Temptations

ɎChapter♠TwentyOneɎ

 Rosalina stood on the tip of the ship, her hands on the handle of her rapier as it rested on the wood. Her dreadlocks blew in the wind under her hat, but she paid no heed to it. Instead, she focused on the Rear Admiral, and how he was tied to the front, his body hanging over the ocean and under the burning gaze of the sun.

They'd left him only in a white shirt and pantaloons, and had him hanging there for the better part of 2 days. "Should we take him down, sir?" Tanner asked, stepping up beside her with crossed arms as he watched the Admiral.

"Bring him down, give him one water canister, and one meal. Ask him if he's ready to talk. If not, put him back up, if so, bring him to me." She said, turning around and facing the other way. "And Tanner, be careful with him." She said with a teasing grin and whispered, "he's gentle."

Tanner chuckled and nodded as she walked back to her quarters. Jack was already inside, standing over the puzzle-like map with a stern face and a tense posture. "You know, standing over the map like a grump isn't going to make this situation any better." She said, sliding in next to him and pushing him out of the way.

"I'm just trying to understand this part." He said, gesturing to the part she'd marked with a circle. She frowned.

"Why would you do that?" She asked, "I already cracked that area." He glanced up at her.

"Already?" She nodded quickly, with a grin.

"Bueno! You see this part here?" She moved to the area, moving the pieces around. "If you move it here, it becomes Madagascar, but if you move it here it becomes Japan. But... if you move it this way..." She stuck her tongue out as she moved the pieces. Jack watched with fascination beside her as the area revealed what looked to be the Philippines. She finished with pride.

"Okay, and so it could be three different places, how does that help?" Rosalina rolled her eyes.

"Each place makes the map correspond to the area. And the one with the Philippines has this." She traced a small dotted line in the corner that softly followed across the map. "It's a trail. The journey of San Juan." She grinned. "And remember what he was looking for?"

"The Fountain of Youth." She nodded quickly, then moved the map into another order.

"And this one is Don Crudo, and he looked for?"

"El Dorado." With one last grin, she moved the map once again.

"And what did these two have in common?" When Jack only answered with they were both Pirates following ridiculous stories she answered. "They were never seen again after they left port. Don't you see, Jack? They found what they were looking for! And this map shows the way they went. There's only one trail that hasn't been found yet." She stopped moving the pieces around and stood back. La Isla del Tiempo marked in small black letters near a small island in the middle of the ocean, east of Australia.

"You want to find the Isle of Time?" He asked. "That's ridiculous. It's just a fairy tale."

"No! It's a legend. Just like the legend of the Red Ruby, and the Legend of Gaspar. Legends are real, Jack." She smiled down at the map. "And we're going to find this legend true." Jack went to respond when the door knocked. They both snapped their head up and rolled the map up to the side, sliding it with other papers. "Come in." She said, sitting back into her chair.

Tanner opened the door, throwing Mr. Keen into the room. His skin was burnt by the sun as badly as the lobsters her chef tried to cook, and salt stuck to his skin like sand from a beach. "He says he's ready to talk."

"Then why did you treat him so poorly? Lift him up! Sit him down and bring the man more water." Tanner nodded, understanding the way she wanted to play it. She stood up, walking around to his side and crouching down. She ran a hand through his hair. "My apologies, Mr. Keen, for the way they've treated you."

"Don't. Touch. Me. Bitch." He said, breathing heavily. Rosalina rolled her eyes and walked behind his chair. She leaned forward, running her hands up and down his burnt chest. He hissed in pain but she ignored him.

"Now, now. I don't think you understand what's happening here. You were left up there because you refused to tell me about the three ships. We've already wasted two days, now you tell me you want to talk, which means now you talk. I'll give you time to eat, and drink, but after that you will tell me." She leaned down, whispering in his ear. "Or you'll be back on the post with no clothes this time." She sunk her nails into his chest playfully and he groaned in pain just as Tanner came back in with food and water. "Leave us." Jack rolled his eyes but left nonetheless.

Tanner handed him the food, and he didn't waste a second before digging in. Rosalina watched him with a grin. "Eat it all up. You'll need your energy."