Pirates Of The Caribbean Fan Fiction ❯ Lost in Translation (Pirates of the Caribbean) ❯ A Woman's Wiles ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter Four:
A Woman's Wiles

*

Jack grinned to himself when he watched Kaitlyn come out of the cabin and back onto the ship's deck. It had taken nearly all of his willpower to keep quiet while she was trying to coax the monkey down from the crow's nest. Eventually, she had wandered back into the cabin and came out with a fresh cherimoya and it was only a matter of moments before the small thing scurried back down to her and willingly let her take him back into the cabin with her. She'd stayed in there for awhile, hopefully repairing any damage that had been done, and was now making her way up to the helm.

He had to admit it was a trifle odd to see woman dressed like that with a monkey seated so contentedly on her shoulder, playing with a bit of her hair. Not that Jack was really accustomed to spending much time around women dressed the way that she was to begin with. He was used to wenches, strumpets and pirates like Ana Maria.

Nothing about the girl struck him in particular; she had a pretty face and green eyes but her skin was too pale, though her days out on the ship were beginning to show; giving her skin a bit of a pink color, which was a definite improvement. She seemed a bit too thin, not that he could really tell with the formal attire she wore. He never had cared much for those sorts of clothes; they left entirely too much to the imagination.

The one thing that always caught his attention was listening to her speak. He could tell from the instant he met her that she was smarter than most women; probably smarter than most men, definitely smarter than three quarters of his crew. It wasn't simply her ability to speak multiple languages that tipped him off. He could see that she paid close attention to the crew, learning quickly when was and wasn't a good time to talk to someone and what she should and shouldn't say. Then there were other times when she seemed less guarded or began talking about something she'd done at home, that he couldn't help but chuckle, wondering how someone so smart could manage to do so many stupid things.

“I see that you got your monkey down, love,” he said as he watched the small thing sitting on her shoulder.

“Yes, it wasn't a problem, really. Dallin said you wanted to speak to me?”

 

Jack nodded then let his eyes move to her, rather than her new pet. “You don't know much about sailing a ship, I assume.”

“Of course not, I've rarely been allowed onto them, let alone allowed to learn anything about sailing one.”

 

Jack nodded again, not really surprised to hear that. “Then how are you supposed to lead me to the statue, I wonder,” he asked with a bit of a smirk.

She began to reply and then stopped herself. “I'm not entirely certain; it's been quite awhile since I've read the story. If I still had the book I could tell you where the island is,” she replied. Jack nodded a little, no one on his crew could believably get into any place that would have those kinds of books, but someone like her shouldn't have any troubles.

“We'll be making a stop soon then. You'll be joining me this time,” he said then grinned, “It's a bit unusual to see a lass such as yourself holding such a filthy creature. How did you get him anyway?”

 

She smiled then reached up to scratch the monkey's head. “A man down on the dock had him. He wasn't exactly pleasant, or sober for that matter. Pepe didn't seem to be very happy, so I asked the man if he was for sale. He told me that I could buy him for ten shillings, but I have nothing with me, so instead I informed him of the horrendous diseases that monkeys can give to men.” She leaned a bit closer before whispering, “makes them eunuchs, you know.”

“Conning pirates in Tortuga, you've got a few more guts than I would have imagined,” he said with a grin.

“I hardly think tricking a drunken miscreant is anything to boast about, Mr. Sparrow. Besides, for your sake you better hope I was only conning him,” she said with a smirk then turned and wandered off to find something to entertain herself with. Jack watched her walk away then glanced down at himself.

“Better bloody well just be conning,” he muttered then went about informing the crew of their next stop.

*

“Far enough, drop anchor,” Jack ordered as they approached the port, “I'll be taking the boat to shore.”

“Aye, Cap'n,” Gibbs said then went to pass on the orders, while Jack headed towards the cabin. He nearly walked in, then thought better of it and gave a quick knock. It might be his cabin but the lass would no doubt let him hear about it if he just barged in unannounced. After a moment she opened the door and glanced outside.

“We're stopping already?”

“Aye,” he said. “You and I are going to take a trip into port, darling. Perhaps you can find another book about ol' Saez, eh?” She nodded a bit, realizing why it was she was going now. She was quite possibly the only literate person on the ship.

“Good, I'll see if I can find myself some other books as well. What should I do with Pepe?” Jack looked down at the monkey that she was holding then smirked.

“I'm sure Gibbs would just jump at the chance to look after him for ya, lass.”

 

Kaitlyn glanced down at Pepe then back to Jack. “I'm not certain who would be looking after whom,” she said and closed the door to the cabin. She'd already learned that leaving Pepe unattended was a very bad idea, so hopefully someone from the crew would watch him. It was Dallin, rather than Gibbs, that volunteered then the two of them set out for the port. There was a bit of awkward silence as Jack began rowing then he finally looked at her and smirked a bit.

“So tell me, darling, what do you think of sailing with the famous Captain Jack Sparrow?”

 

She looked up at him, pulled away from her own thoughts. “To be honest, it's much more peaceful than I imagined it to be.”

 

Jack grinned then stopped rowing for a moment. “You were expecting excitement and adventure, I assume?”

“Actually, I was expecting you to get us maimed or killed, but I suppose excitement and adventure could fall into the same category. At least for the ones doing the maiming and killing,” she replied while smiling mischievously.

“You're talking to Captain Jack Sparrow, lass. I've outrun the Navy more times than you could even begin to imagine,” he said then began rowing again.

“You must lead quite an interesting life,” she said then looked out at the water. Jack nodded and kept rowing until they got to land, then he hopped out and dragged the boat up onto the beach.

“Easier this way,” he said and offered her his hand so she could climb out.

“Of course it has nothing to do with the navy being down near the docks and them requiring you to pay to dock a boat there,” she mused taking his hand then stepped onto the beach.

“Of course not, love,” he replied with a smirk then headed towards the port with her.

He stopped a ways from the docks and explained to her that he'd be staying out of sight and that she could find him back out on the beach once she had finished, hopefully with some more information about Isidro Saez. He then waited patiently as possible for her to return. After nearly and hour he realized he'd drawn the attention of a couple Navy men that had been down near the dock patrolling.

`Bloody hell.' He rolled his eyes a little, just keeping to his own business, not particularly wanting a run in with the Navy at the moment but quickly realized they weren't just going to leave.

“Hey! You!” One shouted and began moving towards him, following quickly by the other.

“Something I can help you with, mates?” Jack asked with his best good natured grin.

The men both looked around suspiciously, “Mind telling us what it is your doing down here?”

“Just enjoying the scenery, mate, lovely beach you got here,” he replied.

*

Kaitlyn stopped abruptly when she saw Jack talking with two naval officers. She seriously doubted it was any sort of social call and knew she'd never get back to the ship without him, not that she particularly wanted to see him hauled to jail and hanged in the first place. She stood there watching, hoping they wouldn't see him as any sort of threat, then sighed heavily when Jack made some animated gestured then reached for his gun. It only took seconds for both of the navy men to brandish their own weapons as well.

`Men,' she rolled her eyes a bit and rushed towards them.

“Ayúdeme, ¡por favor! Usted tiene que venir con mí ahora, ¡hay una emergencia!” She began shouting frantically at the guards, knowing that either she would confuse them with her frenzied ravings in another language, or they'd speak Spanish and know she was begging them for help.

“¡Usted debe ahora venir!” She said and grabbed one of their arms trying to pull him with her. Even if they couldn't understand what she was saying, she knew she was getting the message through. She was a hysterical woman that was trying to get them to help her with something.

The guards looked at each other, completely oblivious about what to do to help her then looked back at Jack.

“Think the lass might want your help, mate,” he said with a smirk. Truly she was convincing. Had he not known her, he'd probably be inclined to help her himself, the lass seemed genuinely panic-stricken.

“¡Usted debe ayudar!” Her desperate sounding pleas continued until the men decided it was best to see what the problem was, rather than continue on with Jack.

“Calm down, Miss, we're coming,” said one of the men. She turned and took off towards the port again, hoping Jack would wait for her to get back to the boat. Both guards followed her, not having any real idea where she was taking them. She finally stopped near an old fishermen's shack and began pointing towards it.

“¡Esta manera! ¡En ese edificio!” She said making sure they knew she had no intention of getting any closer to the shack.

“Just stay here, Miss, we'll take care of it,” said one of the men. She watched them both walk over tentatively then step inside. The second they disappeared she turned and headed back towards the boat, glancing over her shoulder occasionally to see if they were following her. Since they had no idea what they were looking for, she figured she would have a couple minutes head start.

She gave a sigh of relief when she saw Jack and the boat still waiting for her and wasted no time getting there.

“We should hurry,” she said and climbed into the boat. Jack just grinned and shoved it back in the water before climbing in him self and taking the oars.

“Did you get a book?” He asked keeping a watch over the shore, incase anyone decided to follow them.

She nodded and held it up, still trying to catch her breath.

“You're willing to conn buccaneers and Navy men; you just might make a better pirate than half me crew,” he said with a grin. She gave him an odd look, finally able to breathe easier.

“I hardly qualify as a pirate, Mr. Sparrow,” Jack looked up at her, and then smirked. He was getting used to her calling him that and was sure she'd never address him as captain.

“It might be a bit easier for you on the ship, if you lose some of the fancy attire, love, there's no need to be trying impressing any of us, aye?” He could tell that the heavy dress and corset weren't exactly helping her at the moment. She glanced down at her dress then back up at him. She hadn't really thought about it before. The dress did get awfully warm and the corset was less than comfortable.

“There is nothing wrong with my clothes,” she replied indignantly.

“I didn't say there was, just make things easier if you didn't look like my hostage,” he said, “maybe Ana Maria has something you can wear now and then. No sense in ruining such fine clothes by wearing them on a pirate ship, eh?”

 

She glanced down at her dress again then nodded hesitantly. “It would be nice to clean them,” she admitted.

“Oh good,” he said in a chipper voice. “From now on you can wear what the rest of the crew wears.” He did his best to repress a grin. He might be Captain Jack Sparrow but he was quickly learning that it was in his best interest to avoid teasing her. He had a sneaking suspicion that the lass would find a way to get revenge if he did. But he couldn't help finding the thought of her in pirate clothes to be comical, and he just might try to convince her to try to talk like one too, if she could so easily speak another language, speaking pirate should be easy. At any rate, he had a feeling things wouldn't be boring on the ship for awhile.