Fanfic POTC: An Old Friend,

The drunken scent of Tortuga you could smell from a mile away.  But to Azura this had become her home.  Rum and whiskey seemed to be imprinted on her senses.  Long ago she once had a great pirate mate, they served on the Flying Dutchman together, and together bargained there way out of Davy Jones grasp.  That had been 4 years ago and she hadn’t seen him since she was 16.  Now she served the most rotten blokes ever.  But his smoky eyes and intoxicating words still are fresh in her memory.  Captain Jack Sparrow, she had heard that he had gotten himself into quite a bit of trouble lately.  She did miss him terribly.  She worked at one of the many taverns in Tortuga called Maiden’s Cutlass.  She bartended and waited tables, and unlike most of the tavern wenches, that was not her service she refused to be so degraded.  Night after night she refused advances, sometimes having to fight for her innocence.  It could have been the fact that she had a woman’s body with soft curves and an innocent almost child like face.  Or it could be her molten gold hair that fell to her midback in waves.  Some of it was braided into the braids were memories, a few trinkets and good luck charms.  Or it could be her eyes, her dancing sweet eyes both the color of the Caribbean the sea that all the men that came in here truly loved.  One held the deep blue of the Caribbean, and the other held the sea green.  But in both eyes there was a mischievous flame that flickered hidden behind the kindness.  She did seem to have a charming personality and flair about her.  It could be the way that she danced or even moved as if she was always dancing to music that only she heard in her own head.  She could hold a tune too she had a beautiful voice that seemed to quiet a crowd when they got too rowdy.  She definatly had spirit and that had to be the most attractive thing about her, she had a dignity and purpose and would fight for her rights.  She did work tonight.  She had her hair pulled back into a neat molten gold braid so that it wouldn’t get in her way.  She slowed her large dark bay gelding to a halt he didn’t argue with her as he normally did.  He stopped for he knew that he would be diving into a big steel bucket of fresh metallic grain three flakes of hay and there was no need to carry on.  She quickly dismounted slipping from the saddle and landing solidly on the ground.  “Your late lass,” Dillon the stable manager said to her.”  She quickly took off her cloak to reveal a Caribbean blue green bodice that shined blue when you looked at it from a certain perspective and then changed to green.  Match the eyes, she remembered an old friend telling her.  A white blouse was hidden beneath the bodice covered her arms and stomach and a black skirt that flowed almost to her ankles.  The bodice did her body justice although she highly disliked it, but she lived with it just like a horse lived with girth.  And she had to look presentable while she was entertaining and serving.  She quickly turned to Dillon handing him the reins of her horse.  “This is the third time Az and, this time it will cost you.”  Dillon said.  She had been paying him whenever she was late to keep his big mouth shut.  Dillon was an odd creature, that was why they kept him in the stables.  He was abnormally tall and thin, he almost looked sallow and sick with his pale complexion and mess of brown hair.  But he was muscular and did the work that he had to with out complaining.  Azura cursed as she opened her coin purse pulling out golden coins from her pouch with precision.  As she held out her hand to give him the coins his gaze slid up her body. “I don’t want your money.”  He said.  And his lust reflected in his eyes giving it all away.  Az’s eyes turned into slits “You will take the gold or nothing.”  She growled at him throwing the coins in his face.  “And if you even think of touching me or my horse, I will kill you, Dil and that is a promise.”  Her voice dripped with malice.  She ripped the reins back from his large hands and found a little boy on the street dirt ridden and tattered.  She handed him a ruby and told him to watch her steed.  The boy nodded eyes wide and speechless from the little ruby.  That could feed and cloth him for five years.  Then Az turned back for the tavern.  As soon as she stepped into the commotion all eyes were on her.  Even the three throwing punches in the corner stopped to look at her.  She looked striking and every eye on her in the room complimented her.  She didn’t even acknowledge it, by now most of these men were drunken beyond brains at the moment.  She set her cloak down on a shelf and moved behind the bar “Alright Gents hot rum is on the house for the first round.”  She said as she began to pour 20 piping hot mugs of the amber liquid, sliding it across the bar to the hungry eyes that begged for it.  This had been her life.  Serving drinks, and acting as entertainment for the scallywags that walked into the tavern.  There was a bit of commotion at the far corner.  A man that she hadn’t seen in years was now heading towards her in his usual drunken swagger.  His nose buried in a compass as if he was trying to find something.  His braids swung from his face and his trinkets jingled and glinted in the harsh light of the tavern.  “S’cuse me gents.”  He said as he pushed between a drunken fight.  His eyes not yet visible, but she could tell by the voice.  At first she thought that she was hallucinating.  But soon he found the bar “Ah well I wasn’t looking for that, but you do know my love for…”  He slurred the words to his compass as if it were a living breathing creature.  But as he looked up he froze with his mouth open as he saw Aza, his golden teeth glinting at her.  His smoky eyes seemed to clear like the mists on the ocean in the morning.  Aza smiled and was the first to speak “Captain Jack Sparrow it has been too long.”  Her smile was warm and inviting, eyes bright and glistening.  Jack slowly slid his eyes down her body to the compass it was pointed directly at her.”  Then he slowly put it away his voice was gruff as if it had come from the pit of his stomach “Aye love it has, how about you give an old friend a welcome Kissy, aye?”  His eyes rolled back up to hers.  Drunk as usual, she thought as she saw that haze, but she searched a little deeper and found something warm.  He had been searching for her.  Aza’s eyes widened and her head turned “Well Jack will a hot rum, hold you off for a while.  Then she looked slightly down and met his eyes again “Til later, I mean.”  She said it softly.  Jack looked slightly hurt, and Aza gave in “Alright Sparrow you’ve convinced me.”  And she leaned over the bar and tasted the lips that she had not tasted in four years.  It wasn’t held long, just long enough to hold the heat of an old passion they used to have.  They both pulled back with smiles the slight taste of rum now in her mouth. “Now I will be satisfied with a rum, until later.”  He said with a deep voice that held an old promise.  Azura gave him a wary look and threw herself into her work disappearing from his gaze and into the deep sea of drunkards.
         “You really did it!  You killed the whole thing by your self?”  Azura questioned Jack as she wiggled her bare toes deeper into the cool sand, watching Jack as he swaggered around reenacting the slaughtering of the beast his sword flashing in the moonlight as he layed the final killing blow to the imaginary beast.  Azura laughed as he finished he made the slaughter look like a dance with the wind. 
“Would I lie to you?”  He asked her stabbing his sword into the crisp sand and leaning on it a half cock smile played over his lips.  He turned to face her searching her eyes for an answer.  Azura looked up at him quizzically.
“I don’t know Jack, have you?”  She reversed the question to him removing herself from the hot seat and placing him there.  Jack paused looking up at the sky for a moment pondering the question, finally he rolled his eyes down to her “Maybe once.”  He said offhandedly.  Azuras mouth dropped “Once!? Oh really are you willing to stake your life on that Jack sparrow?”  She asked him smiling like a feline who had cornered her prey.
“Of course luv.”  He said smoothly.  “Alright, then what about your ship?”  She said her smile growing wickedly.  “NO!  You know I never bet my ship, its against my values.”  He replied quickly backpedaling to avoid conflict.  Azura laughed “You are too smooth of a liar Jack.”  She replied amuzed.  “You have lied to me more times then once, I have your life.”  She grinned.  “Wait, now when have I lied to you more then once?”  he asked her his eyes narrowing in concentration.  Azura began to walk twards him her head slightly tilted “Well lets see…You told me once you could ride “The Unbreakable Colt” that my father owned.”  The min. you got near him he charged you and you ran away, but not before he got a good bit of flesh as a keepsake.”  She laughed recalling the image.  “I do still have the scar from that, but that was to impress you, your royal equestrainess, luv.”  He said truthfully bowing like a gentleman while leaning over his sword.  Azura laughed “Okay you got off on that one.”  She replied “But what bout the time my metallic pearls went missing?  I believe you told me that you saw the maid steal them is that right?”  She asked him.  By now she was behind him and he eyed her from the corner of his blackened eyes.  She leaned in close to his ear and her finger wrapped around a strand of hair pushing back its black strands until they found cool metallic pearls.  “You were wearing them the whole time weren’t you.”  She said stepping back a hint of a smile on her lips.  Jack shrugged and turned so that he faced her  “ The colt took a keepsake for himself so I took one for myself.”  He admitted.  “Hah!  He admits it.”  She said.  “Now what was the other lie that you admitted to before?”  She asked him curious.  She popped down settling into the sand waiting for him to answer.  He took a deep breath sighed and sat next to her.  “Remember that onetime when we went skinny dipping in the Caribbean when you ditched your fathers party?”  He asked her slowly not sure if she was going to strike out or not.  Remembrance glinted in her eye.  “While I ditched a lot of his parties but yes I remember.”  She told him slipping back into the memory.  “And I promised you that I wouldn’t look until you were in the water.”
“Yes.”  She said tensely knowing where this conversation was heading but she wanted to hear his confession.  “I cheated, and I pulled the cloth down just enough so that I could see you naked and glowing in the soft moonlight.”  He tried to make it poetic to sound better.  “It was rather cold out that night if I remember.”  He teased laughing.  Azura’s mouth dropped and she gathered a fistful of sand and pelted him with it, but he only laughed harder as her cheeks began to redden as if she had been drinking.  She reached across his lap to the bottle of rum that was perched on the sand “Gimme that.”  She said not quite being able to reach it.  Jack smiled and lifted the bottle to his lips “I don’t think so I enjoy to see you suffer in embarrassment.”  He laughed taking a deep swig and relaxing.  Azura pulled back and crossed her arms over her chest defensively.  There was a paused moment then Azura spoke “So why did you come back?”  She asked him softly her eyes searching for the truth.  Jack leaned towards her out of the shadow and into the moonlight  His features lightened up, he had changed so much since she had seen his last.  That boy had grown into a solid handsome man.  “I came back for you.”  He said sweetly and deeply.  Suddenly the quiet was disrupted by hoofbeats pummeling the sand and red coats appeared through the darkness.  “There he is sieze him!”  Shrieked a guard “What the hell are they doing in Tortuga?”  Azura asked.  Then she looked at Jack “What did you do?”  She demanded as her eyes searched his deeply looking for the truth.  Jack wouldn’t meet her gaze, “I had some unfininished business savvy.”  He stated.  Azura shook her head and called her steed to her.  He cantered to them and stood patiently as she mounted gracefully and swiftly.  She gave him the signal to trot and he obeyed propelling forwards and leaving Jack behind in the sand.  Jack looked flabbergasted that she would leave him behind “Hey!  Wait.”  He called franticly running towards Azura.  “Tell the truth!”  She called back over her shoulder, holding the stallion at a trot even though he pushed to move forwards.  She made him wait and playfully jog.  “Fine, I, uh, stole something.”  Jack mumbled barely audible.  He was starting to run out of breath trying to keep up.  “What something did you steal jack?”  She asked him slowing the stallion even more.  “I can’t tell you that, if-“  But he was quickly cut off as Azura let the stallion accelerate to the canter.  “Fine! Fine! I stole the virginity of a governess.”  He admitted.  Azura laughed then you deserve to be in jail.”  She replied and she let her steed gallop and escape when just around the bend came the officers riding.  Jack defeatedly gave up dropping back to be left behind and clamped in irons.