See Chapter One for disclaimer, I'm sick of being redundant.
Thanks to blondeweasel, Quinn14, and angelwingz21 for your reviews! It's much appreciated!
Chapter Five: Learning Lessons and the Music of Auburn's Homeland
Jack jumped up and began searching for Miss Mary frantically. "Luv? Mary dear? Come out for ole' Jack! Come on then, no games, it's too early in the morning!" He groaned, rubbing his temples. 'A loose youngin' on me ship, just what I need to wake up to.'
'Take care of her, Jack Sparrow…' Lady Luck's warning echoed in his ears when he stopped to consider a moment that this wasn't his problem. Unfortunately, she had made it his problem. Damnit, she had made him responsible for something. "I hate women," he grumbled, beginning to scour the cabin.
The man picked up the blanket and tied each end to two of the support beams opposite his bed, creating a makeshift hammock. She was around here somewhere and when she was ignored, the girl usually came out of her hiding places on her own.
However, Jack began to get worried when Mary didn't come out from anywhere. It's not like there were many places she could hide. Jack's eyes widened in horror and realization: she was out on the ship somewhere. With grown men who didn't know why she was on the ship. And grown men who weren't exactly grown men in the area of intelligence and morals.
"NOT GOOD!" Jack cried, rushing out of his cabin frantically. "Gibbs!" he cried, rushing up to the poop deck.
"Oh mornin' Cap'n -" Gibbs began cheerfully.
"Where's the girl!"
"Girl?"
"The "extra cargo"?"
"Oh that. She's right down there with Mr. Auburn; 'said that he was supposed to take care of her when you were busy."
"And the crew?"
"The crew pays no mind to her as long as she stays outta their way. Mr. Auburn is making sure of that."
Jack breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, that's good. Gibbs, go get me some breakfast from the galley. We seem to have gone off course a touch."
"Aye, Cap'n." The first mate replied, heading off.
Jack leaned against the felloe of the wheel and sighed. No wonder so many men hated "the big commitment". He didn't understand why they committed themselves temporarily to a gal in the first place. All that gets him is bitching and hen-pecking and misery and eventually children and more bitching and hen-pecking. "Thank you," he muttered to his ship, "for not expectin' too much o' me." He paused to consider where that train of thought had started but realized that it didn't really matter.
The ship creaked in reply, making Jack smile. Gibbs shortly returned with a banana and a bottle of rum, Mary close behind him.
"Good morning Mr. Jack!" She smiled.
"Miss Mary, where were you this morning? I woke and you were gone!" Jack replied sternly. "I can't have you traversing all around this ship without someone knowin'! Yer gonna get stepped on or thrown overboard by ass'ident or somethin' equally as horrible."
The girl's face fell. "I didn' wanna disturb you; you was sleepin'. An' I know you said that Auburn was gonna take care of me so I went and found him. I'm sorry, Mr. Jack, please don't hate me, please don't throw me overboard!"
Jack groaned as her lower lip began to quiver. 'It's too early for this!' he cried internally.
"It's… it's alright, Mary." He sighed. "Just… don't cry. Please?"
She nodded somberly.
"A real pirate never cries." This particular comment made her grin, all thoughts of shedding tears gone.
"I'm…"
He nodded and grinned triumphantly. "Yes, luv. Now go back and play with Auburn. There's a good girl."
"Alright, Mr. Jack." The girl beamed as though she were the sun herself and skipped off to find Auburn.
A cough reminded the captain that his first mate was still next to him. "What!" Jack exclaimed, his voice raising an octave, snatching the rum bottle from Gibbs and taking a long draught.
"Never knew you could be so…" Gibbs faltered for the correct word.
"Look, I don't need some youngin' bawlin' all over me ship. I don't have time for such womanly… problems. Sometimes it pays to be compassionate." Jack gave Gibbs a wink and a grin. "How do ye think I get all me ladies, mate?"
This made Gibbs chuckle. "A'ight, yer redeemed, Jack. Just watch out, that girl looks like hell-fire in disguise."
"Noted Gibbs. Now could you please teach these boys how to tie a real knot? Some of them look loose up on the port side."
As Gibbs dismissed himself Jack watched Auburn and Mary, who were settled up at the main rail, from the helm doing some sort of weaving with small beads and thin manilla rope.
"Now, y' see, Miss Mary, y' weave this par' through tha' loop y' make with the otha' string an' then pull it tight agains' the ones ye made 'afore. Y' understand t'all?" Auburn asked, watching Mary follow his instruction.
"I think I get it!" She cried happily, showing him.
"Good, lass! Now jus' keep on goin' like that an' ye'll have a bracelet or necklace or wha'ever ye want it ta be in no time."
"Goodness Auburn, you have some beautiful beads to put in these. What do you make them all fer anyways?"
"Oh I sell 'em at ports and towns when money's tight. Y'see, Miss Mary, y' don' need some education t' survive in this world. All yer need is a few skills and the smarts t' know 'ow t' use 'em."
"What else can you do, Auburn?"
He gave the girl a grin. "Jus' aboot anythin' yer can think of."
"Can ye sing?"
"Aye."
"Can ye dance?"
"Ooh, I be the best jigger in th' New World."
"Can ye read?"
"'Nuff t' get me by."
"Can ye swordplay?"
"Fight y' mean?"
"Uh huh. With a sword an' pistol an' all tha'. Like Mr. Jack."
"Aye; I've learned 'nuff to keep me innards intac'."
"Can ye play an instrument?"
"Aye, I always keep me pipes close by." He patted a little bundle tucked into his belt.
"Wow, ye can do everythin'. If yer so talented, how come yer on a pirate ship?"
"As I said, lassie, all y' need is skills t' get through this world."
The girl stared at him in awe. "Oooh, play sumthin' fer me, Auburn, please? Please?" she begged.
Auburn laughed. "A'ight, I'll play ye a short ditty." He fished the satchel out of his belt and unlaced it, revealing a small, dark, wooden instrument, only about six inches long. It looked like a bunch of reeds tied in a row, each one a bit smaller than the last, with holes at the top. The largest one was about four inches tall; the smallest about an inch and a half.
Auburn winked a clover eye at Mary before he put it to his mouth and blew softly. The morning Atlantic wind caught up the notes, turning and twisting them up towards the nearly cloudless sky. Mary gasped at the extraordinary sound coming from Auburn's pipes. It didn't sound like the music she'd ever heard but at the same time, it felt unnervingly familiar. It sounded like a breeze rustling a forest full of trees and continuing through a field full of hay and various songbirds singing simultaneously; like rain hitting a mirror-still lake softly and a brook's current gurgling over age-old stones, worn smooth with time. It sounded like everything in nature breathing to the same beat, swaying to the same time, and yet doing it all in their own way.
Auburn ceased playing much too soon for Mary's liking and she pouted as he put his pipes away. "'Nother time, lass, an' I'll play ye more from the 'omeland."
"Where are you from, Auburn?" Mary queried.
"Ole' Erin, lass, me beloved Emeral' Isle." The boy replied with a loving sigh.
"Where's that?"
"Farther north than ye've ever been. 'Nuff questions fer now, though. The Cap'n wants ye. Go on, luv."
Mary began to scamper off towards Jack but then turned back. "Auburn?"
"Hmm?"
"That was beautiful, thank you."
"Aye, anytime lass. Ye'll ne'er find music like tha' 'cept in the 'omeland. Keep it in yer 'eart."
"Promise." Mary ran to Jack excitedly. "Didja hear it, Mr. Jack? Did ya hear Auburn's pipe?"
"Aye, luv, I did. T'was beautiful."
"It was like the music was painting a picture and only I could see it and oh, Mr. Jack it was so beautiful! It was a place of rollin' hills and everthin' was green and oh, Mr. Jack, I wanna live in a place like that someday, where I can hear all those sounds all the time!" She sighed heavily, lost in her little dream-world.
Jack smiled knowingly. "Do ye now?"
"Yessir. It felt like I'd already been there, like it was a part of me."
"Well, how 'bout you teach me some words in those books I've been keepin' in me cabin and then we'll get ourselves some dinner, a'ight?"
"A'ight," Mary replied, racing off towards his quarters excitedly, eager to teach.
Jack just gave the young lass's back another knowing grin and followed in her wake, barking out orders as he went. "Gibbs, take the wheel! Mates, I wanna see this deck shine when I come back out or rations are cut fer a week!"
This is my favourite chapter so far. It was so much fun to write the music part and there are a bunch of clues about Mary in this but you really have to read between the lines for them. Hope ya'll enjoyed it! Please review for me!
Until next time,
Cheers,
Puck
