CHAPTER 11

Nobody could sleep that night. In Daniel's case, it was fear for his dear Annabelle. As for the rest, you were already used to spending sleepless nights in hunger and fear to all of a sudden go back to a normal sleeping schedule. According to Daniel, the Black Pearl was about a day and a half from a small fishing port in Morocco, and although he wouldn't admit it, Jack wanted to be in the safe vicinity of land.

Most of the crew recovered most of their strength after a hearty meal. Even Anna Maria was back to her normal self, securing everything on the ship and scolding the other crew members about their less than satisfactory work.

Now everybody was all on deck, trying to make small talk to keep each other from getting too anxious. You and Elizabeth are sitting near the helm, listening to another story of Jack's. Will and Daniel are standing near, also listening. Everyone manages weak smiles as the story ends. You try to be really cheerful to keep spirits high, but only Jack laughs at the jokes you tell and only he pays attention to your stories. Everybody just stared off into the distance, thinking to themselves, or losing hope. You couldn't tell which. But deep inside of you, you knew this trip wasn't in vain and you were going to find Annbelle. You tell this to Elizabeth who doesn't say anything, but gets up and says she's going to sleep. Will follows, and soon Daniel does too. He occupies the last bunk in the small cabin, making it seem a little more cramped.

Drowsiness overcomes you too, but you had no desire to go to sleep. Instead, you stay out on deck and stare at the stars for a long while. You've never seen so many. The lights of the city always made them fade into the sky. A shooting star flies over and you secretly wish that everyone would cheer up. It was like being at a funeral all the time.

You walked over to Jack. "Do you think we'll find Annabelle?" He looks at you and smiles. "I wouldn't be all the way out here if I didn't. Losin' hope, are we?"

"Never. I just wish the others would cheer up a little."

"Can you blame them? Daniel obviously loves her more than anything, and Will and Lizzie has known them for a while, and their quite close."

"I guess. But it's still depressing." A cold wind blows and you pull closer to Jack. "I'll be happy when we get on solid ground again."

"As I."

You raise your eyebrows. "I thought you were a pirate. Pirates love being out at sea."

"Aye, they do. But not for so long. I don't think I've been so long without a stop at Tortuga." Jack looked a little depressed after saying that.

"I want to be a real pirate," you say. "I want to go into Tortuga and get drunk like real pirates, and then I want to be able to sail wherever I want like real pirates."

Jack smiled. "I'd say you're well on your way to becoming one."

"Then why didn't you let me go with you and Will that night in Tortuga?"

"I told you, luv. It'd be a shame to lose you."

"So what happens next time? Do I have to sit on the ship again?" You start to feel useless.

" 'Course not. Next time, I'll take you on a grand tour of Tortuga, and you'll see the best bars and you'll learn to drink like a real pirate. Not that you already don't know how." Jack grins and you shoot back, "I believe I have that down pat.. I'll hold you up to that agreement Captain Jack Sparrow."

"I'm sure you will." He looks at you, and you at him, with unwavering eye contact. Quite unexpectedly for both, you kiss. It seemed the perfect opportunity. Jack had been looking dead into your eyes and you knew right there that he had fallen for you, and you for him. The kiss was extremely soft, yet held so much emotion that has been looked up inside for the last two months. As absurd as the explanation sounds, it seemed so right.

Jack had let go of the helm and the Black Pearl lurched to the left sharply. You both broke apart, you blushing furiously and Jack said, "Pearl's jealous."

You laugh as he grabs the helm and puts the ship back on course. "Tell her to stop being such a wench. She's had her attention." As if in response, the wind dies down briefly and then picks up again. Jack caresses the helm gently. "It's alright luv. You're still me favorite ship."

You smile and say, "Well, I'm off to bed. Good night, Jack."

"Good night, luv." He smiles to himself as you walk down to your cabin, lost in your own glorious thoughts. Jack had kissed you. He had feelings for you, or at least you hoped. Doubt came over you as you crawl up to the remaining bunk and lay down.

But then the kissed replayed in your head over and over again, and soon, you were fast asleep with a smile on your face.

* * * *

You are still smiling as Elizabeth shakes you awake the next morning. You yawn and say, "Morning, Elizabeth. Sleep well?"

"No, thanks to you. The few hours I did have to sleep were interrupted with random lines of 'Of course I'll marry you Jack Sparrow' or 'I want to be a pirate and sail with you until I die'."

You look positively mortified. "Did I really?"

Elizabeth laughs. "Not those exact words, but something close enough."

"Did Will and Daniel hear?"

"I know Will did. We had a good laugh this morning listening to you. Not sure if Daniel did, but he might've."

You blush and decide not to tell Elizabeth what happened last night. You start to fear it was only a dream. "How about some breakfast?"

You and Elizabeth walk towards the small kitchen where Will and Daniel were chatting away. They reminded you of women talking about a fancy ball, they way they were so excited about swords. They both rise as you and Elizabeth sit down. Then they give you a peculiar look while you grab an orange and start peeling it. You notice them staring at you. "What's wrong? Can't a person eat breakfast without being stared down?"

Will quickly looked away but Daniel smiled. "You know, Jack was just here."

You blush again. "What did he say?"

Daniel shrugged. "He seems to be quite fond of you."

You guess there was more to this than that. "And?"

"And err, that was it."

Elizabeth raises her eyebrows knowingly. She grabs you buy the arm and pulls you up. "If you'll excuse us gentlemen, we have some things to discuss."

You smile and manage to grab your orange plus another apple before you are dragged out. Elizabeth pulls you out on deck, near the bow. She smiled and asked, "What exactly was Daniel talking about?"

"Well, last night, after you'd gone to sleep, Jack and I kissed."

"I knew it!" Elizabeth sounded like she just solved a great mystery. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I was afraid it was just a dream," you respond, still hoping it wasn't.

"Nonsense. Jack obviously told them," she pointed down towards the galley. "Quite inappropriate, but he's a pirate. And you'd do well to remember that. He is a pirate, after all."

You smile at the words Elizabeth was saying. "According to your stories, you yourself told your father that you were marrying Will and he was indeed a pirate."

She frowns at having her own words used against her. "But he wasn't like a real pirate. Jack is, well, free. He won't settle down for anything."

"And why should he?"

"I just don't want you to get hurt is all."

"I'll be fine." You hug her. "Thanks for caring."

You both walk back down to where you left Will and Daniel, and sit down to a proper breakfast. There are some stale bread pieces that tasted fine when dunked into a cold type of broth. You and Elizabeth squeeze enough oranges to supply the whole entire crew with juice. Most of the crew drift in in pairs, getting some grub before they spent the day working.

Jack eventually comes in, and sits and talks with the four of you for a little while. You catch his eye a few times and smile at him. He always returns it and throughout the conversation, his chair somehow ends up right next to yours. You lean on him as his hand somehow wraps around your shoulders, and too soon for your liking, Jack has to get up and be the captain. Jack and Daniel go off to work, and left you and Elizabeth very bored.

Throughout the trip, you've told Elizabeth basically everything of interest in the future, and she told you more times than you could count the stories of her adventures with Will and the pirates. She told you that Will and her used to have a ship, and they sailed all over the Caribbean with a loyal crew. She said they sold the ship when Will became the blacksmith, instead of the apprentice, as he was before the death of Mr. Brown.

After a little small talk, you and Elizabeth walk back to the bunk cabin and make the beds and straighten up. Elizabeth comments on the dust, and soon you have the window open airing the whole room out. She then suggests you both do the same to Jack's room, and soon you are both in there, tidying up the place. You open the window and the room feels much cooler. Elizabeth sighs and sinks into a chair. "Just think. The four of us are stuck in that sad excuse for a room, and Jack gets this large one complete with a large bed and five pillows."

You look around the room and notice something lying open on the table. It's a book, sort of like a journal. You flip it to the front. A title page reads: The Records of the Black Pearl Under the Command of Captain Jack Sparrow

You smile to yourself. Several pages were already full of some details of earlier travels of Jack's. You feel touched that he actually took your advice and started keeping records. You open the book to where you found it and leave it sitting on the table. You weren't very sure how Jack would react to you reading it, so you put it back to where it was.

"Does Jack ever sleep?" you comment after realizing that he is always steering the ship, and he only lets Gibbs steer when he was eating. Then you find the log on the table and wonder how in the world he does it.

"I suppose not," Elizabeth responded. "Either he made his bed this morning or he didn't go to sleep. It was already straightened up."

"That will remain a mystery. Let's go. I feel kind of bad being in here without Jack knowing," you say, walking out the door. Elizabeth shuts the window and locks the door on the way out. "What do we do now?"

"I don't know. Let's see if they need some help with anything." You both walk around the ship, looking for Will, when your search brings you to the helm, where he, Jack, and Daniel were talking. We you get nearer, you can tell that Jack was telling them everything he knew about Giltmore. Apparently, Jack had a few run-ins with him over the past couple years. He says, reassuringly to Daniel, "As much of a rat that Giltmore is, I'm sure he wouldn't let anything happen to Annabelle until he needed her. Apparently he kidnapped her for a specific reason, or he would've done more damage in port Royal."

Daniel sighs and Will puts his arm around his wife to comfort her. Apparently Jack wasn't that convincing. He says, "We should reach port in the middle of the night with the speed we're making."

"Is there anything you'd have us do?" You add with a cheeky smile as an afterthought, "Captain."

"Well, you my dear lass, can steer. I need to check on the crew and make sure they're not ruinin' me precious Pearl."

You grab the helm, quite confident in yourself. Jack's been letting you practice throughout the trip. Once you commented that it was like driving a large car, which thoroughly confused him, but he lets you steer anyway. While you keep on course, Jack walks off with Elizabeth on his heels.

"Jack," she says, quite seriously, "Please don't hurt her."

Jack stops. "And why do you think I'll do that?"

"I know how you are with women."

"And how many real women did you know me to be with?" Elizabeth thought. Since she knew him, he has never been in a serious relationship.

"So she's different from all the others then?"

Jack smiles. "Aye. She is."

* * * * *

CHAPTER 12

That night, a couple hours after the sun sets, land is spotted. Everyone takes turns looking through a spyglass towards the great continent of Africa. You can barely make out fireworks on the horizon. Daniel explains that they were having a festival that lasted about a week. "They barely get any sleep, those Moroccans. I can't exactly remember why they're celebrating, but we'll find out soon enough."

"Does any of you actually know how to speak Moroccan?" You are a bit worried of how you were going to communicate the need for supplies and clues to Annabelle. Everyone shakes their heads.

Jack shrugs. "We can always improvise."

You roll your eyes and look once again towards the red, purple, and gold fireworks decorating the horizon. "How long until we get there, Captain?"

"Two hours. Two and a half tops."

Your eyes are heavy with sleep, but the prospect of seeing land again is too exciting. You lean against the rail, trying not to doze off. This lasts for about ten minutes, and you finally decide you need some shut eye. You say good night to the Turners and Daniel, and drift over to the helm.

"Good night Jack," you say, after giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "You really should get some sleep. You've been steering this ship almost non stop since we started."

"When we reach the coast, I'm going to catch up on a lot of missed sleep. So, you being Miss Sleeps-In-A-Lot will have to get up at a reasonable time and help the crew."

"Reasonable time? A reasonable time to you, Jack Sparrow, is two hours before the sun comes up!"

"Hard days work never killed anyone luv." He smirks and you respond, "I'll give a hard day's work after I've had a good days rest on solid ground. Night, Jack."

"G'night."

You stumble over your own feet trying to get down to the bunks. It was dark, and darkness and lethargy don't cooperate very well together. When you finally do reach the room, you fall into the nearest bed. You think of how long you would be able to sleep in before you drift into a very deep, undisturbed sleep.

* * * *

Your undisturbed sleep was interrupted by a sudden dream of your friends and family back home, followed by a horrible falling dream. You awake and bolt up, your heart threatening to pound itself out of your chest. You sit for a minute and try to put together what you had dreamt, but as the seconds pass on, you forget some of the pieces and are left very confused. A glance out the window tells you that the sun was about to rise, so you get up, hitting your head on the bunk above you. You curse loudly, and then mentally slap yourself for forgetting that other people were trying to sleep.

"So long to sleeping in," you think to yourself as you scramble towards the galley. You grab a couple of oranges, at the same time wishing there would be something different to eat now that you've reached land.

The deck was completely deserted when you get there. The first light of the morning is shining a brilliant red behind the small village on the coast. Decorations from the festival are still covering the otherwise bare houses and other buildings. Seagulls are fighting over scraps of food left out on the beach. A breeze picks up and blows sand up in torrents, covering the dock the Black Pearl is currently occupying. You smile as the first people on land stir and begin to start their day. Shopkeepers were setting out stands of exotic produce and booths of various trinkets. It is an overall gorgeous morning.

You finish up eating your oranges and decide to go for a swim. It is still early, and it is nice and peaceful. The water looked calm and refreshing. You have not been swimming since the day you washed up in Port Royal.

You take off your shirt and skirt, leaving you only in the lightweight petticoat Elizabeth gave to you. Folding the shirt and skirt, you hang them over the rail to air them out. You untangle the turquoise bandana from your hair and shake your hair free. It feels so nice to stand there with the breeze reaching your arms and upper chest.

You look over the rail into the calm water. The gangplank was not yet put in position, and you certainly couldn't move it by yourself, so the only option for swimming is to jump. "I can do this, no big deal, right?" You think out loud to yourself. "Think Indiana Jones, think pirate!" So you step up on the rail, instantly get an adrenaline rush. "Do do do dooo, do do doooo..." You start humming the Indiana Jones them music, and then laugh at yourself for being so silly. You were only going for a swim, not saving a whole village, but it's still fun to pretend, aye?

Taking a deep breath, you gracefully dive in, hold your breath through the small free fall, and land in a not-so-grateful cannonball. You let yourself sink under the water for about ten feet, and then swim to the surface, smiling. The feel of water on your skin after such a long time cooped up on the ship was so very invigorating. You let yourself float on your back and close your eyes as the current sweeps through your hair.

Your thoughts occupy your serene mind, and you actually laugh at the thought that you were really sailing with a crew of pirates out on a grand adventure. You've been to so many new places, and even more still to go. You're heading for the Nile River, in a region so new and exotic to you.

All this traveling made you think of a song you loved so much. Out loud, still floating with your eyes closed, you begin to sing. "See the pyramids along the Nile. Watch the sunrise from a tropic isle. Just remember darlin' all the while, you belong to me." The wind picks up and you dunk under the warmer water, come back up, and continue. "See the marketplace in old Algiers, send me photographs and souvenirs, just remember when a dream appears, you belong to me. I'll be so alone without you, maybe you'll be lonesome too. Fly the ocean in silver plane, see the jungle when it's wet with rain. Just remember 'til you're home again, you belong to me."

You keep singing, completely unaware of the audience you receive. Jack had gotten up later than normal, but still quite early, and was about to find some breakfast when he heard someone singing. Walking across the weather deck, he peers over the side and sees you relaxing in the water. Your voice is so beautiful and calm that he stands and listens for a minute. The song was very beautiful as well. The words seem to drift like a cool tropical wind back in the Caribbean.

The Turners and Daniel also awake, and Elizabeth hears you as well. She spots you from a spot away from Jack, and notices him listening. She smiles and goes back to talk to Will.

You finish your song, and somewhat reluctantly open your eyes and swim a couple of strokes. Your under-dress started to weigh you down, but you are NOT going to risk taking that off. You dunk your whole body underwater and suspend there for a second. You risk opening your eyes in the salt water and you are amazed at how clear everything seems. Underwater seems even more calm and beautiful than above. You look up and see the sunlight reflecting down through the water, and the silhouette of the Black Pearl looming over you. Your eyes sting when you break the surface and open them in the air. You look up an see Jack smiling down at you. 'How long hs he been there?' you think desperately. It is quite embarrassing when someone hears you singing to yourself.

Jack throws down a rope ladder which you climb with a little bit of difficulty. You lost most of your arm strength from lack of food. When you finally do manage your way up, Jack has a dry blanket waiting. He looks at you with raised eyebrows.

"What's wrong?" you ask suspiciously. He looks you up and down and smirks. You look down and notice your petticoat was transparent when wet, and a little more than what was comfortable is showing. You gasp and your eyes widen as you snatch the blanket from Jack and wrap it securely around yourself. By this time, most of the crew was awake and saw the whole thing. You feel yourself blushing like mad as you pull your clothes off the rail and head down to the bunks as fast as your feet could take you. The sense of serenity you were feeling earlier is now gone. You sit on the top bunk in the corner, trying to dry off. Looking back, it was worth the minutes of relaxation you enjoyed before the embarrassment. At least Jack was the only one who saw too much. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

After five minutes of sitting there air drying, Elizabeth walks in. She asks, "Are you all right?"

You smile. "Yes. Just a bit embarrassed. Nothing major though. Just sitting here trying to dry off."

She climbs up and sits next to you. "I heard you singing earlier. You have a beautiful voice."

You smile modestly. "Did everyone hear?"

"I don't think so. I know Jack did, and I did, but as for everyone else, I'm not sure."

You sigh. "I suppose I'm mostly dry. Would you throw me up my clothes?" Elizabeth crawls down and picks up your shirt and skirt from the floor. You look at your skirt. The brilliant purple is faded and some of the gold thread has snags in it. There is a small hole on the side near the bottom hem. Your shirt is now longer crisp and white, but yellow and ragged. There are long rips going up the sleeves, running from the wrists to the elbows. You pull the shirt and skirt on and crawl down from the bunk.

"We're going ashore later," Elizabeth tells you. "Hopefully we can find some real food around here."

"And some hints to Giltmore," you add.

The pair off you head up to the weather deck where most of the crew is relaxing. There is a poker tournament between Anamaria and a few other crew members. Needless to say, Anamaria is kicking ass. Some men have followed your example and are swimming near the ship.

You find Will, Daniel, and Jack playing with another deck of cards. They are playing a game you don't know, so you watch a couple of hands. Jack is obviously winning, as there is a small pile of silver coins next to him. He wins the next hand, and Will says he's out of money. Daniel claims he didn't want to lose any more, so Jack is left alone.

"I'll play," you say as Elizabeth and Will walks away. Daniel grabs his bag which was sitting next to him and pulls something out.

"We need at least three players. Besides, you have no money," Jack says.

"You don't have to bet to enjoy a game," you say coolly. "And I know a bunch of two player games."

"Alright. Let's see them." You teach Jack how to play spits. He catches on pretty quickly, and soon you have a race to see who wins the most out of fifteen rounds.

"Yes!" you exclaim, as you put your last card on the pile. It was a very close race. You beat Jack by one game, and you won that game by only two cards. You lean back against the rail you were playing near as Jack ties a string around the cards to keep them together.

Jack leans back next to you. "What's a photograph?"

"A photograph?" Where in the world did he hear photograph?

"Aye."

"It's like a... hmm.." It's kind of hard to explain what a photo is to someone who doesn't even know what a camera is. "It's like a memory. You take photographs with a camera and capture a moment. You can take a photo of people, places, things. Anything you can see, you can take a picture of. It's like freezing a scene and carrying it around on a piece of paper."

"Ah ha..." Jack sounds like he still doesn't understand, but accepts it anyway.

"Why do you wanna know?" you ask.

"I heard you singing. You said something about a photograph and I was just wonderin'."

"Oh..." There is a long pause as you sit there for a minute. "Tell me another story, Jack. One you haven't told me yet."

Jack laughs. "I think I've told you every story of mine. I'd have to make one up."

"That's fine. Make it good," you say lazily. The morning was getting brighter, and it was near lunch time. Jack begins to tell you a made up story that makes you laugh. His hands are once more flitting around animatedly to match his facial expressions as the story progresses. He finished after about half an hour. "...and the two foot dwarf told me that if I went near his mermaid again, he'd have to hurt me. The end."

You are overcome with a fit of giggles. Then you notice Daniel sitting on the railing about ten feet away. He looks like he is writing something. You stand up and walk over to him, only to notice that he was drawing, not writing. "What are you working on?"

He turns his sketch towards you saying, "It's almost finished, but not quite yet."

You gasp as you see a very detailed drawing of you listening to Jack's story. It shows Jack explaining something with his arms in the air, and you laughing. It was so realistic. "It's beautiful!" you exclaim, admiring the detail in the clothes. "That looks just like Jack!"

"And that looks like you as well," Jack looks over your shoulder at the drawing. Daniel turns it back around and says, "I still have to finish the background. When it's done, you can have it."

"Do you have any other drawings?" you ask, hoping to see more.

"I did," he responded. "But I'm afraid I've lost my other sketchbook somewhere on my last journey. I had some nice pictures of the ship and Annabelle." He seems a little sad while thinking about Annabelle, so you leave him be.

You and Jack walk to the galley for lunch, meeting Elizabeth and Will there. You eat a small lunch of bread, cheese, and more fruit.

When everyone is done eating, Jack says, "Shall we go explore the port?" You and Elizabeth smile excitedly and the four of you make ready to leave.

* * * * *

CHAPTER 13

You walk merrily up to the deck and start heading towards the dock while Elizabeth and Will went to find Daniel. Jack tells his crew they could have the night off, and to report back by noon tomorrow.

Elizabeth grabs Will's arm and he walks her down the gangplank and dock. You do the same with Jack, but you stick your nose in the air and put on a very heavy Old English accent. "I do say, sir, that it is a marvelous day for parading around with our noses up and pinkies out!"

"Of course m'lady. What could ever be more rewarding? Nobles as we are deserve the right to look our noses down on those-- what do they call 'em? Ruffians," Jack responds. You giggle as Elizabeth pretends not to hear. Daniel in the back of the small precession smiles. Will's steps falter a little, but he doesn't show the least bit of amusement so he wouldn't anger Elizabeth, who was wearing her nicest dress she brought.

"Ah, lighten up, Lizzie. I think your corset's on too tight," Jack remarks.

"Ha. I've given those up a long time ago," she responds, as if talking about a bad habit.

"I doubt these people here even care about nobility, so you should put off the whole 'wealthy person of power' act."

Elizabeth sighs. "I suppose you're right." Will stops walking so proper and drops her arm. Elizabeth gives him a look that he pretends not to see.

It starts to get quite cloudy and dark for midday. The sky looks as though it's going to pour at any moment. Clouds begin to roll in fast and a wind picks up. So much for the beautiful morning...

"Where do we go now? It's going to rain on us," Elizabeth states the obvious. Everyone looks around to find shelter with no luck.

"We can always go back to the ship," Jack suggests.

"NO!" you and Elizabeth say at the same time.

Rain begins to pour down in heavy sheets. It seems a welcome thing for the small port. Steam rises off the ground the red dust that seemed to cover everything was now rinsing away. Everyone gets thoroughoughly soaked. As quick as the rain moved in, it left. Within minutes, the sky was back to it's bright blue color and the sun shone over everything. There is a weird moment where everyone looks at each other, searching for a explanation.

Elizabeth's neat bun is ruined, as well as her dress. Your shirt was once again see-through, and with a silent plea, Jack gives you his sopping wet coat. It has to weigh at least thirty pounds.

"Thanks," you say. "What do we do now? There has to be somebody around here who can speak English."

"Or anyone with news of pirates," adds Daniel.

"Anywhere dodgy," Will says.

"I think I saw a pub back there near the docks," Jack adds his two cents, his eyes lighting up with hope.

Everyone looks at Elizabeth expecting her to say something. She shrugs. Will starts to walk back towards the docks and everyone else follows. You let a huge yawn escape your mouth and take two steps before feeling your feet lift off the ground. You take a second for your mind to register that someone has picked you up, and you stare into the deep eyes of your captor.

"I'm quite capable of walking all by myself Captain Sparrow."

"Ah, but young lasses with tired feet require the assistance of young, noble lads," Jack responds.

You grin. "Young, Captain?"

He frowns. "Aye young. Don't I look it?" He throws his head back. "I believe I can pass for sixteen."

"Of course, Jack," you giggle. "I can get use to this method of transportation."

Jack slouches and pretends to be on the brink of passing out. "I for one can't," he says through gasps. You give him an unfazed look. You retort, "I don't think I much like being carried around by a filthy pirate anyway."

"I was only joking, luv."

"Me too. I actually enjoy being carried by a devilishly handsome, respectable, pirate captain."

"And I guess it isn't so bad to carry around a strange girl who just so happens to come from the future. And her being beautiful is a perk."

You move your arms to put around his neck for more support and stop when you notice a strange scar through his shirt. You pull the top down a couple of inches to reveal two old gunshot wounds that haven't seemed to heal all the way.

"What happened?" you ask, truly concerned.

"Remember when I told you about that time when I sacked Nassau Port without firing a shot? Apparently the navy thought it best not to follow my example."

You gently circle your finger around the scars. Jack was very lucky to survive after two shots to the chest, you think to yourself. You tried not to think of all his close encounters with death and brush your lips softly over the scars, hoping by some slim chance you could kiss them away.

Jack looks down at you. No one has ever cared for his well being, save for the Turners, but they didn't count. You are completely different than any other girl he's ever known. But then again, he hasn't really been with any "respectable" women. He stops walking and locks eyes with you. You look up at him and smile weakly. Then for the second time since you met the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow, he kisses you.

You completely surrender into it and you have to wrap your arms around him to keep yourself from melting to the ground. Everything else in the world seems to stop. You deepen the kiss and it seems like it will never end until--

"Oye Sparrow! Save some for tonight, eh?"

The kiss breaks, quite unwillingly for you, of course. Jack puts you down and you hear the laughter of Will and Daniel. You curse them silently in your head as Jack does so loud enough for the whole town to hear. Will saunters over, still laughing. "Sorry Jack. I had to do that. For all the things I had to endure from you about Elizabeth, you're turning into a hopeless romantic yourself."

Jack scowls. "I most certainly am not! The lass kissed me, savvy? She had me under her spell!"

You playfully shove Jack, successfully pushing him into a puddle of thick, red mud. "How's that for a spell Jack Sparrow?" You can't help but laugh at the sight of Jack with mud over half his face and body.

"It's CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow to you, luv." With that, he swings his leg around and trips you into the mud as well. Elizabeth comes over to see what's going on and scowls when she sees you and Jack covered in mud.

"What happened?"

Jack pointed to Will. "It's all the whelp's fault. If he hadn't of come around and ruined a perfectly, er, private moment, then we literally wouldn't be in this mess." Will throws up his arms and smiles. Elizabeth looks around and takes in the whole situation. It really is amusing, and she couldn't help but laugh.

* * * *

A few hours later, after you were clean and wearing an outfit of Jack's, the five of you searched with no luck for anyone who could translate Moroccan into English. The pub ends up being tiny, with almost all of Jack's crew packed in. The barkeep seemed to be quite annoyed with the bunch.

The day fades into night and you've all decided to set out tomorrow and sail north, where Daniel claims there is an English port. The Moroccans continue their celebration when he sun sets, and the crew of the Black Pearl is quite enchanted. Along with beautiful fireworks, the streets are filled with dancers, musicians, and everyone else. There are so many people, it's hard to believe they all live in the small port. The pub is giving out free ale to anyone who wants it, which most of the crew accept without question.

After a couple of hours of ale, dancing, and watching the various fireworks, everyone is having a great time. You are very interested in watching a couple of dancers who seemed to be having a contest of some sort. One woman was clad in dark crimson, baring her stomach and arms with golden bracelets, anklets, and chains jangling together. The other woman is dressed in the same fashion, but wearing light blue and silver jewelry. They dance to flutes and drums and they move in a hypnotizing, surreal fashion. The dance goes on and on, and you get too tired to finish watching. When the moon is high over your head, you, Jack, Will, Daniel and Elizabeth decide to turn in for the night, even though the Moroccans show no sign of stopping.

You lag behind on the docks, walking slowly from drowsiness. Out of the shadows, you hear a voice.

"I hear that you are looking for a guide."

The voice is so soft that at first you think it's an effect from the ale. You begin to walk up the dock when you hear the voice again.

"I believe that I can be very useful in your search for Giltmore and the girl."

You stop and look around. "Who's there?"

Elizabeth calls you from the ship. "Is everything okay?"

You don't answer and she calls your name again. The voice speaks louder this time, and you can tell it's a woman who speaks.

"I know what it is you seek, and if you let me, I can provide useful information. For a price of course."

"Who are you?" you ask again. Elizabeth, Will, and Jack come down the dock and stop where you are. The woman continues to speak from the shadows.

"Hello Captain Sparrow. And Mister and Missus Turner. As I was telling your friend here, I can lead you to Giltmore."

Jack looks puzzled. "Who are you?"

The woman steps out of the shadows. She has long, dark hair, deep blue eyes, and high cheekbones. It is hard to make out her body structure due to the fact that she was wearing a very long, thick cloak.

"I am Madison Lewis, and if you accept my offer, I promise to lead you where you need to get to."

* * * * *

CHAPTER 14

"How do you know all of this?" asks Will, in his trademark confused/accusatory voice.

Madison eyes him carefully. "If you show some proper courtesy like some real gentlemen, then perhaps I can tell you my story and terms."

Jack smiles and motions for the lot of you to follow him. He leads you to his quarters which was big enough to accommodate the small meeting which is about to take place. Daniel joins you as well, looking at Madison curiously. Jack hands her a bottle of rum, which she takes graciously.

"So," Jack says. "How do you know who we are?"

"If you were trying to be discreet, Captain Sparrow, then I suggest you make sure that everything is what it seems before blabbing away about all of your plans," answered Madison coolly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" you ask. Madison shifts her gaze to you.

"It means that not everyone in this town speaks Moroccan only."

"So who all does?" You shoot another question to her. Something about the way she said that made you feel that she thinks she's above everyone else, and you don't like it very much.

"Well, me for one. And you don't know who might be watching the trail of Giltmore making sure the likes of you stay out of his way. He may be disturbed, but he is a smart man. Anything as important as this is sure to be a well-protected mission."

"And what mission is this?" Daniel asks anxiously. Elizabeth shifts her position on Jack's bed, and you sit up straight right next to her.

Madison takes off her cloak. "It's a very long story, so I'll just be giving you the basics. Just promise to hear me out all the way before you say anything."

She looks around at everyone and continues when nobody says anything. "I used to be part of Giltmore's crew. About a year ago, give or take a couple months, we stumbled upon this." She pulls out a book from the inside of her cloak. Daniel recognizes it at once. "My drawings! I thought I lost these in Spain!"

"Well, yes. That's where we found them," Madison continued. "We raided a port and came across this lying in an old inn. At first we were going to discard it as some old junk, until the Captain had a look at it himself. A lot of members of the crew are very superstitious, including old Giltmore. For years we have been robbing old tombs and such, and we got quite a large amount of gold. But one night, after a particularly profitable raid, Giltmore claims he had a vision. There was a girl who claimed she was an old queen of some sort, and she said that until she was once again entombed with her treasure, then he would have some weird curse, I don't remember the whole thing, but Giltmore went off his rocker.

"Against many protests of his crew, he ordered the treasure to be replaced. But when we all marched back out into the desert, the tomb was nowhere to be found. We must've been there for at least a fortnight before we ran low on supplies and had to race to the coast for refuge. Giltmore decided to call of the search and hope for the best. So we started our pirating again. That brings us back to the drawings.

"We found them, like I said, under a table in an old inn. When Giltmore saw them, he opened to the first page and immediately claimed that the young lass was the queen from his vision. That night, he had another dream, or vision, or whatever the hell you want to call it. The same girl appeared and she told him to put her and her gold back to rest in peace or the curse would be much worse than it was already. He went crazy again and said we were going to find the lass from the picture and bury her with the damned gold if it was the last thing he did.

"He wouldn't have found the lass if it hadn't been for the clues. Mr. Baker here signed his name in his book, and Giltmore eventually found out that he ran a map charting service and was based in the Spanish Main. So with that narrowed down, all that was left was to find this girl from the book who was somewhere in the Caribbean. It really wasn't hard to find your home port. Lots of people around the Islands knew who you were. An impressive group of friends if I say so myself.

"So when we eventually got to Port Royal, I stayed on the ship while Giltmore and his officers went ashore. I was told from some of them that they ran into you, Captain Sparrow, and the lass here kicked the Captain square in the goods. Old Giltmore wasn't to pleased about that I assure you. Later on that day, they managed to find The Baker's house and kidnap Annabelle while she was making the afternoon tea.

"We left in all due speed, but the lookouts spotted you catching up. So we brought out the long oars and rowed in shifts. Not but two days ago did we dock here to resupply. I thought the idea of sailing all the way to the west and back was ridiculous for this 'curse' of Giltmore's, and I jumped ship the first chance I got. That's why I'm here. I overhead most of you and your crew's conversations in the pub, and thus found out who you were and what you are on about."

Everybody just stares at her in shock and sudden understanding. You pick up the boom of Daniel's drawings and flip it open to the first page. The smiling figure of Annabelle Baker beamed up at you. She couldn't have been much older than Elizabeth. She looked the same age in this picture.

"So let me get this straight," Daniel asks. "Giltmore thinks Annabelle is an ancient queen and plans to bury her with a load of gold?"

"That's the just of it," replied Madison. "I suggest we leave first thing in the morning if you want to catch up with him in time."

"We? How do I know I can trust you?" Jack asks.

Madison grins. "I'm your only hope. You'll never find Giltmore in time to save Annabelle without my assistance. But, by all means, go ahead and try."

Jack sighs and turns to Daniel. "It's your call mate. Trust her or not?"

Daniel looks hard at Madison. "If she'll help us, then I say trust her."

"Great," Madison says quickly. "Now about a matter of payment..." Jack glares at her, as does you and the Turners. She continues, "I'm not asking for much. All I want is a passage to Charleston on your way back to Port Royal."

Jack laughs. "Is that all?"

"It's all I need."

"Fine. We have an accord."

After they shake hands, Elizabeth and Will head off to sleep. You stretch out over the whole bed now that Elizabeth moved, and you are getting pretty drowsy. You hear Jack, Daniel, and Madison discuss plans as you drift off. After you are asleep for about ten minutes, you make a loud snoring noise, which startles the other three. They stare at you until you shift to laying on your belly and spread across the entire bed. Your breathing gets even again when you get comfortable. Jack smiles at you. Madison looks on with a weird look on her face.

"Sweet on the lass, eh?" she asks Jack. He looks at her, then retorts, "I should make you pay for an answer."

She gets up. "No need. Already plain enough, and quite unnatural for a pirate if you know what I mean. Now, where will I be sleeping?"

Jack frowns at her. "I suppose you can have her bed," he points in your direction. "I don't think she's moving. Daniel here will show you where it is."

Madison walks out with Daniel, who looks at Jack with raised eyebrows before following. Jack rolls his eyes. Just because he's a pirate, it doesn't mean he's going to do anything to the girl. He turns the lamp down and walks over to the bed and tries to move your arm over, but every time he does, you subconsciously snap it back where it was.

With a sigh, he throws a pillow on the ground, and carefully lifts you up and onto the ground. No one takes his bed, no matter how pretty they are. Jack settles himself into the pillows but couldn't get to sleep. Down on the floor, you are tossing and turning while muttering stuff about being cold and uncomfortable in your sleep. After a while of this, Jack begins to feel bad and lifts you back onto the bed and takes the floor himself. He finally gets to sleep.

You wake up in the midle of the night and can't see a thing. Everything is pitch black and you think you are dreaming at first. You try to see anything at all, but your eyes have not yet adjusted and you can barely make out the outline of your hand half a foot away from your face. You carefully step out of the bed and begin to feel around for walls when you step on Jack, right on his stomach. "Bloody hell!"

"Jack?"

"Who did you think?"

"Sorry, I just didn't know where I was. What are you doing on the floor?"

"Admiring the beauty of the grains in the wood," he responds sarcastically. You are still disoriented, so didn't catch on very fast. "But it's completely dark and about two in the-- Ohh."

You hear Jack sigh. "Here, Jack. Get off the cold floor and get up here. There's enough room."

You move all the way over against the wall and feel Jack shift beside you. He says, "As long as you don't hit me in the middle of the night."

"Did I hit you?"

"No. But you were sleeping pretty deep, and the way you were talking and tossing, I thought you might."

"Sorry," you say apologetically. "I'm a really deep sleeper."

"So I've noticed."

"Well, goodnight then."

"G'night."

* * * * *

CHAPTER 15

You wake early in the morning feeling very warm. You open your eyes slowly, and are blinded by the brightness. Sunlight poured in from the windows, making the room like an oven. The blankets were pushed to the foot of the bed. Your face is hot and sticky. Jack, who is snoring softly next to you, has one leg and one arm hanging off the bed. He too looked warm and uncomfortable. You manage to climb over him without waking him up, and you walk silently to the window and pull it open, but to your dismay, there wasn't the slightest twitch of a breeze. Outside is the same temperature as it is inside.

Groaning, you turn around to face Jack, wondering if you should wake him up or not. Deciding it was against better judgment to do so, you decide to straighten up some. You put the blanket and a pillow left on the floor back on the bed. You find a couple of empty rum bottles and put them in Jack's "hiding spot" in the wall. You drape Jack's jacket, hat, and sword over the chair and place his various other things on the table. In the corner, you find his open sea chest. Inside are folded maps, atlases, books, a bell, an hourglass, a spyglass, two more swords, his log, a length of rope, and near the very bottom, some of his kohl.

Smirking, you take the kohl and saunter towards his wardrobe to use the mirror on the inside. You gasp when you catch a glimpse of you reflection. That long cruise left you thin and ghostly looking. Your skin had darkened and your hair had lightened and grown considerably. Your eyes had shadows under them and they seemed more narrow than the last time you saw them. Your lips were dry and cracked. You lift your shirt up and look at your stomach. It is most definitely smaller. You can plainly see the bottom ribs. Next you look at your arms. A bit more muscle. That's at least good thing.

You sigh and smudge a thick line of kohl around your eyes, and then laugh quietly. Your eyes seem to pop out a bit. They also look bigger. "I can complete this look," you whisper softly to yourself. Reaching in the wardrobe, you pull out a vest and put it on, leaving it unbuttoned. Then you grab Jack's sword off the chair and sling it over half your body as is pirate fashion. Then you take his coat and throw it over that and complete the ensemble with his hat, set jauntily on your head. You can't suppress a giggle as you stare at your reflection.

Putting on your very best Jack voice, you tell your reflection, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?"

"I do not sound that drunk," is your unexpected response. You whip around and look at Jack, who seemed to be still sleeping.

"So you enjoy playing with my head, don't you Mister Sparrow?"

Jack opened one eye and glared at you. "Must I even bother to correct you?"

"It would seem that way, yes." You flop down onto the bed next to him. "You know what?"

"If I did, we wouldn't be playing this silly game now would we?" he responds wearily, his eyes still closed.

"I think I like wearing this hat. I just may keep it."

"It's a good thing you still have your head restin' on your shoulders. I almost sliced Will's hand off and all he did was reach for it."

"You wouldn't dare hurt a girl," you respond confidently.

"That may be the case, luv, but you may never understand the madness that makes up my mind."

"So I've noticed."

Suddenly there is the sound of loud fists banging on the door. Madison's voice rings out clear, "You had better wake up! We need to leave quickly! Already late as it is...." You hear her footsteps hurrying away to do other business.

Jack sits up and yawns. "Last I looked, I was the Captain here."

"Actually, I think I am. You know, wearing the hat and all," you respond, mockingly.

Jack tries to snatch the hat off your head, but you were prepared and a little bit quicker. You are at the door before he even has time to get out of the bed. You run out and onto the deck, shouting orders at every person you see.

"Gibbs, the helm," He looks at your curiously, but follows orders anyway, which greatly amuses you.

"Anna Maria, lookout!" She quirks an eyebrow at you, but climbs to the top of the mainsail all the same.

"Elizabeth! Breakfast!" She laughs as your hurry past her, wearing all of Jack's finery. You spot Jack searching frantically for you, and you quicken your pace. He spots you and pushes past Elizabeth. You begin to run at full speed, laughing wildly and feeling like a ten-year-old the whole time. Jack scolds and curses anyone revealing the slightest smirk. The ship starts moving, all on your orders. You find it difficult to run while the ship sways, and you stumble over a few ropes, letting Jack gain a little more. Seeing that there was nowhere quick to hide, you crawl down into the main deck and take refuge between a couple of cannons.

You stop breathing as you hear Jack's footsteps walk past. When they pass you up, you let out a small sigh of relief, and nudge your head to see around the cannon. As you do so, you feel someone grab your arm from behind.

"Alright Jack. You caught me."

"Damn right I did. Now hand it over."

You roll your eyes and give Jack his hat. "Happy, your majesty?"

"And the coat." You take that off and give it to Jack

"And me sword." You give that up as well.

"You know," Jack said, very pointedly, "Most people get a taste of the nine tails for pulling off a stunt like that."

"You wouldn't," you say with a grin.

"Of course I wouldn't. Like you said earlier, I wouldn't hurt a lass. But puttin' you in the brig isn't much hurtin' you now is it?" The grin is suddenly gone. Jack wouldn't really do that, would he? "But seeing as how you wouldn't last more than an hour done there by yourself, I don't think I will."

"Ah, lighten up. Let out your inner child."

"My inner child is more mature than you'll ever be," Jack replied coolly, sounding a little ticked.

You look at him in disbelief. "And you're always the perfect adult, now, aren't you?"

"Luv, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. It doesn't matter if I'm childish or not, because what I say goes, savvy?"

"And what is it you say, your highness?" you ask him, an idea suddenly sparking in your head. You put your face dangerously close to his, leading him on.

"I say that troublemakers on me ship ought to be punished."

"Really? Well, I know the perfect place, which is a bit more private, if you know what I mean." With that you saunter down towards the brig, making sure that Jack followed.

When you finally get to the bottom deck, your are surprised to notice how isolated it was down there. It was your first time, and a bit eerie. You quickly forget about your plan to tick Jack off even further as you cautiously walk through the cells. There are rats and spiders all through the place. The air is heavy and you can feel that many a man has died down here. In the back cells, standing water sits a couple of inches high. Not wanting to be in this place any longer, you quickly take a couple of steps backwards, running into something. You let out a small scream and then mentally kick yourself when you realize it is only Jack.

Your heat is still pumping and you are shaking slightly when Jack protectively grabs you around your waist and says, "It's really not a nice place, is it?" You shake your head slowly and he continues, "I never use it unless absolutely necessary. I suspect Barbossa fancied using it though."

"Can we just leave?" you ask meekly.

"Right."

It's a huge relief when you finally get out into the fresh air again. As relieved as you are, you can't ignore the growing shame in the pit of your stomach for acting so scared. Not wanting to be near Jack at the moment, you seek out Elizabeth, who is bustling about her cabin making beds and straightening up. You help her out and wonder out loud if Madison was going to stay in here.

"I suppose if you don't want her to, we'll find her somewhere else," Elizabeth tells you. A sudden image of Madison curled up with Jack makes you jealous.

"No, I think I'll crash with Jack." Elizabeth gives you a that's-not-very-proper look so you add, "I'll throw up a hammock or something."

Later, when there was absolutely nothing to do, you sit around with most of the crew just staring off into the horizon.

"So, anyone have any good stories?" you ask, trying to keep everyone cheerful. Gibbs speaks up. "Well, there was this one time in Madagascar--"

He was cut off as every pirate on deck groaned. The story has obviously been over-told.

"Lass, ye 'ave te know one story, aye?" a random pirate asks. You think. They all heard basically everything about the future from the cruise across the Atlantic. What to tell them?

"Make it long!" someone shouted.

"And exciting!"

"One where people die!"

You roll your eyes. Hmm...a tale fit for pirates...

* * * *

"....and Captain Smollet retired from the sea. Ben Gunn spent all his money and went back to being a beggar. Nobody knows what happened to old Long John Silver. He's probably living out somewhere with Captain Flint, looking for more treasure. The End."

You finish your tale with some applause. By now, the sun was high in the sky, and you desired shade and food. The ship was lucky to be moving, only the slightest breeze rattled the high sails. The crew insists you stay another tale, but you so kindly refuse. With a very exaggerated bow, you promise another one tomorrow.

When you make it to the galley, Elizabeth, Jack and Madison are there. Elizabeth is boiling something, and Madison is giving Jack more information about the whereabouts of Giltmore. "And you'll have a hell of a time passing into the Mediterranean Sea. It would be easy to pretend we're merchant sailors, but lets face it, the Black Pearl truly is legendary, and nobody's going to let her pass unchecked. The area is heavily guarded by Spain. I'd be very surprised if we're aren't spotted at least once."

"What are you doing?" you ask Elizabeth, who was putting some hard bread and a little flask of water on a tray.

"Will's a bit seasick. I thought I'd take this to him."

Jack snorts loudly. "Will Turner, seasick? If old Bootstrap truly is dead, he must be turning over in his grave."

Elizabeth ignores him and walks out of the room, trying to keep the contents of the tray from falling off with the sway of the ship. You grab some rum, bread, and a orange. Madison is still going on about the dangers that lay ahead. "And we can't forget the Corsairs. Quite fierce in these parts..."

The last thing you hear as you walk out is Jack saying, "This trip's going to be hell."

CHAPTERS 16-20

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