Jack couldn't avoid showing Rachel a horse. She made that pretty clear. He wouldn't dare go to Port Royal where her beast was. Some other had to do.
He set course for the nearest familiar island. On it was a small settlement where people lived their simple lives relatively independently. Nevertheless, he realised discontentedly, soldiers from the Royal Navy were to be found here.
Jack had only taken Tristan, Temari and Rachel with him. He didn't want to turn up in too large a crowd when the Commodore's henchmen — bored as they were — were only too happy to pick a quarrel.
Jack had discussed it for a long time with Rachel, who did not want to put on the blouse and trousers she had brought with her in her suitcase when she entered the Pearl a while ago. He thanked Elizabeth for apparently having had a hand in packing the suitcase. It would be annoying if the endeavour failed because none of these people here had a side-saddle and Rachel insisted on wearing her dress. After all, Rachel had given in.
Jack had spotted a cattle barn and was heading straight for it. A small boy — perhaps eight years old — was leaning against the fence of the paddock and chewing on a blade of grass.
Jack didn't know much about horses, but he was immediately taken with the lively and frolicking one.
"You!" he addressed the boy.
The boy flinched, turned around and went wide-eyed. Jack noticed that the little guy was making moves to run away. The captain crouched down to be more at eye level with the boy and thus establish some kind of familiarity. At least that was what he wanted to achieve.
The boy hesitated, still looking at him wide-eyed.
"Can we borrow a horse? Of course you would get compensation."
Jack took off one of the small pouches on his trousers and took out a gold coin.
Slowly he let it slide through his fingers and the coin reflected the sunlight beautifully.
The boy marvelled open-mouthed, nodded and held out his hand.
Jack stood up and held up the coin. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. First the saddled or at least bridled horse, a few minutes across the meadow and only then you get the coin. Pirate's word of honour! You won't say a word about this to anyone, savvy?"
Jack waited a moment with one eyebrow raised. The boy didn't move or make a sound.
"Did you get it?" Jack asked, slightly irritated.
The boy nodded eagerly, and Jack pointed to the black horse running up and down.
After he had been in the stable for a short time, the boy came back here with a bridle around his shoulder.
It felt like an eternity until he had caught the unruly horse and brought it to the fence.
"Jack, are you sure it should be this animal of all things? I know a bit about horses and believe me, if Rachel isn't a born rider, the cards are stacked against her with the black one."
Tristan was very sceptical about the whole venture here, but Jack waved it off and tried to bridle the horse with only moderate success.
He held the bit in front of the horse, expecting the animal to take it between its teeth voluntarily. The boy was still about two heads too small to put the bridle on the horse without help.
Tristan cursed, yanked Jack's bridle away, placed a hand on the bridge of the horse's nose, gently forced his head down and pressed both corners of the animal's mouth with his fingers so that it opened its mouth.
When the straps were all in place and fastened, they gave Rachel the reins, and she climbed over the fence onto the horse's back.
She liked the animal very much; and somehow she knew immediately what she had to do. She picked up the reins, applied a little pressure to the horse's belly with her calves and off she went.
Satisfied, Jack leaned against the fence with Tristan and watched her. Temari had been parked a little apart to watch the Royal Navy sailors. Not that any of them came too close.
Rachel was beaming all over her face, galloping across the meadow at a rapid pace. The next moment, Temari came running back.
She shouted out as quietly as possible, "Should get out of here, something's coming!"
Jack cursed, waved the boy over and whispered quickly, "If you have a hiding place for us and don't tell anyone about us, you'll get another coin."
The boy made a strained face — he didn't seem the smartest, then nodded wildly and led them into the stable. He pointed to a huge heap of straw, and Jack and Tristan hid behind it.
Temari was still outside and tried to get Rachel's attention. Eventually she succeeded and Rachel got off her horse and ran quickly after her.
"What's going on?" she wanted to know, slightly disgruntled.
"We have to hide from a few people here. If they see us, there will be a lot of trouble, they will kill us or even take us prisoner," Temari said as they were in the barn and closed the wooden door behind them.
Rachel thought it was odd that death seemed less bad to Temari than a deprivation of liberty, but she became even angrier.
"Don't you tell me about being captured!" shouted Rachel softly, nudging Temari.
The latter lost her balance for a moment, but converted the movement into a turn and glared at Rachel.
"What is your problem? We didn't put you in this body. Besides, you were already human once. Yes, shocking, isn't it? But it's only because of you that we came here, to somehow remind you of your old life."
Temari's words were unfavourably very loud. The two Royal Navy sailors became aware of her and entered the stable.
"Everything all right, miss?" asked one of the two Temari.
She quickly recovered from her anger and smiled a very particular smile. Seventy per cent innocent and the rest stupid. It was intended as a weapon for this moment. She gently ran one of her feet over the sand and drew a semicircle on the ground in front of her.
"Everything is fine, gentlemen. Mary here just forgot to clean the stables, and now it's all down to me again. I got a bit angry."
Jack inaudibly exhaled the air he had been holding. Temari had been quick and played her role well.
Tristan searched Jack's gaze, and what Jack saw in Tristan's face did not please him at all. Tristan's nose wrinkled treacherously. Jack put his hand over his mouth.
"In that case, we'll leave you alone again," came from the sailor.
He took his hat off his head in greeting and turned to the door with his comrade, but not without giving both women a smarmy grin.
Tristan couldn't hold on any longer, he had got too much dust behind that haystack and had to sneeze loudly.
Jack closed his eyes in surrender and swallowed. Disgusted, he took his hand away and wiped it on his trousers.
The sailors had turned round at the same time and were looking at Rachel and Temari. Temari still smiled inanely and shrugged her shoulders slightly.
This time it was up to Rachel to save the day. She wiped under her nose with the back of her hand and then spat on the floor. She had once seen Gibbs sneeze like that.
The Royal Navy soldiers looked at her in astonishment and then disgust spread across their faces. They quickly left the barn and left.
Temari looked at Rachel. "Why did you do that?"
Rachel just shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe you're right and I am ungrateful. The trip put strange images in my head and I sensed a past. I want to get to the bottom of that, and you're helping me."
Jack and Tristan pushed past the wall of the shed and the stacked hay and emerged. They patted their clothes clean, Jack also frantically wiping his right hand.
"Why did the two men leave so quickly?" asked Tristan.
Temari laughed and imitated Rachel. Jack just shook his head. What kind of lady had they brought up?
They set off on their way. Jack stopped briefly next to the little boy, who in the meantime was trying to free the black stallion from his bridle, and slipped him the two coins.
He tousled the fellow's hair and smiled at him, but the boy was lost in the sight of the gold.
A few years later, the two would meet again. The little boy would become addicted to the gold rush and follow the only real vocation he could pursue here near the island in order to come into contact with gold — he would become a pirate.