Chapter 15: Tortuga Bound

Author's note: I'd just like to take this time to thank my ever faithful friend and reviewer G.emini S.hadow. She has reviewed on every chapter I think on all of my stories and always has something nice to say in her reviews. Thank you girlie!! (big hug and a HUGE Jack Sparrow poster to G.emini S.hadow) Well, now that I've had my moment, on with the story!! Depp's Girl
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A month later, Jack's fleet was sailing into harbor in Aruba. Isabella had made Jack stop there so she could tell her sister Roxanne about the wedding and her pregnancy. She had already the crews of all three ships and they had had another party in the unborn child's honor. Isabella had stopped drinking so much when she found out she was pregnant for her child's health. As the ships pulled into harbor, a crowd gathered on the docks, curious as to why the pirates were back so early. Among the people in the crowd was Roxanne von Tassel. Isabella made her way down the Phantom's gangplank and met up with Jack on the docks.

"Isabella!" a voice called from the crowd. Isabella searched for the owned of the voice and saw her sister making her way over.

"Roxanne. Jus' the pirate I was lookin' fer." Isabella said smiling. She released Jack's arm and embraced her sister in a big hug.

"Why are ye back so soon?" Roxanne inquired, curiosity dancing in her eyes.

"Well…I found out I'm pregnant, then Jack asked me t' marry 'im, so I'm now Isabella Sparrow an' expectin' a girl." Isabella replied, showing her sister the emerald ring on her finger. Isabella had looked through the goods they had gotten from the Rose and had found a yellow gold ring with a ruby in the center and had given it to Jack as a wedding ring. Roxanne could see the ruby catch the sunlight as Jack shifted his weight and saw that her sister wasn't lying. Roxanne screamed in excitement as she studied her sister's ring and then threw her arms around her sister and hugged her.

"This is incredible!"

"An' that means yer gonna be an aunt when this is all said and done." Isabella reminded her sister.

"I know it!" Roxanne was beaming with pride almost as much as her sister and new brother-in-law. Roxanne invited the newlyweds to spend the night at her house and they accepted. Roxanne lived in a pretty but simple ranch-style house on the edge of town on the beach. Jack and Isabella's room had a spectacular view of the ocean and had a little deck to sit on to watch the tides and the sun rise and set. There were two white wicker chairs on the deck and while Isabella helped Roxanne in the kitchen with dinner, Jack sat out on the little deck and enjoyed the evening.

The next morning, the fleet was Tortuga bound. Roxanne had packed her trunk the previous night and was sailing on the Phantom with her sister. She wanted to be with Isabella when she went into labor, some 8 months away, so she decided to go to Tortuga when the fleet left. Now, strong winds and a calm sea were the conditions that were driving the fleet home. Roxanne appeared on deck around noon and went up to the helm where her sister stood, steering the Phantom for Tortuga.

"Hey Izzy?"

"Mmh?"

"Ye never told me how ye acquired that new ship." Roxanne pointed out. With that said, Isabella smiled and launched into the story. Over on the Pearl, Jack was once again lost in a memory……

FLASHBACK……
The Pearl and the Phantom arrive in harbor in La Coruña Spain. The king is on the docks along with the queen and they anxiously await the knowledge of their son's fate. The young Isabella appears at the top of the Phantom's gangplank with the young prince in her arms, smiling. A cheer rises from the crowd as Isabella makes her way onto the docks where she meets up with Jack. The two pirates, one still carrying the young prince, make their way through the crowd to the end of a long red carpet that leads to the king and queen. Isabella puts Alfonso down and he runs into his mother's arms.

"Señorita Isabella." (translation: Miss Isabella) the king begins. Isabella grows nervous as all eyes land on her. "Come here please." Isabella slowly releases Jack's arm and walks down the carpet to the king.

"Yes yer Majesty?" Isabella's eyes stare at the ground. She shifts her weight from one foot to the other nervously.

"You have rescued my son and have returned him to me. And for that, I owe you something…" Before the king can continue, the Spanish captain is brought forward by Kristen as a prisoner and held at gun point.

"Ah, a prisoner."

"Aye sir. This is the captain of the Spanish vessel that kidnapped yer son." Isabella informs the king, her eyes now resting on him. The king looks into Isabella's gorgeous eyes and has his guards take the prisoner. He then unsheathes a beautiful sword. It has a pure silver blade and a pure golden hilt studded with rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds that glittered in the afternoon sun. Engraved on the blade was a beautiful poem in Spanish:

Mayo la subida del camino para satisfacerle, puede el viento estar siempre en su parte posteriora. Mayo el brillo caliente sobre su cara, la caída del sol de las lluvias suave sobre sus campos y, hasta que satisfacemos otra vez, puede asimiento del dios usted en la palma de su mano.

(translation: May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields and, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.)

Isabella accepts the beautiful blade and receives a kiss on the forehead from the king himself. She blushes furiously and thanks the king from the bottom of her heart. She rises to her feet and turns and walks back down the carpet to Jack, sword in hand. The two pirates bow to the royal family and turn and make their way back to their ships. Once on board the Phantom, the ships begin to pull out of the harbor to cheers of "Viva Isabella!" Isabella smiles and goes to her cabin where she mounts the magnificent sword on the wall over her fireplace……

PRESENT……
Jack climbed up into the rigging to the Main Royal Yard while Anamaria stood at the helm. He looked over to the Phantom and saw Isabella lying in her hammock in the Main Royal Yard and reading a book. He smiled to himself and straddled the beam he was standing on and leaned back against the mainmast, enjoying the breeze and view.

"Ahoy there Jack!" a woman's voice called. Jack's eyes were closed and he didn't bother opening them to find out who had yelled.

"Ahoy Izzy!" Jack called back, eyes still closed. "Lovely weather we're havin' today."

"Indeed." Isabella agreed. "Couldn't ask fer better weather." Jack finally opened his eyes and looked across the way to Isabella. She was sitting up in her hammock that was gently rocking in the wind and looking over at him.

"I can't wait t' get 'ome." Isabella said after a moment of silence.

"Yea, neither can I." Jack replied with a nod. "It'll be nice t' be back in Tortuga." Jack loved being out at sea, he always had. But there came a time when it was nice to have firm ground underfoot. But then Jack remembered. Once they got home, they weren't going to be doing any hard-core fighting, if any fighting at all, for 8 months. It's a sacrifice I'll just have t' make. Jack concluded. Cause I'm not jus' gonna leave Isabella 'ome while I sail and pillage and plunder and raid. It was going to be hard to be off the Pearl for that long, but it would be worth it. Jack and Isabella remained in the rigging of their ships conversing over the water with one another until the first dog watch of the evening began. Jack rose to his feet and, keeping his balance, took hold of a nearby rope and swung down to the deck below.

"Hey Jack." Jack turned and faced the Phantom where he caught Isabella's eye.

"Aye?"

"Care t' join me fer dinner? I'm cookin'." Isabella offered.

"With you cookin', wild mustangs couldn't stop me from joinin' ye." Jack replied with a smile. Isabella returned the smile, her eyes sparkling.

"It'll be ready in 20 minutes." Isabella informed her husband. Jack nodded and she disappeared below deck to prepare their meal. Jack turned and headed for his cabin.

Twenty minutes later, Jack returned to the main deck and ventured over to the port railing where he grabbed a rope, hopped up onto the railing and swung over to the Phantom. Upon landing on the deck, he was met by the heavenly aroma of an Italian dinner that only Isabella could prepare. Jack closed his eyes and followed his nose to the beautiful dining room where Isabella was waiting with the food on the table.

"I was startin' t' wonder how long it would take fer ye t' smell the food." Isabella said with a laugh. Jack's gorgeous eyes opened slowly and fixed on Isabella. She smiled and made her way around the table and into his arms. He kissed her and she kissed him back, arms wrapped tight around his neck.

"You ready t' eat?" Isabella asked, staring up into Jack's deep chocolate brown eyes.

"Hell yea." Isabella pulled out of Jack's arms and moved back to her chair. She sat down and Jack took a spot across the table from her. Then they dished out food and began to eat. There was spaghetti with homemade meatballs and sauce, a Caesar salad complete with dressing, a fruit plate consisting of grapes, watermelon, kiwi, apples, oranges, bananas, and strawberries, toasted ravioli with tomato sauce (homemade naturally), and an incredible red wine. Isabella's cooking was the best in the Caribbean in Jack's opinion. Her mother had been a very wealthy Italian and had passed down the family recipes to Isabella. Midway through the meal, Isabella struck up conversation.

"How's the food, Jack?"

"Incredibile il mio caro. Magnifico" (translation: Incredible my dear. Magnificent.) Jack replied in Italian. He spoke English, French, and Italian fluently and had been working on Spanish at one point in his life, but had discontinued his study at some time. So Jack was trilingual while Isabella was multi-lingual, knowing a total of six languages.

"Grazie molto Jack." (translation: Thank you very much Jack.) Isabella replied in Italian. Dinner continued with conversation in Italian until midnight. Then, Jack helped Isabella clear the table and joined her in her cabin where they fell asleep in each other's arms in Isabella's canopy bed.
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Author's Note: Alright! The flashback story has finally been finished and now we know the history behind the magnificent sword in Isabella's cabin. Hope ye liked this chapter! Please R&R!! Thanx a bunch! - Depp's Girl