Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one.
Check the end of this chapter for briberies, reminders, thanks and such.
Lip Balm
P.S. You asked for longer chapters. Here it is!
…
Rubbing his nose furiously, Captain Jack Sparrow sunk into his bed and then got up fiercely, eyeing Henry with great suspicion and squinting his eyes into narrow, kohl edged slits. He leaned his head back against the polished wooden pole, resting his spine fully at the plane of the post and gazing at the nervous woman before him. She stared back, a questioning look on her face.
"What," She said, finally breaking the trance and looking away.
He smirked over the small triumph, "No pullin' any twists," Jack raised one finger, Henry rolled her eyes at the worn habit. "Once we arrive t'Tortuga, the treasure map stays here. Ye're not to stay on this ship when we dock. Ye don't expect me to trust yeh now, eh?" Really twitchy, that one, he thought silently, Interesting. That's very interesting.
Henry nodded in agreement, face contorting into a smirk, "The feeling is mutual, Captain. Peas in a pod.* As for my end of this mutual relationship, I want you in my sight. God only knows that you can scurry into this ship and off with it."
"Ah, an' God only knows ye want me in yer sight, Miss. Henry," Jack returned with a smirk, arising from his seat and extending his hand towards Henry. "Now, the crew an' I'll discuss the matters of this here treasure. Along wit' ye, o'course. Equal shares, that's how the said treasure is t'be divided. As for the route…we'll figure it after our bit o' fun in Tortuga. D'we have an accord?" Henry extended her own hand and they shook firmly.
"It's really quite foolish to shake every time an accord is made, Captain Sparrow," Henry said smartly. "Do you not trust a harmless lass like me?"
"Harmless?" Jack snorted, laughing. "Of the two of us, I'm not the one who carved a scar into me palm, deceived a Pirate Captain, stole a treasure map and all done it for riches. It's not much encouragement to trust ye now, eh? Aye, if I were ye, I would have made the said scar on me thigh," He smiled, two of his gold teeth showing behind the stretched lips. Henry looked down to his thighs and immediately looked up, once realizing that Jack was still studying her.
"I'm rather keen on carving, Captain. You know, whittling with knives, that sort of thing. I'm willing to carve an X on your forehead if you are. So that next time, I know just where to stab a blade."
Jack chuckled, sketching the imagery in his mind, "Now, that's quite thee offer Henry, but I'll hafta decline."
"Now that you mention your forehead…you have some of Chicky's droppings on it." She laughed loudly, watching a perplexed Captain pick at his forehead irritably. "And that, is why people were meant to take baths." Taking a large sniff of the stuffy atmosphere inside the Cabin, she put on a sour look and burst out of the room, still chuckling.
…
Tortuga was a filthy, smelly place, reeking of the wafting, stinking smell unwashed men and pungent vomit often made when mixed in a crowded area of prancing concubines and overcrowded pubs. Naturally, it was sweet home for Captain Jack Sparrow. He tipped his hat and grinned cheekily to a man swallowing great amounts of rum from two mugs. Poor devil's going to wake up with a hell of a hangover, Henry thought, glancing at the porky man in disgust.
The crew was off again, as naturally as flies swarmed on a mound of dung, exploring for tastes and sticking like paste. God only knows what they're doing, Henry thought, immediately regretting that when she saw a man that looked like Gibbs enter a brothel.
They walked into the nearest pub, Henry trailing behind Jack, keeping a sharp eye as not to lose him. Though it seemed impossible, with his extravagant voice booming loudly into choruses of cliché Pirate songs.
"Yo ho YO ho a PIRAAATTEESSS LIFE FER MEEEEE," He finished in a belching, low tone…finally. Henry breathed a sigh, happy for the song to come to an end. "I love this song." He whispered into Henry's ear as they approached the bar.
"Two rums," He said simply, staring at the bartender who uncannily resembled a hairy squash, and tossing a few coins. The bartender handed them two beaten mugs, flowing richly with a terrible reeking liquid. He handed one to Jack and one to Henry.
"No, no," Henry said, pushing the mug back. "I don't drink rum."
"Second ones for me, love," Jack said, grabbing the second mug with his left hand, two fingers swinging in the air and walking to a small table in the far corner.
"Oh…" Henry muttered. "You don't happen to any water, do you?" The bartender, scratching his sideburns and picking a few stray hairs out, walked towards the back and approached with another mug. Henry paid the man and thanked him.
Sitting down across from Jack, who was almost halfway through his first mug already, she took a heavy gulp of her own. Spitting it out immediately, she peered into her cup and emptied it onto the floor. "It's bloody grog."
"Aye."
"I asked for water."
"Did ye now," Jack said with a smile. "Ye've never been to Tortuga, eh?"
"No," Henry said, peering into her mug again, as if it were to re-fill itself with the foul substance. "I've sailed about a bit. But never been to a place like this." She motioned with her hands around the room, steadying her arm in front of a whore and an old looking man ticking each other under the chins. Henry shuddered.
She spent the next few minutes walking around the pub, dodging swinging arms and buffoon men with outstretched hands. Finally growing weary of the atmosphere, she plopped in front of Jack once more, who was finishing his last mug in silence. Another unsteady moment past in silence. Jack gulped down his last drop of rum and got up.
"You addlebrained fool," Henry spat. "You sat me here so I could watch you drink rum?"
"You didn't want to drink, darlin'" Jack said, placing his hat on crookedly and leaving the bustling pub behind him.
"Where to now, Oh wise Captain?"
Jack grinned cheekily. "How about to a brothel?"
…
Henry stopped in front of the crooked looking building, staring inside the doorway. Jack was behind her, nudging her along. "Now, inside ye go now, yer blockin' the doorway, love." Henry moved aside, allowing Jack to enter but remaining where she stood. "I'm not going in there, Captain."
"No, we don't haf' to," Jack said with a nod. "There are plenty more brothels here." He raised his arms wildly and shook his hips. "Welcome to Tortuga, love."
Henry looked at him, face contorted into a look of pure disgust. Lips curled into a sneer, knowing that Jack only wished to torture her into this house of prostitution.
"No need fer that look, love. I'm to meet Gibbs in here." He paused when he saw the incredulous look on her face. "You know, discussing the plans and such." He entered into the brothel, walking quickly into a far corner and stopping once or twice to take notice of an attractive woman in a low cut dress, grimy with drink and dirt. "Hurry along now." He motioned with her hands.
Henry entered into the room, cautiously looking around and keeping her hand close to the hilt of her sword. Upon reaching the shaky table, she pulled up a chair and looked uncomfortably around. "Why a brothel, Gibbs?"
He looked perplexed for a moment and then responded with a nod, "Aye, it's good luck."
…
Jack walked drunkenly down the streets, stumbling over his feet and landing into a heap on the side of a wall. Henry stared at him, getting extremely weary of walking around like a child. If I may be so bold to point out, you smart girl, Henry thought, watching Jack get up again and squint his eyes at a few buildings. I'm getting led by a man who can't see two feet in front of him. Damn Sparrow. Jack had lied. Him and Gibbs had not "discussed" any plans at all. They had simply sat there and laughed, taking gigantic swigs of rum and eventually falling into a state of drunken stupor.
He stopped in front of one rickety looking building. "Inn…no." And another. "No…" Finally, he stopped in front of one. "AH-HAH. That's the one." Entering, he talked to the man at the counter, waving his hands about.
"One…one room," He said finally. The man nodded and pointed down a hallway.
"One room also," Henry started.
"Sorry, lass, we've all been taken 'night," The man responded, not sounding sorry in the slightest bit. "Ye can go t'that man, though," He pointed towards a man sitting down on the floor, eyes glazed and a mug still in hand. A dribble of rum sloped down an unshaved chin as he smiled sweetly towards Henry's direction, looking very much like an overstuffed boar. "'E took the biggest room, 'e did."
Henry declined with a weary sigh, "Are you sure every room has been taken?"
"Aye, you can try to barter a room into the brothel if you like," The innkeeper said. Henry thought for a moment, remembering the women prancing about with dresses halfway down their chests, flaunting all they had from head to toe.
She declined once more, walking up to Jack. "I'll sleep on the Pearl, if it's not too much."
"Nay, yer not, love," Jack slurred, draping his arm around her shoulders. "Ye can sleep in me room. All cozy and the like, savvy?"
"Why not the Pearl? It's not as if I could commandeer a whole ship and dock into any port all by myself…Jack? Jack?" Henry grumbled and looked over to Jack, who had practically fallen asleep at her shoulders. Growling, she dropped him into the ground, his eyes snapping open once he landed on the floor with a thud. No one turned around. Apparently it was normal for a man to fall asleep at a woman's shoulder and get thrown onto the floor.
Jack got up and walked crookedly into the hallway, eyes still half closed. He stopped in front of each door, leaning his ear against it and listening for sounds. Finally, he came to the 6th one, leaned and entered. There was one bed with a scratchy looking blanket. Jack walked over to the bed and collapsed onto it, the sounds of snoring swirling around the room in a matter of seconds.
Henry spotted an unstable looking chair and sat in it, closing her eyes and tilting her head back as comfortably as she could. Even so, she knew that a terrible cramp would invade the base of her neck by morning.
…
That was her first thought by morning, when she opened her eyes and stretched out her arms, curling her fingers and yawning. She knew that the first thing that she'd feel was the cramping at the base of her neck, and she was prepared for it. She tilted her head back, feeling no pain.
Rolling her head, she turned to face none other than Captain Jack Sparrow, his breath tickling her cheek and a peaceful expression on his face. Her eyes widened in surprise as she rose to get up, only to find an arm swivel around her waist.
He muttered in his sleep, "Henry, yer so warm…"
Henry raised her eyebrow, holding back her anger, eager to hear what he had to say. "Now, shut that smart mouth of yers and git back in to bed, y'gel." Her other eyebrow went up as she wriggled from under his grasp and raised her right arm, preparing the slap the dreaming, sleeping Captain from his slumber.
"I knew ye'd come 'round, dahlin'." He murmured, "Really quite a shame it took so long." Henry stared, rolling her eyes. He really was a handsome man when he wasn't opening his mouth. If only he would take a bath once in a while, too. "Rum.."
"Drink up, now," He said, breathing in before continuing. "Y'devil and black sheep.." Henry rolled her eyes her eyes a second time.. "Y'devil and black sheep," Jack repeated, still muttering, eyelashes fluttering. Suddenly, one eye peeped open. "And really bad egg." He finished, chuckling.
Henry's arm came swinging down.
…
"Ye've really got to stop hittin' me love," Jack said, getting up from the bed and rubbing his raw cheek furiously. He winced, blinking back the few tears that sprung in his eyes. "Tis a crime to sing a song?"
Jack felt another sting on his face as Henry slapped him a second time. "You know what you did, you oaf," She said, kicking away the chair that she had slept in. "You don't just bring a person to bed in the middle of their slumber."
"Aye, and ye don't wake someone in the mid of theirs either. Because, mind yer consistent accusations, dear Henry, YE crawled into ME bed."
Henry stared at the man, scoffing. Jack doesn't honestly think that I crawled into his bed in the middle of the night, does he? The damned man's mind is burnt from all the time in the sea sun She thought. He looked at him, two hand shaped red marks on his cheeks, staring back at Henry with an exasperated look.
"I swear on the pain of death, ye damn wench," Jack spat. "Ye saw me, I fell 'sleep 'fore I hit the bed. Didn't wake up until before dawn and found ye all snugglin' wit' me arm. You looked comfortable, didn't want to wake you."
Henry stared still, wondering if this was true. Faintly, the sketching memory of awaking with a horrible cramp at the base of her neck, and leg so deeply asleep that she felt as if needles had been pushed through the flesh and bone dawned on her. And the feel of the scratchy blanket. Henry flushed slightly, eyes wide.
"But it was YOU who didn't bother to wake me in the first place!"
"There's no winnin' wit' ye, is there lass," Jack said, leaving for the doorway. "Can't help ye if ye wanted to snuggle with ol' Jack here. But it seems to me that yer playin' a bit of yer own game, circling and the sort. Heed my words, ye damned hellcat."
Henry scoffed as the door swung. A flushed, smug look occupied on her face, but a contemplative brain working it's way around the words that Jack said. She shrugged it off, leaving for the door herself and slamming it behind her.
…
It had taken her an hour to find her way about and hop over people strewn about on the filthy ground, drenched still from the morning dew, sweat or rum. After asking for directions, Henry found Jack at the helm of the Pearl, caressing the wheel thoughtfully before looking in her direction and surprisingly, he didn't looked irked in the slightest bit. Jack looked towards her as Henry approached, stepping on a rock and stumbling over once to reach his side.
"I didn't mea-"
Jack cut her off, "On this ship, my ship, ye are strictly just a member o' the crew. Nothin' more or less, Henry. Unless o'course I decide ter change that into drastic measures, eh?" He smirked, still holding the round frame. Quickly, he snapped, "Keep it to yerself."
Henry stared, "As you wish, *Captain*." She headed towards Jack's quarters to check on Chicky, silently regretting the fact that she had attempted an apology, something not too common with the likes of said stubborn girl.
"Argghh, keep it to yerself Henry, love," Henry imitated, waving her hands about. "It was YE who waked ME up from me slumber. Really quite a shame. Really bad eggs." Henry continued, finally stopping when she realized that she was speaking too loudly. "There'll be no talking to him after this…damned Captain."
Jack chuckled silently, watching the still exasperated woman walk away towards his cabin, enjoying the gracious view of her backside, although the loose-fitting shirt and slack shirt did nothing for her form. Not to worry, Jack thought. She'll come around. It'd be interesting to see her in a dress, though. He imagined it, almost bursting out laughing. Henry was no lady.
As other crew members boarded above the massive ship, Captain Jack Sparrow broke into a loud hum, listening to the reverberating voice of Gibbs and Anamaria giving orders to the crewmen. Even so, the sound of Henry's mistaken apology stuttered much loudly in his ears for his own liking.
…
Hm. Things are getting pretty weird, huh. Jack is getting real tired of getting slapped. [Haha]
THANKS SO MUCH TO MY REVIEWERS. I LOVE YE ALL. I LOVE YE ALL. [WOOT] Sorry for the delay, been quite busy. Now, our newest Jack Sparrow merch is a skull [You may choose real or fake] with a red sash around it's forehead, along with the trinkets that fall forward. [The POTC logo!] It also comes with a sword and pistol. Autographed by Jack, who has recently learned the many uses of a sharpie.
Review and I'll send this skull your way!