Ch. 7

Marie slung down the last of the supplies and sloshed through the water to help bring the rowboat ashore. Shouldering their heavy packs, the half of the crew that was to explore with Jack began to follow him through the thick vegetation. She was less than thrilled to see that her father and Blackbird were with them, but the presence of Juan made things a bit better.

"And here I was thinking that I'd joined this crew to sail," Juan muttered under his breath. "How silly of me."

Marie laughed slightly. "I have to admit, when I think of pirates, I generally don't picture navigating the marshy undergrowth on a tropical island," she replied as the thick mud sucked at her boots, hindering every step.

"Oh, come on you two," Blackbird said, coming up behind them. "You're the youngest people on this crew! I'm older than both of you combined, and I'm not having any trouble, so no complaining."

"We weren't complaining, Blackbird," Marie argued. "We were simply discussing the unique nature of our situation." Blackbird simply shrugged and pressed ahead of them. Marie thought she caught a mischievous wink as her aunt passed by, but she couldn't be sure.

They came to a sudden stop in a relatively dry clearing. "This looks about as good as anything we'll get tonight," Jack said, looking around. "Set up camp."

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Within minutes they had a lively fire going and Neely had a thin stew simmering in a pot over the blaze. The men sat around the fire, using logs and stray stones as seats. Soon they were singing and talking and laughing as if nothing was out of the ordinary and they were still in the galley of the Black Pearl. Several of the men pulled out pipes, and Marie was surprised to see Will produce one of his own. He had never openly smoked at home, but she quickly dismissed the thought and turned her attention to the fire. Will was a different man around his crewmates.

"So there I stood, surrounded by twenty or more o' them bloody redcoats," Clark was saying in a low voice. "Every one of 'em armed with a sword, rifle, and plenty o' munitions to spare. An' their leader says t'me, 'Give it up, scum. You're surrounded.'" He paused, clearly enjoying the attention. Finally, he continued, "So I spat in his face, looked 'im straight in th' eye, an' I says, 'Ain't no bloody way I'm goin' with the likes of ye without a fight.' Killed 'em all, I did, then an' there. They got what was comin' to 'em." He grinned savagely and took a long draw out of his pipe, content to have gotten his share of fame.

"So…I'm sorry, I'm a bit unclear on the details here…" Blackbird said, frowning in confusion. "Was…was this before or after Will and I came looking for you, only to find you on your knees begging for mercy and swearing you'd lead a 'respectable life', if only they'd let you go?"

The men laughed loudly as Clark's face grew a deep shade of red. " 'tweren't beggin'," he muttered crossly. "I was just settin' 'em up; tryin' to catch 'em off guard, ya see? I woulda killed every one of 'em, had you two not come an' interfered."

"I'm sure you would have, mate," Will said mildly. Clark simply scowled and said nothing, suddenly fascinated by the bowl of stew in his hands.

"Want to get out of here?" Juan asked quietly as the rest of the men went back to singing.

Marie nodded gratefully and stood up. "I thought you'd never ask."

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Will frowned in concern as he watched Marie and Juan disappear noiselessly into the trees. He started to stand up, but was stopped by Blackbird grabbing his sleeve.

"Sit," she said absently. "What's the matter? Your little girl growing up too fast for you?"

"No," he replied, a little more sharply than he'd intended to. "It's just…it's something…They're not supposed to leave camp."

"And you haven't been known to break the rules from time to time?" Blackbird asked casually. "Leave them be, Will. Marie's a good lass."

"She's still young and inexperienced. She thinks she's invincible," Will muttered, standing up again. "I'll be back."

"Don't do anything stupid," she called after him, but Will had already disappeared through the trees.

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"Where are we going?" Marie asked when they were a safe distance away from the camp.

Juan just smiled and shook his head. "You'll see," he replied mysteriously. They had gone a bit further when he suddenly stopped and pushed aside a screen of branches, revealing a crystal pond fed by a small waterfall. The moonlight reflected up off the water and cast a silver glow over the scene.

Marie sat down on a smooth rock that overlooked the water. "It looks so peaceful."

He nodded and joined her on the rock. "We're finally alone," he whispered, kissing her gently on the cheek.

"I know," Marie sighed. "My father's been watching me like a hawk all day. I don't know why he won't trust me."

"At least yours acknowledges your existence," Juan said quietly.

"Still having problems with Jack?"

"Not really…it's just…it's like I'm not even there in his eyes. Maybe it was a mistake to say anything at all."

Marie rested her head lightly against his chest. "It'll be alright in the end, Juan," she said softly. The silence was broken by a twig snapping behind them. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Juan said looking around. "We should probably head back to camp, though, before we're missed."

Marie nodded reluctantly and stood up. She didn't say anything as they made their way back to camp, but she had a pretty good idea as to what had made the sound.

A/N: Relatively short chapter...the next one should be bit better...things finally start to get interesting...please review!