Author's Note --- Hello there my friends. It's been awhile since I've updated for which I profoundly beg for forgivness. I've just been so busy, which I'm sure that you all understand. Anyways, read my profile and you'll know that my good friend, DarkPhoenixLives and I will soon be cowriting some very very very exciting stories.
Jack: All that 'ave ta do with me, right?
Aoife: Why do I love you again, you cocky bastard?
Read and review! Thank you!
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Chapter Twelve --- The Battle Begins
"I'm 'avin' a though 'ere, Barbossa," Jack said, popping in front of the captain as we stood watching The Interceptor get closer. "What if I scurry over ta the ship, grab yer medallion and the boy and I'll scurry back over, ta lift the curse."
"Nah, Jack, ye see that's what lost ye The Pearl in the first place," Barbossa sneered. He motioned to the Bo'sun and growled, "Lock 'em in the brig." He snatched the apple away from Jack as the Bo'sun grabbed us both by the arm and brought us down below.
Jack was thrown in first but the Bo'sun held me a moment longer. "Such a pity that we gonna be killin' ye. Maybe we can 'ave some fun before then," he smirked.
I grimanced and replied coldly, "That'll be when Hell freezes over." With that, I spit generously in his face.
He cursed, wiped it off and slapped me across the face, hard, before pushing me in after Jack. "Ye nasty slut," he growled as he locked the door and stormed back upstairs. I leaned against the iron bars as he disappeared and sighed tiredly.
"I never thought I'd be locked in me own brig," Jack sighed, coming over to stand in front of me. I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes.
"If you didn't have them, we wouldn't be locked in them," I pointed out, just a little p.o.ed.
"But once again, we're locked in a cell, alone," he replied seductively, uncrossing my arms, wrapping his own around me tightly.
"Jack, I'm not in the mood for this," I groaned, trying to pull away.
"Come on, Keelin, please?" he whined like a child, rubbing small circles on my back. "This is the oppurtune moment, with no one 'ere, no one watchin'."
"No, Jack." The ship gave a sudden jerk and we fell to the floor. I landed on top of him and his grasp on my waist tightened, holding me down as I pulled away. "Let me go, Jack," I threatened.
"Not till ye give me a kiss," he replied, smirking underneath me.
I sighed and knew that he was going to stick to that promise. I'd rather kiss him and get off than lay on top of him, uncomfortably, for quite awhile. I gave him a quick peck on his lips before continuing to struggle against him. "That wasn't worth lettin' ye go."
"Jack-" My words were cut off by his lips pressing dangerously on mine. My eyes closed and I felt myself wanting to kiss him back and so I did. He took the oppurtunity to force my lips open and explore my mouth with his tongue leisurely. A soft sigh escaped my lips accidentally. He pulled away and grinned again. "Jesus, Jack," I started.
"No, love, no words. Just kiss me again. I like the way ye kiss," he whispered, twisting his words and I nodded, agreeing. I felt as though he had drugged me, or I was drunk and it felt so nice that I wish I felt that way all the time. His lips were on mine again and his one hand left my side and made its way up to my hair slowly. He pushed off my hat and untied the ribbon and I felt serious deja vu. My own hands wrapped themselves around his neck, pulling him closer to me. I was in heaven, feeling his warm strong body against mine. I felt so secure and protected but in the back of my mind, a question had popped up and I felt that I needed to ask him, before we went...any further.
We kissed until neither of us could breath and I pulled away, panting slightly. I hesitated, questions pouring through my head, and I decided that it was time to ask him. "Jack, what you said before, on The Interceptor, did you mean it?"
"About that I wanted ye ta stay behind? Aye but yer 'ere so I can't do anythin' about it."
I shifted slightly on top of him, thinking of how to word what I wanted to say, and I saw him bite back a groan. I rested my head on his chest and said, "No, about wanting to do this again."
"Of course," he replied softly, stroking my hair.
"So that must mean that you have some feelings for me?"
It was his turn to shift and it was my turn to not moan. He smirked and then replied to my question, "I do, don't get me wrong but-"
"But it won't work out?" I finished, knowing everything that he was about to say.
"Aye."
"Jack, hypothetically speaking, what would you do if I told you that I loved you?"
"Ye do?"
"Hypothetically speaking," I reminded him.
He thought about it for a few minutes as he continued stroking my hair, twisting it around his fingers. "Ye're certainly unlike any other woman I've been with. Ye 'ave a powerful, wild, adventurous spirit and I love it. 'onestly, I do 'ave feelin's fer yebut I'm just tryin' ta figure 'em out before I make any decisions."
"I see," I replied after a slight pause. I rolled off of him and sat in a corner of the cell.
"Keelin, don' get offended or somethin'. Ye asked fer the truth and that's what ye got," he said, rolling over to look at me, resting his head on his hand.
"I'm not offended," I protested, pulling my curls back into a ponytail and jamming my hat back on my head.
"I'll make it up ta ye soon as we're outta 'ere," he promised. "Just please don' be mad."
Just then, a cannonball came roaring through the side of The Pearl, knocking Jack to his stomach in front of me. "Jesus!" he cursed. He looked up at me from the floor and asked, "Ye alright, Keelin?"
"I'm fine," I replied laughing at his position. I leaned out of the hole that the cannon had created and yelled, just for kicks, "Stop blowin' holes in me ship!"
Jack laughed at my impression of him and noticed a small leather canteen that had landed on the floor. "Gibbs," he nearly shouted with joy. I looked over at him as he attempted to drink some but nothing came out. He looked at the canteen with disgust and I laughed again. He turned away from me angrily and saw the cell door and it's hole from the cannon's blast. He approached it slowly and pushed it open as though it was going to bite him. "Look, Keelin!" he exclaimed.
"We're free!" I replied, jumping out of the cell. He grabbed my arm and held me tightly.
"Hold on a second, love. Ye gotta be quiet if ye wanna sneak over. No yellin', hollerin', just follow me lead," he whispered in my ear. I nodded and we cautiously made our way up the stairs to the upperdeck.
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(Edana's POV)
Will and I broke away from our intimate kiss and hurried above deck. "What's going on?" I asked, standing next to Gibbs.
He turned to me, a frantic look in his eyes. "The Pearl's catching up." I turned around and sure enough, there she was, charging toward us like an angry bull, a heavy fog following her.
"This is the fastest ship in the Caribbean!" Elizabeth exclaimed, joining us in our conversation.
"Ye can tell 'em that afta they've caught us," Annamaria snapped from the helm.
"We're shallower on the draft, right?" I asked after a moment.
"Aye," Gibbs replied, confused.
"Can't we head for the shallows over there?" Elizabeth added, seeing where I was headed.
Will glanced over to the reef and exclaimed, "We don't have to outrun them long, just long enough!"
Annamaria rolled her eyes and sighing, she cranked the helm towards the reef. "Ye're daft, all of ye," she growled.
"Daft like Jack," Gibbs added.
I grinned and went to stand at the railing. Behind me, Gibbs ordered the crew about and The Interceptor picked up even more speed. The wind off the sea blew my hair off my shoulders and I felt as though I was flying. I took a deep breath and enjoyed the freedom and peace that it brought for now. I leaned over the rail to see where The Pearl was compared to us. She was much closer, gaining on us steadily.
"It was a good idea," Annamaria said, following my gaze. "Until now."
"We must fight them," Elizabeth announced.
"Yeah, it's worth a try," I replied.
Annamaria sighed, rolling her eyes again as Gibbs ordered for teh anchor to be dropped. "Bring 'er around!" he shouted. She let the helm go as The Interceptor, still at full speed, began to slow as she pivoted around the dropped anchor. Guns were being passed out as well as swords. Will snatched one of each for him and then a gun and pushed it into my arms.
"Nah-uh," I replied, shaking my head, holding the gun back out to him.
"Edana, please," he pleaded. "To protect yourself."
"I hate guns," I grumbled under my breath. I looked over at The Pearl for Keelin and Jack but they were nowhere to be seen in the crowd of aggresively yelling pirates.
Annamaria noticed that the pirates were calling for a terrified looking Elizabeth, some whistling and catcalling. She grabbed Elizabeth's arm and pointed the gun at her. "I say we give 'em 'er," she growled as Elizabeth gasped.
"She's not what they want," Will said coldly. Elizabeth glanced into her bodice and gasped again.
"The medallion," I whispered. "Oh, shit." Will and I leaped for the stairs and hurried to find the small gold coin. Cannonfire rocked the ship and I stumbled down the rest of the stairs into Will. He grabbed my arm tightly, pulling me with him. Water began seeping in through the hole that had been created. "Will!" I gasped as the water splashed into my boots.
"Come on, help me flip the table," he cried, struggling to push it back over. I joined him and we pushed it out of the way. It fell into the water with a splash as I got to my hands and knees looking for the damn coin that was causing all of our problems. At least Keelin still had hers on. Or at least I hoped that she did.
Another explosion threw me into the wall. "Will!" I cried as I heard a creepy shrieking above me. I looked up to find the monkey staring at us pathetically with the necklace dangling around his paw.
"Come here," Will motioned to the little devil. The monkey gave a small smirk and took off up the stairs. Another cannon ripped through the mast and it fell on top of the half-opened hatch, closing it, and trapping us below. Will climbed on top of the table's side and pushed at the hatch desperately. "Hey!" he called up through the little holes in the hatch. "Down below!"
I climbed up besides him and yelled, "Hey! Listen to me! Come get us the bloody hell out of here! Right now! I do not wanna die!"
"Edana, stop, stop. We're not going to die," Will said, grasping my hand. "I promise."
Elizabeth's appeared above us and she was joined by Keelin. "Keelin! Get us outta here!" I cried desperately.
"I'm trying!" she replied, pulling and grunting. Suddenly, she and Elizabeth were gone and we could hear their screams as they were dragged away.
"Damnit," I cursed as I felt something cold around my legs. I looked down and saw that the water level had risen significantly. "Will," I moaned as it climbed faster and faster up my body. "Oh my God!"
"Edana, listen. We're going to get out of here. When the water reaches the top, we're going to find a way out below. All right?" he asked, stroking my face, attempting to calm me down. I nodded slowly and waited for the rising water to reach the top.
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(Keelin's POV)
With Jack leading the way, we made our way to the upper deck unnoticed. Once up there, I saw that most of the crew had already swung over to The Interceptor and the battle had already begun. Cries and yells echoed around the air, cannon fire rocked the ships. Jack pushed me behind the main mast as Barbossa glanced over our way suspiciously, pressing my back into it, his face mere centimeters from my own. He put a finger to my lips as I opened them to protest. He peeked out from behind the mast, checking to see if the coast was clear. It was and he dragged me after him again. He stopped again at the bow of The Pearl and whispered, "We've gotta swing across, love. Ye ready?"
"Yes, sir," I mock saluted him.
A crewmember of Barbossa's came swinging across, back to The Pearl. Jack reached out and shook the man loose to the water. "Thanks mate," he called after him as he splashed into the water. "Grab 'old Keelin," he added, wrapping an arm around my waist. If you're trying to picture this, think of when Elizabeth is on the ship at night and that really creepy skeleton swings with her on the rope. You got it? Okay, let's continue with my story. We landed on the ship gracefully and Jack spotted Elizabeth. "This way," he said, and surprise, surprise, pulled me after him again.
The pirate with the yellow dreads was about to slash Elizabeth with his cutlass. Jack lashed out, grabbing his arm and said, "That's not very nice." He knocked the cutlass out of his hand and pushed him over the rail into the water before turning to Elizabeth.
Her hand came up to slap him but for once he grabbed it, stopping the hit. She snapped angrily, "Wretch!"
His eyes drifted to her hand that he was holding and saw the rag that served as a bandage wrapped tightly around her small hand. With a slight smirk, he asked, "Where is dear William?"
"And Edana?" I added, placing my hands on my hips. Elizabeth's eyes snapped to a hatch on a deck and I let out a curse. "Shit! We've gotta get them outta there!" We scrambled over there and we heard their cries faintly over the roar of the battle. "Edana!" I called.
"Keelin! Get us outta here!" she cried, her anxious face peering through the hatch.
"I'm trying!" I replied, pulling and grunting. All of a sudden, I was torn away from the hatch. I heard Edana yelling for me as I struggled against my capturer. "Let me go, you bastard!" I shouted. I was spun around and I found myself eye to eye with the Bo'sun. I gulped loudly and said, "Oh shit." He grinned at me and brought me back to The Pearl.
Apparently, the battle had finished, seeing as how all of our crew, minus Ed and Will, were now on The Black Pearl. The Bo'sun dragged me towards Barbossa and I could hear Elizabeth behind me, protesting about her treatment. Barbossa turned to me and grinned as Jack came crawling after the monkey on the fallen mast.
The monkey jumped up on to Barbossa's shoulder as Jack tried to reach it. "Why thank ye Jack," Barbossa drawled, staring pathetically at the captain.
A flicker of confusion passed in his eyes but it quickly disappeared with small grin. "Ye're welcome," he replied.
"Not you, we named the monkey Jack." At that, the little devil twisted his facial features into a sick grin and then returned his face to normal. I shuddered involuntarily and the Bo'sun moved closer towards me. Barbossa took the coin from his furry little pet and calledout to the crew, holding it up, "Gents, our 'ope is restored!" They cheered and Jack gave another meek grin at them.
Pintel gathered everyone from Jack's crew except for me and began to tie them to the main mast, a hideous smirk on his lips. "If any of ye so much as think the word 'Parlay', I'll 'ave yer guts fer garters!" If I had been watching the movie, I would have laughed hysterically but this was for real and I'd prefer to be kept in one piece, thank you.
The Bo'sun still had his deadly grip on my arm and I don't think that he was planning on letting go any time soon. I watched helplessly as we sailed out a bit from the sinking Interceptor. Once we were far enough away, someone took a shot at the ship with a cannon. It hit square on and the ship exploded as Elizabeth slipped under the ropes she had been tied on. I gasped and thought of Edana. God, she had better have gotten out of there. If she died...no, no, no. Keep your thoughts positive.
Elizabeth had paused slightly before tearing herself at Barbossa, screaming, "You bastard! You killed them!" She hit him relentlessly but he managed to grab her arms and force them to her sides, holding her tightly.
"Welcome back aboard, Miss. Last time, ye took advantage of our 'ospitality. It's time ye returned the favor," he growled, shoving her at his crew. They yelped with sudden approval and started manhandling her. I tried to pull away to help but Barbossa took one look at me and said, "Boys! Ye can 'ave Jack's wench too!"
"Oh hell no!" I replied, kicking the first pirate who came in front of me where the sun don't shine. He fell to the deck, clutching his area, cursing long strands of sailor curses. The Bo'sun tightened his grip on my arm, which I thought wasn't possible, and shook me violently. I could feel my brain rattling around in my skull and then he stopped.
"Ye be mine, wench," he muttered, moving his hand to grope my breasts.
"She goes free!" I heard cried from behind me. I stopped fighting and turned my head to see my saviors in all their glory.