This is the big showdown! Enjoy!! I cried when I wrote this chapter, by the way!!
Thank you to everyone I love! Thanks, DAFTLIKESPARROW for inspiring me and being such a loyal fan! And thanks to everyone else I dont have time to thank!
Chapter 8: Retribution
For the next two weeks, they were stranded. The rudder chain had broken somehow and they had to get parts and tools to fix it -- then there was the actual time it took to fix it. So, for two weeks, they were nervous and restless. Ever since Sierra had confessed her feelings to Jack, Blake had been wary of saying anything to Celeste. He decided to remain silent, though, as he knew Celeste would not stray from Jack.
One day, Jack had helped work on the rudder chain most of the day and they were now almost done. They'd removed his stitches a week earlier and were pleased to see that it was healing well. The day had been somewhat cold and he retreated into his quarters for the evening.
Soon after, Celeste knocked on his door, wanting to speak with him. Jack yelled for her to come in and she opened the door and peeked in.
"Hey." she greeted, slipping inside and shutting the door.
"'ey, love." he greeted. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, examining a map of England. "Somethin' wrong?"
"Oh, no, I just... wanted to be with you." she replied. "You were outside for a while today." she said as he folded up the map and set it aside. "What were you doing?"
"Helpin' work on the rudder mostly, but... I spent some time thinkin'..." he told her and she sat on his lap.
"Thinking about what?" she asked, putting her arms around his neck.
"Jocelyn... an'... if we'll get there in time..." Jack said.
"We will." Celeste told him. "I promise. ...How's that wound healing up?" she asked and pushed the neck of his shirt to the edge of his shoulder so she could see the healing wound. She ran her fingers over it. "I'm glad it's healing well." She replaced the shirt to its original position and kissed him. "Your lips are cold." she laughed. "How long were you outside?"
"I don' know, but I'd be willin' to let you warm 'em up for me." he said with a smirk.
She laughed and kissed him.
A few moments later, she pulled away from him with a furrowed brow.
"What?" he asked.
"What's wrong?" she asked him.
"What do you mean? Nothin's wrong."
"I know you, Jack, and I know when something's wrong." she told him.
"Why would you think somethin' is wrong?" he asked.
"Because! You're not kissing me right!"
"What?" he asked. "You mean I'm doin' it wrong?"
"Not necessarily wrong, just -- oh, I can't explain." she replied. "I just... I know when something is wrong with you. If there's anyone you can talk to, it's me; you know that."
"I'm jus' worried about Jos is all." he told her. "I'm really worried."
"Don't worry, Jack, we'll save her." Celeste told him. He nodded. "That's not all, is it?" she asked curiously.
"Well, jus' somethin' that 'appened back when we got captured..." he said. "I told Will about what Sierra told me. He asked me what I said an' I told 'im that I said I didn' feel the same way, but... he asked... if I did anythin'... 'e apologized, but said that my reputation isn' the best one in the world..." Celeste looked at him, listening. He sighed. "I wish I could change it... I wish I could change what I'd done in the past... jus' for your sake..."
"My sake?" she asked.
"Aye." he replied. "You can't be 'appy to tell people that you're in love with Captain Jack Sparrow."
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused. "It's the only thing I'm happy about! Ever!"
"It can't be easy, though." he said.
"It's easy because it's true." she told him. "There's nothing else I'd rather say. And, you know, Jack, I'm proud. I'm proud to say that I'm recklessly, hopelessly, utterly, entirely in love with you with such complete and total abandon that some days I don't even think I can last one moment if I'm not in your arms... I love you, Captain Jack Sparrow. And I don't care what people say because there's nowhere else I'd rather be."
Jack looked at her for a moment. "Thanks, darling. I desperately needed to 'ear that." She smiled. "An'... well, it's useless for me to try to say 'ow much I love you... there's no way I could even put it into words."
She shrugged. "Then show me." she said, and he kissed her.
A few moments later, Sierra barged in. Celeste didn't even care this time -- she just pulled away from Jack long enough to say:
"Sierra, please go away."
"How did you know it was me?" Sierra asked.
"I know what it sounds like when you barge in." Celeste replied.
"Well, anyway, Gibbs says your stitches should come out tonight." Sierra told her.
"Can't that wait a little longer?" Celeste asked.
"Well, the one who is going to take them out doesn't want to wait. If you could just stay out of his pants for one night--"
"WHAT?!" Celeste cried, jumping up. "WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?!"
"You know what I mean, Wyndham." Sierra said. "Everyone knows. We just haven't heard anything yet."
Celeste's jaw dropped in offense. "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT?! IT IS ABSOLUTELY UNTRUE!!"
"Come on, it's no secret."
"Why, you -- you... you... rumor spreader!!" Celeste yelled.
"Ouch. That one hurt." Sierra said sarcastically.
"That's a lie!" Celeste cried. "And make sure that everyone knows it! Jack and I are both good people -- we would never!"
"From what I've heard about Jack, I wonder if that's really true." Sierra said.
Celeste furrowed her brow and Jack sighed.
"Jack is a good person!" Celeste yelled. "It doesn't matter what's happened in his past! He is good now and that's all that matters! He'd never do anything awful like that! Shame on you for even thinking it!!"
"It's alrigh', love..." Jack said, putting a hand on Celeste's shoulder.
"No, it's not!" Celeste cried. "How can you judge someone purely on reputation?! It's got nothing to do with who they really are!"
"Darling, don' get angry..." he told her, putting his arms around her waist from behind her.
"For your sake, Jack, I'll stop." Celeste said. "But, Sierra, if I hear any more about those rumors, I'm blaming you!"
Sierra curled her lip. "Whatever, look, I just came to tell you what Gibbs said. So, come on, you have to get the stitches out."
Celeste sighed. "Who's taking them out? Gibbs?"
"No. Me." Sierra replied.
"What?!" Celeste exclaimed. "Why can't Gibbs do it?!"
"Because you were careless enough to get cut in a place that you don't reveal to the general public and wouldn't be too decent for a man to do it." Sierra told her.
"Ohh, Jack," Celeste whined, turning to face him and he let go of her, "why can't you do it?"
"I'm not too experienced at takin' stitches out... jus' puttin' 'em in." he explained.
"But-but... I thought putting them in was the hard part and taking them out was the easy part!" Celeste reasoned.
"I 'aven' done it too many times." he said. "Sierra knows what she's doin'."
"But-but... I don't -- I -- I--"
"Don't trust me?" Sierra interrupted.
"Well, er, no, that's not it... er..." Celeste hesitated.
"Yes, it is." Sierra stated, a bit irritated. "Fine, if I hurt you more than Jack did, feel free to give me a cut as deep as yours, okay?"
Celeste considered this for a moment. "Well, okay... But I want Jack to be with me."
"Fine." Sierra said indifferently. "Come on, I set everything up in your room."
Celeste nodded and they all exited to Celeste's room.
Sierra removed Celeste's stitches without causing any purposeful pain. Celeste was sure she was going to rip one out on purpose or something painful like that, but nothing happened. Jack was with her the whole time for moral support and was impressed at how well, once again, she took the pain.
The next day, they began to prepare for their arrival at Black's hideout. The whole crew was to go ashore and raid the place. They all got ready nervously and arrived in the evening.
They all went ashore and spotted what must have been the actual hideout. It was a huge three story mansion made primarily of wood. Much of the crew would patrol the outside and search the grounds for Black ad his cronies, while the others explore the inside of the house. They crept inside and saw five different hallways. They split up. Celeste decided to go down one alone, and the others (surprisingly) let her. They all crept down the hallways slowly and warily.
Celeste inched down the hallway, swords at the ready, when, suddenly, she heard something behind her. She spun around and slashed at her enemy -- who blocked it. It was Jack.
"Jack!" Celeste gasped. "What on earth are you doing?!" she whispered.
"You didn' think I'd let you go alone, did you?" he asked.
She sighed impatiently, heart racing. "I could've impaled you!"
"You can't impale me -- I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." he whispered.
"Well, apparently, Barbossa impaled you once."
"That didn' count. I was immortal at the time."
She curled her lip in annoyance and ventured on down the corridor. Suddenly, she heard something and turned around. Jack was gone. She looked around nervously, but continued down the hall.
A few moments later, she came upon a door. She entered it warily and walked down the narrow set of stairs. She looked about the large room and saw five women chained up against the opposite wall. She hurried down the steps. Just as she reached the last step, however, Black came up behind her and kicked her in the back and she fell flat on her face onto the hard stone floor, dropping her swords; they slid across the room. She rolled over and Black pounced on her. He punched her in the face and pinned her arms to her body with his legs.
"You are so predictable, baby." he said to her, fire in his eyes. "This time, I 'ad it all planned out for you an' Sparrow. You thought you knew what you were walkin' into, but you didn'. I'll get it done this time -- you can be sure o' that. An' maybe Sparrow will get to watch it."
She struggled and screamed for someone to help her. He hit her in the stomach and she yelled. She freed one of her arms and made four deep scratches on his face.
"Fine, darling." he said angrily. "'ave it your way. I was goin' to let you live, too, but I suppose tha's not goin' to 'appen." He hit her in the face twice and she yelled. He moved her head above a very sharp rock, intending to smash it in. "There's no pesky Sparrow to save you this time."
"That's what you think." someone said from behind them and hit Black in the head with the butt of a gun; he lied on the floor, apparently knocked out cold.
It was Jocelyn.
"JOCELYN!!!" Celeste cried, getting up and hugging her. "I'm so glad you're alright! How did you escape?!"
"Mr. Gibbs found me." Jocelyn replied.
"Oh, my -- have you seen Jack yet?" Celeste asked.
"No." Jocelyn said.
"I hope he's alright. He just sort of disappeared." Celeste told her. She looked at the far wall, remembering the prisoners, and she and Jocelyn ran to it after taking the keys from Black.
Celeste unlocked the chains on four of the women and had just finished freeing the fifth when, suddenly, at the other side of the room, Black sat up and aimed his gun at Celeste. Jocelyn glanced over and saw this; she gasped.
"CELESTE!!" Jocelyn cried. She leapt forward and shoved Celeste out of the way as a shot rang out. Celeste froze as Jocelyn fell to the floor on her stomach.
"Damn it!" Black yelled at his missed shot. Just then, Black heard someone upstairs. Thinking it was Jack, he ran up to confront him.
"No!!" Celeste cried, looking down, shocked, at Jocelyn and knelt down next to her and turned her over. She looked back at the five frightened women and told them to meet her outside the house. She looked back to Jocelyn. "Jocelyn! Jocelyn!!" Jocelyn looked up at her.
"Celeste..." she whispered. "Are you alrigh'?"
"Yes." Celeste replied, her eyes watering. "I'm fine. And -- and you'll be fine! I just--"
"Celeste, listen to me."Jocelyn whispered, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.
"I-I'm listening." Celeste replied, crying.
"I'm so glad Jack ended up with someone like you... I never thought 'e'd care for anyone like 'e cares for you. I always figured 'e'd jus' keep goin' back to Tortuga..." she winced. "Please... 'e's my only brother... please take care of 'im. An' 'is 'eart really is fragile... even if 'e doesn' show it... 'e really does love you... An', please, tell 'im that I love 'im..."
"Yes, of course, I'll do all of that!" Celeste assured, crying still. "I promise!" Jocelyn began to close her eyes. "No!" Celeste cried. "Jocelyn, no! Stay with me! You'll be fine!"
"Tell Jim that I love 'im... nothin' that 'appened was 'is fault... or your or Jack's... Thank you for what you've done for Jack, Celeste... Thank you..." And, with that, her eyes glazed over and her breathing stopped.
"N-no!!" Celeste screamed, sobbing. "No! Jocelyn!! No!!!"
Jack walked through the house, confused at what had just happened. He'd just leaned up against the wall -- or, he thought it was a wall. It must've been a secret passage or something. He walked through the passage and eventually came to a dead end. He pushed on the wall and it opened like a door; he exited. He was now in a large room with a dresser and a bed and not much else. The dresser was covered with rum bottles and other alcoholic drinks. He looked around the room and saw something on the floor next to the bed. He picked it up. It was the necklace he'd given Jocelyn before he left so many years ago. He put it in his pocket, anger growing in him. He went to the door of the room and tried to leave, but it was locked. He tried the other door in the room, but it was locked as well.
A few moments later, he heard a gunshot. Hoping that Celeste was alright, he ran to a door and tried to force it open. He would shoot it open, but you never know when you'll need that bullet.
Suddenly, the door flew open and Jack jumped back. Black was standing in the doorway, sword at the ready. Jack pulled out his sword with absolute hate in his eyes. He didn't say anything -- he didn't even insult -- he just wanted to kill.
Black charged at him and he parried it. They fenced around the room, having a few close calls and getting a few nicks. Jack got a good swipe at Black's arm and cut it fairly deeply; unfortunately, not the sword arm. Black slashed Jack's waist -- not deep, but enough to be painful. He didn't back down, though. He couldn't feel anything but pure hatred for Black.
Black decided to speak, hoping to emotionally weaken Jack to his advantage. "Well, I certainly enjoyed your sister, Sparrow." he sneered as they fenced fiercely. "She was pretty fun. Too bad I didn' get your girl, though." A fire ignited in Jack's eyes that had never been there before. He'd hated Barbossa for being mutinous and stealing his beloved ship, he'd hated Santara for hurting Celeste, he'd hated Black for hurting Celeste and Jocelyn, he'd hated anything that hurt Celeste, but he'd never hated like this before. They fenced quicker and fiercer. "Well, your girl was pretty, but she didn' 'ave a lot where it counts. Your sister did, though. That was pretty good. Don' know who screamed more. Haha, I think it was your girl -- I didn' even finish her. Oh, but you should've 'eard 'em scream."
Jack clenched his teeth so tightly with anger that he thought they would crack. He still didn't speak, though. No words could describe this kind of hatred.
Suddenly, Jack swiped at Black and sliced the upper part of his sword arm open -- he nearly cut it off. Black dropped his sword. Jack kicked him to the floor and put his sword to Black's throat.
"You don' deserve death -- you deserve to suffer indescribable pain for the rest o' your worthless life." Jack told him. "Unfortunately, I don' want to give you the chance to live an' 'urt anyone else. But I can 'elp you die pretty slowly. You'll burn in Hell for what you've done. Nobody messes with the people I love."
With that, he stuck the blade of his sword into Black's neck and punctured his juggler vein. He didn't slice it open, but merely punctured it. This way, Black would die as slowly and painfully as Jack could manage at the moment. Black clutched his neck, blood spurting everywhere. Jack stepped back, avoiding the blood. He watched Black bleed to death, hoping that he was suffering. Finally, the life drained out of Black's eyes and he stopped breathing.
Jack sheathed his sword and scowled at Black. He bent down and searched him. After a moment, he found what he was looking for: he pulled out Celeste's necklace and put it in his pocket.
He left in search of Jocelyn or Celeste or anyone. He found them. Celeste was bent over Jocelyn, crying. Jack ran over to them and knelt next to Jocelyn.
"Wh-wha's wrong?" Jack asked, panicked. "What 'appened?"
"Black shot her!" Celeste sobbed.
"But-but she's goin' to be fine, righ'?" he asked urgently. "We can get 'er to a doctor!" Celeste looked up at him and burst into harder sobs. "She's -- she's not..." Jack stammered. Celeste nodded. "N-no... She can't... be..."
"She -- she told me to tell you that -- she loves you..." Celeste sobbed.
"But..." Jack stuttered, his eyes beginning to turn red and water. "She's -- she's my baby sister... She can't be gone..."
Celeste wearily backed up against the wall. Jack sat in front of her and fell into her arms. She held his head to her chest.
"I'm so sorry, Jack." she sobbed, rubbing his back comfortingly. "It's okay to cry, you know... Some wise pirate told me that -- he said it was good for the soul." He rested his head on her shoulder. "It's okay..." she patted his head consolingly. "You know, she told me to take care of you." He sniffled and looked up at her, tears flooding his eyes. Her heart broke to see him like this. "And that's exactly what I'm going to do, my love."
She held him in her arms, both crying over the tragic loss, when Sierra came in.
"Come on, guys, you don't have time for that--" Sierra began, but stopped when she was Jocelyn. "What happened?"
"I'll explain later, just, please, give us a minute." Celeste said shakily, and to her surprise, Sierra nodded and left.
After a few minutes, Celeste realized that that they had to get going.
"Jack..." she said into his ear, "I think we should go now. We need to get back to the ship."
Jack sniffled and nodded and sat up, tears still rolling down his cheeks. "The tears jus'... don' want to stop, you know?" he said shakily.
"I know." Celeste said gently, wiping the tears from his eyes. "But if you'll just stop them long enough for us to get back to the ship, I'll catch as many of them as you want when we get there." He smiled weakly and she kissed a tear from his cheek.
They took Jocelyn's body back to the Pearl -- the least they could do was bury her in the town she lived in. They decided to claim the bounty on Black and they put his body in the cargo hold.
Jack walked Celeste back to her room and went inside.
"Er, I know it's terribly improper for me to be in a lady's room," Jack said, forcing a smile, "but I-I jus' want to talk to you for a minute."
"Of course, Jack O' Lantern." she said. She sat down on her bed and Jack sat down next to her. "Oh, wait a minute." She stood up and went to her door and locked it. "You never know who's going to annoyingly barge in." He smiled weakly and she went to him. "Oh, you're hurt."
He glanced down at his waist, remembering what Black had inflicted. "Oh, yeah."
"I keep bandages in my room now -- we get cut up so often, I figure I should keep more on hand." she told him and went to her dresser.
She pulled out some bandages and went to Jack. He removed his coat, vest, and shirt. She started to bandage him, but found it a bit difficult to get to it with him sitting on the bed. "Here, er, I can't get to you very well, why don't you sit on the floor for a minute?" He nodded and they sat down next to the bed on the floor. She bandaged the cut and tied off the bandage and he pulled her into his lap, facing him. They put their arms around each other.
"I'm sorry, Jack." she sighed. "Oh... I didn't... tell you... Jocelyn, she... Well, Black, he was... aiming at me... She pushed me out of the way and... took the bullet for me..."
He paused. "She always did care more for others than 'erself." he sighed. "It seems that everyone is leavin' me... Mum an' Dad... now Jos... At least I still 'ave you, love." She sat up and looked at him. He placed a hand on her cheek, stroking it with his thumb. "You... with all those things I love... 'ow your hair catches all the colors in the sunset, 'ow your skin is softer than silk, 'ow your eyes are more beautiful than the sparkling Caribbean an' so easily do I get lost in them... An' 'ow your lips taste better than all the fine wine on God's green Earth." She smiled. "An' you won' leave me, righ', darling?" he asked gently.
"Of course I won't." Celeste said, putting her arms around his neck. "I promise." He smiled weakly. She wanted to make him feel better in some way -- it pained her to see him suffering and she wanted to comfort him so badly. "How about some fine wine?"
"But I'm in a lady's room -- wouldn't that be terribly improper?"
"Ah, we're pirates -- we have no rules." she told him. "Besides, you're far too charming for me to resist." He smiled and kissed her.
"Oh, I almost forgot." he said a few moments later and pulled something out of his pocket. "Your necklace. I got it back."
"Oh, you did?" Celeste asked happily. "I didn't want to say anything about it if you didn't get it back..."
"Well, I did -- I couldn' forget." he said and put the necklace on her.
"I missed it." she told him. She sighed and leaned up against him.
Just then, someone tried to open the door, but, the door being locked, they settled for banging on it.
Celeste sighed. "I'll get that, just a moment." Jack nodded. She went to the door, unlocked it, and opened it. It was Sierra. "What?"
"Is Jack here?" Sierra asked.
"Yes, he is." Celeste replied. "But, look, he just lost his sister and he needs to be with someone now, alright? So, please, for once don't attack with the insults. I can't take it today. I loved his sister like I'd known her my whole life -- this isn't easy for me either and I don't feel like breaking into tears because of one of your stupid remarks."
"...I wasn't going to say anything." Sierra said indifferently. "Anyway, the crew was just wondering where he was -- making sure he was alright... Hope he gets to feeling better."
"Thank you, Sierra." Celeste said sincerely. She closed and locked the door and went back to Jack, sitting on his lap, facing him once more.
"Er, maybe I should leave..." Jack suggested.
"No." Celeste stated. "I don't want you to be alone right now. You need someone to help you get through this."
"Thank you, love." he told her. He sighed. "I shouldn' 'ave stayed away from 'er for so long... An' if it weren' for me, anyway, she wouldn' be..."
"Jack, that's not true." Celeste told him. "She told me that it wasn't your fault. She said that it wasn't anyone's fault. It just happened. And she's right. She'd hate that you're blaming yourself."
"I-I suppose you're right..." Jack said.
She placed a hand on his jaw and turned his head so that he looked straight into her eyes.
"Don't forget, Jack," she told him, "the ones who love us never really leave us. She'll always be with you." He nodded and hugged her tightly, feeling the strong urge to cry. "I'll never leave you, Jack. I promise."
"Well, tha's good because I'll never let you go." he told her. He laid his head on her shoulder and buried his face in her neck. She patted his head comfortingly and stroked his hair. "Celeste? Do you think you'll love me forever?"
She smiled. "I definitely think so. If my love for you increases any more, I'm liable to explode." He smiled a little and hugged her. "Do you think you'll love me forever?" she asked him.
"No." he replied.
"What?"
"Much, much longer." he said, and she smiled.
The next day, they set sail back towards London, dreading what they would tell Jim and how he would react. Celeste spoke with the five women they'd rescued at Black's and gotten to know a little about them. They were all a little frightened of all the pirates and still very scarred from their experience with Black, so they kept to themselves for the most part.
They arrived in London a week later, the weight of Jocelyn's death still hanging above their heads.
They walked through the city and finally found Jim. He greeted them eagerly -- desiring news of Black.
"Er," Jack began, walking up to him, "well, you see, mate... er... Celeste 'as somethin' to tell you!" he rushed and pushed Celeste in front of him to face Jim. Celeste curled her lip at Jack in annoyance and turned to Jim.
"Well," Celeste began reluctantly, her heart breaking every moment, "Black is dead, but..."
"Yes?" Jim asked eagerly.
"Oh, Lord..." Celeste sighed.
Jim froze. "Oh, no... something's happened... something's happened to her -- is she hurt?"
Celeste grabbed Jack's hand for support. "Jim..." she began, "Jocelyn saved my life. If it wasn't for her, I would be dead as we speak."
"Well, that's good, though." Jim said hopefully. "You're alive thanks to Jocelyn. I'm glad she saved you."
Celeste bit her lip and continued. "No, it's not all good news... Black tried to shoot me and she pushed me out of the way... and got shot instead... He... killed her, Jim, and I'm so sorry..." Jim stood in shock. "We tried to save her, but things kept going wrong and delaying us. It's like... Black wanted us to... suffer as much as we could until we found her... Jim, I owe Jocelyn my life... I'm sorry for what I've taken from you -- I wish I could undo it so badly, but I can't... One life for another is not a fair trade!" she began to cry. "I'm so sorry!" Jack stroked Celeste's hand with his thumb comfortingly.
Jim faked composure and spoke as though he were holding back tears. "Er, well, thank you for trying... I'm glad she was able to help you before..." he paused. "I must be going. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon. Good day."
"G-good day..." Celeste bid with tears running down her face.
Celeste and Jack went back to the Pearl, hand in hand. As they went on deck, they met with four of the five women who were just leaving to go back home. They thanked Celeste and Jack profusely and left. The last girl came up on deck; she looked very young. All they'd ever found out about her was that her name was Anne.
"I'm sorry I've been so distant... I'm not used to people... nice ones, anyway." Anne told them. "My name is Anne Norrington."
"...Norrington?" Celeste asked. "Are you related, by chance, to Commodore Norrington of Port Royal?"
"Yes!" Anne exclaimed, glad that someone knew him. "The very one! He is my uncle!"
"Do you live in Caribbean or here?" Celeste asked.
"I lived in Port Royal, but... I fear I have nowhere to return to, really." Anne explained. "Black killed my family."
"Oh..." Celeste said sadly. "Well, I'm sure Commodore Norrington would provide you with a place to live." Anne nodded. "Er, how old are you, Anne?"
"Sixteen." Anne replied.
"Sixteen?" Celeste asked incredulously. "How -- how long were you... at Black's?"
"Three years." Anne told her.
Celeste's eyes widened. "Th-that is... oh, my..."
"I must thank you very much for saving me." Anne said. "I could never thank you enough."
"It was our pleasure, Anne." Celeste replied sincerely. "I'm very glad we were able to help you. Three years... that is will to live like I have scarcely seen." Anne smiled. "Er, anyway, we will be leaving for Port Royal in about two months. We have to get everything ready for the voyage."
"You're not going out of the way to take me there, are you?" Anne asked.
"No, not at all." Celeste told her. "We have friends on board who need to go back there. Besides, we... er... sail around in the Caribbean... We aren't welcome in too many places because of this ship's record."
"What do you mean?" Anne asked.
"Well, this is the Black Pearl." Celeste said. "Captained by Captain Jack Sparrow. ...I don't know if you knew his full name, but this is him." she gestured to Jack.
"I've heard all the stories." Anne replied. "But I don't judge someone until I know them. And from what I know of both of you, you are very good people."
"That is very wise of you, Anne." Celeste said, impressed at Anne's way of judgment. "And, thank you."
"Of course." Anne replied. "And thank you for all of this, Madam."
"What're you calling me 'Madam' for?" Celeste asked, smiling. "I'm not ten years older than you."
Just then, Sierra walked up to them. "Hey, I brought the Constable to get Black." she said. "He said if he can identify the body as Black, then he will give us our reward."
"Great." Celeste replied.
The next day, the Constable returned with the reward for Black -- it was huge. That day, they talked to Jim about funeral arrangements for Jocelyn; they decided that the services would be held a week later.
Jack and Celeste went to the funeral extremely depressed. Jack didn't cry, but Celeste didn't stop until long after they got back to the Pearl.
For another two weeks, they prepared for the voyage home, having plenty to do. One night, Jack and Celeste stood up on deck in each other's arms, staring up at the stars.
Celeste sighed. "The stars are really pretty tonight, aren't they?"
"Aye, they are." Jack agreed. "You know... Jos told me that, er, she said that we seemed like we were made for each other... She said that she knew I'd protect you no matter what... an' that you seemed like you'd always love me..."
Celeste smiled. "Yes, I think she was right."
"So do I." Jack said. "I really do." He took a deep breath. "Darling..." he let go of her and took her hands in his and she looked up at him. They gazed into each other's eyes. "I love you."
She smiled. "I love you, too."
He took another deep breath. "Celeste Wyndham... will you marry me?"
She smiled as tears formed in her eyes, and with watery eyes, she replied: "I thought you'd never ask." They kissed. A few small raindrops began to fall as if the sky, too was crying. He had apparently been thinking about this for a while, since he then pulled a beautiful diamond ring out of his pocket and slipped it on her finger.
She sniffled. "You know... when I left Ruby Falls... I figured I'd made a mistake. I thought I wouldn't be able to live because I didn't know what I was going to do." she explained, still crying. "I never figured that it would be the start of the life I truly belong to... I certainly didn't think I'd get involved with that scoundrel of a pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow."
"An' I didn' think I'd get involved with that little brat who conned me into lettin' 'er onto me ship." Jack said, smiling. "Especially after she beat me in a duel."
Celeste laughed, but cried even more at the same time. She sniffled. "I didn't really think pirates got married. I thought they were so attached to their ships that they didn't need marriage."
"O' course we get married." Jack said. "'ow else would we make little pirates?"
Celeste laughed and dried her eyes. "Well, er, where would we get married? We aren't welcome in a lot of places, you know..."
"'ow 'bout 'ere?" he asked. "As soon as possible."
"I-I suppose we could." she replied, tears running down her cheeks. "Well, I suppose the soonest would be in about a month... it'd take that long to get everything ready."
"I can't wait." Jack said, and kissed her.
Finally! They are finally getting married!! Yay!! Happy happy happy!! But poor Jocelyn... A moment of silence.
Anyway, one more chapter to go! I really really hope you enjoyed it! Please, PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks. Love you all.