A Life as a Pirate

“When I was a lad living in England,” I heard Will begin to tell Jack, “my mother raised Jez and me by herself. After she died, I came out here, looking for my father.”
“Is that so?” asked Jack, though he didn’t seem too interested in the story.
“My father, Will Turner. It was only after you learnt my name you agreed to help. Since that’s what I wanted, I didn’t press the matter,” Will said following Jack up the steps to the wheel again. “I’m not a simpleton, Jack. You knew my father.” I walked up the steps and stood at the top.
Jack sighed once he finished tying the knot he was making, “I knew him. Probably one of the few who knew him as William Turner. Everyone else called him Bootstrap or Bootstrap Bill.”
“Bootstrap?” I questioned.
“Good man,” Jack said taking the wheel. “Good pirate. I swear,” he turned to Will as I straightened up, “you look just like him.”
“It’s not true. He was a merchant sailor,” growled Will. “A good respectable man who obeyed the law.”
Jack rolled his eyes, “He was a bloody pirate. A scallywag.”
Will drew his sword, “My father was not a pirate.”
“Put it away, son. It’s not worth you getting beat again.”
“You didn’t beat me. You ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight, I’d kill you.”
“Then that’s not much incentive for me to fight fair then, is it.” Jack then grabbed the wheel and twisted it around so the sail swung around and hit Will in the stomach, and dangled him over the water.
“Will!” I cried. “You bloody pirate!” I went to turn the wheel back but Jack caught me and held me away from the wheel. I went to grab my sword but he pulled my hands behind my back.
“Sorry, love. Got to get my point acrossed somehow.” He turned to Will. “Now, as long as you’re just hanging there, pay attention. The only rules that really 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 so you’ll have to square with that someday. Now, me, for example. I can let you drown.” I tried to kick him. He turned to me and flicked my nose with his free hand, “Be a good girl, aye? And let me finish.” He turned back to Will. “But I can’t bring this ship into Tortuga all by me onesy, savvy? So.” Jack spun the wheel back around and let me go. Will landed on the deck and Jack pointed the sword at him. “Can you sail under the command of a pirate?” He flipped the sword around. “Or can you not?”
Will took the sword, “Tortuga?”
Jack smiled, “Tortuga.”
Glaring I turned swiftly and walked down the steps, stomping the whole way to the other side of the ship. Men, I thought shaking my head.
“What’s her problem,” I heard Jack ask Will.
I turned and narrowed my eyes at the boys, “Okay first it’s you’re a pirate, I’m a blacksmith, good person thing and we are rivals so we have to kill each other and now it’s lets be friends share life stories about how you knew our father.”
Jack looked puzzled and looked over to Will who shrugged. I huffed and turned back around, walking to the front of the ship.
Nightfall came and we were in Tortuga. Definitely a pirate island. Fights were around every corner and whores on every street. The thing was. It looked like everyone was having fun. I smiled gazing at the surroundings, smiling at every shop that had something beautiful displayed in the window, nodding hello to anyone who said it. It was wonderful.
“More importantly,” Jack’s voice interrupted my thoughts, “it is indeed a sad life that has never breathed deep this sweet bouquet that is Tortuga, savvy?” Jack grabbed a walking stick from some man. “What do you think?”
“It’ll linger,” Will said with a rather disgusted look on his face.
I shook my head at my brother, “I think it’s beautiful here. Everyone just seems so happy.”
“That’s because most of them are drunk.” Grumbled Will.
“I’ll tell you, mate, if every town in the world were like this one, no man would ever feel unwanted.” Just then a woman with long curly red hair and a red dress came walking over to Jack. “Scarlett!” Jack smiled walking up to her just to have his face slapped. I covered my mouth with my hands to hold back my laughter. “Not sure I deserved that,” he said to us. I looked behind him and saw a woman with blonde hair and a tan dress. “Giselle!” He smiled.
“Who was she?” She smiled smugly.
“What?” asked Jack and then the woman name Giselle also slapped him. “I may have deserved that,” he grumbled.
“Never feel unwanted, aye?” I smiled.
“Oi! Look at that, the girls already becomin’ a pirate!” Jack smiled, “You’ll come ‘round William.” Jack then turned and started to walk towards a pig pen.
Inside there was a man sleeping with a teddy bear in his arms, and his head on a pig. Jack filled a bucket full of water, and Will followed his pursuit. Jack then threw the water onto the man and he instantly woke up.
“Curse ya for breathing, you slack-jawed idiot!” The man shouted drawing his knife. The man’s eyes widened when he saw who it was. “Mother’s love! Jack! You should know better than to wake a man when he’s sleepin’. It’s back luck.”
“Ah, fortunately, I know how to counter it. The man who did the waking buys the man who was sleeping a drink. The man who was sleeping drinks while listening to a proposition from the man who did the waking.”
I smiled but shook my head at Jack.
“Aye, that’ll about do it,” smiled the man. Jack then helped the man up and Will threw his bucket of water on him. “Blast! I’m already awake!” he shouted.
“That was for the smell,” said Will. I giggled when Jack and the man nodded in agreement.
In the next town over there were more than one fight going on at a time. Will leaned up against one of the posts while Jack went to get drinks for him and the man.
“Keep a sharp eye,” Jack said to Will. He turned to me, “Love, why don’t you do some shopin’, aye?”
I frowned, “I haven’t any money.”
He patted his pockets and then pulled out a small pouch, “Here. Don’t spend it all in one place now, love.”
I plucked the pouch out of his hands, “Why thank you, Captain.”
“Jez, I don’t think you should be going out there alone,” Will called after me.
I placed my hands on my hips and turned to look at him, “I’m not five anymore, Will. I can take care of myself.” I then turned and skipped out of the tavern and down to one of the shops I saw earlier.
I walked in to the musty shop. Inside there were many racks of clothing. And a wall of boots. I smiled and walked over to the shirts. By the end of the visit I had looked at many different articles of clothing but I decided on a white shirt that hung off my shoulders, a brown corset, black pants, and brown, knee-high boots. I smiled and quickly walked back to the tavern to see that Will and Jack were just about to leave.
“Ah, it looks to be ye found somethin’, love.” Jack smiled at me. I handed him his pouch back that had much less money in it before and nodded. Jack shook the little pouch and frowned, then shrugged, “At least you didn’t spend it all.”
I giggled as we walked back to the ship for the night.