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Chapter Seven:

The Travelers' Hideaway

Madame Harriet had not let the travelers leave empty-handed. Spare clothes for Elizabeth and her son had been pulled out from a trunk so old it looked like it would crumple beneath the slightest touch. How the seer had come into possession of the trunk wasn't investigated. Everyone held their tongues when Harriet presented them with an array of weapons as well. There was obviously more to Madame Harriet than met the eye.

As far as food went, the fare was simple: bread, cheese, and a few apples. It was enough to get them through the day, maybe a little longer, but they planned on buying more food when they reached town.

Yet, perhaps the most important item Madame Harriet had outfitted them with was a jar of red salt, which Elizabeth had mistaken for dirt. The fortuneteller had told her that by sprinkling it along a threshold of a doorway, any enemy or person intending to harm them was not permitted to cross. The only drawback was that its supply was not limitless; they would need to ration it.

For a long time they walked in silence, each deep in thought about their present situation. They passed many little cottages and numerous villagers. The frequency of these sightings grew greater as they approached the city. Amongst so many people, Elizabeth felt a little more at ease. Surely the vampire stalking them wouldn't attack them in such a public area.

"Tommy-boy," Gibbs said. "What would you think about living at an orphanage fer awhile?"

"Huh?" Thomas questioned, speechless.

"Mr. Gibbs!" Elizabeth exclaimed at the same time. "Just what are you proposing?"

He looked apologetic, but continued to push his idea. "Mrs. Turner, ye know this is no adventure fer the boy. He'd be safer if we left him somewheres. We could go on by ourselves and deal with the problem, then come back fer the lad."

"Mum?" Thomas prompted, uncertainty in his eyes.

Elizabeth thought the idea was absurd. "Absolutely not!"

"Please, listen ta reason. It'd be safer fer us all," Gibbs pleaded.

"No," she stated.

"He has a point," Jack put in, scratching his chin thoughtfully "We can all protect ourselves rather well. The boy can't. He's a liability and if we're worried about protectin' him, we're all put in more danger."

"Mum?" Thomas said again, nervousness making his voice squeaky.

She looked down at her son with reassuring eyes, then at the two pirates who would take him from her side. "I will not leave my son behind and unprotected. There is nowhere that is safe for him…except with me," she declared. "I won't listen to any more protests. He's staying with us."

"Yer being awfully stubborn," Gibbs mumbled.

"All women are like that Gibbs. Best ta get used ta it," Jack told his friend.

They kept walking until they had reached the other side of the town. The sun was already sinking, giving them a little over two hours before sunset. Keeping a brisk pace, they reached the Swan manor house a short while later.

"You used to live here?" Thomas inquired, staring at the structure in front of them. He didn't sound impressed with her old home.

She didn't blame him. The large house had fallen under disrepair, which could be easily explained by the fact that no one—except the occasional homeless man seeking shelter—had lived there for nine years. After her father had passed away, Elizabeth couldn't bring herself to go back to the house.

But here she was, seeking refuge in the one place she knew she could go to.

The four travelers walked up the front path toward the once formidable manor house. Trees and bushes along with weeds and flowers grew up around (and sometimes across) the pathway, untamed and in need of pruning and plucking.

Ahead of them the front door was ajar, letting in bugs and other creatures. But then again, with the holes created by the Black Pearl's cannonballs dotting the outside walls, the fact that the front door was open was a moot point.

The inside of the house resembled the chaotic state of the exterior. After the Black Pearl's attack, her father had ordered repairs to be done to the house, but not much had been accomplished. The various remodeling projects had stopped in many stages, some nearly complete, others barely begun.

Everything was covered in dust and leaves blew across the floor with the sporadic breeze. High piles of dead and rotting leaves had collected in the corners. Elizabeth didn't want to think about the types of animals, insects, and reptiles that now called those piles home.

"Well, I see ye've let the help go," Jack commented, swatting furiously at a spider web in front of him.

"Maybe the upstairs isn't as bad," Elizabeth said in reply, moving toward the staircase. She drew her sword and held it out in front of her as she climbed the marble stairs.

"Why are you holding your sword like that?" Thomas asked, climbing the stairs behind his mother.

"There could be something, or someone, up here," she answered.

"Aren't ye overreacting just a tad?" questioned Jack. "I mean, ye've dealt with the undead before. You fought both Barbossa's men and Davy Jones' crew, and yer still here. What's the big deal about this one? It's just one little vampire," he reasoned.

Elizabeth began checking the rooms on the second floor, peering into each doorway.

"Maybe motherhood has made her soft," Gibbs suggested.

"Hardly," Thomas piped up. "My mother is the strongest, bravest, smartest person I know. She'd do anything to protect someone she cares for. She can certainly defeat this creature following us…right Mum?"

Elizabeth only nodded to keep her son from worrying. She wasn't about to tell him that she was afraid and unsure about what to do. No, that would only create more problems.

"I think this room will be best for us to sleep in," she stated, walking into a large lounge room. It was sparsely furnished, some of the furniture broken or missing. A fireplace, located on one of the walls, would keep them warm and enable them to cook.

"Yes, this will do nicely. Now we need to do a few things before sunset," she added.

Within five minutes she had delegated tasks to everyone and they had split up. Gibbs had been sent to find mattresses or cots for them to sleep on. After he finished with that, he was supposed to start a fire and gather wood to keep it fueled all night. Jack was in charge of finding edible food, either in the house or in the nearby town. Thomas was not to leave his mother's sight as he gathered blankets and pillows to make their beds more comfortable.

Elizabeth busied herself with moving the dusty furniture that was still in the room out of the way, making room for the mattresses. When Gibbs returned with a cot or mattress, she helped him lay it down. Then she dusted and once Gibbs had a fire going, started to boil a large pot of water, hoping to make a stew whenever Jack returned.

While she waited she carefully laid down the red salt along the two doorways to the room. It was pointless and wasteful to use the salt at every entry to the house. There were probably servant's entries that she didn't even know of, and therefore they would still be unprotected. Putting the salt in the room they were sleeping in seemed like the most logical thing to do.

She took her time on the task, making sure the line had no breaks; she felt just sprinkling the salt wasn't as effective as actually lining the threshold. Once she had finished she let herself breathe. They were safe…for now.

Outside the sun was beginning to sink behind the horizon, causing the first shadows of the coming night. Everyone had been ordered to return to their chosen sleeping room at sunset.

Gibbs walked into the room, nearly ruining her perfect line of salt, carrying a stack of logs for the fire.

"Have you seen Jack?" Elizabeth asked him. The troublesome pirate still hadn't retuned and the sunlight was nearly gone.

"No, I haven't." he answered as he put a few logs on the fire, stoking it back to life. "But don't worry, I'm sure he'll be along."

"I told him to be back here at sunset," she said, irritated.

Gibbs chuckled. "He's never been the best at followin' orders."

The old pirate was right, Jack was a constant rule breaker, but she wished he had listened to her this time. A dangerous vampire was on the loose, hunting them for an unknown reason. Anything could happen to Jack, and Elizabeth didn't want his death on her conscious.

She began pacing the room, her gaze shifting between Thomas, who kept drifting in and out of sleep in one of the remaining lounge chairs, and the windows on the west side of the room. The sun had completely disappeared behind a hill in the distance, and darkness engulfed the house and town. Jack was nowhere to be seen. Even Gibbs seemed to be getting worried about him.

"I'm going to find him," Elizabeth declared, slipping on her soft leather boots. "And when I do find him, I'm going to kill him." His irresponsibility was unbelievably frustrating.

Just as she stood up, she heard him coming. He entered the room, singing a bawdy tune, horribly off-key. He had a large basket in his arms, filled with meat and vegetables.

"Jack! Where in the world have you been all this time?" Elizabeth asked, relief and anger washing over her at the same time.

"Waiting up for me, luv?" Jack replied, sidestepping her question. He handed her the basket. "Did ye miss me?"

"You had me worried sick," she exclaimed, and to her further frustration, he smiled. "Not to mention we are all starved! Do you mind telling me why you are so late?"

"I got a little sidetracked," he admitted, lifting a bottle to his lips and taking a swig.

It was clear that Jack was intoxicated. If it hadn't been clear before, it certainly was now. She sighed in exasperation, but she could feel her anger ebbing away. She was still upset about his lack of discipline, but her heart went out to him. All this being-hunted-by-a-vicious-vampire business must be getting to Jack more than he let on. At least, that's what she liked to tell herself. The pirate just had different ways to relieve his anxiety than the rest of them.

"Let's get you settled for the night," she said softly, softening even further when the pirate fell asleep on his feet, nearly tipping over. She grabbed his arms to steady him and motioned for Gibbs to take over. He took the half-empty bottle from Jack's hand and steered him in the direction of his mattress.

Elizabeth turned her attention to making a stew. By the time it was done cooking, the moon had risen and it had started raining. She spooned the stew into bowls and passed them out to everyone. They ate in relative silence, listening to the rain pitter-pattering against the windows.

Jack and Gibbs consumed their food without the aid of utensils, not fussing with formalities. Thomas gobbled down his first bowl and pleaded with his mother for a second. She couldn't deny her son, although she knew that they should save as much of the stew as possible.

Elizabeth's appetite was the opposite of her son's and she hardly touched her food. She forced herself to eat some of her stew, knowing she would need her strength tomorrow and in the coming days. She didn't know when or if she would get to eat a hearty stew like she had the option of eating tonight.

After dinner they could hardly keep heir eyes open and went to bed. Gibbs had found three down-feather mattresses and an old cot. He generously took the cot, saying that he was used to sleeping on uncomfortable beds. He added that it was a vast improvement from the floor of a pigsty.

His choice gave the other three mattresses to Jack, Thomas and Elizabeth. Soon, they were all snuggled in for the night. Gibbs and Jack wore their clothes to bed, something they were used to from living at sea. Thomas changed into one of his mother's spare tunics that she had gotten from Madame Harriet. Elizabeth kept her breeches on, but had exchanged her slim-fitting top for a billowy shirt she had found in one of the other rooms. It was more comfortable and less restricting than her pervious shirt.

Within minutes everyone fell asleep…except Elizabeth. No matter how she tried she couldn't get comfortable, so she tossed and turned, trying to find a good position to sleep in. When she had finally settled into the fetal position, she didn't feel tired anymore. She focused on listening to the steady rainfall outside, which had picked up since dinner, but Gibbs' snoring continually distracted her. Finally she closed her eyes, trying to block everything out. After what seemed like hours, she drifted off to the sounds of the rain and the crackling fire.

Author's Note: I know that this chapter was a little boring. Sorry. The next one has a lot of action though that hopefully makes up for any yawns in this one. I hope you continue to enjoy the story. Please review! It means a lot to me to know what is on your mind when you're reading! Thanks!