Will frowned in confusion.
'So what you're telling me is that you only came to get me because Elias threatened to kill Elizabeth if you didn't get his locket for him?' he asked, his tone a little harsher than he had intended.
Jack nodded.
'True enough.'
'Then how do you know he hasn't killed her already?' the frantic husband demanded, his blood afire at thought of any harm coming to his wife.
'That would be where Marin comes in, mate,' Jack told him, glancing over at where said girl was examining the locket she had retrieved.
Will frowned, obviously unfamiliar with that part of the code. Jack sighed.
'Look, she's one of his own, right?' he said wearily. 'So if any harm comes to Elizabeth, then I have the right to see that harm comes to Marin.'
He watched sink in, before adding,
'And vice versa, of course.'
Will rolled his eyes in defeat at ever getting a straight answer from his friend, his gaze falling on Marin. She was sat against the forecastle wall, her eyes on Elias' Fitzpatrick's locket, and there was something about her that warned off anyone attempting to make conversation at that time.
He turned back, and saw Jack's eyes on the girl, his expression a deal softer as he gazed at her than it was when he looked at any other woman. Will felt the beginnings of an idea form, fighting to suppress the grin that was trying to manifest itself on his face at the sight of Captain Jack Sparrow, gazing with mooncalf eyes at a girl.
'Pretty little thing, isn't she?' he ventured, and Jack jolted out of his reverie, obviously surprised that he'd been caught staring.
'Oh yes, lovely,' he agreed, a little flustered. 'Bit on the short side, though. Got a fiery temper on her too, mate.'
Will nodded slowly, enjoying the sight of his normally cool friend trying to pretend he was not interested in his hostage.
'Of course, with her being protected under the code, you couldn't act on certain impulses,' he said off-handedly.
Jack looked shocked that he would even have suggested that.
'I keep to the code, mate,' he said sternly. 'A hostage is not to be harmed in any way, and that includes certain impulses, as you so charmingly put it.'
Will raised an eyebrow.
'I thought the code was less rules, more guidelines,' he said quietly.
'Not for me it isn't,' Jack snapped, irritated that the younger man had found his sudden weakness so soon.
He turned away, regretting it instantly as his gaze fell once again on Marin. There was something about that girl that could freeze his capacity for normal thought as soon as he looked at her.
'I would never try anything with that one,' he murmured, low enough that only Will could hear it.
He didn't understand what was wrong with him. He was the master of the midnight tussle, the impulsive tryst, and yet he would not let himself even consider such an act with Marin. It was not just that she was a hostage, though he knew he was hiding behind that reason. It was because he was growing attached to her, and that was something he would have to curtail fairly soon if he was to leave this venture unscathed.
Jack didn't know why she affected him so. She was no more unusual than Ana Maria, and no less innocent than Elizabeth had been when he first met her, both of whom he had made a move on, however clumsy. But Marin was somehow different. Perhaps it was because she had trusted him enough to tell him of her past, or the fact that no matter what he did, she always seemed to be one step ahead of him. He didn't look on her as a challenge, but more of a treasure, something to be protected and cherished. Words from his past echoed in his mind, doing nothing to calm his doubts.
'Not all treasure is silver and gold.'
He could still remember the look on Elias' face when the old pirate had told him that, those words that had remained burned into his memory, and recalled how he had followed the older man's gaze to where a child lay sleeping, curled up in a coil of rope. With a start, he realised that Elias had been speaking of Marin. She must have been the child to whom he was referring, and once again was the subject of that wisdom, though from a completely different viewpoint. He missed the days before his breaking with Elias, the advice his old mentor had used to give him. But then, if he had not broken with him when he did, Marin would have been even more off limits to him than she was now.
Will watched him carefully, following the trend of his thoughts as varying emotions skittered across his friend's face. However he felt about his young guest, it was clear that, even if she had not been a hostage, Jack was not about to let any harm come to her. And that meant that Elizabeth would be well and safe when they reached Tortuga.
A soft smile crossed his face at the thought of seeing his beloved wife again. It had been over three months since the sinking of the Lady Swan, and she would be well into her seventh month of pregnancy by the time they returned to Tortuga. He would have to ask Jack, or Captain Fitzpatrick, to take them to Port Royale. Elizabeth was determined to give birth in her father's house, and he did not doubt her ability to hold back the birth until then.
The only problem that he could see was the fact that, in Tortuga, Marin would leave them and return to her own ship, and Jack would be left alone again. Will had been on the receiving end of Elizabeth's opinion that Jack needed a woman for a long time, and after seeing the change in his friend whenever Marin was around, found himself inclined to agree with her. He had to try his best to keep them together until they both admitted how they felt.
For he had no doubt that Marin was just as confused about her feelings towards Captain Jack Sparrow as he was about her. Will had seen how she watched his friend, how her eyes lost the guarded look that marked them whenever Jack looked into them. He suspected that they would not need long together to know how they felt, but getting them to admit it would not be easy.
*~*~*
Marin stared at the locket in her hands, trying to shake the feeling that there was something she hadn't been told. Her fingertips traced the four interlocking rings, pausing over the upper right one, the one decorated with a faint chain. Unbidden, her other hand moved up to tug her own locket from her neck, holding the two side by side to compare them.
They were identical in every way but one. The ring wrapped about with a chain was different on each. The lower left ring on hers was the one decorated, and the upper right on Elias'. She could not fathom why. How was it that her own trinket and that of her protector were so similar? Chance could not have much to do with it.
And then there was the question of the piece she had seen about Danielson's neck. She had caught only a glimpse of it, but that had been long enough for her to see the interlocking rings. So Danielson had ownership of a third locket, as like her own as Elias'. But which of the rings on his was embossed with a faint chain? And could there be a fourth, to complete the set?
She shook her head, wanting to clear her mind of her suspicions. She had trusted Elias with her life for over nineteen years, now was not the time to start doubting him. She would return his locket and that would be the end of it, no more questions or worries. She would put it out of her mind.
But what of Danielson's exclamation, and the look on his face when she'd moved into the candlelight? He had seemed frozen in fear and shock, as though he had seen a ghost. Did he know of her father? He had mentioned that someone named Delaney had had a daughter, and she assumed it was in response to something familiar in her face. Was this Delaney her father? Mother, perhaps? All she knew was that both her parents were dead, nothing more. She could not even remember what her mother looked like. If Danielson were to be believed, then perhaps she could take his exclamation to mean that she looked like her father, though there was no way she could confirm it.
She let out an exasperated sigh, irritated at herself for putting her in this situation. If only she hadn't been so stubborn with Jack . . . if she'd described the locket to him as he had asked, then she would never have gone on board the Stella Maris and encountered Danielson. She had no one but herself to blame for the incessant questions that filled her head.
A large drop of water landed squarely on her nose. Another landed on her hand. Raindrops began to fall about her, heavy and loud on the wooden deck. Startled, she glanced up, surprised that she hadn't noticed the sky darkening before. But then, her mind was on other things. She quickly replaced her locket, and put Elias' in her pouch, moving to peer out across the water at the squall that was quickly heading their way.
'All hands!' she heard Jack shout. 'Man the braces!'
The crew dragged themselves up on deck, moaning about the weather's inconvenient timing, their movements too slow to be able to make any difference as they went about securing the ship. The wind was picking up, whipping the strands of hair that had escaped her knot into her face with stinging violence. A strong hand clamped onto her shoulder, and she turned to see Gibbs standing behind her.
'I'm afraid, much as you may want to, there's too much risk of you being hurt or washed away to help us in this, Miss Marin,' he said sternly, but his eyes were kind. He knew how she loved the sea, and understood how having to stand aside while others did the work chafed at everything that made her who she was.
'I know,' she said with a sigh, turning back to the deck.
Jack gestured for her to join him at the helm, and she did so, feeling the roll of the ship start to swell in anticipation of the storm that was fast catching up to them. Men began to run about their duties, clambering up into the rigging to secure the sails as the canvas flapped alarmingly in the sudden gale.
'Squall coming,' Jack told her cheerfully as she reached his side, ignoring the sarcastic grimace he received in return for his less than helpful comment.
Will laughed at her expression, teasing a smile from her by refusing to back down when that same expression was pointed at him. Marin grinned, seeing why Elizabeth was so attached to her husband.
The ship pitched forward suddenly, sending the two of them tumbling. Will rolled down off the poop deck, bumping down the steps with curses filling the air. Marin found herself grasped about the waist, prevented from falling by Jack Sparrow's strong arm holding her fast. He grinned down at her, seemingly unprepared to let go of her just yet.
'Don't trip,' he muttered, adjusting his grip on the wheel as the Pearl began to pitch violently, crashing down into the valleys between waves that were higher than the forecastle itself.
Salt water washed across the deck, soaking them all thoroughly. Marin gasped at the cold water on her skin, plastering her hair to her face, and instinctively turned towards the warmth of Jack's embrace. He obliged her, and they found themselves face to face, both shivering from the shock of the cold water.
Marin was breathing hard, her lower lip quivering slightly. She bit down on it to stop her teeth from chattering. Jack couldn't look away from her as he held the ship on a steady course with one hand, the other still clasped around the girl pressed against his side. He bent slowly, their faces only centimetres apart as his warm breath caressed her lips. Marin felt her eyes begin to close in anticipation of the kiss.
At that moment another wave came crashing across the deck, knocking them to their senses with the cold. They straightened, each knowing that they could not take this further. Jack shook the water from his hat, loosing his hold on Marin's shivering form.
'You'd better get below,' he told her, returning both hands to the wheel, more to steady himself than from a wish to let her go.
She nodded, staggering down from the poop deck with as much dignity as she could muster. As she disappeared into the ship, Will slid down to land beside Jack, a huge grin on his sopping face.
'If you were waiting for the opportune moment . . . that was it,' he told him, enjoying the expression on Jack's face as the pirate remembered the last time that had been said between them.
'Do yourself a favour, mate, shut up,' he was told, 'and help me lash the wheel.'
Will obliged, knowing now that he had guessed correctly. This was something Elizabeth would be very interested to know.
'So what you're telling me is that you only came to get me because Elias threatened to kill Elizabeth if you didn't get his locket for him?' he asked, his tone a little harsher than he had intended.
Jack nodded.
'True enough.'
'Then how do you know he hasn't killed her already?' the frantic husband demanded, his blood afire at thought of any harm coming to his wife.
'That would be where Marin comes in, mate,' Jack told him, glancing over at where said girl was examining the locket she had retrieved.
Will frowned, obviously unfamiliar with that part of the code. Jack sighed.
'Look, she's one of his own, right?' he said wearily. 'So if any harm comes to Elizabeth, then I have the right to see that harm comes to Marin.'
He watched sink in, before adding,
'And vice versa, of course.'
Will rolled his eyes in defeat at ever getting a straight answer from his friend, his gaze falling on Marin. She was sat against the forecastle wall, her eyes on Elias' Fitzpatrick's locket, and there was something about her that warned off anyone attempting to make conversation at that time.
He turned back, and saw Jack's eyes on the girl, his expression a deal softer as he gazed at her than it was when he looked at any other woman. Will felt the beginnings of an idea form, fighting to suppress the grin that was trying to manifest itself on his face at the sight of Captain Jack Sparrow, gazing with mooncalf eyes at a girl.
'Pretty little thing, isn't she?' he ventured, and Jack jolted out of his reverie, obviously surprised that he'd been caught staring.
'Oh yes, lovely,' he agreed, a little flustered. 'Bit on the short side, though. Got a fiery temper on her too, mate.'
Will nodded slowly, enjoying the sight of his normally cool friend trying to pretend he was not interested in his hostage.
'Of course, with her being protected under the code, you couldn't act on certain impulses,' he said off-handedly.
Jack looked shocked that he would even have suggested that.
'I keep to the code, mate,' he said sternly. 'A hostage is not to be harmed in any way, and that includes certain impulses, as you so charmingly put it.'
Will raised an eyebrow.
'I thought the code was less rules, more guidelines,' he said quietly.
'Not for me it isn't,' Jack snapped, irritated that the younger man had found his sudden weakness so soon.
He turned away, regretting it instantly as his gaze fell once again on Marin. There was something about that girl that could freeze his capacity for normal thought as soon as he looked at her.
'I would never try anything with that one,' he murmured, low enough that only Will could hear it.
He didn't understand what was wrong with him. He was the master of the midnight tussle, the impulsive tryst, and yet he would not let himself even consider such an act with Marin. It was not just that she was a hostage, though he knew he was hiding behind that reason. It was because he was growing attached to her, and that was something he would have to curtail fairly soon if he was to leave this venture unscathed.
Jack didn't know why she affected him so. She was no more unusual than Ana Maria, and no less innocent than Elizabeth had been when he first met her, both of whom he had made a move on, however clumsy. But Marin was somehow different. Perhaps it was because she had trusted him enough to tell him of her past, or the fact that no matter what he did, she always seemed to be one step ahead of him. He didn't look on her as a challenge, but more of a treasure, something to be protected and cherished. Words from his past echoed in his mind, doing nothing to calm his doubts.
'Not all treasure is silver and gold.'
He could still remember the look on Elias' face when the old pirate had told him that, those words that had remained burned into his memory, and recalled how he had followed the older man's gaze to where a child lay sleeping, curled up in a coil of rope. With a start, he realised that Elias had been speaking of Marin. She must have been the child to whom he was referring, and once again was the subject of that wisdom, though from a completely different viewpoint. He missed the days before his breaking with Elias, the advice his old mentor had used to give him. But then, if he had not broken with him when he did, Marin would have been even more off limits to him than she was now.
Will watched him carefully, following the trend of his thoughts as varying emotions skittered across his friend's face. However he felt about his young guest, it was clear that, even if she had not been a hostage, Jack was not about to let any harm come to her. And that meant that Elizabeth would be well and safe when they reached Tortuga.
A soft smile crossed his face at the thought of seeing his beloved wife again. It had been over three months since the sinking of the Lady Swan, and she would be well into her seventh month of pregnancy by the time they returned to Tortuga. He would have to ask Jack, or Captain Fitzpatrick, to take them to Port Royale. Elizabeth was determined to give birth in her father's house, and he did not doubt her ability to hold back the birth until then.
The only problem that he could see was the fact that, in Tortuga, Marin would leave them and return to her own ship, and Jack would be left alone again. Will had been on the receiving end of Elizabeth's opinion that Jack needed a woman for a long time, and after seeing the change in his friend whenever Marin was around, found himself inclined to agree with her. He had to try his best to keep them together until they both admitted how they felt.
For he had no doubt that Marin was just as confused about her feelings towards Captain Jack Sparrow as he was about her. Will had seen how she watched his friend, how her eyes lost the guarded look that marked them whenever Jack looked into them. He suspected that they would not need long together to know how they felt, but getting them to admit it would not be easy.
*~*~*
Marin stared at the locket in her hands, trying to shake the feeling that there was something she hadn't been told. Her fingertips traced the four interlocking rings, pausing over the upper right one, the one decorated with a faint chain. Unbidden, her other hand moved up to tug her own locket from her neck, holding the two side by side to compare them.
They were identical in every way but one. The ring wrapped about with a chain was different on each. The lower left ring on hers was the one decorated, and the upper right on Elias'. She could not fathom why. How was it that her own trinket and that of her protector were so similar? Chance could not have much to do with it.
And then there was the question of the piece she had seen about Danielson's neck. She had caught only a glimpse of it, but that had been long enough for her to see the interlocking rings. So Danielson had ownership of a third locket, as like her own as Elias'. But which of the rings on his was embossed with a faint chain? And could there be a fourth, to complete the set?
She shook her head, wanting to clear her mind of her suspicions. She had trusted Elias with her life for over nineteen years, now was not the time to start doubting him. She would return his locket and that would be the end of it, no more questions or worries. She would put it out of her mind.
But what of Danielson's exclamation, and the look on his face when she'd moved into the candlelight? He had seemed frozen in fear and shock, as though he had seen a ghost. Did he know of her father? He had mentioned that someone named Delaney had had a daughter, and she assumed it was in response to something familiar in her face. Was this Delaney her father? Mother, perhaps? All she knew was that both her parents were dead, nothing more. She could not even remember what her mother looked like. If Danielson were to be believed, then perhaps she could take his exclamation to mean that she looked like her father, though there was no way she could confirm it.
She let out an exasperated sigh, irritated at herself for putting her in this situation. If only she hadn't been so stubborn with Jack . . . if she'd described the locket to him as he had asked, then she would never have gone on board the Stella Maris and encountered Danielson. She had no one but herself to blame for the incessant questions that filled her head.
A large drop of water landed squarely on her nose. Another landed on her hand. Raindrops began to fall about her, heavy and loud on the wooden deck. Startled, she glanced up, surprised that she hadn't noticed the sky darkening before. But then, her mind was on other things. She quickly replaced her locket, and put Elias' in her pouch, moving to peer out across the water at the squall that was quickly heading their way.
'All hands!' she heard Jack shout. 'Man the braces!'
The crew dragged themselves up on deck, moaning about the weather's inconvenient timing, their movements too slow to be able to make any difference as they went about securing the ship. The wind was picking up, whipping the strands of hair that had escaped her knot into her face with stinging violence. A strong hand clamped onto her shoulder, and she turned to see Gibbs standing behind her.
'I'm afraid, much as you may want to, there's too much risk of you being hurt or washed away to help us in this, Miss Marin,' he said sternly, but his eyes were kind. He knew how she loved the sea, and understood how having to stand aside while others did the work chafed at everything that made her who she was.
'I know,' she said with a sigh, turning back to the deck.
Jack gestured for her to join him at the helm, and she did so, feeling the roll of the ship start to swell in anticipation of the storm that was fast catching up to them. Men began to run about their duties, clambering up into the rigging to secure the sails as the canvas flapped alarmingly in the sudden gale.
'Squall coming,' Jack told her cheerfully as she reached his side, ignoring the sarcastic grimace he received in return for his less than helpful comment.
Will laughed at her expression, teasing a smile from her by refusing to back down when that same expression was pointed at him. Marin grinned, seeing why Elizabeth was so attached to her husband.
The ship pitched forward suddenly, sending the two of them tumbling. Will rolled down off the poop deck, bumping down the steps with curses filling the air. Marin found herself grasped about the waist, prevented from falling by Jack Sparrow's strong arm holding her fast. He grinned down at her, seemingly unprepared to let go of her just yet.
'Don't trip,' he muttered, adjusting his grip on the wheel as the Pearl began to pitch violently, crashing down into the valleys between waves that were higher than the forecastle itself.
Salt water washed across the deck, soaking them all thoroughly. Marin gasped at the cold water on her skin, plastering her hair to her face, and instinctively turned towards the warmth of Jack's embrace. He obliged her, and they found themselves face to face, both shivering from the shock of the cold water.
Marin was breathing hard, her lower lip quivering slightly. She bit down on it to stop her teeth from chattering. Jack couldn't look away from her as he held the ship on a steady course with one hand, the other still clasped around the girl pressed against his side. He bent slowly, their faces only centimetres apart as his warm breath caressed her lips. Marin felt her eyes begin to close in anticipation of the kiss.
At that moment another wave came crashing across the deck, knocking them to their senses with the cold. They straightened, each knowing that they could not take this further. Jack shook the water from his hat, loosing his hold on Marin's shivering form.
'You'd better get below,' he told her, returning both hands to the wheel, more to steady himself than from a wish to let her go.
She nodded, staggering down from the poop deck with as much dignity as she could muster. As she disappeared into the ship, Will slid down to land beside Jack, a huge grin on his sopping face.
'If you were waiting for the opportune moment . . . that was it,' he told him, enjoying the expression on Jack's face as the pirate remembered the last time that had been said between them.
'Do yourself a favour, mate, shut up,' he was told, 'and help me lash the wheel.'
Will obliged, knowing now that he had guessed correctly. This was something Elizabeth would be very interested to know.