8. Barrels and Persuasion

Disclaimer: POSSIBLE SPOILER for DMC: if you have seen it, please read the disclaimer…if you haven't seen it yet, you'll know what I'm talking about after you see the movie. There is a dialogue in this chapter that is from DMC. It is not word for word, but you'll know it when you read it. I just really liked it so I adapted it. I do not own it. ENJOY!

"So luv, how'd ye like bein' captain of yer own ship?"

I turned my head suddenly in the direction of Jack's voice.

"What do you mean? I'm just steering the ship!" I yell back at him.

"Let me show ye!" He calls back as he begins swaggering across the main deck and up the stairs, ducking and dodging ropes as he goes.

"Show me? Show me what!"

"Pet, when yer captain of yer own ship, ye do most of the steerin'—and since we've only been at sea for probably 35 minutes, and you've been the only one to do most of the steerin', that would make ye the captain," he explains drunkenly.

"Jack," I wrinkle up my face at the smell of his breath, "have you been drinking…before sunrise?" I ask, disgustedly.

"Luv, yer always on the same page as me," he says as he hands me a bottle of rum.

"Jack, I don't want any rum before the world even has their breakfast!" I exclaim, a slight grin forming on my mouth for Jack's lack of reticence in his drinking.

"C'mon, pet! Ye can't be captain of yer own ship if ye aren't drunk!"

"I beg to differ. And besides, I don't even know where the fuck I'm going—and I'm sober! How do you expect me to find land anywhere with that compass of yours AND be drunk while doing so!" I shriek.

"Never stopped me, luv," Jack grins, "now how about that drink?" he hands the bottle back to me.

"You're gonna have to do a lot more persuading than that, Mr. Sparrow!"

"It's captain Sparrow, luv," he winks.

"I thought I was captain now," I reply with a provocative smile.

"Yer gonna have to do a lot more persuading than that, luv," Jack winks again at me.

"What! You told me I was captain because I was the one doing all the sailing!" I exclaim.

"Like I said—persuade me," Jack replies, right in my face. His intense eyes drew me in so that I almost kissed him. Instead, I resisted my initial urge, and pushed past him.

"Forget it. You steer the ship—Captain," I say smugly, and walk down the steps to the main deck. "If you need me, I'll be below deck, sleeping," I call up to him and head below deck.

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I finally awoke to the sound of thunder—or what I perceived to be thunder. Still face the wall, I turned over on my other side to see a smile Jack's face before me.

"Jack! What the hell are you doing!" I quickly sit up. I notice there is a huge barrel next to him.

"I need ye to take this to the brig," he says, gesturing to the giant barrel.

"Jack, there's no way I'm ever going to get that down the stairs," I say with a laugh.

"That's why I'm going to help ye," he says, and finally picks me up.

"No! Jack! I'm sleeping!" I shriek as I try to hang onto the bed while he pulls at my legs. He eventually wins, since sheets can only hang onto a mattress for so long, and by the forces of gravity and inertia, Jack flew backwards and I landed on top of him.

"You ass!" I yell at him, picking myself up to my feet.

"That's what ye get fer tellin' me that if I needed anything, you'd be sleepin' below deck! Well I need something done, and I'm offerin' t' help ye!" He exclaims back. Silent, from his truthful statement, throw my hair up and tug on my shoes.

"So how are we going about this task, captain?" I ask, defeated.

"We roll it to the staircase," he begins to tip the barrel and roll it, while I guide him to the staircase.

"Now, let me to the stairs," he says, as he pushes gently past me and onto the stairs. The brief touch of his hands on my waist as he went past made me nearly fall to my knees, but I kept it together.

"Now what," I ask, warming up to him with a little smile.

"Now that's better, luv!" he says, noticing my smile.

"We roll it slowly, down each step…"

"You two need any help?" Elizabeth asks suddenly from behind.

"Elizabeth, darling! So glad you're here!" Jack's eyes light up at the sight of her. "Ye can take Lindsey's place—since she really would rather be on the upper deck sailing her ship…or even better—sleeping,"

"What! Jack, you said this was your ship!"

"Ye did a poor job persuading me that it was my ship,"

"What? That makes no sense! Jack, I don't care anymore—I'm more than willing to help you here with this barrel. You're the captain and I'm at your beckon call," I plead to him.

"No! Yer the captain—no get up there and sail yer ship—captain," he replies irritated.

"I don't get you, Jack. I don't think I ever will," I say, dejectedly as I turn and walk up the stairs.

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Once on the main deck, I see Will steering the ship. I quickly run up the stairs to him.

"Jack wants me to steer the ship because I'm the "captain"," I say, quoting the captain as I spoke it.

"What?" Will asks, drowsily and not entirely paying attention.

"I don't know. He makes no sense. He told me earlier that I was captain, then he told me that he was really captain, and that I had to persuade him otherwise. I got pissed at him and told me he was captain. Then he just woke me up telling me I had move this huge-ass fuckin' barrel with him and I didn't want to but I had to because he's the captain, then Elizabeth came down, and all of a sudden he was 'so glad to see you darling' and such and he told me to go 'sail my ship' because I'm captain and I asked him what the hell he was talking about because he told me he was the real captain---then he told me I did a bad job persuading him otherwise about him being captain! Does any of that make ANY sense whatsoever!" I exclaim in a fury.

"Wow, that was a lot to handle in 3 seconds," Will chuckles at my rambling, then frowns. "Could you go back to that part about how he called Elizabeth 'darling'?"

"Oh Will, I'm so sorry," I say sympathetically, "but I'm sure Jack meant nothing by it. You know how he is," I smile for Will, trying to show him how to be strong.

"You're probably right," he replies, smiling the same smile back at me.

"But we should probably get to steering this ship before Jack comes back up for more barrels," I laugh.

"Yeah," Will chuckles along with me.