Book Three - Chapter Seven: A Little Bit of Paradise

Jack lie there basking in this never before felt serenity, running his hands through the soft hair of the beautiful creature resting on his chest. Amelia, listening to the sounds of his beating heart, traced her fingertips gently over the markings she found on her captain. She followed the lines of tattoos and the grooves of scars that adorned his body. Jack closed his eyes as though to memorize the patterns that her light touch was creating.

"Jack," she called softly.

He opened his eyes.

"Will we always be secret?" she asked him.

"I hope not," he said. "It's too depressing that a moment like this should be so hard to come by. I say we see about you getting a room change on the ship."

"The only problem is," she said, "that my father would get quite cranky about it."

"Ah, yes. That he would. And as of now I still fear that he would do everything in his power to kill me," Jack said.

"That he would," she agreed.

"If only I still had the Wench," Jack said reminiscing.

Amelia shot a look up at him.

"I beg your pardon?" she said accusingly.

Jack laughed at her offence.

"The Wicked Wench. It was my old ship. My first own ship, really. Best vessel ever to sail the open seas. I bring it up because, unlike the Maid, it didn't have officer quarters, just the basics, captain's cabin and crew quarters. If we had that now Barbossa would have no choice but to transfer that partitioning tarp into my cabin lest you be sleeping in a room full of grungy men with cannons below your cot."

"What happened to that ship?" she asked him.

"It sank," Jack replied.

"So it wasn't that good of a ship after all."

"No, it still was. Wasn't her fault that she floundered. We were attacked quite maliciously by the very ships that were supposed to escort us safely - or at least the crew safely. A lot of innocent men died that day. It's a strange world indeed that allows the innocent to drown while the guilty man floats away unharmed."

"I'm sorry, Jack," she said sympathetically.

"I'm surprised that you're not familiar with the story. Your father was there that day."

"This was with the East India Trading Company then?"

"Aye, it was. The very last day that I sailed as an honourable man, and why I won't go near the like again," he said.

"I was very young when my father worked for the Company. When he was home my mother didn't approve of seafaring tales so I was hardly told anything. When he lost the job Mother had him thrown out of the house and there was never any talk of life before," Amelia explained.

"Well, even your father would have to admit that the Wench was the superior ship. It could manoeuvre in ways that you couldn't even dream a ship could. She could take on the worst of conditions and plough through strong. I can still remember every part of her. I had worked on every inch of her with me own hand. There was nothing that I couldn't command on that ship. There was no where that I couldn't go. There was no ship that I couldn't surpass. My god, she was a beauty to be seen."

Amelia laughed.

"You speak as though it were a woman," she said.

"She was. All ships are," he said. "I guess I'm just fortunate enough to be able to say that I've had the perfect version of both. You can tell a man's taste in women by his ship, or at least, by his ideal ship. When a man finds the perfect one, nothing else will truly satisfy him."

"So here you are with a lost ship and a woman you cannot entirely have," Amelia said.

"And to think that the one might have fulfilled the other," he said.

"So you will never be satisfied then?"

"I'm quite satisfied now," he said. "And though there's no saying what will happen off of this beach, while we are on it, my dear, I do have you quite entirely."

Jack took hold of her and rolled her onto her back playfully.

"The next time we do this," he said, "I say we bring a blanket or something. I don't know about you, but I've got sand in some very uncomfortable places."

"So we are to do this again?" she asked giddily.

"Of course, and quite frequently, too, if I'm to have it my way."

He kissed her passionately again. When he lifted himself from her, she traced the contours of his jaw line.

"Do you think that they've found the treasure yet?" she asked him.

"I would think so. I didn't exactly make it all that difficult."

"Should we go see?"

Jack did not really want to but he knew that they could not just hide away forever. After all, Barbossa still had his ship. Reluctantly, the captain rolled himself away from his lover and began to search through the scattered piles of clothing - collecting his and handing over hers. As they dressed they continued to talk, not knowing how long they would have to speak candidly.

"Jack," she said, fastening up her belt, "are you happy captaining the Roving Maid?"

"I'm happy captaining. I need to be free to run my own ship, whether it be the Maid or the Wench, or any other. Are you happy crewing the Maid?"

"It's the only ship I've ever known, Jack. I think it's the only one I can crew," she said.

"You're young, all of the skills are transferable to a point," he said. "Just need to commandeer a few for practice until you get a feel for it. Take me for example. I've spent my whole life working with ships. Doesn't take me long at all to get a firm grip on a new one. And besides, despite everything, the Maid is a mighty good ship. The only reason I might have to criticize her is that I spent so much time with the Wench. Now that she's gone, you might be on one of the best ships in the whole world, love."

"I don't think that I've mastered her yet," she said.

"Like I said, love, you've got time. Hell, you've got yourself pretty much all set for the rest of your life right now. I'm near thirty now which means that I've got, oh I don't know, maybe another ten good years left in me. Barbossa's even older, bound to be retiring soon, and when he does, there will be nothing stopping me from naming you the next first mate. When I've had my fill, you'll still have years left to captain her for me - so long as I still get to go along for the ride, mind you. I have no desire to sit around land-bound."

"And what makes you think that I would even be able to captain a ship, no matter how many years in the future that may be?"

"You gained yourself a lordship, love, and I rightly suspect that it'll only find its way back to you. Fate, love, you can't escape it. Much like me," he said grabbing hold of her hips playfully, causing her to giggle and run off ahead.

Amelia ran back into the cavern but waited there for her captain, not knowing the way out from there. He caught up with her and took her by the hand as he led her to another open passage. Before entering, he let go of her hand and allowed her to go first. The crew members were there, tired from digging in and around a large empty pit.

"Captain!" they cried when they saw him.

"Aye, finally found it," Jack said.

"The map's a dud, Captain. There ain't nothing here!" they cried.

Jack took hold of the map and examined it. He walked forward decisively. Then a few steps to the side.

"Nine paces you dolts!" the captain shouted.

One of the crew members looked over the map again.

"Nah, look, Captain, it's a four," he said convinced of his digit.

"If it were a four, there'd be gold!" the captain shouted and smacked the man's head with the map.

The men, tired though they were, they took up their spades and began to dig anew. Amelia felt bad for them, knowing that they did not have the rest that she and the captain had enjoyed. They did not need dig half the as much as they previously did before they hit the first sign of treasure. They carted it out greedily, eager to get it back to the ship and off of this island. The captain did not question their haste and led them back through the caverns to their original landing. Amelia followed behind.