Chapter Three

You woke up in your hammock, a bottle of rum clutched in your arm pit. Its top was open and you felt the warm liquid had spilt onto your arm as the ship swayed during the night. Its strong scent made you want to drink more, but you had such a throbbing headache that you could barely move. You groaned as you sat up in the thin material. You had never slept in a hammock before; you were used to the wonder of a soft and squishy mattress. But this was pleasantly relaxing; it was easier to get to sleep. You got out as gracefully as you could, but you ended up falling head-first onto the wooden planks of the floor. You groaned and rubbed your face, angry at yourself for being such a clumsy idiot. This was your third day aboard the Black Pearl, but you still hadn't seen any pirate-like action. You yearned for something exciting, something dangerous. For that was what you expected when you signed up to be a pirate. You pulled on your shirt/dress over your loosely tied corset; not bothering about appearances anymore was the best part of being a pirate. The ship came to a sudden thud as it landed on the beach. You fell back to the floor, shocked by the sudden halt. Your head hit the floor for the second time and you swore, getting tired of this routine already. You could practically feel the brain cells fade away. You pulled on your boots while thinking about Captain Sparrow. Maybe that's what happened to Jack...he had hit his head on the floor so many times that all his brain cells slowly began to disappear. You stood onto your feet and started to walk up the stairs. You heard everyone crying out as they ran off the deck and onto the shore. They were probably getting more rum. That seemed to be the only thing aboard this ship. You peeked into Jack's quarters and found him sitting on his chair, fingering the necklaces that you had given him in return for a spot on the ship. He hadn't noticed you; he was absorbed in the shimmering treasures.

"She really was part of the fine life..." he muttered to himself. You smiled at the attention, closing the creaking door behind you as you walked into the room. Jack looked over his shoulder slightly, not really caring about your presence. You didn't really care that much, just as long as he knew you were present.

"Captain," you greeted him formally. He continued playing with his new prize, still not speaking to you. The back of his chair was turned to you, so you could only see his arms.

"Sir, about the crew...do I go with them?" You asked. He sat up and leaned over the top of the chair, resting his chin on the edge.

"Nah, you're not ready for the looting yet..." he replied. "You might get into trouble and become the damsel in distress." You glared at him as soon as he mentioned damsel, looking at him through your eyelashes. Jack merely chuckled and gave another one of his dazzling smiles. He plunked himself back down on his chair, not regretting the whole 'damsel' thing. But he was right...you needed to learn about piracy, defence, the lot. And he was the only person who could teach you these things...

"Captain Sparrow...if you really think of me as a damsel..." you said as you went onto your knees. You looked at the back of his chair, not knowing what he was doing on the other side. "...Then teach me to be a pirate." You kept looking at the chair, practically boring right through it with your eye-power. Jack suddenly leapt from over the top of the chair, two swords in his hand. You jumped back onto your feet and grabbed a sword as he threw it through the air. You watched Jack as he circled you, eyeing you up and down. You tapped your sword on the floor, growing impatient as his game continued. Just as you thought he had forgotten all about your training, he swiped his sword near your ankles. You cleanly jumped over the blade and smiled at Jack once you landed.

"Good reflexes will always come in handy," he said. His sword scraped against yours, the shining metal blades glowed in the light. He pressed your sword against your neck until you could feel the cold metal lightly scrape your skin.

"But strength is a necessary." His face came closer to yours, your noses almost touching. His warm breath on your face made you shiver, he smelt of rum, ink and grease. A bead of sweat dripped down your forehead as you pushed against him, sending Jack backward. He watched you as you wiped the sweat off of your face with the back of your other hand. As soon as you looked back at him, he lunged forward. You side-stepped him and he ran past you, quickly stopping and turning around to where you were. He swung his sword at your face and you blocked it with your own. You had no idea how confusing and difficult this would be. You ducked away from him, quickly walking to the other side of the room. He chuckled and smiled at you.

"Darling, you can't always run away from your opponent. You have to fight," he said as he came closer to you. You quickly lunged at him, your sword nearly colliding with his chest. He stopped in his tracks and dodged you, smiling at your determined nature. You looked up at him from under your eyelashes, your heart pounding in your chest. As he walked closer to you, you swung around just as he did and sliced the sword close to his face. You lowered it quickly to his neck, sharply making him look up to the ceiling. You watched him and he looked at you from the corner of his eye.

"I learn quickly," you answered for him.

"It'll come in handy," he said. You smiled at him and dropped your sword on the floor, looking up at him. He dropped his as well, exhaling with relief. The last few minutes had gone by quickly, but you felt like you had learnt enough. You looked down at Jack's belt and found a pistol, curiosity ticking inside of you. (Okay, all you immature readers who only demand sex from fanfic writers. Grow up. It's a pistol, that's it.) You quickly grabbed it and inspected its design. Jack smiled at you and took it off of you.

"It isn't loaded," he explained. You smiled back and took the antique away from him sharply, continuing your inspection of it.

"I don't care...it's a beauty," you complimented. You always had a fascination with these devices...it was a brilliant invention that serviced in many ways.

"Robyn, I'm not going to teach you how to use it." You shrugged and glanced over at him.

"I already know how to use them, don't worry." He smiled and took it off of you, attaching it to his belt once more. You looked around his quarters, walking slowly along the creaking floorboards. It was rather fine; it had a warm sense to it. It certainly was finer than the room you slept in last night. But there was one thought that still puzzled you...and it had for quite some time now...

"Captain...how do pirates bathe?" You said. You felt rather stupid for asking him once you remembered all of the filth that was on his clothes and face. He sighed and pointed at the sun. It was shining through one of the windows in his quarters.

"See that sky?" he said. "Well sometimes clouds come...and when they come, rain falls from them," he waggled his fingers as he indicated the rain. You got the picture; you didn't need any more detail. If you had any more detail, then you'd probably be scared with an unpleasant image for the rest of your life.

"And when that day comes, I will be hiding away in my hammock with a blindfold over my eyes..." You whispered. He chuckled and turned back to you, his eyes suddenly filled with an evil but somehow seductive glimmer.

"You can join us if you want..." he added with a smile. He walked closer to you, as if he was an animal stalking its next meal. "The lads wouldn't mind, honestly. In fact..." he put a finger under your chin and tilted your head upward to his face. He pulled you closer; you could smell his rum again.

"They would enjoy having your...company." You slapped his cheek and he recoiled, letting go of your chin. His face was pink and he smiled back at you, not caring about what he had just done.

"I may be the only woman on this ship, but that doesn't make me the only whore on it." Jack nodded, understanding your point. But he still stared at you with his dark and luring eyes.

"But let's face it...you feel something for me, don't you?" he asked. You smiled at him, thinking up of something that would put him off of you for at least the remaining moments of the day.

"Well...there is something that I feel whenever I see you," you whispered. His eyes went slightly larger as he slowly walked closer to you. But he remained cool about the situation, wrapping his arm tightly around your waist. You felt something that was probably not a pistol as his hips rested against yours. But you pretended that you hadn't noticed this as you looked into his eyes. You leaned close to him, his lips only a centimetre away from yours.

"And what feeling would that be, my little damsel?" he breathed. You stretched up to his ear, your breath on his neck. A smile played on your lips as you said your final word.

"...nausea." You grinned at him and unhooked yourself out from his arms. He remained standing there, not moving an inch. But as you left the room, you thought you saw a smile crawl onto his face.