"Loyalty is still the same,
Whether it win or lose the game;
True as a dial to the sun,
Although it be not shined upon."
-Samuel Butler
Chapter Seventeen
I refuse to speak with Chester. I'm simply furious that he would make such a deal with Loyal without even approaching me first. Or at all, for that matter. He knows that I would never have agreed to it, and should have used a different strategy in order to get Loyal to come with him to Helena Port.
"It's not like he had much of a choice," Mercy reminds me.
"Dammit, Mercy, you're supposed to be on my side!" I exclaim.
"I'm not on anyone's side!" she argues, "I didn't even know your father was a Duke, for Christ's sake!"
I roll my eyes. Not this again. "Well, what do you suggest I should have done, told everyone I'm a Duchess and I've run away from home?" My friend is silent. "You know, I don't need this right now. I'd rather fight with Sadie; at least I know I wouldn't feel guilty afterwards." And with that, I exit the room, stubbornly slamming the door. But a moment after the sound echoes down the hall, I turn back to yell, "Oh, and by the way, Jack and I had sex on your kitchen table!"
I push open the double doors to the tavern, but I'm welcome by many pairs of eyes belonging to my friends, my brother, and the crew of the Black Pearl. The room is silent.
"What?" I snap. They say nothing. "Anyone else want to say anything? What about you, Emmet, I'm sure you have a few things in mind, considering your sister has already shared her portion."
Emmet just shakes his blonde head like I'm being ridiculous, and looks down at his drink. I almost start in on someone else, but Jack suddenly stands from his seat in the corner and drags me out of the room before I have the chance.
Behind the double doors are three barmaids, including Miss Sadie Black herself, lounging about instead of doing their jobs. One tries to hold back a snicker, and turns to whisper in her friend's ear. "She's gone mad," the girl says.
"Believe me, darling, you've seen nothing yet," I reply, much to her distaste.
Sadie smirks and slides her hands to her bony hips. "Really, Captain Sparrow, I don't know why you waste your time with something like her," she flutters her lashes at Jack. "Everyone knows she's a bloody criminal about to snap."
I suppose Sadie expected Jack to hold me back, which would give her another opportunity to laugh and insult me, but as I take a swing at her face, he doesn't, and my fist connects proudly with her pointy little nose.
But Jack does grab a hold of me before I cause anymore damage, and roughly throws me over his shoulder as he makes his way for the stairs.
Sadie squawks at me from the back room, yelling curses and calling me a skank as the other two girls flutter about over the blood.
Meanwhile, Jack's boots sound angrily on the steps leading up to the attic, and I squirm uncomfortably under his arm. "Let go of me!" I demand, but he does nothing of the sort. "Put me down, you son-of-a-bitch!"
The door to the attic is thrown open, and finally Jack puts me back on my feet. "What did ye do that for?" he demands.
"She said I was about to snap," I explain. "So I decided to make her face snap instead."
Jack frowns. "And with Mercy?"
"That's none of your business."
"Well, apparently it is, considerin' I was the one who had ye on said kitchen table," the pirate replies.
I try not to, but I crack a small smile, and to my horror, almost laugh. "Dammit, Sparrow!"
He smiles as well. "That's me girl."And he steps forward, pulling me close. I look up at him with sad eyes. The last thing I want to do is be anywhere away from him. . . as frightening as that is to admit. But with Jack I'm safe, I'm wanted, and most of all, I belong.
"It's going to be horrible, Jack," I begin. "They'll dress me in frilly gowns and I'll have to act ladylike!"
Jack chuckles gently in return. "So that's what this is about," he realizes. "Well, that doesn't sound too bad. At least ye can twirl about in those frilly clothes. That'll entertain ye for a little while." I sigh in the deepest agony and bury my face in his chest. His wonderful scent causes my heart to relax. "Listen," he begins after a moment, "I spoke to Loyal earlier, and he's agreed for the two of you to travel back to England on the Pearl."
I pull back to gaze at him with a doubtful expression. "You're not serious."
He places a hand to his chest. "Cross me heart and hope to die."
I smile and jump into his arms, happy beyond belief, and I don't care if he knows it. "You really want me around that much longer?"
Jack's face is completely sober. "I want ye around as long as I can."
Slowly, I reach to capture his mouth with mine. He kisses me back with just as much enthusiasm, and for a moment I almost consider his feelings to be the same as mine.
Abruptly, a crash sounds from the floor beneath our feet. The pirate and I break apart, curious and on defense.
"What was that?" Jack asks.
"Probably just some broken dishes," I conclude, and pepper sweet kisses down the narrow curve of his tanned neck.
"I don't think-" but he is cut off by yet more noise, now including raised voices and shattering glass.
Jack puts me down and instantly unsheathes his sword. I reach for my own at it's place across the room, knowing now who exactly is responsible for such an interruption.
"People are always ruining the peaceful moment between us," I say to Jack.
He grins. "Do ye think it's a sign?"
I shrug, and open the door to exit. "Possibly."
By the time Jack and I run back downstairs, all pandemonium has broken loose. The barmaids are a nervous wreck, tossing dishes at the men I recognize to be associated with Ivory Nisa.
And much to my surprise, I see Knox fighting, trying at his hardest to keep these hopeless women safe. Maybe he's not so bad after all. . .
Jack and I push our way through, throwing a necessary punch of two, until the back room is clear of conscious necromancers. It's not long before we find ourselves back in the tavern, surrounded by yet more fighting, and much to my amusement: Ivory Nisa herself.
She pauses in fighting a member of Jack's crew, and without a moments thought, shoves him out of the way. "Miss Butler. . . Miss Bryant," she says, "Whatever you're going by these days. I've been waiting for you. I was starting to believe you had left your friends and brother to die."
I frown. "It's Bryant. And no one is going to die. Except maybe you and your little followers."
She seems unchanged by my stabbing quips. "Why do you insist on going by a false identity?" she asks, ignoring my comment about her associates.
"Because I'm not the same naive girl I was then," I explain. "I'm a completely different woman now, and I'd like to keep it that way."
A small malicious grin appears on her face. "I believe that's enough small talk for now," Ivory says. "How about we just get this started and over with, hmm? It won't be long."
"No, it won't," I agree.
With that, Ivory strikes out, only for her sword to clash with my own. The room is obviously much smaller when it is so crowded, and I frown with the limited space I have to move.
My mind must have been clouded and distracted with such, for somehow, Ivory succeeds in tossing me into and over a table. The momentum is so strong that the pieces of furniture go down with me.
But despite a small pain in my side, caused by landing on it at a most uncomfortable angle, I quickly get back up and throw the closest chair at her in order to give me a chance to retrieve my weapon. Which I never do, because of a tall, buff man with large arms.
Smiling at me creepily, he says, "Bye bye, beautiful."
Then suddenly, my name -Andie- is called from across the room, and I turn abruptly to catch Jack's sword with my left hand. "Goodbye, handsome," I reply with a smile, and raise one foot to launch him, hard, across the room before pivoting to block Ivory's attack from behind.
As the circling of our feet move right -my good side- I catch sight of Jack, battling two men twice his size, but with three times as much skill. I hope those bastards know what their in for.
In return for bruising my ribs with that blasted table stunt, I raise my foot again to drill Ivory into a set of her own men, who fall like worn wooden dominoes, and land with a crash of their own to the floor.
Emmet looks over after knocking a dark complected necromancer into one of the doors, and sees the pieces of what was once one of his tavern's tables. "Hey!" he calls, "Watch the furniture!"
"Sorry!" I reply.
As Ivory scrambles off the floor, I catch sight of my older brother, complete with a deep gash on his forehead, battling a few competitors of his own with much grace and skill. "He gets it from me," I tell Jack.
He laughs and easily knocks a man into dormancy. "Somehow, I believe that," the pirate supplies.
But when I look up again, Ivory is nowhere to be seen. "Dammit," I curse. "Where did she go?" I turn about once more, for the first time realizing that we are winning this battle by a significant number. But when I again glance over at Loyal, I see her, swiping her sword and effectively putting him in the worst of danger. And I'm not about to put him at any risk.
"Andie!" Jack shouts after me, but I don't have the time to look back at him. He tries to grab a hold of me, and I almost get away, but Jack holds onto me tighter. "He's fine. Let them duke it out for a moment," he says. And then, with a different tone in his voice, adds, "You're bleeding." He reaches up to a deep cut at the base of my hairline. I don't even notice until a warm trickle of blood slides down past my eye. I reach up to wipe it away-
And I'm thrown to the floor, a huge man wrapping his brawny hands above the fair skin of my neck, trying to squeeze the life from my longues. "Get the fuck off me!" I manage to yell, pushing against his arms and chest.
But Jack is quick, and I'm back on my feet a few tense moments later, the man a worthless lump across the room. And despite Jack's words, I waste no time in launching myself at Ivory, who has just knocked both Loyal and Chester off their feet, and with much difficulty, tackle her to the floor.
I land atop of her, but as soon as I do, my ears are filled with the sound of a cocking gun, and something cold is pressed to my temple. I'm easily lifted from the floor and away from her, but I take advantage of this and knock the weapon from my captors hand before he can even blink. I have the pistol pointed at Ivory not a moment later, and she freezes, eyes wide at my quick, practiced movements.
"So, what now, Duchess?" she mocks. "You've got me and my men by the hair. Now the question is, what are you going to do with us?"
Just to let you all know, I will be changing my pen name soon from Torikins to Lady Anaranë, just so there is no confusion when you receive my author alerts and such. I feel it's time for a change.
Review, please!
Terradaina: Well I added the vanishing part in considering they haven't done anything of that sort. I wouldn't say it was obvious just because there hasn't been much proof of what they could do up to that point.
Dreadlockedpencil: You know, I haven't seen Star Wars since I was a little kid, and to tell you the truth, I can't really remember any of it...
FunkyFlamingo: Sure I can. I'm the writer and I can do anything I want! Mwhahah. Well, I guess you'll just have to keep reading and see what happens.
A Depp Girl: Well, like I told funkyflamingo, you'll have to keep reading to see if they stay together or not. I can't give anything away!
Super Monkey289: Aw. You're a sweetheart. Thanks so much, my darling.
ComfortablyNumb89: Hope you enjoyed!
Sereture: You'll have to keep reading to see! I can't give anything away just yet!
Crystal Blue Dry Ice: I'm glad you like!
CaptainMarySparrow: I actually like to keep busy, mostly because it keeps me from being lazy, haha.
Melamin25: Thanks so much for all your compliments. I can only hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the rest.