Jack had remained at the helm all night, keeping them well ahead of the Commodore who was in hot pursuit. A vague speck on the horizon was all that remained of the Commodore's navy, allowing Jack to relax, albeit only slightly. His encounter with Elizabeth the night before did little to rest his nerves. He couldn't fathom how he could possibly be expected to act the part of a gentleman when she kissed him like that.
Gibbs joined him at the helm around midday. "Shall I order Cotton to the helm, Cap'n? You look like you could use a rest."
"I'll sleep when I know we are well clear of Carrington, but I'd be glad for a break," he said relinquishing the helm, and heading down the quarter deck steps.
Gibbs waved Cotton over in a hurried manner before following Jack to the main deck.
"No sign of Her Majesty?" Jack asked leaning against the gunwale, allowing the breeze to wash over his features.
"She remains abed."
"Just as well, don't think she'll be of much use as she recovers. Be a dear and take her something to eat. I'm sure she's famished."
"Already done, Sir. I left a tray by her bedside at first light." Gibbs said triumphantly.
"Entering into a Lady's chamber uninvited, Mr. Gibbs? I'm astounded at your lack of propriety," Jack feigned incredulity.
"Lucky for you, Mr. Gibbs, I tossed propriety to the wind long ago," Elizabeth interrupted. "And I was grateful to find sustenance awaiting me when I woke." She smiled as Jack and Gibbs had both turned in unison toward the Pirate King. She was dressed in the borrowed clothes Jack had supplied her with. She still favored her leg and the dark circles under her eyes remained, but her smile was sincere.
"Tis my pleasure, Miss. Glad to see you up and about. I best be seeing to further preparations if we're to arrive in Tortuga by nightfall." Gibbs shuffled away awkwardly.
"Tortuga?" She asked curiously. "Do you really think we have enough of a head start to stop so soon?" The slight tremor in her voice gave Jack a small amount of pause, but he soon decided he was only imagining it.
"The men are in desperate need of some shore leave, having cut our previous trip short. We also spent weeks surveying Port Royal's harbor in order to safely retrieve her royal highness, so we are a bit short on supplies as well," He smirked at her, noticing how she nervously rapped her fingers upon the railing as she gazed behind the ship.
"We should put as much distance as we can between us and Carrington, the men can fulfill their needs in another port," she said sternly. Jack realized perhaps he hadn't imagined the tremor in her voice.
"There aren't many pirate friendly ports between here and Cartegena," he offered casually. Jack hoped the unusual heading was enough to distract her from worries.
She snapped her head toward him, a small gleam of excitement in her eye. "Why are we sailing to Cartegena?" she asked with underlying suspicion.
Jack smiled, relieved he could take her mind, if only momentarily, off of the Commodore. "Perhaps we can discuss this further in a quieter space," he said placing his hand on the small of her back and pushing her toward his cabin. "Not everyone is privy to the same information as the captain. Savvy?"
"Surely you trust your crew better than all that?" she chided as she let him guide her toward the cabin.
"I trust only one person on this ship…"
"I'm flattered."
"…and that's Mr. Gibbs," he said over the top of her, with a bashful grin.
"I see. Well, then I should consider myself doubly flattered that without trusting me, you find yourself able to trust me with whatever information you seem unable to trust anyone else with." She lauded, unfazed as she walked toward the table in the center of the room.
"You're not making any sense at all, love. Perhaps a bit more food is in order?" he suggested.
"I'm not hungry, but I'll take some rum…if you've any left." She mocked his drinking habits playfully, but there was no hiding the complete exhaustion in her voice. No doubt the thoughts toiling around in her head were taking a terrible toll on her, leaving Jack no other option than to lift her spirits the only way he knew how. He handed her a bottle of rum and marveled as she swallowed nearly half of it in one go.
"Have I mentioned lately how much more I enjoy this Lizzie than the Lizzie who burned me rum all those years ago?" He beamed at her, laying out a few maps on the table in front of them.
"I've always been this Lizzie. Merely unexplored." She waved him off, touching her lips to the bottle.
"You know…I can help with said exploration." He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively, leaning against the table next to her.
"That's quite all right. I can manage just fine on my own," she teased, licking a few stray drops of rum from her lips before setting the bottle down in front of her.
Instantly Jack's mouth ran dry as he stared at her slack-jawed. Elizabeth returned his gaze with a wicked smile. She was a bloody siren, to say the least, teasing him and pushing him to the brink just to watch him squirm while she clung to her blasted honor like shit to a shovel.
"So?" Elizabeth broke the long silence, finding great amusement in rendering him speechless. For all of the times Jack caught her unawares, it was only fair to return the favor.
"So?" He cleared his throat, having forgotten why he'd brought her into his cabin in the first place.
"Cartegena? Do you have some sort of death wish?" she asked with mock seriousness. "What's after you this time?"
Jack spun back toward the table. "Time is, I'm afraid. The world is changing and I don't fancy spending the rest of my days running from the noose. I'd like to sail the seas as a truly free man. So Cartegena is merely a stopping point on our way here." He said unrolling a tattered map written mostly in Spanish.
Her eyes widened, shining bright as a diamond upon recognizing the parchment. "You found it," she said in disbelief turning toward him. "But how? It was lost to the sea along with Captain Roberts."
"Merely a tale."
"I can't believe you never stopped searching for it…after all of this time?" she looked at him with surprise admiration.
"What else was I to do?" he shrugged.
Elizabeth gave him a half smile and turned her attention back to the map. "The Lost City of Gold," she whispered wistfully. "An adventure truly befitting of the Great Captain Jack Sparrow, though I don't think any amount of gold will keep the Navy off of your back. You're still a wanted man, Jack," she snickered, poking his chest with the stem of her bottle
"Oh? And who might I ask is doing the wanting?" he leered, grabbing her wrist before she could pull away, his eyes boring into her own.
She evaded his flirtations, withdrawing her hand from his grasp and deflected the conversation back to a more serious topic. "Carrington for a start. He saw you on the battlements, he saw the Pearl. He's not a man to be plied with the material and he'll kill anyone in his path."
"Every man has a price he'd be willing to sell himself for," he argued.
"He answers only to God, I assure you." Elizabeth pushed the old map out of the way in order to survey Jack's map of Caribbean waters.
"He frightens you," he observed carefully.
"Of course he bloody frightens me. A man of faith lives without fear, a man who lives without fear is the most dangerous of all." She was nearly shaking as she spoke of him.
"I never imagined I would see the Pirate King shaking in her boots," he teased, trying to bring levity to her current state, but only managed to incite more frustration from Elizabeth.
"He took everything from me, everything that I had left. My crew, my ship, and my pride has taken a good ribbing for all that it's worth. He won't relent until every single one of us has answered for our sins. A fate far worse than death I assure you. I'll not be landing into his clutches again. Nor do I wish it upon any of you." She took a long pull from the bottle of rum in her hand and slammed it down on the table, her breathing slightly ragged.
Jack wondered how much more she wasn't saying about her imprisonment. He'd never seen Elizabeth so unnerved. Approaching her slowly, he rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. She was startled momentarily at the contact, but quickly relaxed into his touch.
"Lizzie, darling. He's leagues behind us. You're safe here. You know that," he whispered lowly.
She mustered up a smile that he almost believed was genuine.
She turned toward him. "More than I could ever hope to know. But we have to tread carefully now. He's not a reasonable man, Jack. Don't think for one moment you could talk your way out of trouble should we be caught." Her eyes darkened noticeably, fear mixed with anger and…something else…and she found herself once again having to refrain from falling into his arms.
"Did you have another port in mind?" he asked sincerely.
She took a deep breath and stared at the map for a few minutes before answering. "Let's assume, the Commodore is as savvy as he believes himself to be. He's likely sent ships north and south of Jamaica, hoping to corner us before we reach the eastern coast and well before we'd reach Tortuga. We'd be followed into the bay and he'd set the island aflame without a second glance."
"But the wind has been on our side, and none can outrun The Pearl. We lost sight of his ships not long before you woke. The likelihood of them following us into Tortuga is slim to none. Not to mention, I know a few places we can stow the pearl from public view." He offered.
"Still, I'd rather not draw him directly into one of the last pirate havens. If we must stop, let's consider Port-de-Paix."
"Port-de-Paix? That's your better option?" he asked with a skeptical brow raised.
"It's French territory. Carrington will give it a wide birth, and besides, most don't consider it a port worth sacking."
"It's not a port worth sacking because most are lucky to leave with their lives at all."
"I've heard the stories. Surely your crew is formidable enough to survive one evening?"
"I'm not certain it's worth the risk of finding out. Not to mention, I doubt the lads would take too kindly to the idea."
"It's your ship, Captain, do what you wish."
"Let me talk it over with them and see if they're up for it. Make yourself at home. I'll be back in a tick."
Elizabeth gave a deep sigh after he left and smiled to herself, thinking on his last words. There was no need to make herself at home. This was her home. She would have to do Jack the favor of telling him that someday, she thought. She walked over to his desk and sat down, perusing the items littered across the top. There were more maps and charts than any one pirate would know what to do with. He'd clearly searched the entire world for this map. Beneath the maps were a few different wanted posters with unflattering depictions of Jack's likeness which forced a chuckle from her lips. She opened a few of the drawers and rummaged through the odd trinket here or there until stumbling upon another wanted poster, this one with her name upon it, held in place by one, very infuriating piece of navigational equipment. She pulled out the compass and put it out on the desk in front of her, staring at it intently, willing it to open itself. It remained closed of course, though she knew what it would point to. The door knob began to turn, and she quickly covered the compass with a few maps, and promptly propped her feet up upon the desk with all the guilt of a child with their hand caught in a cookie jar.
"Getting into my things, were you? I said make yourself at home, love, not stake your claim upon my cabin," he teased.
"I would never, Captain Sparrow," she said placing her feet back on the floor.
"Find anything particularly interesting?" he asked.
"Nothing of note. So what did they say?" she deflected quickly.
With a grimace he gave her all the answer she needed.
"Very well, just be sure they make quick work of their time ashore. Now, tell me how it is you plan to enter Cartagenan waters without being detected," she demanded eagerly, rising from her seat to move toward the other table.
Jack squinted his eyes at her as she moved, and proceeded to explain his plan.
"I know the harbor master. Owes me a favor from the old days. We slip in late in the evening, he accounts for the ship, Gibbs stays behind with some of the younger, less weathered lads and play the part of respectable merchant sailors. Meanwhile, we take a small crew inland to get to this river." He pulled the old tattered map back to over the other maps and pointed to the river that would lead them toward the supposed city.
"And your harbor master has enough time to gather the appropriate papers, seals, and whatever else the Spanish check for these days?" Elizabeth scrunched her nose as she scrutinized both maps. She sat there with brows furrowed until her mouth split into a sly smile.
"What is it?" Jack asked impatiently waiting for her to say something else.
"Might I suggest an alternate course?" she said absently staring at the map.
"By all means…" Jack folded his arms, and rolled his eyes.
"We can bypass Cartagena altogether. The mouth of your river empties into the ocean here" She said tapping a finger on the map. "We can haul off in the longboats there and Gibbs can find the Pearl a more suitable hiding spot rather than attempt to hide her in plain view in the middle one of the most heavily armed forts owned by the Spanish Navy."
It was Jack's turn to scrunch up his face as he looked over her suggestion. Her idea was not without merit, and soon his scowl turned into a smile. "Alright, your highness, you win this one."
"I'm not trying to win. I'm just trying not to get us killed," she said matter of factly.
Jack gave a hearty laugh at her expense.
"What on earth is so funny?" she asked in a huff.
"When have you ever made a decision that hasn't immediately resulted in a near death experience for either one of us?" He continued to laugh as she scowled at him.
"Ha bloody ha ha." She said folding her arms across her chest. "As I said, it's your ship, Captain, do as you wish, but leave me out of it," she spouted defensively, heading toward the cabin door.
Jack quickly caught her arm before she reached it. "Lizzie, darling, I'm only teasing," he said bringing a hand to her face. "But you must have a little more faith in me. Who am I?" he asked with a wink.
"Jack," she exhaled in exasperation turning her face away.
Jack turned her chin back toward him. "Who am I?" he urged her again to answer his question.
She stared down her nose at him in mock irritation, trying very hard not to laugh at his bemusing expression. "You're a damned fool," she laughed, playfully pushing him away. She waltzed to the table and gulped down more of the sweet brown liquor to calm the flush that was creeping upon her cheeks.
"Maybe have another swig or two. I haven't seen you this wound since the days you insisted I refer to you as Miss Swann," he suggested when she set the bottle down.
"A simpler time. When trivialities like marriage were of my utmost concern," she stated with false wistfulness.
"Marriage is a triviality now, is it? I suppose that's good news for me. Not so much for the whelp."
"Jack," she scolded.
"I'm sorry, love. You know being around you does funny things to me," he said half seriously.
"I do know. One minute you're teasing me, the next you're screaming at me, in another instant you're pouting like an insufferable child, and after that you're liable to gut a man for looking at me the wrong way. I'd say your behavior around me is the furthest thing from predictable," she snickered as she leaned against the table.
"Yes, well, one hardly knows what's flittering across your own devilish mind from one moment to the next," he muttered.
Elizabeth paused. She had hoped Jack might have let her little indiscretion from the previous night slip by them. "I'm sorry for that. For last night. I shouldn't have…I wasn't quite myself," she said sadly, for it was a lie of the highest caliber and she reckoned he knew as much.
"Right, of course you weren't," he stated with bitter nonchalance as he stood from his seat. "Think nothing of it." Jack sloughed off his coat and boots and flopped down upon his berth. "Off with you now, the Captain needs his sleep."
"Oh,"she said in surprise. She hadn't expected such a quick dismissal and didn't know quite what to do with herself, so she stayed unmoving in the center of the room.
"Was there something more you were needing from me?" he asked harshly from the bed.
"N-no. I…um…no." She stammered before finding her way back on deck. She leaned against the cabin door and sighed. Could they really survive such a lengthy journey dancing around each other at every turn? Elizabeth had her doubts, but time would tell and for now her focus was getting them in and out of Tortuga as quickly as possible.