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Some of the characters etc. actually belong to Disney. There’s an idea here borrowed from Tolkien. I am not making any money off these little literary scroungings.
Confession
“It happened a few months after you and I parted. I was courting Elizabeth, and I suspected she was upset about something.” Will fidgeted with a loose thread on the cuff of his shirt. “At first I thought she was worried I might try to take advantage of her, which of course I would never do.”
Jack nodded sagely. Never.
“One day we went for a walk in the garden. She was leading, I followed. We came to a secluded little grove. And,” Will coloured violently. “She threw herself at me. I mean literally. She landed in my arms, and I fell over and barely managed to break her fall. So she was lying on top of me.”
Jack nodded again, biting his lip. Mustn’t have a jealous outburst, it would spoil everything.
Will looked distressed at the memory. And why wouldn’t he? Shameless hussy throwing herself at him like that.
“As it turns out she wasn’t worried about me taking advantage. She was actually quite frustrated with my lack of, um, action.”
A feeling Jack could relate to. He almost felt sorry for the girl. Almost.
Will stood and began to pace. “She kissed me, quite savagely, and then she started to unlace her bodice. I told her it was dangerous, that someone might see, but she grabbed my hand and placed it… put it…” Will stopped pacing and looked over at Jack, who was sitting on the edge of his chair, tensed, like a panther ready to pounce. “Surely you don’t need to hear any details of this.”
But he did. He found himself quite inexplicably eager to hear.
“Then Elizabeth,” Will frowned, “Miss Swann, that is.”
Mrs. Norrington, actually, but Jack wasn’t about to quibble.
“She grabbed me.” Will gestured vaguely in the direction of his groin. He remembered the feeling of her soft breast beneath his fingers, her wet lips on his, her small hand curling around his hardening cock. Her little teeth had nipped at his neck. She’d grabbed his other hand and pushed it up under her skirt. There’d still been a couple of layers of petticoat and the like between her and his hand, but he felt the heat emanating from her. And the unfamiliar wetness. “And pushed me down and kissed me again. Well, I started to get quite aroused. And then,” Will stopped pacing and turned to face Jack. “And then…”
Yes, and then...
“Captain Sparrow, The Interceptor II is headed towards us!”
Blast that Gibbs.
“Jack, you can’t allow them to catch you!”
Will was out the door before Jack could even speak. Was it always going to be like this? Would they never be able to finish anything!!!
By the time Jack got on deck, Gibbs, Anamaria and Will were in a heated debate about how to deal with the approaching vessel.
“We must fight them, that’s all there is to it.” Will seemed determined to bring about his own demise in defense of his would-be lover.
“We can outrun them.” Anamaria protested.
“I knew it was bad luck to have all these women on board,” Gibbs said.
The Interceptor II was indeed gaining on them. Jack didn’t want to risk Will’s safety in a fight. But the only way to avoid a fight was to give himself up to their pursuers. Definitely not an acceptable course of action.
“I’ve got an idea!”
The pirates, experienced and inexperienced, turned to look at the harlot, who had joined the conversation uninvited.
“I beg your pardon, wench?” Jack’s teeth were clenched. This woman really irritated him.
“I’ve got an idea, I said.” Charlotte stood with her hands defiantly on her hips. She looked alarmingly like her girlfriend’s mother. Other than the pale skin and the red hair and the age difference. But the way her hands were positioned and her feet were planted on the deck, she was the very image of Tessie. Was it true, then, that some people were attracted to their own parents? “Swing toward that island, there,” she pointed west. “You can row to the island, we’ll try to outrun the Interceptor II.”
“We’re short two boats already. If the Interceptor caught up and damaged the Black Pearl, there wouldn’t be enough boats for the crew to get to safety.” Will said.
True, Jack thought. He’d had to abandon one boat in favour of the leaky fisherman’s boat, and Marina took the other back to shore. That left too few boats for the crew. And it was so incredibly thoughtful of Will to recognize that fact.
“Those empty barrels, there. You could fit in one, and there are already air holes.” Charlotte gestured towards the barrels.
Jack shook his head in a patronizing way. “I think they might think to look in there, luv.”
“Let me finish, will you? We’ll toss the barrels in the water.”
Jack was appalled. He’d barely known the woman a few days and she already wanted to kill him.
“The current will send you straight to the beach if we drop you in the right spot. If they catch us, you won’t be on board. We’ll tell them you went ashore somewhere else, or that you headed for Tortuga. If they don’t board us, it’s all the same, and we’ll come back and pick you up in a few days.” Charlotte finished with a satisfied smile.
“But what would stop them from going to the beach to see what’s in the barrel?” Will asked. Good Will, always so practical.
Charlotte gave him the kind of look usually reserved for small children and complete drunkards. “We’ll throw some other barrels and stuff overboard as well, so it looks as if we’re trying to lighten the load.”
“And when we pick up speed and outrun them, they’ll think it did the trick,” Gibbs added.
“And they probably won’t even see the barrels if we time it right, they’ll be blinded by the sunset,” Anamaria added.
“It’s crazy, but it might work.” Will pulled one of the empty barrels over. “Get in Jack.”
“Me? I’m not getting in any bloody barrel and being thrown overboard. I’ll not be marooned on some god-forsaken spit of land. That’s not the same spit of land is it?” He squinted. “No, it wouldn’t have any trees left if it was.”
“Don’t worry, Jack. I’ll be in a barrel right next to you.”
Jack couldn’t believe his ears.
“If they’re looking for you, they’ll know I’m with you. We were seen together in Port Royal and I’ve been missing for days. If they find me, they’ll suspect you’re close by. We go together.”
“And what’s to keep us from suffocating? Or sinking?” Jack looked into the barrel. It was too small, and it would never float with his weight in it.
Charlotte pushed him toward the barrel. “It weighs a lot more when it’s full of flour or rum. Besides, we used to float downriver in barrels when I was a child all the time. A little breathing hole in the top and you’re set. Trust me.”
Now, why on earth would Jack trust a scheming little wench who probably wanted her girlfriend to become captain of his ship?
Because Will was already climbing into a barrel, that’s why. “We’ll need an axe, a sword and something to make a tent out of,” Will folded his legs and crouched down. “And let us pray we don’t drift to far from the island.”
That was that then. Jack couldn’t let the boy go alone. He grabbed a few essentials, making sure he and no one else was in possession of his compass, and climbed into another barrel.
This was the most insane thing he had ever done in a long career of notably insane acts.
It was absurd. Like something you might read in a children’s book. He was jostled harshly when the barrel was shifted to the edge of the deck. Someone said something about waiting until the angle was correct. He hoped it wasn’t the harlot, and that someone else was doing the math on this one. If he was dropped in the wrong spot he might be living out Bootstrap’s watery end for real.
He looked over to see the top of Will’s head, messy curls, protruding from the top of his barrel. Gibbs held the lid close to Will’s head. “See ye in a few days, lad.”
Will nodded, then held up his hand. “Wait, one second. Jack?”
Jack struggled to raise his head out of the barrel. “Something you wanted to tell me?”
“Yes.” Will turned his head so Jack could see the top part of his face. Jack could see the blush rising up Will’s face again. “Jack, the story I was telling you. I didn’t finish. I said your name.”
“What?”
“Your name, it was your name I said out loud, when I was, um, you know…”
Gibbs was studiously looking the other way, trying not to listen.
Jack was stunned. Next thing he knew, the barrel was pitch black. He cringed at the tightness of the space, the closeness of the air.
The barrel was damp, clammy on the inside. It smelled faintly of lemons, but it’s more recent cargo had been something much dustier, judging by the constant tickle in his throat. He knew, theoretically, that one swift blow with the hilt of his sword would open the top. But that didn’t stop the lid from seeming to close in on him nearer with every second that passed.
And young Will Turner, in the heat of passion with his ladylove, had called out the name of Captain Jack Sparrow at the moment of truth. She must have been livid. Jack smiled in spite of his current situation.
Then he felt weightless as the barrel was pushed off the edge of the deck and he plunged to the sea below.
Next: Chapter 21 Stranded
Or, if you’re a) in a big hurry and don’t have the time to read the other 88 chapters of The Pirate Way, b)a big Lord of the Rings fan, c)a crossover fan or d)are in the mood for something completely different, you can read the alternate, alternate universe, POTC/LOTR crossover ending to The Pirate Way called Barrels
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