"Not All Treasure is Silver and Gold"
Chapter 25
THE ADVENTURERJack woke up with a sick feeling. Something was wrong. But he couldn't figure out what the problem was. He searched the ship top to bottom and bottom to top. Everything was as it should be. So he ignored the strange feeling and went about his business.
PORT ROYALA massive search of the town was formed the next morning and was headed by James Norrington. Rosemary's screaming had kept him awake all night and he was in no mood to play these games.
James was unsure of what Dani would have found so pressing to leave her daughter behind, but the second he walked into the Sparrow house, he very much understood. There were two dead men in the kitchen, plus all sorts of signs of a struggle.
James searched the entire house for some clue as to what had happened. And in the process, he found his guards tied up in the attic, but no Danielle.
"What happened, you fools?" he demanded to know.
"Pirates!" the one shouted when his mouth was untied.
"Obviously. Which ones?"
"I don't know, but we heard Mrs. Sparrow call one Steve."
"Great. It was Steve the Pirate. That's a whole lot to go on."
"They were talking about a plan to frame Jack for the theft of the jewel," the other guard explained.
"Damn!" James swore. He knew exactly what he had to do.
Arabella was looking after Rosemary with Elizabeth, just as she had been instructed to do. And if it were even possible, Elizabeth was even more stressed. Her best friend, husband and Jack were all gone. She was already out of her mind and now she had a third child to look after because Bella wasn't all that much help.
James was stocking his ships; he and his crew were heading to Singapore. He was leaving soon in the hopes that maybe he could catch up with this Steve person and arrest him.
But unfortunately for James, Singapore Steve had grown some brains since Danielle and Jack had last seen him and was slightly cleverer. They were sitting in a small bay a few miles from Port Royal. The ship was well hidden, and they were waiting for Norrington to sail away. And he thought he was brilliant for that.
"I suppose you think you're a genius," Dani said.
"Oh, but I am, darling. I am," Steve sneered back.
"How so?"
"I am going to follow Norrington to Singapore."
"And then do what?" Dani asked.
"What do you mean?" he asked back.
"After you follow James to Singapore, what do you plan to do? Fight him? Capture him? Kill him? What?"
"Shut up," he mumbled while stalking away.
She sat alone and pondered. She had to find a way to sneak off. Then a great idea passed through her head. But then she chose to ignore it and fight her way out anyway…if it actually came to that.
That night, all the men were drunk. They were leaving promptly at noon the next day in order to give James and his naval crew a day's lead.
Dani snuck in and looked at the sleeping, snoring crew. What a load of idiots. She carefully drew a sword from one of the men's scabbards and headed back to the top deck of the ship. She trimmed her dress and made it easier to travel in. How was she going to get out to sea when she had returned back home?
There must have been five miles between Port Royal and the place Steve had hidden his ship. And when she turned to look one last time at the ship and realized how ugly it really was. It was blood red and was very hard to camouflage because it literally screamed, 'I'm a really awful pirate, come capture me.' She sneered once more at the ship and snuck off into the dark jungle.
Dawn had arrived before Dani had returned home. She was dirty and sweaty and tired. But at least she knew she could get herself home through a jungle. She could take care of herself. And Dani actually attributed much of her success today because Steve was too stupid to not chain her up.
She walked past her own home, favoring Elizabeth's house, hoping she was home. And of course she was.
"Where have you been?" Elizabeth shouted.
"I was abducted, thank you very much."
"James just left to go find you. He's heading to Singapore," Elizabeth exclaimed.
"And we're leaving as soon as we can locate a ship," Dani explained.
"You want me to steal a ship again and sail to who knows where for who knows how long?" she shouted back at the woman.
"It's not stealing. It belongs to your family. Therefore it is borrowing with every intention to return," Dani smiled.
"No," she answered back quickly. "And what about the children?"
"We're taking them."
"What?" Elizabeth questioned.
"Can I go, too?" Bella asked, stepping into the room.
"Of course. The more the merrier!" Dani told her.
"James'll hate me for going but I've always wanted to see the world."
"The lure of pirates and adventure is extremely enticing," Dani smiled. "So what do you say Lizzie? Will you be joining us?"
"Well, if you're both going, what choice do I have?" she sighed.
So each woman went in her separate direction. Dani collected her daughter and went home to sort out the mess and pack for the both of them. Elizabeth and Bella both had to pack as well. They would be leaving as soon as possible.
They were, miraculously, packed in an hour or so. They used Dani's piratical background as a way to take a ship and sail it out into open water. She was never, and would never, be as great as Jack, but she thought she was doing an almost all right job.
They had set sail, it appeared, before Singapore Steve and his merry men. There were no ugly red ships out on the horizon so far.
Bella watched eagerly as the two women floated around the ship and did their jobs. It looked so effortless for the two of them and yet she knew that it was difficult because of the sheer size of the job in relation to the sizes of the women.
It was evening before either Dani or Elizabeth were able to sit down.
"So how long is this going to take?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well, we have a slower than sea turtle ship, so probably four weeks. Maybe more."
"Four weeks?" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Four weeks!"
"Yes, four weeks. Stop squawking like a parrot," she complained.
"I am not squawking like a parrot," she said defiantly.
"I can squawk like a parrot, mommy. Rawkk!" Marie smiled.
"Yes, darling, good job. Not be quiet for mommy."
Dani crouched down and looked at the girl straight on. "Will you help me look after Rosemary while we're sailing?"
The little girl nodded. She was young herself, but the novelty of a baby was, well, a novelty.
And sailing was definitely Jack's favorite thing. Dani carried the boy up to the crow's nest and laughed at the child's amazement. It must have been what it was like for her as well, only she was much older when she first sailed.
THE ADVENTURER
But by the time they had finally left, Jack and Will were inching that much closer to Singapore. What's worse was that they had no idea this whole thing was a plan.
Jack was having another solo-drinking party, to which he had started to do more of, when Will so rudely interrupted him that evening. And apparently it had been going on for some time because he was visibly drunk; even for Jack.
"How much longer is this trip going to be?" Will demanded to know. (He was a lot like his wife in this respect.)
"Who knows, mate? Maybe it'll never end. Maybe we'll spend the rest of our lives drifting. Isn't that what every man wants?" Jack slurred.
"No. And I think deep down, it isn't what you want either, Jack. Why must you drink all the time?"
"Drink? I don't drink," he answered, taking another swig and belching.
"Excuse me, Jack Sparrow..."
"That's Captain Jack Sparrow," Jack answered.
"You're not acting like much of a captain," Will said dryly. And for a drunk man, Jack had drawn his sword and held it to Will's throat. "What did you say?" Jack asked, knowing fully what the man had said.
By this time, Will had drawn his own sword. They were circling the table, never taking their eyes off one another.
"I think you heard me, Jack," Will answered him.
The clang of the swords echoed through the small cabin. Both men were defending themselves well. Back and forth, overturning furniture and knocking everything off the table, eventually chasing one another out of the room and up to the top deck. But the fight didn't continue much longer. Both men were doubled over and breathing hard.
"I won, right?" Jack asked.
"No. I definitely won," Will answered, smacking him on the shoulder.
And for the first time, Jack decided to voice his feelings to someone as they walked back to their cabins. "I miss Dani," he said before retreating alone into his cabin and leaving a very confused Will in the hall.
A/N: Let me know how I'm doing! Reviews are love!