Trouble

Jack and Celeise got tired of waiting. They started back along the trail. As they walked, they removed the blades of grass from the trees, so no one could find them.

"Jack, do you think that we'll ever see them again?" Celeise asked him. He stepped a little closer and touched her hand. "Don't worry, love. They'll be fine. Just keep walking."

They came to a small river. Holding hands, they waded in. It was about twenty feet wide. When they were halfway across, Celeise caught her foot on a root. As she tried to get it out, she fell forward into the water. Jack ducked under. He pulled her foot out of the root and lifted her up to the surface. He carried her through the water, which was about four feet deep, and set her down on the shore. Then he saw two figures on the other side of the river. On one of them, he saw a lot of long dark hair, and he knew right away who it was.

"Marana!"

"Jack!" She ran into the water and made her way towards him. When they met in the middle, Jack caught her with a strong embrace. Marana pressed her lips to his cheek, and then to his mouth. She never wanted to let go of him.

Beckett reached the shore. He kneeled before his wife and stroked her hair. She smiled and gave him a gentle kiss. Then her ankle started throbbing. She cried out and rubbed it, to ease the pain. He asked, "Celeise, what's wrong?" She bit down on her lip and replied, "I twisted my ankle when Jack and I were crossing the river. He was helping me across. My ankle got caught on a root, but I'm alright now." She hugged him as Marana and Jack reached the shore.

Marana squeezed the water out of her hair and put her hair into a loose ponytail. She addressed everyone, "We are notgetting separated again." They moved off into the woods and settled under a group of trees.

The sun was beginning to set. Marana built a fire. She and Jack lay between the roots of an old oak tree. Once Beckett and Celeise were asleep, Jack wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her. She rested her head on his chest and inhaled the smell of gunpowder, rum, and ash. She closed her eyes and fell asleep. He stayed awake so he could feel his wife in his arms, and listen to her calmed breathing and her heartbeat. He finally fell asleep too. Marana was the first to wake up in the morning. She had turned over, and Jack's hands rested right over where the baby was growing. She looked at the other two, who were still asleep. Slowly, she pulled herself back, so her head was right next to Jack's. She kissed his lips very gently. He then woke up. He pulled Marana down on top of him and pressed his lips to hers, his hands around her back. When he let go, Marana sat up. As the others woke up, she quickly moved away from Jack and stood up. Then she had an idea, one that might get them back to Port Royal.

"Jack, give me your compass." She opened it and gazed at the spinning dial. It pointed towards the east. She passed it around to the others, and each time it pointed in the same direction. She closed it, tied it to her belt, and said triumphantly, "Come on. Let's go."

They started walking, going in the direction the compass had indicated. Every few hours they would stop to rest. When they were sitting around a bunch of tree stumps, Marana realized something: Beckett had lost his wig, and she had never even noticed. His hair was wavy and brown, and just about reached his shoulders. Marana liked him better this way. It made him seem less intimidating. She looked over at Jack, who caught her eye and smiled; and Celeise, who came and sat next to her. Marana said quietly, "What are we going to do once we return to Port Royal?"

"I hadn't thought of that, marana." replied Beckett. "It would be best for you and Jack to take the Pearland leave." She looked over at Jack again, and he reached over and took her hand.

They all stood up and started walking again, Marana and Jack at the front, and Celeise and Beckett behind them. Marana stood slightly in front of Jack, one hand holding his and the other holding the compass. They walked almost completely straight.

When they stopped for the night, Marana kept watch while everyone else slept.

She sat against a tree. She gazed at Jack, who was smiling in his sleep. Celeise and Beckett were both asleep, holding hands.

"Love is a dangerous weapon, isn't it?" she heard Jack whisper. He sat down beside her. She gathered her dark hair into a loose and messy bun. "What are you implying, Jack?" He leaned into her, his body against hers, and whispered in her ear, "It can keep a man and a woman together, like we are now. Or…it can tear them apart, like it did to us a few weeks ago. "He was about to kiss her, but she pressed her finger to his lips.

"Jacky, I hear something." She pulled away from him and listened. She heard several people talking. She said to Jack, "Stay here and watch the others. I'll go see what it is." Slowly, and being careful not to make a sound, she crept towards the sounds. She peered through the thick branches of a large bush and saw a group of armed redcoats sitting around a fire.

She heard a voice that sounded very familiar.

"Do you still have the warrants, lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir, all four of them." replied another voice. She heard rustling, and four papers were placed in the hands of James Norrington. He shuffled through them. "Let's see, there's one for Jack Sparrow, one for Marana Lark, one for Lord Beckett, and one for his wife, Lady Beckett."

"Why Lord and Lady Beckett, sir?" asked one of the redcoats. James tucked the papers into a pocket in his coat and answered, "Lord Beckett is accused of kidnapping Julie Lark, and he and his Lady are both guilty of aiding pirates."

"And what will become of them, sir?" the soldier asked.

"They will all be imprisoned and eventually hanged."

Marana, as quickly as possible, crept back to the others. She grabbed Jack by his shoulders and whispered, "Jack, James Norrington and a group of soldiers are very close. We have to leave now. They're after us, and they're after Beckett and Celeise as well."

"Indeed we are." James stood in front of her, with a pistol pointed at her head. She and Jack both stood up. Then she heard a click. She looked over at Beckett, who had his gun pointed at Jack's head. She opened her mouth to say something, but James spoke first, "Lieutenant, fetch the irons." Marana heard the sound of clinking chains, and she, Jack, Beckett, and Celeise were all put in shackles. All of the sets of irons were connected by a longer chain. The soldiers shoved them forward, and they began to walk. Marana was between Jack and Beckett.

They reached Port Royal as the sun was setting the next evening. They were all put into one prison cell. They were in an underground section of the prison.

Beckett glared at Marana. "This never would have happened if you hadn't run after those soldiers." She looked surprised. "Oh, that's a lovely way to thank me for trying to save your life. If I hadn't gone after them, they would have caught us easily. At least we had a chance to get away." He lost control. He backhanded her across her face. She fell back into Jack's arms, a large bruise growing under her left eye. Celeise grabbed him by his shoulders and shoved him against the wall. "Cutler, what do you think you're doing?" He looked ashamed. Jack glared at him and hugged Marana protectively. He kept her as far away from Beckett as possible. He reached out to her. "Marana, I'm sorry."

"Get away from me, you creep!" She screamed, backing into the wall. He angrily pulled out his pistol, which hadn't been taken when they were disarmed. He pointed it at her head. Then Marana shouted, "Wait! Please don't shoot!" She knew how they were going to get out. She reached out. "Beckett, give me the pistol." He tucked it into his coat. She got angry. "Beckett, give it to me! I can get us out of here!" He still refused. Celeise slipped her hand into the coat and pulled it out. As he made a grab for it, she tossed it to Marana. He tried to take it back, but she pointed it at his head. He backed off. She calmed down. "Now, I am going to get us out of here, and I don't want to hear a word from any of you." She went to work on the lock. She opened the barrel of the pistol and poured the gunpowder into the lock, dropping the bullet. She then took a stick and reached out through the bars, using the stick to knock her pistol off of its hook on the opposite wall. She grabbed it and aimed at the lock. Once she fired, the lock exploded, and the door opened.

They all grabbed their weapons and ran down the corridor. Outside, it was raining heavily. The ground was flooding, and the water was spilling into the prison. As they reached the staircase that led outside, they became trapped. Water was pouring down the stairs, high enough to prevent them from leaving. Jack and Beckett grabbed their wives and pulled them down the corridor. The water rushed in ever faster, coming up to their ankles. They were halted near their cell. Four soldiers blocked their path.