Chapter Four

Jack had been trying in vain to get the dog to bring him the keys the night the crew of the Black Pearl came to shore. Now that some crew members had chased the dog off, he'd resigned himself to being hung, at least for a while. Elizabeth found the eccentric, handsome man lying on the hay covered floor of his bare prison cell. He raised his head when she entered the room and then set it back down. When the fact registered in his brain that the girl he'd threatened the day before was standing outside his cell, Jack sat up.

"How may I help you, Miss Swann?"

Liz stood close to the bars, peering at the man inside. "The ship that came here last night, what do you know of it?"
"Ah, the Black Pearl. I know enough. Why?"

"They took Will."

"Will...?"

"Will Turner, the blacksmith."

"Turner? That's his name? Are you sure?"

Liz frowned and wondered why his name mattered so much. "Yes, of course I'm sure. Now listen up, I need your help."

Jack remained silent, replaying yesterday's events in his head. Now that he though of it, the boy did look like Bootstrap. No wonder why Barbossa and his men had invaded the port. But how could they have known the boy had been here? There must have been another reason they came to port. Then Jack remembered the medallion he'd seen round Swann's neck. Of course! When the lady fell into the water, they must have felt where she was. But she's still here...and I'm sure she still has the medallion. Why would they leave without it?

"I want to save Will. Where would the ship be heading?"

Jack rubbed his beard. A girl who wanted to save a boy. How unusual. He studied her fair skin and fair hair, deciding she would be quite the one to have an "adventure" with. "To an island that cant be found, except by those who know where it is."

Elizabeth didn't totally understand his riddle, but it didn't matter. "Will you help me?"

"Why should I help you?"

"Because I can get you out. I have the keys," Liz removed the set of keys from between her breasts. Jack's eyebrows rose. "And if we go off to find Will, you'll never have to return to Port Royal. The Commodore won't go after you. You'll be a free man once you help me. What say you?"

Jack thought for a moment. He knew the girl knew nothing of how important her medallion was, nor that The Pearl really belonged to him. He could use her, and the medallion, as a bargaining chip to get his beloved ship back. Whatever befell her and the blacksmith didn't really matter to Jack, as long as he was captain of the Pearl again.

"Aye, I'll help you. Now get me out."

Liz nodded and opened the large door to Jack's cell. The hinges creaked in protest.

"Hurry, someone will have heard that."

Jack nodded and dashed over to a hook on the wall. "Not without my effects."

The two stood under a bridge staring at the ships in the harbor. Jack was formulating a plan while Liz redressed herself behind a group of bushes. On their way out they'd been stopped by a guard; and Liz took the opportunity to change into the now unconscious man's outfit, realizing how difficult things would be if she stayed in her dress.

"Ok, follow me, love." Jack swaggered off towards the beach where a few lifeboats had been left. Liz ran after him, hastily trying to button her shirt along the way, and giving up before the last three buttons had been put into place.

Jack scurried over to one of the lifeboats had been set and lifted up an edge and motioned for Liz to crawl under. She did so, but not without confusion. Once Jack had joined her and let the boat rest on top of them she asked why they were sitting under a beached lifeboat.

"It's going to help us get to the Dauntless, dearest." Jack said before adjusting his hat and hair.

"Shouldn't we be sitting in it the other way? And just how do you propose that we steal a bloody ship? There's but two of us!"

"Commandeer, commandeer a ship. And no, the boat should not be the other way. Just follow my lead and stop asking so many questions." Jack brought himself into a squatting position and turned away from Elizabeth, ordering her to get into the same position. She complied, though she wasn't completely sure she trusted what the crazy man had in mind. "Now listen here. When I tell you, we're going to stand and walk into the water. Shush, just let me finish. We're then going to walk swiftly to the Dauntless and climb up the back. From there you may just follow my lead. When we're under water, walk as fast as possible, and try not to breath too much, because our air won't last long."

"This is madness."

"This is genius. Ready?"

"No."

"Now!" Jack stood quickly, practically pulling Liz up with him. She made a slight protesting noise, but followed Jack across the sand, slipping in the slightly large shoes she'd taken from the guard. She gasped as the chilled waters of Port Royal slid up her legs. Jack pressed on as quick as the water would allow and Liz found the water went up a bit farther than her chest. She was thankful that she'd kept the lighter, less restricting corset on, for the guard's shirt would not prove to be much protection when they emerged from the ocean.

The two were halfway to the ship when Liz felt her foot crunch into something. She looked down to find a wooden lobster crate stuck to her foot. She gasped and tried to shake it free. Jack wanted to tell her not to use so much air, but that would have taken too much effort. He did manage to let out a small chuckle when a backwards glance revealed the scene of Elizabeth struggling to rid her delicate foot of the old crate. Jack knew then and there, that this would be quite the adventure.

Finally Elizabeth gave up and just kept going on, no longer trying to free her foot. Just when it began to get hard to breath, Jack told her to take a deep breath and then let go of the boat. They would swim to the surface and begin the climb.

"Ready?"

"No!"

"Now!" Jack took his last deep breath and released the wooden mass that was struggling to get to the surface. Liz gasped as water rushed over her head and found herself wishing she'd learned to swim better. She struggled to get herself to the surface, but found herself going nowhere. The air in her lungs was scarce and she though she'd drown then and there. Once again, Jack Sparrow came to the rescue, his firm hand taking hold of her wrist and pulling her to the surface. She gasped loudly for air, only to have his hand quickly cover her mouth.

"Let's not draw attention to ourselves, savvy? We need to do this quietly." Jack wondered if the girl would be more of a hindrance than a helping hand.

Liz nodded and clumsily swam after the doggedly handsome man. They reached the stern of the Dauntless and Jack grabbed on and began to climb. Liz followed suit and in not time they'd reached the deck, Liz stopping only briefly to dislodge the stubborn crate. She threw it overboard and smiled as it made a satisfying splash. Jack put a finger to his mouth and crept up to the helm of the ship. He then jumped up, gun poised at the head of the man closet to him.

"Here, here! We're taking over this ship."

Elizabeth stood at Jack's side and did her best to draw the sword she'd taken from the guard. She tugged at it clumsily and it stuck for a moment, before coming loose. Liz squeaked as the sword fell to the deck with a clang and she sprang downwards to pick it up. When she'd finally got it in hand she proudly yelled avast. Jack shook his head and rolled his dark brown eyes.

The men aboard the ship laughed. One man asked, "There's only two of you. How on earth do you intend to do that?"

Moments later all the men that had been aboard the Dauntless were in a lifeboat, rowing quickly toward the men at port. Norrington happened to notice the small vessel heading towards them from his position at the head of the Interceptor, the fastest ship in the waters. He looked to his spyglass to find the men waving at him, yelling that the Dauntless had been taken. James frowned, knowing instantly what had happened.

"Too rash, Elizabeth, too rash. And all for that Turner boy. Head out men, we're going to get our ship back." James said to the crew surrounding him as he readied the ship.