Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Pirates of the Caribbean except my own characters, plotline, hijinks…
Author's Notes: Thanks for the lovely reviews…and here is the chapter, updated quickly like I promised. Want to know what's going to happen throughout this story? Well if I told you that, I'd have to tickle your feet. And I would prefer not to, thanks very much. Oh boy, do I love being random!
PineAppleLint
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June was running through the steaming hot sand. With every step she took, the sand slowed her until she felt like she was diving in murky quicksand. With a shrill yell, she sank through the sand and fell on top of Jack Sparrow. She was in his dark cabin on his luxurious bed.
"Thought you'd never make it, luv," he said huskily, rolling her over so he was on top, straddling her abdomen with his thighs, "Now let's make this a night you'll never forget…" She leaned up, ready to kiss those handsome lips when she touched metal. She was in a jail cell…shackled to the wall, bloodied and beaten. Her head lolled to one side and she caught sight of Jack, Ana, and Will sneering as they stared at her from the opposite side of the bars.
"May this be a lesson to you…" Ana growled fiercely, "I hope you burn in hell for your crimes…"
June groaned and opened her eyes. She was sweating up a storm, and the sudden light caused her head and her ears to throb from the drinking excursion she had the night before.
Oh hell. The night before…what happened? That was a fucked up dream…where am I, dammit?
Questions swirled around in her mind like a ship in a raging typhoon. Suddenly, bits and pieces she remembered from the night struck her like a biting whip, the pieces to the puzzle finally coming together in her weary brain.
Jack…Devon…kissing…went with Devon for a…tattoo? Oh shit.
She was lying on a wooden table in the front section of Regan's weaponry shop, one leg slung over the side and her clothing rumpled, her hair fanned out around her head. June massaged her forehead and stared down at herself. Her shirt was bloodied and the waist band of her trousers rolled down. A white bandage was pressed to the flesh of her right lower hip, and it was soaked with a bit of crimson blood as well.
She hissed through her teeth when she slowly peeled the bandage off to reveal a tattoo as big as her palm.
NO. It couldn't be! Damn, damn, damn, damn rum to hell and back! Damn Devon! Damn TATTOOS!
It was Jack Sparrow's emblem. The one with the sparrow flying across a sunset over the horizon. And it had 'Jack' inscrolled beneath it in fancy calligraphy.
The first emotion that came into play was shock, then denial, then plain wonderment as she tried to guess just how many rums she had drowned in the night before to make such a retarded decision. Then she became deadly angry.
Grabbing her pistol, not even bothering to straighten out her clothes or put the bandage back on, she stormed into the back room where Regan and Devon were lazily talking.
"Stupid bitch," June growled, pointing her pistol at an unsurprised Devon, "How…what…why? Just why?!"
"Oh, good mornin', sleepyhead," Devon drawled, her eyes twinkling with wicked amusement, "I hope you're well rested. After all, you sure were loaded to the gunwalls last night."
June's mouth gaped open as she pointed to her new tattoo, waving her arms about without words.
"Oh, that?" Devon laughed, "I asked you what ye wanted and ye said you had to have that. Plain and simple. Kept babbling on how it was such an elegant tattoo and that ye wanted one yourself. I decided the 'Jack' on the bottom would just tie the whole thing together, don't ye agree?"
Steam was coming out June's ears. "Undo it," June said, voice shaking, "Undo it now!"
"Unfortunately, I can't, silly gel. You're going to have that for as long as ye live, savvy? It looks nice on ye, though. The stinging should go away in a couple of days. And I'm pretty sure Jack will appreciate it."
"How drunk WAS I?!" June groaned, collapsing into a chair and letting out another moan when her sore tattooed hip throbbed from her movements, "I…he…Jack will ne'er know. Never."
"Oh, ye were pretty sloshed," Regan remarked with a grin.
"And you! YOU suggested I get one in the first place!" June shouted, glaring at Regan who was staring back innocently.
"Well I couldn't stand to see Devon stickin' her tongue down Sparrow's throat for one more instant, that's all. Had to distract her somehow."
Devon snorted and crossed her arms. June's eyes grew stormy as she said, "I think we all felt that way, McDowelle. Trust me."
Devon readjusted her black leather vest before picking up her French bulldog, Bullet, off the floor, and began to stroke him lovingly. "I ne'er got to finish the job, too," Devon replied, sighing in disappointment, "That man sure has a way wit' his hands. I wanted to be the best lay he's ever had."
"Oh, here we go," Regan said with a roll of her eyes, running a hand through her brown locks before getting out her pistol and beginning to polish it.
"Well, come on!" Devon grinned, slapping her old friend on the back, "At least I 'ave a good number o' stories to tell on the subject, unlike ye. You haven't let a man touch ye in your entire life!"
"Because I'm waiting for someone fairly decent, unlike you, who picks out a different man basically every night or whenever you have that urge to. Every man in Tortuga remembers the name 'Devon Duville'."
"They should remember it, since they screamed it all night long," Devon commented with a small smirk on her red lips.
"Are you a whore?" June asked suddenly with narrowed eyes, "Because you getting all 'friendly' with the men folk doesn't set a good reputation for ye."
Suddenly, Devon extracted a dagger from her belt so fast, June didn't have time to react. About a half inch away from June's hand, the dagger was embedded into the table. A little closer and June would have been blessed with one hand. The room grew thick with tension and warning.
"Sure, I have a reputation. Everyone does, dearie. Mine can be good or bad…all depends on what ye focus on. But I am no whore. Never was, never will be. I pick who I want, I have them, and that's that, savvy?"
"Sounds exciting," June said, swallowing hard as she extracted her hand from off of the table and away from the blade, "So how did ye find your place here in the midst of Tortuga?"
"Had to go here to escape the Navy," she said in a bored tone, picking at her fingernails once again, "I killed me fiancée. He was a lyin' weasel of a man, so one night I was through with it all and shot the poor bastard."
"Sometimes I wonder if ye have a heart," Regan said with a playful smile, nudging Devon with her shoulder.
"Aw, thanks. I'll take that as a compliment."
"And what about you?" June pressed, staring pointedly at Regan, "Someone like ye seems out of place in Tortuga. No offense, but it's true."
"That's kind o' a funny thing to say, considerin' I've lived here all me life…not necessarily in this part o' town…as a child we lived on the outskirts, me and my da, that is."
"So I'm assuming this used to be his shop?"
"Yes. And when he died, he left everythin' to me to take o'er, includin' leaving me with the knowledge of some of the best traders and informants in the world."
"Why not travel? Ye seem ambitious enough," June replied with a grin, "Ye know, places to go, men to threaten…"
Devon scoffed, "Hell yes, she loves threatenin' men…I saw her cut the throat out of some bloke one night with a broken rum bottle. They've all been scared o' her since."
"Why do ye have it cut out for them in the first place?" June asked with a sudden peak of interest.
"Have to get respect from the blokes somehow, right?" Regan winked before growing more somber. The mischievous light faded from her eyes before she added, "Some bastard murdered me close friend one night. She was a prostitute; a nice gel, really generous and such. After that, I could never forgive them."
"Who?"
"The idiotic, barbaric men in Tortuga. I mean, who do they think they are…usin' women so cruelly and takin' their lives without mercy? For pleasure? Don't they have some sort o' soul hidden anywhere in their disgustin' bodies?"
"Jack would ne'er do that," June pointed out quietly, "He may be perverse, but that doesn't mean…"
"I know, I know," Regan laughed bitterly, "Don't try to stick up for him. I know he's different. He walks like a gel, but he's a respectable man, all right."
"Aw, luv, that hurts, honestly," a deep voice proclaimed behind them.
The three women turned to face Jack Sparrow himself lingering in the doorway, leaning against it luxuriously.
"I, in fact, don't walk like a gel," Jack said with narrowed eyes, walking up to them.
"Sparrow…do ye always interrupt other people's conversations?" Devon questioned icily, shooting him an annoyed look.
"If it's your conversation to interrupt, than yes, me darling, I do," he proclaimed with a wink, "I missed ye last night."
"Go fuck yourself."
"What language!" he scolded, wagging his finger at her playfully. Studying Regan, he commented, "Lookin' lovely this mornin', me dear McDowelle. You're positively glowing."
"You're too kind," she said flatly, crossing her arms suspiciously, "Now what do ye want?"
"I came to collect one o' me crew members. I figured ye'd be hiding her here." Jack grinned at June before saying, "Are ye ready to come back to the Pearl, me luv?" He noticed the blood splattered shirt she wore and raised an eyebrow.
"She got a wonderful tattoo last night," Regan said with a grin, "Why don't ye show him, Oleander? Don't be shy."
June shot her a murderous look before replying, "No thank ye. It isn't in a respectable place."
"I like the sound o' that," Jack murmured devilishly, letting his kohl-rimmed eyes rake over her suggestively.
"Don't worry, we're all girls here," Regan pointed out lazily.
Jack glared at her before swaggering over to Devon, crouching next to her chair and pressing a lingering kiss to her neck.
Pushing him away, she growled, "Not now, Sparrow."
"Ah, I know yer type, luv. Ye like to tease. Much like Miss Oleander. She's relentless. She even tried to rape me once."
"I did not!" June fumed, "I'll be back on the Pearl in a bit, Sparrow. For now, can I just talk to the lasses in peace?"
"Yes, leave now," Regan snapped.
"Ditto," Devon yawned, waving him away with her hand. Bullet barked in agreement.
Jack's expression changed to a mockingly hurt one. "Well, I suppose if ye ladies can't stand me masculine presence one moment longer, I'll leave. Ta!" and with a dramatic bow, he went as quietly and quickly as he came.
"Tried to rape him, did ye?" Devon asked with an interested stare, "Do tell."
"I did not…I just caught him in bed once, that's all, and he thought I was tryin' to make a move on him in his sleep…"
"I wonder how many tattoos that man has," Devon wondered aloud, "I counted two…one on the chest and that one identical to yours…"
"Don't remind me," June groaned. Turning to Regan, she said, "Continue on wit' your story since we were so rudely interrupted."
"There's not much else to tell."
"So ye wouldn't like to travel?" June asked with a frown, "That's a pity."
"No it isn't. My roots are here. I'm not a travelin' woman. Hell, if I leave…me shop will go to hell along with Tortuga and I can't allow that."
"Ye leavin' today?" Devon questioned after whispering loving words to Bullet, who was still sitting on her lap, his tongue rolling out of his mouth comically.
"Most likely," June replied with a roll of her eyes, "Jack can't keep in one place for too long. He's a fidgety man. Like a small child, he is."
"In that case, I think I have somethin' for you…got it a couple months back. I have no need for it, and Devon doesn't want any part o' it either…" Regan informed her before getting up from the table and sifting through a drawer full of random knick knacks and papers.
"What is it?" June questioned suspiciously.
"Be damned if I know," Regan responded, pulling out a yellowed scroll tied with brown string.
"Can she be trusted?" Devon asked Regan, studying June.
"Yeah. She's all right. She'll take good care o' it for us." She handed June the paper, who took the string off and rolled it open on the table. It was a map.
"A treasure map, I take it?" June said, noticing the different symbols and landmarks. It was in Latin.
"Do ye speak Latin?" Regan asked her, watching as June ran a finger over the map carefully, "Because I don't understand a damn word o' what it says."
"I don't speak a lick o' it, but I understand some o' it in writing. Picked up a small bit o' it when I was in Greece a couple years back."
"So can we trust ye to find it?" Devon said sternly, fingering her dagger tucked away again in her belt.
"And split the profits wit' us?" Regan added seriously.
"Split the profits? What percentage are we talkin' about here?"
"An equal share for the three o' us," Devon replied casually, "Just the three o' us. If Sparrow gets wind of this, he'll claim it for himself, no doubt."
"So you're sending me on this wild excursion, with no clue where it leads or what the treasure actually entitles?" June asked incredulously, not believing her own ears.
"Yeah, that sounds about right. I mean, we don't have a ship at our disposal, so it's not like we both can pack up and leave in the mornin', savvy?" Regan replied.
"But I'd have to tell Sparrow. It's his ship. I can't just lock him in his room and take over the helm!" June argued, rolling up the map and placing it in her belt.
"Well…ye could…" Devon mused.
"I guess you're right," Regan sighed, "But keep it hush-hush, understand? Don't let Sparrow get a hold of the map and indulge in all of the spoils."
"And if he does get a portion o' the treasure…it will be from your portion, not ours," Devon said with narrowed eyes, "Understand?"
"Yes, I understand," June grumbled.
"So we have an accord then," Regan remarked, sticking out her hand.
June took it, and she shook Devon's and Regan's hands firmly. All the while, excitement and dread was rushing through her veins, but a small voice in the back of her mind whispered that Will and Ana, who were supposed to be heading back to Port Royal, would be mightily pissed off.
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Ah HA! A map! In LATIN, no less! Where and what does the map lead to? When will Sparrow discover the map AND the tattoo? What will be Ana and Will's reaction to being 'kept hostage' for this little map voyage? Only time will tell, me darlings!
Review please! Comments, (nice) criticism, and concerns are always welcome.
Review Responses:
Cayenne Pepper Powder- Oh, don't worry, dearie…it's fun to be energetic! I wish I had so much energy 24/7…its fun when I do because I enjoy dancing spastically. Here's your update! : ) Ha, lurve…great word.
The Dutchess of Doom- I am so happy you like how I write Devon! You made the character, and it's up to me to bring her to life, so there is a bit of pressure involved. Heehee. And yes, your threats did pay off. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well, pal! Oh boy, watching me with a sharp eye, hmm? has sudden feeling that she's being watched
I rule you all- Hey, stop talking about ham, you're making me hungry!
Leanan Sidhe- Ah yes, don't try to cover up your threatening demeanor in your reviews! And more From Hell on the way? Score! You write Olivia splendidly…I love seeing what you make of her. Your welcome for the ideas, anytime mate! We part time pirates have to stick together. : )
TheSiriusSparrow- Thanks for reading! Haha, jealousy does make the story all the more interesting…and I think Regan and Devon are just making cameo appearances, and perhaps they may appear again at the end of the story. They kick butt, as do you, super reviewer!
Bloomylicious- Seems to me like you hit the nail on the head! I personally would love to see Jack's reaction when he discovers the blasted tattoo, but that's suspense for ya. wink Thank you so much for reviewing!
Goth Princess- Yay! Thanks for reading and liking it! hands you a cool reviewer cape of justice
MorgauseNokami- Heehee. Darn Jack Sparrow for those charms he possesses! shakes fist in the air Thanks for reviewing, luv!
Belinda- Oh boy, you'd get a tattoo? They do seem pretty neat, but I have a deathly fear of needles. shivers
Jeyke- Hehee, indeed…embarrassment! Rage! Such a little Sparrow tattoo that causes so many problems. Thanks again, luv!
The Lost Guava- TA DA! I updated two chapters in one week! Kazam! Woosh! Okay I'll stop now. That dragon tattoo sounds off the heezy. Don't worry, I'm in a lazy mood too…I guess that's what summer does to ya!
Anastasia Walker- Hey! He's my man whore, WHORE! Heehee Katie you are a silly goose.
Zubachickgt4u- Wonderful reviewer, you! I think you're psychic…you knew it would be Jack's name! Mwahaha…just use your psychic pirate powers for good instead of evil, okay? Remember that, luv. Thanks again!
FIN (Oh, and to anyone else that reviewed after I posted this, a big hug to you!)
