Day Fifteen,

I am naïve. Or at least presumptuous. Why did I figure I could handle this?

Isla d'Oscuridad, apparently, is cursed with shadow. So, anyone who had not owed blood to the Heathen gods is affected by it.

It starts with weakness. Your energy begins to lull. Then you loose you ability to walk, then to even sit or stand. Finally, you pass into sleep. And then if your not off that island soon, you never wake up.

I'm sitting behind a bush clinging to its branches so I can stay upright. My left hand fumbles in my pocket for my pistol. But let me start at how I got here.

Jack and Will left early. I followed. They docked at the beach on Oscuridad. I followed, feeling fine. They trekked a course through a sparse palm-tree jungle. I followed, stumbling every now and then and feeling just a tad weak.

They came upon a small hut. Inside was an iron box , which Will (and only Will, apparently) could open with ease. Inside there was a smooth grey stone with some numbers and coordinates etched into it.

Will and Jack decided they had what they came for. They began to trek back. As they did someone emerged from the jungle, a tall, spindly man with sunburnt wrinkled skin and a rather bulbous nose.

"I s'pose your not to be rememberin' me, Jack Sparrow."

Jack frowned. "Well not in any particular sense, no. But I must say that overall you're a splendid cliché. Now if you'll excuse us," He reached for his pistol. The holster was empty.

"Looking for these?" The man asked cynically, drawing up a burlap sack of their belongings. "I don't do my own thieving, gents, but I have a rather unlikely accomplice." He whistled, and as he did a monkey flew down to his shoulder from the trees above. "My brother'd be the nice ol' chap you killed back on Isla de Muerta. You may not remember me, Jack Sparrow. I be Henson Barbossa."

Jack opened his mouth. "I'm absolutely thrilled to meet you, sir, and might I say your brother was quite a-"

"Give me the box."

They handed it over. "Now," Henson said, "If you'll be excusing me, I have some treasure to find. Oh but I cant have the two of you tagging at my heels now can I? My brother made the same mistake twice so I'm not likely to make it for him again." He pointed his pistol at Jack.

Which brings me to the aforementioned situation. I managed to get the pistol out of my pocket.

I've killed before, so why was this so hard? Maybe it was just the darkness taking hold of me, but I couldn't aim it. Not at all. I shot blind, but surprisingly, my shot hardly missed Barbossa by a hair. Startled, he fled.

My eyes got heavy. I fell back into the underbrush. My vision began to fade. Suddenly Jack was standing over me, and as I slipped into blackness, I heard him say "I guess aristocrats have their uses."

Day Sixteen,

I am told that I slept uneasily through this day, while periodically calling out Jack's name in my sleep.

Day Seventeen,

I woke up to see Jack standing over me. I squinted and looked around, realizing that I was back in my stateroom aboard the Ebony Swann (feeling somewhat disoriented). I could see the sun setting through the porthole.

"I do believe that I owe you another bead." Jack said the moment I came to.

"What?"

"You saved my life again. I owe you another one."

I smiled and slowly sat up. My eyes came into focus. "How long was I out?" I asked through a yawn.

"The rest of the day you remember luv, and one more after that. Elizabeth said you'd make it for sure but her dearest William was somewhat less hopeful."

I blushed. What had Will told Jack while I was unconscious? I slid my feet out of bed to the cold floor and tried to take a step. My knees gave way and I stumbled.

Jack caught me in his arms. He stood as I righted myself. I looked up into his eyes, longing to kiss him. "Thank you." I breathed.

He smiled and drew me close. Our bodies pressed against each other. His arms wrapped around the small of my back. He leaned closer. "Forgive me."

This kiss was gentle but amazing, better than the one before it. He kisses like a shooting star. We kissed for so long it seemed like the world fell down around us. I forgot completely the events in Oscuridad. I didn't notice the sun dip beneath the horizon. I didn't notice the sky darken from twilight to midnight. I didn't notice the ship rocking slowly from the waves of the ocean outside my room. I didn't notice his fingers gently undo the front of my dress. I hardly noticed him pull my shift down about my shoulders and to the floor.

You might think in hindsight, one would regret doing something like that to someone like him. So why, as I write this, do I have such an urge to do it all over again?

Day Eighteen,

When I awoke in the morning I pretended to still be sleeping. From where I lay I could see Jack putting on his hat and jacket. When he had collected all of his "effects" he strolled toward the bed and gently lay a bead on the nightstand. Then he left.

I stood up. My shift and belt were on the floor where I left them. I quickly dressed, and as I did, silently thanked God that Will thought someone of my stature should be given her own stateroom. I tied the bead around my neck on a string, hoping that this time the unlikely jewel would suffer a more pleasant and prolonged fate than its predecessor.

When I stepped outside my door I ran into Will. "Miss Land!" he said, sounding more disappointed at my being well than surprised. But who could blame him?

I smiled. "Good morning, William." Then I began to feel nervous. Would he wonder why Jack spent the night in my room? He had that look in his eyes again, like he knew something I didn't. "Elizabeth commanded that you always have someone watching over you in case you woke up."

I relaxed a little. He knew of nothing. Jack was to spend the night there regardless. Will can really make me jumpy in that respect. "So where are we headed?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Henson Barbossa's headed for Singapore so that's where we'll follow. He can lead us to my father's inheritance."

I frowned. "Now tell me, sir, if I am too prying, but why would a young and respectable man like yourself need a pirate's plunder so badly? Wouldn't you rather have a nice house in some port somewhere with Elizabeth and your child?"

He sighed. "You'd think so."

He lifted the provision box and climbed the staircase to the deck. I followed.

"Morgan!" I turned around to see Anna-Maria. She smiled wryly. "We owe you our captain." I smiled back, grateful that I was needed. But then I began to wonder if I has bought her more than I bargained to. Were those rumours true? Had they ever, well, had Jack and Anna-Maria ever-?

I have to stop being so questioning. I'll drive myself to insanity. Jack wouldn't. Not now. Not after last night.

We've been following Barbossa all day. The Ebony Swann is quite fast, about the one speed with Henson's The Avenger. So I suppose we'll catch him.

Day Nineteen,

We docked in Singapore. Will set off with seven crewmen to find out what Henson Barbossa was up to. Jack set out to find the cheapest source of rum. He took myself, Gibbs, and Anna-Maria with him. We ventured all over that stinking port town from bar to bar, each one filthier than the next.

We came to a bar called The Tuna Shack. Inside, Jack proceeded to shamelessly hit on the barmaid (so called Aletté) when he thought Anna-Maria and I weren't looking.

This evoked a deathly rage.

It's a tribute more to my parental upbringing that I was able to contain my rage until that night. Aletté was apparently the owner of all the provisions we needed, and was looking for adventure. So she supplied us with what we needed in exchange for being allowed to travel with us. Now she was on board and Jack and I were standing alone, at night, on the stern of The Ebony Swann.

He put his arms around me.

I felt so mixed up. I was so angry that he'd play me the very day after… that. I felt so betrayed. But I wanted him so bad. Wanted to kiss him, wanted to touch him. Is that love or just lust?

I pulled away. "Don't touch me."

He raised his eyebrows. His eyes make me weak in the knees. He placed his hand on my shoulder and caressed my cheek softly. I was so torn. I wanted to make him hurt like he'd made me feel, but I wanted him to go on and on…

"I think I hear the barmaid calling you."

"Forgive me, love." Love. He said it more like the emotion than the careless dialect term he usually uses it as. It made me even angrier. How can he just assume I'll accept that as an apology?

"Don't go trying that on me!" I shouted. My voice echoed and I remembered that we were outside. I turned on my heel and fled to my room.

As soon as I got there, I realised Jack had followed me.

"Leave me alone!"

"Come, luv, just give me time to explain!"

I clenched my fists. "Stupid rum-drinking man-whore."

He fumbled angrily at his holster "Bloody slut of an aristocrat!"

I slapped him hard across the face, and he grabbed my wrist.

We both paused, glaring angrily at each other. I was breathing hard. His grip on my wrist was painfully tight and his face was red where I had slapped him. I bit my lip to keep from crying. I was so angry.

Suddenly he kissed me.

And what's even more perplexing is that I kissed him back.

We didn't kiss gently, either. Once again his chest pressed hard against me. Once again his fingers found there way to undo my shift.

Day Twenty,

I woke early. The sky was still dim, and I could hear the muffled sounds of the crewmen walking above deck. My shift and belt lay folded on the nightstand. Jack was gone, and anyone who saw the room would have no idea he had ever been there, much less spent the night.

It was raining when I stepped outside. I drew my jacket close around me. A grey fog engulfed The Swann. Will was back. He had followed Henson Barbossa through to the wee hours of the morning, and managed to steal a glance

Anna-Maria told me that Jack had left with Gibbs and Aletté to collect provisions from The Tuna Shack. This did not make me happy. I had wanted to speak with Jack this morning. Not about anything in particular, I just wanted to talk.

As I was heading down to my room to warm up, Elizabeth stopped me. She was ghost white and out of breath. "Morgan!" she gasped, "Where's Will?"

"What's wrong?"

"I, well, my baby's coming!" She sounded frantic.

"Huh?" I gasped stupidly, "Uhh, alright, go lie down in your stateroom. I'll go get Will." I dashed up the stairs onto the deck. "Will!" I cried in his direction. He turned, looking tired.

"What?!" He spat.

"Elizabeth's having her baby!" He dropped the rope he was holding and we ran, shoes clattering against the wood, down the stairs, below decks. He strode quickly into her room. I was about to follow when a hand grasped my shoulder.

"Aletté's back." Anna-Maria said softly.

I frowned. "And…"

"Captain Sparrow isn't." She paused. "Neither is Gibbs. Aletté says, well, you'd better go talk to her."

I dashed upstairs.

Aletté was sitting on a crate looking distraught. She was gasping for breath (a sure sign she'd run here). Her fine blonde hair was blown about her face in total disarray.

"What happened?" I demanded.

She jumped. "Jack and Gibbs, they were loading things when a man came along with a pistol." She paused to gasp for air. "He had a monkey that stole all their weapons so they couldn't fight back. Now they're gone!"

I sank down beside her on the crate. Everything was happening too quickly for my liking. Elizabeth was having her baby, so William could not help us. Jack and Gibbs were gone, so there was no-one.

Except…

"Are we going or not?" Anna-Maria held out a pair of pistols to Aletté and I. So we took them, and Aletté guided us to The Tuna Shack, where she proceeded to explain everything that had happened.

Nothing she said could give any clue as to where we should be looking.

"Your looking to find Barbossa?" A dark-eyed, fiery red-haired woman stepped out of the shadows. "I can help you- maybe. I'm Torrennes Esile. I've been head hunting him for the colonies for over two-months now, sneaky little devil that he is."

"You're a pirate head-hunter?" Anna-Maria asked, a note of disgust in her voice.

"That I am, you got a problem with it?" She paused. "I can help you."

"And what do you want in exchange for your services, Esile?" Anna-Maria narrowed her eyes menacingly.

"One shot." She stage-whispered dramatically. "Just one shot that that bloody pirate. All my weapons are gone, thanks to his accursed monkey friend."

I suppose that sounded like a fair bargain to Anna-Maria. Torrennes Esile lead us through the winding streets of the Singapore port, to an outskirts dock. Whence we had successfully snuck aboard The Avenger, we realised our mistake.

Torrennes Esile is no head-hunter. She's one of Henson Barbossa's crew.

Which brings me to being shut in an overcrowded barrack-cell with Gibbs, Aletté, Anna-Maria, and Jack. There was barely room to stand.

Torrennes sauntered down to our below-deck prison in late afternoon to take over as our guard. Did she ever get her share of insults hurled at her!

Eventually I drifted off into uneasy sleep, leaning against Jack's shoulder. I was jolted awake when I felt him stand up. Everyone was getting up. The cell was open!

I pulled myself up and climbed out to the fog-covered deck. Henson Barbossa lay dead, bullet pinched to the brain. I shuddered. As Torrennes later explained to me, she needed to gain his trust (by bringing him us) before she could kill him quietly (as in without nobody noticing.)