Chapter 12

Night falls. Outside can be heard the chirping of crickets and the croaking of bullfrogs coming from the swamp that's located on the outskirts of town. Port Royal is dark and still. In the distance, one can hear a banjo softly being played, probably by one of the town elders. "Oh Susannah" was the name of the song and it drifted throught the darkness, down the cobblestone streets and out to sea like a feather drifts on a breeze. Other than that, the night was eerily silent and the hour was late. Fireflies flew through the warm, sultry air and the moon was obscured by menacing clouds. The horizon shone with bright flashes of lightning but thunder was not to be heard, the storm was still a ways off. No person walked the street this night, no animals stirred in the jungle, the palmetto leaves draped in the heat. It was as if a spell had been placed on this little town and there was nothing for the townsfolk to do except wait it out and pick up the pieces in the morning. Little did they know, morning would bring greater turmoil.

Elizabeth felt it too. She had packed her things and was now lying in her bed, fully clothed. She knew he would come tonight. She knew that this was the end of everything familiar and that the last real pirate was here to whisk her away to a place found only in her dreams. She would go willingly, no matter what the price.

The Black Pearl slipped silently through the dark waters of the caribbean night, gliding past the Dauntless and the guards who kept watch over Fort Charles, the captain determined to plunder the treasure that had called to him from high above the town. Silently, the longboat was launched over the edge of the great ship and settled into the clear, deep water. The Pearl's captain took the small boats oars and rowed himself towards the strangely deserted docks. Stepping ashore, there was no need to either bribe or pay anyone, the night was theirs and theirs alone. Yes, he had paid greatly for this, but it would all be worth it.

Making his way up the winding road towards the Governor's mansion, Jack Sparrow saw not a single soul. As he walked past the few houses who were burning the midnight oil, he could hear the sounds of laughter and soft music, serenading him as he grew ever closer. He turned his attention to the harbour below, noting that the Pearl was barely visible on this moonless night, and that pleased him. It's always nice to make a clean getaway if at all possible, and tonight his luck seemed to be with him.

Arriving under Elizabeth's window, he started his climb up the stone wall of the house, careful to ensure he was not spotted by any passerbys. Reaching the window ledge, he quietly swung his leg over and into the room, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness he could see her feminine form lying and waiting for him.

"So, Ye come seeking adventure and salty old pirates, aye?"

Hearing this phrase took Elizabeth back to a time when she was young. Her answer was an honest one.

"Aye, Captain." She offered him a shy smile for she knew that this time he wouldn't leave her behind.

"Elizabeth" he said breathlessly, and immediately swept her to her feet and into his arms. Pulling her as close to him as he could get, he placed a warm, soft kiss on her sultry lips. He had waited a long time for this day. They both had, and now it had finally arrived.

"More of that later, love" he promised as he withdrew away from the embrace. "Time is growing short, we need to leave as soon as possible."

"Wait!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she quickly returned to her nightstand. Opening the drawer she pulled out a small, white envelope with a wax seal. "Mustn't forget this." she said.

The two of them were just about to climb out the same window that Jack had entered when they saw a small processional of soldiers marching past the house.

"We need to leave by the front." Elizabeth insisted. "We'll have to take our chances that nobody see's us."

Jack agrees and follows her down the darkened staircase and out into the front foyer. The servants were all sleeping as was her father, so leaving the house by the front door was relatively easy. They made their way out into the street and were halfway through town when they heard cannon fire coming from the fort. Jack, realizing that the Pearl had been spotted, immediately grabbed Elizabeth by the wrist and shackled her to him.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" she asked in astonishment.

"Listen darling. My ship is under attack, which means that soon Fort Charles will be under attack and every available soldier will be out in these streets preparing for a pirate attack. If they see you willingly going with me, how will that look for the Governor? Really deary, it was you who was concerned about such things as this, I'm only thinking of you."

Elizabeth rolls her eyes but she knows it's true. She can't have her father explaining her behaviour to the people of Port Royal, or worse yet, to the King of England. Jack was right, it must look like a kidnapping in order to save her father from any embarrassment. He'll have a hard enough time dealing with the unexpected loss of his only child, he certainly doesn't need any more grief thrust upon him. Before she has a chance to respond Jack picks her up and throws her over his shoulder.

"Might as well make the best of this." he announced.

Not exactly what she had in mind, Elizabeth started kicking her feet and hitting his back, demanding he put her down and allow her to walk properly. Jack ignored her pleas and continued to walk through the streets of the small town, figuring he'd take his time until it became necessary to make a run for it.

Will was returning home from an evening with his friends. There had been plenty of rum and even some beer, but he had partook of little of it, just enough to be social. The rest of the evening had been spent weaving tall tales and gambling away their week's earnings. When he was satisfied that he had stayed an appropriate length of time, he thanked his friends for thinking of him and his upcoming marriage, and excused himself by saying he had a long day of work ahead of him in the morning. It was fairly easy to make his escape, about half of the men were passed out and the other half were way too drunk to even notice who was coming and who was going.

As he walked down the road he passed by Elizabeth's house. Her window was at the back, but he was sure she was asleep at this late hour so he continued on his way. He was almost home when he saw to figures ahead of him, one a man and the other a woman and he watched as they walked close to each other. Too close to be just friends. Will smiled and his mind drifted to Elizabeth. Suddenly, his thoughts were broken by the sound of cannon fire but looking forward what really caught his attention was the obvious scuffle between the young lovers that were ahead of him. Upon closer scrutiny, Will began to recognize the two forms as being familiar to him, he also took notice of the chains attached to the young woman's wrists. Suddenly, the female figure was thrown over the shoulder of the other and it's this action that offers Will a frontal view of the woman's face.

"Elizabeth!" he said to himself. She was being kidnapped by pirates! Again! About to take matters into his own hands, he realized that the chances of successfully coming to her rescue were slim. He saw and heard the cannon fire and also the faint outline of a ship in the bay, the little town would be swarming with pirates soon. He turned and ran to the Governor's mansion bursting through the front door and heading up the stairs to get the assistance of the Governor and the Commodore. He got about a quarter of the way up when a small, white envelope lying on one of the stairs caught his attention. Picking it up he saw it bore the red seal of the East India Trading Company but before he had a chance to open it, the Governor and the Commodore were heading down the stairs just above him. Quickly he shoved the letter into his trowsers and ran up to meet them.

"It's a pirate attack! They've taken..." but before he had a chance to complete his sentence, the Commodore interrupted.

"Mr Turner, go upstairs and get Elizabeth, then make your way to the fort as quickly as possible! You can tell me the rest later!" And with that he was gone. Will, knowing it was pointless to go any further into the house, returned to the now crowded streets of Port Royal.

Jack only had to run a short distance before reaching the boat, he had placed Elizabeth on it's floor to keep her protected from the cannonballs that were whizzing above their heads. He ended up having to bind and gag her afterall, she didn't take kindly to being carried through the streets like a sack of flour and if he wanted to make a quiet break for the ship through the water, he'd need as much silence as possible. Besides, he kind of liked her in that position. He smiled to himself as he thought about what he would do to her once they were alone in his cabin and sped up his rowing at this incentive.

Finally reaching the Pearl he maneuvered himself to the far side of the ship, some ropes had been thrown down for him to climb and the remaining he re-attached to the longboat. Making his way up the side of the ship with Elizabeth over his shoulder was not easy, but finally he reached the railing and hoisted himself over. Setting her down on the wooden deck still bound up, he set about issuing orders to turn the ship around and get them out of there as quickly as possible. Tonight was not the night for plundering. He looked around and seeing Gibbs he walked up to him and helped himself to a spot of rum.

Twisting off the cap he asked, "What set them off?"

"Mid Watchmen aboard the Dauntless, we forgot to take them in to account, sir. The last time we were here, the Dauntless was out to sea."

"Aye. No harm done." And with that he handed the empty flask to Gibbs and walked back to the squirming, tied up figure on the deck.

"No harm done?" Gibbs asked himself as he looked around at the many broken boxes, shattered pieces of ship and sail that lay on the deck due to their recent attack. "Obviously he's not on cleaning detail in the morning!"

Jack picked up Elizabeth and once again tossed her over his shoulder. Squirming the way she was it was difficult to hold her in place, but he made it to the door of his quarters. Kicking the door shut behind him, he carried her over to the bed and tossed her down, then standing over her he looked her up and down, smiling mischeviously.

"Now, what am I going to do with you, Miss Swann?" Tracing her curves with his fingers he laid down next to her now still body. Her pupils dilated to their fullest as the soft, glowing light from the many candles placed around the room spilled across her features.

"I guess I can remove this. You will be a good girl for ol' Jack, won't you Elizabeth? Course it really doesn't matter now, darling. I've got you and you'll be going nowhere except into the horizon and the freedom beyond. In the meantime, it makes it much easier to kiss you if I take off this..." He reaches behind her head and unties the gag he had placed over her mouth earlier. Before Elizabeth has a chance to respond he's upon her, kissing her as passionately and as deeply as someone experiencing love for the first time. She breathes in his scent and it fills her nostrils with the smell of the sea with a hint of rum as a base note to his unique fragrance. She responded to his kiss with one of her own, and she wondered if he was growing as restless as she.

Freeing her from the chains around her wrist, Jack began to remove Elizabeth's clothes, he wasn't interested in being subtle this time, they had both waited so long for this night that taking things slow was only prolonging the torture they both had been in for so long. Elizabeth helped Jack with his clothing as well, and soon they found themselves enveloped in each others arms, flesh agains flesh. She felt his hardness between her legs and pushed herself against him, urging him to get as close as possible. Jack responded this time and gently slid between her legs and started to move easily due to the wetness that was there.

"I've waited so long for this, darling" he whispered "You feel so soft, and warm that I can hardly believe I made it this long. Course had I of known it was like this, I would have taken you sooner. In front of Will, infact."

"And I would have let you." was the only response she could muster. All she could feel was his hardness stroking inside of her, and thinking about who was doing this to her was making her wetter and wetter.

He continued to stroke her, tasting her with his mouth and exploring her breasts with his fingers, while he moved inside of her. He felt her begin to tremble and he knew she was close to being his, so quickening his pace he began softly coaxing her on.

"That's right, Lizzie! Let it all out, for ol' Jack. Show him how much you want this, ...how much you want him. I want you too, Lizzie. The things you do to me, the thoughts I've had about you."

This was all Elizabeth could take, her orgasm came swiftly but Jack expertly maintained it as long as possible while she dug her fingers into his back. He, too, followed closely behind her, moaning her name into her ear.

As the two came back to earth, the sound of cannon fire had ceased and Elizabeth noticed that there no longer seemed to be a sense of urgency in the air. Jack must have picked up on her thoughts for as he held her in his arms, caressing her cheek he began to speak.

"We're almost free now, love. Morning will take care of the rest." he leans in and gently kisses her forehead.

Satisfied with what he had just told her, she closes her eyes and dreams of freedom.