer destitute situation in Tortuga, sum up the despondency of your life as a workin' pub-wench, and so on and so forth. And after that allott'd timeframe, I'm positive I would have discover'd ye arrivin' promptly at me door, ready and willin' to test yer fate to adventure, fame, and wealth, choosin' thus independently and absolutely of yer own accord." He said it so casually, so matter-of-fact, it set Maren's teeth on edge, "Sadly, I just did'n have the time to permit ye that self-discovery." The charms in his hair clinked together as he exaggerated a shrug, "Couldn't risk anyone else seizin' me newest acquisition." Extending a flamboyant arm through the bars, Jack flicked a stray hair away from her face. Sickly, Maren realized he considered her to be his 'newest acquisition'.
"Bite that bitch tongue o' yers, Pet," Kristy interceded, "Just do what ye got to do to get outs of this cage!"
Inhaling a raggedly calming breath, Maren counted to ten before eating her pride and saying through clenched jaw, "Apology accept'd Jack." The use of his first name seemed to gratify Jack and he clapped his flashing hands in satisfaction.
"Now then, that's out o' the way, let's get down to the meat o' the subject, shall we?" he stuck the key into the lock but failed to twist it. Instead, he teasingly fondled the keys, "Some conditions before I be settin' ye free…Maren." The lewd indications he could shove into a single word could have filled hell to the brim.
"Name them," she said warily.
"First, never ever kick me in me jewels again!"
"Keep yer jewels to yerself and no problems!"
A brief staring contest ensued, deep blue eyes clashing with brilliant brown ones. Reluctantly, Maren lowered her gaze into that enticing expression that Jack appreciated so much. She might have lost the battle, but definitely not the war. "In fact, I must insist that ye not be harmin' me o' any member o' me crew, savvy?"
"Understood, on the provision they do'n be harmin' me," Maren added.
"Fair 'nough," conceded Jack. "Second no sabotage o' vandalism, ye the type o' wench to hold a grudge and I will have none o' it!" Maren huffed at the insult, but he ignored her, "I gets cranky when me Pearl is hurtin'. Ye respect her, agreed?"
"Agreed," sarcastically Maren stretched out her palm to pet the hull of the ship.
This pleased Jack immensely, which stunned Maren, considering she was teasing him, "That's right luv, the two o' ye will get 'long just dandy, I knows it!"
Kristy glanced nervously around. Cringing, she sensed the ship agree with Jack, in some vague way. "Bloody boats should not be thinkin'!" she muttered quietly.
"Third, ye mind ye manners! Do'n be forgettin' whose Cap'n here. There's to be no sass in front o' the men, obey me orders, and did I mention no kickin' me in me jewels?" Jack pointed his finger at her, a feminine pinkie lifted.
"Aye, ye did," her eyes rolled, "and as for esteemin' the Cap'n, ye be polite, I be polite, fair and square." Jack made to continue, but Maren hastily included, "And I'll only be obeyin' them orders if they be reasonable!"
"Reasonable be a subjective term, me dear," he murmured to himself, licking his lips, "But we can iron out the technicals later." A noisy clack sounded as Jack turned the key and the lock sprang open. Jack swaggered into the cell with Maren, cocky as a rooster.
Identical to the first time he grabbed her, Jack clasped her arms too swiftly for Maren to resist and drew her forward till there was but a breath between them. Suddenly all the slurring, swaying, and smiling was gone, only a severe expression that subjected Maren to forceful scrutiny remained. Very seriously Jack said, "Me last condition, under no circumstance do ye ever discuss the workings o' the details o' yer gifts to anyone. Not anyone, by God. Not even me first mate, not the cabin boy, ye secrets are for me 'lone. Swear it."
"I…swear," Maren promised, so intimidated by Jack, she'd have pledged the moon.
"By yer late father," persisted Jack, "swear it."
Maren wavered for a moment, futilely defying Jack's possession of her, she failed, "By the restin' spirit o' me father, David Attle, I swear it…Cap'n Sparrow."
"Excellent!" the atmosphere instantly changed. Jack released her and existed the cell motioning her to follow. Suspiciously, she walked out, guarding against any of Jack's tricks. "O' course, ye'll be immediately notifyin' me if any o' me crew starts askin' 'bouts yer powers, savvy? No matter how innocent o' who it is, I be needin' to know." It was difficult to concentrate on Jack's words when his hands had minds of their own, flitting this way, fluttering that, always illustrating his points.
"Do ye not trust them?" Maren solicited slyly, crossing her arms before her chest.
"Not a matter o' trustin, sweetheart," though he smiled with that drunken grin, she saw a hidden sadness in him, thick like blood and just as violent. "It be a matter o' bein' Cap'n is all, I know things they do'n, that's how it works, tried and true." A memory not entirely Maren's stirred, yet vanished rapidly to obscurity.
She studied him a moment before deciding, "I be havin' me own conditions, too Jack."
"Besides yer freedom from the brig?"
"Ye want me compliant, do'n ye? Well, certain things need addressin'"
"Compliant? Ye!" Jack laughed, "Bet ye do'n even know the meanin' o' the word!" He sidestepped behind Maren to shut the cell door behind her and resigned himself to her whims, "If it makes ye happy, let's hear them."
"First," a finger numbering off on her right hand was shoved into Jack's face, forcing him to look cross-eyed at the offending digit, "ye goin' tell me exactly what's happenin' here-in detail!" Maren cut off Jack's disruption, "Beginnin' with this Father o' Pirates and endin' with la Cob Rod o' whatever Spanish gibberish ye said."
"La Cabra Robada," Jack rectified helpfully.
"Second, ye call'd me a guest and I intends to be treat'd like one," flinging the hair that had escaped her braid over her shoulder, Maren stuck her nose up, "Means decent quarters, by meself Jack," Jack snapped his fingers, while Maren noticed the breakfast tray still on the floor of the cell, "I be eatin' what ye eats too, not what ye crew eats, and drinks what ye drinks."
"Well I eat what me crew eats," a amiable pride decorated his statement, "Me drink is me own private stock though, however, I be willin' to share it with ye to ensure yer good temperament on this voyage. Come to think o' it," that devil's glint shined in his eyes, "I be insistin' ye dine with me every night in the Captain's quarters, wo'n take no for an answer."
"Third condition, no sportin'!" Maren stated hurriedly.
"You be prude Pet," a hint of pleading seasoned Kristy's voice, "Do'n be such an ice twat!"
"Oh fine," Jack chuckled, "But I reserve the right to relent this condition if ever ye deem it unnecessary."
"Cold chance in hell, ye ever be evokin' that right," Maren again numbered off on her fingers, "Fourth condition, as ye said earlier, I aint playin' the barmaid pitch anymore, so I'm not servin' in the mess o' any such nonsense. Me profession aboard the Black Pearl is strictly a medium, if it do'n involves ghosts I aint doin' it!"
"So what yer insinuatin' is ye intends to spend the entire passage loungin' 'bouts in me guest quarters, drinkin' me liquor, eatin' me food, and never liftin' a finger? Do'n bode well with me lass," he tsk-ed, smoothly shaking his head. "This is'n a passenger boat ye know."
"And I aint no passenger either, I be the medium Jack. The 'last piece to the puzzle' and yer 'newest acquisition' and do'n be fogettin' 'miracle be thy name Maren'! Yer own words, so now I be markin' ye by them," her fists on her hips, Maren's memory was seriously starting to annoy Jack. "Seems me profession is quite important to the success o' yer mission, do'n think I'll be half as idle as I hope to be."
He glared at her silently, but not aggressively, only sizing things up, feeling which way the wind was blowing. One hand crossed over his torso prompting the other up by the elbow, while Jack twiddled his beaded beard. Again he relented, "Any more requests?" he asked courteously.
"One more," Maren, thrilled to a tizzy by the dizzying power she now wielded over Jack…the confident, clever, swaggering, and suddenly very attractive all over again, Captain Sparrow who was conceding to all her demands. She swayed in her own fashion up to Jack who lowered his arms to allow her room, arriving right under his nose and feeling the heat of his body radiating towards her. Angling her head upwards, as he humored her peering down, Maren lifted ever so slightly on her toes, so her mauve lips were a whisper away from his whiskered chin, "We renegotiate me payment."
"No."
"What?" frustrated, but cooling her temper, Maren continued to act the vamp, guessing this to be one of the very few ways to separate Jack from more of his gold.
"Said no," Jack sighed huskily, "we 'greed already, one hundred crowns."
"Aye we 'greed," Maren's vision accidentally dropped and remained transfixed by the tan skin peeking through the slit of his white linen shirt, traces of dark hair dusting it and she was but a few precious inches away. Mortified she heard Jack chuckle, he'd noticed her looking! The cursed flush began at her temple and rained down like water over her face, neck, and chest. Maren knew she was red as an apple and the embarrassment of blushing only made her blush more. It was a cruel whirlpool of color she was trapped in.
'Sweet siren, give me strength,' Jack semi-prayed to whomever would listen. The tempting little vixen had participated in his fantasy and was seducing him quite nicely. Oh, he saw the payment issue approaching from a mile away, but not the endearing way she breached the subject. Jack was barely restraining himself, when that devilish blush painted her skin and almost unmanned him! Every muscle in his body commanded Jack to throw her to the floor, tear those insulting rags off her goddess form, and take her, fuck her till that sassy mouth of hers was speechless, only crying out with inaudible moans and groans for Jack, all just for Jack.
"Course I only 'greed to one hundred crowns for the service o' ye returnin' with the dead man's personal affects," Maren, still deliciously pink, fluttered her lashes innocently, Jack's hand twitched by his side, barely controlled. "Prices are considerably higher for a personal onsite investigation to a hauntin' place."
"Really?" Jack permitted his face to lean closer to Maren's, but he couldn't allow a touch just yet, "That's fascinatin'."
"Aye," Maren bantered flirtatiously, "One must be takin' into consideration distance, the manner o' haunt, how long it's been deceas'd. Them all factors for determinin' the fee, 'tis standard marketing practice."
"If that be the case, then I suppose our original contract does not apply," finally, he let his fingertips gently caress tickling paths up Maren's arms to languish temptingly on her shoulders.
"'Fraid not," one shaking hand laid upon Jack's chest, Maren's fingers and palm rested against his shirt, but one tantalizing thumb touched the bare flesh of his chest.
"Then I believe ye're correct Miss Attle, a renegotiation o' yer payment be in order…tonight, after dinner."
"Damn straight!" receiving what she wanted at last, Maren shouted rudely in his face, abruptly turning around so fast her braid whipped Jack who now stood stunned. All the fiery pressure dispersed from the room. "And do'n be forgettin ye settl'd to tell me about Cap'n Romulus and the Alpha and whatnot. First we talks 'bouts this treasure, then I'll deduce me fee! Now ye goin' to play steward o' ye goin' send for someone to take me to me room?" without waiting for a reply, Maren stormed out of the brig, determinedly heading towards the top deck.
"Ah! The art o' the tease, the virgin's revenge!" Kristy glided after Maren, pitifully glancing back at Jack.
"She…that," he huffed still flabbergasted. And when no action presented itself, he huffed again. "That…littl'…how dare she tease me! I'm Cap'n Jack Sparrow, no one teases me!" each time he uttered that demon word, he spat vengefully. "I'll show her, think some silly maid can twist me balls blue and get away with it? Hell no!" his arms flailed about dramatically as his voice ascended from confounded mutters to irate yells, "Two can play that game, me temptress, I practically invent'd the phrase 'sexual tension'!" Contrary to popular belief, Jack never talked to himself; he just talked to whoever might be listening. In this instance, the Black Pearl listened, she always heard Jack.
Huffing again, because three times a charm, Jack adjusted the diminishing erection in his trousers, before bursting out of the brig and hollering, "Gibbs! Giiii-aaa-iiiibbbss!"
