Jessie stood at the helm of the Dauntless and looked out at the endless ocean in front of her. She had both eyes on the horizon, and one ear listening in to the conversation she could just about quote by memory.
"When I was a lad, living in England, my mother raised me by herself. After she died, I came out here." Will raised his head from the sword he had been sharpening and looked at Jack like he was supposed to know something. "Looking for my father."
"Is that so?" Jack asked, uninterested. He wasn't even looking at Will as he fixed that, and moved this and generally manned the ship by himself. He came over to stand by Jessie. He didn't look at her either, so when he spoke, she wasn't sure if she was asking her a question or just talking to himself. Both seemed equally possible.
"Yes, that's got to go, doesn't it?" Jack mumbled almost inaudibly. He eyed the British flag distastefully. He started lowering it while Will kept talking.
"My father, Will Turner. In the jail it was only after you learnt my name that you agreed to help. Since that's what I wanted, I didn't press the matter." Will got up and came to stand by Jack, following after him when he finished lowering the flag and set to work on something else.
"Hmm." Jack looked all around him, holding England's flag like he would a poisonous snake. His gaze landed on Jessie. Quick to be rid of it, he tossed the flag at her. "Here."
Will sensed Jack's mind was not on what he was saying, so he spoke louder and more forceful as Jessie watched the two of them, occasionally looking down at the flag with confusion.
"I'm not a simpleton, Jack," Will said, finally cornering the pirate and forcing him to pause in his activities to listen. "You knew my father."
From where she stood, Jessie could see Jack grow tired of Will's constant talking. He looked up at the sky and sighed before turning to face the blacksmith. "I knew him," he admitted. "Probably one of the few who knew him as William Turner. Everyone else just called him Bootstrap, or Bootstrap Bill."
"Bootstrap?"
Jack shoved his way past Will and took his rightful place at the wheel. He seemed to be purposefully teasing poor Will with his next words. "Good man, good pirate. I swear you look just like 'im."
"It's not true," Will insisted. "He was a merchant sailor. A good, respectable man who obeyed the law!"
"He was a bloody pirate! A scallywag."
"My father was not a pirate." Will drew his sword, and Jessie backed up out of the way, dropping the flag on the deck. She moved to lean on the rail, trying to think of something to say but coming up with nothing.
"Put it away, son." Jack didn't even turn around. "It's not worth you getting beat again."
"You didn't beat me. You ignored the rules of engagement." Will's voice was low, as dangerous as Jessie had ever heard it. "In a fair fight, I'd kill you."
"Then that's not much incentive for me to fight fair, then, is it?" Jack spun around, and Jessie resisted the urge to shout "touché!" in fear of ruining the moment.
The young girl had been so absorbed in watching the men, she had forgotten what came next. And when finally she did remember, it was too late.
Jack twisted the wheel around, causing the beam to spin around and hit Will right in the chest. It then proceeded to spin out over the ocean, but not before taking a certain teenage girl, who happened to be standing by the rail in its way, with it.
If Will had been caught off guard, Jessie was completely blind-sighted. She dropped the flag in favour of the beam, but she could feel herself slipping even as she tightened her grip.
"Oh." The guilty voice of a certain pirate reached Jessie's ears. "Sorry, luv. Didn't mean to get you, too." Jack didn't sound very sorry, though, and he got over his mistake pretty quickly. Picking up the sword Will had dropped, he addressed Jessie again before beginning his small speech. "But I'm afraid you're going to have to hang out a moment"—a short pause where the pirate laughed under his breath at how literal his words where—"while I teach our blacksmith here a lesson.
"Pay attention," Jack continued. "The only rules that really matter are these: Wot a man can do and wot a man can't do."
Will's grip was still tight, but Jessie grunted and tried to no avail to pull herself farther up as Jack went on.
"For instance, you can accept that your father was a pirate and a good man…or you can't. But pirate is in your blood, boy, so you'll have to square with that someday."
Jessie felt herself slip a little farther down.
"Now, me, for example. I can let yah drown. But I can't bring this ship into Tortuga all by me onesies, savvy?"
Will was a strong young man with the upper body strength to hold on this long. Jessie wasn't. She had no strength in her arms at all. If Jack continued much longer, she would be forced to let go.
"So. Can you sail under the command of a pirate—" Jack was reaching to turn the beam back over the deck when, as if on cue, Jessie slipped and fell into the water with an ear-splitting scream and earth-shattering splash!
"Oops."
Jessie could only guess at the identity of the speaker when she came up spluttering and coughing. She kicked her arms and legs furiously to keep her head from going under again. Swallowing salt water was not fun.
"You all right, lass?"
"Just get me out," Jessie ordered, a huge cough interrupting her for a moment. "The water's cold!"
"Of course." The agreement came quickly, but she saw no head peer over the railing to look at her. Instead she heard Jack tell Will:
"What would happen if we left her there?"
Jessie was outraged. Her anger distracted her for a moment, and she almost went under. Pushing her way to the surface again, she screamed furiously at Jack.
"You get me out of the water right now, Jack Sparrow!"
-o0o-
Roughly fifteen minutes later, Jessie sat on a barrel on the Dauntless' deck, shivering despite the warm Caribbean breeze and glaring at Jack through her dripping blonde hair. Will had gone directly belong deck when Jessie had been pulled out of the water, perhaps needing a few minutes to mull over all he had just been told.
But it left the girl alone with Jack, and it would be the perfect time to yell at him. But there lay the problem—she couldn't come up with anything smart or witty to scream at him; knowing that he would turn anything she said into something else and just farther embarrass her, so she kept her mouth shut and settled for death glares.
"Oh, stop looking at me like that." Jack rolled his head on his neck, away from her gaze. "It's not my fault you can't hold on long enough for a man to say what he's got teh say."
Jessie blinked in his direction, but said nothing. She was determined to resist his charms and stay angry at him for as long as possible. With a stubborn turn of her head, she looked out towards the horizon
"I love the sea."
Jessie hadn't realised she'd spoken aloud until she noticed Jack's surprised gaze. "I mean," she said quickly. "It's so big and blue and…"
"…wet?" Jack laughed as if he had made some sort of joke, and rested his hands contentedly on the wheel. He too stared out at the horizon before looking at Jessie. "Would you like to take the wheel?"
Jessie's eyes widened in surprised delight. "Could I?"
"No," Jack said bluntly, and Jessie could tell he wasn't joking. "Just wanted to know if it was something you'd have liked to do."
"Oh!" Jessie growled furiously. "Just you wait until I get over there, Jack Sparrow," the girl warned under her breath, and though she was still dripping with salt water, she tried to stand up and make her way towards the captain.
Unfortunately, she didn't make it far. Having only been on any ship for a few hours at time in any point of her life, Jessie hadn't quite found her 'sea legs'.
"I feel like you," she accused Jack, as she swayed about and almost fell over. Stomach tumbling, she gripped the rail tightly. "Only I'm wobbling on the ship and you wobble on land."
"You'll get used to it." Jack looked amused. "At least you're not—"
Jessie's insides chose that moment to heave up whatever was inside her. She leaned over the railing and poured her stomach's contents into the sea. She couldn't remember what she last had to eat, but whatever it was, it had just came back up.
As Jessie straightened back up, she caught Jack's eye. The pirate captain looked slightly disgusted. "Ah," he said simply. "Seems I was wrong. You're seasick as well."
Jessie didn't have time to answer before she needed to lean over the side and throw up again. This time, she came up groaning.
"I hate the sea."
Sinking down to a sitting position, resting her back against the ship's wooden frame, Jessie allowed herself to feel utterly miserable. She had every right to be, as far as she was concerned—she was wet, cold, seasick, hungry and tired.
"Don't look so glum, luv," Jack advised her with a grin so cocky that, if she had had the energy, she would have felt the urge to slap right off his face. "We're almost there."
"Almost where?" Will asked, coming up from below deck just in time to catch Jack's last few words. The pirate's grin grew larger.
"Tortuga."
-o0o-
Amber was exhausted, frightened, and bored. Sitting on the small space by the Black Pearl's window where she had slept last night, she was grateful she didn't have to add 'alone' to that list. Elizabeth was still with her, and she was thankful for that; no matter if they had been sitting in an uncomfortable silence for as long as Amber could remember being awake.
Amber looked out the small window, staring at the waves crashing against the Pearl. She had nothing to say that would relieve the silence, but thankfully Elizabeth did that for her.
"What do you think they're going to do to us, Amber?"
Amber didn't turn around. Her gaze stared at the waves as if they had something to tell her. "I don't know, Elizabeth. I just don't know." It wasn't a complete lie, Amber realized grimly. She truly did have no idea what they were going to do with her.
There was a moment's pause, where Amber could almost feel Elizabeth thinking. The older girl drew a shaky breath. "They wouldn't…kill…us, do you think?"
Amber did turn this time. She saw an unguarded terror in the older girl's eyes, and she was sure it was mirrored in her own brown eyes as well. "I don't think they would do that," she said, speaking as much to herself as Elizabeth; "if they had wanted to kill us, they already would've done it."
"I suppose you're right." But the fear in Elizabeth's eyes didn't go away. Amber supposed this wasn't the way either one of them had envisioned their meeting pirates. Amber closed her eyes a minute, wondering; Elizabeth was staring at the side of ship, still thinking. It wasn't even a minute or two until she voiced another fear.
"I wonder what the others at home are thinking. Surely they must have noticed our absence. The Commodore, Father, Wi—". She stopped, embarrassed. But Amber knew.
"You've probably frightened poor Will to death." Amber meant for it to lighten the mood, but stopped when she saw the pitiful look Elizabeth had on her face. "I mean…he…it was just…he seems very fond of you," she finally spit out. "And it is obvious you care for him."
Elizabeth shook her head. "Don't be so silly. We're just friends, that's all."
"Yeah, yeah, you say that now." Amber laughed at herself silently. It was so stupid, this conversation—she knew they got together in the end!
"Propriety doesn't allow for that," Elizabeth said, still speaking of her and Will. "Besides, my father…he wishes for me to wed to the Commodore," she finished sadly.
"But you don't care for the Commodore." Amber rolled her eyes. "It's Will—"
"Where did you get your medallion, Amber?" Elizabeth interrupted suddenly and randomly. It was just a weak attempt to change to subject, but Amber decided not to fight her.
"A friend," she said truthfully, fiddling with her medallion as Elizabeth did with hers. "But I had no idea it was worth anything. I just thought it was an invaluable trinket."
"I didn't realise its value, either," Elizabeth said. "I didn't even know that more were in existence."
"Oh, you have no idea…," Amber muttered to herself, and after that the conversation dwindled back down to nothing. There was another silence, but this one didn't last nearly as long. But again, it was Elizabeth who finally broke the silence.
"Do you think we'll ever be rescued?"
Amber hid her smile from her companion. "Who knows?" she said softly. "But I should like to think so. Maybe Will is on a ship right now, coming to our rescue…"
-o0o-
Amber's timing was a little bit off: Will wasn't on a ship right at this moment; he was actually in Tortuga now with Jack and Jessie, standing protectively close to the latter the more he saw of this town.
Jessie didn't mind Will's almost brotherly protectiveness as she too looked at Tortuga. She even inched a little closer to Will, thinking with a shudder: Not nearly as cool as in the movie…
Jack looked over his shoulder and took in Will's clinging. He flashed his gold teeth, saying, "Good idea. Stay close." He looked at Jessie. "There are a lot of things what can happen to a young lass like you in the streets a' Tortuga."
Jessie's seasickness had stopped when she stood on solid ground, but as Jack spoke to her she felt her stomach tumble in a new kind of sickness.
Without another word, Jack turned on his heel and made his way through the town, Will and Jessie walking behind him. The pirate captain didn't slow down but one time, stopping to peer at a drunken man leaning against the wall of a building. In one hand he held an empty rum bottle, in another a skinny cane.
Jack eyed the cane with amusement, and it didn't take him long to decide he wanted to make the cane his. His ringed hand went forward skillfully and plucked the cane from the man, who only released a snore in response.
"Erm…Jack?" Jessie asked when the pirate just stood there admiring his new trinket.
Jack hummed in response; looking up and seeing them there, he grinned. "Right." He straightened up and went on his way, waving his newly acquire cane with his words.
"It is indeed a sad life that has never breathed deep this sweet bouquet that is Tortuga , savvy?" He flung his arms wide (throwing the cane dangerously close to Jessie's face, causing her to draw back) and presented the town to them like a proud teenager showing his buddy a new car. "What do you think?"
"It'll linger." Will curled his lip.
"It frightens me," Jessie said at the same time, but Jack heard. He turned to her and spoke almost laughingly.
"It grows fondly on you," he assured her, then turned to Will. "Let me tell yah mate, if every town in the world were like this one, no man would ever feel unwanted." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Unless, of course, that man happened to be Captain Jack Sparrow," Jessie whispered to Will as the other man turned away from them to greet a red-haired woman coming over their way.
He grinned. "Scarlet!"
The Tortugan whore drew back her hand and, before stalking off, she slapped his cheek, sending the pirate captain rolling to face Will and Jessie. "Not sure I deserved that," he remarked to them casually. He straightened up in time to meet another, blond-haired woman.
"Giselle," he greeted her a bit more cautiously this time.
"Who was she?" A gesture behind her should indicated Scarlet. But before an answer could be given, her venomous gaze landed on Jessie. "And who is she? Not one of yours, I should hope."
Jessie's mouth fell open and closed without a sound. Jack looked from Jessie to Giselle and back again. "Wot?" he asked incredulously, unable to come up with anything better.
In response to his unsatisfactory remark, his cheek was treated with the same treatment as a moment ago. He looked up at his two companions guiltily. "I may have deserved that," he admitted.
There was an awkward silence between the three, until Jack finally started off again, going on normally as if that sort of thing happened all the time. (And Jessie wouldn't be very surprised to find out it did.) He led them to a well, where he ordered Will to fill a barrel as he did the same. Jessie stood off to the side, watching.
"What are we doing this for?" Will asked, lifting the water-filled barrel up on his hip. Jack shrugged his own full barrel into a more comfortable position.
"Amusement," he said, "and a gift for a friend." He turned and caught Jessie's eye when he noticed her staring at them. "I'd make you feel one up, too, but…," he stumbled around on his feet a bit, careful not to spill his water, and indicated that the barrel would be too heavy for the young girl to carry.
"Are you mocking me?" Jessie asked, not able to be insulted that much because she knew it was probably true. Jack walked away, meaning for Will and Jessie to follow him. He called over his shoulder to her, his voice full of mockery:
"Wouldn't dream of it, luv."
-o0o-
Amber's head rolled to the back of her neck in frustration. "Shouldn't someone be coming for us by now?" she asked Elizabeth; her terror had given way to extreme boredom.
"They couldn't very well leave us here to starve," Elizabeth replied, "and neither of us have eaten anything since dinner last night."
"Please don't talk about food." Amber groaned. "I'm starving."
"Yes, I'm feeling hungry myself," Elizabeth agreed. But a smile played on her lips.
"What?" Amber asked, wondering what could have Elizabeth looking so very happy when she, Amber, was trying to drown in self-pity.
"It's nothing, really," Elizabeth said, "it just that…this is the most friendly conversation we've had since I've met you."
"What do you mean? We've talked."
"Yes," Elizabeth replied, "but I had always got the feeling that you weren't very fond of me." The governor's daughter blushed a little at her confession, but it was the complete truth and Amber knew she couldn't deny it.
"It's not that I don't like you, Elizabeth," Amber said, feeling embarrassed at her behaviour. How could she tell her she hated her for something she hadn't even done yet?
"Have I done anything to make you angry?"
"Well, no," Amber said hesitantly, choosing her words carefully. "Not…yet."
"Not yet?" Elizabeth repeated. "I don't understand."
"Neither do I." Amber sighed. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I do like you." And it was the truth: Amber did like much about Elizabeth, and she was particularly fond of the Will and Elizabeth 'ship'. It was just that when she killed Jack a year from now…. But she couldn't really blame this Elizabeth for her future self's actions, now could she?
"Do you think it's possible if we just put our differences aside for awhile, and be friends?" Elizabeth smiled hesitantly. "I should very much like a friend in all this."
Amber smiled in return. "So would I, Elizabeth."
-o0o-
Back in Tortuga, Jack had led Jessie and Will to a pigsty, where a sleeping Gibbs was snoring. "Stay back," he ordered in a whisper. He crept forward and stood directly above the other pirate; and with a flick of the wrist tossed his water on him.
Gibbs awoke with a start, roaring. "Curse you for breathing, you slack-jawed idiot!" He had his knife drawn, but was absolutely failing in looking dangerous. Either way, his gaze softened when he noticed who had awoken him. "Mother's love! Jack! You should know better than to wake a man when he's sleeping. T'is bad luck."
Jack tossed his bucket aside. "Ah, fortunately I know how to counter it. The man who did the waking buys the man who was sleeping a drink. The man who was sleeping drinks it while listening to a proposition from the man who did the waking."
Gibbs brows furrowed as Jack spoke, but he worked out his words in a minute. Gratefully accepting the captain's hand up, he grinned. "Aye; that'll about do it."
While the pirates were talking, Will looked at Jessie. He gestured with his free hand at his bucket and mouthed the words, 'What should I do with this?'
Jessie shrugged. Following Will's lead, she mouthed the words rather than whispering. 'Do what Jack did.' A gesture in Gibbs' direction. 'Throw it on him.'
Will nodded, and tossed his water bucket on the pirate as well. Jack looked amused, and Gibbs looked angry.
"BLAST IT!" he roared. "I'm already awake!"
"That was for the smell." Will dropped his bucket on the ground.
Jack laughed, and Gibbs' facial expression was easy to read: 'fair point'. After a moment or two, the four of them walked off; Jessie in the rear, a considerable distance between her and the others.
Will turned around and motioned for her to catch up. "Come on, Jessie!"
Jessie sped up her steps but failed to pay attention to where she was going. A man, running the opposite direction of her, collided his shoulder with her shoulder a little too hard, and Jessie spun around and landed on her knees. As she was straightening back up, her medallion's chain broke and tumbled in the midst of the crowd.
"Crap," Jessie muttered darkly; probably as close to cursing as she would ever get. She spent the next five minutes chasing down her medallion, which proved a difficult task as a dozen different pairs of feet were kicking it around as they walked by. She ignored the shouts aimed at her, most of them graphic descriptions of how she should spend her time, and finally managed to scoop her medallion up in her hand.
With her necklace safely clasped around her neck again, she looked around for companions; but neither Will, Jack or Gibbs was in site. She ran in the direction she believed the Faithful Bride to be, but after only a few steps came to a stop. She couldn't see anyone she knew, and the sun was sinking below the horizon faster and faster by the moment.
Jessie buried her face in her hands as she leaned against a building, away from the rush of the people in the streets. There was no way she…. But she couldn't be.…
And yet she knew she was. She was completely and utterly lost…in the pirate port of Tortuga…after dark….alone.
-o0o-
Amber and Elizabeth had scarcely settled back down in another silence (this one being much more comfortable and familiar) before they both were suddenly startled out of their surprise by a loud knock at the door, shortly followed by the intrusion of Pintel and Ragetti.
"You'll be dinin' with the captain," he said to Elizabeth by way of greeting, "and he request you were this." He held up a dress so dark purple it seemed black.
"Well," Elizabeth said after a moment, "you may tell the captain that I am disinclined to acquiesce to his request."
Pintel snickered. "He said you'd say that, and he also said if that be the case, you'll be dining with the crew…and you'll be naked." His look said there was no way out of this one.
But Elizabeth only snatched the dress from his hands, looking at him with a slight smirk.
The man's amused expression changed to a scowl. "Fine," he snapped, and almost left, but didn't quit make it out of the door.
"And what of me?" Amber asked, a bit insulted that she had not been addressed yet.
Pintel turned from the door and gave a disgusting grin that made Amber's stomach turn. "The captain's given specific orders not to let a pretty little thing like you go forgotten." He glanced at his companion, who stepped forward with another dress Amber had failed to notice until now. She took it from Ragetti hesitantly, but the somewhat dim-minded pirate didn't look fierce right now.
"He got that 'specially for you." Pintel's eyes looked almost…wicked, which surprised and frightened Amber to the point of retreating a step. She didn't ask what he meant because she didn't want to know, and Pintel and Ragetti left shortly after.
For the first time, Amber took in the dress she was to wear. It was an extremely dark green, like a winter pine tree green, and it looked like it would be too big for her. But she assumed it would be better than going out amongst the crew in her nightgown, and so she resigned to wear it.
"Help me with this, Amber?" Elizabeth asked, her back turned to her companion. She looked over her shoulder to smile at her when the younger girl nodded. She held her hair up out of the way as Amber fumbled with the ties.
"Thank you," Elizabeth said when Amber had finished. It had taken her awhile to get the ties right, but with Elizabeth's guidance she had managed well enough. "Would you like me to help you with yours?" the governor's daughter asked of the teenage girl.
Amber nodded. "Thanks."
"It looks a little big," Elizabeth began doubtfully, eyeing the dress and then Amber's figure. "You're certainly tall enough, but I'm not sure if you could fill it out. I suppose I'll just pull the laces a little tighter than normal."
Amber was vaguely confused, "Umm, right," she said, "do that."
Elizabeth's hands moved swiftly and quickly across Amber's ties, rather than the awkward movements the other girl had used. As she helped Amber, she was able to carry on more of a conversation.
"You know," she began casually, trying to brighten both her and Amber's spirits by attempting at a normal conversation. "I could really get used to dresses without corsets."
"You're telling me," the other girl responded; "I had no idea the things were so painful."
"Haven't you worn one before the other day?" Elizabeth asked incredulously, finishing with the ties on Amber's dress.
"Well…no," Amber admitted, but she was unable to come up with an excuse why.
Thankfully, Elizabeth didn't ask for one. "You lucky, lucky girl," she said, and the two laughed.
-o0o-
Inside the captain's cabin, Amber stuck close to Elizabeth. She wasn't Barbossa's biggest fan, but she had never particularly feared him. But she still felt it was in her best interest to be cautious.
Unfortunately for her, Barbossa had different places. The elderly captain seated Elizabeth on his one side, and Amber on the other. She sat down awkwardly, deciding that no matter how hungry someone was that roasted pig could take away all thoughts of food.
Amber sat on her hands for a minute, waiting to eat when Elizabeth did. Barbossa seemed satisfied to watch the both of them eat, no matter how unnerving it was to the girls. "No need to stand on ceremony, nor call to impress anyone," he said in response to Elizabeth's small bites. "You must be hungry."
Elizabeth dug into her food, then, and Amber was temporarily forgotten. Despite how uncomfortable she was feeling, her stomach won out and she reached over to eat a few rolls. But she knew she'd never be able to force anything more than that down.
"Try the wine," Barbossa suggested, and Amber startled when she saw his gaze on her. He handed her a goblet, which she accepted hesitantly, and sat it down near her plate. She made no move to touch it while Barbossa stared, just looked right back at him fearfully.
Barbossa made some sound in the back of his throat before turning to Elizabeth, taking an apple from the table. "The apples?" he offered, "try one of those next."
"It's poisoned." Elizabeth dropped her food with the realization.
Amber's thoughts strayed as the conversation continued; she needed to think of something to distract her. Her distraction came in the form of the glass of wine, which she eyed with curiosity; she had never had wine, or any other drink containing alcohol, before. She wondered if it would taste bitter or sweet.
"You don't know what this is, do yah?" Barbossa's gruff voice drew Amber out of her musings, and she looked up to see him holding Elizabeth's medallion. (She knew it was Elizabeth's because it had the actual back; Amber didn't even want to think about what would happen when they discovered hers was different.)
The monkey chose that moment to screech a bit, and Amber looked its way. She saw in his hand her medallion, answering all unasked questions on where it was. She pushed the unpleasant thoughts of it from her mind, and decided that she really needed to try that wine.
"It's a pirate medallion," Elizabeth said with fake confidence, looking over to Amber for support. She shrugged, taking a sip of her wine.
"This is Aztec gold," Barbossa answered, waving the medallion around a bit, "one of 883 identical pieces they delivered in a stone chest…"
Amber choked on her wine at Barbossa's words, and the two others at the table looked at them; one with annoyance and the other with concern. She spluttered a moment longer, than straightened back up.
"Something you need to say, Miss Swann?" Barbossa snapped, and Amber quickly shook her head.
"Just got a little too much wine in that drink," she said quickly, and was relieved when Barbossa turned back around to continue his tale, leaving Amber to her thoughts.
Eight hundred and eighty-three pieces? That didn't sound quite right; but Amber would admit to being obsessed with Pirates, but she had never been so dedicated as others, like Jessie. That was why she doubted herself when she though there were only eight hundred and eighty-two pieces.
Oh, god…. All thoughts of food left Amber with her next thought: Jessie's medallion…. Surely, even though her medallion had changed, it was not the 883 piece? But Amber dimly remembered Barbossa saying something on her first night aboard the Pearl: So you found them both?
Both. Amber suddenly realized then, without a doubt, that there was, in fact, a 883 piece. And they must have mistaken hers, Amber's, for the real 883 piece: Jessie's! So she had been right then, in her early thinking: something in the Pirates was different, making Amber and Jessie needed to the story! They had changed it after all!
"Oh, no," Amber muttered under breath as all this dawned on her at the same time.
"Oh, yes, Miss Swann," Barbossa said, startling Amber again when he spoke. She hadn't meant for anyone to hear her; she didn't even know where they were in the story anymore. "But there is one way we can end our curse," he said; "all the scattered pieces of the Aztec gold must be restored and the blood repaid. Thanks to yeh and your friend, Miss Turner, we have the final pieces."
"And the…blood to be repaid?"
"That's why there's not need to be kill yah," Barbossa grinned as he spoke, "…yet."
Amber squirmed in her seat. "No," she said, "you can't."
Barbossa turned towards her with a grim smile. "Don't you worry, Miss Swann," he assured her, tracing a single bony finer around her jaw-line, causing her to flinch away; "there's not a bit of sense in killing somethin' so fine as you. Your blood ain't the one we're after; and your governor father would pay a nice little fee for your safe return, aye?" He drew his finger away. "At least you better hope he will, for your sake, Miss Swann."
Amber's stomach churned, and Elizabeth took advantage of Barbossa's distraction to go after him with the butter knife. She stabbed in his chest, but he only looked annoyed. "I'm curious," he said, "after killin' me, what was it you were planning on doing next?"
Elizabeth turned away from in a flurry, grabbing Amber's wrist as she ran out the door. But she released it in shock when she saw the pirate skeletons on the deck. Amber shrunk up against the wooden hull as Elizabeth went through her thing around the deck, screaming.
Barbossa came outside just in time to catch Elizabeth in one hand and pull Amber close to him with the other. He drew them up against him and whispered in their ears, making Amber shudder. "Look! The moonlight shows us for what we really are. We are not among the living, and so we cannot die…but nor are we dead."
He took a few steps forward, taking Elizabeth and Amber with him, since he was not quite in the moonlight himself. "For too long I've been parched of thirst and unable quench it; too long I've been starving to death and haven't died. I feel nothing…"; he released Elizabeth then, who stumbled forward a few steps and stood to face him, looking desperately at Amber, still in his grasp; "…not the wind in my face nor the spray of the sea…."; and he released Amber to stand by Elizabeth.
"…nor the warmth of a woman's flesh," he finished, extending his arm to the both of them, taking in their horrified gazes as the arm turned from flesh to bone as it came into the moonlight. He addressed Elizabeth only with his next words, and Amber found that the line wasn't nearly as enjoyable when it was said right in front of you.
"You best start believing in ghost stories, Miss Turner…. You're in one!"
Elizabeth jumped at his words and grabbed Amber's wrist again. "Come on, Amber!" she said in a whisper-scream, dragging the girl back into the captain's cabin behind her.
Elizabeth thought to shut the doors before she went to cower in the corner, her brave up-front fading when in her friend's company. "That was terrifying," she said, but the words seemed an understatement in comparison to her actions.
Amber sat down beside her and drew her knees up to her chest. But she couldn't think of anything to say in response, her thoughts all occupied with wondering when she'll have a chance to tell Jessie all that she'd learned.
-o0o-
Saying that Jessie's current situation sucked was the understatement of the year, second only to the statement saying that she was afraid. Because she wasn't afraid, not in the slightest: the teenage girl was terrified. As she had every right to be, stuck in the situation she was in. She was not going to pretend to be brave, or strong, or tough. She was just managing to fight back her panic in standing here, away from the crowd, leaning against a building shakily. She had no idea which way to go, and feared wandering around was worse than staying still.
Honestly, though, how ironic was this? Who knew that just by adding two new characters, a story could get this out of whack?
Not that Jessie suspected anything was that different: even now as she stood here she was certain Jack was at the tavern telling Gibbs his plan, indifferent to her absence; and Will was standing just off to the side, eavesdropping and too caught up in what he was hearing to worry over the fact that she was not beside him.
But the only thing that ensured was that no one was coming after her, and if she wanted to find a way out of this mess she would have to find the Faithful Bride by herself. But even though she knew this to be true, she couldn't force herself to move her feet into the streets; and what's more…she didn't want to.
"Well, look here, Grimy. Seems like we found us a ol' acquaintance of sorts." A guff and familiar voice that Jessie couldn't place interrupted her thoughts.
Jessie whirled on her heel and found herself face to forehead with a short, chubby man. His friend stood behind him, leaning over his shoulder and looking incredibly tall, though rather dim.
"Must've broke outta' jail after all, the stupid blighter." The man spoke again, and Jessie gasped as she tried to recall their names. "My bone o' any assistance to the lady?"
Jessie dug deep into her memory, and with the help of his last comment pulled out their names with relative easiness: Pete and Grimes. They must have stowed away on a few ships to reach here after their escape from the Port Royal jail.
"Weren't you with the ol' dreadlocked bloke?" Pete asked, looking first to his right, then to his left. He turned back to her with a disgusting grin. "Yeh lost, lass?"
Jessie's tongue stuck to the top of her mouth, and she found herself unsure how to answer. If she told the man yes and he turned out to have wicked intentions, she was in worse trouble than she already was. But if Pete turned out to be a decent enough of guy (for a pirate, anyway), then he may be able to help her get to the Faithful Bride. She should tell him no just to be safe, but then he'd go away and she wasn't entirely sure she wanted that.
It turns out her answer didn't matter in the slightest to Pete or Grimes, the latter not saying much at all, preferring only to observe. Pete walked past her then, his companion following along; but before he got too far ahead he called back to her, not forcefully, but Jessie still considered it to be an order:
"Eh, ditch the sod ye're wif and come along wif us, lass. I won't buy yah a drink, but if yeh happened to have a shilling 'er to on yah, ye're might as well sit right down and have a drink a' rum wif your ol' friends Pete n' Grimes! Ever you hear a' the Faithful Bride? Best tavern in all a' Tortuga, says I!"
-o0o-
Jessie never was a lucky girl; things never just happened to her. Never before in her life had she been dealt a lucky break, as far as she was concerned. And if she never got another tonight, and it turns out that her guides to the tavern was the only time she'd ever be lucky, than she figured that was just fine with her.
She followed behind the two men a bit, but not so far as to be more than a hop, skip, and a jump away. (Oh, she had learned her lesson on lagging too far behind well.) She still wasn't entirely sure if going with them was the right choice, her cynical side told her not to be so trusting, but she wasn't going to argue when her chance to find the Faithful Bride literally just happened upon her when she most needed it.
They reached the tavern soon enough, and Grimes took a seat next to Pete, who saved an empty barstool for her. But Jessie lingered in the doorway, looking for a sign of Jack, Will, or Gibbs. She didn't notice them with all the noise and chaos of a bar after dark, and was beginning to worry that they had already left, when her head turned towards the sound of a crash. Will tipped the table over on its side and stalked over in her general direction, though he was heading for her, since he hadn't even seen her.
Jessie breathed a sigh of relief; she knew she had been frightened, but she didn't realise just how afraid she had been until all the fear had left her. She made her way towards them happily.
"Oi! Where yah a-goin', lass?" Jessie looked back over her shoulder at the sound of Pete's voice, and she saw him beckoning her back with his hand. "Aint'cha gonna have a drink?"
"I don't have enough money," Jessie called back, and realised as she said it it was the truth: she had no money on her, not even a few dimes.
Pete made a face of disgust and waved her away.
Jack was the first to notice her approach as he finished off his drink and chat with Gibbs. He grinned over his cup at her, though she saw the sarcastic glint in his eye and knew the smile wasn't in welcome.
The pirate lowered his glass. "And so the wanderer returns," he said; "went off on our onesies to have a little fun in Tortuga, did we?" He laughed.
Jessie, being so mature and all, stuck her in tongue out in response.
Will returned to the group before anything else could go on, and he was too deep in thought about the things he'd heard to do anything more than acknowledge Jessie's return by a friendly smile and nod of the head.
"What now?" Jessie asked, feeling for the first time today utter exhaustion.
"Why, upstairs to bed, of course." Jack seemed to have read her mind, getting up from the table and leading the way to the stairs. "Big things to do tomorrow."
"I'm sure," Will muttered darkly, walking behind the rest of them in slight mistrust as the four walked into a small tiny room where Jessie assumed they'd be sleeping. The room held only an old, torn armchair, a ratty, worn-out couch, and a small, two-person bed.
Gibbs flopped down unquestioned onto the couch, and Will resigned himself to sleeping in the chair, leaving the pirate and the girl to fight over the bed.
"Oh, no," Jack said, catching Jessie's wrist before she could throw herself on the bed. "I paid for the bloody room, you freeloader, and I'm sleeping in the bed."
"I don't think so," Jessie replied, forcing herself to jerk her arm out of his grasp. "I'm sleeping in the bed, and I am not sharing with you." As wonderful as the notion would have sounded two weeks ago, after meeting him in person and actually getting to spend time with him, it just seemed awkward.
"Didn't plan on sharing, luv." Jack jumped on the bed sideways, preventing Jessie from getting on. "That's why you get this—" he tossed her a single blanket and pillow "—and sleep on the floor."
Jessie dropped the things in her arms to the ground, but she didn't follow. She stood up a little straighter, held her head a little higher, and said stubbornly, "After I the terror I went through tonight, Jack Sparrow, I am sleeping in this bed."
-o0o-
Jessie considered herself a stubborn, hardheaded person. And she had been told the same, sometimes affectionately and sometimes not, by many different people at many different times in her life. This quality oftentimes overpowers her extreme impatience with things, to help her set her jaw and wait out whoever or whatever she was fighting until they gave in and she got what she wanted.
But there was just no beating Jack Sparrow.
Jessie mulled that thought over and over in her head as she snuggled deeper into the ratty piece of cloth called a blanket and rolled over onto her side, trying to get comfortable on the hardwood floor.