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.Dire Clandestine: The Tale of a Quixotic Love Affair
by: The Inflated Taco
o2: First Meetings
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The day had started boringly. The instant her eyes skimmed down the harbor into the cities dusty streets she knew that merely going through the trouble of waking was a waste of time. After all the talk her father went on about Port Royale, she half expected something on the scale of a small London town not a stop for merchants on their way back from the Indian shores.
The Black Pearl had stopped at a cove where it would remain hidden till nightfall when it would surely make its presence known. Catalonìa stood by her father, one hand curled around his arm, the other was holding a heavily decorated parasol upright. They had taken a rowboat from the cove, along with Mr. Gibbs and some other nameless pirates who had left them to go off to the nearest pub. Once Jack had paid off the docking manager for the boat's fare they began to slowly walk down the harbor isle examining the other ships floating unguarded in the quay. The conversation they where holding was light and fickle but it allowed time to slip past them.
A few bothersome voices from behind them ceased their conversation" I know that voice-!" Jack murmured with slight realization.
Catalonìa turned, as she saw whom it was her father seemed to recall one eyebrow jutted up and her mouth couldn't help but slide to the side in displeasure. It was a man seeming to almost plea with the docking manager with stacks of luggage at his feet. He held his head slouched as though unsure of many things and his face was twisted in a mixture of exposure. From the style of his frocks one could easily label him as to being employed in a black-collar job-which to her was nothing to be too pleased with. His coffee toned hair was idly tied back, but some strands had managed to free themselves, covering his bright eyes. He appeared horribly unkempt and his facial hair was unruly. But still the man was peculiarly handsome.
Jack's eyes scanned the man up and down with a look of almost unbelief, "I dun believe it…" he murmured half to himself grabbing onto his daughter and dragging her off to the other end of the dock.
It was then the other man noticed them. He blinked unthinkingly once or twice before abandoning his bags and coming up to greet them.
"Jack? Could that really be you? Wow…it's been so long" the man gasped in bewilderment.
After he said this Jack let her go and pulled the poor unsuspecting man into a tight embrace, "Too long I fear!"
"It has been" the man said nodding his head in agreement, "So who's this?' he questioned pointing towards Catalonìa. She still held her dismayed look at him. Had they seriously come all this way for this little bug? Imagine- when France was only a few isles away…
"This lovely, fresh piece of girl?" Jack questioned in a jesting voice as he grabbed onto her arm, pushing her before the strange man, "Is Catalonìa Valadez Sparrow!"
Astonishment splashed itself all over the strangers face "You married? But she's a little too young-don't you think?"
Was this man as blind as he was rubbish? Could he truly not see the resemblance? She inclined her chin, looking up at him through partly closed eyes and smiled with false courtesy, "No. I'm his daughter. And just who might you be kind sir?"
He bowed showing his manners and politely spoke, " I'm William Turner. I justly am most obliged to meet you milady"
It was Jack who broke their talk with a clap of his hands, "Well its just fine and dandy to know everyone's been acquainted -shall we move on?"
"He doesn't look like a pirate too me, more like a mere sea merchant" she huffed as she looked William over.
"Well, I'm not really a pirate…I was for a little over a month though", he muttered as he scratched his head trying to appear humble. 'Sensational! A pirate for 2 whole weeks. No-! Not possibly a descendant of Black Beard this was a great, father of all pirates-for A MONTH! Outrageous!' she thought with a quick roll of her eyes which only Will seemed to have noticed.
"No deary luv, he's a pirate" Jack stated as he put one hand over his belt strap, "He's been a very willing accomplice in many pirating behaviors. Shall I only name a few?"
Before giving either a second to object he answered his own question, "Where to begin Will? For starters he's fanatical about gold! Not enough? Well, he also liberated-a very handsome, dangerously fierce pirate from jail and he's commandeered a ship of the armada. Now if that doesn't make a pirate then we're just all a bunch of sacks of swine muck aren't we?"
"But father, that's not very different than what any other pirate might do-", she persisted with an uninterested spin of her sun sunshade.
"That's positively true deary but…he helped recapture back the Pearl, he managed to get his way out of the Flying Dutchman and lived the horrors of Davey Jones!" Jack said with a boom, which seized the dispute. Now that made a great pirate.
"Fine" she bluntly said lowly as she gave Will a twitch of he eyebrow.
"So Jack what brings you here?", Will asked changing the conversation inelegantly. Catalonìa too looked at her father in question.
"Simple as lovely Indian rugs- sell for loads in Europe ye' know?" he avowed before looking up at Will, "And then there's the business of the once in a lifetime summons I'm about to ask of ye'"
Catalonìa looked at him in a dazed sort of way…there was no way in hell…
"William Turner I hereby request that you join me aboard the Pearl as my 1st mate-well sort of, second in line to Gibbs anyway-but if you refuse chances are we won't meet again for many, many years. Hell! Chances are probably never…Mizzes Swann's welcome too of course…or is it now Mrs. Turner?" he inquired with an impish smirk.
…there was a way…
When Jack had said that Will looked hurt and his eyes seemed distant. Catalonìa could immediately tell that whoever this Swann was had flown off and broken this poor little baby's heart. Boo-hoo
"No Jack I don't think she's a Mrs. Turner anymore, perhaps a Norrington but not a Turner" he sighed checking the towns clock, 10 till 2. He shifted his eyes back to Jack, "About your offer I must say I'm-"
"ACHOO!" sneezed the girl, dropping her parasol on the ground. Both men looked at the girl who had made that big noise. With an apologetic smile she said in a wiry voice peering at Will through pompous eyes "I'm sorry, it's just I'm allergic to dogs and it seems that there must be one in our midst"
"Wha…deary there ain't no dogs…", Jack said in a sluggish voice, twisting his head about in search of the dog.
Will knew the statement was directed at him and gave her a solemn sort of smile. "No, no father trust me there's a dog", she said bluntly, turning her head away as though something remote caught her attention. If only he knew the effect his presence had on her. Just knowing that there was someone else out there who could steal away her father's affections like that made her boil with spite. Already he spent only a few minutes of his day with her. The last few minutes of the day before he decided to go off with the rest of the crew to get exceedingly drunk. And she didn't really like it when men drank; it made them horribly unbearable and stupid.
This man seemed more important than Mr. Gibbs. It was the way Jack looked at him, with an identical eye, passion.
"As I was saying Jack, I would feel most appreciative to …take your offer "Will said hesitantly. He could feel the young girl's scorn and seemed unsure as of what to say next. From the instant he noticed the way she carried herself he knew that she was proud and chances where if he where to survive on that ship she'd need some getting used to.
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