Chapter Seven: the meeting of the Pearl and the Mist

"I do want to know what it tastes like…"

It was mid-day when Elizabeth heard the excited shouts of Barbossa's crew.

"That's The Mist, eh?" one of the crewmen said.

"Aye. But why would she be sailin'?" another asked. Both shrugged, unsure of the answer.

Curious as to why they were excited, she looked out the small porthole in her cabin.

A barely visible outline of The Mist could be seen. It would probably still be a good day before they would be upon them.

Perfect, Elizabeth thought. That would mean that the ship would near in the evening which meant that the crew would most likely be asleep when they arrived. Her time to spike the rum with the sleeping potion would come then.

They would never know that Jack had come and rescued her.

Smiling to herself, she settled in her cabin and waited, listening to the crew prepare for Jack's arrival. Sounds of cannons being moved, positioned, and loaded could be heard clearly through her door.

It made Elizabeth worry, but she didn't let it consume her. She needed to be level-headed for her plan to work out.

Evening came faster than she had expected, but it was no matter. It was now time to act. Carefully, Elizabeth removed two small, thin pieces of bone from her pocket and picked the lock on her door. They were the same ones she'd used earlier when she'd searched the ship for the "spell room."

Elizabeth opened her door slowly so it wouldn't creak and possibly awaken anyone. She was met with little sounds except that of snores coming from the crew's quarters.

Mentally Elizabeth counted off the number of barrels of rum she'd seen on her initial search. There were about a dozen at the moment, all lined up against the wall in the storage room below where she stood.

That she could get to and deposit the tonic easily. It would be the crew and captain's personal stash that would be hardest to spike.

She shuddered as she thought of how she would have to sneak into the man's cabin to do just that. Despite her bravado, Barbossa still made her feel wary.

Slipping down below, Elizabeth used her lantern light to methodically put a single drop into each barrel.

Now, for the crew.

That went a bit more precariously, since a few stirred causing her to think they would awaken. Much to her relief, they simply mumbled and rolled over still very much asleep.

Elizabeth avoided Pintel and Ragetti's rum. She didn't want them to fall asleep on her since they'd helped her.

As she ascended back to where the cabins were, she shuddered once again. It was time to spike Barbossa's rum bottle.

Elizabeth walked carefully over to his door and listened. The soft sounds of snoring greeted her. The Captain, it seemed, was asleep as she had hoped.

Carefully, she turned the doorknob to see if the door was locked. When she was met with resistance she knew it was. A quick picking and it was open, revealing the Captain sprawled on his bed, sound asleep. His boots were carelessly tossed on the floor along with his effects which included his gun and sword.

His half-full rum bottle was sitting on his deck, just within his hand's reach.

Setting her eyes on the bottle, she crept towards it. Every once in a while, she looked at Barbossa to make sure he was not stirring.

Slowly, Elizabeth poured the last drop of the tonic into his rum. Her task done, she picked his effects up and carried them out with her as an extra precaution. It was always better to safe than sorry she believed.

With that in mind she used her expert hands to relock Barbossa's door from the outside.

She returned to her cabin feeling triumphant and waited for Jack's ship to arrive, as she knew it would.

It was just an hour shy of sunrise when she saw the ship finally get close enough so they could board. She had gone half mad with excitement as they'd gotten closer, mile by precious mile.

She listened carefully and heard the faint sound of footsteps and muffled whispers. They were finally here! They'd made it! She would be saved!

A moment later her door was soundlessly opened and there, after long last, stood Jack.

"Hello, love." He whispered right before she launched herself into his arms.

"Oh, Jack…you found me…thank god."

Jack smiled as only he could before kissing her senseless right there in the doorway.

The crew, though they knew they had be quiet, couldn't help but let out small groans and grumbles at their display.

They both ignored them. Husband and wife had been separated for far too long and felt they had earned this moment.

"Time to go now, love." Jack whispered, very reluctantly breaking the kiss.

Elizabeth nodded, knowing he was right. There would be time for more activities of the romantic nature once they were back on the ship and far away from Barbossa's clutches.

And so, they hurried back to The Mist and quickly got her ready to depart. As they did, both Jack and Elizabeth noticed that there was no stirring coming from the Pearl.

So far so good.

They sailed away slowly and quietly as they had when they'd approached. The Mist was a good distance away when Elizabeth and Jack saw two small figures waving at them, bidding them farewell.

Grinning, Elizabeth knew it was Pintel and Ragetti. She waved back and called out a thank you, though she wasn't sure they had heard her. The two of them did, however, wave more enthusiastically when she returned their waves.

Jack turned to his crew while she waved and instructed them to be ready should Barbossa wake up and come after them.

"That shouldn't be a big problem, Jack. I kind of locked him in his room, stole his effects," she held up Barbossa's gun and sword, "and, lastly, spiked his rum with sleeping tonic."

Elizabeth grinned proudly, as only a pirate could.

And this was why, Jack thought, I fell in love with her.

"It's wonderful to have you back, Mrs. Sparrow." He said aloud and put his arm around her.

"Indeed," Elizabeth agreed, turning to face her husband. "It is good to be back, Mr. Sparrow." And with that, she kissed him.

Barbossa's ship…

Barbossa narrowed his eyes as the morning sun beamed through the porthole and into his room. Oh, how he hated it when it did that.

Growling, he reached for his rum and took a long swig. As he did, he noticed a bottle that had been right next to it.

The label clearly read: Sleeping Tonic.

"Oh, bugger…" Barbossa muttered before darkness hit him again, causing him to fall to the floor with a loud thud.

Unfortunately for him, none of his crew (except for Pintel and Ragetti of course) heard as they were all asleep for exactly the same reason.

The Mist…

"So, how long do I know until I've won the bet?" Jack asked lazily that evening, while lying in bed with his wife.

Elizabeth laughed heartily. Only her Jack could think of something like that after such a hair-raising adventure.

"I believe it's nine months, Captain Sparrow."

"That's a fair while until I can name my son…" Elizabeth playfully whacked his arm, which only made him grin wickedly.

"You mean…a fair while until I can name my daughter…"

"Give it up, ol' Jack is going to win this one." He muttered to himself.

"What?"

"Nothing."