The Oldest Story in the Book
Chapter 20
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Author's Note: Okay, it's short and it's mostly story line but at least it's an update.
They traveled silently from Norrington's house through the deserted city and down to the shore. Coming through the brush they could see Jack and Emmie playing cards on an overturned boat.
Emmie had grown. She was now taller than her grandfather, with long limbs that seemed out of place. Norrington remembered feeling that way himself, hoping she would grow into her lankyness as he had. She was dressed in pirate garb, black boots peaking out from beneath a skirt that was split a bit too wide for decency's sake, revealing dark breaches where it opened around the leg she had drawn up on the boat. She wore a white man's shirt, a bit too sheer for Norrington's liking, laced tightly up with long sleeves that flopped down over her hands and were lined with grunge. Three large rings decorated his hands, each glowing green in the moonlight. Emeralds, of course.
A tricorn hat sat on her head, much more her grandfather's style than her mother's. Pearl always wore hats with large brims. Red curly hair escaped from beneath it, barely tamed into a tale visible at the back of her neck before turning and tucking up and under her hat.
Pearl stopped Norrington from walking out onto the beach, grabbing his shirt and pulling him down, one finger pressed firmly to her lips, then began sneaking forward behind Jack.
"You cheet!" Emmie cried as Jack lay down a card.
"'Course, luv. I am a pirate. But at least I do it well. You, on the other hand, need practice." Reaching out Jack removed a card from her sleeve.
"I'll get there," she promised, snatching the card away from him with a glare and stuffing it back up her sleave. "You should worry less about me and more about yourself. For someone cheeting well you're only up by a quarter," she pointed out, gesturing to a pile of shells.
"Well, we'll have to continue the game another time. Kindly inform your mother that she cannot sneak up on me."
"What?" Emmie asked, looking up. "Mama!" she cried then, running forward. "We were starting to worry."
"You should know better than that," Pearl said, straightening from her crouch to hug her daughter. "I am the great Pearl Sparrow, after all. And you, Mr. Sparrow, are no fun."
"Captain Sparrow, luv. If you're going to be satirical with the titles at least do it with proper titles. 'Lo Edward. Do we have a few war galleans at our command?"
Emmie came forward to give him a peck on the cheek before going back to help her grandfather gather the cards.
"Yes. I hope two will do."
"Should," he said approvingly. "Although it will slow us up." Jack turned to look at Pearl. "We should sail on ahead and wait for them to catch up."
"We'll be fine," Pearl told him. "Bootleg has chanced turning the combined might of the English navy against him by taking Ethan. He isn't going to be overquick about throwing away any advantage he might have with a live captive."
"I think Jack's right." Everyone turned in surprise to stare at Norrington.
"You're my witness this happened, Emmie. We may never here those words from his again," Jack said, pointing a pinky at his granddaughter, who nodded.
"I just don't want my son in those pirate's hands any longer than strictly nessassary," Norrington said.
"Edward, the safe play is to wait for the war ships to escort us to the island. If we rescue your son and they aren't there to back us up on our escape we're good as dead. All of us. Getting Ethan back isn't going to do us any good if we can't get him safely away."
"All right then. I guess you know this pirate better than I do," Norrington sighed.
Pearl nodded. "Relax. We'll get to the island a little after noon and have him back in our hands by midafternoon. Edward, go ready the ships. We need to be off. Prepare them to follow a pirate ship."
"Right."
He turned and strode into the night. As he did two more forms apeared from the darkened bushes. Emmie and Jack both drew their swords, but put them away when they heard Pearl laughing.
Elizabeth and Will appeared. Will, it seemed, had seen the glint of metal and drawn his own sword. He put it away when he saw that they were all friends.
"Mother?" Emmie asked in aparent surprise. "Papa?" With a laugh she ran forward to wrap her arms around them both. "Oh, I've missed you!"
"So have we," both the Turners said in unison.
As the three of them chatted away Jack moved toward his daughter. "Jealous?"
"Nah. There are two more people in this world that would give up their lives to protect her without a second thought. As long as that's the case I'll never regret them loving her."
"Well said." He clapped her on the back before going to offer them his own greeting.
"Leave off them for a moment, would you, you little monkey? Give an old man a chance. Bloody hell, Elizabeth. If you don't stop getting more beautiful I'm not going to be able to control myself any longer. There'll be no stopping me from taking you into the bushes and ravaging you right properly." Emmie chuckled.
"You're welcome to try, Jack," Elizabeth answered. "I assure you, I would be the last woman you wold have all the proper working parts to ravage." Emmie laughed outright at that.
"Oh, that hurts, luv." He pressed a hand to his heart. " It really does. Old Jack was just trying to pay you a compliment and you go and wound him. And then there's young Will. By all the stars in heaven, I'd swear this here was Bootstrap standing before me if I didn't know better."
"Thanks Jack," Will answered, clapping the pirate captain fondly on the back. "Emmie, we brought you something."
"You didn't have to do that," she said, eyes shining with excitement.
"Well, we've had it sitting around for a while," Will admitted. "Just waiting for you to come visit."
"Sorry. We've been busy," Emmie said. "So what is it?"
Will grinned as he pulled a sword, complete with leather sheath from beneath his arm. "Oh, Will. I don't think I've ever owned anything so beautiful," Emmie sighed, ignoring her grandfather's sudden need to loudly clear his throat.
She ran her hands over the leather as Jack began pointing emphatically to himself. He stopped when Pearl elbowed him.
In the moonlight Emmie could make out waves crossing the whole of the sheath. The pommel was silver. Tiny green stones, emralds presumably, made an 'E' on one side, an 'S' on the other. She drew the sword, watching it sparkle in the moonlight. Where the pommel met the blade tiny sparrows flew in circles around the cool metal. "It's so light!"
"It's a new technique. A blacksmith from Spain showed it to me. I wanted to play with it a little. This was the first one that was truly successfull."
"It's amazing. Thank you, Papa," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"You know, I hate to interupt, but where are ours?" Pearl asked.
"Indeed. Where are our presents?" Jack parroted.
Will glanced at Elizabeth, who shrugged. "Pirates," she muttered. "Here. These are for you." She handed Pearl a silver necklace, and Jack a large silver ring.
The necklace was shaped like a bird, a small black pearl for an eye, wings spread wide as it flew. It clutched a large emerald in its tallons. Jack's ring was the same device.
"It's beautiful," Pearl breathed. "But what is it?"
"It's a sparrow," Elizabeth said. "Since you've given Edward's necklace to Emmie we desided you needed a new one. With your own crest.
"Oh, Jack. They've given us a crest!"
Jack gave them a curious look. "Can you do that? We ain't exactly nobility, and aren't ever going to be."
"Since when do you care what people can and can't do?" Elizabeth demanded.
"She makes a good point," Jack remarked.
"You really shouldn't do this," Pearl remarked. "I mean, we can't pay you. Not just now, anyway. I know Will is an excellent blacksmith but these are expensive gifts."
"Don't worry about it. The gold you sent with Emmie on her last visit more than covered it," Elizabeth said.
Pearl's eyes suddenly widened as he father's narrowed. "What gold?" Jack asked.
Pearl gave him a sheepish grin, eyes cutting back to the Turners at whom she shook her head, then back to Jack to grin, then back to shaking her head at the Turners. Jack eyed his daughter suspitiously. "Will, what gold?"
"The gold Pearl sent with Emmie," he answered in aparent confusion.
"And what did this gold look like?" Jack demanded, eyes rooted on Pearl, whose trinkets in her hair jingled musicaly as she continued to shake her head.
"What did this gold look like?" Will repeated, sending a questioning glance at Pearl, who had pulled her hands into a diamond shape and was attempting to whisper something uninteligable to Will out of the corner of her mouth.
"Will!" Jack snapped, anger ringing through his voice.
"It had, I don't know, crowns on it, I think. With a heart in the middle."
"The bloody Spanish crowns!" Jack screamed at Pearl suddenly. "You told me I misscounted, you little viper!"
"You did miscount. Just not quite as much as I said."
"I am going to kill you!"
"You can't kill me," Pearl said, leaning forward to lay her head against his chest. "I'm your darling daughter."
Emmie took her eyes off of the sword to glance at Jack for a moment. "Mama?"
"Hmm?" Pearl answered without moving.
Emmie stared at Jack's quickly reddening face. "I think you had best run."
Pearl pulled back to glance at Jack's face. "Aye. I think so too." With that she took off like a streak down the beach. Jack bared his sword to follow, screaming.
"Should we rescue her?" Will asked of the girl, who was watching the sword as she drew it through the air.
"Nah. She should be able to handle him." The comment was permeated by a splash.
Jack stood, chest-deep in the ocean as Pearl remained standing on the short, rotted dock. "Now mayhaps you'll cool off."
"You told me I didn't know how to count my own slag!" Jack accused, pointing his sword at her.
"You didn't! You were wrong before I took the Turners' cut."
"The Turners' cut? They don't bloody get a cut! They didn't help get it."
"But they did turn pirate for a while, and never did get paid. Think of it as back pay."
"We never turned pirate," Will told Emmie.
The girl shrugged, still not looking up. "It really doesn't matter."
"Back pay?" Jack repeated. "I'll back pay you, you bloody excuse for a Tortuga harlotte!"
"We have to go, you know," Emmie called as Jack pulled himself up onto the wooden outcropping.
"She's right. My father is going to be looking for us," Emmie put in
"She's right," Pearl chirped happily.
"You I will deal with later," Jack ground out as he moved to help Will turn over a boat.
Author's Note: There you go. It isn't great, but I promise, it will get better. I hope Jack's tantrum gave some of you a giggle.
Chapter 20
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Author's Note: Okay, it's short and it's mostly story line but at least it's an update.
They traveled silently from Norrington's house through the deserted city and down to the shore. Coming through the brush they could see Jack and Emmie playing cards on an overturned boat.
Emmie had grown. She was now taller than her grandfather, with long limbs that seemed out of place. Norrington remembered feeling that way himself, hoping she would grow into her lankyness as he had. She was dressed in pirate garb, black boots peaking out from beneath a skirt that was split a bit too wide for decency's sake, revealing dark breaches where it opened around the leg she had drawn up on the boat. She wore a white man's shirt, a bit too sheer for Norrington's liking, laced tightly up with long sleeves that flopped down over her hands and were lined with grunge. Three large rings decorated his hands, each glowing green in the moonlight. Emeralds, of course.
A tricorn hat sat on her head, much more her grandfather's style than her mother's. Pearl always wore hats with large brims. Red curly hair escaped from beneath it, barely tamed into a tale visible at the back of her neck before turning and tucking up and under her hat.
Pearl stopped Norrington from walking out onto the beach, grabbing his shirt and pulling him down, one finger pressed firmly to her lips, then began sneaking forward behind Jack.
"You cheet!" Emmie cried as Jack lay down a card.
"'Course, luv. I am a pirate. But at least I do it well. You, on the other hand, need practice." Reaching out Jack removed a card from her sleeve.
"I'll get there," she promised, snatching the card away from him with a glare and stuffing it back up her sleave. "You should worry less about me and more about yourself. For someone cheeting well you're only up by a quarter," she pointed out, gesturing to a pile of shells.
"Well, we'll have to continue the game another time. Kindly inform your mother that she cannot sneak up on me."
"What?" Emmie asked, looking up. "Mama!" she cried then, running forward. "We were starting to worry."
"You should know better than that," Pearl said, straightening from her crouch to hug her daughter. "I am the great Pearl Sparrow, after all. And you, Mr. Sparrow, are no fun."
"Captain Sparrow, luv. If you're going to be satirical with the titles at least do it with proper titles. 'Lo Edward. Do we have a few war galleans at our command?"
Emmie came forward to give him a peck on the cheek before going back to help her grandfather gather the cards.
"Yes. I hope two will do."
"Should," he said approvingly. "Although it will slow us up." Jack turned to look at Pearl. "We should sail on ahead and wait for them to catch up."
"We'll be fine," Pearl told him. "Bootleg has chanced turning the combined might of the English navy against him by taking Ethan. He isn't going to be overquick about throwing away any advantage he might have with a live captive."
"I think Jack's right." Everyone turned in surprise to stare at Norrington.
"You're my witness this happened, Emmie. We may never here those words from his again," Jack said, pointing a pinky at his granddaughter, who nodded.
"I just don't want my son in those pirate's hands any longer than strictly nessassary," Norrington said.
"Edward, the safe play is to wait for the war ships to escort us to the island. If we rescue your son and they aren't there to back us up on our escape we're good as dead. All of us. Getting Ethan back isn't going to do us any good if we can't get him safely away."
"All right then. I guess you know this pirate better than I do," Norrington sighed.
Pearl nodded. "Relax. We'll get to the island a little after noon and have him back in our hands by midafternoon. Edward, go ready the ships. We need to be off. Prepare them to follow a pirate ship."
"Right."
He turned and strode into the night. As he did two more forms apeared from the darkened bushes. Emmie and Jack both drew their swords, but put them away when they heard Pearl laughing.
Elizabeth and Will appeared. Will, it seemed, had seen the glint of metal and drawn his own sword. He put it away when he saw that they were all friends.
"Mother?" Emmie asked in aparent surprise. "Papa?" With a laugh she ran forward to wrap her arms around them both. "Oh, I've missed you!"
"So have we," both the Turners said in unison.
As the three of them chatted away Jack moved toward his daughter. "Jealous?"
"Nah. There are two more people in this world that would give up their lives to protect her without a second thought. As long as that's the case I'll never regret them loving her."
"Well said." He clapped her on the back before going to offer them his own greeting.
"Leave off them for a moment, would you, you little monkey? Give an old man a chance. Bloody hell, Elizabeth. If you don't stop getting more beautiful I'm not going to be able to control myself any longer. There'll be no stopping me from taking you into the bushes and ravaging you right properly." Emmie chuckled.
"You're welcome to try, Jack," Elizabeth answered. "I assure you, I would be the last woman you wold have all the proper working parts to ravage." Emmie laughed outright at that.
"Oh, that hurts, luv." He pressed a hand to his heart. " It really does. Old Jack was just trying to pay you a compliment and you go and wound him. And then there's young Will. By all the stars in heaven, I'd swear this here was Bootstrap standing before me if I didn't know better."
"Thanks Jack," Will answered, clapping the pirate captain fondly on the back. "Emmie, we brought you something."
"You didn't have to do that," she said, eyes shining with excitement.
"Well, we've had it sitting around for a while," Will admitted. "Just waiting for you to come visit."
"Sorry. We've been busy," Emmie said. "So what is it?"
Will grinned as he pulled a sword, complete with leather sheath from beneath his arm. "Oh, Will. I don't think I've ever owned anything so beautiful," Emmie sighed, ignoring her grandfather's sudden need to loudly clear his throat.
She ran her hands over the leather as Jack began pointing emphatically to himself. He stopped when Pearl elbowed him.
In the moonlight Emmie could make out waves crossing the whole of the sheath. The pommel was silver. Tiny green stones, emralds presumably, made an 'E' on one side, an 'S' on the other. She drew the sword, watching it sparkle in the moonlight. Where the pommel met the blade tiny sparrows flew in circles around the cool metal. "It's so light!"
"It's a new technique. A blacksmith from Spain showed it to me. I wanted to play with it a little. This was the first one that was truly successfull."
"It's amazing. Thank you, Papa," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"You know, I hate to interupt, but where are ours?" Pearl asked.
"Indeed. Where are our presents?" Jack parroted.
Will glanced at Elizabeth, who shrugged. "Pirates," she muttered. "Here. These are for you." She handed Pearl a silver necklace, and Jack a large silver ring.
The necklace was shaped like a bird, a small black pearl for an eye, wings spread wide as it flew. It clutched a large emerald in its tallons. Jack's ring was the same device.
"It's beautiful," Pearl breathed. "But what is it?"
"It's a sparrow," Elizabeth said. "Since you've given Edward's necklace to Emmie we desided you needed a new one. With your own crest.
"Oh, Jack. They've given us a crest!"
Jack gave them a curious look. "Can you do that? We ain't exactly nobility, and aren't ever going to be."
"Since when do you care what people can and can't do?" Elizabeth demanded.
"She makes a good point," Jack remarked.
"You really shouldn't do this," Pearl remarked. "I mean, we can't pay you. Not just now, anyway. I know Will is an excellent blacksmith but these are expensive gifts."
"Don't worry about it. The gold you sent with Emmie on her last visit more than covered it," Elizabeth said.
Pearl's eyes suddenly widened as he father's narrowed. "What gold?" Jack asked.
Pearl gave him a sheepish grin, eyes cutting back to the Turners at whom she shook her head, then back to Jack to grin, then back to shaking her head at the Turners. Jack eyed his daughter suspitiously. "Will, what gold?"
"The gold Pearl sent with Emmie," he answered in aparent confusion.
"And what did this gold look like?" Jack demanded, eyes rooted on Pearl, whose trinkets in her hair jingled musicaly as she continued to shake her head.
"What did this gold look like?" Will repeated, sending a questioning glance at Pearl, who had pulled her hands into a diamond shape and was attempting to whisper something uninteligable to Will out of the corner of her mouth.
"Will!" Jack snapped, anger ringing through his voice.
"It had, I don't know, crowns on it, I think. With a heart in the middle."
"The bloody Spanish crowns!" Jack screamed at Pearl suddenly. "You told me I misscounted, you little viper!"
"You did miscount. Just not quite as much as I said."
"I am going to kill you!"
"You can't kill me," Pearl said, leaning forward to lay her head against his chest. "I'm your darling daughter."
Emmie took her eyes off of the sword to glance at Jack for a moment. "Mama?"
"Hmm?" Pearl answered without moving.
Emmie stared at Jack's quickly reddening face. "I think you had best run."
Pearl pulled back to glance at Jack's face. "Aye. I think so too." With that she took off like a streak down the beach. Jack bared his sword to follow, screaming.
"Should we rescue her?" Will asked of the girl, who was watching the sword as she drew it through the air.
"Nah. She should be able to handle him." The comment was permeated by a splash.
Jack stood, chest-deep in the ocean as Pearl remained standing on the short, rotted dock. "Now mayhaps you'll cool off."
"You told me I didn't know how to count my own slag!" Jack accused, pointing his sword at her.
"You didn't! You were wrong before I took the Turners' cut."
"The Turners' cut? They don't bloody get a cut! They didn't help get it."
"But they did turn pirate for a while, and never did get paid. Think of it as back pay."
"We never turned pirate," Will told Emmie.
The girl shrugged, still not looking up. "It really doesn't matter."
"Back pay?" Jack repeated. "I'll back pay you, you bloody excuse for a Tortuga harlotte!"
"We have to go, you know," Emmie called as Jack pulled himself up onto the wooden outcropping.
"She's right. My father is going to be looking for us," Emmie put in
"She's right," Pearl chirped happily.
"You I will deal with later," Jack ground out as he moved to help Will turn over a boat.
Author's Note: There you go. It isn't great, but I promise, it will get better. I hope Jack's tantrum gave some of you a giggle.