Chapter Five: Singapore

Arriving in Singapore was like coming home. The sights, the sounds and even the smells sent a rush through the Roving Maid's captain. Jack had many fond memories of the place, and many memories of things that were somewhat hazy. Those who knew Captain Jack Sparrow greeted him accordingly. Most of his admirers were women he had met with in one form or another. They alluded to their previous encounters in each greeting which the captain could not help but smile at. As usual, the majority of the crew members rushed to the nearest tavern. Jack joined them to keep his image, but even he was finding it difficult to give in to his old ways while Amelia was still very much on his mind. Everyone noticed the young woman as she walked with her shipmates. As planned, Jack did his best to ignore her and she him.

One of the local women, one Jack had frequented in the past, threw her arms around the captain and spoke in his ear intimately.

"Jack, you not come in long time. You not miss me?" she asked him.

"Aye, love, course I did," he said.

She sat on his lap and pulled playfully at his shirt. This made him anxious. Jack flashed a glance over to where Amelia was sitting with her usual mates. He was glad that she had not yet looked his way. The harlot's hands moved lower. Jack coughed up the drink that was in his mouth, unintentionally drawing attention to himself.

"That's quite alright, love," he said to her, reattaching his belt once his coughing ceased.

"But Jack Sparrow never say no to me."

"I'm not saying no. I'm just saying not now," he said to her. "Long trip, love. I haven't the energy."

She looked around. She caught sight of the pair of eyes that were watching their interaction.

"They say that is Barbossa's daughter," she said referring to the young woman across the room.

"Aye," the captain replied.

"She make Jack so tired?" she asked him alluringly.

"Don't be ridiculous," Jack tried to laugh. "She's part of the crew. Practically a son to me, she is."

"Captain control crew," she said. "Captain make crew do as he pleases. Pretty girl, Jack."

"Is this your attempt at turning a man on?" Jack asked her, trying to get off the topic.

"Jack not want me. Very sad," she said. "Maybe Barbossa want company," she said getting off of the captain's lap.

Her insinuation worried the captain who knew that it was a ploy to get a reaction out of him.

"Alright, what do you want?" he asked her.

"Jack can pay for service, or silence, not matter which" she said.

Jack took hold of her and smiled slyly.

"Well now, there ain't nothing to be silent about, is there?" he said. He got up and had the woman lead him upstairs.

Amelia saw them leave. She was determined not to let it bother her. After all, that's just what Jack did, he drank and had whores. Who was she to keep the captain from doing what he has always done? Amelia reached for another mug. It belonged to one of the men who cried out, "Hey, that one's mine!" but it was too late. By the time he got the last word out she had already chugged it dry. She was a determined young woman and no one would cross her.

Upstairs, Jack had begun his business transaction to ensure that he had a good alibi. Try as he might, however, he just could not bring himself to perform. Eventually it was just found irksome and the harlot finally said, "What? You broken or something?"

"It's like I keep telling you, I just can't keep up with you right now," he replied apologetically.

"I still get paid!" she said.

"On the table, love," he said, gesturing to the nightstand by the bed.

She found the money purse and took it. She added it to the pile of her clothes that she scooped up in her hands. She did not dress before leaving but simply walked out in her undergarments with her belongings in hand. When she was gone, Jack began to breathe again. He lie there awhile, not wanting to go down and have Amelia see him. On the other hand, staying up in the room would probably send her an even worse message. Torn between the two thoughts, Jack eventually agreed with himself to get dressed and see to it that Amelia had not thrown herself into a fit of any sort.

Sure enough, upon returning downstairs Jack found the young woman drunkenly flirting with a handful of men - stumbling over the half steps she took. He came up from behind her and, seeing a bottle still in her hand, confiscated it.

"I'll take that, thank you very much," he said stealing away the bottle. He did not need to shake it to know that it was empty.

"Hey!" she said but obviously without the full conviction of being entirely aware of what was going on. She turned around, losing her balance and nearly falling. Jack caught her. She giggled profusely. "It's Jack!" she said as though she were quite surprised by his being there. He steadied her on her own feet as best as he could. "Thank you, Captain," she said saluting him the wrong way.

"Amelia," Jack said calmly, "how many drinks have you had?"

She extended her hand but her ring and middle fingers were not completely straight so it was not entirely clear if she meant to say five or three. Given her condition, Jack believed it must have been at least five.

"Alright," he said trying to get an arm around her, "let's get you some air."

Amelia pushed him away.

"I'm fine!" she said. "You can go, Jack. Just go back."

He scooped his arm around her anyway, "Come here, you," he said.

She stumbled forward a bit and fell forward onto him.

"You've got one on every corner, don't you?" she said. "The notorious lover, Captain Jack Sparrow!"

Jack tried to get hold of her enough to be able to either walk her out or carry her.

Quietly, he said, "If you must know, nothing happened."

"Of course!" she cried. "Nothing ever happens."

"She was going to say something to Barbossa. I paid her for her silence and that alone. I didn't take the wench," he explained, knowing that it was essentially a wasted confession but he wanted to say it anyway.

"You did?" she asked a little mellower now.

She looked at him, closed her eyes and planted a kiss on his lips, though the force behind it was more like she had fallen on his face in the attempt. Jack stood there, wide-eyed and baffled, waiting to see if she would pull herself off or if she was stuck there. He knew that the longer this lasted the worse it would be for him, especially considering the amount of people who were witnessing it. The only good side to this was that Amelia was obviously very drunk and so it would hopefully be enough to excuse the behaviour. She did manage to pull herself slowly away. She looked very worried for a moment. Before Jack had a chance to ask if she was alright, Amelia keeled over and vomited. Jack held her by the waist to keep her from falling further over. He averted his eyes and waited for her to be finished. After a few heaves she became woozy. Jack bent down to scoop up her legs and carried her away. He took her up to a room.

Along the way Jack passed Barbossa who was arm in arm with two women. Barbossa immediately abandoned them when he saw his daughter in the captain's arms.

"Amelia? What's happened?" he asked with great concern.

"She's fine," Jack said, "just a little intoxicated."

Barbossa sighed.

"It's for the best if she rests away from the masses below," the captain added.

"Jack, ye know how I feel about me daughter," he said. "Should ye be layin' a finger on her," he threatened.

"I know, I'd pay for it with my life. Relax, will you?" the captain said, "I may not have many morals but even I wouldn't touch a girl in this condition."

Barbossa gave a short grunt and then said, "Just be sure that she's kept an eye on."

Jack agreed and continued on to an empty room where he laid the now sleeping Amelia down. He brushed his hand over her cheek. He took a chair from within the room and carried it outside of the door. He sat down as a way of guarding the door - but more so to keep an eye on Barbossa.

The first mate began to indulge himself in a few rounds, his company still fawning over him. Given the distractions below, Jack felt that he could slip away for a few minutes and not be noticed. He left the chair propped up near the door and entered the door he had been guarding.

Amelia still lay there on the bed, sleeping soundly, hardly having moved. Jack sat down on the bed beside her, running his hand across the contour of her body. He removed his boots and put his feet up on the bed. He leaned over to her. His head rested above hers. He found her hand and laced his fingered through hers. He lay there with her just feeling her breathe. He had never had a night with her before. They never had the opportunity without the fear of being discovered. What Jack would not give for just one night - one full night without a single care. There could never be such a moment. Barbossa would never leave Amelia unattended for very long. It would be too conspicuous to just steal her away. Wherever she went at least half of the crew was bound to follow if Barbossa were not to follow himself. It would be tricky business to come up with a possible plan. If only they had been able to take advantage of the sudden privacy they had faced on Ewould's island while stuck below the golden temple. What were the chances of such an opportunity to ever rise again? Jack closed his eyes and held the young woman tightly against him. If only the world could be shut out. At least for this brief moment, it was.

"Where be, Jack?" Barbossa's strong voice echoed from outside of the room.

Jack opened his eyes. He was startled by the sound of Barbossa's voice being so close. He had fallen asleep and there was no telling for how long. Quickly he reached for his boots and struggled to get them on.

"Saw no need to be waitin' around here, sir," another voice said. "Saw me and asked to have me take the post. Out enjoying his evening now I suspect."

"And Amelia?" Barbossa asked.

"I have not gone in to see, sir. The captain said she was in need of rest and not to disturb her," the man replied.

Jack waited near the door, afraid to exit in fear that Barbossa would still be standing there. After a few moments of dead conversation, the captain heard three light knocks on the door accompanied by his name being quietly called.

Jack opened the door and stepped out. Barbossa had since left. It was Bootstrap Bill Turner who met him.

"Close call, Captain," Bootstrap said.

"Yes, too close," Jack said. Then, realising that Bootstrap had seen too much, tried to save himself by saying, "Just to clarify, I was just checking on the girl."

Bootstrap laughed.

"Aye, Captain. As you say," he replied, but the tone in his voice made it clear that the truth was not entirely hidden from him. "I did not even see you come this way, Captain."

"Aye, right. Good man," Jack said.

Instinctively, Jack was quite suspicious as to why Bootstrap would be so helpful. Sure that he had spent years working under the captain but this seemed short of a just cause.

"A word of caution, if I may, Jack," Bootstrap said before his captain had a chance to walk away. "What it is that you aren't doing is treading on very dangerous waters. Leave the girl be, Jack, for her own sake."

"What do you mean?"

"Barbossa is but one threat to you, but think of what she has to fear," Bootstrap said.

Jack had no answer to the riddle.

"You're her captain, Jack. You're her first lover. It's a fragile heart you hold, one that cannot help but break when held by the likes of us. Just look around, Jack. Where is Barbossa's wife? My own Mary is behind us now, with a child I've hardly the chance to see. It's a cruel fate, Jack. If you love her, leave her be. If not, then be merciful and don't lead her on any further. A pirate cannot love more than the sea he sails, that is his curse, and we are, all of us, bound to it."

Bootstraps words resonated with the captain as he walked away. How could the world be so cruel as to bind a man to a single love? That is too firm a rule. Was that not why piracy had such appeal? A pirate was free to reject man's structures, the rules that governed him and oppressed him. The sea was freedom. The sea gave man his freedom so long as he could make his way in it. It should therefore give him the freedom to love whomever he wants, however many he wants, in however way he wants. Jack had no intention of marrying. Marriage is but another structure, another rule to bind a man away from his freedoms. That would explain Barbossa and Bootstrap. It was their choice to give their word to a social structure and then abandon it. Jack would never need to make that choice. He would never bind himself to such a vow. If Amelia would love him, she would have to love him as he is. And did he love her? Of course he did. But she was a pirate too. That reason alone should be reason enough to disprove all that Bootstrap had said. As young and as naïve as she may be, she had every bit of piracy in her. She could not be hurt so easily and he would never hurt her intentionally. Bootstrap was wrong. He had to be. How could he have any idea of what was really going on between them anyway? He couldn't. He didn't know. No, Jack's problem was not in keeping the girl, but in keeping away from Barbossa. He needed a way to break free from him - from the whole crew. Time is what he needed. Time and privacy.

Singapore proved to give them lots of time but very little privacy. Jack and Barbossa had mutually decided that Singapore would be the best place to retire with some ease for the next little while. There was essentially no rush to leave since they did not have any particular destination in mind. It was just impatience that was ruling Jack's thoughts. He never liked to be in one place too long, and with minimal freedoms this time, he was even more anxious to be back at sea. He needed a new adventure. He dug around in all of the lowlife places trying to uncover some secret treasure that would require a new quest to be undertaken. Nothing came to his attention. Getting more and more impatient, Jack set to create his own adventure. It would not be difficult to plot out, all he needed to do was create the map and setup a solid story behind the whole thing to avoid suspicion.

When the map had been created, Jack sat down with Bootstrap and began to tell him about the information he had just received. Apparently a band of buccaneers had been recently persecuted leaving only a few stragglers behind with nothing. One of these men had been drinking himself mad, nattering away to anyone who would listen. He raved on and on about hoards of gold he and his mates had managed to burry right before the navy shot down their vessel. Jack just so happened to be in the vicinity when the lunatic was being tossed out onto the streets. In offering a helping hand to get the man back on his feet, the captain managed to pinch the parchment out of the man's jacket. By the looks of things, what he pinched was the map to the buried treasure.

When it seemed that Bootstrap believed the story, Jack gave him the map and had him approach the others about it, namely Barbossa. Of course some men were quite sceptical about it. They did not approve of the hearsay method in general, but the captain reminded them that the golden temple was just hearsay and this time they had a physical map. The main issue was that the men were more comfortable remaining in Singapore than Jack was himself. They were in no rush to be labouring, eating basic foods and sleeping in rough hammocks. Barbossa was the man to convince them. The first mate basically scolded them into conformity with their captain. The plan was working wonderfully.