Pirates of the Caribbean – The Secret of Hell Water
(A/N-I have a few comments to make prior to this chapter:
1: I'm probably being over-cautious. However, I don't want to get yelled at. So I'm lettin' ya know that the romance is gonna step up a notch in this chapter. I'm still keeping my rating at PG-13 though, because I don't think it's gone far enough to be R- anyways… there ya go… ye be warned!!
2: I want to thank you all again for your encouraging reviews! You all are sooooo great and it really keeps me motivated to finish this story. I'm greatly enjoying writing it, btw. Thank you all!
3: Also, I just wanted to reiterate something that concerns me, since I'm getting a few reviews who seem to think my take on Mermaids is a bit 'inaccurate'…* ah-hem* As I said before, I'm making up my own rules about mermaids here—I know what a siren is, and I know mermaids aren't typically feared amongst sailors, but as I said before... I'm bending the 'rules' for the sake of the plot, and because I can because I'm the author and I can do whatever the hell I want! So there! =P Muahahaa! )
Chapter 10- Trust me,
love!
It was well past noon by the time Emma finally decided to join the crew. They were too busy to regard her for more than a moment, however, but some shot smiles of welcome or uttered a few words of amazement at her miraculous appearance from the day before.
The hard-hearted seadogs were covered from head to toe in dark smudges of ash and grime as they toiled in the unmerciful heat of the sun. The sounds of chopping and hammering could be heard over bare snatches of song and the barking orders of Jack Sparrow, who was directing the proceedings skillfully.
" Spread the pitch evenly Duncan! It will not hold properly otherwise. Do you want her to sprout a leak while we're in the midst of Hell Water?"
Emma walked up to Elizabeth, who was sitting on the white beach with a long sliver of bone fashioned into a needle. The lady pirate was deeply involved in the process of sewing up the spanker sail, which had sustained a huge gaping hole as a result of the battle.
" H- Hello." Emma spoke softly as she approached, nervous at how Elizabeth may regard her, since her secret had been discovered. But to her relief, Elizabeth looked up at her and smiled warmly, then gestured with a nod for Emma to take a seat beside her.
" I'm glad to see you awoke. You slept so soundly yesterday I wasn't sure if you were going to recover."
Emma gratefully sat down beside her. "Is there anything I can do to help?" She glanced out at the pirates who were toiling on the shore boats out in the inlet. " I… can't really be much help to them out there, I'm afraid."
" No—" Elizabeth said in understanding. Then put down her needle and regarded Emma levelly. " So, I assume you had a conversation with Jack?"
Emma nodded, frowning and a rush of indignation filled her. " Yes… I did."
Her quick-tempered answer made Elizabeth frown. " What did he say to you?"
" Certainly not enough to be considered proper!" Emma said heatedly.
" Proper?"
" Well—" Emma hesitated. She realized then that she probably shouldn't have spoken out in such anger. She did not want Elizabeth to know that Jack had gotten the upper hand in their arrangement and it galled her to think that Elizabeth might pity her. She was hardly the kind of person who would go about whining and complaining when she didn't get her way. " I guess that's not quite the right word for it… We just—well… came to an understanding." She said the last part with a hint of bitterness.
" Well, I suppose that is good." Elizabeth said after a brief silence. She wanted badly to ask Emma about a million questions, but wasn't sure if she had the right to prod the girl, who seemed rather evasive at the moment. Another silence descended, where they could hear the raucous yells of the pirates from across the inlet. Finally, Elizabeth's curiosity got the better of her and she dared to ask the question that was foremost in her mind. " Yesterday, we saw Jack pull you out of the water… Will and I did…"
" --I know…" She said hastily, glancing back and forth to see that no one was trying to overhear. " Jack told me."
Elizabeth nodded. " Jack seems to think it's to your benefit to not let the other pirates in on the truth of the matter. Which, I must agree with."
"You do?"
" Yes." Elizabeth smiled apprehensively, then looked down at her work and thrust the needle through the tough canvas. " The pirates are a superstitious lot. Mr. Gibbs especially… what they don't understand, they will fear. And I don't know how they will handle the truth. It would be best to let Jack handle it, he knows his crew best."
Emma gave an audible sigh. " It's what I was afraid of, so I was waiting for the opportune moment to tell him. I suppose that this morning was it. Though I'm not sure if it did me much good."
Elizabeth gave a chuckle. " You sound like Jack Sparrow."
" I hope not!" Emma said this with a vehemence that made Elizabeth jump slightly, the needled slipped from her grasp and fell on the white sand. " He's a villainous scoundrel! I can't believe I had half a mind to trust him. The conniving ruffian!"
Elizabeth had been searching for her needle during Emma's tirade and was listening with half an ear, but by the end she abandoned the quest and regarded her sternly. " I'm sure whatever Jack did, it was to his best advantage. That's what you have to learn about Jack Sparrow. He's smarter than he lets on and twice as cunning. "
" You talk about it as if it's okay with you?" Emma said exasperated.
Elizabeth laughed. " He's a pirate! You know as much as I do what you should expect! If you wanted to go sailing with an honest man, you should never have given him your map."
As Emma listened to Elizabeth, she reluctantly had to agree that the female pirate had a good point. Her heart sank, " He must think I'm terribly naive."
" On the contrary, I think he rather admires you." She resumed her search, and moments later, located the needle on top of the sand and held it aloft clumsily between her thumb and forefinger.
" You do?" Emma asked hesitantly.
Elizabeth nodded, threading the needle with a little trouble and resumed her tedious patchwork. " He mentioned briefly that you filled him in on some more of Hell Water's more… dangerous obstacles… because you'd been there before."
Emma opened her mouth for a hasty explanation, but Elizabeth continued without pause. " And he told Will and I your general plan to use his ship to get there a second time. I think he admires your spirit. Even though he would never admit to it aloud."
Emma listened to her with incredulity. She had never entertained the faintest idea that Jack might actually admire her. In every moment that she spent in his company, he always seemed to do his best to ruffle her feathers.
" I think he likes you." Elizabeth stated with finality.
Emma scoffed. " No way! All he's ever done is taunt me. He takes delight in making me uncomfortable!"
" Some men have strange ways of showing affection."
" Well I hate him!"
Elizabeth raised one eyebrow and regarded Emma, a tiny smile of amusement played across her face. Emma balked, then after a short pause, reluctantly sagged down in a defeated posture. " Okay, well… I don't hate him…"
" Whatever you feel… I'm just telling you what I think. It's up to you to decide whether you'll accept or reject it."
At this moment, Will approached and sat beside them. He smelled strongly of pitch and while his hands had been hastily cleaned in the ocean, he still had a great smear of black across his forehead. Elizabeth eyed it with a hint of amusement.
" Emma, it's nice to see you're okay." He said with a nod. Emma smiled at him and inclined her head in a brief gesture of thanks.
In her mind, she would much rather continue to discuss Jack Sparrow with Elizabeth. The idea of his liking her was unsettling. However, she admitted that she felt an irresistible attraction to the roguish pirate Captain. The only problem there was, in her stubborn mind she couldn't get the uneasy feeling that he had something up his sleeve. She knew it had something to do with her. She wanted to trust him, to be able to be easy when he shot his occasional glances at her from over the water (as he'd been doing steadily since she sat down next to Elizabeth). He had the most cunning look of amusement on his face. That smile sent her pulse racing and she thought again of the brief kiss he'd given her that morning. But her overbearing reason quelled the upsurge of emotion, and she told herself sternly that he was obviously up to no good. She couldn't trust such a scoundrel and it was best to forget about the prospect of seeing what it might be like to spend more than just a little quality time with the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow.
She firmly planted this resolve in her mind, wondering how long it would last.
" Emma?"
Emma snapped out of her thoughts and directed a nervous glance up to Will, who had presumably asked her a question and was waiting for her to answer.
" I'm sorry, I missed your question." She said embarrassed.
Will glanced at Elizabeth, and then settled down comfortably on the sand. " I was just asking you, if you felt like telling us a little bit of your story…"
" – About how you got the map, and things…" Elizabeth added quickly. " And also, perhaps, how you came here after suffering a fatal gunshot wound."
Emma nodded and slowly began her tale in the same way that she had told Jack. Elizabeth and Will listened to her attentively throughout, pausing to ask a question occasionally, and Emma answered them to her best ability. She told them of her desire for mortality, and the treasure that was hidden amongst 'Black Jack' Sparrow's secret hoard that would grant her wish. She told them a shorter, less graphic version of the tragedy she'd witnessed at Hell Water that fateful night almost thirty years ago, and how she had saved the child and he'd given her the map and gold as a reward for her effort.
" And so here I am." She finished with arms outspread. " I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into when I approached Jack at the beginning of this adventure. And I still don't know whether I regret it or not. But he seems to feel confident that he can conquer Hell Water, so I suppose I should count myself lucky to have found such a brilliant pirate."
" Brilliant, or mad…" Said Will under his breath. Elizabeth regarded Emma with a look of amazement.
" So, he thinks he can get past that shark? I wonder what he has up his sleeve…" She said softly.
" I asked him!" cried Emma indignantly. " He wouldn't tell me."
" That's Jack Sparrow for you." Said Will with a nod. " But whatever it is, I'm sure it's a crazy."
" Which means, it's most likely to work." Added Elizabeth perplexed, then she shrugged and commenced to sew the last of the sail. " Oh well, there's no pressing him when he wants to keep you in the dark. He'll tell us when it's to his advantage, I'm sure of that."
" That's what I'm afraid of." Emma mumbled.
Will smiled at her comfortingly. " Don't be so worried. Jack is sneaky, but he's not cruel. He wouldn't hurt you."
Emma wanted badly to believe him. And just as she was about to express it, she saw Jack approaching from off shore. He walked towards them with his familiar swaying stride.
" Elizabeth, how's the sail coming along, darling?" He stopped a few feet from the group, resting one hand on his hip and regarded them cooly.
" Almost finished." She said, holding it up for inspection.
Jack barely took a glance at it. " Excellent, love. Hand it to Quartetto when you're done, he'll string it to the Mizzenmast." Then he turned to Will, who was regarding him with a look of speculation.
" Mr. Turner." He said sternly, Will jumped to his feet at the commanding tone.
" Aye, Captain."
Jack shoved a loaded pistol into his hands and a large empty bottle about the length of his forearm. " The mates say they saw tracks of some large animals out amidst the trees on the island. They think it may be wild pigs. Go and kill one for me and see that it bleeds good and plenty. Collect every drop of blood you can squeeze from it in this bottle, savvy?"
" Aye?" Will looked at the Captain questioningly. " And, the meat?"
" Bring it back." Jack said conversationally. " It'll be good to eat tonight."
Will glanced at Elizabeth, who smiled at him and then he set off at a trot and disappeared into the forest scenery. Emma watched him go, then looked back to see Jack sauntering off towards the ship. She thought again about what Elizabeth had told her and jumped to her feet, wiping the sand off the back of her dress hastily.
"I'm going to ask Jack something." She said in a shaky voice, betraying how nervous she honestly felt. " I'll be right back."
Elizabeth watched her run off to catch up to Jack before he reached the ocean's edge. And thought idly to herself that they made a rather nice pair. After hearing Emma's story, her ideas about Jack's uncommon attention towards the mysterious, feisty golden haired woman were reinforced. Emma was a difficult fish to catch, quite literally, and Jack seemed to be more than up for the challenge. That first night in Tortuga, when she ran into the Pirate Captain again with his new 'companion,' she immediately had noticed the care he'd taken when Emma had fallen into his arms drunk. She could clearly recall the times on the ship when he'd joked and happily harangued the flustered girl who was trying her best to prove her medal against the pirates. And it became even more apparent later, by his uncommon hatred of Commodore Norrington after the battle on board the trade ship. Normally, Jack would not have batted an eyelash at the ordeal, but he had been unusually angry. The reason was one that Elizabeth could only guess… Jack had believed Emma dead.
Furthermore, she had carefully watched him last night, through the corner of her eye while feigning sleep. Jack had been sitting beside Emma during the drinking festivities, and when he believed everyone else was asleep, she witnessed that he had stroked Emma's cheek and gazed down at the girl with such a look of hazy fascination, that she found it difficult to believe he was the same swaggering, boisterous pirate she'd agreed to set sail with from Tortuga.
" Yes…" she thought to herself, watching Emma talking animatedly to Jack, who stood looking down at her relaxed, feet sturdily planted shoulder width apart on the sandy beach. " It will be interesting to see how this develops…"
~*~*~*~*~*~
As each pirate came to shore and the ship repairs were finished, Jack handed them a similar empty bottle and the same instructions to go into the woods and shoot an animal, collect it's blood and bring back the meat for storage. Most turned and strode confidently into the wilderness without asking questions, with the exception of Mr. Gibbs, who took his bottle and eyed the captain wearily.
" Captain, what devilry are ye about? Killing animals and saving their blood?"
" Don't question orders, Mr. Gibbs." Jack said smoothly. Mr. Gibbs shrugged and turned to follow the rest of the pirates, muttering under his breath. By the time he'd left, Will had returned with his catch. He dropped the pig carcass on the ground at Jack's feet and handed him the bottle filled with the deep red liquid.
" At ease, mate. This'll do fine." Jack said as he stowed the bottle carefully in a shallow crate, then began to cut up the carcass with the dagger he kept in his boot. Will went to wash the blood stains from his hands in the surf; Elizabeth was on the ship, helping with the newly patched sail.
Emma walked up to Jack, surveying his tidy work.
" What is all this for?" She asked.
" This?" Jack gestured vaguely to the rather lean young pig he was carving. " This one will be for dinner."
" No! I mean… what are you having them kill the animals for?"
" Shark bait." Jack said matter-of-factly.
" Shark bait?" Emma's eyebrows shot up as he said it.
" Aye, shark bait."
She tried to press him further, but he only shook his head and smiled to himself, refusing to divulge any more of the plan he was cooking. Resigned to the slight information, Emma reluctantly began helping him as the rest of the pirates arrived with their catches, a few had caught rabbits, there were more pigs, and one had managed to catch a rather large boar.
Will's pig was stewed with some wild onions and a few carrots from the galley that Elizabeth had scavenged, Jack had brought up the last of the rum from storage, and the combination made for a very nice feast as a reward for the days hard work. Eager to be off the next morning, the crew took the free evening to their advantage. The red sky that glowed at sunset set all their hearts pounding and brought gape-toothed smiles to many dirty and sunburned faces.
" A red sky at night, is a mate's delight!" cried Mr. Gibbs emphatically. " There will be smooth sailing on the morrow!"
" Aye! Smooth Sailing! " Roared the crew with approval.
They ate heartily, drank rum, danced and sang at the top of their lungs as the sun set behind the horizon. The sky grew dimmer and dimmer, until the only source of light was the faint twinkling of the stars, the tiny sliver of moon that rose high in the sky, and a much less 'odorous' bonfire than the night before. Golden lights danced about the campsite, decorating the faces of its intoxicated crewmembers with hard-edged shadows.
Emma was pleased to be able to join the night festivities this time around, and even Elizabeth and Will took part in getting rather tipsy as the crew celebrated. Emma took turns dancing around the campfire with the pirates, whirling her skirts high about her knees and spinning wildly about. They passed her from one mate to another like a spinning top and just as she stumbled, loosing balance as a result of both the spinning and the large amount of alcohol she'd consumed, she found herself caught in Jack's strong arms. He sagged for a moment under the sudden weight, and then lifted her back on her feet and they danced in a half-hazard, broken-timed waltz, laughing and singing raucously.
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
We kindle and char, inflame and ignite,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
We burn up the city, we're really a fright,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
Jack had one hand wrapped securely around her slim waist and all Emma was conscious of was the world around her spinning wildly in the background. Suddenly, Jack's hand let go and she found herself tripping out of control, falling heavily in the sand and laughing just at the edge of the glowing ring cast by the fire.
He fell down beside her and they both continued singing. The pirates crashed their bottles together, breaking a few and showering droplets of rum and shards of glass upon the sand. Elizabeth and Will by this time had disappeared into the shadows, no doubt wishing to be alone from the ruckus. Emma didn't blame them. She looked at Jack, who was grinning slyly, regarding her out of the corners of his exceptionally dark and shadowed eyelids.
" You know… for a complete scoundrel… you're very good at dancing." She said, trying hard to sound serious. " No! I mean it, you can really sweep a girl off her feet!" With a joyful laugh, she brought the rum bottle to her lips. She noticed it was empty, and with a shrug tossed it into the darkness.
Jack had draped a loose arm around her, leaning into her heavily with drunken enthusiasm. " Aye! I'm a lot more than a good dancer, love." He said with humor. " And I can do much more than sweep a girl off her feet, if you catch my meaning."
" Just what are you insinuating, Jack Sparrow?" Emma said, shoving him over with a laugh.
" Call me Captain, love, Captain!" Jack said, rising onto his elbows with difficulty. " Why does everyone forget the Captain part? It isn't so hard to say, is it?"
" No… Captain…" She said the word slowly and with perfect enunciation.
" That's better, darling." He said, bringing his hand up and resting it on her shoulder once again. " You know, I never thought I'd ever set foot on this god forsaken island ever again. But now, I can finally come away from it with a good memory."
" I can imagine being marooned here would be a terrible thing." Emma said with exaggerated mournfulness.
" Oh yes." Jack agreed,
bringing his free hand up for emphasis.
" Not once, love, but twice!"
" Fate can be so cruel." She
shook her head, leaning heavily onto him.
"You must be the luckiest man in the Caribbean to escape both times so
easily!"
The glow of the fire cast dancing shadows on Jack's face as a sly smile came upon his lips and he tightened his grip on Emma's shoulder.
" Yes, luck had dealt me a fair hand many times…" he said off-handedly. Emma glanced up at him, squinting and noticed Jack returning her stare, looking down at her with a familiar mischievous glint in his eyes.
" You know…" She gave a tiny chuckle and wagged her finger at him. " I'm REALLY going to regret this tomorrow morning."
" Why is that, love?"
" Because you're nothing but a villainous, disreputable scallywag… and I can't resist you!"
" Oh, aye?" He flashed a metallic grin and before Emma could speak another word, he pushed her back onto the sand and kissed her.
Without the faintest trace of resistance, she slid her arms up and wrapped them around his neck, returning the kiss with equal fervor. They rolled out of the dim glow of the fire as some of the pirates called raucous cheers to Jack at this sudden development in the festivities. Emma found that she was lazily sprawled on top of him. He had one hand firmly around her waist and another rested cupping one side of her bottom. She was unaware of everything but the blood pounding in her ears and the tremor of excitement that ran through her body as he nibbled his way down her neck to bury his face between her partially exposed cleavage.
" Now really…" She said a little breathlessly, sitting up slightly. " I'm not sure that this is entirely proper, Captain Sparrow…"
He easily rolled her onto her back with one hand holding her wrist to the warm sand.
" I agree with you, love… It's not entirely proper at all. What would you wish me to do instead?"
" I wish for you to kiss me… again." She demanded. " And then we shall see where to go from there."
He grinned his familiar, roguish smile, and obliged her request. Coaxing her mouth open with his tongue.
She could taste the familiar, sweet tang of rum on his lips and wondered idly if she was dreaming. She knew that if she was, she didn't want to stop. Jack's presence was intoxicating even more so than the waning effect of the alcohol. His teeth bit at her lower lip, then slide down to her chin. She shivered as he caressed her neck with calloused fingers, bringing them down and around to trace her collarbone. Her breath caught as he moved steadily lower, until his hand rested gently on one firm breast. Emma's eyes flew open in that instant and the stars above were brought into sharp focus. She gazed up at them, and felt a nervous twinge in the pit of her stomach. Jack, in the meanwhile was continuing down her body with tongue teasing caresses, unbuttoning the front of her shift as he did so.
" I was wondering..." She said aloud. He grunted and looked up from his work. He had made it as far as her navel by the time she spoke up. His voice was tinged with annoyance.
" Aye?"
There was a short silence, and then she spoke in a surprisingly steady tone, " When all this business with Hell Water is done, I was just wondering what you were going to do…"
" My home is on my ship…" He said quickly. "The Black Pearl, I'll sail her until the day I die."
" I envy you…" She said languidly.
There was a long pause, Jack said nothing, and instead rested his cheek on her ample bosom.
" I know what I want… but I haven't thought what I'll do after I get it." She spoke up to the stars. For the first time, she realized the campsite was silent. The rest of the pirates must have all fallen off asleep while they'd been rolling around in the sand. " Maybe I'll get a ship of my own, I was thinking, life as a buccaneer would be very exciting."
She was answered by a gentle snore.
" Jack?"
" Bottleo'rum…" he mumbled softly, already fast asleep.
Emma lay still, listening to the gentle snores and the sound of the waves crashing upon the shore. The weight of the nights activities were finally beginning to take their toll. Her eyelids grew heavy and she drifted off to sleep, too tired to even bother pushing Jack off of her chest.
~*~*~*~
Emma woke early the next morning to find the crew already up and striking their camp, which consisted of moving several of the crates and empty, unbroken bottles back to the shore boats and packing up the meat, which had dried overnight. Her first thought was that she had had the most peculiar but wonderful dream about merrily rolling about with Jack Sparrow, who'd kissed her repeatedly, among other things... Then, she noticed that her dress was unbuttoned practically to her navel and blanched. Had it been a dream?? Like lightning, she rolled onto her side and did up the buttons. Maybe it was just coincidence… She glanced around apprehensively, the pirates were throwing her sly glances and smiling to each other knowingly. A few gave her a sly wink before picking up their burdens and carrying them off to the shore boats. Hesitantly, she rose to her feet and caught sight of Jack already on board the ship. She thought that she might meet his glance, but he was busy with the preparations for their departure. She felt incredibly awkward in that moment, and slowly came to the realization that her 'dream' last night had in fact been reality. And what was more, she found that she could remember it in surprising detail.
" I knew I was going to regret it in the morning." She brought a hand to her head, realizing belatedly that she had a slight headache. " Maybe I can just pretend like it didn't happen…" Then she glanced at Jack again and felt her heart skip a beat when their eyes met and he flashed a smile. She could see his teeth shining from all the way across the water. " Who am I kidding?! I willingly took a tumble in the sand with him! And what's more…" She thought with growing horror. " I actually feel… REALLY good right now!"
Collecting her thoughts, but still feeling uneasy about this sudden revelation, she took a deep breath and walked over to Elizabeth. She sat upon a crate and was nibbling on some stale bread.
" Here." Elizabeth said,
thrusting a piece at her. " This will
make your head a little better."
" Oh, thank you." Emma took
the bread and chewed it with a grimace.
She was surprised that her head was not pounding quite as bad as the
first time she'd drunken in excess. But
this time around, she had been more restraining and the rum was of a better
quality than the ale.
" Elizabeth."
" Yes?"
" Umm...never mind…"
She turned and walked away towards the shore boats, too embarrassed to ask the question plaguing her mind. " Did I do something incredibly stupid last night or not?" She still wasn't sure of the answer herself, but nevertheless found herself blushing as she relived one moment after another in her mind as it came back to her in vivid detail.
Elizabeth watched her back as Emma walked away, swaying unsteadily. She had a smug expression decorating her bold features.
" What are you smiling about?" Will asked, sitting down beside her.
" Just that I don't know whether to pummel that bloody Jack Sparrow, or praise him." Elizabeth answered.
" Praise him? I don't suppose you're going to tell me what this is about, are you?"
" Well… no…" Elizabeth gave him a mischievous grin and stood up, popping the last of the bread into her mouth. Will had been asleep before she had, but Elizabeth had picked up on Emma and Jack's excursions the night before. She was relieved that Jack had fallen asleep so soon, as he was prone to do when too far gone with drink. She had first hand experience on that front. She thought of that night four years ago when she'd burned all the rum on the island and smiled in amusement.
" Now what are you laughing about?" Will asked her, one eyebrow raised in consternation.
" Just reminiscing about the last time I was on this island."
His other eyebrow shot up and he gave her an incredulous look. " Oh? You told me you burned all the rum…"
" Yes…I was just remembering Jack's face when he saw me doing it... It was truly priceless..." Then with a laugh, she picked up a bundle of cooking utensils that sat beside her. " Shall we?"
They set off together with the remaining crew to take the last shore out to the awaiting Black Pearl. The sails were already being unfurled. By the time the sun was a quarter from its peak in the sky, the ship was at full sail, cutting through the waves at terrific speed with a strong easterly wind at their backs.
" If this keeps up, we'll be arrivin' at Hell Water before the week is out." Mr. Gibbs confided to Emma, who had resumed her usual task of mopping the deck. She smiled but didn't say anything.
" Mr. Gibbs!"
Emma gave a tiny jump at the sudden sound of Jack's voice from behind her. She whirled around to regard him.
" Aye, Captain." Mr. Gibbs stood to attention.
" Go below and find a long coil of the thin rope, and then find some mates who have some fishing experience, have them fashion a net."
" A net, captain?"
" Aye… a good strong net. Square, about as tall and wide as your own height."
Mr. Gibbs scratched his head, but nodded and went below to fulfill the Captain's request. Emma furrowed her brows in confusion, then dropped her mop and ran after Jack.
" Are you planning on catching that shark? A net isn't going to hold it." She said under her breath." No net would! Even if it was the size of this boat!"
" Did I say I wanted to catch it?" Jack asked her, turning on his heel and regarding her with a look of mild amusement in his sparkling brown eyes.
She blinked back startled, then tore her eyes away from his gaze, blushing furiously as a scene from the night before played across her mind involuntarily. " N…no…but…" Then she frowned, pushing the image away and looked up at him squarely. " I think you're taking it too lightly. That thing is beyond what you could possibly imagine!"
Jack waved her warning aside with a vague gesture. " Look, remember what I told Will before we met with the Commodore's Trap? What a man can and can't do? Or… in your case.. 'woman.'"
" Yes?"
" Well, the same applies here and in very simple terms. You can either trust me, or you cannot. Now- here's a little piece of advice, it will make this trip much easier, and most assuredly more successful, if you can try to trust me. If you cannot… then there's no point to this voyage, now…savvy? If you cannot trust me, you may as well take a little dive off the plank and find another Captain. One who's also crazy enough to take ye to Hell Water that you can trust."
She pursed her lips and squinted up at him, studying his face. His smile was firm and confident, and his posture was relaxed. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, " Fine…"
" Excellent, love." Jack swayed back sharply and gave her a tiny wink as he turned and sauntered back towards the Helm, whistling to himself.
" I'll trust him..." She told herself steadily, and turned her back to him and went back to the mop that lay on the deck in a puddle of dirty water. " He has a point… I'm lucky to have gotten this far. And whatever plan he has, I have to trust him, or there would be no point to me staying on his ship. " She dipped the mop in the bucket of water and splashed it out on the deck. " I think Elizabeth is right. He's not cruel…" She thought vaguely again of last night's sojourn on the beach and felt the color rising in her cheeks. " Far from it… I have no choice… I will trust him!"
With this decision firmly planted in her mind, she smiled, feeling more cheerful than she remembered being since the start of the trip. A terrific weight of apprehension had finally been lifted from her shoulders. Jack may have his own, unique way of doing things… and there was no doubt he was dishonest and uncommonly cunning. But he was resolved to get them to and from Hell Water in one piece, it was as necessary to his own survival as to everyone else's on board the ship. Therefore, he must have a good plan, and if it involved her, well… she would have to do her best, and that was all there was too it.
" But I'm not leaving, without my treasure." She said firmly to herself. " No matter what he tries… I'll get it if it's the last thing I do!"
(A/N- yah! Please leave me your comments!)
Sneak Peak: Next chapter: They FINALLY reach Hell Water! Woo hoo!!
