Chapter 10
Lena's Journal - August 2, 1729
Until we reach Shipwreck Cove, I can only guess what the date is to the best of my knowledge. Hopefully my counting is not too far off. Regardless, I am trying my best to not worry about it as I had the other day. I have no desire to go through such an emotional reaction again, though at least I know Jack is by my side.
I still find it hard to believe that he actually said those words to me. There are many things I know he loves, such as the Black Pearl, being at sea, and even rum. Even thinking about it now is setting my heart racing. I feel like a silly teenager again, thinking about all those conversations with Lizzy when we were younger. Except now I have something true to tell her and she isn't here to tell it too.
There is so much to think about though. I love Jack, and I know he meant those words as well. For how often he is willing to manipulate people's feelings for his own ends, that has never been the case between us. But what he hopes to accomplish in the end worries me. And I have no one to speak to about this. Lizzy has never understood my relationship with Jack, not truly. On top of that, she has absolutely no trust in him. To try to explain his plan, even vaguely, would have her questioning my sanity.
Perhaps I should be questioning my own sanity. Either way, I meant what I told him. I have every intention of standing by his side wherever it may take us. I can only hope it doesn't go against everything I stand for in the end.
"Trusting me to the end regardless of the plan. That is exactly why I love you."
Lena was certain that those words were going to cause her to fall overboard. Despite her best efforts to stay focused and actually help on deck as they made their way to Shipwreck Cove, she was utterly useless. All she kept thinking about were those words he had said to her. There had been no hesitation from him and admittedly, there had been no hesitation from her when she had caused them to delay their exit from the cabin. Granted, it was a delay neither of them were ever against.
"If yer gonna be up here with that disgustin' face, least ye could do is make yerself useful while doin' so," Barbossa groaned as he walked up to Lena, a roll in his eyes as he took the rope from her, retying the knot she had been more or less loosening for the last five minutes.
Jumping as the rope was removed from her hands, she looked over to her previous captain as he made quick work of the knot. Clearly she needed to pay closer attention to her surroundings. "I don't know what you mean. I have the same face as always," she shot back casually. Now, his statement about being useful was probably clear to every member of the crew by this point.
"I think not," Barbossa scoffed. "Whatever is goin' on between you and Jack, leave it in the cabin. Now is not the place to be stuck in yer head. The way to Shipwreck Cove is not a simple trip."
Lena straightened up as she tilted her head, curious. "So it's named rightfully so?"
"Aye, even those knowledgeable of its location may find maneuvering to its port treacherous."
She almost believed him. "Why would you pick a location so difficult to reach? Seems counterproductive to have this pirate haven if you risk losing ships before even reaching it."
"Depends who ye need to keep out. Not all pirates are welcome. And even the pirate lords are willing to fight amongst themselves. You've seen first hand Sao Feng's desire to have Jack dead."
Lena couldn't keep from rolling her eyes at that statement. She would never be able to keep up the list of people that held something against Jack. Of course that list would have some of the pirate lords on it. "Don't forget to include yourself," she added. "I do recall a time when you were set on killing him as well."
"Still would. If it weren't for needing him with the rest of the Brethren Court, I'd 'ave left him in the locker happily."
"Ah, but then you wouldn't be here either," she said with a grin, knowing she won that point.
Barbossa narrowed his eyes at her. "Should've thrown you overboard long ago. Yer becomin' as bad as Sparrow."
"You already did that, and yet here I stand before you," Lena teased as she leaned back with a smile. "It is perfectly acceptable to admit that you enjoy my company on this ship."
"Not so long as you're tied to that," he emphasized with a gesture towards Jack on the other side of the ship.
"Now that's unfair. I have no conditions you need to meet and I will easily be the first to admit I actually enjoyed taking this journey with you."
Barbossa couldn't help but laugh at her words as he shook his head. "No, you 'ad quite a steep condition to meet. And unfortunately for me, I'm now stuck on a ship with him. But you continue to think what ye like." And with that final thought, he walked off to focus on other tasks.
Stunned by his statement, Lena could do nothing but watch him walk away before she turned her eyes back towards the man they had gone to the ends of the earth for. Perhaps he was right. In some ways she had had a condition for him to meet, but she had to admit her trust in Barbossa had happened before they ever got Jack back. It was strange really to think about. Here she stood, surrounded by people that certainly weren't always on their side. Her life made no sense sometimes.
The creak of the bed as Jack joined her under the covers stirred Lena from her sleep as she blinked blearily at him.
"Why were you up so late?" she questioned as she slid closer to him, resting her head on his chest as she closed her eyes again.
"Taking care of some issues," Jack muttered in the quiet room. "We had a bit of a prison escape."
"What?" Sliding her eyes back open, she pushed herself up to better look at Jack.
"Will is no longer aboard the Pearl."
"What happened?" she cried in alarm. Surely he hadn't just left Will to die at sea.
Jack pushed himself up against the headboard, rolling his eyes as he looked down at Lena. "Seems he's been leaving a trail for Beckett to follow, so I left him as the final bread crumb."
Following Jack's movements, Lena slowly sat up as well, trying to fight through her tired mind. "What does that mean for us?"
Slinging an arm over her shoulder, Jack pulled her so she was laying against him again and kissed the top of her head. "Means everything is falling into place. Don't worry about it, love, and get some rest."
Lena craned her neck to look at him as she struggled to keep her eyes open. "I hope you know what you're doing," she mumbled before she slid down the bed, tugging on Jack so he would lay down as well.
"I always know what I'm doing," he chuckled as he laid down flush against her and closed his eyes as well.
And with that thought, silence filled the room once more as it lulled them to sleep.
The island in front of them was indeed treacherous. The surrounding shoreline was made up of cliffs dropping into rocky ocean floors. There seemed to be no place to dock a ship on the outer rim of the island for there was no soft beach or gradual incline that one could row a boat to. As Barbossa had said, a pirate would surely need to know their way through the unclear pathways in order to make it into Shipwreck Cove.
Lena stood beside Jack as he steered the ship between the rocks, taking them deeper into the island. As she watched him, she could swear it was almost effortless, as if he had spent his entire life sailing in and out of that island. Yet another side of Jack that seemed to be a mystery to her. Even if she spent the rest of her life with him, she was sure she still wouldn't know his entire story.
"Anything I should know before we arrive?" Lena asked casually as she glanced back at Jack as she leaned on the upper railing, looking down on the crew as they worked and watched the ship move forward.
Jack shrugged as he kept one hand on the wheel. "Nothing outside of the usual. Then again, you've never seen pirates gather like they do here," he said with a sly grin. "It's certainly a bit different than Tortuga."
The comment caused a reluctant look to cross her face. "Different as in better or worse?" Of course, that would also be dependent on her definition or his.
"Both. But no worries, you'll get used to it," he finished. "And if not, we always have the option of hiding in our cabin while here."
Despite the color on her face, Lena rolled her eyes at his comment. "While I do enjoy spending time with you, we're not going to hide the entire time just so you can get out of your duties as a pirate lord."
And just as the words left her mouth, they finally sunk in. With a flushed face, she quickly pushed off the railing and avoided looking back at Jack. Jack had always been just Jack. How had she never realized just what kind of role he had in this pirate world? Pirate Lord. The word had been tossed around so many times so how had she not seen it for what it was? See Jack for what he was? Regardless of why, her heart certainly knew exactly how to she felt about it as it was racing in her chest. Jack Sparrow the Pirate Lord was very attractive to her.
So embarrassed by the thought, she didn't even notice until it was too late that Jack had moved. With a quick tug of her hand, she was back by his side as he stood at the helm. She was sure his eyes would have been watching her very intently if his attention didn't need to be shared at the moment.
"What has you so flustered?" Jack teased as he leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"Nothing," she squeaked out, jumping as the word escaped her, but upon realizing she was caught anyway, she focused on the island in front of them, pushing her hair back as she did anything to prevent herself from actually looking at Jack. "I just- I realized that… well, there is something else I find… quite attractive… about you." As she finished the words, she could barely say them out loud. Surely her face was beat red because she felt as if she was on fire.
And he had the nerve to laugh, though she knew just from the sound that it wasn't at her. "And what would that be?" he continued as he slid his hand to her waist, giving even less space between them.
Biting her lip, she finally glanced sideways at him, and almost in a whisper she admitted, "Pirate Lord Jack Sparrow."
If she could have disappeared, she would have. Assuming her heart didn't give out. Could one die from blushing? As a silence immediately followed, she somehow found the nerves to look at him completely, turning around to look up. She was not prepared for the fiery look in his eyes as he clearly pieced together what she was implying.
"Then allow me to introduce myself," he purred to her, low enough for only them to hear. "Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirate Lord of the Caribbean. We can get further acquainted this evening." That suave reply was going to be the death of her, she just knew it.
Immediately, Lena buried her face in his chest, unable to function as she gave up on responding. "I request you stop at once. Now you're just teasing me," she muttered as she shook her head.
As his chest shook underneath her while he laughed, she weakly smacked him over the response. "Don't you have more important things to focus on?"
"Depends on what you think is more important, love. I, for one, know for a fact that some time with you is more important than the court. Though I must say, this new information makes me very happy to have earned that title. Perhaps I've been introducing myself wrong all this time."
Laughing, Lena looked back up at him and rolled her eyes. "Then it wouldn't have the same effect."
Jack hummed and agreed with a grin, "suppose you're right."
"Suppose I am," Lena smiled back cheekily. "But we still need to focus on what needs to be focused on. The Brethren Court. And hopefully tonight we can spend time together as well."
With a kiss, she finished her deal, knowing in the end Jack had to agree. With Shipwreck Cove finally coming into view, there would be no time to relax. And Lena had to admit, the sight was both amazing and overwhelming. Everywhere she looked, an endless sea of ships laid before them. She could only imagine what awaited them.
A/N: You know what's difficult sometimes? Finding ideas to create additional scenes while they're hanging out on the ship. And then, suddenly, they smack you in the face. I feel like that's what happened in this chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter cause I had a lot of fun writing it.
Also, with this story coming up on it's ending, I am starting to toss around the idea of continuing Jack and Lena's adventure beyond the 3rd movie. I originally planned to end it here. So let me know if you'd like their story to continue!
Until next time, and as always, reviews are always appreciated!
