Aztecs' Curse

Chapter 11

     Hello, my darling readers! I, honestly, hope that this story is at least somewhat decent so far, and I hope the next three [soon to be four, when I finally catch up and the new movie is out] books are just as decent! I do hope I'm doing well with my original characters as well; I know Cyrus doesn't pop up that much, but he should play more parts in the upcoming books! If you have any questions regarding my book, or characters, feel free to ask!

- Your author

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       Victoria shifted her booted feet uncomfortably at the docks, tugging absently at the bottom of the button-up shirt she wore that showed just a little more cleavage than she was used to, before her hands dropped to her trouser-covered thighs. It wasn't that she was nervous about how she looked--as she had known it would be best to leave behind her disaster of a gown--but, rather, the fact that she was not accustomed to such a style, as it was worn mostly by men or by more masculine women. Surprisingly, the clothes were small enough to fit her perfectly. A little too perfectly.

     And by that, it simply meant that Victoria kept catching Jack's eyes drifting to her chest despite the fact that he was supposed to be studying the group of men before them that was to be their supposed crew.
     "Feast your eyes, Captain," Gibbs said, rather proudly, as he--too--stood before the group. "All of them faithful hands before the mast. Every man worth his salt."
     Victoria smacked the back of Jack's head, making him jump and grin and turn to the group as he studied them one by one. Though, he stopped at a particularly short one, of whom was clearly a man but barely reached his own waist. Though Victoria knew such heights existed for adults, she had never come across anyone as short.
     As Jack continued to--rudely, in Victoria's opinion--stare, Will said from behind him, "So this is your able-bodied crew?"
     Though Gibbs watched them anxiously, Jack ignored him and moved on, stopping in front of an older man with a parrot on his shoulder. "You, sailor!" he said as he narrowed his eyes.
     "Cotton, sir," Gibbs said.
     "Mr. Cotton," Jack continued, "do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and to stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?" When the older man's eyes shifted to Gibbs, Jack grew frustrated. "Mr. Cotton! Answer, man!"
     Gibbs stepped up to Jack. "He's a mute, sir. Poor devil had his tongue cut out. So he trained the parrot to talk for him."
     As if to prove it so, Cotton opened his mouth, revealing not only his damaged teeth but the unmistakable stub in his mouth, which made Victoria shudder, though she resisted looking away, eyes trained on his mouth before she admired the way he showed Jack as if he didn't give a damn about it. Jack, meanwhile, was quick to show his disgust, his own tongue sticking out somewhat as he gave him a strange expression, and he went to turn away before quickly facing him and his parrot again.
     "Mr. Cotton's parrot," he said, "same question."
     The parrot squawked before saying, "Wind in your sails! Wind in your sails!"
     Will, Jack, and Victoria all stared at the parrot with confused expressions, and Gibbs eye-balled him before looking at the lot and saying, "Mostly, we figure that means 'yes'."
     "Of course it does," Jack said, suddenly all matter-of-fact, which made Victoria roll her eyes, and he turned to Will, brows raised. "Satisfied?"
     He gave him an annoyed expression. "Well, you've proved they're mad."
     Victoria couldn't agree more. But then, she respected the crew for having a dangerous sense of adventure.
     Suddenly, a feminine voice called from the end of the lined-up men, originating from someone who had their slanted to cover their face, which was definitely far more than suspicious. "What's the benefit for us?"
     Jack seemed to recognize the voice, his head snapping in their direction, and he slowly walked towards the person it had come from, Victoria and Will on his heels, along with Gibbs. As if nervous, Jack pulled a face before lifting the hat from the speaker's face, revealing that of a gorgeous darker skinned woman, before pulling it off completely, releasing her long hair, suddenly looking impressed. "Anamaria."
     Hardly a second passed before her hand popped across his cheek, making even Victoria jump before she crossed her arms. Though it had been sudden, it was just another slap from--yet again--another woman, of which she was sure he deserved. Honestly, it seemed he never took that of the opposite gender seriously, much less treated them with respect... Though she felt disappointed with the idea, she was beginning to decide she should see Jack as nothing more than a sniveling pirate.
     "I suppose you didn't deserve that one either," Will said, looking rather smug, as Jack's eyes narrowed.
     "No, that one I deserved," Jack said.
     Anamarie smiled tightly, nodding, before saying, as Jack turned back to her, "You stole my boat!"
     Victoria blinked. That was definitely not the reason she thought he was slapped.
     "Actually," Jack started, only to be cut off with another slap, and his mouth popped open as he faltered before turning back to her. "Borrowed! Borrowed without permission," he said, suddenly looking desperate, "but with every intention of bringing it back to you."
     "But you didn't!" she shouted.
     "You'll get another one," Jack insisted.
     She lifted a finger, thrusting it at his face, eyes narrowed. "I will."
     "A better one," Will suddenly said, coming to his rescue.
     Victoria merely raised her brows.
     Jack suddenly looked cheerful. "A better one!"
     Will nodded, then pointed towards the waters. "That one."
     "What one?" Jack asked just as Victoria spotted a fairly decent looking ship off in the distance, and turned just in time to see Jack whirling in on Will, jaw set. "That one?!" When everyone looked at him as he faced the woman, he suddenly smiled and nodded. "Aye. That one. What say you?"
     Anamaria, after rubbing her chin thoughtfully, shouted, "Aye!" to which the rest of the crew followed up with, pumping their fists in the air, and they all started down the docks.
     "Anchor's aweigh!" Cotton's parrot squawked.
     The woman grabbed her hat from Jack's hands, yanking it from him, and set it back on her head, though she kept her hair down, and Jack frowned as she walked away, the frown seeming to deepen when his eyes landed on Victoria and she looked away.
     "No, no," Gibbs said, chuckling nervously, as he stepped up to Jack. "It's frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard, sir."
     "I'm coming along," Victoria piped up, to which his eyes bugged out.
     "But, Miss Swann," he started.
     "It'll be far worse not to have Anamaria," Jack said, staring absently at the sky. "And, as for      Victoria, I would prefer her to accompany us. Who knows what trouble she would get in on her own." Victoria had to admit, she felt touched. "She wouldn't last a day without us." Maybe not so much... When Jack waved a hand, still studying the sky, he seemed to give up and turn around, striding away, to which Will and Gibbs exchanged confused expressions before squinting their eyes into the sky, where the pirate had been staring.
     Victoria, meanwhile, followed after Jack, grabbing his shoulder and whirling him around. "I am very much capable of-"
     "Please, don't say taking care of yourself," Jack pleaded. "I've heard that line plenty of times, and it never ends well."
     She regarded him for a moment before crossing her arms. "Well, I am."
     "Uh huh." As if to change the subject, he cast his gaze down and said, "You know, your bust looks even bigger when you-" He cut off as a sound slap filtered through the air, blinking in surprise, and he glanced down at Victoria with wide eyes, slowly raising a hand to his cheek. "That really hurt."
     "I should hope so," she snapped, shaking her head in disgust. "I suppose I shouldn't expect any less of you, making such inappropriate remarks with a woman such as myself. After all, what else should I think of a man who has had two harlots slap him in one town, as well as a woman you stole from."
     "Borrowed," Jack grumbled, hand dropping from his cheek.
     "Oh, save your petty views," Victoria said. "You're nothing but a selfish and greedy pirate." That said, she stormed past him, furious.
     Though she felt right in saying such things, she couldn't help but feel guilty. Nor could she help the tears that welled up in her eyes.