The next morning I saw land, for the first time in months.

"Jack! Jack, look! It's Port Royal!" I cried, bounding up the stairs to the helm where he was steering the ship toward the island.

"I know, Maggie, that's where I'm taking the ship." Jack said, annoyed.

"Apologies, Jack," I said, not feeling sorry at all. It wasn't my fault he was hung over. "When will we be arriving?" I asked.

"Not long now, an hour, maybe," Jack replied. I ran over to the side of the ship and leaned out, staring at the island in the distance. I could see lush tropical forests and sandy white shores. I had only heard stories of these things back in England, and now I was finally here. Seeing land again put me in the most wonderful mood. Any apprehensions I had had were forgotten, and I couldn't wait to go ashore.

About an hour later we were about 100 yards from shore. Jack came down from the helm and gave the orders to lower the lifeboat.

"Anamaria! Yer in charge 'til we get back. Meet us here in three days time, savvy?"

"Aye," she said.

"Miss Elden!" Jack called. "We're going to shore."

I followed him into the lifeboat, and Jack rowed us to shore. When we hit the beach I was first to jump out on to the perfect white sand. That was a mistake. I had not touched solid ground in months, and I felt as if the beach was rocking back and forth, like a ship. I stumbled forward, but was caught by Jack, who had gotten out of the boat a little more gracefully.

"You'll need to get yer land-legs back, Maggie," he said, laughing. "Don't worry though. It's a lovely little walk to Port Royal; you'll have plenty of time." He started walking towards the forest, and I hurried to catch up with him.

"Aren't there any docks closer to Port Royal?" I asked, wondering just what kind of city this was.

"Of course there are, but a notorious pirate ship such as the Pearl just can't go sailing into a busy port. We need the element of surprise for all this to work."

"Just how far is this lovely little walk?"

"Less'n a mile, love, stop complaining."

"I'm not complaining!" I said defensively. "I—"

"Listen, Maggie, because we're almost there," Jack cut me off. "We're going to find out exactly where Dunnmore's new palace is, and then I need you to do whatever you can to get your job back."

"What if I can't get my job back? Dunnmore was reluctant to hire me the first time; I doubted he'd do it again."

"Then we go to Plan B. But assuming that you are rehired, ye have three days to find that map."

By then we had reached Port Royal. The streets and sidewalks were crowded with all manner of people going about their daily lives; carriages rattled over the cobble-stoned streets, servants brought food home from the market, well-dressed gentry strolled along the sidewalk, and occasionally a group of soldiers marched by, on some official business. I smiled a little at the familiar scene; I had not realized how much I missed city life.

I brushed past a gentleman in a fine brocaded waistcoat, and slid my hand into his pocket and pulled out a heavy velvet purse. Time seemed to freeze as I waited for him to turn around and shout at the little wretch who had tried to relieve him of a good deal of money. But nothing happened. Time sped up again as the gentleman walked blithely away, and I grinned as I pocketed his purse. I loved the city.

Jack had ordered me to stay a good distance behind him, so no one could associate us together. If anyone asked, I was completely innocent: I had escaped the pirate ship at some port and made my way to the only city where I could find a familiar soul. I was deeply traumatized by my experience aboard the Pearl. I did not talk about it.

Following Jack through the maze of streets was quite difficult, for I kept losing him in the crowds, and I would walk slower, and stand on my tip- toes until I could catch another sight of his red bandana, then I sped up to get closer. He turned onto yet another street, and I hurried after him. This time, however, I knew I had lost him for good. There were only a few people walking down this narrow dirt avenue, and a dreadlocked pirate with a slightly drunken gait was not one of them.

I swore under my breath and looked around. There was a smithy behind me, and a general store and a small pub across the street. Bloody pirate, I thought. Can't even go a few bloody hours without a bloody pint. What the bloody hell am I supposed to now?
But my thoughts were interrupted when someone grabbed my arm and pulled me roughly into the smithy. I started to scream but a hand covered my mouth, and I found myself looking up into a man's dark, kohl-lined eyes.

"Jack!" I cried when he took his hand from my mouth. I was so relieved to see him that I completely forgot my anger.

"Sorry, Maggie, for the confusion. We have to make a quick detour. Before we can pillage that palace, we have to find it first. And that's where young William comes in."

I turned around to see an incredible attractive man sitting on a bench, in the process of polishing a sword. I racked my mind for something creative and witty to say, but couldn't think of anything, so I just smiled and said, "Hello."

"This is Maggie," Jack rescued me from the Will Effect. "She's 'elping me on this new quest o' mine."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Maggie," Will said, his polite, refined accent starkly contrasting Jack's rough pirate one. He smiled and shook my hand, and I almost melted. Why was I so upset over some alcoholic scoundrel when I could have a well-mannered, honest, and very handsome man like Will?

Jack picked up a sword that was hanging on a wall and spun it with a flourish before lunging against an invisible challenger. "How's Elizabeth, mate?" He asked absently as he continued to battle the warm air of the smithy. I hoped that Elizabeth was Will's sister.

"Still the epitome of perfection," he sighed. "Only three months till our wedding!" Of course; perfect gentlemen such as Will are always married, or betrothed, or secretly eunuchs, or otherwise completely unavailable.

"Feeling up for one more venture before the big day?" Jack asked slyly as he gave a deadly thrust of his sword into the donkey's bale of hay. Leaving the sword in his victim, he moved and sat across from Will. "Consider it your bachelor party! Only instead of going to Tortuga and celebrating with rum and women, you'll get to fight pirates! What say you to that?"

Will frowned as he got up to pull his sword from the bale of hay. "It hasn't been that long since our last adventure. Elizabeth wouldn't be too pleased."

"You 'aven't married 'er yet, Turner! Yer still a free man."

Will turned Jack's sword in his hand, studying it. Jack picked up the sword Will was polishing and pointed it at him. Will lifted his own sword.

"So what now Jack? Are you going to force me on this quest?" He asked challengingly.

I stared at Will, surprised at his audacity. Was he challenging Jack to a swordfight? And did he really think he'd win? He was not as perfect as I assumed; clearly he lacked a great deal of common sense. I leaned forward with interest as Jack and Will began to fight. I always loved watching Jack duel. The first few hits were very basic, warm-up moves. They stopped in a stalemate, as Jack had forced Will to the far wall.

"If I win," Jack said, "You must join me on this venture, wedding or not." Will struck again, giving a few more easy hits but still pushing Jack back the other side of the smithy. He did have more skill than I gave him credit for.

"And if I win, you find another pirate," Will said. And with that, the real fighting began.

Will was definitely much better than I had thought. He moved with almost as much skill as Jack, and there were times when I actually thought he was going to win. But after several minutes of dazzling swordplay, Jack knocked Will's sword from his hand and pointed his own blade at him.

"Welcome back to the Pearl, mate." Jack said, lowering his sword and grinning. Will groaned, but I could tell that he was not disappointed at all that he was returning to piracy.

"Where do I begin?" Will asked.

"You can start," Jack replied and nodded his head toward me, "by telling this lovely young lady where to find the residence of a Sir Richard Dunnmore. Then I'll begin telling you what you're going to do."

Will gave me the directions and Jack led me to the door to send me on my way.

I didn't want to go. I didn't want to spend three days subject to the whims of the Dunnmores; trying to balance the menial labor they give me with the task of finding and taking a map without anyone noticing. I didn't want to spend three whole days not seeing Jack at all. These next few days were going to be the longest of my life. It took all my self- control to not throw myself at Jack and beg him not to make me go. Instead, I just forced myself to say a simple, "Good bye, Jack."

"See you soon, Maggie," Jack said. "Be careful, love." I turned to go, but Jack grabbed my arm and pulled me back into him. I looked up at him, wondering hopefully why he had pulled me back. "One more thing," he murmured.

"Yes?" I murmured back, leaning forward a little.

Jack studied me for a second. "Try not to do anything stupid."