Author's Note: Another chapter? Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates…I really just own this crappy laptop!
Katherine squealed as she flew backwards from the countertop for a fourth time. As soon as she and Anamaria had gotten onto the ship, their dear Captain had sent them to wash the dishes off in the kitchen.
The girls were each soaked, and Katherine was glad she had changed into her blue shirt and was no longer in her white one, from the water in the basin splashing them.
"Why doesn't he just drop canvas?" Katherine screamed over at the other woman.
Anamaria looked up from where she had fallen by the pantry door, "He's daft, woman!"
After being splashed for at least the tenth time, Katherine threw the bowl into the basin, "To Hell with this," she cried out, wincing as her actions caused her to be splashed with more water. Anamaria laughed at her, holding onto the door handle to keep her balance.
"So what brings you onto Jack's voyage?" she raised an eyebrow as Kate held herself against the counter. The two had talked about non important things for the past ten minutes and Ana was curious as to why Jack had brought the girl aboard.
"He's helping us to save my sister, Elizabeth," she explained.
"And what be in it for Jack?" Ana asked, confused. Jack Sparrow never did a kindness for anyone unless there was something great in it for himself.
"Well he hopes his ship," Kate answered. "Should we go and see what's going on out there?"
Anamaria raised both eyebrows now, "You think that you can handle being out there in this storm, dear? You can't even handle being splashed by dishwater and falling down!"
Kate glared at her playfully, "I can at least try." With another glare from Anamaria she pouted and agreed to stay put by the counter top.
When the storm passed the two women made their way out on deck. Anamaria began to help the crew and Kate made sure that Gibbs and Will were okay before making her way up to Jack at the helm. "William said that we're catching up," she announced as she made her way to the Captain who was dripping wet. She held a questioning glance as she saw the water droplets fall from his coat.
He grinned over at her before turning back to the wheel, "Aye." He glanced over at her once more, " 'Luv, why are ye wet? You didn't come out during the storm, did ye?"
"No," she rolled her eyes, "But if someone had let me finish washing the dishes up earlier than I wouldn't have been thrown around the kitchen and gotten dishwater all over me."
"Aye," he agreed, "You would have just been thrown around the cabin then." He winced after the more perverse side of him got a mental image of the other meaning of those words, but she didn't say a word. She just nodded curtly and he hoped that she didn't get the other meaning of those words as well.
"Dead men tell no tales," Cotton's parrot spoke up and Kate looked off the side of the boat to where the wreckage of numerous others lay. She shuddered involuntarily and Jack frowned a bit. "Ye alright, luv?"
"It's just…" she trailed off, her eyes sad and a bit fearful as she looked out at the graveyard of ships.
"Why donnya go talk to Gibbs, eh? He's always good at cheering people up. Ask him a story about your's truly," he flashed his golden teeth at the girl and she smiled, moving away from him and towards William and Mr. Gibbs.
"-Back when he was Captain of the Black Pearl," Gibbs was speaking fondly. Kate furrowed her eyebrows. Who had been Captain of the Black Pearl? Surely not…
"He failed to mention that," Will seemed tense.
"Well, he plays things closer to the vest now," Gibbs continued on as Kate made her way closer to them. He made eye contact with her so that she knew he had noticed her before going on with his story. "And a hard-learned lesson it was. See, three days out on the venture, the first mate comes to him and says that everything's an equal share. That should mean the location of the treasure, too. So, Jack gives up the bearings." Kate closed her eyes, feeling bad because she already knew that this was the action that had somehow cost Jack his ship.
"That night there was a mutiny," Gibbs added on. Kate gasped, eyes open wide now. "They marooned Jack on an island and left him to die but not before he'd gone mad with the heat."
"Ah," Will spoke as if he'd made a great realization, "So is that the reason for all the," he swayed around like a drunk and made a few silly faces, earning a soft chuckle from his two companions.
"Reason's got nothing to do with it. Now, Will," he looked at him before looking at Kate, "Miss Swann, when a man is marooned he is given a pistol with a single shot. One shot. Well it won't do much good hunting or to be rescued. But after three weeks of a starving belly and thirst…that pistol start to look real friendly. But Jack? He escaped the island and he still has that one shot. Oh, but he won't use it though. Save for one man. His mutinous first mate."
"Barbossa," Will and Kate spoke together.
"Aye," Gibbs finished.
"Wait," Will frowned, "How did Jack get off of the island?"
Jack, who had paid close attention from afar to this entire conversation, and had been sincerely touched at Kate getting upset at his mutiny, paid even closer attention now to see how Gibbs handled this situation.
"Well I'll tell ye," Gibbs grinned. Kate was smiling at the excitement Joshamee Gibbs showed towards his Captain. "He waded out into the shallows and he waited three days and three nights till all manner of sea creatures came and acclimated to his presence. And on the fourth morning, he roped himself a couple of sea turtles and made a raft."
"He roped a couple of sea turtles?" Will asked, dumb struck.
"Aye," Gibbs nodded.
"Sea turtles?" Kate repeated, either amazed or disbelieving. More or less, it was both combined.
"Aye," he repeated again, "Sea turtles!"
"What did he use for rope?" Will asked cautiously.
Gibbs' face fell a bit as he opened and closed his mouth, searching for an answer deep inside his brain. Kate's face fell a bit, giving into the side of her brain that didn't believe a word of it.
"Human hair," Jack spoke up. Kate jumped a bit and he smirked. She was such a jumpy little lass. He had scared her and Will numerous times in a matter of a couple of days.
"From my back," he finished with a smirk towards Will. Will just looked more confused and Kate looked disgusted. "Let go of the anchor!" he cried out.
"Let go of the anchor, sir!" the crew cried back and the boat gradually slowed down before stopping. "Young Mr. Turner and I are to go ashore."
"And what about me?" Kate asked following along closely, "You're the one that said I could come along. You didn't bring me all this way to strand me on the boat, did you?"
"Of course not, 'luv," Jack turned to face her and then smiled at her charmingly.
"Good, because I'll have you know I'm an excellent sword fighter. William trained me himself…" she was trying to climb over the edge of the ship and into the boat that William had gotten into. Will made a face at Jack who in turn made a face at Marty, the shortest of the crew before making a hand motion. Marty began to lower the boat down.
"Right. Which is exactly why you'll be staying on the ship," Jack nodded with a smile as he pulled her off the edge of the boat and planted her by Mr. Gibbs. He then went to leave and she gripped his wrist, "What?"
"Well, you're not stranded," he waved his arms around a bit, "Ye got Gibbs! Besides, it's up to you to watch the ship, luv."
"What? No! I refuse to just sit here and wait!" she cried out, running after him as he began to climb over again.
"Well, luv, you're going to have to."
"No!" she cried out again, frustrated.
"Gibbs, keep to the code!" Jack called back as he made his way in the boat that had already descended halfway down the ship with Will inside.
"Aye! The code."
Kate looked up at him, eyes wide, "Mr. Gibbs, what's the code?"
William frowned as he noticed a skull in the cave as they made their way into it. "What code is Gibbs to keep to if the worst should happen?"
"Pirates code," Jack kept rowing, "Any man that falls behind, is left behind." He gave Will a pointed look that clearly read Don't fall behind.
"No heroes amongst thieves, eh?"
"You know for having such a bleak outlook on pirates, you and your friend are well on the way to becoming them. You both sprung a man from jail, commandeered a ship of the Fleet, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga…She steals money purses and you, mate, are completely obsessed with treasure," he smirked as they both looked down at the gold on the bottom of the river.
"That's not true," Will was insulted, "I am not obsessed with treasure. And I wouldn't let Kate become a pirate. Ever. Her family would murder me."
As they looked in on the gathering, Jack smirked further, "Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate."
Barbossa stood with Elizabeth in front of a chest. One that Jack knew was filled with cursed Aztec gold save for the final piece around Elizabeth's neck. Will whispered her name softly when he noticed her and Jack's grin grew.
"For ten years we've been tested and tried, and each man jack of you has proved his mettle a hundred times over and a hundred times again!" The men all cheered at Barbossa's speech and began to talk amongst themselves. Barbossa began to speak again, silencing them, "Punished, we were. The lot of us! Disproportionate to our crimes! Here it is," he threw the lid off of the chest. "The cursed treasure of Cortes himself." He ran his hand over it and played with the coins in his hand. He dropped them back into the chest as he spoke, "Every last piece that went astray we have returned. Save for this," he pointed at Elizabeth's neck.
Will scrambled upwards, upsetting some of the treasure, "Jack!" he cried out.
Jack pulled him back down, "Not yet. We wait for the opportune moment."
"881 we found, but despaired of ever finding the last," Barbossa was droning on.
"When's that?" Will snapped, "When it's of greatest profit to you?"
"May I ask you something?" Jack frowned, "Have I ever given ye reason not to trust me? Do us a favor, eh? I know it's difficult for you, but please stay here and try not to do anything stupid."
"And who among us has paid the blood sacrifice owed to the heathen gods?"
"Us!" the crew shouted back.
"And whose blood must yet be paid?" he continued on.
"Hers!"
As the pirates continued shouting, Will hit Jack over the head with an oar, allowing him to fall down. "Sorry, Jack, I'm not going to be your leverage."
(A/N: I could have left it here, but I decided to write more because of my absence. Enjoy!)
As William helped to push Elizabeth up onto the side of the ship a dirty, yet very feminine hand grabbed onto her arm and yanked her up the rest of the way. She stood, confused for a moment, "Oh, not more pirates," she whispered. She locked eyes with the woman that brought her aboard.
This was her sister, she realized, but dressed in such an odd fashion that her and her sister were not accustomed to. Yet, Kate looked perfectly happy.
She was wearing knee high black boots with fitted black pants tucked into them. And her shirt was a blue color and hung off her shoulders. She had a black corset type shirt on over that and a black vest on over that. Everything fit her very well, showing off her curves. Her hair was down in wild curls and she had held her hair back from whipping into her face with a blue bandana tied much like Jack's in her hair.
"Kate!" she cried out, wrapping her arms around her sister.
"Oh, Lizbeth, I was so worried about you!" she gushed, engulfing her sister in her own arms, "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"
"No, no, I'm fine."
"Pleasure to see you again, Miss Swann," Gibbs spoke up from off to the side. Elizabeth looked over and her eyebrows furrowed together, "Mr. Gibbs?"
"Aye," he smiled sheepishly and Elizabeth noticed that Kate smiled at him before her face grew dark and she let go of Elizabeth. She turned to Will, "Where is Jack?"
"Jack?" Elizabeth's eyes grew wide as Will wrapped a warm blanket around her shoulders, "Jack Sparrow?"
"He fell behind," Will glared over at Kate as if warning her to do something. She took his challenge, stepping forward and smacking him just as the prostitutes and Anamaria had smacked Jack. "And before you say that you don't think you deserved that one," she whispered lowly, "Believe me when I say that you most certainly did."
She stalked off, leaving Elizabeth flabbergasted as Gibbs began to shout orders. As Jack's unofficial first mate, he was now Captain until they were back on land. Then, this boat was all Anamaria's. Will led Elizabeth into a cabin below deck.
"Kate's been here this whole time?" she whispered, eyes wide. "Does our father know?"
"I'm sure he does. Norrington saw us sail off," he whispered, looking for the small cabin he had stayed in.
"What has she been doing?" Elizabeth asked curiously.
"Oh, you know, cooking…cleaning…drinking a lot of rum with Jack and Ana," Will rolled his eyes, "She's been a right pain in my arse if I do say so myself. I've felt like I was babysitting this whole time," he joked. Elizabeth smiled.
"So she has been hanging around Jack?"
"Far too much," Will's face grew dark. "Let's clean your hand up," he changed the subject finally finding his cabin.
"I know how ye feel," Ana smiled sadly at Kate, "And if it makes you feel better, you're not the only one who feels bad about leaving old Jack there," she handed her companion a bottle.
"Well he is quite entertaining," Kate whispered, taking a sip of rum.
Ana chuckled, "Aye, that he is. Even I can't deny that one. And you can't deny the way that you look at him, lass."
Kate looked up at Ana, shocked. "Believe me though," Ana quickly saved herself, "I haven't said a word!"
"Ana!" Gibbs shouted from the other side, "Come take the wheel! Quickly!"
Ana grabbed Kate's wrist and ran over to Gibbs where he moved once her hands were firmly on the wheel.
He then began to shout orders and Kate gasped, seeing the Black Pearl in the light for once. "Beauty, isn't she?" Ana smirked, turning the wheel, "That's why Jack is so keen on getting it back."
"Hands aloft to loose t'gallants!" Gibbs was shouting. Kate saw Elizabeth walking up on deck, confused. "With this wind at her stern, she'll carry every sail we got!"
Elizabeth made her way over to her sister and Anamaria, "What's going on?"
"The Pearl," Ana hissed, "She's gaining on us."
"But this is the fastest ship in the Caribbean," Elizabeth protested. She was shocked when she saw her sister helping one of the pirates pull a rope and tie it. She made her way back to Ana and Gibbs, "Well you can tell them that after they've caught us," she told her. She'd drank enough rum with Jack to hear enough stories about the Pearl.
Kate's eyes were going wild, staring about the ship. She turned to Ana, "We're shallow on the draft, aye?"
"Aye."
Elizabeth watched her sister's exchange with the older woman, confused. Had Kate learned these terms while aboard the Interceptor with pirates, or by bothering the naval men back home?
"Well, can't we lose them amongst those shoals?" she pointed off into the distance.
"Aye!" Gibbs grinned proudly, "We don't have to outrun them. Just long enough."
"Lighten the ship! Stem to stern!" Ana cried out.
"Anything that we can afford to lose," Gibbs added on, "See that it's lost!"
As they all began to throw things off the ship, Kate noticed that the Jolly Roger had been raised. She made her way over to Ana who herself had noticed the oars coming out of the Pearl.
"It was a good plan until now," she said, upset. She had been proud of the girl coming up with such a plan.
Will made his way up to them. "Gibbs! We have to make a stand! We must fight! Load the guns!"
"With what?" Ana sneered.
"Anything. Everything! Anything we have left." Will was determined and Ana gave in, nodding to Gibbs.
"Load the guns!" Gibbs shouted. "Take shot and langrage. Nails and crushed glass. With a will!"
As they loaded the cannons Gibbs noticed the huge flaw in the plan. Especially once someone took his canteen. "The Pearl is going to luff up on our port quarter," he explained. "She'll rake us without ever presenting a target."
"Lower the anchor on the starboard side," Kate whispered.
"It certainly does have the element of surprise," Will backed her up. Elizabeth was confused and frustrated. The love of her life and her sister had become sailors (she refused to say pirates) in the time she was gone and held a whole new lingo and air of importance about themselves.
"You're daft, Kate! Both of you are!" Ana cried out, struggling to steer. Kate began to help her from the other side and noticed that her friend was smiling.
Gibbs was smiling as well. And it was when he said, "Daft like Jack!" It was when Kate grinned. "Lower the starboard anchor! Do it, ye dogs. Or it's you we'll load into the anchor!"
"Ready?" Kate looked at Ana once the anchor was dropped. "Let go." The both stepped back, eyes wide and locked with each other's as the wheel spun furiously, spinning the ship about. They were ready for this fight as the ships came side to side.