Jack Sparrow woke up with a thumping
headache. Blinking and looking around, he had no idea where he was.
He tried to remember the events of the night before, and how he ended
up on the ground, but nothing came to him. Wait, yes, he could
remember a slap – but that wasn't unusual for Jack. He got a slap
nearly every night. Jack tried to sit up, and was rewarded with his
heart pounding in his ears. He lay back down again, and tried to work
out his situation and what he was going to do next.
Over the next
15 minutes, Jack had somewhat and idea of how he came to be lying in
dirt in Tortuga, with nothing but a bad headache and an empty rum
bottle next to him. His plan, however, did not come to him as
quickly.
Jack slowly tried standing up again, and
succeeded, just, wobbling incredibly. He stumbled forward, and
therefore managed to walk a small way, before collapsing again. As he
was sitting down, he looked around him, and saw that he was not
actually that far away from the docks. Looking closer to the docks
themselves, he saw there a magnificent ship, being unloaded by
foreign pirates. A plan began to form into his mind.
Getting
up and stumbling again, Jack somehow managed to fine his way back to
the trusty pub, the Faithful Bride. He walked in, and walked out to
the back of the pub, to where he found his first-mate, Gibbs,
drinking from a bottle of rum. Gibbs' eyes lit up when he saw Jack.
'Jack!!! Well I'd be damned to see you again! Now Jack, I
can tell from that mischievous gleam in your eye that you have a
plan, and it has something to do with commandeering a ship. Am I
right?'
Jack was glad to see his mate's enthusiasm. 'That be
right Gibbs. I plan to seek this Fountain of Youth that I see on the
Charts. Will you be coming with me, me trusty old mate?'
Gibbs
didn't even have to answer. The look on his face said it
all.
With Gibbs' help, Jack soon found all his other crew
members, and extra, and soon was putting his magnificent plan into
action. Jack told the crew his plan.
'I plan to commandeer
that ship' he pointed to the huge ship he had seen, the Mantress,
'and then sail across the Seven Seas to find this unfindable
Fountain of Youth. What do we all say to that, 'ey?'
'Aye!!!!!!!'
was the crews response. Soon all was under way. Together, the crew
had joined at the docks, hidden, and disguised themselves in cloaks
as the foreigners who were emptying the ship. There were lots to
move. No-one questioned the unexplained visitors as they walked
aboard the Mantress, and pretended to help unload. As all the
other real foreigners were unloading, they were all soon off, and
soon only Jacks crew remained on the ship, much to Jack's delight.
Jack unhooked the ropes from the dock and started to steer away the
Mantress. The foreign pirates shouted in protest, and some
jumped into the freezing black water and tried to swim to the ship.
This was Jack's entry. Standing upon the railing of the ship, he
shouted out to the onlookers '' Friends, let this be the day that
you remember your ship being commandeered by-'.
The ship
suddenly tilted to one side as a huge wave came in from another ship.
Jack swung around the rope he was holding, and just managed to hold
on and therefore not spat into the freezing water. But that was the
end of Jack's magnificent speech. As a parting word, he said
'Captain Jack Sparrow'. Just as Jack got back onto the ship,
gunfire was heard. Sneaking his eyes above the railing, Jack could
see the pirates firing pistols at him. But with Jack's stupendous
steering skills he soon had the crew out of firing range, out of
Tortuga's harbour, and into the open ocean. They weren't stopped
again.
And soon, Tortuga was just an annoying blur on the
horizon.
*
Elizabeth drew ever closer to the
flag, and soon she could make out a ship, a magnificent, huge ship,
with a black flag, showing the symbol of a Jolly Roger and a sword.
After a few hours she was so close she could read the name – The
Mantress. She looked up at the ship, and marvelling who could
own it. They must have either been rich, or they had commandeered it.
Most likely the latter.
Elizabeth stopped rowing, and,
pulling out her spy glass, looked up on the deck of the ship to see
if she could see any crew members. Yes, she could. One. He looked
somewhat familiar, yet Elizabeth was sure she had never seen the
pirate – and she was sure that they were pirates – before.
Puzzled, Elizabeth put the glass down and rowed until she was right
next to the ship. She looked tiny compared to its huge size, like a
rat compared to a huge dog. But then she stopped. What if they were
fierce pirates, and only wanted to kill her? What if they took her
prisoner and..... no. She was a pirate herself. She would be brave
and face them, whoever 'they' were. Anyway, she had her
sword that Will had given her.
Taking a deep breath, she climbed
out of the dingy and hugged herself to the giant ship. Slowly, she
pulled upwards, and started climbing.
After what seemed
like an age, Elizabeth was just three rungs away from the top of the
ship. She paused, shook herself, held her sword, took a deep breath
and stepped up the last rungs.
*
And stared.
She needn't
have bothered with all the fuss about preparing herself for battle.
Neither for deciding whether she should climb the ship or not. For
there, right in front of her was the one person that she would have
died to see – apart from Will. The infamous Captain Jack Sparrow
himself.
Elizabeth was so relieved to see human life again that
she didn't think about what she was doing. Foolishly, Elizabeth ran
forward and kissed Jack, then hugged him so hard that they both
toppled to the floor. Of course, Jack was always the one to say the
stupid comment.
'Well there's a sight you don't see every
day – someone actually glad to see me!!!' He grinned cheekily,
and Elizabeth smiled back.
'But seriously, luv, aren't
you happily married to a man with no heart? Why, it is usually me who
is doing the most illogical thing possible – and here you are
pulling a man down just because you haven't seen him for 6 years?
This is unlike you Elizabeth.'
'Oh Jack, I'm just so
happy to see a human. I have been on that island with absolutely
no-one. You don't know how lonely it gets. Please, may I come with
you, wherever you're going?' Elizabeth gazed up at Jack, pleading
with her eyes.
Jack gave in. 'Sure, luv. Welcome to the
crew!! Again!!' For the first time since her arrival aboard the
Mantress, Elizabeth noticed that the rest of Jack's crew
were here. All the faces that had faded out of her memory suddenly
came back, as strong as ever. They were all there – Gibbs, Cotton,
Marty, Ana Maria, Pintel, and Ragetti, everyone she knew.
Except...
'What happened to Barbossa?' Elizabeth
questioned. It was too quiet, what without the arguing of the two
captains trying to take control over the ship.
'We didn't
fancy him coming along. Everyone likes a bit of quiet around here.
Anyway, everyone agreed that I am the rightful captain of this ship.'
Jack had a smug expression on his face.
'Yes, about that.'
Elizabeth questioned. 'First of all, did you commandeer this ship?
If so who from? Where are you going? And does Will have anything to
do with your plans?'
Jack looked slightly confused, than his
expression smoothed out. 'Firstly, yes, we did commandeer this
ship. Off who? Some foreign pirates - they weren't much of an
obstacle. Thirdly, we are going in search of the Fountain of Youth,
and no, we did not include Will into our plans.'
Now it was
Elizabeth's turn to look confused. "What is the Fountain of
Youth?'
Jack launched into an explanation. Anything rare and
spectacular and Jack wants it, he'll know anything about it.
'The
Fountain of Youth is one of those places which cannot be found except
by someone who knows where it is. Or' Jack continued, just as
Elizabeth was about to question him again 'by those who have
navigational charts which show where abouts it is. Savvy?'
'I
thought Barbossa had those charts?' Elizabeth questioned. 'And
since he is not currently present, how can you have the
charts?'
Jack didn't look worried. 'Ah, but my dear,
that is where you are wrong. Barbossa has the charts – I have the
map.'
Elizabeth's response was a confused
look.
Jack sighed. Why did Elizabeth never understand
anything? 'I ripped out the map from the charts. Barbossa has the
outside of the charts, and I have the map. Savvy?'
'Yes, I
think I worked it out.' Elizabeth said. 'But I still don't
understand – what is the Fountain of Youth? It sounds pretty
special.'
Jack grinned. 'Oh, special it is, my dear.
See, the Fountain of Youth gives those who want to live a long life,
live a long life but without having to cut out their
heart.'
Elizabeth's eyes widened. 'So the Fountain
gives-'
'Immortality, yes. And that is why I want to find
it. I've always enjoyed the title 'Captain Jack Sparrow, The Last
Pirate. It fits, don't you think?'
Elizabeth rolled her
eyes. He was still the same old Jack. But now Elizabeth had more
pressing worries then a lunatic pirate. It was getting dark, and she
wasn't sure whether Jack would pass up the offer of her staying the
night.
Jack saw Elizabeth glance at the sky, and knew what
she was thinking. He sighed. "I suppose you shall want my
quarters?'
