Chapter four: Port Maria

"Else?" Else looked up to see Jack and Bootstrap standing before her. "I need you to go with Bootstrap, savvy?"

"Savvy meaning?"

"Understand. Say your married, or something." Else raised her eyebrows, and stood up from where she was cleaning her floor in the small cabin. She brushed the dirt of the knees of her breeches, and put her hands on her hips.

"Er..." Else stalled, not exactly sure if she wanted to be one of the people bringing back information.

"Come on!" Bill said, grinning wickedly. "Being married to me cant be all that bad." He took a step towards her, and nudged her in the arm. She let herself be pushed, then took a step away.

"Fine."

"Haha!"

"Now–" Jack cut into Bill's laughing. "Wear a dress, nothing fancy, maybe a low neck line. Try to be as inconspicuous as possible." Both men walked out to allow the blonde a little privacy to change into a drab gray dress, with a slightly low neck line, to allow the very top of her small breasts to peak through. Else walked out, she and Bill walked slowly to the port on the beach. As they strolled down the long stretch of sand, Else grumbled, hiking her skirt up just above her ankles.

"I think it looks worse. A woman to go into a pub." Else spat the word woman like it was a vile mix of filth. Bill looked over at her and shook his head.


Else was idling in the shadows, behind the small tavern Bill was currently in. She had her hand on the single pistol she carried, inside her pocket.

"Yes...but did you hear about Rackham?"

"Calico Jack? Yeah, I heard. Ever since Blackbeard went...they have been rounding us up like a bunch of cattle." Else's head snapped up, and she saw Bill coming out of the tavern back door, just besides her. He had with him a man.

This man, undoubtedly a pirate, was wearing a crimson waist coast and breeches. His hat had a large red plume in it, and she saw a glint of something around his neck. In the shadows she saw he was most likely dark and handsome.

"Else?" Bill looked around for her, and started when he saw her standing just to his left.

"This is Roberts." He gestured to the other man, who bowed deeply.

"My first name is Bartholomew." He said rising, a wicked smile on his lips.

"Oh.." Else was amazed that she indeed was face to face with this famous pirate. There was a silence, and Bill cleared his throat.

"Would you like to come back to the ship? We are looking into something that might interest you." The odd party started walking towards the beach again, but Roberts shook his head.

"I heard what you were discussing in there. And the answer is no. I was raised a Christian, but I'll damned if I go gallivanting after some cursed treasure." He stopped when they reached to where the sand met the cobblestone.

"Where are you going next? Bill asked, turning around.

"Africa." He waved them off and headed back to the small town.

"He has got to be the strangest pirate I have ever seen." Else shook her head, then as she and Bill started towards the beach, plagued him with questions.

"We'll discuss it in the captain's cabin!" He said gruffly, annoyed by this woman's constant badgering.

They walked in silence, and rounded the small bend that would easily put them in plain view of the Black Pearl..

"Hey Bill?"

"Yeah?"

"There is something wrong with the ship"

"Nah, I think it went out for a midnight stroll." He sneered, as they ran to the small rowboat hidden by the lava rock. Else made to get in, as Bill was pulling it to the water, but he stopped her.

"If Captain was captured by the navy, he would be in the local jail right now. I'll go to the ship, you try to find him here." Else nodded once and turned on her heel to run. Hiking up her skirts, and damming it all to hell, she ran as fast as she could through the thick sand, her heart in the back of her throat. This had never happened before, and she would be damned if it ever did.


"...And you want to see who?" A very irritable guard was glaring down at Else, his arms folded across his broad chest.

"Just lemme see him! I'll give you some money for your trouble..."

"Yeah, you'll give me money. I was bloody sleeping, if you didn't notice." Else was trying hard not to lose her temper with this guard. She already woke him up by pounding on his door for twenty minutes.

"Fine." Else muttered. She turned around then in a fit of desperation–realizing she held no money– turned back around and punched the man in his throat. He went down fast and with no noise. She searched his pockets, and found a large ring of keys.

"Damn." She muttered. "This will take all bloody night." Else indeed did look up into the night sky, almost snarling at it. She stepped over the body of the man and walked into the split level jail.

"I am so not getting paid enough for this." She called out as she walked down the short stairway. "We need to negotiate the amount of money I take in, as apposed to the chance amount of time I do this again." She rounded the last step of the dim jail, and saw Jack instantly, in the first and most locked down cell.

"Something tells me this isn't the first time." Else rolled her eyes, and kneeled down besides the cell door, and pulled out the large key ring.

"Who did you kill?" Jack had an eyebrow raised at her. He was on the other side of the small cell, on the floor with his back against the cot that hung by thick metal chains. He had his coat, belt, and boots off, idly stretched out with his ankles crossed.

"A very pleasant and accommodating young man in arms. Shame really." She said and Jack let forth a small titter. There had to be about three hundred keys on the ring.

"Saw Roberts today," Else said, her tongue clamped between her teeth.

"As in the 'Great Pirate Roberts?'"

"Mhm. The very same."

"Where was he going?" Jack always held this man in respect. He hadn't been known too long, but when Jack was a small boy, he had once ran into the young Bartholomew.

"Africa, I think he said. Bill offered for him to join us. He practically shirked away." She was still trying to find the right key.

"Oh. Here, give me the damn ring." Else handed him the large key ring through the bars, and he flicked through it for a minute.

"Try this one." Jack handed her the ring back, with a small silver key predominate.

Else tried it, and there was a loud clank when the lock undid and the large heavy cell door swung open.

"What the...?"

"It was the only silver one, mate." Jack said smiling. He got up and rounded the few things together, throwing them on as he went.

"I have a question." Else started as she and Jack made their way to the beach.

"And?"

"Just how are we going to get to the ship?"

"Now that is a very good question, El. A very good question indeed." Jack stood at the edge of the water, the ocean slowly lapping at his feet.

Else was startled to see him standing there, regarding the ocean and its occupants. And they way the water almost moved around him...it seemed like they respected one another.

"I'm not that good of a swimmer." Else said after a brief moment. Jack looked over his shoulder at her, then back at the ocean.

"That's ok." Without another moment of hesitation, he started walking into the water, and finally dived, swimming. She lost him as he swam all the way to the Black Pearl. Withing five minutes of him arriving on the ship, a small tender was lowered and a single man rowed to shore.

"Hello. Didn't expect to see you again." Else gasped as the small row boat came to shore, and the man she thought she would most likely never see was sitting in it.

"Er.." Else was quite dumbstruck. Captain Bartholomew Roberts was smiling charmingly up at her, then with a flourish of his hands, he gestured to the seat in front of him.

"We don't have all night. The sun is about to come up."