The Captain's Treasure

Repercussions and Jack's past

HMS Intrepid

The storm tosses the Intrepid most of the night and the movement of the ship is so violent that Charlotte is repeatedly almost dumped out of the bed. She can hear the orders being shouted on deck above her and Jack's voice in particular as he leads the crew through the squall. Not that she would ever admit to Jack that she was glad to be in the cabin.  Once the worst of the storm was over she stripped down to just her shirt and tried to sleep.

Just as dawn was breaking Jack unlocked the door to the cabin and walked to the desk in the corner. In his hand he had a bottle of Rum and he took a drink as he pulled the charts on the desk towards him. He shrugged out of his brown leather coat and hung it over a chair to dry with his vest and hat. Charlotte had her back to the room and he called out to her. "I know very well you aren't asleep, be angry at me later, come have a drink with me right now."

Charlotte turned over and looked towards Jack in the early morning light.  The golden beams were shinning through the windows and showed that Jack was still soaking wet from the storm. His face looked tired and there was a slump of exhaustion to his shoulders. He turned towards the liquor cabinet and commented. "I'll bet Norrington has a good brandy hidden in here somewhere." and he started moving bottles. Charlotte sat up on the side of the bed and then slipped out from under the blanket to pad across the room on silent bare feet.

"I actually hate brandy." She told him from next to the desk. Jack looked back over his shoulder to ask what she would prefer and found himself robbed of words, it was a new sensation for him. She looked like a goddess, hair loose and tumbling in gentle waves down to her small waist. The white shirt reached to mid-thigh and below it her smooth pale legs stretched to the floor. It was unbuttoned to just between her full high breasts and he could make out the shape and just the hint of dusky nipples through the thin material. She nodded towards the bottle of rum sitting on the desk and commented. "I've never tried rum, what's it like?"

Jack swallowed hard even though his mouth was suddenly dry and reached out to pour a tumbler half full of rum and held it out to her.  Charlotte, took the glass from him and took a small sip. "hmmmm. Sweeter than I thought it would be." She musses and takes a bigger drink draining the glass.  She takes a step closer to refill the glass and Jack would swear he can detect the faintest scent of lilies on her hair. She turns to face him and he can't help but reach out to touch her face but he stops just shy of doing so however when he feels one of the forgotten silver blades pressed to his inner thigh.

"I don't care the circumstances Captain, if you ever strike me again, you will be the only one anyone is making eunuch jokes about." Jack can't help but smile slightly at her fire and actually moves closer to go ahead and card his fingers through her curls and cup the back of her head.

"Consider the information noted princess." His other hand skims lightly over her waist and down her hip and then backwards to trace the curve of her ass and brush over the light bruise below that is shaped like a perfect handprint. Charlotte's breath catches slightly as he touches the sensitive skin and her cheeks flush. "Bit tender, are we? I can always kiss it better." He grins crookedly and several gold teeth flash in the light. Charlotte drops her eyes shyly, admitting that Jack has won this round and he steps back away from the blade still pressed to his inner leg. "You should get dressed luv, were almost there."

..... "Dead men tell no tales." Cries Cottons macaw from Charlotte's arm as they sail through a graveyard of wreaked ships surrounding the Isla de Muerta.

The whole crew is looking at the wrecks strewn everywhere in the water and Gibbs comments sadly. "Puts a chill in the bones how many honest sailors have been claimed by this passage."

Will and Charlotte watch as Jack closes the compass at the helm and makes a small course correction. "How is it that Jack came by that compass?" he asks. Will had told her this morning that the compass pointed not north like a traditional one but to the treasure.

"Not a lot's known about Jack Sparrow before he showed up in Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure of the Isla de Muerta." Gibbs admits, "That was before I met him, back when he was Captain of the Black Pearl."

Charlotte and Will look to one another in shock "What? He failed to mention that." Will said and Gibbs looked slightly guilty to realize he had let something slip about his captain.  A moment later he leans in to tell them quietly.

"Well, he plays things closer to the vest now. And a hard-learned lesson it was. See three days out on the venture the first mate comes to him and says everything's an equal share. That should mean the location of the treasure, too, so Jack gives up the bearings. That night there was a mutiny. They marooned Jack on an island and left him to die but not before he ad gone mad with the heat."

Will nods, "Ah. So that's the reason for all the?" and he stumbles about and does a crediable imitation of Jack.

"Will!" Charlotte scolds.

"Reason's got nothing to do with it. Now, when a man is marooned he is a given a pistol with a single shot? one shot. Well it won't do much good hunting or to be rescued. But after three weeks of a starvin belly and thirst, that pistol will start to look real friendly." Gibbs motions shooting oneself in the head and Charlotte can't help but glance over to Jack in empathy. "But Jack? he escaped the island, and he still has that one shot. Oh, but he won't use it, though, save for one man. His mutinous first mate."

"Barbossa." Will guesses.

"Aye."

"How did Jack get off the island?" Will asks in confussion.

"Well, I'll tell ye." Gibbs excitedly starts the tale. "He waded out into the shallows and there he waited three days and three nights till all manner of sea creature came and acclimated to his presence. And on the fourth morning, he roped himself a couple of sea turtles, lashed em together and made a raft."

Charlotte couldn't stop the little snort of laughter that escaped.

"He roped a couple of sea turtles?" Will asked in disbelief.

"Aye, sea turtles." Gibbs assured them.

"Where did he get the rope?" Charlotte asked.

From behind them Jacks voice can be heard. "Human hair, from my back." Charlotte snickers' again and Jack smiles ever so slightly at her. "Let go of the anchor!"

The crew jumps to follow the orders and Jack turns to Gibbs. "Young Mr. Turner and I are to go ashore."

"Captain! What if the worst should happen?" Gibbs asks.

"Keep to the code." Jack tells him and turns to find Charlotte in front of him.

"You're not going without me Captain." Jack starts to object but she doesn't give him a chance. "That is my sister, and I am going." And she turns and marches to help lower the longboat leaving Jack to stare after her.