Self-insertion fic chapter two
I'm sorry I took so long. I suffered from writer's block and other bad things. By way of an apolog I've written a 10 page chapter for you this time, in the hopes of forgiveness. Remember, if I've portrayed any of you in ways you do not appreciate. Let me know and I'll make a note of adjusting things.
Right.... the fic:
Shameless Self-insertion
Chapter Two in which the Rabid Fangirls make Schiphol Airport Unsafe and Jones Starts Planning
Rating: PG for drinking
Fandom: POTC Heavily AU
Jem stood awaiting the earliest arrivals. Of course the first of the flights just had to come in at 4.30 in the morning. It couldn't be helped and she had promised to meet everyone. So there she was, standing in Schiphol Airport and it was as crowded as always, thus currently making it her least favourite place. At least she had made sure to get the conference room in due time, so they could withdraw to the relative privacy fairly quickly after finding each other. Now it was just the finding that had yet to happen.
A new wave of travelers came through the doors from the luggage lines. Some were dragging huge suitcases, some were striding off only carrying briefcases and a small pack. Business trips obviously. Quite a few were looking around searching for familiar faces. A family was reunited beside her and she discreetly side-stepped away from the happy squeals and teary kisses. Looked like it had been a long absence for that one.
Finally she spotted a red-head, thick and curly; check. Pale, freckles; check. She headed towards the girl hoping to catch her eye. It happened soon enough, and when the red-head's eyes fell on her cardboard sign she grinned and made a beeline towards her.
”You must be Mags. I'm Jem. Welcome to The Netherlands.” The red-head took her out-stretched hand and shook it while nodding, the cheerful grin never leaving her face.
”DJ Groupies?” Mags didn't even bother to hide her amusement.
”What? Would you have preferred Squid Lovers? Tentacle Fanciers perhaps” Jem said, raising an eyebrow at her. Two seconds of silence passed between them, before they couldn't hold back the laughter anymore. Jem proceeded to explain her choice of wording: ”I kinda had to write something that would sound normal but with a tinge of humour to most people. If there's anything I didn't want, it was to be accosted by all sorts of strangers asking me what the hell the sign was about. This way everyone will think they know what it means.”
Mags nodded. ”I see. So... that conference room you mentioned...”
”Later. First we're heading to the Continental arrivals. We're gonna pick up Ksena. With the slight delay on your flight we only have half an hour till hers will be here, and that's not enough time to get to our room and back again. Want me to help you with that bag?” Jem nodded at Mags' sports bag.
”Naw, thanks, I'll be okay. Lead the way!” Mags hefted her bag and joined Jem: It didn't take them long to be chatting animatedly about Davy, the crew and classical music. To Mags' great joy it turned out that Jem was into that as well. In fact she'd played the cello in a symphony orchestra for years some years back. Soon swapping tales of concert disasters and other musical mishaps became the main theme. Reaching continental arrivals Jem checked the screens with flight times and announced delays, she was clearly familiar with the place. Turning back to Mags, she looked mighty pleased.
”No delays. Ksena's plane will set down in 5 minutes so we can expect her here in 20 or so.” She pointed to a spot behind Mags' back. ”Tables, chairs, café, how about something to drink? It may be early morning here, but I suspect your body will be telling you it's bedtime pretty soon.”
Mags agreed, she was beginning to feel the call for a bed murmuring at the back of her mind. ”Yeah, coffee would probably be a good plan. Do they have decent coffee here?”
”I wouldn't know.” Jem smiled wryly. ”I don't drink coffee myself, can't stand the taste of it. There's only one exception to that rule and that's if you pour whiskey and whipped cream into my coffee.”
They went to sit down at the café. Mags was pleasantly surprised by their card and found that they could make her favourite. Jem ordered a ChocOrange and rolls with marmalade for the both of them. ”I figured you might need a bit of food as well, on-flight meals have never left me full.”
Mags nodded gratefully. ”So, mind if I ask what that is?” She pointed at the hot drink her companon had ordered.
”Nope. Hot chocolate with orange syrup and whipped cream, an absolutely divine invention for those of us who don't agree with coffee.” She wrinkled her nose at the last word, and Mags had to laugh at her expression.
”You really dislike coffee, huh?”
”Aye. I couldn't drink it to save my life. I love the smell of it, though. Interesting how something that smells so delicious can taste so bloody awful. Makes no sense whatsoever!” Jem sounded slightly offended that the world couldn't be bothered to make sense.
Soon the talk circled back to music. And the two of them were easily occupied for the 20 minutes they sat there. Jem glanced at the clock and went to pay their bill at the register, while Mags picked up her bag and they headed over to meet Ksena.
Ksena rolled her flight case behind her as she headed towards the exit. The customs officer asked if she had anything to declare, she just shook her head and continued past the desk. It had certain benefits being tall, in this steady flow of people she could still see where she was going. Heading through the one-way doors into the terminal she kept a sharp eye out for the black-coated girl in the photo. It didn't take long to spot her either, not with the big ”DJ Groupies” cardboard sign she was holding aloft.
Next to her was a girl with a shock of red curls. She headed straight for them, fighting to bury her shyness. She knew these people - at least in text. The two girls soon caught sight of her heading towards them, she waved and smiled.
”You must be Jem.” She greeted the shorter of the two and couldn't suppress a grin. ”You really weren't kidding when you said you were short, huh?”
”Yep and nope. And you weren't kidding when you said tall.” Jem demonstratively craned her neck at an odd angle as if it were the only way she could look at Ksena's face. ”This is Mags.” She gestured at her red-headed companion. Ksena smiled and shook hands with her, while Jem continued: ”It'll be a couple of hours before our next arrival, so let's head to our room and get settled. This way...”
The reason for the three of them being together soon became evident as the conversation gravitated to Davy Jones and the crew. Ksena was quickly able to shake off the last remains of shyness, as their mutual favourite subject was easily comfortable for all of them. They were not quiet, and Ksena once in a while managed to spot a passer-by who had clearly heard something they could not quite fathom concerning the nature of tentacles. The poor people clearly didn't want to know anymore either. She sniggered inwardly, when the rest turned up they'd be a force to be reckoned with.
Eventually Jem led them through a door to a fairly large room with a big table, plenty of chairs and couches that did indeed look quite comfortable.
”Here we are, ladies, make yourselves comfortable. We're here all day. Let me know if you need anything, there's a café and restaurant a bit further down the hallway that we will be making much use of during the day. I know I plan to.”
They talked a little more, but it wasn't long before Jem and Ksena began feeling the effects of having been up as early as they had, and soon Mags was troubled by her body thinking it was bedtime. A heartfelt simultaneous yawn from all three young women saw them deciding to get some sleep on those mighty inviting couches.
It wasn't long till Jem's cell-phone woke her up. She cursed it but rolled off the couch to prevent herself from falling asleep again. Sitting on the floor she checked the two others, relieved that they were still asleep. No need to wake them up, they probably needed the sleep. She scribbled a quick note to let them know she'd gone to meet the next arrivals, should they wake up and be all confused.
She checked her schedule, the next three would arrive with the same flight. She was curious to find out if the three of them had already realised this. They would have had several hours from check in to landing to find out. Nothing to do but wait and see, she decided as she made her way to the terminal to meet them.
Right on time, no delays. Jem was amazed, surely some benign deity was smiling upon them this day. And the luggage unloading had apparently also been very quick and efficient. Clearly it was the passengers from an American flight leaving the luggage lines even as she arrived there.
Hoisting her sign above her head, Jem kept an eye out for dirty blonde, red-brown and orange heads - one of each. And all three of them were a good bit taller than her. She snorted inwardly - that described most fo the world's population. Wait, was that...? Yep, definitely orange hair, and the woman underneath could qualify as skinny. That'd likely be Melissa then. Jem waved at her, and when the orange haired woman saw her sign she approached with a slight limp. Definitely Melissa.
”Ahoy, there Melissa. You wouldn't happen to have met Caz or Barbara, would you? I'm Jem”
”I can tell, you look like your photo.”
”I think that'd be my photo looking like me - I was there first. And photos make for decidedly bad conversation.” Jem shot back with a grin.
Melissa looked stunned for a moment.
”You did warn me you'd be blunt and might come across as rude, you know. Is it surprising I was prepared for it?” That had Melissa break out in a grin, too. She looked mostly relieved.
”Hehehe, I'm glad you can handle the bluntness. People tend to get all angry. Oh and no, I didn't even know the two others were on the same flight.” Looking slightly apologetically at Jem she turned back to the doors from the luggage lines.
”Hm, too bad. Guess we'll just have to keep an eye out for them, then." Just then two girls who could very well be the two they were looking for walked through the doors. They spotted Jem's sign at the same time, sniggered, realised there was a person sniggering next to them, understood that they were heading for the same thing and then laughed. They walked side by side to where Melissa and Jem were standing.
”That was so funny. We were just standing there, looking at each other and then you were standing next to me and we had been, walking together randomly chatting without even realizing we were meeting the same people, how stupid is that? That is sooo surreal, and awesome at the same time...”
”Caz. Shh” Jem winked at her. ”It's Barbara next to you, this is Melissa, I'm Jem as you both know.” She introduced everyone. ”Ksena and Mags are in the conference room, they were sleeping when last I saw them. Let's go there now. It'll be some hours before the rest will arrive.”
As so often with new people things get a bit awkward at first, but as they weren't truly strangers the talking soon heated up. To the new arrivals it was nighttime and not infrequently one of them had to stifle a yawn. Thus as they arrived at the conference room there was much cheering at the sight of comfy couches.
”Shhhh” Ksena admonished. ”Mags is still sleeping. And hi all...” She got up and shook hands with everybody. Then turned to Jem. ”Say could we arrange for breakfast? I'm feeling my belly complainin at me.”
”Of course, perhaps we should wake up Mags and see if she's hungry, too. What about you lot?”
”Mm hmm, food is good.”
”Yeah, I could eat something.”
”Something? I could eat a horse.”
”Hah, I don't think they serve horse here, but I can arrange for a continental breakfast or an English breakfast. For those of you unfamiliar with these terms: the main difference is English breakfast is heavy with sausages and baked beans and other such warm goodness - 'tis a classic, the continental breakfast consists of yoghurt with topping and a ton of rolls with jam, cheese or whatever you prefer. Choose your poison.”
A quick conference determined that they'd have a ton of both and could just keep the necessary things cool in the fridge in the room if they didn't eat it all.
”Sounds fair to me, that also means we won't have to wake up Mags. She can eat when she wakes up. Right, that's settled then. I'll just go place our order and I'll be right back.” With that Jem left the girls looking about the room.
There was silence for a second before they exploded into action.
”Mine!” Caz conquered a couch and flung herself on it, looking like a happy cat who just found that new bed its owner bought. The three others opted to just put town their belongings and sit at the table talking quietly.
Jem returned shortly with the news that a big-ass breakfast would be on the way. They could expect it in another 20 minutes. A round of whispered cheers followed the announcement and the talking continued.
Indeed, breakfast arrived and the smell of baked beans, freshly fried sausages, fresh fruit, and warm bread and rolls arrived with it. The girls dug in and not long after Mags opened her eyes and sniffed at the delicious smells assaulting her nose.
”Mmmm, food.” She muttered almost unintelligibly and got off the couch. Only then did she realise there were more in the room than there'd been when she went to sleep. ”Whoah, where did y'all come from?” She looked around. ”Right, uhm, I think I know where you came from, but.... wow... how long was I out?”
”Some hours now, hon, you probably needed it. Your fellow trans-Atlantic travelers will probably go to sleep when we're done here, so come join us while the company is still awake.” Ksena invited the still somewhat groggy Mags, who shook the remains of sleep out of her head.
”Right, thanks. Sorry, I think I'm still asleep. So uhm who's who?” Mags looked at the new faces questioningly while sitting down at the table helping herself to some breakfast.
”I'm Caz, this is Melissa and that's Barbara.” She gestured at the others in turn. ”You already know Jem and Ksena.”
After much talking and munching some quiet finally settled on the six young women gathered. Especially the three who had yet to sleep any were becoming more and more withdrawn. When Barbara almost dropped a glass of milk for no other reason than spontaneously relaxing her fingers she decided to get some of that famed cure-all known as sleep.
”Right you guys, I'm gonna go occupy that couch of there. Don't wake me unless it's absolutely necessary. I am soooo beat.” Involuntarily emphasizing her point with a major yawn she left the table and went to sleep on the couch she'd designated as her chosen location of restfulness.
Melissa and Caz shared a look of sympathy and exchanged a nod.
”I'll follow her example.” Melissa stated.
”And a brilliant example it was.” Caz added.
”Yeah, you two go on get some sleep. I'll clean this up a little bit.” Jem offered. ”The next arrivals won't be here till after noon, so we've quite the wait ahead of us.”
Ksena offered to help with tidying up the remains of breakfast and was welcomed gratefully by Jem who didn't look all that wakey herself. She was about to pack up the cheese and take it to the small fridge in the corner when she noticed how Mags had gone very quiet. She poked her between the ribs. Mags startled awake.
”Hey, sleeping will be nice on the couch, y'know.”
”Hm? Oh... right. Yeah.... thanks.” Mags was clearly not done sleeping and zombie walked to the couch she'd slept on earlier.
”Oh the joys of jetlag.” Jem smirked from the other end of the room. ”I think we should be really glad we didn't have to travel through any time zones.” Ksena could but agree with that statement.
The two of them quietly cleaned off the table and then sat down to talk, as far from their sleeping friends as possible. Several hours later, they left the still sleeping girls and went out to meet the next arrivals. Jem was looking at her list.
”Let's see. With this flight we should find Kit, Christine and Pati.” Quickly describing them to Ksena as they headed for the appropriate terminal. The last ones to arrive would be Roisin and Furiy, and Ksena suspected that all five would probably have slept on the plane and so wouldn't need to sleep in the airport. Their problem would probably not show itself till tonight when trying to sleep.
The easiest to spot turned out to be Christine. The red frizz was unmistakable and as soon as she spotted the sign she laughed and headed in that direction. Of course only Ksena could actually see that, being a foot taller than Jem and therefore having a somewhat better overview of things. Introductions were in the process of being made when Jem noticed a shy-looking girl with two-toned hair looking at them. She caught her gaze, raised an eyebrow and waved at her to join them.
”Kit, I presume?” She said when the girl joined them. She received a nod in return.
Pati noticed the sign first. ”DJ Groupies” it said. She chuckled and took a look at the people standing below it. Two people she recognised from the plane, one she hadn't seen before and one of whom she'd seen a picture. They were talking to each other and none of them were looking in her direction. She headed over to them.
”Dutchman fanciers all of you, right?” She asked. Two of them were startled by her sudden appearance. The two from the plane who had been standing with their backs turned.
”And you're Pati, yes?” The tallest of the four asked. Pati nodded and smiled.
”So... names?” She looked at the girl who had guessdher identity.
”Well you can probably recognise Jem from the photo she posted. I'm Ksena and these two are Christine and Kit.” Pati smiled at them all in turn and decided that while everyone seemed a little uncertain about the situation they all seemed to be really nice people. It would probably be a nice tenday once they all got to know each other.
They had been standing there, talking, for quite a while, when Ksena suddenly looked at Jem.
”Uhm Jem... when did you say Roisin and Furiy were to arrive?”
Jem checked the time. ”Oh shit! They'll set down in 20 minutes, we've been standing here for more than an hour. I'm gonna have to run to meet them. Sorry, guys. Ksena you remember the way to our room, right?” Ksena nodded and grinned.
”We'll meet ya there. Go find them.” Ksena said to Jem's already retreating back. ”Come on, it's this way. I'll introduce you to the others... that is, if they've woken up by now.” With that the four of them headed to the conference room.
It was almost two hours later before Jem could introduce Roisin and Furiy to the rest. The scheduled arrival had been extremely delayed, which a very disgruntled welcoming comittee could conclude after having run to reach the right terminal in time. With the arrival time being postponed one time after another, Jem was not the only one to be very relieved when passengers finally started picking up their luggage from the lines.
But eventually the two remaining Dutchman enthusiasts could join the group. Jem had taken care of the introductions and had then left once more. This time to order them all a nice solid dinner. And one other errand. Dinner arrangements made she went in search of an internet console. She had a post to make.
*********************
”Oy, 'Niko, come 'ere!” Clanker called to his friend the coxwain. Niko looked up from the magazine he was flipping through. They'd been sent ashore on Guernsey, three nights in a row to find news of the party they intended to crash. This night it seemed Clanker had found news.
”Lookit tha'! It be perfect!” Niko went to look over his friend's shoulder with some scepticism as to the truthfulness of that statement, but after reading he had to concede the point. He couldn't hide his excitement.
”Remind me to thank that lass. It be her planning we be owin' this to...” He reached for the keyboard and hit 'print'. ”We be'er be takin' this to the cap'n.” Waving the sheet of paper in front of Clanker's face he laughed gleefully. ”These 'ere words may be our shot a' a real good time. Best in years maybe!”
”Wha' be ye waitin' fer, then? Le's get movin'!” Clanker chided his comrade.
They made their way down to the docks, where they got on board one of the old tall ships docked there. From it they could pass through the hull back to the Dutchman. Hurried steps quickly brought them to the captain's door. Their rapid knocks prompted an invitiation and they stepped inside.
”What did ye find?” Jones' sneer cut through the darkness.
”We brought ye a print o' wha' we found, sir. It be good news.” Clanker answered his captain as Koleniko brought forth the sheet of paper. Jones took it from him and looked pointedly at the door. They left without further commentary hoping that the captain would be as optimistic about it as they were. Next thing to do would be telling the first mate, and so they went below decks to find him.
Jones for his part sat in his cabin reading the post once again.
********************
And now I bring you: News!
To all of you who chose not to join us. Here's what we'll be doing the next 10 days.
I have hired a ship, a real proper ship that is. She's a small schooner going by the name of Fortuna of Rotterdam. We will crew her ourselves, and we will sail down the English Channel, spending the nights anchored under the English coast judging from how the wind is right now. For a restock of fresh vegetables we'll dock in either Guernsey or Jersey depending on the wind and our whims and eventually return to Rotterdam the way we came.
I have training as a sailor on ships like this so we'll need no professionals with us. It'll just be us and a whole lot of whackyness.
And now I hope you're all regretting that you didn't decide to come.
*********************
Attached was a picture of the Fortuna. Indeed a small schooner. One mast, nothing more. Small enough to be crewed by 4 if they all knew what they were doing. So two handfulls of landlubbers should be able cope if supervised by someone who knew about sailing. As long as they didn't hit bad weather.
Davy scratched his temple with a tentacle. This did indeed count as good news. Now all he had to decide was whether to stay near Guernsey and wait for them to show up, or whether to find them somewhere along the English coast at night time. Both had tempting possibilities. Even his scepticism couldn't prevent the mischievous smile from creeping unto his face. This truly did seem to be as straight forward as they come.
******************
After a nice dinner at the airport 11 young women were just about ready to leave for their final destination. Though only one of them actually knew what it was yet, several theories were already flying across the room. Jem just kept her own counsel and didn't reveal a thing. All of a sudden Caz fell silent and started counting heads.
”Wait... we're only 11. Weren't we supposed to be 12? Who's missing?” She looked slightly alarmed.
”No one's missing. The one who isn't here is kleeng. And she's Dutch, she's been here all her life, so she'll meet us at our final destination. No need for her to come here. In fact she'll likely be there when we arrive. I'll admit to have let her in on a few more things than I have you lot.” Jem smiled secretively setting off yet another storm of protests and questions.
”Easy now. Why don't you gather your bags and other belongings and we'll head outside. We have an hour's drive ahead of us. Plus a little more. And then you'll all know what we'll be doing the next 10 days. So come on.” She started tidying things up and erasing the worst evidence of their day-long stay.
It wasn't long before everyone was ready and eager to be off.
”Hey Jem, why don't you have any luggage?” Christine wondered aloud.
”'Cause I've already dumped my bags where we'll be spending the night. I've been here for a couple of days, making sure all the details in my plan could come to fruition. There were papers that needed to be signed and such.” She explained. To Christine this whole thing sounded bigger and more involved than she had at all expected it to be.
She heard Jem make a phonecall while she was leading them through the airport. It sounded like she was arranging for someone to meet them. Her guess turned out to be correct as they found a minibus waiting for them in the pick-up lanes.
”Here we are, ladies,” their tour-guide said with her lop-sided grin ”I can do many things, but I can't drive vehicles big enough to take us all at once, so I hired one.”
They stowed all their luggage and climbed inside. Jem nodded to the driver and he set out on a route he had obviously been told of earlier, as he apparently needed no directions.
”Welcome to The Netherlands!” Jem said. ”The homeland of the Dutchmen, though the only Dutchman who'll be with us is, in fact, a Dutchwoman. Now, the Dutch are slightly mad drivers, so don't mind the traffic, they mean no harm. You'll be comforted to know that people have worse driving skills in Belgium, France and Italy. Trust me on that one. You don't want to put this particular statement to the test. Unless you have a deathwish, of course.” Again the lop-sided grin adorned her face. ”Now there's nothing more I have to do before we arrive at our destination, so any questions you've been dying to ask are welcome - except of course those pesky questions about where we're going and what we're going to do once we're there.”
Immediately she was drowned in questions from right and left, and Kit rather thought she looked like she already regretted offering to answer questions.
Eventually Pati stood up and calmed everyone down. ”Really! One at a time, people!” Jem sent her a grateful and rather bemused look.
It was Christine who asked the first question: ”You said practical clothing, so I gather we're going to be somewhere, where we won't be protected from the weather... can you confirm that?”
Jem laughed at that and answered in her best gravelly voice: ”Aye, I can. Ye be a smart one m'lady, trying to have the question anwered without asking it. Very clever.”
Furiy groaned quietly: ”Does that mean we're going camping? 'Cause that'd mean there'd be spiders and...” she shuddered and looked nervously around as if checking they weren't already sneaking up on her.
”No, we're not going camping, we're going yak-hunting.” A reassuring smile was sent her way. ”At this time of year there usually aren't any spiders where we're going. They're only about in the summer months, by now it's too cold... and windy.”
Roisin mulled over the hints Jem had so blatantly dropped. ”We're going sailing aren't we?”
Several of the others seemed to have figured the same and they looked to Jem expectantly. She smiled. ”I knew you'd realise it sooner or later. It's such an obvious thing to arrange for this community. And having done this before I had some connections...” She winked at Roisin. ”There's a schooner waiting for us in Rotterdam. That's the papers I needed to sign. Hiring it, and having the papers to prove that I'm certified to sail it, too. All that stuff. I had to be herein good time, just in case they weren't happy with my Danish permits and all that. But they were and all has turned out as it was supposed to.” A round of cheers ripped through the minibus.
Caz' eyes were shining. ”Aw man... we'll be all alone. Just us twelve. All alone, no one to tell us we're crazy, no one to tell us to shut up and quiet down. This is gonna be so AWESOME!!!” She got up and attempted to dance around in the aisle. ”We're gonna party! We're gonna party!” She sing-songed until she tripped over a bag and Mags had to catch her.
That had everyone bursting out in teary laughter that didn't die down till stomachs started cramping all over the place. Suffice to say the spirits were high when the minibus pulled up an hour later by the quayside where a one-masted schooner lay moored. They unloaded their belongings and took in the sight of the ship that would be their home for the next 10 days. Most were excited, only a few looked somewhat apprehensive. But all were in a partying mood and when Kleeng came on deck from below no one needed to be told who that was. Hugs and handshakes all over the place and then below decks to designate bunks.
That night they could all listen to the wind whistling in the rigging of all the ships in port. A lovely background music that set the theme for their gathering.
”Welcome on board the Fortuna.” Kleeng said when they were all seated around the two tables in the mess hall. ”Your captain for this tenday will be Jem. I expect that's no surprise to you. I will be your quartermaster. We all know we'll be partying, so if you have any mishaps that mean you'll require clean sheets or bedspreads, let me know. We have spares.” This invoked some laughter and she continued: ”Jem wil be in command on deck, she can't sail this ship all by her onesies, so she'll need us to help out. I will be in command below decks, that mainly means the galley. Jem and I figured that we'd just help each other cook, so every day some of you will be on galley duty. I'm sure we can make this work to the benefit of everyone.”
”Alriiight!” Melissa agreed. ”Sounds good to me. Jem, didn't you say something about supplying the spirits? How about a night cap?”
Jem grinned at her. ”You betcha! I have many different things. I have a Northsea Bitter, since we'll sail the North Sea before entering the English channel. I thought it fitting. Same strength as whiskey or rum, and it tastes very strongly of liquorice. And it's the colour of tar, be warned.” She pulled out a black stone bottle, with a picture of a sailor on the label. ”For those with a penchant for the classics I have here a sweet brown rum of a good Danish brand, you won't know it, but I'll vouch for it. Itbeats Bacardi by several lengths - not that that takes much of an effort.” She pulled out a stout glass bottle with the amber liquid they were all familiar with. ”And finally for those of you who might not be into the real strong stuff before we're starting the real party: Mead. A good classic Danish drink brewed on honey. It's very sweet and only half as strong as rum. Just don't drink more of it for that reason. With its sweetness you might end up guzzling it down and that could be bad.” She chuckled as she put the brown stone bottle on the table. It was quickly followed by twelve shot glasses made of clay.
”Help yourselves, ladies.” They didn't need to be told twice and spite of their intentions, two hours later they were still up, drinking, chatting and having a drunken good time.
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I apologize for any typos and other errors you might find. I haven't proof-read this. I've just typed out 5 pages of idea while I was in the right mood, and it's been ages since I've contributed anything at all. So here it is, for your enjoyment.
Right.... the fic:
Shameless Self-insertion
Chapter Two in which the Rabid Fangirls make Schiphol Airport Unsafe and Jones Starts Planning
Rating: PG for drinking
Fandom: POTC Heavily AU
Jem stood awaiting the earliest arrivals. Of course the first of the flights just had to come in at 4.30 in the morning. It couldn't be helped and she had promised to meet everyone. So there she was, standing in Schiphol Airport and it was as crowded as always, thus currently making it her least favourite place. At least she had made sure to get the conference room in due time, so they could withdraw to the relative privacy fairly quickly after finding each other. Now it was just the finding that had yet to happen.
A new wave of travelers came through the doors from the luggage lines. Some were dragging huge suitcases, some were striding off only carrying briefcases and a small pack. Business trips obviously. Quite a few were looking around searching for familiar faces. A family was reunited beside her and she discreetly side-stepped away from the happy squeals and teary kisses. Looked like it had been a long absence for that one.
Finally she spotted a red-head, thick and curly; check. Pale, freckles; check. She headed towards the girl hoping to catch her eye. It happened soon enough, and when the red-head's eyes fell on her cardboard sign she grinned and made a beeline towards her.
”You must be Mags. I'm Jem. Welcome to The Netherlands.” The red-head took her out-stretched hand and shook it while nodding, the cheerful grin never leaving her face.
”DJ Groupies?” Mags didn't even bother to hide her amusement.
”What? Would you have preferred Squid Lovers? Tentacle Fanciers perhaps” Jem said, raising an eyebrow at her. Two seconds of silence passed between them, before they couldn't hold back the laughter anymore. Jem proceeded to explain her choice of wording: ”I kinda had to write something that would sound normal but with a tinge of humour to most people. If there's anything I didn't want, it was to be accosted by all sorts of strangers asking me what the hell the sign was about. This way everyone will think they know what it means.”
Mags nodded. ”I see. So... that conference room you mentioned...”
”Later. First we're heading to the Continental arrivals. We're gonna pick up Ksena. With the slight delay on your flight we only have half an hour till hers will be here, and that's not enough time to get to our room and back again. Want me to help you with that bag?” Jem nodded at Mags' sports bag.
”Naw, thanks, I'll be okay. Lead the way!” Mags hefted her bag and joined Jem: It didn't take them long to be chatting animatedly about Davy, the crew and classical music. To Mags' great joy it turned out that Jem was into that as well. In fact she'd played the cello in a symphony orchestra for years some years back. Soon swapping tales of concert disasters and other musical mishaps became the main theme. Reaching continental arrivals Jem checked the screens with flight times and announced delays, she was clearly familiar with the place. Turning back to Mags, she looked mighty pleased.
”No delays. Ksena's plane will set down in 5 minutes so we can expect her here in 20 or so.” She pointed to a spot behind Mags' back. ”Tables, chairs, café, how about something to drink? It may be early morning here, but I suspect your body will be telling you it's bedtime pretty soon.”
Mags agreed, she was beginning to feel the call for a bed murmuring at the back of her mind. ”Yeah, coffee would probably be a good plan. Do they have decent coffee here?”
”I wouldn't know.” Jem smiled wryly. ”I don't drink coffee myself, can't stand the taste of it. There's only one exception to that rule and that's if you pour whiskey and whipped cream into my coffee.”
They went to sit down at the café. Mags was pleasantly surprised by their card and found that they could make her favourite. Jem ordered a ChocOrange and rolls with marmalade for the both of them. ”I figured you might need a bit of food as well, on-flight meals have never left me full.”
Mags nodded gratefully. ”So, mind if I ask what that is?” She pointed at the hot drink her companon had ordered.
”Nope. Hot chocolate with orange syrup and whipped cream, an absolutely divine invention for those of us who don't agree with coffee.” She wrinkled her nose at the last word, and Mags had to laugh at her expression.
”You really dislike coffee, huh?”
”Aye. I couldn't drink it to save my life. I love the smell of it, though. Interesting how something that smells so delicious can taste so bloody awful. Makes no sense whatsoever!” Jem sounded slightly offended that the world couldn't be bothered to make sense.
Soon the talk circled back to music. And the two of them were easily occupied for the 20 minutes they sat there. Jem glanced at the clock and went to pay their bill at the register, while Mags picked up her bag and they headed over to meet Ksena.
Ksena rolled her flight case behind her as she headed towards the exit. The customs officer asked if she had anything to declare, she just shook her head and continued past the desk. It had certain benefits being tall, in this steady flow of people she could still see where she was going. Heading through the one-way doors into the terminal she kept a sharp eye out for the black-coated girl in the photo. It didn't take long to spot her either, not with the big ”DJ Groupies” cardboard sign she was holding aloft.
Next to her was a girl with a shock of red curls. She headed straight for them, fighting to bury her shyness. She knew these people - at least in text. The two girls soon caught sight of her heading towards them, she waved and smiled.
”You must be Jem.” She greeted the shorter of the two and couldn't suppress a grin. ”You really weren't kidding when you said you were short, huh?”
”Yep and nope. And you weren't kidding when you said tall.” Jem demonstratively craned her neck at an odd angle as if it were the only way she could look at Ksena's face. ”This is Mags.” She gestured at her red-headed companion. Ksena smiled and shook hands with her, while Jem continued: ”It'll be a couple of hours before our next arrival, so let's head to our room and get settled. This way...”
The reason for the three of them being together soon became evident as the conversation gravitated to Davy Jones and the crew. Ksena was quickly able to shake off the last remains of shyness, as their mutual favourite subject was easily comfortable for all of them. They were not quiet, and Ksena once in a while managed to spot a passer-by who had clearly heard something they could not quite fathom concerning the nature of tentacles. The poor people clearly didn't want to know anymore either. She sniggered inwardly, when the rest turned up they'd be a force to be reckoned with.
Eventually Jem led them through a door to a fairly large room with a big table, plenty of chairs and couches that did indeed look quite comfortable.
”Here we are, ladies, make yourselves comfortable. We're here all day. Let me know if you need anything, there's a café and restaurant a bit further down the hallway that we will be making much use of during the day. I know I plan to.”
They talked a little more, but it wasn't long before Jem and Ksena began feeling the effects of having been up as early as they had, and soon Mags was troubled by her body thinking it was bedtime. A heartfelt simultaneous yawn from all three young women saw them deciding to get some sleep on those mighty inviting couches.
It wasn't long till Jem's cell-phone woke her up. She cursed it but rolled off the couch to prevent herself from falling asleep again. Sitting on the floor she checked the two others, relieved that they were still asleep. No need to wake them up, they probably needed the sleep. She scribbled a quick note to let them know she'd gone to meet the next arrivals, should they wake up and be all confused.
She checked her schedule, the next three would arrive with the same flight. She was curious to find out if the three of them had already realised this. They would have had several hours from check in to landing to find out. Nothing to do but wait and see, she decided as she made her way to the terminal to meet them.
Right on time, no delays. Jem was amazed, surely some benign deity was smiling upon them this day. And the luggage unloading had apparently also been very quick and efficient. Clearly it was the passengers from an American flight leaving the luggage lines even as she arrived there.
Hoisting her sign above her head, Jem kept an eye out for dirty blonde, red-brown and orange heads - one of each. And all three of them were a good bit taller than her. She snorted inwardly - that described most fo the world's population. Wait, was that...? Yep, definitely orange hair, and the woman underneath could qualify as skinny. That'd likely be Melissa then. Jem waved at her, and when the orange haired woman saw her sign she approached with a slight limp. Definitely Melissa.
”Ahoy, there Melissa. You wouldn't happen to have met Caz or Barbara, would you? I'm Jem”
”I can tell, you look like your photo.”
”I think that'd be my photo looking like me - I was there first. And photos make for decidedly bad conversation.” Jem shot back with a grin.
Melissa looked stunned for a moment.
”You did warn me you'd be blunt and might come across as rude, you know. Is it surprising I was prepared for it?” That had Melissa break out in a grin, too. She looked mostly relieved.
”Hehehe, I'm glad you can handle the bluntness. People tend to get all angry. Oh and no, I didn't even know the two others were on the same flight.” Looking slightly apologetically at Jem she turned back to the doors from the luggage lines.
”Hm, too bad. Guess we'll just have to keep an eye out for them, then." Just then two girls who could very well be the two they were looking for walked through the doors. They spotted Jem's sign at the same time, sniggered, realised there was a person sniggering next to them, understood that they were heading for the same thing and then laughed. They walked side by side to where Melissa and Jem were standing.
”That was so funny. We were just standing there, looking at each other and then you were standing next to me and we had been, walking together randomly chatting without even realizing we were meeting the same people, how stupid is that? That is sooo surreal, and awesome at the same time...”
”Caz. Shh” Jem winked at her. ”It's Barbara next to you, this is Melissa, I'm Jem as you both know.” She introduced everyone. ”Ksena and Mags are in the conference room, they were sleeping when last I saw them. Let's go there now. It'll be some hours before the rest will arrive.”
As so often with new people things get a bit awkward at first, but as they weren't truly strangers the talking soon heated up. To the new arrivals it was nighttime and not infrequently one of them had to stifle a yawn. Thus as they arrived at the conference room there was much cheering at the sight of comfy couches.
”Shhhh” Ksena admonished. ”Mags is still sleeping. And hi all...” She got up and shook hands with everybody. Then turned to Jem. ”Say could we arrange for breakfast? I'm feeling my belly complainin at me.”
”Of course, perhaps we should wake up Mags and see if she's hungry, too. What about you lot?”
”Mm hmm, food is good.”
”Yeah, I could eat something.”
”Something? I could eat a horse.”
”Hah, I don't think they serve horse here, but I can arrange for a continental breakfast or an English breakfast. For those of you unfamiliar with these terms: the main difference is English breakfast is heavy with sausages and baked beans and other such warm goodness - 'tis a classic, the continental breakfast consists of yoghurt with topping and a ton of rolls with jam, cheese or whatever you prefer. Choose your poison.”
A quick conference determined that they'd have a ton of both and could just keep the necessary things cool in the fridge in the room if they didn't eat it all.
”Sounds fair to me, that also means we won't have to wake up Mags. She can eat when she wakes up. Right, that's settled then. I'll just go place our order and I'll be right back.” With that Jem left the girls looking about the room.
There was silence for a second before they exploded into action.
”Mine!” Caz conquered a couch and flung herself on it, looking like a happy cat who just found that new bed its owner bought. The three others opted to just put town their belongings and sit at the table talking quietly.
Jem returned shortly with the news that a big-ass breakfast would be on the way. They could expect it in another 20 minutes. A round of whispered cheers followed the announcement and the talking continued.
Indeed, breakfast arrived and the smell of baked beans, freshly fried sausages, fresh fruit, and warm bread and rolls arrived with it. The girls dug in and not long after Mags opened her eyes and sniffed at the delicious smells assaulting her nose.
”Mmmm, food.” She muttered almost unintelligibly and got off the couch. Only then did she realise there were more in the room than there'd been when she went to sleep. ”Whoah, where did y'all come from?” She looked around. ”Right, uhm, I think I know where you came from, but.... wow... how long was I out?”
”Some hours now, hon, you probably needed it. Your fellow trans-Atlantic travelers will probably go to sleep when we're done here, so come join us while the company is still awake.” Ksena invited the still somewhat groggy Mags, who shook the remains of sleep out of her head.
”Right, thanks. Sorry, I think I'm still asleep. So uhm who's who?” Mags looked at the new faces questioningly while sitting down at the table helping herself to some breakfast.
”I'm Caz, this is Melissa and that's Barbara.” She gestured at the others in turn. ”You already know Jem and Ksena.”
After much talking and munching some quiet finally settled on the six young women gathered. Especially the three who had yet to sleep any were becoming more and more withdrawn. When Barbara almost dropped a glass of milk for no other reason than spontaneously relaxing her fingers she decided to get some of that famed cure-all known as sleep.
”Right you guys, I'm gonna go occupy that couch of there. Don't wake me unless it's absolutely necessary. I am soooo beat.” Involuntarily emphasizing her point with a major yawn she left the table and went to sleep on the couch she'd designated as her chosen location of restfulness.
Melissa and Caz shared a look of sympathy and exchanged a nod.
”I'll follow her example.” Melissa stated.
”And a brilliant example it was.” Caz added.
”Yeah, you two go on get some sleep. I'll clean this up a little bit.” Jem offered. ”The next arrivals won't be here till after noon, so we've quite the wait ahead of us.”
Ksena offered to help with tidying up the remains of breakfast and was welcomed gratefully by Jem who didn't look all that wakey herself. She was about to pack up the cheese and take it to the small fridge in the corner when she noticed how Mags had gone very quiet. She poked her between the ribs. Mags startled awake.
”Hey, sleeping will be nice on the couch, y'know.”
”Hm? Oh... right. Yeah.... thanks.” Mags was clearly not done sleeping and zombie walked to the couch she'd slept on earlier.
”Oh the joys of jetlag.” Jem smirked from the other end of the room. ”I think we should be really glad we didn't have to travel through any time zones.” Ksena could but agree with that statement.
The two of them quietly cleaned off the table and then sat down to talk, as far from their sleeping friends as possible. Several hours later, they left the still sleeping girls and went out to meet the next arrivals. Jem was looking at her list.
”Let's see. With this flight we should find Kit, Christine and Pati.” Quickly describing them to Ksena as they headed for the appropriate terminal. The last ones to arrive would be Roisin and Furiy, and Ksena suspected that all five would probably have slept on the plane and so wouldn't need to sleep in the airport. Their problem would probably not show itself till tonight when trying to sleep.
The easiest to spot turned out to be Christine. The red frizz was unmistakable and as soon as she spotted the sign she laughed and headed in that direction. Of course only Ksena could actually see that, being a foot taller than Jem and therefore having a somewhat better overview of things. Introductions were in the process of being made when Jem noticed a shy-looking girl with two-toned hair looking at them. She caught her gaze, raised an eyebrow and waved at her to join them.
”Kit, I presume?” She said when the girl joined them. She received a nod in return.
Pati noticed the sign first. ”DJ Groupies” it said. She chuckled and took a look at the people standing below it. Two people she recognised from the plane, one she hadn't seen before and one of whom she'd seen a picture. They were talking to each other and none of them were looking in her direction. She headed over to them.
”Dutchman fanciers all of you, right?” She asked. Two of them were startled by her sudden appearance. The two from the plane who had been standing with their backs turned.
”And you're Pati, yes?” The tallest of the four asked. Pati nodded and smiled.
”So... names?” She looked at the girl who had guessdher identity.
”Well you can probably recognise Jem from the photo she posted. I'm Ksena and these two are Christine and Kit.” Pati smiled at them all in turn and decided that while everyone seemed a little uncertain about the situation they all seemed to be really nice people. It would probably be a nice tenday once they all got to know each other.
They had been standing there, talking, for quite a while, when Ksena suddenly looked at Jem.
”Uhm Jem... when did you say Roisin and Furiy were to arrive?”
Jem checked the time. ”Oh shit! They'll set down in 20 minutes, we've been standing here for more than an hour. I'm gonna have to run to meet them. Sorry, guys. Ksena you remember the way to our room, right?” Ksena nodded and grinned.
”We'll meet ya there. Go find them.” Ksena said to Jem's already retreating back. ”Come on, it's this way. I'll introduce you to the others... that is, if they've woken up by now.” With that the four of them headed to the conference room.
It was almost two hours later before Jem could introduce Roisin and Furiy to the rest. The scheduled arrival had been extremely delayed, which a very disgruntled welcoming comittee could conclude after having run to reach the right terminal in time. With the arrival time being postponed one time after another, Jem was not the only one to be very relieved when passengers finally started picking up their luggage from the lines.
But eventually the two remaining Dutchman enthusiasts could join the group. Jem had taken care of the introductions and had then left once more. This time to order them all a nice solid dinner. And one other errand. Dinner arrangements made she went in search of an internet console. She had a post to make.
*********************
”Oy, 'Niko, come 'ere!” Clanker called to his friend the coxwain. Niko looked up from the magazine he was flipping through. They'd been sent ashore on Guernsey, three nights in a row to find news of the party they intended to crash. This night it seemed Clanker had found news.
”Lookit tha'! It be perfect!” Niko went to look over his friend's shoulder with some scepticism as to the truthfulness of that statement, but after reading he had to concede the point. He couldn't hide his excitement.
”Remind me to thank that lass. It be her planning we be owin' this to...” He reached for the keyboard and hit 'print'. ”We be'er be takin' this to the cap'n.” Waving the sheet of paper in front of Clanker's face he laughed gleefully. ”These 'ere words may be our shot a' a real good time. Best in years maybe!”
”Wha' be ye waitin' fer, then? Le's get movin'!” Clanker chided his comrade.
They made their way down to the docks, where they got on board one of the old tall ships docked there. From it they could pass through the hull back to the Dutchman. Hurried steps quickly brought them to the captain's door. Their rapid knocks prompted an invitiation and they stepped inside.
”What did ye find?” Jones' sneer cut through the darkness.
”We brought ye a print o' wha' we found, sir. It be good news.” Clanker answered his captain as Koleniko brought forth the sheet of paper. Jones took it from him and looked pointedly at the door. They left without further commentary hoping that the captain would be as optimistic about it as they were. Next thing to do would be telling the first mate, and so they went below decks to find him.
Jones for his part sat in his cabin reading the post once again.
********************
And now I bring you: News!
To all of you who chose not to join us. Here's what we'll be doing the next 10 days.
I have hired a ship, a real proper ship that is. She's a small schooner going by the name of Fortuna of Rotterdam. We will crew her ourselves, and we will sail down the English Channel, spending the nights anchored under the English coast judging from how the wind is right now. For a restock of fresh vegetables we'll dock in either Guernsey or Jersey depending on the wind and our whims and eventually return to Rotterdam the way we came.
I have training as a sailor on ships like this so we'll need no professionals with us. It'll just be us and a whole lot of whackyness.
And now I hope you're all regretting that you didn't decide to come.
*********************
Attached was a picture of the Fortuna. Indeed a small schooner. One mast, nothing more. Small enough to be crewed by 4 if they all knew what they were doing. So two handfulls of landlubbers should be able cope if supervised by someone who knew about sailing. As long as they didn't hit bad weather.
Davy scratched his temple with a tentacle. This did indeed count as good news. Now all he had to decide was whether to stay near Guernsey and wait for them to show up, or whether to find them somewhere along the English coast at night time. Both had tempting possibilities. Even his scepticism couldn't prevent the mischievous smile from creeping unto his face. This truly did seem to be as straight forward as they come.
******************
After a nice dinner at the airport 11 young women were just about ready to leave for their final destination. Though only one of them actually knew what it was yet, several theories were already flying across the room. Jem just kept her own counsel and didn't reveal a thing. All of a sudden Caz fell silent and started counting heads.
”Wait... we're only 11. Weren't we supposed to be 12? Who's missing?” She looked slightly alarmed.
”No one's missing. The one who isn't here is kleeng. And she's Dutch, she's been here all her life, so she'll meet us at our final destination. No need for her to come here. In fact she'll likely be there when we arrive. I'll admit to have let her in on a few more things than I have you lot.” Jem smiled secretively setting off yet another storm of protests and questions.
”Easy now. Why don't you gather your bags and other belongings and we'll head outside. We have an hour's drive ahead of us. Plus a little more. And then you'll all know what we'll be doing the next 10 days. So come on.” She started tidying things up and erasing the worst evidence of their day-long stay.
It wasn't long before everyone was ready and eager to be off.
”Hey Jem, why don't you have any luggage?” Christine wondered aloud.
”'Cause I've already dumped my bags where we'll be spending the night. I've been here for a couple of days, making sure all the details in my plan could come to fruition. There were papers that needed to be signed and such.” She explained. To Christine this whole thing sounded bigger and more involved than she had at all expected it to be.
She heard Jem make a phonecall while she was leading them through the airport. It sounded like she was arranging for someone to meet them. Her guess turned out to be correct as they found a minibus waiting for them in the pick-up lanes.
”Here we are, ladies,” their tour-guide said with her lop-sided grin ”I can do many things, but I can't drive vehicles big enough to take us all at once, so I hired one.”
They stowed all their luggage and climbed inside. Jem nodded to the driver and he set out on a route he had obviously been told of earlier, as he apparently needed no directions.
”Welcome to The Netherlands!” Jem said. ”The homeland of the Dutchmen, though the only Dutchman who'll be with us is, in fact, a Dutchwoman. Now, the Dutch are slightly mad drivers, so don't mind the traffic, they mean no harm. You'll be comforted to know that people have worse driving skills in Belgium, France and Italy. Trust me on that one. You don't want to put this particular statement to the test. Unless you have a deathwish, of course.” Again the lop-sided grin adorned her face. ”Now there's nothing more I have to do before we arrive at our destination, so any questions you've been dying to ask are welcome - except of course those pesky questions about where we're going and what we're going to do once we're there.”
Immediately she was drowned in questions from right and left, and Kit rather thought she looked like she already regretted offering to answer questions.
Eventually Pati stood up and calmed everyone down. ”Really! One at a time, people!” Jem sent her a grateful and rather bemused look.
It was Christine who asked the first question: ”You said practical clothing, so I gather we're going to be somewhere, where we won't be protected from the weather... can you confirm that?”
Jem laughed at that and answered in her best gravelly voice: ”Aye, I can. Ye be a smart one m'lady, trying to have the question anwered without asking it. Very clever.”
Furiy groaned quietly: ”Does that mean we're going camping? 'Cause that'd mean there'd be spiders and...” she shuddered and looked nervously around as if checking they weren't already sneaking up on her.
”No, we're not going camping, we're going yak-hunting.” A reassuring smile was sent her way. ”At this time of year there usually aren't any spiders where we're going. They're only about in the summer months, by now it's too cold... and windy.”
Roisin mulled over the hints Jem had so blatantly dropped. ”We're going sailing aren't we?”
Several of the others seemed to have figured the same and they looked to Jem expectantly. She smiled. ”I knew you'd realise it sooner or later. It's such an obvious thing to arrange for this community. And having done this before I had some connections...” She winked at Roisin. ”There's a schooner waiting for us in Rotterdam. That's the papers I needed to sign. Hiring it, and having the papers to prove that I'm certified to sail it, too. All that stuff. I had to be herein good time, just in case they weren't happy with my Danish permits and all that. But they were and all has turned out as it was supposed to.” A round of cheers ripped through the minibus.
Caz' eyes were shining. ”Aw man... we'll be all alone. Just us twelve. All alone, no one to tell us we're crazy, no one to tell us to shut up and quiet down. This is gonna be so AWESOME!!!” She got up and attempted to dance around in the aisle. ”We're gonna party! We're gonna party!” She sing-songed until she tripped over a bag and Mags had to catch her.
That had everyone bursting out in teary laughter that didn't die down till stomachs started cramping all over the place. Suffice to say the spirits were high when the minibus pulled up an hour later by the quayside where a one-masted schooner lay moored. They unloaded their belongings and took in the sight of the ship that would be their home for the next 10 days. Most were excited, only a few looked somewhat apprehensive. But all were in a partying mood and when Kleeng came on deck from below no one needed to be told who that was. Hugs and handshakes all over the place and then below decks to designate bunks.
That night they could all listen to the wind whistling in the rigging of all the ships in port. A lovely background music that set the theme for their gathering.
”Welcome on board the Fortuna.” Kleeng said when they were all seated around the two tables in the mess hall. ”Your captain for this tenday will be Jem. I expect that's no surprise to you. I will be your quartermaster. We all know we'll be partying, so if you have any mishaps that mean you'll require clean sheets or bedspreads, let me know. We have spares.” This invoked some laughter and she continued: ”Jem wil be in command on deck, she can't sail this ship all by her onesies, so she'll need us to help out. I will be in command below decks, that mainly means the galley. Jem and I figured that we'd just help each other cook, so every day some of you will be on galley duty. I'm sure we can make this work to the benefit of everyone.”
”Alriiight!” Melissa agreed. ”Sounds good to me. Jem, didn't you say something about supplying the spirits? How about a night cap?”
Jem grinned at her. ”You betcha! I have many different things. I have a Northsea Bitter, since we'll sail the North Sea before entering the English channel. I thought it fitting. Same strength as whiskey or rum, and it tastes very strongly of liquorice. And it's the colour of tar, be warned.” She pulled out a black stone bottle, with a picture of a sailor on the label. ”For those with a penchant for the classics I have here a sweet brown rum of a good Danish brand, you won't know it, but I'll vouch for it. Itbeats Bacardi by several lengths - not that that takes much of an effort.” She pulled out a stout glass bottle with the amber liquid they were all familiar with. ”And finally for those of you who might not be into the real strong stuff before we're starting the real party: Mead. A good classic Danish drink brewed on honey. It's very sweet and only half as strong as rum. Just don't drink more of it for that reason. With its sweetness you might end up guzzling it down and that could be bad.” She chuckled as she put the brown stone bottle on the table. It was quickly followed by twelve shot glasses made of clay.
”Help yourselves, ladies.” They didn't need to be told twice and spite of their intentions, two hours later they were still up, drinking, chatting and having a drunken good time.
*******************************************************************
I apologize for any typos and other errors you might find. I haven't proof-read this. I've just typed out 5 pages of idea while I was in the right mood, and it's been ages since I've contributed anything at all. So here it is, for your enjoyment.