A Pirate's Life For Me: Captain Jack Sparrow

Chapter 6

As the ship sailed through the water, (Y/n) looked out at the glorious expanse of the sea. She'd never been so glad to be anywhere. The water shimmered when the sun hit it, making it gleam.

Jack watched as (Y/n) stood on the edge of the ship, holding herself on by a rope. He watched as her eyes roamed the view around them. Dropping down to the main deck, he looked over the lines, making sure everything was in place. Will began speaking, but Jack was hardly listening.

"When I was a lad living in England, my mother raised me by herself." Will said as he sharpened his sword with a rock. To Jack, it was obvious the boy was leading up to something. "After she died, I came out here, looking for my father."

"Is that so?" Jack asked, uninterested. He started back for the quarterdeck. (Y/n) noticed something going on , so she jumped back on deck and walked towards the two men, following them up.

"My father, Bill Turner? At the jail it was only after you learned my name that you agreed to help." Will said, following Jack up the stairs to the wheel. "Since that's what I wanted, I didn't press the matter. I'm not a simpleton, Jack. You knew my father."

Jack sighed, stopping what he was doing. He turned to face the boy. "I knew him. Probably one of the few who knew him as William Turner. Everyone else just called him Bootstrap or Bootstrap Bill." Jack said.

"Bootstrap?" Will asked, voicing (Y/n)'s wonderings.

"Good man. Good pirate." Jack removed the rope from one of the notches of the wheel. "I swear, you look just like him."

(Y/n) grimaced. Will was not going to take Jack calling his father a pirate lightly.

"It's not true. He was a merchant sailor. A good, respectable man who obeyed the law!" Will insisted.

"He was a bloody pirate, a scallywag!" Jack said back, desperately trying to ignore the boy.

"My father was not a pirate!" Will said, grabbing his cutlass.

"Will, don't-" (Y/n) tried, but was unheard.

"Put it away, son. It's not worth you getting beat again." Jack said, not bothering to face him.

"You didn't beat me. You ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight, I'd kill you." Will claimed.

"Then that's not much incentive for me to fight fair, then, is it?" Jack asked. He then turned to (Y/n) and said, "Luv, I suggest you duck." Jack then took the wheel and spun it, causing the boom of the ship to come barreling towards Will. (Y/n) ducked in time, but Will was caught on the boom, hanging over the edge of the boat over the sea.

"Will!!" (Y/n) cried out, running towards the edge. "Jack, let him go!"

"In due time, luv. In due time." Jack said to her as he picked up Will's sword. "Now as long as you're just hanging there, pay attention. The only rules that matter are these. What a man can do, and what a man can't do. 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." (Y/n) watched Jack as he spoke. Pirate is in your blood. Those words rung in her ears for some reason. She heard Jack continue to lecture Will. "Now, me, for example, I can let you drown, but I can't bring this ship into Tortuga with just dear (Y/n) over here. Savvy? So," Jack turned the wheel, and once again, Will was on the boat, the boom dropping him beside Jack, who pointed Will's sword at him as (Y/n) ran to his side. "can you sail under the command of a pirate?" Jack flipped his sword and caught it by the blade. (Y/n) was impressed. "Or can you not?"

Will grabbed his sword from Jack's hand, and (Y/n) helped him up. "Tortuga?" they both asked in unison.

"Tortuga." Jack confirmed.

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It was getting closer to night, and Will decided he would take his rest for the day. Jack sent him off to the hammocks below. He watched as the boy spoke to (Y/n) for a moment, who was, once again, leaning over the edge of the ship, watching the sun set. They spoke for a bit, and Will was off to the lower decks. Jack began walking down the stairs to the main deck, pretending to be doing something related to the ship, when (Y/n) spoke.

"Jack, if you're going to talk, just do so. Don't wait for me to speak." she said, and looked back at him, her face unreadable.

"You're smart, luv, I'll give you that. But, I did get you to speak, didn't I?" Jack stated, sauntering over to her side. "I have a question I have been itching to ask you without dear, old William around."

"Alright. What is it then?" (Y/n) asked, turning to face the pirate.

"Why did you really want to come on this voyage?" he asked, a small smirk evident on his lips.

"I told you, I want to help-"

"No, you see, darling, I can tell when someone is lying. And you most definitely are." Jack interrupted her. She stared at him for a good second before scoffing and turning back to the sea.

"I-I don't know what you mean, Captain." (Y/n) said.

"C'mon, luv. It's just you and good ol' Jack now." he said, leaning on a rope, awfully close to her.

(Y/n) didn't know why, but she felt she could trust Jack. Sure, he was a pirate and has done some nasty things in his life, threatening herself included, but here, alone with him, he was just... Jack. Someone she could talk to without being judged.

"Well... I do want to help Elizabeth, but... I've always felt like there was something else out there that I needed to see. Something else I needed to experience. I couldn't find it waiting in Port Royal for me to be married off to someone I don't love." (Y/n) said. "It's ridiculous, I know-"

"No, luv, it's not. You've got a beast inside you needing to be set free." Jack said. "One of the first things I noticed about you, actually."

"Oh, really?" (Y/n) said, turning to face him, arms crossed. "What sort of beast."

"Well, I'm fairly certain I saw the shimmer of a kelpie in your eyes at the prison, luv." Jack claimed. "Now that I'm here up close," he inched closer to her face, whispering, "I can most definitely see it. It's a pirate's life for you."

(Y/n) backed up just a tad, for her own good, as she watched the corner of Jack's mouth turn up, showing some of his gold teeth.

"I, uhm, I've got to get some rest. Best be well rested for the day." (Y/n) said, wringing her hands.

"Of course, luv. Take the Captain's quarters. We're almost there anyway." Jack said, stepping back one, gesturing towards the doors that led to the Captain's quarters.

"Thank you, Jack." (Y/n) smiled lightly, and walked towards the room.

Jack watched her as she left. It took a lot for someone to actually catch his attention like she did. Not that he would ever tell anyone. He was Captain Jack Sparrow, for goodness sake. He couldn't let one woman vex him. Returning to the wheel, Jack watched the last of the sun set as darkness overtook the sky and the stars came out to play.

(Y/n) looked around the Captain's quarters. It was fairly neat, being that it was the finest room on board the ship. Looking around, she spotted the bed outcropping and quickly made her way towards sleep. Covering herself in the blankets, she thought about her day, but Jack Sparrow was the one who connected all the events of the day, making her mind go crazy. Could she not stop thinking about the pirate for one bloody minute?

Thankfully, she finally got tired enough to allow her eyes to close as sleep overtook her form, and she drifted off to the soft rocking of the ship.