Pearl of the Sea
Chapter 5- Smelling a Rat
Never before had a tavern been so deserted and so barren that AnaMaria could hear the echo of her mug bouncing off the walls after she merely set it on the table. From what the first mate could gather, this was more of a night town and once the sun went down places like The Empty Socket were jumping and crawling with people. But at the moment Ana was finding it hard to believe another person was alive in this godforsaken town. The only other living souls were three barmaids who flittered in and out of the room to make sure that Ana didn't need anymore to drink; otherwise AnaMaria was completely alone and had been for the past hour.
Her brown eyes stared down into her mug; studying her reflection in its watered down amber contents. It had been awhile sense she had really looked at herself. The last looking glass she could remember was in the house she grew up in, and it had to have been over fifteen years since she had been there. Her eyes slowly traced her profile; her hair frazzled in every direction and her eyes held the look of impatience giving her the look of a crazy woman. But before she could really critique her appearance, she was jolted back to reality when the door to the tavern creaked open. Her impatient eyes hoped to catch a glimpse of her ever late Captain, but she was sorely disappointed.
Instead of the cocky pirate captain, a squat little man scurried into the room. His hair jumbled, his two front teeth gleaming in the light even though his mouth was shut tight. If Ana had been drinking more heavily than she had, she would have known that his strange man who looked surprisingly like a rodent was just a drunken mirage, but she hadn't had that much to drink and the rodent was most definitely there. The first mate's eyes followed him as he sat himself down in the shadows and waited for a barmaid. AnaMaria was so intrigued by this odd character that she had failed to notice that the man she had been waiting for had finally arrived.
"His name's Rat, he's the Quartermaster on the pirate sloop Adventure, and I'm sure if yeh asked him he'd gladly take yeh up stairs." She had managed not to scream, but the mere shock of having someone who was not in the room suddenly whispering in her ear made her spine go rigid and her hair stand on end. Ana turned to see the arrogant pirate slouching a chair next to her like he had been there all this time and she was making him wait.
"Sparrow!" She threatened through gritted teeth. "Do that again and I'll bloody kill yeh." The actual meaning of his words had sunk in and her eyes widened a bit. "Ain't the Adventure Blackbeard's sloop? Is he sendin' out crew members to kill us? And what the bloody hell do yeh mean take me upstairs!"
Jack grinned before answering her questions one at a time. "Yes. No, I don't believe so. And yeh were starin' at him with such dedication I thought you had fallen head of heels for the man and I was just informin' yeh that I'm sure he would gladly-"
"I was not staring at him like that yeh bloody pig!" Ana said, her eyes flaring. "Now, yer late and I was forced to sit here in the room with a man who possibly wants me dead and wait fer yer sorry arse so you better have somethin' good to tell me."
"I've quite the story for yeh lass, but we can't talk down here." His dark eyes flickered to Rat before looking back to Ana. "I'll get us a room upstairs," Jack's grin widened as Ana's eyes narrowed, "And we'll talk away from eavesdroppin' ears and pryin' eyes."
"Talkin' is all we're doin' ye perverted bucket of slime." Ana warned before downing the rest of her mug.
A bed sagged in the corner and a small table was pressed up against the wall. Upon which sat a vase containing a single dead flower. The walls were dirty and the smell of the place was repulsing, but Jack didn't even seem to notice.
"Have a seat," he said gesturing at the bed and Ana, however suspicious of her captain's intentions, did as she was told. Carefully, Jack removed a small box from a pocket on the interior of his coat. "This is a necklace, very old and very expensive." He handed it to his first mate and then began to pace as he explained the story to her. The war between Fairy and Leprechaun, the trinkets they hid from each other and the amount of wealth they could gain from it all.
"We have the fairy necklace and now all we need to be able to claim all the riches in Ireland is the locket. What do yeh think?" Fully expecting Ana to laugh and make fun of him he was surprised when he stopped pacing and looked at her.
His first mate's dark eyes were fixed on the small necklace as she held it in the air. Her brow was creased in thought and her mouth was fixed into a small frown as she looked it over. The carvings that adorned the small cage that held the bottle on the silver chain intrigued her.
"I've heard this story before." She said calmly before placing the bottle back into the velvet lined box and snapping it shut. "My father used to tell it to my sisters and I overheard it now and again. I always thought of it as fool'ry, but this," She said holding up the box. "This is it? The real thin'? Jesus Jack, this is huge."
Leaning against the table Jack narrowed his eyes. "So you believe all this; these stories of small people warring over land and gold?"
"Cap'n Sparrow," Ana said with a small smile. "We just spent months chasing undead pirates around the Caribbean, I'll believe anything."
"Point taken." Suddenly Jack stood up straight, his face creased in thought. "Did yeh hear that?"
Ana shook her head but got to her feet anyway, pulling a dagger from her belt. "Where'd it come from?"
"Shush." Jack warned before holding his hand out for the necklace, which Ana promptly gave to him, and placing it back in its small pocket. Slowly and silently he crept to the door. Cocking a pistol and ready to pull out a sword, Jack turned the door knob and swung the wooden door open.
A shot rung out and the small vase on the desk shattered, merely inches from where Ana stood. The small rodent looking man stood in the doorway, smoking pistol in hand, and he wasn't alone. At least ten more members of Teach's crew stood behind him as he grinned widely and Jack took a step back, arms in the air.
"'ope we're not interuptin' anythin' Cap'n Sparrow, but you've got some business to attend to wiff our Cap'n." The small man's pistol stayed pointed at Jack, along with at least four others, the rest of the groups aimed at Ana, who stood there white as a sheet.
"Business with dear Edward? What might that be?"
"Jack, don't tease them." Jack turned to look at his first mate and was once again taken off guard. He was fully expecting her to be standing there ready to fight, but instead she looked as though she had already been shot. "I'd rather live another day than die in this whore hole because you thought you'd be smart."
"Well spoken Miss," Rat said before gesturing with his pistol for Jack to follow. "Yeh can bring yer woman if yeh wish. It might be better for her protection than leavin' her here with these guys." The men chuckled behind him and Ana's face regained its color and she coughed loudly.
"She's not my woman, as you so elegantly put it," Jack said, placing his pistol back into his belt. "She's my first mate and if any of yeh try and touch her she'll castrate yeh before you can even protest."
Rat raised his eyebrows before shrugging, "First mate eh? Well then, it might be for her own good if she came along wiff yeh." With that, Rat turned and walked back down the hallway and toward the stairs as the rest of the men advanced into the room. Ana let out a string of colorful words and Jack tried to reason with them, but their efforts were in vain as both were answered by a pistol butt coming in contact with their temple.
Water rushed in and out of the small cell as the ship rocked back and forth. Jack sat in the corner, his hat over his eyes and his arms crossed against his chest. Ana was still out cold and she was poorly strewn in the cell across the way from her captains. The brig of the Adventure was just as horrid and wet as any other brig of any other ship, but there was still an air of malice about it that no other ship had. The smell of death was rampant, but Jack was too busy planning and thinking to notice.
"Mary mother of God!" He didn't have to look up to know what that meant. Ana was awake and her head was probably hurting just as much as his was. He could hear the splashing of water as she pulled herself to her feet and looked around. There really wasn't much to see, but Ana let out a moan and sat herself back down. "I'm gonna die."
"We all knew it would happen someday." Jack said, not moving from his relaxed position.
"Sparrow!" More splashes and she stood up and made her way to the front of her cell. "What'd they do to yeh? Huh? Did they hurt yeh? Torture yeh? For the love of God, out with it man!"
"They haven't been down here and they most likely won't be for a while as long as they think we are still out, so if you would please lower yer voice love I would be very grateful." He still didn't move, which frustrated Ana more than the fact that he called her 'love' again.
"Sorry," Her voice was a harsh whisper now, but it was obvious she was frustrated. "Forgive me for carin'."
"'Tis sweet that yeh care 'bout me Ana, but yeh don't have to yell."
"I don't care about yeh!" She glared, her hands gripping the bars tighter. "I care about yeh being conscience so yeh can create an escape plan."
Finally, he pushed his hat up a bit. The large bruise that was clearly visible on his temple made Ana cringe, though she knew she must have an identical one herself. "All I know is that eventually we will be brought up on deck or into some cabin were we will be talkin' to Blackbeard or," Ana turned as pale as a sheet once again. Jack continued, "Or we will be shot as soon as we're found awake that way Blackbeard doesn't have to waste his time with petty prisoners."
"Yeh don't think he would just kill us without even talkin' to us do yeh?"
"It's Teach Ana, he isn't exactly civil." Jack reminded her before he pulled himself to his feet and took the few steps it was to the front of the cell. He slipped his arms through the bars and leaned there, looking his first mate over. "How's yer head love?"
"Feels like Turner took one of his hammers too it." She said rubbing the spot that hurt the most. "And if yeh call me love one more time I'll give yeh a bruise identical to the one yeh got on the other side of yer head."
"Sounds like yer not doin' too bad over there." Jack said with a grin. "Same old Ana, no matter the situation."
"And the same goes fer you." She said before she too leaned against the bars. "The same arrogant, insufferable, and optimistic Captain Jack Sparrow locked in a cage or not."
Jack took an intake of breath and raised his hand as if to protest but was cut off by the sound of the door opening and footsteps on the stairs.
"Ana," He said, his eyes focused on the stairs. "If we live through this remind me to thank you."
"For what?" She said, instinctively reaching for her dagger, which of course was not there.
"For being you."
AN: Apparently I'm posting every other Sunday and I'm hoping to keep this up. knocks on wood Thank you to all that reviewed and all that will review. You're the reason I keep writing.