Rowing to Eden
Chapter OneIt was a mad thing, to be thinking about Jack Sparrow at a time like this. She knew in her heart, the right man to be thinking of when looking at the sea would be Will Turner- her husband.
And she loved Will. She loved Will from the moment they rescued him from the water as a child. Her childhood love, her best friend, would never be stricken from her mind just as the beat of his heart would never quiet in the dark of her room. But there was another man that haunted her thoughts, another man whose voice she remembered while she sat on the shore. Both pirates, both beautiful men- but the two could not be more different.
Will would not be able to step on land for nine more years- he was not there to witness the birth of his son, although she wondered endlessly if he knew about the birth of his son. Rue was three months old now, the product of her one night with Will on the beach after their marriage. She loved him with all of her being, but her son was just a reminder each day that Will was still almost a decade from returning. Her son's birth had been in the bedroom of a midwive's house, with no one there to comfort her. Afterwards, when she had held the baby in her arms, she had hoped for Jack to show up, to appear in the doorway of her bedroom.
But he was off searching the world, searching for the Fountain of youth, away from her and all the memories of what had happened between them. She knew she could not expect him to come back to see her, but he knew she was here, bound to a home when she wished to sail the seas again, reigning as the Pirate King. The adventures of motherhood paled in comparison to what she had lived and seen- and the icy cold of World's End now seemed a paradise to the thought of endless years living alone, never feeling the salty spray of the ocean as she sailed.
It was a dark day, the sky littered with foreboding clouds and the wind whipped about the small cottage mercilessly. A storm was brewing and just as the first drops started sprinkling down, Elizabeth dashed about the house, closing the windows.
Just as she turned around a figure stepped inside the door, making her gasp and reach instinctively for the pistol on the table before she realized whom it was.
"Jack!"
He looked the same as before, a small smile playing on his lips. Her heart jumped a little in her chest, the shock at seeing him again still clouding her mind.
He stared back at her, glancing from her flushed face to the pistol her fingers rested on. "Going to try to kill me again?"
"What?" She breathed, and then snatched her fingers away from the gun. "So is that what you came here for? To taunt me about what happened on The Pearl?"
"Maybe." He smirked, but it had been a long time since he had seen her. He had not forgotten anything, not the way her hair looked or the way her eyes glittered when she was angry. He had half hoped to come back and find her looks faded, her face pale and her beauty diminished.
Instead, dressed much like a pirate wench in a simple dress, she looked more stunning than ever. Tanned, her hair blonder and swept into messy curls, she was as beautiful as sin. And about as dangerous as the Devil himself. "We are in port tonight. Bad storm coming."
"It's been ten months-,"
"Looking for the Fountain and all that, love. Do you have some rum in this house?" He started toward the cupboard.
"Did you find it?" She inquired with baited breath, envy twisting her insides. How lucky for him to be on the seas, searching in foreign lands for something amazing.
"Wanting half of me plunder? You'll have to persuade me to give it up."
She rolled her eyes. "So you didn't find it, and someone else made off with your ship."
He handed her the bottle after taking a hearty sip. "That's not…I'm going to make it there, Lizzie."
A shrill cry interrupted their talk, and Jack's face went blank. "That would be your son."
"How…" She hadn't told him she was pregnant when he left and…what must he be thinking? Not that it mattered, since she was married to Will in name and law, but she still cared, oh too much, how he felt.
"There was talk in ports we went to. I heard about it."
She started toward the bedroom, chin up but stomach churning. She picked up the small baby, gasping when she turned and fell against Jack.
He peered at Rue. "He doesn't look a thing like Will. Are you sure this is his?"
Her face went scarlet. "You, you-," she sputtered.
"What's the lad's name?"
"William Rue."
He nodded, his dark eyes like two flickering flames. His nonchalant attitude toward the child made her worry, he didn't seem displeased nor happy about her being a mother.
Jack Sparrow was a hard man to read.
"He's three months. Jack." She turned to look at him, her voice earnest. "Do you think Will..heard? I have no way of knowing-,"
He shrugged, the charms in his hair tinkling. "I have not a clue, Lizzie. Rum?"
She took the bottle from him reluctantly, sipping.
As she made dinner for him, he sat with one boot up on the table, talking of strange islands and bad weather- of the crew and of magical creatures- the rain pelting down outside as he spoke.
His words only made her long all the more for the open sea, to drink bad rum and hold treasure in her palm, to feel sand beneath her feet for just a brief moment before running back on board.
It was a longing, a lustful hunger than swept over her and made her feel warm. She was born a lady, but had become a pirate and nothing would cure her of that.
"I walk to the shore here each day." She admitted lamely, hating the lazy look of contempt that crossed his face.
"The Pirate King walking to the shore?"
"I can't be on a ship, Jack. I have a child and…Will…"
"Dear William will not be returning for another nine years. Why not sail until he returns?"
"I can't." she said firmly. "Not until Rue is older. He's too small right now and- one day-,"
The disbelief was evident on Jack's face, but she didn't argue anymore. Her life was not just her own now. It was one of three lives- Will's, Rue's, and then her own.
The storm raged on outside, thunder booming as the rain thudded down on the roof. Thankful for the security of the house, she blew out all the candles but two as she made a place for Jack to sleep.
He sat in a chair, watching her every move and it made her feel quite uneasy. She would trust Jack with her life, although she would never admit it, but the tension that was always so palpable between them was still lingering in the air.
The kiss that sent him to his death was hanging between them, a dark shadow in the room. She had done a terrible thing, betraying him, and she knew that he hadn't forgiven her. She had not really forgiven herself. She had cared for Jack more than she wanted to- and he cared for her in return. The horrible pain between them…
It would just have to be ignored. "Much better for you here than on the ship tonight, with this weather."
"'Tis." He was quiet, so un-Jack for a moment before speaking again. "But the ship is always the best place to be."
"I know. I remember." Her eyes met his and she was stuck again by how beautiful he was, how dark and mysterious. She had been half in love with Captain Jack Sparrow as a child, reading about him in various books and dreaming of being on a pirate ship. When she met him later, she was torn between emotions- a mix of hate and lust and admiration, emotions that were at constant war inside of her even as she became Mrs. Will Turner.
And even after meeting Jack, he was still as much a legend as ever. Mysterious and elusive, she could never read his mind or figure out what his past was, where he had come from or even how old he was. He never gave more of himself, keeping everything locked away. It was part of his allure, perhaps, that his soul was not bare to her as Will's was.
"Being on the ship was amazing…feeling the sea and the freedom….I miss it."
"I know." He tilted his head, studying her. "A pirate, Elizabeth, has to be on the sea. It is like food and ale to a pirate. Young Mr. Turner would have been better suited to play mother, I thought him a eunuch up until I saw proof of his child."
She ignored his humor, focusing instead on the hand that he placed upon her arm. She thought he would never again touch her or look at her after what she had done, but…
"Jack- about what happened-,"
He shook his head quickly. "No, love. The past is over and done with, murders and all that. Savvy? You have Mr. Turner, I have my ship. Despite killing me, we're both well off."
"Well off?" She couldn't help exclaiming. "Jack, I won't see my husband for ten years! I am raising our child alone, in a town where even my father is dead. This isn't a happily ever after for me. The one place I belonged is out THERE, and I'm here. I'm stuck, and somedays I don't know if I'm alive anymore-,"
Her mouth clamped shut, shocked at her own outburst. His bitterness couldn't possibly allow him to care, could it? She just made a fool of herself…
But all Jack could concentrate on was her, her flushed face still prominent in the dim light. Her wanting to feel alive- it was an invitation neither could resist.
His lips captured hers, not allowing her to take the lead like she did before his death. His mouth was hot and bruising upon hers, allowing her to kiss him back with more fervor than she thought possible.
There was no need for a bed, Elizabeth found herself pulling him to the floor with her, her dress slid off by his skilled fingers. It was different than her time with Will, which had been slow and gentle and quite awkward. This was a feeling of burning heat that ripped through her body, leaving her vulnerable and quaking under his mouth, his hands. He knew how to make her shiver, to make her beg silently with her eyes and more than a few times she heard him say her name in a whisper. The dark provided a shield from conversation, but the most pleasurable event in her life happened over, and then three times as the night progressed, until they finally laid tangled up in each other on the blanket.
She heard her own voice confessing hoarsely that she loved him, and she felt his hand tighten around her waist in response. The candle had long since burned out, but she didn't have to see him to know it. She did love him, in a different way than Will but it was love. The passion she felt in her body, in her soul for him could not be extinguished; despite the vows she had made to another man she loved. She knew that it wasn't possible, wasn't right to love two at once, but that was a thought to contemplate in the light..not now.
Exhaustion finally overtook her and she fell asleep, the hard muscles of his body pressed against hers in a way that was more than comforting. It felt right.
The sunlight streaming through the window awoke her and a small smile played on her lips as she sat up, every muscle in her body aching.
But Jack was not there. "Jack?" She sat up, grabbing a sheet to wrap around her naked form despite the events of the night before.
She wandered from room to room, a lump in her throat. He was gone.
She stood forlornly in the kitchen, her arms clutching herself to stay steady. He had gone just as suddenly as he had come, turning every feeling in her heart upside down. He had made her feel alive- just as she had wanted- but why had he left? Why didn't he at least say goodbye?
An awful snake of guilt laced through her belly. What did this mean for Will?
There were no answers- and no Jack. Just the smell of him on the sheet was the only evidence he had been there at all.
To be continued……