CHAPTER NINE

Clearly you've never been to Singapore.

Jack awoke with a start as the ship docked. He looked out the small circular window behind him. The port they had stopped at was not where they were supposed to be going. They were in fact in Singapore. Jack smiled to himself and laughed. Oh well, at least it was better than where they were supposed to be going. But, before Jack could finish his thoughts in walked a stocky guard. Jack rolled his eyes at the man and sat back in his cell.

'You! Sparrow?' the guard said in a strong voice as he walked up to the front of Jacks cell.

'Aye.' Jack said, seemingly relaxed. He had his hat low over his eyes and his shirt falling over his tanned shoulders.

'We are here' the guard said curtly, turning around, quick to get away from the dangerous pirate.

Jack stood up uneasily in his cell and sighed. Oh well, at least he wasn't going to that horrible Island. Jack lifted his hat so that he could see and swaggered unsteadily out of his cell. The pirate surfaced onto the deck of the ship and walked over to Norrington who was standing surrounded by a mob of his men.

'Commodore' Jack said in acknowledgement as he walked past him towards to front of the boat.

'Hold up there you!' said one of the guards.

Jack turned around slowly and looked at the man. He raised a dark eyebrow and walked once again over to him. As Jack walked to the man, the soldier took out a pair of irons and clapped them around Jacks' wrists. Jack winced slightly at the roughness of the guard. Strange, he thought to himself, They can be bothered to clap me in irons, but not lock me in me cell. Jack shrugged and obeyed the guards orders. There was no point getting on the wrong side of them when he would probably be near them all for a while.


Joshamee Gibbs rolled over in his four poster bed. Will and Elizabeth had been kind enough to give him somewhere to stay. Though, Mr. Gibbs didn't feel as comfortable in Swann Manor as he did on the pearl. Gibbs slowly rose from the bed and looked in the mirror in front of him. His grey beard shone in the sun that filtered through the window and his sun-kissed skin made him look in fact older than be was. He ran a hand through his slowly thinning hair and smiled wryly to himself. Today, they were to set off in search of Jack.

The Pearl was waiting at the docks. The crew had to pay three shillings each to keep their identity a secret. Elizabeth and Will were to go with the crew on their journey. In fact, they insisted that they go.

As Joshamee walked out of the room he noticed Elizabeth and Will come out of theirs too. They were fully dressed and were obviously ready to leave as soon as possible. They both smiled at him.

'Good morning Mr. Gibbs' they said in unison. They both laughed at their timing and went on down the stairs. Gibbs followed them, wearing the same clothes he had for so many years.

They all met for breakfast in the dining hall. A wide assortment of fresh fruits had been placed on silver trays for them to sink their teeth into. Elizabeth and Will sat next to each other and Mr. Gibbs sat opposite them, spreading a large parchment map out in front of them. He flattened all the wrinkles out of it and lent over it.

'Now, we have to get here...' As he said this he pointed to a small country named Terra Australis. Elizabeth and Will nodded. '...and to get there we need to go this way.' He traced the simplest possible route with his withered index finger. 'Is that clear?' he asked in a patient tone of voice.

Elizabeth and Will nodded silently and smiled at Mr. Gibbs. They sipped their tea and ate a small amount of breakfast. None of the trio were up to eating they were too apprehensive, but excited about the coming events.


Mr. Gibbs, Will and Elizabeth finally finished their breakfast with minimal conversation and raised from their seats. They made their way out into the courtyard and down the stone path. Elizabeth nodded at the guards at the wrought-iron gates and proceeded out of them.

In the distance they could see the faint silhouette of the Black Pearl. Elizabeth smiled as she saw it. It brought back fond memories but also troubled ones. It was on that very ship that she had met Captain Jack Sparrow, the very man who saved her, and now it was time for her to return the favor. But, that ship made her remember of Barbossa and his crew, the crew who had forced her into that wretched cave and sliced her palm open, but then, that night she had made her feelings for Will truly known. Elizabeth looked over at her husband-to-be. He had a plain look on his face, no emotion shown at all, but she could tell his mind was full of the same memories as hers was. She squeezed his hand tightly and smiled at him. He, in turn, smiled back as they proceeded onto the dock.

The Pearl was in exactly the same condition as it was one year ago. The crew were going about their daily business, which wasn't much. Some of them were playing cards, others sitting around sharing stories each other had heard hundreds of times. When Mr. Gibbs walked over the ship the whole crew stopped what they were doing and looked at Will and Elizabeth . They all smiled kindly at them, their un-brushed teeth a perfect comparison to Elizabeth and Wills' clean ones.

The first to greet them was Anamaria. She still looked the same, though her long ebony hair was now even longer, almost past her elbows. She still had the same hat and same clothes she had worn last year, with the added effect of a few more pieces of jewellery and trinkets. She smiled kindly and enveloped Elizabeth and Will in a tight hug. She pulled back and inspected them, obviously longing for the same dress Elizabeth wore.

'Well. Nice to see you again.' The woman pirate said kindly. Elizabeth felt sorry for her, being the only woman on board amongst all of those men.

'Nice to see you too' Elizabeth said, smiling at Anamaria. She looked around the ship, hoping they would find Jack soon. She felt, for some reason, that they didn't have much time left.


Jack was left to freely roam around the streets of Singapore. The mentality of the Navy was that as long as they weren't with Jack he wasn't their problem. The pirate caught a few odd glances as he walked the streets. The British had set up various trading posts in Singapore and were competing with the Dutch in a fierce colonisation race and needed a port of call to house their merchant fleet. Jack had been to Singapore before as a stowaway on one of the merchant vessels about three years previous.

As the captain walked through the dirty streets he noticed poor families fishing in the ocean. It was the only way for them to earn a living. Whilst their parents fished the children played naked in the cold ocean. Jack only wished he could be that carefree, but he didn't really fancy freezing his unmentionables in the cold seawater.

Mr. Sparrow walked through an alleyway and found himself in a small marketplace. People were selling food, gold jewellery, precious stones and various other...shall we say...services. Jack would have, not long ago, taken up one of these enticing offers, but he was now content with his new bachelor status and intended to wait for the right woman to come along.

Jack stopped at a stall and picked up a small dagger. He handed a gold piece to the stall-holder and tucked his purchase in one of his leather boots. He had lost his previous weapon when the Navy had searched him. The pirate needed somewhere to stay overnight. He searched for a small inn or something of that nature. He smiled to himself as he saw a small pub with a sign swinging off the door. It was written in Chinese with a concise english translation below. Since Jacks' Chinese was poor he decided on the English version:

Hoshikos' Inn.

Accommodation for one gold-piece per night.

Hot soups and Ales.

Come in and stay a while.

Jack decided to proceed through the door. The inn was warm and inviting, People, both Caucasian and Singaporean sat around tables and drank, talking animatedly to their friends. Jack was lucky to land an English speaking person when he approached the bar.

' 'ello luv' he said to the woman at the bar. She had her hair in a high black bun and her eyes lined with dark kohl like Jacks'. She smiled kindly at him and obviously recognised him as the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. She wiped her hands on the white apron around her thin waist and looked him up and down.

'Hello' she said kindly. She was well spoken, obviously with a good upbringing.

'Can I get a room?' Jack asked, leaning closer so he could hear her. It was awfully loud in the inn.

'Certainly' she said cheerfully. She handed him a brass key and smiled as it transferred from her hand to his. Jack smiled in return as he took it.

'Thank you kindly.' He said, nodding in gratitude and made his way to the wooden stairs.

Jack made his way up the creaking staircase. It was high and narrow, not a good combination. Finally, after about fifty steps Jack got to the end of the stairs. He stepped out and saw a large row of doors. Which one? He thought to himself as he scoured the hall. He looked at his key and noticed on it was engraved a number – 12 - Jack smiled, twelve was right in front of him. He slid the key into its hole and turned it. They key was a bit stiff at first but soon loosened, letting him open the door.

He revealed to his eyes a fairly mid-sized room. It contained the basics, a bed, dressing table, and a small wash basin on the right wall. The walls were painted in a hideous green colour and the bedsheets were yellow, probably once white. The room smelt of urine and dust, a strange and questionable smell for a room. Jack shrugged and ignored the displeasing scent. He threw his effects and hat on the floor at the base of the bed and sat on it, the springs stuck hard into him and some were coming out of the mattress. Jack fell backwards on the uncomfortable bed and closed his eyes, wishing he were back with his Pearl and the crew.


The crew aboard the Black Pearl were glad to have some new blood on board, if you could call Will and Elizabeth New Blood. Mr. Gibbs, they found out, had a wonderful musical talent. He had picked up a set of panpipes on his recent trip to Asia. He played them superbly and the rest of the crew danced along with them, Elizabeth and Anamaria singing along to Joshamees' tune.

But, one person who was not enjoying himself was Will Turner. He sat, sullen faced, watching the rest of the crew enjoy themselves. Will was picking dirt out from under his fingernails. He was deeply worried for Jack, what if they had killed him. The blacksmith had an awful feeling they were not heading to the right place, but they should be sailing to another destination.

As the evening wound down Elizabeth approached Will and took his hand.

'Are you all right?' she asked in a tone of deep concern.

'Yes, I'm fine' he said dully and led her to where they were to sleep. The room was nice, comfortable. It had two hammocks suspended on hooks to the roof. Will hadn't slept on his own for a while, but he would have to get used to it. This journey was going to be a long one.

'If you say so' Elizabeth said as she slipped into her nightdress. It was the only thing she had brought with her other than herself. She let it fall past her waist as she agilely jumped up into her hessian hammock. Will followed suit by taking off his shirt and climbing into his own.

'I'm worried, Will' Elizabeth said quietly as she turned to face him on the wall opposite her. She untied her hair and let it fall in front of her face.

'As am I' Will said tiredly.

The couple continued to talk for some time, before slowly drifting off to sleep. Their sleep was sound, but troubled by thoughts of the fate of Captain Jack Sparrow.


Meanwhile Jack had since eaten and drank. He had resumed his same position on the frighteningly uncomfortable bed and tried to sleep, but was worried about his crew, the Pearl and Elizabeth and Will. He wished to go back to the way things were before, before he had gone to Port Royale. He wished he was back to the old times. Happy. With his crew. Carefree, like the children he had seen before. And now, he had his own life and the life of others hanging precariously in the balance.

The pirate sighed and slipped slowly but surely into a light and troubled sleep.