Chapter 9

Bill walked from the cabin door to the stern; he could feel every head turn as he walked past them. Something was up. No one looked at you for walking by them; they just carried on regardless of who the person was. Bill didn't like it. He didn't like the attention and he didn't like what it suggested.

He was very glad, when he reached the stern, to find Gibbs at the wheel. At least he wouldn't have suspicions, he already knew.

"Gibbs…" Bill started.

"They're onto yer mate." Gibbs finished. Bill nodded, that was what he had been going to suggest to him.

"What next eh?" Bill sighed. He could see no way out of his sticky situation; he was going to eventually pay the consequences. He already felt like he was paying the consequences with everyone on the ship constantly staring at him and clearly being very apprehensive around him. It was like he was under constant scrutiny.

"You could try running but I don't think you'd get far, we're too far out to sea for you to reach land." Gibbs undermined his own suggestion. Bill rolled his eyes; that was a load of help!

"Are you two slacking?" a booming voice that could only be Barbossa's came from behind them. The two men's body's automatically tensed as they tried to make it look as though they were doing something constructive.

"Bill you're meant to be working at the rigging! Hop to it!" Barbossa ordered.

"Aye sir!" Bill replied, hurrying to his post.

Gibbs kept his head down, studying his maps. He was aware that Barbossa was still lingering behind him, it was slightly unnerving.

"Gibbs, I would be careful of that Bill, he won't be good for yer, I've been informed that he's a traitor." Barbossa whispered to him.

Gibbs pretended that he hadn't heard his captain. Soon Barbossa took the hint and wandered off back the way he had come.

Gibbs gulped, lifting his head, he watched his friend as return to his post. He felt a pang of guilt wash over him as he reflected on how Bill was suffering for his own mutinous acts as well as the ones that he was guilty of. Gibbs knew what lay before Bill now that the captain had found out, he only wished he had the guts to go and interfere but he was too cowardly of the consequences to do anything.

Jack and Magdalena had gone through their first bottle of rum within about ten minutes of waiting on the beach. It was getting dark now and they were quite happily lazing about on the sand.

It was a sudden drop in temperature that made Magdalena take consideration to their welfare.

"Jack, it's getting colder, we should light a fire." Magdalena told him, he didn't seem to care much but she knew that it could get really cold during the night and the only way they would survive was if they were to light a fire.

"Jack, firewood, warmth, now!" Magdalena tried simple words to try and get Jack moving.

She got up and tugged on her brother's arm. He took a swig of rum and then complied with her nagging.

"Maggie!" Jack complained.

"Well, can you get some firewood then?" Magdalena felt her voice becoming irritable and so she quickly moved off before she started a row.

Jack willing walked off in the other direction, he still had his bottle of rum in his hand and he took another long, noisy slurp from it.

"Jack, put the rum down!" Magdalena ordered. Jack glared at her, holding the bottle close to his chest.

"You can't collect firewood with only one hand…now come on!" Magdalena sounded as though she was the one who was the oldest, and just like the youngest would do, Jack tried to ignore her order and take it anyway.

"Jack, give it here!" Magdalena snatched the bottle of him and wedged it between two stones, like she had done her own bottle.

Satisfied that it was going nowhere, Jack did as he was told. He began collecting firewood and putting it in a small pile. When he had collected what he considered enough, Jack bent down to collect the pile into his arms and bring it to Magdalena.

Magdalena could see Jack doing this out of the corner of her eye as she took another branch and threw it in the pile. She swore that no one else could bend down to pick up a pile of sticks as awkwardly as Jack did. He leaned to the right, bending his left leg and somehow managed to pick up the pile.

Shaking her head in disbelief Magdalena brought her own pile closer to where they had been sitting and waited for Jack's contribution to be added and then they could being lighting it.

Jack was taking his time, he didn't see any rush, it wasn't like they were going anywhere! He admired the sunset and wondered how anyone could hate such a beautiful sight. He recalled how his father had refused to come out of his cabin when the sun was setting, he couldn't stand the sight of the bright oranges and reds as the sun disappeared into the sea.

He was so enthralled by the spectacle that he was witnessing and the memories that he didn't notice what he tripped on. Sticks went flying everywhere, all his hard work was strewn across the sand. Cursing under his breath Jack began to haul himself up.

Magdalena only looked up because of the sudden pain in her ankle, she knew it was Jack's fault and now could see why. He had fallen over a rock and twisted his ankle.

Bearing the pain, Magdalena got up and walked over to her brother. She had intentionally gone to help him up but seeing that he was doing that himself, she began to pick up the twigs, they were going to need them to keep warm.

Jack tried to gain sympathy from Magdalena with his wide eyed 'in pain' stare but Magdalena was having none of it. She was giving him no sympathy if he couldn't even look where he was going. She took the twigs over to the pile and didn't even glance at Jack as he hobbled behind her. He was putting it on and she knew it. No way could he be in as much pain as he was making out, if he was then she wouldn't have been able to ignore it and carry on as though there was nothing there.

For most people it was hard to judge how much pain someone was in, but unfortunately for Jack, Magdalena knew exactly how much pain he was in and so even trying to fake it a little wouldn't wash on her. Hobbling over to where Magdalena had created the pile of sticks for the fire, he only gave up trying to fake it when he received a glare from his sister, knowing it was useless, he stopped. Sitting in the sand as Magdalena placed the last twigs on the pile and he had thought.

"Hey Maggie, how we gonna light this thing?" Jack asked. Magdalena, without moving her head, looked up at Jack, her eyes told him that he should know what to expect by now and they were right. He should've known that Magdalena wouldn't suggest something unless she knew how to do it, or was certain that he knew.

"Alright, go on, light it then!" Jack said feeling intimidated by her stare.

Magdalena fished in her pocket and pulled out a piece of metal jewellery. It was made of steel, worthless in Jack's pirate mind. She then grabbed a flint stone from the sand and some driftwood which she claimed to be birch. Then holding the stone between her thumb and forefinger and placing the birch between her thumb and the flint stone, she then took the steel broach and struck the flint several times causing sparks to fly onto the birch creating a warm glow. When there was enough glow, Magdalena threw the birch onto the pile of twigs and with a few extra blows, it started to catch fire.

"How did you know how to do that?" Jack asked.

"Something I learnt." Magdalena replied, grinning. She wasn't going to give the satisfaction of telling him right away.

Jack narrowed his eyes.

"Where?" He sounded suspicious.

"At school," Magdalena generalised, well she had technically been at school at the time.

Jack frowned, it didn't seem a logical answer, it was highly unlikely that she would be taught how to light a fire at a girl's school.

"Well, I watched some boys outside as they did it and I was interested. So I climbed out the window and joined them, they taught me how." Magdalena summarized for him.

"How many storeys?"

What seriously, that was all he could think about? What storey she had climbed out from!

"3rd why?"

"Oh no reason, just curious, carry on…" Magdalena hadn't been considering carrying on with the anecdote but as Jack wanted to hear it and there wasn't much else to pass the time with, so she continued.

"Well after climbing down from the window and asking the boys if I could join them, they should me what they had been doing and how to do it, I was going to have a go but the teacher caught me and I was dragged back in the school, quite literally."

Jack smiled.

"Oh Maggie, ever the pirate aren't yer!"

"Of course, it's in my blood!" Magdalena smiled back.

Jack lay back in the sand and looked up into the clear sky, the stars where beginning to show and the sun was beginning to set. The beautiful oranges, pinks and reds merged softly with the blues, greens and turquoises that made up the sky and sea. It was a lovely warm night and he was glad that he was here. Yeah ok, he was marooned on a deserted island with no way of knowing how they would get off, but to take things slowly, admire the beautiful surrounds was a luxury he rarely witnessed.

Magdalena, placing the last twig on the fire, laid down beside her brother, with the stunning sight of the sunset in her mind, she closed her eyes and let sleep come and take her away.

I quite liked writing this chapter so review and tell me what you think!