KEEP THE REVIEWS COMING!! BE NICE IF YOU HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING BAD! THIS CHAPTER IS MOSTLY JUST SOME OF ELIZABETH'S RANDOM THOUGHTS, AND THE LEAD-IN TO THE NEXT CHAPTER.
Elizabeth yawned and stared out over the ocean, trying to account for her unusual exhaustion. She and Jack had been married for two months, and she had gotten used to the passionately sleepless nights. So the fact that they had been awake most of the night did not explain her sleepiness. She supposed it must be connected to the fact that her monthly was coming on in a few days. If there was one thing she missed about being pregnant, it was the absence of "the curse".
She sighed wearily. She was bored out of her mind. They had been sailing around with no sight of ship or land for the last two weeks. It was nearly as bad as sitting at boring tea parties in Port Royal, wearing a corset. Nearly as bad, but not quite. Jack had noted her boredom, and he was suffering from it as well, so he told her he'd take her to Tortuga. They should be there in three days if all went well. She was excited about going there with Jack as her husband. He had promised to introduce her to all the whores he had once frequented, and they had both laughed at the idea of seeing their shock at Jack Sparrow having a wife. She was looking forward to the excitement and cheerfulness of Tortuga's rowdy crowd.
She thought about Katrina. They had stayed in Port Nanton for a week. Katrina had told Brent about her unexpected pregnancy, and he had been worried, but happy. She had still been suffering from morning sickness when Jack and Elizabeth departed. However, she had not been sick with the other pregnancies, and her doctor was considering any difference to be a good sign. Elizabeth very much hoped that Katrina would carry a healthy child to term this time. It hurt to see her new friend in so much sorrow and worry.
Elizabeth often considered having more children. Jack was open to the possibility, but said he wanted to at least spend the first year of their marriage childless. He liked children, and despite his bad experience with losing Melody, he welcomed the idea of having children with Elizabeth. There was something special about the prospect of having a little person to represent the love between them. Willy reminded Elizabeth of her past mistakes, but the children she and Jack would share would be a constant reminder of something good.
It was strange to be bored. This was the life she had always craved, living on a ship, free, out on the open ocean. Why could she never be satisfied? Jack said that was the pirate's way. There was always somewhere else to go, something else to get. Why be satisfied when it was much more fun to be running about restlessly? She had to agree. Contented living meant no excitement, no adventure. But sometimes she wondered what it would be like to live one day without longing to do something dangerous and reckless.
Elizabeth stared out at the clouds brewing in the distance and pondered the nature of the sea. The sea and the pirates who rode her were very similar. The sea could not stay still and in one mood for long before she became impatient and made her own excitement through storms and torrents. Therein she provided the excitement that the pirates also thrived on. Elizabeth grinned. There would be a storm tonight.