Disclaimer: Still don't own Jack Sparrow; Disney got him while I wasn't
looking!
AN: Okay, I realize that I haven't updated for a while, but ff.net has been a pain in the ass, so it's not my fault. Also, I know everyone is scared stupid about Thomas having Lara. I'm going to say, right now, that I am all for happy endings, so don't panic (yet). Just sit back and let our wonderful Jack Sparrow do what he's best at: saving the day through some really odd plan of his (though that's not in this chapter)! Happy reading!
Chapter 6: Awakenings and Despair:
Lara woke with the sun in her eyes and a splitting headache. She carefully rubbed her eyes and groaned. "Where am I?" she murmured.
"Where you're supposed to be, my love," spoke the voice that haunted her nightmares.
Lara carefully opened her eyes and looked towards the voice. There, tending a fire, was Thomas Pierce. She sighed and took in her surroundings. They were in the back of a cave facing the ocean; she could hear it from where she lay near the wall. In the middle of the cave was the firepit, and on the far side was a large pile of food and supplies. Thomas smiled as he noticed her wandering eyes.
"I hope you don't get too attached to this place, my love," he said fondly. "We'll be moving along soon."
Lara looked over at him while still rubbing her head with her hand. "Then why are we here in the first place?"
"You needed to rest, beloved," he replied, walking over to her and taking her free hand in his. "You looked ill on that floating wreckage, so I brought you here to recover for a day or two."
Lara scowled at him before snatching her hand back. "The Pearl is not floating wreckage, Thomas! It is a beautiful piece of work, and I am proud of it!"
Thomas frowned a bit before plastering on another smile. "You would think so, wouldn't you? You have been with that pathetically stupid pirate for a while now, so of course you would start to think like he would!"
Lara's eyes narrowed in anger. "How dare you insult Jack!" she cried as she slapped Thomas across the face. Thomas's head flew to the side in reaction to the slap. He sat there for a moment, blinking, before turning around to face Lara, an odd smile gracing his face.
"I'm going to forgive you for that, beloved, considering you are in shock at what has happened recently, and what has been happening to you for the past two years," Thomas said, patting her hand gently. "After all, being with that pirate captain and his horrid crew must have been torture for you." He picked up her hand and began stroking it, like one would stroke a cat. "You are a gentlewoman, after all, and weren't meant for such a rough life."
Lara frowned at him before she pulled her hand back. "I like my lifestyle as it currently is, Thomas. I love the Pearl, and its crew, as much as I love my husband-" Those last words were a mistake, and Lara winced at Thomas's explosive reaction.
"NO!" Thomas yelled, jumping up. "You are not married to that pirate and you are not going to spend another minute on that floating piece of driftwood!" His breathing became heavy. "You also do not love him. He is a worthless dog of the sea, and could never be worthy of a lady like you."
Headache forgotten, Lara stood and glared up into his eyes. "I am married to Jack Sparrow, and I love him with every fiber of my being. He will come for me, make no mistake, and when he finds you, he'll gut you like the animal you are."
Thomas once again put on a smile and reached to caress her face. "You've been ill, darling," he gently cooed to her. He then swept her up in his arms and laid her back down. "You're saying things that you don't mean and are delusional." He patted her head before heading back to the fire. "I'll have something ready for you to eat later. For now, I need to go get some more wood for the fire." He headed for the cave opening and disappeared.
Lara waited several minutes to make sure he was gone. She carefully got up and headed for the opening. When she got there, she looked out over the ocean. By her judgment, it was nearing late afternoon. She then looked around the cave's opening and her heart sank.
There was no beach.
The cave started right at the water, just like the one on the Isle de Muerta, and could only be reached by boat. What was worse was the fact that Lara had no idea if she was on the same island of Tortuga, or was on another island all together. Another question filled her mind, one that she desperately needed to have answered:
How was Jack going to rescue her now?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jack lay on his bed, caressing the other side of it gently. It was the spot his wife usually slept in. If one was lying on the bed, facing up, Lara would be on the left and Jack would be on the right. That way Lara could snuggle into Jack's left shoulder when the both of them slept.
Jack sighed. His lass had been missing for little more than a day, and yet it seemed longer than a year. He hadn't felt this alone since he had left his lass after his 'hanging' nearly three years before. For nine months he had been without her on his Pearl, and he had never wanted to feel that lonely again. Now he was feeling it all over again. His lass was gone, and he had no idea where that lunatic had taken her!
He rolled over and buried his face in the pillows. He sniffed; they smelled like her perfume, all light and flowery. He remembered how he had surprised her with a new bottle of perfume every four or five months when they had traveled the world together. She had always gasped in delight before showering him with 'thank you' hugs and kisses. He smiled at the memories before a knock on the door shook him back to reality. He climbed out of bed and opened the door. It was Annamaria.
She nodded her head. "Cap'n, the crew's returned from Tortuga. They're up on deck."
Jack nodded once. "Good. Let's go."
The two of them headed upstairs. Sure enough, the entire crew was there, but most of them looked a bit lost and nervous. Jack looked around at them all and they all shifted around on their feet in response.
"Well?" Jack asked his crew. Several quiet seconds went by as he waited for a response. "I'm waiting!" he snapped, waving his hand at them.
Mr. Gibbs stepped forward. "Well, ye see, cap'n, there're some people who've seen the land-lubing dog, but that was before last night. No one's seen him since then." He shifted on his feet.
Jack knew there was more. "I'm hoping that ye can elaborate on that, Mr. Gibbs." The tone in his voice allowed no argument or denial.
Mr. Gibbs nodded. "Aye, sir. Well, late yesterday afternoon, some sailors were returning to their ship from the Lame Dog tavern and they saw a rowboat with a man in it moving out of the harbor."
Jack quirked an eyebrow in interest and leaned forward. "Aye? What else?"
"Well, sir," Mr. Gibbs continued nervously. "It looks like he wasn't alone. The lads said that there was a bonny lass with him, but she looked asleep."
Jack turned away from Mr. Gibbs and thought about that for a moment, gritting his teeth in anger. "So he knocked out me bonny lass, did he?" he said, thinking aloud. "I guess he knew that was the only way he could get her away from me and the ship." He turned back towards Mr. Gibbs. "Did they say which way he went?"
Mr. Gibbs shook his head. "They didn't follow his movements too carefully, cap'n, but they did say that he headed out of the harbor and away from the town."
Jack frowned. "Then the man could be on any of the dozen nearby islands!" Jack went over a map of the surrounding area in his head while Annamaria stepped forward.
"Cap'n, are ye sure about that? He could have gone somewhere close by, maybe even stayed on this here island," she said. "The waters around here are a bit rough, and most normal men can't row that well alone."
"Aye, but we aren't dealin' with a normal man, Annamaria," Jack said. He tapped the side of his head. "If ye can remember, Mr. Pierce is a few sips short of a full bottle. Madmen are known fer doing impossible things." The crew nodded. "Well, we'll just have to search all of the islands, then." He motioned to Mr. Gibbs. "Send a few men ashore and tell them to keep their eyes open incase Tommy-boy returns for some reason." Mr. Gibbs nodded. "Alright, let's get going! I want my lass back on this ship as soon as possible!"
The crew immediately began racing around as Mr. Gibbs gave five men the order to go ashore and keep their eyes open. He also reminded them that they would need to stay sober for the whole time they were in town, but that they could get drunk and celebrate after the captain's bonny wife was back onboard. With those words said, the men went onshore, and the Black Pearl sailed out of Tortuga's harbor, dead set on finding Lara.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lara lay on her makeshift bed in the cave, listening to the waves as they crashed on the rocks outside. Thomas had been gone for a while, but she couldn't be sure how long. All she knew was that it was getting dark outside and there was no direct sunlight to keep track of time with this far back in the cave.
She sighed and looked down at the things that Jack had given her over the past two years. There was the bracelet from their first adventure, and necklace that he had given her after 'kidnapping' her from Port Royal. There were also her engagement and wedding rings that Jack had given her after their wedding, since the Governor hadn't been able to find a suitable engagement ring or wedding bands in time for their hastily put together wedding. She now gave them a good look-over, like she always did when she was bored.
The engagement ring was something Jack had picked out from the treasure pile that he'd taken from the Isle de Muerta. It was a small, beautiful white diamond set in gold, with two small pearls, one white and one black, on both sides. Jack had said that now he had two perfect pearls in his life: his lass, and his ship. She smiled at the memory; he had looked so happy when he'd said that. She also twisted her wedding band around her finger, looking at the gold band engraved with a vine design on it. Jack wore an identical one on his left hand. Both had a message on the inside: "Love eternal." The message brought a few tears to her eyes, though they were loving tears.
The sound of footsteps pulled her out of her thoughts. She quickly hid her hand so that the sight of her wedding bands wouldn't anger Thomas; he was mad enough as it was. She turned towards him and saw that he had a large pile of wood in his arms.
She quirked an eyebrow at the sight. "Why do you have so much wood, Thomas?" she asked.
He smiled. "I wouldn't want your sickness to get worse, now, would I, my love?" he said, setting the wood down near the small fire that still burned. He put a few more logs on top and stirred it up to a small roaring blaze. He smiled even more as he looked at her. "That pirate doesn't know how to look after someone who is ill," he commented before going over to the pile of supplies. After rummaging around for a few moments, he returned with a pot full of dried meat and vegetables. "I think that this should make a fine soup for us, don't you?" he asked. He took the pot to the back of the cave and returned with it full of water.
'Well, now I know where the water is,' Lara thought to herself. Out loud she asked, "Thomas, how did you get here from Port Royal?" She desperately wanted to know how the doctors had let such a madman out of their sights.
He chuckled. "Oh, it was easy getting away from the doctors and nurses," he said, stirring the soup. "They always left me alone for hours at a time, so it wasn't hard sneaking out of the house."
Lara frowned slightly. "But how did you get here from Port Royal? You couldn't have booked passage on a British naval ship, they'd never come near Tortuga."
Thomas laughed. "No, they wouldn't. I actually stole a fair-sized boat from the harbor. People are far too trusting with their ships in Port Royal."
"You have a boat?" Hope fluttered in Lara's chest before Thomas's next words killed it.
"Had. I had a boat," Thomas replied. "I sold it for money to buy us supplies," he gestured towards the pile, "and to buy the small rowboat so that I could come and rescue you." He stirred the soup again. "Ah, all done!" He pulled the soup off of the fire and retrieved two bowls and spoons from the supply pile. After dishing up a bowl for Lara, he came over to her side, holding it in his hands as he sat next to her. As she raised her hands to take it, he pulled away. "No, beloved, I want to feed it to you."
Lara mentally gagged at the idea. "It's alright, Thomas, I can feed myself." She reached for the bowl, only to have it taken further away.
"Don't be silly," he gently chided her. He spooned up a bit and held it out for her to eat. She slightly cringed but opened her mouth. The last thing she needed was for Thomas to force-feed her.
The next fifteen minutes were torture for her; she hated being hand-fed. The only time that it was somewhat bearable was when Jack did it; his hand movements were always fun to watch when he was tending her. When Thomas did it, it made Lara want to kick him into next week. Nonetheless, she put up with it until all of the soup was gone. As Thomas ate his own bowl of soup, Lara made a note of what she would tell Jack after he found her, just so that he could seriously wound Thomas for every thing he did to her.
After he finished eating, Thomas washed the dishes, stirred the fire up again, then sat next to her. Lara moved away as far as she could without being offensive, cringing at the thought of Thomas snuggling up next to her. Only Jack could do that. Thomas reached out and took her hand in his and smiled before he caught sight of her wedding rings. His smile vanished and an angry scowl took its place.
"What are these?!" he demanded, grabbing and waving her own hand in front of her face.
Lara knew she had to tell him something. "Uh, pirate's treasure," she said. "Jack gave it to me as we traveled the world together." Well, it wasn't a complete lie; most of it was pirate's treasure, or at least bought with it. At least it was a half-truth; Lara knew she was a terrible liar, and the crew had always teased her about it.
Thankfully, Thomas bought it. He smiled before releasing her hand. "They're very nice," he commented. "They'll fetch a good price in Tortuga when we sell them."
Lara's heart stopped. "I can't get rid of them!" she cried, clutching her hand to her chest protectively. "They're mementos from my trips to Europe!" Another half-truth, but who cared? She couldn't give up the things that Jack had given her!
Thomas frowned a bit. "Well, if they're mementos, I suppose you may keep them," he said before moving towards the cave's opening and looking out. He soon returned, carrying something in his arms, which he placed on a blanket across from Lara's. "It's night. Time for bed." He smiled over at her. "And don't think about escaping. I have the oars to the boat here under my blanket." He gave her one last smile before blanketing the fire and lying down in his bed. She soon heard snores coming from the opposite side of the cave.
As she heard Thomas shift in his sleep, she silently prayed that Jack would somehow find her before it was too late.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: Well, that was a long chapter! Well, longer than usual for me. Thomas sure has lost it, huh? But don't worry, Jack's on the move! He'll find his bonny lass, right? Right? Well, anyway, please leave a review! I'll love you forever if you do!
AN: Okay, I realize that I haven't updated for a while, but ff.net has been a pain in the ass, so it's not my fault. Also, I know everyone is scared stupid about Thomas having Lara. I'm going to say, right now, that I am all for happy endings, so don't panic (yet). Just sit back and let our wonderful Jack Sparrow do what he's best at: saving the day through some really odd plan of his (though that's not in this chapter)! Happy reading!
Chapter 6: Awakenings and Despair:
Lara woke with the sun in her eyes and a splitting headache. She carefully rubbed her eyes and groaned. "Where am I?" she murmured.
"Where you're supposed to be, my love," spoke the voice that haunted her nightmares.
Lara carefully opened her eyes and looked towards the voice. There, tending a fire, was Thomas Pierce. She sighed and took in her surroundings. They were in the back of a cave facing the ocean; she could hear it from where she lay near the wall. In the middle of the cave was the firepit, and on the far side was a large pile of food and supplies. Thomas smiled as he noticed her wandering eyes.
"I hope you don't get too attached to this place, my love," he said fondly. "We'll be moving along soon."
Lara looked over at him while still rubbing her head with her hand. "Then why are we here in the first place?"
"You needed to rest, beloved," he replied, walking over to her and taking her free hand in his. "You looked ill on that floating wreckage, so I brought you here to recover for a day or two."
Lara scowled at him before snatching her hand back. "The Pearl is not floating wreckage, Thomas! It is a beautiful piece of work, and I am proud of it!"
Thomas frowned a bit before plastering on another smile. "You would think so, wouldn't you? You have been with that pathetically stupid pirate for a while now, so of course you would start to think like he would!"
Lara's eyes narrowed in anger. "How dare you insult Jack!" she cried as she slapped Thomas across the face. Thomas's head flew to the side in reaction to the slap. He sat there for a moment, blinking, before turning around to face Lara, an odd smile gracing his face.
"I'm going to forgive you for that, beloved, considering you are in shock at what has happened recently, and what has been happening to you for the past two years," Thomas said, patting her hand gently. "After all, being with that pirate captain and his horrid crew must have been torture for you." He picked up her hand and began stroking it, like one would stroke a cat. "You are a gentlewoman, after all, and weren't meant for such a rough life."
Lara frowned at him before she pulled her hand back. "I like my lifestyle as it currently is, Thomas. I love the Pearl, and its crew, as much as I love my husband-" Those last words were a mistake, and Lara winced at Thomas's explosive reaction.
"NO!" Thomas yelled, jumping up. "You are not married to that pirate and you are not going to spend another minute on that floating piece of driftwood!" His breathing became heavy. "You also do not love him. He is a worthless dog of the sea, and could never be worthy of a lady like you."
Headache forgotten, Lara stood and glared up into his eyes. "I am married to Jack Sparrow, and I love him with every fiber of my being. He will come for me, make no mistake, and when he finds you, he'll gut you like the animal you are."
Thomas once again put on a smile and reached to caress her face. "You've been ill, darling," he gently cooed to her. He then swept her up in his arms and laid her back down. "You're saying things that you don't mean and are delusional." He patted her head before heading back to the fire. "I'll have something ready for you to eat later. For now, I need to go get some more wood for the fire." He headed for the cave opening and disappeared.
Lara waited several minutes to make sure he was gone. She carefully got up and headed for the opening. When she got there, she looked out over the ocean. By her judgment, it was nearing late afternoon. She then looked around the cave's opening and her heart sank.
There was no beach.
The cave started right at the water, just like the one on the Isle de Muerta, and could only be reached by boat. What was worse was the fact that Lara had no idea if she was on the same island of Tortuga, or was on another island all together. Another question filled her mind, one that she desperately needed to have answered:
How was Jack going to rescue her now?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jack lay on his bed, caressing the other side of it gently. It was the spot his wife usually slept in. If one was lying on the bed, facing up, Lara would be on the left and Jack would be on the right. That way Lara could snuggle into Jack's left shoulder when the both of them slept.
Jack sighed. His lass had been missing for little more than a day, and yet it seemed longer than a year. He hadn't felt this alone since he had left his lass after his 'hanging' nearly three years before. For nine months he had been without her on his Pearl, and he had never wanted to feel that lonely again. Now he was feeling it all over again. His lass was gone, and he had no idea where that lunatic had taken her!
He rolled over and buried his face in the pillows. He sniffed; they smelled like her perfume, all light and flowery. He remembered how he had surprised her with a new bottle of perfume every four or five months when they had traveled the world together. She had always gasped in delight before showering him with 'thank you' hugs and kisses. He smiled at the memories before a knock on the door shook him back to reality. He climbed out of bed and opened the door. It was Annamaria.
She nodded her head. "Cap'n, the crew's returned from Tortuga. They're up on deck."
Jack nodded once. "Good. Let's go."
The two of them headed upstairs. Sure enough, the entire crew was there, but most of them looked a bit lost and nervous. Jack looked around at them all and they all shifted around on their feet in response.
"Well?" Jack asked his crew. Several quiet seconds went by as he waited for a response. "I'm waiting!" he snapped, waving his hand at them.
Mr. Gibbs stepped forward. "Well, ye see, cap'n, there're some people who've seen the land-lubing dog, but that was before last night. No one's seen him since then." He shifted on his feet.
Jack knew there was more. "I'm hoping that ye can elaborate on that, Mr. Gibbs." The tone in his voice allowed no argument or denial.
Mr. Gibbs nodded. "Aye, sir. Well, late yesterday afternoon, some sailors were returning to their ship from the Lame Dog tavern and they saw a rowboat with a man in it moving out of the harbor."
Jack quirked an eyebrow in interest and leaned forward. "Aye? What else?"
"Well, sir," Mr. Gibbs continued nervously. "It looks like he wasn't alone. The lads said that there was a bonny lass with him, but she looked asleep."
Jack turned away from Mr. Gibbs and thought about that for a moment, gritting his teeth in anger. "So he knocked out me bonny lass, did he?" he said, thinking aloud. "I guess he knew that was the only way he could get her away from me and the ship." He turned back towards Mr. Gibbs. "Did they say which way he went?"
Mr. Gibbs shook his head. "They didn't follow his movements too carefully, cap'n, but they did say that he headed out of the harbor and away from the town."
Jack frowned. "Then the man could be on any of the dozen nearby islands!" Jack went over a map of the surrounding area in his head while Annamaria stepped forward.
"Cap'n, are ye sure about that? He could have gone somewhere close by, maybe even stayed on this here island," she said. "The waters around here are a bit rough, and most normal men can't row that well alone."
"Aye, but we aren't dealin' with a normal man, Annamaria," Jack said. He tapped the side of his head. "If ye can remember, Mr. Pierce is a few sips short of a full bottle. Madmen are known fer doing impossible things." The crew nodded. "Well, we'll just have to search all of the islands, then." He motioned to Mr. Gibbs. "Send a few men ashore and tell them to keep their eyes open incase Tommy-boy returns for some reason." Mr. Gibbs nodded. "Alright, let's get going! I want my lass back on this ship as soon as possible!"
The crew immediately began racing around as Mr. Gibbs gave five men the order to go ashore and keep their eyes open. He also reminded them that they would need to stay sober for the whole time they were in town, but that they could get drunk and celebrate after the captain's bonny wife was back onboard. With those words said, the men went onshore, and the Black Pearl sailed out of Tortuga's harbor, dead set on finding Lara.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lara lay on her makeshift bed in the cave, listening to the waves as they crashed on the rocks outside. Thomas had been gone for a while, but she couldn't be sure how long. All she knew was that it was getting dark outside and there was no direct sunlight to keep track of time with this far back in the cave.
She sighed and looked down at the things that Jack had given her over the past two years. There was the bracelet from their first adventure, and necklace that he had given her after 'kidnapping' her from Port Royal. There were also her engagement and wedding rings that Jack had given her after their wedding, since the Governor hadn't been able to find a suitable engagement ring or wedding bands in time for their hastily put together wedding. She now gave them a good look-over, like she always did when she was bored.
The engagement ring was something Jack had picked out from the treasure pile that he'd taken from the Isle de Muerta. It was a small, beautiful white diamond set in gold, with two small pearls, one white and one black, on both sides. Jack had said that now he had two perfect pearls in his life: his lass, and his ship. She smiled at the memory; he had looked so happy when he'd said that. She also twisted her wedding band around her finger, looking at the gold band engraved with a vine design on it. Jack wore an identical one on his left hand. Both had a message on the inside: "Love eternal." The message brought a few tears to her eyes, though they were loving tears.
The sound of footsteps pulled her out of her thoughts. She quickly hid her hand so that the sight of her wedding bands wouldn't anger Thomas; he was mad enough as it was. She turned towards him and saw that he had a large pile of wood in his arms.
She quirked an eyebrow at the sight. "Why do you have so much wood, Thomas?" she asked.
He smiled. "I wouldn't want your sickness to get worse, now, would I, my love?" he said, setting the wood down near the small fire that still burned. He put a few more logs on top and stirred it up to a small roaring blaze. He smiled even more as he looked at her. "That pirate doesn't know how to look after someone who is ill," he commented before going over to the pile of supplies. After rummaging around for a few moments, he returned with a pot full of dried meat and vegetables. "I think that this should make a fine soup for us, don't you?" he asked. He took the pot to the back of the cave and returned with it full of water.
'Well, now I know where the water is,' Lara thought to herself. Out loud she asked, "Thomas, how did you get here from Port Royal?" She desperately wanted to know how the doctors had let such a madman out of their sights.
He chuckled. "Oh, it was easy getting away from the doctors and nurses," he said, stirring the soup. "They always left me alone for hours at a time, so it wasn't hard sneaking out of the house."
Lara frowned slightly. "But how did you get here from Port Royal? You couldn't have booked passage on a British naval ship, they'd never come near Tortuga."
Thomas laughed. "No, they wouldn't. I actually stole a fair-sized boat from the harbor. People are far too trusting with their ships in Port Royal."
"You have a boat?" Hope fluttered in Lara's chest before Thomas's next words killed it.
"Had. I had a boat," Thomas replied. "I sold it for money to buy us supplies," he gestured towards the pile, "and to buy the small rowboat so that I could come and rescue you." He stirred the soup again. "Ah, all done!" He pulled the soup off of the fire and retrieved two bowls and spoons from the supply pile. After dishing up a bowl for Lara, he came over to her side, holding it in his hands as he sat next to her. As she raised her hands to take it, he pulled away. "No, beloved, I want to feed it to you."
Lara mentally gagged at the idea. "It's alright, Thomas, I can feed myself." She reached for the bowl, only to have it taken further away.
"Don't be silly," he gently chided her. He spooned up a bit and held it out for her to eat. She slightly cringed but opened her mouth. The last thing she needed was for Thomas to force-feed her.
The next fifteen minutes were torture for her; she hated being hand-fed. The only time that it was somewhat bearable was when Jack did it; his hand movements were always fun to watch when he was tending her. When Thomas did it, it made Lara want to kick him into next week. Nonetheless, she put up with it until all of the soup was gone. As Thomas ate his own bowl of soup, Lara made a note of what she would tell Jack after he found her, just so that he could seriously wound Thomas for every thing he did to her.
After he finished eating, Thomas washed the dishes, stirred the fire up again, then sat next to her. Lara moved away as far as she could without being offensive, cringing at the thought of Thomas snuggling up next to her. Only Jack could do that. Thomas reached out and took her hand in his and smiled before he caught sight of her wedding rings. His smile vanished and an angry scowl took its place.
"What are these?!" he demanded, grabbing and waving her own hand in front of her face.
Lara knew she had to tell him something. "Uh, pirate's treasure," she said. "Jack gave it to me as we traveled the world together." Well, it wasn't a complete lie; most of it was pirate's treasure, or at least bought with it. At least it was a half-truth; Lara knew she was a terrible liar, and the crew had always teased her about it.
Thankfully, Thomas bought it. He smiled before releasing her hand. "They're very nice," he commented. "They'll fetch a good price in Tortuga when we sell them."
Lara's heart stopped. "I can't get rid of them!" she cried, clutching her hand to her chest protectively. "They're mementos from my trips to Europe!" Another half-truth, but who cared? She couldn't give up the things that Jack had given her!
Thomas frowned a bit. "Well, if they're mementos, I suppose you may keep them," he said before moving towards the cave's opening and looking out. He soon returned, carrying something in his arms, which he placed on a blanket across from Lara's. "It's night. Time for bed." He smiled over at her. "And don't think about escaping. I have the oars to the boat here under my blanket." He gave her one last smile before blanketing the fire and lying down in his bed. She soon heard snores coming from the opposite side of the cave.
As she heard Thomas shift in his sleep, she silently prayed that Jack would somehow find her before it was too late.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: Well, that was a long chapter! Well, longer than usual for me. Thomas sure has lost it, huh? But don't worry, Jack's on the move! He'll find his bonny lass, right? Right? Well, anyway, please leave a review! I'll love you forever if you do!