AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Sorry for the delay, folks. The last few weeks have been hectic, to say the least. Birthdays. Need I say more? Anyways, I hope you forgive my tardiness, but at least I got the chapter in, eh?
Also, it's another short chapter. I've done all I can to make it a bit more sensible, but...alas, I'm no magician. My only excuse is that this wasn't an easy chapter to write, and although that's not a very good excuse, I hope you'll be fair. Anyways, try to enjoy it. Ta!
Chapter 2:
Kate's heart was racing. As she briskly walked back to the table(and through the brawling masses of drunken pirates) where Jack was sitting, she barely noticed until she got there that he was gone. His first mate remained, along with a giggling Sarah nonchalantly repositioning her dress so more and more of her bosom peeked out. Kate's mind whirled, and a soft, silent panic set in. She dreaded to ask the two where he went, but fortunately she heard a brash "Oi!" coming from her right. It was Jack. He was sitting in a dark and secluded part of the pub, the only light coming from a flickering candle in front of him. Kate hurried over with a coy grin.
"Here you are, Captain. I must admit, I thought you a ghost for a moment, you disappeared so swiftly." Kate handed him his rum. "I don't know what the owner would have done to me if you had vanished and I were required to pay your tab."
Jack chuckled and drank. "Of course not, love. I never ask for a lovely lady's company and leave her all by her lonesome." He winked at Kate, whose blush was barely visible in the candlelight. "It's much too noisy and raucous for a flower as delicate as yourself to endure conversation with. Besides, Gibbs and Sarah are putting a show that's far too repulsive for my tastes."
Kate laughed. "Surely not. You're a pirate, after all."
"You're right, darling, I've seen much worse...but let's forget all that and enjoy the evening while it's still young. First," he cleared his throat and held out his hand as if to shake it with Kate's, "My name is Captain Jack Sparrow, Jack to you. Pleased to be in your presence, Miss...?"
Kate extended her hand with a smile, grasping his and shaking it. "Katherine Porter. But everyone calls me Kate." Jack bowed his head and held her hand firmly before bringing it to his lips, kissing it lightly. Kate laughed and hoped that he wouldn't notice the deep scarlet in her cheeks.
"Charmed, Katie."
"Actually, Captain, it's just Kate--"
"So, Katie, what are you doing here in Tortuga?" Jack cut her off and took another drink of rum. "I've not seen you here in this pub before now. What brings you to a such rat-infested hole what harbors the most loathsome of pirates and thieves?"
"Kate, if you please, and..." Kate stopped. No one had ever really asked her that question before, as all the people she met never cared enough to ask. She thought carefully of how to word her response before answering. "I...ran away from home. My father is a retired general and after my mother died he began running the household as one would command the Royal Army. Day after day, he'd treat myself and brother and sister as though we were some impertinent soldiers who lost an important battle. He always demanded perfection, my father, and if received anything less we were to pray to God for mercy, for we knew we'd collect none from my father."
"Then, when I was 13 or so, I can't quite remember now, my sister eloped with a pirate. Naturally, my father flew into a rage and disowned her on the spot. I've not heard from her since that day. Daniel, my brother, began to take after Father around that time and my situation became a little less bearable. My brother and I were best friends until then. He married, of course, a woman of nobility and he joined the same regiment my father had been in. Then, after a certain...incident...I came here. I knew that after the events that had taken place I'd have nowhere else to go."
Kate took a drink of her rum after finishing. Jack had been listening intently, and gave her a gentle and supportive smile. They sat in silence for a few moments until Jack's empty tankard made a thud on the wood of the table.
"Bugger. I'm going to need a bit more, I think..." Jack muttered. Kate nodded and rose, grabbing his tankard. Jack simply shook his head and signaled a nearby Roxanne. "Sit your pretty self down, Katie, I'm not done with you yet and I don't want you running off on me. Two more, please." Roxanne nodded and gave a sly grin to Kate as she walked off.
Kate rolled her eyes and finished her drink. "So, I trust my answer satisfied your question, Captain?"
Jack smiled. "It did. My sincerest of condolences, lass. I apologize for bringing it up."
"It's quite alright, Capt--Jack," Kate smiled to reassure him, "Despite the misery and anguish poverty has given me while I've been here, I'm freer than I've ever been. It's a relief to make decisions based on my own wishes and feelings, and the only consequences being rendered are that of my own discretion. It's a blessing in it's own way."
Roxanne returned then with their drinks, giving Kate yet another gleefully sly smile. Kate playfully shooed her away, and noticed that Jack was beaming. His gold teeth flashed brilliantly in the candlelight. He removed his hat and scratched his head, chuckling softly. Kate furrowed her eyebrows. "Is something the matter?"
Jack stuffed his hat back on and shook his head. "No, Katie. Everything's fantastic." He raised his tankard to her and took a drink. "It's what you said. Your little speech just now...it reminds me of myself several years ago. You, missy, have the heart of a pirate."
Kate scoffed. "I do not. I'm an honorable woman."
"You do, believe it or not. I, too, once felt the exhilaration of that first taste of true freedom. It came to me when I was first beckoned by the seas, called to be a pirate. The feeling one gets when he answers to only the waters ahead and destiny...it's phenomenal, love. You ever thought of joining a crew?"
"Of course, not! Just because I'm a barmaid doesn't mean I'm without any dignity, Captain Sparrow. A life of crime may be your calling, but it isn't mine." Kate crossed her arms.
Jack sighed. "That's where you've got it wrong. Yes, piracy does require a bit of...pirating...but what's more important is that the sea has no regulations. Surely, people like your old man tell you it does, and that pirates are nothing more than black-hearted scum who'll kill you as soon as look at you. And sure, some will, but why? Because someone tried to take away their God-given right to be his own man. What's more, your king doesn't see that his subjects' liberties are just as sacred as his own. He instigates laws and rules that strangle the rights of innocent people, people who live and breathe the way he does and wants to live a life by their own free will. Pirates, darling, are the enlightened few who refuse to be slaves to His Majesty, and will let nothing and no get in their way."
Kate was speechless. She'd never thought of it that way, and sure enough, all she really knew of pirates was what she heard from her father and observed while working in the pub. "Well, Jack...that is certainly a lovely sentiment. You've given me a new perspective."
He drank some more rum before speaking. "Actually, it's only one way of looking at things. But now the question is, with this newfound perception in mind, how do you look at things? Don't you long to get away from here, Katie? See the rest of the world? She's an alluring sight, pet, and you want to see her while you're young. More importantly, can you cook?"
"I--excuse me?" Kate questioned.
"Can you cook? Or, at least, decent at it?"
"Erm..." Kate hesitated. "Before I answer, may I ask what it has to do with anything?
Jack remained silent, simply smirking at her from behind his tankard.
Kate sighed. "Well...I would like to get out of Tortuga. I've naught made but one friend since my arrival. Everyone else treats me like an inferior. I've been abused here, and I wish that I could fly away from here! You're right, sir, I do dream every night of far off kingdoms and secluded islands and I wish I could visit all of them. I pray daily that I could leave this place and go someplace new...and as far as cooking is concerned, I suppose I can cook a fair bit. Now will you tell me why?"
Jack finished off another tankard. "Well, Katie, I've a knack for answering the distressed call of a damsel...in distress...and as you're a damsel who seems to be distressing, I've got a proposition for you. My Pearl is in dire need of a galley mistress. Mr. Gibbs has been in charge of the position for months now and as delectable..." Jack groaned and suppressed a gag, "...as his rum soup and rum potatoes are, my crew and I have decided that we need a little variety. That's where you come in, Katie...darling Katie."
Kate cast her eyes to her feet and cleared her throat. "I don't know, Captain. This is rather sudden."
Jack chuckled. "Love, it's not like I'm asking the world of you. You're in need of adventure, which I can provide. In turn, you feed me and my crew. Do we have an accord?" Jack held his hand out to her.
Unable to answer, Kate stood. She gathered the empty tankards and sighed again. "Jack, I...I can't answer you now. I can't just desert my job, it's not in me. Now, excuse me while I get you another drink."
Kate hurried away from him. In a daze, she refilled the tankards of rum and daydreamed about what her life could be like if she accepted Jack's offer. Things would be much different, for sure, and for all she knew, for the better. She could prepare meals, so to speak, on the Black Pearl for the Infamous Captain Sparrow and his crew. She would be given a chance to see the world, something her father had denied her.
What's more, the captain was very handsome.
She giggled softly to herself as this thought crossed her mind. It wouldn't be terrible, working for Jack, if it meant she could see him every day. She hadn't even realized how drawn to him she was until she remembered the dismay she felt when she thought he'd left the pub before they could speak earlier that evening, or the delight she felt when he kissed her hand and...the change in her soul when she heard him speak of freedom.
Kate snapped out of her reverie when the tavern owner strode up to her furiously. He growled and thrust a porky finger in her face. "MISS PORTER! IS YOUR HEAD REALLY FILLED WITH THAT MUCH SAWDUST?! HOW DARE YOU THINK YOU CAN SPEND YOUR SHIFTS, WHICH I PAY YOU FOR, AS LEISURE TIME?!"
By now, everyone in the pub had turned to watch the scene, some in the middle of a fight. Kate's face went beet red and she tried to speak, but the owner cut her off.
"I CERTAINLY HOPE YOUR CONVERSATION WITH THAT GENTLEMAN WAS EXCITING, BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING TO WORK FIVE TIMES AS MUCH AS YOU WASTED JUST NOW!"
Kate hung her head. She bit her lip to force back the brimming tears and, at the moment when they were about to spill over, she saw Jack out of the corner of her eye. He was sneaking up to the bar, an empty bottle of rum in his hand. His eyes were fixed on the owner, and they weren't happy. His eyebrows were furrowed in anger, and he began to slowly raise the bottle over his head.
In an instant, Kate looked up at the owner, standing up as straight as she could. "I won't! I've stood here and taken more maltreatment from you than I ever have from anyone in my life! And I won't have it anymore!" Kate pointed to Jack. "This nice man has offered me a position on his ship! And I accept it!"
The owner looked at Jack, who was about two feet away with the bottle raised to strike. Jack grinned and lowered his arm, extending his free hand to Kate, who shook it. "That's what I like to hear! Gibbs!" Jack turned to a rather giggly Gibbs and Sarah. "Pay the man for our drinks and round up the crew! We sail at once!"
He tossed the empty bottle over his shoulder, in turn slapping the owner on the back with his now free hand. "Tough one, mate. She was bound to do this to you sooner or later, it's just in her blood. If this is what she's like, it's better it happened to you now rather than a year or so down the road. Pity, really, that such a promising girl turned pirate on you. Best not have that on your record, eh? Glad I could help you in taking her off your hands, no need to thank me. But don't you worry, I'll take good care of her, you have my word on that. Come along, now, Katie, we haven't all day!"
Jack readjusted his hat before strolling out of the pub. Kate quickly gathered her shawl and gave the owner one last glare before following Jack out of the pub. She caught up to him and took his arm, walking off with him towards the docks. Gibbs sighed and strode up to the owner, laying a few coins on the bar as payment, muttering a soft apology about the squabble caused. He ambled out the door, hurrying after Jack and Kate.