Yes, the world is ending.
I updated.
Again, I say, the world is ending.
And ain't it fun?
Awww....we haven't got 125 reviews yet. But we're really really really really close! ONE MORE, FOLKS!
HyperCaz: I do have the oddest timing, don't I? Glad you like!
Sweet A.K.: I know, it was so evil, but that's exactly why I did it! And I don't think Jack's too insulted, so much as he's given his daily dose of rum and a slap on the rear (he doesn't like the slaps to his face, for some reason) and he's happy. Glad you like, though!
Lady J. Riddle: *huggles* More is on the way!
Calex: Oooh....cookies! *huggles* And I get to be a star? Gosh, me?! Why, thank you! So you did like the beginning? Yay! I was kinda worried about that (y'know, reviewers trying to flay me alive for it, or something) but everyone seems to have liked....ah! I am smart after all! And yes, it was Hello by Evanescence. I love that song. *huggles again!* And I don't have the DVD, but I have seen it, and yes, his name is James. Grr.
Sugaricing: I meeped because I was afraid sword-wielding reviewers would be out for my head? And I enjoyed writing it, so that's great! And Edward does seem sort of school-boy-ish, doesn't he?
Brem Nakada: I'm sorry I've scared you, Brem, really, I am! Although yes, Will is very whipped! Darn seventeen year old actresses! They shouldn't be allowed to look that good! And Norrington does begin to grow on you, doesn't he? I'm now able to write these chapters with him in it without feeling like gagging!
VagrantCandy: Success! I managed to make my readers nervous! Yay! *huggles* Glad you like!
Nameless Bulldog: And I cannot impress on you how amazing your review made me feel! You have inspired me to actually work on this story! *huggles*
JackOnTop: What does that name mean, then, cause you realize what it sounds like, right....? Thanks so much!
TriGemini: *huggles* Glad you liked it, even if I did manage to worry you a little there... And really, Norrington can be a good guy, can't he? And St. George? Mwa ha!
Star4: I hope the reintroduction of Jack to the story can make up for the lack of pirates in that last chapter! And I'll see what I can do about writing longer chapters.....
Thunderfoot: I know, but evil is so much FUN! And yes, I believe you may very well be right - Will seems bored as well! And it was 40.5 degrees?! It was -35 here today! I wanna move to Australia.....*pout* Although yes, those dresses...*shudder* What's this about cliffs? *gets the hint* Ooooh.....
Jupiter's Light: Here you go, adventure and excitement!
Penny Savage: Yeah, I'm sorry it was such a short chapter....._ This one should be longer to make up for it a little, though! And I know, the name.....*sighs* The DVD wasn't out yet when I wrote that, so it's an AU, or something.......
Andi Horton: Ahh! Andi! *huggles* Your fic rox my sox. So there. It rocks so much!
BubblyFizz03: Yay Jack/Heatherness! Lots of that in this chapter, so you should be happy! Yay! And I really don't think I want to let Jack write again....that was scary last time....
Lenne Hime: I'm sorry it took so long! But I'm out from under the desk, and I wrote the next chapter! Yay! 100!
Morph: Glad you like....sorry it took so long.....*wince*
JenJen: *sigh* Parsons makes a reappearance as well, I promise! And thanks for telling me not to rush perfection....you made me wait MONTHS to update! Lol.....
Christé: *cries in the corner* I'M SORRY!
Laura N.: Yay! New reader! Glad you like it!
Mogjitsu: Glad you like. And for sure, more Jack/Heather!
Queen of the Caribbean: Hey, thanks! Glad to hear that people like it, anyways. And yeah, I'm not so busy as I'm just a lazy bum......:P I need to get my rear in gear, re-collar my muse and knuckle down....lol....glad you like!
I have a note to resolve, now. In the deleted scenes of the movie, you may have noticed that Norrington's name is actually James. However, please keep in mind - this is a deleted scene. Therefore...James as his name is also deleted. So there. His name is Edward.
While we're discussing this resolving of notes, I have a note to resolve. How's this - I wrote a story. I used characters that I do not own. I made no money for it. So you don't sue me.
Kay?
********
I cowered behind my arms, throwing my bandaged arm up first - it was already injured, if worse came to worse. The sword descending towards me whistled through the air, and I flinched, anticipating the all-too-familiar strike of sword on my arm.
It didn't arrive, however, and slowly, I opened one eye.
The brute still stood over me, arms raised, sword in hand, but he had stopped mid-swing, a strange expression fighting its way across his face. He opened his mouth, as though to say something, but instead, blood bubbled its way past his lips, and he began to cough. I flinched as his blood splattered across my arms, a few droplets hitting my face. And then he began to fall forward, and I jumped back, managing to just get out of his way before he fell with a loud and heavy thump to the wooden deck.
I took a couple awkward steps back, then let out a yelp as someone grabbed my arm. I tried to pull away from them, but my captor just yanked me towards them, and a second later, I found my back crushed against Jack's chest as he backed away from yet another attacking sailor, dragging me with him.
"Did I or did I not lock you in my cabin?" Jack growled.
"Ah, yes?" I winced as Jack struck out at another sword slashing man. "But I figured that it couldn't be all that safe, tied to - yeek! - a bed when there's the possibility of being - yah! - attacked!"
"It's a hell of a lot safer than out here," he pointed out, and that would be why, a moment later, I found myself being shoved unceremoniously back onto Jack's bed. "You." he pointed at me sternly, pausing at the door. "Stay."
I stayed.
*******
"To the victorious go the spoils, luv!" Jack crowed, and I looked up as his door crashed open, and he staggered in, three or four rum bottles under one arm, and what looked like enough fabric to refit the sails under the other. Laughing, he swung into the room, dumping his load of bottles carefully on the table, then threw the other bundle at me.
"What's this?" I asked, glaring at him.
"Spoils for the victorious!" he grinned.
"Riiiight," I said sarcastically, then grabbed the pile of dark red material, shaking it out. It was a dress. Glancing up at the smugly grinning Jack, I couldn't help it. He deserved it. "Why, Jack, it's perfectly lovely!"
"I know," he grinned. "Isn't it?"
"Yes indeed, it is," I agreed. "You'll look positively stunning in it, Jack."
Silence.
For a moment, the pirate captain made no response, then a grin fought it's way across his face, and laughter bubbled up. He didn't answer me for a minute, bracing himself against the table as he began roaring with laughter. His shoulders shook as he turned away, as he attempted, unsuccessfully, to stem the tide. At last, Jack turned back, took the three steps over to the bed, and scooped the fabric up into his own arms. With a little flick of the wrist, the dress hung loosely in his hands, and he held it up to his chest.
"Aye, I would, wouldn't I?" He smirked. "At least I have the figure for it."
"Oh, no you don't," I grinned, fighting to look serious. "You are not getting me riled up just so I'll agree to put that thing on. Put it on yourself."
Silence greeted my retort for a moment, until an entirely too devious look crossed my captain's face.
The next thing I knew, I was pinned to the bed, Jack straddling my legs, hands held to the bed above my head with one hand with his other was calmly undoing the buttons on my vest.
"The hell?! Jack! What do you bloody think you're doing?!"
He grinned, finishing the buttons and tugging on the dark green fabric in an attempt to pull it off, despite the fact that I was quite clearly lying on it. "Putting the dress on myself. Isn't that what you wanted?"
"Bloody hell, Jack!" I tried to twist away, but just as before, it wasn't working all that well. Instead, all my twisting and bucking merely gave Jack the leverage he needed to finally yank the vest off, tossing it carelessly across the room. Still grinning like a banshee, he began to unbutton my shirt, humming an odd little tune under his breath as he did. Soon he'd gotten the first four undone, and was calmly moving to unbutton the last two when I finally realized that I could move my legs somewhat. "Oh, no, you don't!" I yelped as I yanked my knees forward, hitting him soundly in the lower back.
Startled, Jack dropped him hands off my arms, which allowed me to sit up, and shove him forward so that he fell off me, and hit the floor with a thump. "Bloody hell," I snapped, hastily re-buttoning my shirt.
Jack, meanwhile, hadn't bothered to get up from where he'd fallen. Instead, he'd sprawled himself out on the floor, spreadeagled, laughing. "If you could only see yourself, luv!" he chortled. "You'd have done it too, just to see your face!"
"Yes, yes, very funny," I snapped, marching across the room to grab my vest. Yanking it on, I glared down at him for a moment, before grabbing one of the bottles off the table and wrestling with the cork. Eventually, I just used my teeth to pry the small wooden stopper out, then heaved a sigh and leaned against the table, taking a swig of the amber liquid. "I hate you, Sparrow."
"Awwww...and after I saved yer life and everything?" Jack asked, and I turned to see that he'd rolled over onto his stomach, chin resting on the floor as he pouted.
"Yes." Turning away again, I concentrated on my bottle, and ignored the slight scuffling sounds that was Jack pushing himself to his feet. "Why would I want to wear that ridiculous dress anyway?"
"Because ye'd look good in it?" Jack brushed past me to seize upon another of the bottles. "I thought you ladies like wearing dresses."
I almost snapped back that girls hardly ever wear skirts these days anymore anyways, but quickly bit my tongue when I realized how stupid that would have been. Whoops, we ain't in Kansas anymore, Toto. And after all, in this day and age, women did wear skirts all the time. Sure, AnaMaria didn't, but as I recalled it, she was the only one I could think of. Everyone else wore dresses, except of course, in that short stint where Elizabeth wore a uniform on the Dauntless, but she'd been quick enough to head back to skirts, first chance she got. So I settled for a response of, "Well, I don't. I hate them."
"Oh." Jack was silent for a minute, and I turned to face him. He'd crossed the room to lean against the wall, one leg crossed over the other, arms crossed, bottle dangling almost lazily from his fingers. "Well. That back-fired then, didn't it?"
"Say what?" I asked, eyebrows arching.
One hand strayed upward to scratch thoughtfully at his goatee. "The dress was supposed to be a, how shall I put it...peace offering?"
Lips quirking into a smirk, I glanced over at the pile of fabric. "Well. That didn't work."
"No. It didn't." Jack heaved a heavy sigh, then pushed himself off the wall, reaching into his pocket. "Really hoped I wouldn't have to do this..."
As I watched him warily, he began circling the room, very deliberately clicking his heels off the floor as he did. He paused for a moment behind, and I very nearly jumped when his arms slid around my neck, just as I was about to snap at him, he pulled back, fiddling with something at the base of my neck, then stepped back.
"See?" He beamed when I spun to face him. "Better, right?"
That was when I realized there was a slight weight around my neck, and suspiciously, I dropped my eyes. A gold chain hung around my neck, a gold pendant hanging ponderously, just dipping into the collar of my shirt. Lifting a hand to it, I held the pendant to my eyes, examining it.
It was a smooth circle, a gently decorated border around the edge, and carved in the middle was a grinning deaths-head, swords crossed behind it. With a slight chill, I was reminded of a familiar gold piece found in a certain stone chest on a certain un-find-able island. The back was smooth, except that someone (and I didn't have to wonder too hard to think of who it may have been) had attacked it with something sharp, scratching the word 'Sparrows' into it.
"'Sparrow's?'" I read aloud, smirking. "Jack....you really are hopeless, aren't you?"
"Am I forgiven?" He asked, giving me the cutest little smile ever. "Cause y'know, I had to save you, and you didn't even say thank you..."
I sighed, before taking another firm swig of the bottle, choking down the fire in my throat. "Fine, Jack. You win."
*****
"Ahh...sorry, Francis, didn't see you there."
Christine flushed, stepping back. Parsons looked up from where he had settled on the edge of the deck, leaning on the railing, and gave her a small, sad smile. "Not at all, Miss Christine. I was only pausing for dinner." To prove his point, he lifted the almost empty plate he held. "I'll be out of your way in a moment."
"Oh, it's cool," Christine laughed, waving a hand. Spotting his confused expression, she corrected, "That is, you don't have to do that. I can find another spot to read." Smiling, she waved her copy of Shakespeare's sonnets lightly.
"If you're sure..." he frowned, looking worried.
"Certainly." Smiling, Christine turned. "Have a pleasant evening, Francis."
"The same to you, Miss Christine." Francis answered, then she crossed the deck, settling herself onto a crate.
Leaning back against the railing, Christine spared a glance up at the near to setting sun, then cracked her book open, returning to her spot. She wasn't much of a poetry reader, much less Shakespeare, but there wasn't exactly a lot to do on this ship.
"Evening," a soft voice said, and Christine turned to see the Commodore, hands draped behind his back, smiling at her.
"Evening," she returned with a smile, scooting over on her impromptu bench. "Will you have a seat?"
"Afraid I haven't the time at the moment," he shook his head. "Though I'd be delighted if you would join me this evening for tea?"
"I would love to," she smiled, nodding. "Until then?"
"Of course." Sweeping a little bow, he doffed his hat. "I will send one of my men to retrieve you."
"Certainly." Grinning, Christine bit her lip as Norrington crossed the deck. Trying to fight the grin that was trying to work its way onto her lips, she hid behind her sonnets book, softly reading aloud, "Not marble, nor the gilded monuments of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme; but you shall shine more bright in these conténts than unswept stone, besmeared with sluttish time."
Looking up, and considering the fact that she had been thrown several hundred years back in time, Christine had to laugh. "Will, you have no idea."
****
"He actually conned you into wearing it?" AnaMaria asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't want to talk about it," I muttered, crossing my arms over my overly-tightly bound chest. "I can't believe he made me wear the corset."
AnaMaria looked like she was fighting down a bout of laughter. "Well, it is a lovely dress. Very fine."
I frowned, fingering the fine red silk. "Aye, it is. Jack probably had to rob some poor woman's Hope Chest to get it. And why are all women so bloody skinny?!"
"Because it makes it easier for us to wrap our arms around you, luv," a voice answered, followed immediately by Jack's arms wrapping smoothly around my waist. "You know, in Singapore, they bind the women's corsets so tight, that - "
"I grew up in Singapore, Jack," I lied easily, to cut an undoubtedly questionable story off. Well hey, according to popular mythology, Captain Morgan did keep several women in Singapore. It would make some certain sense that his daughter would have grown up there, right?
"Did you?" Jack seemed surprised. "So you could speak their langauage?"
"Ah...." I tried to think quick. "No. I only spoke English to my teachers, and my mother."
"Oh..." AnaMaria was biting her lip to fight down a grin, and Jack was pouting. "You don't even know how to ask for rum?"
I fought down a snort of laughter. "No. Baka," I added, unable to resist. So it was Japanese, not....Singaporean? I still got to call him an idiot in different languages. "So...are we going into the town, or not?"
Jack leaned down, resting his chin on my shoulder as he stared out at the slow beginnings of a Tortugan morning bustle. "We are indeed. Are you certain you want to come, luv?"
Reaching down, I patted the hands laced over my stomach. "I'll stick close to you, Jack. I trust you to keep my honor intact. Well....I trust you slightly more than I trust the men of Tortuga."
Grinning, Jack stood, sliding one of his arms off my waist, keeping the other there. "Right then. We set sail this time tomorrow lads, so look sharp!"
"Aye, aye, captain!" A chorus of delighted shouts from the crew came, and with his typical flourish, Jack Sparrow led us down the gangplank, and back into the den of debauchery that was Tortuga.
****
"Thank you," Commodore Norrington nodded, dismissing the man who had brought him the message. Turning back to the Spanish captain that stood beside him, he resumed his questions.
Christine wandered the edge of the deck aimlessly, book of sonnets dangling loosely from her hand, the other resting on her hat to ensure it didn't blow away in the stiff breeze. She kept to the sidelines to keep out of the way of the rushing and bustling crew members, both Spanish and English, that dashed from one deck to the other, attempting salvage. Francis was among them, and he had paused twice now, to make sure that she was alright. Each time she agreed that she was, and he had hurried off again.
Standing for a moment at the railing, she watched the activity on the other ship with a frown. She had thought that the Spanish and the English were at war in this point in history. Maybe she didn't have the exact year right after all. Well, they did seem off-again on-again allies at this point of history anyway....
Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft touch on her shoulder. Dropping her hand from her hat, she turned to face Norrington, who was frowning lightly. "Sparrow attacked them, two nights ago. The captain believes they may be heading to Tortuga. No one saw your sister, either."
Christine bit her lip. "Heather...Heather's probably fine."
"Well, the captain tells me that they did take several dresses and some pieces of jewelry. That seems to indicate a woman aboard the Black Pearl, at any case."
Christine smiled slightly. "Well, that is encouraging. Will we be making for Tortuga, then?"
Norrington nodded. "As soon as we have finished up here."
"Good." Christine smiled, reaching out to take Norrington's gloved hand, squeezing it lightly. "Thank you, Edward."
He beamed. "For you, Christine, I would travel to the ends of the earth."
****
"Well.....have another drink boys, well have one with me, I'm home from the sea and I'm back on the shore....and if you get too drunk boys in this company, we'll roar and keep pourin'..." The song ended abruptly as I descended into a fit of the giggles, nearly spilling my tankard as I leaned heavily on the swaying pirate captain. Laughing, we made our weaving way down the cobble-stoned street of Tortuga, followed by a remarkably large group of like-inebriated ruffians, some from our crew, more from others. Apparently the few 'pirate-esque' songs I had learned before I came (by accident, admittably) to this time period were a big hit among those who had already heard the rest of the drinking songs a million and one times.
"Oh....what do ya do with a drunken sailor," I began again, taking another swig of the rum I carried. "What do ya do with a drunken sailor, er'ly in the mornin'?"
"Throw 'im in the hold with the captain's daughter," Jack sang back, tightening his grip around my waist a little. "Throw 'im in the hold with the captain's daughter, er'ly in the mornin'!"
I giggled. "Jack....the captain's daughter is a cat-'o-nine tails..."
Jack snorted, taking a last swing of his rum. The bottle empty, he tossed it haphazardly, and whether it hit someone or not....I honestly don't remember. Hands free, he bent down, and as he already had one arm around my waist, he only had to loop the other around my overly large skirts, under my knees, and a moment later, I was swung up into his arms. "Yer a captain's daughter, ain't ye? Good enough fer me."
Still laughing, I looped my arms around his neck, and calmly pointed out another verse. "Throw 'im in the longboat 'til he's sober..."
"Spoilsport," he laughed, rubbing his nose under my jaw.
And so we made for the dock, bathed in moonlight. I'm sure my loud, drunken singing could be heard all over Tortuga as we neared the dock. "Er'ly in the mornin'!"
****
"Damnation," Norrington muttered, as yet another of his soldiers reported the same thing. Jack Sparrow and his crew had just left that morning, and the Dauntless had just missed them by a margin of about three hours. The only encouraging part of the report, though slightly tainted with other details, was the accounts that stated that Jack Sparrow had been in the company of a young woman with blonde hair the night before.
The girl had been nearly as drunk as the pirate captain, and had apparently led the patrons of The Faithful Bride in a rousing singing march down the streets of Tortuga.
He only hoped that they would manage to retrieve the young woman before Captain Jack Sparrow tainted her beyond all recognition of a fine young lady.
**************************
WAAHH! FLUFF!!!
I'll try to not make the wait so long next time.....but hey, it was a little longer than normal to compensate! Yay! *nervous grin*
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