Chapter Five

The day was the same, sitting around on deck with not much to do. But just as the sun was setting, things got a bit...interesting. Dark clouds on the horizon had appeared, and they were slowly heading your way. The sea was calm however, so it was just a tiny sprinkling of rain. Nothing at all, really. You weren't worried one little bit. It was just rain, normal rain that you had seen all your life. You were sitting on the wooden steps to the helm, looking out to the horizon. The stars were coming out one by one, twinkling a little greeting to everyone below them. You smiled up at the stars, knowing that the two of you had one thing in common: freedom. You saw Gibbs coming over towards you, a worried expression on his face.

"Hello there Mister Gibbs," you greeted him. He didn't smile; he just leaned on the railing beside you.

"Have you noticed how close you're getting to Jack?" he suddenly asked you. You blinked, not fully understanding the question. Sure, you did have some feelings for him. But...you weren't really that close to him...were you?

"What are you talking about?" you replied. "I mean...I fancy him but...it's nothing much at all." He sighed and looked out to sea, not seeming to think of it as a decent answer. Even if it was the truth...Was it, though? Even you weren't so sure about yourself anymore.

"Robyn, you're very...different from the type of girl that Jack usually sends to his quarters." Yep, real subtle Mister Gibbs. "So let me warn you with this. He isn't like the boys from Port Royal...whatever happens; it's nothing more than a one-time fling. Maybe twice if you're lucky -"

"How come you know so much about this?" You interrupted him. You could swear that his face went red for a few moments, but it quickly died down to the usual tone it was.

"Robyn...just don't get your hopes up if things get any closer." He walked off to the other side of the deck just as the rain began to pour on you. That's when you noticed something weird, extremely and utterly weird. The boat had made a complete stop even though you were far off from any beach. Okay, it wasn't insanely weird. But it had just never happened before during your time on board. Looking around, you saw that the anchor was missing. Captain's orders, you thought to yourself with a raised eyebrow. But why now? What had caused Jack to suddenly drop anchor right at sunset when a sprinkling of rain was coming their way. You squinted over to Jack in the rain; he was taking off his shirt and belt. Your heart thumped inside your chest at the sight of his exposed and tattooed body. You blushed and looked away, trying not to make eye-contact with him. But he must have seen your staring eyes, for he was soon beside you. Your face went as red as beetroot, deep down inside you were still a young woman. You hadn't been exposed to this type of thing before. If Mother had seen you on deck with him, she would have killed herself by now.

"Troubled, Robyn?" Jack asked with a smirk. You finally looked into his eyes, seeing a speck of seduction inside of them. You ignored this, trying to calm down.

"Sorry to question you, Captain...but what in hell are you doing?" He chuckled and looked up to the crying heavens. You looked up with him, rain falling onto your pale face.

"Remember our little training session? When you asked me that question that I never fully answered?" Your heart missed a beat as you gagged on your own saliva. You couldn't get that image out of your mind for several weeks. And now it was back, haunting your virgin mind. Jack's smile grew as he turned to his men, who were looking up at him with smiles on their faces. (Reader, if you haven't read chapter three of my story then you are a lazy ass. Read it again right away if you do not get the joke)

"Lads! It's time for a bath!" he called out to them all. They cheered and followed his orders, soon stripping off their shirts. You had to get away from this place, and fast. And that was exactly what you did...you ran to your bedroom and tore away at the floorboards until you found your secret stash of soaps. It had grown since the night in Port Royal to a collection of ten bottles and three cakes. You grabbed the bottles, one cake and a bottle of rum before shoving them into your potato sack. You clutched the sack to your chest and ran back on deck, averting your eyes from the horrible sights. You quickly walked over to the long boats and began to prepare one for your trip. There was an island over in the distance; it wouldn't take that long to row to. You'd be able to go over there, bathe and come back by the time the rest of the crew was done. Besides, the pirate code was just a bunch of guidelines: they'd wait for you.

By the time you had arrived at the island, the rain had stopped. You'd have to have a quick bath, nothing more than a few splashes and a rinse. But where could you go? Trekking through the island's jungles, you finally found what you needed. It was a small, calm lake with a tiny waterfall flowing into it. The crystal clear waters had several fish swimming in it, but nothing deadly or poisonous. It was fairly deep near the waterfall, but the shallow end was perfect for an innocent bath. You smiled with at your finding and slowly took off your shirt after your boots were kicked off. You removed your pants and stood in only your underwear, throwing the garments to one side. After looking around several times, you finally took off your corset and threw it with the rest of your clothes. You slowly walked into the water with the soaps in your arms, finding that it was pleasantly cool. You crawled out of your final piece of clothing and grabbed the bottle of rum after placing the bottles and cake on a nearby rock. You took a long swig, feeling the flavour run down your throat, before replacing the rum bottle with a bottle of oils. You tipped out the contents, watching them swirl with the ripples from the waterfall. You took out another bottle and rubbed the oils onto your skin, making your pale body glisten in the moonlight. You slowly shrank into the water, shivering at the sudden cold water. You felt fish nibble on your toes, making you smile as its cold lips tickled your skin. But you shooed it away quickly as you dove into the water, turning your long brown locks into wet clumps of dark hair. You opened your eyes in the water, watching the bubbles from the waterfall slowly rise to the surface. You rose to the surface, flicking your wet hair back behind your shoulders. You only had the moonlight to reveal the hidden corners of the world, now. Usually you had a bath with a candle beside you as Mary handed you all of your soap cakes and oils. You took another swig of rum before picking up the cake and retreating back to the water. After gently scrubbing your body until it was coated in bubbles, you swam over to the waterfall and proceeded to rinse it all off under the cold spray of water. But just as you were about to come from out of the water, you noticed something in the corner of your eye. Looking around, you saw that your bottle of rum had been taken…

"There's someone here..." you whispered. Your heart danced inside of your chest as you covered yourself up and slowly sunk into the deep water. Only your head was out of the water as you looked around the shore and into the jungles that you had come from. You slowly stepped out of the water, covering your breasts with your arms and looking around. You didn't have a towel, so you couldn't cover up your wet and naked body. You felt so scared, you were probably about to be raped or taken hostage by some random tribal king. All you wanted was a bath, not a battle. Especially while you were still out of your clothes. Your belongings weren't that far off from reach, but the fear that had taken over your body caused you to keep perfectly still. You suddenly felt someone's presence nearby, but your motionless body didn't dare let you turn around.

"Beautiful night, isn't it love?" a voice said. You screamed and turned around to Jack, who was looking you up and down as you covered up your naked body as best as possible.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, PERVERT?!?!" You yelled at him as you jumped into the water. Fortunately, the crystal-clear water had turned into a pattern of bubbles that covered up most of your body. You let your arms fall to your side, seeing as your breasts were now covered up by the water. The only thing that Jack could see was from the neck up. He took a long swig of rum before throwing the empty bottle away.

"You lied, Robyn." He said to you, not caring about the fact that he had been watching you take a bath for the past fifteen minutes. "You said that when this day comes, you'd be blindfolded in your room."

"What the hell is wrong with you, Jack?!" you kept screaming. He merely smiled and looked around, his smile growing larger at the pile of clothes nestled nearby him. You groaned and tried to wade your way over to them, but as you did so the more skin you revealed. You quickly backed into the water again, knowing that it was no use struggling.

"Jack, if you even touch my underwear..." you threatened. But there wasn't any point in trying. You sword was with your clothes, and Jack was bending over to inspect what you hid underneath your rugged outfit. He finally found your corset and lifted it out of the pile, holding it in his outstretched arms. You felt like melting into the water as Jack fingered with the straps, smiling at the face you were making.

"It isn't that bad, love. At least I haven't found your other belongings..." he said. But it was too late, for his eyes were rolling down to the pile of clothes. He found the wispy white fabric and began to reach out for them. You couldn't take much more of this humiliation. You charged through the water, grabbed your clothes and slapped him across the face.

"I warned you, Jack!" you hissed as you quickly pressed your belongings against your body, covering up as much as possible. Jack chuckled and turned on his heel, facing the waterfall.

"Don't be so stressed; just get changed so that we can go back onto the Pearl." You quickly began to pull on your clothes, turning away from him. You shouldn't have done this. You could feel his eyes inspect your body, but you were too angry from before to care. Besides, he wouldn't stop no matter what you would say.

"Done yet?" he asked. When you turned around after pulling on your last boot, you found that he was actually looking away from your body and into the distance. The moonlight reflected in his eyes seemed to make them sparkle and gleam...you could forgive him a thousand times just by looking into them.

"Y-Yeah...I'm done," you stammered out your answer. You didn't know if it was because you were cold and wet or because you were so pissed off at Jack, but you found your body shivering under your clothes. Jack turned around and saw your shaking body, a slight smile on his face. He took off his heavy coat and draped it around your shoulders. You smiled up at him as the two of you worked your way through the jungle and back to the beach. There was another longboat next to yours, one that Jack had used to get here. As you walked down the beach, you remembered Gibbs' words of advice.

"...Jack?" you asked quietly. "Am I just another crew member on the ship? Or do you think of me as something more?" He stopped in his tracks and looked at you, a glint in his eyes.

"Are you feeling a tad bit uneasy, Robyn?" he asked. You blushed; he knew how you felt about him. For an alcoholic pirate, he sure was smart. But then again, anyone could figure out how you felt about someone if you told them that.

"I-I...no. What ever gave you that idea?" You kept walking, him slowly following behind you with a smile on his face. You tried to stay strong. You tried to remain focused. You prayed that his answer would make you feel right. But you didn't really understand what answer you wanted. Did you want him to love you? Did you want him to think of you as a queen, his heart's one desire? Or did you want him to completely disregard you as a person and leave you be? All these questions buzzed through your mind, but none of them gave you any help or understanding. But you remembered his eyes in the moonlight. His face...his exposed chest...but most importantly, the way that he had clasped your hand when the two of you were running from Port Royal. How the wind had swept through your curly hair as the two of you ran with smiles on your faces. How you felt what he felt every single day. The freedom, the joy, the rush. You loved him for his untamed spirit, even though he could be a right ass. But that was Jack; you could never change that part of him. And to be honest with yourself, you didn't want to change one bit about him. He suddenly swept you into his arms, so that your chest was against his. Your hand on his shoulder and his around your waist, you looked into those hazel eyes. You slowly leaned towards him, finally understanding what you had wanted ever since you had met him. You felt his breath on your lips...you were about to lock with him for what would feel like an endless summer...

...but you heard the gunshots.

You quickly turned your head, so that Jack's mouth was sort of hovering in the air. And that's when you saw it...a ship with white sails was firing at the Pearl. The echoes of the canons ringed in your ears as you watched with despair. Jack finally saw what you were looking at and he suddenly let you go. You fell onto the sand, since you had been leaning against his arm the whole time.

"What are they doing to my ship?" Jack cried out to the horizon. You suddenly realised who they were. Who was firing at the one of the most prized possessions of the man you loved...it was a complete ass, that's who. A man that could never be trusted. A man who only treated women as objects, not life-long-companions…

...a man you were to marry.

CrazyA- I LOOOOOOVE TO WRITE CLIFF-HANGERS! Okay, I don't believe in boyXboy romance stories, they make me sick when I read them. (However, I am not against gay marriage and everything else, in fact I approve.) But I just had to add that one JackXGibbs moment in there! It was practically begging for it! If something did happen, then they were incredibly drunk at the time...oh, and I'm sorry for calling you a lazy ass... Please take note on the following line:

...finally understanding what you had wanted ever since you had met him

You'll need it for the next few chapters!