"Don't do it, Jo!" Will shouted angrily as the captain of the other ship began to circle me.
"Who are you anyway?" I asked him curiously, ignoring Will's protests.
"Aww… Jack… you didn't tell her about me?" He turned and asked Jack with a smirk.
"I'm Captain Thomas McDouglas." He added a moment later, turning back to face me.
He took a swipe at me… thus, beginning the parry.
I seemed to actually be doing well fighting against McDouglas-managing to keep his attacks blocked.
Sadly, however, I was beginning to tire out as we continued to parry across the deck… Jack shouting helpful hints to help me.
"Aggh!" I screamed frightfully as I lost my footing and stumbled down-trying to maintain my grip on my sword, my luck failing when it slipped from my fingertips.
"Hahaha.." I heard McDouglas' mocking laugh as I slowly looked up at him with fright filled eyes.
"No!" I heard Jack cry out in desperation- catching myself and others off guard as McDouglas began grabbing me up, preparing to take me aboard his ship.
"Oh, look men… Seems Captain Jack Sparrow has a bit of a soft spot for the lady…" McDouglas said to his crew with a mocking sneer.
"Makes it more fun for me to take 'er then." He added with a laugh, then quickly swinging over to his ship with his crew-leaving Jack and the others tied up.
"McDouglas! I'm going to get ye for this!" Jack shouted furiously, fighting against his roped hands.
"Don't worry, Mate… I'll take good care of her!" McDouglas shouted back as his ship began sailing away.
"Aggh-you stupid--" I started screaming furiously, beginning to run at McDouglas with my fists raised.
"I wouldn't do that, Miss Turner." McDouglas said threateningly, grabbing my wrists to keep me from hitting him.
"Take her down to the cellar!" He shouted towards one of his crew members.
"You will pay for this, McDouglas!" I screamed angrily as one crew member began dragging me below deck.
JACK'S POV
After McDouglas and his crew sailed away- with Jo- Jack managed to get the ropes that bound his hands off, then untied the others.
From what he could tell, Will was furious.
"Jack! How the bloody hell could you let that happen!" Will was shouting, following him around deck, as Jack concentrated on setting sail to catch McDouglas.
"Do you not care that she is my sister! Yet, you just let that happen--" Will continued on with his angry rantics.
"I do care! I'm sorry that I couldn't do anything to stop it!" Jack finally turned and shouted-red faced from anger- in Will's face; taking Will and the crew off guard and causing silence amongst the deck.
"Set sail… We're going to try and catch them. It may take a day or two…" Jack mumbled then began heading below deck.
Elizabeth stood off in the distance, a small smile creeping on her face.
BACK TO JO'S POV
"Get your filthy hands off me!" I snapped furiously at the pirate dragging me into the cellar.
"You keep on, Missy… and you'll be regrettin' ever opening yer mouth." He growled out.
"Go to hell." I mumbled as he shoved me in the cell, locking the doors behind me.
He ignored my comment, and turned to walk out, going back on deck.
Ugh… Why do I always get myself in trouble? I thought to myself, slinking down to the floor and putting my head in my hands.
Sometime later, the same pirate that had brought me down here before, came back and began unlocking the door.
"You're to dine with the Captain." He said sternly, holding the door open to allow me to walk out.
"Why should I?" I snapped, still sitting on the floor-not bothering to move.
"It's either dine with the Captain, or dine with the crew naked." He said through gritted teeth.
Growling in frustration, I got up and walked out of the cell, following him to McDouglas's room.
"Welcome, Miss Turner." McDouglas said with a smirk.
Sitting down, I stared straight ahead, trying to ignore the plethora of delicious food in front of me.
"Ye should eat while you got the chance. I can't guarantee when you'll be able to eat again." McDouglas threatened.
"Oh, shove it up your--" I started to say.
"You don't know when to shutup, Miss Turner." He interrupted before I could finish my sentence.
Clenching my teeth, I remained silent and decided to go ahead and eat. He was probably telling the truth about this being a good chance to eat. No telling when I will get food again… and I need the energy.
"How do you know Jack?" I asked with a frown.
"Ahh… so Jack really hasn't told you about me or anything, then…" McDouglas said slowly.
"No, he hasn't." I said, looking over to him.
"Well, it started after the curse of the Black Pearl was lifted and Barbossa was killed… Rumor has it that Barbossa had a lot of treasure hidden on a secret island. Jack and I have been battling since to get it." McDouglas explained.
"Umm okay… That's a bit childish." I said, rolling my eyes.
"Childish! No! You see, Miss Turner, there's a catch to this. The treasure used to belong to someone… and only a certain person can retrieve it…" He said, catching my interest.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"The long lost child of William 'Bootstrap Bill' Turner… his treasure…" McDouglas said, looking over at me with a smirk.
What!
"You mean…" I started disbelievingly.
"Yes, you, Miss Turner. Will Turner lifted the curse of the Black Pearl… now it's your turn." He said menacingly.
No. This can't be true… Does this mean that Jack was just using me?
After getting put back in my musty cell, I sat down and thought of the things McDouglas told me.
Why do I have to personally get the treasure? Now that I think of things, McDouglas didn't explain things very well…
Soon, my thoughts rested on Jack. Before I knew it, I realized that tears were sliding down my cheeks
Why didn't Jack tell me? Was he really using me? Only befriending me so that he could get the treasure before McDouglas? The thoughts ran through my head as I slumped over and put my head in my hands.
What's worse is why Will, my own brother, hasn't said anything about it, either…
I have to find a way to escape… I thought as I slowly drifted into a restless sleep.
JACK'S POV
"Jack, mind if I have a word with you?" Will asked from behind him.
Turning around, he saw Will and Elizabeth standing there.
"What is it, Mate." Jack asked. He was anxious to get to Jo.
"What do you think of Jo?" Will asked, eyebrows raised.
Avoiding the real answer, he smiled, showing off his gold teeth.
"She's nice- good sword fighter, thanks to me- even though she obviously still needs work- hard worker. Why?" Jack responded.
"Not that way, Jack. You know what I meant by the question…" Will said with annoyance.
Jack looked down and shuffled his feet a bit.
He never thought to this day that he, THE Captain Jack Sparrow, could feel anything for anyone. And he planned to fight it every step of the way.
"Nothing of that sort. Just a friend." Jack finally said with a stern voice. Deep down, however, he knew he was lying to himself and them.
Will frowned and nodded before turning and walking away.
"See, I told you, Elizabeth…" He heard Will snap at her.
Elizabeth? What does she know? Can she see something that I or anyone else can't?
Shaking his head of the thoughts, he turned back to the wheel and continued sailing. He didn't care that it was dark- he just wanted to find Jo soon.
BACK TO JO'S POV
I awoke sometime during the middle of the night. I don't know why I woke up the way I did, probably because I was laying in about an inch of water and was very uncomfortable. Looking around, I started trying to figure out my escape plan. It was going to be tough.
As if someone was magically helping me, a small lanky crew member came trotting downstairs- probably to fetch something from the storage cabinet. I smiled mischievously and stood up, grabbing hold of the metal cell bars while staring over at him. He can't have been but sixteen years old or so- more than likely a son of one of the crew members.
"Excuse me." I said innocently, causing the young man to jump.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to frighten you." I said with a seductive smile. I had to think of something that could get him to open the cell door. Then it occurred to me….
"But could I at least have a warm blanket? It's rather cold laying here-with this water on the floor and all." I asked, batting my eyelashes.
"Umm… I don't think I'm allowed to give you that.." He started, but I wasn't going to back down from this.
"Oh, please… I'm really cold…" I pleaded, forming false tears in my eyes.
His expression softened and I could tell that he was feeling sorry for me.
"Alright." He finally said, reaching into the storage and pulling out a rather large, thick comforter.
I smiled, knowing we were docked somewhere so that I could easily escape. Even better since it's the middle of the night and most of the crew should be asleep.
"Aggh!" I squealed when he entered the cell.
"What? What?" The young man asked, looking around frantically.
"A spider! There in the corner-it's huge!" I screamed.
"I don't see a spider…" He mumbled, turning his back to face me, looking around the corner I pointed him to.
In a flash, I grabbed his effects, causing him to sharply turn and face me wide-eyed.
"Give me your clothes, the key to this cell, and tell me where we're at." I threatened, pointing his sword AND his pistol at him.
"Please… don't harm me… Here." He said, handing me the key.
"We're docked at Tortuga. All of the crew is gone- out drinking I s'ppose- I'm the only one aboard. Keeping guard." He said, holding his hands up.
"Well, you're not very good at it." I said pointedly, with a smirk.
"Now, give me your clothes." I demanded. "Including your boots and hat."
"Is that necessary? There's a whole trunk-full of clothes over there by that storage cupboard." He said in annoyance.
I could tell this young man wasn't like McDouglas' crew-in fact, he reminded me of someone that would be on Jack's side.
I backed out slowly and locked him in. Then continued on to the trunk that he pointed me to.
Sure enough, he was right… There were loads of clothes in there-including women's dresses. However, I needed to be undercover, so I chose out some black Capri pants, a white peasant long sleeved shirt, a pair of black leather boots and a large dark red hat. I dressed quickly in a corner where the young lad could not see me, tying my hair up with a piece of leather to be hidden under my hat. To top off the outfit, I threw a large black jacket over it- to disguise myself much more.
Stepping back into the young man's view, I looked over at him and smiled. I decided to tie his effects (a pair of pistols and a very sharpened sword) around my waist-hidden under the jacket.
"You'll escape easily…" He said, looking me over.
"What's your name boy-and why are you here?" I turned and asked while filling a small sachel bag with food and rum.
"I'm Joseph Knightly. I ran away from home last year because of my abusive father and McDouglas found me. Been here since." He said shrugging.
"How old are you?" I asked curiously.
"Fourteen." He replied.
Sighing, I looked back over to him before going up the stairs to deck.
"Don't let yourself out until I'm gone… and don't come after me, either. I also suggest that you maybe leave this crew while you have the chance." I said sternly, tossing the cell key back to him.
"Thank you, Miss Turner." He said with a smile. Nodding, I then proceeded up the stairs on deck. Joseph was right, everyone was gone, as I ran off the ship and onto the docks of Tortuga.
JACK'S POV
"We're docking in Tortuga for supplies… and we're not staying long!" Jack shouted to the crew as they pulled up to the docks.
If McDouglas was to be here, he would have docked on the other side of the island, so he was going to check while the crew got the supplies.
Walking to the other side, he saw no other ship docked there and began heading back to his. Little did he know that McDouglas and his crew had already left… and were very angry to find their prisoner gone.
BACK TO JO'S POV
"She's gone!" One of McDouglas' crew members shouted from the deck.
I had been hiding out in the bushes, silently watching everything and waiting for them to leave.
"Should we set out on the island to find 'er?" Another crew member was asking.
Damn… I never thought of that. What if they find me?"No. It would be too obvious. We'll get 'er back." McDouglas snarled angrily and walked aboard.
I sighed in relief as they began departing and soon disappeared from view.
A few minutes later, to my surprise, I saw Jack walking up- then seemed to shake his head in disappointment as he turned around and began walking back in the direction he had came.
It took a lot to keep from jumping up and screaming happily, but I knew I had to keep it quiet just in case McDouglas was trying to trick me.
So, when Jack took off in the direction he had come from, I silently followed behind- careful not to make any noise to startle him.
Besides, I was still a bit angry at him for not telling me about that treasure…
He got a little suspicious a couple of times, because I had to quickly duck behind a tree or a building when he went to turn around. Finally, we arrived to the ship, and lucky for me, he was the only one on board as I crept on behind him and quickly hid in a closet below deck so no one would see me.
After sitting in there for awhile, my legs were getting cramped up.
"Ugh… hurry up and depart, Jack-so I can get out of here…" I whispered to myself, shifting my weight again for the hundredth time.
As if on cue, the ship lurched and we were on the move.
I crept quietly out of the closet and into the dark hallway, walking towards Jack's room.
Suddenly, I was grabbed from behind with a pistol pressed to my temple.
"What do we have here? A stow away?" I heard Jack's voice from behind me.
Taking him off guard, I grabbed his arm and flipped him over on his back. He never knew I could fight without a sword…
"No, Jack. I think I belong on this ship as much as you do." I said angrily, ripping the hat from my head to reveal myself.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: My sincere apologies for the delay in posting this chapter. I can't update chapters real often, but I will try to as often as I possibly can. Hope you are enjoying the story. Thanks for reading!