Hello! Thank you to whoever's reading this :) Very grateful for any reviews, bad or good. The chapter is named aptly and you will be seeing a lot more of Captain Jack Sparrow from now on :) Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 4
The next morning dawned all too soon and Lily rolled over in her downy bed, irritated by the sun streaming through her windows. She could hear people in the streets going about their day already, calling to each other as if it wasn't ridiculously early. The rest of the house was silent as if it were a screen between her and the real of the world; but last night...last night she had been in the middle of a very real, very frightening world that was unknown to her, but not to her Mother...somehow. Squinting in the bright morning sunlight she swung her legs out of bed and stood up slowly, folding her arms around herself as she walked over to her wardrobe and pulled out a simple, rose colored dress that wouldn't hinder her on the walk she planned to take that morning. She yawned as she pulled it over her head and regarded herself in the mirror, she knew she should add a parasol and gloves and pin up her hair to be proper but there was something she liked in her untamed curls framing her face and suddenly she didn't mind whether she got freckles or not. Feeling very bohemian and rebellious Lily walked briskly out of her bedroom before she could change her mind, as she all but ran out of the house the heat wrapped round her like a blanket and she just stood there for a moment with her arms outstretched, enjoying the feel of the sun on her bare skin. She did not have a destination in mind but knew she needed time to think, away from her family. She wondered what the connection was between her Mother and that pirate and how he knew her father too, the name mother had mentioned – Jack Sparrow – had meant nothing to her but had seemed to suit the man she had met perfectly.
Lily suddenly felt a distinct chill in the air and blamed it on the early hour of the day, normally she would have ran for a shawl or gone back inside but today the bite of cold thrilled her and she welcomed it, enjoying the feel of the heat and the cold battling for space on her skin.
She curled her toes on the cobbles and giggled, she'd no shoes on! With her eyes closed she was in a trance-like reverie when the carriage came thundering round the corner, missing her by an inch. She felt strong arms jerk her backwards and the driver swerved sharply, yelling profanities, but the force of the blow was enough to knock her off her feet even so and she screamed as she hit the hard ground and rolled over, stunned.
Color by blurred color and shape by shape her vision came back to her and she rolled from her side onto her back vaguely aware that her dress was caught around her thighs and had slipped partially off her shoulder, she also slowly realized she was not actually on the ground anymore but supported by someone, lying across their lap. She tried to prop herself up but a spasm of pain shot through her side, making her clench her teeth, and a deep voice that she definitely recognized told her to
"Stop it." in no uncertain terms.
She craned her neck to see who the voice belonged to and recoiled in shock when she saw the unmistakable sapphire eyes of the roguish fellow who'd called her a spoilt brat or words to that effect at the dock.
"You!" She gasped, horrified to be in such a predicament, but he only laughed and hauled her to her feet – none too gently.
"Yes me." He said sarcastically and she bit back a scathing report, trying to cope with the growing pain in her side.
He must have seen through her effort to maintain an appearance of indifference as he gripped her shoulders and led her to a small wall that ran the length of the street, gesturing for her to sit.
Lily glared at him and grudgingly did as he suggested, unable to hold back a wince of pain.
"What are you doing here?" She asked through gritted teeth and he gave a short laugh.
"Would you have my kind contained to the docks? I am allowed to walk wherever I want." He asked bitterly and she rolled her eyes.
"That's not at all what I meant." She replied, frustrated. "Thank you."
The young man looked askance at her as if she was slightly mad.
"What?"
"Thank you for saving my life." She repeated slowly and he raised his eyebrows.
"AH so you've learned some manners since I last saved you." He said smugly and Lily resisted the urge to call him an extremely rude name she'd learned from one of Wills friends and got up to leave.
She felt his eyes on her as she tried not to sway upon standing up and tried to walk away; he caught her just as she was about to hit the ground.
"Idiot." He accused and she hit out at him feebly with her arm that wasn't pinned to his broad chest. Before she could reply they heard a man's voice singing a sea shanty that was oddly familiar to Lily, the voice was close and the singer had obviously had a lot to drink.
"Yo ho hauuulllllll together.
Something..oh! Hoist the colors highhh!
Blah blah BLAH,
really bad eggs!
Neverrrr shelll we DIE!"
The boy let go of her and pulled the hilt of a dagger out of his belt, Lily leaned back against the wall, her eyes trained on the weapon and her heart beating faster than she'd thought possible.
The singing got closer and the young man turned to her, his vivid eyes flashing, and put a finger to his lips threateningly as Lily's eyes darted round possible means of escape.
A tanned hand appeared round the corner and to Lily's horror and amazement the pirate she'd encountered the night before emerged, seeming even more off balance than he had been prior to his apparent celebration of his escape. The boy's whole body seemed to tense and Lily could see him shaking, the muscles in his arms and back taut. The pirate noticed him before he did Lily and attempted a bow, as he lurched upright the boys hand flew to his dagger and Lily screamed as he aimed it at the pirates heart.
The pirate stopped in his tracks and put out his hands as if blind.
"Now, that's not very nice." He reprimanded and Lily's mouth dropped open – understatement of the century!
"'Specially seeing as I'm on me onesie-savvy." He continued and the young man looked around, presumably to see if he was speaking the truth.
"Truth, mate. I wander lonely as a bloody cloud." He stopped and put a hand to his mouth, "That was quite good...'s the poet in me rearing it's ugly head. Anyway I'll be on me way." He concluded and went to go but found his way barred by the young man who hadn't let his dagger rest.
"Who are you, lad?" the pirate asked incredulously and the young man stepped closer, his blade a hair's breadth away from the pirates neck.
"I believe you know my father." He said quietly, suppressed anger causing his voice to shake. Lily raised her eyebrows – did the man know everyone's fathers?
"That doesn't seem to mean 'you were best mates with me ol' dad back in the day' am I right?" The man slurred, holding up a finger. The young man circled him and the pirate stepped around him, his back now to Lily and the boy vice versa – she could now see all too clearly the danger in his eyes and it scared her.
"You are correct. I wonder if the name Barbossa would evoke a reaction?" He mused sarcastically, his startling eyes narrowed and never leaving those of the pirate.
There was a moment of silence and then the pirate looked at a point in the distance, making the young man shift uncomfortably.
"Aye, in fact there's the swine now!" He yelled ,pointing to an alleyway behind his opponents back. The young man's face whitened and he darted a quick look over his shoulder; quick – but long enough for the pirate to pull the gun from his belt and point it squarely at the boy's face.
Lily couldn't help it, she screamed and the young man turned quickly to find himself staring down the barrel of a gun. He was physically shaking with anger and his eyes flickered between the gun, the pirate and the girl pressed against the wall, her hand over her mouth and her face pale.
The pirate moved and the boy moved with him until they were standing side on to Lily, both with their weapons poised.
Then the young man spoke,
"Do you really think my own death will prevent me from killing you? If you pull that trigger whether I die or not this knife will be your end – if you're going to kill me anyway what have I to lose?" He snarled and the pirate laughed.
"Well you're no fool boy that's for sure – make's killing you a shame." He said, "And aye you speak the truth." He acknowledged.
The young man nodded once, his eyes trained on the pirate's face. The man smiled, showing several gold teeth and swung the gun round so it was pointing straight at Lily.
Lily froze, her breath sticking in her throat, she wanted nothing more than to run but knew it would be the end of her if she did. She could feel her legs about to give way and the pain in her side flared up again.
"What's she got to do with anything?" The young man growled, clenching his free fist.
"Everything, mate." The pirate replied, the hand holding the gun never moving.
"Kill her, why should you think I care?" He asked and Lily let out a small squeal made up of anger and fear in equal measures – he was no gentleman!
"I notice," The pirate said grandly, "that you say why should I THINK you care rather than why SHOULD you care. There's a marked difference lad. And anyway," He said conspiratorially "If you'll hear me out I've a few good reasons why you SHOULD care." He said persuasively. "Very much."
The two men stared at each other for a long time then the young man lowered his weapon and the pirate grinned.
"Ta." He said cheekily and glanced at Lily, his handsome face impassive.
A haze descended over Lily's eyes and she became angrier than she'd ever been in her life, disregarding the gun pointed at her chest she advanced towards the pirate, chin raised.
"How dare you?" She spat, shame and fear coursing through her body and giving her a dangerous courage. The pirate laughed and raised his hands mockingly.
"Alright, steady on luv." He said and Lily mustered her strength, slapping him across the face.
The noise of the slap echoed in the quiet street and the three of them simply stood – an ironic tableau.
"Jack Sparrow I presume?" Lily asked haughtily and the young man stared even harder than he had been previously.
"How do you know him?" He asked incredulously, looking between Jack and Lily.
Lily began to answer but Jack recovered from the surprise attack and staggered up to the pair.
"Let's not be forgetting," He said as he raised the loaded gun. "Savvy?"
The two backed away warily and Lily cursed her Mother for passing down her fiery temper.
Lily tensed as the pirate stood behind her, his mouth at her ear and the gun to her head.
"And it's Captain Jack Sparrow."
