"Good God, Jack! What are ye doin' out 'ere? Ye gave me the fright of me life, ye did!" Mary exclaimed as she tried to help the winded pirate to his feet. He brushed off her attempts and, taking a moment to breathe one of the necessities of life that was oxygen, he slowly raised himself from the ground with difficulty.
Mary bit her lip, partly in guilt and partly to keep a straight face as Jack brushed leaves, clumps of dirt and various other particles off himself. Noticing, Jack glared.
"Is it yer routine recreation t' brutally victimize innocent men late at night or am I lucky number one?"
Mary snorted before she could stop herself and instantly turned on the apologetic charm, "I just didn't recognize ye. Didn't remember ye bein' so handsome, Jack. It's hard ta tell with yer hat an' coat on all tha time."
Jack felt lament at being reminded that he was missing his most precious affect. He had grudgingly handed over his hat along with his coat to Ana Maria earlier so that she could pose as him at the helm of the Sapphire and hence convince Samuel of the idea that he had left Rhoding. It had worked well, Samuel had bought it. Jack had watched from the safety of a nearby low bridge as the man had arrived, accepted Ana Maria as Jack and then returned to the bar.
It had been successful. Jack still missed his hat.
He realised that Mary was watching his mournful silence and straightened up.
"I need yer help, Mary. Where's Sam?"
"Upstairs back at tha bar, why? It 'as ta do with that lass, aye?" Mary nodded insightfully. Jack hesitated before nodding in confirmation.
"She's up there with him?" he asked apprehensively.
"Aye. She looked mighty scared, too. Can't blame 'er neither. Sam scares the 'ell outta me s'well. T'would be a sad place ta be on his enemy list," Mary told him seriously.
"Thanks. I feel so much better now," Jack replied sarcastically.
Mary rolled her eyes, "What d'ye want, Jack?"
"I need yet'get him downstairs an' keep him... distracted... fer a little while."
Mary's eyes widened at his words.
"Jack! No! I ain't beddin' tha' man!" she protested loudly. Jack clamped a hand over her mouth to quiet her.
"No one said anything about beddin' anyone, lass. Jus' keep him preoccupied so he doesn't notice me come in, s'all," Jack assured her quietly. He slowly removed his hand as she nodded slowly and she shot him a sharp look.
"Wha's in it fer me?"
"Me eternal gratitude," Jack offered hopefully. Mary rolled her eyes.
"Yer lucky I'm such a kind soul, Jack. If I based me decision on anythin' else...," she sent a pointed look below his belt, "... ye'd be a lost soul."
Choosing wisely to keep his mouth shut, Jack bared his teeth in a generous smile. Mary promptly sashayed back towards the bar as if the interaction had not occurred.
She was headed for the stairs when she ran smack into a man in the crowd who purposefully stood in her way. She opened her mouth to shout abusive obscenities when she looked up and saw that the man was a white wigged Navy officer. She instinctively batted her lashes furiously and placed an apologetic hand on his red jacketed forearm.
"Sorry 'bout tha', Officer...," she pressed for his name. He eyed her hand pointedly until she uncomfortably removed it.
"It's Commodore Norrington," he informed her, accenting his title heavily.
Mary tried to not show her suprise. A Commodore in Rhoding? What exact nerves had Jack trod on to get a Commodore to follow him to Rhoding? She slipped back into her seductive character.
"Can I... do somethin' fer ye, Commodore?" she purred suggestively.
"Yes. I'm looking for Jack Sparrow. If you could possibly tell me of his whereabouts, I'll consider not having you arrested for underage prostitution," he answered emotionlessly.
Mary had to give it to him. With her heavy makeup and incredibly revealing attire, no one had ever taken her for younger than eighteen. Props to the Commodore.
"I'm afraid I ain't seen the Captain 'round 'ere as of late. Wha's 'e gone an' done now?" she yawned, feigning disinterest. Jack would have a very heavy debt to pay if she was arrested for saving his sorry hide, she decided.
"Thankyou for your time," Norrington nodded briskly, leaving in further search of Jack. Mary breathed a sigh of relief before continuing up the stairs. At the top, she shot a glance to the bar below and noted that it was littered with several other Navy officers. She gulped nervously and kept walking down the hall upstairs.
Upon finding all other rooms empty, her target became the attic. She rapped loudly on the door.
"Oi, Sam! Someone wants ta see ye downstairs!" she shouted sharply. She heard a bit of banging around and a whimper. The door opened slightly ajar and Samuel's scarred face appeared.
"Tell 'im ta sod off, Mary. Ye should know better than ta jus' come up 'ere fer nothin'," he beseeched her before starting to close the door.
Mary promptly stuck out her high heeled shoe, preventing him from closing it fully. When he shot her a sharp questioning look, she shrugged.
"Says it's very urgent," she insisted curtly.
When they reached downstairs and found no one, Mary knew that if she did not find a good excuse, she was in trouble. Samuel was already notably erratic in his behavior, seeming to be waiting for the opportune moment to crack.
"Maybe 'e went outside," she suggested nervously. Samuel shot her a scowl of suspicion but went along with it anyway, as if he wanted to have a tangible reason to blow his top at her. They stepped outside into the cold night air, both looking for any sign of anyone wishing to discuss something 'very urgent' with Samuel.
No one showed.
"There's no one 'ere, Mary," Samuel growled.
"Fancy that, aye? Must've chickened out at the last minute," Mary shrugged. Over Samuel's shoulder, she spied Jack cautiously creeping up the steps of the porch, eyeing the two of them intently. Damn. He would walk right into a nest of the King's Finest. As Samuel started to turn around, she figured she could only save the pirate from one enemy at a time. She quickly turned Samuel's face back towards hers and met his lips with her own in a fiery kiss of intense passion. She cursed Jack silently a million times over as Samuel responded and his wandering hands lustfully explored her body.
Jack watched the display of feigned affection for a moment before walking into the bar, his kohl lined eyes finding the stairs at the back. He started towards them when something red caught his eye.
Several somethings red, really.
He froze in place when he realised that they were red jackets moving around the crowd. His eyes widened when he spotted a white wig bobbing above the heads of the other customers.
If it wasn't his old mate, Norrington.
Snapping back into action, he ducked low and made his way in the direction of the stairs hastily, avoiding the polished black boots he saw every now and then. He soon found himself at the end of the crowd and spotted the stairs and made a beeline for them, sending a look over his shoulder before proceeding up them.
Safe from Norrington for now upstairs, he turned his attention to finding Christina and searched the rooms he passed before coming to the one closed door at the end of the hallway. He tried the handle but it refused to budge.
It was then that a whimper sounded within the room. Jack felt the guilt return in full swing and reached for his revolver. Praying silently that the noise from downstairs would drown out the sound of the shot, he aimed for the lock and pulled the trigger.
The door swung wide open with impact from the bullet. No Christina.
Jack frowned, thinking that maybe she had already escaped. He carefully stepped inside the room, one boot at a time, waiting for a reaction of any sort.
Nothing.
How strange. He was sure he had heard Christi-
Abruptly, the woman pushed the door closed from her position behind it with her foot. All though at first stunned, Jack chuckled at the scene of her, looking incredibly on edge with an old flimsy trombone, which Jack presumed was her weapon of choice at that moment, held high over her head in poorly attempted threat.
Upon recognizing Jack, Christina let her weapon fall to the ground with a loud clatter and threw her arms around his neck. Jack chuckled more and returned the embrace. After a few more moments of this, however, he became fearful that she would not let go for she was holding onto him for dear life. He began to feel faint for lack of oxygen for the second time that night.
Gently, he pried her arms away and led her out of the room.
"Where did you go?" Christina sobbed, Jack catching her arms before she had a chance to throw them around his neck again.
"Got caught up," he brushed off the question briskly, knowing that it was a very weak attempt of hiding the terrible truth that he had risked her life for a ship. For now, he was relieved to find, she seemed willing to accept the answer and ask no more.
Jack paused, trying to remember what room he had passed had a window. He decided it would have to be a game of luck when heavy footsteps started up the stairs and he pulled Christina into the nearest room just as a flustered looking Samuel appeared.
His grunt of suprise was heard as Jack thanked his lucky stars that the room he had jumped into had a small window on the wall furthest from him.
A few minutes later, Jack and Christina jumped down from the God sent tree that gracefully spread it branches towards their exit. Jack cursed quietly when he saw the red coats drifting around outside and he hastily took Christina's arm, steering her towards the docks.
When he heard someone yelling behind them, he broke into a sprint, dragging Christina behind him at her protest. Followed by their shouting pursuers, they soon reached the Pearl. Jack could've shouted in joy when he found Gibbs ready at the helm. In the short moment it took for Christina and Jack to run up the gangplank, the Pearl heaved into motion.
"Was that the Commodore?" Christina demanded, short of breath.
"Aye," Jack confirmed, trying to recover himself.
"...Oh," Christina frowned, watching as the red jackets boarded the ship she recognized as the Dauntless and made sail after them. Not sure of what to question first with so many choices before her, she just stared incredulously at Jack who took his place at the helm.
"Where are we going?" she finally decided a suitable first question.
"Oh, don't worry yerself with little picky information like that. ye must be tired. Go get yerself some sleep," Jack suggested with concern that Christina doubted immensely. She strode towards him.
"Where are we going, Jack?" she asked again, more firmly.
Jack met her eyes for a moment before rolling his.
"Fine. We're goin' ta Port Royal," he informed her confidently.
"Port Royal?" Christina squeaked, "But, why?"
"T'demand clemency."
Christina blinked.
"Clemency?"
"Aye."
"Why?"
"Because I like ta keep me prominent enemies list down to one. An' since Samuel will now take that place, the Navy is goin' ta have to be bumped off, savvy?"
Christina shook her head.
"Go t'bed. It'll make sense in the mornin'," Jack told her.
"I doubt it with what I know of your kind of sense," Christina replied dryly, stifling a yawn.
She took his advice anyway, retreating to the comfort of her adopted cabin.
Sorry it's a little rushed towards the end. I spose I could go an' blame it on artistic license an' wantin' tha reader t'get all caught up in tha rush... But really, let's face it, I'm a lazy git. Hope ev'ryone 'ad a good Easter. An' thanks fer all the reviews too. But, please think of the time yer wastin' reviewing when ye could be 'avin' fun. Think of yerselves. Please... If that ain't reverse physiology, I don't know what is.
Forensic Photographer711: Oh, the awesomeness. Sorry, just love the vocab! Aye, Jack came back. That could almost be considered sweet had he not done what he had done fer him to need ta come back, aye? All in one sittin'. Ye deserve a medal, luv. Ha ha, love the literal reference ta cliffies.
TheSiriusSparrow: Well, allo luv. T'tell ye the truth, I ain't really THAT fussed about reviews anyways. S'nice t'know that people are enjoyin' the tale but. Glad the twist suprised ye. I must say, I hadn't really expected it to be that much of a huge shock when I was writin' it. I was wrong. An' TADA, Jack rescued Christina. They'll discuss it in the next chapter, it's jus' too late fer me t'do all the angry dialogue now... Thanks fer the reviews!
MariAmber: Aye, aye, miss! I savvy. Glad ye likin' the tale.
Karibbean: I'm sure ye'll be pleased t'see that there ain't that much of a cliffie t'day. Mostly 'cause it's Easter an' I figured I'd be good an' not put ye through agony. Hope this was 'very, very soon' enough fer ye. Aye, cliffies get the reviewers. It's what we 'ave t'do, right? HA HA! Cheers.
Ailuro: No favourite chapter fer chapter ten, aye? That's alright. I have the feeling ye won't 'ave too much good t'say 'bout this one either! Ye have t'forgive me. It's late, ye see. Me mind is off in the clouds an' me fingers aren't cooperatin'. Good fer nothing fingers. An' I almost fell off me chair laughin' at yer last comment! I 'spose I'll take it as a compliment, aye? Thanks fer yer all important reviews. I'll await yer next one t'this in intense apprehension. Ha.
Siriusly Sirius Lily Black: Well, 'ello there, Siriusly Sirius Lily Black. I'm well an' yerself, lass? Aye, Jack's me fav'rite too, ye know? Such a fool yet so clever. Yer were incred'bly right 'bout there bein' nothin' ta worry 'bout. But one would expect that, seein' as yer a clever one 'n all. Now, ev'ryone's 'ope in Jack is restored. I doubt 'e would be much pleased t'know that it had been lost in the first place, aye. Me thinks 'e would 'ave 'imself some words ta say 'bout tha'...