Disclaimer: I tried to lure Jack into my house with rum, but Disney got in my way, so he's not mine.
AN: I will be gone from Wednesday-Sunday, so I decided to post early. Please forgive any late posting the following week. Let me know what you think of this chapter by reviewing! Thanks!
Chapter 15: Raging Waters:
Standing up at the bow of the ship, I sighed and closed my eyes, savoring the feel of the wind off the sea on my face and in my loose hair. Usually my hair was in a sensible braid, but today I felt like letting the wind blow through it. I would have a mess to comb out later, but it would be worth it.
"Ah, the lovely siren of the Pearl," commented a familiar voice as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around me. "What a glorious sight to see onboard my ship."
I laughed and turned my head so I could look up into Jack's face. "Hardly a siren," I said with a smile. "I don't sing, so I could hardly tempt men, now, can I?"
"Oh, believe me, darling, you are very tempting," Jack replied, leaning forward to press a brief kiss to my lips. "With a beauty like yours, you could have me off the Pearl and swimming towards your enchanted island before you could blink twice."
Having nothing to say to that, I merely tilted my head up and returned his previously given kiss. When we pulled apart, I heard the fluttering of wings and saw a flash of blue out of the corner of my eye. It was Dusty, Mr. Cotton's parrot, and when it landed on the railing, it squawked and bobbed its head, blinking its little black eyes at us as it did so. Jack attempted to shoo it away, but to no avail.
Sighing, my husband turned and looked at me. "Looks like someone's taken a liking to our romantic interludes on deck," he grumbled.
I chuckled and looked at Dusty. "Shame on you," I cooed to him. "Why don't you go find your owner? I'm sure that he's missing you."
Dusty merely tilted its head at us and nodded once before flying off, leaving us alone once more. Jack stared at me as I turned around in his arms so that we stood face-to-face.
"Now I know you're a siren," he said with a smile. "And you have no idea how happy I am that you're mine!"
Giggling, I stood on my toes and pressed my lips to his.
From the other side of the ship, the crew of the Black Pearl watched as their Captain and his lady kissed, all of them doing their best to keep quiet as they tried to appear busy.
"Lucky man, the Captain is," Barton whispered to Mr. Cotton.
The mute nodded his head in agreement, a wide grin on his face. All around him, the other men chuckled softly and winked at one another. Before Rose had joined the crew, there had been rather lengthy gaps in between the times they had seen Captain Jack Sparrow in such a fine mood. In fact, the Captain had seemed rather pensive until the day he had officially brought the young woman aboard and introduced her to the crew as their new cook.
Before his first meeting with Rose, Jack had been overjoyed at having his ship back, and they had all been more than content to raid, pillage, plunder, and frighten merchants out of their wits. Once the ship's hold was full of loot, they would sail into Tortuga and toss their money to the wind, spending it on all of the food, drinks, and women they could stand. After their money pouches were empty, they boarded the Pearl, sailed out to sea, and then searched for the next ship to target.
However, after a while, Jack's mood had started to become rather bleak. He didn't put as much heart into his work, and truth be told, the crew had started to become more than a bit worried about him. It was then that Mr. Gibbs had suggested that Jack do some thinking and to consult his compass for what it was he really wanted or longed for in his life. Since it was his first mate and close friend asking him to do so, Jack had agreed. The Pearl had then followed the course set to them by Jack's compass, stopping only when they reached a small, wealthy port town to take a short rest.
It was on their first night there that their captain ran into a boyishly-dressed young woman by the name of Angela Nelson, the woman who would soon join the Pearl's crew and with whom it's captain would soon become smitten with.
After Rose had joined the crew, the men couldn't help but notice how chipper their Captain had become. It seemed as though life had new meaning to him, and with that new sense of purpose came a spring in Jack's step. Upon seeing Jack's change in mood, the crew had begun taking bets on when he would fall in love with her enough to actually do something about it. Mr. Cotton was currently the richest man on the Pearl, next to the Captain.
A feminine giggle from the front of the ship made all the men shake their heads and quickly head back to work. Privately, most of them hoped that the loving honeymoon behavior would wear off soon; the last thing they needed was a bunch of little Sparrows running along the deck before the crew was prepared for them!
Yawning, I stretched out my spine and headed out on deck, ready to head into town and shop with Elizabeth for the last time. She would be sailing off for England in a few days, and I wouldn't be able to see her again for at least six months, which is when she planned on returning to the Caribbean with William and her father.
Stepping out into the warm sunshine, I realized that it felt different to be where we were. According to Jack, we were somewhere in western Africa, which I found fascinating. I was eager to go ashore, but had to wait for my friends first, so I merely watched the comings-and-goings of the people down on the docks. It was interesting to see that the faces here were mostly the dark chocolate brown of the native Africans or the tanned Europeans who had set up trade here. Little children ran around their black or white nannies, the poor women trying their best not to loose track of their charges as wagons rattled past with their cargo, going to and from the docks.
I wiped a bit of sweat from my forehead and sighed. The heat here was very different from that in the Caribbean and India, though I didn't know why exactly. Well, actually, I could see why: instead of the lush plants and flowers that every port in the Caribbean had, I only saw dust and sand. The air also felt as though it were pulling the water right out of my body, and I did not like it one bit.
"Easy, luv," Jack said as he came up beside me. "Lizzie will be here soon, then you can go and shop until my purse is empty."
Rolling my eyes, I reached out and slapped him gently on the arm. "Shop until your purse is empty?" I asked with a quirked eyebrow. "Don't you mean until my purse is empty?"
Jack turned his head and gave me the strangest look. "Surely you don't think that I would send my bonny wife out into a strange port all by her onesies?" he asked as though disgusted with the thought.
Now I was confused. "All by my onesies?" I blurted out. He had never used that term before.
My husband sighed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "It means I'm not sending you and poor Lizzie out by yourself," Jack explained, squeezing me closer to him. "This is an African port, and some people might not be so kindly to a pair of lone women. Therefore, I shall be accompanying you on your grand shopping expedition."
I could only sigh as Jack led me down the gangplank and out into the town to search for Elizabeth.
Jack and his lovely wife finally managed to find the Horizon's Flame four docks over. When they reached the bottom of the gangplank, Jack watched in amusement as Elizabeth practically flew down to greet Rose with a hardy embrace. Jack merely rolled his eyes and followed behind the two young women as they chatted about clothes, shoes, ribbons, and jewelry.
Thankfully, the ladies spent more time talking than spending anything; between the two of them, Elizabeth and Rose only bought one dress each and a matching pair of shoes for their new outfits. Rose also purchased a new pair of boots and a few extra shirts for their trip home, as well as a small cloth ball on a string for Ivory to play with. Happy that his wife wasn't spending him dry, Jack was able to return to the Pearl with a smile on his face…at least until he remembered that they were staying in port for another three days.
We spent three more days with Will and Elizabeth, the four of us shopping, eating and drinking together long into the night. We would all tell stories about what we had seen and experienced, bottles or glasses of rum in our hands and plates of food within reach. I can honestly say that a good time was had by all, and when the departure day finally arrived, I greeted it with a heavy heart.
As we said our 'goodbyes,' Elizabeth and I embraced for a full five minutes before Jack pulled us apart and told us it was time for the Turners to leave. After Lizzie and I finished babbling out promises to write and to visit in Tortuga in six months, Jack and I departed the Flame and headed back to the Pearl, eager to get it out to sea.
That had been two weeks ago.
Presently, Jack and I were in our cabin, wrapped up in each other's arms as we felt the Pearl sway underneath us. Since the trip back to the Caribbean was going to take a while, Jack decided to use the opportunity to try and spend as much time with me as possible. With nothing but open ocean around us, Mr. Gibbs and Mr. Cotton were left to the helm, Marty was up in the crow's nest, and the crew was left to their own devices (as long as their chores were done).
Sighing contentedly, I closed my eyes and snuggled closer to Jack's shoulder. His hands were currently busy, one tangled in my hair while the other was firmly gripping my waist, both of them holding me prisoner against my husband's body. Underneath my ear, I could feel Jack's chest rumbling as he hummed some sea shanty or another under his breath. It made me happy knowing that Jack was as content as I was, and I was grateful that we had two more months before we were back in the Caribbean.
Suddenly, I heard a shout from the deck, one that was full of alarm and fear. Sitting up, I felt my eyes widen as the sound of cannon fire filled the air. Jack practically leapt from the bed, his hands gathering up his effects, coat and hat quicker than I could blink. In moments, I, too, had my weapons strapped on and was rushing out the door in my husband's footsteps, headed up to the helm so that I could see what was going on. A quick look at the sea behind us was enough.
Sailing towards us was a fleet of at least five or six ships, all of them as large and no doubt as armed as the Pearl. I swallowed hard as Jack began bellowing out orders to raise the sails so that they could catch as much wind as possible. While the men raced around deck, I stepped up to Jack's side and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Shall I see who's following us, Captain?" I asked softly.
Jack turned to look at me in surprise before his gaze softened a little. "Aye, luv, why don't you do that for me," he said while turning his gaze forwards.
I pulled out the spyglass that Jack had bought me in Africa and put it up to my eye. It certainly was a fleet of ships, but they were flying a flag I had never seen before. Turning around, I glanced at Jack, who was watching me out of the corner of his eye.
"What flag are they flying, Rose?" he asked, though it sounded as though he were dreading my answer. "Is it the British or the Spanish? We could be invading any one of their territories…"
Looking back at it, I shook my head. "It's neither one, Jack," I said. "I know what an English flag and a Spanish flag look like, and it's not one of theirs….actually, it's green with a wide silver circle and a sword in the middle of it…"
At this point, Jack was swearing like mad as he tried to coax the Pearl into moving faster. "It's Gerry," he growled. "That's Gerry Hastings' flag, though how the bloody hell he managed to get a fleet of ships and find us this far from the Caribbean is what I'd like to know!"
Now I was truly scared. If Captain Hastings managed to catch us, we would be in trouble. I had just closed my eyes and begun to pray when the sound of a cannon going off reached my ears. My eyes flew open as I saw a ship coming straight at us from the opposite direction!
"Bloody hell!" Jack yelled, turning the wheel abruptly to try and avoid being caught. "How did they get ahead of us?"
"They must have known our way home, Cap'n!" Gibbs yelled from where he was readying the crew for battle. "Somehow, Hastings knew when and how we were getting back and left before us!"
I shook from head to toe as the rest of the crew began swearing, all of them trying to find out how our new enemy could have discovered our route. One of the men could have gotten drunk and accidentally said something back in India or in Africa. Well, it didn't matter, now…one of the ships was already pulling up close to our starboard side.
Jack tried to get us away, but I knew from his face that there was no escape this time. In the direction we were going, the wind was against us and there was no time to get out the sweeps. Quicker than I thought possible, we were surrounded by ships, all of them with their guns aimed at the waterline of the Pearl. I nearly wept when I saw the crew stand their ground, ready to defend both ship and captain, but when Hastings swung over with two dozen men, I knew there was no chance.
"Well, here we are again," he declared as he looked around the deck.
I edged closer to Jack, who remained at the helm. His right arm slid around my waist, pulling me closer. I could feel his fingers through the fabric of my shirt, and if he held me any harder, it would bruise. I didn't care, though; it felt good to have him hold me at a time like this. I happily wrapped my own arms around his waist, gripping him as tightly as he did me.
By now, Hastings had spotted us at the helm and was grinning rather smugly, his sword in one hand and another resting near a pistol handle. Swaggering, he made his way up to us, his green eyes focused on me as he moved. When he was about a foot away from where I stood, he reached a hand out towards me.
"Don't you dare," Jack growled, pulling me closer. "Don't you dare touch her!"
Gerry merely smiled at him. "Jack, did you really think I'd harm the lovely lady?" he asked, green eyes flicking between me and my husband. "Now, I believe it's time for you to pay your debt…preferably by handing over dear Rose over to my possession."
By now, I was terrified, turning completely into Jack's embrace so that I could bury my face in his shoulder. Silently, I prayed that this was all a nightmare and that I would wake up soon.
"Don't even think about shooting me, Sparrow," Hastings snapped from behind me. "Or do you want the blood of your crewmembers on your hands?"
My head snapped around. "No!" I cried. "Don't hurt them!" I nearly shrank back into Jack's shoulder as Captain Hastings smiled down at me.
"Well, then, since the lady asked so kindly, I shall offer a bargain that is sure to please everyone." Now he was grinning wildly. "If you come with me willingly, I'll spare the lives of your crewmen and Captain Sparrow." Here his eyes narrowed to emerald slits. "If you refuse, I will sink this vessel and let every man drown while I carry you over to my ship."
Only my grip on Jack's waist kept my husband from attacking his former friend right then and there. I leaned in to try and talk to him, to try and stop him before his actions got someone killed.
"Jack, please, don't," I whispered, the sound of my voice stopping him in his tracks.
Deep brown eyes stared down at me, full of fear and pain. "Rose," he whispered back. "Rose, I can't lose you, I just can't…not now, not when I've finally got you." One of his hands reached up and caressed my face. "Let me fight!"
I shook my head. "I won't risk the lives of our men," I softly replied. "Let me go with him…then come after us to save me." I pressed a kiss to his lips. "I love you, Jack Sparrow."
"Not like I love you, Rose Sparrow," he replied with a small smile.
After giving him one last kiss, I turned around and faced Gerard Hastings. "If you swear to leave them alone, to let them live, I'll go with you."
Hastings merely smiled and offered me his free hand.
Watching another man put his hands on Rose was one of the hardest things Captain Jack Sparrow had ever had to bear in his life. Being forced to stand there and do nothing while seeing his wife swing over to another ship was just as hard. Slowly, Jack's vision turned red as the other members of Hastings' crew swung off the Pearl, leaving behind only Jack and his men once more. As soon as they were gone, Jack would use his compass and find out where Rose was and rescue her. Nothing would stop him from doing just that.
Just then, the sound of numerous firearms going off filled the air, and Jack ducked for his life. All around his deck, his men were shouting and finding cover as well. Over on the other ship, Jack could hear Rose screaming, her voice angry and full of fear. This only made Jack's vision turn even redder as he plotted revenge on the man who now had his wife.
By the time the hailstorm of bullets was over and it was safe to come out, the other ships were out of cannon range. Furious, Jack stood and looked at his crew.
"Anyone hurt?" he yelled, eyes scanning for wounded or dead.
"None up top, sir," Barton yelled back. "I'll check below!"
Snarling under his breath, Jack began pacing the helm. If men were wounded, he would have to return to Africa so that they could get medical attention. If not, then they were going after Gerry and Rose. Thankfully, it only took a few minutes before Barton returned, but the look on his face was one of alarm and panic.
"Captain, Hastings done shot our hull full of holes!" he cried. "Water is pouring into the ship!"
Unable to hold back, Jack let out a string of curses. "Well, go patch them!" he snapped.
"We can't, sir," Barton replied. "Well, we can, but they won't last long. We need to find a place to pull the ship ashore and make repairs to the hull; otherwise, we'll be swimming before long!"
Jack did his best to remain calm. "Alright," he said, taking a deep breath. "Bart, take six men and begin plugging the holes. Hopefully they'll hold until we either find land or reach Africa again."
"Aye, sir!" barked the tall man, his hand already pointing out men to follow him.
"Gibbs!" Jack yelled. "Fetch my compass from my quarters and use it to find the nearest island!"
Without a word, Gibbs raced into the Captain's Cabin and soon returned, holding the compass in the palm of his hands. He quickly flipped it open and waited a moment until it showed its bearings.
"Must be that small island we saw yesterday morning," Gibbs said. "You and Rose were in your cabin, but the lads and I saw it. Should we head there, sir?"
"Aye," Jack replied as he memorized the bearings and began heading in that direction. "Let's get out of here before we have to sprout gills!"
After that, the ship went quiet, the men too afraid to speak, not wanting to anger or annoy their Captain further. Privately, Jack was grateful, as he already had too much on his mind. All he could do was steer the Pearl and think of Rose, the feel of her lips on his and her head on his shoulder…right next to the images of Gerard Hastings dancing barefoot over a heap of burning coals…
AN: Uh, oh, looks like the Pearl's in trouble! (puts on narrator's voice) Will Jack be able to rescue Rose before Hastings does something to her? Find out next time! (tucks voice away) Don't forget to review! Thanks!