Blackspot Jenny

Name Given at Birth: Jenny Blackwell

Nicknames: Blackspot Jenny

Hometown or where you were born: Newington, London, England

Current Residence: I live aboard the Revenge, and wherever the winds may take her.

Age: I be four and twenty years.

Class: Of course there be those that say I have no class at all, but it's that class that be the best one, in my experience!

What do you do, your main function in life/society: Survivin' and thrivin' by any means is what I do. More specifically, I be our ship's quartermaster – I take into my hands jobs like divvying up the booty, punishin' those who be deservin' it, and keepin' a general order of things on board. Sometimes Captain Kelley sees fit to send a press gang out and in those times, I be the one leadin' the way.

Have you ever gone skinny-dipping / do you know how to swim: Aye, my brothers taught me how to swim when I was but a wee lass. In times of leisure I may enjoy a dip now and again, but there be no more convenient time to wash my clothes as the same time I be washin' myself, so skinny-dippin' is somethin' I'll not be engagin' in any time soon.

Do you make fun of people: Aye, of course! I've not seen man nor woman without somethin' the rest of the world can laugh at!

Favorite Color: Black is the color I be most fond of – I find it to be most useful to wear when hidin' in the shadows.

Have you ever committed or been convicted of a crime: Of all the crimes I've committed in my life thus far, there be none for which I've ever even been brought to trial.

Closest friends/How did you meet: Captain Kelley is the man I owe my current existence to, as he let me stay aboard after I was caught stowing away in the hold. I challenged his first mate to a duel with swords to prove I was useful for more than just…recreation, as that was what the crew wanted to use me for, and bested him thanks to the teachin' of my oldest brother, and my readin' and writin' has come in handy as well. Scuttlebutt Billy is the only crewmember I'd ever trust with my secrets, as he knows what's good for him and keeps his gossipin' to himself.

One Pillow or two: We've pillaged many a ship, and a small few have yielded us a few bits of comfort such as pillows – I have one in my bed, but am always on the lookout for more!

Pets: I have no time to take care of animals, what with the entire crew to keep in line!

Favorite Type of Music: I enjoy me a good shanty as much as the next pirate worth his salt!

Hobbies/Pastimes: Sadly, I don't get a lot of time to myself, what with all the responsibilities aboard. When I do, though, I like to take a watch in the crow's nest for some peace and quiet, or relax in the fresh air in the prow of the ship. Sometimes we come by a book or two on our travels and, seeing as how most none of the rest of the crew can so much as write their own names, I keep 'em all to myself in my quarters. Since Her Majesty came to sit on the throne of England, books are becomin' more readily available to the people (and subsequently, to those who rob them) and I'm proud to say I've amassed quite a collection, including a copy of the Bible.

Personal Hygiene: Aside from a brief scrubdown with seawater every few days in my quarters, I never have the time nor the inclination to bathe further while a-sail. In port, however, if I can find me some bit of ocean that doesn't stink of dead fish, I'll take a dip. The warm waters of the Caribbean are best for those kind of practices, though.

Favorite Food: Fruit. Any fruit is a great pleasure to me. My favorites are citrus fruits, that's why I'm always so glad when our travels take us south to Spain and Portugal.

Are your parents alive, do you get along with them: I haven't seen me parents in nigh on six years, not since I first set sail with the crew. They were both alive when I left them, though, and both in relatively good health so unless my mother died in childbed I would think they're still alive. When I was with them, I got along with my father better than with my mother, which hurt her to no end because after many years and five sons, she wanted a daughter she could call her own child – not a daughter-turned-son as I wound up becoming. Four of my older brothers died of the milk sickness, and my oldest one worked in my father's printing shop while I helped them out where I could and ran deliveries of books all over the city. Always was me father's daughter, and I think that was a terrible sour draught for her to swallow.

If your parents are dead, when and how did they die: I suppose if ye could make it to Newington to the house I grew up in, ye'd find my parents still there and livin' on.

Favorite place to relax: Any place on the ship where I can smell the salt air and see out to the horizon. The prow of the ship most often – I always like to look where we're going. No interest in where we've been.

Favorite Holy Day / Why: Christmas is as merry as we can make it on the ship, but another holy day sacred to us pirates is the feast day of Saint Anthony of Padua – as long as we be givin' him due reverence, he be keepin' us safe on our voyages.

Favorite Drink: As much as I like the taste of rum, it's a bad thing for me to be drinkin' it on board as I have to keep my wits about me. Small ale is what I be drinkin' most, though a good stout beer is a treat for me. What is rare to be had and much desired, though, is a drink of clean, fresh water, though I can't recall the last time I had it.

What's your bedtime: Rise early an' late to bed is the way me day goes. After I see to my duties and the care of the crew, I'm free to take my rest – a few hours after sundown is usually when I go to bed.

What, if anything, do you usually wear on your feet: My shoes are a good pair of strong leather boots, good for sailin', good for walkin', good for fightin'.

Are you married or single: I'm not married right now, but sometimes I find myself thinkin' of changing that someday…somehow.

Do you have a family / who are they: The closest thing I have to a family right now is the crew – I've been with them for almost six years. There's a distance between us to be sure – ye never know if your best mate will fall under a sword tomorrow, but we keep as close as is fit for a good crew.

Favorite Entertainment: Poor Billy will do anything I ask him – the lad's either lost his wits or is overly obliging. It's great to come up with new games for him to do, although I admit to a twinge of conscience when I told him one day in the Caribbean that I wanted me some shark meat that hadn't been spoiled by bullet nor sword – and the lad jumped right in with nary a questioning look, forgettin' that he can barely swim and also forgettin' that those sharks I pointed out could have feasted down to his bones before you could blink. Luckily, Jake netted him before he could come to any real harm, and he escaped with nary a scratch on him – the boy's been blessed by Saint Anthony, that's for sure.

Favorite Subject in School or Chore growing up: Me oldest brother teachin' me to fight was the time I most enjoyed, though me father teachin' me to read is also a treasured memory.

Least Favorite Subject in School or Chore growing up: Cleanin' up spilled ink! Especially if it was me who spilled it – there was a thrashing in store for me for bein' so careless as to waste it.

Favorite Sport: Fightin's the only physical activity that I really partake in, but it's somethin' I enjoy immensely, especially when there's plenty of it!

Most Humiliating Moment: When I was a lass, I would help my father out in the printing shop with setting type and running errands and the like. One day I was carryin' a large pot of freshly mixed ink over to the press when in comes a man more finely dressed and more handsome than I'd ever seen…I became so cross-eyed at him that I stumbled on the floor and dropped the pot, which shattered and splashed ink all over the floor and – unfortunately – all over myself and the fine clothes of the lord who'd just crossed the threshold. He yelled in surprise and horror at his fancy clothes being ruined, and I immediately dropped to my knees to try and clean it up but he pushed me roughly out of the way. I buried my face in my hands as my father came runnin' in and he swatted me out with a broom. It wasn't 'til after my brother got back from makin' a delivery that I found out that I had gotten two matching handprints on my face with ink that wouldn't come off for days. Every time we had a customer come in to the shop, I had to listen to him snicker.

Proudest Moment: Winnin' the respect of the crew be the thing I'm most proud of. It's one thing to scare the men into leavin' ye be, but when they treat you with respect as one of them, that's the best feelin'.

Craziest Person or silliest you know: Scuttlebutt Billy, to be sure – the boy'll do anythin' I ask him. Trust me, I've tested that theory.

What do you look for in the opposite sex: I don't have those romantic notions that most girls get into their heads, but you can't expect my eye not to be caught by a pair of dark eyes and a finely turned leg, now can you? Also a bright smile – if the man's got all his teeth, it's good enough for me. Maybe a man who knows his way around a ship or a shop or a farm…a man who could offer me a life that didn't involve me washin' other men's blood out of me clothes every other day…good with his hands, of course, perhaps he makes his livin' making candles or books, or tendin' a small farm, tall…tall is good, I can't remember last time I met a man very much taller than me, hmm, dark hair, t'would be nice…as long as he doesn't mind me life of robbin' and killin', I'd follow a man like that wherever…wait, what am I sayin' ?! Arrrg…

In our Hierarchical Society everybody has somebody "over" them, Who is your immediate "overlord"? Captain Kelley is the only man I be answerin' to.

Favorite Sport to watch: I'm never watchin' the action, I'm always in the bloodiest fray with the rest of me crew. I've never seen a joust, though, and am lookin' forward to the one at Canterbury this harvest faire.

Do you remember your first kiss: Aye, that I do, and 'twas my last one as well. Me first night on the ship, Captain Kelley had given me a good room below decks for me own safety, with a bar across the door that I left off on purpose to see if any of the crew would dare go against the captain's orders that I was to be left to me own devices. The quartermaster didn't listen, though, and I heard the door creak open, his step on the floor and then his slobbery mouth was all over mine and his hands were a-grabbin' at me for only a second before I slit his bloody throat open with the knife I took to bed with me that night and every night since. I hauled him up on deck and split his belly open before garroting him with his own guts and lashing him to the mizzenmast for the crew to take note of the next day. No man aboard the ship ever bothered me after that night. Ye have to be doin' what ye need to do to stay alive.

Do you keep in touch with your childhood friends: Nay, it's been six years since I saw my old friends. I would imagine that they inherited their family's shops or married and still be livin' in London.

Where is your favorite "Vacation" spot: Warm sun, blue water. Islands, sand, not a cloud in the sky. I love my homeland, but she can keep her damp and leave me to the Caribbean.

Have you ever been overseas: …constantly.

Do you have Dirt/Mud floors or Stone: The Revenge is made of wood, through and through.

What is your bed made of: It was little more than a straw pallet on the floor when I got it, but Lady Fortune sent a ship on her way to the New World right across our path, with a fine cargo and a fancy lady aboard. We ransomed the lady back to her family in England, but we kept her goods for ourselves – including a carved wooden bed and a feather tick mattress that I directed to me own quarters without tellin' the captain of it. Bein' generous, though, I only took one of the pillows and divvyed up the remainder amongst the crew. What can I say? I have a weak spot in me heart for frills.

How many people sleep in your bed: When I'm in it? Just I. I have, however, come down to my quarters many a time and found Scuttlebutt snorin' away atop my feather mattress without a care in the world. After heapin' curses upon his head time after time and giving him several sound kicks on his way out the door, you'd think the boy would learn.

10 Things Everybody Should Know About Me:

1. After making my way as a pirate for six years, I sometimes find myself daydreamin' about a husband and a landlocked life to settle down in…I must be crazy.

2. I have dreams about one day seein' the New World…sadly, our journeys never take us that far.

3. My father owns a printing shop in London – it was there I learned to read and write not only in English, but in Latin as well, as he also translated books into English.

4. Most people think that because I'm a girl, I shouldn't be on a pirate ship and that I can't hold my own with the best of the men – I assure you, though, that's not the case. Captain Kelley didn't make me the quartermaster of his ship on a whim.

5. Scuttlebutt Billy once caught me tryin' on dresses we pillaged from a ship…he alone knows my penchant for girly things, despite my dark and plain clothing…and he's not talkin'.

6. Instead of spendin' me plunder, I be savin' it…am I going to try and take me own ship, or will I use it to settle down? I haven't yet decided.

7. Whenever the crew is in need of more sailors, Captain Kelley sends me out with a few of the men to obtain them – and we use force to do it. An unwilling man makes a better pirate than a willing one, at least if you want to keep your crew free of mutineers.

8. If you want to bribe me, money's of no use to ye…it's a goodly deal of fruit that'll get ye what ye be after…that's my weakness.

9. Seeing the joust isn't my only reason for coming to Canterbury this harvest…Captain Kelley's ordered us on a special task…

10. While I be proficient with a rapier, I'm actually a terrible shot with a pistol…it would be wise not to be the man standin' next to the man I be aimin' at!

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