A/N I don't own any of the characters in this story, or the ship, the Black Pearl.
Anne sat across from Jack at a table and looked at him over a small mug of rum. She fingered the rim lightly, but did not drink. Jack, however, gulped down a few sips of his rum.
"So what's the plan for this treasure, Anne?" Jack asked her, settling back.
"Ok, Jack… I guess this is one of those things you need to know… I know who has the key, because the man who has it was a temporary crew member on Calico's ship. He signed off a while before we were captured, just after Toby was rescued and brought on ship. Since Toby was the only living person to know the location of the treasure, he was guardian at that time. When he told me, he was still guardian. But when he died, I became guardian. Do you get it?"
"But where are we going to get the key?" Jack asked impatiently, downing more rum. Anne fidgeted nervously. She picked up her mug of rum and took a little sip, making a face and setting it back down.
"I have an idea." She said.
"Why do I feel like you're not going to tell me?"
"Maybe because I'm not… it's on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know."
Jack groaned. "It's my treasure too! I have a part in this plan… for all I know, you could be trying to trick me and leave with my treasure!"
"Yea, so you're just going to have to trust me." Anne said, calmly taking another small sip of rum and then pushing the rum away from her. "I've lost my taste for this stuff." She said, her eyes connecting with Jack's once again.
"Alright." Jack sighed. "What do I need to do?" He sat back in his chair and gulped some more rum. Just then, a small boy walked into the bar. Jack's attention was wasted on what Anne was saying, because he was obviously interested more in this boy. The boy walked to the barkeeper and said something, and the barkeeper shook his head and pointed toward Jack. The boy turned his attention to Jack and Anne. He walked slowly and nervously toward them, obviously aware that they were both staring at him shamelessly.
"Hello? I… my name is Daniel, and are you Jack Sparrow?"
Jack sat up straight. "Aye, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." He studied the fidgeting boy. "You got a problem, lad?"
The boy shifted a little and glanced at Anne, quickly turning his attention away form her. "I um… saw your ship, and was wondering if you needed like… a cabin boy, or something."
Jack grinned. "Are you sure 'bout that? It's not fun work, y'know." The boy nodded.
"Well then, you're hired! Ever been on a ship before, lad?" The boy hesitated, and then shook his head no. Anne laughed.
"You're getting in deep with this one, Jack. Mayhap this be more trouble than it's worth, teaching the boy ship terms."
Jack shrugged. "Got to learn somewhere how to live yer life. Maybe if he works hard, I'll consider it an apprenticeship. Now, lad, take a seat." The boy sat down nervously. "Now, don't be afraid, we won't bite, you need to loosen up a bit, ye remind me of Anne here. Have some rum." Jack pushed a mug toward the boy, and then ordered another from a bar wench.
"Now Anne," Jack leaned forward, closer to her. "Tell me what part I have to play in this plan of yers." Anne looked at the lad, then back at Jack.
"No, I don't think I will, Jack. You'll just see."
Jack scowled and leaned forward so he could whisper in Anne's ear. "Now Anne, don't be afraid to talk in front of this lad… I have no doubt that he'll work hard. See… it's not a lad, it's a lass. Which mean's that this lass is running from something, or someone. Probably desperate to get away from here, so she'll work hard so that nobody will suspect anything. We can pretty much guarantee that this won't be your average lazy cabin boy."
Jack sat back down, and glanced at the lass. She appeared to be unsuspicious, and was still gulping down large quantities of rum. When Jack looked back at Anne, he was surprised to see that she didn't look very well. She was staring hard at the table, and wouldn't meet Jack's eyes.
When she finally looked up, Jack could see she was struggling again, to keep her expression calm. There was something that was pushing at her, something about this lass maybe, or whatever it was, it was upsetting her.
"Maybe we should go darlin?" Jack said quietly. Anne nodded and stood up, walking out the door quickly and onto the street. Jack managed to drag 'Daniel' out also, after paying for the drinks. The girl was actually a little tipsy. Anne was already halfway to the Pearl, and Jack didn't bother trying to catch up with her; she could take care of herself.
After sticking Daniel with a room for the night, Jack went to find Anne. She was standing by the helm, staring out at the night, listening to all the sounds of Nassau and the lights of the little port. It was strangely peaceful, even through all the drunken shouts and whore's calling out everywhere.
"No company for the night, Jack?" Anne said, bringing him out of his thoughts. He hadn't even known that she realized he was staring at her.
"Naw." Jack said, grinning a little. "You want to be my company?" He smiled cheekily at her, but she wasn't smiling when she turned to face him. She didn't look offended or anything either, which was the usual two reactions Jack got. Usually the first one.
"I've got a better idea." Anne said. She turned and began to climb the rigging of the foremast on the Pearl. Jack followed her without question until she sat at the top, in the crow's nest.
A.N Ok, people. I looked it up… the lookout at the top of the foremast is actually called the crow's nest, so there!
From up there, they could see all of Nassau, and the ocean stretching out behind it. Jack got the feeling she really didn't want to talk to him, so he kept his mouth shut. But she talked.
"Jack… have you ever gotten the feeling that no matter what you do, someday, nobody will ever remember it?" Anne said, tucking her arms around her legs so that she was curled in a ball.
Jack leaned back against the mast pole. "To tell you the truth, Anne, I never think about stuff like that. Cuz it doesn't matter if people remember you… you just live your life the way you want to, just for the fun, the thrill."
"Yea, I know all about that, Jack." Anne said quietly. Jack was intrigued.
"Ok, shoot. Tell me why." Jack said, grinning slightly.
"Well, wouldn't you consider knifing a servant and eloping with a poor man living your life the way you want it, just for the thrill?" Anne said, closing her eyes.
"You knifed a servant." Jack said disbelievingly.
"Yeah. I always told her if she didn't stop tying my corsets so tight, she'd regret it." Anne said sarcastically.
Both of them were silent for a little while, just absorbing the cool night.
"I sure hope you know what you're doing with this plan of yours, Anne." Jack said.
"I do." Anne assured him. Jack let the salty breeze lull him to sleep.
When Jack woke up in the morning, Anne was gone. He figured she must have gone down to her cabin to sleep, and he just climbed down the rigging and sleepily walked over to the stairs, planning on waking Anne up with a big surprise. Something like… dumping water on her, or making a loud noise right in her ear. But when he walked in her door, she wasn't in there. Slightly alarmed, he walked to the galley, but she wasn't there either. He called her name throughout the entire ship, and even climbed up the rigging to see if she was hiding up there, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Jack's first thought was that she had gone out into the town to explore or something like that. He had, after all, told his crew to meet him back at the ship this afternoon, so maybe Anne would do the same. So Jack just sat and waited.
Well, around noon, his crew started showing up, but no Anne. So he just waited.
When every member of his crew was safely back on his ship, he was very worried. But still he waited.
Until it began getting dark again and Anne was nowhere to be seen. Jack was unable to think, so told his crew to go to sleep and maybe she would be there in the morning. He crawled back into his cabin and tossed and turned restlessly.
Around midnight, a dark shape crept into the room. Jack sat up in bed as the figure lit the lantern and turned around. He sighed in relief when he realized it was Anne after all. But she seemed upset.
"Jack?" She hissed softly.
"Aye, I'm up. Where were you?" he demanded.
"I'm sorry." She said softly. "I meant to be back earlier… gosh, it is late, isn't it? But I got… held up."
"Where did you go?" Jack demanded again, standing up and walking over to her.
"Perfecting the plan." She said softly, turning her back on him. It was then that Jack realized she was soaking wet and shivering. But it wasn't raining outside. She was wearing a jacket, but that was wet too. He pulled it off of her and hung it up by the door. She sneezed.
It wasn't as light inside as it would've been in broad daylight, but the light was enough. Jack could see she was cold, and would get sick is she didn't change.
"There are spare clothes in the drawers." Jack said to her. "I can't promise they'll be clean, but they're dry. I'll be outside… some get me when you're done… I want to talk to you." He stepped out of the room and went up on deck.
Outside it was dark… the only lights were in Nassau, and there was faint light from the moon coming from behind dark clouds. Jack could tell it wasn't going to rain, but by the dark gathering clouds he knew that it would be pretty windy. If they were going somewhere, it would be good sailing for the next few days.
"Jack?" He heard Anne's voice behind him. He turned to see her standing there, he hair still wet but tied back with his bandanna so it wouldn't soak the shirt that she was wearing, which was his. She was also wearing his pants, and his clothes were slightly big on her, but she was tall enough that they weren't big enough to show anything worth hiding. Her feet were bare, and she was unarmed. She came and stood beside him, leaning out over the rail.
"Where did you…" Jack started to say, but she cut him off.
"The man who has the key is here, in Nassau. I went looking for his ship. Apparently he's been waiting for me to come back so that he could gain my permission to go into the treasure trove." She sighed. "He knows I'm here."
Jack nodded to show he understood. But he didn't really. Was she crazy? Leaving without a trace and showing up in the middle of the night? If she had been killed or hurt, they wouldn't know where she was!
"So how did he find you? How does he know? Why is he here? Does he have the key?" Jack was asking all these questions quickly, as soon as they came into his mind.
"I'm sorry, Jack, but I'm tired… can't we talk about this in the morning?" Anne said, looking him in the eyes. She did look tired, and Jack felt bad for a moment… who knows what she had done, and been through? But he was unsure.
"Anne, for all I know, you won't be here in the morning."
Anne smiled. "You've figured me out, Jack."
"Huh?" Jack said, confused. Anne just smiled and shook her head and it came to him.
"You plan on disappearing in the morning." He guessed. Anne kept smiling and bit her lip.
"I don't get it." Jack said. "I don't get it. How does this work?"
"I'm leaving in the morning." Anne said. "But not before I tell you where the treasure is, and give you my permission to enter it. Do you understand?"
"But how do we get the key? And what about you?" He asked. Anne frowned.
"I have an idea for how to get the key. But I can tell you this, because I'm sure of it; part of the duty that comes with being the guardian, is that I'm not allowed to enter the treasure trove." Jack was still confused, but he wanted to trust her.
"Tell me what to do." He said, still unsure. He was not used to being part of a plan without knowing exactly what the plan was.
Anne frowned. "We'll need Anamaria."
Jack cursed. "I forgot. Tell you what, Anne, stay here; I'll be back in less than an hour."
When Jack got back with the sword, he was not surprised to find that Anne was missing. On the desk in his quarters she had written a note.
Jack,
I hope you can read. All of our fates depend on it. I want and you to
trust me when I say that I know exactly what I'm doing and have a plan.
I hereby give you my worthy permission to enter the secret trove of Elizabeth
Shirland, 'Cutlass Liz' and take what you will from her possessions.
The treasure lies in a cove on the other side of this very island we are
on. Go deep into the cove until you come to a place in which there is a beam
of light from the roof of the cove. At the marker, underneath the water there
is a locked door which opens onto dear Lizzie's trove. Understand this… do not
attempt to go through this door or break through the lock. That's very
important! Wait in the shadows until you see a boat called 'The Heron'
pass by to the beam of light! Do not be alarmed by what you see in this boat…
or everything is ruined! The people in this boat must not see your crew! When
you see (or hear) the splash or ripples, I want you, YOU IN PERSON, JACK.
to dive down into the water. Once you are under the beam of light, you will
understand better. I wish I could explain.
Good luck. Follow my instructions carefully. I must go now. Be at the
cove before first light this morning.
-Anne
Jack put the paper down. Though he could not understand every bit, he understood that this was Anne doing the best she could to lay out her plan. But the problem with plans is, they go wrong sometimes. Not every detail was written on this paper… probably in case someone else read the paper. He just hoped Anne would know what she was doing… the plan sounded crazy! But he had no choice but to trust her.
Jack reread the paper and then almost kicked himself. He had to be at the cove before first light! He ran out on the deck and yelled as loud as he could for all crew members to be up and start getting the Pearl out of port.
It was begun.