IV: A Change in the Weather

The morning light shone through the bevelled glass window of Jack's cabin, rousing him out of his dreamless sleep. He opened his eyes slowly and stretched. He sat up yawning, and then grimaced at the stale taste the rum had left in his mouth the previous night. Jack stood and walked to the washbasin, splashing his face and rinsing his mouth before next moving to a chest of drawers. He stood before it, thinking then pulled off his stained shirt over his head and snatched a fresh one from one of the drawers. He quickly grabbed a sash and tied it around his waist as he walked to the next room. He grabbed his had and coat as he moved past the table to go above deck, where he found a flurry of activity in preparation for the long boats launch.

" Mr. Gibbs. Are the long boats ready?"

" Aye Cap'n."

" Excellent. Do you still feel that this… is a worthwhile risk?"

" Aye Cap'n. There may be some survivors," he paused as the looked over the side to see the dead stewardess, now bloated from the sea, bob past the ship." Eeh. Always said 'twas bad luck to have a woman aboard anyway." Gibbs said trying to make light of the gruesome sight, " Err, like as not, we may find something, err, shiny."

" Alright. You are in charge of the expedition mate. I have to stay and see to my…administrative duties. Particularly seeing how much rum we have left aboard." Jack stated as he made his way below deck.

" Cotton, Marty, Ragetti, Pintel to the boats. All others, back ter work." With that, the men got in the long boats and set about their grisly business.

Their search was unsuccessful in the search for survivors. They remained bewildered. The wreckage was not what they were used to. Despite this, they did manage to salvage some odd looking bags and Marty grabbed a wooden chest. About to turn back to the ship, they stopped, Pintel saw someone waving their arms wildly in the water.

" Look over there Ragetti. I do believe there is one that ain't been eaten by the sharks. I 'fink we should have a look and see if we can help the poor blighter."

" By help you mean…" he stopped and drew a finger across his throat. His reward was a smack across the head by Pintel.

" No you idiot! If he is able to work, he'll be put on the account. Ain't that right Mr. Gibbs?"

" Aye," replied the first mate, " Yer boat be less full than ours, so the two o' yeh fetch the boy back to the ship. We'll go and tell the Cap'n that we found someone." Gibbs' boat began it's journey back to the Pearl; Pintel and Ragetti made their way to the figure that was in the water, Ragetti slightly puzzled about an account.

" Over here!" I cried as water rushed in my mouth. Choking, I settled for waving my arms in the air, praying they would see me. Since the plane had crashed, I had been alternating between treading, occasionally refilling my jeans with air, and resting on the jeans. Not to be conceited, but as a model I was in great shape, but my body could only take so much and was reaching the point of exhaustion. But the boats were getting closer. Deciding that I had been patient long enough, I willed myself to swim to the boat that was now headed towards me. I reached the edge; oddly enough it was wood… and a rowboat. I looked up to see to ragged men peering at me over the side of the boat. " You're not the coast guard." I spluttered.

" You're not a boy. Ragetti, it's a gel."

" Obviously." I said, slightly annoyed that I was still in floating in the water, " Can you haul me up please? I've been here all night and to say I am a little tired would be an understatement."

" Right. Ragetti, grab an arm, I grab the other." And with that I fell into the bottom of the boat; rather undignified but at that moment, I didn't give a shit. I was saved.

" My pants!" I leaned back over the boat.

" Are you daft woman? Do you want to tip us all?"

" I am NOT abandoning my four hundred dollar True Religion jeans. I lost my Jimmy Choos but I refuse to leave my pants." I said reaching for them, " These pants saved my life. Gottcha!" I laughed triumphantly as I grabbed the pants and sat back down. The men looked at each other and shrugged before they began to row to the ship.

The trek to the ship was silent. I had taken my coat off as the sun was beginning to blaze. I figured I had been in the water for approximately seven hours, but I couldn't understand why the two men were being so quiet, but it did give me time to take them in. Their appearances were certainly, um, rough. The one called Ragetti seemed to be a few years older than myself, about two, which would make him either twenty-six or seven give or take. He was also missing an eye. I didn't know what to make of him. His companions, clearly the leader of the two, was balding and had clearly never been to the dentist by the looks of his teeth. I really couldn't get into an in-depth analysis of their characters as neither said a word and I honestly did not feel like making small talk. We were shortly at the ship and that too, was made of wood. Yet my biggest surprise would be waiting on deck.

" THAT is your ship?" I asked, disbelief apparent in my tone.

" Aye poppet. Gibbs got back first with the booty. Then again, that's debatable," the elder said, looking pointedly at me and that made Ragetti snigger, however I was oblivious." That be the Black Pearl and I be willin' ter wager the Cap'n will be wantin' ter speak with yeh about what happened."

" Uh, sure." I answered absent-mindedly, distracted by the black sails. I was no expert on ships by any means, but as an artist I knew beauty when I saw it, and this ship was beautiful The wood was rich and dark, the figure at the front of the boat was fairly free of barnacles. Yes, The Black Pearl, she had been a ship well named. " Why isn't she in a museum? She must be a very old ship."

" Raised from the depths of Davy Jones' locker as it were," the one named Ragetti answered.

" Your captain must be crazy to sail this beautiful ship."

Ragetti looked at his friend, " Off the books, Cap'n is a bit off. Just to prepare you. Watch yer step." A rope ladder dangled over the side and I grasped it in my hands after slinging my coat and jeans over my shoulder. I climbed the ladder with relative ease; sitting in the rowboat had been beneficial. Reaching the top, I swung over the rail and saw the people on deck, busy with various tasks, stop dead. All movement ceased when I set foot on the ship. I felt a wave of unease sweep over me in that minute as I looked at a group completely comprised of men. My discomfiture grew as I looked at their manner of dress. Yes it was ragged, as one might expect a fisherman's clothing to be but it was clear they were not fishermen. If the three masts, and wooden boats didn't clue me in, the clothes certainly did.

They were antiques. The materials seemed to be a lot of linens, cottons, and wools. All natural fibres with no hope of spotting anything made of rayon or polyester anytime soon. The cuts of some of their coats reminded me of the coats worn by the Beatles when they cut their one album, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Oh God. This was not looking good. Lastly, they were carrying swords and pistols; not made of wood. ' Great,' I thought, ' first my plane crashes and then I wind up on a wooden ship with a bunch of psychotic escapees from a Renaissance faire.' The stewardess was right. Normally I wouldn't believe such, foolishness, but she appeared to have been right. And it all had to do with the blood Triangle.

I must have spaced out because I never saw the Captain approach. " 'Ello." Baldy snapped his fingers in front of my face and I came back to earth, the doe-in-the-headlights look gone from my face. " 'Ello, Poppet" he said again, tilting his head to the side in a manner which I found slightly disturbing.

I jumped," You are really creepy when you do that…err…"

" Name be Pintel." He said," Yeh know Ragetti," he nodded and began to point out the other important crewmembers. " Cotton, Mr. Cotton's Parrot talks for 'im, had his tongue cut out," he whispered as an aside and I smiled at Mr. Cotton and his parrot." There be Marty, and Mr. Gibbs has the flask and here be the Cap'n"

Gibbs and the Captain came forward and I was dumbstruck. I rubbed my eyes and blinked. He was really there. I had to resist the urge to go and poke him, just to prove to myself that he existed. Wow, he was even better looking than I thought originally. He was real; the man from the miniature that Griffin had given me the other day. I suddenly became acutely aware of the fact that they were staring at me with a rather intense interest. Self-consiously, I looked down and realized one could see my lacy red bra and girly boxers through the damp white shirt. I blushed, knowing if my theory was correct, they weren't used to seeing things of such a nature. I tried to cover myself with my wet coat and saw it didn't do much good to hide my bare legs. I looked back up to see the Captain's eyes boring into mine.

"'S no lad." Gibbs finally said.

" Decidedly not." The captain said, a smile playing at the corners of his lips and I could feel my face reddening even more.

" Bad luck to have a woman aboard Cap'n." Gibbs stated ominously.

I could stand the Captain's scrutiny no longer. " You, Captain…"

" Ah, forgive me." He said, "I am Captain Jack Sparrow and you are on my ship, the Black Pearl." Jack finished with a typical flourish.

Jack grinned, his gold teeth glinting in the sunlight. " And who might you be Miss?"

" Wright. Meredith Wright." She said quickly. Jack seemed to ponder her name. Everyone was quiet until Meredith spoke. " I know you." She blurted out, and then quickly clamped her hand over her mouth.

Jack looked amused, " Do ye now?"

" I mean, I don't know you personally, but I know you, or your face rather. Oh this is all coming out wrong, but I'm not crazy. I have seen you before… What year is it?" Meredith finished quickly.

Jack stared at her. " What?"

" The year. What YEAR is it?" This time she asked with more urgency, and Jack sensed a tinge of hysteria in her voice.

" 1690 luv."

" Oh." She paled visibly, " 16...90?"She trailed off and Jack nodded in confermation.Meredith managed a small smile and promptly fainted. Jack moved forward to catch her just before she fell and he himself began to slide down the rail with her dead weight.

" Um, help, somebody." Jack said as Ragetti and Pintel moved to take her from Jack. " You can put her in my cabin. I'll talk to her when she wakes." Jack turned back to the sea as the men took Meredith to his cabin and the rest of the crew resumed their earlier tasks.

" What be in yer head, Jack?" Gibbs asked, leaning on the rail with Jack.

" This may be a good thing. She is odd, but finding the little miss floating in the water may be a sign." Gibbs looked perplexed and Jack continued, " Meredith means guardian of the sea. She came from the sea, she's a sign…" Gibbs' face remained unchanged and Jack rolled his eyes. " Never mind. The point is, there's something in the air. I sense a change in the weather."

" Ah. You sense a change in the weather. There be a change in the wind says I . Tomorrow we set a new course. Tortuga?"

Jack grinned, the wheels clearly turning. He turned full around and began to walk to the mast, " Aye. Tortuga."