Here's Chapter 8, everyone! Just to let you guys know, I'm going to add an unexpected twist of events soon. Anyway, please enjoy!

Chapter 8

Four days later...

Jack held his compass at an angle away from the glare of the sun and narrowed his eyes at the reading. Carefully, though leisurely directing his ship, his mind suddenly wandered to the thought of Will and Elizabeth. The two were probably waiting expectantly for his return. There was a matter of business that was in need of discussion between the three of them, and it was really quite a shame that Jack had no way to contact them in order to inform them of an unexpected event that had arisen…

For a store of brilliant, precious opals just waiting to be found, Will and Elizabeth could certainly wait.

………………

After breakfast, Ruth made her way to the helm, where Jack stood bathed in his muse. Ben waved as she passed, and Ruth returned the greeting. When Ruth came into sight, Jack blinked and acknowledged her presence with a nod and a grin.

"Sleep well?" he asked, flashing one of his golden teeth.

"I suppose," she said, running her hand through her freshly combed hair, "But that bloody storm scared me half to death. I thought the ship was going to be eaten by the sea."

Jack laughed, and turned his head to a patch of breeze that came his way, "I know, lass, I've seen plenty of smaller storms in my day, but it's rare to find one of that fierceness."

Ruth looked out to the sea that lay before them, and smiled at the feel of the breeze lifting her hair from her shoulders and drying the perspiration on her forehead, "How much longer until we arrive?"

Jack turned the wheel slightly, "Oh, I would have to guess about another day and a half at most." Suddenly, he felt as though he should ask about Ben, but just as his lips parted to speak, he closed them. He had been debating with himself during the last several days whether or not to send this question into the air, but didn't wish to cause tension or awkwardness between them.

"Is there anything I can do to assist with anything?" she asked.

Jack thought for a moment. He then glanced behind Ruth to the stern, where Ben struggled to bring in a catch of fish, writhing as the creatures shook the net violently and slapped against his fists. Several fish fell around him, accenting this spectacle as they moved like tiny flags caught in a hurricane.

Jack brought his eyes back to Ruth, "No," he said, "I don't believe we need any assistance at the moment, but I'll inform you if me or any of my crew need your help...savvy?"

………………..

As the sun bade the world goodbye with a grand, vibrantly colored sunset, Ruth exited the cabin after finishing organizing Jack's collection of books and atlases that he had requested her to do only an hour ago. She stopped for a moment to marvel the sunset, before making her way over to Jack, but a voice stopped her in her tracks once more, and she looked toward the direction of the voice. It was Ben.

"Ruth!" he called out, his hand against his mouth to concentrate the direction of his voice. He ran to her side, apologizing to Gibbs, whom he had gently bumped into on his way, and finally reached her.

When he was in proper range, he did something unexpected: he gently grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into the shadows cast by the entrance to the cabins. As the entered this cooler region of the ship, Ruth cast a concerned look to Ben, her confusion and worry etched in her eyes, "Ben, what's going on?" she asked as he released her wrist.

"Nothing, Ruth, I mean…what I mean to say is that…" he looked away, to the deck, as if making sure they were alone, "Can you possibly meet me at the front of the ship after dinner?"

There was such a sound of anxiety in his voice, that it only worried her more "Why?" she asked.

"Ruth," he said urgently, "I just…I know that you're probably sick of me giving you uncomfortable questions, but I need to ask you another…"

Suddenly, a voice pierced the air, and the two jumped at the sound of it, "Ben!" a crewmember called, "Hey Ben! The captain needs ye at the helm!"

"Please…" he begged, "Please just meet me right after dinner."

He then returned to his duties, and Ruth was left frankly quite distressed in the wake of his request. She remained there for a minute or so, almost fearful to return to the deck, wondering what on earth could be on Ben's mind, until the darkness became more evident, and she tentatively followed in Ben's footsteps to the helm. Jack stood there gazing out to sea, the stronger winds that came alive in the evening playing with his dark hair.

"I finished your assignment," she said as she approached him.

"Ah, did ye now?" he answered to this as he tuned to her, "Thank ye, love, I've been meaning to rearrange that stack of…well," he said with a wave of his hand, "I didn't even know what the hell it was until I looked at it the other day…atlases and books, was it not?"

"It was," she replied.

"Well," he said, "Ye know Ben's been acting a bit…strange. He seems edgy. Ye happen to know what's botherin' him?"

Ruth felt her stomach tighten in uneasiness, "No…I haven't noticed a change in him, really," she answered to this, forcing a casualness to her voice to replace the nervousness.

"Hmm…" he said, "I just asked because the two of ye seem to have spent quite a bit of time with each other during the last few days. I just thought ye'd know," he finished with an innocent shrug of his shoulders.

"Alright then," she said, now eager to leave.

"Actually," Jack began, pointing his thumb in the direction of the kitchens, "Can ye go down to the kitchen, and see if they need any help. Dinner seems to be running a tad late tonight, and they can probably use another person to assist."

Grateful for an excuse to depart from the helm, she hurriedly made her way to the kitchen area, bathing in a gentle feeling of guilt with the thought of lying to Jack…while at the same time telling the truth.

…………………

True to her word, Ruth slipped away from the majority of the crew after supper to the very front of the ship, where its darkened, lonely nature gave Ruth the assumption that what Ben had to tell was strictly secretive. The chilled air caused her to shiver, and she rubbed her arms as the shadows cast by the ship only made her trembles worse.

She threw her gaze about this eerie section of the ship, and fortunately, she didn't have to search for long.

"Ruth!" came Ben's voice from a corner.

"Ben?" she answered, and his shadowy figure emerged.

Ruth released a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness I didn't have to wait long for you, Ben…it's so spooky up here," she said as she gave her surrounding a fearful glance.

"I guess it is a bit dark," he said, " why don't we move into the moonlight where's it's less intimidating?" Ruth cooperated with his suggestion, and they moved into a brighter area.

"Alright, Ruth," he began, "I don't want to keep you here for too long, but I've been wanting to ask you this for quite a while…"

Ruth nodded and expectantly awaited his inquiry, aware of the discomfort he may have by asking his question.

"Does…" he sighed, "Does Jack treat you well?"

Ruth was slightly taken aback by this, "Well, yes," she answered, "he cares for me."

"But what I mean to ask is…" he paused, looked away as if considering something, and then suddenly, when he looked back to her again, a look of desperation came upon him, "Ruth…I just need to know…and please be truthful with me. Does he ever take advantage of you?"

Although Ruth had perfectly registered this, she still could not believe that Ben could ask a question of that nature.

"Ben!" she replied to this after she had taken a moment to gape at him, "How can you ask me of such a thing?"

He pursed his lips, and shook his head slowly, as if in disbelief, "He did, didn't he?"

"Of course not!" she said, with almost an air of disgust, and on the verge of an exclamation.

"Ruth," he said demandingly, and grabbed her arms, though not too tightly, "I care about you. I only ask this because I care about you. I'm concerned, Ruth. I – I can't help but be…you're a young girl taken captive by this monster of a man…a pirate, Ruth!"

Ruth shoved his hands from her, "How. Dare. You. Say that about him," she spat between gritted teeth.

Ben gazed at her with a look of determination in his eyes, as if with conviction that Jack had done what he had claimed, "Ruth…don't lie to me."

"Honestly, Ben," she said, tears now begging to fall, "I'm not lying to you, and he's certainly not a monster!"

"What else do ye think of me, Ben?" came another voice from the shadows, causing Ruth to gasp, and Ben to jolt in surprise. They both turned to none other than Jack Sparrow, who apparently had been standing there for quite some time.

"Jack!" Ruth declared, her voice tight with fear. Ben could do nothing but look with intense shock at the captain as he approached them.

"So, Ben, is there anything else that you'd like to divulge about me?" Jack asked rather calmly, his arms crossed over his chest.

Ben narrowed his eyes slightly, opened his mouth to speak, closed it, and looked to Ruth, as if an excuse was written upon her forehead. It seemed as though he had been left speechless, though not for too long…

He brought his eyes back to his captain, "Yes," he said with a new level of confidence.

Jack inclined his head in curiosity.

"That you are foul, perverse, and that it's no wonder that I believe that you have forced Ruth to bed with you."

Ruth looked away, unable to bear another moment of this nonsense, and could feel her tears, which were cooled by the touch of the ocean breeze, rolling along her flushed face.

Jack bore his narrowed eyes into Ben's, and failed to even give Ruth a glance. Moments passed, and Ruth still stood with her back to them, shaking with sobs compelled by anger, but also by fear. She braced herself for anything, for a fight to break out behind her, for an explosion of Jack's booming voice…but nothing happened. Instead, Jack's voice broke the still air, but not in the manner that she expected.

"Ruth, please make your way to the cabin," he ordered, never taking his eyes from Ben.

"But-" she began.

"It's opened," he interrupted with his cold voice, "Go."

Ruth didn't even take a moment to hesitate, to glance at Ben's still, ever-determined form, his fists clenched, and his eyes unmoving from his enemy, or Jack's equally motionless form, his eyes bearing such a hidden anger, as if all his fury was concentrated only within them.

She quickly walked from them, afraid of breaking into a run in this sharp, dense darkness. She suddenly regretted leaving Ben's side, feeling now that her presence, although unwanted, might have lessened Jack's anger. His voice was so drastically different, though. The voice that he had expressed revealed a side of him that Ruth had never witnessed. It conveyed sheer authority, and instantly added the word "captain" to his full title. This was why she held such a fearful image of him upon boarding. The tone of his voice alone would have sent a pack of wolves away with their tails between their legs.

This wasn't the Jack she knew.

…………………

As Ruth lay in Jack's bed, anxiety filled her as she considered Ben's punishment. Would Jack punish him mercilessly? Or would he simply sit him down and discuss his true relationship with Ruth, clearing the air in such a sincere voice that Ben would finally accept the truth? She knew very well that the latter would be unlikely. Ruth's father always utilized a certain punishment, based of course, upon the intensity of the wrongdoing, to put that crewmember in their place. He had told her that it was the only way to truly discipline his crew; especially being aboard a pirate ship, where corruption of some sort was usually inevitable.

She still couldn't believe that even in the face of his captain, he would repeat these, not only unaccurate, but words that were thick with disobedience, and that defiled his legendary name. That type of slander could easily lead to the worst of punishments. The thought alone sent tears to her eyes.

Ruth closed her eyes, although she knew that sleep would not come quickly, and tried to push the memory of Jack's hauntingly cold voice from her mind until she heard the turn of the room's doorknob, and her muscles tightened with a strange edginess. He entered, and his footsteps, which seemed to always blend into the background of her life, now seemed like the sounds of the cannons on that day, when the noise of it had sent her under Jack's desk.

Because her back was facing him, she feared where every step took him. Fortunately, he didn't seem to near her, he actually performed quite the contrary. Ruth heard his remove his boots, and then the sound of him sitting upon the couch, the rustle of blankets as he draped himself, and then utter silence.

Ruth closed her eyes again, and when she opened them, another set of tears slowly made their way down her cheeks.

I'm sorry if that chapter was a bit sad. But don't worry, Jack's not going to kill Ben, if you're wondering.