-
"But you were marooned on this island before, weren't you?", asked Elizabeth as you both followed Jack across the shore. In this case, ignorance was bliss for Jack.
You decide to chip in, "So we can escape in the same way you did then?"
Turning on heel, his face set in an annoyed expression, "To what point and purpose, young missy? The Black Pearl is gone - ", he then turned to Elizabeth, "and unless you have a rudder and a lot of sails hidden in that bodice, unlikely," his hands made various movements in the air, "young Mr. Turner will be dead long before you can reach him."
Without another word, spinning around and taking long strides away, Elizabeth marched after him, "But you're Captain Jack Sparrow. You vanished from under the eyes of seven agents of the East India Company. You sacked Nassau Port without even firing a shot! Are you the pirate I've read about or not?"
You watch him knock on a few trees then take large steps. Annoyance starts to set into your system. Grabbing his shoulder and forcing him to face you, you demand, "How did you escape last time?"
A moment of silence passes as he gazed curiously at your face before answering.
"Last time…I was here a grand total of three days, alright?" He confessed, "Last time-", he took another step then lifted up a large hatch covered with sand. "…The rumrunners used this island as a cache. Came by and I was able to barter a passage off. From the looks of things, they've long been out of business - " he lifted some bottles upwards then poked his head out and looked at Elizabeth, "Probably have your bloody friend Norrington to thank for that."
He climbed out with three bottles. Elizabeth was fuming, "So that's it then? That's the secret grand adventure of the infamous Jack Sparrow? You spent three days lying on a beach - "
"Drinking rum?" You exclaim.
Standing right in your face, his eyes lowered to look at your slightly amused smile, a slight shimmy came from him as he stated, "Welcome to the Caribbean, love." Stepping aside, he handed a bottle of rum to each of you.
Elizabeth looks at the rum with disgust then at you. "I don't like rum one bit", she says after a while. You shwish yours a bit then go to say something, but Elizabeth has stopped moving and is now smiling.
"What?" you ask. She pulls you over and starts to whisper frantically in your ear.
You nod, and look from the rum in your hand to Jack sprawled out on the beach. You sigh and look back at the already prepared fire then at Elizabeth. She hands you her bottle and shoves you forward, "Go! Just get him distracted for the night!"
You stop and look at her with an annoyed smirk, "Come off it! Why would he drink with me if he didn't even like me enough to even talk like a normal human!"
She tilts her head and raises a thinly shaped eyebrow at you, "Jack likes you. You like Jack. There, it all fits."
You're shoved forward again and this time, Elizabeth didn't give you enough time to reply. You look up at the setting sun and walk over to Jack, whoses laying on his back and propped up on his elbows. His rum is almost empty.
"Looks like you need more", you say as you sit down and hand him Elizabeth's bottle.
He looks up at you and grins, "Nice of ya' to join me, love." You sit back and look at the bottle in your hands again. Jack had already drained half of his bottle within twenty minutes.
Finally he looked at you, "Never had rum before?" You shake your head. His eyes widen and he looks offended, "What? Never had rum! What are you?" You shrug at him and he sits himself up and takes the bottle out of your hands and opens it. "Look, I'm not drinking alone, love. Now, follow me," he sculled it quick from the bottle then swallowed. He blinked hard, hiccuped then handed the bottle back at you. You look at the bottle and notice nearly half is gone. "Now, your turn love", whispers Jack with a smile.
You look uncertain at it for a moment then take a deep breath, "Here goes nothing…" You take the stronge liquor fast. It burns your throat and you hand the bottle to Jack.
"W-well, it wasn't that bad", you mutter and try to get the taste out of your mouth. He laughs and takes another drink out of the bottle then hands it back to you.
"Well, ma'dear," he stood up a disappeared for a moment. He returned later with three more bottles. He sat down and handed you another, "More where that came from!"
Hours later, your dancing around the fire with Jack, screaming at the top of your lungs, "We're devils and black sheep and really bad eggs. Drink up me 'earties yo ho! Yo ho yo ho a pirate's life for me!"
Jack grabbed your arm and swinged you around. You laugh and stare at his seductive eyes. Playing fake drunk was fun. All you had to do was accidently drop rum when you danced. Jack did it a lot, but most of the alcohol had made it into his mouth surprisingly.
"I love this song!" Jack bellowed, before hiccuping, "Really bad eggs!" You couldn't help but laugh. He suddenly stopped, lost his balance and landed in the sand, "Woo." Falling back with him, you sit close and smile.
"When I get the Pearl back, I'm gonna teach it to the whole crew and we'll sing it all the time!"
Grinning, you add, "And you'll be positively the most fearsome pirate in the Spanish Main!"
Jack nodded, then waved a hand in front of him, "Not just the Spanish Main, love, the entire ocean, the entire wo'ld," he tilted back slightly, trying to regain his balance, "Wherever we want to go, we'll go, that's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails; that's what a ship needs but what a ship is…what the Black Pearl really is…is freedom…"
A small pang jolts up your body, and your not quite sure what it was. "Jack, it must be really terrible for you to be trapped on this island," you say and lie your head on his shoulder, "Well, at least that's what Elizabeth would say. What I would say is," you look up at him and smile. "I wouldn't mind being stuck in on an island with a rougish pirate with handsome good looks."
He looked slightly surprised but quickly recovered, slowly slide his arm around you, "Oh, yes. But the company is infinitely better than last time, I think. And the…the scenery has definitely improved - "
You stopped and touched his cheek. Jack's eyes glazed over, and your not entirely sure what it is, but it's drawing you closer, "Love…" You bite the bottom of your lip then catch his lips with yours. It seemed to last forever and you slowly pull away smiling and raise your bottle to a toast, "To freedom…"
His tongue dances along your neck, and a small purr erupts from your mouth, "To the Black Pearl." You see Elizabeth slowly making her way over. It was now or never. Your bottles 'clinked' together. You only watched as he fell to the ground unconscious.
Elizabeth arrived and you followed her to the latch on the ground. "Well," she said after a while. "I must say, you surprised him."
You grin and sit down in one of the places Elizabeth had prepared for the two of you to sleep in, "I must say, I surprised myself too."
-
Elizabeth had made you get up early and help her pile everything and make another fire. "Tell me again," you say as you throw the bottle of rum into the pile, "Why are we doing this again?" She pushed a large crate in and replied, "The entire Royal Navy is looking for me and the signal should be thousands of feet high soon."
You look to the side and see Jack stiring and soon he's up and staring at you and Elizabeth as if you two are mad. Soon he's running over and flapping his arms around, "No! Not good! Stop! Not good! What are you doing? You burned all the food, the shade, the RUM!"
Agreeing wasn't spose to be public, but it came out anyway, "I know, we could of kept a few bottles."
Elizabeth threw another crate in and the fire gave a loud explosion. "Yes the rums gone", she replied calmly.
"Why is the rum gone?" Jack demanded an answer with a wave of his arms.
Elizabeth's calm stature disappeared instantly, "One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire Royal Navy is out looking for me, do you really think that there is even the slightest chance that they won't see it?"
Jack stared wondrously at her, before asking again, "But why is the rum gone?"
Elizabeth gave an annoyed huff and sat down in the sand, facing the horizon, "I know it must be terrible for you but just wait, Captain Sparrow. You give it one hour, maybe two, keep a weather eye out and then you will see white sails on that horizon."
A frown set on your face as Jack stuck out his chest, cocked out his gun, and stared at her angrily. He then thought more of it, put the gun away and stalked off. You run after him.
"Must've been terrible for you to be trapped here, Jack. Must've been terrible for you…" Jack mumbled before screaming, "Well it bloody is now!" You grab him by the shoulders and spin him around.
His eyes widen with annoyance, "And you! I don't under - "
You catch his lips again and quiet him. "I don't understand either", you whisper as you break away. Jack's face is unreadable until you hear a splashing noise. Both of you turn around and look towards the direction it is coming from. The Dauntless drifted out on the horizon and a small boat of naval officers were rowing towards the island. Jack sighed, "There'll be no living with Elizabeth after this…."
-
You sigh and want to sit down but your surrounded with redcoats, and the level of Elizabeth's voice was increasingly deafening. "But we've got to save Will!" yelled Elizabeth at her father.
"No. You're safe now. We will return to Port Royal immediately not go gallivanting after pirates!"
"Then we condemn him to death", you state in a soft voice while rubbing your temples.
"The boy's fate is regrettable but then so is his decision to engage in piracy!" he snapped back.
Elizabeth huffed and followed him up the stairs to the helm, still yelling, "To rescue me, to prevent anything from happening to me!"
Jack pulled away from the redcoats and awkwardly said to Norrington, "If I may be so bold as to interject my professional opinion. The Pearl was listing near to scuppers after the battle. It's very unlikely she'll be able to make good time. Think about it, the Black Pearl, the last real pirate threat in the Caribbean, mate. How can you pass that up?"
Wrong move, buddy…
Norrington looked disgusted, "By remembering that I serve others, Mr. Sparrow, not only myself."
Jack backed away, looking disgruntled. Elizabeth spoke again, with slight hesitation.
"Commodore, I beg you, please do this. For me…as a wedding gift."
Opening your eyes and ignoring the throbbing in your head, you gaze surprisingly at her. The look in her eyes was telling a different story to what she was saying. And you were the only one who noticed.
"Elizabeth, are you accepting the Commodore's proposal?" He father asked in a suppressed voice.
"Yes…I am." Elizabeth's tone was small, uncertain.
Jack finally couldn't stay quiet, and threw his arms in the air and also causing you to jump, "A wedding! I love weddings…drinks all around!"
Norrington shot him a stare and Jack cautiously put his arms out, "I know…clap him in irons, right?"
"Mr. Sparrow, you will accompany these fine men to the helm and provide us with the bearing to Isla de Muerta. You will then spend the rest of the voyage contemplating all possible meanings of the phrase 'silent as the grave'. Do I make myself clear?"
Jack slowly lowered his arms and quirked an eye brow, "Inescapably clear…"