The Attainment of Evangeline

Chapter 37

Jack simply refused to let go of Evangeline as Boone's crew members shuttled everyone on board The Pearl and The Cherry Blossom, Elizabeth's lovingly named ship. Evangeline had long forgotten about how bitterly cold she was and hardly noticed Jack beside her; she was focused on what imperative task lay ahead of her. It seemed so long ago that she had promised him that she would keep the hiding place of his map secret: she was the only one besides Jack himself that knew of this undisclosed place, and so a heavy burden fell on her to keep it that way.

"Ya won't tell anyone? Not even if your life is threatened?"

She swore, she wouldn't tell a soul, not even if her life was threatened. Evangeline knew by now how angry and vicious Boone could be and he had already warned her that he would take her life if necessary; she knew Boone would try to scare her into reveling the map's location. Jack trusted her with this information, and she would not let it slip.

"God, you're freezin'," she heard Jack mumble into her ear, his arms still around her.

Looking around, she noticed that they were down below decks in the brig. Crew members were being shoved into cells, seven people clumped together in one, nine in another, and with no room to move. Jack was right: she was freezing, she was positively stiff from the cold and there wasn't much difference in the temperature from outside to the brig. Boone's men were pushing and yelling to move quicker and Evangeline could see Jack's face was blank. He had a far off look in his eyes. He wasn't even there, he was somewhere else entirely, yet he kept a strong hold on her, even as they were rudely directed to their own cell along with six other men. A few of them stepped on her bare feet and she cried out in pain, the men unaware of whom or what they bumped into.

There were bars in front of them and on either side, Jack and Evangeline were squished up against the wood at the back of the cell and it felt colder than it had been outside due to the dark and damp nature of the brig. There was shouting and cursing, so loud she couldn't focus on one voice, and she suddenly realized how utterly terrified she was. She had been scared when Boone had approached her and held a gun to her head, of course, but now it all seemed different. There were a million different voice saying a million different things; guns were being shoved into men's faces, she was bone cold and nearly naked save for Jack's jacket, and she knew she had the trial of a lifetime ahead of her. She had never seen the men of The Pearl in such an angry uproar. Shivering, she looked up at Jack who looked down at her and shook his head, perhaps in disbelief, she wasn't sure but he kept a tight hold of her.

"Ya look petrified," he stated.

"You do too," she muttered as she trembled in his arms.

"No, I have no reason to be afraid, luv. But I'm fumin', I'm bloody angry."

"What are we going to do?"

"Keep to the plan, we are still headed for Scotland, only I'm not captain of me own ship. Boone thinks he is in control, but he's not. He doesn't have the map or me compass, and he needs both to locate the Grail. Remember that luv, he may act like he is in control, but he aint: we are."

Evangeline nodded her head to indicate that she understood what Jack was saying. She wasn't quite sure what "the plan" was because only Jack and Captain Turner knew that and both captains were currently separated, but she understood nonetheless. Another thing she realized, was that Jack was still determined to see that Annie would be his by the end of it all, not Boone's. In the end, the two men wanted one thing, it wasn't the map or the compass or even The Pearl or the Grail for that matter; it was Annie and even if Jack's crew wasn't privy to it, Geline was.

"Oi, Mackabee," Jack hissed and a big, burly man at the front of them turned as much as he was allowed with what little room he had.

"Hu?" he asked, stupidly.