Dark of the Moon, continued...

[dwgm]

~ Dark of the Moon ~

Part 1
Part 2


Oh, bloody hell.

Jack leaned back against the door, closing his eyes for just a moment. But the distraction of vision was required, really, in order to cope with the grating sounds of feminine distress (bordering on hysteria if he was any judge) and the pain of the cut on his shoulder (shallow, but seeping, and ruining his favorite shirt). So he looked again at his… prize.

Pretty, in a washed out sort of way – or he’d thought so before, when she wasn’t weeping -- but too young and tremulous to be of much interest to him in the way she feared. She’d been married though, even young as she was – he could still see the husband’s face in his mind’s eye, livid with agony, then going slack as the life went out of him, blood pooling beneath the body. Bit of an ass, challenging pirates when he’d a wife to protect. It was her screams that’d alerted Jack to the fight, and when Knacker finished the husband and went for her, well, he couldn’t let that pass, could he? Not knowing Knacker’s proclivities as he did.

Her sobs were growing less. He groped for a handkerchief, found it, and straightened, holding it out.

“Here.”

She peeked up, her pale blue eyes swimming and rimmed with red. Saw what he was holding and let her hands fall, revealing mottled cheeks, quivering lips, and a nose desperately in need of that handkerchief.

She took it from him, and then took her time, blotting her face, blowing her nose, her breath hitching and shuddering all the while. Eventually she glanced up, looking him over again, uncertainly. She cleared her throat a bit and said, “Are you… don’t you like women?”

He stared for a moment, then burst out laughing. He was tempted to say, “God’s teeth, girl, shall I fetch a mirror?” but, in view of the fact that they would likely be sharing a cabin for some time, he said only, “I like ‘em – when they’re willing. Which, I presume, you’re not. Or have I misconstrued the sudden attack of vapors? Is it just that you don’t like tea, then?”

And offended her anyway. She said in a shaking voice, “I have every right to cry. You’ve killed my husband!”

“Have not. ‘Twas Knacker – and it was your fool of a husband that provoked ‘im.”

“He… he…” But she broke off in evident consternation, unable to acquit her spouse of this accusation. For a moment Jack thought she was going to commence weeping again, but instead she surprised him by changing the subject all together. “Your mother! And what would she say about you being a pirate? But I daresay she would not object at all and was some… some horrid low creature.”

Jack’s good humor vanished. It must’ve shown, for he saw her cringe in alarm, her brief defiance at an end. “You,” he stated in voice of quiet menace, “will never mention my mother again. Savvy?”

She nodded quickly, biting her lip to stop its trembling.

He went on. “I’m going out, to have this seen to.” He turned the arm so she could see the wound he’d taken in her behalf, and was pleased when she seemed startled and concerned. But he continued severely, “You’ll bolt the door and let no one in ‘til I return. I’ll knock twice, then twice again, so you know it’s me. And if you’re slow to open it for me, or get up to any tricks while I’m gone, you will deeply regret it.”

She stifled a sob.

He pointed an accusatory finger and snapped, “And no crying while I’m in the cabin.”

She nodded again, looking a bit frantic.

He nodded, too. “I’ll bring you some tea.”

He left, then, and shut the door, and was pleased to hear the bolt being set a few seconds later. But then a wail of despair was heard, followed by a fresh series of loud, choking sobs.

Bloody hell.

Comments

[rennie1265.livejournal.com]

She's very lucky that Jack has scruples and decency. Looking forward to see what happens next. Liked the tea bit - just like how I grew up. When life's in an uproar, make a pot of tea and sit down for a bit.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Tea: precisely what I'm doing now, before I tackle the linen closet, and then the bills.

Glad you're enjoying the story!

[rennie1265.livejournal.com]

Tea will come after I make some headway on the wreckage around here. The linen closet is the one thing that is done, unfortunately it appears to be the only one. Then the bills. Sigh.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

We're in the same boat, apparently. I did some bathroom cabinets, and rearranged some kitchen/dining room cabinets this morning. Trying to pick out paint for the bathroom and it's proving very difficult. Also am doing laundry, made a batch of bread pudding. Too much to do. At least the weather's nice here -- sunny and warm.

Don't work too hard!

[honorat.livejournal.com]

Yay! More Jack vs. the watering pot! The poor guy is starting young at the "What do I have to do around here to get any credit for rescuing a damsel in distress?" scenarios.

The juxtaposition of her fears and his distaste for a slimy, hysterical, unwilling female of the washed-out sort is hilarious. Sort of a Madame even if I were that type, you aren't!

The bit about her husband's death (yay! more backstory) is grusome without being overly described. This piece runs the gamut from horror to farce with a dash of Jack's serious side. I like how he's so protective of his mother.

And no crying while I’m in the cabin
Ha! He may be Jack Sparrow, but even he can't command that force of nature!

And I love the bookend "bloody hell's". Jack's really got a rattlesnake by the tail now!

I'm looking forward to seeing what you'll do to him next.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Poor Jack. Winning your very own female isn't all its cracked up to be. I'm glad you're enjoying the story, even if Jack isn't, at least at this point.

Re: his mother -- That last verse of the Yo Ho song always amuses me, and gives food for thought --

We're beggars and blighters and ne'er-do-well cads.
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!
Aye! But we're loved by our mommies and dads!
Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!

Thanks for commenting -- you do give the most wonderful feedback. Must be all those English papers you grade. (I went out to lunch with several of the English teachers on Friday and can only wonder how they find time to do anything but grade papers -- every grade but 9th has 36 to a class, and most of them teach 5 periods of English. Criminal, really. The powers-that-be send down mandates like No Child Left Behind, and then fail to come through with the funding to help it succeed. [/rant])

[honorat.livejournal.com]

You're welcome for the feedback. Trust me, as the reader of some very hyper-mediocre writing, it is a pleasure to comment on good writing.

I have no end of admiration for elementary school and junior high teachers. I think they should be paid more than movie stars. My largest class has 16 students in it!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

My largest class has 16 students in it!

That's the way it should be. That's the way to give the kids a real education. And it seems to me my English classes in high school were small, particularly in 11th and 12th grade. Not sure when our district got away from that. The high school teachers I'm talking about have 36 per class except in the 9th grade when the limit is 20, and are expected to teach the writing of essays and research papers -- in fact, some "authority" was telling them the kids should have writing homework every night that is quickly graded and given back. How on earth can you do that if you're trying to teach 180 students? There are not enough hours in the day!

[kaellana.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you decided to continue the original drabble. I like your Young!Jack very much. Oh, and the tea - I like the tea, it's very British of him. The boy has manners!

And, aww, bless. He's protective of his old mum. :)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed this!Thanks so much for letting me know. :)

[shyaway.livejournal.com]

This is like a good cup of tea. Nice and restorative and just the right strength. I really like the phrase 'grating sounds of feminine distress' - sooo Jack.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

What a nice compliment! So glad you're enjoying it.

Actually, your five excellent vignettes about some of Jack's women crossed my mind when I started this. I figured there must be others, too.

And Jack's such fun to torment. *G*

[shyaway.livejournal.com]

Ha! Thank you for that compliment. Yes, there must be others. That series could have gone on forever. :-D

He gets annoyed so gratifyingly, doesn't he?

[hereswith.livejournal.com]

Have no idea how I managed to miss this, but... it's wonderful, I'm really glad you're continuing, it's a great idea and you write it so well. So her husband was killed too, what a horrible experience she's had, good thing Jack was there. Is it just that you don’t like tea, then? Heh! That she's weeping is perfectly understandable, and that Jack is rattled by it equally so, and it makes for good humour. Not to mention he defends his mother, I like that :-)

[linaelyn.livejournal.com]

Oh, bloody hell.

Oh, yes indeed. Jack's in for it, she's in for it, and we, the readers are in for it. In spades.

“You,” he stated in voice of quiet menace, “will never mention my mother again. Savvy?”

I nearly slapped her myself, there. Then I remembered she'd just experienced a shock, and was perhaps not herself. Making allowances is called for.

What do you mean, she's just a character in a story, a figment of Geek Mama's imagination. She seems quite real to me!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

It's true that people say terrible things when stressed, things they don't mean and then can't take back, making a bad situation worse.

I'm glad she seems real to you -- that's a compliment of the highest order! Many thanks.

[hendercats.livejournal.com]

Oh, how do you do it? Got some sort of time machine stashed under the bed, have you? This, again, is wonderful - here she is, husband killed (though not by Jack: "Have not. 'Twas Knacker – and it was your fool of a husband that provoked 'im."); claimed as prize by the killer, then passed on to another pirate after a post-battle sword fight; her world totally shattered and she's completely helpless yet she sneers at her (unbeknownst) rescuer: "Your mother! And what would she say about you being a pirate? But I daresay she would not object at all and was some... some horrid low creature."

"And no crying while I'm in the cabin."
What a perfectly Jack rule!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

She doesn't quite see him as her rescuer yet, you understand, only that they were fighting over her, and Jack won.

What a perfectly Jack rule!

Yes, and rules are made to be broken. I'm afraid she's not a very stoic sort of person, at least so far, much to Jack's annoyance. All sorts of mayhem in store for him. I'm glad you're enjoying it!