Woo-hoo; long chapter! I have almost 50 reviews! -Speechless-
Some minor swearing in this chapter, but I've already rated the story accordingly, so no real surprises there. So, picking up where we left off; is the Admiral going to buy Jack's story?
"Board, men - this vessel and its crew are believed to have partaken in the hang-able act of piracy." The Admiral bellowed. Will looked stricken, but Jack merely rolled his eyes in annoyance and disgust. But the navy crew remained where they were, staring and gaping at an object behind Jack and Will. Both men turned around slowly and cautiously on their heels. Behind them stood the most striking woman Will had ever seen, and one of the most stunning women Jack had ever laid eyes on. Dressed in a pale-blue dress with a white belt cinched at the waist and a cream-parasol shading her from the sun, Will was drawing a blank at who this person was. So was Jack.
"Who are you?" Jack asked the woman incredulously. The woman merely winked at Will and waved her hand-held fan next to her pretty face. It was then Will recognised Alex's blue eyes and cheeky grin.
"Alex?" Will asked disbelievingly.
"Where?" Asked Jack, spinning around in a vain search for Alex. "Haven't seen the blasted pain ever since we meet this cursed – "
"Excuse me gentlemen, but what seems to be the problem?" Alex inquired in a cultured voice, so completely unlike her usual rough brogue. The Admiral made a supreme effort to look unruffled and unconcerned.
"Perhaps you can inform us of the purpose of this vessel, as I can't get a straight answer out of anybody." The wiry man scowled.
"Certainly," beamed Alex. Will scowled at any of the naval officers that beamed back at her. "Sorry to cause you any inconvenience with this mistake," she apologised. The crew looked like they'd forgive Alex for murdering their only son, "You see, I'm off to Africa to marry my Spanish fiancé." (Here the Navy crew's faces dropped slightly) "I was worried about pirates, so I – I mean, my fiancé –enlisted the help of these fine gentlemen here, and requested the crew to keep the purpose of this voyage under wraps. They are under orders not to reveal the true purpose of this crossing and were sworn to secrecy. I - I mean - my fiancé wanted to avoid as much attention as possible. Naturally, this order extended to the sea, and they weren't permitted to answer any questions posed by any other vessels. Of course, I should have reminded them to alert the Royal Navy of the real story, but it must have slipped my mind. I have so much to worry about at the moment, with the wedding and all. I'm terribly sorry to have caused such an inconvenience." Alex apologised, sounding incredibly sincere and remorseful. She looked up at the navy crew from under lower eyelashes. If her speech hadn't done the trick, that look certainly had.
"Err, no trouble at all." The Admiral replied bashfully. "Perfectly understandable, given the circumstances… Should be me apologising…How can I make it up to you?"
"Nonsense, don't trouble yourself -" Alex began, but before she could finish her sentence, the Rear Admiral cried out, "We'll take you to Africa! No ship on the seven seas would dare tangle with the Virginia." The Admiral shut the disgraced lad up with a mere glance. Alex looked horrified at the prospect of spending several long weeks at sea with the Rear Admiral.
"That really is a very gracious offer, but I'm afraid I must decline." She excused herself hurriedly. "I have packed everything I need below deck on this ship, and to get it all out would take up too much of your precious time." The Admiral looked as if he were to argue. "Besides," Alex continued hurriedly, "Battle-ships and wars scare me greatly. And I trust this crew with my life. I'm terribly sorry gentlemen, but I wouldn't dream of burdening you any further. And my fiancé did wish for me to travel… incognito, I believe the Spanish word is."
"Well, if we can't persuade you further…" The Admiral said, looking terribly put-out.
"Sir, if you'll permit me to voice my opinion," another voice began. Will saw Alex roll her eyes and shoot him a look that said, will they never leave me alone?
"Certainly, Vice Admiral Stone." The Admiral beamed. Obviously the Vice Admiral was a favourite of the Admiral. With the Vice's dark Welsh looks and curly chocolate hair, he was obviously a favourite with the ladies too. Alex didn't look too impressed though, but hid her lower-face behind her fan. He spoke with a faint accent as he continued on.
"This lady is off on a very trying journey. Seeing as she wishes to continue her voyage with this… rabble," (here he glanced over at Jack and Will) "perhaps she could be persuaded to join us for dinner and light entertainment after. That is, if the Lady feels up to dancing?" The Vice Admiral was obviously used to charming his way around ladies, but Alex merely flashed a weak smile at him.
"Mr Stone, I have told you before, I will trust my life to this crew. Speaking no ill of the Royal Navy, but blue blood bleeds as freely as any other. Upper-class status does not automatically make you invincible to the perils of the ocean. Just because you can trace your ancestry back to King Louie doesn't ensure courage or bravery. I trust this crew with my life, regardless of their parentage and social influence." Vice Admiral Stone looked shocked. Not only had a pretty lady declined his offered; she had openly humiliated him. "Unfortunately, Mr Stone, I regret to inform you that I –"
"Can attend the dinner." Jack cut in. Alex spun around and glared at Jack in shock and fury. Her look clearly said, what the hell are you doing? "The lady will gladly attend your dinner, and dance graciously there-aft'wards, I am sure." Jack replied, bowing low to the Admiral.
"Splendid!" Exclaimed the Admiral.
"On one condition." Alex hurriedly added, and without waiting for permission to continue, persisted. "The good Captain accompanies me. Not that I don't trust you gentlemen, but I would feel safer if I knew a familiar face." Jack looked astounded.
"You know I can't stand the uptight bastards." He hissed at Alex.
"Neither can I, you arrogant arse. Why did you do that for? I can answer for myself sufficiently well, thank-you." Alex murmured back from behind her fan. The Admiral answered Alex's question, oblivious to her and Jack's whispered argument.
"Certainly, my Lady. The Captain can accompany you by all means." Neither Jack nor the Vice Admiral looked to happy on that agreement. Will merely sniggered at Jack's discomfort. Jack would be forced to be civil to the very people he would love nothing more to do than pump full of lead and cannon-balls.
"Will comes also." Alex added quickly. "You can keep an eye on Jack." She muttered to Will as he stared at her in outrage.
"I can't believe you did that!" All three bellowed at each other as soon as the naval cutter dropped anchor a respectful distance away.
"Did your mother drop you on your head at birth?" Jack lamented to Alex. "You don't say things like that to Lord Jason Stone, nephew to the Queen!"
"I can say whatever I like to whomever I want." Alex shot back.
"I saved you hide back there, lass. Tis mutiny against the Navy and the Crown to say what you did." Jack replied softly, trying to make her see reason.
"Regardless, we're even. I saved your hide from the Admiral's cat-o-nine tails." Alex argued stubbornly, crossing her arms in annoyance.
"'S nothing I can't charm my way out of." Sparrow replied, equally as stubborn.
"From the navy's prison cell." She snapped back.
Jack's mind raced furiously as he attempted to find a retort to match Alex's. "I can't stand her!" Jack exclaimed, throwing his hands up in annoyance. "Blast whoever taught the lass to speak her mind!" He strode into his quarters and slammed the door. Will watched Jack's gracious retreat pensively.
"Why do I have to watch him?" He finally asked, his dark eyes beseeching.
"Because he's going to get himself raving drunk on the rum he's hidden in his cabin and get us hanged if you don't keep an eye on him." Alex rolled her eyes. "And if I have to suffer so does he. I'd rather do a whole week of the midnight dog-watch than spend one evening on a naval ship."
"Couldn't you look after him? Then at least you'd have something to do." Will asked resignedly, still trying to get out of a boring night with the pompous navy officers.
"No, I'll be busy trying not to strangle every officer on the ship." Alex replied, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.
To try to calm her nerves, she petted the black cat that had lithely jumped up unto the ship's railings. It had followed Alex and the new crew aboard from the docks on their first day, and it could often be found lying draped around Alex's shoulders or sleeping in her cabin. Despite Gibb's muttering that it was 'frightfully bad luck to bring a black cat aboard' (everything was bad luck to Gibbs, unless it had the potential to get him drunk). Jack allowed her to keep it, and as a joke Alex name the cat 'North.' It amused Alex to call down from the Crow's Nest "Where's North?" when things got a bit boring, and all too often Jack and Will heard unsuspecting sailors crying out, "Alex wants to know where North is? Can anyone find North! We've bloody-well gone and lost North."
"If you didn't want to go, why did you pack a dress in the first place?" Will questioned, intrigued.
"I thought it would get me out of trouble, which it did, but only landed me in deeper trouble. You'd think I'd learn my lesson the first time…" She grumbled, tugging at her belt and scowling in a most un-lady-like manner. "I have half a mind to burn it right now... Still, I must be off to make myself presentable for this notable company." Alex finished sarcastically, also striding into her quarters and slamming the door in annoyance.
"Stop slamming doors on my ship!" Came Jack's muffled voice from his cabin, where he was undoubtedly sulking, drinking, or both. "Bloody smart-arse," he muttered as he threw himself heavily into an easy chair.
"Bloody smart arse," Alex muttered as she threw her dress to the floor in contempt, stomped on it a couple of times for good measure, and then flopped heavily onto her bed.
Next chapter: the Navy ball. Who'll insult the navy first? Who'll find the Navy's rum supply first? And watch-out for one barely-mentioned character; they'll turn up in a very unexpected place a few chapters down the track. Actually, two of them will. And it was really weird to try to make Alex seem attractive; I never really factored that into the equation when I was inventing her character. She sort of had enough spunk and personality that she didn't need anything else. But it seemed the only way to get the Navy to stop attacking the Black Pearl was to have an 'innocent, meek, fragile 'women aboard it, and lo and behold; Alex was already there. Alex doesn't do innocent, meek or fragile very well, however.
DCoD – And so Alex returns, and it could be argued she saved Jack from his sticky situation (only to land him in one he believes is much, much worse – dancing. At a ball. With the Navy.) Now that I know that people don't hate that I've included an 'other character' into the story, Alex might play a bigger part. Jack and Will certainly make enough trouble for themselves to need someone to bail them out of their dilemma's :)
Kara Adar – Well, I think it's sufficed to say the Admiral did not believe Jack's story. Poor Jack… Mind you, if I were the Admiral, I wouldn't believe Jack either :)
Hippolytos – Thank-you (for both reviews)! I'm glad you think Jack and Will are in character – I don't have access to the POTC movie, so I have to work off my memory to remember how they speak and act. But they're definitely unforgettable characters (especially Jack) so it's not too hard to imagine how they'd react to the situations I place them in. Glad you like it.
Pebbles1234 – Yes, what will Jack do with Will? It's a good thing Jack's a patient man. Will's sort of like Watson in his early days; Watson tries to make accurate assumptions and deductions like Holmes, but nine times out of ten he gets it wrong. But Will tries. His heart's in the right place, and he's a smart lad, so I think that's all that matters to Jack, because they're the two things you can't teach someone. Will'll get better at the whole pirating business soon.
Thank-you to my steadfast reviewers (I'm trying to use words other than 'loyal') both new and old. Also thank-you to my mystery readers out there – I know you're there because I read my story stats occasionally - I see you, poppet ;) Thanks all!
Does anyone know how to stop the spaces appearing between each line of dialogue? It looks messy and it's difficult to read. And why do some words 'stick together' - especially after I've used commas?