Seeing the Light

By: Raven in Red

Jenae, Jack's blind sweetheart, joins her true love in a quest to find a mysterious treasure. Sequel to Eyes to See the World. It would be best if you've read that first just to get some background info about Jenae, but it's not necessary. Set during DMC. JackOC

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Chapter One: The Key

My name is Jenae Elena Godfrey. I am twenty years old. When I was nineteen, I set off with Jack Sparrow and my friend Will Turner to find Will's captured sweetheart, Elizabeth. During the journey, Jack and I fell in love, and we've been together ever since.

Despite the fact that I'm blind, I've greatly improved my sense of sound. I've even become very adept with a sword. I can tell which direction a sword is coming from by the sounds it makes as it cuts through the air. With careful, diligent practice, I've become almost as good as Jack.

Even though I love Jack to death, he had been acting odd lately. He spent nearly all day at the helm, pouring over his special compass, the one that points to the object the holder wants most. No matter how many times I asked, Jack always refused to tell me what it was, or even why he was looking for it. One evening, I'd had just about enough, and I went to find him at the helm.

"Jack?" I called out to the captain, climbing up the stairs to the helm.

"Yes?" he answered. I boldly stood between him and the ship's wheel.

"I need to talk to you," I said firmly. He sighed.

"Alright," he said simply.

I took a deep breath. "Jack, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he replied. "Absolutely nothing. Is that all?"

"No," I fired back. "I need to know why you've been so secretive lately." He tried to say something but I cut him off. "Every time I ask what you're looking for, you refuse to tell me."

"Some things aren't meant to be known."

I groaned heavily. Then I said plainly, "Then you need to decide which is more important to you…me…or whatever it is that you're looking for." I turned on my heel and stalked away to our cabin, where I sat on the bed and pulled my knees to my chest. After only a short while, I heard the door open.

"Leave me alone," I said in a bored voice. I put my head down on my knees and sighed. Jack sat at my side and gently hugged me. I shook his arms off. He sighed.

"Sweetheart, I know you're angry with me."

I sighed sharply. He continued, "And I'm sorry I've been so 'secretive', as you seem to put it. But I've been under a lot of stress lately. I promise, once I find it, we'll be back to normal. We can make love, or do whatever else you want. Alright?"

I rested my head on his shoulder. "Sure." He kissed my forehead. Then he tilted my head up. I turned away just before his lips met mine. He took my hands. "Why don't you come outside with me?" I let him pull me to my feet and adjust my brown silk dress. He gave my forehead another gentle kiss before we held hands and left the cabin. Just as we got outside, we heard Gibbs shout,

"Captain!"

"Yes, Mr. Gibbs!" Jack answered.

"We're here!"

Jack ran off to the railing. I heard the clicking of his spyglass as he opened it. I stood by his side.

"What is it? Where are we?" I asked with a hint of fear.

"A prison," he put a protective arm around me and rubbed my shoulder. "I'll have to find a way inside. It's in there." I moaned in fear as he hugged me gently. I held him as if I would never see him again. As much as I hated it, I could really act like a baby around Jack. I guess I loved him too much.

"Shh, sweetheart, don't worry. I'll be fine. I promise," he kissed my hair a few times.

I replied, my voice muffled by his shirt, "You can't be sure of that."

"Yes, I can," he sounded a little insulted. "After all, I am Captain Jack Sparrow!"

I laughed a little and continued hugging him. "Yes, but you're also the one man I love, and no matter what, I always worry about you." He loosened his grip on me.

"I love you, too, sweetheart." After another hug, he said, "I have to go now. I promise I'll be back." He leaned down to kiss me, but he hesitated. When I didn't move, he kissed my lips for a couple short seconds. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too." I let go of him and listened as he got into a rowboat and was lowered into the water. The sound of the rowing got quieter and quieter as he got farther and farther away. Eventually, I couldn't hear him at all anymore. I could feel the air getting slightly colder. "Don't worry about Jack," I told myself over and over again until I became almost numb to the situation. Jack was always going places where he couldn't bring me, and he always returned without a scratch. I went and sat down on the stairs by the helm. Eventually, I dozed off. I must have been asleep for a while, because I soon heard Jack's voice.

"Complications arose, ensued, were overcome," he caught me in a hug as I ran towards him. Once we let go, Gibbs asked,

"You got what you went in for, then?"

"Mhmm!" Jack replied cheerfully. I heard him pull something out of his pocket. He stopped walking suddenly.

"Captain, I think the crew, meaning me as well, were expecting something a bit more…shiny," Gibbs said. What with the Isla de Muerta going all pear-shaped, reclaimed by the sea and the treasure with it."

"And the Royal Navy chasing us all around the Atlantic," a crew member named Leech added.

"And the hurricane!" Marty finished.

"Aye," the crew agreed.

Gibbs concluded, "All in all, it seems some time since we did a speck of honest pirating."

Jack waited a few seconds before thinking aloud, "Shiny?"

"Aye, shiny," Gibbs replied.

Jack addressed the whole crew, "Is that how you're all feeling, then? That perhaps dear old Jack is not serving your best interests as captain?"

"Awk! Walk the plank!" Cotton's parrot said.

I heard Jack pull out his pistol and cock it. "What did the bird say?!" he shouted. I grabbed the pistol from his hand and uncocked it.

"Do not blame the bird!" I said firmly.

"Show us what is on that piece of cloth there," Leech said calmly. Suddenly, Barbossa's cursed monkey screeched and grabbed the cloth from Jack's hand.

"Oh!" Jack grabbed the pistol from me and fired, but it didn't work. Then he took a pistol from another crew member and fired.

"You know that doesn't do any good," I pointed out as Marty picked up the cloth.

"It does me," Jack replied.

"It's a key!" Marty declared.

"No! Much more better!" Jack said, taking the cloth back. "It is a drawing of a key!" After several long, silent moments, Jack sighed. "Gentlemen…what do keys do?"

"Keys…unlock…things?" Leech said with a little uncertainty.

"And whatever this key unlocks, inside there's something valuable. So, we're setting out to find whatever this key unlocks!" Gibbs concluded.

"No!" Jack cut in. "If we don't have the key, we can't open whatever it is we don't have that it unlocks. So what purpose would be served in finding whatever need be unlocked, which we don't have, without having first found the key what unlocks it?" I was getting a little confused.

"So…we're going after this key?" I asked.

"You're not making any sense at all, love," Jack said jokingly. "Any more questions?" he asked the crew.

"So…do we have a heading?" Marty asked.

"Ah! A heading!" Jack opened his trusty compass. "Set sail in a…a general…that way direction!"

"Cap'n?" Gibbs said in confusion.

"Come on, snap to and make sail. You know how this works. Come on, oy, oy, oy!" He took my hand and pulled me into our cabin.

"Jack!" I shouted, slightly hysterical.

"Yes, love?"

"Is that all we're looking for? Just a silly old key?"

"Mhmm," he replied, slipping his hands under my shirt. I slapped them away and sighed.

"Jack, sometimes I just don't understand you."

He laughed and gave me a hug and kiss. "Why don't you get to bed? I have some work to do first." I reluctantly obliged, curling up under the covers. I fell asleep fairly quickly. I felt safe knowing that Jack was nearby.

For some reason, I woke up after only a couple hours. I rolled to the side, but I didn't feel the warmth of Jack's chest. Panicking a little, I called out, "Jack?" When I didn't get an answer, I quickly got out of bed and ran out on deck. The ship felt empty, and the night air chilled me. All of a sudden, I heard Jack shouting from below deck. He ran up to the main deck, followed by the rest of the crew. Everything was so hectic, and I began to panic. I didn't know where everyone was or what they were doing. There were too many noises that I couldn't distinguish one from another. I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard Jack call my name. I followed his voice to find him ducking underneath the mast. He pulled me into a crushing hug.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" I whispered in Jack's ear.

He moaned in fear and buried his face in my shoulder. I rubbed his back in circular motions. "Don't worry, sweetie, I'm here. Shh, I'm here." Jack had comforted me this way many times, so I figured it was my turn now. His grip remained as tight as before for several moments. When he finally loosened his grip, he pulled me into a fierce, possessive kiss.

"Everything's going to be fine, love," he said in a numb voice.

"I hope so."