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Tinkerbellxo

Chapter Twenty-Five

A Rescue

"Who will deliver the baby Lizzie?" Ibini asked.

Will looked over at his wife. He hadn't said anything to her yet; he was still somewhat in shock over the news that he was going to be a father.

"I don't know," Lizzie replied somewhat dejectedly, "I live on the far outskirts of a small settlement with one midwife. But a woman in a family way, on her own, is not taken kindly there. They have remained true to a Puritan way of thinking. They haven't been corrupted, as they call it, by the unholy presence of pirates."

"So what will you do?"

"I really don't know. If I go to the midwife, I could be putting my baby in danger. Will is still, in a matter of speaking, a pirate. If I claim to be a woman without a husband and pregnant, or if they find out about the child's father, they might take my baby away to be raised amongst 'civilized society.'"

She sneered at that last bit. After all, in a previous life she had been the governor of Port Royal's daughter, the only kin to a man valued highly by the King of England. Her mother, though Liz didn't really remember her, had been a respected member of the Royal Court.

She sighed, knowing that that life was far behind her and she was happy about that. She would never give up Will for any station in society. But the situation at hand seemed hopeless.

"Either way, I'm damned."

Ibini knew that feeling all too well.

"We could take you to Pirate Cove," Will suggested.

"Since the end of the war the Cove has all but been abandoned. And I doubt there would be a midwife there of any real skill," she replied.

"We could move you to a different island," Will tried again.

"The reason we chose this one was because it had no ties to the East India Trading Company, remember? There isn't another area like that in these waters."

This gave Ibini an idea.

"Will, if you were to take me home like a normal vessel, none of this flash of green nonsense, how long would it take to return me to my village?"

"Depending on the weather, maybe two weeks I'd say. Why?"

"Do you have that time to spare?"

"I think so," he replied.

"Well, Miss Turner, I think you should prepare yourself for the voyage. You are coming with us," Ibini smiled.

"I don't understand," Lizzie looked between Ibini and her husband who looked equally perplexed.

"The East India Trading Company stays far away from my village. The only visitors we get are from the religious who try to convert us, turn us from our 'heathen ways'."

Ibini paused and when neither one had anything to say, she continued.

"We do not look down on pirates as long as they mean no harm to our people. Therefore you'd have no one sticking their nose in your business."

"What are you trying to say Ibini?" Lizzie asked.

"Lizzie, you are going to have that baby under the supervision of one of the best midwife's the world has ever seen - Atofo*. We shall sail to my home where you will stay until it is time to have the baby. Then you can either have it in the village or Will can return and you can have it aboard The Dutchman. I'm sure Atofo wouldn't mind a small excursion."

"I couldn't impose upon your homecoming Ibini," Lizzie replied.

"Liz, I am nothing but a symbol to them. And you would be warmly welcomed as my saviors."

"Then I guess we shall head to The New World?" Will smiled.

"Yes. And once you have given birth to your baby, I will give you what you need and deserve."

Will and Elizabeth stood there with baited breath, waiting for Ibini to finish her thought.

"Both you and your child shall have eternal life."

Jack made sure to follow every degree change that his compass chose to show him. He knew what he wanted, and he hoped to whatever deity that would answer a pirate's prayer that his compass wouldn't fail him now.

He had been standing at the helm for hours past his usual shift but he had refused any reprieve. He remained glued to the wheel, eyes straining to take in the entire horizon. The only time he looked away was to check his compass for any shift in direction.

It had been a while since he had consulted the small mahogany box so Jack peered down once again. As he eyed the small pin that was leading him to what he hoped was a bright future, the direction shifted drastically. He dropped it, allowing it to hang from his belt as he rubbed both of his eyes. He picked it up once again to see that it was indeed pointing in the exact opposite direction than it had been just a moment ago.

"What in the blazes?" he muttered.

But he followed it, steering the ship away from the port side and hard to starboard. An island that he hadn't seen before appeared in front of him and his heart skipped a beat. Had Will left her behind on this spit of land? He didn't think that his friend was capable of doing something so uncaring. But then again, he knew how desperate the young whelp had become. You really couldn't trust anyone anymore.

They were coming up quick on the island, or maybe the island was coming up quick on them. He decided to sail around to inspect the area and found they were sailing straight into a small cove. Suddenly the ship went quiet. All the men who had been calling out orders or singing their sea shanties had silenced and the only sound that was heard was an eerie tune wafting over them.

His men, including Gibbs, were gravitating over to the bow of the ship, trying to get closer to that sound. They had been bewitched, Jack was sure of it.

And just before he lapsed into his own trance Jack realized what had brought him here.

The Siren's call . . .

Ibini had been standing at the bow for about an hour when she heard some unearthly song. It was a woman singing, that she was sure of. She looked around to see if Lizzie was the culprit but alas, she had yet to emerge from the Captain's cabin where Ibini had left the couple in a tender embrace.

After they had thanked her about a hundred times for what she was going to do for them, the full extent of the situation had sunk in for Will. He was going to be a father. Suddenly he had swept his wife off her feet and had kissed her passionately. Ibini took that as her cue to leave and as she closed the door behind her she had heard Will whisper, "We're going to have a baby."

Truthfully Ibini was glad she had gotten away as fast as she had. She wasn't sure if she could have taken much more of the joy that radiated from the Turners. She was more than happy to help them out and she was happy for the two of them and their future child, but she wasn't happy for herself. She had provided them an answer to their problem and now they could be together for eternity. She was going back to her village, alone.

But the persistence of the female voice brought her back to the present and she realized she still had no idea where it was coming from. She looked over at Bootstrap who was standing at the helm and thought maybe he could enlighten her. She jumped down from the bow and walked towards the stern. As she climbed up the ladder to the helm he smiled at her.

"What's on yer mind, Miss?" he asked.

"How did you know I had something on my mind?" she replied.

"You look like a woman on a mission, not to be put off," he smiled.

"Well you're right, I was wondering where that music was coming from," she replied.

"Music? There be no music aboard this ship at the moment. Although I bet there'll be plenty tonight when my son decides to announce his good news."

"How did you know about that?"

"Lizzie was glowin', just like Will's mama was when she was pregnant with 'im," Bootstrap said.

"You are one sharp man Bootstrap, they don't give you enough credit," she complimented him.

She saw his cheeks turn the faintest shade of red.

"So," she continued, "you don't hear that?"

He shook his head no.

"Then where could that be -"

It was as if she had been ripped from The Dutchman and transported mentally to the deck of The Pearl. Physically she was still standing next to Bootstrap, but the only thing she could see was a ship with black sails and Jack's ragtag crew.

The Black Pearl wasin a cove of an island that wasn't too far from where The Dutchman sailed now and she wondered what had happened to that business opportunity Jack had arranged with Vane. Why was he here and where was he headed? However, she put those thoughts to the back of her head when she realized something was wrong. No one was at their proper stations and they were all crowded at the bow. As if in a dream, Ibini walked through the men of Jack's crew towards the rail and looked over the side.

There, sitting on large rocks, were the most beautiful women Ibini had ever seen in her life. Their song was intoxicating, like she could do nothing else but listen to it.

Sirens, she had heard of them but had never encountered any. And of course, she wasn't actually on The Pearl. She was safe aboard Will's ship. It was the connection between her and Jack that brought her this vision. This is what he was seeing. She had this overwhelming urge to jump, to give into the Sirens call. This is what he was feeling.

She knew she had to somehow break Jack from this trance that had a hold on him before he gave himself over to these otherworldly creatures. She found him amongst his men, his eyes fixated on the beautiful sirens.

She concentrated, she wasn't sure if she had shut her eyes or not but she focused solely on trying to communicate with Jack. She lifted an arm and tried to poke him, but her hand went right through him, like he was a ghost. She grunted in frustration. She didn't know what to do.

"Jack?"

He didn't answer.

"Jack!"

Still no answer.

"Jack! Please look at me!" she could have sworn she was crying. She could feel her eyes welling up with tears of hurt and anguish. He was moving towards the rail and she had no way of stopping him.

"Jack!"

She ran up and threw her arms around him.

"Please, don't leave me," she cried.

That's when she realized he was solid against her body.

She looked up and saw him peering down at her, a smile on his face and warmth in his eyes.

"Please," she repeated, "don't leave me."

Jack was ready to jump overboard when he felt something warm envelope him. It was like someone was hugging him tight, begging him not to move another step. That's when the Sirens calls ceased and he heard a small voice in his ear.

"Please, don't leave me," it said.

A little louder it repeated itself. And when he looked down, he could swear he saw Ibini's beautiful sea glass blue eyes staring up at him. This was enough to break the spell and he immediately went into action.

"Men!" he cried but no one listened.

He tried shaking Gibbs but his first mate was lost to the call. He looked around, frantically searching for something that would free his men from this spell. His hand flew to his belt and he pulled out his pistol. He ran to the rail, leaned over and fired a single shot.

The once beautiful trio of women turned into hideous hags with sharp fangs and claws and green scaly skin. Their beautiful golden locks were now worms that wriggled from their skulls. They reached towards the ship and clawed at her sides. The once heavenly song turned into wails of pain and anguish that broke the men from their trances. Quickly they realized what they had been about to do and recoiled in fear from the side of the ship. They went back to their respective posts and in a moment they had readied the ship to depart. Jack ran back to the helm and took his place at the wheel.

"All ready Gibbs?" he yelled down to the mast.

"Aye, Cap'n," Gibbs replied.

"Let's get out of here than, shall we mates?"

A hearty cry could be heard from all and Jack turned the wheel hard to port and the scraping against the ship ceased. With the wind at their backs, they found it easy to sail away from the enchanted island and within an hour they were far out to sea. It was only then that he breathed a sigh of relief.

His men were puzzled as to what had happened and how they had been saved from a fate worse than death.

Jack knew who had saved them and he smiled.

Thank you Ibini, he thought to himself as they sailed into the sunset.

Your welcome Jack, Ibini sighed as she was brought back to the deck of The Dutchman. She was glad to have saved him, but it had been hard for her to see him, knowing they would never meet again. Would she have to deal with this connection for the rest of her life? Would she be forced to hear the thoughts of a man she knew she wanted but had given up all chances of being with?

The tears she had been fighting now fell freely down her cheeks. Of course she wouldn't have to deal with this for the rest of her life, just the rest of his.

She knew it would be a sad day for her when she stopped hearing the thoughts of Captain Jack Sparrow.

"Ibini?" she heard Bootstrap's voice and she wiped her cheeks dry.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently.

"Yes," she hiccupped, "just tired. I think I'm going to go rest a while in my cabin."

He nodded at her and she left him alone at the helm. Bootstrap had only seen that look once before, when his son had first left his beloved bride behind. Bootstrap now knew Ibini's secret and he prayed to God that Jack was smart enough to come after her.

Ibini was drowning. The water churned and rolled above her and she didn't see a light. Wasn't there supposed to be a light at the end of the tunnel? Either she was too far down or it was late at night . . .or she wasn't going to wherever there was light. It didn't really surprise her. The immortal were damned.

Which reminded her that she couldn't be drowning; it wasn't physically possible for her to die. She began to get that lightheaded feeling when you have lost too much air. Her eyes grew heavy and her body began to sink even deeper into the blackness below. Would she have to spend the rest of eternity at the bottom of the ocean?

She was barely conscious but felt a disturbance in the water. Something grabbed her; she felt the sting of sharp talons cutting into her back. And she was flying; she could feel the wind whip though her hair. When she collapsed on the ground she felt the cool sand cushion her fall. She opened her eyes to see her large Sparrow again, with feathers as black as the night that engulfed them. She sputtered and coughed up all the water that had begun to fill her lungs. As she turned on her side to look at the majestic bird, it bowed to her, like it had that first night she had dreamt of it. Then it took off into the night.

Ibini watched until it was barely a speck in the sky. When she turned around, she smiled.

She was home.

Ibini awoke to the sound of birds, seagulls to be more exact, calling outside the window of her tiny cabin aboard The Flying Dutchman. So it had been a dream. She wasn't home.

But what did it mean? She knew that the Sparrow had come to represent Jack. In her first dream, the Sparrow had saved her from the ship, just like Jack had saved her at the auction. But Jack was gone. Will was going to deliver her to her people.

Suddenly a loud knock came at the door and without waiting for her to answer, Will burst into the room.

"I've been called into action," he said hurriedly.

She just looked at him, still processing her disappointment.

"A ship off the coast of Cuba has sunk. I have to drop Elizabeth off on the closest island so I can take off and handle this."

He got down on his knees in front of her so that they were eye level.

"Would you be willing to stay with her? I'd be back in a day or two and we can resume our voyage."

"Of course I will," Ibini replied.

"Thank you," Will grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"How long do I have to get my things together?" she asked him.

"An hour, I've spotted an island that looks like it has a small settlement so you would be safe from any natives," he cringed when he realized what he had said to a woman who was technically a native.

"I meant – "

"It's alright Will," she interjected, "I understand. I will be ready."

"Thank you," he kissed her hand again and left abruptly, there was still much to be done.

Ibini crawled off her cot and started to gather what few belongings she had. Once it had all been stowed in a sack and she had changed into a pair of clean breeches and a shirt she sat back down on the cot.

A sigh of frustration escaped her lips. So another day or two would be added onto the voyage.

At this point, Ibini felt she'd never get home.

Translation:

Atofo: Means "owl" in the Timicuan language, the tribe Ibini comes from. The midwife is nicknamed Atofo because she is wise like an owl.

A/N: As always, thank you to my faithful readers and reviewers, Linalove, Storylover456, Howlongmustiwait and Kit-cat99. Also, thanks to those of you who have added this to your favorite stories or to your story alert. Thanks for reading and please review!

Tinkerbellxo