Chapter 3: My Love Will Follow You

My love will follow you
Down every highway of your soul
You can leave it all behind
My love will be your shadow
Everywhere you go

If you should ever go so far, that you cannot get back
Girl, you may not remember
But, my heart will not lose track

My Love Will Follow You by Dierks Bentley

Hours had clouded to days, and days to eventual weeks before headway had finally been made to the Cove. The Pearl's belly narrowed itself across miles of endless sea, dragging against the Asian gusts and filtering the food and rum rations to a bare minimum aboard. A day more, and this would not be suitable by any means. It was imperative that they find the Shipwreck shores before nightfall.

Jack's rough cheek slid down the pillow, falling out of his restlessness. All he could think of was the soft, yellow hair he had imagined in his sleep, the hair that had been blown across his face. He blinked twice to remind himself of where he was, taking in a salty whiff from the linen and lifting his body to dress and return to the deck. Once outside in the cool evening air he stopped to glance across the crystalline ripples, having a full sense of where he was, and knowing it would be no more than a sunset's distance until they had pulled through the fortress walls he had been raised within. His gut trembled anxiously at the thought as he made his way to the helm, where he met Gibbs, Barbossa and Cotton, the helm's regulars.

"Gents…"

"Evening Capn'."

The parrot perched high on Cotton's shoulder squawked proudly, pressing his chest out as he remarked. "Wind in er' sails!" Jack had over time taken to the wild beast, finding moments of conversation to be had with it when he lacked anyone else. "Indeed bird."

"Jack, this venture t' Shipwreck ad' better not take more an' two days off course!" He spun on the stressed heal of his left boot to face his demonic partner, seeing a vengeance in his eyes at all times of the day. "This venture…is of significant importance to t' finding of this grand ole' bath o yers mate. Two days and not a moment more, I assure ye." Twirling back to rest his delicately worn hands on the spokes of the wheel, Jack could feel Barbossa's breathe run down his neck like shooting splinters.

"An' Sparra, if ye think twice on the idea that I know be circlin' in that brain o' yers, to sneak off into the night with me ship and crew and find the fountain on yer onesies, rest assured lad, dearest Calypso is but a call away!"

"Ave' ye no faith in me Hector?"

"I ave' faith in yer being a fool, no more."

Jack lifted his face with a smirk and high pitched enthusiasm. "Oh good. I guess ye do ave' faith me then."

Barbossa, perturbed by his fellow captain's mind tricks, mumbled down the steps of the ship and pounded heartily off to his cabin. Jack chuckled inwardly as he steered his vessel, soon after sending both Gibbs and Cotton off to, 'fix something, er drink something, anything lads!' Alone and settled into place, he decided to remove his boots out of natural habit for this time of day, kicking them aside and relaxing in the feel of the cracking wood beneath his toes. His fingers gripped tighter to the wheel, churning it against the strengthening shoals, dancing around his thoughts as he transfixed his blazing eyes solely on the coming of land.

Whispering through clenched lips, 'Teague you bastard, couldn't just tell me this before, now could ye? Had t' let me figure it out on me own as usual.'

'Think there's a reason for it Jacky?'

"Wot' is it now, come t' confuse me some more?"

'We're ere' to help ye boy, or do ye still not want t' accept it.'

"Help me, Captain Jack Sparrow. I don't need help other than t' get rid o' you! That's nearly a laughing matter…"

'Keep tellin' yerself that Jack.'

"I will."

Desperate to lose the voices he knew were of his own accord, the voices he knew were only contemplating what had run through his mind during his dreams; he focused on the water and nothing else. The water was blue, cold, ignorant of memories. He wished he could be the water.

'Do try not t' think about the treasure ye pillaged beneath those waves mate…' The voice teased, forcing him to rub his forehead difficultly, as if ripping the images from his inner sanctum.

"I've pillaged a lot o' jewels down there."

'True enough Jacky.'

'But ye only kissed one.'

"I didn't kiss her."

'Oh no? Then who did, that is besides that lingerin' whelp Turner.'

"I didn't kiss her."

'Really?'

"No. She kissed me, there's a rather grave difference."

'Grave eh? Funny ye should mention a grave…'

'Aye, isn't that where she sent im'?'

'Tis', and yet e' still chooses to fill is' eart' with her yellow hair.'

"Go away the both of ye!"

'Not until ye come clean Sparrow.'

"Coming clean would require me t' be soiled with the thoughts initially."

'An' yer not?'

"NO!"

The grumbling force of his voice fell across the deck, leaving the eyes of scattered crew upon him in oddity. Jack looked up from the wheel and out to the curious brows, trying to think of an outlandish excuse, one only he could invent. This was his forte.

"Jack?" Gibbs called out from below, searching for a reason for the Captain's shouting.

"No Master Gibbs…" He thought quickly, rationally, or tried to in his state of mind. "…the goat may not reside in yer barracks! How despicable a request!"

Gibbs eyes widened in disbelief, embarrassment as the snickers dusted the open deck through the mass of men. Jack, tilting his head sorrowfully, grinned apologetically and twisted his brow to his good first mate. For which he received a nod and roll of eyes, as Gibbs returned to work, and he returned to battling his mind. 'Jesus Jack…pull yer pitiful self together.'

'Yeah Jack, I can't possibly be that interesting a topic.'

He stopped. Eyes dilated with fear. That wasn't his voice, that was a woman. 'Wot' in the name o'…'

'Lizzie.' The innocent silk of her voice concluded. Jack was beside himself, trying to maintain and keep his eyes to the barrier of sky and sea without losing control. 'Lizzie…how can ye be in there?'

'I'm wherever you are Jack.'

It was now his eyes that were rolling to the back of his head, drained of anything to say by cliché standards. How was she speaking to him? How was she there? Why did she want to be where he was? When he didn't answer, he heard her again almost instantly, a tinge of pain in the voice that conspired, a lonesome whisper.

'You do want me here, don't you?'

He didn't answer. He questioned himself for the remainder of the sunset. His guitar remained in his cabin, for there was no need to play for someone who was with him. Still though, Jack hadn't the faintest idea how to answer his mind. He did want her there, didn't he?

The sweetness of wine tickled at the back of Elizabeth's throat, reminding her of a dozen or so other times it had burned so for very different reasons. She sat the glass down whilst peering across the distance of the table to Teague and his common dinner guests. Women, of different ages and of stark beauty, men who had sailed beside him in the golden days of the piracy trade, and children, most of whom could trace their roots back to Sparrow blood for one reason or another. It intrigued her as she watched him with them, tousling the hair of the rebellious boys, and twirling the body of each young girl. Even at his ripe age, he was the image of fatherly affection, for which he certainly believed he owed it to these offspring. How fortunate, she imagined, Jack had been in those years of his life.

When Teague looked to her with a worried expression, she smiled, assuring him she was fine. He knew the true reasoning behind her stares, and desperately watchful eye. For it should have been Elizabeth in his place by now and soon to it, caring for the child of William Turner as he knew only she could do so fondly. This more than anything weakened his spirits for her, connecting to her loss greatly and wondering if there was some way of changing things. But he feared as she knew, there was not.

"Teague if I may be excused?"

"Course Lizzie."

Patting the corners of her mouth with a cloth, she rose from the table and smiled at the guests before taking leave to her room for the evening. Halfway down the hall she felt a short spastic jolt in her stomach, as if it was doing flips. This was a feeling she knew to occur at the rarest of occasions, and only before something even rarer was to happen, something unexpected. Nervous at the happening, she pushed her way through the door of the room closest to her and fell to the bed without second thought. Her insides were aching, pulsating with boiling excitement of something she couldn't explain. After a few minutes of resting, her nose pressed deep into the thick cotton sheets, she lifted her head at a familiar scent wafting in the surrounding air. It was strong, deep, ginger almost. A hearty combination of every drop of rum able to be consumed by one man, the stinging spray of the open ocean, and another she couldn't place, a musky sense and tone following.

'Comfortable eh?'

She could see herself losing muscle in her knees as she sat up on the bed and looked around. This wasn't her room; this was a man's room, a man she had tried so desperately to quit her thoughts on. Though she had been here once or twice before in curiosity, it felt different now, as if he was watching her. She stood to leave and nearly made her way through the door when she heard shouting from outside of the window. Rushing over she pulled back the curtain and saw a small crowd forming at the foot of the hill, lanterns scattered about in the early dusk light, and children running down in excitement. Something was happening, something rare.

Her gut hadn't fooled her.

Okay so I'm sure just about anyone can guess what's about to happen, its inevitable. I hope I've conveyed there feelings ok, I'm trying to show the inner battle as I see it.

The title of the chapter is of course another song title, I just love using song titles for some reason. It's called My Love Will Follow You by Dierks Bentley, check it out if you get a chance, its a great tune!

Enjoy and reviews will help me write better for readers, so please send them my way! :)