Woo! Next chapter! Enjoy, me hearties. Oh, and once again,
Eh: rhymes with hay; what Canadians say habitually/stereotypically. = this one's particularly important this chapter
Aye: pronounced like "eye". Means yes.
Just some light review for you.
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Chapter Two – A Parting and a Plundering
The Saviour, Will decided, was the most lavish ship in the entire Caribbean. He really hadn't expected all this. The only ships he'd seen had been worn down by time and thrashing waves, and were sparsely decorated for maximum speed. This ship, however, was dripping with the most luxurious silks and satins available, and it reminded Will of a small floating palace. Judging by the amount of furniture and other relatively useless items on the ship, it would go at a gruelingly slow pace. He had half a mind to simply throw everything into the sea at that very moment. After all, how could anyone enjoy an ocean breeze if the ship wasn't going fast enough for there to be one? Elizabeth, dressed in her traveling clothes, clambered aboard the Saviour, aided by two of her most trusted servants.
"I'm not made of glass!" she exclaimed, shaking off her attendants, who had been fussing over her constantly since that morning. She made her way slowly to where Will stood, staring longingly at the sea. Elizabeth encircled his waist with pale, delicate arms.
"How much longer until we leave?" she sighed, sounding slightly impatient.
Will turned around, light dancing in his chestnut eyes.
"Only a few minutes now."
Elizabeth was surprised by the change in him. On land, Will had always seemed outwardly happy. But at this moment, on this ship, he looked different. It was as if being near the ocean removed a mask he'd been wearing for most of his life. He looked – relieved.
"Elizabeth?"
Will's voice jolted her out of her thoughts. She hadn't realized she'd been staring at him so intently.
"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing."
"Are you sure?"
"Will, we're going on our honeymoon. How could anything be wrong?"
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"All hands on deck! We're under attack!"
The portly captain of the merchant ship, the Saucy Sue, was frantic. This was the second time his ship had been attacked this year. He knew what would happen next, unless his crew miraculously grew some courage and/or skill with weapons in the next few minutes. As soon as he had seen the ship coming toward them, he had known exactly who he'd have to contend with. The ship was the darkest shade he had ever seen, and it was too fast to be real. By the time the ship had hoisted its jolly roger, it was too late. The decision to stand up and fight rather than surrender the cargo was very risky, but the experience the captain had had with his previous employer after losing a large amount of valuable fabric from China had not been pleasant. The valuables on the ship currently were worth even more than those fabrics had been, and the captain did not wish to know what would happen to him if he lost it. Not to mention the fact that he'd have to go without pay again. The crew of the Black Pearl piled over the sides and swung onto the deck of the Saucy Sue, cutlasses and pistols drawn with intent to kill, maim, or otherwise injure anyone who stood in their way. An unusual-looking man stood in the middle of the fray, seemingly unperturbed by the chaos unfolding around him. He appeared to be looking for something, or someone. The next minute, he had disappeared. The captain of the Saucy Sue glanced around anxiously from behind a large stack of crates, aware that the man with the beads in his hair should not be allowed out of his sight for a moment. He had heard tales of this man, most of which described him as mad but disconcertingly cunning. That was not a man that this captain wanted to contend with.
"Am I correct in assuming that I'm addressing the captain of this ship?"
The captain looked up to see a pair of dark, kohl-rimmed eyes staring down at him. He gasped and stepped backwards, tripping over his own feet.
"Wh-what d'ye want?" cried the captain, a tremor in his voice betraying his fear. The fact that he was significantly shorter than the man in front of him did not help one bit.
Captain Jack Sparrow smiled and placed a congenial arm around the terrified man's shoulders, as if he were simply an old friend that he hadn't seen in a long time.
"I think you know exactly what I'm looking for," he said, gesturing with his free hand for emphasis.
"If – if ye want the cargo, ye're out of l-luck. I'll not be tellin' ye where it is." He straightened up, attempting to plaster a brave face over his pale, doughy, obviously petrified features.
Jack's grin widened. He removed his arm from the merchant's shoulders and turned to face him.
"I'm afraid you have other things to worry about, mate. Seeing as your cargo now belongs to me and my crew, I'm looking for things a bit more like this," He held up a jeweled trinket that the captain recognized as something that had been in his pocket only moments ago, "that you're hiding about your person, savvy?"
The captain gawked at Jack. This man had picked his pocket with a practiced skill and sleight-of-hand unmatched by any street thief he'd encountered before.
"So captain, will you be turning out your pockets, or would you rather I saved you the trouble, eh?"
Suddenly, the captain found the menacingly sharp blade of a sword just inches away from the side of his face. Although he had the feeling that Captain Jack Sparrow could rob him blind even without a weapon, he decided that doing what the eccentric captain said would be much less inconvenient than getting killed. Jack looked pleased when a pouch stuffed with coins fell to the deck, followed by two rings and a brooch inlaid with sapphires.
"Good man. Now if you'd be so kind as to pick those up for me . . ."
The trembling captain quickly reached down, wary of the sword still pointed at him, retrieved the trinkets, and handed them to Jack.
"Thanks very much." Jack jumped lightly onto a banister and stepped off, landing with unusual grace onto the main deck.
"Alright, lads-"
Anamaria growled viciously at Jack.
"-And lady, begging her pardon," he corrected himself hastily, "back to the Pearl!"
"Aye, sir!" the crew replied in unison.
And then they left the Saucy Sue, leaving her crew battered, bruised, and generally wishing that they'd stayed at home.
