*sings* "I'm a pirate born 200 years too late...." (Jimmy Buffett, a Pirate Looks at Forty!)
Yay!
Chapter four, or five, if you like Jack's....finally. See.....there's this slight problem of school....and it doesn't like me....
Whoot! 77 reviews! Now all we need is....hmm......100?
And I'm planning on combining these things, if you reviewed on more than one chapter, this time:
Alicia the Skull: There aren't a lot of Norrington fics, which isn't surprising, as he wasn't as sexah as Jack or Will. Meh. Thanks though!
Sweek A.K.: I know...this chapter gave me a toothache. And I don't know if he really gets over her so much as shoves those feelings aside and moves on. What, you don't think Jack can write as well as me? Even after all that hard work of teaching him how to write? Er...yeah, you're right. :D
Lady J. Riddle: Ack! Sparks! *runs around screaming* Uh....yeah. :D Ooh...a dashingly handsome Commodore....glad you like!
BubblyFizz03: *huggles* You did it! You encouraged them to review! Yay! Glad you liked the new Christine bit...she probably would have hit me if I hadn't included her!
I88er-az: Meh...it was fun to write anyway. I enjoy pairing characters in ways that people go what?!, ie.: Norrington and Christine! *cackles* Am an evil genius! And songs corresponding with what you're reading - I have that when I'm writing! Check chapter 18 of Caribbean Secrets and see if you can tell what I was listening to at the time...
Completeopposites: I haven't read much about Norrington either - the only one, really, was a Norrington/Jack story......o.O
Sugaricing: Hey, I don't think he was so bad...just doing his job. And he even let Jack get away! And I think, maybe he was only twenty or so when Liz was about 10/12ish....so he can't be that much older than her. And what color is his hair? Mwa ha! Wait and see! Oh - and AnaMaria says hello, (grunted, actually, but close enough) and Jack says if you can time-travel back to the Caribbean, he'd consider letting you into the crew. I savvy, I write more. :D
AleniaOceanstar: I just heard that it doesn't work for some people. I dunno. Glad you like it, though!
Khamul: It wasn't odd or sappy? Whee! And yes, Norri does rock, no matter what evil writers may say.....*pouts* And I think you're right - Jack's more jealous of the computer than weirded out by it, I think.
BeautyDatk: *twitch* Good? And yeah, I realize that he did just lose his fiancée, but I think Norri's the kind of guy who tries to hide that he's hurt, and actually does a good job of it.
Andi Horton: *huggles* Andi! Luv ya! I see him as protective...it works. House...warming....gifts....? *twitches* And I see Ginny showing up on Norrington's doorstep with one, too.....
Lilrujan: Tea would make me sick to my stomach too....icky. And...what? I am a what? A genius?! Wowsers...........
TriGemini: Thankies! And yes...I think the Commodore deserves someone too. No one should be lonely. Heather will find out, and I plan to have them meet again....in a rather interesting manner. :D Glad you like it...I love hearing from you! Jack worked hard on that chapter. For all of the twenty minutes he spent on it....:P And yes, school can suck. But only one more exam, then sweet, sweet freedom! Until next year. Blargh.
Morph: *huggles* Awww.....yay! Yeah...attempts to tie the two stories together in a coherent manner....meh. Thanks! Jack is cute, isn't he? Hope this was fast enough!
Mistress Natalia: I try! I think Norrington can be an interesting character too, if one bothers to try and write him as such. And will they be hooking up? Mwa ha ha....for me to write and you to find out!
Thunderfoot: Well, the Classics essay is done and handed in....now I have an english essay, an anthropology midterm, a computers quiz, a anthro assignment, and a history essay worth 25% of my final mark to worry about now. Blargh. I am, indeed, insane. Yeah, major bruising is not fun...but it gives a reason for Norri to be all protective! (And, by the way, Gillette is a prat - he's the "well, aren't we gonna go get him?" guy, after all!) And, hey, wait...it's summer there?! Lucky....man, today was warm at 10 degrees celcius.....
Ecila: Yeppers! Norrington! Makes for a challenging write, and a somewhat interesting read, then! Ooh...and you like my writing better than Jack's? Yay!
Brem Nakada: Love does seem to be everywhere in the air, doesn't it...? Hmm.... Well, must keep writing so he grows....yay! Jack likes your proposition. He says he'll take the coconut rum in exchange for never having to follow my orders to update again. Why do I think he's pulled another fast one on me? ;)
Pirate-Jazzy: We're not going to mention that he's that much older....okay, so we are, but we won't think of that, will we? :D Glad Norrie's growing on you!
Panny Savage: Glad you like it! I am not, unfortunately, British. I am Canadian, which is technically still a British colony, so I suppose that might account for it? I'm not certain. Glad you're impressed!
Christé: Ah yes, essays. Done for the year, whoot! Jack is very good at forgetting about anyone but himself, and that what he is currently concerned with at the moment. That was Hellcat. :P And thank ye, lass, for yer gracious singing..........scary....I could legally drink now......O.o
Tabby Kitten: You mention fanfics in your reviews, I read them. Now I keep running around calling Will my bitch......thankies!
Huntress16: Well, I'm glad I managed to pull it off, anyway! Whoo.....no more worries that people will think I'm pulling a Sue....and Jack wanted to write that. So Jack wrote it.
Tygrus-2000: Norrington deserves some happiness. After all, he did let Jack go in the end. We loves him now!
Cynikalbitch: As do I, dear. As do I.
Lyssa2: *huggles* What Jack doesn't get better reviews? That's going to crush his poor little heart, it is...
Calex: Jack did manage to get a disturbingly large number of reviews, but not more than me. Yet. :P And I agree....he should be kept far, far away from technology. Yes. Branded. Coming soon in a chapter near you!
Vagrant Candy: It made some sense.....silly Jack. :D
Star4: I'm so happy that you liked it! *huggles* And I think I'm alive. Maybe. Kinda. Sorta. Possibly. Blargh.
JenJen: Literary genius is a hard thing to pass on, I've been told. *huggles* That's it, Jack, yer going canelling!!
Nameless_ladybug: Yeppers. Johnny, the sexiest man alive. *droooool* Eyeliner..... Spoilers, yes. How they explain to be spoilers......nope. Still fun!
Tabby Kitten: He didn't actually get any flames, surprisingly. I think all reviewers were far too mesmerized with the eyeliner......
And yes, I own nothing. Stop asking.
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Night was rapidly descending.
My grip tightened on the dagger in hand, crouched behind the rails on the quarter-deck. Jack was only feet away, hands on the wheel, a manic grin on his face. The rest of the crew was scattered across the deck and the rigging, weapons at the ready, grim smiles firmly in place. Little more than the cannons shot length away sailed the massive Alameda*, sails at full breadth to catch the wind, and by now their crew had to have spotted us. A black sailed ship was suspicious enough, even if we were flying the Spanish colors.
The plan was relatively simple, all things considered. Sail up beside them, rake their side with a single pass of the cannons, then board and take the crew prisoner. If a crew member refused to be taken prisoner and insisted on fighting for something like their honor, kill them. Just do try not to kill the captain - Jack wanted to talk to him.
The theory was that, the other ship being a merchant vessel, wasn't likely to have many soldiers or eager fighters aboard. Granted, the crew-members were sure to put up a considerable fight at first, but most of them valued their lives over the meager pay the captain would offer.
That, and we had reputation going for us.
I could see the crew on the Alameda moving around, occasionally turning to point at us, faces still indistinct. Smiling grimly, I watched them, measuring entrances and escape routes with my eyes. I wasn't really all that good at this - after all, I had never raided a ship before. But that wasn't the point. The point was that I was going to be involved in a raid now, and that was what mattered.
"And just what do ye think yer doing there, luv?"
I glanced up at Jack's voice, to see him lazily leaning on the wheel, watching me with one eyebrow arched. I rocked back on my heels, and shot him a cool look. "Waiting, as the rest of the crew is. Yourself?"
He snorted. "And just what do ye propose yer waiting for?"
I rolled my eyes. "Captain, with all due respect, there's a ship right there. We are going to loot it, as per your orders, I believe? I don't know what your waiting for, but I'm waiting for the tea party you and their captain are going be holding," I shot back sarcastically.
Jack smirked, and dropped into a crouch beside the wheel, hand still on the vanes. "And how were ye proposing to be holding the tea cup with yer hand all done up in bandages like that?"
"I'm become rather ambidextrous, thank you," I said cooly. "I do think I'll manage."
"Of course ye will, luv," he smirked, standing again. "Locked in my cabin."
"Excuse me?"
"Ye heard me," he said, beginning to hum a tune under his breath. "Ye'll be quite welcome to use yer remarkable ambidous....ambiderm...ambidrox....what'd ye call it again?"
"Ambidextrous," I growled.
"Right, right, that. So ye'll be quite welcome to use it when yer locked away in my cabin. I'm sure it will benefit ye greatly....practicing....opening rum bottles, or something." He grinned, waving a hand about in what he obviously thought was a dramatic, dashing pose. I was less than impressed.
"And just what makes you think I'm going to let you lock me in your cabin, captain?!" I demanded, glaring. "And just why in all of all that's sacred would you?"
Resting an elbow on the wheel, he half turned, cocking his head to look at me. "In case ye haven't noticed, my little Hellcat, yer a....well....y'know....a woman. Or something likes that, as I haven't exactly had opportunity to determine this for myself." He paused for a long moment, staring off into space, before shaking his head, and looking back at me. "And so, ye see, I can't just have ye wandering about deck while we're raiding."
I spluttered. "Are you suggesting that I can't fight because I'm female?!"
He paused. "Aye, that'd be about it."
Not even caring that someone on the other ship might see, or even hear me, I stood up, fists clenched at my sides, one hand holding a dagger, the other wrapped in long cloth strips. "I am not some weak little shrinking violet, Jack! I can fight just as well as anyone if need be! Or did you conveniently not notice that in that cave?!"
He raised an eyebrow. "As I recall, in that cave ye managed to slit yer own wrist and end up laying on the ground, bleeding yer lifeblood out so as I had to rescue ye. Or have ye conveniently forgotten that?"
I raised a hand to point a shaking finger at him. "That is something else entirely, Jack, and you know it!"
"Tis but a matter of opinion, really," he shrugged, before rounding the wheel, hand still on it, to call down to the deck, "Oi, AnaMaria! A moment?"
The African woman hurried up the steps, a no-nonsense business like manner in her stride. "Aye, captain?"
"Keep a watch on the helm for me for a moment, won't ye? Seems the Hellcat doesn't want to cooperate."
"Hey!" I yelped, glaring at them both. "I am not going to just stand here, and...."
"Aye," AnaMaria grinned, interrupting me. Calmly, she took the helm, and nodded at Jack. "We'll be upon them soon, Cap'n."
"That we will," Jack nodded. "And this won't take me but a moment."
"Hey!" I aimed the dagger I still held at him, though not all that convincingly. I wasn't going to stab Jack. "I said, I'm not going to..."
"Yes, yes, I heard," Jack laughed, his hand snaking forward with deceptive speed to grab my wrist. "Now, put that thing away, that's a good girl..."
Scowling, I kept my grip on the knife. Jack sighed, then twisted my wrist fast and sharp, and I let out a yelp of pain, my fingers releasing the blade. "That's more like it," he grinned, and before I could protest, he reached down, swung me over his shoulder, and was already descending the stairs before I could work up any kind of reaction.
"Bloody hell!" I bellowed, pounding my fists on his back. "Bloody let me bloody go!"
He just laughed, and from around the deck, I could hear the sniggers of the crew members. This did nothing to improve my mood.
"I...said...bloody...let...me...bloody....go!" I pounded on his back, and kicked as hard and desperately as I could. "I will not be treated like a little girl! Put me down this instant, Jack, or I'll..."
What I was going to do I never got the chance to tell him, as quite abruptly, he did put me down. I hadn't noticed that we'd already entered his cabin, what with having my eyes closed, and kicking and screaming. He had chosen to drop me with a thump on his bed, and I bounced once, from the force of gravity on me, dropping off his shoulder.
"Hey!" I yelped - again. I seemed to have lost my rather large repertoire of words to yell at him. "What do you bloody think you're doing?!"
"Since you seem so very determined not to listen to me," Jack smirked grimly, grabbing my wrists and pinning them above my head. "Guess I'll just have to tie you to my bed."
As I spluttered out in indignation, he calmly ignored me, and lashed my wrists above my head to the rough headboard. "There we are," he nodded, grinning at my glowering expression. "I'm the captain, savvy? And we listen to our captain, don't we, Hellcat?"
"Go to hell," I snapped, glaring at him.
"Later, luv," he leaned down to lightly press his lips against mine. "In the meantime, you sit tight, hear? I expect you to still be here, waiting for me when all this is over."
Grinning, he straightened, and left the cabin.
The second the door shut, I started swearing a blue streak, snapping off every curse I could remember and a few I made up especially for the occasion, condemning Jack to every possible imaginable horrible fate. Once I had exhausted my supply and began to repeat curses, I twisted on the bed, glaring up at my wrists, bound together, then tied to the headboard. "Damn you," I muttered, as I began twisting my hands, trying to worm my way out of the ropes.
I was just starting to make some progress on the left hand when there was a thunderous crash, and a slight tremor shook the bed under me, barely enough to be felt. "We're firing the long nines," I muttered, knowing that if we had been hit, that tremor would have been a lot more noticeable.
Yanking on the rope, I bit my lip as it cut into my hand, but one further yank pulled my left hand out finally. Silently cheering, I ignored the continuing and then ceasing of the cannon fire as I wrestled to get my right hand out. Had I noticed, I probably would have realized that the cessation of firing meant that we had boarded the other ship.
Instead, I just yanked my hand out finally, and leaping up, raced for the door. Jack had locked it from the inside, which seemed like an odd thing to do if he was trying to lock me in. A simple twist of the key solved that problem, and I threw the door open, darting out - and straight into the middle of a heated battle.
I yelped, drawing back. Sword rang on sword, gunshots ricocheted around between the sails, shouts of wounded, dying and angry men fired the air.
This was probably not the best thing to walk into, unarmed, I decided, watching for an opening to dart back into the captain's quarters.
That, however, seemed not to be what was going to happen.
"Ho, what have we here?" A rough voice demanded, and I spun, wide-eyed, to find myself staring at a massive man with a wicked looking sword. "Captain's strumpet, are we? Well, we'll deal with ye."
He raised that massive sword, and as it swung down towards me, I threw my arms over my head, and screamed.
"JACK!?!"
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Well.....that was fun, wasn't it? :D
Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long *ducks rotten fruit* but don't forget to give me your email for the mailing list!
*Whee! Footnote! Erm, yes. Alameda: Spanish girl's name, means promenade