Chapter 21

The sea sprayed lightly in Ayse's face as she stood near the railing and looked out over the Caribbean Sea. The pristine water stretched for what seemed an eternity as she searched for any sign of land at all. She held James in the palm of her hand and together they looked out over the water.

"Ah, what I wouldn't give to be standing next to you and feeling the ship swaying beneath my feet," he sighed heavily. "So many things you take for granted when you are alive."

"Oh, James," Ayse said. "I can't imagine how trapped you must feel in there."

"It's rather claustrophobic in here at times, but I manage, I suppose," he remarked. "How are you today?"

"James, I think I can honestly say that I am ready to get off this blasted ship," Ayse complained. "We've been sailing for five weeks now and still nothing!"

"Don't worry, Ayse," he reassured her. "The opportunity will present itself where we will be able to stretch our legs…er, your legs, that is." He let out a soft, amused snort. "How poetically ironic."

"And what is that, James?"

"I'm the one heartening you this time."

Ayse smiled and looked down at him. "That is ironic, but…you managed to make me smile, James. Thank you."

Elizabeth approached Ayse and relaxed with her back against the rail. "Well, it seems the pair of you are getting on quite well."

"I was just remarking to James how nice it would be to get off this blasted ship," Ayse said.

Elizabeth nodded. "I would definitely have to agree with you, Ayse. The boredom is driving me mad – and so is Jack."

"Well I suppose the fact that you're a married woman isn't stopping his advances, is it?" James said coolly.

"Well, it isn't that, really," Elizabeth said. "He's just incredibly annoying when he's bored."

James snorted derisively. "I find him incredibly annoying whether he is bored or not."

"James!" Ayse exclaimed admonishingly.

"Well he is!" James responded.

Ayse glanced at Jack, amused. He was currently navigating the ship and looking at some kind of large compass. Ayse had found over the weeks that Jack had consulted his compass quite often. The object was unlike any compass she had ever seen appearance wise as it was shaped like an octagon, and the lid was dome shaped and appeared to be made from a semi-precious stone that Ayse was certain could only be found in some exotic, far off land. It really was a compass unlike any she had ever seen.

She left the railing and went up to Jack, curiosity finally overtaking her. "Jack…that's a beautiful compass."

He glanced down at her from the helm. "Thank ye, luv. It's quite unique."

"Indeed it is," she said. "Where did you get it?"

"Traded a bag of gold to an old acquaintance for it," he said. "Want to see it?"

"May I?" she asked, holding up her hands to him. He handed it down to her and she took it, opening the lid to have a look. The first thing she noticed was that it didn't point north. "Wait…Jack, this compass does not point north. How is it supposed to work if it doesn't point north?"

Jack handed off the helm and leaned closer to her ear. "It isn't north you're looking for, is it, luv?"

Ayse blinked. "What do you mean?"

"This compass," Jack explained, "points to the thing you desire the most. It's why it's so unique."

"The thing you want the most?" she repeated.

"Give it a try," he told her.

Ayse watched the needle spin until it appeared to be pointing at her. She frowned, confused. "The needle is pointing the opposite direction of where we are heading."

Jack smiled. "The thing you want most, luv, is that which is closest to your heart."

She glanced at Jack. "What's closest to my heart? I'm afraid I don't understand."

He patted her shoulders and smirked. "You'll understand when it's time."

More long days of sailing passed for the crew of the Black Pearl, and somewhere around the Florida coast, the course had changed westward, the Pearl sailing directly between Florida and Cuba. Jack and Gibbs kept a constant vigil through their spyglasses for any sign of cays west of Florida, yet they could only spot small spits of land and sandbars along the way.

Jack checked and rechecked his compass, wondering whether he would ever get to the island so they could disembark. He had noticed that the crew had become restless and tempers had started flaring over infinitesimal things, which was a good indicator that the situation needed to change and soon. Jack had thought that perhaps he should have docked in Florida or at Cuba, but he wanted to see if he could push the crew just a little more.

The sky turned cloudy, and the wind changed. Rain began to fall lightly as the water became as bleak as the sky. Somewhere late in the afternoon, a dark speck of land appeared on the horizon against the gray sky that was a little more than a spit of sand out in the middle of nowhere. Gibbs lifted his spyglass to his eye and examined the speck and determined that it was a full-fledged island, although it was small. The surface of the island was covered with thick vegetation and a small, jungle covered mountain rose just above the tree line.

Gibbs lowered the spyglass and grinned. "Land Ho!"

Jack glanced at his First Mate and followed his pointing finger to the speck on the horizon. Jack squinted before lifting his own spyglass and then checked his compass; it was pointing to the island, and he grinned toothily.

That must be it, he thought. It has to be it…the floating cay.

Ayse and Elizabeth glanced out at the horizon eagerly from the bow of the ship.

"Do you really think that's it?" Ayse asked.

"We can only hope," Elizabeth responded. She glanced at Ayse. "Even if it isn't, it'll be a good chance to get off this bloody ship!"

"Indeed," Ayse agreed.

Elizabeth turned to Jack. "Any chance of reaching land by this evening, Jack?"

The pirate shook his head. "I doubt it, Lizzie. Even if we reach land, it'll be far too late in the day to explore."

"Aye," Gibbs agreed. "No doubt there'll be hidden reefs all over the place and we'll need good light ta see 'em."

Jack nodded. "Agreed. These conditions aren't very favorable for spotting reefs, and there's no telling how far out they are." He sighed. "We should weigh anchor here to be safe, mate."

Joshamee nodded. "Aye, aye, Cap'n."

While Gibbs was giving the order to anchor for the night, Ayse approached Jack with James in her hand.

"How long will it take for us to get to land?" she asked.

Jack untied a rope and began pulling on the rigging. "If we leave at dawn we should be able to make land fall sometime in the early morning."

"How do we know it's the correct cay out of the thousands that comprise this area?" James asked, doubting that Jack was right.

"We don't," he said, "but it'd be nice to get the crew off the ship for a spell, if ye know what I mean." He grinned. "A bit of a holiday would be nice."

James rolled his eyes and Ayse ventured a smile. "Yes, I think I understand what you mean, Jack. I look forward to exploring the island tomorrow."

Jack simply smirked and turned back to his work leaving Ayse to wonder about what she would get to see on the land that lay far in the distance. Was it the island they were looking for? Would she find Calypso there? The Fountain of Youth? Questions raced through her head like a spooked runaway horse, but the question that weighed heaviest on her mind was whether Calypso would really be able to help James.

Ayse sighed and clasped the base of the pocket watch in self reassurance. The answers she sought would reveal themselves soon enough. For now, patience was her virtue, and she needed to hold on just a bit longer.